#no promises on a date of release- mainly just for relieving my own stress

[junejalow]

“Date Night”

Coolguy1245 requested the a prompt of Thermite/Ash going on a date.

Sorry this took so long to get out, I've honestly been caught up with other things but I'm getting back full swing on requests! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Text

Thermite whistled to himself as he leisurely walked along the halls of the base, he had just finished up some drills under Thatcher's watch and helped him out with paper work afterwards which surprising didn't draw any form of usual complaint from the older man, he was slightly taken aback by the action despite it speeding up the process. Jordan could get work done when in the right mind set and with the right people or on his own even if he tended to procrastinate when left alone, he eventually got the work done before whatever dead line the reports had since he didn't want Ash, Harry, Thatcher or Montagne's scolding on his ass. He sighed at the thought, pushing it aside as he neared his designation. He had walked from the training grounds, court yard, living area to the showers, stopped to fill out reports with Thatcher, hurried along to the dorm section and now he was here. He fished around in his pocket for the key to his room and with one swift movement he unlocked the door and turned the nob. He noticed the lights were already on and glanced to Ash's work desk, sure enough the attacker was sitting there typing away on her laptop with papers strewed around and folders stacked or opened. Her brow was furrowed with concentration to whatever she was working on. He didn't disturb her until he heard the laptop click shut.

"How was training?" Ash asked as she cleaned up her desk, putting papers into the correct files and placing them in storage. She was a organized frantic when it came to things being put in their place, mainly when it was files. She couldn't stress enough how easy things were to find when they were placed correctly, vs the mess Jordan had on his side of things but she never tried to fix any of it since she valued her sanity and the hard Texan always managed to find exactly what he needed. Ash would never openly say it, but the simple act amazed her. He could pick a needle out of a hay stack with one look.

"Same as usual, Although a accident happened. Nothing to bad. Blitz rushed the biohazard container last second and flash banged Jager, caught him off guard, Poor guy tripped over some ruble from a wall I took down and busted his tail bone. Fuze ain't happy about it, nearly shoved Blitz against a wall over the matter." He replied, watching Ash get ready for the date they agreed to go on this afternoon after all of their work was done.

"See, this is why I told Harry it wasn't a good idea to have anyone romantically involved on opposite sides. That exact situation could have turned into a fight and that's the last thing we need."

"Hey hey, it's alright. There aren't any hard feelings. Monty calmed everyone down and they understood it was just training and accidents happen. Even Thatcher didn't leave until everyone was good. It's fine, really." Jordan told her, leaving the shared room with her after grabbing his car keys.

"Not the point Jordan." She sighed out with a light annoyed tone. "I'm not against anyone here having a relationship, it helps in ways. Like you did with me…. I would be drowning in work and responsibilities if you weren't here to tug me back a few steps." He smiled warmly and grabbed her hand, taking their time walking through the hallways of the base.

"I needed you too Eliza, I got no one outside this team. Everyone here is like family of some sort or another but you…damn woman you are so much more~"

"Starting your flirting already? Did your gadget blast you with too much heat?" Ash teased with a smile, shivering faintly to the chilly England air as they walked out of the dorm section of the base and across open ground to the parking lot. Various car's neatly lined up. Harry didn't mind them leaving and exploring during downtime but expected them to come back within reasonable time incase there was an emergency, which seemed to be a lot lately. Half the base was currently deployed to different countries right now. Thermite himself had just returned not even three days ago from a month long mission helping defuse bombs from several sites and hidden factory's the White Masks were crafting and producing. His hands were still sore but he would never complain about it, not when the entire team had come back without a scratch. Sure exhausted and lack of sleep had taken it's toll on all of them, that wasn't anything new to the operators. He wouldn't trade sleep for this chance of a date night, they had been planning this for months now with the last three attempts being stolen away by their jobs calling for their attention. Soon enough the pair were on their way down the road, soft music playing from the radio between idol chatter of news reports about jobs, tv shows, new food brands, touring music bands, and new movie releases. Ash's phone bleeped with a text message, she tried to ignore it since she promised Jordan her attention would be on the date and not work once they left.

"You can answer it Eliza, we're not at the restaurant yet." Thermite told her with a reassuring tone.

"I'm not going back on my promise Jordan, that's not something I do and you know it."

"What if it's Jager letting you know he got called out for a mission? You know he never rests for anything, he's on standby as well." He replied, making a good point. He had personally witnessed the German operator fly them out of harsh situations even with injuries, even though the scolding he got from Doc and Harry himself wasn't very nice to listen too and left the pilot not wanting to leave his room for awhile.

