#of course tho it’s welcome weekend and I work so maybe I’ll feel differently by Sunday
Text
CHAPTER 7
“In a Sudden”
[SEPTEMBER 2013]
As time passes, our bond becomes stronger.
We had a lot of trips.
This is our first time traveling this often.
We’re traveling almost every weekend.
Gray is just so generous to us.
Faith also invited Gray to join us in doing charitable activities.
And this has become our life since then.
ISLA: We’re traveling every weekend. How about Raquel and Cherry?
GRAY: I meet them the other days
ISLA: Like after work?
GRAY: Anytime during the weekdays
ISLA: Are you working online?
GRAY: I don’t work like you’re doing. I handle my own time.
ISLA: So, what’s your work?
GRAY: I have my own resto bar.
ISLA: Ha?
GRAY: Yeah.
ISLA: Why didn’t you tell me?
GRAY: You didn’t ask, right?
ISLA: Oh, I didn’t expect that you’re rich.
GRAY: I’m not. It’s just a resto bar.
ISLA: What’s the name?
GRAY: Gray’s Resto Bar.
ISLA: Oh... Is that the one?
GRAY: Yap. That’s mine.
ISLA: You have such a good life, huh? But you’re so simple. Like... You’re joining us in feeding programs, even if it’s hot.
Then Gray just laughed at me.
GRAY: How about your parents? What do they do?
ISLA: Dad is a software developer, and mom is a pharmacist. And your parents?
GRAY: They are running a business.
ISLA: What’s their business?
GRAY: Do you know the Mcdowney Staycation?
ISLA: Wait... Is that the one in Seville?
GRAY: Yap.
ISLA: Oh! Are you that rich?
GRAY: It’s theirs, not mine.
ISLA: They are your parents, tho.
.
.
.
GRAY: Do you want to come there sometimes?
ISLA: Of course!
GRAY: I’ll be celebrating my birthday there on September 25... Wait, you’re a Pisces, right? When exactly is your birthday?
ISLA: Hmmm. February... 28
GRAY: Why did you think that long?
ISLA: Ha? I’m thinking of something else.
GRAY: What is it?
ISLA: Nothing. Let’s party!
*At a beach party~
Everyone is dancing...
Wooooohooooooo!
Party partyyyyy!
*Tugs! Tugs! Tugs! Tugs! Tugs! Tugs! Tugs!
.
FAITH: This is like... one of the best chapters in our lives!
ISLA: Yeah!!!
FAITH: You know what?...
I had a dream last week...
Like...
I’m in heaven.
*Then I just laughed.
FAITH: Maybe this is it! We’re living the life, Isla!
ISLA: Yeah! Thanks to Gray!
Tugs! Tugs! Tugs! Tugs! Tugs! Tugs! Tugs!
Cheers!!!
.
.
.
.
.
And that feels like a long vacation, thanks to the holiday. Thanks, Gray!
---
Then, here we are at Gray’s Resto Bar.
Happy 31st Birthday, Sir Gray!
Woohooooo!
Gray introduced us to his employees.
GRAY: Here’s my girlfriend, Isla.
And here’s my long-lost half-sister, Mercedes.
And my beautiful niece, Faith.
“Hi!”
“Hello!”
The staff greeted us.
“How are you?”
“How old are you?”
“Where are you working?”
Yeah, we are very welcomed by Gray’s staff.
And this day is just so special for us, especially for Gray.
ISLA: Gray, where are your parents?
GRAY: We’ll have a separate celebration later at my home.
ISLA: How about Raquel and Cherry?
GRAY: After my relationship with Precious, I’m just keeping my relationship private.
ISLA: Then, what is this? You just introduced me to your staff as your girlfriend.
GRAY: Well, you’re an exemption. Because of you, I found Sis Mercedes and Faith.
ISLA: Oh.
GRAY: Yeah. You are special to me, Isla.
ISLA: Hmm. Will you also introduce them to your staff? How about in your family?
GRAY: Well, they are not asking to be introduced.
ISLA: Oh.
GRAY: Come with me later, I’ll introduce you to mom and dad.
ISLA: No, I don’t want to.
GRAY: Why?
ISLA: Well, we are like.. very different. You have such a good life compared to me.
GRAY: Sus! It doesn’t matter.
ISLA: But still! I don’t want to.
GRAY: Just tell me when you finally want to meet them.
---
[OCTOBER 2013]
*
Due to busy schedules, there are still weeks that we don’t see each other.
“Here’s a gift for you, Isla!”
“Thanks, Faith!”
“What’s Gray’s gift for you?”
“Ahh. Ahmmm... A dress! Yeah, a dress.”
“Where is he now?”
“He’s actually busy... Ahm, I’ll go tomorrow to my family”
“Alright, enjoy!”
*
---
Christmas is approaching!
So, I bought gifts for my family, and of course, for Auntie, Faith, and Gray.
Before going back to my family to celebrate Christmas tomorrow,
I was about to leave my apartment to give my gifts to Auntie and Faith when Gray knocked at my door.
“Merry Christmas, Honey!” Gray greets.
“Wow! Merry Christmas! Thank you... I also have a gift for you.”
“Thank you!”
I received lots of gifts from Gray, Faith, and Auntie.
I’m so happy! He gave me a phone, shoes, and bags.
To have our advance celebration since I won’t be here tomorrow, we ate at a fine dining restaurant.
Then, here I am in our province, with my family.
Merry Christmas!
I gave them lots of gifts. And I also received gifts from them.
“You look so blooming, sister.” My brother said.
“Yeah. Are you in love again?” My mom asked.
“Ha? I’m not,” I answered.
“Weh?” My younger sister said.
Then, we celebrated Christmas.
Like... Yeah... I’m so happy in this chapter of my life because of Gray.
---
[JANUARY 2014]
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Cheers!
Fast forward...
It’s Friday night...
Gray stayed at my apartment because tomorrow we’ll be volunteering to give relief goods to people...
And we’re about to go to sleep...
GRAY: You know what? I feel like random people are following me whenever I leave my sister’s home.
ISLA: Ha? Maybe they have a crush on you.
GRAY: No, they are men.
ISLA: Oh. Maybe you’re just overthinking.
GRAY: I hope so.
ISLA: Or maybe they are ex-boyfriends of Raquel and Cherry?
GRAY: Hmm. I don’t know. I’ll just ask for photos of their exes.
* Raquel and Cherry sent the photos of their exes.
GRAY: None of them look like the men who are stalking me
ISLA: Oh. Just observe the next few days after you leave Auntie’s home to see if they are still stalking you.
.
Wait. You can check the CCTV records.
GRAY: Right.
---
And then it’s Saturday...
A tiring day...
but seeing people happily accept their goods is just so fulfilling.
Everyone is just busy doing their things...
“I don’t feel good today.” Gray said.
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” he answered.
>>> BOOM!!! <<<
A bomb just exploded...
.
.
.
LIKE F*CK?
.
.
.
.
.
Everyone was just in total shock...
.
.
.
“What was that?”
“Who da fvk did that?”
People are complaining...
.
.
.
“Are you guys okay?” Auntie asked.
“Yeah, we’re fine.” I answered.
“What was that?” Gray asked.
.
.
.
Then Auntie asked...
“Where is Faith?”
.
.
.
.
“A woman is dead... A woman is dead.” a man said.
.
.
.
“Where?”
.
.
.
“Three women are injured, and one is dead”
.
.
.
“Where?”
.
.
.
“Where?!”
.
.
.
“At the parking lot”
.
.
.
Then we rushed to the parking lot to see the victims...
.
.
.
.
.
And...
.
.
.
.
.
I can’t say anything else... But,
.
.
.
.
.
MY FAITH IS DEAD.
CHAPTER 8
“The Root of All Evil”
ISLA: I remember last Sunday, when we were all dancing at the beach, Faith told me about her dream.
GRAY: What dream?
ISLA: ... That she’s in heaven...
GRAY: We must find the criminal.
---
Faith’s case is now under investigation...
INVESTIGATOR: Did Faith have a fight with someone else?
ISLA: No, she doesn’t have a single enemy. Her life is just like.. work and church. Then travel.
AUNTIE: Faith is too good to have an enemy. She must just be a victim of it.
INVESTIGATOR: How about you, her family?
AUNTIE: We don’t have.
GRAY: Do you remember what I told you last week?
ISLA: Your stalkers? Have you checked on them?
GRAY: I haven’t...
INVESTIGATOR: What stalkers?
GRAY: Since last month, I feel like there are random men following me whenever I leave my sister’s home. Can you check on it?
Then, we checked all the CCTV records...
INVSTGTR: They really are stalking you, sir.
ISLA: They are all wearing hats.
INVSTGTR: Do you have any idea who they are? Did you have a fight with someone else before?
GRAY: There are only two people with whom I had a fight back then. The Chairman-CEO and EVP of VenZon Corporación, Steven Esperanza and Jazon Castro.
AUNTIE: I know them, they are extremely rich people.
ISLA: It must be them. Why did you have a fight?
GRAY: They must have discovered that Faith is related to me.
AUNTIE: I also had an argument with Steven before, I was a custodian in their company. I was accused of stealing his watch, costing around €82,000.00. They haven’t found any evidence, yet he fired me. After a few months, someone set fire to the apartment I was renting out. We were so stressed back then, but I couldn’t do anything. No criminals were found. The same happened to another custodian, her mini store was set on fire. I don’t know the exact issue, but there’s a rumor that it’s most probably because of Jazon.
GRAY: Sir, please investigate them.
INVSTGTR: Okay, we will.
---
ISLA: Then, in my room, Gray told me something.
GRAY: I remember something I didn’t say to the investigator
ISLA: What?
GRAY: On that day, a woman was rushing me to get the goods on that truck where the bomb was put.
ISLA: Then?
GRAY: I was busy distributing the goods to people, so I asked Faith to get them.
Then Gray just had a deep sigh.
I feel his disappointment...
like he carries all the burdens.
GRAY: I hate myself. I really do.
ISLA: It’s not your fault
May I know why you had a fight with them?
GRAY: We were all friends from first-year college until our first work. I’m the only one who got a Latin honor among the three of us.
ISLA: Then?
GRAY: Jazon was happy for me, but I felt like Steven was not. But I just ignored it. Then, we all joined Corporación de Pio to gain some experience. Steven didn’t need to work actually as he came from rich parents and he’s the only child. After almost a year of working, Steven thought of an idea.
ISLA: What idea?
GRAY: He invited us to come up with ideas for a business plan, so we could have a business of our own. After a month, they both resigned, and told me they would find another company to work for. I wondered why they both became cold to me in the last few days. I asked them for updates about our planned business until they totally stopped communicating with me. I was hurt by what they did. After a year, I knew through my coworkers that Steven and Jazon had finally established their own company. After searching about it, I learned that the marketing ideas for their business were mine. And yeah, that’s the VenZon Corporación,
the most popular coffee shop in Madrid, since it’s not a typical coffee shop, it’s a coffee bar. I was so angry at them during those times.
ISLA: F*ck...
[FEBRUARY 2014]
Based on the investigation, all the volunteers were found innocent.
However, they said that they couldn’t detect where all the people on that day came from, and their faces were blurred on the record.
Gray and I did almost everything to find the criminal.
GRAY: Steven and Jazon must be the only masterminds of it. They are just hiding the evidence, as the two could have given them millions to protect their identities.
ISLA: That’s what I’ve also thought of since the moment the investigator asked you with whom you had a fight before. I noticed that he suddenly became quiet after knowing that the Chairman-CEO and EVP of VenZon Corporación are the only people with whom you had a fight... They are f*ck*g rich, so I wasn’t surprised by your assumption.
-
ISLA: Do you believe in bad luck?
GRAY: No, I think the only thing that has true luck is in quantum mechanics, where there is true randomness. Otherwise, everything that happens is because some entity acted on something to make it happen. Even when you roll a die, if you can calculate the exact force and trajectory of your dice throw and if you have exact control of your motor function, you can determine how it will land before it actually stops rolling. Why do you ask?
ISLA: Nothing.
GRAY: How about you? Do you believe in luck?
ISLA: I believe in both good and bad luck, even if I don’t know exactly the explanation behind this belief.
GRAY: That’s one reason why religion and science cannot coexist.
ISLA: So, what’s your religion?
GRAY: I don’t believe in the existence of a divine being. How about you?
ISLA: I belonged to two religions back then. I belonged to the first one for more than two decades, and the other one was just for a few months.
GRAY: But you’re doing charitable activities in that church?
ISLA: I’m just doing it for people, but I don’t belong in that church, just like Faith. GRAY: Oh, you also don’t believe in God anymore?
ISLA: Well, I’m not like you. I still believe in God, but I decided not to belong to any religion anymore.
GRAY: Why?
ISLA: That’s one thing I just want to keep to myself. I felt better when I chose spiritual independence.
---
GRAY: I will make them pay for what they’ve done to my only niece.
ISLA: I’ll join you.
GRAY: You have no idea how risky it is.
ISLA: You have no idea what I’m capable of doing.
GRAY: Let me think first.
ISLA: This is not an exchange for the favor you’ve done to me.
GRAY: No, leave it to me.
ISLA: You have 24 hours to make it official that I am part of that mission. If you don’t, I will make my own plans to destroy them myself.
GRAY: You’re in.
ISLA: I will do e v e r y t h i n g to get our revenge.
GRAY: This is not revenge, only justice.
.
.
.
ISLA: Who else will join us?
GRAY: We can’t have other people’s loyalty since they will know that Steven and Jazon are the ones we are going to destroy. They will only be scared. Besides, most people’s loyalty is invested in money, not in people. They will only betray us.
ISLA: Yeah. We can’t trust anyone else.
GRAY: Will you be loyal to me?
ISLA: Not to you...But to our mission.
GRAY: Good.
~
GRAY: Most lives are uninteresting...
So, why don’t we make a thrill?
ISLA: What kind of thrill?
GRAY: This will take a long time to finally accomplish the mission.
ISLA: Then?
GRAY: You know... We must live together to make the plans.
ISLA: Then?
GRAY: We may fall for each other, like.. we may love each other for real.
ISLA: What makes you say that I will love you that way? Just to remind you, sex is just sex for me.
GRAY: Oh, common!
ISLA: Okay, deal... So, what kind of deal are we having?
.
.
.
Wait, I have thought of something.
GRAY: What?
ISLA: If I’m the first one to fall in love, I’ll pay you €100,000.00. And if you do, you’ll pay me €1,000,000.00 since one hundred thousand will just be easy for you. Deal?
GRAY: Deal!
.
.
.
Wait, next week is your birthday. How are we going to celebrate that?
ISLA: Ha?... Ahhh. Yeah. February 28! ... I don’t want to celebrate it. I’m still sad.
GRAY: No, we should still celebrate it, Isla.
“Happy 24th birthday!”
“Thanks!”
“So, you’ll go today to your family?”
“Ahh. Hmm. Yeah. That’s why I took a leave today.”
“Okay. Let’s eat!”
.
.
.
“Thanks. You make me happy today.”
---
[MARCH 2014]
GRAY: This time, I'll be the mastermind
ISLA: And I'll be your ally
GRAY: Until when?
ISLA: Till the end.
GRAY: How can you be useful to me this time?
ISLA: I will do everything... I will make us win... No matter what
.
.
.
GRAY: Will you follow my ordinances?
.
.
ISLA: Mhmm!
So, what’s the 1st ordinance, Master Libra?
#Heaven
#ForFaith
CHAPTER 9
“BECOME A CHESS MASTER”
ISLA: Why should I?
GRAY: It’s part of the plan
ISLA: Can you explain?
GRAY: This time, I’ll be the mastermind. You just have to do it.
ISLA: Alright!
GRAY: It takes strong dedication to become a chess master. You’ll have to spend at least 10,000 hours of constant practice.
ISLA: That long? Who will teach me?
GRAY: Pack your things and move to my home as soon as possible.
ISLA: So...
GRAY: Yap. I’m a chess master.
ISLA: Oh.
GRAY: So, pack your things and move to my home.
ISLA: Aye aye, Captain!
---
“Hey, tender a resignation.” Gray asked.
“Oh. I can’t do that; I like my work. And I’m giving money to my family.” I replied.
“Hmm. If that’s the case, then let’s just rent the nearest apartment in your office. So, we could maximize the time.”
“Mhmm!”
“Okay. Let’s organize your schedule.”
“Can you tell me now all the plans?” I asked.
“This time, I’ll be the mastermind... and?”
“I’ll be your ally.”
“How many hours do you sleep?” Gray asked.
“Eight”
“Make it seven. How many minutes do you prepare for work?”
“Thirty minutes”
---
Then, we transferred to our chosen apartment near my work.
“You are at the office nine hours a day, from Mondays to Fridays. It only takes 10 minutes to and from your building and around 5 minutes for you to get to and leave your office.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll eat your breakfast in the car while I’m driving.
We can get home at 5:15 and we have 15 minutes to eat our dinner every day.”
“Mhmm! That can be.”
“Then I’ll start teaching you at 5:30, for 4 straight hours, and then we’ll have a 10-minute break after. We’ll continue at 9:40, then stop at 12 midnight. You can wake up at 7:15 if you’re preparing yourself for 30 minutes.”
“Alright!”
“That will give us 6 hours and 20 minutes of practice every day.
That’s equivalent to 31 hours and 40 minutes in 5 days.
For weekends, I’ll teach you from 8 AM to 12 noon.
We’ll continue from 12:20 to 3 PM.
Then we’ll have a 10-minute break after, a 15-minute dinner, another 10-minute break, and then we’ll stop at 12 midnight. So, your body clock won’t change.
That will give us 30 hours.
Overall, in a week, we can have 61 hours and 40 minutes of practice. But just expect that this schedule cannot be perfectly followed since there will be days when we’ll not be in the mood to practice. Hmm.
In a month, that’s almost 247 hours. We can have more than 3,000 hours of practice in a year, given that there are holidays. I’ll let you watch online tutorials as well.”
“Yap!”
“It will take us more than three years if you won’t resign from your job.
But I respect your decision.”
---
Then, here we start...
“Okay. Let’s start with the basics.
Set up the chess board with a white square in the bottom right-hand corner.
Put all of the pieces facing each other on the back two rows of each side.
Put the pawns in front, then line up the other pieces symmetrically with the king and queen in the middle.
Then each player controls 16 pieces: 8 pawns, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, 1 king, and 1 queen.
Each type has its own way of moving across the board and potentially capturing your opponent's pieces as it goes.
Okay, let’s start with the pawns. Per turn, pawns can be moved 1 square forward, except on your first turn when you can move forward 2 squares. Pawns capture other pieces diagonally, moving one space diagonally forward, and they cannot be moved backward.
Next, the Rooks. Using Rook, you can go to as many squares as possible, either horizontally or vertically. If one of your pieces is in the way, it must stop at the square just before it. And if one of your opponent's pieces is in the way, capture it using your rook and stop exactly there.
Next, the Knights. Using a Knight, you can move 2 squares horizontally or vertically, then 1 square to the right or left of that second square. Knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces, and they only capture an opponent's piece if it's on the final square of the move.
Next, the Bishops. Using a Bishop, you can go as many squares as possible diagonally. Like the rook, a bishop must stop at the square before one of your own pieces, and it captures an opponent's piece and stops there.
Next, the King. It is the most important piece, as the game ends if it's captured. The king can move 1 square in any direction. You cannot move the king into any space where one of your opponent's pieces could capture it.
Last, the Queen. The queen can go as many squares as possible in any direction. Like the rooks and bishops, the queen must stop before one of your own pieces, and it must capture an opponent's piece and stop there.”
Then, it gets harder and harder. Yeah. But I must do this.
---
“Today, I’ll teach you the special moves that can be made by pawns, rooks, and kings.
Let’s start with the Pawns.
If your opponent moves a pawn 2 spaces on its first move and it's sitting right next to one of your pawns, on your next move, you can capture it with your pawn —but only on your next move. Okay?
Also, a pawn gets promoted if it makes it all the way to the back row of the other side of the board.
That means you can change that pawn to any type of piece other than a king.
Most players promote a pawn to a queen, of course, since the queen is the most powerful piece. Right?
Next, Kings and rooks.
If there are no pieces between your rook and your king on the back row, you can actually move your king 2 spaces toward your rook.
Then, immediately move the rook over to the other side of your king.
This special move is called castling.”
.
.
.
“Are you ready to play?” Gray asked
“Yeah.” I answered.
“Okay. The player with the white pieces always makes the first move. You know that, right?”
“Yeah!”
“You and I, as your opponent, may flip a coin to see who gets the white pieces.
The one who got the white pieces has a slight advantage, mainly because with white you get to attack first.”
I chose the head, and he chose the tail.
Then, we flip the coin...
Tadaaa! It’s head. So, I got the white pieces. This time I had a slight advantage.
“So, Chess is just like any other turn-based board game, we have, of course, to take turns to move one piece. Consider the different moves that all the pieces can make when thinking about the move you want to make. Take note that there's no "pass" in chess. When it's your turn, you must move something.
At some point, as the game progresses, I, your opponent, will likely put your king in check, or perhaps you'll put my king in check. This just means that if nothing changes, I will capture your king on my next move.
When I announce "check," you must do something to get out of check.
This time, you have 3 basic options: block, evade, or capture.
To block, move one of your pieces in between the attacking piece and your king.
To evade, shuffle your king over one square so I'm out of the attacking piece's line of attack.
To capture, use another piece to capture the piece I am attacking. With that, the threat will be eliminated.
Your goal is to checkmate me and protect your king so that I can't checkmate you.
This may seem simple, but due to the many pieces in play, the strategy and planning can get complex. Since you're just starting out, focus on always protecting your king.
Sometimes we play to a stalemate, that's the opposite of a checkmate when neither of us has any legal moves left. It usually happens when most of the pieces have been captured.
And when you're playing in a tournament, there are other ways the game can end, such as if you run out of time. But you don't need to worry about those yet since you’re just a beginner.”
---
Another day, another chess tutorial, another games...
“Today, let’s focus on the strategies.
Here...
You must control the center of the board as quickly as possible. This gives you the upper hand and allows you to make attacks while defending against my attacks. When you have control over the center of the board, you can maximize your ability to move while also limiting your ability to move without being captured.
Then here...
Since chess isn't a game that you can play one turn at a time, try to think of a move or two ahead. Consider all the pieces and their possible moves, and make your move based on what might happen a move or two as you go along.
Of course, you must protect your king. If I put your king in checkmate, that's the end of the game, so protect your king at all costs. In every turn, evaluate your king's position and where it might be vulnerable. As a beginner, it's always better to make a move that protects the king's defenses than to attack.
Then... Involve all your pieces in the game. While you don't necessarily have to develop your queen too early in the game, your other pieces can come forward to build a strong defense and lay the groundwork for future attacks. Consider leaving space open for your queen to enter later. Then, maximize her power and use her to the fullest of her potential.
There's nothing wrong with sacrificing pieces from time to time, but avoid unnecessary sacrifices. Since a piece lost can't be regained, and if you get too far down, you'll find it hard defending against a multi-pronged attack from your opponent.
Then, every time I make a move, ask yourself why I made that move. If you can figure out what I’m trying to do, you might be able to make moves that will disrupt my plans, or if not, at least make them more difficult to pull off.”
---
Here I am...
In this chapter of my life, I have met plastic coworkers at different levels.
They seem very friendly to each other but are constantly backstabbing each other.
Here’s Maya, a petite, simple woman with undeniable beauty and two professional licenses: MBA and CFMS.
Then, here’s Brenda, an attention-seeker with inappropriate body proportions and an undeniable ugly face, but, for fairness, with an MBA title.
During my stay in this company, I didn’t hear any bad comments about the work performance and attitude of Maya from our coworkers, with whom she directly worked and is currently working. I also had my own observations of Maya.
She’s just really working hard and is very quiet.
I am also having some talks with her about our love life, family, etc.
She’s just really nice. I can’t say anything else.
One day, we’re given a new project, and we are composed of ten members.
While doing this project, there were days that I heard rants about Maya, led by Brenda.
“I can’t understand Maya sometimes.”
“She’s like a fool.”
Bla bla bla -
Then, my coworkers are not responding to Brenda every time she’s backstabbing Maya. Because there is really nothing wrong with the latter.
Besides, for the record, they didn’t have a project where they had to work together. So, where are the rants coming from?
What’s funny is that they are having lunch together. XD
One day, Brenda was ranting again, but here’s an unbiased, straightforward girl, Natalie.
“What’s the problem with Maya?” Natalie asked.
“I can’t understand her sometimes.” Brenda answered.
“With what?” Natalie asked again.
Then, Brenda just acted like she’s busy with what she’s doing since she can’t give justification for her rants about Maya.
