#nope not at all just gonna grab some chopsticks from some other guys bowl for my own noodles and not a dude's brains and eyeballs no ma'am

[thatgoddamngingerundercut]

Agust D 'Haegeum' MV

[sandwichrin]

A Little into You (Junkyu x Reader) (Ch. 27)

Chapter 27 - Is it still cold?

Word count: 4k words

Genre: Fanfiction, PG13, Comedy, Romance.

A/N: Hi! Here’s the next chapter ^^ Let’s get the ship sailinggggg~ (Well, technically, it hasn’t fully sailed but you know, we’re getting there fhdjsjs) Hope you all like this one btw <3

YGE Building (Cafeteria/Rooftop Balcony)

Junkyu stared at the being underneath the table. His knees were starting to feel numb from kneeling at this point.

He had searched the whole 1st floor for you, and never would it cross his mind that you’d literally be underneath a table—at the far end of the balcony, where it’s most exposed to the cold breeze outside too.

Junkyu sat himself down comfortably and scooted closer towards you, him being directly facing you; and struggling to fit himself underneath the table as well.

He lifted his finger to poke your hands that were hugging your knees close to your chin.

Cold. Too cold. How long have you been out here?

Junkyu gulped to himself. Fearing the worst. Is y/n even alive at this point?

He leaned in closer to your face and lifts his finger towards your nose to check on your breathing.

“Ah, she’s still breathing. Thank goodness,” he muttered to himself as he felt warm air against his finger.

But Junkyu was still worried. Why aren’t you moving? Why are your eyes closed even when he poked you?

“Ah, right! I should give Jihoon-hyung a call,” he began rummaging through his pockets—only to realise that he had left his phone in his small bag in the practice room. Junkyu groaned to himself, disappointed that he had rushed off to find you without at least grabbing his phone.

“What should I do now? Why are you unconscious out here?” He asked you even though he knew you wouldn’t answer him.

Junkyu sat there for a minute, taking in your image in front of him right now.

Your head leaning forward, chin resting against your hands—arms hugging your knees close to yourself. You looked like you were in a deep slumber, he thought. Few strands of your hair were covering the sides of your face, making your face look small. Even with your skin turning pale by the second because of the cold breeze outside, Junkyu thought you looked pretty.

Junkyu wanted to maybe stroke your head, maybe push your strands of hair away from your face but he didn’t want to come across as creepy.

His eyes fell towards your hands. Your fingernails were turning blue.

“Ah, you must be really cold right now,” he said, panic in his voice. He realised that this wasn’t the time to stare and be mesmerised by how pretty he thinks you look—he needed to do something.

Should he go downstairs and call for his friends? Should he try to wake you up? But what if you didn’t want to see him? It had been clear that you were avoiding him.

Just what should he do now?

 *

YGE Building (Staircase Loft)

“Hyung! You should eat it this way,” Jeongwoo said as he demonstrated how he dipped his kimbap slice into his ramen broth. He pressed the kimbap into the broth, letting it sit in there for a couple of seconds.

“That’s…kinda weird…” Chani said as he watched the younger kid in front of him. “Besides, I thought your ramen finished long ago,”

“Oh, this isn’t mine. It’s Doyoung-hyung’s,”

Doyoung choked on the drink that he was drinking from, earning a slap on his back from Mashiho who was seated beside him on the staircase.

Doyoung wiped his mouth after he was done coughing. “Hey, why’d you soak the kimbap into my broth??” he pulled back his bowl from Jeongwoo’s hands.

Jeongwoo snickered at him. “Heheh I was just teaching Chani-hyung how to properly enjoy the kimbap.”

Chani shakes his head. “Nope, not gonna try it.”

“Aw come on!”

“I’ll try,” Yoshi said with his small smile. He grabbed a piece of the kimbap with his chopsticks and dipped it into his ramen broth, eating it after letting it soak for a while.

Everyone watched Yoshi munched on the kimbap.

“Hmm, good,” he said, his voice slightly muffled as he chewed on the food in his mouth.

“See? It’s good, hyung! Try it!” Jeongwoo said, still trying to convince Chani.

“I don’t know…I mean, I’m not—”

Chani got interrupted when in all of a sudden Doyoung raised his hand.

He lifts a finger to his mouth and whispered, “Shh, I think I hear footsteps approaching,”

Everyone fell silent for a while. They waited to hear if there were any more sounds.

“Hm. Nothing.” Jeongwoo said, assuming that there was nothing else to be heard.

And just as they all resumed to eating their food, they heard a loud gasp coming from behind Mashiho and Doyoung.

All of them turned their heads to look at who it was.

“Oh??” Jaehyuk said as his head popped up behind Junghwan.

“What are you doing down here??” Junghwan asked, his face in shock.

Everyone turned to look at Chani.

“Wait, you mean, me??” Chani questioned as he points at himself.

Junghwan shook his head. “Sorry, I meant—what are you all doing here?? I thought everyone was supposed to go search for Y/n!”

“Uhh, what are you guys doing here?” Chani asked Junghwan’s team back.

Junghwan, Asahi and Jaehyuk all exchanged looks with one another.

“Uhh…” Junghwan scratched his head and looks away from all of his hyungs.

“Ooohhh you’re all here to go sneak and buy some snacks from the convenience store!” Jeongwoo said, teasing the other team.

All three whom were standing on the top part of the staircase began to blush, embarrassed that their plan was exposed this way.

“Yahh, you’re all eating and having fun anyways. Why can’t we do the same?” Jaehyuk said this time, a slight whine in his voice.

“Okay, okay. Let’s not argue,” Doyoung said, getting up on his feet. “Come here, Junghwan. Here, have some of my kimbap,” he held out his ramen bowl to the maknae.

Junghwan leaned forward, peeking into the bowl. “Hyung…There’s nothing left in there…”

“Eh??” Doyoung said loudly. He checked his bowl and uses his chopstick to pick up the already broken kimbap in his broth. “What are you saying? There’s still some kimbap here. If that’s not enough—my love for you will keep you full,”

“Eyyyyyy” Everyone groaned at his pickup line.

“Noooo hyunggg don’t start,” Jeongwoo begged.

Junghwan giggled at his hyungs’ antics and shook his head. “Fine, fine. We’ll join you. What else do you all have here?”

 *

YGE Building (GS25 Mart / Ground Floor)

“That’s weird. I thought Mashiho and Jeongwoo were in charge of being down here,” Jihoon said, as both him and Yedam stood in front of the convenience mart.

Yedam looked around, “Huh. You’re right. I don’t see them around at all,”

The both of them were approached by Hyunsuk and Haruto not long after, both looking tired and hungry.

“Jihoon-aa, where are the rest?” Hyunsuk asked as he walks up towards the two in front of the store.

“Beats me,” Jihoon shrugged. “I told Yedam to text them just now though,”

Haruto pulled out his phone from his pocket and tried to dial Asahi’s number. He shook his head when the hyung failed to pick up his call.

“I guess not all of them brought their phones with them. I saw Junghwan sending his bag to the practice room earlier. He must’ve left his phone in his bag,” Hyunsuk reasoned.

“Yeah, sure, but some of them must have carried their phones with them too, you know?” Jihoon replied.

The four of them looked around the area, noticing how deserted it was considering its way past lunchtime now.

“Oh well, I guess we can buy some food first and wait for them out here after that,” Jihoon suggested. “You okay Ruto? You must be hungry, huh?” he asked the youngest among the four of them there.

Haruto nods back at his hyung, “Somewhat hungry,”

Jihoon snickers at this and gestured them all to follow him into the store. “Come on,”

And just as the four of them were about to enter the convenience store in front of them, they heard the door not too far on their left opening.

It was the door leading to the staircase loft.

The four of them turned their heads just in time to catch—

Jeongwoo and Junghwan walking out of the door and chatting with each other; oblivious that their hyungs were watching them.

“Yahhhh I know that sunbae!! He picks on the girls in my class too! Aish, what a douche!” Jeongwoo said to the maknae who was walking beside him.

“Really?? Aigoo. He should know his limits though! One time, he came over to my class to pick on the girl sitting behind me too! The sunbae said to the girl; ‘your hair is so springy like noodles even my dog wouldn’t date you’,”

Jeongwoo lets out a loud gasp. “That’s so rude?! So, if her hair is super-straight, he would’ve said said ‘my hedgehog wouldn’t date you’??” Jeongwoo said in annoyance.

The both of them stopped by the trash bin at the center of the floor and Jeongwoo discards the ramen bowls he collected from his hyungs before this.

���Oh, right. Let’s stop by the store and grab some soda for the other hyungs,” Junghwan said. Jeongwoo nods back at him.

But then, as they turned around, they saw Jihoon already standing right in front of them, a smirk on his face.

“Having fun, kids?”

“Uh oh,” both the maknaes said at the same time.

 *

YGE Building (Cafeteria / Rooftop Balcony)

You felt cold all over. You were starting to feel numb when you felt something poking your arms.

You scrunched your nose, feeling itchy in all of a sudden.

“Yahh, why won’t you wake up? How long do you want to stay like this? It’s cold here,” the voice whined.

You stirred from your position, trying to grasp the feeling of your numb body.

Slowly, you opened your eyes, expecting for your face to be hit by the bright sun despite the cold wind that you felt the whole time.

But then, instead of the sun rays hitting your pupils—you opened your eyes to meet bright, dark brown orbs staring back at you.

