#next up is house of leaves. lfg.

[thedummysdummy]

A Short Driving Lesson

Inspired by the request from @hyruleismyrule . Thank you for the inspiration!!

~~~

“Now don’t forget that I’m going to be out late tonight on the shoot. So don’t wait up for me and don’t forget to feed yourself.” The girl slid her foot into her shoe, slightly losing her balance as she did so. Her arms windmilled for a moment before Victor stepped up and steadied her with a roll of the eyes. With his hand on her back, she put on her other shoe and straightened her spine. “I think that’s it, then. I need to get going so I’m not late.” 

Victor frowned and let out a sigh. “I can take care of myself, unlike my little dummy. Don’t worry about me. Just get the shoot done as fast as possible.” He handed her the tote of supplies, kissed her cheek, and opened the door for her. From outside came the rumble of the black car’s engine. Goldman smiled and waved from inside, beckoning the girl toward him. 

“I will. You’re not the only one who would rather spend the evening together at home.” The girl giggled as Victor’s cheeks lightly flushed, warm against her lips. “See you soon.” She strolled down the sidewalk and disappeared into his car, leaving Victor standing in the doorway staring after her. He watched the empty road long after she left, seemingly lost deep in the miasma of his thoughts. 

Not that he really had time to stand around. The shrill ring of his cell phone pulled Victor out of his stupor and back into the world where LFG needed his attention. Victor put the phone to his ear and re-entered the house, picking up his briefcase and an umbrella before hurrying out the door. The cab he had arranged arrived as if by some sort of psychic perfection and Victor stepped inside. 

His trip seemed to simply disappear as Victor’s attention was firmly focused on the work he needed to accomplish that day. At least, he did his very best to keep his attention where it belonged…his mind, however, had a different plan and kept drifting over the tender image of the girl’s face that he held there. Victor stalked through the hallways with a dour look on his face until he reached his office and closed the door behind him. 

No sooner did the seat of his pants meet the seat of the chair than Victor opened the girl’s contact and hammered out a message. “Did you arrive at the shoot location safely? Was everything set up for you? Do you have everything you need?”

The answer did not come immediately, much to Victor’s disappointment. “My fault for teaching her to be reliable and independent,” he murmured and pulled out a pile of paperwork. The low rumble of distant thunder occupied the otherwise silent atmosphere of the office. Victor glanced at the umbrella in the corner and suddenly realized he hadn’t packed one in the girl’s bag. Had she remembered to pack one for herself? No, stop being distracted. Paperwork.

Victor checked the dark screen of his phone every few minutes despite knowing the girl was simply too busy today to answer his texts. Another crash of thunder was followed by a downpour of rain tapping on the window with wind-blown increasing intensity. Still no response. “Did you remember to bring an umbrella or do I need to pick you up in the rain again? I can’t have you catching a cold with the quarterly report coming up next week.” Victor pressed send and set the phone at the edge of his desk where hopefully it wouldn’t be so distracting. 

A knock on the office door proved a welcome distraction. “Come in,” Victor called and the door swung open to admit Goldman. The assistant smiled and strolled over to the desk with a stack of papers in his hands. 

“I picked up your mail on my way back, boss. Miss producer is safely at the shoot as well. Though let me tell you, getting back here in this storm was not an easy feat. A couple of times I thought I was going to have to pull over and wait for the storm to slow down because the rain was coming down in sheets. I could hardly see the lights of the car ahead of me with an absolute river running down my windshield. But don’t worry! I obviously got back just fine and the car is simply cleaner than before. Free car wash, eh?” Goldman sat down in the chair across the desk from Victor and set down the stack of mail. “Are you planning on staying late since the girl won’t be done by the end of the business day?”

Victor nodded and thumbed through the pile of mail, only partially listening to Goldman. “Most likely,” he murmured, setting aside the important bits and leaving the rest on the corner of the desk. “But just in case the weather doesn’t improve in time, I will be going to pick her up from the shoot myself. So there’s no need for you to stick around once your work is done for the day.” 

“Well, I guess I’ll go home now then. I only had one email waiting for me today, so I’m already finished. Unless you have anything you need me to do?” Goldman waited for Victor’s inevitable pile of work to be dumped on him, but to his surprise the boss merely shook his head and gestured for the door in a ‘go ahead’ kind of motion. “Very well, then! I’ll see you tomorrow, boss. Make sure you and the girl drive home safely!” 

No sooner had Goldman disappeared than Victor shook his head and began gathering his work. He was far too distracted to get anything done here, so he might as well drive to the filming location where he could work with his eyes on the girl. These days, she wasn’t the only one who suddenly got more productive when they were together…

Victor didn’t think much of the weather as the elevator opened to the underground parking lot and spat him out. He whistled softly to himself as he strolled over to the car, tossed his briefcase inside, and slid into the driver’s seat. A smile flirted with the corners of his mouth and he threw the car into reverse, backed slightly, then switched to drive and made his way to the exit. 

No sooner had he left the shelter of the parking lot than Victor was shown the full fury of the storm. Goldman hadn’t been exaggerating; rain came down in milky sheets that almost completely obscured his view through the windshield. Did that stop Victor? Of course not. The CEO stubbornly rolled out into the storm, at least driving a safe speed (for once…). Nothing was going to keep him from the girl once he had decided to be by her side.

The road was mercifully empty all the way to the destination. Victor made no outward sign of nerves; indeed, he was his normal composed self. What was a rainstorm in comparison to what he’d been through before? He even managed to hum along to the music filling the cabin, his good mood warming the air around him. By the time he pulled into the parking lot of the shopping center, Victor’s anticipation had reached a fever pitch. He could picture her surprise at seeing him slinking in to watch her film the advertisement, complete with the way her eyes lit up and that silly grin obscured her cheeks. 

He was not disappointed. After settling himself on a bench out of line of sight of the cameras, Victor pulled out his laptop and set about working and waiting for the girl to notice him. She was focused intently on the shoot; Victor couldn’t help but find his eyes drawn to how smoothly she executed her job. You’ve come a long way, my little dummy, he thought silently. The girl flitted from camera to camera, adjusting views and lighting while running lines with the actors and positioning props. She, alone, was like a well-oiled machine that kept all the other parts moving in their sphere. Pride filled Victor’s chest, followed by an aching warmth as her eyes flicked up and met his. The girl obviously wanted to run to his side, but she only took one step before the boom operator called her for assistance. With regret she turned back to the job at hand, only making Victor more pleased with her. 

The day was long with no breaks for the busy producer. Despite Victor obtaining food from the food court for her, she didn’t even take a moment to eat it. It simply grew cold at the man’s side as both parties continued working, sharing glances at every opportunity. Spot after spot was filmed; in an attempt to lessen the impact on the shopping center, they wanted to have the entire season’s advertisements filmed in one go. The dim day faded into a pitch-black night and the storm refused to release its hold on the city. 

“And that’s a wrap!” The girl’s tired voice echoed through the mostly-empty hallway, drawing a cheer of relief from the crew. They began to break down and put away their equipment, and the girl finally rushed over to Victor’s side. “Well, well. Couldn’t even be away from me for a single day?” she teased, kissing him on the cheek and grabbing the cold hamburger in one motion. “I’m starving!” 

Victor rolled his eyes and pushed the side salad away from him, giving the girl more room to sit next to him. She did so, cuddling in close to his side and devouring her meal. “It’s no Souvenir, but thank you.” 

“I’m sure it tasted better hours ago,” Victor replied, his voice dry. The girl laughed and shook her head with a smile on her face. She quickly finished what she wanted from the meal and stood to pull Victor to his feet. He obliged, checked the time on his phone, and looked at the glass of the front doors. “Seems that the storm hasn’t abated yet.” 

The girl shuddered and grabbed Victor’s hand. “I’m glad you’re driving. There’s no way I’d be comfortable driving in a storm! But you seem to be an expert at driving, no matter the circumstances.” She stuck out her tongue with a sparkle in her eye. But as response, Victor merely pulled the keys from his pocket and placed them in the girl’s palm. 

She stared at them for a few moments, confusion coloring her complexion. Victor chuckled and began leading her toward the parking lot. “If a certain dummy is afraid of driving in a storm, then we might as well make her practice. I can’t always be around to be your chauffeur.” The girl considered struggling, but she knew that once Victor had made up his mind there was no changing it. 

This was, actually, the first time she had been allowed to climb into the driver’s seat. Victor held the door for her and ensured she didn’t slip as she pulled herself inside before getting inside himself, getting quite wet in the process. “Look who was giving me a hard time about not bringing an umbrella!” the girl teased. Victor lowered his eyebrows…but realized that he had left the umbrella in the corner of his office and hadn’t even thought about it. 

“Don’t get distracted. If I’m going to let you drive my car, you better keep your focus on the driving.” Victor abruptly changed the subject, causing the girl to giggle as she turned the key and the car rumbled to life. “Just remember to keep extra stopping distance between you and the car in front of you, don’t slam on the brakes, and above all focus on the road and you’ll be fine.” 

The girl nodded and put the car in gear, slowly pressing the accelerator and driving around the parking lot to get a feel for how the car drove. Truth be told, it was much smoother than any other vehicle she had operated (which were few, honestly) and it didn’t take her long to grow comfortable with the gas and brake. Feeling much more confident, she made the turn onto the main road and crept out into what little traffic there was. 

Her breathing calmed the longer they traveled down the straight and sparsely occupied street. Victor reached over and took her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles as he watched ahead of them for any obstacles. “You’re doing surprisingly well for being so panicked about driving in the rain before we left,” he teased, giving her hand a squeeze. “It’s not much harder than any other kind of driving.” 

“Aside from visibility,” the girl retorted, frowning as she squinted through the windshield as they approached an intersection. The light was red so she began smoothly applying the brakes, only for the light to turn green as they grew closer. A lightning bolt lit up the sky and an instantaneous clap of thunder caused the girl to jump as she entered the intersection. 

But there was another consequence of the poorly-timed lightning: for just the wrong moment, the girl was distracted. If she had looked out Victor’s window as they approached the intersection, she would have noticed that there was a large SUV approaching far too quickly for the conditions. However, in her intense concentration on the road in front of them and the bright flash of lightning, she did not notice the incoming vehicle until it slammed on the brakes and hydroplaned.

Victor didn’t even have a chance to warn her before the SUV slammed right into his door. His voice was immediately cut short with a strangled gasp and his body flew forward and to the left, the seat belt keeping him from exiting the car through the now-spiderwebbed windshield. The steering wheel became completely useless as the axle froze up on the passenger side, giving the girl just a moment to realize with horror that she had no more control. With a terrible screech of twisting metal, the crunch of shattering plastic, and the pop of deploying airbags, Victor’s black car and the SUV had a violent disagreement over the same patch of road before coming to rest on the opposite side of the intersection. The last thing the girl remembered was reaching for Victor’s blood-stained hand before her vision went black and the sound of rain faded from her consciousness.

[nicetrynicetry]

62

Somehow they changed the branding of a yoghurt I like while I was away for a mere 8 days, throwing my sense of time into disarray. I buy it anyway, and take it home with a wad of packing material in a cab that has a license plate ending in LFG. Let’s Fucking Go, indeed. I am unsure why, now that I’m not broke, I insisted on doing my own packing for the move, because I’m no less bad at it now than when it was a necessity. I would love to be the type to label boxes according to rooms, perhaps with a label maker, and liberal use of FRAGILE tape, but I’m not. In most of my ikea bags lies a coat, some bedding, 3 bowls and an iPhone cable, and a five pound note

I did not allow for the warm weather on moving day, meticulously planning an array of hot beverages for the guys loading their van. They ask for something cold and they’re shit out of luck - in my fridge is 2 inches of milk from a 1 litre container, my Binch cookies from Korea and a can of Diet Coke. Having movers over is not not hosting, it’s also not not a mental health assessment. Here is my baggage, the resident says, this is what I need to be rid of and this is what I’d like to keep, and please be careful with X Y and Z, I got it from my family

All that’s liberating about this week is also what’s terrifying: that this is my last move for a while. I have moved in London almost 15 times, each place increasing in its sense of permanence. But I’ve never invested quite so much in a home as in this next one: whatever challenges it poses are to be addressed, literally, in-house, rather than escaped from with a new lease, a new set of contracts. It’s funny that Korea seemed like the most psychologically demanding of this crazy autumn, when it’s beginning to look like the easiest. Though this might just be because it’s over, and it was so supremely foreign that none of my problems felt real there. I never did master the conversion rate from ₩ to GBP, and I spent and ate with the cavalier attitude of a child playing a slot machine at a seaside arcade. But here I know exactly what everything is costing me, and that it’s permanent, and that I will lose so many items to my poor packing skills that I will buy them again erupting in guilt

Later, as I near the halfway mark of the 11 hour job that is packing old items into new cupboards, I will find a lone AirPod in the fridge. I will have a number of doubts about a number of parts of a number of rooms. I will feel a little suicidal, just an ambient urge. I will fear for my safety when I hear new sounds outside the front of my house and will learn that these are created by local squirrels, storing up for winter, investigating their new neighbour. J will go above and beyond to help me settle. I seem surrounded by people who go above and / or beyond, and I feel that familiar ache of not focusing on gratitude, instead focusing on a faulty wifi connection or a kitchen storage solution. V comes over on my first night and gets me fed and helps me figure out my fridge and dishwasher’s instructions. We can officially walk to one another’s homes in just over 10 minutes. A few autumn leaves blow through the window I crack in order to smoke, and I feel almost okay knowing that the only difference between not feeling okay and feeling okay is a decision I make

[puddingsdiary]

Knight in shining armor

Happy Birthday Victor! Actually I wasn’t sure if I would finish this in time. Originally I had planned something completely different but it didn’t work out. So I started from scratch two days ago.

“I’m sorry, a bunch of problems accumulated. So I won’t be able to return in time to celebrate your birthday with you.” Hearing her voice over the phone, it was obvious for Victor how disappointed the girl was. He knew how important all those small and big rituals were for her, especially his birthday. Not only that. She has been on this business trip for nearly two weeks, while he wouldn’t admit it aloud, he missed her. Phone and video calls are not the same. 

Originally it was planned for her to return tomorrow. His birthday would be the day after. Postponing it for more than two days, some serious problems must have occurred.

“Don’t worry. I will not run away, so you can mess up my house as soon as you are back.”

“It’s decoration, Victor. And last year you liked it.” The girl, who had gotten at least some of her good mood back, giggled. “It’s still not the same, but as long as we’re together it will be fun!”

“That’s my dummy. I’m looking forward to what you have planned. Anyway, you mentioned a bunch of problems earlier, were you able to solve them?”

“Yeah, they weren’t that complicated, but the filming was delayed quite a bit. Additionally this actor, Mr Ken, is not easy to deal with. Which is the main reason why I have to stay a couple more days.” MC sighed.

“Not easy to deal with?” Something within Victor made him ask for details.

“Mhm,” Knowing he couldn’t see her but nonetheless she nodded while answering. “I’ve told you about him, demanding some special coffee when he arrived? He also won’t start working before 10am. Saying he needs his beauty sleep…” 

There were more little, annoying things like that, but what really made her fed up was the fact that he tried flirting with MC. Every day, despite not only her obvious lack of interest, no, she also spoke with him, demanding to stop this behaviour.  It didn’t help, on the contrary, after that day he was even more pushy. 

If one would ask her, she would gladly board the next plane back to Loveland City and leave this guy behind, but there were contractual obligations holding her back from doing that. Nevertheless, she was a big girl, an independent and successful woman, able to deal with it alone, no need to tell Victor about it. He would only start fussing over her and being jealous.

“And that’s all there is to it?” Normally, Victor could read her like an open book, but it wasn’t as effective over the phone, so he knew there was more to it without being able to pinpoint it.

“Yeah, yeah.” A little bit caught off guard, MC tried to answer in a light tone. “In case he is a woman I would say he is a diva. A big one.”

“If you say so.” Still Victor wasn’t really convinced.

“Don’t worry. I’ve learned from the best how to handle difficult people, you know.”

“Who would that be?”

“Well, you should have heard of him, he is LFG’s CEO, Mr Victor.”

“Since you have learned from him, you should also know, staying up late isn’t good.”

“But I’d like to talk to you a little longer.” Seeing her pouting face clearly in front of his eyes, Victor couldn’t help but smile.

“Sleep early and come home fast.”

MC sighed again, “I’ll come home as fast as I can. Good night, Victor.”

“Good night, dummy.” 

Ending the phone call made MC sigh for the third time. Victor’s last words were so soft and tender, they made her heart flutter and miss him even more. She continued looking at her phone screen with his picture on it, while she settled into bed.

After ending the call, Victor kept staring at her picture. He was sure something wasn’t right. Something worse than delaying the flight back. It was late, after 10pm, so instead of calling he opened the messaging App.

Book a flight to Tokyo for tomorrow afternoon. Return flight 14th morning. And clear my schedule for the timeframe.

After sending the message Victor got up and went to bed. If he was going to Tokyo tomorrow to check on a certain dummy, he needed to get up early.

~~~~

Another apartment, different part of the city, a *pling* alerted Goldman of a message from his boss. He furrowed his brows at it. 

“Why Tokyo, and so suddenly?” He murmured.

“Did you say something?” Vivian came over for dinner and prior to the message they were going to get ready for her to go home. Of course, Goldman would take her home, a lady wasn’t to go home this late alone.

“Oh, just got a message from Victor, to book a flight to Tokyo tomorrow. There shouldn’t be anything critical for him to go there out of the blue.” Goldman was quite at loss. He knew his boss, so there had to be something.

“You know, MC is in Tokyo right now. Originally she was expected to be back tomorrow, but I heard Anna and Kiki talking about a delay of two or three days.”

“Hm, I know she is out of town, nearly two weeks now. But even a simple delay wouldn’t make Victor fly over all of a sudden.”

“Sorry I don’t know any details of what happened.”

“Don’t worry, it’s probably something with his birthday. First I’ll get you home.”

~~~~

Next morning at LFG, Victor came in even earlier to get as much done as possible. The way it knocked at his door told him it was Goldman.

“Come in.” Not interrupting his work he waited for Goldman to start talking.

“Sir, as requested I booked a flight for 4:30 this afternoon. You’ll be back at 9am on the 14th. CGC wasn’t happy to cancel the meeting. They demanded it to be as soon as possible. I’ve rescheduled them for noon on the 14th.” While talking he checked the information on his phone as well as sent the digital tickets per mail to Victor.

“Good. We’ll leave here shortly after one for the airport, then.”

“Yes Sir. Anything else I can do?”

“Make sure those idiots from CGC hand in their report on time. No reason for them to slack off while I’m away.”

“Of course.” Goldman went back to his own office.

~~~~

A few hours later, not long before he had to take Victor to the airport it knocked at Goldman’s office door. 

“Come in.” He wasn’t expecting anyone.

“Sorry to interrupt.” 

“Vivian, what are you doing here?” Feverishly he tried to remember if they had a lunch appointment.

“Well, you know, one word led to another and so it happened that I mentioned today the trip you had to book for Mr. Victor.” Vivian seemed to be a bit uncomfortable.

“It’s not a secret, so don’t worry about mentioning it.” Goldman tried to comfort her.

“Uhm, yeah. Anyway, Kiki got excited and just now she asked me to bring this over.” Vivian held up a small black bag. 

“Victor needs to take this with him, but no peeking for him!" She tried to imitate Kiki. It didn’t go well. Goldman was still able to imagine the, always in high spirits, employee of MC.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure he gets it. You happen to be free for lunch tomorrow?” Taking the bag from Vivian, Goldman seized the opportunity.

“I happen to be free, yes.” Vivian beamed all over her face.

“Nice, the usual place, or do you want something different?”

