#promoting my stuff here is so embarrassing like i feel that no one cares hello. i get like three notes and am like ok time to die. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

retrievablememories · 4 years

Text

three’s company | kai & taemin (m)

title: three’s company pairing: taemin x reader x kai genre: smut, fwb request: “hello!! can I req a kai and taemin with female reader smut fic?” word count: 4.4k warnings: MMF threesome, oral (female and male receiving), deep throating, fingering, unprotected sex (don’t try at home 🚫), cumshots, some spanking, taemin has dom tendencies, the aftercare is a bit lacking i think sjdfklfsk a/n: i have not written a proper threesome fic in so long, this didn’t come as easy to me as i thought it would 🤧

at the beginning of the fic—if you don’t know about taemin’s infamous slippers here are some references lol

“Open the door for your best friends!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Taemin’s head peeks through the crack in his front door only a few seconds later, and he grins at the sight of you and Kai standing on his front step, overnight bags in hand. “Took you long enough.”

“We would’ve got here sooner if Y/N didn’t take a hundred years to find her favorite slippers,” Kai says, snorting.

“I can’t go anywhere without them, they’re part of my bedtime routine,” you protest, stepping inside as Taemin opens the door wider for the two of you to come in. “And I am not wearing Taemin’s rat fur shoes as a consolation prize like he tried to make me do last time.”

Taemin rolls his eyes at your complaint. “Rat fur slippers or not, you have no problem stealing all my other clothes.”

“It’s not my fault your clothes are so cozy.”

“You say that every time you steal our stuff,” Kai points out, walking past you both to make himself comfortable on Taemin’s couch. “How many of my poor hoodies are hanging up in your closet, never to be worn by me again?”

“Just the right amount,” you insist, dropping your bag to the floor and jumping onto the couch with Kai, splaying yourself across his legs and the couch cushions. He grins at you like you’re an overexcited kid and leans against the back of the couch.

“You’re so goofy. I hope you don’t plan on having me take care of you all weekend like the last time you ate too much sugar and crashed like hell,” Kai says, tapping his finger on your forehead and making you swat his hand away.

“No, I’m not gonna do that again...I don’t need to be babysat, Jongin!”

Taemin passes by the two of you on the couch and pinches your thigh as he goes; fortunately for him, he’s fast enough to escape a slap from you. “Don’t worry...even if it does happen, we’ll take good care of you.” He leaves with a joking smile as he goes into the other room, though the teasing note in his tone makes you wonder for a brief moment.

—

A few hours later, the three of you are in the kitchen preparing snacks for your movie night—which usually ends up with you and Kai doing most of the work because Taemin tends to be a mess in the kitchen. Kai’s phone pings from the living room, and he leaves the both of you alone to go check what it is. Taemin sidles up to your side as soon as Kai exits the room, and you give him a questioning look when his arm goes around your waist.

“What do you want,” you deadpan.

“Don’t be so mean to me.” His tone is playful, but the lips at your ear are not so innocent. “We haven’t even seen each other in a while.”

“I know, which is why I’m astounded at your inability to keep it in your pants. You should’ve had plenty of practice by now.” Taemin gives an amused laugh, his eyes watching the doorway the entire time, and while the coast is still clear he takes the opportunity to press his hot lips against your neck. You shy away from him, but only because you don’t want to get caught.

One game of Truth or Dare with Taemin more than a year ago had gotten out of hand—a game the three of you usually played together, but Kai had been busy with EXO’s promotions for Obsession at the time—and the next thing you knew, you were sleeping with one of your good friends.

You knew that friends-with-benefits arrangements often ended in flames—you’d seen it happen too often with your other friends and their sexual partners—but you didn’t regret anything about the situation. You both enjoyed the sex, and it hadn’t managed to ruin your friendship, so neither of you saw any real reason to stop. No regrets—except for maybe the fact that you were keeping it secret from Kai.

It was Taemin’s suggestion and you went along with it, though you weren’t really sure what difference it made. He always acted as if letting the younger man know would be too much shock for him to take, or maybe he’d find it awkward to continue hanging out with you two, which you found ridiculous (it turned out fine with him, why did it need to be kept from Kai?) but you weren’t interested in arguing about it.

Taemin looks like he’s about to say something else, but he’s suddenly zipping away from your side just as quick as he came. You see the reason why when Kai walks back into the room seconds later, seemingly unaware of Taemin’s earlier antics. You screw up your mouth and glare at Taemin for almost getting caught when all this secrecy was his idea.

Kai raises his eyebrows. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me Taemin is bothering you again.”

“When is he not?”

“Stop pretending like you don’t love it.” Taemin pulls out aegyo that makes both you and Kai cringe like you’ve been stung. Taemin laughs at both your expressions, though he’s also a bit embarrassed for even trying to use the cute card on you; you rarely fell for those tricks of his.

Kai shakes his head. “This is going to be a long weekend.”

—

Despite Taemin having more than enough space in his home to host all three of you in your own rooms, you all end up in Taemin’s bed when you decide to turn in for the night. Kai swore he was only stopping in to talk before going back to his own room, but he never left his side of the bed even after the overhead lights were turned out. You lie in between the two men the whole time, enjoying their body heat on either side of you and the comfort of having them nearby.

Kai is already knocked out on your left, but Taemin remains awake, his eyes sparkling with devilment in the dark. He angles his body more towards you, lying on his side, and you mean to ask what he’s doing and why he’s not asleep yet when his hand lands on your thigh.

Your lips part and your mouth moves aimlessly for a few moments as his hand works up and down your thigh, warming you up. “Jongin…” you finally whisper, and both of you know that you speaking the other man’s name is not you trying to call out for him—it’s a warning.

“...is asleep,” Taemin says, unfazed.