The both of you gasped at the same time.

You hugged your knees closer to your chin, surprised to see Junkyu sitting right in front of you, him looking as surprised as you were.

When did he get here? You were sure you had been alone earlier.

And wait—how did you not realise him being here??

Another gasp left your lips when you realised—that you had cried yourself to sleep before this.

You touched your cheeks, feeling the sticky residue from your dried-up tears. You groaned to yourself. You probably look like a mess right now.

Junkyu watched as you touched your face, shaking your head on your own and then rubbing your eyes slightly before finally looking at him again; as if you’d just remembered him being there.

“I uhh,” you began to say. “You…what are you doing here…”

“I should be asking you the same thing. Why are you huddled up here—” his eyes looked around as if judging you for choosing to sit underneath the table. “—and out here too, where it’s cold,”

Your body shivered after he pointed out the weather being cold. He was right though. You still couldn’t feel the tip of your fingers too. Your body must’ve absorbed all the cold whilst you were out asleep, you thought.

“Let’s go, we might catch a cold if we stay here any longer,” Junkyu said when you didn’t respond to his question.

“What—wait, go where?” you asked, your mind still groggy from the sleep you had.

Junkyu looked at you as if he was mortified by your silly question. “Anywhere, duh. You don’t want to stay here, do you??”

You looked away from him. A little taken aback by the way he responded to your question.

Junkyu noticed your expression changing after what he said, making him feel a little guilty. His tone must’ve sounded a little harsh, he thought.

“Look, I didn’t mean to say it like that—let’s just get back inside, okay?”

“Why are you here, Junkyu?” you asked him back, your eyes now on him again.

It was Junkyu’s turn to fall silent now, him being taken aback by your sudden question.

“You…Junkyu, look. I had a bad day. And you being here, after what happened between us; it’s all just making my head hurts. I can’t. I really can’t deal with everything like this, not all at once,” you huffed.

“I know. I’m sorry,” you heard him say, with a small voice.

You sniffled. The crying you did earlier plus the coldness out here must’ve made your nose runny, you thought as you tried to keep your runny snot from dripping out your nose that you couldn’t seem to feel at this point.

“Y/n, I know… what I said had hurt you. And I’m sorry. I really am,” he paused, staring at your eyes, trying to assure you that he meant what he said.

“I hope you know…that I didn’t mean what I said the other day,” he continued.

“But you did.”

Junkyu shakes his head, “No, I really didn’t! I just—I just…” he lowered his gaze, not looking into your eyes anymore.

You let out a sigh. Taking in a deep breath, you tried to move your legs just to make sure it doesn’t stay numb.

Junkyu kept quiet as he watches you again. His mind racing, thinking on how to make it less awkward between the both of you. He said sorry didn’t he? But why is it so hard for you to accept his apology?

After making sure that you could somewhat feel your feet as you tapped your feet against the cold floor, your eyes looked back at Junkyu, noticing that he had been watching you since just now.

“What?” You asked him.

“Where are your shoes?” He asked, curious as to why you were barefoot.

You looked down at your feet, embarrassed that he questioned you this.

“W-well, my feet were hurting from wearing my heels. Also—I don’t see the point of wearing it when I’m sitting down here, duh,”

Junkyu shrugs at your reply, not knowing what to say now.

“You don’t have to stay here, you know.” You said.

“What?”

“Wait, no. You haven’t answered my question though. What are you doing here??”

Junkyu shifted in his position, trying to make himself comfortable whilst sitting in front of you. He looked down at his hands for a while before looking back at you whom was waiting for his response.

“Well…Chani told us you had gone missing. So, we went around the building searching for you…”

“Wait—we?”

“Yeah, me and the other boys. And well, Chani too,” he added as he rolled his eyes at the moment Chani’s name came out of his mouth.

You stared at him in shock. “Whoa.” Just how did it come up to this? Why would they search for you though?

“Hold on, but you’re here,” you pointed out.

Junkyu nods at this.

“Does that mean…you’re the one that found me first?”

Again, he responds with a nod.

“Huh…” you wondered how much of a coincidence that the only person you dreaded to meet after what happened was the person that succeeded in finding out where you were.

You sniffled again, trying to stop yourself from shivering. One thing you were glad was that you had worn your slacks instead of your skirt today. At least you’d feel less cold out here.

“Y/n,”

You looked at Junkyu who was giving you a serious look right now. “Hm?”

Junkyu was determined. He was determined to explain himself to you. Sitting out here, underneath this secluded table; the cold wind slowly making his ears feel numb, he realised that this was indeed the only time he would have to actually tell you everything.

When would he get the chance to be alone with you again, right?

And so, with his trembling hands, he reached out to grab your hands in his.

“J-Junkyu,” you stuttered as soon as you felt his warm hands touch yours. What’s going on right now?

Junkyu took a deep breath before saying, “Y/n, listen, okay? I want you to listen to what I have to say.”

You blinked a couple times, your heart beating fast now. You nod your head slowly.

“Okay,” he said before swallowing the lump in his throat as he felt even more nervous now that you’re really focusing on him.

“I…I may have said some words that hurt you. And I regret it. I really did. I couldn’t sleep just thinking about how much I have hurt you. I saw how you looked at me that day—and it pains me to have you look at me that way. That isn’t the way I want you to see me as,” he shook his head.

“Y/n…I really am sorry. I really am. You might think that I have meant what I said, but I didn’t mean it. No way. You’re not annoying, not at all,” he continued.

You felt your eyes welling up. You could tell that he was trying his best to apologise sincerely but then, him talking about what happened just reminded you of how painful it was to hear him say those words about you. It hurt you so bad—to think that the person you like would have the guts to say that about you.

Junkyu felt your hands tensing up in his, so he gently rubs his thumb along your knuckles, trying to calm you down. “Y/n, look at me,” he said.

You didn’t realise that you had averted your gaze from him while you were reminiscing on what happened that day. Slowly, you lift your eyes to look at him again.

“I am so sorry. I was annoyed—yes, I admit it. But it wasn’t you I was annoyed with. I was just…upset at the time, you see. Your name crossed my mind at the time, but it wasn’t you that was annoying to me, I swear!”

You reluctantly nod at his explanation, trying to understand what he was trying to say.

“Y/n, I…Actually I…” Junkyu took another deep breath, gathering his courage. “I uh, I like—"

“AHCHOO!”

Junkyu froze in his spot, surprised by the sudden intrusion as he was about to confess his feelings for you.

“Oh my god, Junkyu! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—” you panicked as you saw him freeze and not blink after you had accidentally sneezed in his direction.

Pulling your hands out of his hold, you looked around, as if you’re looking for something.

“Damn, I didn’t bring ‘em,” you complained to yourself since you were sure you had tissues in your bag.

You turned your attention back to Junkyu who was still silent, probably still in shock of you sneezing at him. Great, he probably thinks I’m gross now, you thought.

“Junkyu, I—”

“Do you want to go inside?” He suddenly says, interrupting you from panicking any further.

“S-sure,”

 *

YGE Building (3rd Floor / Treasure’s Practice Room)

“Hold ‘em straight! That’s right, just like that,” Jihoon’s firm voice boomed in the walls of their practice room.

“Hyungggg please, my arms are screaming at me, can we please not do this??” Jeongwoo cries out, his arms shaking from holding it up straight for the past 10 minutes.

“It’s only been 10 minutes Jeongwoo,” Jaehyuk said to him.

“Still! I’m tired!” Jeongwoo continued whining.

Jihoon shakes his head at the younger boy and scanned his eyes around the room to see if anyone was trying to get out of the punishment.

The only boys who weren’t punished were of course, Jihoon, Hyunsuk, Haruto and Yedam. The other three aside from Jihoon were sitting comfortably on the floor, eating up hot ramen from their purchase earlier.

“This isn’t fair, my team was the last to join them eating, hyung. We didn’t loiter as long as they did,” Junghwan complained, pointing out that the other teams had indeed stopped their search way earlier than he did.

“Now, now. You all have another 10 minutes to go. If I hear any more complaints, I’m adding another more 5 minutes, get it?”

“Awww nooo hyung!” “No way!” the younger kids in front of him groaned as they struggle to stay still.

“Aigoo Jihoon-aa. Just let them go already. Come here and eat with us, will ya?” Hyunsuk called out to his co-leader.

Jihoon looks back at the boys in front of him before shrugging and attending to Hyunsuk’s side. He sat himself down beside his hyung and grabbed the bowl of noodles in front of him.

“Here, hyung,” Haruto handed him a can of cold drink as he took one for himself.

“Thanks,” Jihoon said, earning a nod from the boy.

“Yah, aren’t you gonna let them go just yet?” Hyunsuk asked again, concerned that the kids might feel too tired for practice later.

“I want to. But I can’t yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Jihoon stopped stirring his halfway-soggy noodles to turn and look at the rest whom were still raising their hands up. His eyes fell upon a specific person, making him smirk as he turns back to Hyunsuk who was still looking at him with concern. “I think it’s kinda fun. Don’t you think so, hyung?”

Hyunsuk furrowed his eyebrows and looks over at the others. “Jihoon…I know what you’re doing,”

“Aigoo, hyung. He deserves it too, no? He’s been bothering you and Junkyu’s minds lately—as if I don’t know that,” Jihoon chuckled, finally taking a big slurp from his bowl.

Hyunsuk looks over at the rest again and mouthed a ‘sorry’ to them since he couldn’t help them much.