"It's nothing important, if it was they would have called instead." Eliza replied, dismissing the subject. Her eyes wondered to the passing scenery, small stores, café's, old historical areas. Even she had to admit that England was a pretty place. Smoke and Mute had taken them on tours before as a team building exercise that turned into an all day trip, it was much needed at the time though. A lot of them had come back from a mass joint operation that ended in success but not without casualties, they had a lost a hand full of recruits that day. Montagne and Kapkan were emotionally scarred from it, they had personally trained the recruits for that mission just for them to come home in coffins. It took a solid month for them to come out of their depressed states and focus on the bigger issue at hand. She noticed the scenery slowing down as Thermite pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, once he found a decent parking spot he escorted her inside. They found a booth in the corner and settled in, it only took them a few minutes to get drinks and their food ordered. Thankfully neither of them were picky about what they consumed. Living on base with different nationalities you learned to eat whatever was offered by the on site staff who tended to change up the weekly food list to make everyone happy, of course the kitchen was open over the weekend for the operator's. Some enjoyed baking sweets or a simple home dish to lift spirits.

"You know...this is pretty nice. Getting out like this and relaxing." Eliza said with a smile, working at a steak with her cutlery.

"We don't get it often, and I don't count on base movie nights as dates." Jordan chuckled.

"Those are not movie nights, that's just a excuse for our friends to get drunk and fight over the remote for the tv."

"Okay okay, I'll give you that one… even though you stole the remote last time and played that cheesy love movie."

"Jordan! It was not cheesy! It was a good movie and you have zero taste in anything that doesn't explode."

"Really? Coming from someone who launches grenades' at walls?" Eliza paused midchew and stared at him from across the table, after a moment of silence they both tried to stifle a laugh so they wouldn't be too loud.

The two attacker's couldn't have any solid arguments about their own equipment since both were similar in ways. It was all in good fun though and both knew it, bantering like this relieved stress in an odd way for them. Ash waved her hand in front of her towards Thermite when he asked if she was retort any.

"No, no. I'm done. You had a fair point Jordan." She replied with a genuine smile. Thermite found himself returning the same type of smile, He loved the woman sitting in front of him with every fiber of his being for a endless list of reasons. The way they interacted with each other was in the top ten on that list. He could always joke around with her without it being taken serious. They had been around each other long enough to know the faint body signals, the small twitches, muscles tensing or jaws setting a certain way that gave away aggravation.

"Hey, did you still wanna talk about whatever it was you mentioned this morning?" She suddenly asked him, eyes gleaming curiously.

"Right! Right," Jordan said before clearing his throat a bit, he had finished his own steak earlier. Being among the few guys within rainbow that could put a lot of competitive eaters to shame. "Well. I recently got an apartment off base, and…I um…" Eliza waited patiently, concern filling her features. Jordan was never at a loss for words so she knew this was coming important.

"Jordie… what's going on?" She asked softly, using his nickname only she could call him by. Anyone else caught a glare from the Texan that clearly told people not to use it. He glanced up from his scarred hands, pausing to seeing her expression.

"It's not bad! I promise I was just… wondering if you wanted… to move in with me. Maybe take this a step further?"

Her face blanked out for a moment, taking in the request from her boyfriend. Her pulse quickened at the thought of actually living off base with him, both of them would constantly have to take their work home or rush back at a moment's notice should anything happen. But at the same time… having a place to call their own? She felt a grin spreading across her face before she said anything.

"You know what? I like that idea, I would love to move in with you." Jordan felt his chest swell with mixed emotions, happiness, fear, excitement, nervousness.

"Y-you serious? You really want to?"

She nodded, keeping her grin. "Yes, I'm being dead serious Jordan."

Thermite had to stop himself from jumping up and shouting right on the spot, his dream coming true of finally having a more private area with Eliza. A place they could officially call home and not be interrupted at night by loud noises or arguing between operators. "Thank you for agreeing, I'm moving everything next week if that's enough time for you."

"Of course, I can work with that."

The couple soon finished up their drinks and headed back out after paying, they wondered into base and quickly skipped past the common room. Hearing Rook fuss at Lion about drinking too much with them being on stand by, Blitz keeping Bandit from going after them for interrupting his tv show. Glaz and Mute sitting at a table on the other side of the room, the Russian working on a sketch while Mute typed away at his laptop. It wasn't unusual to see the pair together when Tachanka and Smoke were off base on missions. Ash shook her head they couldn't have one quiet afternoon here without something happening but that was the fun part of being with Rainbow. All the different people and personalities. Even if her and Jordan moved to the apartment soon, they would always be here for their family.