“The usual place is ok. See you tomorrow!” 

~~~~

All the while in Tokyo, today was the worst day for MC. 

To avoid Mr Ken, she went down to breakfast early. It had worked alright the other days, but not so today. 

As soon as she settled down with her plate he stood at her table asking if she would mind the company. Yes she minded, but telling him that would be rude, after all those delays they couldn’t afford anymore, so there was no way she risked him throwing a tantrum or even worse. So she had to bear with it, regretting not having chosen a bigger table so others from her crew could join. She had lost her appetite, but forced herself to eat at least a toast, knowing it would be a long day with only dinner being guaranteed. Mr Ken tried to stir up a conversation as well as body contact by asking for sugar or milk, touching her hand when she pushed those over to him carelessly. He also stretched his legs against her’s, of course apologizing, not that she believed him. As soon as she could, without being overly rude, she escaped. 

At the film set, everyone was overly busy, trying to make up for the lost time. Same went for Mr Ken, well at least when he finally showed up. Evading him shouldn’t be that difficult. But there were many times he called out for her to *discuss* things, like his lines or stage directions. Things better to be discussed with the director. 

Everytime he also made remarks on how good MC was looking today or how much he liked her perfume. She didn’t even bother with using perfume. As every other day before, her crew members tried to help her by occupying him as much as possible, especially the make-up artist - “Don’t move or talk, Mr Ken, or the make-up will go wrong.” - or the director, but they were only able to do so much.

During lunch break the whole situation reached the next apex. 

MC, standing in a corner and nibbling on a sandwich while answering emails, suddenly had a shadow falling over her. It was Mr Ken, blocking any way of escape for her with one of his hands pushing against the wall behind her right next to her head. 

“Why don’t you take a real break with me in my room? I can make you feel really relaxed.” Mr Ken said that with a smile, he thought no woman can resist.

MC looked up at him “I am really busy, this project isn’t the only one needing my attention. So if you’d like to excuse me, I’d like to continue my work.” Then she tried to slip under his arm, only to be grabbed by her wrist. 

Lucky for her at that exact moment the director called out for her and Mr Ken had to let her go. Looking after her and only for a second, the smile on his face warped into something a predator would show towards his prey.

All this led to the fact that MC was now hiding in the women’s bathroom, trying to distract her mind with work on her phone. Not very successfully since her mind either went back to this disgusting man, giving her stupid ideas on how to get rid of him or thought of calling Victor just to hear his voice but that would made him suspicious of something being wrong.

One of the make-up artists entered, seeing MC standing there with her phone in her hand.

“Why not call in sick, tomorrow?” She asked, washing her hands.

Not that this idea hadn’t crossed MC’s mind, too. “Thanks Carol, but I’ll manage. Somehow. We made good progress today. Around lunch tomorrow, maybe a bit later we should be able to wrap up everything here. So it isn’t that much and believe me I’m on a flight back home as soon as possible then.”

“Back home to your boyfriend?” Showing the first genuine smile on this day, MC nodded. “I’m a little envious of you, having LFG’s Victor as your boyfriend. Don’t get me wrong, I love my boyfriend, but a girl can still dream.” Both women laughed. “Oh, and Mr Ken has already left, so no need to hide here any longer. For today at least.” She informed MC before opening the door to leave the room.

~~~~

The three hour flight went by in a blink of an eye. Victor worked at his notebook, to make up for the time he will lose. It was a lucky coincidence that it was his birthday tomorrow. Ever since he met MC, and her demand to celebrate his birthday, he kept his schedule light on this day, especially on workdays.

Not so lucky was the 1,5 hour delay because of a faulty fuel pump.

On his way to the hotel he checked his messages, only to receive one from MC stating that she is on her way back to the hotel, that everything went smoothly today and if this continues tomorrow she may be on her way back home in the afternoon or evening. 

Finish up your work properly. Don’t be sloppy. And send me your flight information as soon as you get them.

Pressing send he smiled, imagining her face when he showed up at the hotel.

What he didn’t imagine was the picture he saw after entering the hotel lobby. 

Victor planned on asking a receptionist to get MC down using some kind of excuse. He didn’t need to go that far. She was standing near the reception, with her back at one of those decorative pillars. 

Another man he didn’t recognise in front of her. Victor stopped dead in his tracks. It was obvious that MC was more than uncomfortable with this situation. She tried to get away from the man, only to get cornered again. This time at an indoor flower bed. As soon as the unknown man put his hands right and left of MC on the flower bed Victor saw red.

He didn’t see onlookers who were pointing in the direction of MC and whispering with each other. Many of them looked uneasy, not sure if or how to react/help the woman. He went straight towards the two people, no one trying to stop him.

Victor also missed the director who was on his way to help MC. He was waiting for a lift when he became aware of MC’s distress. Carol, the make-up artist, waiting with him, finally stopped the director. She whispered something to the director pointing to Victor with her head. The director looked over, recognising Victor, he relaxed. 

Within the film crew everyone knew that MC and Victor were seriously dating each other, so there would be no one more fitting to help her.

“Stop playing around! Let’s go to my room, I know you are willing! You’re not better than any other woman! No one can resist me!” Finally at the end of his patience Mr Ken was furious. How could this stupid woman be so stubborn? Not one woman on this planet could resist him. 

From the very beginning, this one rejecting him, made him want her even more. He thought of it as a kind of game she wanted to play. Never ever crossed his mind, that she was really not interested. Only using ‘the boyfriend’ as part of the game. Not that he cared if a woman he wanted was in a relationship or not.

“I said, NO! Leave me alone!” MC started to panic at the sight of this furious man in front of her. She shouted at him now, hoping that any of the other guests or hotel staff would interfere.

“I’m tired of your game. Come!” Mr Ken grabbed her arm. 

At this point a nervous hotel manager accompanied by two security guys made his way over. But Victor was closer. He stopped the man by grabbing the wrist of exactly the same hand which was dragging MC. 

“The lady said ‘No’.”

4 words and the world stopped. MC froze when she heard those four words, not because of the words themselves but of the voice. 

A steel cutting voice which shouldn’t be here. 

A cold voice which should be, with its owner, in Loveland City, ruling over the financial world, putting fear into competitors, or happiness in those who were lucky enough to be able to taste his cooking. 

She feared it was just her imagination that made her hear Victor. Victor, the one man she wished for to be by her side not only in this situation, but every day of her life.

“Listen pal, I’ve a little dispute with her. Nothing worthy for you to play knight in shining armor.” Mr Ken didn’t even try to hide his anger at Victor’s interference. When he turned to Victor, the latter finally recognized him. They had met a few times at some big events and Victor never thought highly of him. He put more force into his grip, at the end the actor had to loosen his grip on MC. As soon as she was free, Victor also let go.

In the meantime, the hotel security arrived at the scene.

“What is going on here?” demanded the manager to know.

“Mr Ken, here, is harassing my girlfriend.” Victor’s voice was a cold, sharp blade, his eyes could kill. The manager involuntarily gulped, despite knowing that the rage was not for him.

MC was no longer able to refuse the fact that it really was Victor by her side. 

“Victor…” She tried to get his attention, tugging at his sleeve. He merely turned his head around, coldness vanishing, turning into pure tenderness, then he plugged her hand from his sleeve. Weaving their fingers together he held her hand tightly, drawing small circles with his thumb before his attention turned back to those in front of them. This small gesture was everything she needed to feel reassured, everything was gonna be fine.

“I’m not *harassing* this woman. He is the one attacking me! I just wanted a bit more privacy to clear my dispute with her.” Mr Ken sprouted some kind of justification for his acts, rubbing the wrist Victor squeezed seconds ago. The way he was calling MC *this woman* plainly showed how low he was thinking of her, maybe of all women.

Agitating Victor even more. He made half a step towards the actor. The guards pulled back the actor allowing the hotel manager to approach Victor. 

“I’m truly sorry, Mr Victor, we let something like this happen. As you’re aware this is contradicting everything this hotel brand stands for. We will take care of this now. Rest assured he will never be allowed to stay in this house or any other. World wide.” Hearing the words, an even more furious Mr Ken started shouting, struggling to get free from the grip of the guards.

“HOW DARE YOU! THROWING ME OUT! YOU’LL REGRET THIS. I’LL RUIN EVERYTHING! JAMES, CALL MY LAWYERS!”

The bulky guards pulled the man towards the door, not paying any attention to his tantrum. When they arrived at the sidewalk they pushed him away from the building. Mr Ken felt on his knees now throwing insults towards them. Pedestrians stopped, gawking at what was happening, not a few of them recognizing the man on the floor. They pulled out their phones hoping to catch some good material of what seemed to be a scandal.

Inside, the manager was still apologizing towards Victor and MC, bowing several times and offering to fulfill any wish, on the house of course. 

“That won’t be necessary.” 

“Of course Sir. Still if you need any assistance, don’t hesitate.” In the end Victor ended the turmoil with only one sentence. The manager retreated, motioning his staff to stop gawking and return to work.

Victor turned around. Scrutinizing MC to make sure she was actually fine.

MC followed an impulse, throwing herself at him and kissing him right there.

~~~~

“What are you doing here?” MC opened the door to her room letting Victor in, eager to solve the mystery why Victor was not in Loveland.

“Isn’t it obvious? I cannot leave you alone for even a couple of days. You’re a trouble magnet.” Victor answered in his usual style.

“I’ve never told you.?” She was pretty sure she hadn’t slipped anything regarding the real trouble she had with this actor. Did anyone from her crew let Victor know? With furrowed brows she was thinking how he could have known.

“Dummy. Neither you nor anyone else had told me anything.” His tone was tender, yet she could tell he was angry at her for keeping it a secret. “How often do I have to tell you not to bare everything alone with me around?” He sighed, pulled her into his arms, caressing her back when she finally let loose all the pent up emotions.

“You were in Loveland.” Her rebuke was muffled by his shirt. 

Victor snorted, “As if a couple thousand kilometres are any obstacle.” 

She looked up to him, some remaining tear running down her cheek, but now she was smiling.

“They are not, obviously.”

~~~~

Enveloped in the familiar warmth and scent, MC slowly awoke next morning. Feeling his steady heartbeat against her back and his arms around her waist, her world had returned to peace. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind, jolting her awake. She reached for her phone to check the time only to be pulled back. 

“It’s not time to get up yet. No need to panic.” Victor’s low voice made her turn around.

“If that’s the case…” Gently kissing his Adam's apple and chin she made her way up to his lips. “Happy Birthday.” She murmured against his lips before she let herself be pulled into a long, tender kiss. Only to be interrupted by her ringing phone. Grumpy about it she checked the caller, “I’ve to take this.” 

An hour and some more calls later, MC turned to Victor, a huge smile on her face. 

“Looks like I’m free today! Do you have any plans?” 

Basically due to the commotion yesterday the contract with Mr Ken was cancelled. So MC didn’t have to show up on set since her presence was mostly bound to the aforementioned contract.

“I planned to do some work while waiting for you to finish your work.” He gestured towards his briefcase containing his notebook. “Nothing I’m not able to postpone for a bit longer.”

“Great! I’ll shower fast, then we can start exploring the city. I wasn’t able to do anything like that. Had hoped to go shopping a bit, heard the Ginza District is great for shopping… Ooh, I didn’t ask when are you flying back?” Pulling some clothes out of the closet MC babbled on, stopping at the bathroom door looking back to Victor who sat on a chair at the window, his phone in his hands, listening to her impromptu plans. He looked up “Tomorrow morning. Same as you.” 

“Eh?”

“There’s no need for you to stay any longer, or am I wrong?”

“Well, no…”

“So I asked Goldman to book you on the same flight. Just got the confirmation.”

“Even better. I’ll hurry!” With those words she vanished behind the door. 

When MC emerged again, Victor was still on his phone. 

“Ready to go?” He asked.

“Yup.”

“From my previous trips I know a good place for breakfast, why don’t we start there. Then you can drag me wherever you want.”

The small cafe Victor had in mind for their breakfast, was located at the outline of said Ginza District. They emptied their plates and finished the coffee, MC went for a pancake filled with fruits and chocolate, Victor omitted the chocolate,  when Victor wanted to know what MC had planned.

“Let’s just walk around for a while.” 

An answer which surprised him. During their drive here and also while eating, MC had been busy with her phone, so Victor thought she had picked places she wanted to go.

“I don’t mind, but don’t you want to see places?”

MC shook her head and smiled at him. 

“Not today.” Was everything she said on the matter.

~~~~

Hands entwined inside Victor’s coat pocket they slowly made their way through bustling streets with all sorts of shops and stalls. Once in a while they entered one, mostly because of MC seeing something cute. 

“Look, Victor isn’t this panda cute?” Currently she was holding a little porcelain figurine. “Don’t you think we have enough *cute* things catching dust, already?” He had to admit, the quality was good, but if they bought everything MC thought of as cute or adorable, even with LFG’s headquarters they would run out of space very soon. Reluctant, she put the little figurine back on its shelf.

A bit later they passed by a boutique selling all kinds of high quality clothes for women.

“Let’s go inside.” This time it was Victor who entered first. A middle aged woman came towards them. “How may I help you?” 

“I’d like to see this dress.” Victor pointed to one displayed in the store’s windows. He also gave MC’s size.

“One moment, please.” The clerk immediately went to get the dress.

“Victor?”

“Hm.”

“Shouldn’t it be me buying something for you, since it is your birthday?” MC questioned Victor like that.

“You said more than once, you want to make me happy. So if buying a nice dress makes me happy, doesn’t that suffice?” With slightly curved lips he gave her such an answer.

Unable to respond immediately, MC stared at Victor. 

The clerk returned. “I suppose, it is for this young lady? Please follow me, the dressing room is over there.”

MC followed her, puzzled about what Victor was planning. Just now there was such a glint in his eyes.

It didn’t take long for her to change. When MC exited the dressing room, Victor looked up from his phone and put it back into his pocket. She could feel his eyes traveling all over her, making her blush. He motioned her to turn around and so she did. As she faced him again, he made a very satisfied impression.

“Nice.” A typical Victor opinion. 

The clerk looked like she wanted to say something rather rude to Victor, but being long enough on the job she remained silent.

“What do you say?” Victor asked MC, moving slightly to the side so she could get a better view of herself in the mirror.

Rendered speechless, MC took her appearance in for quite a while. Turning left and right to see even the backside of the dress.

The dress Victor had picked was a purple one. It had wide straps over her shoulders, a deep cut neckline and a long narrow skirt ending short above her ankles. To make moving easy the skirt had a cut up to the thigh on its left side. Initially inside the dressing room MC had thought of the neckline being too much. But now, with Victor’s eyes on her she felt … sexy.

“It’s gorgeous, but I don’t know when I’m able to wear something like this.” Somehow it felt inappropriate to her wearing it for LFG’s annual gala dinner or any award ceremony.

Making eye contact through the mirror Victor simply said “Tonight, for dinner.” 

MC spun around but before she was able to say anything he added “I’ve made a reservation for six.”

She couldn’t help herself and started laughing. 

“Looks like this time it is you who surprises me over and over again.”

To the clerk she said “I’ll take it.” Then she went back into the dressing room to change back. Victor took a rather deep breath, keeping his cool while looking at her was anything but not easy.

At the end they bought not only the dress but a matching pair of high heels and a delicate necklace with a pendant which would have been a perfect addition to those earrings Victor once gave her. Making MC uneasy on how much he had spent on one day for her.

~~~~

Dressed up for their dinner date, MC furrowed her brows at Victor. 

“When did you get the suit?” She was pretty sure there wasn’t one when he arrived yesterday since he would never squeeze it into the small suitcase he came with.

“I bought it today, when you were busy trying on your dress.”

She looked at him with big eyes. “You didn’t try it on before buying.”

“Not necessary. The main store of one of my favorite tailor shops is actually in Tokyo. Loveland is just a branch. Since they are connected they have access to the measurements made in Loveland. I only had to tell them what I wanted and they delivered it to the hotel.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. Are you ready, we should leave soon.”

“One moment. There is something not right.” Saying that MC went to the closet and took out the small black bag Victor was told to bring over. He had handed it to MC last evening.

“Without this, your outfit is not complete. Happy Birthday, Victor!”

“After I was told not to peek I had an inkling.” He took the bag from MC and opened it. Inside was a black box with an inconspicuous logo of a famous Swiss watchmaker. Not one of those big ones, like Rolex. Rather a smaller manufacturer who was famous because they provided custom made models while still providing the high quality of Swiss’ watchmakers.

MC was nervously kneading her hands, watching Victor as he opened the box. 

The watch was silver with a black leather wristband. A rather slim bezel, delicate pointers and small numbers made the clock face the most dominant part. No date field or other gimmicks to avert the eye. 

Victor stared at it in awe. He was no expert, but somehow he knew what he was looking at.

No longer able to hold back, MC spoke up. 

“You like it? The clock face is made from a high resolution picture of Loveland’s night sky. Only visible exactly like this on midnight January 13th.” Confirming his suspicion.

It took him some more seconds before he averted his eyes to look at the girl, still nervously kneading her hands.

He cleared his throat twice, but even then his voice was hoarse. “You were right, any outfit is incomplete without this.” Everything else he could not put into words was clearly visible for her in his eyes. She exhaled in relief showing him her most beautiful smile.

“There is some more on the back.” It was actually unnecessary for her to say that. Victor already knew there was more, he felt it when he took out the watch to put it on.

At the end he pulled her into his arms. She could feel his heartbeat under her palm, not as slow and steady as usual.

“Thank you.” Was everything he said. Nothing more was necessary, she understood him fully.

The words engraved into the back plate:

For you, 

the most important person of my life, 

the owner of my heart.

[otonymous]

“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World”: The Guys As Fathers (MLQC Headcanon)

Hi dear Nonny!

What a wonderful idea!  We could all use a bit of fluff every now and then 🤣 I hope you’re doing well too!  Sending you much love along with these headcanons!  Hope you enjoy the read! 🥰💖 

Victor:

Daddy’s little princess - this little girl is the CEO of Victor’s heart

She is also the unofficial CEO of LFG: Victor loves to bring her to work with him every now and then, and all the office staff go absolutely ga-ga over her

Goldman.  Is.  Smitten. (Especially since she has a way of softening Victor’s hard as nails exterior)

Victor likes to front like he’s strict, but he’s not fooling anybody.  Just one look at the tenderness in his eyes when he’s looking at his daughter would tell you who’s really the boss

Psst!  He loves to spoil her!

And by spoiling, we don’t mean that she gets whatever she wants, all the time (although daddy’s heart DOES thrill a little inside to see her all bubbly with happiness after he presents her with a gift) — Victor will also ensure that he carves out time from work to spend with his family (there will definitely be a shift in work-life balance)

He won’t let her get away with everything though!  The man will still insist that she be on her best behaviour when necessary, but he is a lot more lax than you would’ve expected from him

Family time would consist of: horseback riding lessons, teddy bear picnics and tea parties (best believe she will be sending an actual invitation in the mail to Mr. Mills) — you will absolutely melt the first time you see Victor perched uncomfortably in a tiny chair, holding a mini plastic teacup to his lips and asking a stuffed cat if it would like another scone

She LOVES to be Victor’s sous-chef in the kitchen, and when she gets a bit older, she’ll also become daddy’s jogging buddy

Victor will always, always read her a bedtime story, even when he’s away from home on business, even if it means interrupting a meeting (Victor will establish a new norm; his peers will come to respect his family values)

The absolute apple of the eye of Victor’s father and aunt: this munchkin can do no wrong.  If she is to be spoiled rotten by anyone, it would be by these two.  

Every time you go over to their place for dinner, it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll be leaving with a trunkful of new toys

This little girl would be a good mix of her mother and father: she’ll inherit her father’s jet black hair, but the intensity of her eyes will be softened by your genes

In spite of all this generosity, your little girl will grow up to be far from spoiled

She will be incredibly compassionate, and will go from donating her many, many books and toys to other less fortunate kids as a child to organizing charity functions, etc., as a young adult.  

Victor couldn’t be more proud.

Lucien:

The shift is seismic the very first time Lucien holds his newborn daughter in his arms

“She looks just like you,” he whispers to no one in particular, careful not to wake you as you get one night of precious sleep immediately postpartum before your nights become interrupted by endless wake-feed-soothing back to bed cycles

Lucien doesn’t sleep that first night in the hospital; he spends it cradling your daughter by the light of the moon seeping in through the thin slats of the blinds

The cool rays illuminate every single feature that Lucien sets his mind on memorizing: her eyes — still a little bit swollen, the flare of those tiny nostrils, the sharply defined cupid’s bow of the most perfectly shaped lips

He is putting his face to the downy soft hairs on the crown of her head, nose pressing to cheek to inhale the scent of his newborn daughter

A tiny seed of anxiety begins to sprout from deep within Lucien to know that he will never have this moment again with her, and it feels like time is already slipping from the tight grasp of his hand

But then suddenly, she opens her big, bright eyes.  Quietly, she stares at her daddy, her irises the same colour as the ones drowning in her gaze, and the nervous clench in Lucien’s gut dissolves

And when she opens and closes her mouth in a soundless gape as if to say that everything will be okay, Lucien knows he would give his life in a heartbeat to protect hers

This little girl is wise beyond her years, and will often say things that surprise the adults around her; family friends will refer to her as an “old soul”

She is far from a little chatterbox, preferring instead to listen and observe those around her, her big, bright eyes patiently taking in every detail

Initially, you’ll be concerned that she isn’t speaking as much as other children her age.  Lucien will take his time reassuring you, an almost knowing smile on his lips.