“This is wrong,” you mutter, but you don’t make a move to stop him when his hand comes closer to the space between your thighs. Taemin brushes his fingers across your pubic mound as he reaches his hand over to your other thigh, teasing you. “You were the one who wanted to keep all this hidden. Remember that.”

“Correct,” he responds, still sounding perfectly casual about the entire situation. “And we still can, if you just be quiet for a little while and let me do this.”

“Can’t you wait until later?” Your voice comes out strained. When his hand inches closer to your inner thigh again, you don’t know whether you want to ask him to stop for his own good or go further. “Like when he’s in the shower or something?”

Taemin slides his hand fully between your legs now, the heel of his palm rubbing against your clit. “I have to touch you.” He says it like he doesn’t know what will happen to him if he doesn’t get the opportunity now. The tinge of neediness in his voice breaks something inside you and makes you want to relent without a single question more.

The sudden movement of his palm on the most sensitive part of your body causes you to jerk, and your elbow hits Kai right in the side by accident. For a tense moment, you think maybe you haven’t woken him, but then he grumbles and gently shoves you back. “Why are you elbowing me?” he murmurs, and then you freeze when he turns his head and opens his eyes to look at you. His eyes are only cracked halfway, but even in the dim room you know there is a good chance he can see how Taemin’s hand is now halfway tucked into your sleep pants as he begins his descent into your underwear. You stay stock-still as if that’ll make him unable to see you, which feels as ridiculous as it sounds.

“I-it was an accident, sorry,” you stammer. Kai doesn’t respond right away, too busy blinking his eyes against the dark. Then he says,

“If you two are going to do that, go in another room.” He scoffs and turns over, and you’re mortified. He sounded completely nonchalant about finding the two of you in a compromising position, which makes you wonder; does he somehow already know about the arrangement you two have? Maybe neither of you were ever really as sneaky as you’d thought.

“You should join us,” Taemin suggests, throwing yet another wrench into the situation. Kai’s body stiffens beside you, and there’s silence before he faces you both again.

“Join?”

“Aren’t you being a little—”

“Yes, join.” Taemin interrupts you, and you roll your eyes, pinching his arm. “Don’t pretend like you haven’t thought about it before.”

“What does that mean?” you blurt out, jerking your head to look at Taemin. What secrets have they been keeping from you? Kai looks equally bewildered, which makes you more confused.

“I—when have I suggested anything like that?” Kai argues, though his voice is uncertain.

“You don’t have to. You are easy to read, Jongin.” Kai makes a disapproving noise at Taemin’s statement.

“Easy to read? What about you thinking you were being sneaky with Y/N this whole time—”

“Well, I thought we were pretty damn clever—”

“Look, if you two are just going to go back and forth, I’m going to sleep—”

“Fine. Let me join, then.” You want to complain at being interrupted again, but Kai’s words make you pause. And then his eyes drift over to you, his face turning towards yours on the pillow and his voice becoming more yielding. “If you’re okay with it.”

You feel a bit winded, never really expecting him to say yes. But now here it is, out in the open and waiting for you to take hold of it—or shun it away. You also know yourself well enough to understand the second choice isn’t even an option for you. Taemin waits in silence to see what your answer will be, though the corner of his mouth is already lifting in a smirk because he can take a good guess.

“Okay. Then let’s do it.”

With your acceptance, there’s a tense pause as everyone waits to see what the other will do first.

Taemin makes the first move by sliding his hand the rest of the way into your underwear, his fingers dipping down to feel you. You’re not as wet as he’d like yet, which he immediately seeks to remedy by rubbing your clit and bringing his plush lips to your exposed collarbone.

“Kiss her,” Taemin says in between laying kisses of his own across your chest. Kai stays still for a moment longer, and you wonder if he’s regretting this decision, but when you glance up at him his eyes are glued to where Taemin’s hand is moving beneath your pajamas. Finally, he tears his stare away from the scene playing out in front of him and meets your gaze, coming closer to press his mouth on yours.

More often than not, Taemin’s kisses are heated and frantic, as if he can never kiss you enough—which is not to knock his experience or skill, because he has more than enough to satisfy you—but Kai is soft and slow against your mouth, kissing you deeply and intensely like he might not get to do it again.

Taemin laughs quietly against your neck at how you grow wetter beneath his fingers from this one kiss.

Kai’s touch is a little more tentative because he hasn’t done this with you before, but his hands go to the hem of your shirt. He goes underneath the fabric, pushing it up your stomach along the way, to touch your breasts. Your nipples harden at his touch, and he rolls them between his deft fingers. It doesn’t take long for him to begin desiring more contact, and he shoves your shirt up above your chest, lowering his head to take a nipple into his mouth.

Taemin situates himself further down to let Kai have his way with your upper body and introduces one of his fingers into you, sliding the slender digit inside and crooking it up to find that soft spot. You twitch around him, your thighs tensing and flexing, and he keeps his lips pressed close to your hips, biting the skin there and then dragging his tongue across the places he’s just irritated. You’re already feeling overwhelmed at having both men pleasure you at the same time, and you’re not sure how you’re going to make it through the rest of the night.

Your pulse races against Kai’s mouth as his kisses travel to your neck, making you shiver. “Does that feel good?” Kai asks, his voice low, and you nod without a second thought. You belatedly realize he’s referring to Taemin's actions when you notice his eyes have drifted below the waist again. He seems entranced with the way Taemin fingers you, or maybe he just wants a turn for himself.

“It does,” you say, as if your nod wasn’t confirmation enough. Your words trail out of you in a breathless whisper. Kai soon shifts lower down your body just as Taemin eases another finger into you, which makes you moan softly. You think your heart might beat out of your chest when Kai settles himself beside Taemin, and you can guess what’s about to happen.