[imagine-that-one-thing]

Styles. || 6.

Meant to be.

February 14th, 2015

Valentines Day.

I nervously bounce from foot to foot as I stare out the glass doors that give me the view of Gracechurch St. I’m waiting on a woman, something I haven’t done in a very long time. Tonight is the first business Gala for me to attend, I was kindly invited as part of the learning section of my internship. As explained to me, tonight is about learning how to network, socialise and talk business with the men and women who can probably crush me like a bug.

I take a deep breath, anxiously flicking my loam-grey eyes to glance down at the watch on my wrist. Part of me can’t help but wonder if she is going to bail on me, she has no reason to, but maybe she decided a business gala on valentines day wasn’t her thing.

I don’t blame her, I wouldn’t want to be here either, but if she can pull through with the next few hours I do have her favourite cake in my fridge at my apartment, along with some wine and roses. I also made a reservation at her favourite restaurant for tomorrow night as a surprise. Elise made me promise that we wouldn’t celebrate Valentine's day since we have only been together for three weeks, which is understandable— It made sense to not want to celebrate the day of love when we don’t know what love lies between us.

A smile forms on my raspberry-red lips as I see Elise in a cab before she can even manage to open the door, I beat her to it and open the door before offering her my hand. She takes it and steps out, allowing her baby blue coat-dress to fall just over her knee, “thank you,” she beams, leaning up and kissing my cheek.

She’s stunning as she wears something simplistic yet so elegant. I don’t even know how it’s possible but I somehow feel like the luckiest man alive to have her hand in my own.

She looks at me with her lemur round eyes. They are seductive and beautiful. My heart nearly stops when she gazes at me— how can someone as beautiful as she, be with someone like me? “You look lovely,” I compliment Elise as she puts some distance between us and adjusts her attire. She looks so fucking beautiful.

“Thank you, how far is the walk to the building?” Elise questions as she pushes her hair to fall over her shoulder.

“Not far, right here,” I chuckle as I gesture towards the glass doors to the building I intern in and the one that is currently holding the business gala.

Elise looks up at the building before glancing over at me, “Wait, you intern for Royal London Asset Management?” Her voice is low with a hint of syrup sweetness and filled with surprise as she speaks, and I can’t help but be intrigued by her surprise.

I bite my orchid-pink lips and nod, “you seem surprised, why?”

“No reason,” Elise shakes her head as I take her hand and intertwine my fingers with hers. I don’t bother to question her, mainly because I don’t think I’m going to get an answer for what’s running through that mind of hers.

“I should be able to leave by ten and then I have a surprise at my apartment.”

“A surprise, hm?” She questions with a tone of uncertainty.

My eyes grow wide as I process that my comment probably sounds like I’m initiating something sexual. “Oh, Christ. It’s not what it sounds like.”

My mind begins to race at the thought of her getting the wrong impression or idea of me. I am not the guy who wants to just take her back to my apartment to shag or anything. Damnit.

“What does it sound like?” Elise asks and I frown for a moment, unsure how to dig myself out of this hole. Oops.

I open the glass doors for her and allow her in before I step inside behind her and retake her hand with mine, “like I was insinuating adult activities on Valentine’s Day, and I wasn’t. Not trying to lure you to my apartment in an attempt to… you know.. I’m not that guy, and I swear it is just cake and some wine.” … “only if you want.”

I catch a giggle escape her sugar plum sweet and silk soft lips and part of me suddenly releases a breath and I feel relieved.

She’s fucking with me. She knew I didn’t mean things the way it sounded.

“Are you done stuttering and stressing?”

“Are you done causing my stuttering?”

“Indeed,” she nods with a grin.

“Woman, you’re going to send me to an early grave, I swear.”

“You’re so cute when you’re all stutter-y. I know you’re not that guy, wouldn’t have come tonight if I thought you’d lure me to your apartment just for a shag.”

“I’d never,” I shake my head and look over at her to see her smiling.