“Yah, Kim Doyoung. Stop moving about, will ya? You’re distracting me,” Chani complained.

Doyoung rolled his eyes at the boy. “I wasn’t moving at all. I was just scooting next to Asahi-hyung,”

“Hey, no moving about!”

“There was no rule about changing seat positions, though,” Yoshi defended Doyoung.

“Yeah, he’s just scooting over. Chill it, will ya?” Junghwan replied in annoyance at the hyung.

“This is stupid. Why am I even here anyways,” Chani huffed, dissatisfied as to how he was getting punished as well.

“Yeah. Why are you here, huh?” Jaehyuk asked back.

“Beats me. Your hyungs brought me here along with you guys. This is stupid, I’m putting my arms down—”

“If Chani puts his arms down, I’m adding 10 more minutes for you all,” Jihoon’s voice said in all of a sudden.

Instantly, all the boys surrounded Chani and forced him to raise his arms up all over again.

“Hey, hey! What are you all doing?? Let go of me! Hyungggg they’re all breaking the rules!”

“Hm?” Jihoon tilts his head as he watches his kids and Chani struggling to push one another.

“Yah, yah, yah! That’s dangerous! Stop it, kids!” Hyunsuk said to them but they all ignored him.

Haruto and Yedam stayed put in their spots laughing as they watched Mashiho managed to hold both Chani’s arms up and the rest of the boys laughing and cheering at him.

Jihoon too, giggled as he watched this. “Hmm, Hyunsuk-hyung is right. Kids, you all can stop.”

“Oh?” The boys stopped and turned to look at Jihoon.

“Yup, you all are free,”

“YAYYYYYYY FREEDOMMMMMM” Jeongwoo ran around the room, chanting the word freedom over and over.

“Except for Chani,”

“What?” Chani looks at him in disbelief.

“Hey, I would’ve let you go but you were the noisiest at the end,” Jihoon shrugs.

“No way,”

“Okay kids, make sure Chani stays putting his arms up for another 10 minutes,” Jihoon said casually before returning to eat his food.

“Hey, that’s not fair! I’m not even your team member. Where’s your sidekick, huh? Shouldn’t he be getting punished too?”

“Huh, he has a point though. Where is Junkyu anyways?” Hyunsuk asks Jihoon.

 To be continued…

[stressedspidergirlsfandomblog]

Pt12

"You barely ate anything," Keith protests. He can see the bones in Shiro's face are more sharply defined, now.

Watching Curtis slide in behind Shiro and wrap his arms around the other man's middle, Keith wonders if Shiro would even sit up without the support. He seems frail. He's never seemed frail before. Never.

"I put the soup bowl back mostly full," he continues. "We brought sushi, if you'd rather..."

Krolia takes the cue to bring food over from the counter. Along with drinks and Lance gets up to help her load the coffee table with silverware and food.

"Or pizza," Matt suggests.

"Or if youre queasy... Soup or juice."

Shiro breathes out through his nose.

"Patience yields focus," Keith, Matt, Pidge, and Lance all day in perfect unison.

Shiro just wrinkles his nose in mock irritation by way of response. Leaning over he picks up one of the juice packets and makes a big show of being unable to open it one handed. He could if he wanted to.

Curtis snorts, and wrestles the packet away to crack it open and pass it back. But not before faking a hand over and then taking a long drink of it, first.

"Gross," Shiro mutters.

"You've had my tongue in your mouth, but sharing a drink is where you draw the line? Well guess where else I guess my mouth doesn't belong."

"Oh, no gross. No, not cool." Lance pretends to cover his ears. "Even referencing old people sex is nasty!"

"Old!" Shiro says indignantly as he can. Play along. Fake it till you make it.

Tempted to make an experience joke, Curtis feels it might hit a sore spot. For all he knows Lance has done a little dating recently.

"Yeah I mean you look like a grandpa, why don't you dye it?" Matt asks. Mostly still teasing.

"So i can look as tired as I feel?' Shiro tries. It falls flat. "The senior citizen discount is better than the one for veterans...." He tries, working a smile onto his face.

Lance looks at him, and lightly touches the Altean marks on his cheeks. "Its for her, isnt it?" He asks, eyes overbright. He's really moving on fine. But he'd never thought all those times Shiro checked on him, that Shiro was still grieving, too.

Looking down and away he presses his lips into a thin line so they won't tremble. Taking a drink of juice, he lets the flavor roll over his tongue. At least no one's pushing him to eat.

When Shiro finishes off his drink, Lance makes eye contact with Curtis. Shifting back, he understands. And isn't shocked when Shiro is slammed into him and Lance's arms dig into his middle.

"I miss her, too," Pidge says abruptly, and Lance holds out an arm. She squishes into the pile. "Keith just get your ass in here," she snaps irritably and he 'reluctantly' joins. Curtis shifts away, letting Keith take his spot. Keith settles behind Shiro, supporting him.

"I'm really sorry about Adam, too," Keith says softly. "I let you blow me off once and I never... We both loved him."

"I never even thought to check..." Matt says. "After you left, he and I got closer. He was a good guy."

Shiro's shoulders start to shake in silent sobs.

Colleen and Sam have finished up enough to know the topic has turned to Adam. "He knew how you felt about him," Sam promises. "And he knew you were alive and coming home." If that helps he doesn't know, but hopefully it's better than knowing nothing. "I think he was excited to see you. Even if you two never were going to be the way you were before."

Curtis quietly does his best to explain to Krolia who Adam was. She knows Allura.

"It doesn't upset you? Them praising him?"

"That's Takashi's past. I'm his present, and I hope...his future."

Krolia shrugs. Humans are weird.

At some point the grieving winds down and concludes. Keith is gently rubbing Shiro's back and trying to reassure him. For all he knows his brother is mortified at having broken down in front of witnesses.

Curtis drags over a box of tissues that gets passed around.

"Okay my turn, move aside boys," Colleen says, forcing the paladins to clear out until she has a path to Shiro. Pulling him into a tight hug, she's gratified when he leans into her and hugs back. Patting his back gently, she kisses the side of his head. "I don't know when we forgot you were just a young pilot... Not much older than Matt. You've always been like family to us."

Shiro tries to brush her comments aside but she's not having it.

"Sam knew you were the best. And somewhere along the way we forgot you were anything other than a leader. We forgot to be family. You and Adam and Keith were one. And at the Garrison it was you, Sam, and Matt."

"I was your boss," he points out, voice muffled by her shoulder.

"Moms trump all military rankings. I'm always able to veto you," she tells him reassuringly.

"Pff," he protests, only to scrunch his face when she peppers him with kisses.

"Earth mothers have no shame," Curtis comments to Krolia quietly.

"Make a comment like that and you're next," Collen warns. "We're all family here."

"Why does that sound like a threat?" Keith asks, grunting when Shiro pushes against him in a lackluster attempt to escape more affection.

"Because it is," Pidge and Matt say in unison.

"Holt family hug!" Sam insists, bunching up his kids closer to his wife.

Curtis isn't sure how it happens but somehow they all end up squeezed together in a group hug. It's not comfortable, and thankfully it doesn't last long, but it feels kind of perfect.

Once freed Shiro takes an interest in the food, leaning forward to use his fingers to pick out random pieces of sushi and dumping them on a plate before settling back against Keith.

"Are you gonna use me as furniture all night?" Keith complains. Not like Shiro and Adam hadn't told him the same thing hundreds of times before. He wriggles a little in mock discomfort and Shiro makes an annoyed noise when it makes him drop his sushi.

"I've got this Shiro," Lance reassures him, leaning over to grab chopsticks.

"Oh no, take cover," Pidge warns.

"Hey! I'm really good at using chopsticks!" he drops the piece of sushi twice before he has it.

"Why're you taking my food?" Shiro complains.

"Im not, I'm helping. Open wide."

"What?"

Keith starts to laugh. Curtis can't imagine Shiro letting someone feed him. He won't even eat off Curtis' fork at restaurants unless Curtis passes the whole fork over. Laughing, too, soon everyone but Lance is giggling.

"Nope. Not gonna happen." Shiro selects a different piece and stuffs it into his mouth.

"Fine!" Lance jokes, setting the piece back along with the chopsticks.

Shiro takes them up instantly with a little smirk.

Keith leans over Shiro's shoulder. "That looks good," he says, reaching for a piece.

"Hey!" Shiro protests, trying to rebuff him with just his shoulders. Stuffing the piece in question into his mouth, he tries to inform Keith that it's gone now. His mouth is too full.

"I mean there's more on your plate," Keith points out. He'll do this all day if it means Shiro will eat.

"Cut it out," Colleen warns. "You'll choke."

Shiro gives Keith a look that most definitely says : no I won't.

"Gross. Shiro, gross."

"Seems interesting to me," Curtis grins, having caught the exchange.

Keith gives Lance a look. "I gotta stretch," he tells Shiro, gently patting his back. He wheezes when Shiro leans back on him more. "I will pee on you," he threatens and Shiro instantly sits up straight.

Lance shifts some, not to take Keith's spot but to offer more support. Pidge and Matt shift in response.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Keith asks Curtis, checking to see Shiro is occuppied by Pidge, Matt, and Lance.

"Sure."

"Ask Shiro, I'm really bad with words, okay? But I feel like I should say something. I know very little about you guys and I'm sorry. But I can tell you really love him. And he loves you. And I don't know how it works, or what the future holds...