“Are you going to have her all to yourself?” Kai remarks, his tone joking.

“I was here first.” Taemin grins deviously, but he shuffles over to make more room for Kai between your legs.

As Taemin keeps moving his fingers inside you, brushing them against your g-spot and making you moan desperately, Kai lowers his head and drags his tongue over your clit. You gasp sharply at this brand-new sensation; the sight of it is even more erotic than you could’ve imagined. Kai wraps his mouth around your sensitive clit and Taemin observes closely as the other man sucks and licks into you. Though Taemin sometimes likes to pretend he isn’t as easily aroused as you know he can be, he can’t hide the way his breaths grow rushed and his face becomes more flushed.

The soft but intense sucking of Kai’s mouth and the smooth strokes of Taemin’s fingers have you careening off the edge faster than you anticipated, and your legs scrabble against the sheets as you toss and turn in the tide of a strong orgasm.

Kai comes back to your upper body when he’s finished, leaning in close to where your head rests on the pillow. Your chest heaves as you try to regain your breath. He smiles down at your supine figure, pressing another kiss to your lips. “You’re so sweet,” he murmurs against the seam of your mouth, and he slides his tongue in to let you taste yourself even more deeply.

Between kisses, Kai pulls your shirt the rest of the way off. You end up doing the same for him—with his help—and you run your hands over the newly exposed skin, feeling the soft but firm ridges of his abs underneath your palms. The length of his cock presses against his sleep pants, half-hard and still rising. Somewhere below you, Taemin removes your panties and pajama pants from around your ankles, and even though you feel spent, your body is already reacting to the idea of him pressing your legs open wider and pushing into you.

“Turn on your stomach,” Taemin instructs, though he’s already grabbing your hips and shifting you over before you can do it yourself. He doesn’t miss the opportunity to palm your ass as he does, his digits dipping down between your legs like he’s going to start fingering you again. Some nights, he can spend forever doing just that—pulling you apart with his hands and mouth and denying you his dick until he finally feels like giving it to you.

His plans for tonight are a little different, though.

Taemin taps your lower back and says, “I think you know what to do.” You can’t see his face, but he must be giving Kai a certain look because the other man smirks, shaking his head.

“Come closer,” you say to Kai, because just as Taemin predicted, you know exactly what he expects you to do. You run your fingers up the length of Kai’s strong thighs, feeling the hard muscle of them and bringing your hands up higher to caress the bulge straining against his pants. Kai’s eyes grow heavier as he watches you palm his dick, and he settles himself in front of you with his legs spread.

You could probably occupy yourself all night with pulling reactions out of him and teasing him, getting to know what he likes and making him drip sticky precum down your hand. You are too eager to see his dick and feel him in your mouth, however, so you drag the waistband of his pants and underwear lower to bring it out. It’s thicker than Taemin’s, pretty and tan with prominent veins, and you can only imagine how it’s going to feel once he actually gets inside of you. Kai watches you with burning eyes as you grip the base in your hand and get his dick wet with your saliva, sliding your tongue across the shaft. A heavy, shaky breath leaves him when your mouth makes the first contact.

Behind you, Taemin’s cock nudges your entrance and then pushes in, and you whimper from being stretched while Kai’s dick bumps against your lips. Taemin keeps his hands on your ass as he begins thrusting into you, taking his time with it and building your pleasure up with slow thrusts. You want Taemin to move faster and send you spiraling headfirst into pleasure again, though. You whine with your mouth still around Kai’s tip, which makes him give an answering moan.

“Stop playing around and swallow his dick, Y/N,” Taemin taunts you from above. He angles his hips a bit differently to find your g-spot, and you make a choked noise when he locates it, causing Kai’s dick to slip from your mouth.

“Shut up, Taem. It’s not like you’re making it easy.” Taemin gives a sudden rough thrust in answer to that, and even Kai grins at the pleasured expression on your face and the surprised yelp you let loose.

“Try harder.” Taemin insists, and he lands a swift slap on your ass. It’s not harsh, but it’s enough to make you cry out. “You want her throat around your dick, don’t you, Jongin?”

Kai raises his eyebrows at Taemin’s words, but the twitch of his cock in your hand and the bob of his Adam’s apple are unmistakable. “Can you take it?” Kai asks you, voice thick with desire.

“Give it to me.” You open your mouth, sticking your tongue out for Kai to slide in. You’ve deep-throated Taemin numerous times before, and you are impatient to let Kai try it now. His gaze darkens, and he grips his cock and leads it deeper into your mouth. He shudders visibly when the warm, wet heat of your mouth envelops him. He hesitates for a moment, like he doesn’t want to go too deep and hurt you, but you look up at him from beneath your lashes with your best pleading eyes and he is completely lost to your longing expression. His stomach tenses when he pushes further, feeling the tight space of your throat squeezing around his tip. More precum drips from him.

“Good girl,” Taemin whispers from above, his eyes glued to the back of your head. He leans forward for a better view so he can watch Kai’s dick disappear between your lips, and that movement ends with his hips pressed flush against your ass, his length as far in you as it will go. You moan helplessly around Kai as Taemin continues fucking you at this depth and angle, one of his hands gripping your hip tightly. You feel beyond full, unable to think about anything other than the two men inside of you.

“Don’t come yet.” Taemin pushes into you as steadily as ever, rushing towards his own climax as his breaths grow more broken-off.

Kai groans as your tongue slides sloppily against his shaft, your body being repeatedly pushed forward by Taemin’s thrusts. He doesn’t even have to do much work to fuck your mouth. He only keeps his hand at the back of your head, more because he just needs to touch you somewhere rather than trying to control the pace. The wet and filthy sounds of his dick hitting the back of your throat bring him ever closer to his end, but Taemin’s gaze gives him pause. “You’re telling me not to come yet?”