When she does finally speak, she blows everyone away with the relative complexities of her sentence structures

Little genius: your daughter shares her father’s intelligence and can often be found snuggling up under her favourite camphor tree, books and sketching pencils in hand

She loves flying kites with her mommy and daddy

Quiet but kind, she’ll have no shortage of friends and admirers

You might be surprised, but she also has a wicked sense of humour.  Enjoys delivering jokes with the cutest wink in the world.

Her favourite place in the world is daddy’s laboratory.  The noisy whirs of those big, fancy machines make her jump for joy and Lucien cannot help but smile

There are times — especially when you guys are at your happiest as a family — that Lucien has to fight back the anxiety that all this could be taken away from him.  The melancholic tinge in his smile is so slight that even you could miss it at times.  But your daughter will always catch it.  And when she does, she’ll slip her tiny hand within her father’s much larger palm, look up and give him the biggest smile she can muster.  It’ll always bring him back to the moment.

Little though she is, she gives him strength beyond compare

And on the day of her graduation from university at the top of her class, she’ll be given a priceless gift from her parents: a silver pen named Iridescent.

Gavin:

Usually so calm, cool and collected in even the most stressful of situations, Gavin is a nervous wreck when you go into labour

He is pacing back and forth and back and forth in the hospital room.  You almost want to send him on an errand to get some popular street eats with a guaranteed long line up just so he can calm TF down and not get in the nurses’ way

He is offering you ice chips before you even ask for it, patting at your forehead with a facecloth even though you’re not sweating, giving you his hand to hold every two minutes even though you haven’t started pushing yet

When you mention that he should probably try to calm down since you likely have at least another hour to go before your cervix is fully dilated, he nods in agreement and starts doing push-ups and sit-ups on the floor

The battery of Gavin’s phone dies from all of Minor’s messages asking if the baby has arrived yet

Birdcop is fit to burst from all the joy his body just simply cannot contain the moment his little girl arrives

Because now he has not just one, but TWO of you!

Your daughter will be the splitting image of you, except for her striking amber eyes

The names she gives her stuffed animals will be strangely familiar: Fluffy, Softy, Pearly Jr., etc. (you’ll have to ask her whether daddy helped with the naming 🤣).

Minor’s enthusiasm cannot be dampened: he is over so often with food, diapers and offers to do the housework that you basically have to make him your child’s godparent LOL

Gavin is a giant teddy bear when it comes to your daughter: he cannot say no to her and lives to see her smile

She is gifted with her father’s athleticism, and Gavin won’t hesitate to personally instruct her on the art of self-defence starting at a very young age (needless to say, any future suitors will be given very intense once-overs by Gavin, even little boys at the playground; you can never let your guard down)

Eli is on Gavin’s watch list the moment G-man overhears her shyly asking you about “daddy’s handsome coworker” the year she turned 8

Yes, she will also be getting a bracelet with a GPS tracker LOLOL

She is incredibly strong: could probably toss Minor around like a burlap sack by the time she’s 12

This little girl is all about the thrills, screaming, “Go higher, daddy!  Higher!” in Gavin’s ear as he flies with her on his shoulders

He will take her to the BEST places for stargazing at night (when she’s old enough to stay up) — best believe this is something G-man will lament the loss of when she’s all grown up

Yes, the motorcycle will be her ride of choice the moment she gets her licence (much to her parents’ chagrin)

Gavin cannot help but tear up every time he watches her play the piano, especially if she plays with her mother at the same time

Psst!  He has a photo in his study of the two of you sitting next to each other on the piano bench, the late afternoon sun streaming in through big, French windows, dappled by leaves falling from the ginkgo tree planted in the backyard

He only wishes his mother could’ve been there to see his beautiful baby girl

Kiro:

This little star charms absolutely everyone at first sight: the doctors and nurses that help deliver her are completely enamoured with this little bundle of joy

Tears are streaming from Kiro’s bright blue eyes the moment she is placed into his arms for the first time; he’ll bend over to give you the biggest kiss while gently cradling the baby, the salt of your tears mixing together

This little girl has the best laugh: clear and bright and like music to the ears of anyone lucky enough to hear it.

And she laughs often — daddy is hell-bent on filling her childhood with love and joy and will do anything to make her smile

You’ll often see Kiro crawling around the house on hands and knees, your daughter shrieking with laughter as she tugs on his golden hair, yelling “Giddy-up!” over and over again

Genetics aside, let’s just pretend that her hair is long and golden like her father’s.  At times, she literally looks like a doll come to life, especially with those azure eyes

Budding superstar: this girl has inherited her father’s talents when it comes to acting and music.  She is hitting those high notes, projecting that beautiful voice and basically hamming it up all the time just to get a laugh from her adoring family.

Kiro will “complain” about double standards because Savin will always have a tasty treat for her whenever he sees her, saying “Make sure your daddy doesn’t get any, okay?” LOL

At the same time, Kiro decides to (gasp!) cut down on his junk food habit when his daughter is born.  He actually already started out of solidarity during your pregnancy, and wants to be healthy so he can have as much time as possible with his beloved family

Kiro also cuts back on his workload when his little girl arrives.  This daddy is super involved in all aspects of taking care of his baby and his wife.  You’ll never hear him complain about having to change a dirty diaper.  In fact, he even does it better than you do — no leakages here! LOL

Kiro LOVES to dress his daughter up and will often wear matching outfits with her.  Baby and daddy denim overalls?  Check.  Father-daughter couture?  Check.  

Baby globetrotter: you guys will tag along with Kiro when he flies overseas to shoot on location.  Kiro loves having you and the baby near.

When she gets a bit older, you can bet that they’ll be the best gaming buddies (you’ll insist on her having completed her homework first, but Kiro will secretly let her play one game before she starts - “just don’t tell your mom, or else we’ll both be in trouble!”)

Charming and bright, your daughter is also a bit of a tech wiz.  Learns to code at a very young age under her father’s tutelage, and enjoys building computers from scratch as a hobby.

This little girl carries joy with her wherever she goes, spreading it around like warm sunshine

Shaw:

Shaw is soft, soft, soft the moment he becomes a father

He could be blasé about everything else, but not when it comes to his daughter, the absolute treasure of his heart along with his wife

There will be times that you wake up in the middle of the night and find his side of the bed empty.  You’ll hear his footsteps, softly pacing back and forth before a large window as he tries to sooth your infant daughter back to sleep.  Shaw will look like he literally stepped out of a ‘90s Calvin Klein ad campaign, topless and clad only in low slung pyjama bottoms as he cradles your daughter in his arms, the muscles of his biceps bulging in the pale moonlight that casts a silvery glow on his lavender hair.

(Example of a Calvin Klein ad from the 1990s)

Guess your thirst will have to wait till your daughter falls asleep again to be slaked LOL

This little girl will have her father’s amber eyes as well as the fine features of his face — she will slay all the kids in school with her beauty

Loves to snark her dad but is all sweetness to you (Psst! Shaw (not-so) secretly loves it!)

A fast-talker and quick-witted: sometimes, you think you can actually hear her mind working

Absolutely loves her daddy’s skateboard and would much rather learn new tricks on her own board than play with more age-appropriate toys

She is also a bit of a bookworm: loves to read and is often surprising you with new topics of interest, everything from ancient civilizations to meteorology

Your little girl will often snuggle up to him and ask him what he is reading.  Shaw will then proceed to read to her, even if it’s a paper or a textbook.  Her quick mind has been able to grasp even abstract concepts from a very young age.  She’s a bit of a genius in that respect.

Inherits her dad’s love of music.  The two of them will enjoy rocking out in the basement the moment she is big enough to properly hold an electric guitar (with you sneaking peeks every 5 minutes to make sure she’s still got her protective headphones on LOL)

She’ll take after her dad in that she’ll seem uncomfortable with the concept of authority starting at a very young age.  She questions nearly everything and will drive many of her teachers up the wall, although they will also recognize the extent of her incredible intellect.  She’ll set herself apart at school as a leader, having also the charisma to charm those who would wish to follow

Her dad, of course, is absolutely ecstatic to have a daughter capable of thinking for herself instead of blindly following others (and you will be too!)

🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣

Thanks so much for reading!  Check out more of my work here! 📚 

(Please do not copy/alter/edit/repost my work - thanks!)

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Victor’s Perfect Date (Eng Translation)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 完美之约, which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

More from this collection: Gavin l Kiro

[ Released in CN on 24 Dec 2020 ]

MC: Ha--ahh--

During the fourth hour of the meeting, I finally can’t help myself and release a long yawn. 

Before my mouth can shut in time, I meet the eyes of Victor, who is sitting in the middle of the long table. 

Victor: ...

Victor: That’s all for today’s meeting.

Everyone in the meeting room releases sighs of relief, leaving the room in groups. 

When we’re the only two people left in the meeting room, Victor lifts his head and sends me a straight look. Understanding it, I hurriedly head over to receive a lesson.

Victor: Were you working overnight on a program again?

MC: I promised to give it to you today. So of course I had to spend the night finishing it!

Victor: I remember saying that it wouldn’t be late even if you gave it to me tomorrow. 

But it’s Christmas tomorrow... I say this inwardly while pretending to look humble, nodding my head repeatedly. 

Victor: Don’t do what you can’t accomplish. 

MC: Yes yes yes, CEO’s criticisms are correct. Now, could I give you my report on...

Just as I’m prepared to verify the itinerary for tomorrow, an employee returns and interrupts.

Employee: CEO Victor, there’s a small issue regarding the program you mentioned during the meeting earlier...

Victor signals with his gaze that I should wait at the side for a while. I keep the schedule that I had taken a long time to prepare.

With nothing to do, I stare out the window. The setting sun is hanging low along the horizon, and the streetlights lining the roads have started lighting up in succession.

Mainly red and green coloured lights entwine around the trees flanking the roads, and lights in the shape of stars and snowflakes embellish the open land around the city.

MC: It’s Christmas tomorrow...

Ever since we spent a rather hurried Christmas the previous time due to work, I’ve been looking forward to the arrival of the subsequent Christmas.

Despite knowing that Victor doesn’t care about such festivals, I hope we can leave a perfect and ordinary Christmas in our memories. 

Which is why since a week ago, I’ve “bribed” Goldman, troubling him to help keep Victor’s time on Christmas free.

Victor: Why are you in a daze? 

Returning to my senses, I realise that Victor has already finished his discussion, and has his arms folded over his chest while looking at me. 

I once again open the schedule book Goldman left me, pointing at the line which reads “Spend Christmas together with MC”. 

MC: Cough cough. CEO Victor, Goldman has requested that I remind you about tomorrow’s schedule.

He sweeps a glance at the notebook, his expression blank as he turns to grab his coat off the back of the chair. After taking a few steps towards the door of the meeting room, he turns his head towards me with a frown.

Victor: Do you have plans tonight?

I shake my head in confusion, not comprehending why he’d ask such a question.

Victor: So why are you still in a silly daze? Don’t Christmas celebrations start from Christmas Eve? 

-

By the time we leave the shopping mall carrying heavy Christmas supplies, the open square next to it is already filled with crowds here to visit the Christmas market. 

Our car ambles past the restless streets. I can’t help but roll down the window and take a deep breath. It’s as though the romantic ambience of Christmas is being swept along with the cold air.

Victor: Opening the window while smiling in a silly manner. Don’t weep and wail when you breathe in a stomach full of cold air. 

The window of the car rolls up slowly. I pull a long face at the reflection of Victor in the glass.

Broadcast Host: ...it’s another year of Christmas. I trust that every citizen of Loveland City is looking forward to the arrival of this beautiful festival. 

Broadcast Host: This Christmas, the Loveland Financial Group will be giving citizens of Loveland City a big Christmas gift at 12am!

Broadcast Host: ...if you have any Christmas wishes, you could participate in our program by typing “LFG’s Perfect Night” in our social media account.

The voice of the broadcast host seems especially excited within the enclosed vehicle. 

This is a special Christmas broadcast by the Loveland City Government, sponsored by LFG. 

When I received this news a week ago, I tried extricating information furtively from Victor, but his response of “no comment” left me without room for argument.

MC: Victor, you really can’t disclose a little bit on what LFG’s big Christmas gift is?

Victor: LFG is just the sponsor. I’m not privy to the contents of the program.

Victor lowers his head as he flips through a report, looking uninterested in my question.

MC: ...how is it possible that you didn’t check the quality of the program? You even correct the punctuation marks in my proposals.

He doesn’t express an opinion, arching his brows. Refusing to give up, I squeeze my face on top of the report, trying to fill his entire field of vision.

MC: In that case, what does a perfect Christmas look like to you?

Victor: Do you think that I’m idle enough to think about this question while tossing and turning at night?

Sensing the hidden meaning in his words, my ears flush. With an awkward and polite smile, I return to sit at my side.

Through the reflection in the window, I see that he has once again lifted up the report, and I can’t help but mutter softly. 

MC: When someone asks you about your perfect Christmas, you should reciprocate and return the question...

Victor: Fireplace, Christmas feast, snow. A certain person has already posted her perfect Christmas on Moments twice.

MC: ...and you don’t know how to leave a ‘like’ even after seeing it.

Although my mouth is grumbling, the corners of my lips curl upwards involuntarily. I turn my gaze to the gloomy sky outside the window.

MC: It’s a shame that the weather forecast said it wouldn’t snow today...

Victor: Is snow that important?

MC: Of course! Just as how fried chicken is paired with beer, and how hamburgers are paired with Cola, Christmas must be paired with snow for it to be perfect.

Victor: At first glance, that does sound a little logical.

MC: It’s still very persuasive even if you give it a careful analysis! Also, everyone on Moments has been feeling regretful that there won’t be snow this Christmas...

Victor seems to be contemplative as he turns to look at the boundless night sky, the corners of his lips turning upwards with a small arc. 

-

Pushing open the door to Victor’s house, a bundle of heat waves rushes towards me.

With a sudden thought, I rush into the living room. Just as expected, the fireplace, which is normally “on strike”, is currently lit with a few tiny flames.

As though I've been set alight by these flames, my heart also becomes warm.

As compared to doing something trivial such as leaving a “like” on Moments, he always fulfils my wishes in a more direct manner. 

Pudding: Meow--

A ticklish sensation is at my calf. Lowering my head, I see that Pudding is rubbing the bottom of my trouser leg affectionately.

MC: Pudding, I’m wishing you a Merry Christmas too!

I carry it up, scratching it on the chin. All of a sudden, I start worrying.

MC: What if Pudding gets too close to the fireplace and gets hurt?

 Victor walks past me, both hands full with ingredients.

Victor: Do you think Pudding is as stupid as you are? 

Pudding: Meow meow meow!

Pudding seems to be responding in protest, struggling for a while before leaping out of my arms. 

MC: ...let me help too!

I roll up my sleeves, planning to give Victor a hand. 

Victor: If you want to eat soon, it’s better if you don’t cause trouble. 

My whole-hearted enthusiasm is doused by his cold water. I stand numbly in place.

Victor: If you really want to help, you could decorate the place with the trinkets you bought.

MC: Okay!

-

Folding my hands across my chest in satisfaction, I admire my work--

The small bells and coloured lights on the Christmas tree complement each other perfectly. The French windows in the living room are decorated with mistletoe wreaths - simple yet in good taste.

Snowman-shaped Christmas candles are on the dining table and coffee table, and a charmingly adorable Santa Claus doll leans against the arm of the sofa.

Most importantly, the Christmas present I’m giving to Victor is hidden in a certain corner of the living room.

MC: Pudding, what do you think?

Pudding circles and rubs against the legs of my trousers, letting out rumbling sounds. I remove a bow from a branch of the Christmas tree, tying it gently onto its neck.

MC: This is a Christmas present for you.

Just as I plan to call Victor over to check the fruits of my labour, a rich fragrance of cake drifts from the kitchen.

Without prior agreement, Pudding and I follow the fragrance and head towards the kitchen. Craning my head at the doorway to take a look inside, I find Victor half-squatting in front of the oven, looking very focused. 

He’s resting a hand casually on the marble kitchen counter, his slender fingers tapping on the surface rhythmically.

Ding-- Just like a magical sound, an even stronger fragrance assails the nostrils the moment the oven stops operating.

And this baking magician methodically “creates” a pair of brightly-coloured red mittens - the pair that I had pestered him to include in the shopping bag.

Despite how distasteful he felt towards the mittens in the mall, Victor still wears them as he pulls the baking tray out, carefully checking the colour and lustre of the cake.

MC: Pfft--

I can’t help but laugh aloud, and Victor immediately turns towards the sound.

Although he's been working in the kitchen for an hour, there isn’t a single oil stain on him. Not a single crease can be found on his shirt either. 

Even the stray hairs on his forehead remain as tidy as ever, falling naturally in front of his eyes.

It’s just that pairing the stern, cold appearance of Victor together with this pair of overly jubilant mittens seems a little out of place.

Pudding has long since given up resisting. It walks forward, pacing frantically in the vicinity of the oven.

Victor: Wipe the corners of your lips. Your drool is about to flow to the ground.

I subconsciously rub my mouth with my sleeve, but find that my the corners of my lips are dry.

MC: Liar... there’s no drool.

Amused, he taps Pudding’s head with the mitten.

Victor: I was referring to this greedy cat. Who asked you to take it as a personal attack?

Before I can salvage my pride, Pudding starts meowing, trying to tell Victor about my “crime”--

It shakes its neck. With a tactical retreat, it struggles free from the bow I gave it.

MC: I put it on so it could celebrate Christmas too. But the bow’s probably too heavy, so it doesn’t like it...

Victor stands up, then cuts a thin ribbon from the bag of ingredients on the counter. He bends down and ties it onto Pudding.

MC: That’s right, why didn’t I think of using...

Before I can finish my words, I watch as Victor picks up the bow that Pudding rejected, stretching out his arms and encircling me gently.

His upper body leans slightly on my side, and I feel his steady breaths on the crook of my neck.

MC: ...Victor?

Victor: Don’t move.

My body tenses up, and I don’t move an inch. The fragrance of cake from his arms encases me, and my heart rate involuntarily quickens.

A faint rustling sound drifts from behind me, followed by a weight on my ponytail.

Victor: Done. 

I reach out to touch the ponytail on my head, discovering an additional bow on it.

Victor: This way, both greedy cats have bows.

...Victor actually does such childish things too. Could this be what they call “loving the house and its crow”?

[Note] MC is making reference to an idioms, 爱屋及乌 (“ai wu ji wu”), which conveys how if you love a person, the love extends to even the crows on their roof. It means you love everything about something or somebody.

Of course, I lack the boldness to make such a thick-skinned comment. I simply keep touching the bow on my ponytail happily.

MC: Pretty?

Victor: Pretty. Just that you smile like a dummy. If you continue smiling like a fool, your Christmas feast will get cold.

[Note] I’M SCREAMING. MC is clearly asking about the ribbon, but her question is written in such a way that it’s ambiguous as to what she’s referring to. SO VICTOR SAYS SHE’S THE PRETTY ONE UIHRGEJKDV

The facts reveal that Victor underestimated my ability to eat.

Without giving the feast a chance to grow cold, I tuck into the meal while it’s still piping and fragrant. On the other hand, Victor doesn’t eat much.

MC: So full...

I look into the distance while holding my belly, leaning against the chair and sighing with emotion.

Victor: Why are you eating so quickly? No one’s snatching it from you.

MC: I couldn’t control myself since it was too fragrant...

Victor: In that case, what do you plan to do with this cake?

He points at the perfectly flawless cake at the far corner of the table. The tone he uses to ask this question is reminiscent of a CEO who is pressuring his employee to work overtime.