✿✿✿

Elise and I have made a few rounds with talking to some people and the best part about tonight isn't the fact that this is a significant step up for my career, because of the fact, I have Elise beside me. If she wasn't here, I can almost guarantee that I would be a mess and standing by the bar with a glass of whiskey in my hand while tapping my foot nervously. I don't know what pull she has on me but she appears to keep me a little more grounded and calm. I can't tell if it is a good thing or a bad thing at this point in time. Time will only tell— Who knows where this road is supposed to lead. We have nothing but time.

“Elise?” I hear someone calling politely for Elise. My eyes flick around the area, unsure of where the person is located.

“Can we go get drinks?” Elise challenges as she tugs on my arm. I go to agree but I am stopped when I see my boss, well not really my boss, he signs my internship hours and is teaching me how to rein the business world when I am not fetching coffees and files.

He grins over at us, “Elise,” he exclaims happier than I have ever seen him, perhaps it is the alcohol or maybe he does have some sort of personality outside the office.

Who knows?

I frown as I notice Elise mumble something inaudible under her breath, “you know Jamie Cartier?” I whisper as she flicks her head towards Jamie and offers him a smile.

“Hi Mr.Cartier,” Elise greets politely, “it is a nice event you have here.”

The man chuckles, “you’re lying, but thank you for being kind.”

“You’re welcome, Harry here was just telling me about your latest global equity funds.”

“Oh, really? And what are your thoughts on that?” Jamie asks with a smirk, his attention entirely on Elise. I frown for a moment, unsure of whether I should be concerned or not.

“Well, all I got out of it was something to do with a concentrated portfolio of global stocks from developed and emerging markets, then he lost me,” Elise informs my boss and he nods his head, seeming partially amused by Elise.

“And how do you two know each other?” Jamie gestures between Elise and I and I can’t help but grin to myself.

“Elise is my girlfriend,” I proudly respond, quite liking the sound of her being my girlfriend. If anyone had told me that the girl I had been drooling over since I first saw her in August last year would be dating me, I would have laughed.

I am still quite surprised that she said yes to me over a dinner date at my apartment that I lured her to. “Ah, I see,” Jamie nods, “well, I will let the two of you go. Harry, don’t forget to network. You know some of these people, don’t waste the chances.” Jamie informs me and I nod, taking his advice.

Elise and I walk away and before I can start to question on how she knows Jamie, I am thrown into a world of business conversations about Royal London Asset Management. RLAM is a UK-based investment management company with assets under management of more than £101 billion, interning under the CEO of the company is an honour, and having the opportunity to talk business with some of the biggest CEO’s in the country is an honour in itself.

✿✿✿

“You seem to know everyone here or they seem to know you,” Elise nudges me benevolently and I look down at her lovingly. “I can see in those effulgent eyes of yours you have something pondering through that mind. What is it?” Elise challenges as she cocks her head to the side.

“The business world is so astronomical, yet so diminutive, everyone knows everyone. If you don't —then you might as well be exiled because you are fucked."

“Wise words from a wise man.”

I lift my shoulders into a shrug, “wouldn’t say I’m wise, but I’m getting there.”

“Humble, I see.” I grin down at her and she leans up and kisses me sweetly, “I’m going to get a drink, I’ll be back in a minute,” Elise informs me and I nod, watching as she wanders towards the bar.

✿

I glance around the room of elite businessmen and women and I can’t help but wonder if this will one day be my life. If one day I’ll be hosting these events and drawing in businessmen and women to do business with me. I wonder if this is how my life will be and if it’ll be shared with Elise.

I smile as Elise has managed to fit in and find a comfort in talking to one of the other girlfriends at the event. The moment that they introduced each other, Elise hasn’t looked my way since. I like how she fits into the social setting better than I do, she has this energy and vibe to her that is attractive and alluring. I wouldn’t say she’s a social butterfly but I also wouldn’t say that she wasn’t one. She’s like a cold glass of wine on a summer day, everyone wants to taste the sweetness but not everyone gets the chance.

My clay-grey eyes transform from their usual grey to a sudden firing red of distaste as my eyes meet a pair of languorous, rapture-blue eyes, blue eyes that don’t seem to leave me alone— they follow me everywhere I go and they’re becoming my worst nightmare. No matter how hard I try to escape this damn sinkhole of disaster, the more it keeps following me and swallowing me whole. I moved away from Cheshire so I could cleanse my soul and wipe myself clean of the devastation, brokenness and bitterness etched into the fields of gold back home. I left Cheshire to forget the memories, the good, the bad and the ugly ones. I left Cheshire to leave behind my darkest and deepest scars caused by my bravest demons. I left to get a clean slate, to start fresh and not have to worry about my cryptic past, my secrets and my sorrows. No matter how much distance I put between me and Cheshire, the demons seem to follow me, they wrap themselves around me and strangle me at my core. They slowly but surely find me, one way or another.