“You still have to fuck her,” Taemin says, smacking your ass again. He slows his pace momentarily to lift your hips slightly, sneaking his hand beneath you to circle his fingers around your clit, and your body tenses as you give a stifled cry. “You’ve got to feel her. This pussy is so fucking good, isn’t it, Y/N? Want him to fuck this needy little hole? You’re already getting tighter around me just thinking about it...how dirty.” There’s no way to respond with your mouth currently occupied; you only give a low, shuddering moan.

“F-fuck.” Kai abruptly pulls himself out of your mouth to stave off the orgasm threatening to overtake him at the sight of you looking so fucked-out. Like Taemin said, he definitely wants—needs—to be inside of you at least once before the night is over.

“J-Jong—” You want to beg for him to put his dick back in your mouth, gripping his thighs and trying to get closer, but those attempts are lost when your climax finally comes crashing over you. Taemin keeps his hand on your lower back to prevent you from squirming away from him as he continues thrusting into you throughout your orgasm, overstimulating your already wired senses. Weak with pleasure and shaking, you let Taemin use your body to get closer to his own end, which you’re more than happy to do.

Seconds later, Taemin is pulling out of you and stroking his dick, spilling his cum on your lower back and your ass. He lets go of his dick and slips it between your ass cheeks, thrusting between them and milking himself of the last few drops. He smirks at the messy creation he’s made all over your skin.

When Taemin lies on the bed next to you, Kai sheds his pants and takes his place. Kai gently turns you onto your back and grabs your weakened legs, pulling them around his waist, and you let him maneuver your body as he wants.

When he pushes into you, you almost want to sob at the way his dick spreads you open, sliding deep inside your oversensitive pussy. His eyebrows crease together at how you feel around him, so warm and wet.

Kai’s pace is not as quick as Taemin’s; his strokes are deep and hard as he buries himself inside and pulls nearly all the way out. Your lingering pleasure is stoked even higher by the intense way he’s fucking you, and your muscles feel like they might cramp up, but he keeps your legs spread open for better access.

“Is it good, Y/N? Do you love it?” Taemin asks from beside you, his voice light and airy as if he’s in awe of it all. His hands sneak over to your breasts, and his lips soon follow.

“Fuck, yes.” Kai brings one of your legs up to his shoulder to get a better angle. His gaze is burning as he looks at you and Taemin—Taemin sucking your breasts, your knitted eyebrows and half-open mouth, the sight of his shaft disappearing into you. “You feel s-so good. So fucking deep...” You grab Kai’s arms on either side of you, nails pricking his skin.

“Y/N…” Kai’s voice has grown rough, tinged with desperation. Sweat drips from his face and down his abs. His pace increases, and the tension tightens in your lower stomach again as his hips slap against yours.

Taemin grips your chin and turns your face towards his, sliding his tongue into your mouth in a wet kiss. At the same time, he moves his other hand lower to stroke his fingers across your clit, and this pushes you off the edge into a dizzying orgasm. It’s strong enough to turn your whole world blurry with an endless ecstasy.

When Kai gets close, he pulls out like Taemin did to jerk himself off and come across your stomach, painting your skin with his warm cum. His groans are deep and rich and lovely, and they make you clench with the last waning vestiges of your orgasm.

Kai lies beside you on the free side that Taemin isn’t occupying, keeping one hand on your thigh like he needs to have some part of you always touching him.

“We need to clean up,” you mumble, uncomfortable with the cum drying on your skin, though you’re also trying to battle the increasing sleepiness threatening to drape itself over your eyes like a veil.

“Maybe later.” Taemin throws an arm around your waist and cuddles his face into your neck. Kai grins and nudges his nose against your ear, tickling your skin. Their breaths fan over your skin, and you sigh and close your eyes, contented despite the mess.

“Fine. As long as you carry me to the shower later.”

811 notes · View notes

shoichee · 4 years

Note

So...👉🏼👈🏼 Could you make a headcannon of ( any characters u want ) reacting to their crush, reader. Being the leader and main dancer in the dance club? Like this...

The characters were walking down hallways while having an conversation ( or arguing?). Then, suddenly they hear a music and see their crush, a beatiful but confident female, practicing the coreo with all her club a dance that they would show the whole school during the lunch. If not, then thank you for at least reading my request.

By;; One of your fans and, of course, readers.

hello, my anon! thank you so much for reading my stuff and supporting me <33 without further ado... here are some long headcanons!

[Dancer f!reader]

Kuroko Tetsuya

he usually hangs out with the Seirin basketball team, where they would all often hide behind the hallway corners to eavesdrop on Riko’s and Hyuga’s next plans for training camps

as they all (not so quietly) trailed after the coach-captain duo down the hallway for them to turn left, Kuroko hears a soft orchestral sound coming from the right turn of said hall

his teammates were too rowdy to even discern the tune in the first place and they only cared to find out where their next torture session would be at, so they all took the left hallway

but Kuroko knew that sound from anywhere… after all that’s all you’ve been practicing to for the past month during breaks and after school

this was one of the few occasions he was glad that he had no presence, because he easily slipped away from his friends to find the source of the melody and to find you in particular

he wordlessly tracks down to your practice room, all the while having his head completely in the clouds… though his face was as stony as ever and gave no sign of his lovestruck affliction

the doors were obviously closed but he could still peep into the room through its windows, and there you were, enveloped in sheer tulle and a natural glow of an experienced performer

you were so completely engrossed into your pirouettes that Kuroko, despite seeing your solo routine alone together after school, can’t help but have sparkles in his eyes as he fixates on your passion and form