A sad thing is that Maya obviously likes Brenda more than Natalie since the latter is not approachable to her. I even saw in the social media stories of Maya some photos of her with Brenda XD
Like wtf?
I feel sad for Maya for thinking that she’s with a friend when, in fact, she’s with an insecure, backstabbed, ugly bch.
WaaAaAaaahhhHHH!!!
What kind of world do we live in?
What am I discovering about human nature?
I feel sad for both Natalie and Maya.
---
[MID OF APRIL 2014]
Fast forward.
GRAY: What are you watching?
ISLA: K-Drama
GRAY: You’re supposed to be watching chess tutorials.
ISLA: Later, master.
-
GRAY: Ready to play?
ISLA: Yap.
GRAY: Who do you think will win?
ISLA: The Libra
GRAY: Ha?
ISLA: I mean... the Pisces, of course.
GRAY: Good!
And yeah. Here’s the battle.
Gray is just so serious.
I prepared for this, so I am confident that I will win.
The battle is intense...
“Check!”
“Congrats, Master Libra.”
“More practice, Miss Pisces.”
“I’m getting curious about the second ordinance.”
“Hmm. It will definitely take you more time to master chess. Our planned timeline will change, especially if you don’t resign from your job. Hmm. But I can tell you the second ordinance, so you won’t get bored.”
So, what’s the 2nd ordinance, Master Libra?
#TheFirstOrdinance
#IslaTheFutureChessMaster
0 notes
Note
Hello.... I'm new here... I was wondering Kuroo, Sugawara and Bokuto having a super shy and short s/o.. Like, too shy to confess, too shy to hold hands, even too shy too talk... I would love it if you did smthn with this... Cz, I'm like this, 100% introvert and 5feet tall... Ofc, IF you want and like... Hihi... Take love... 💐❤️
Hello welcome! You’re so sweet ah have some love too!! 💕✨ I felt this ask, hope you enjoyy ~
I think he’d catch on when someone likes him
Will tease a bit a lot but he means well
Knows you won’t be the first to confess or suggest a date so of course he’ll take that upon himself
Loves when you blush
“You’re too cute when you blush like that Y/N”
“Kuroo stoop” you mumble out, eyes cast down, you really can’t meet his gaze right now.
“But it’s true!” He grabbed your sleeve, perhaps hand holding was too bold for now. “Come on, Ive heard great things about this new cafe.”
“Like on a date?” Your voice is barely above a whisper.
“Only if you” glance down at you to make sure you’re comfortable, you can only nod.
Will order for you! We stan
Catches you glancing at him a lot, he smiles at you every time.
Doesn’t really mind that you’re shy. He’s use to Kenma so it’s nothing new
Absolutely loves the height difference, as much as he’ll tease you for being small
Forehead kisses! Mostly when you’re in private, doesn’t want to overwhelm you with pda until you’re more comfortable
“You can call me Tetsurou ya know?”
“O-oh...if you’re sure”
He beamed at you “of course, I am your boyfriend after all.”
Was more than surprised when you said ‘I love you’ first
Gave him mini heart attack, how were you so cute??
Always makes sure to check in and that you’re comfortable
Pinky holding is a must!! sorry I don’t make the rules
Likes the comfortable silence so don’t worry about being too shy to speak sometimes, as long as you’re there he’s more than happy
Sugawara is an absolute sweet heart but he’s a tease too sorry
Will notice your presence more and more
Knows you’re shy but will try to subtly encourage you to confess first 
If it doesn’t work he most certainly will confess
I think he’s a romantic, probably would write a love letter, hoping it wouldn’t overwhelm you as much as an in person confession
You slowly made your way towards Sugawara, clutching the letter you had written last night; it only felt appropriate to write him a letter back.You tugged at his shirt to get his attention, adamant to look anywhere but his eyes you lift the letter up.
He grabbed it with a bright smile, opening it carefully. His eyes danced across the page, a little flush when he finished reading about your shared feelings.
“I’m glad you feel the same! Did you want to go out this weekend?”
Best at planning dates! Even just stay at home cuddle dates are 10/10
Loves wrapping his arm around your waist as you walk together, you were at the perfect height for it and it became quite comfortable
Bends down and encourages you to kiss his cheek; takes awhile but stand on your toes to encourage the same
Will rest his chin on your head any chances gets, once again you were the perfect height for it
He’ll always ask before any major acts of affection, very understanding if it’s too much for you
Bokuto does not understand being shy? What’s that?
He tries tho
Confesses maybe a bit too early? He just goes for it
When you reciprocate he hugs you and twirls. This is his new favourite thing to do, he loves that he can just pick you up and spin you around
Asks you to come to every practice he has and points at you every time he hits a spike and scores
“Y/N!! Did you see that!?” He shouted as he ran over to grab his water bottle that was next to you.
“Nice kill Kou” you say quietly, briefly looking up at him.
“If I get this next one I’ll take you out for barbecue, alright!?”
You nod with a smile, he was too cute.
Bends down a little when you talk, he wants to make sure he never misses a single thing you say
Sends you a text for every anniversary, I’m talkin every month, every half anniversary and for every first; kiss, I love yous, sexc stuff 👀
Pinches your cheeks when you blush
“Ohh look at this suit babe! Im gonna wear something like this to our wedding” Bokuto exclaimed on day while scrolling through his time line, you were curled up at his side watching him scroll.
“W-what Kou you can’t just say stuff like that, my heart can’t take it” you reply burring your face in his broad chest.
He only chuckled loudly at your reaction, planting a kiss on the top of your head.
#haikyuu#haikyuu imagines#haikyuu x reader#haikyu#haikyu!!#haikyuu!!#haikyuu headcanons#haikyu headcanons#kuroo tetsuro x reader#kuroo tetsuro scenarios#kuroo tetsurou#sugawara koshi imagine#sugawara scenario#sugawara koushi#sugawara x reader#bokuto koutarou#bokuto x reader#bokuto imagine
385 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Best Years of Your Life (Reeves x Reader)
THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE
(hey hey, this is my other submission for @wasicskosgirl and her 800 follower celebration! and yes, you read that right - it’s REEVES. i had a lot of fun writing it and i hope you enjoy reading it! CONGRATS Amanda!!)
Word Count: um like 6200ish oops it was supposed to be a blurb
Summary: They say the best years of your life happen in high school, but what do they know?
Warnings: Some language. Female reader implied but no pronouns/description. Teenage angst. Adult wistfulness. Mostly fluffy tho. No promises about proofreading. Frog murder.
with the prompt - “Like what you see?”
It all started back in high school. Sometimes you wonder how often people say that, and if it’s really true or they’re just falsely remembering how things happened because high school is supposed to be the best four years of your life.
But in this case, it’s true. Because high school is when you met Reeves.
Sophomore Year. High School. A Friday.
It was the third day of sophomore year, fourth period on a Friday morning, your last before the lunch break. Biology class was maybe the one you were least looking forward to, not exclusively because of the required frog dissection, but pretty damn close. Gross. And you never understood why the school year didn’t just start on a Monday, but you were new here in San Diego. Maybe they just did things differently.
It was bad enough being the new kid. It was worse when you walked into class halfway through the lecture, even if it wasn’t your fault. The timing of the move was weird, and you’d spent most of the first two days, and this morning, doing placement tests and talking to your counselor.
And now you were being called out in front of the entire class.
“Ah, there you are,” your teacher announced as you walked in the door. “Everyone, this is our new student, please make them feel welcome. You can sit over there.”
Your eyes followed as she motioned to the empty seat at the lab table in the back of the room. Suddenly you weren’t sure if your face felt hot because of embarrassment or because of the boy in the other chair.
Dark, curly hair cut close on the sides but longer on the top. Deep brown eyes framed by long, long lashes. Full, plush lips curling up into his cheek on one side. A nose that, okay, maybe might be a bit oversized but for some reason worked on his handsome face and--
Well, shit. Definitely not the embarrassment.
You shuffled your way to your seat and slid into it with your head down. A few students watched you curiously but soon turned their attention back to the lesson. You tried your best to focus on what was going on, to not look to your left at the distraction next to you.
You weren’t very successful.
By now you thought you’d sneaked enough covert glances to know that we was wearing a leather jacket, had a small diamond stud earring in his left ear, a bunch of silver-studded brown suede wrap bracelets around both wrists, a silver ring on his right index finger, and oddly precise handwriting as he took notes. In between relevant facts the teacher was sharing, he was doodling tiny music notes in the margins of his notebook.
And he totally caught you looking.
“Like what you see?” he leaned over and whispered.
Your mouth felt drier than the Sahara but also somehow so moist you were afraid you might have actually drooled on yourself. You should have opened your mouth to respond but your brain refused to make the connection. Probably for the best.
At least, at first. When it finally caught up to you, the only response your brain could provide was, “Maybe?”
Now would be the perfect time for the floor to swallow you whole.
He just winked at you and his attention went back to the doodles around his notes.
You shifted your gaze back to your own notebook, but you don’t know if anything else of importance was said, and don’t remember writing anything down. The bell ringing sharply pulled you back to reality and you hastily shoved your books in your backpack, ready to escape.
Just as you were about to leave, a voice called out. “Hey, sorry about earlier. If I freaked you out or anything.”
You looked up. He was smiling at you, a little shyly. You bit your lip, your brain and mouth still refusing to connect.
He stuck his hand out. “I’m Reeves. You’re new here?”
“Um…” you smacked yourself internally. This was ridiculous, you weren’t really shy, you knew how to have a conversation, he was just introducing himself. You were going to have a serious conversation with your brain later about proper communication techniques.
It felt like hours had passed, but you finally pulled yourself together enough to respond. “Yeah. My- my dad got transferred for work, we moved here like a week ago. He literally dragged the family across the country. I’m originally from New York City.”
His eyes lit up. “Oh, cool! I always wanted to go to New York City!”
You found yourself smiling back.
“Do you...wanna sit with me at lunch?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. “Maybe you could tell me a little about the city? And...about you, since we’re gonna have to commit heinous acts of violence on an amphibian together? I’d like to know who’s wielding a scalpel next to me.”
The giggle that escaped your throat could not be contained. This boy - Reeves - was adorable. “Oh. Okay, yeah. I’d really like that.”
The Present.
Poor Lenny the Frog never stood a chance. Then again, neither did you.
To be fair, Lenny was already dead when you and Reeves got your hands on him. Well, when you got your hands on him, because for the full first half of that specific class period, Reeves refused to touch him and nearly turned as green as Lenny once was. That’s when he insisted on naming your cadaver, because somehow giving it a name made it easier to deal with.
You were pretty sure Reeves was nuts.
By the middle of sophomore year, you were dead too, but not for the same reasons.
By the middle of sophomore year, you weren’t sure how you were still alive, because every time he looked over at you and gave you a sly smile during class, gave you that look, you felt your heart go taut and you forgot how to breathe and certainly, rightfully, should have been dead.
Your friend Alexis stuck her head into your bathroom. “Hey, we’re just waiting on Vanessa, and then we’re good to go. Drinks first? The show doesn’t start until 8 so we have time.”
You glanced up from your makeup and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
Alexis grinned. “Aaaaaah I’m so glad you agreed to go out tonight! It’s gonna be so much fun!”
“Oh, it’s gonna be something,” you muttered, going back to your eyeliner.
Alexis had been the first one to see the concert announcement about a week ago. A benefit show at one of the clubs down in Greenwich Village, some punk revival thing (for charity) with a bunch of different singers and musicians. Not normally your scene, but Alexis scanned through the names and suddenly remembered you’d known Reeves in high school. You said yes, he was in your class, and you’d been lab partners once. Vanessa squealed in excitement and Alexis announced you were going to the show. There was never any actual agreement.
Because of course Reeves was going to be there. And of course, you had to be too.
Junior Year. The Parking Lot. A Tuesday.
“I’m just saying, it was a ridiculous foul, and it should never have been called,” Reeves groused as you walked out of the gym.
“We also should have made like twenty more of our own foul shots,” you pointed out.
The Lake Howell Silverhawks had fallen to their arch-rivals in a somewhat glorious fashion. You didn’t even like basketball that much. But that didn’t really matter. The games were just an excuse to go out for burgers before and hang out with your friends during.
It was definitely an excuse to hang out with Reeves.
Junior year, you were both disappointed to find you didn’t have any classes together, but you still almost always ate lunch together. He’d come over to your house to study during the week and sometimes just to chill out on the weekends. Over the past year, he’d shown you all around the city and taken you to his favorite places. You told him all about New York, how you missed it and one day you’d go back, and all the famous sites and which ones were tourist traps that he was only allowed to visit the very first time and then never again.
You spent so much time together, even your mother liked to tease you about why he wasn’t your boyfriend.
It took a while for you to find the words to tell her it was because he was someone else’s.
As much as you liked to pretend she didn’t change anything, Randie Rustenberg changed everything. It was gradual, like a creeping vine of ivy, and she slowly took him over. There was no malice; it was just one of those things that happened. Reeves spent less time with you, his best friend, and more time with Randie, his girlfriend.
The girlfriend you desperately wished was you, because ever since that first biology class you’d had the biggest, stupidest crush on him.
Eventually you had a boyfriend of your own. Theo was a nice guy, he really was. Polite, friendly, had a good sense of humor, liked your family. And your family loved him. Your mother was so happy that you had a boyfriend, she seemed to forget to ask how Reeves was and if you’d seen him lately.
Of course you saw him. You saw him every day, in the cafeteria, at his locker, passing by in the halls. Sometimes you could find him playing the grand piano on the stage in the empty auditorium. Yes, if your mother bothered to ask, you saw Reeves all the time. Now it was just always with her.
Except this week. It was a break of sorts, no classes, just some sports and other school activities. Randie was on some trip with her parents for some kind of church function, and Theo was fishing with his dad on some lake up north. He’d told you where, but you honestly couldn’t be bothered to recall. So when a bunch of your friends and a bunch of his friends all said everyone was going to the basketball game, there was no debate.
As if there was any way you’d say no.
Sometime during the game, your friends wandered off to the snack bar and never ventured back. His friends started a game of hacky-sack under the bleachers. And you found yourself pretending to understand all the finer points about hoops strategy, cheering and yelling along with Reeves and having a great time, just like you used to.
“Where’d you park?” he asked as you left the gym and headed out into the sea of cars. You vaguely pointed in the direction of yours and he grinned. “Oh, good, I’m that way too. Come on, I’ll walk you.”
The faint glow emitted by the lampposts in the parking lot bounced off his curls and his eyes, when you could catch a glimpse, were bright beneath them.
As if there was any way you’d say no.
The walk wasn’t very far, but it felt like it was over in a second. You hadn’t said anything on the way, just soaked in the comfort of walking next to him as he kept commenting on the game.
He was waving his hands everywhere, looking at them as he talked as if his hand motions would make things make any more sense to you, in the middle of saying something about your center and how they needed to get better about blocking out when you finally spoke.
“Oh, shit.”
Reeves looked up at you. “What, you don’t agree?”
You dropped your bag on the ground and rolled your eyes. “No, my car is locked and I left my keys inside.” You pointed to the passenger seat. Your keys stared back at you derisively.
You both stared back at them for a moment, then he grinned. “Hang on, I got you.” He held up one finger and trotted off to his car, coming back a minute later with something in his hand. “This should take care of it.”
You took a step back. “Reeves? Um. Okay, why do you have a coat hanger in your car.”
He rolled his eyes back at you. “For emergencies, duh.” He quickly twisted the hanger into a hook shape and went to your passenger side window.
“And why do you know how to break into a car with said coat hanger?”
“Like I told you,” his tongue poked out between his teeth as he worked, “for emergencies. You think I haven’t locked my own keys in my car once or six times?”
“Did Randie teach you how to do this?” The words were out of your mouth before you could think. She probably had. She might have been churchy when required, but she was also responsible for about half of Reeves’s stints in detention (the other half just being him making the wrong joke at the wrong time and pissing a teacher off.)
Thank god he didn’t seem to hear you as he kept working at the lock. Finally you heard a *click* and he pumped a fist into the air with a little “yessss!”
And then you’re not really sure what happened. You bent down to pick up your bag and then you were standing up and Reeves’s face was literally about three inches away from yours and for the eight thousandth time since you’d know him, you forgot how to breathe.
Neither of you said anything for what felt like days. You just stared at each other under the dim halo of the parking lot lights.
“Here you go.” He took your hand and dropped your keys into it.
“Thanks,” you whispered.
“Like what you see?” the corners of his mouth quirked up, just the slightest little bit.
“...Maybe.”
And the staring recommenced. Were you two getting closer? Physically closer, you meant, of course you were close, you’d always been close. Well, at one time you were really close but then Randie Restenberg happened and it wasn’t fair that she got to know what those lips felt like and did he always smell this good or--
“Yo, Reeves!” A pickup truck full of guys skidded to a stop behind your car and one of his friends - Jake? Jack? you barely remembered your own name right now - stuck his head out the window. “Fight to the death ping pong tourney at Matt’s house! You in?”
Reeves bit his lip and closed his eyes for a second before he pulled back with a soft “I’m sorry” before turning to his friends. “Um, yeah, sure. Sounds brutal. I’ll meet you there.”
The pickup sped off, tires screeching out of the parking lot. Reeves turned back to you, but you’d already gotten into your now unlocked car and started the engine.
You rolled down the window a fraction and gave him a weak smile. “Hey, um. Thanks for saving my butt. Now go kick theirs at ping pong, yeah?” Your face felt so hot, and for once you were grateful for the dim lights in the lot.
“You could, um, come along if- if you want.”
“Nah, I’m...I’m tired, I’m just gonna...um, head home. But I’ll see you tomorrow maybe?”
Reeves looked like he was about to say something else, but he didn’t. He just stepped onto the curb in front of your car, smiled, and raised his hand in a little wave as he watched you drive off.
The Present.
A series of shrieks and the slamming of the door told you Vanessa had finally arrived. It sounded like they were jumping up and down on the tile just inside your front door, which was ridiculous since you’d all just seen each other the day before. But typical.
You smoothed a pinkie under your eye, checked your makeup one final time, and went into the living room.
“Oh, you look hot,” Vanessa gushed. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and plopped down on your couch. “Who are you trying to impress tonight?”
“Reeves, of course,” Alexis laughed, leaning on the kitchen counter. She sorted anything she might need from her big purse into a little evening bag as she talked. “You know we go to all his shows. And you know they went to high school together.”
You snorted. “That was a long time ago. I’m not even sure he’d remember me.”
Vanessa waggled her eyebrows. “You’re probably right, No offense, honey, but no one was that hot back in high school.”
He was, your brain supplied. Very helpful. You smiled wanly.
Vanessa continued. “But you were friends, right? You’ve never really talked about it. God, it must be so cool now to think that you were friends with Reeves back when he was an awkward high school teenager.”
“Reeves was never awkward,” you laugh. “It was kind of unfair.”
“But you totally had a crush on him,” Alexis offered.
Had? What do you mean, had? Oh my god, shut up, brain.
A pillow flew in your direction and you ducked as Vanessa giggled and Alexis rolled her eyes. “Come on, tell us something about him,” Vanessa goaded. “Wait. Was he, like, your prom date? That’s your secret! You totally went to prom with Reeves and you never told us!”
Senior Year. Prom. A Saturday.
The night was not supposed to go this way.
It was supposed to be limousines and corsages and dinner with dates and friends. It was supposed to be endless pictures while your mother told you how gorgeous you looked and how handsome he was and your father gave a thinly-veiled shovel talk about how he knew what happens on prom night and what would really happen if that actually happened. It was supposed to be punch and cookies and balloons. It was supposed to be dancing closer than the chaperones were comfortable with and kissing with tongue when they weren’t looking.
It was supposed to be the best night of your life. It was supposed to be fun.
Nowhere in your weeks of dreaming of this night did it involve sitting on a bench in the girls’ locker room, knees pulled up to your chest, while the party carried on in the gym just beyond.
It definitely didn’t involve crying.
The bass beats of the deejay and the harmony of laughter temporarily got louder as the locker room door opened, and then faded back into a muted thumping as the door closed again a second later. You could hear footsteps headed in your direction but before you could unfold yourself and wipe your tears away, a familiar voice called out.
“Hey, there you are!”
Being able to find the words to describe how he looked in his tux, his curls slightly tamed by some gel, the blue rose (of course it would be an off color, why would he pick something standard?) pinned to his lapel, his lopsided grin… Finding the words was nearly impossible.
Of course he would show up now. Because your night wasn’t already crappy enough and half the reason you were sitting there weeping instead of out there dancing was standing right in front of you.
You realized that wasn’t fair. It was probably more like, twenty-five percent of the reason, and it wasn’t his fault. But that didn’t make it any better.
“Why are you in the girls’ locker room, Reeves?” you sniffled.
He furrowed his eyebrows and his nose scrunched up in concern as he took in your mascara-streaked cheeks and puffy red eyes. “One of your friends said you came in here like half an hour ago and nobody’s seen you since. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“Clearly not.” He sat down next to you. “Wanna talk about it?”
A deep, shaky sign left your chest. You didn’t really want to talk about how, earlier in the evening, you’d excused yourself to use the restroom and come back to the gym to find Theo dancing with...you didn’t remember her name, nor did you care. You didn’t mind that he was dancing with another girl, in theory, but it was another matter entirely when his hands were on her ass and she was sucking a deep purple mark into his neck. And he was laughing.
A short, vicious argument ensued in the coat room after you’d cut in and dragged him off by the elbow. And it turned out that he’d been seeing whats-her-name for months, somehow, behind your back while pretending that everything was perfect with you. When he was supposedly visiting his grandparents? He was with her. When he had to work an extra shift? He was with her. When he got off the phone with you, saying he needed to get to bed early? He was calling her.
Prom wasn’t supposed to involve a very public break-up.
And things didn’t get any better when, deciding you needed something to drink, you went back into the gym and immediately saw Reeves and Randie, dancing cheek to cheek, arms snugly wrapped around each other as a soft, romantic song wafted through the air. Because of course he was with her. She was his girlfriend and Reeves wasn’t a detestable cheating asshole.
There was always another her.
You couldn’t handle it.
So you took off to somewhere almost guaranteed to be empty. You figured the locker room wasn’t really the kind of place kids would want to make out, and you were right. It was blessedly empty. Until now.
But you couldn’t tell him the second part, so you just went with the first. His eyes got wide as you blubbered through the sordid details of Theo being a complete and utter twat. Another quivery sob half-burst from you and Reeves got up. He grabbed a few paper towels from the dispenser and handed them to you as he sat back down.
“Thanks,” you hiccuped.
“I never liked him,” Reeves announced.
You found yourself choking on a huff of air. “What? Yes you did! Everybody loved him. That’s what makes it extra shitty.”
“Did you?”
“What?”
Reeves cocked his head and looked at you with an expression you couldn’t quite place. “Did you love him?”
Your mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. Why did you always seem to forget how to make words when Reeves asked you questions?
“What?”
He shrugged. “Everyone else loved him. Did you?”
You used every last ounce of willpower you had to not jump up on that bench and shout that of course you didn’t love Theo, you idiot, because I love you.
That would not make this night any easier.
The next thing you knew, Reeves put an arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his chest, hugging you soundly. He rested his cheek on the top of your head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re better off without him.”
You dabbed at your eyes. Nope, still couldn’t make words.
Minutes, hours, days. You had no idea how long you stayed like that, pressed to him and feeling him breathe beneath you. You no longer had any idea how long it had even been since everything crashed around you and he’d come to try and help you pick up the pieces. You just listened to his heartbeat, strong and steady, as the muffled music and joyful shouts of classmates went on past the closed door.
Finally he spoke again. “Hey, you wanna get one of those complimentary pictures?”
“What?” Oh, great. You were finally able to answer his question but you could still only come up with that one word? Stupid brain.
“Well, I…” he sat up straight and, after the briefest look into your eyes, he glanced away. Was he blushing? You weren’t sure. “I always kind of...I kind of thought we’d have a prom picture together. I mean, I just figured, y’know, we’d go with a bunch of friends, but I always hoped I’d get a picture with my best friend.”
The sniffles were back in an instant. Damn him. “Reeves, I...you really want to get a picture now? I look horrible, I can’t get a picture taken like this!”
He took the paper towel from your hand and gently dabbed at your cheeks. “You couldn’t look horrible if you tried. Come on, it’ll be fun. And just think how excited your mom will be when she gets a copy of it.”
Despite your best efforts, you had to laugh. “Okay.”
You headed to the photo area after you washed your face, Reeves helped you wipe off the stray streaks of mascara, and you reapplied just a bit of makeup to make yourself feel better. You were never sure what Reeves said to the photographer before the shots, but he seemed quite happy to take multiples. Reeves stayed pressed against your back with his arms down around your waist, hands clasped together in front of you, for each and every one.