I dance my eyes between Elise and the bar, debating whether to drown myself in a glass of whiskey or whether to take Elise and just go home. I think for a moment or two and come to my conclusion; I’m going to do neither. There’s no point in hiding from my demons, they’re possessed to continue to find me. I’ll handle it head-on.

I make my way through the melee of the crowd and Logan’s voyager-blue eyes meet mine, “what the hell are you doing here?”

“That’s not a nice way to greet someone, Harry.”

“Logan, what are you doing?” I repeat my question, doing my best to stay calm and not cause a scene despite the fact I can’t stand the man that is in front of me.

“I’m trying to get an understanding of the business world. I assume just like you.”

I shake my head, disapproving of his decisions. “Oh, no. No. You’re not fucking this up for me. This is my thing, get your own.”

“This is my thing, too.”

“You’re going to be my worst nightmare, aren’t you?”

“Not trying to be, but I guess so.”

“Logan, do me a favour and stay the fuck away from my business shit and anything to do with my degree. Got it?”

“What about your girlfriend? Is she off limits, too?”

“Logan, I swear on our father's drunken soul–“

“Relax,” Logan cuts me off and I glare at him, unamused by the love child that helped split my family.

Of all the places of study he could have attended, he had to follow me and bring his-our- past with him. It is bad enough I have to see this love child around campus and now at business holdings. I'll be damned if I let him near Elise or anyone I care about. I have done my best to keep him away from my mother and sister, isolating him and abolishing him from all family ties around me. My mother and sister don't even know about Logan at the moment. I don't think my mother can handle the information and as for my sister, well, I am not sure what her reaction may be. It is best if I deal with the love child dilemma on my own; I have dealt with the problem for three years now, I think I can keep hiding it on my own.

✿✿✿

I reach my apartment, and the first thing I observe is my guitar in the corner, my first instinct is to wrap my hands gently around it and to sit with it on my couch. I strum a couple chords and take a few deep breaths, attempting to discover my sweet serenity and safe haven with the sound of a few chords. I spend a few moments just letting my fingers find their way before I discover myself playing the chords to 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing,' by Aerosmith. I’m taken back to a time where music was my happy place. I go back to the times I spent in NYC at a studio learning how to play, it was a small studio but large in the dewy, mist valley-green eyes of a young boy.

As I got older, I kept going back to the same studio, finding it to be my safe haven. The owner was a loving guy, and always had his doors open to anyone that had a small hankering for music and melodies. Every Wednesday night he would close down the studio and recording area and would allow anyone that wanted to learn the fundamentals of music and instruments into his studio. He would spend hours teaching and amazing young kids with dreams of being future musicians. I was one of the few that always showed up when I visited New York, the owner always seemed to gravitate to me and the way I would play any instrument with such grace.

When I was seventeen, right before I had to start University and buckle down, I dragged my sister to New York with me for the summer, we spent most of our time in and out of different, small coffee shops and stores, and every other night we would go to the studio where the two of us would sit the owner, talk, laugh, sometimes even cry, while also playing a few chords of our favourite melodies. Without a doubt, we would always end up humming and singing along to,  'I Don't Want To Be', by Gavin DeGraw.

It seemed to always fit the scenes of my life.

Those walls' grasp more heartfelt lyrics than anywhere else— those walls' hold the character of others that will never be shared— they hold esoteric talent that will never escape. Personally, those walls' grip the part of me that I had to leave behind— the part of me that couldn't continue its journey when I came to University and became who I am today— they hold the thoughts and harmony of a seventeen-year-old who didn't have an understanding of the real world.

As I strum a couple chords and get myself lost in my melody, I can’t help but think about how in such a short period of time, Elise has become a person I never thought I needed in my life until now. I was fine on my own and single. I never knew that there was something missing from me until I met her. I don’t know if I am just crazy or if the universe put her in front of me for a reason, but she has managed to match the piece I didn’t know I was missing. It is strange and difficult to explain, hell, I presumably sound a bit psychotic. But deep down, I know there is something about her that is meant to captivate my world and change it for the better. Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but either way, I am grateful for such the short time I have been granted with her.