his mind drifts to the time he first met you after a home game, and he saw you approaching Riko to congratulate her on a preliminary win before you actually noticed Kuroko and directly praised him for his assisting skills as well

and boy was he SHOOK, he faltered a bit before he managed out a polite “thank you”

it was probably attraction at first sight, he’ll admit, but he actually started to fall for you when you would always come to the home games to support Riko (you unfortunately couldn’t come to away games because of your schedule as a club leader for dance), and pretty soon, you got to chat with a few of the Seirin players as well (including Kuroko)

you knew what you wanted to do for your career and you had everything set out and planned, and Kuroko found that really admirable

someone with a cool head, powerful aura, and charisma kind of reminded him of Akashi and he was here for it

and then he completely fell head over heels when he saw you dancing for the first time during club rush week at the beginning of his 2nd year… it was the way your gaze was so focused, and nothing else mattered to you except the performance, similar to how the Generation of Miracles would enter into the zone—

“Tetsuya?”

“A-ah..”

he didn’t realize that he completely zoned out (pun not intended) because it looks like your club was already done with dress rehearsal, and everyone else was beginning to pack up; you were standing right in front of him, holding the door open

“Sorry, am I in the way, (y/n)-san?”

“Naw, don’t worry,” you said. “Just saw you standing there and I was wondering if you needed something from me.”

yes, he wanted you to reciprocate his feelings, as selfish as he knew it was

“Nothing. Just heard something familiar and stopped by to see.”

“That’s very typical of you,” you chuckled. “Say, are you going to watch our showcase during lunch in a few hours?”

“The showcase advertised all over the bulletin, right?”

“Yeah.”

ah, that’s right, your club was planning to do a free showcase preview during lunch in the auditorium to advertise your ballet recital in a week

“Yeah, I’ll be there to cheer you on this time.”

“Pffftt, you’re too serious,” you laughed, ruffling his hair. Kuroko would normally be irked at the action, but with you, your touch was comforting. “I don’t mind coming to your games, I come for fun, and I don’t think of them as obligations. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I know most find ballet pretty dull—”

“I want to go, though. I don’t find it boring, (y/n)-san,” Kuroko said with a smile

your eyes widened as your hand in his hair stilled

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Since when were you into ballet?” you hummed, clearly meant to tease him in good fun, and you started to ruffle through his hair again

“Ever since I fell for you.”

Kise Ryota

Kise, even though being an idol-figure himself, is a fanboy of many idol groups and bands

he’s always looked for you during breaks, knowing you’d be in the dance room to practice with your small group of members

why? well, he wants to see you dance, especially when your club does dance covers of other prominent idols

he’s tried (emphasis on tried) to ditch practice once in a while to go see you in your element, even if it’ll always end up with him being pulverized by Kasamatsu himself

this time though, when he heard that your club was going to cover some big-hit performances during the schoolwide pep rally during lunch, he couldn’t resist the urge to get a “sneak peek”

he basically RAN down the hallway, blatantly ignoring the warnings the teachers gave down the aisle, to escape Kasamatsu and to get to you as soon as he could so he could have more time to watch

as he ran closer, his ears register the very familiar hip hop, urban, and pop songs emanating from the room

“(Y/n)-cchi!!!”

“Kise? What are you even doing here?”

“I came to watch your practice—”

“But you always do,” you sighed, crossing your arms in mild annoyance. “Besides, you’re going to see the exact choreography at the rally anyways. Don’t you already know the choreo yourself? Aren’t you a fan of these groups?”

“But I won’t be able to see you up close like thiiiiis,” Kise whines. “You’re always so cool when you dance, is it so wrong that I always want to see you dance?”

there was his signature puppy eyes that would normally make most girls weak in their knees

“I’m flattered,” you deadpanned, managing to stare down at Kise even though he was much taller than you. “But you’re cutting into our time right now, so you should either leave or sit quietly like a good boy and keep it shush.”

“Sheesh, so demanding…” he pouted, but nonetheless reluctantly sat himself on the chair like a petulant child

his petty anger quickly dissipates when your club got into position, with you at the center, and started the entire routine

even though everyone was just lipsyncing to the songs as they performed the dance covers back to back, he really thought everyone, especially you, embodied the essence of a real idol group

you had the aura, energy, passion, and charisma of an idol leader… not to mention the looks

Kise honestly saw you as his ultimate role model and idol, if he was going to be honest

to outsiders, it genuinely looked like you and Kise didn’t get along, but it couldn’t be further from the truth

okay, yes, maybe your first impressions on him weren’t that great

Kise first laid eyes on you when your recently new club performed for the first time at a talent show to promote for more members the following year, and he asked Moriyama if he knew who you were

“Right?? (Y/n)-san is cute! But don’t go near her—”

“Relax, Moriyama-senpai, I was just curious.”

and he started seeing your face popped up more around school, and your name being brought up more frequently among students (particularly his fangirls, who envy and admire you for different reasons)

you apparently started the club yourself (like Teppei with Seirin’s basketball team)

he was then intrigued and wanted to judge you for himself… and that’s when he started to show up to your room after practice to annoy you or would bump into you in the hallways

you, not wanting to deal with his shit, told him off in front of everyone

as much as Kise was shocked out of his wits, he couldn’t believe anyone had the balls to say that while risking their reputation… even Kasamatsu wasn’t THAT confrontational

he fell for you… HARD

he visits you DURING practice from that point on and while you hated it at first and tried to scare him away, he was just too stubborn

so you let him be

and you eventually learned that Kise was surprisingly dependable

he’d always insist on walking you home after practice

while you are still wary of him sometimes, you no longer find him completely unbearable… except when Kise would make it a huge deal to cheer your name OUT LOUD in the audience every time you performed, which was BEYOND embarrassing and headache-inducing

“Wow… I can’t believe you haven’t auditioned for an idol label yet, (y/n)-cchi,” Kise thought… more like he accidentally slipped out

but hypothetically, if you did pass an audition, he wouldn’t be able to get to see you as much anymore…

by now, your club was wrapping up practice and you came over to Kise to whack his head

“I told you to keep it shush, didn’t I?”