MC: I was too focused on eating the feast earlier and forgot there was still cake... But since girls have an extra tummy for dessert, I can do it!

While saying this, I’m reach for the cake. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Victor furrowing his brows.

Victor: Don’t force yourself if you’re full. The cake can be eaten later.

I retract my hands in embarrassment, then puff out my chest and clear my throat.

MC: Victor, in order to thank you for fulfilling my perfect Christmas, I’ve hidden a present for you in the living room. Search for it!

Victor’s gaze falls on the colourful decorations in the living room.

Victor: The present you’re referring to - is it how you didn’t make a mess out of the living room?

MC: ...of course not! Also, I put in a lot of effort while decorating, so of course I wouldn't make a mess out of the living room!

Seeing my flustered and exasperated state, Victor chuckles softly.

He stands up, walks to the Christmas tree, bending down to pick up a conspicuous box.

Victor: In that case, it’d be this box.

MC: ?!

MC: When did it get there? I distinctly remember hiding it.

Victor: When you were gorging yourself with food, Pudding carried it in its mouth and walked around in the living room for a long time.

MC: ...Pudding!!

Pudding: Meow--

The chief culprit licks its paw elegantly on the sofa, without feeling apologetic at all.

Victor sits down on the floor next to the Christmas tree, unwrapping the packaging of the box in an unhurried manner. I shift over to his side, filled with anticipation as I observe his expression--

Victor: ...

Victor: Are your designs too novel, or are your skills so poor that they have reached this level?

I lower my head to take a look. The painstakingly arranged handmade biscuits have gotten mixed with the shredded paper meant to be used as a cushion. Even I can’t tell how they looked like originally.

It’s all Pudding’s fault!

MC: H-hold on!

I snatch the box in a fluster, performing a “surgery” to separate the biscuits from the shredded paper. Victor purses his lips, revealing a faint smile.

MC: Done!

I once again present the box of handmade biscuits to him--

A Victor dressed in a Santa Claus outfit, a gingerbread-shaped me, and a few ordinarily-shaped biscuits meant as embellishments.

MC: How are they? I made them myself.

He reaches out to take the gingerbread biscuit, then holds it in front of my face.

Victor: Silly-looking - very similar to you.

Even though his assessment isn’t that nice to hear, the tender gleam in his eyes disclose his good mood.

MC: ...on account of the Christmas feast, I won’t bicker about this with you.

I hold up an ordinarily-shaped biscuit.

MC: Want to give it a try?

Before Victor can express an opinion, Pudding scurries out, grabbing the biscuit in my hand with its mouth.

MC: Pudding!

Just as I try it to release the biscuit from its mouth, Pudding nimbly leaps onto Victor’s shoulder. 

As though knowing that it has found a strong and powerful backing, it turns around unhurriedly, looking at me provocatively.

MC: Pudding, spit it out quickly. Cats can’t eat milk biscuits!

Victor observes the farce before him in slight interest, seemingly unperturbed by Pudding’s claws creasing his clothes, keeping himself out of the matter.

Pudding goes one step further to flaunt, affectionately rubbing the side of Victor’s face, seeking his protection.

Pudding: Meow--

Victor: I don’t participate in cat fights. 

Seeming to realise the reality that "God helps those who help themselves”, it turns around, leaping towards the sofa. I hastily chase after it.

The heavy curtains of a majestic human-cat chasing war are pulled open.

Pudding excitedly hops atop the sofa repeatedly for a while before turning to the dining table.

After numerous failed attempts of chasing it around, I change my tactics. Pretending to pass by Pudding unhurriedly, I suddenly pounce--

Pudding didn’t expect that I’d have such a card up my sleeve. It instinctively leaps into the air, finally planting itself squarely into the cake.

MC: ...

Victor: ...

I stand frozen in place, sensing two searing eyes at my back that seem to dig two holes into the back of my head.

MC: Erm... Victor... didn’t you keep the cake away...

After a period of silence from behind me, I’m at a loss on whether I should turn around to see Victor’s expression. All of a sudden, something flicks the back of my head.

Victor: Time for a bath, King of Causing Trouble.

He picks Pudding up with a hand, then walks to the bathroom with heavy steps.

...as expected, this Christmas can’t be spent perfectly just like before.

Although that's what I originally think, seeing Pudding lying in the wash basin with its eyes wide and with a piteous appearance makes me happy once again.

MC: Hahaha, Little Kitten, you have your day too~

Beside me, Victor’s movements are adept as he rubs the fur of the cat. Meanwhile, I playfully stack foam bubbles atop Pudding’s head.

MC: Look! A poop hairstyle!

Pudding obviously feels indignant, meowing complaints at Victor. Victor gives it comforting rubs on the belly.

Victor: Don’t fuss over things with a dummy.

I purse my lips in dissatisfaction. As though I‘ve lost all reason, I lift up a heap of foam bubbles and rub it onto Victor’s cheek.

MC: Santa Claus!

Victor pauses in his actions, lowering his head and arching his eyebrows while looking at me. 

Victor: Do you find this very interesting?

Reason returns to me, and I’m just about to reach out to wipe the foam bubbles away when he suddenly leans his face over, rubbing the foam bubbles onto my face.

Victor: Mrs Claus. 

-

An hour later, Victor and I finally put an end to this chaotic cat washing battle.

We are all taking a short break on the sofa in front of the fireplace. The wood in the fireplace crackles from time to time, and the warm yellow light from the fire casts our faces in occasional brightness and darkness. 

The sweet and refreshing scent of Pudding after its bath diffuses in the surroundings. The song “All you need is love” is playing from the broadcast, resonating in the living room. 

Feeling drowsy, I’m using Victor’s lap as a pillow. Occasionally, he uses a hand to comb through my hair.

MC: Victor... 

MC: Which movie is this song featured in? It sounds so familiar...

Victor: “Love Actually”. I remember someone mentioning liking that show. Looks like it was just a superficial fondness?

I turn, hugging Victor’s arm tightly before drifting entirely to sleep.

How nice, Victor still remembers that I like this movie. 

MC: If it were to snow this Christmas, it’d truly be perfect...

I mutter to myself, descending completely into dreamland.

-

Not knowing how long I've slept, I suddenly feel a weight on my face. Opening my eyes, I realise that half of Pudding’s body is sitting on my face. 

With a dark expression, I carry it away. When I sit up, I discover that a blanket has been draped over me, but Victor isn’t by my side.

The sliding door to the balcony, which was originally shut tight, is now pulled open halfway, and the curtains are drifting slightly.

Stepping closer to it, I find Victor standing at the outdoor balcony, lifting his head and thinking about something.

MC: Are you waiting for Santa Claus?

He turns around at the sound of the voice. Seeing the thin knitted shirt I'm wearing, he frowns. 

Victor: Why did you come out without wearing a jacket? 

I squeeze myself into his woollen coat, lifting my head and giving him a grin.

MC: I won’t be cold like this!

Victor: The turtledove occupies the magpie’s nest.

[Note] Victor’s use of the idiom, 鸠占鹊巢 (“jiu zhan que chao”), conveys the idea of seizing the territory of someone else.

Despite what he says, he tightens his grip around me slightly.

MC: Why did you come to the balcony? Aren’t you cold?

Victor: A dummy kept talking in her sleep, so I came out to get some peace and quiet.

MC: ...what did I say in my dream?

Victor: Wanting to have a snowball fight at one point, then wanting to build a snowman at another. Not even a moment of idleness the entire night. 

I suddenly recall that I did have a dream, and there seemed to be something snow-related in it. 

MC: What one thinks about in the daytime will be dreamt about at night... but...

I stick my face close to his chest, hearing the steady and powerful heartbeats drifting from it.

MC: Even if there isn’t snow this Christmas, I’m already very very contented. After all, I had a Christmas feast, baked next to a warm oven, and even saw Santa Claus!

I lift my head, deliberately giving him a teasing glance. He chuckles lightly.

Victor: And Mrs Claus.

That scene from the bathroom earlier is vivid in my mind. Embarrassed, I bury my face in his chest.

MC: Most importantly, I’m spending this Christmas with you. In my heart, this is the perfect Christmas.

My head remains buried in his chest, anticipating VIctor’s response. However, I suddenly feel something cold dripping on the roof of my head.

MC: ?!

I lift my head violently.

MC: Victor, are you crying...

It’s snowing.

The moment I lift my head, I see the entire sky filled with drifting snowflakes.

It’s actually snowing!

The sparkling, jade-like crystals rustle and land on Victor’s eyelashes, and very quickly turn into transparent water droplets.

I reach out to rub at his eyes gently, a moist and cold sensation on my fingertips.

MC: Victor! It’s snowing!

I happily unfurl my hands to welcome the snowflakes, showing them to Victor excitedly. However, I realise that his expression, which wears a slight smile as he looks at me, is not at all astonished by this unexpected snow.

Victor: Mm, it’s snowing.

An answer faintly surfaces in my heart. Before I can open to my mouth to probe further, the host’s voice from the broadcast drifts vaguely from the living room.

Broadcast Host: LFG... big Christmas gift... artificial snowfall... 

Just as expected!

It turns out that this snowfall was LFG’s Christmas surprise to the citizens of Loveland City. No wonder Victor looked like he was waiting for something on the balcony earlier...

I deliberately fold my arms across my chest, tilting my chin angrily.

MC: A certain CEO even pretended not to know anything about it...

Victor: I thought surprises meant that they wouldn’t be disclosed until the last second. Or does a certain dummy have an issue with this surprise?

Seeing him arching his brows, I immediately correct my posture obediently.

MC: No, no! On behalf of the citizens of Loveland City, I sincerely thank CEO Victor for the surprise!

He laughs in spite of himself, lowering his head and meeting my forehead.

Victor: Now, you can say that this is a perfect Christmas.

I hide in his arms as I look up at the sky. The snowfall is getting increasingly heavier. 

Even though I'm just wearing a thin woollen shirt, I don’t feel cold at all in his arms. 

It’s probably because the person before me has shielded me from all the piercing wind and snow, keeping them out of my world. 

MC: Come to think of it, do you really not have a perfect Christmas in your heart?

He once again tightens his grip on me, resting his chin on the top of my head.

Victor is silent for a very, very long time. It’s so long that I can hear the rustling sound of snowfall.

Victor: This moment right now. It’s perfect.

-

Phone calls: here

Texts: here

[heyhihellowhatsup0]

Tom proposes to you in the most cutest and spontaneous way there is like realising that he want to spent the rest of his life with you

FLUFF OVERLOADED

WE ARE FLUFFY AF TODAY LFG! Its a bit long so I’m putting a read more for it but there’s not smut all fluff and softness

Requests Are Open!

It was a strange weekend away but Tom insisted on it and brought you and all of your family and friends along to weekend at your favorite lake house destination. Evey thing seemed fun at the time, but you couldn’t help but notice how strange Tom had been acting since you had got there. Not wanting to spend any time with you and avoiding you nervously when this whole trip was his idea in the first place.

Tom’s idea for a “family dinner” wasn’t out of character but the fact that he was barely making eye contact with you when you were trying to talk to him made it feel strange to you. You tried holding his hand and he would pull away as if he was nervous to be around you. When you tried whispering a joke in his ear, Tom would look straight ahead, afraid to look at you and laugh outwardly. It should have felt like a large Thanksgiving-like dinner, but it felt completely off to you and you weren’t about to hold back on Tom for upsetting you.

You glared at Tom as if you were plotting his murder with your eyes as Harrison and Harry sat across from you, whispering to one another as they laughed in Tom’s direction. It only made you more suspicious as Tom continued to tell anecdotes while he finally grabbed you free hand casually. Only you weren’t having it as you attempted to listen to his story from filming.

Harrison and Harry were using  dinner to continue to busy Tom chops, as per usual. You were grateful for it as you sat there silently. Laughing to yourself as Harry began ripping Tom to shreds for acting like a movie star. Secretly knowing the boys always had your back in any situation.

“No, Tom,” Harrison said over a roar of laughter. “You don’t say that shit to Robert Downey Jr…”

Tom’s face grew red from laughing to hard as he passed a bowl of vegetables to you. He wasn’t looking at you again, and his eyes were filled with nervousness. You were going to kill him for making this so much weirder for no reason at all. 

“Alright, mate. See how it is,” Tom replied as he glanced over at Harrison for some assistance, picking up on your silence.

Harrison elbowed Harry, who nearly choke on his beer as he eyed Harry. Finally, Harry got the hint to do/say something and he immediately raised up a glass.

“Well,” Harry started, “Cheers to a fun weekend, everyone!” he exclaimed as you all cheered to the toast and drank.

Tom took a sip of drink wine and rolled his eyes into the wine glass. That’s it? He glared at Harry again, as he shushed Tom by putting his hand to his lips, hoping you couldn’t catch it.

But you did, and Harrison saw it. Pretending to playfully punch Harry against his shoulder, making him yelp as Harry punched Harrison back in retaliation. The two of them play fighting now as a not so discreet distraction as you and Tuwaine stared at the two of them, no longer having an appetite due to Tom’s strange behavior.

“Hey, what’s going on over there?!” Tuwaine asked, pointing at Harry and Haz with his beer. “We’re eating, you know. Don’t make me tell Phil on you,” he joked.

“Can you punch Tom next?” you finally blurted out with a smirk as you and Harry exchanged grins as he laughed at your smug little comment.

Tom  turned to face you , with a surprised look on his face, “She speaks!” He cracked a smile, putting his arm around you “I was beginning to think you’ve gone mute, darling,”

“I was beginning to think you’ve forgotten my existence, darling,” you sassed him back with a fake accent. 

Harrison buried his face in his hand, trying not to look in their direction.

“Bite your tongue,  guys; bite your tongue.” you heard Harrison muttering to himself, causing Harry and Tuwaine to burst out in a fit of laughter. 

You turned to look at Harrison and Harry, who have both stopped laughing and gave you friend an apologetic look. Oops. You watched as they both now remained quiet as you took another sip of your drink and hoped you and Tom could go back to your room in one piece. 

“False,” Tom insisted with you. You looked at him, flashing him the faintest of smiles.Even when you were pissed off at him, you couldn’t be for too long knowing how much you loved him. Tom glanced around the room, trying not to start anything. For an actor, he was really bad at keeping his cool.  

“Are you up to something?” you asked him suspiciously. 

Tom  tried looking stunned, but it came out as a really awkward and nervous laugh, which then sent a train reaction to Harry who almost bursting it out in laughter behind his food. 

“What? No!” Tom answered, mid-laugh. He glanced over at Harry, trying to get him to stop laughing. “Cut it out man, you’re making me laugh!”

Harry put his hands up apologetically as he was able to stifle his laugh. He glanced over at Harrison. “This is why we don’t get involved,” he whispered quietly, hoping you didn’t hear. But Haz hit him gently to knock it off as you shook your head, feeling that you were not in a joke or something and you hated it. 

“Don’t be so paranoid,” Tom remarked as he tried to finish his beer. Harrison  closed his eyes painfully as he heard Tuwaine groan out loud practically in pain from Tom’s very poor choice of words.

“You div,” Harrison said to him.

“Why would I be paranoid?” you added as you turned to Tom suspiciously, “You’re giving me a reason to be right now, what is going on?” you asked, looking around the room.

It was a time like this where the boys wished they didn’t know anything. 

“Correction,” Tuwaine whispered to the rest of the table, “This is why we don’t get involved.” Tuwaine slumped back in his seat, looking towards Tom confused if they should leave or not,  “I think he’s drunk Y/N,” Tuwaine said out loud to try and ease your stress you were clearly showing.

You glanced over at Tom, still not making eye contact with anyone. You scoffed at what Tom said as you took another sip of your drink. Looking around at everyone who was now staring at both Tom and you with wide eyes which made your heart feel like it was sinking into it’s stomach. You knew Tom was hiding something from you and you were getting upset that he made you the last person to know. Whatever it may be.

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?” you said, your voice raising a little bit as you tried to hide the cracks in it. You stood up, looking at Harry and Harrison for an answer, but their faces were empty as Tom was following your lead, trying to get you to sit back and relax to escalate the situation.

You finally gave Tom a look, that only meant you were plotting his murder now with your eyes. But you squinted your eyes when you noticed the small smile forming at Tom’s lips.

“Christ sake, Y/N, will you marry me?” Tom finally blurted out from behind you.

“Wait, what?” you exclaimed as your whole body felt like it was about to collapse. You turned towards the boys who looked just as stunned as you were. Clearly this was not a part of the plan but Tom said fuck it.

Tom chuckled as he pulled you closer, “I had a whole plan to bring you out here and do it tomorrow by the lake but I’ve been so bloody nervous I couldn’t even be around you. I’m sorry for making you think it was for bad reasons,” he felt terrible as he apologized to you.

Your eyes filled with tears in your eyes as you turned to face Tom in shock. You were confused and excited at the same time as you watched Tom grab the black velvet box out of his back pocket and got down on one knee. 

You knew you probably looked stunned as a stream of tears rolled down your cheek, which started to make everyone sitting at the table cry with excitement. Tom took your left hand and looked up at you with a serious expression, “I can’t keep a secret from you to save my life” he said with a laugh as his fingers trembled against yours, “But please, let me be your husband so I never have to hide another damn thing from you again.”

[darling-dummy-blogs]

A Dummy's Heartbreak- Victor Li (PT 2)

Summary: Cassandra calls up Victor telling him that she misses him leaving Victor conflicted with his emotions. He decides to go over to her house to check on her. The two end up rekindling something as the night goes on…

Paring: Victor Li x Cassie (OC)

Genre: Angst (With a bit of Fluff)

Warnings: None!

Fandom: Mr. Love Queen's Choice

Word Count: 2.5k

Notes:

Will be mainly focusing around Victor's perspective 

Will go into details about why and how they ended up breaking up. 

Possible Part 3…?

Massive thanks to @little-butterfly-writes for helping with brainstorming ideas for the break up 💜 (Go follow her, if you haven't already~)

So sorry for the delay with this part! With everything taking place, it's been hard to focus and write when I've been anxious and emotional over the situation within the MLQC fandom. Hope you enjoy <3

“I Miss You. I Miss Us..."

Hearing those words made Victor’s heart leap within his chest. He had hoped and dreamed of hearing these words almost everyday after the break up.

Victor remained silent for quite some time, unsure of how to reply to her words. His light breathing was the only thing that could be heard over the phone.

"...V-Victor? Are you still there?" She spoke out once again to him, the nervous tremor in her voice could be heard.

He swallowed, trying to process the words and managed to clear his rapid thoughts as he replied in a soft, yet quiet tone.

"I'm still here…" Before adding the words he wished to speak to her that day she left Loveland, "I miss you too… More than anything. But why are you suddenly telling me this now? It's been four months, Cassie."

"I-I know… I know it's been a while since I spoke to you… I just… Today… I-..." She trailed off, growing rather quiet.

His eyes trailed off from his desk to look at the calendar. His eyes landed on the day in question. His gaze softened. A deep frown appeared on his face.

"...Our third year anniversary…" He finished for her, his voice coming out rather hoarse, the sadness he felt at that moment made his heart ache.

He could faintly hear her sobbing on the other end of the line.

"I-I'm sorry… I shouldn't have called you. I just… I had such a rough day today, I-I couldn't focus.. I-I couldn't do anything right…"

She took a moment to catch her breath before continuing, "A-and then I realized what today was and it all made sense as to why I was acting like this, why I couldn't stop thinking about you.. Why I… miss you…"

"Cassie…" His voice came out soft once again, hearing her cry, utterly broke his heart. "Breathe… It's okay…" He tried to soothe her.

"I'm right here.." He spoke again. "I'm here for you. You know that."

Hearing those words from him, made her sob more, only louder this time. She knew that. Of course she did. But it still hurts that he isn't physically there with her.

"Cassandra." He spoke again, this time slightly firmer than before. "Listen to me… Breathe… I know it hurts. Trust me, I know more than anyone that it hurts."

He paused, as his eyes landed on a picture frame that laid upon his desk, one that he refused to put away since he had last seen her.

The frame contained an image of Cassie's bright smiling face. A photo Victor snuck in while she wasn't looking during one of their dates.

Staring at that photo, made his vision gloss over with tears. She looked so beautiful in that image.

She always did in his eyes. But he could never forget the look on her face, on the day of their break up.