If it wasn’t for Elise, I would have forgotten all about my birthday two weeks ago. Birthdays have never been my thing, they are usually nothing but an emotional wreck for several different reasons. I was never the one to get a birthday party every year, and when I did get thrown a birthday party, it usually ended up in someone crying, whether it be myself, my sister, my mother or anyone else who showed up. My birthday is always laced with some sort of melancholy and fighting. There were years I didn't even see my mother because she was busy working or sorting things out. My birthday became just another day to me, something I didn't wish to celebrate once I reached sixteen. One can only take so much disappointment before it gets to a point where the plug needs to be pulled. But this year it was different, Elise found out somehow about my birthday and met me after work, she waited until I closed the store. It was the sweetest thing that made my heart melt, her simple gestures and her angelic smile was enough to revive the good birthday sensations I hadn’t felt in a long time.

I suddenly stop strumming my guitar as I hear Elise clear her throat. She must have entered my apartment quietly. “Hey,” I beam as I turn to her and place my guitar down.

“Hey, that was a nice melody. I didn’t know you were musically talented.”

I shake my head, “I’m not,” I try to alter my voice to not sound so dismissive but I can’t help it. My love for music is tainted and no matter what I do, I can’t get it back to its purity.

Elise nods and I stand to my feet to give her the proper greeting she deserves; a sweet kiss. “Thank you for coming with me tonight, I do appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” she replies.

“I know I am probably the world's worst boyfriend; I didn’t get you some big fancy gift. I did get you your favourite cake from that coffee shop we went to the first night we officially met and I did cave and buy you a teddy bear,” I smirk at Elise as I take her hand and lead her to the kitchen where I have her cake and teddy bear already on the counter. “I know it isn’t diamonds or an extravagant dinner, but this is all I can offer. One day I will buy you diamonds.”

Elise smiles up at me, “I don’t need diamonds or a fancy dinner, still just need you and your sweet and somewhat reserved self.”

“Mhm, you say that now,” I chuckle as she wraps her arms around me and looks up at me.

“I mean it,” Elise assures me, “so how about we eat this cake and spend the last hour of valentine's day on the couch?”

“Seems perfect to me,” I agree, leaning down and kissing her lips delicately before we part ways and she cuts the cake.

Elise hands me my plate and I guide her to the living room where she gets comfortable on the couch, “so, I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead.” Elise nods.

“How do you know Jamie?” I challenge, well aware that they have to know each other somehow considering he knew her name.

Elise grows quiet for a moment before she looks up at me, “well, we are related, he is my Dad’s brother.”

My eyes grow wide, “your family are apart of RLAM?”

“Just my uncle,” Elise corrects me.

“So, your uncle, who I intern for, manages £106 billion of assets?”

“Yes. Jamie is my uncle.” Elise informs me and for a moment I feel like my world crashes down on me. I had not intended for this to happen. Now it looks like I am privileged because I just happen to be dating the niece of one of the biggest CEO’s.

Shit. Now I feel bad for the times I thought he was a lonely man who didn’t seem to leave his office often.

“What a small world,” I murmur and Elise cocks her head to the side and looks at me.

“That doesn’t change anything, does it?”

I am not sure what it could change besides my career. Fuck.

I shake my head, “of course not, still wanna be with yeh,” I assure her with a smirk and a subtle wink,  “does this mean I get to go in late and sleep in for a change?” I joke around with her and she rolls her eyes at me, “no? Fine,” I grin, “why didn’t you tell me sooner it was your uncle?”

Elise shrugs, “I didn’t know until we were at his building. You never told me the company you interned for.”

“That makes sense,” I respond.

Elise and I avoid work-related conversations for the rest of the night, and we make the best of the last hour of Valentines Day we have, cuddled on the couch and relaxed.

Thank you to @harrystylesgotmeknockedup for helping and being a Beta for this Chapter. Xx

[taetaesource]

Out of the Ordinary

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 

You won a lucky draw chance to meet BTS backstage and got to know Min Yoongi. 

As BTS was growing bigger and bigger, Yoongi's burdens seemed to get heavier and heavier. BTS moved dorms, took on more endorsement contracts, upgraded their studios and Yoongi got a much bigger studio with the freedom to decorate or put whatever he wanted in there. He was getting more responsibilities at work. He would usually only be in charge of writing songs after songs and producing a few of them. Most of the work was done by the older and more experienced song producers and writers of the company. The rappers of BTS were only contributors to a small part, mainly coming up with beats or the hooks of the song, the bulk of the production came from the backend team. But after hyyh proved to be a huge success, the company allowed Namjoon and Yoongi to take charge of more production. WINGS was the album that Namjoon and Yoongi poured their hearts into. You knew the efforts that were taken to produce this album and the scepticism Yoongi had towards it. Yoongi was not as involved as Namjoon as he was working on his mixtape at that time, but he was definitely stressed out over the two projects.