“You’re so mean! Your practice is done, isn’t it?!”

“You think I’m going to audition for a company?” you scoffed, but nonetheless mirth danced across your eyes; you knew he was trying to change the subject

“It was just a stray thought,” he mumbled, averting his eyes while pouting

“Really now,” you said, narrowing your eyes. “If I really did become one, I wouldn’t have much time to be here, now wouldn’t I?”

“(Y/n)-cchi! Are you saying that you…”

“On second thought, even if I’d miss class so much, I can at least avoid you and your incessant shouting.”

“Wha—! You’re so cruel—!”

“I’m joking, Kise.”

“(Y/n)-cchiiiiiii!” he fake-cries as he tries to glomp on your figure, only for you to expertly sidestep his lunge

“You better not scream out during the pep rally.”

spoiler alert: he, indeed, kept shouting out your name at the volume of a thousand decibels like a true fanboy during lunch

Kasamatsu Yukio

“I do not like (y/n)-san in that way!”

typical Kaijo team dynamics: during practice, everyone obeys the captain side of Kasamatsu without question, but outside of basketball? everyone picks on him the most

“Sure, sure, senpai,” Kise would often say, with Moriyama giving him consoling shoulder pats

“Screw off, or I’m giving you 5 extra drill runs—”

“Look, look, he’s turning red! He’s turning red!”

needless to say, the hallways were filled with a huge ruckus of chattering and shouts over Kasamatsu’s “problem,” aka you

he never saw you in that light

or at least… he used to not see you in that way

he admired your leadership skills; you were reputed across the school as the leader of the most coordinated group of performers who would travel to other cities to perform on televised festivals, local outdoor shows, and competitions

he would often hear your spartan-like commands to other performers outside, like “you three are off beat on 1, when you should be on the and of 2!″ and “your formations are too cluttered, spread out!”

sometimes, your group borrowed the gym because it’s much more spacious to practice in, and that’s where he REALLY saw you being a leader and a performer

if the Kaijo basketball team was the cream of the crop of all sports clubs, then the Kaijo performance group was the cream of the crop for all visual and performing arts

the group performed in all styles of dance, from traditional to modern and contemporary, and the fact that you seemed to know what to do on every new stage gave him motivation to do more as a captain to not “get left behind” for a lack of better term

he respected you like how he would respect Hyuga, Kuroko, and Kagami, but he never saw you as a “girl”

which was why he was able to talk to you normally and become good mutuals so easily

it’s the way you talked about your interests so passionately, it just made it really relatable and easy to strike up conversation with you, because you and him are similar in so many ways

well… that was… until his own teammates noticed and kept pestering him about the fact that you were a “girl” and that it was strange that he talked to you normally

so now he couldn’t undo his perspective of you, and he became HYPER AWARE of everything about you

so now he was noticing your mannerisms, your habits when you were idly thinking, the way your costumes and attire clinged to your figure or the way the stage makeup accentuated your features… the little things like that just really cemented the fact that you were not just “a dude”

“Drop it already,” Kasamatsu said, glaring at his teammates, who already looked like they’re in tears of laughter

Kise, even through the teasing, wanted the best for Kasamatsu, so he insisted he should just confess

and Kasamatsu is denying to his dying breath how he doesn’t see you that way

here these two are, going back and forth until it escalated into an argument after Kise insults him for being a coward

the rest of the teammates had to pull the two of them off each other so they could both cool their heads off

and Kasamatsu is stalking off alone in the halls, fist and teeth clenching as he figures out how to destroy Kise at practice after school… until he heard a faint oriental-sounding instrumental, and he immediately knew you were near

so he runs to the source of the sound… only to see you practicing alone in an empty club room, which is odd, since you normally practice with everyone

he’s too shy to do anything other than to look at you through the door window, being completely red when he’s, yet again, aware of how your body moved

all of the sudden, you stopped and frowned at yourself and sighed

was there something wrong?

you would never make a harsh expression, unless it was for the sake of acting when you danced, since you were normally so put-together

the want to help you overcome your troubles overrides his self-consciousness of this “crush” of his

“(Y/n)-san,” Kasamatsu called out, letting himself in after announcing his presence

“Kasamatsu? What brings you here?”

“Heard something… so uh,” he paused. “I came to check it out, but it seems like you’re troubled. Is there anything I can… do to help?”

“Ah…” you started. “We have to board the bus soon for a competition during lunch. It’s going to be televised everywhere too… I just want to get some last-minute practice, so nothing goes wrong…”

“I admire you alot,” Kasamatsu said seriously. “You inspire me to keep working harder.”

“Huh?”

“But try not to overwork yourself, your members will definitely notice if their leader is off their game,” Kasamatsu said. “I would know from experience.”

“Are you trying to cheer me up?” you laughed, to which Kasamatsu doesn’t fail to notice

“W-w-well, that’s—”

“Thank you, Kasamatsu,” you smiled. “Hearing your advice makes me want to ace this and make sure our performance will take the win.”

“Y-yeah…” he said, stretching his neck and shoulders out of nervousness

“Make sure you tune into our performance live during lunch, okay?” you leaned towards him playfully with your hands behind your back. “I’d be really happy if I knew you were there supporting me.”