But it was so different with Adam. He was so different. Patience yields focus. Everything had to be controlled. And he had to be perfect. He was a little bit of a show off... And he drove himself to the edge." Keith takes a breath. "And they suffered for it. Trying to support someone who never chooses you first. I was so angry at Adam but I get it now. And... I see him choosing you. This time he's choosing you.

"I see the way he looks for you. Or just the way you guys look at each other. You're so in tune." Keith looks down. "And I'm so sorry you had to call us to task... You're right. We are his family. And so we're yours, too.

"And i don't know what I'm really trying to say other than... He's not struggling or fighting for anything. He has you. And I'm so grateful he has you. I haven't seen him relax... Or drop his guard... He was so annoyed all of us came," Keith laughs. Curtis grins. "And he didn't even try that hard to play Mr. Perfect and cover it up. We got to grieve with him. And tease again." He rubs at his eyes.

"I don't know what he'd be like without you in his life right now, but I'm glad I don't have to find out."

(I'll edit more in later?)

[markwrecksmysoul]

Wake him up- yoongi scenario

Warning- mild curse words. Enjoy!

Y/n pov

"Yah! The foods here!" Namjoon brought in the 5 bags of side dishes and main rice dishes and of course the bulgoi and knife noodle soup. You looked over at yoongis closed door.

someone should wake him up so he can eat he doesnt eat much because of his century long naps, but he needs his strength. You and the boys know that Yoongi was not to be messed with when he was having his sacred nap.

You sighed and walked over to his door. "Yah! Y/n! Do you have a death wish!" You turned around to see the rest of your weird guy friends waving their arms for you to come back and whisper yelling. You walked back over. "We never wake that monster up!"

"He needs to wake up so he can eat or else he won't have enough strength for the photoshoot later tonight." Namjoon grinned at you. "Wow y/n You sure seem to care alot for yoongi". You frowned trying not to sound too obvious.

"Its not like that! I care about all you idiots equally." Jungkook scoffed. "When I fell face first off the swing You laughed and recorded it." You laughed remembering that day. "Haha yeah that was funny". Namjoon shook his head. "And when yoongi hit his hip on the corner of the table yesterday you acted like he had a terminal illness!"

You tried to defend yourself. "W-well he has fragile bones! Now if you idiots will stop making assumptions and eat your darn food while I go wake up yoongi!" You walked into yoongis room closing the door behind yourself.

Yoongi was there sleeping soundly on his back. You got down on the ground So your squeaky sneakers wouldn't wake him and quietly crawled towards his side. He looked so pretty sleeping. You sat on your heels and reached a hand out to poke his face.

He waved a hand over his face groaning. You poked his face again. Yoongi growled with his still closed. "Whoever's poking my face stop unless you want to die." You sighed and did it again. "Wake up yoongi".

Yoongi opened his eyes and glared at you. Suddenly he shot up grabbed your waist and rolled you onto your back in one motion. Your eyes widened seeing him hover over you. "yoongi-". He leaned down closer to your face. Examining your big curly hair.

"What is the meaning of this invasion of my nap time." You sighed when he let your wrist go. "Yah no need to get crabby with me get up! you need to eat or you won't have any energy for the photo shoot later."  Yoongi sighed. "Right the photo shoot." yoongi still hovered over you and him being this close made your nerves go crazy.

It's true you like him but It's obvious to everyone BUT him. Its infuriating, "you wanna get off me now?" You said wiggling. "Hmm I don't know I kind of like seeing you in this position." blood rushed to your face. Yoongi put his hand on your cheeks. "Ha you're blushing." You smacked his chest.

"Shut up I'm not blushing I just uh..... got a fever". Yoongi wasnt buying it. But he got up reaching out a hand and helping you up. "Ah it's a good thing you woke me though, I'm hungry!"You both emerged from the room and the boys eyes widened.

"Y/n! You're still alive?" You rolled your eyes. "Yah I wouldn't kill her just for waking me up!" You rose your brow. "Five minutes ago you threatened to kill me for poking your face. " he scoffed. "Well duh that was annoying." You grinned and started poking his face repetedly. "Oh you mean like this?"

"Yes I mean like that stop". You didn't stop and just poked his face some more Yoongi finally grabbed your wrist to stop you. You looked into yoongis eyes trying to figure him out. "YAH romeo and Juliet quit eye raping each other and come eat!" You glared at Namjoon who was grinning his little stupid devil grin.

You both walked over and sat next to each other but you reached over and pinched namjoons thigh under the table. "Ah!" He jumped jin pain his knees hitting the table. "What's wrong namjoon?" you smiled at him. "Yeah what wrong nammie?" all the while you didn't notice yoongis reaction to your little name for Namjoon.

Namjoon glared at you. "Nothing I'm fine." the boys went back to eating and Namjoon mouthed to you.

(I'm gonna kill you) You went on eating, while Yoongi glared at his bowl shoving food into his mouth.

V noticed yoongis mood change and spoke. "Yah Yoongi are you really that tired? jeez lighten up!" Yoongi stabbed his rice with his chop sticks before dropping them and getting up leaving to his bedroom with the rest of the room staring at him. "Wow what's his deal? It's just food!" Jungkook said as he shoved more soup down his throat.

You dropped your chopsticks and pushed out your chair. "I'm gonna go check on him". You ignored the boys grins and walked into yoongis room closing the door again. He had his back facing you. "Yoongi?" You stepped a little closer. "Get lost". You glared at his lazy form. "Jeez no need to be rude!"

You pulled on his shoulder making him roll into his back. "Tch whatever." You frowned. You thought of what you used to do to get your ex jay park to talk to you when he was mad. Maybe it'll work with Yoongi. You just said f*ck it and threw your knee over his side, so you were sitting on top of him.

Yoongi eyes widened."y-yah what are you doing?!?" You leaned down and stared at his eyes. "What got you mad?" Yoongi looked at your (body type) form on his lap and started feeling a little nervous hopefully you wouldn't move and making things worse.

But of course with your innocent mind you had no idea that this was turning him on, so you wiggled your hips to get his attention. "C'mon tell me!" Yoongi made a disgruntled sound. Your eyes widened. "Oh crap did I accidentally hurt you?" You leaned down closer so your face was close to his.

"Are you ok Yoongi?" Yoongi found his voice. "U-uh yeah". You sat back up on him creating some friction. "F*ck it....". You gave him a look. "Wha-mmph!" Yoongi the king of surprises sat up and grabbed your face and kissed you, rolling himself on top of you.

You couldn't believe it your crush was actually kissing you this never happens! Am I dreaming? You let a small gasp pass through your lips it gave Yoongi the opportunity to shove his tongue in your mouth. Ok definitely not dreaming....Ok so not a dream now would be a great time actually enjoy the moment.

You grabbed a handful of his hair And kissed him harder. He groaned so you assumed he enjoyied his hair being pulled. You weren't planning on stopping anything but suddenly yoongi stopped the kiss and pulled back taking a breather he looked amazing with his hair messed up from you tugging at it and his swollen red lips.

"I really like you y/n". You smiled and grabbed him by his shirt pulling him back down. "I really like you too". You leaned in kissing him aggressively again.

Namjoons pov

"Sshhh! I cant hear what they're saying!" I pressed my ear to the door hearing lip smacking sounds obviously they were kissing. "I like you y/n". I gasped and tried to contain my excitement so they wouldn't hear us. "I like you too". *More kissing* continued and I squealed. "My otp is happening!" the boys all jumped up cheers. Until the door opened and yoongi stood there looking ruffled with his hair sticking in different directions and y/n behind him with swollen lips and her curly hair looking messier than normal.

"Will you guys stop snooping on us don't you have something better to do?" I shook my head. "Nope but my otp is happening!"

"Whatever weirdos" yoongi closed his door and I'm assuming got back down to buisness. "They're gonna make cute little babies together!".

Masterlist

[echobows]

Growth

A/N: This is my first Inuyasha fic! I’m posting it here because I’d like more people to read them; special thanks to @keichanz for encouragement and inspiration and just being an overall positive force (I LOVE YOU), and @mmhinman for some DROP DEAD GORGEOUS Inuyasha fanart. This is also available on FF.net!

Do I own Inuyasha? Nope. Would I like to? Yep.

It was a bright, beautiful spring afternoon when Kagome had asked her best friend and sister of her heart for something nobody expected. They were sitting inside Miroku and Sango’s hut for lunch, little Komori having eaten his fill from his mother’s bosom and was freshly burped and content in the slayer’s arms. Pausing in the middle of a bite of grilled fish, the young priestess had blurted,

 “Teach me how to fight?”

Sango’s eyes widened at that. “What do you mean, Kagome? You’re already an expert shot with the bow, and you’ve got an amazing reserve of spiritual power. What else could you need?”

 “That’s all well and good, but what about when I don’t have my bow or arrows? I’m pretty much defenseless without them. If I come across some hostile humans, I can’t just shoot them or purify them; they could just overpower me, and then it’d be over.” Setting her bowl and chopsticks down, her eyes lowered in shame. “That happened more than enough during the quest. I don’t want to worry anyone if I’m in a situation like that again.”

 “Ohhh,” the slayer breathed in realization. “You mean, you don’t want to worry Inuyasha if you’re in a situation like that.” It wasn’t stated like a question.