He spoke again, "But you are strong. You can get through this. I know you can…"

"...Not without you by my side, Victor…" She spoke in a solemn tone as she had managed to calm down her sobs, sniffling.

"I-I've tried everything to get you out of my head, but nothing worked. I drank wine, just to try to forget about all the memories we made. But you still won't stubbornly go away…" She let out a sad chuckle at the end.

Victor grew silent again. A single tear slipped down his face as he stared blankly down at his desk. Taking in her words.

At that moment. He knew what he needed to do. He swallowed, as he wiped away his tears, speaking in a firm yet serious tone.

"Where are you right now?"

"I-I'm at home… Why?" Confusion clearly shown within her words.

"I'm coming to see you. Right now." He stood from his chair, gathering his suit jacket and left his office immediately.

--

The drive from Loveland to Cassandra's hometown felt long however, it wasn't too long as Victor pulled into the driveway of Cassie's home.

The anticipation of seeing her once again after such a long departure, made his heart flutter. He took a moment as he parked his car, looking at the house in front of him.

The sun barely began to set as he stared for what seemed like an eternity before unbuckling his seatbelt and stepped out of his car. Smoothening his jacket as he made his way to the door. Hesitating before ringing the doorbell.

A few moments passed by and the door flew open. The two made eye contact. Both stared at each other with wide eyes as though they had never met before.

Victor took in her appearance. He could tell she looked tired; the dark circles under her eyes, followed by how red and puffy her eyes were from crying. He could see the tears that stained her cheeks.

Gosh how he hated being the reason that she was upset. He mentally scolded himself for hurting such a loving girl such as herself. For fighting with her over a matter that she was feeling insecure about four months ago.

At that time, he didn't know what he had done to himself. But when she walked out that door, with that look on her face. He knew he regretted everything he had said to her in that argument.

He blamed himself for the longest time for saying such things to her.

Days if not weeks after the break up he did nothing but drink his sorrows away, threw himself into work to occupy and fill in the hole that she once held. Giving everyone at LFG hell to keep his mind from thoughts of her.

Sleepless nights filled with him crying over her, a side he refused to let anyone see. He wouldn't even want to let her see him like that.

His emotions got the better of him then. But now, seeing her within arms reach.. He wanted nothing more but to hold her and wipe away her tears. To take away her pain…

His eyes filled with tears, but he remained calm. She stared at him quietly with tears in her eyes as well, yet she refused to say anything. Fearing if she did, he'd disappear or she'd start bawling her eyes out once more.

She took a deep shaky breath, speaking out to him

"Come in…"

She opened the door wider for him. Waiting as he silently stepped inside. She shut the door quietly behind him as she wiped at her eyes hastily.

Cassie then gestured to the couch once they were in the living room, sitting down in the exact spot she was sitting before she called him.

He sat down next to her. However after realizing how close he was he slightly scooted away to give her some space.

Both of them remained silent for far too long.

Cassie proceeded to break the ice as she spoke, bringing her legs up to her chest while looking at him, "Why are you here, Victor..?"

"...I had to see you." He spoke as he kept his gaze low to the ground.

"I still don't understand… Why though?"

"Because Cassie… I missed you. Just as much as you missed me. I wanted to see you in person because I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"...Well.. I'm not okay…"

"..." He looked up from the ground to meet her gaze. A tear slid down his face. "...And I'm sorry for being the reason as to why you aren't okay…" He looked down at the ground once again

She frowned at that statement. "Victor…"

"No. I know that I'm the reason. That's why we broke up to begin with. I-I was too harsh with you.. I always have been."

She looked away. Shaking her head as tears filled her eyes. "That isn't the reason we broke up."

"Then what is it?"

"...The reason we broke up was because I was mad and upset with you for what you told me that day. It wasn't that you were harsh with me… because you were far from that."

She looked at him, moving closer to him, hesitating a second before cupping his face within her hands, making him look at her.

"Y-You were an amazing lover. And I loved you so much.. And if I'm being completely honest with myself. I still do love you. I believe that I always will…"

Her hands lightly caressed his skin, he brought his hand up, resting it on top of hers as he stared into her eyes.

Her lips trembled as she continued speaking. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. "But we broke up because of the awful rumors and ideas about my relationship with you that were being spread by numerous people online, especially by Chik. The argument we had that night took part of it but it wasn't the full reason."

"I didn't want to ruin your reputation. And I didn't want others to tear me down… I was insecure and I didn't want to be selfish by continuing to be with you… to have you to myself... that's why I told you that night if you wanted to end it. Then we would..."

He removed her hands from his face, holding her hands within his own, frowning. "Cassandra, you weren't being selfish nor were you going to ruin my reputation. I can now understand why you chose to break up with me."

"I didn't care about what those people were saying online about you, me or our relationship. I never cared about others' opinions but my own… It has always been like that. That was until you came into my life. Your opinion mattered most to me… That's why that day when you told me you were insecure about those rumors, I brushed it off."

"...Because I would never believe their words about you, because I know you. And I love you more than anything in this world. I just wanted to be with you…"

She stared at him in shock. Tears glided down her face as she listened to his every word.

"In hindsight… I should have cared a little more, knowing that you are more vulnerable and easily hurt by others words than I am… That was my error and for that I am sorry…" Tears slipped down his face as he added, "I-I never wanted to lose you, the way that I did."

He let go of her hands, moving to wipe at her tears, resting his forehead against hers. "I still… want to be with you. That's all I've wanted since you left."

He admitted, gazing deeply into her eyes. She stared into his eyes, nearly getting lost in them as she was unsure of how to respond to his words.

She swallowed as her breath hitched when she realized how much closer he was to her, which made her cheeks flush bright red.

Victor took in her expression, his eyes trailing down her face, taking in every feature. His eyes then landed on her slightly parted lips.

He missed everything about her, but in this moment, he missed the soft touch of her lips against his …

He leaned in closer, all self control he had at that moment seemingly lost as their faces were just mere centimeters apart.

She swallowed as her heart fluttered. As much as her heart wanted this, her mind wouldn't allow it.

She turned her head away just as their lips were about to touch

"...We shouldn't.. As much as I want to, it's still painful…"

He frowned, as he pulled away gaining control of himself once again, he looked down. "...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have.. I don't know what came over me..."

"It's okay, really… It's just… Hard…"

"I know…"

An awkward silence took over the two of them. Neither of them knew what more to say to one another.

"I should probably get back to Loveland.." He spoke, standing up after a moment in their awkward silence.

She looked at him, her hand reaching out to his. "No! Stay… Please…"

He looked down at her hand that held onto his. Moving his hand to softly lace his fingers with hers, looking at her.

"Are you sure you want me to stay?"

She nodded, giving him a small smile. "Y-yeah… I could really use the company… I was just about to put on a movie to watch…"

The corners of his mouth lifted upwards as he let go of her hand, sitting down once again beside her. "Alright, I'll stay. What movie are you thinking of watching?"

She smiled wider as she moved to grab the remote to the TV. "Mm.. I'm not sure honestly… Hmm… How does Beauty and The Beast sound?"

He let out a chuckle, knowing how much she adored that movie. She always loved watching it with him in the time that they were together, "Still love that movie? Even after watching it countless times? I guess some things never change."

Victor lightly teased her, smiling more as she rolled her eyes, pouting playfully at him.

"Of course I do! It's my favorite movie of all time, no matter how many times I watch it, it will always be my favorite. Now are you going to watch it will me or not?"

He looked at her as he laughed softly. "I'll watch it with you."

"Great." She giggled, as she then found the movie, pressing play as the movie began playing. Victor then made himself more comfortable, seeing as he'll be there for quite some time.

However, not even halfway through the movie, Victor feels Cassandra's head rest against his shoulder.

He didn't realize that she made herself comfortable and had curled up at his side. He looked down at her, his gaze softening as he realized she fell asleep.

He smiled, letting out a soft chuckle. "As usual… You always tend to fall asleep at any given time…"

Victor then shifted his hands to wrap around her, as he stood up. Being cautious as to not wake her. He lifted her up into his arms.

Taking her up the stairs and into her bedroom, he gently set her down on the bed, tugging the covers up and over her, making sure she was fully tucked in. He gazed down at her, moving a few strands of hair away from her face. He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Goodnight Cassie… I love you."

He whispered before standing up straighter, turning to leave.

However a small tug to his shirt sleeve, stopped him in his tracks. He turned back to look at her, her eyes opened as she gazed at him sleepily.

"Stay… Please…"

How could he say no to that? His heart skipped a beat as he nodded. Moving to lay beside her, wrapping his arms around her as she moved to curl up close to him, her eyes fluttering close as her head rested against his chest.

He gently moved his hand to gently stroke her hair, as he often did many nights when they were together. He let out another chuckle as he leaned in to whisper into her ear...

"I'll always be here to stay...Dummy…"

[mlqcscreaming]

Living with Victor HCs

- He proposes you living together like a business deal and starts listing the advantages until you laugh and say the most important thing is that he’s there

- “Dummy” “But I’m your dummy :)))”

- Is surprised you said yes because he doesn’t really think you’d want to live with him (he knows he’s not the nicest)

- You have separate closets in the same bedroom and have separate offices (Victor has a lot of space)

- You add a lot more personal touches to the house (he complains but likes the reminder that you’re here and he’s not alone)

- You can always tell when Victor’s really stressed because he’ll start doing his work lying on the floor instead of at his desk (he says it’s because he needs more space but it’s actually cause his legs are cramping)

- Sometimes you both sit next to each other on the couch and do work together (Victor will sometimes comment on your work but will stop if you threaten to leave)

- Victor’s favorite thing to do after dinner is reading while listening to you play the piano or cello (he doesn’t really say it out loud but he thinks you’re one of the best players out there)

- Sometimes when he’s doing a work call at home you’ll sit next to him and wrap your arms around him to keep him calm

- He uses his height to give you surprise forehead kisses (but you learn how to do surprise cheek kisses so it works out)

- He had his kitchen counters raised (bc mans is tall) so they’re at a kind of weird height for you

- “How am I supposed to cook?” “You don’t.” “:((((“

- You learn that Victor cannot say no to your sad face and use that to your advantage

- Sometimes you’ll open your closet and surprise new clothes will be there (he never accepts that he bought them as a surprise for you but he’ll be very happy if you decide to wear them)

- You guys have matching outfits for formal events

- Whenever one of you gets sick the other spends a lot of time taking care the sick one (and then getting sick)

- Victor when he’s sick is way more willing to just listen to you (he’s a lot more outwardly clingy too)

- Victor wears his glasses at home (he thinks they look bad but you find them very attractive)

- Both of you have stress breakdowns from work (yours are usually you crying at your desk, his are usually him putting his head into his hands at his desk)

- When you have a stress breakdown Victor just holds you and pats your head, he’ll try to say something encouraging but it’ll come out really awkward and make you laugh

- When he has a stress breakdown you bring him so tea and rub his back until he pulls you into the chair and vents

- At some point you develop the ability to mimic his writing style and sometimes send emails for him

- You eventually become perfectly capable of running LFG (not that you want to)

- You steal his clothes a lot (he complains but secretly thinks you look really cute)

- Sometimes he’ll just pick you up and carry you to another part of the house (the first time you almost kicked him in the face)

- Victor wakes up and does his morning routine, and will generally finish making breakfast by the time you get up

- You say “I love you” for the first time when you’re half awake on a morning like this and he’s so surprised that he almost burns the eggs

- After a long day Victor will just curl up around you, with you in between his legs and his head on your shoulder

- Every time he goes to a different country he asks you what you want and you always ask for a magnet so now your fridge is covered in magnets from different places

- He likes playing with your hair and uses his height to his advantage

- You give him really good head massages for his migraines

- Whenever he’s not home he leaves you food for every meal in the fridge (and extra pudding because you look so sad every time he leaves)

- The sad face you make every time you leave always makes him debate canceling the meeting

- The happy face you make every time he comes back makes him love you more

- Whenever you have to go on overnight trips you have to dissuade him from coming (he’s overprotective)

- Sometimes he’ll say something at the wrong time and you’ll just start crying and walk away

- The first few times he left you alone because he thought you wouldn’t want to see him but he learns that the better move is to apologize immediately

- He’ll make surprise visits to work if he gets the sense that you’re overworking and then take you out to surprise lunch

[victorxproducer]

Glimpse

Pairing: Victor/MC

Warnings: none; just fluff

Word Count: 1,998 words

Summary: Victor requested for you to meet him at LFG to discuss some issues about your latest report. Unaware that you are busy, Victor was surprised to find someone to come along with you.

A/N: After two succeeding angst, I guess I better write one that is a little of fluff. An AU one. I wonder if you have some prompt to share with me so don’t forget to drop your requests. Unfortunately, explicit NSFW is not my forte. We can say that I live for the angst instead? But, I am planning to write some other AU that will involve aviation and flying that I love. As always, forgive me for the grammatical errors.

Victor knows that today is your day-off. He knows that your day-offs are those you called ‘me time’ that Victor never understands at first, but slowly get used to. After all, the time that the two of you started living together, spending the weekends, always end up the two of you being less productive than intended. Though both of you don’t mind spending time together, me time is important to your routine even before meeting Victor. Hence, the day off.

Despite him not wishing you to halt your ‘me time’ while he was busy attending meetings, reading reports and answering to e-mails, your latest report doesn’t sit well, now that he is re-reading. When you’ve reported the said document last time, he wasn’t able to concentrate because of some clothes issues. That’s why, a thorough read today made him find a flaw.

And for a man such as Victor, no time to waste. Especially now that his mind is completely set to it.

He actually struggled if he’ll contact you now or just deal with it at home. But after the two of you agreed that work that will involve the two of you must not be done at home. Though bringing work at home is accepted; what is only forbidden is your shared involvement. So that leads him to contact you.

He sent you a message, requesting your presence at LFG in two hours. Again, Victor doesn’t know what you are doing today, and he believes that two hours is enough.

Instead of an affirmation of you coming, you replied that you are preoccupied.

If you only saw how Victor’s face turned to that deep scowl, you are sure that you’ve caught the devil at a wrong time. But he is insistent, and promised a week-worth of your favorite caramel pudding.

You didn’t waste time. Letting Victor win. And giving you the satisfaction of victory as well the moment that you arrived while tagging someone with you.

Giggling upon seeing his expression, him frowning in curiosity when you walk in and then pouting the next, you say, “I told you that I was preoccupied.”

Victor didn’t expect that you’ll be preoccupied with having to take care of a baby.

Of all things.

The only reason that you’re taking care of a baby, as you’ve explained to him to help him get over with his shock, is that a close friend of yours had called for some emergency. And since you’re also one of the godparents of the baby and you’re on a day off, you agreed to take care of him—a bubbly seven-months-old baby boy with growing jet black hair and brown round eyes. Now, the two of you are here after being called by Victor.

Victor looks at you as you explain. And he can’t help but gape at the sight of you holding the baby on your arms and gently swaying to ensure that the baby will not wake up from its sleep, you having giddy smile, too. For a moment, he thinks you are perfect.

“Dummy,” he mutters, “you could’ve just said that you’re preoccupied with taking care of…” He ushers a hand at her. Dropping his hand, he sighs heavily, looks away and covers his mouth as his voice softens, “You go home and we can deal the problem with your latest report tomorrow. I’ll ask Goldman to call the driver to bring you home and buy some things for me.”

“Wait,” you stop him before he could even call Goldman. You remember the poor assistant’s face upon seeing you earlier today. He completely assumes that the baby with you now is your son. “I’ll do it. And do you know that it is stressful for the baby? We’ve just arrived and you’re asking us to leave? Not to mention that the place she is right now is closer here than your house. I can tell her to pick up Art here.”

“But the baby is sleeping most of the time. Surely he’d been sleeping like a log,” he says.

“Well, it is also stressing me.” You pout. “And if only I can set up a blanket on the sofa with his pillow in order to lay him down … then we can deal with my report.”

Without any other word, Victor stands from his seat and draws closer to the backpack. “The blanket and pillow is in here, right?” Before you can even answer, he is already searching through the bag for those items. And once he’d found them, he carefully unfolded the blanket to the nearby couch, placing the pillows next. “Is that fine?”

You meekly nod, a little surprise seeing that he did all of it without even you asking him. “Thank you,” you answer and lay the sleeping baby on to the blanket. “My friend told me that he usually sleeps like a log, just as you’ve mentioned. And he isn’t restless when it comes to sleeping, so him falling is not a threat.”

He scoffs. “Compared to a certain dummy I know. The kid seems to have some restrains than you do.”

You look at him, not amused. “Yeah, whatever. So, what are you going to ask me to buy?”

As you head on to buy what Victor asked of you, he returns to his work. To be honest, he can’t actually focus on his work, knowing that there is a baby to watch out for. Too afraid that even he was assured that Art isn’t a restless sleeper, well, there’s always a first time for everything.

Such thoughts disperse when he heard the cry. The baby crying. With you less than ten minutes away for the errand. And poor Victor, unaware of how to deal with a crying baby.

At least he understands one thing: that when babies cry, they are usually restless. He immediately draws closer to the baby. To be honest, he hesitates, but upon seeing the baby’s actual tears and suddenly making eye contact before crying much more, he decides to take Art from the couch and carries him, imitating how he’d seen you do it earlier. He is clumsy, but he’d never held something so precious as this little boy, and slowly get the idea of it as he also slowly sways as if to calm the crying babe.

He sighs heavily when all his swaying and hushing with his gentlest voice possible didn’t contribute much. He is sure that the crying could be heard even outside his office, even passed Goldman’s and throughout the entire floor. And now, everyone surely has the assumption that the baby is his and yours.

Victor is about to call for Goldman but then remembers your warning to be cautious of his assistant regarding the baby. He somehow gets the idea what could be the reason. So, he dialed your number, hoping that you could have the answer for this crying mess.

“Hello? Victor?” you immediately answer. “Wait. Is that Art crying? What have you done?”

There’s a threatening note at your last question. And because he is so close to panicking now on what to do, he asks, “How can I make him stop crying? And Dummy, it isn’t my fault that he is crying. He just woke up and then cry like this.”

“Well, try feeding him! I remember that I already have mixed a bottle for him,” you say. “Victor, calm down. The more you panic, the more the baby cries.”

“I am calm.” He gulps in hard. “So, the bottle is on the backpack, too?” He is already searching through the bag. “Dummy, you only have a bottled water.”

“You blend him some. There’s this formula dispenser. Mix it. Sprinkle few drops on the inside of your wrist to test if it is warm. Not hot nor cold. Warm.”

“I know what is warm.” He lays back the baby, sitting close to keep a close watch, and takes the items to prepare the formula. After doing as you’ve said, drawing the bottle to Art, he notices that the child pushes the bottle away. He grits his teeth. “He won’t.”

“What do you mean ‘he won’t?”

“He just won’t!” He places the bottle onto the table and carries the baby again.

“Then check his diaper. Is it full or does he soil it?”

He does as what you’ve said and concluded that the diaper is not the issue. “No. Not the diaper. And what’s taking you so long? Hurry. This baby’s crying is starting to be this floor’s radio.”

“I just left the nearest store, and the magazine that you’re asking for is not available there so I’m heading to the mall. Have you tried giving Art his toys?”

He shuffles through the backpack again and hands it to the baby who’ve somehow calmed down a little but ends up abandoning it, crying much louder this time. “MC, just… please, return to LFG. Right now. Just a few minutes dealing with how to resolve his crying is tiring.”

You smile a little. “I’ll be right there before you know it.” And you end the call, much to Victor’s dismay.

He tries contacting you again but you didn’t answer. Since calling you will not stop Art from crying, Victor decides that he’ll just have to deal with it. He thinks that the baby will stop crying the moment that he grows tired of it. Still holding Art on his arm, he loosens his tie, sighing as he says softly, “You know, you’re a strange little guy to cry after all I’ve done to try calming you.”

Suddenly, Art stops crying.

Victor blinks, surprised why Art, out of the blue, suddenly calmed. When he feels small hands trying to grasp the lapel of his suit and his tie… it seems that Art had found a toy. He inquires, “You’re interested in my tie?”

Art made a small sound as his clumsy hands try to tug his tie.

He smiles fondly. “You’re really a strange one, little guy.”