At some point between the second and third shot, he leaned just a little closer into you and you suddenly felt his breath against your ear. “Like what you see?”
For maybe the first time that entire night, your face broke into a genuine smile. “Maybe.”
For a few minutes, your night was absolutely perfect.
The Present.
It was the greatest date that never was.
“No, Reeves was not my prom date,” you told your friends with a shake of your head.
You left out most of the other details, partly because you didn’t want to answer eight hundred questions from Vanessa and partly because, well, you just wanted those moments for yourself.
After the pictures, Reeves had asked if you would like to dance. Until then you didn’t realize it was possible for eyebrows to shoot that far up a person’s forehead, but yours were up for the challenge. You’d mumbled something about if Randie would mind, because you were sure she absolutely would, but he brushed it off. Randie had gone off with her friends when he came to find you, and he really wanted to dance with you, just one dance with his frog murder accomplice. And he said that with a straight face and a twinkle in his eye and there was no way you could refuse.
As if there was any way you’d say no.
One dance turned into two, and then several, until the girlfriend in question finally did show back up and Reeves was pulled away, leaving you with a soft smile and a mouthed “sorry”.
Definitely the greatest never-date.
After prom, life returned to what vaguely resembled normal. Your love life sucked and Reeves still had a girlfriend that wasn’t you, and you didn’t see him much. To be fair, the end of senior year and graduation did creep up pretty fast so there wasn’t a lot of time anyway. Graduation was there before you knew it; he cheered for you and you cheered for him as you each walked across the stage. You made brief appearances at each others’ graduation parties and talked a bit and then, once again before you knew what happened next, it was time to leave for college.
You went back to New York. Reeves stayed on the west coast.
And over the years, like so many other people before you and after you, you just fell out of touch.
“And anyway,” you asserted, “we were just kind of friends. Yeah, like I told Alexis before, we were lab partners sophomore year, and we hung out sometimes, but that was it. Really.”
Alexis snorted and Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “Mmmhmm.”
You threw the pillow back at her. “Mmmhmm.”
“All right, you two,” Alexis chided. “Come on, let’s get going.”
Somehow, you managed to get down to Greenwich Village without further interrogation and minimal shenanigans.
The Present. One Hour Later. Another Saturday Night.
The bar inside the club was pretty packed. Granted, it was a Saturday night down in The Village, so it wasn’t too uncommon, but you were honestly surprised that this many people showed up for a punk retrospective.
There were a few other relatively big-name acts you recognized on the bill, and a fair number of people were wearing t-shirts with Reeves’s most recent album cover on the front. There were even a few that had shirts with his face on it, which was frankly kind of weird.
“Looks like you’re not his only number one fan,” Vanessa smirked.
“I just enjoy his music,” you said off-handedly as you tried to flag down a bartender. “But anyway, tonight isn’t even about him. We’re just here to support charity, right?”
Alexis pretended to agree with you. “Right.”
You glared at both of them before turning your attention back to the bar. Yes, you came to every one of his shows in the area. When you had time. When you could take the night off. When you could rearrange your schedule and switch shifts at the last minute and promise favors to be able to attend them. When you maybe once or twice just called out sick because nothing else worked. So what.
They were really starting to get on your nerves.
The bartender finally noticed you and took your order, and you looked around the club again while you waited.
Lots of people, ranging from just-allowed-to-buy-booze to mid-sixties businessmen. A few folks that looked to currently be in their golden years but were clearly once punks in their prime. Many people in black and chains and mohawks and neon hair and piercings, to the point where you honestly couldn’t tell who was a performer and who was a patron.
The one person you were looking for was the one that you couldn’t pick out of the crowd.
“He’s gotta be here somewhere!” Vanessa’s voice shouted from somewhere behind your shoulder.
“Vanessa, you’re getting a little weird about this,” you called back as you grabbed your drink and turned around.
“Like what you see?”
Eyes wide and mouth slightly hanging open, you almost dropped your full glass.
Vaguely, nearby, you heard the sound of glass shattering and shot a glance to your left. Alexis really had dropped her drink, and Vanessa was clutching onto her arm for dear life. She was holding her glass at a slightly odd angle and the contents were dripping onto one of her shoes.
The crowd silently pulsed backwards as one, clearing out around the four of you for a respectable distance. Several people watched curiously; surprisingly, they just stood back and stared instead of trying to get involved.
Reason Number One why you really couldn’t blame them: Reeves stood there, right in front of you. Literally less than two feet away, looking right at you. His mouth pulled up into his familiar lopsided grin, his hair still dark but shot through with strands of silver, curly on the top and shorter on the sides. His nose with the little dent, perfect on his face under those dark, luminous brown eyes and...holy shit, was he wearing eyeliner? He was wearing eyeliner.
Reason Number Two why you really couldn’t blame them: Leather pants. Under his old, faded t-shirt and black leather jacket (you were used to seeing him in brown, but you had to admit the black looked good) he was wearing leather pants.
Reason Number Three why you really couldn’t blame them: Quite simply, Reeves was standing in the middle of a bar in New York City and he was talking to you.
You blinked once, then twice. You may have blinked more times but all you could think about was the fact that, after all these years, your brain still couldn’t make words when Reeves asked you a question.
That same old question.
Suddenly you were grinning back, completely ignoring your friends and their dumbfounded squawking and sputtering next to you. You were smiling because even though your brain couldn’t make full sentences of words, it could pull one particular word out of the void and let it come out past your lips.
“Maybe.”
Reeves grinned fully now, his eyes lighting up and the crinkles at the corners deepening.
Someone - maybe Vanessa, maybe a total stranger, you couldn’t be sure - might have swooned from the sidelines.
“Always told you I wanted to come to New York,” he said.
“Always told you I’d go back.”
And the next thing you knew, the next thing that made any sense anywhere in your mind, was that Reeves had stepped forward, wrapped his arms around you, and placed the softest, sweetest, most heart-achingly gentle kiss on your lips.
You pulled away in a daze, felt the heat rising in your cheeks, as you heard a muffled choking sound halfway behind you. Definitely Vanessa.
Alexis and Vanessa’s eyes, already bugging out of their faces, nearly fell out of their sockets when Reeves turned to address them.
“Hey, ladies. I’ll come talk to you after the show, but for now, I just need to borrow your friend for a few minutes, okay?”
There were somehow still more bizarre, mostly inhuman noises that came out of your friends and even later, when they’d deny ever acting like that in front of a famous rock star (and rolled their eyes at you when you corrected them that he was a musician, not a rock star), it wouldn’t matter because you weren’t paying a single bit of attention to them them anyway.
You only had eyes for one person.
He took your hand and pulled you past the bar, into a little room in the back; the office, presumably. The second you were both inside, he wrapped his arms around your waist and looked you in the eyes. He just stared for a few minutes, or maybe hours, you weren’t sure.
It really didn’t matter.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do that?” he whispered.
“Third day of school, fourth period biology class, sophomore year?”
Reeves smiled softly. “The second you walked in that door.”
“Why didn’t you?” you tilted your head to look at him. Okay, to gaze into his eyes. You tilted your head to gaze into his eyes and your subconscious hoped to any gods that would listen that you did not have actual hearts or stars in your pupils.
Not that it really mattered.
His arms never left you but he gave a little shrug. “Never seemed to be the right time. And then I had a girlfriend.”
“Yeah,” you laughed. “And I ended up with that lame excuse for a boyfriend. But do you know how long I’ve wanted you to do that?”
“When you couldn’t stop staring at me when you sat down at the lab table next to me?”
“Hmmm, maybe. But definitely when you told the teacher we had to have a funeral for Lenny.”
“Hey, Lenny was a fuckin’ hero,” Reeves batted his eyes at you innocently. “He performed a brave and great service to his country.”
“I am oddly happy you’re still an idiot,” you giggled.
“I’m ecstatic that you kept coming to all my shows in the city.”
You pulled back slightly and looked at the ceiling. “You noticed?”
Reeves gave you that look. That look he always gave you, when you were teenagers, when you said something either completely ridiculous or completely profound. That look he gave you when he thought you might not be looking, even though you were always looking. That look that said he always had your back and you were his best friend. That look that you thought you’d be lucky to see one more time but probably never would.
That look.
“Of course I noticed. I thought about having security make you stay back, but that’s just...no. You always looked happy, and I don’t know...I just didn’t want to intrude, I guess? Just always wondered why you never stuck around after the shows, never stayed to talk to me, never came knocking on the dressing room door.”
You thought about that for a minute. You really did try, but you couldn’t come up with a decent answer. You were happy. Just seeing him was enough, you told yourself. Just hearing him sing was enough, just being in the same room with him, just being near. Just like it was back in high school.
Only it wasn’t high school anymore, and now that he’d finally, finally - after years of would’ve and should’ve and maybes - kissed you, you knew enough wasn’t going to be, well, enough.
So that’s what you told him.
And Reeves pulled you close, leaned in closer, and kissed you again.
You pulled apart, breathless again, and rested your foreheads together.
After minutes, or maybe days, or maybe hours, and definitely years - it didn’t really matter - Reeves was there. You were there. And for once, you were really there together.
“Like what you see?”
“...definitely.”
The Future. Any Day. Every Day.
You always thought, and your friends always said, that the best years of your life happened in high school. And to a certain extent, that was true and you believed in that notion for a very long time.
But ever since that night, that one glorious night in a Manhattan bar, you realized you were wrong.
The best years of your life were still happening.
~end~
Taglist: @anetteaneta @autumnleaves1991-blog @be-the-spark-flyboy @deeandbobbymcgee @huxdameron @itspdameronthings @jitterbugs927 @nathan-bateman @poedjarin @rosemarysbaby13 @sergeantkane @spider-starry @woakiees @writefightandflightclub @veuliee2 @yourbucky084 @waatermelon-sugaar
>>Join my taglist here<<
#reeves#reeves x reader#reeves x you#reeves 10 years#10 years fanfiction#reeves fanfiction#Amandas800#wasicskogirl#my writing#writing challenge#writing prompts
80 notes
·
View notes
Text
너는 나 나는 너 (neoneun na naneun neo)
ship: jikook, idol!jungkook x broke literature student!jimin
genre: fluff and angst, kind of slowburn
rating: pg-13
disclaimer: language and alcohol
plot: jimin and jungkook were childhood friends and with jungkook training to become an idol, they both lost contact. jungkook however did never forget what Jimin once promised him: “If your pinky is bigger than mine, then I give you the allowance to marry me.”
inspo: a beautiful fanart that i saw on insta some time ago. it made me brainstorm for a good amount of time :)
a/n: please be nice to me :’) I haven’t written stuff in such a long time and I’m so out of it…so pretty please cut me some slack :) constructive criticism is always allowed tho.
a big thank you to the closest mutual i have: @sugaforyou for beta reading and just being a helpful hand! i’m sure I was a mess… :’) I’m sorry for that and I love you!
word count: 12,8k
-
Jimin despised waking up early every day and then continuing to trot to the bus station. Did it even matter in the first place? School made him even more unmotivated than he already was in this part of life. In fact, there were no interesting and helpful topics he learned there and, furthermore, he thought that attending school was more something he fulfilled for his parents. They were always so proud of him when he brought home a good grade. So proud, that he always concealed how depressed school actually made him. Going to school for so many hours to then attending the tuition classes and as if that weren’t enough also continuing studying at home, was that place that essential though? It just made him already completely weary when he wakes up on a Saturday. The only passion and hobby that he possessed was taking dance lessons, but even for those he rarely had time. He wanted to continue to attend them, but he was too overwhelmed with school that he was absolutely tired. On top of that, none of his friends actually tried to offer him a shoulder to cry or were even there to cheer him up.
They did not realise how it was to live up each day to the expectations of others, how it was to live for others, just how it was to be so damn dependent on someone. Of course, he wasn’t the only one that had parents that were expecting so much. However, the friends that he established were all free spirits and some of their parents were even condoning that.
Oh, how he envied them.
Why was he even so dependent on the hugs from his parents when he brought home an A, or just a simple “I’m proud of you” or “i love you”. It made him do things that he wouldn’t normally do. He was not expecting that just from his parents, but also from his friends. If he got these compliments and showers of love, he felt like it was okay to suffer. Maybe that was the reason why he was so lonely. He put himself into the moulds that people in his environment created for him. It ended up swallowing him up.
Nowadays, those he once called friends were ignoring him as much as they could, and his family didn’t really care about him. As long as he received good grades and didn’t protest, they were fine with him. To be honest now without any distractions whatsoever he could completely concentrate on school, with his friends having stopped calling him on Friday nights to ask if he would come hang out with him on the weekend/following day.
They already knew he would find a pathetic excuse why he couldn’t attend. He was on his own.
Just as if someone like Kookie didn’t exist…
Kookie, or by his full name Jeon Jungkook, was his younger neighbour.
He was a few years younger than him and every time when Jimin was miserably trotting to school, the little one would always sprint his way up to him. Like Jimin’s puppy “Doraemon” trying to play with the little kids by running after them. Now after realising that, Jimin couldn’t stop thinking that they sort of looked similar to each other. That made him forget his sorrow for a little while, and he couldn’t stop smiling.
When Jimin was younger he always thought that Jungkook behaved that way because he looked up to him. Considering he was a few years older than him. Maybe he needed an older brother figure? Nowadays however Kookie comes to check if his pinkie grew out to be taller than the one of the older one. This cannot happen overnight of course, but Jungkook didn’t quite seem to understand how the mystery of time and patience worked.
“Hyung, just look! If my finger outgrows yours..! Then you need to marry me. You promised me!”
Jimin smiled gently. He actually stated that a few months back, because Jungkook wouldn’t stop bragging around that he was marrying Jimin soon. At first he thought it was cute, but after a while it started to get on Jimin’s nerves because he wouldn’t stop. So, the only option he had was to tell him they were still too young, and Jimin liked boys bigger than him.
To the surprise of the little one of course. He was absolutely bamboozled, his doe-like eyes grew even bigger in that moment, and he asked if he really needed to become taller than him, in order for him to take the older one’s hand in marriage. Jimin quickly grabbed the younger one by his hand and softly stated: “It’s enough if your little pinkie is bigger than hyung’s. And that needs some time, doesn’t it?” Kookie nodded shyly, examining the black and white converse chucks that the older one was wearing.
Looking back to it, he always ended up snickering a bit. The boy was truly a gift to the neighbourhood, everyone in the area loved him. Even though he was already growing up to become an adolescent, for all the neighbours he was still the little cute and gifted maknae, Kookie. A lot of his classmates that came to visit him were all trying too hard to look cool, which was normal for that age, but Kookie was still acting like a little adorable brat.
But dare you to recognize him and adore him back, face to face, then he turned into a big whiny mess.
Jungkook was indeed a once in a lifetime…
Jimin didn’t even know why Jungkook was so hellbent on “marrying” him. They were so young and Jungkook so tiny. You wouldn’t tell he was twelve.
However, Jimin couldn’t stop feeling a bit flattered by the compliments and promises the little one gifted him. Even though it was “just his younger neighbour kid”.
“I firmly promise.” He hooked Kook’s little finger with his own, pulled his thumb onto his and made them touch. “You can trust your hyungie right?” Kook was already shyly staring at the pavement. Oh wow, now HE was the one that needed to be intimidated? “Of course, hyung.”
Jimin couldn’t contain himself, he chuckled. Jungkook was just such a… cutie pie.
To be honest, Jungkook isn’t 10 years or even 5 years younger than Jimin. The age gap consists of 2 years. That was completely alright. However, the height difference couldn’t be overlooked. Jungkook could reach Jimin’s chest at the moment, and the older one was sure that he would grow. However, the reason why Jimin was keeping his distance with his dongsaeng, was surely not the height difference. But rather that he would not stay right by his side. He wouldn’t continue to chase him down before school, ask for his pinkie in a cutely manner, or even give him the puppy eyes, to bribe him, so he could buy him his candies and banana milk. He would disappear in thin air. Just like his friends once did.
And that was bothering Jimin more than he would admit.
“You need to promise me that you’ll always give your best. Fate always brings those together that deeply care for each other. Okay?”
Jimin grabbed Jungkook by his shoulders, a bit tougher than he actually wanted, and he had a weird feeling in his guts telling him he wouldn’t see him again. He was indeed sure in his bones of the fact Jungkook would find someone better to look up to and adore.
In the end, Jimin was a loser, who wasn’t brave enough to run after his own dreams. And that sucked. Of course, it did. Jungkook shouldn’t stay here, though. Nothing should hold him here. Not even his first childhood romance.
If you could even call it like that..
“I’ll do that.. But if you forget me…!”
Jimin noticed the tears building up in Kookie’s big doe eyes, and he couldn’t contain his own sadness. It was so odd to see him in such a condition. He thought he would make some stupid jokes and then just say bye. Now looking at him like this, was concerning him.
“Hey… Oh Kook-ah!” He gently pushed Jungkook’s back into his arms, to embrace him into a hug. With one hand, the older one was caressing his little head while the other one his back.
“Hyung, will always be there with you. You cannot see me, but I’ll be right there by your side, alright?”
“I will miss you so much hyung.” the younger one replied with a trembling voice.
“You need to return quickly. You need to know if this one,” He showed his little pale pinkie. “Of yours, grew up to become bigger than mine, huh?” Jungkook’s lips finally formed a little smile, even though his eyes were still watery and red. “I promise. But when I come back you need to promise to marry me. Don’t you dare forget.”
Even though he wouldn’t admit it now, Jimin’s eyes back then were also filling up with tears. He caressed Jungkook’s head once more before moving away from the little one and facing him.
“This is a promise.”
Yet again they gave each other their little promise gesture. And then Jungkook was gone. Vanished, you could say without even leaving a trace. He did not forget a single thing. All his toys and plushies he loved, he kept. That was a bummer. Jimin hoped to have something from him to always keep him in his memories.
The first few years, Jimin welcomed home some letters. Or messages on his phone. After some time, however, even those stopped.
~ a few years later ~
“Jimin, you owe me more than one soju bottle for doing this…?”
Yoongi massaged his own lower back, after carrying a few boxes up to Jimin’s new place. He was not born to help him out, along with it, he also wasn’t born to carry heavy boxes like that. Why did Jimin even ask Yoongi from all the people he knows to help him out? He isn’t helpful in any way.
“Dude you brought up 2 boxes. You shouldn’t even get half of a soju bottle.” the younger one replied while lying down on the cold wooden plank. He was exhausted and didn’t even know why he was still going to college. He fucked up his first semester because he chose to listen to his parents and studied hotel management. Hotel management? From all the subjects the world has to offer, he chose fucking hotel management? Thankfully, he found his better half in the same classes and funny thing is he also seemed out of place.
His parents were not so happy to hear that. But in the end they accepted his choice and let him study whatever he wants. As long as he still went to college they didn’t care anymore.
In a way he was happy, but he was also fucking tired and disappointed in himself. Why did he even listen to his parent’s advice in the first place?
“I’m your sunbae, and the most important thing is that I’m your hyung. So, don’t be such a disrespectful piece of trash and be thankful that I was there to help you out.”
Yoongi scoffed back while he poked Jimin’s chest with his pale finger.
The younger one rolled his eyes and made some space for Yoongi to lay next to him on the floor. Even though there was a cheap sofa just a few meters away from them, on this hot summer day the best and also free thing was to just lay down on the floor. Jimin wasn’t rich in any way, so therefore he couldn’t afford an AC.
“Taehyung was too busy with his girlfriend. Hoseok hyung was too busy with his college work and the others were out partying.”
Yoongi shrugged his shoulders and took a sip from his lukewarm beer that Jimin bought him on their way to get here. He wasn’t necessarily into partying, especially not when it was that hot outside. Jimin was also the only one he was cool with, hanging out with him didn’t get on his nerves. That was a plus. And as long as he got his soju, he gives zero fucks.
“I’m the best hyung you have. Just sayin’.” He stood up pretty quickly from the cold wooden floor and offered his hand to the now blonde-haired boy. “Soju time.” Yoongi stick out his tongue and squeezed his eyes. Jimin couldn’t prevent himself from laughing. This hyung got some fairly good aegyo talent if alcohol was in play.
*
“Cheers!”
It was pretty late now. Jimin was starting to get tired and was unsure if he could pay for all the soju bottles they were destroying. “Hyung, how about you slow down a bit? I don’t think I can pay up for all of this.” Jimin was starting to count the tteokbokki and the soju bottles that they already devoured. 1, 2, 3, 4… no. It was impossible. He already was broke. He was happy that he could pay for even one bottle.
“Don’t worry too much. I knew you would say that. I asked for one bottle so just pay up for one if you want to.”
Jimin looked at him suspiciously, uncertain in what he was up to. Soon after he just gave up and stopped assuming that his older friend expected something from him in return. He was too drunk in the first place, thinking shouldn’t be an option.
“Come on, let’s get home. You look so drunk.”
“Am. Not?”
Jimin has always gotten pretty sassy and showed his big temper when he was drunk. It made Yoongi laugh, so he just played along.
“Okay, little one. Let’s go. Tomorrow is Uni-Day.”
Jimin tried. Standing up was hard, he felt like his eyes were coated with tiny little clouds. And his head was starting to ache really bad. “Hyung, please. Help me…” He pouted while searching for his hyung with his hands.
Little did Jimin know, Yoongi was actually paying for the food and the alcohol, snickering as he glanced at the helpless little blonde boy. It was always a different kind of entertainment to watch Jimin being drunk. And he adored that.
“Come on!”
Yoongi dragged Jimin out of the bar and linked his arms with his. Just to be careful. He could never be sure if he’s up to something. Drunk people are like kids. You can’t read their thoughts, and suddenly they’re crying because they’re doing something stupid.
“Hmm, which Bus should we take..?”
While Yoongi was looking through his phone, Jimin started observing his surroundings. It was pretty dark and refreshing to stand outside after drinking so much, with the weather tingling him. And he realised how happy he was that he didn’t barf tonight. It was an improvement for him.
The night still was young, one could never know.
While Jimin looked at all the posters glued on the windows and doors of the neighbour’s bars and restaurants, there was a specific one whom caught his attention.The boy on the poster looked so familiar…
Oh no. The boy on the poster… Is none other than…
That was damn Jeon Jungkook!
Jimin felt the puke climbing its way up to his throat, and he was so not welcoming it.
“Hyung… I think.. I need to..”
There we go.
“FUCK.”
*
After last night’s encounter with poster Jungkook, Jimin had such a bad mood that nothing on this planet could have cheered him up. And that fucking sucked.
His friends tried their best, but as they realised that even Mr. Kim’s class was not cheering him up a bit, they became worried.
“Jimin, you want some boba? I could buy some boba!”
Hoseok was really good at cheering up. He was such a funny spirit and always used his best words. But not even Hoseokie hyung’s jokes and cuddles or boba could cheer him up. If the older one could mix some magical powder in his boba, so he would forget all the heart-breaking memories he had with Jungkook… Then he would sure as hell take it.
“No, I gotta head to work. I’ll just drink coffee there.”
He grabbed his bag and trotted his way to the cafe where he worked part-time. Why was he even miserable in the first place? Jungkook was just a little boy back then –12 years old to be exact– thinking he was in love with him. That was it. How could a child know what real love was? Besides, why should Jimin care in the first place, when he already knew it was just a kindergarten love?
His headache was still not gone, and he was sure it did not entirely just come from alcohol…
“Hello, Noona.”
Jimin bowed towards his boss and grabbed his apron. Working in the cafe wasn’t even bad. He loved it to a certain amount. It was relaxing and soothing to create drinks and serve cakes and macarons. But he doubted that work today will help him overcome his past love.
“What’s wrong? Did you fail a test or something?”
Yoona washed her hands and prepared everything for Jimin to take over. She was two years older than him, and he was thankful for that. Jimin had no clue how to interact with people that were either way older than him or way younger than him.
“Nah, it’s just my brain.” He raised his index finger, pointed at his brain and took a deep sigh. “Overthinking.”
His older friend smiled lightly and tapped on his shoulder. “I don’t know what the problem is. But you will eventually overcome it. I promise.”
He nods, starting to cut some fruits to prepare some boba tea. It helped him to ignore Jungkook who was desperately trying to contact him in his head. Repeatedly knocking on his brain and crying out his name like a mantra: “Jiminie hyung!”
If that wasn’t bad enough.. Yoona forgot to tell him that there was a fancafe event today.
For Jungkook himself.
Jimin felt how his heart started to burst. Why was he so dependent on him? He didn’t see him for years and now suddenly after so many years he was following him around?
“Uhm, sir?”
A young girl, who was definitely still a high schooler, stood in front of the cash register and looked him straight in the eyes.
“We got permission from the Lady who was working here before. Just.. to be clear.”
He nodded, tried to smile, and gave her the permission again. Complimenting how beautiful the cafe looked and that they were doing a good job.