 “Well…yeah.” Kagome’s stormy eyes sparkled in admiration. “I just think it’d be a handy skill to have, being able to incapacitate enemies that I can’t purify, and…and… You just looked so cool when you fought, Sango!” She clasped the older woman’s free hand in her own, her most desperate puppy-dog eyes on full display. “You were so fast and strong and I wanna be able to do that! Please teach me!”

 The slayer had a thoughtful look on her face as she weighed the pros and cons. On the one hand, teaching Kagome how to defend herself hand-to-hand would definitely pay off in the long run, and it provided Sango herself some time to exercise and polish her own moves. It also gave her a chance to spend some time with the future-born girl, and some healthy time away from the kids. She’d have to ask Miroku to watch Komori, and Inuyasha and Shippo could play with Mizuki and Misaki. Those girls absolutely adored Inuyasha, for whatever reason, and it was for a good cause; he’d agree to it, even if he’d grumble about it. On the other hand, she would have to actually teach and test Kagome. That in and of itself wasn’t bad; it was just the fact that she’d have to physically scrap with her, as well as put her through lots of bruises and soreness to get her to where she needed to be.

 “It’s not gonna be easy,” Sango warned. “You won’t grow to be a master overnight. It’s going to take hard work, sweat, and more than a few bruises.”

 “I understand!” she replied, nodding with enthusiasm, her hands clenched into fists in an energetic display. Kagome regarded Sango with fire. “I know it’s gonna be tough, but that’s exactly why I have to do it!”

 Sango suppressed a giggle at her friend’s antics. Closing her eyes and sighing in playful exasperation, she replied, “Well, if you insist on requesting my tutelage, then I guess I’ve no choice but to take you under my wing as my beloved pupil.”

 Kagome whooped in delight, startling her nephew and upsetting him in the process. Covering her mouth in embarrassment as Sango cooed at him to stop his fussing, she asked quietly, “When can we start?”

 A few days later, after informing the men of the arrangement and leaving the children behind with them, both Kagome and Sango were standing in the middle of a small clearing close to Kaede’s village, the slayer in her usual battle suit and the priestess in a simple white kosode and trousers.

 With practiced professionalism, the older woman had engaged her friend in a series of warm-up stretches and breathing exercises. After what she deemed an appropriate time to start, Sango spoke first.

 “Alright, now that we’ve finished warming up, are you ready to learn some basics?”

 “Heck yeah!” Kagome replied eagerly. “I am SO ready!”

 Smiling at her enthusiasm, Sango continued. “The first thing that any warrior has to keep in mind is that there can’t be any wasted movement. Always quick, always minimal, always precise.” Demonstrating, she slipped into her stance, and threw a quick punch. She repeated the action in slow motion, allowing Kagome to watch and understand her form as she explained, “Extend the arm without strain. Keep your arm straight, your fist firm, and your chin down, as your shoulder will automatically rise and shield your chin. Twisting your body is also important, as it helps with momentum.”

 Kagome’s eyes were sparkling with interest, following Sango’s actions in minute detail. The slayer then instructed her to try, slowly at first, so that she could help correct anything out of place. “Remember, chin down, and arm straight.”

 After watching her practice with the air for a good while and noticing her friend’s progress, Sango then commented, “Not bad, Kagome. You still have a ways to go, but it looks like you’re serious about this.”

 “Of course!” she said with a grunt, never stopping her movements.

 Impressed, she then instructed, “Now start aiming those punches at me.”

 Kagome looked at her in surprise. “Are you sure?”

 “Positive.”

 Taking her place in front of Sango, Kagome did as she was told, taking her form and throwing her best strike, not knowing what to expect.

 Stopping her friend’s punch upon her left palm, Sango commented leisurely, “Your form is good, but the punch is too slow and too soft.”

 “Dang.” Scratching her head, Kagome replied, “I thought I had it.”

 The slayer grinned. “Not even close.”

 “Ouch. No need to hold back, Sango.”

 “Try again.”

 They trained like that for quite a while, Kagome alternating between arms and, slowly but steadily, improving her punches against Sango’s palms. The priestess-in-training heard much of her friend’s advice over and over as she struck, and out of curiosity (and slight exasperation), she asked, “Can you show me how hard it’s supposed to be? I’m just not really getting it.”

 “Of course,” Sango agreed, readying her stance. “Hands up, just like how I caught your punches.”

 Obeying, Kagome readied herself for Sango’s strike. However, she didn’t quite anticipate when or how fast Sango’s arm would move, and felt a sharp pain in the center of her face and a ringing sound in her ears before landing squarely on her rump with a yelp.

 Nothing quite registered as the brown-haired woman lost sight of Kagome, her fist hanging in the air. Then it clicked as she looked down at her friend dazedly shaking her head free of disorientation.

 Sango gasped. She’d just punched Kagome in the face.

 “Oh my gods, Kagome! Are you okay!?” Covering her face in disbelief and fear, Sango rushed, “I am SO sorry! I wasn’t thinking, please forgive me!”

 “I-It’s alright,” the younger woman wheezed, staggering slightly to her feet. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

 Sango winced. “Are you sure? We can stop for the day, if you want—“

 “No way!” she exclaimed, a twinkle in her eye despite her throbbing nose. “Let’s keep going. Can’t progress without bruises, right?”

 “O-Okay…” The slayer could sense her determination and resolve. “Then let’s begin again.”

As the days turned to weeks for Kagome’s training, everyone could definitely see that she was making progress. Since the first day, Sango had been patiently teaching her different moves and maneuvers, including ducking, weaving, kicking, and blocking. Kagome often came home with aching muscles and more than a few bruises, and Inuyasha often asked her if it was really worth it.

 “Of course it’s worth it, Inuyasha,” Kagome murmured, snuggling further into him from their perch on the Goshinboku. “Why would I keep going if I didn’t think it was?”

 “I dunno,” he replied. “You’re always sore n’ shit. All this just in case you get jumped by some measly human guys, even though you know I wouldn’t let them get close enough to even think about laying a finger on you.”

 She smiled up at him. “And I appreciate that. But it’s more than just training for the worst case scenario. It’s like…” Pausing, Kagome chose her words very carefully. “It’s a rite of passage, in a way.”

 He cocked his head to the side, confused. “How’s that?”

 “Well, think about it this way. I was a normal girl during the shard hunt, right? No experience with much of anything in this time; I couldn’t fight with you and Miroku and Sango, and my marksmanship was sketchy, at best. I felt more like a hindrance than an asset, because I was someone who came from another world. I was an alien. But now, since I’m here to stay, my training with Sango is like a promise to so many people who trusted and believed in me. My family, Sango and Miroku, Shippo, Kaede, Kikyo… and especially to you.” Grabbing his hand, she traced patterns on his palm as she continued. “It’s a promise that I’ll only get stronger from here, to protect those I love. It’s a goodbye letter to my old life, as an ordinary girl.”

 Looking down at his mate, Inuyasha felt a barrage of different emotions. He was often accused of being simple, but he always noticed the little differences between the Kagome from before she started her training to the Kagome he currently had trapped in his embrace. He would never forget the first time he noticed the callouses on her normally soft and smooth palms, or the way she seemed to have lost the roundness in her face. Even now, he could feel the way her body had firmed up, her muscles becoming more prominent and defined. Some of the softness was still there, but it amazed him how dedicated she was to improve, just as how it made him proud to see her progress as well as know the reason behind her goal. True, there was the small fear in him that one day, she may become strong enough to the point where she may not need him to protect her, but he ignored it. He knew that she would never deny his company or protection, but the fact that she grew stronger in hopes of one day protecting him…

He was astounded. “Kagome…”

 “And plus, it’s kind of fun. Sure, the booboos aren’t so great, but I think it’s really neat seeing how a frail person like me can bulk up and get strong, too.” Smiling cattily, she kissed his nose before continuing, “And if it means having you snuggle me all better, then it’s definitely worth it.”

 Inuyasha had the good grace to blush. “F-feh! So that’s your real goal, is it?”

 Kagome laughed. “It’s clever, isn’t it?”

 “Keh.” Grinning, he squeezed her tighter before whispering, “All you had to do was ask.”

  Weeks later, Sango had joyously declared Kagome’s training to be a huge success. While she was still learning and polishing her technique, the slayer had no doubt never seen such progress in such a short amount of time, and thus declared a small celebration in her honor between the original Inu-gang, plus Rin and Kaede. Inuyasha had immediately declared that he’d catch whatever animal they wanted. Sango and Kaede had taken up the cooking, the older priestess more than happy to contribute to the festivities. Rin had also eagerly offered her assistance, wanting to take part in the fun. Miroku had recently ventured to the local market a few days prior, and suggested that he and Sango share some of the foreign spiced tea with their friends for the happy occasion. Even Shippo pitched in, happily chirping that he knew of the absolute perfect peach tree not too far from here, earning a pleased grin from everyone involved. Peaches were her favorite fruit.

 Of course, Kagome herself was none the wiser as to what was going on, having gone to study herbology with Jinenji for the morning. After Inuyasha had procured the wild boar for the meal and taken it to Kaede and Sango, he sauntered off to watch her, lounging in a nearby tree while Jinenji had quizzed her on the healing benefits of the herbs they’d picked. They would be finished soon enough, and he wanted to make sure she went straight back to the village without delay; the food would be finished upon her arrival, and he was sure she’d be hungry.

 The plan was to meet her when her lessons had concluded, and discreetly escort her back to Miroku and Sango’s and join up with the monk himself, where the three of them would walk to Kaede’s—and Kagome’s celebration.