You return to LFG about an hour and a half later with the magazine. And you are surprised to return back seeing Victor sleeping in the middle of working hours. On his arms, snuggled protectively to his chest is Art, teething on Victor’s loose tie.

On cue, Art turns to you and you press a finger against your lips. You head on to Victor’s wardrobe, take another of his favorite neckties and place it on his table, next to the magazine and the coffee you’ve bought for him. You draw closer to them, your mind suddenly having imaginations of how perfect of a father Victor will be, making you blush. You gently pry Art from Victor’s arms, and the action causes the CEO to stir awake, waking up to see you already carrying the baby still enjoying his tie as a toy.

He rubs his eyes. “What took you so long?”

“The magazine is rather hard to find,” you explain with a smile. “Well, you manage to calm Arthur.”

“Arthur?” He notices the magazine, coffee and the necktie on his table, and then take the necktie to replace his stolen one. “Ah… Of course. Arthur.”

You giggle as you look down at Art now on your arms. “You two seemed to be getting along.”

“It appears that you’re teaching the little guy how to be a dummy.” He grins.

You pout.

“Let’s deal with your proposal tomorrow. That kid had drained much of my energy. No need for another dummy to drain it twice fold.”

You and Art let Victor continue with his work as you stay in his office, already alerting your friend that you’re in LFG.

When Victor finishes his work and seeing Art off with his mother, you two heading to his car, Victor suddenly says, “You know, I didn’t think that a dummy will be a good mother.”

You smile. “Well, I also didn’t expect that a domineering CEO will be a good father.”

For more of my works, see masterlist.

[redqueen-hypothesis]

couple cliches ➳ mlqc

KIRO

⤞ making playlists for each other

you’re often lonely at home when kiro heads off on world tours that can last from weeks to months, and due to time differences, it’s sometimes difficult for you to call or facetime. kiro still misses you deeply when he’s overseas and wants to convey his emotions to you somehow, so he turns to what he knows best - music. when he has a break in between concerts, he’ll sing covers of your favourite songs in his hotel room with a portable microphone and send them to you. he also likes to make spotify playlists for you, adding all sorts of songs that remind him of you or describe just how much he misses you - and because of this, you never really feel alone.

if you do them for him as well, sneakily adding songs to his phone before he leaves on a tour, he’ll plug in his earphones on the plane and listen to them all. when he’s stressed, you send him soothing and relaxing songs, and when he’s tired, you send him upbeat tunes. best for him, though, is if you sing covers of his songs and send them to him - it doesn’t matter how well you can carry a tune - kiro just wants to hear your voice. he falls asleep to it, in fact, counting down the days till when he can hear your voice next to his ear again.

GAVIN

⤞ late night food runs

with gavin’s crazy schedule as an evol agent, he sometimes comes back hungry in the middle of the night but he’s too sweet to wake you up and ask you to cook for him. however, you’re still woken up anyway by his grumbling stomach, so you suggest getting some supper together - and now it’s become a tradition. the two of you enjoy heading out way past midnight to wander the streets hand in hand, searching for tiny nook-in-the-streets kind of eateries that are still open to try their dishes. most of the times you end up eating spicy foods (because you know gavin loves it) such as sichuan hot pot and mala noodles, and gavin always tries to convince you to take it easy on the spice for your own sake.

still, the two of you usually end up cramped in a tiny corner with a bowl of hot pot between the two of you, blowing on freshly cooked ingredients before feeding them to each other. your mouth is burning from the chili, you’re sweating and you’re highkey on the verge of crying/dying while gavin looks cool as a cucumber. you’re kind of embarrassed, subtly trying to hide your face, but gavin only offers you a drink of cold water and dabs the sweat from your brow with a tissue. you soon get used to looking not your best around him, but gavin still smiles at you with the same tender expression regardless, so you grow not to mind after a while. his cheeks still heat a little when you feed him with your chopsticks, but you know he likes it.

VICTOR

⤞ leaving sweet gifts and notes for you

sometimes it’s difficult for victor to give you straightforward encouragement (because he’s emotionally constipated in some ways), so he usually finds other ways to show his affections to you, like leaving a chilled pudding in the fridge for you to eat for breakfast when you wake up in the morning, or a sticky note on your reviewed report that says 99/100 in red ink and has you laughing for a good five minutes in your office cubicle. he sometimes also has snacks delivered to your office during a long day because he knows that you’re a foodie and need treats to stay alive. on other days, when he’s feeling romantic, you get an entire bouquet of roses on your desk that has your employees cooing and wishing they had a partner like him.

when he’s on business trips, you can sometimes wander about the penthouse doing housework only to find the odd sticky note stashed here and there, behind the couch, on his desk, next to your pillow. each contains a short but sweet(?) message, reminding you to drink enough water, to do your work on time, to take care of yourself and not to eat all the pudding he’s left for you in one go. the messages seem simple, but you know for victor - the ever busy time lord of the lfg himself - to personally ink down each letter and hide them around the house for you means that he’s thinking about you. with each message you find the void in your heart eases more and more, and you feel like his warmth is right next to you

LUCIEN

⤞  watching movies and tv series together

a korean drama that you want to watch? a century old film noir that has piqued your interest? lucien wants to watch it together with you. it doesn’t matter how obscure or popular it is, whether it’s recent or is practically an antique now, as long as you want to watch it, lucien’s in. the two of you have a designated time to watch your shows, usually on friday nights when the bulk of the week is over and the weekends are just beginning. he likes it when you curl into his side on the couch, although he secretly adores it when you ask him if he wants to put his head on your lap. sometimes the two of you just fall asleep that way on the sofa - usually you before him, and he’s simply loathe to leave your side when you look so sweet and vulnerable with your eyes shut.

god forbid one of you watches an episode without the other, though. both of you must watch the newest episodes together and are banned from reading spoilers, even if you’re dying with anticipation. lucien seems infinitely more patient than you in this aspect, and you simply can’t hide anything from him - even if you’ve only watched ten seconds of the trailer, he just somehow knows and you haven’t figured out how he’s doing it. he punished you for it, of course, by basically monopolizing your weekend and forcing you to cuddle with him in bed for a lazy afternoon. you found that you quite enjoy this method of punishment.

SHAW

⤞ matching outfits

shaw’s big into fashion (especially his own unique style) and is relatively up to date with trends. he enjoys going out shopping at discount stores and second hand vintage shops to look for good deals, and now that you’re his girlfriend, he drags you along with him to his scavenger trips. instead of dressing himself up now, he likes dressing you up as well in outfits that you would typically never wear, slinging a studded belt around your waist and laughing at the expression on your face.

you’re open to trying on the clothes in the dressing rooms (even if you’ll never buy them or be seen dead in them), and coming out to model them for his amusement, be it leather tops or distressed jeans that are more holes than denim. shaw snaps pictures of you and pretends he’s the director at a fashion show, telling you to strut with more swag or to swing your hips more. this usually leaves both of you laughing until there are tears in your eyes. the first matching tees he bought for the two of you was more for a joke, with the slogan “if found please return” for him and “keep him” for yours. he, unfortunately, realised that he likes seeing you wear it to sleep a little too much, and now the two of you have matching skate caps, belts and etc. the og shirt is still his favourite, though.

[mlqcconfessions]

Can I request how MLQC boys (except Lucien) would react to MC's darkness fear? Like she can't sleep with lights off or gets really scared even when her s/o is right beside her? Thank you!

MLQC Headcanon - The light to overcome

Victor

He first found out this fear the day you were working overtime at LFG

You had to finalize some documents and hand them over to Victor to be signed

He insisted you bring your work to his office (something about being easier to supervise you)

Everything was going fine and dandy, when the lights went off inside the room

Victor got up from his desk to check the electricity outside

Goldman was working on the power panel with someone from maintenance (turns out, the entire building’s power was down)

Victor sighs in annoyance and returns to his office

He takes out some electric lanterns so both of you can at least see

He’s positive there were 3, since he’s the one that bought them (at your request to go camping together one day)

He sets down one on his desk, and carries the other one to where you are

?????

Just where did she.....

“MC” (he’s walking around the room, holding the lantern as he calls out your name)

“Y...yes....?”

He hears your voice coming from the closet (he sighs an even bigger sigh)

He places the lantern on the floor and opens both sides of the closet, revealing you inside

You’re hugging a lantern close, and shyly look up to Victor’s face (he looks scary with the light source being on the bottom)

“So this is where the third one went”

“I couldn’t help it...! I have a trauma regarding dark places”

He carries you out and sets you down on his chair

“Dummy, did you forget who you’re with?”

Kiro

You don’t like dark places

Neither does he

But his case is worse

So you somehow ended up being the brave one in this relationship

But he doesn’t let that show when you’re besides him

He acts as the defender of justice, saying that he’ll protect you no matter what

He has like 10 emergency flashlights in his house that Savin bought

“We can never have enough, MC!”

His energy is explosive during blackouts

It’s like he’s trying to expel the darkness away (by scaring it with random noises)

But this is all in his efforts to get you distracted from your fears

He makes everything an adventure 

He even calls you his partner (you’re the Watson to his Sherlock)

You have to help him build a fort out of bed sheets and blankets

He makes sure to bring all 10 flashlights inside the fort

He doesn’t want you to leave his side the entire time

“No! The Darkness is going to take you from me!”

“Kiro, I’m just going to the kitchen. I’ll take a flashlight with me”

“Then I’ll go with you!”

You end up having to bring him along (he wraps his arms around you from behind)

You find a way to make the flashlight rays stronger (by holding it against a full bottle of water)

He doesn’t wanna lose (? Kiro, this isn’t a competition), so he shines the light against his golden hair

It’s MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE WATER BOTTLE

Gavin

He doesn’t understand how someone could be afraid of the dark (just like how he doesn’t understand your fear of heights)

You explain that it’s similar to his fear of fire

When you use that analogy, he understands right away

He was able to overcome his fear because of you

This time, he wants to do the same

But he doesn’t like the fact that it’s making you restless at night

He does his best to cater to your needs

First he tries to be next to you while you’re sleeping

Although it doesn’t get rid of your fears completely, you’re able to somewhat get a good night’s sleep

But Birdcop is so nervous the entire night (he ended up being late to work the next day)

He also tries to buy everything he can think of (according to Minor’s list)

“......Gavin....”

“....yes?”

“Repeat after me”

“.........”

“I will no longer....”

“.....I will no longer....”

“Listen to Minor...”

“....listen to Minor...”

“And buy 24 stuffed animals to help me with my fear of the dark”

“.......so it didn’t work....?”

You can’t believe what you just heard

“No, of course it didn’t work!”

He’s a little pouty now (what the heck, that’s so cute)

You rest your head against his back

“I don’t need stuffed animals when I have a Gavin!”

[voltagesmutter]

Yellow Car🚖

“I’m not getting in that,”.

“Will you just shut up and get in already!” Purposefully revving the clutch a little louder to express your anger.

“Fine.” An almost look of disgust on his face.

You couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle seeing the towering CEO hunched up in the passenger chair of your yellow car, his knees knocking against the glove compartment. 

“You find this amusing?” The scowl he shoots you, strapping himself in as you pull out of the parking spot before he has time to attempt to get out of the car.

“No, no it’s just, you're so tall and my car is so tiny compared to you,” The slightly glee in your voice as you flick on your lights, looking carefully around before pulling out of the car park and onto the road.

“Are you calling me fat?”.

“I mean if the shoe fits,” You can’t help but tease, “It’s just different, that’s all,”. The streets are empty at this time of night, the glow of the streetlights guiding you through the empty roads.

“Idiot.. Just focus on driving,” He sighs. The silence began to fill the car.

You’d been working late at LFG with Victor, going over some new finalisation of documents which left you both in the building alone well into the early hours of the night.

“Productive as always Miss.Swan,” Victor's hand gently pressing against your lower back, flicking off the light in his office and closing the door behind him. “I’ll drop you off at the car park,”.

“Victor it’s fine, I can walk to the next street by myself,” The sound of heels and oxfords filling the empty corridors as you head towards the elevator, a click of his tongue as if to say ‘don’t be such an idiot’.

When the elevator doors open into the underground car park, a scowl falls upon Victors face, one you’ve never seen before.

“They’ve locked the damn gate,” Shaking his head as his eyes fall upon the bolted gate at the end of the empty rows of car parking spaces.

“Do you not have a key?” You ask, turning to face him.

“Why would I need a key? I pay people to do this, god damn it Goldman,” He huffs, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out his phone. Instantly you reach out and grab his wrist, he pulls a confused look at you.

“Don’t ring Goldman to come and open it, it’s almost 10pm the poor man is probably asleep,” The roll of his eyes tells you he doesn’t care. “And if you wake him to come unlock it he’ll definitely be spitting in your coffee tomorrow,”. Victor shoots you a stare as if saying does he really does that. “Come on, I’ll drop you home”. Your were met with protest but you refused to let him pay for a taxi or wake up Goldman, telling him you was already here with your car so it made perfect sense.

Suddenly a person on a bike swerves out in front of you, no reflective lights or clothes, making you grip the steering wheel tight and jolt out of his way.

“Idiot use the path!” You and Victor both simultaneously yell out as you pass him, Victor turning to face you as you both share a light burst of laughter.

“Just the worst,” You sigh, shaking your head slightly, glad the awkwardness between you was fading. Leaning forward with an outstretched hand Victor eyes up the small trinkets you had plastered all over the dashboard, questioning without words what they were.You spent the next five minutes babbling over the different small stuffed animals and figures, explaining they was gifts people had brought you and that you’d blue-tacked them all down so they wouldn’t fall over when you drove.

“It’s childish I know… but my dad brought me this one as a child so I keep it with me, it makes me feel like he’s here with me you know?” Taking one hand off the wheel to point to the small bumble bee teddy sitting proud and centre before changing gear and leaving your hand to rest there. As you turned the corner, Victor rolled ever so slightly in the chair at the shift, placing his hand atop of yours interlacing his fingers above. You glanced over and shared a sweet smile with him, no need for words as he understood.

The rest of the ride was short and sweet, a light conversation happening, your heart melting to see Victor finally relaxing. The light glow of the city fading into the background as you pulled up out his house.

“Right,” You coming to a stop and putting on the handbrake, “This is you, thank you for using Bella’s taxi services,”. The faintest of smiles graces over his lips as he undoes his belt and opens the car door.

“Thank you…” He whispers, giving you a nod before stepping out and shutting the door.

“Oh, Mr.Li,” You yelled out, opening the passengers window to see Victor turn around, “I’ll pick you up in the morning to take you, I’ll be here at 8:30, don’t be late!”. You shot him a light smirk before speeding off, almost replicating a scene that he so often played out with you when he dropped you home.

You didn’t see the smile of his face and the breathless, “That idiot” that followed as Victor felt a warming sensation spread across his chest.

When you finally got into work the next day, a little later than normal due to going out of the way to drop off Victor, a small parcel sat on your desk.

“It was here when I came in,” Anna shrugged, turning back to her screen. You peeled back the fine tissue paper to open the box, inside lying a small plushie shiba just like the one you had seen weeks ago at a festival with Victor. A note attached reading, “So I’m always with you”.

An idiotic smile curled at your lips, placing it on your desk beside your car keys and snapping a photo before posting it on moments with the caption “Your always with me”.

Anyone wondering this is the car

[ltmsstuff]

Quarantine Love

Fandom: MLQC / Victor Word count: 882 words Summary: Some fluff, to forget about the stuff we have to deal with now. ---------------------------------------------------

The winds of spring brought some fresh air to the patio. She was sitting outside on a cozy sofa, admiring the landscape in front of her. The cherry blossoms bloomed early, making the garden seem like a fairy tale. Although the epidemic didn't cease, she could at least find some peace, making the most out of a terrible situation.

The lockdown was unbearable for her, working alone at home was never her favorite. The team had online meetings, of course, however, it wasn't the same. She still had to give reports, but as LFG was closed, Victor asked her to deliver them to his home. At first, he just wanted the reports, but as time passed, he found himself inviting the girl more and more often. As Souvenir was closed, he made dinner for her every day at home.

His hands felt like the air on her shoulder, maybe that's why she didn't realize he was behind her.

"It's a beautiful day," he said appreciatively. "Almost ready with the project's reports, I just had to come down for a minute." Her answer was quiet but not afraid. She got more and more comfortable with him day by day. He didn't answer for a while, he just smiled slightly as the sunlight hit the patio. "You work yourself to death," he said after a while "you deserve some rest. Spring came early this year." He put down a tray onto the coffee table, the hot tea was still steaming in the cups.    "Too bad the virus came with it too," She said looking him in the eye. "If I have to stay at home for another week I will go mad." "Is it really that bad here?" He asked, faking sadness. Although for a moment he really doubted whether she likes do be here or not. But his doubt immediately disappeared as she started to apologize. "No, no, no, it's not that. Just...you know...That company is my life. It's hard not to focus on it. But if I could choose where to spend my quarantine days, I wouldn't change anything." Her smile was brighter than the sun, and Victor could only whisper the word "dummy". He sat down next to her, she immediately put her head on his shoulders. Victor felt a wave of relaxation. A feeling he hasn't felt in a long time. "Sometimes life just seems normal" he broke the silence "Just you and me, lazing around in the garden, not caring about anything." "Well, that would never happen," she said "We both care about work too much to laze around" "From your statement, I can get that you are still thinking about Miracle Finder," he said a bit fretfully. She just slid by the fact that Victor imagined their life together. "Yes, I am. Though, it's not like you to encourage your employees to not work as hard as they can." "As far as I am concerned," he casually put his arms around her shoulders "This situation only showed people to appreciate the ones around us." "I know, but I don't have any more ideas and they will lose interest and then my company will fail..." gabbled the girl. She seemed so overwhelmed by the situation, Victor started to seriously worry about her. He made her look him in the eyes. Their faces were extremely close and the girl immediately stopped babbling. "Stop. It." his voice was commanding, it reminded her of the beginning of their relationship. "You have to snap out of it. the program can wait a day. You will relax and tomorrow, you will have a fresh mindset with the greatest staff to figure out what's next." He finished with a big sigh as if he had run out of air. Her eyes took him up and down, thinking about how to respond. Suddenly, her face lit up and she forgot how close he was. "Victor you are a genius" she exclaimed and kissed him on his cheeks. "What?" That was the only word he could ask but the girl wasn't in front of him anymore. She ran happily into the house, giggling and laughing, leaving him without words. "This woman is going to be the death of me," he said brushing through his hair, laying back on his sofa. She appeared soon, with her laptop in her hands, smiling broadly. "What" he repeated, as the girl sat down next to him again.    "We are going to interview the company's employees" she started "They are the most amazing people I know, they will be the best subjects! They are all interesting, Anna can do a house tour, she is so organized and Minor probably has so many surprise abilities like juggling or something... And then there are you, the most helpful and demanding person, who can cook in his spare ti..." she was cut off by Victor's lips. The CEO was looking at her the whole time she was jabbering and how much she enjoyed being productive. When she said his name, the whole world no longer seemed to exist at all. She was definitely startled but in a good way. They broke apart but soon found each other again. She decided that her idea can wait until tomorrow, she had something more urgent to deal with.

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Season 2 Summary (Volume 1: Ch 1)

🍒 Warning: Detailed spoilers from S2. Please do not continue if you don’t wish to know how S1 ends 🍒

Along with the update on 3 June 2021, the CN server released a “Plot Review” which contains bullet-point summaries of S2 :>

Because of your decision, the trajectory of the world “returned” to seventeen years ago, enabling the world to successfully escape from its fate of being destroyed by the cluster of comets

However, the way the world progresses this time deviates slightly from your memory

This doesn’t mean that you’re re-living it, but making progress

The world has always been moving forward, walking towards the future along this special and completely new trajectory

On this day, Kiro’s identity as an Evolver is revealed to the public, and he is also allegedly involved in a premeditated assault case

As Kiro’s person-in-charge, you’re in a hard-pressed PR situation. At this point, Black Swan convenes a meeting. In the capacity of your other identity - Black Swan’s Nox - you arrive at the meeting room. Without a care for the condemnation of the audience, you request to have a private talk with BOSS

The person behind the table turns around, and he’s Victor

You draw closer to Victor, telling him that the initial stage of PR work is already being carried out, and that you will handle the issue

“In that case, tell me about your specific plans.”