What should he even do? Be mad at the girl for being a fan? No. It wasn’t her fault.
“If you need help or anything. Say so.” He quickly continued and made his way to his best friend Taehyung, who was already sitting at his table.
“The usual?”
Tae nodded while glancing around at the cafe now full of Jungkook’s face. The tables were plastered with cups and cupcakes with Jungkook’s pictures, his name and birthdate. Of course, it was Jungkook’s birthday today. He completely forgot…
“Can I get my latte with this cup?” Taehyung tried to imitate Jungkook’s expression on the cup and gave the expression a little silly twist. Thankfully, the girls were busy putting posters on the wall, that they didn’t acknowledge him at all. The last thing he wanted, was a mob full of teenage girls getting at his nerves for disrespecting their “oppa”.
“Don’t ruin the fun for the fans. If that’s the way they want to show their love, they should.”
Taehyung looked up to him, confused. Since when was Jimin so nonchalant about events like that? He was literally the first one to complain about these girls or even boys who came to decorate the cafe with the handsome faces of the idols. The blonde-haired boy even went that far to call them “the slaves of the rich”.
“Anyway..” He stood up and followed Jimin to his working area. Taehyung would always order the same thing. A latte, a turkey sandwich, and a piece of the famous walnut cake. Jimin sometimes wondered if he wasn’t bored with picking the same order over and over again. But what did he care? As long as he was near him and could watch over him being an emotional mess and maybe even interfere if he were doing too much nonsense, he didn’t care at all.
“Did you see these girls? They are putting the posters up there like their lives are depending on it, it’s just a goddamn birthday of some self-centred sexy looking boy.”
Taehyung took a big sip of his latte and gave a disgusted expression.
Oh boy if you knew..
“Ah, by the way, I actually got to know the ‘self-centred-sexy looking boy’.
His best friend choked on the latte and stared at him, completely bewildered, and gave him a look. “No way..?!” Jimin shrugged his shoulders and put his food on the glass table in front of him. “Not a big deal, we were good friends back in Busan.” He casually responded as if it were the most normal thing that could happen to someone.
“And when did you think it was appropriate to tell me ?” Taehyung took a bite of his sandwich and skilfully avoided any eye contact with the smaller one. Jimin did not even need to look at him to know that he was probably pouting while eating to give him a guilty conscience.
Why should he feel guilty though? Everything happened way back in the past. Sometimes it’s better to let the past go. And the same rule was also directed to Kookie.
“You have something to say to me?” Jimin responded after a while. Shouldn’t it be Jimin’s choice to choose when to talk about specific things? Why is everyone always coming at him when he hid something from them? Doesn’t he have the right for privacy?
“Nah nothing. I was just wondering how you’ve gotten to know him. He’s pretty popular nowadays.”
“We were childhood friends.”
Taehyung raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened. He didn’t expect that Jimin was friends with the upcoming next ‘Taeyang’. Funny how one always discovers something new about their best friends.
“And you’re still in contact?” Taehyung suddenly started to welcome the idea of his best friend knowing a famous idol, that could open so many doors for them. Dreamily, he put a fork full of cake in his mouth. Just thinking that people would try to be friends with them and act like they are celebrities themselves made him cheerful. According to Taehyung, they weren’t exactly losers or anything, but they weren’t associated with the cool kids either. Jungkook could open so many doors for him.. and Jimin of course!
“Nah. He stopped writing me back.”
It was actually Jimin that stopped. But the questions on “why” and “how” would be too annoying for him, so he realised lying wouldn’t be that bad.
“Aw shit that sucks.”
After Jimin’s confession, they both stopped talking for a while. Taehyung confessed that he still had some schoolwork overdue and that he would concentrate on that, and Jimin stated that he was still in preparation for today’s work. However, both were still in eyesight to each other. Here and there they shared some moments, but overall, they did their own thing.
That was refreshing to Jimin.
Maybe he was selfish for being so demanding and wanting Taehyung to be near him. And also wanting him to be silent and letting him do his work, without interruption. Yet, at moments like these, he realised how much he actually respected their friendship and also how they’re both complete opposites from each other.
Taehyung was a pretty outgoing, friendly, and charming guy. Girls loved him and were undressing him with their stares when he was walking around campus, and guys wanted to be his friend, sending him invitations to notorious parties. In addition, he was also humble and disagreed with the fact that he was in any way “popular”. He was that clueless that he would make plans on how to get into parties that were from popular seniors but hasn’t realised that he indeed was literally the most treasured and desired boy in the whole campus. The majority of seniors weren’t interested in him, however they knew him. To the point that he would receive cute messages from pretty noonas.
Okay, maybe the seniors were indeed interested in him, but they had a big ego, and wouldn’t give him invitations, nevertheless.
A typical case of not knowing what is in front of your nose but wanting something that you’ll never get.
Jimin however… He was a hopeless loser.
Girls didn’t give a single shit about him, guys were ignoring him and would only greet him when Taehyung or his senior friends were next to him. He wasn’t interesting and he realised that fact one too many times. The only thing he was good for was when his colleagues wanted to get close to his friends through him. And that was nice for both sides. Jimin’s friends knew whom to ignore from now on, and the girls and guys who were trying had the hope to get closer to them.
What a shitshow.
The only great thing about college nowadays was that he actually had some real friends he could count on.
Thinking about the way his friends knew little of Jungkook made him feel glum. They pretty much knew a great deal about him, he told them everything. His relationship with his younger brother, his parents, his assholes of friends back then. But he always let Jungkook out. Even though he played such a big part in his life once.
And still does.
Yearningly he looked back to Taehyung, who had his earplugs in and typed something in his MacBook. He wanted to tell him how much he actually missed Jungkook. How much he loved him back then, and how sorry he was that he stopped replying.
The guilt in his intestines was driving him wild.
Maybe that was the problem. He was running away from the responsibility over their relationship. Why was he even scared? He had no clue.
Why did he stop replying? He knew how shy and insecure Jungkook was back then. He even wrote to him once, that he felt like crying whenever his fellow trainee-hyungs were interrogating him about his interests. And that he would look himself up just to take a long deep breath. After all the confessions the younger one made, Jimin just stopped replying? He was disgusted. And disappointed in himself.
Perhaps that was the reason why he was so remorseful and so careful to bring him up.
This was the first time he had friends. And he didn’t want them to leave him too.
On the other side, he felt guilty. Wanting to know if what he did was really that bad, or that maybe in any way, his friends would understand and forgive him.
“Taehyung-ah?”
Jimin raised his voice slightly. Not wanting to gain attention from Jungkook’s fans. He assumed the girls were nearly done with their work. They decorated the cafe in pastel colours and all the posters were already hanging on the wall. Apparently the only thing they still were working on was the TV, trying to connect it with their phones, possibly to put on some music videos.
“Tae?”
He raised his voice one more time. Again, not getting an answer.
“Now or Never” he thought.
Taehyung was his best friend, the only same aged friend he had to be exact. Why couldn’t he just be a hundred percent honest with him?
The blonde-haired boy walked towards the little table that was plastered full of Taehyung’s books, a notebook and his MacBook. He hoped for Taehyung to understand him and maybe even help him out to forget Jungkook. After so many years the younger one would’ve forgotten about him anyway…
“Something’s wrong?” Taehyung saw Jimin’s agonized expression and it worried him. He surveyed the restaurant. No one. The guests were perhaps put off by the girls that discussed vocally about the pictures that should be taken and didn’t even dare to enter the little cafe. Due to the minority of guests, he grabbed Jimin’s wrist and made him sit next to him.
“Finally! Will you tell me what’s been bothering you for so long?"
It sounded like he impatiently spitted these words out, but Taehyung was just worried. And maybe even a bit annoyed. Jimin wouldn’t keep things from him for so long. Most of the time he would write him a message, and Taehyung helped him out by cheering him up. Of course, there were also times where that wasn’t enough. Then, he would come pick his friend up without him realising, drag him to the closest "McDonalds” and have a late snack together. That’s just how things worked out between them.
Now seeing that his best friend was hiding something from him, and that it was overall bothering him to the point that he was spreading this bad mood around… Was especially concerning to him.
How could Jimin even decline Hobi hyung’s offer to boba?!
“There is so much that I didn’t tell you. And I feel fucking guilty. Seriously…”
Jimin’s voice started to break, and he needed to fight against his tears. He was so frightened that his friend would end this friendship, when he found out that he let the 13-year-old Jungkook back then, down. Mostly, because Jimin was kind of the caretaker of their little friend group. That also applied to Taehyung’s girlfriend who also was a pretty close friend to Jimin. If they find out about Jungkook maybe they’ll stop trusting him altogether.
“Bro.. that’s okay. Tell me. You make me all scared right now.” Taehyung grabbed Jimin’s cold hand and put his own two hands on it. “Does it have something to do with that Jungkook guy?” Jimin gulped. He needed to be completely honest with him about this. About his feelings and in general, about the relationship he shared with his once younger friend.
“Yeah, actually it does.” Jimin responded, while still staring at their hands. It helped him a lot to feel Taehyung’s hands on his own. He once noticed how much tanner he was than him. And he remembered once again how different they are from each other. Even when it came to things like outer appearance.
So then, after recollecting his thoughts, he spilled everything out. How they both shared this deep-rooted relationship, and how both shared the mutual trust and love in each other. He revealed every single point, and how Jungkook made him feel. Even though, back then, he was younger and smaller than him. Kookie was the only one that understood him and stood by his side.
Jimin was sharing all these intimate moments that he had with his dongsaeng, while he didn’t recognize how Taehyung was smiling widely about the way he mentioned cute little habits that Jungkook possessed and even the grimaces he once did to cheer him up. Talking about these habits eventually helped Jimin to overcome his tension about this topic.
“I told you that he stopped replying, remember?"
Taehyung still extremely interested and who seemingly forgot that he had schoolwork to do, nodded while rubbing his thumb on Jimin’s outer hand.
"Well, that’s not the entire truth… I was the one who stopped replying to him."
His friend was in point of fact a bit surprised, but he wasn’t angry or disappointed. More rather he wondered why Jimin did that to be exact.
"It’s just so complicated. He was writing to me about his hardships and I had this weird feeling that I couldn’t help him out. I also missed him so much and every time I would start a new letter my hands always mindlessly wrote the words "just come back home Jungkook-ah, hyung misses you”. Even though it was selfish of me. Then I–”
He finally gained the courage to look his friends in the eye. “I just stopped replying whatsoever.“
Now, it was over. He said everything completely honest and every single word that was spoken came out of his heart. The desperate wish that Taehyung would understand was still booming in his head.
"Jimin-ah… That’s okay."
Was everything that came out from his better half. And even that seemed enough for a second.
*
It was now time to head home. Taehyung insisted on bringing him and on the way they could order some food. The black-haired boy knew that Jimin wouldn’t eat anything if something was bothering him, and he always remembered how his mom constantly told him that eating some delicious food was always a good way to forget about all the small melancholic things in life. Even if it was just a few hours.
"Let’s order some chicken with some beer. That’s perfect for this ugly weather."
Even though it was blazing hot yesterday, today it was heavily raining. Without Taehyung’s umbrella they sure as hell would have a problem.
After their conversation, Taehyung wanted to actually strangle Jimin for even thinking he would end this friendship just because of some idol boy. He made some jokes to cheer him up, and told him numerous times that it was alright. There was a solid reason why he didn’t write back, and if there was ever going to be a moment where Jungkook and Jimin eventually meet, from the way Jimin was describing him, Jungkook would understand.
"I just want to let this go, you know. But I don’t know if screaming out of my lungs or breaking stuff will help me.” Jimin stated sadly, while nibbling on his fried chicken. He actually was hungry, but eating was exhausting to him.
All he had in his mind was Jungkook.
In one picture, little Jungkook who was crying and repeatedly asking why he abandoned him, and in a different picture there was Jungkook, all grown up, ignoring him on purpose and burning all the letters that he ever sent to him.
“This might be a super stupid idea… But how about you write him a letter, telling him in all details what happened ? Like, why you stopped writing back and stuff."
In all honesty, that sounded like a good idea to the blond. He can imagine how just writing down the words "I’m sorry” will clear up his guilty conscience. There was also no possible way that Jungkook would read it, either way. He was such a popular idol nowadays, he definitely received tons of letters every day.
“No, I actually think that may help me…"
Taehyung gifted his best friend a boxy smile while he put some fried chicken on his own plate. He always had a strong appetite. Looking at his friend eat so happily made Jimin full in a second.
"When you finish writing, send me your letter if you want.”
Jimin looked at him like a scared puppy. How could he possibly show him this side of himself? All sensitive and vulnerable?
He would rather stab himself.
“No, that’s fine. I’ll just write what comes to mind and send it."
Taehyung gave him a thumbs up with a pout. A cute habit he had while eating. Jimin smiled brightly and gave him one of his fried chicken that was sitting on his plate for some time. Eating wouldn’t calm down his stomach, which was now full of little butterflies.
*
03:00 am.
Jimin was laying on the wooden floor. Slightly banging his head repeatedly against the tile, hoping something good will pop up in his brain.
As soon as Taehyung left, Jimin mindlessly, started to walk around his little apartment. Wishing with every step, for something good to pop out of his head, maybe some artistic poetic words? A simple sorry wouldn’t be enough, that’s all he knew.
Just like that, time passed.
Jimin didn’t know what to say. He was too inflicted with himself and thought that no matter what he wrote, he could never be forgiven. Right there at this moment he wondered what Jungkook did right now. It was definitely ridiculously hard to be an idol, especially nowadays where K-Pop started to go viral around the globe.
When he was younger, he always imagined while writing letters to his younger friend, what Jungkook was doing right at that moment. Back then it felt like the letter was even more sincere.
So, what did he think Jungkook was doing right now?
He imagined him playing around with his guitar or game till sunrise. Jungkook was always a night owl, staying up pretty late and coping with the fact that he rarely slept. Even though he would feel how his eyelids start to fall on their own, he would still stubbornly, force himself to stay awake. That was something they both had in common.
The older one remembered the times where he would sit in front of his house trying desperately to finish off his homework, while the younger one would walk up to him all ninja style and annoy him with questions. All of it happening at midnight of course.
The desperate wish of Jimin was that Jungkook was still like, well.. Jungkook.
Humble, adorable, funny, dorky.
As he thought of his past love, he immediately grabbed his pen and wrote down a sincere letter. Being honest with him, telling him how his life went these couple of years, finishing off with a confession, that the younger once always wanted to hear him say:
"I once wholeheartedly loved you, and I still do."
*
"Aw damn.."
Hoseok stared at him like the emoji with the big eyes, that was perfectly matching to him. Jimin finally had the guts to confess to his other friends what actually really happened, and surprisingly they were all super nice about it.
Deep down, he knew they would understand. However, it still made him happy to see that they were so invested in his little complicated love story.
"You could literally make a whole movie about this…?” Jin stated while looking afar and making a weird gesture, implying a camera. “It would be like "The Notebook” just reversed.“
"I don’t really want to see this in movie theatres though, that would just be weird."
Namjoon always acted a bit awkward when it came to romantic stories or even love stories in general. He would always listen to their stories about their hook-ups or their genuine crushes, but he never gave a weird noise off himself, like a high-pitched “aww” or something, that he thought something was cut. Just simply listened, maybe gave some advice, and then he would go on correcting Jin on his bullshit.
Classic Namjoon’s.
"I don’t even think he will write back or something… I wrote him, yeah that’s true.. But I don’t expect a reply."
All his friends at the table stared him down. Ready to kick his small little ass.
"Jimin you stupid fucking moron.” He glared at the pale boy who was finally eager to state his own opinion on this.
Min Yoongi in his whole presence.
Just a few minutes ago, he was all uninterested, poking in his salad and asking random people for advice on a history exam he had in a few hours. Likewise, Jimin also tried not to give two shits about his advice whatsoever. So why did he suddenly catch interest in it?
“If you really think he wouldn’t reply, then that makes you again the weaker person."
Trying not to look too engrossed, he gave his leftover fries to Taehyung’s girlfriend, Jess, who happily devoured them. He was absolutely good at avoiding eye contact, his hyung could try everything to lock eyes with him but he would never let him.
"You described him as the nice, funny and understanding guy. Do you really think he didn’t wait every day for you to write him back?"
Fuck, he had a point there. Rather than giving in, Jimin rolled his eyes and continued to stroke his untouched burger with his index finger. "I don’t know. There might be a chance that he changed."
Yoongi’s little scoff was loud enough to witness and in the corner of his eye he could see him resting his hand on his forehead. His face screaming: absolutely irritated.
"How would you know? You might haven’t even changed at all? What kind of hypocrisy is it in making yourself believe that he changed just because he got his share of fame? Have a little trust in him, would you?"
Now Jimin started to get a bit frustrated. What did he even expect from him in the first place? That he would wait all day till the mail arrives and then cry his eyes out after realising Jungkook didn’t write back? He was not even expecting that, so why should he drive himself into doing it?
"Hyung how about you mind your own business, huh?"
Yoongi rolled his eyes, grabbed his notes and backpack while staring at him in disbelief before leaving.
The atmosphere now was absolutely awkward.
"I know you don’t wanna hear this… But Mister Min has a point there.”
Hoseok broke the silence. Thankfully, all the others sighed in relief and nodded their heads.
“Have a bit of trust in him. I’m not saying that you should wait for him every day to write you back or something. But just…”
His lips closed, teeth clenched, and his eyes twitched due to him urging them to close. Waiting for his brain to come up with a good word.
“Patience!”
He screamed, pointing at the confused Jimin who was now sliding back into his seat. Extremely embarrassed.
“Sorry.” He chortled. “Was I too loud?”
Tae brushed it off by making a gesture to make him continue his started speech.
“Anyways… You need to stay patient. Find a balance. Don’t be too disappointed every day, but also don’t give up on him. Give him his time.”
Everyone who was seated, slowly started to get up either going to classes or getting back to the dorms. Except for Jimin and Taehyung.
Jimin’s best friend was just staring at him. Hoping to see some kind of change of heart. He wanted the best for him, after all Jimin was always there for him too.
“And?”
Taehyung broke off the silence once again, while coughing the word out.
The blonde-haired boy peeled off the etiquette on his “Gatorade” bottle, and just nodded. What else should he even do at this point.
He knew that they were actually saying the right thing. Even Yoongi hyung. Nevertheless, it was hard to stay calm about it. Jungkook was always someone he wanted to be close with, but he never had the guts to do something about it. Not to mention, playing it off, telling himself that it was just a kindergarten crush. When in reality it wasn’t.
“Stay strong dude. See you later?”
Giving him just one last little pat on the shoulder, he left.
Letting Jimin drown alone in his thoughts.
*
And like that the days went by. Pretty quickly, even Jimin needed to admit to that.
College, work, hanging out with friends. All of that. Everyday.
Jungkook creeping up in his thoughts here and there, but never to such an extent as he expected. When he ate something, whereas he knew that Jungkook once loved too, he would think of him for a brief moment. And that was all. Smiling for a bit and then erasing him from his thoughts for the rest of the day. After days full of insomnia and lack of appetite… Finally, he felt like he could let go.
It turned out that it was easier for him to let Kook go, even though he was sure that there was simply no chance that he would have read the letter the older wrote for him.
Still… something about just writing his thoughts on a sheet of paper made him feel absolutely relieved.
It felt like he sent these feelings and honest thoughts to Jungkook. Just in a weird and telepathic way.
“Do you have the notes from that one lecture… uhm.. where we talked about 'The Catcher in the Rye’?”
As always Taehyung was grabbing Jimin back into reality.
“Huh?"
Jimin took his airpods out of his ears. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, confused as to what he wanted from him.
They always studied together, especially when it came to the exams from Mr. Kim. Even though he was extremely awesome and an outstanding professor, he also expected thrice as much.
Taehyung grabbed his notes, that were uhm… not really there?
Jimin chuckled, going through his hair while searching for that one specific lecture where Kim was discussing Holden Caulfield’s character and if anyone felt the same as him in a specific time in their life. The blonde remembered that he was discussing with him a lot about that issue yet being careful about touching any parts that matched Holden’s character to his.
He loved analysing the characters, and deep down he also loved to take a harsh comparison to them with himself.
Holden was such a free nature, he never listened or cared about his environment and what they thought was the right thing for him. He just did what he needed to do, maybe even exaggerating a bit, in the process of finding himself.
Jimin was actually the counterpart of him. He always cared and wanted to be accepted by his friends and family. Mentally, however he also felt like Holden. Trapped in a society where you needed to fulfil someone else’s dream, or someone else’s path. But what if one’s path was different? What if he doesn’t want to go to school, be an ace student and marry some women and create his own family? What if he just wants to do his own thing? Concentrating on just being happy?
"Here we go.” He handed his friend a perfect 5-piece sheet of notes of all the analysing points Kim addressed. Just as Taehyung was grabbing the notes, his eyes started to glitter full of relief.
“What would I ever do without you Jimin-ah!” Jimin winked at him, while offering him some honey butter chips. “You would terribly suffer.” He replied while trying to imitate a darker voice.
Like that, they continued their work, helping each other out if there were some specific questions, reading out the passages of J. D. Salinger’s novel, and repeating all the points Kim addressed.
“Ah shit.” Taehyung looked at his phone, quickly packing up his things and closing his MacBook.
Jimin smiled, he forgot the time once again and realised he needed to go to some date with Jess.
Typical Taehyung.
“Hurry up or I’ll snitch on Jess the next time and make you bad!” Jimin replied quite happily, while smacking his friend’s ass with his book.
“Dude don’t. That woman will stare at me with her medusa eyes!” He continued while grabbing things with a rushing panic, throwing it into his bag.
Of course, it was all jokes and fun, and Jess would always forgive him no matter what. Due to Taehyung being extremely loveable of course. They had the best relationship, Jimin could think of. Both were the most amazing human beings, and their relationship was so healthy. He wished that one day, he would meet that one person too. And fell head over heels for someone. Hopefully once again. In the near future.
“Ah Jiminie…"
Jimin, who was still laying on his bed, looked over to the door frame where Taehyung was standing and still in the process of wearing his shoes.
"I’m so happy that you are doing better."
Jimin just smiled lightly as a reply, waving with his hand, indicating that he should leave already. A quick "love you, bye!” and then he was gone.
The blonde went back into laying on his stomach, grabbing the novel. It looked horrible, completely read out and crinkled. Showing how much, he actually loved it.
Just like that, the late afternoon turned into an early night.
Taehyung came along with him after a lecture they visited together. They both ordered food, as always, and then started to switch their notes. Of course, Jimin was more thorough when it came to writing notes, but it didn’t bother him at all to help his friend out. Tae was amazingly good at analysing. Thoughts that he never imagined would come up in Tae’s brain in an instant.
Such an intelligent but absolutely lazy boy.
Now it was already past 8pm. The thought of needing to eat was alarming in the back of his head. But he was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.
After a quick search, he found a single pack of Ramen. He quickly put the pot on the stove and waited till the water heated up.
Suddenly, he heard someone knocking on his door.
His doorbell stopped working for some reason, so therefore his friends would just message him that they were there. Taehyung was the only one who would knock, but first, he was already gone and secondly, he had a weird knocking style.
He would abuse his door as a percussion to be exact.
“Who is it?” He anxiously raised his voice a little. But still no reaction.
“Whoever that may be. Can you just tell me who you are?"
Still no reaction. After a while, the person started to knock again.
Jimin was prepared for moments like these. He quickly grabbed a pretty unsharp butter knife and put his ear on the cheap door. He could swear he heard someone snickering. His heartbeat was increasing rapidly.
One hand was wandering from the door to the knob, while the other held tightly the grip on the knife.
Slowly he opened the door, his heart stopping momentarily, after seeing someone who seemed to be dressed completely in black.
Thank god, the person had some great taste though that’s for sure.
First he saw the shoes, just some plain black converse chucks, then his eyes wandered up to the person’s pants. Also black, with some chains dangling around the area where the pockets were. Once he found his way to the person’s torso, the man was grabbing him by his arms.
The smaller one from both of them, who seemingly was Jimin, started to shut down his eyes. Completely terrified.
"Hyung? Can you just stop the games and look me straight in the eye?” The taller man broke the silent awkward atmosphere.
For some reason, the voice sounded so familiar but at the same time completely foreign.
Jimin opened his eyes slowly, looking up to the man, still squinting.
“It’s me. Jungkookie."
*
Silence.
Awkwardness…
Now sitting in front of each other, Jimin felt completely bamboozled.
Was this some reality show?
"Your tea is getting cold… there..” Jimin raised his index finger and aimed for the little teacup.
“Ah yeah. That’s fine. I’m not really here to drink tea to be honest."
The younger one, took a sip from his tea while staring, confidently, at the older one.
Jimin quickly looked away, feeling how his heart started to go crazy in his chest.