“Y-yeah…”

#ask #anon #knb #kuroko no basket #kuroko x reader #kuroko tetsuya #kuroko tetsuya x reader #kise x reader #kise ryota #kise ryota x reader #kise ryouta #kasamatsu #kasamatsu yukio #kasamatsu x reader #kasamatsu yukio x reader #knb headcanons #knb scenarios

192 notes · View notes

purpleyellow · 4 years

Text

Boy’s night

NCT 22nd member / Dream 8th member

Bee’s Masterlist

“Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes”

a/n: Don’t be shy and interact a little, ask box is always open. Any kind of feedback will be very appreciated💛

“What are we having for dinner?” Bee asked Jaemin from her laying down position on the couch.

“Oh, hello Jaemin? How are you doing? Did you enjoy your nap?” He said sarcastically, taking the book she was reading from her hands and flopping down on top of her, still very sleepy.

“Sorry, sorry. But do you know what we’re having for dinner? It’s already past eight and I’m hungry” Bee pushed him a little, so she could cuddle him without getting suffocated. The girl wasn’t opposed to skinship and she knew better than to try to escape when Jaemin was like this.

“Let’s wait for Renjun to come back and we’ll decide” He mumbled resting his head on top of hers and slightly falling back asleep.

“Wake up. Jaemin, wake up. Jaemin, wake up” She poked his ribcage repeatedly until he groaned and pushed her off the couch. “Why did you throw me?” Bee let out giggling at his annoyed face.

“JENO, CHENLE, JISUNG” Jaemin screamed the other boys over and waited for them to show up “Let’s order dinner”

“What about Renjun?” Chenle, who was spending the weekend over, asked them while sitting next to Bee on the ground. Jisung and Jeno sat on the second and smaller couch.

“He’s probably coming right -” Jaemin started but got cut off by Renjun walking inside with five pizza boxes stacked on top of each other “DID YOU JUST READ MY MIND?”

“What?” Renjun said struggling to take off his shoes and Haechan who was behind him walked inside as well, revealing Mak standing in the hallway while waiting for them to make some room so he could walk in.

As she saw his face, Bee felt herself tensing up, and she looked away almost instantly. Jeno and Jaemin didn’t fail to notice her change of mood, looking at each other with worry. Turns out her plan of ignoring the boy didn’t work as she had thought, especially because they work in the same place and had to promote at the same time recently.

They both had talked about how she would get even quieter and run off to someplace else as fast as possible when Mark was around and to be honest, they didn’t doubt she would make up an excuse this time as well.

“What is Haechan doing here?” Chenle said with fake annoyance from her side.

“If you told me Chenle was here I wouldn’t have come” Donghyuck threw right back at him and Rejun ignore them both, putting the boxes on the counter and making room for Mark to walk inside, to which he did waving at the sitting teenagers.

“I invited them over to have a boys night or whatever” Renjun rolled his eyes as Jisung got up instantly to check on the food. “I thought it would be fun to have a game night, we haven’t done that in a while”

“Well, if you need me I’ll be in my room,” Bee said getting up as well, but walking towards the hallway instead since she no longer felt hungry.

“Yun-hee, really? I was kidding about the boys part” Renjun said with little energy, “I thought you would get that by now”

“I know, I know,” the girl said looking at Jaemin for help, her voice getting smaller as she spoke “It’s just, I don’t really play the games you guys play”

“Yes you do,” Chenle said nonchalantly grabbing a slice of pizza for himself. “You’re just not as good as me”

“Just stay with us for dinner,” Mark said putting his phone on the counter and opening a third box “You can decide if you’re that bothered by our presences after” he smirked at her right before turning around to take a bite from his pizza and talk with Jisung.

Looking over at Jaemin and Jeno with wide eyes, they both just shrugged their shoulders, indicating with their heads for her to come eat with them.

Grabbing a pepperoni slice, she forced it down her throat and tried focusing on whatever conversation the boys were having. Of course, it wasn’t easy, especially because she didn’t want to seem more uncomfortable than she already was. Casually pitching in on a random talk about girl groups with Haechan and Jeno, Bee, managed to, very slowly, act more natural.

She found comfort in the fact that everything was still the same between them, Mark was still the goofy awkward boy she was used to, and her heart randomly beating fast became something in the background of her mind, it was almost as if staying in the same room broke down the untouchable image she had built for him in her head.

When Renjun started an Uno match before they were even done eating, Bee didn’t think twice before sitting on the floor with them, confident she could go through the night without any major crisis.

“I don’t want to play this anymore” Chenle whined after losing for the third time to Jaemin, who was smiling smugly while picking up another chocolate bar from the winner’s pile.

“I’m with you on that one. We have been playing this for more than an hour, I’m pretty sure I know all of your tells by now” Haechan whined and collected the cards. “We could play truth or dare to make things more interesting”

“Isn’t that a bit too stupid?” Mark laughed at him “It’s not like we have many secrets from each other. Plus, we can’t dare anything too publicly risky or we would all be dead” Bee had to force herself not to make any movements when he said the word secret, but she did advert her gaze to Jeno for a split second.

The older didn’t catch on her worries and just shrugged his shoulders before speaking “I mean it could be fun” he said leaning back “we don’t have to make each other do anything too risky, but at least it’s a way to pass time”

“Let’s just play one round and then we’ll see if it’s worth to keep going,” Renjun said from Bee’s side and the rest of them agreed.

They were already sitting in a circle on the floor, Renjun, and Jisung on Bee’s sides, while Haechan was straight ahead of her. The first few questions were all superficial warm-ups, your regular “Have you ever used somebody else’s toothbrush?” “Open the window and yell something embarrassing”

“Please don’t talk about stuff like this when I’m in the room” Bee pleaded with wide eyes after Renjun asked a particularly embarrassing question to Jeno, making not only him but the young girl flustered.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s a good idea either” Mark laughed awkwardly and the blush on her face intensified, although, it wouldn’t be noticeable unless someone was paying attention to her.