Facing the CEO of LFG and the BOSS of Black Swan, you tell him that you plan to split the action into two. One: prevent the STF from being involved in the investigation. Two: contact the parties involved, and get the situation under control

Victor calmly expresses that there’s something else he needs you to follow-up on, which is a vitality drug which can stimulate Evol. He asks you to do a proper investigation on whether the drugs and “that thing” are related, and wants you to settle today’s incident within three days

After you leave, Victor’s gaze lands on the coffee from Souvenir that you brought for him

“...you always do this.”

With the permit pass that you stole from Lucien the last time, you successfully enter STF’s administration building

Lucien is a professor from the Bioscience Research Centre and a consultant for the STF’s classified R&D, and he’s responsible for Evol related work. Because you wish to resolve this incident and also search for BS related documents, you slip into his office

Just as you're flipping through documents, you hear the sound of door being unlocked, and quickly hide underneath the desk. Just as you’re about to be exposed to two STF agents, Lucien returns to his office and covers you

“Miss Nox from Black Swan, in what capacity are you visiting my office?”

Even though Lucien’s tone is relatively ambiguous, he rejects your suggestion of working together. He reassures you that there’s no need to hurry, and that if you were to wait in ease, there may be pleasant surprises

Despite not obtaining information, you decide to leave temporarily

Lucien tidies up the desk you had rummaged, and uses a key to open a drawer that you had overlooked. When he sees a thick stack of documents with the symbol “S” on it, he sighs softly

“...you’re very intelligent, but you’re still lacking a little.”

After leaving his office, you inadvertently overhear conversation from a few STF members from the Special Operations Team. Just as you want to find out who the new captain of the Special Operations Team is, you’re suddenly turned over, both hands clasped as you’re pressed against the glass

“What are you doing here?”

A familiar voice makes you turn your head in disbelief. It’s really Gavin, whom you haven’t seen in six years. You didn’t expect that he’s actually the new captain of the Special Operations Team

Under Gavin’s questioning, you lie and claim that you were in STF to collect materials for a show, but Gavin doesn’t believe you that easily

You finally tell him the truth - you came here for the assault case involving an Evolver artiste in your company. Originally worried that the intervention of STF would make the situation fester, you know you have nothing to worry about after seeing that Gavin’s the person-in-charge, because you believe that every bullet he fires is for justice

Gavin watches you, and his expression is much gentler. He promises that the STF will handle everything

Gavin asks a young STF agent to send you off. Before that, you secretly stick a mini tracker on the latter’s body

After parting ways, Gavin is pulled away by Eli to participate in a ceremony to commemorate his new position. When the topic of you being on a different camp is brought up, Gavin is silent for a while, then speaks from his heart

“She has never changed.”

You head to a convenience store, and the television is showing a clip of Kiro admitting that he’s an Evolver with absolutely nothing to hide. As his boss, you feel very angry. Then, someone takes your chips away from behind

“Wow, this is my favourite flavour.”

That person is the ace artiste of your company, Kiro, who is wearing a disguise

You pull Kiro to a corner, asking him what exactly happened that evening with the person who lodged the report. Kiro says that the other party’s Evol detector frightened Apple Box. In order to reassure the dog, he used his Evol. And the so-called “victim” who made the report actually fell down himself

You tell him that even if that’s the case, he shouldn’t have admitted it during the interview. However, Kiro says that it’s because he isn’t good at lying. But he’d definitely do well during the news conference this evening

At this moment, Kiki tells you that the person who lodged the report is already at the cafe. Kiro suggests that it’d be more sincere if he were to explain personally. You hurriedly persuade Kiro not to do that, telling him not to leave his house over the next few days

In the cafe, you use your Evol to read the person’s memories, and discover that he had sustained man-made harm. The person who made the report expresses that someone instigated him to do this, and that he’d cooperate to clear things up tonight

The storm related to Kiro’s identity being revealed is finally brought to a temporary end

At the same time, Kiro knocks on a hidden door in a small alley. His golden hair suddenly turns silver

“It’s almost time.”

Finally returning home, you’re just about to sit on the sofa when you fall into a warm lump

“Hey, where are you sitting.”

When you turn around, you see Shaw, who is bleary from sleep. The only graduate student in the archeological department of Loveland University has appeared in your house for no reason, and his expression seems a little abnormal - he's actually having a fever

Shaw says that due to a power cut at his place, he came over to freeload the air-conditioning. He also refuses your suggestion to take him to the hospital, and you have no other choice but to bring him anti-fever medicine

Just as you head to the kitchen, a severe pain strikes Shaw’s brain. He doesn’t eat the medicine, but grinds the medicine into powder, dispersing it in the air

When you return from the kitchen, the living room is completely empty

At this point, you suddenly receive information that the STF has brought an investigation team to your office, sealing it up because it’s allegedly involved in the distribution of prohibited drugs

Volume 2 (Ch 2 - 5): here

More S2 content: here

More detailed translations of Gavin’s and Shaw’s parts are available!

[lia-jones]

Growing Together - Chapter Sixteen - No Surprises

Victor entered the house, only to find it completely silent, his family sleeping.

Like every morning, he peeked through Owen’s door, finding the boy quietly slumbering. A moment after, on his bed, he saw Andrea sleeping peacefully, her arm extended to his side of the bed, like she was searching for him. Smiling, he came closer to her, his fingers softly brushing stray curls from her face.

“I’m back, I’m going to take a shower.” He whispered, chuckling as her eyelids slowly fluttered open, and she offered him a sleepy smile.

Victor sighed in contentment as the hot water poured over his skin, relaxing his recently strained muscles. His day had started on a perfect note. The morning was sunny and the snow had melted, giving the park a glistening appearance, the sunlight reflecting on the droplets of water that still hung from the trees. It was unusually pleasant for a January morning, the perfect setting for a stimulating run.

As he left the bathroom to move into the closet, he noticed the bed was empty. In the background, he could hear his wife and son laughing, probably playing as she got him ready for the day. Victor leaned against the wall, holding the tie he would wear, basking in those sounds. His house, so quiet before, was now full of laughter, joy and love.

Like waking up from a spell, Victor quickly moved to the mirror to do his tie. He hurried to the kitchen, mentally listing what he would need for breakfast: eggs, flour, sugar, butter. He had to put the waffle iron on to heat before preparing the batter. For toppings, he had bought bananas and strawberries, and he had some of those candied pecans Andrea loved...

“Surprise!” Andrea and Owen jumped from behind the counter. “Happy Birthday!”

Andrea was holding a big plate of pancakes covered in chocolate ganache and strawberries, with several colorful candles lit on top of it.

“I-I was going to make waffles.” He had just seen them in bed. How did they get dressed and prepare breakfast in the short time he had showered?

“Absolutely not, no cooking for the birthday boy.” She smiled, taking his hand to sit him at the table. “Come on, handsome, blow out your candles, make a wish, and let’s have breakfast.”

Victor was too stunned to retort, so he did as he was told. And as his family circled him to sing “Happy Birthday”, four arms hugging him lovingly, he simply gave in to the feeling. He blew out the candles, not caring to make a wish. Victor needed nothing else. He already felt like he had it all.

“So, are we clear about tonight?” Victor took his phone out, rechecking his schedule while they were taking the LFG elevator.

“You were perfectly clear about it.” Andrea ran her hands over his chest, adjusting his tie. “No surprises, no parties, no guests. A quiet meal at home, a drink, and a movie.”

“You mean no more surprises. I already had one.” He raised his eyebrows at her, circling his arms around her waist.

“No more.” She promised, as she left his embrace, preparing to leave. “This is me.”

Victor pressed the Stop button on the panel, interrupting the elevator ride.

“What’s the matter?” She looked at him, confused.

“What? No birthday kiss?” He pulled the love of his life into his arms again, his lips claiming hers. “And thank you for the surprise.”

“Happy birthday, handsome.” She smiled. “Have a good day.”

Victor released the Stop switch, and the doors opened.

“No surprises.” He warned from inside the elevator.

“No surprises.” She assured him from the hall.

Victor was no fool. It was obvious that she had something else up her sleeve. She would probably invite both their families again, fill the house with balloons and his favorite foods, and he would be surprised with a loud Happy Birthday. Besides, if Andrea had nothing planned, she would have insisted for them to at least have dinner out. She was definitely hiding something, Victor just had to find out what. Last year she almost gave him a heart attack. This year he wouldn’t let himself be outsmarted again.

The elevator doors opened with a ding and, as expected, Goldman was waiting for him.

“Schedule.” Same command, every day. It practically doubled as Good morning.

“Good morning.” Goldman followed him as he strode to his office. “I rescheduled the meeting with the Australians to four PM, so now all you have is the meeting with the legal team, regarding the expansion overseas.”

“At what time?” Victor took off his suit jacket and sat down, turning on his computer. “Where’s my coffee?”

“Right now. The meeting is right now.” Goldman turned to the door again, expecting Victor to follow. “They are already waiting for you.”

Victor frowned at his assistant, confused. If he remembered correctly, the meeting with the legal team was much later. Why did Goldman reschedule it? However, Victor was in such a good mood he couldn’t possibly be upset about it.

“For future reference, do not schedule a meeting on such short notice without my agreement.” Victor softly reprimanded, walking out of his office.

“I just assumed, since you had the time...”

“Don’t assume, call.” He paused in front of the conference room door, his hand on the handle. “I had something else planned for this morning. I can postpone it, but I’m not very fond of these surpr-”

“SURPRISE!”

Victor jumped back, stunned. Colorful balloons covered the ceiling of the room, while a cake rested on the center of the glass table, with the phrase Happy Bday, CEO. The room was packed with people, and he quickly recognized all the department managers, Diane, some staff from LCG, and of course, his dear wife, who walked to his side with a smile.

“I just left you, how are you here?” He felt confused.

“I took the service elevator.” Her grin widened, happy to have tricked him.

There was a reason Victor had never shared with anyone in the company when his birthday was, even though that information was readily available. It was precisely to discourage the stampede of employees who wanted to greet him. In a matter of seconds, Victor saw himself surrounded by smiles and hands extended to him. Although what he wanted the most was to tell those people to get back to work, he did his best to smile and shake every hand that came into his line of sight.

“I remember telling you no more surprises.” He mumbled to his wife.

“The surprise is not mine.” She raised her hands defensively. “Goldman and Diane prepared it all.”

Victor smirked to himself, surprised at how much of a fool he had been. Somehow he had forgotten that his life was different now, he was no longer lonely: he had friends, a caring wife, an adorable son. He gladly heard them sing “Happy Birthday” all over again, even blew out the candles with a smile. As everyone was finishing their slice of cake and coffee, Diane squinted at him curiously.

“Look at that.” She smiled. “We made our CEO happy. He’s smiling.”

Victor felt his face heat.

“If you are trying to get a day off, you are barking up the wrong tree. I’m not your boss anymore.” He retorted, his face falling into his usual neutral one. “Now, let’s get back to work, there’s plenty to do today.”

He turned to the door to leave, but something made him pause.

“Goldman, Diane.” He looked at the assistant and his wife with tender eyes. “Thank you.”

“Be careful, Mr. Lee.” Diane teased. “Your soft side is showing.”

Victor left the conference room with a scoff, so his genuine feelings wouldn’t show. People usually ignored him during his birthday, and he was already used to that. However, as much as he didn’t like to admit it, all the attention was quite pleasant. When he noticed, he was smiling at his computer like an idiot.

Victor’s Aha! moment arrived when Andrea texted him saying she needed to run some errands, so she would pick Owen up herself and head home after. Like he couldn’t see right through it. It was clear she was up to something.

He couldn’t help but feel a little anxious as he took the apartment keys from his pocket, eager to get inside and see what she had prepared for him. Going in, he found all the lights off, except for the one in the bedroom hall. She knew he would go to the kitchen to get food for the lobster, so she would probably be there. He carefully walked into the kitchen, trying not to make much noise. Maybe he could surprise her instead. He turned on the lights suddenly, only to find the kitchen empty. He frowned, confused. Maybe they were in the living room.

He walked to the next room, this time with confidence. They had to be there. There was no other place Andrea could hide them. Again, as he turned on the light, he found the room empty. Victor ran his fingers through his hair, even more confused. Could it be that she truly only had to run some errands? Could it be that his surprise was that there were no surprises, and he would have his quiet evening after all?

Nah.

Victor’s heart started racing again, considering the implications. The house was quiet, the only light on was the one in the bedroom hall. She was hiding the guests there? Was she hiding them in their bedroom? He walked slowly through the corridor, not knowing what to expect. Arriving at his bedroom door, he opened the door slowly, peeking inside through the small crack...

“What are you doing?”

Victor jumped, his heart thumping wildly with the fright. Behind him was his son, looking at him, confused.

“Dad?”

“Owen!” Victor closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “Where’s your mother?” He tried to look collected, although he knew he was failing terribly.

“She’s inside, taking a shower.” Owen’s eyes were still focused on his father, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. “Are you scared to go inside?”

Victor cleared his throat, feeling himself blush with embarrassment.

“Of course not.” Victor cleared his throat. “I just wanted to make sure your mother didn’t have a surprise for me in there.”

“She doesn’t.” Owen chirped. “She’s taking a shower, told me to tell you to get ready. Don’t worry, Mom already fed Mr Lobster.”

“You look very sharp, young man.” Victor noticed Owen was wearing pants and a shirt with a bowtie. “Are we going somewhere?”

“I think so.” Owen shrugged. “You need to ask Mom.”

“Hey, there you are!” Andrea stuck her head through the door from the inside, opening it so Victor would come in. “Go shower, we have to be at the restaurant in an hour. Formal attire, please.

His wife was breathtaking in that plum dress, the silk curving perfectly on her breasts and waist, an intricate and mesmerizing design made with crystal beads on her back. Victor ran his finger under it, eager to experience the feel of her soft skin.

“Hey, that makes me shiver.” She scolded playfully.

“I know.” Victor smirked.

Victor had to admit it was a little hard for him to relax when he didn’t have everything under control. On a normal day, he was the one that knew where they went, the one that drove the car, the one who prepared surprises. But she had gone through so much trouble, it wouldn’t be fair to her if he kept insisting on knowing what was planned, although he was dying to know. He would do his best to relax and just let it all happen. It was a nice change from his routine, that was certain.

The limo took them to a familiar neighborhood. Victor guessed immediately where Andrea was taking him, to his favorite restaurant in Loveland, Noblesse. It had been quite a while since Victor had been there, Andrea called it too pretentious, preferring more casual places.

However, that night, his wife seemed to be in her element. Victor observed as she elegantly walked to the host, shaking his hand, calling him by his first name. The host came to Victor and Owen, shaking both their hands, wishing him Happy Birthday. In less than two minutes, they were sitting at his favorite table, with Loveland’s cityscape as background, savoring one of Victor’s favorite wines while they enjoyed the view and each other’s company. Victor glanced at the woman he loved, admiring the night, and at his son, who was still fascinated with the place, one thought coming to mind. If there was a Heaven, it would be very similar to this: good wine, good food, the sound of his wife's laughter, the always inquisitive look in his son’s eyes.

“Do you need help with the cutlery?” Victor asked his son, assuming he would be uncomfortable with such a change of setting.

“It’s ok, Mom taught me.”

“You really thought of everything, didn’t you?” He raised a playful eyebrow at his wife. “You’re quite the mastermind.”

“Today is for you.” She declared. “You work so hard to make our lives as good as possible, it’s only fair that we give back at least once a year.”

“Clearly, I’ve been doing something wrong.” He looked into her shiny brown eyes. She still couldn’t see it.

“How so?” She frowned.

“I obviously failed to show you how you improve my life, if you feel the need to give back.” He held her left hand, his thumb caressing her wedding ring. Her eyes shone, and she squeezed his hand.

There was no need for words. Everything had been said, right that moment.

Victor took a deep breath of fresh air as he left the restaurant. It was a beautiful night, the sky particularly bright, a feeling of elation in his heart. He reached for his phone and took a picture of Loveland’s night in cold January, a souvenir of happy days, a reminder of how perfect life could get.

Maybe he spoke too soon.

“Victor?” The grating voice announced her presence, making Victor grimace.

“Chik.” He nodded politely.

“So funny to find you here.” She unceremoniously squeezed his bicep. “How have you been?!”

“Right. Have a good night.” Victor dismissed her, hoping she would go away fast.

“Come on, just because we have a past, doesn’t mean we can’t be civil! I have moved on from you, there are no hard feelings. Come here, Boo!” She signaled someone behind her. “This is Marcelo, my fiancé. He is a famous Italian supermodel, he was invited to be on the cover of Loveland’s Hottest this month.”

“Congratulations.” Victor shook the man’s hand, trying hard not to roll his eyes

“How about you, what have you been up to? You know, I have been abroad, I don’t know much about this little town’s gossip.” Chik gave him a condescending look. “I guess it's the same old with you, right? Always lonely. Money isn’t everything, I guess. I hope you can find someone, I really do. I mean, just because you are cold and heartless, it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be loved.”

Just in time, like a special birthday gift from the universe itself, Andrea arrived with Owen.

“Ready?” Andrea took his arm lovingly. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t notice you were with a friend.”

Victor’s smug smile couldn’t be wider.

“Chik, this is my son, Owen, and my wife, Andrea.” He wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist.

Chik stared at Andrea like she was seeing a ghost.

“Nice meeting you.” Andrea shook Chik’s hand with a smile.

“You probably have seen her face before, Andrea’s a very well-known researcher, she made the covers of several magazines because of her GESA award. What were they, my Light, Barron’s and Time?” He turned to his wife, who nodded at him confused. “But I guess you don’t read those, they don’t have many pictures.”

Andrea’s eyes widened, as she looked between Chik and Victor in shock.

“Did you know today is my father’s birthday?” Owen smiled at Chik. “Mom made him a pancake cake, and we sang “Happy Birthday”.”

“No, I didn’t...” Chik mumbled, too stunned to retort. “Well, you’re getting old!” She threw at him, leaving in a fury, bumping against the glass pane at the entrance of the restaurant. “Damn it!”

Both Victor and Andrea stifled a laugh.

“Do I even dare ask what just happened?” Andrea circled his arm with hers, amused.

“Trust me, it’s not that interesting.” He pulled her closer as they walked.

Victor was convinced the limo would take them home, but Andrea seemed to have other plans. When they stopped at Loveland Theatre, Victor couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Opera?” He turned to his wife, surprised.

“The Magic Flute, to be exact.” Victor kept his surprised expression, now more to antagonize her. “Oh please, I can be elegant if I want to.” She glared at him, making him chuckle. “Come on, it’s almost time.”

The play was exquisitely performed, but that wasn’t the best of the show. His attention was focused on his family: on Andrea’s expression of marvel as she heard the music, her fingers drumming softly on her legs, like she was playing her piano with the orchestra, and on Owen’s excitement in experiencing something new, a canvas that was so eager to be painted, blanks pages yearning to be filled with knowledge. His own heart, aching to be released from his usual solitude, hungry for warmth and affection, was now being fed with beauty and tenderness. His routine had been filled with cold and lonely days. Some routines are meant to be changed.

At one point, Andrea’s eyes left the stage, landing on his.

“We could just sit at home and have you stare at me if I’m more interesting than the play.” He pretended to scold her.

But her eyes never looked away. Instead, she showed him a smile.

“Are you happy?” She mouthed.

He simply took her hand and scooted closer, leaning to touch her forehead with his, their noses rubbing slightly. He would never be able to tell her how happy he really was.

For a big part of that day, Victor was happily entertained by Andrea’s surprises, seduced by the feeling of peacefulness and trust, completely relaxed and open to the many possibilities the universe had to offer him. He carried his sleeping son in his arms to the limo, while his wife followed him, draping his jacket over his son, and for a moment he truly believed his life had completely changed for the better, that his happiness would be eternal, that nothing could ruin it.

But surprises sometimes have a shadow aspect in them. They can be horrible unexpected events, and tear a life apart in split seconds. Victor had forgotten that, he had let his guard down. And he was about to be painfully reminded that he shouldn’t.

“Mrs. Lee.” He heard the sinister voice behind him, as he laid his son on the seat of the limo. “What a surprise.”

“Mr. Xu?”

His head snapped towards his wife, trying to quickly assess the situation. This was a public place, there was no chance Lucien would try something here. He watched as Lucien tried to hold Andrea’s hand, but she took a step back, keeping her distance. Victor felt slightly relieved. She had her guard up.