"Hyung, how have you been?” Jungkook came closer to him, dragging the chair as close as possible to the table, staring at the nervous hands of the older one.
“Nothing much. Just college stuff."
Biting on his under lip, he realised how happy he felt but at the same time his guilt started to come back and nagged on his intestines.
"Oh hyung.” Jungkook rolled his eyes while grabbing Jimin’s tiny hands. It was an unexpected gesture. Kook’s hands however, were so warm. Jimin’s hands in comparison were freezing cold. Jimin realised that he appeased himself more.
“I’m sorry, Kookie…"
Here he was. Sitting in front of him. Holding his hands, as if he was the one that fucked up. Even though it needed to be the other way around.
"I fucked up.”
He couldn’t handle the emotions that were starting to tear him apart. The complete opposite sides of emotions were clashing with each other, overwhelming him. Happiness on one hand, since Jungkook finally found his way back to him, but sadness because he felt like he did not deserve it. Relief, as it seemed like Jungkook came back to accept his letter, but on the other hand also guilt. Since it was not fair of him to believe that he would gladly do that.
“Hyung…” Jungkook’s grip on Jimin’s hands was tighter now and while he looked at him, smiling softly, seeing the tears flowing down on the pale skin of the older one, he couldn’t overcome his heart bursting. Seeing him like this was not his aim. Not at all.
Jungkook closed his eyes, pulling Jimin’s hands closer to him. Dragging him softly to him, so that Jimin had no choice but to slightly get dragged up on the table.
Softly, he kissed Jimin’s hands. Making Jimin just sob even louder than he was before.
“No, you didn’t.” Jungkook’s voice broke.
Jimin looked at him. Frightened that he made him cry as well.
The black-haired boy was still covering his face with Jimin’s hands. It felt so natural, and there was no sign of weirdness in the air. Something about this touch felt too familiar.
And then he realised…
When they were younger, Jimin would always grab Kookie’s hands and lay them on his cheeks. It was something he always did when Kookie would run behind him before school. And quickly, Kookie would turn silent. Acting shy.
What both never really knew was, that both of their hearts were beating strongly. Together.
“I’m so sorry too."
Finally looking up from the older’s hands. "I missed you a lot."
Jimin smiled. Standing up, while still having Jungkook’s hands intertwined with his. Jungkook followed his action, also standing up. The height difference made him chuckle even more. And quickly like that the tears were forgotten.
"I missed you so much.” Jimin replied, while falling onto the younger’s chest.
So many years, both of them were silently loving each other. Trying to forget, trying to erase all the memories. But it was impossible. And now both of them were here, standing in Jimin’s crappy apartment holding each other in their arms and forgetting the hurtful years that they lived without each other.
“But wait a second!” Jungkook broke away from the hug, quickly wiping his tears, and then grabbing Jimin’s hand once again.
“Hmm let’s take a look…"
"Aw come on. Really? Still, to this day?"
Jimin just chuckled, while Jungkook was testing out if his pinkie was finally taller than Jimin’s. And of course, it was. There was no need to even look. Jungkook’s hands were enormous in comparison to Jimin’s tiny hands.
"You know what that means?"
The blonde just laughed and quickly hit the younger one’s chest rapidly.
"First we need to have some dates. Don’t you think?"
Jungkook rolled his eyes, while dragging the younger one back into his arms. "So many problems along the way. Horrible!” He joked, while grabbing Jimin’s head softly, dragging him onto his chest.
The older one took the chance to take in the beautiful smell of Jungkook. It was hard to describe, something sweet but in the same way not extremely intrusive. Rather delicate, soft. He could swear somewhere while smelling it, he could sense… lavender? And in an absolute weird way… He swore that he also smelt the only perfume his mom would wear back then.
While his head was still dug into Jungkook’s chest, he felt how his eyes formed tears once again. He felt like he smelt all the mesmerizing things again that was once everyday life. Jungkook smelt like Busan, like his dog “Doraemon” and like all the cherry popsicles they both blissfully devoured.
He smelt like home.
Jimin realised how much he missed his hometown. He had the urge to go back and just relive everything with Kookie.
All these thoughts rushed into his mind, and it made him feel hopeful for the future.
He looked up to the black haired boy who was still snickering cutely, and Jimin had the urge to poke his cheeks. He was so adorable, the way he smiled, had the same impact on him like a single shot of soju. It loosened his nerves and he felt like he wasn’t as tense anymore.
He had a feeling that he could fight every problem that would come to tackle him, eye to eye.
“Do you want to stay overnight?"
Jimin silently asked. Wishing he would accept his offer.
Jungkook hugged him even tighter, as if Jimin would run away from him, if he said no. "I wish I could say yes… But I can’t. Not today."
Jimin nodded, while poking his nose against the younger’s hard chest. "I cannot wait till you can."
*
The light of the sun was shining through the thin curtain. Sun rays tickling the blonde’s face, waking him up softly.
Jimin was confused. It was already morning? He would normally wake up in between his restless sleep, sometimes he would even lay in bed and stop wishing for sleep. Just accepting that he won’t sleep.
His dear old friend insomnia.
However, yesterday was different. He fell asleep right there, as if somebody were using a remote controlling him. Pushing the "off” button.
It felt like weeks where Jimin was last sleeping peacefully. It was a relieving feeling. No headache was awaiting him, or the urge to chug down 5 cups of coffee to get through the day.
Of course his problems were still awaiting him nonetheless. Yet the anxiety… was on a way lower level. He felt like he could easily confront his frustration as well as his insecurities.
He was hopeful.
And just as that, he realised how much time he actually had left. Enough to take a longer shower, and even enough to eat a little breakfast.
Normally “breakfast” wasn’t included in his life. Time was always running, and he rarely had time to dress up.
Today was an exception whatsoever.
While making him a little breakfast that included coffee, eggs some tomatoes and bread his phone vibrated quite aggressively on the kitchen counter.
Quickly, he grabbed his phone, at the same time also trying to manage his eggs who were really close to burning.
“Jimin-ssi, did you sleep well? I want to see you. Let’s meet up shouldn’t we? I will be there next to you sooner or later. Wait for me. I want to surprise you.”
P.S: Also here is a little something for you :3"
Jungkook always drew little sketches back then in Busan, and would deliver it to Jimin in all different ways. It was a cute habit, and Jimin was sure he still had the sketches somewhere in a box.
The sketch that Kook drew this time, involved someone who seemed to smile shyly. His cheeks were all smudgy, probably on purpose to give it a cute look. The eyes of that person were covered by someone else’s hands. Who that person was, is not known. You couldn’t really see the body of that person, just the hands that were caressing the smiling person’s eyes.
The person was no one other than Jimin himself.
He was awed by how good Jungkook’s sketch looked. It was drawn quickly, but he seemed to work on the details after the first outline. Like the smudged grey pencil stains on the cheek, or the shadows that he must’ve drawn quickly afterwards.
It made him feel cherished.
Jungkook took the time out of his own busy life to draw this little painting of them, and it made him fall even more in love with him.
*
“Damn, Jimin is everything alright?”
Jin went through Jimin’s blonde hair, then caressing his forehead checking as if he had high temperature. In return he rolled his eyes trying to push Jin’s hands away.
“He seems so cheerful and motivated today? He even contributed to Ms. Hwang’s class… Puhhh..!” Jess dropped her backpack on the table and continued to rub her temples.
Ms. Hwang was an old grumpy lady who wasn’t born to teach at all. There was no respect to her students whatsoever and anything that she liked, was mostly the same opinion she had, or people who just kissed her ass for the sweet extra credit.
A horrible prof, how it should be presented in the dictionary.
“I don’t know. It’s just nice. I feel like things are getting better for me… I don’t know..?”
One by one, everyone started to take a seat. As if they telepathically saw Jimin with good mood, and couldn’t believe it.
“So how is Jungkook?” Yoongi asked, quite interested. That was completely shocking to anyone who sat at the table, they looked at him as if they were worried.
“You really care?” Jimin asked, once again avoiding eye contact.
“Yup. I wouldn’t ask, if I didn’t care.” He grabbed an apple and bit into it, directly looking at the younger boy.
“He is absolutely amazing."
*
After spending some quality time with his friends, he was preparing himself to go back to work. Normally Taehyung would join him, just keeping an eye on him and spending some alone time with his friend. Today however, Jimin told him that it was fine. That he did not need to come along with him.
Jimin always felt bad for needing Taehyung in such an excessive manner. His best friend had a girlfriend and he should spend some quality time with her too. They both were heavily interested in art, therefore Jimin gave them two tickets for a well-known atelier opening that one of his classmates gifted him. Jimin helped that particular classmate out with a literature exam once, so he wanted to thank him in return with them.
They both deserved it. They were always there for him, now it was time for Jimin to give back.
As soon as he started his work, he became even more relaxed than he already was. He wished that this feeling… Being hopeful about the future… would eventually stay.
Jungkook was also a big part of it, it felt like he showed him all the good parts of life, and he welcomed that.
One by one all the known customers were starting to give their order. Normally, there wouldn’t be that many new customers, the cafe was near college and it was mostly either college kids who want to work peacefully or the elderly who want to kill time.
All in all, pretty peaceful.
Today, however, there was someone wanting to take an order that Jimin never met before. He tried to remember but there was no way that he knew that person.
That specific person was wearing glasses and a bucket hat, wearing completely black. After working on that order and putting it onto the glass counter in front of that unknown person, he heard a familiar giggle.
Jeon Jungkook. Of course.
"Oh my god. What are you doing here? Isn’t that a bit too risky?!” Jimin whispered while nervously taking the money from Kook. “That’s all fine. People rarely look at me, when I come with this attire.” He responded while showing off his clothes.
Jimin couldn’t contain a snicker.
What a stupid idiot he was…
“Is that what you meant with 'surprise’?"
"No, my surprise is actually a picnic in Han river. I wanted to see you. That’s all.”
The blonde couldn’t stop himself from putting his hand on his chest. His heart pounded loudly, and this time it didn’t come from panicking.
“When?"
"Whenever. I don’t have any schedules today and tomorrow. I just had a comeback a few weeks ago. It was simple, so the promotions aren’t that long. My company is also pretty nice and let me take some days off.”
Jungkook took his food, without even looking back and waiting for an answer, he quickly sat down on the next best table. Of course it was a table that was right next to Jimin.
The blonde rolled his eyes, yet wholeheartedly accepting the risk that they both put themselves into. He trusted Jungkook, and he felt happy to be next to him.
*
Looking at the old clock right next to his working space, he realised that his shift was ending sooner than he expected.
“Ready to go to the picnic?” He asked Kook who was still managing to look like he was reading.
“Finished already?” He quickly put down his book, his grimace looking like he was so disappointed that he needed to stop reading.
“Do you know that you are an idiot?” Jimin responded with a slightly rougher tone. Jungkook smiled while taking off his sunglasses, even though he still wore a mask, Jimin could see the skin next to his eyes wrinkling.
Without a proper response, he gently grabbed Jimin’s hands and put back his sunglasses on. And like that both left the establishment, making the customers question themselves who that good-looking man was, who has Jimin wrapped around his little finger.
*
“Ughh, I’m so full…”
Jimin stroked his stomach, while looking at the leftover food. It was nearing the end of the day, and he realised how today felt like a quick catch of breath. The whole time, they were spending together, seemed to be packed in indulging their childhood and missing the time where they couldn’t be one.
“Really? Already? You were always a bad eater..!” Jungkook responded while quickly grabbing the leftover spring rolls and tteokbokki. “It’s so good to dib it into the sauce, ahh you’re missing out.”
“I really did.” Jimin said to himself while looking at the hungry Jungkook devouring the last bit of food. He closed his eyes and felt how fresh the wind was feeling on his skin.
The night was still young, but he already felt how tired he actually was.
This day was an improvement to the last couple of weeks. But he knew that he needed to improve more; to be the person he always yearned to be.
For some it might feel far-fetched to say that Jungkook was the reason why Jimin felt better. And maybe it even was. Nevertheless, wasn’t it normal when specific people in your life made you feel better about yourself? Wasn’t it the case in a healthy relationship ?
“Thank you, Jungkookie.”
The black-haired boy was looking up from his food, midst slurping his noodles. Tilting his head like a confused puppy. Jimin caressed the crumbles on the corner of his lips away, and locked eyes with his lover. Jungkook quickly finished his noodles, before coming closer to the blonde. Jimin took this as a chance to grab Kook’s chin to face him again.
And there it was. The soft shy smile the younger, once gifted him. Right there at that moment, Jimin knew what he wanted.
“I love you.”
It was as simple as that.
Jimin pecked Jungkook’s lips softly, tasting like all the sweet promises they gave each other.
“I thought you would never say that.” Jungkook replied while kissing him right back. A bit rougher, but still soft enough.
Without them even realising it, the sun went down, both of them finally admitting their deep-rooted history. Waiting for such a long time, made the kiss even sweeter, Jimin thought to himself.
Sometimes you find people in a state of life, when you need them the most. And sometimes the people who were once your hope, come back and decide to stay all over again.
They both kissed for such a long time that Jimin didn’t notice how his phone was vibrating aggressively on the blanket underneath them. Until finally Jungkook let go of the kiss, smiling shyly while pointing at the phone that was still annoying the peaceful state they were in.
“You wanna take it?”
“Ughhh.. who is the cockblocker, do I need to kill him…” Jimin whispered more to himself, while grabbing his phone and checking the messages.
“Ah fuck, I completely forgot..”
Jimin stood up quickly, searching for his keys and bag. While Jungkook was still sitting on the blanket, cross-legged, patiently waiting for him to give a proper response.
“My friends have that night where we all meet up at our favorite bar to drink and eat while talking about all the shit we went through. We mostly do that once in a month.”
Jungkook raised his eyebrows, still looking at the confused and panicking Jimin. “It’s okay, if you need to go. I’ll clean this up and we meet up tomorrow?” Jimin laughed, acting like it was the dumbest idea he heard.
“No, no, no. Sir! You are coming with me. You will meet them!”
Jungkook quickly stood up from the blanket and looked at him all shocked. His doe-like eyes widened. “Already?”
Jimin nodded, quickly cleaning their little spot and putting the plastic into the next close trash can. “They will love you! They are a bit chaotic but that’s actually endearing, trust me!”
He grabbed Jungkook’s hand and dragged him with him.
This is going to be an interesting night, that’s for sure…
*
The club where they meet up once in a month was the city’s hottest place. Every college kid wanted to spend their Friday nights there, it was heavily crowded, therefore you mostly needed to reserve a table beforehand.
That job was actually Jin’s, but he usually forgets, so thus Joon took over.
Whenever a month was coming to an end, they all meet up, talk about their experiences and drown their worries with alcohol. It was a tradition all of them enjoyed. And Jimin knew that they all wanted to get to know Jungkook, so why not now?
“Ah, I heard of this place.” Jungkook screamed, now wearing his whole attire again, hoping to prevent any potential fans catching him. He hoped he could get a glimpse of Jimin’s friend group, who told him a lot of things about them but it was so crowded that it was extremely hard.
“They are all up there, we have an own lounge. So you don’t need to wear all of this!” Jimin screamed back, the music was too loud down there and he was happy when he could meet his friends soon. The younger was obedient and let himself drag around the club, while looking at all the different things that were happening. Jimin couldn’t contain a smile, Jungkook was so precious.
“Guys! HEY!” Jimin first saw Yoongi, then Hoseok then all the others. They were all dressed fancily, and Jimin quickly felt like he was way underdressed.
“Oh, hey guys!” Hoseok catched that both of the boys were still holding hands, and quickly smiled brightly. “You need to be Jungkook?”
Jimin saw his look so he quickly let go, feeling embarrassed. His face rapidly getting tomato red.
Jungkook quickly took off his mask, bucket hat and glasses with one hand, while the other was still shamelessly taking a hold onto Jimin’s waist. Which made Jimin blush even more.
“Yes, I am. Hello!” He bowed, and went back into holding Jimin’s waist. The others were all smiling brightly, indeed happy about the outcome of Jimin’s known backstory with him.
“Take a seat. You are the youngest, so you don’t need to buy anything!” Jin quickly chimed in, while pointing at the free seats next to Taehyung and Jess who were both laughing uncontrollably. Gosh how he hated his best friends sometimes.
“So you are Jimin’s boyfriend?”
Yoongi dropped the bomb as soon as they were taking a seat and Jimin wished he didn’t choose to come. It must’ve been so uncomfortable to Jungkook.
Because it sure as hell was for him.
Besides, both of them didn’t really talk about being officially together, what made the situation way more awkward.
“Yes. I am. As long as Jimin is content with that decision?”
He quickly looked at Jimin who was shocked.
Here was dominant boyfriend Jungkook again.
Jimin felt how his cheeks were burning. He just nodded. Not knowing how else to reply with. The black-haired boy was now freely putting his arm around his now “boyfriend”. It felt surreal to be called that way. And even though it wasn’t really romantic how he asked him, it still felt amazing that he did it in front of his friends. The closest people to him. He wasn’t even doubting this question one bit.
“Ah okay. That’s nice to hear.” Yoongi responded softly, while still keeping his eyes on Jungkook. He was protective of Jimin, everybody knew that. However, something about Yoongi looking at Jungkook that way, made everyone accept Jungkook even more:
Yoongi smiled.
He smiled while looking at the youngest of the batch, accepting it fully. As long as Yoongi was accepting of someone, everybody else in their group of friends trusted that person as well.
Kind of like the mom of group.
The couple of hours they all spent together was magical. It felt like Jungkook always was a part of the group, his humor was the same kind as that from the group and even Taehyung was happily accepting him as a member of their little squad.
Jimin and Jungkook were also the only ones who denied any alcohol. They both were already intoxicated of this beautiful relaxing night, that they didn’t need any of it.
Who thought it could be that easy? Jimin definitely didn’t.
A couple of weeks ago, he wouldn’t have thought in a million dreams that Jungkook would sit right next to him, an arm around him, kissing him and asking him if he was alright, while all of his friends were present. It was like a fever dream. Just entirely positive.
“I think it’s time for us to go. Thank you guys for today.” Jimin openly said to the little group, some already highly drunk while others were nodding happily back. He waved them all goodbye and before he could leave for good, along with Jungkook, there was a hand on his shoulder making him stop. “Hey, wait a minute.”
It was Taehyung.
“I just wanted to say how happy I am, that you guys met up again. There is nothing as precious as loving and being loved. But never forget…!” His gaze now hit Jungkook, who was severly confused. “If you ever manage to hurt my baby boy here…!” Taehyung, heavily tipsy, laid his head on Jimin’s shoulder, while pointing at Jungkook. Giving him a clear warning. Of course this was absolutely cute and of course no bad feelings were intended. It made the couple chuckle and they both gave him a goodbye hug before they left.
On their way to Jimin’s apartment, hand in hand, the older realised what actually happened today. Also in what kind of head space he also was. It wasn’t perfect, here and there he still tried to control his anxiety but he felt better, he felt hopeful.
They both talked for a while, after arriving at Jimin’s little home and continued to giggle about the response Jimin’s friends gave them.
The butterflies that once annoyed Jimin when he thought of Jungkook, were now fluttering inside his stomach again. Now, however, he was accepting it. Completely intoxicated by love, for once he welcomed the future that was awaiting him.
*
The next morning started like the day before.
The sunlight was dancing once again on Jimin’s face, welcoming him for today. He opened his eyes, trying to cover his eyes with his small little hand. Next to him, his boyfriend. Still sleeping peacefully, eyes twitching here and there. “Kook-ah..” Jimin softly whispered while kissing him all over his face. Covering him, with tiny little smooches.
“Hmmm..”
There was not really a response, but Jimin smiled whatsoever. He loved sleepy Kookie. He was even more adorable in this state.
“I love you. I love you. I love you.” He said like a mantra, finally making Kook respond with the biggest smile. “Say it once more!” Jimin shook his head, acting like he was angry, ready to jump off the bed. “Hey, say it again..!” Kook quickly grabbed Jimin by his waist dragging him back to bed, kissing him directly on the lips. “You are the only one that tastes still so sweet in the morning, how are you doing that?” Jimin chuckled while kissing him right back.
There are so many obstacles that are awaiting me…
The anxiety will maybe never leave me…
And the uncertain feelings about the future will probably continue to haunt me…
I have a long way to go… But with you it seems like a quick walk to the store…
#btswriterscollective#armiesnet#bangtanarmynet#networkbangtan#bts fanfiction#bts fanfic#jikook fanfiction#jikook fluff#jikook angst#jimin angst#jungkook fluff#jimin fluff#jungkook fanfic#jimin fanfic#jikook#mine
67 notes
·
View notes
Text
jealous roy
thank you @adrianna-lisbon for this prompt <3 i honestly cannot remember where/when you asked for this one, i just know i saved it into my wips with your name next to it 😭 i’m SO sorry its taken so long to get to you ;;__;; it got buried in my wips for a while. apologies! i hope you enjoy tho and that this is ok <3
also sorry if wasn’t you either ifdhs hashtag i’m a Mess but enjoy this oneshot on me if it wasn’t you!! <3
“Well?”
That was the greeting Riza Hawkeye received as she entered her apartment. Rolling her eyes, she locked the door and turned to greet the happy pup at her feet first. Hayate’s tail was wagging furiously while his paws danced happily on the wood below his feet. He’d missed her apparently while she was out on her adventure that night.
“Well what, Roy?”
She smiled at their dog as he rolled onto his back, begging her for some belly scratches. She happily obliged, cooing at him while her boyfriend hovered in the background. He didn’t need to fret. He didn’t need to get himself so worked up. Roy would absolutely deny it if she challenged him too, but it was so painfully obvious. She’d known him for too long not to notice it.
“How’d it go?”
He was trying to act casual but there was an underlying question there. He always asked how her day or evening out went, but this was different. There was an edge to his voice, as he wondered exactly what went on with her and the old friend she’d met up with that night.
“It was a very pleasant evening in good company,” she replied. And it was the truth. She’d caught up with an old friend from university while he was in town. They’d gone out for dinner with his wife, but that was tiny fact Roy seemed to have forgotten. Roy had been invited to the dinner as well, however he’d ended up working late at the office, so couldn’t make it. It didn’t help matters that she’d dated the man she’d been meeting up with in high school, and Roy had chosen to focus on that tiny detail of her past from over a decade ago, and not focus on the fact that her old friend was now married and his wife had been there tonight as well.
“That’s it?”
Sighing, Riza stood. She regarded her boyfriend. He was in his pyjamas, hands shoved into the pockets of his grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips. His t-shirt was plain and black, nothing special. However, if he were to stretch just the tiniest bit, she’d see his toned stomach. It was one of Riza’s favourite looks on him. While he looked dashing in his expensive tuxes on a night out or while going off to work in his three-piece suit, she’d take Roy Mustang in his pyjamas over all of that any day.
“You’re downright adorable when you’re jealous,” Riza smirked. “You know that, right?”
He huffed, a scowl overtaking his handsome face. “I’m not jealous,” he muttered darkly.
Riza laughed quietly at his barefaced lie, which only caused his scowl to deepen. He flopped down on the couch of their home, folding his arms across his chest with a pout.
"I’m going to get changed,” she called over her shoulder. She half expected him to follow her to their bedroom, but he didn’t. Riza didn’t think too much of it and took her time to unwind and get out of the dress she’d worn that evening. She’d picked it knowing Roy would love it, but unfortunately he’d been called into work at last minute, so he never saw what she was wearing until she walked through the door five minutes ago. Maybe that was what he was jealous about… It had sure disappointed Riza but couldn’t be helped. She knew she’d just have to save it for a later date instead.
Sighing, Riza changed into her pyjamas and padded back out into their living room. Roy hadn’t moved from the couch, still wearing his pout, and sitting slouched, with his arms crossed as he stared into the fire.
“What’s wrong?” she prompted.
“Nothing,” he muttered.
Liar.
“Listen… Nothing happened. Of course, nothing happened. And I came home to you, didn’t I?” Her reminder was gentle as she ran her hand through his hair. It didn’t hurt to have him be jealous over what she’d possibly been up to tonight. She knew where they stood and the nature of their relationship. So did Roy. She’d been in love with him for over a decade and the strength of that love had never wavered. Not once. She just knew he was protective over her. Riza Hawkeye certainly didn’t need any protecting, but she had to admit, it was a welcome feeling to have someone care about her so much.
He sighed quietly and his sulk, slowly uncrossing his arms so they fell to his sides.
“I wasn’t jealous,” he stated carefully.
Riza smirked, but it was out of his view. She hid her smile as he turned to face her, turning her expression into one of concern instead. Roy’s head tipped back, lying on the back of their couch, his eyes gazing into hers. He looked… worried?