The number of sleepless nights, long discussions and quarrels with Namjoon, wrestling back and forth between the different drafts, this album deserved to be a hit. When Yoongi was working hard to prove his worth through his mixtape and album, you were working hard on your final year thesis. You had countless of sleepless nights as well, flipping through pages after pages, academic journals after academic journals, researching and fitting everything into coherent chapters of essays. While Yoongi went back and forth between Namjoon and the senior producers, you were constantly going back and forth your professors' offices.

Dates with Yoongi was no longer a thing as both of you were just too busy and stressed out. Occasionally, you would text Yoongi in between breathing time such as when you were waiting for your food to be done at the takeaway, and he would sometimes call you in between his breathing time such as when he was waiting for his computer to finish saving and uploading the file that he was working on.

When WINGS was out, you were in the final week before your submission. The album was such a hit that everyone was talking about it. BTS was on the TV and radio everywhere, the streets were playing their songs and their advertisements were all over the bus stops, underground tunnels, subway and LED screens. Yoongi was busy with his promotions and he knew that you were busy too so he could not call or text you during the period. You were too busy and stressed out with perfecting your thesis that you hadn’t noticed his silence. The last time he texted you was to tell you that the album was out on itunes and spotify and you were on your way to your professor’s office so you left him on read receipt. The meeting with your professor turned out to be a stressful one as he pointed out the points that you would need to change in order for your paper to be more coherent. “You have 5 more days to go young lady, and I am not sure how you are going to get all these changes done. I can only say that you should have gotten more research done a month ago and not at this last minute. With a paper like this, you should be happy with a C grade.” 

So even if WINGS topped the charts and BTS has been winning at all the music shows, you could not bring yourself to congratulate Yoongi. Heck, you could not even find the time and mood to watch and follow BTS news and updates. You literally had 5 days and a disappointed professor to deal with. You barely even had time to eat and sleep properly. 

The day before your submission deadline, you were holed up in the library finishing up the final chapter of your paper. You still had to prove read the entire 12 chapters and polish up your acknowledgment and citations pages. You worked through the night and finally submitted your paper at 8am. It was not your best as you felt that you could have done better if you had even just one more day. So you turned your paper in with a less than satisfied heart and not as relieved as you thought you would be. Nonetheless, you were so tired and exhausted, all you wanted to do was to get in bed and sleep till the next day. 

That evening, after you woke up from your long nap, Hee Ji suggested to go out for dinner in celebration of your thesis submission. Although you were still feeling the fatigue, you thought it was a nice idea to finally get out to see the world after weeks of hell. The both of you headed to the chicken store near your dorm. 

The shop had a good business but it was not very crowded so you didn’t have to wait for long to get a table. After settling down and placing your order, you noticed Hee Ji singing along to the song that was playing in the shop. The song was very catchy and had a chorus that sounded like, “money money money money.” You started to nod to the rhythm of the music and when the chorus kept repeating, you said to Hee Ji, “this song is so funny, are they really singing about money??” 

“Oh my god girl, it’s BTS telling you “i want you many many”???”

Your first reaction was to look around as if to check if you could see what you were hearing and indeed, the music was coming out from a TV screen at the side of the store. The TV was playing the music video and you could recognise that it was BTS. But the truth was cemented when you saw Yoongi in the music video. A weird feeling came up to you. You suddenly realised that you had no idea when exactly the album was released. You had no idea how does the song sound like, how does the album look like and how does your boyfriend look like in this comeback. You remembered reading the texts that Yoongi sent you but you have not listened to the album that he had put in so much effort into making. You felt guilty and you suddenly missed Yoongi alot. You picked your phone up, attempting to reply to his last text but figured that you should at least listen to the album first before talking to him about it. 

That night, you ran the album on spotify and read up on the latest news of the comeback. You texted Yoongi and surprisingly got a quick reply from him. 

Send: I just managed to listen to the full album and saw the MV while i was eating at the shop just now. I am so proud of you my love. 

Message from Yoongi: you submitted your paper? Ya the album was well received thankfully. I’m going for a radio show in awhile. I’m so goddamn tired. 

Send: All the best! Please eat well 

Message from Yoongi: we are on 009FM if you want to hear my voice. 