 “Inuyasha!”

 Dropping down from his selected tree, Inuyasha met Kagome at the base. She looked quite pleased with herself; she must have done well with Jinenji’s tasks.

 “You ready to head back? The monk says he wanted to meet up at his place; I dunno what he wants, but he told me to make sure you came along.” Stuffing his arms into his sleeves, he figures that was a good enough excuse to lead them there. Kagome cocked her head to the side. “I wonder what it could be?”

 “Let’s go find out.”

 And so they went, Kagome happily recounting her morning to her husband as they made the trek to their friends’ home. Inuyasha praised her diligence, keeping up with her spiritual and healing studies as well as her lessons with Sango, and she beamed at him in response. She was working very hard to make sure she earned her keep, and to hear him tell her that she was doing well made her happier than he knew.

 After their journey back to the village, the pair had stopped outside of Miroku and Sango’s home, Inuyasha noting that he could smell Miroku from inside.

 “I seriously wonder what could be going on,” Kagome mused, her chin in her hand.

 Inuyasha gave a noncommittal grunt, opting to lazily watch the clouds as they waited for the monk.

 Miroku exited his home about ten minutes later, the tea in his possession. Kagome had her back to him, obviously thinking about something, while her husband and mate stood sideways next to her. Without thinking, he walked over to them and reached to gently touch Kagome’s shoulder.

 He expected for her to turn around in mild surprise, or maybe a little jump.

 He did not, however, expect to see the sky, or to feel the ground at his back.

 As she felt his hand on her shoulder, Kagome had immediately acted on auto-pilot—she grabbed his arm, pulled him forward and, using his weight against him, tossed the unsuspecting monk over her shoulder and slammed him onto the ground. The entire maneuver lasted about five seconds, but to him (and a certain red-clad bystander), it seemed like everything happened in slow motion.

 “Oh my god! Miroku, I’m so sorry!”

 Tuning back into the present, Miroku watched as Kagome knelt down at his side, her hands covering her mouth, while he heard some poorly suppressed snickering somewhere from his right. What the hell?

 “Um… What just happened?”

 “She handed you your ass, is what happened,” Inuyasha snorted in laughter.

 “Kagome?”

 “It was an accident!” she wailed. “I didn’t mean to, I swear!”

 In the recesses of his psyche, Miroku had noticed that this had happened before, in the distant past. What was it that happened? Oh, yes, right, he had tried to grope Sango’s rear end, and found himself hurled to his back instead. Which meant…

 “I can see that your training is going extremely well,” he teased, attempting to save face and nurse his wounded pride.

 Inuyasha was never going to let him live this down.

 And if the look on Kagome’s face was any indication, he wasn’t going to let her forget, either.

[teejaydeetrip]

Keep Newtown Weird and Safe

So I woke up on Sunday with a compounded headache. I’ve been drinking for days. Again. It was about 1.30 in the afternoon when I finally dragged myself out of bed, unsure of my ability to stand, but sure I needed to do it. Keep Newtown Weird And Safe is on in 2 and a half hours. I need to coordinate with Newtown Police, who are sending 15 officers out to escort what could be anywhere between 200 and 1000 punks, ravers, clubbers, crossdressers, and family unit’s down the busiest street in the inner western suburbs. I burp and I taste stale beer and nearly throw up. I message Alex, who has forgotten about the event today, and tell him to meet me at Railway Square. Only ramen can make this right. He takes forever to respond and during this time I keep hearing my phone ring, but when I walk to the bedside table to check it, there is no sound, there is no light, there is no notification.

I meet Alex at 3. One hour till showtime. We eat our ramen and it’s fake tonkotsu, thin, and the pickled ginger I pile into the bowl dyes it slightly red. Fake tonkotsu fucking sucks, but I slurp it down and feel somewhat rejuvenated anyhow. Out of the corner of my eye, I keep seeing something that looks like flailing tentacles in the kitchen, but I know it’s probably just cooking chopsticks and exhaustion combining in my brain to fuck with me. 

Alex is talking about how depressing it is to begin to accept that he will not have enough money to go to FujiRock in Japan and I am agreeing. Aphex Twin, Bjork, Queens Of The Stone Age, Major Lazer, Lorde, and The XX are all co-headlining and holy shit am I sad I am responsible enough to accept that I can’t afford it. Even if I could, I’d be shooting myself in the foot as far as leaving the country for good at the end of the year goes. 

We finish our bowls around 3.30 and start walking down to the park. We stop at Broadway Cellars, because of course we do, and I intend on skulling down a quick, cheap mini of whisky. Instead, I find a cold drip coffee infused IPA from Rogue. It costs $16 but there’s no way I’m not trying that, and I am still waist-deep in the throes of a hangover that’s been building like a bad dream since last Wednesday. We sit on a step across the road from the park and I drink a 16 dollar beer in 8 minutes then spot the police arriving in the park across the road. 

Time to head. Alex veers off to chat with crew, as he is holding a 1.5 litre bottle of high alcohol cider. I find Vicki and we trudge over to the police.

I ask where Tony is, my contact for today, and an officer with skulls tattooed on his arms and a big smile points over at a big bald officer with a fancy hat. His nametag says Anthony and he extends his hands to shake and says  “Tony, nice to meet you” and I nearly burp but hold it in and say  “TJ. Not Anthony then?” and motion at his name tag, completely forgetting that Tony is absolutely short for Anthony. He gives me a forced grin. I get the vibe that Tony and the 4 officers flanking him think I just have a lame sense of humour. “Nope. Just Tony” he says. Good good. I run him through our exit plan, then rush off to join the others and notify the stages. Then I realise that our exit plan won’t work. So I grab Kieran,  who is wearing an amazing silver reflective jacket, and we walk a new route, then notify the police, then notify the stages. The only speedbump is the Weird stage, who’s psytrance sound system gets cut off a number of times and they spend the last 3 minutes before the march kick off freaking out and trying to get their generator running.

So from Victoria Park, we march. Keep Newtown Weird and Safe is a party run by Reclaim The Streets and what we are, is a disorganised but effective collective of young and old, anti-establishmentarianists. RTS started in the UK in the 80′s as an anti-gentrification protest. London, I think. There are a few around the world. Austin, Berlin, Quebec, Manilla. Chapters spring up every few years, some lasting, others not. 

Sydney’s chapter has been the most active in recent years, holding at least two rallies per year.  We take over public spaces usually reserved for cars and create a temporary autonomous zone populated by bright colours and happy people dancing to improvised sound systems. Usually we take a street as our final destination after 30-60 minutes of marching and we dance in defiance for as long as we can. 

The march goes well this year. I ran into tons of people I haven’t seen in years and I say my hellos and I promise to have a drink with them at the end point and I rush off to go live on Facebook or post some pictures of the crowd to Instagram with all the usual hashtags or check with the cops that everything is still going well or tell a sound system to slow down or speed up a little. Jack tells me to relax at one point and I tell him that the moment I relax is the moment where my body will remind me it is falling apart.

We have 5 stages rolling down King st, flanked by partygoers, girls on roller skates, people twirling LED poi or blowing bubbles. Under police escort. People are hanging out of windows taking photos and I’m sipping Deans Soju and screaming at them to come join us and taking more photos for the Instagram. At some point, a light from the Umami stage drops off it and clocks Blake, the guy who built the stage in the head. He has blood pouring down the side of his face but a huge smile anyway. 

At the end point, we roll into the park and find spots for the stages and I shake hands with Tony and he says he is handing us off to Redfern Police, who never show. On a run to the bottle shop with Alex, I run into Jess, an old flame from back in the day who I haven’t spoken to in years. She’s wearing a silver leather jacket and a silver skirt with a skeleton design on it, like a space age x-ray around her crotch. We promise to catch up later and I don’t think it will happen, but lo and behold, she approaches as we watch the fashion show that Vicki has organised. 

A guy in a lobster suit, a couple in matching floral print, a transgender woman named Joe and a Victorian era steam punk lady are marching up and down the catwalk and I’m catching up with Jess about where we’ve been and what we’ve seen since we stopped talking like 5 years ago.

When I get distracted, she talks to Alex and I hope he realises that I’m drunk enough to kind of have the hots for Jess and she’s offering me work for her media company and I think there’s something going on. Me, being the guy helping run this gig though, I keep getting distracted. I take Jess and Alex along with me to help shut the gig down after Jack and I decide which stages get shut down and which ones we are gonna just let keep playing. We shut everyone down and Jack, Vicki, Caitlin, Alex and I walk all our gear to a friend of theirs on Lord St. Jess follows. Back at the park, everyone is in packdown except for the Umami stage, who have rolled their rig deeper into the park. We go sit down and enjoy the music. I doubt the police are going to show. I realise I am way too drunk too drink in a park and message Jack to see where he and the crew went.

Townie. But by the time we get there, it’s Oporto that they are at and he is considering going into the city to 77. I message Matty to ask if I can get in for free and he says only if I hurry and I don’t ask about Alex or Jess, who are behind me talking about skateboarding. At Oporto it’s just Caitlin and Jack, and Caitlin is going home. So Jack, Jess, Alex and I all pile into a cab and Jess pays for it. Jack and I get Jess and Alex in for free and A Guy Called Gerald (that is his performer name) is playing a live techno set that I never see because I’m too busy drinking for free on the cool kids side of the club. 