“What were you feeling, then?” Her prompt was soft. Call her curious. If he wasn’t jealous, like he proclaimed, then why was he hovering over her and acting like it?
“I don’t know,” he muttered. His eyes lifted to the ceiling and fluttered as her fingers continued their ministrations in his hair. “I was worried about you.”
She didn’t hide her smirk this time. “Why?”
“Because…”
“That’s not a reason,” she teased.
He huffed again. She moved her fingers from his hair, gently smoothing down the frown on his brow.
“There was nothing to worry about. John is married, remember? He has wife and a child, who is adorable by the way. He was asking after you too,” she added. “He wondered how you were doing and was very surprised that we were still together.”
“Surprised?” His frown returned as he turned to face her completely.
Riza nodded. “Not in a bad way though. In fact, he was happy for us.” She smiled softly at Roy. “He said that he knew from day one that we’d be together for a long time.”
When John had revealed his thoughts on the matter, a deep warmth had spread throughout Riza’s body, making her extremely happy. She’d always known that fact. It always felt like she and Roy were made for each other, but to have someone else notice the way she felt about Roy Mustang, it was a wonderful feeling. It made her happy to know that their deep feelings for one another ran so deep that other people had become aware of it.
“Really?” He looked like a small child looking for reassurance.
“Would I lie to you?” She teased him, smirking as she removed her fingers from his face. He even whined at the loss of contact. She placed her palms atop each other and rested her head against them as she stared at her boyfriend. “Boyfriend” … At this point they were practically married.
“No, you wouldn’t,” he relented.
“Don’t sound so disappointed,” she laughed quietly.
“Not disappointed,” he added quickly, rolling over onto his side. He placed a hand on her cheek, cupping it and swiped his thumb over her cheekbone. “Just realising how dumb I’ve been.”
“Good to know you’re self-aware now,” she chuckled. When he pouted again, she laughed louder.
“I didn’t mean to insinuate you would… do anything either.” He huffed, clearly frustrated as he quickly tried to reassure her. “Okay, maybe I was a little jealous,” he admitted.
“Of what?”
“Maybe I was a little jealous,” he echoed, running his hand up and down her bare arm with a pressure that was barely there, “because I wanted to see you in that dress first.”
“I can put it back on for you,” she smirked, enjoying the shiver running up her spine.
“I don’t know… I kind of like the thought of it on our bedroom floor,” he smirked.
“You want me to put it on, just so you can take it off me again, don’t you?”
He just grinned at her, while Riza laughed, standing from the couch.
“You have nothing to worry about, Roy Boy,” she called over her shoulder, making sure she added extra sway to her hips. She shot him a rather coy look, batting her eyelashes and leaving him dumbstruck on their couch. Then she paused. “You’ve owned my heart for over ten years,” she added quietly, dropping her act and speaking sincerely. “And that’s never going to change.”
He was off the couch in a flash, rushing to meet her. When he did so, his hands gripped her waist tightly as he pressed his lips eagerly against hers. She responded in kind, smiling against him.
“I know I had nothing to worry about,” he whispered against her lips. “But I still missed you terribly.”
“I know. I missed you being there too. I wanted you to be there.” She felt terrible when she saw the guilty look overtake his features. “That’s not what I meant –”
“I know,” he reassured her. “Don’t worry. I promise,” he vowed, “this weekend I’ll take you out to a nice dinner. Just the two of us.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “I would absolutely love that.”
“So…”
“What?” She lifted an eyebrow to question him.
“Don’t put that dress back on.” His grin was absolutely wolfish. “Leave it as a surprise for me tomorrow.”
Her head tipped back as she laughed. However, Roy took the opportunity to attack her neck with his lips, turning her laughs into breathy moans.
“I much prefer you in these pyjamas anyway,” he murmured against her throat. “Because I’m the only one who gets to see you in them.”
“The feeling is mutual,” she whispered, gazing up at him before his lips descended once more.
40 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ehi!how are you?I see your post and would love to be part of your match up ask!(Sorry for my english,I am Italian and I hope to be very clear..) ...
Matchup for tremendouswolfsaladranch! Sorry, it wouldn’t let me tag you for some reason, but here it is! Hope you like it! :) By the way, I understood your english and could read it all! No worries. <3 I’m SO sorry it took so long. ;w; Also, I didn’t have room to fit in some parts of the drabble, but I tried to stick to what you wanted as much as possible. I hope this was okay!
I match you with: Izuku Midoriya!
That gif tho
-Green Bean would be super shy around you but also very friendly. You’re both shy around each other, so there’s just lots of blushy moments and stuttering, but the attraction is there. He makes friends with everyone so easily and willingly, so of course he wants to be your friend too!
-You both became best friends pretty fast. You have your group of friends that you hang out with on a regular basis, but he’s also your best friend, and you see him quite often as well! Once you get more comfortable with each other, you start really having fun, and that’s when he realizes he is head over heels for you. He loves to watch you interact with all your friends and see how kind and outgoing and fun you are!
-Finds your quirk super fascinating! Especially considering how similar the consequences of it are to his own quirk. This boy deals with broken bones so much it’s not even funny. So if you ever get hurt, expect him to be there, checking you over, making sure it’s safe for him to take you to Recovery Girl. Because believe me, he definitely will. He’s been there himself tons of times; he knows the drill by now lol. He likes to study everyone’s quirk, and that includes yours. He would love for you to humor him by answering his questions about it!
-He understands if you need space when you’re upset. Izuku is a very understanding person in general, so he gets it, although it does hurt him to see you isolate yourself from him and everyone else. But the moment you come back to him apologizing and feeling guilty, he’ll be right there to tell you that it wasn’t your fault, that you can work on whatever is bothering you together and if he did something or said something wrong, he’s going to fix it, no doubt about it. He’s a good learner in all aspects, relationships included.
-Overall you make a really good pair together. He loves you so much and takes you out on dates to places he thinks you’ll really enjoy in his free time. He’s such a sweetheart to you, and you can bet he’s going to spoil you rotten.
Fall Drabble: Fall Festival/Pumpkins
I went a little extra on this because I ran out of ideas on the Headcanons, so if it’s a bit longer than others, that’s why. Also, I LOVED your idea for this! SO CUTE.
“Wow, I can’t believe the amount of effort everyone put in to this festival. It turned out pretty neat!” Midoriya walked along beside you as you both marveled at all the activities going on around you. UA had really gotten into the Autumn Spirit this year, and each class had contributed to the festival by hosting a Fall themed activity or experience for the other students to enjoy. It ran all weekend long, each grade participating on a different day so that the other students in different grades could enjoy themselves. Today just so happened to be the upperclassman’s turn to show off their projects and events, so both you and Midoriya had set a few hours of the day aside to enjoy yourselves before you put in your own hard work for the other students tomorrow.
“Yeah, it’s all so cool! Fall is my favorite time of year. All the nice smells in the air, hot apple cider, all the warm colors everywhere...” You smiled to yourself as you recalled all of the reasons that you loved Autumn. “Especially the trees. All of the leaves are changing color, and soon the ground will be covered in beautiful hues of reds and oranges and yellows. I can’t wait to rake up a huge pile of them and jump into it!”
Izuku gave you an adoring look as you rambled on, his eyes glued to your happy face. Nothing made him happier than to see you happy. He wanted so badly to tell you how he really felt, but how could he? He didn’t want to ruin your friendship, not now that you two were so close. And he was just shy...and scared. What if you rejected him? What if you never spoke to him again? He didn’t think he could handle that, so for now, he was content to watch you from afar.
Luckily for him, you had other ideas.
“Hey, what’s that over there?” From a distance, there was a giant blur of orange, and you stared in curiosity as you got closer and closer to it, the giant blob of orange turning into much small blobs of orange instead.
“Looks like...a pumpkin patch! I think Mirio’s class came up with this one,” he explained to you.
Sure enough, the second Togata and his friends spotted you, they waved you over, and you were more than happy to oblige. You saw that your friends were there as well, picking out pumpkins of their own, and Mina happily welcomed you and Izuku into their small group.
You meandered through the haystacks and lines of pumpkins until you found the perfect one: spotless, symmetrically round, and a cute little stem poking out from the top. Not too big, not too small, but just your size and easy to pick up and hold. You nabbed it before anyone else could and made your way back to your group of friends.
“Guys, I found it! I found the perfect pumpkin!” You shouted in excitement as you halted to a stop in front of them. Most of them had their pumpkins picked out as well, including Izuku.
“You’re right, Y/N! That one’s totally flawless, unlike the one Midoriya picked out,” Mina snickered.
Turning your attention to said boy, you saw him blush as he tried to defend himself and his interesting looking pumpkin. “I-It’s not that bad! I thought the bumps gave it some personality...” He mumbled the last part, indignant that everyone else wanted to judge his poor little pumpkin. Well, almost everyone else. Of course you would defend it with him!
“I think it’s cute,” you told him, a slight blush on your face as well. You took a closer look at the lopsided, gnarled, and bumpy orange thing in his hands. It was...probably? A pumpkin?
“Thank you, Y/N.” He gave everyone else a mock glare and a fake pout.
“I’m sure that pumpkin isn’t the only thing you think is cute, Y/N,” Mina teased you suddenly. “Didn’t you want to say something to Midoriya, here?” She nudged your side with her elbow and waggled her eyebrows at you.
Oh, right. The plan.
Beside you, Izuku tilted his head in confusion. “Did...you have something you wanted to tell me?”
“U-Um, I- Well...” You stumbled over your words, not quite sure how to say how you were feeling. Now that this was actually happening, it felt so much different than you thought it would. You were more nervous, quieter, more on edge and confused about what you should say.
“Well, I’ll just leave you two alone then! Good luck, Y/N!” Mina said in a sing-song voice. Finally she left you alone, and you stood there dumbfounded about what to say.
Sensing your distress, Midoriya grabbed your hand with his free one to bring you back to reality. “Hey, do you maybe want to get a caramel apple? We can sh-share it if you don’t mind...” he offered shyly.
Thankful for the distraction, you nodded your head and followed him to the caramel apple stand that was nearby, your pumpkins still in tow. You gave him a small “Thanks,” as he handed the sticky sweet treat to you, but only after taking a bite out of it himself. You both sat down on a bench for a moment to watch the people around you, laughs ringing out and smiles being shared between everyone. With your pumpkins now settled in your laps and both of your hands free again, Izuku returned his left hand to your right and slotted his fingers through yours. Maybe he didn’t know how to verbally confess his feelings, but he could show it through actions. You, on the other hand...
You took another bite of the apple and chewed on it thoughtfully before finally handing it back to him, watching as he took another bite himself. From across the way, you spotted Mina with a sly grin on her face giving you a thumbs up, and you gathered all the courage you could as you opened your mouth to speak.
“H-Hey...Izuku?”
“Hm?” His replied, his mouth still full of caramel apple and bits of nuts.
“I-I...Well, I really like you!” you blurted out. Izuku nearly choked on the apple, a cough resounding in his throat. “Are you okay!?”
“F-Fine...I’m fine!” he managed after he swallowed. “I feel the same way! I just...was too afraid to say it, and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but now I don’t have to because I know you feel the same way, and that makes me really happy! But I just wish I could have said something sooner and-”
He was rambling again.
You boldly leaned over, both hands gripping him by the collar of his shirt as you pulled him in for a kiss to shut him up. That seemed to do the trick, his eyes going blank in a split second while he internally freaked out. The both of you just sat there for a moment blushing, until you felt him squeeze your hand tight, and he slowly leaned in to return your kiss.
You could hear Mina in the distance hollering congrats at the both of you, and you just smiled at each other as Izuku held the caramel apple out to you.
“Want another bite?” He grinned.
I maybe might come back and clean this up later and add more to make it a small one shot who knows
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
clumsy with your heart
Pairing: Iwaoi
Rating: T
Warnings: Language
Words: 6600
Summary: Oikawa Tooru is fine. Okay, maybe not really. He's running on empty, his work is literal hell, he hardly sleeps or eats, and he could very well collapse at any given second. But! For all intents and purposes, Oikawa Tooru is fine.
Except, he's not, and Oikawa is hurting his best friend by hurting himself, but he doesn't see the damage he's causing. And Iwaizumi's rope is running just as thin as Oikawa's.
AO3
clumsy with your heart
He probably got a little bit greedy. Yeah, that was probably it. He’s always been too greedy, too pompous, and it bit him in the ass when he got too close to the sun and fell back to earth, leaving a path of pain in his wake. Flew too close to the sun, picked up too many responsibilities, played with a few too many hearts. Looking back, that’s probably what ended him up here. He tried to play god, tried to split his own heart in too many directions when it could really only go one. He pushed the one person who would go to the end of the earth for him too far.
That’s how everything went wrong and how he lost his best friend.
God, he hated himself.
The other deserved better than him.
Fuck.
-
Oikawa Tooru is fine.
“Oikawa, we need you to stay late tonight.” He agrees even though it’s the third night this week.
It’s fine.
“Tooru, you haven’t called in weeks.” He’s been busy, he says. It’s the truth, but his energy is running on empty.
It’s fine.
“Oikawa, come out tonight; you need fun.” He says no, quoting something about being tired.
It’s fine.
He’s fine.
-
“Tooru, you haven’t left your bed in two days.” Iwaizumi pokes his head into Oikawa’s room, where he’s made himself a nest of blankets to make the best of his long weekend. Even though he’s “relaxing,” he still has his laptop and is doing his homework for the upcoming week so he doesn’t need to worry about it. “Please come out.”
“I’m recharging for another week from hell,” he responds. Iwaizumi is the only person who’s ever seen him like this. Weak.
“We can watch that American crime show you’ve been wanting to watch,” Iwaizumi offers. Not for the first time, fondness blooms in Oikawa’s chest for his best friend at how hard he’s trying. He’s the only person who hasn’t given up on Oikawa.
Oikawa considers the offer and cocks his head. “Okay.”
He slowly peels back his layers of blankets, very aware of Iwaizumi’s concerned gaze from the doorway. Carefully, he stands and makes his way to his friend, who has a soft smile on his face as he wraps an arm around Oikawa’s waist. Together, they walk over to the couch and settle into their usual position. Oikawa lays his head on Iwaizumi’s lap as Iwaizumi runs his hand through the other’s soft hair.
“Thank you, Iwa-chan,” he whispers part way through the show.
He draws one of Oikawa’s hands up to his mouth and presses a gentle kiss to the backs of his fingers. “Anything for you.”
His heart flutters slightly as he directs his attention back to the television. Iwaizumi shifts to reach for a blanket, which he drapes over Oikawa. Oikawa grabs onto his left hand - the hand that isn’t petting him - and doesn’t let go.
-
“Oikawa, nice serve!”
He serves the ball and the volley begins, bouncing back and forth between both teams until Iwaizumi spikes it down in the other team’s court.
Today’s practice is fairly standard, if not tedious. They’ve been doing practice games a lot recently, which he supposes is better than laps of diving drills, but his head is starting to hurt from the constant court analysis. Regular practice drills wouldn’t be a bad change of pace, he thinks, and then cringes at the thought of some of the especially miserable drills.
“Nice practice, wrap up! See you guys tomorrow morning!” the captain shouts. Right now it is nearing ten o’clock, and morning practice starts at five tomorrow. Barely seven hours.
“Hey, I’m going to run some serve drills if that’s alright,” Oikawa calls over to him. He can feel Iwaizumi’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t say anything.
Once all of his teammates have left, he hits ball after ball over the net, most of them staying in bounds, but still not as powerful or as controlled as he wants. Iwaizumi is standing by the ball basket, drinking water as he carefully regards Oikawa’s energy state.
After a particularly poor serve, he swears, “Fuck.”
“Tooru.”
“I’m not done, Iwa-chan.”
“It’s midnight. You’ve been at it for two hours. Your knee is going to give out. We need to go home and you need to ice your knee.”
“No, it’s not good enough,” he argues, feeling his voice catch slightly.
“Tooru.”
He goes to pick up another ball but discovers that the basket is empty - he’s already emptied three so far. Oikawa doesn’t allow his annoyance to show on his face as he makes to duck under the net to pick up a few of the balls on the other side of the court, but there’s a harsh pull at his collar.
“You’re done. Stretch, asshole,” Iwaizumi demands. He starts picking up all of the balls around the gym.
“Iwa-chan, I’m fine. You really don’t need to worry about me so much.”
Iwaizumi looks back at him. His undereyes are slightly darkened, but Oikawa figures it’s because it’s getting late. “Don’t I, though? C’mon, we’ve gotta get home.”
When they get back to their apartment, Iwaizumi pitches an ice pack at his face with a towel wrap, demanding that he ice his knee. Oikawa reluctantly agrees.
He struggles to sleep that night and instead tosses and turns until it’s close enough to the time when he’d have to wake up for morning practice anyways. Iwaizumi notices, of course.
-
05 December, 11:13
To: Oikawa Tooru
From: Kindaichi Yuutarou
Subject: Recommendation Letter
Hi Oikawa-san,
I hope you’re doing well. I was wondering if, when you get a chance, you’d be willing to write a recommendation letter for me? I’m looking at applying for some internships and co-ops, and I think that a recommendation letter from you would benefit me greatly.
Thanks,
Kindaichi
05 December, 12:39
To: Kindaichi Yuutarou
From: Oikawa Tooru
Subject: Re: Recommendation Letter
Kindaichi-kun,
Absolutely. Attached is the letter. Feel free to save it and use it as you need. If there is anything you’d like added to the letter, I can do that. Good luck in your future endeavours.
Best,
Oikawa Tooru
Marketing Supervisor, Social Division
-
Received, 17:00: Yo are you coming out tonight?
Delivered: 17:31: no i’m staying late at work and then i’m gonna workout
Delivered, 17:31: thanks for the invite tho
Received, 17:34: Okay, you’re always welcome to join
Delivered, 17:48: thanks
Delivered, 17:48: miss you and mattsun
Received, 17:50: We miss you too
-
19 December, 15:09
To: Oikawa Tooru
From: Social Division Management
Subject: Activity Report
Good afternoon,
Can you draw up a report of your division’s activity for the last eight months? Include all new hires, reports written, complaints filled, write-ups, articles, successful marketing schemes launched, unsuccessful marketing schemes launched, and schemes in progress in addition to anything else you see fit. We need this by tomorrow morning.
Social Division Management
19 December, 16:55
To: Social Division Management
From: Oikawa Tooru
Subject: Re: Activity Report
Good evening,
Attached is the report. I’ve put it in an Excel file format, but I can convert it to a PDF or different document format if that would better suit your needs. If there is any missing information, please let me know and I’ll be happy to fix it.
Oikawa Tooru
Marketing Supervisor, Social Division
-
Received, 14:03: hey oikawa, have you finished the assignment for class
Delivered, 14:15: [Photo Attached]
Delivered, 14:15: there you go
-
22 December, 15:32
To: Oikawa Tooru, Volleyball Team
From: Team Captain
Cc: Coach
Subject: New Year’s Tournament
Team,
We have an upcoming tournament on 01 January. Please clear your schedules for 31 December and 01 January and allow for more practice time leading up to this tournament.
Captain
-
[Time Request Off]
31 December
01 January
- REQUEST DENIED -
-
23 December, 10:39
To: HR Management
From: Oikawa Tooru
Subject: Time Off
Hello,
I recently submitted a time off request for 31 December and 1 January, but it was denied. My volleyball team is travelling for a New Year’s tournament, and it is vital that I attend the tournament. I am asking that you reconsider the time off denial.
Thank you,
Oikawa Tooru
Marketing Supervisor, Social Division
23 December, 15:24
To: Oikawa Tooru
From: HR Management
Subject: Re: Time Off
Oikawa,
You will be granted the time, but you must be on call at all times on those days. We will not make another exception like this in the future.
HR Management
-
[Time Request Off]
31 December
01 January
- UPDATE: REQUEST PARTIALLY APPROVED, SEE NOTE -
Note: On call 31 Dec and 01 Jan
-
23 December, 16:02
To: HR Management
From: Oikawa Tooru
Subject: Re: Re: Time Off
Hello,
Thank you for granting me the time off I requested. I appreciate it.
Oikawa Tooru
Marketing Supervisor, Social Division
-
Delivered, 17:45: hey i’m gonna be late getting home tonight
Delivered, 17:46: more things have come up
Delivered, 17:46: i should be out in time for practice, not sure tho
Received, 17:50: What can I do to help you?
Received, 17:50: Do you want me to bring you dinner or anything?
Delivered, 17:55: that’d be great
Delivered, 17:55: thank you hajime
Received, 17:56: Always
Oikawa meets Iwaizumi in the lobby of his office building. Iwaizumi is holding two bags of takeout and smiles sadly.
“Are you coming up?”
“Can I?”
“Of course.”
It’s nearly seven now, and Oikawa is one of the last people in his office left. Iwaizumi steals a chair from the cube next to Oikawa’s and wheels over. He looks up and down at Oikawa, taking in his rough appearance, hunched shoulders, dark undereyes, and sunken cheeks. Oikawa knows he looks bad.
“I’m going to text the captain and tell him we won’t be in,” Iwaizumi says quietly after a moment of deliberation. It leaves no room for argument.
“Are you going to go?”
“No, I’m going to take you home,” he responds. He sounds sad, a voice in Oikawa’s head says. “Please stop pushing yourself like this.”
Oikawa whips his head up at that. “What?”
“You heard me.” Iwaizumi doesn’t look up from his untouched food.
“I’m fine, Iwa-chan.”
“You’re really not, Tooru!” Iwaizumi exclaims, slapping his leg in frustration. “Your boss says run and you run. No matter what it is, you don’t say no to anyone but yourself! You’re killing yourself! You had to beg just to get two days off. When’s the last time you were home before five? I hate seeing you hurting yourself.” His voice sounds thick, and his eyes are wet, Oikawa realizes.
What’s wrong with Iwa-chan?
“It’s just the name of the game,” he mumbles and averts his eyes. Anywhere but at Iwaizumi. “It’s fine, really. I’m a big boy.”
“You’re starting your day at fucking five in the morning at practice, going to classes, coming here, and then either working out or going to practice again! You’re barely eating,” Iwaizumi cries. “I’m your roommate, your best friend, and I never see you anymore. Goddammit, I miss Tooru, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Hajime. I can’t just quit my job for you, though.”
“You don’t even like your job. It’s barely even related to your major.” That is true. Oikawa had changed majors several times - at one point he was a marketing major, but for his master’s he was going for communications. And, of course, Iwaizumi is right. He doesn’t like his job. It just paid well for a job with a fresh non-STEM bachelor’s degree.
Oikawa just shrugs.
Iwaizumi rolls closer to him, invading his personal space, and fiddles with the mouse on his computer. It’s open to a document, so he saves it and shuts down the computer. “We’re going home. And your laptop is staying here. You’re taking tomorrow off. We both are.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I don’t give a fuck. If your manager has a problem with it, they can deal with your very angry best friend,” Iwaizumi declares. His eyes are bright and angry as he stuffs his trash in his takeout bag. “Home. Let’s go.” He extends a hand.
“Bossy Iwa-chan,” Oikawa pouts, but there’s no malice behind it.
There’s no energy for him to have any malice.
-
They make their way home not long after, and Iwaizumi forces Oikawa into bed, quoting something about “self-induced sleep deprivation” and “taking poor care of himself” and “going to collapse any second now.” To be one hundred percent fair, Iwaizumi is correct on all fronts, Oikawa admits. However, he’s fine. He’s dealt with way worse than this before.
Usually they watch shows out on the couch in the living room, but tonight Iwaizumi joins Oikawa in his bed, hip laptop resting on their thighs. Oikawa’s eyes are glazed over and he’s not really paying attention to the show that they’re watching, but Iwaizumi is warm under him and supports his weight on his shoulder.
As Oikawa’s eyelids start to droop around nine o’clock - the earliest he’s gotten to sleep in probably months - Iwaizumi pauses the episode they’re on and sets his laptop aside.
“Stay,” Oikawa murmurs. His sleep addled brain isn’t thinking, but he’s not willing to give up the warmth Iwaizumi is exuding, and that’s all he’s thinking about.
Iwaizumi is quiet for a moment, and Oikawa thinks he hears his heart rate increase. “...Okay. Let me get up and get changed quickly though, okay? I’ll come back.”
“Come back, Iwa-chan,” he mumbles as Iwaizumi man-handles him and moves out of the bed.
“I always do.”
-
Oikawa feels safe when he wakes.
His head is resting on Iwaizumi’s bare chest, and Iwaizumi’s arm is curled around him. Fondness blooms in his chest - he hadn’t expected him to stay the entire night, but he is still here, his face soft and content. After a glance at the clock on his bedside table, Oikawa sees that it’s just past nine in the morning. Twelve hours. That’s the most sleep I’ve gotten in half a year.
He reaches for his phone, careful not to jostle Iwaizumi too much. Of course, he finds that he has several texts and emails. The first is from his supervisor.