Send: why would i want to? I’m going to sleep. I literally just submitted my paper this morning with no sleep yesterday. 

Message from Yoongi: Fine. Don’t listen to it. 

Send: Promise you would say something funny on the show and I will listen to it. 

Message from Yoongi: Forget it. Sleep. 

Send: I am tuning in now. Remember to be funny, I’m listening. 

Send: And I miss you. 

Message from Yoongi: Idiot 

You had your radio on as you prepared for bed. You had washed up, applied your night cream, turned off the main light and lying on your back on your bed with the warm bedside lamp on and the soft music playing from the radio station. 

“It’s 11pm and you are listening to 009FM. How have your Monday been? Were you feeling the blues as you were getting to work or school this morning? As the day is coming to an end, I hope you would be encouraged that you made it through today and tomorrow is a brand new day again.” 

“For our dear listeners tonight, are you waiting for our special guests to be on air tonight? Are you exciting to listen to them on this show?” 

“Our guests are here with us tonight and they are BTS. Say hello to our listeners please.” 

“Hello, we are BTS!” 

“Wow so much energy from this bunch, it suddenly feels like our late night show has brightened up so much. Please introduce yourself and tell us how you are feeling now.” 

“Hi I’m Rap Mon, nice to meet you tonight” 

“Hi I’m Jin, I’m glad to be here on this show tonight” 

“Hello I’m Jimin. Please enjoy the show tonight.” 

“Hi I’m Jhope! Wah I see so many of our armys outside. Hello!” 

“Hello I’m V. Please send us lots of love.” 

“Hi I’m Jungkook. Nice to see all of you here.” 

“Hi I’m Suga. Nice to meet all of you on this show tonight.” 

“Wow I’m sure your fans are happy to meet all of you on this show as well. Congratulations on your new album! Please tell us more about your new comeback.” 

Rap Mon: “Yes, this album is our third full length album with 7 solo songs from the members. We have put in alot of effort in this album, with our own compositions and performances. The concept is new as well, it’s about meeting and overcoming the temptations that youths face.” 

“Ahhh are there any temptations that you face as well? Could each member tell us about your temptations? Let’s start with Jin?” 

Jin: “oh yes... that would be food for me.” 

“Oh yes, that is a temptation that is hard to resist. There’s just too much good food around isn’t it?” 

Jimin: “computer games” 

V and Jungkook: “me too, computer games.” 

Rap Mon: “sleep” 

Suga: “Yes, I am tempted to sleep now.” 

*everyone burst out laughing*

Jhope: “armyyyyyyys” 

“Hahaha and why would armys be your temptation?” 

Jhope: “they seduce my heart.” 

*everyone burst out laughing* 

“Hahahaha pretty sure love is one big temptation that every youth encounters. Is love a big concept in your new album?” 

Suga: “yes i would agree with you that love is a big temptation in youth and we have incorporated that into the album as well. If you listen to our title track “Blood Sweat Tears”, you would see lyrics that are along the lines of “getting drunk on love” and “wanting you many many”....

“And are these inspired by your experience of love?” 

Suga: “oh is this a trick question? hahaha i would say love is a big temptation because all of us know that love is a nice feeling- from movies, from books, from songs etc. Many times, we draw inspirations from these sources and we imagine and translate them into our songs and music. Love comes in many forms as well, it can be love between friends, family, and we hope to put in and show different aspects instead of just love between lovers.” 

“And what kind of love is the greatest temptation for you?” 

Suga: “haha another trick question?” 

Jhope: “love from armys” 

Jimin: “yes, our army’s love is irresistible.” 

Suga: “I guess it’s the love from someone who loves you unconditionally. When you love a person and the person loves you back even greater, even more than you expected, that’s when it becomes a temptation. A temptation to get closer, to give more and to love more.” 

Jhope: “that’s why we are always giving back to our armys greater music, greater songs, greater performances.” 

“Ahh that makes sense. To our armys listening to this show, are you feeling the love from BTS?” 

“To let our fans know how much you love them, please say something to those who are listening to our show.” 

Jimin: “thank you for loving us and supporting us, we will show you a better side of us with this new album and the performances to come.” 

Suga: “To the you, listening to this show, and the you who loves me, thank you for your love. I love you too.” 

“Our dear listeners, can you hear the love from BTS? May the love from this 7 lovely young men warm up your hearts tonight and give you the strength to live beautifully for the week. Goodnight.”