I catch up with K, who gives me a bump of K and we talk long and hard about everything music and I realise I haven’t actually seen K in like 3 years. It’s been a day of catch up’s with old friends, even if I have been shamelessly flirting with one of them and ignoring most of my friends apart from her.

I ask Marina if I can go behind the bar and make some cocktails for my friends and she says yes but only this once. -60ml Scotch -15ml Licor 43 -15ml Passionfruit pulp -30ml Lemon -30ml Egg white

I don’t remember much else except that I got ridiculously drunk, smoked in the bathroom a bit, made out in the bathroom a bit, went home with Jess and didn’t go to sleep until 6 in the morning. 

All of my days seem to start and end with good cocktails. The sex was definitely a plus.

[dead-flowers-i-guess]

Beautiful Art (College! Mark Tuan Short Story)

This is a story that I took from my Mibba account, the general College!Au idea is from the mum of all kpop college! aus  . I’ve modified this story to make it a bit more tumblr-esque.

"Markk~!" Jackson called in a sing-song voice from the living area of their dorm. "Yes Jackson?" "Are you coming to the party the dance majors are throwing tonight? Momo is hoping you are, you wouldn't want to let that sweet transfer down...would you?" Mark paused, usually he wouldn't have any problem going to a party and dancing; but something seemed in the back of his mind made him think it wouldn't be something fun. He couldn't bring himself to agree. "I don't think so this time. I told [Name] I would hang out with her tonight." "Are you two finally dating?" Jackson teased through the doorway. "Aish, stop saying weird things." Mark could feel the blush forming on his cheeks.

A few moments later his roommate walked into his bedroom, a slight grin on his face. "Are you ever going to tell her that you like her? It's so painfully obvious." "W-what? No it's not." Mark tried to defend himself. "If I'm honest, we've all taken bets on when you'll start dating." "Hush." Mark mumbled, his face darkening. The art major looked at his roommate, trying to gauge if he was just joking with him or not. "So you aren't going to come?" "Nope." "Momo will be disappointed." Mark wasn't sure what to even say in response to that. [Name] glanced at her phone as she listened to Yugyeom ramble about math. "Noona! You'll never learn what I'm trying to explain if you keep looking at your phone!" His loud voice rang out. "Ne, ne. I'm listening." "What's so important on your phone?" The six foot freshman leaned over her shoulder to see what she was doing. "Yah! Yugyeom-ah! Mind your own business!" She shouted with a laugh as she clutched her phone to her chest. "Are you texting Mark-hyung?" The young man teased. "W-what? No!" "You're lying, your ears turn red when you lie about him, you know." "Yah!" The history major smacked the younger man's shoulder with as much force as she could. "Aish, no need to be so rough." He laughed rubbing his arm. |Meet me in the library? We can go get ramen. Marks text read. She smiled into her hand slightly. It was getting cold on campus so this was a great idea. She shot back a quick yeah, and started to get ready. She dug through her closet, finally settling on a pair of jeans and a baggy sweater. She glanced down at her phone to see if he had sent her a time. |6? It was 5:50, she silently cursed and pulled her shoes from the rack. As she pulled them on she went to open the door, as she threw it open she saw her roommate standing there. The young girl had a deer in the headlights look. "A-ah! [Name]-ssi. Going somewhere?" Amber chuckled looking over her roommate's appearance. "N-ne. Sorry to startle you, I gonna go hang out with Mark. We're getting dinner." "Oh? You guys finally dating?" A slight smile on the Biology major's lips. "W-what are you even saying? No, we're just really good friends." "Mm-hm." "W-well, I gotta go. I'll see you later!" [Name] brushed past her roommate quickly. Mark looked around the quad in front of the library. She was probably just running late, he sat on his board watching people pass him by. There were couples shuffling around in the cold towards the on campus cafe. He smiled to himself. Finally he heard a pair of almost familiar, hurried steps approaching him. He looked up to see [Name] rushing towards him. "Sorry, Amber caught me before I left." She laughed awkwardly. "Ah, it's cool." Mark smiled at her. He stood up from his seat on the longboard and gestured to it. "I'll walk beside you, to make sure you don't fall." "R-really?" She blinked, a cute blush lighting her cheeks. "Yeah, come on." He took her hand and helped her onto the board. She cautiously kicked off and began to go forward. "I have this great little shop a ways off campus that's totally worth the trip." "Okay." Her soft voice met his ears. [Name] slowly skated down the sidewalk towards the station, Mark tentatively walked beside her. Whenever she would wobble he would steady her. Finally the pair arrived at the station, she hopped off the board and passed it to him. Mark grinned at her and tapped his card onto the reader to let him into the station. She followed suit and walked behind him onto one of the trains. The train ride lasted around ten minutes, they finally got out at Hongdae station. "It's a few blocks that way." He pointed up the street they had just come onto. "The weather really has turned, hasn't it?" [Name]’s  voice made him look over at her. "Yeah, well it is almost December." "That's true, how have classes been going?" Her voice unsure, she had a soft pink on her cheeks as she looked forward. "I've been working on some watercolor, but other than that it's pretty basic. What about your classes?" "Ah, I've been working in an Art History course that is a lot of fun. Well it was..." She trailed off, he paused and glanced over at her again. "What changed about it?" "We're writing a paper, he assigned the topics and it's difficult." "Oh? What's the topic, maybe I can help." "W-well, it's about love shown through art in the past and present and how its changed or stayed the same as time goes on." "O-oh." Mark stuttered, a blush on his cheeks. The steam rose from the large bowl of noodles between them, [Name] smiled at the food in front of her. Mark could practically see her glow, she always looked so radiant when she smiled. "You should come back to the dorm and hang out." Mark commented as he broke his chopsticks apart. She looked up, a noodle hanging out of her mouth. She really looked adorable. "Yeah, sure. Won't Jackson poke fun though?" She asked as she finished eating the noodle in her mouth. "Nah, he's at a party with the dance majors. It's just us." It took him a minute to realize what he had said, he could feel is face heat up. He was a shy person, yes, but he couldn't help but feel ridiculous when he started to blush around her. He glanced down at his phone after a while and realized it was almost 9, it had just hit him how long they had been there. "We should probably go. It's a long walk back to the station." "Hm? Oh, wow." She blinked at her phone as she checked the time. He quickly paid their ticket before she could say anything. The pair exited the restaurant only to feel the heaviness of rain pour down onto them. "Shit! I forgot an umbrella." Mark exclaimed as the looked down at her. "Same!" She squeaked. "Guess we better run." Mark laughed, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street. "Here," He tossed a towel to the drenched history major. "You should go take a shower." "Gamsa." She smiled at him. As she said that she turned on her heel and walked to the bathroom, after a few minutes he heard the water turn on. It finally dawned on him that she didn't have any clothes to change into, he quickly went to his dresser and pulled out a pair of joggers and one of his hoodies. "M-Mark-oppa?" [Name]'s voice came muffled from the bathroom. "Ah! [Name]-ssi, I have some clothes for you to wear. I didn't think about the fact that you didn't have any with you." "G-gamsa." He quickly walked to the bathroom door and opened it ever so slightly, only enough so he could stick his hand through to pass her the clothes. During her shower he had dried his hair with the blow dryer and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweater. [Name] was curled up under two throw blankets as she sat across from Mark on his bed. They shared one of the two across their legs. He casually leaned against the headboard, the neckline of his sweater falling down past his collarbones. His hair was tousled by the dryer, a relaxed expression on his face. She let her pencil glide across the sketch pad, she only had the shape of his body drawn out. She began to work on the details of his hair, give a rough shape to the strands of silvery-blond. "Ya! What are you even doing?" Mark laughed as she pressed her cold feet closer to him. "What are you even talking about?" [Name] grinned at him, feigning innocence. "How are you even this cold?" He questioned, he reached his hands down and wrapped them around her cold extremities. "It's my cold, dead heart." She chuckled. "Nonsense, you have to be kindhearted and caring if you can deal with Yugyeom all the time." She smiled over at him, the pencil in her hand still for a bit as their eyes met. A bang against the door of room made her jump. "Markk!" Jackson's voice met her ears. The young basketball player sat up from against the headboard. After a few seconds the door opened and Jackson walked into Mark's bedroom followed closely by a young woman with long blonde hair and doe-y dark brown eyes. "Ah! [Name]-ssi!" The dance major grinned at her. "H-hello Jackson-ssi." "Have you met Momo? She's a transfer student from Kyoto!" Jackson exclaimed with a smile. "I don't think I have, pleasure to meet you." "You as well! Jackson has told me many wonderful things about you." She trailed off and looked over to the young man across from [Name]. "Ah! Mark-senpai!" She was practically glowing with excitement. [Name] watched as Mark listened to Momo talk quickly, the history major realized that it was as good a time as any to leave the dorm. She began to pull on her shoes beside the door. "Leaving already, [Name]-ssi? Mark will be sad when he realizes you've gone." Jackson commented as he followed her from Mark's room to the living area of the dorm. "Oh please, we both know he's too busy to notice." She scoffed, she tried to keep as much venom out of her tone as she could but it was difficult. "You can't possibly be jealous." Jackson laughed. "Goodbye." She said curtly as she pulled the door open and quickly left the dorm. Mark looked around as casually as he could, [Name] seemed to have disappeared. Momo talked so quickly that Japanese had started to mix into her Korean, she moved her head ever so slightly to emphasize something she had told him. He felt bad that he wasn't paying enough attention to what she was saying to him. "Don't you think?" - Was all Mark heard as he tuned back into the conversation. "H-hm?" "That we should get coffee some time?" She asked, a smile on her lips. "I-I don't really drink coffee." He tried to come up with an excuse, hoping she wouldn't look around to see the empty coffee cans on the bedside table. "Oh, well maybe dinner sometime." She sounded sightly crestfallen. "Uh, yeah maybe." He nodded. He nodded for her to follow him from his room, he looked around. In the sitting room was only Jackson lounging on the couch. The door shut as Momo left. "Where'd [Name] go?" "She went back to her dorm." Jackson commented as he studied his Biology textbook on the sofa. "Why'd she do that?" Mark mumbled, almost to himself. "Well, you were talking to Momo and she didn't want to third-wheel." "She wouldn't have left if you hadn't brought Momo home." Mark snapped looking over at his roommate. "Are you actually mad at me? Momo really wanted to see you, she begged for over two hours for me to bring her with me." "Still, did you even walk [Name] back? What if something happened to her?" "You didn't walk Momo home." Jackson countered. "She lives in this building." The basketball player snapped. "Whatever, goodnight." Mark turned around and went to his room. "If you're worried, you should call her." Jackson shouted across the dorm. [Name] glanced at her phone as she felt it vibrate on her bed next to her. Incoming call from Mark Tuan. She rolled her eyes but picked up the phone regardless. "Ne?" "Oh thank god, you got home okay?" He sounded so relieved. "Ne." "Why'd you leave?" There was a slight edge of hurt in his voice. "That paper I told you about, I really need to work on it so I came back to my dorm." "Ah, okay." "I'll bring you the clothes back tomorrow." She said quietly. "It's fine, just when you get time." He commented she could hear the passiveness in his voice, he really didn't seem to mind.