Received, 08:15: Where are you?
Received, 08:19: Oikawa
Nervous, he quickly types out an apologetic response. He’s usually in the office by seven fifty.
Delivered, 08:57: i will not be in today
Delivered, 08:57: my best friend is forcing me to take a day off. i’ll make up all of my work tomorrow.
Received, 09:01: Please put in a time off request next time.
Delivered, 09:02: yes sir
That’s one down. He sifts through the four emails waiting for him. Two of them are wanting project updates, one of them is out of network requesting info, and one of them is a morning update from an intern. He responds to the intern, thanking her for her work and telling her that he’ll be back tomorrow, and flags the project update requests to work on later. There are a few texts from some of his coworkers asking about him - he hasn’t missed a day of work in over a year - and one text from his mother asking how he is.
Received, 23:19: Hi Tooru, how are you? Iwaizumi-san said you’re working yourself really hard. Please take care of yourself and come visit soon. We miss you.
Delivered, 09:06: hajime is making me take the day off today. i’ll be okay.
Delivered, 09:06: i’ll try to come home soon
He’s about to answer one of the texts from his coworkers asking about a project when Iwaizumi sleepily plucks the phone out of his hand.
“Mine.”
“Hajime,” he whines softly. “Can I have my phone back?”
“You’ve already been doing work this morning, haven’t you?” he yawns.
“Maybe.”
“Then the phone is mine.” Iwaizumi stretches and ruffles Oikawa’s hair. “Let’s make breakfast, okay?”
“You’re being so sweet to me, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa teases. “How cute!”
Iwaizumi freezes for a nearly imperceivable moment and flushes slightly. “I just care about my best friend’s health, alright?”
“Aww, Iwa-chan does care!” Oikawa’s running on false energy and fake bravado that he doesn’t usually use around Iwaizumi, but he doesn’t do anything to stop it.
“Of course I do,” he replies quietly, but his voice sounds sad. Oikawa’s heart clenches. Iwaizumi walks out of Oikawa’s room wearing only a pair of sweatpants and makes his way to the kitchen, expecting Oikawa to follow.
Oikawa hops onto the counter as Iwaizumi gathers the ingredients for pancakes. “What are we doing today?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Iwaizumi responds as he measures out some flour. “You’re going to rest your mind and body because fuck knows you need it.”
“We could invite over Makki and Mattsun,” Oikawa suggests.
“They’re both working,” Iwaizumi says, not looking up from the ingredients he’s whisking together. “Today is about you, not Makki and Mattsun.”
“Okay.”
Oikawa’s head feels weird, kinda fuzzy around the edges, like it might burst at any second. He considers that this might be the first time in a long while that he’s had more than a second to just sit and be alone with his thoughts. He tilts his head side to side and thinks to himself that he feels a little bit like a bobble head. That’s probably not good. But if he tells Iwaizumi, then that’ll lead to a lot of fussing, and -
“What are you thinking about?”
“My head feels weird?” It comes out as a question.
“Weird full or weird dizzy or weird sad or?” Iwaizumi looks up from where he’s pouring the batter in the pan.
“I think all three,” he admits. “It’s just a lot.” The honesty in that statement hits him like a sucker punch, and he wants to take it back, now Iwaiz -
“How can I help?”
“You’re already doing more than enough,” he says with a weak smile.
Iwaizumi walks over to where Oikawa is perched on the counter and gets into his personal space, looking deep into his eyes.
“H-Hajime -”
“Don’t hide things from me, Tooru,” he says lowly, eyes big and searching.
“What if I don’t know what I’m hiding?” Oikawa’s breathing is harsh, but he tries to conceal how his heart is hammering in his chest. What the fuck? It’s just Iwaizumi.
“Then tell me when you figure it out.” He pulls away and returns to the pan.
Oikawa thinks he sees a light blush on Iwaizumi’s cheeks.
-
Later on in the day, they’re piled together on the couch as they play MarioKart. Oikawa is leaning most of his weight on Iwaizumi, and their legs are tangled together on the coffee table. A nearly-empty bottle of white wine and two glasses are sitting on the table. The visual scene is actually fairly serene, and both of them stay quite relaxed while playing. However -
“You fucking shit!”
“I’ve been betrayed, Iwa-chan!”
“You motherfucker!”
“HA! I won, Iwa-chan lost again!”
Iwaizumi drops his controller on his lap and rubs his knuckles into Oikawa’s hair a little rougher than is necessary. “Yeah, Tooru, you did. What track next?”
“Rainbow Road?”
“No, I hate Rainbow Road,” Iwaizumi complains but navigates the cursor to it anyways.
“You just hate it because you can’t win,” Oikawa laughs. “Anyways, the track itself is pretty.”
“Of course you care about the aesthetics.”
Oikawa scoffs. “Rainbow Road is for the gays, Iwa-chan!”
…
Shit.
That had slipped out by accident. Oikawa’s heart rate increases and his eyes go big as he meets Iwaizumi’s equally wide gaze. “I mean -”
“You’re -” Iwaizumi starts. “Are you gay?” Iwaizumi asks, a cautious note to his voice.
Oikawa averts his eyes. This isn’t how he wanted this to go. Shit. Fuck. FUCK. “Uh -” he stammers. “Y-yeah.” He looks away in shame and sets his controller on the table, ready to leave and hide in his room for the rest of the day.
“That’s fine,” Iwaizumi says simply.
“You… you don’t think it’s weird?”
Iwaizumi scrunches up his face. “Nah. I’m bisexual, so it’s fine. I’d… uh, actually been wondering recently.”
“About what?”
“Your... preferences.”
“Oh.”
The silence is tense, as both men are scared to breathe, as if the moment will shatter.
“Can we play the game?”
“Gay Road, coming up,” Iwaizumi jokes, hoping to break the tension as he passes Oikawa his controller.
Oikawa laughs, loud and full, hiding his face on Iwaizumi's shoulder. This feels right, he thinks.
Oikawa wins that race, as expected. Iwaizumi wins the two rounds after - Delfino Square and then Toad’s Factory. Oikawa whines about losing two in a row, so Iwaizumi picks Oikawa’s favorite track, DK Summit, which Oikawa then wins.
They trade on and off with picking tracks for a while, each winning roughly the same amount. Oikawa makes some commentary about some of the tracks, his tongue loosened by the alcohol and after coming out.
Daisy Circuit: “It’s a lesbian undercover hookup.” “Explain?” “All the Luigi shit is a lie to distract from what’s really going on. Don’t be thick, Iwa-chan. Daisy is a lesbian and this track is about the race to a secret hookup with her lover.” “Of course it is.”
Moo Moo Meadows: “The cows are homophobic.” “Huh?” “I’m gay and they’re being mean to me. Thus, homophobic. Honestly, not that difficult of a concept. A fucking cow just dropped me four places!” “The audacity.” “Right?”
Mushroom Gorge: “Do you think Goombas are allies?” “Considering they’re working against us, no?” “Fucking assholes.”
Peach Gardens: “The continued saga of the lesbian hookup!” “How on earth?” “Look at all the traps Peach has put out for anyone who isn’t her lover! Only her lover is meant to get through, and fuck knows no Italian plumber is gonna be able to do that shit.” “You’re right, that’s exactly the story here.” “Glad you can see reason, Iwa-chan!”
Moonview Highway: “Who the fuck put eighteen wheelers on this track?” “Uh… the designers, I think.” “Not the point! I’m gay, I can’t drive! That’s why I play MarioKart, but these fucking trucks are making it too real! What the fuck!” “Maybe drunk gays shouldn’t drive, then. I’ll be happy to take the win.” “Not a chance, Iwa-chan! And I’m not drunk, I’m just well tipsy!” (Oikawa was a terrible real driver, so Iwaizumi always drove them everywhere)
Mario Circuit: “I -” “This is a classic, what could you possibly have to say about this track?” “Mario is a jealous, possessive fuck. Look at all these billboards.” “You’re one to talk.” “You love meeeeeee!” “Mhmm, I do.”
They’re two-thirds finished with the second bottle of wine when Iwaizumi cuts them off with a laugh. “I think we’re done for tonight. We’re both playing terribly.”
Oikawa drapes himself over Iwaizumi dramatically. “But doesn’t that make it more fun?” He flashes a dazzling smile. Iwaizumi’s own soft smile falters for just a second, but then it’s back.
“Not when we’re both doing this badly. Let’s go to bed, Shittykawa.”
“Will you sleep with me again?” Oikawa asks without thinking.
Iwaizumi freezes. “Okay.”
-
A few days later, Oikawa arrives back at the apartment after work around six o’clock - damn near a record, he thinks - but the apartment is empty. There’s no volleyball practice tonight, and Iwaizumi should have gotten out of work over an hour ago, so Oikawa is understandably concerned.
He tries to put his concern aside and attempts to make dinner for them.
Iwaizumi walks through the door around eight o’clock, after the sun has set. “Hey.”
“Where were you?” he asks, offering a plate of food that’s now cold.
Iwaizumi accepts the food and goes to microwave it. He hesitates before answering. “I had some stuff on my mind, so I went for a drive.”
That sets off some red flags - Iwaizumi hasn’t gone driving in a long time, and he usually only goes driving when he’s feeling upset or overwhelmed.
“You want to talk about it?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m a big boy,” he jokes weakly. Oikawa notices that Iwaizumi’s dark circles have gotten worse, and his shoulders are hunched. To most people he’d probably look fine, but Oikawa can tell he’s a step away from being on the verge of tears.
“Please, Hajime, talk to me,” he begs.
Iwaizumi ignores the beeping microwave in favor of petting Oikawa’s hair gently. “I’m not okay, but I’ll figure it out, okay?”
“Let me make it okay.”
Iwaizumi laughs weakly and moves to get his food. “You can’t do that. Trust me. This is all on me.”
“Do you want to sleep in my bed with me tonight? You seem to sleep better there,” Oikawa offers, a strange fluttering feeling in his chest.
“No,” Iwaizumi responds, a bit too quickly. “I - I’ll be fine. But thank you, Tooru. You’re the best friend I could ask for.” He takes a bite of the food and tries to hide a grimace. “But I’ll keep cooking. Thank you for dinner, though.”
Oikawa doesn’t push it any further. Iwaizumi goes to bed right after he finishes eating, leaving no room for any further conversation.
Oikawa lays in bed for a while thinking about Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi has always told him whenever he’d be home late; he’s never just not sent him a text and come home that late. That was usually Oikawa’s move. And Iwaizumi had gone for a drive for all that time, which was another red flag. It’s been a few years since the last time Iwaizumi went driving, but Oikawa knows why he does. Iwaizumi had explained it at one time.
He’d said , “I dunno, I just find driving really relaxing. When I feel like everything in my life is really overwhelming and out of my control, when I’m driving, I’m in control of everything that happens to the car. It’s a bad thought, but I’m in control of whether or not I live or die when I’m behind the wheel. And when life’s getting to be overwhelming, I need to regain the control, I guess. There’s also the kind of melancholic euphoria is what I’d call it. It’s the feeling I get when I’m driving twenty-five above the speed limit on the freeway with the windows down, music loud, when I’m alone and sad and scared. Like, I’m going just fast enough to just barely scare myself into paying attention, and the wind and music are fun, and there’s a kind of melancholic overarching aura to the whole thing because I’m alone and sad in the first place. I don’t think it makes sense, but that’s why I drive when I’m overwhelmed and need to escape. I guess it’s self care.”
He thinks about the words and how they can apply to Iwaizumi now, but Iwaizumi hasn’t told him about anything going wrong or overwhelming him right now. Eventually, he gives up and succumbs to sleep.
Around midnight, just as Oikawa is on the verge of sleep, he hears Iwaizumi talking in his room. Confused, Oikawa pushes his covers back and treads over to the wall that separates their walls, and, indeed, Iwaizumi is talking, whether to himself or someone else. The words are muffled.
“Foolish… he’s not… And what if he thinks… Makki, I can’t… He doesn’t know. You know how… Yeah, uh huh. He’s been like this… it hurts. Hate seeing that… I don’t know how long I can do this… Running himself into… No, I… He’s too busy… just another burden on him… bullshit feelings… Fucking nine years, Makki, he doesn’t know… I’m hopeless… hurts… Whatever. Goodnight.”
Oikawa is still standing by the wall nearly three minutes later, trying to decipher what he’d heard, but none of the words are making sense together. Someone is hurting Iwaizumi, someone that means a lot to him, by the way Iwaizumi was talking. Iwaizumi hasn’t told him about anyone new, which means that he’s lying to Oikawa, a thought that makes his chest clench.
Whoever’s hurting Iwaizumi is going to regret the day they were born.
-
Oikawa regrets the day he was born.
Okay, maybe not that far back. Maybe just when he accepted his job from hell. That’s a bit better.
The following weeks pass in a blur of paperwork, emails, and assignments. He stops going to volleyball practice, which greatly upsets Iwaizumi and his coach, but he’s falling behind on both his work and his school work, so volleyball just doesn’t have a place in his life. Work has been getting worse as his supervisor adds more and more to his plate.
It’s the third night Oikawa spends overnight at the office that Iwaizumi demands he stand up to his supervisor and have some of his responsibilities taken off. Of course, Oikawa doesn’t, because he’s a loyal, dedicated corporate employee.
Iwaizumi has been a saint, and Oikawa thinks he probably couldn’t survive without his best friend. He makes sure that Oikawa eats at least one meal per day - a struggle, to say the least - and checks up on him multiple times per day to make sure he’s okay. Most nights, he’s still waiting up for him on the couch in the living room to ask how Oikawa’s day at work went, even if he doesn’t get home until eleven (usually Oikawa’s answer is “shitty but it’s whatever”). On Sundays - now Oikawa’s only “day off”, but he’s still on call - they usually stay in the apartment and watch movies together. Or, Oikawa naps on Iwaizumi’s lap while he watches a movie Oikawa chose.
As the weeks pass, Oikawa notices Iwaizumi’s energy depleting but doesn’t think much of it.
They obviously haven’t had much time to talk, but Oikawa knows that Iwaizumi’s been taking more hours at his own job. Iwaizumi isn’t going for his masters like Oikawa, so he’s at an entry level position at an architectural firm. Iwaizumi hasn’t talked about his own job in nearly a month, but last Oikawa heard, he enjoys it well enough.
He can’t think of any reason why Iwaizumi might be getting tired.
At least, not until he gets more information he probably wasn’t meant to have (it was an honest mistake, promise).
Oikawa gets home early one night, but the apartment is quiet. There’s a note on the kitchen table in Iwaizumi’s handwriting.
“If you get home before I get back, I’m out for a drive. I don’t have my phone on me. I’ll be home in a few hours. There’s some leftovers in the fridge. -Hajime”
The line that keeps repeating in his mind is “I don’t have my phone.”
Something’s very, very wrong with Iwa-chan.
The last time Iwaizumi went on a drive without his phone was during their first year of university, and it was probably the darkest time of his entire life. He only does that when he feels so out of control that he just wants to scare himself and disappear.
What’s happened that he’s not telling me?
Oikawa’s heart races and his breathing quickens as he dials picks a contact in his phone and presses call. Pick up pick up pick up.
“Yo.”
“Makki,” he all but croaks.
Hanamaki falters on the other end of the line, clearly picking up on Oikawa’s distress. “O-okay, uh, what’s up, Oikawa?”
“What’s wrong with Iwa-chan?”
“What do you mean?” there’s a certain tone to Makki’s voice that Oikawa picks up on. He knows something.
“He’s been driving again, Makki. He hasn’t done that in years. And I got home early, and he went out without his phone,” Oikawa says quickly. He feels like he’s overreacting, but, if he knows his best friend, Iwaizumi doesn’t get upset easily. This has been building for a long time. “He hasn’t done that in years. What happened?”
“I…” Makki pauses. “Fuck, Iwaizumi,” he swears to himself. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” Oikawa screeches.
“First, ouch, mind your voice. Second, I made a promise not to tell you,” he says. The emphasis is clear. “I won’t betray Iwaizumi’s trust, but I’m worried about him. It’s been eating him up.”
“Why me specifically?”
“It’s about you, Oikawa.”
And his world comes crashing down.
“What… what do you mean?” he asks weakly. His voice is faint and his throat feels like it’s closing up as he backs up and falls onto the couch before his legs give way.
Makki sighs. “You don’t realize how much that man cares for you. It’s going to kill him. He might’ve reached his breaking point. He’s been watching you tear yourself apart and it’s hurting him.”
“What?”
“Honestly, can you not say anything else?” Makki jokes. “I’m not going to say more, though. You need to talk to him about it.”
“I… I don’t understand,” Oikawa whispers, voice cracking.
“Shit,” he swears. “Don’t cry okay? He’ll be home soon enough, and you guys can talk about it.”
“Fuck, Makki,” he rasps.
At that moment, he hears a key in the door lock, prompting him to hang up the phone without even saying goodbye. He doesn’t even wipe away the tear tracks on his cheeks. The door swings open carefully, revealing a very dejected-looking Iwaizumi.
Oikawa supposes that this is what all these weeks have been leading up to. Iwaizumi’s back is hunched, his eye bags are abysmal, his spiky hair is even messier than usual, and his facial expression is barely holding it together. He’s wearing sweatpants and an old practice t-shirt. Iwaizumi doesn’t acknowledge Oikawa as he drags his feet into the kitchen and drops his keys. He crumples up the note he’d left and sighs deeply before running a hand through his hair.
Something is very, very wrong with Iwa-chan.
“Hajime?” he says quietly.
“Fuck!” Iwaizumi jumps violently and whips towards where Oikawa is sitting on the couch. “How long have you been there?”
“I’ve been home for like half an hour.”
Their eyes lock and realization dawns in Iwaizumi’s eyes. “I -”
“Hajime, we need to talk,” he says and nods towards the seat next to him.
“Uh - yeah,” Iwaizumi agrees, albeit somewhat reluctantly. “Have you been crying?”
“We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you,” Oikawa says, haphazardly wiping at his cheeks. “Something’s wrong. What is it?”
“I’ll be fi -”
“Don’t pull that bullshit with me. You haven’t gone driving without your phone since the last time you were suicidal. Cut the shit, Hajime, and talk,” he snaps, eyes fiery. “You’ve never kept anything from me,” he continues, voice softer. “So why now?”
Iwaizumi pointedly doesn’t look at Oikawa, but thankfully doesn’t dance around the topic. He sighs. “I care a lot about you, Tooru.”
“Mhmm.”
“Like, it might kill me, how much I care about you,” he says cautiously. “And recently, you’ve been working yourself so hard, it’s been hurting you. And seeing you in such bad shape and knowing there’s nothing I can do to help except try to make sure you don’t die of starvation… It’s been killing me. I can’t stand to see you hurting.”
“But I haven’t been hurting,” Oikawa argues.
“Have you looked in a mirror lately?”
“Point taken, but I don’t understand why it’s so bad.”
“Fucking idiot, I’m in love with you,” Iwaizumi growls, but there’s no true bite. “Have been for like nine years or some bullshit. You own my heart, Tooru. You could throw it fucking whereever, and that’s where it would go, whether you’re aware of it or not. So, I mean, it’s bad enough to watch your best friend work himself into the ground and not be able to help it. But I’ve been trying my damndest to not let this goddamn crush get in the way of our friendship for so fucking long while still taking care of you because fuck knows you need it. You’re a fucking piece of work, you know that, right? But I can’t bear to lose you, Tooru, and you’ve never implied you want anything more, and we’ve always been friends, so… Uh secrets it is for me, I guess.”
Oikawa meets his eyes. “Fuck, Hajime. Fuck.”
Conflicted doesn’t begin to describe Oikawa at this moment in time. He’d be lying if he said he’d never thought about Iwaizumi in a romantic context before - on the contrary, it actually came to the forefront of his mind mildly frequently. Like, for example, how much he likes waking up in Iwaizumi’s arms, or how much he likes cuddling while they watch movies or while he naps on Sundays. Or, how they go out on what could be considered dates already. Before Oikawa’s job got insane, they’d go to dinner just the two of them at least once a week and spent tons of time together. An outsider would probably think they were boyfriends, he supposes. But on the flip side, dating friends is a double-edged sword. The possibility of ruining the friendship is very, very real, and is very, very, very scary. However -
“Jesus, Tooru, please say or do something else before I combust,” Iwaizumi begs, balling his fists in the hem of his t-shirt.
“How about this?” Oikawa asks before leaning in and pressing their lips together gently. Oh, and it is wonderful. Iwaizumi inhales sharply and kisses back more firmly, reaching up to cup Oikawa’s face with one hand. He tugs lightly on soft brown curls and runs his tongue along Oikawa’s lower lip, a small noise escaping his throat when Oikawa’s lips open for his tongue to slip through. The movements aren’t rushed or feverish. Everything is slow and sweet, just an exploration, as they pull each other closer, Oikawa eventually ending up on Iwaizumi’s lap.
Iwaizumi pulls back wetly. “Uh -” he starts. “Y-yeah, that works.”
“Iwa-chan, will you be my boyfriend?” Oikawa asks, heart pounding.
“Of course.”
-
Delivered, 21:33: hey makki it kinda worked out
Received, 21:34: Good. Deal with your own shit.
Received, 21:34: Happy for you guys
-
15 March, 15:45
To: Social Division Management
From: Oikawa Tooru
Subject: Project Division
Hello,
In light of some changes in my personal life and reasonable workload, I’m putting in a formal request to lessen my workload. Over the past six or so months, I’ve been putting in a massive number of hours in order to compensate for the workload for which I have been assigned. This was possible for a short term, but is no longer a possibility for me. In addition, it is not in my job description to be working overnight, over 40 hours, or past eight PM for general duties. My request is to either lessen my personal load or to have 3+ more interns assigned to my department exclusively.
Thank you,
Oikawa Tooru
Marketing Supervisor, Social Division
16 March, 10:13
To: Oikawa Tooru
From: Social Division Management
Subject: Re: Project Division
Oikawa,
We will work with upper management on finding a solution.
Social Division Management
-
[Time Request Off]
21 March
22 March
23 March
24 March
25 March
- APPROVED, SEE NOTE -
Note: Approved
-
“This is the first true vacation you’ve had since you started this job?”
“Yeah,” Oikawa replies, leaning into his boyfriend. The train rumbles underfoot. “Thank you for everything.”
“Thank you,” Iwaizumi whispers, punctuating each word with a gentle kiss to the tip of Oikawa’s nose.
“Dork,” Oikawa laughs, burying his head in Iwaizumi’s shoulder.
“A dork you love though, right?” Iwaizumi teases as he drops his head on top of Oikawa.
“Always.”
#my writing#iwaoi#iwaoi fanfic#oikawa tooru#iwaizumi hajime#light angst#they're both suffering#friends to lovers#hq#hq fanfic#haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! fanfic#tooru oikawa#hajime iwaizumi#iwaizumi x oikawa
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
The College Society Chapter 1 Part 11
Aaaaand here is the last part ! Hope you’ll like it !
Liam Saturday November 18
Why am I feeling obliged to do this ? After all, Judy was his superior, but not his employer. He owned her nothing. But she had this smile... And she insisted. (The more he tried to find excuses, the more he realised everything happened only because he was weak). (But he couldn't admit it... It was better to say Judy enchanted him). (She kinda looked like a fairy). Anyway, because of her, and because he had agreed to arrange a meeting, he was now in front of the hotel where Raphaël's team was spending the weekend. Liam entered in the hall with apprehension. He asked Nick to come with him, but his roommate had "an emergency". (What kind of emergency, he didn't tell, but Liam was suspecting something like a mission from the geek's brotherhood). (It certainly was a real thing, wasn't it ?). I should focus on my reason to be there. The young lad headed towards the reception desk when suddenly, a cold tone made his spine shiver.
"Finally, Liam Strucker deigned come to see his old friend. I expected you at 11 am, but I guess it was too early."
When Raphaël spoke, it was generally hard to know what he really meant. Was he joking, or insulting his conversation partner ? Fortunately, the freshman knew the soccer player since kindergarten or even before. He had learnt how to interpret his friend's words. And right now, he just joked. That's a good point, I guess. He looked at his former captain, and smiled thoughtfully. Nothing changed. He's still the most perfect dude I ever saw. Ginger, Raphaël had gentle traits and sparkling blue eyes. He was built like a model and he was wearing a white shirt and black jeans, like a real business man. As always, I just naturally feel inferior... He's so impressive. Besides being handsome, Raphaël had this frightening aura which gave him autority over his mates.
"How are you doing Liam ?" asked the soccer player. "We talked through phone once in a while but I nice to see you in person. I heard you had issue with your family."
"Yeah... My father decided to come back and steal everything from my mother. But I hope things will get better soon. What about you ? You look exactly the same as the last time as saw you tho."