“I heard you were in Creekwood during the landslides.” Lucien politely commented, glancing at Victor for a second. “I’m pleased to see you were unharmed.”

“Thank you.” Andrea looked down, clearly uncomfortable, walking to Victor’s side. Victor, on the other hand, was like a watchdog, his eyes never leaving Lucien.

“You should take better care of your wife.” He looked Victor in the eye, a smile on his face. “Bliss can be so ephemeral. It takes only a split second to lose the ones you love.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed menacingly, his body tensing, his blood boiling with rage.

“There are no limits to what I’ll do to protect the ones I love.” Victor retorted with an icy voice. “Or to punish those that try to hurt them.”

Lucien, however, was unfazed by the veiled threat, and just nodded amicably.

“I’m glad to hear that.” He concluded, walking away.

Victor watched the man walk down the street slowly, his senses on high gear, his body unable to move a muscle. A loving hand on his chest broke him from his spell.

“Let’s go.” Worried brown eyes were studying him.

“Yes, it’s getting late.” He faked a smile to soothe her.

Later that night, Victor couldn’t sleep. He saw how much he had, but he also saw how quickly he could lose it. He had to protect the ones he loved, be watchful of any harm that could approach them. To do that, he should keep his guard up at all times. No more room for the unexpected, and no more surprises.

Author's note: It's always nice to hear your thoughts! Drop a line, if you can. Lots of love!

[darling-dummy-blogs]

Love & Insecurities- Victor Li

Summary: Victor realized that he was in love with MC but notices that Gavin catches her eye instead of him and so he becomes a bit insecure, goes to drink (at home.) Gets drunk and ends up telling MC how he feels along with telling her how insecure he feels.

Paring: Insecure!Drunk!Victor Li X F!MC

Genre: Angst, Fluffy Ending

Warnings: Alcohol Use. 

Fandom: Mr. Love Queen's Choice

Word Count: 4k 

Notes: Based off of the prompt: "I love you. I love you. I'm in love with you so much, it's killing me." Victor also might be slightly out of character (So please no judgment!) Also there will be some spoilers from Victor’s Tour Date. 

Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?

 Victor sat at his desk, trying to do his work as usual. But for some unforsaken reason, he just could not get her out of his head. He hardly got any of his work done, All because a certain dummy was on his mind. 

Victor grew frustrated, unable to do his daily tasks like he normally would. He sighed resting his face in his hands, trying to get these thoughts out of his head. 

 Her beautiful smile.. Her brown eyes that sparkled brighter than the sun.. Her soft hair that made him want to run his fingers through.. Her shyness.. Her sassiness… Everything about her just filled Victor with a warm feeling. Something he has never felt before. 

He didn’t even realize the sudden smile that appeared on his face at the mere image of MC.

From the moment he met her, something within him blossomed, a new feeling. One that made him crave more each and every time she was around. Whenever he would see her, he’d feel delighted. And when she walks into his office,  he could hear his own heart pounding within his chest at a rapid pace. 

What is this feeling? Victor would often ask himself. 

At times, all he felt was a sudden craving sensation to just be around her. To be close to her. To want to reach out and hold her. That craving never seemed to go away. The longing only seemed to grow with each passing day.

 It had even begun to affect his sleep. He’d end up just dreaming of her, only to wake up in the middle of the night, feeling the same pounding of his heart in his chest. 

Now it got into his work. He felt conflicted. Normally he would never let his emotions get to him, especially when it comes to his work. He always has to keep up his image at LFG. Being the CEO and all, there wasn’t any time for insignificant emotions. 

But yet ever since she appeared.. Things suddenly changed. 

A groan escaped his lips, he shut his eyes, running his fingers through his hair, why can’t his emotions just stop messing with him? Of all times to do so, they decide to affect him right when he needs to work.

 He shook his head, looking up. He needed to focus. He had a lot scheduled today and he could not just let these pesky emotions and thoughts get to him. He tried his very best to push her into the back of his head.

 Yet throughout the day, he kept making errors. Something he would not normally do. Goldman had even noticed Victor’s peculiar behavior. 

 So he had decided to ask him about it. A knock on his office door, Victor’s assistant’s head poked in. “Boss.. can I speak to you for a moment?” 

Victor looked at him, before nodding, “What is it?” 

Goldman walked in, shutting the door behind him, “I just wanted to ask.. Are you doing okay?" Victor frowned.

 “Why are you asking me that?” His voice came out rather cold and distant as it always seemed. Goldman became a bit nervous but he continued, “ W-well… You’ve been making a lot of mistakes today.. Have you not been aware of that?” 

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly, “What? No I have not.” His frown deepened. “I don’t understand what gave you that idea. I never make mistakes.”  

Goldman took a deep breath, “Well.. That is true.. But..” He proceeded to then list off the many mistakes Victor had made that day. Which had stunned Victor into silence. 

A few moments passed, complete silence filled the room. Victor looked down for a moment. 

He never made a mistake…

So how can everyone else around him notice his mistakes but he couldn't acknowledge said mistakes on his own? This…This must have something to do with her. 

He let out an exasperated sigh, and had cleared the silence, "I'm fine. Just cancel everything on my schedule. I'm going home." 

Goldman quickly nodded, desperate to get out of there. "G-Got it!" He rushed out the door. 

Victor watched him leave, before standing up from his desk, taking off his reading glasses, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. Before he began to shut everything off and gathered his belongings.

 It wasn't long until he was outside LFG, making his way to his car. However, just as he was about to get in. He spotted her, from the corner of his eye. 

However, she wasn't alone.. She was with another man, Gavin. A person he didn't really get along with. He didn't like Gavin and Gavin didn't like him. Simple as that.

The more he stared at them, the more he realized how close and how affectionate they were being. They were smiling, laughing. 

What Victor didn't expect next was, Gavin putting his arm around MC's waist.  

That action in itself, set something off in Victor. An aching and wretched feeling within his chest began to bloom.

 'She's comfortable enough with him to let him touch her like that…?' He frowned. On top of that, a sudden stabbing sensation hitting against his heart, he began to grow irritable. 

'What is this feeling?? Why am I feeling this way?!' Victor thought to himself. He shook his head, getting into his car, slamming the door. He then drove off.

  ••• 

Once he got home, he sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day, making himself more comfortable. Only to suddenly hear his phone going off. 

Confused, he checked his phone, seeing the caller ID: 'Dummy ❤' 

His eyes lit up at seeing her call him, and that's when his heart began to pound again. 

He immediately answered, "Hello?" 

"Victor! How come you aren't at work today? Is everything okay?" MC's concerned voice came from the other end. He didn't seem to realize the smile that appeared on his face. 

"Oh. I'm fine. I just finished all my work early. I forgot to tell you that our meeting was cancelled. Sorry about that." He spoke softly. 

"Ah, it's fine! I just was worried. Goldman wouldn't tell me why you weren't here so.." 

"...Why don't you come over to my house?" He suddenly asked, not realizing what he just said.

 "What??" MC sounded shocked, "Y-You want me to come over.. T-To your house???" She also seemed flustered 

"Is that a problem?" He asked.

 "N-no! I'll be over soon then! Do I bring my report?" She asked, slightly confused. 

He let out a chuckle. "Dummy.. It doesn't have to be work related. Just come over." He softly spoke yet again, the affection behind his voice clearly shown. 

"O-okay.." Her voice came out slightly quiet. "I'll see you soon." Before she hung up. 

The smile on Victor's face only seemed to grow wider. Only to change to a look of realization and shock. 'What...What did I just do? Why did I say that? Did that really just happen??' He internally panicked.

Then it hit him.

"I-I… I'm in love with her." He spoke out loud, to nobody in particular.

"I'm in love with her."  He said it again, as if it didn't make any sense to him. The pounding of his heart only grew more and more intense. 

It all made sense then, like pieces of a puzzle put right into place! All those thoughts of her, him being unfocused, his sudden jealousy towards Gavin, him smiling and acting on impulse, the pounding feeling of his heart when she was around.. 

He loved her. He loves her. 

Suddenly the doorbell rang, Victor's eyes snapped forward to the front door, standing still for a moment, still panicking. Victor, rushed over to the front door. Trying to compose himself, his usual expression taking place as he opened the door. 

Seeing her standing there, looking beautiful as always. He had to keep himself from smiling.

"H-hey," She spoke. She seemed a bit nervous, she had not once been to his house, only besides that time when she gave him her report but that was months ago. 

"Hey." He spoke softly, as he stepped aside, letting her in. She awkwardly made her way in.  

••• 

After a few awkward silences and a few short conversations, they began to feel more relaxed and were able to have longer conversations, filled with their usual banter, laughter and smiles. 

However their conversation came to an end once MC had received a call. 

Victor looked over, seeing the caller ID: 'My Love 💙' Along with the picture of Gavin. His heart slightly stopped, as he silently watched her answer.

 "Oh? Hey Gavin! What's up?" She asked, cheerfully. Victor could faintly hear Gavin on the other end. 

"No, I'm not busy at the moment, why?" She continued. 

That's what broke Victor's heart into two pieces. Why would she say that?

Victor's face grew rather bitter. A frown appeared on his face as he looked down. 

MC continued, "Okay! I'll be right over! See you soon!" She smiled as she hung up. Looking at Victor. "Sorry, I have to go now.. I'll see you tomorrow?" She stood up, grabbing her stuff. 

Victor quietly nodded. "Yes. Don't be late tomorrow." He muttered, his hands balled up into fists, his knuckles turning white from how tight he was holding them. 

Without another word being spoken between them, she left. Leaving him all alone. 

Victor felt the pain in his chest, he tried to stay calm, his breathing pace quickened slightly,  tears clouded his vision. 

He stood up, immediately making his way to his wine cellar. He needed to clear his head of her. Obviously she didn't seem to feel the same way. 

Of course, Gavin seems like he is better for her... Victor grabbed a bottle of wine before heading to the kitchen to grab a wine glass, pouring the wine into the glass. 

Normally, he would fill the glass at most halfway if not a quarter filled. 

However, given the circumstances. He wanted to forget everything that just happened. He couldn't handle the pain in his heart. 

He filled it up to the top. 

Nearly half the wine bottle had been transmitted to the wine glass. He set the bottle down, lifting the wine glass to his lips, feeling the bitter liquid hit the back of his throat.   

Yet even as he took sips, the feeling within his chest never seemed to go away. His thoughts began to grow more, eating at him as he sat himself down in his living room, holding the wine glass in one hand, the bottle in the other, he stared endlessly out at one of his many large windows. 

Why didn’t he realize it sooner? Gavin practically has her swept off her feet. He surely seems like he is better for her. MC seemed like she was more relaxed around Gavin compared to how she is with him. 

He gripped the wine glass tightly. He trembled a bit. He shouldn’t let his emotions take off like this, but at this point, he couldn’t seem to hold it together like he normally would. 

It only makes sense. MC had told him that the two of them shared a history. Not that he cared much about that during the time. Gavin knew how to easily draw out her beautiful laughter and he got to see her lovely smile, that Victor desperately wished she only showed him. 

He could see the differences between him and Gavin. Gavin is more easy going. Victor isn’t. Gavin was more open to her. Victor wasn’t. Gavin is more relaxed, Victor is more tense. MC was awkward around Victor, she was more carefree with Gavin.  

Gavin practically knew everything about MC, Victor hardly knows anything about her. Gavin teases her, she laughs and smiles, but when it comes to Victor teasing her, she gets angry and upset. 

He frowned, his insecurities began to affect him, was he really that awful? Had he done everything wrong? Was it already too late?

The list continued, Gavin knew how to easily fluster MC, He knew how to always think of the little things for her. While Victor didn’t. He feels as though her actions toward him were just not as sentimental as they are when she is with Gavin. He could never be like Gavin… 

Victor didn’t realize the tear that slid down his face. “Why am I not good enough..?” He whispered, more to himself. He gulped down the rest of the wine in his glass, pouring more into it. 

“Why won’t she get it… I look only at her, but she doesn’t look in my direction..” He muttered. 

The aching pain in his chest just would only worsen the more his insecurities trapped him into place, tears freely moved down his face. ‘When will this pain go away?’ He thought to himself, the ache just throbbing and twisting within his chest. He felt stuck, unable to move or breathe.

 He drowned himself in wine glass after wine glass. Soon enough he went through 2 bottles of wine. His tears dried up after a while but he still felt that intoxicating and numbing pain. 

The more he drank, the more drunk he became.  He wanted to numb that pain. It wouldn't go away. 

He shut his eyes, leaning back against the couch as he was now taking sips from the wine bottle rather than the glass. 

Victor's thoughts of her took over again. 

The same thoughts that haunted him earlier in the day. 

However this time, his thoughts had been filled with each of the times that he took her out on dates. One that replayed on his mind was when he had gifted her a rose when they had gone to see Astra Circus when they had come to Loveland. 

Just days before Astra Circus came,  she couldn’t get tickets when she really wanted to see them. Luckily for her, LFG funded the event so he had invited her out. Even though he had come back from a long business trip that week, Victor still wanted to spend some time with her. He missed her presence. He didn’t regret it either. He enjoyed that day. 

He vividly remembered how happy she seemed then, just thinking about it, brought a small smile to his face.

 After the show, MC had dragged him along, buying little trinkets and snacks that caught her eye. However not only that but a rose had grabbed her attention. Victor had noticed and had gotten her a rose along with a Shiba Inu candy . In return, she got him more candy that she thought he would like. He acted as though he didn’t find them to hold any meaning. But he really did like the candies she gave him. 

Thinking back on that date, it gave him the sudden idea to buy her roses. He grabbed his phone.

He knew, this was something he wouldn’t remember doing by tomorrow.

 ••• 

Two days had passed. Victor had not been okay in those two days. After that day, nothing seemed right. He still felt that wretched feeling in his chest and at this point it was really getting to him. 

He tried to numb the pain with wine once again. Did not help at all. In fact it made things worse. He hardly could think straight, all because of her. 

She still resonated in his mind. He sat at his desk, his head pounding, letting out a sigh. 

Victor once again, could not work. All he truly wanted to do was to rest. These painful emotions were eating away at him to the point where he could hardly work. And he couldn’t stand it. It felt suffocating. 

“It was pointless coming into work.” He muttered quietly, rubbing at his forehead tiredly, groaning slightly, his eyes shifted to one of his desk drawers. His eyes kept gazing at it, looking away a few times only for his gaze to return to it. 

Maybe one little drink couldn’t hurt.. Right?

Wrong. 

He swiftly opened the drawer, pulling out the wine bottle that he kept stored in there, opening it without a second thought and began drinking it. Not even caring that he was doing so during work hours. 

It wasn’t like he was going to be able to finish it anyways. Not when his head was a complete mess. 

After drinking for what seemed like thirty or so minutes, a soft knock came from his office door. Slightly panicked, he quickly closed the bottle of wine and put it right back in its hiding place, Victor cleared his throat and composed himself, “Come in.” 

He slightly winced, his head throbbed painfully. He tried to hide his pained expression as the door opened, revealing MC, who had come to give her weekly report as per usual. 

“Hey Victor.” She spoke lightly, “I’m here for my report. But before I start.. Can I ask you something?” She looked slightly conflicted. Victor stared quietly at her for a moment, taking in her words before nodding. “What is it?” 

“Do you.. Happen to know where I got roses from? I came into work this morning and I saw them on my desk. There was a note with it but nothing was on it. I tried asking the others but they said it was from a secret admirer..”

 His eyes widened slightly, ‘The roses...The ones I ordered for her? While I was drunk?’  He thought to himself, he didn’t remember doing so but the email he had received the next day, proved him wrong. It was too late to cancel, so he had no choice but to wait for her to receive them. 

He gulped as he quickly composed his emotions and stared at her with an emotionless expression. 

She took a breath, laughing slightly, “Although.. I highly doubted it was a secret admirer. I had thought they were from Gavin.” 

At the mention of Gavin, his fists clenched. And his heart began to ache painfully once more. Did she really think that GAVIN gave her those roses?! 

Victor’s eyes were filled with rage and hurt, a storm formed within his periwinkle eyes as he clenched his jaw. He could not let his emotions out. Not in front of her...The headache he once felt was gone and he was just angry. 

His mouth voiced out his anger before he could stop himself, “Did you really think he got those for you?” His voice slurred a bit from the alcohol he had drunk minutes before her arrival. 

MC looked at him, confused by how he replied to her, “Victor.. Are you okay? I did think it was from him, he’s been very sweet to me lately..” She trailed off. Victor’s gaze was less than happy. 

Suddenly, time slowed down. Victor had frozen time. 

He needed to. He couldn’t stand it anymore. 

She needed to know how he felt. There was no other way to make it more clear. Victor sighed, he looked down. “How long will it take for you to get it..?” He started, his voice low. 

“Huh? What do you mean Victor?” She asked, “Why did you stop time?” She also inquired. But he didn’t answer her questions, he stood up, slightly swaying as he looked at her. He steadied himself by placing both his hands down on his desk to keep him from falling over. “Idiot.. Those roses were from me.” 

Her eyes widened, shocked but she stood quiet. He continued, “I got those for you because I love you, alright?” He finally let it out. 

“W-What?” She finally spoke, “Y-You.. Love me??” 

Victor’s eyes once filled with rage, grew soft, “Yes.. Dummy of course I do..” He took a shaky breath, his raw emotions showing through the cracks of his usual stone cold expression. "I love you. I love you. I'm in love with you so much, it's killing me." He gripped tightly onto his desk. 

“For the past two days I’ve mulled over it. I haven’t been focusing.. I haven’t been doing my work. You have been on my mind ever since you left my house.” His heart pounded within his chest, tears welled up in his eyes, he looked down. “Before you had arrived  at my house that day, I had finally realized how much I loved you.. And when you left to go be with Gavin. I..” A tear slid down his face. “I had never felt so broken.”  His tone showed how hurt he was.

 A silence passed between them before Victor once again continued. “For the rest of the night, I just thought about everything I was doing wrong.. My feelings and thoughts only seemed to turn against me.” He braced himself, letting out a shaky breath once again. “...A-am I not good enough for you?” 

MC was stunned, she never realized how hurt and affected he was by this, it utterly broke her heart. She felt awful for having treated him like this. She has never once seen him look so broken...So vulnerable...So insecure...

 “I kept listing the differences between me and Gavin.” He bitterly laughed, more tears slid down his face. “He seems like the perfect guy in your eyes..” He trembled slightly. “When will you ever notice, how much I love you..?” He asked looking at her again, “You are the only girl I look at, but you never seem to look at me…” 

“V-Victor..” She frowned. “I-I never knew you felt like this..” She softly whispered, as she slowly made her way closer to him. Victor looked away, “You couldn’t have known. It’s not your fault...” He muttered. 

“I just.. I wanted to tell you. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. You don’t have to.” He took a deep breath, wiping away his tears as he tried to compose his emotions and his thoughts. 

“..I do feel the same way.” She shyly spoke, averting her gaze. He looked at her, shocked to actually hear those words. Something he had hoped to hear, but couldn’t believe it to be real ”...You do?”

 She nodded, blush sprouting onto her cheeks, giving them a soft glow. “I’m sorry that my actions had made you think otherwise..” She walked around his desk, standing in front of him, gently placing her hands onto his face, gently caressing his cheeks in a comforting way. 

“I don’t believe that Gavin is the perfect guy for me. While he is definitely a great guy.. And is incredibly sweet.. He isn’t the one I fell for.” He stared down at her, his eyes showing pain but also hope as he gazed into her brown eyes, leaning into her gentle touch. 

She gave him a loving smile. “The one I fell for.. Was you. It has always been you.” Victor’s eyes filled up with tears once again as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Which she gladly reciprocated. “I hope you know that, you shouldn’t compare yourself to Gavin. You are perfect in my eyes, no matter what, okay?” 

“...Thank you.” His shaky voice spoke, as he held onto her tightly, scared that if he let go, she would disappear. 

She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. Placing a soft kiss to his cheek. “You don’t have to thank me… Dummy” She lightly teased, giggling slightly. 

A smile broke out on his face, as he pulled away looking at her. “I suppose, for once, I am the dummy.” He let out a soft chuckle, as he stared at her lovingly. “But.. I’m only a dummy for you.” He gently whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.