A few weeks had passed from the last time [Name] had gone to Mark and Jackson's dorm. She hadn't avoided him per-say, but she didn't put the effort into going to his room and hanging out with him or spending a lot of time with him in general. She threw herself into her paper writing and got ready for finals. "Noona, you're being unreasonable." Yugyeom commented as she tossed Mark's clothes towards him. "No, I'm just busy! I don't have time to go all the way to his dorm. You live in the same building." [Name] defended. "You use to spend all the time over there, what happened?" "Nothing, I don't know what your talking about." "It's been weeks; you don't come to our building, you avoid talking to him, its frustrating for all of us. We miss you! What happened? Was is something to do with Momo?" The freshman's words smacked her in the face, she knew something was going on with Momo. "No, I've just been busy. Tell JB I'll make you two dinner sometime next week once I'm done with my paper." "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that. I'll take these back to Mark-hyung." The taller of the two said with a sigh. [Name] frowned at her notes, she hated the way the paper she was writing was turning out. She hadn't realized, until re-reading her progress, that the paper had slowly become about her affections towards a certain Point-Guard on the college's basketball team. A small groan left her lips and she dropped her head onto her notebook. The scraping of a chair being pulled out made her jump to cover her work. "You won't let me see?" The teasing voice of Mark Tuan chimed from beside her. "A-ah? No i-it's not that..." She trailed off unable to think of a what to say to him. "Are you still struggling with it?" Mark questioned. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." "So, I've been working on a piece that I think will help with your paper." Mark's deep voice commented beside her. [Name] felt her heart sink, he knew that her paper was about love. All the hope that she was still holding onto that he wasn't in a relationship with Momo was crushed at that moment. "I'll show it to you, it's in the art building." "Okay." She mumbled she quickly closed her notebook to prevent him from seeing what she had been writing down. He waited patiently for her to pack her things into her bag. "Here, get on the front. Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't fall." Mark urged her onto the front of his long board. She paused, unsure of whether or not she should. After a second of consideration, she stepped onto the front of the board. Mark stepped on behind her, ever so casually wrapping his arms around her waistline. She felt her chest tighten as his toned torso pressed against her back, what would she do if Momo saw them? What would she even say. He kicked the board forward and began to maneuver them to the art building. As they rode through the quad wolf-whistles could be heard. [Name] felt her face heat up immensely. She felt Mark chuckle at the people around them, the rumble of his laughter didn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks. Mark could feel his nerves stir as [Name] casually leaned against his chest. Finally the pair arrived in front of the at building. As soon as he had stopped [Name] was off the board standing before him. Her face was red, he assumed it was from the cold air that had rushed against her face as they rode over. She stood before the steps. He took in her sight. A distressed olive green hoodie that was a few sizes too big for her thin frame, her heart ring choker wrapped around her neck, ripped up black jeans that revealed her legs to the air. On her feet she wore a pair of platform combat boots. With the boots she was only a bit shorter than him. He smiled slightly. The young artist pulled the door to the gallery he was permitted to use for both academic works and personal pieces. He pulled her behind his body. As she passed through the threshold he turned and placed his hands over her eyes. "W-what are you doing?" She sputtered out. "I'ts a surprise." He grinned. He hoped what he was about to show her would improve the awkwardness that had existed since the night she was in his dorm and Momo came in. [Name] felt her face get even warmer at the contact of his hands on her face. "Okay," He whispered in her ear, "1...2..." He pulled his hands away slowly. As she realized his hands weren't obstructing her vision anymore, she began to look at the piece. Before the pair sat a painting on an easel. The colors were muted and soft against the dark head board. Depicted in the image was a young woman sitting cross-legged on Mark's bed. The viewpoint was from behind her. In front of her was Mark leaned on the headboard, his arms folded behind his head a grin on his face. Haebin focused on the young woman finally, after trying to ignore the woman he was in love with. The acrylic painted woman had pale skin; her hair pulled into a messy bun atop her head. - Something about the woman seemed so familiar. She let her eyes trance up her slim neck. [Name] felt her breath hitch. "It-it's-" She couldn't speak. Mark held his breath. He had chosen to show an alternate version of a memory he thought back on often. In the painting if you focused over her shoulder, she was sketching him. In his dorm he still had the sketchpad she had been using that night; it remained unfinished. The drawing tossed to the side when Momo and Jackson had come into the dorm, causing [Name]'s abrupt departure. He had drawn [Name] wearing his basketball jersey. "TUAN" written across the upper back of the top, 93 in larger font below his last name. The art major could only hope she completely understood what he meant in the art piece. He thought back on the last conversation he'd had with Yugyeom. | "Hyung! What happened between you and [Name]-noona? She's so sad, she doesn't come over to our building ever!" Yugyeom's frustrated voice met the eldest member of their friend groups ears. "What do you mean?" Mark asked looking up from his text book over the Italian Renaissance. "It seems stressed between you two, she asked me to come and return your clothes to you." "Well...I don't know how to explain it." Mark faltered. "WEELL! Let me explain," Jackson's voice filled the room, "Marky-boy here made her jealous. He brought her to our dorm. I was at a party that some of the dance majors threw and Momo was there. She has a thing for him, ya know. So she was there, right? When I said I was leaving she asked if she could come back with me and say hi to Mark. She was really sad he didn't go to the party, no he was on a non-date date with [Name]. Because they're both too stubborn to admit they like each other. BUT anyways; I brought her with me and [Name] got upset because Mark was trapped into talking to only Momo. So she, [Name] I mean, left. Ever since then it's been kinda weird." | Mark carefully looked over her face, tears had begun to form in her dark brown eyes. Finally she spoke. "It's-it's me." "Your paper is about love, right?" He watched as she gave him a shaky nod. "You should use personal experience for a more accurate description, shouldn't you?" "I..." She trailed off. Not even a second after she'd trailed off; Mark felt her thin arms wrap around his neck. Her full lips pressed to his softly, it was a delicate kiss. It was very her, surprising but still soft and sweet. Relief flooded him as she pressed herself to his chest. "Thank you." She whispered into the thin cotton of his shirt as she pulled away. "I-I was worried you'd given up on me." He finally admitted. "I thought you liked Momo." She murmured. "No, I couldn't let go of you that easily." He chuckled softly against her hair. "Was the painting a good confession?" He grinned. "Yeah, it was." She giggled against his collarbone. "You know what we should do?" "Hm?" She hummed. "We should go finish that sketch." "Right now?" "Sure, why not? Jackson left for Hong Kong this afternoon, he'll be gone for the next week." As he finished saying that [Name] pulled away, her cheeks a rosy-pink shade. She slowly nodded and he tugged her towards the door. [Name]‘s short puffs of breath ghosted over Mark's slender neck. He pressed himself closer to her small frame. The only sounds in the room where their uneven breaths. He captured her chin once more and pressed their lips together. His tongue ran across her lip, she shyly opened her mouth. Once they separated again, [Name] tugged on his shoulders to bring him closer. "The sketch?" He whispered teasingly against her soft lips. "It can wait." She whispered breathlessly. Her forwardness surprised him, but he didn't stop her. Mark's hand lightly ran through [Name]'s hair. Her cheek pressed to his chest as she slept, this was a sight he would never truly forget. He took it in; [Name] curled into his side wearing only his jersey and her underwear. He glanced down at the completed sketch that laid in the hand that wasn't tangled in her hair. Depicted was him; leaned against the headboard shirtless. He wore a sated smile on his lips. His hair messy: the silvery blond strands sticking out at odd angles, curling ever so slightly at the ends. Small beads of sweat clinging to his torso. Finally he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, the slowly drifted close. The sketch pad laid beside the sleeping pair.