"It was during a game I did with my team last spring, yeah, I remember."
Raphaël paused. (Liam honestly didn't remember this match). (And he didn't know what to say).
"In those days, you were still in a relationship." whispered the ginger lad. "Which ended kind of badly."
Liam shivered. He knows. They all know. And they certainly all hate me. After all, it had happened because of his cowardice. He had lost his boyfriend. The young lad lowered his head. He had hoped his oldest friend would judge him differently.
"Some things never change." smiled Raphaël. "I still can read your mind as easily as before."
"Sorry. But you know this whole story just..."
"I'm not blaming you." cut him off his friend. "You weren't ready to face these kind of problems and you did what you thought was the best. Look, I'm free for the afternoon and the evening. Lead me wherever you want, and let's talk peacefully. Maybe I can cheer you up a bit, you look depressed."
Raphaël being Raphaël, it was not an application, but more likely an order, so Liam decided to obey. (And he was happy to obey, as long as his friend didn't blame him for these past problems). (Okay, he also was a bit scared by the soccer player). (How could a not even twenty year old boy be that much dreadful and nice at the same time ?)
During the afternoon, they talked about their respectives lives and Liam relaxed a bit. Eventually, he decided to bring Raphaël to Pasta's Place, where Judy was certainly waiting for them. She even gave me a free day in order to see him. According to her own words, she only wanted to meet him and to serve him. (Liam wondered if somewhere, someone was asking for him like this). They entered in the restaurant, and he looked for her. She glanced at them, became as red as a beetroot, and then decided to come closer slowly.
"This restaurant sounds great." whispered ironically Raphaël. "But I thought you weren't eating that much anymore."
Liam wondered how his friend could be aware of absolutely everything. Then, he realised that as a mutant, the ginger lad bound to know everything. Anyways, Judy finally approached them.
"Hi and welcome to Pasta's Place." she greeted. "Name's Judy, and I will take care of you this evening. Please follow me."
She knew by heart this sentence, but seemed way more stressed than usual. She couldn't help herself from looking at Raphaël. This one smiled cheerfully.
"Thanks you. Liam told me he was working with you. He also said you really wanted to meet me so... here I am, and glad."
I did what ? Judy blushed, and glared at the brown lad. (He honestly didn't remember telling his friend those things). (But he wasn't dreamy for all that...)
"Here are your menu. I guess you're both eating ?"
"Yes, of course." replied Raphaël before Liam even realise the question.
Damn. I'm trapped now. Usually, he wouldn't be stressed to eat. After all, Pasta's Place offered some of the best plate he have ever tasted, and it was 8 pm. However, his friend had this mysterious and machiavellian smile meaning he was ploting something. Sadly, it's not like if I have a choice... When the captain is like this... Liam sat in front of his friend, and smiled while watching the menu. To be honest, the young lad didn't know why he watched the menu. I should have know he would do that. Raphaël ordered for them both, and when Liam tried to stop him, only smiled even more. The fact is, he ordered so much food that Judy herself couldn't believe it. Nonetheless, the brown lad knew what his friend planned. I'm not ready for this... Before, in high school, he had been used to eat a lot, sometimes way more than people would judge normal. With Nate and his ex-boyfriend, they had some of their greatest time with food. Liam had loved the stuffing, the feeding. And especially, he worshipped the food. That was why, after his break up, he decided to stop. At first, his will have been weak, but the pain and the anger won, and he had ceased these stuffing sessions. At least until now. Raphaël got two advantages he took benefits from. Firstly, his natural authority worked very effectively on Liam. Secondly, time passed, and the old reasons faded, which meant his belly was recovering his rights slowly. (His belly was like a second brain he censored for almost one year). (He blamed Nick and his bad infuence for everything). Anyway, when the first plate came, the so-called second brain gurgled with enthusiam, and Liam didn't wait before starting to eat.
"I was glad to see you." stated Raphaël joyously.
Liam nodded slowly, too focused on rubbing his distended belly to answer. What happened exactly ? I'm not even sure... When they had started their diner, he had expected his feelings towards food to prevent him from stuffing himself. But against his will, his stomach had taken the control, and had devoured absolutely everything Raphaël had offered. Once he had realised what he had done, the brown lad was completely bloated and full to the brim. Thanks to god, Judy had not seen that, preoccupied by his former teamcaptain, and they had left the restaurant quickly after he had succeeded to get up. Now, Liam was regreting his lack of control.
"You shouldn't be so concerned." assured his friend. "Be honest with yourself, you enjoyed it. You love it Liam, and you shouldn't refrain from doing what you love."
Of course I liked, but that's the problem. It make me feel guilty. It brought bad memories he thought forgotten. And as much as he appreciated the warmth of being stuffed, the pleasure of eating without restriction, he loathed culpability even more. The ginger lad hadn't this kind of problem. His boyfriend Dan was a loveable college's student, making everything possible to please Raphaël. He probably can't understand how is it to be in the dark side... Since they reached the soccer's hotel, this latter smiled and whispered :
"Don't let your past ruin your present Liam. You're worth much more than you think. And yes, it's an order. Until the next time, take care of you please."
Liam nodded slowly. He promised to make an effeort. Then he looked Raphaël leave to join his team.
Rebecca Wednesday November 22
The young girl got lost in her mind. One week ago, she had won a race against Matthew, but strangley, he hadn't taken offense of it. Way more surprising, he had invited her and Emilio to a party tonight. Of course, she feared an evil plan, and had tried to decline, but her boyfriend had agreed before she could answer. Thus, instead of working with Liam, Colton and Nick on the project, she was thinking about the party incoming. Her sophomore teammate was necessarily planning something...
"Rebbie ?" hailed Colton. "We're ordering the pizza for diner. Which one do you want ?"
She looked at her friends. I didn't say I was invited... Nick was holding the phone, waiting for her answer and Liam one's. For almost two hours, they worked on the mathematic project, but she wasn't focused. Which means Colton and Nick did the whole thing alone...
"I'm not eating here." she replied. "I'll join my boyfriend soon."
She noticed the geek's sigh. They weren't speaking much since she never thanked him. Rebecca tried to follow Emilio's advice and to forget her former friend, but strangely, she couldn't. I still feel guilty for my behaviour... Liam eventually ordered a small pizza, and the geek called. She took advatange of it to stood up.
"As we progressed quite well, I need to go. See you soon boys."
She left them, but felt their stares in her back for a long time. Damnit. I definitely need to make everything clear, one day or another.
The party took place in a community center in town. She joined Emilio at his flat, and they went together. She was afraid of Matthew, but oddly, nothing happened. At start, she had stayed with her boyfriend, close enough to feel protected, but soon, she mingled with some girls, including Laura and Chelsea. Because Rebecca wasn't drinking much, she mainly watched people thoughtfully. Theo attracted attention easily. Surrounded by a bunch of drug addict, himself seemed high and was discoursing about something clearly fascinating. Next to him, a chubby asian was playing music. Not that far, Matthew and some guys were playing beerpong, including Emilio. Is he drunk ? Bob warned her : she needed to stay away bad influences in order to continue her improvement...
"Hey Rebbie, do you like the party ?" asked a cheerful voice.
The black girl turned towards Chelsea and smiled.
"Yeah, that's fortifiying after the classes".
The nurse trainee wore a beautiful red dress highlightning her curves. Rather tall, she was athletic but feminine, with a delicate face. Because they trained together for the University's championship, they became friends despite Matthew's attidude towards Rebecca.
"How are things between Emilio and you ?" asked the blonde. "Some rumors said he's a good lay."
What ? The tall girl almost choked on her drink, surprised. She already had private moments with her boyfriend, but nobody talked about it as openly before.
"Maybe I'm a little indiscreet." laughed Chelsea. "My point is : you two are meant to be together. Trust me, I know things about it."
Rebecca nodded, still discomforted. Besides, why am I thinking about Nick ? She wondered what her friend was thinking about her relationship ? Did he approve ? Understanding she was overthinking, she smiled to Chelsea and joined her boyfriend. Everything I need's here. That's all what matter...
Peter Friday November 24 LAST PART
He's uncatachable, it's part of the charm... The lad observed in the vicinity, but Theo wasn't here. He had just finished his private law lesson, and expected to see his lover waiting for him somewhere. Sadly, he wasn't. Feeling depressed, the young lad headed towards the library in order to study. It can't be true... Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey had told bullshit. One week ago, this dickhead had assured the swimteam captain was manipulating Pete. As a proof, he had evoked their last night, almost two weeks ago. But I know he lied. Theo'll come back, sooner or later. He glanced Mike, who was surrounded by books. His roommate had started his revision for the exam, way ealier than the majority of students.
"Hi mate." greeted the blonde freshman while joining him. "How are going those review ?"
The football player looked at him thoughtfully. They never really talked about Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey's speech. Mike knows I'm having an affair with Theo,but said nothing.
"Fine." he eventually answered. "I'm just a little annoyed cus I can't exercise as much as I want while I'm preparing exams."
Pete nodded slowly. To be honest, his roommate used it as a pretext to not train. Since he started to gain weight thoughtlessy, he had become lazier and lazier, and now, he only did sport one time per week or even less. I never intented to turn him into a growing college student, but as long as he don't realise it, I guess it's not a problem...
"So... You and Theo..." mumbled Mike. "For how long are you seeing each other ?"
Pete sighed. He knew this moment would happen. The swimteam captain was kinda popular and well-known in the campus. He decided to be honest, and answered :
"It started at the induction seminar in september. Look, I know what you are thinking : he's in a relationship with Laura, and I'm a fucking bastard who betrayed this lovely girl, but trust me, there's no damage done. She doesn't know about us, and as long as it remain like this, everything's fine."
"I slept with Theo at least ten times in the last few weeks." confessed suddenly Mike. "I didn't even know I was gay, but I had sex with him. However, I guess there is no damage either, right ?"
For the second time in his life, Pete hurtled on the campus like a crazy. He ran towards the pool, and crossed the doors in no time, motivated by a mix of anger, lack of understanding and sadness. He rushed the locker room, where he found Theo and Liam. Fortunately for his broken heart, they were not having sex or whatever. The absent-minded freshman was admiring his swimtrunks, lost in his mind. The captain, in the other hand, looked at the newcomer and smiled. This smile...
"You slept with Mike ?!" yelled Pete. "You cheated on me with my own roommate ?!"
The blonde lad rose in front of the junior, but felt immediatly ridiculous. His lover was way taller and heftier than he had ever been.
"My delicious little kitten, we never said our relationship was exclusive."
His right hand slipped under Pete's shirt and stroked his belly. Stop it. The young lad didn't say it loud. He waited this for too long.
"Your roommate became so cute..." continued Theo. "I couldn't control myself..."
While speaking, he accentuated his caress and came even nearer. Their mouths were so close. The blonde lad didn't find the courage to spurn his lover's advances. I prayed for this. I need him, as much as I can.
"You know I'm uncatachable." whispedered the captain. "You don't possess me. Nobody does. Do you understand ?"
Pete moaned with pleasure. He knew Liam was next to them, now perfectly awake, but a part of him begged for sex. Sadly, Theo stepped back and smiled.
"We made a spectacle of ourselves." he laughed. "You should let us Pete. Trust me, everything's fine. You please me. Mike please me. Nothing's wrong as long as you both please me, right ?"
The lad nodded. An idea grew in his mind. I'll please you even more, you'll see. He left the locker room, entirely reassured. He definitely didn't realise the ascendancy Theo had on him. He had been caught by an hunter without even knowing it.
To be continued in Chapter 2
Here we are... If you have to retain one word, it would be hunter. You’ll see why later uwu
Raphaël is someone important for Liam since they know eachother well... since birth (if someone wonder, they have a one month difference). Nate is Liam’s best friend forever and Raphaël is his childhood friend if that’s clear ?
Rebecca’s part is quite short, but do not worry people, she will have some stuff happening on her own.
As for our dear Pete... It’s time to say goodbye. He became a feedee, which he like... And idk, his feeder is kind of an handsome jerk ? Don’t worry, we’ll see him around again as well as Theo !
The College Society will be on hiatus for a short time in order for me to wrap chapter 2 up ! Liam and his gang will be back soon, I promise ! And a new character will take the third pov !!!
#the college society#cs#Liam#Rebecca#Pete#weight gain#stuffing#First Liam's stuffing session !!!!!!!#There will be more later but it's a slow process remember#Rebecca is being a little paranoid#sorry long tags#chapter 1#part 11#last part
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
Lai Guanlin Medical Au
Back and late as always~
> • You hadn’t expected to spend your Saturday night in the hospital,
>• But then who ever does except for doctors?
>• It’s been a while since you last saw the bright lights and overworked doctors and nurses,
> • I mean it’s been a year,
> • But as someone infamous for being incredibly clumsy, a year was a break,
> • It had started at the age of 6, breaking your arm, and then it’d just tumbled,
> • From broken noses to crushed feet and bruised ribs, you’re sure that you’re at least 40% metal at this point,
> • You’d be an awful superhero but you’re half way there,
>• So you should be pretty used to pain by now,
>• Hahahaha nope,
> • Propped in a wheelchair in a busy part of the waiting room, you’re pretty happy to whine to your best friend,
> • Who sits next to you, a veteran at accompanying you to the sterilised building after your accidents,
> • But she was part of your reason for ending up there in the first place,
> • It’d started a completely innocent day, hanging with your best friend, dancing goofily to songs on the radio and chatting endlessly,
> • But of course there’s always an element of boredom, which only means one thing for the two of you,
> • Couples yoga,
> • It’d always been a tradition for the two of you to try the weirdest couple yoga positions after you’d quit gymnastics together when you were 15,
> • You’d actually become quite good tho???
> • Throw any weird position together and you’d find a way,
> • It’s not yet known if you just liked throwing your best friend around or if you actually enjoyed the activity,
> • During the warm up, a double plank,
> • A move that you’d previously perfected despite the fact you now sat in a bustling hospital,
> • You’d made a quick comment which had your friend bursting into a laughing fit, collapsing down onto your legs,
> • Because you were always the bottom in yoga, stronger than your friend,
> • Which made your pose break and your knee slammed in the ground,
> • Okay maybe yoga isn’t the place for puns,
> • (Isn’t everywhere the place for puns?),
> • Or clumsy people,
> • But now your knee looks a little off angle, and maybe a little swollen and yeah, maybe a little blue,
> • Which really isn’t reassuring,
> • And it’s screaming at you like a child having a tantrum in a toy store,
> • Smh children are a lot of work,
> • So your best friend listens to your complaining as you watch the waiting time leap from 4 hours to 5,
> • That means you’ve got to sit in that all too familiar room for 3 more excruciatingly long hours,
> • And one of the girls from the couple across from you has a bandage wrapped around her head and you feel bad for giggling at how cartoon-like it looks,
> • But her girlfriend can’t seem to stop laughing at her, unable to fully meet her eyes without bursting into a new fit,
> • Couple goals,
> • I mean if you can’t laugh at each other what can you do?
> • But while you have to wait a short lifetime, you also feel bad for all the nurses and doctors, rushed off their feet, as always,
> • You pass your time by buying sweets from the vending machine and trying to throw them into your friends mouth, unable to move yourself,
> • Which nearly ends in another broken bone,
> • But tbh what a good place to break another bone,
> • Then you’d be matching,
> • And you make up people’s life stories as they walk/limp/roll past,
> • Your friend naps on your shoulder and you wish your knee wasn’t keeping you awake,
> • You’re pretty sure you can see the light when a nurse finally, finally, calls your name and you wheel the hell out of there,
> • One of the kids across from you had just started crying and it broke your heart, you just wanted to wrap him in blankets,
> • You rolled to a stop and one of the doctors/ nurses (you were way too tired to try to be able to tell them apart) dropped into the seat opposite,
> • He looked about as tired as you felt and you nearly sent him to go for a nap,
> • But despite the tired eyes he still smiles at you and it’s 10/10,
> • Like damn,
> • A warm ass smile as well, not one of the mandatory ones,
> • It warms your heart and you grin goofily back despite your knee, who does not like the notion of movement and protests heavily,
> • He takes one look at your knee and is like whelp it’s screwed,
> • Like yeah bruh, that’s why I’m here,
> • So then you have to wait another half hour to get an x-ray, which is honestly awful,
> • Not only are you getting radiation blasted at you, they have to move you,
> • While you understand that they have to find out what’s actually wrong with your cursed knee,
> • You don’t want to understand because it’s easier to complain when you’re ignorant,
> • (Whoop too real here sorry)
> • You eventually end up back on a bed with doctor Lai again, full circle,
> • He cracks another heart warming, full gummy smile when you tell him how you’ve broken your kneecap, to which your friend hangs her head in fake shame and you grin,
> • Cus his smile is damn intoxicating,
> • That smile makes your head tingle; heart flutter,
> • So you’re infinitely glad you’re not hooked to one of those heart rate monitors,
> • So after Doctor Lai confirms you’ve broken your kneecap, which is really a surprise to no one,
> • He confirms you don’t need surgery and you thank the universe for being less mean than it could have been,
> • You know what pain is coming when he says he’s going to cast it,
> • His hands look delicate though so you comfort yourself with the knowledge you haven’t got a rough ass nurse casting your leg,
> • But then you also have an extremely handsome doctor/nurse seeing you at your, admittedly not lowest, point (but still pretty low),
> • Getting ready to cry because you can’t actually bend your leg,
> • But when he passes you that gas,
> • Oh boi it’s like a whole different you,
> • It still burns like hell and you wanna scream but your mind just takes a laid back view on life,
> • “You must be tired but you’re still beautiful like wow what’s your skin care?”
> • You giggle from the laughing gas, not comprehending at all,
> • Your friend has to leave the room from their overflowing giggles, second hand embarrassment and their imagination at your future horror at what just spilled out of your uncontrolled mouth,
> • Lai’s cheeks redden
> • You make sure to tell him it’s adorable,
> • And he chuckles with a shake of his head,
> • And then pain shoots up your leg and you cry out again, tears trailing down your face as you breath into the gas,
> • But apparently you’re brain is still having a chill time,
> • Your head is completely confused because this shit hurts, you’re crying, but yOU GOTTA LAUGH,
> • “I don’t think you need my skin care routine to be honest, you look pretty cute already,”
> • His words muffle your pain further and you giggle
> • From the gas or from the compliment, a literal doctor cannot tell,
> • “Well thank you, that’s a compliment and a half seeing as it’s coming from you,”
> • Lai smiles shyly as he finishes setting your cast, eyes jumping to you as the gas wears off,
> • And then it hits you,
> • Oh man it hits you like a damn truck, full on and straight to the chest,
> • I mean you already knew laughing gas had a stronger reaction on you than most, but you did not expect this,
> • You wanna apologize to the doctor but you actually can’t make eye contact,
> • You go through the usual, Lai giving you the rundown on what to do next and where to get your meds,
> • He wraps his arm around your shoulders to help you shuffle off the bed and makes sure you’re steady enough on your crutches before shaking your hand,
> • You finally manage to meet his eyes and practically melt,
> • His eyes are tired, yes, but still warm and welcoming and his smile numbs your burning pain and it’s your time to blush before shuffling out of there,
> • Your friend greets you buckets of laughter and it’s really what you need,
> • That is until you see some pen scrawled onto your cast, something black and shiny standing against the cast,
> • You plop down onto a chair,
> • Even though you don’t know if you’ll be able to get back up again,
> • And your best friend reads you a series of numbers scrawled quickly into the casts white surface,
> • Above the number,
> • “I’ll share my skincare secrets over a coffee”
> • And really nothing has ever been more tempting,
> • Guanlin has a busy ass schedule being a doctor, but he always finds time for you,
> • Which really amazes you tbh,
> • Your little dates are always laid back, because being a doctor is tiring AF,
> • And it really suits you because what’s better than just lying around together chatting, or catching a coffee with cake(!!),
> • Or playing truth or dare,
> • Which is, not gunna lie, kinda dangerous but you gotta live life on edge™
> • And then when Guanlin has a weekend off and he has more energy, it makes the days where you go to theme parks or actually go outside even more special,
> • And you’re on a chilled back date when Guanlin doodles over your admittedly bare cast,
> • And it’s actually really cute and creative and you’re glad you had previously gone for a minimalistic theme,
> • And when you heal you teach Guanlin your couples yoga poses,
> • As your bestie had insisted it was a cute couple idea,
> • And the fact that yoga had actually bought you together,
> • And he gets the hang of it quickly and it’s really good for the two of you because Guanlin has a high stress job so the yoga relaxes the both of you,
> • You become one of those couples you see on Instagram with all the crazy poses, looking cute af,
> • lmao ‘goals’
> • But yanno, Guanlin really does teach you his skincare secrets and you don’t know if you’ve ever looked healthier,
> • But you also don’t know if that’s the routine of the fact you’ve never been happier,
#guanlin#lai guanlin#wanna one#w1#wanna1#idk the tags for all these#fake it till u make it amiright#fanfic#fic#scenario#imagine#headcanons#fluff#doctor au#medical au#og admin
111 notes
·
View notes
Note
hi petal, it’s vn army anon. I missed talking to u too! and not rly well, actually. idk I guess I’ve just been feeling pressured&tired lately idek why I’m feeling down.. but dw, I have a very low self-esteem so I have such mental breakdowns quite often. sorry for bringing negativity in here, I’ll just stop there:) yay, I’m glad to hear that u did well! I’m proud of u^^ ah I see, glad y’all are safe! noo, good luck with ur next midterm! I’m sure you’ll do great! and no, I didn’t because my room–
–is small&we’re in the process of building a house (still stuck at paperworks tho) so I want to hang them up when I get a new room^^ aww namjoon looks so soft tho in these photocards~ and tae is cute too! good to hear u got some extra cards! I also got more cards of them so I’m glad yoongi’s there too! hehe maybe it is a sign😁 eleanor&park was pure, a story abt two teenagers who gradually fell in love with each other. it was different from the stories I read&I liked her choices of characters.–
–have fun reading it! I started fangirl but haven’t finished it yet, I should get back to it soon. oh yes, I do like poetry so I’ll add them on my reading list! ah yes, that might be the problem, I think it’s because of the link too! I’ll try it another way then. ah that’s great! have fun in ur next art classes^^ I swear as soon as hixtape drops, I’m gonna need holy water bc it’ll be lit&everyone would be on fire so we’ll all need to cool down from it haha. I also tend to do things right before–
–deadline, wish I could do my best like u tho😅 yes, no halloween for me over here so I’d be glad if I could spend traditional american holidays once at least if I get the chance to visit usa! it’d be even better if I could spend them with u💖 and same omg idk but smth abt christmas makes me feel safe&warm at heart; it’s like a flashback to the days when we all were kids, pure&innocent, not worrying abt anything&just seize the magic moments🌟 how was ur day, petal? I hope u had a great one!💞🌸
hello, raindrop!! oh no, i’m sorry to hear that ): why are you feeling pressured? would you like to talk about it more? is there anything i can do to help? of course i’m going to worry about you! i hope you’re doing okay and feeling better ): i have a lot of these moments too when i think about if i really made the right decision with my field of study. i’m here for you if you ever need someone to listen! :) and please don’t apologize for it; it’s totally okay with me if you want to talk about it.
and thank you!! 💗💗oooh, but a new house, how exciting!! and they’re in the process of building it? :o omg did you get to customize how the building plans and choose the architecture and where each room goes? and yes, he does!!! namjoon is too cute, i like seeing his cute self on my desk everyday; he’s like a a lil motivator!! and yes, tae is always cute :’) omg i’m so happy you got yoongi too!!! 💘 oooh ok, i think i’ll start reading this weekend when i take breaks in between studying! i’m so excited askjldfhas i also just got a copy of the sympathizer by viet thanh nguyen, so i can’t wait to start that either.
ahhh yes, please finish fangirl soon! i think i read it three or four times by now, and i still love it. i hope you’ll enjoy their poetry when you read them in the future!! and i got the playlist this time! i’m currently listening to it, and it sounds so nice 😻😻 the name of the playlist immediately reminds me of taeyeon’s rain too :D and thank you!! i worked on my still life today, and i’m having so much fun painting! omg me too, i gotta keep a fire extinguisher nearby because when hixtape comes out, it’ll be fire.
askjdlfash waiting right before the deadline isn’t the best way though– i have to work on that 😅 yesyesyesyes omg if you come visit, we’ll go through all the halloween traditions and you’re welcome to join me and my family for the big thanksgiving feast!!! :D and yes omg that describes christmas perfectly; i wish we can go back to the times where we believed santa was real and our biggest worry was if our letters got to the north pole on time.
my day was good!! i had only one class today, did some painting, went to the gym, took a four hour nap, and now, i’m watching dexter with my roommates! how is your day going, raindrop? 💙
0 notes
Last Seen Blogs