“Well, I think it’s time for you to answer something right Bee?” Haechan smile mischievously at her “I mean, you’ve been watching us for the whole round, let’s be more inclusive. So tell me, truth or dare?”

Bee wasn’t a daring person by nature and the fact that Hyuck was the one giving her the prompt made her decision even easier. “Truth”

“When are you telling Mark you have a crush on him?” The words rolled out of his mouth like he had practiced them many times before.

Taking in what he had said, the girl felt time stop and for some unknown reason, she couldn’t breathe or move properly, only staring at Haechan while her ears became red. There was no way he had just said that. He was joking, right? It was just another stupid prank he always pulled on her. But why wasn’t he smirking like he always did after trying to be funny?

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Mark said laughing, but when he noticed her unmoving gaze as well as the silence present amongst the other boys the smile on his face dropped.

“Who told you about it?” Bee’s voice was almost silent, and if the atmosphere wasn’t so tense, no one would have heard her.

“It was kind of obvious, no one had to tell me,” Haechan said nonchalantly, breaking eye contact to stare at Chenle and Jisung “I bet you didn’t tell them either. But you both knew, right?”

Looking over at her right, she saw both of them nodding along, Chenle staring at her carefully and Jisung’s gaze never leaving the floor. She didn’t have to turn to Renjun to figure out that he knew as well, his hand squeezing her knee in a supportive manner already disclosed that for her.

“Why are we all so surprised? I mean, Mark is oblivious to everything. C’mon, now you can both talk about it, no one here is judging you” He urged her to speak, but the girl couldn’t push herself to look at anyone on the face, looking down at the wooden floor and trying to organize what was going on in her mind.

She felt completely exposed, Hyuck had brought light to the one thing in her life she pushed away as much as possible, and he didn’t seem to mind it at all. So why did she care about it that much? The back of her neck burned with embarrassment and Bee suddenly felt as uncomfortable as she did the first time meeting the boys.

“I’m not staying here,” She said getting up and heading for the door without looking back, Jeno following on her trail.

“Wait, you can’t just leave like that” He jumped over Jisung’s legs “Really, it’s already late, it could be dangerous with the amount of saesangs out there”

“I feel like I should say something right now?” Mark whispered to Jaemin on his right but the boy shook his head denying.

“She isn’t ready to talk about this” Jaemin whispered back, but due to the silence the girl heard him, and despite it being true, she still hated how the words made her feel even smaller than she already did.

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here” Her still soft voice had a demanding tone to it, it didn’t go unnoticed by Mark that she still wasn’t facing anyone specifically. “I’m going to 127’s dorm on the 5th floor. And you, Donghyuck, really didn’t have any business talking about this”

Leaving the apartment, she pressed the elevator’s button, and while waiting for it, the reality of what had just happened started setting in on her.

Mark Lee knew about her crush on him. Well, all of the dreamies knew about her crush on him, and they all probably thought she was pathetic for developing feelings for a groupmate. They probably thought she was even more pathetic for acting the way she did. Not having control of her feelings, what a pathetic person Bai Yun-hee thought she was.

The ding indicating the elevator was on her floor woke her up from her thoughts, and in the mirror, she saw tears pooling around her eyes. Great, on top of everything she had to cry.

If her rosy nose wasn’t a clear giveaway, her lack of shoes and mismatching socks told Taeyong something had happened for the girl to show up on his door unannounced when all of her friends were together downstairs. His tired mind went straight to the worst-case scenario.

“Did somebody get hurt?” He hurried her inside, engulfing her in a hug Bee could only describe as motherly. Her tears couldn’t help but flow freely at that rate.

“Nothing happened, I’m just stupid” She managed to say and Taeyong’s hand flew to her hair, brushing some strands while the other rubbed circles on her back.

“Hey, it’s okay… you’re not stupid” He whispered to her trembling body.

“Who ringed the doorbell?” Doyoung left his room with one annoyed expression, but once he saw the leader trying to comfort the girl his face broke into worry. “Is everything okay?”

Looking at him with a confused face, Taeyong mouthed an “I don’t know” to him and started leading her to the couch. “Do you want to tell us what happened? Or do you want to give it a rest?”

“I was wondering if I could sleep here tonight” she indirectly answered him, the little cracks in her voice making her unconsciously cringe at how much this had affected her “I can stay on the couch if you don’t mind”

“No, no. You can stay in my room. Haechan is staying over at the Dream dorm, so I can go to his bed on his and Johnny Hyung’s room.” Doyoung’s voice trailed off at the end of his sentence and his eyes widened in realization “Did the one of boys make you cry?”

“No” She shook her head and looking away from him “It really is my problem”

“Well, I don’t buy it. Tell me what they did and I’m going to talk to them right now” He got up from her side of the couch but didn’t move since she held his hand telling him to stop.

“Oppa, really. I’m the problem, this is all my fault” She said honestly, the anger she was feeling towards Haechan, didn’t compare with how angry she was with herself.

“Let’s get you settled okay?” Taeyong said rubbing her back, sensing she wasn’t in the right mood to talk about anything at that moment.

Walking over to the room, Doyoung patted the leader on the back and pointed to his room “Go rest, I got this” Not having enough energy Taeyong hugged the girl one last time and walked away. “Seriously, what happened?”

Going to his bed and slipping inside the blankets Bee shrugged her shoulders, her back leaning against the wall and Doyoung sitting on the edge of the mattress.

“I think it’ll help you to tell me and get a second opinion,” He said and poked her forehead with his finger “Knowing your little head, you already have every negative thought possible engraved there”

Chuckling lightly, she eased her body a little and started explaining everything to him as superficially as possible. Going straight to the point she started seeing Mark differently (there was no way she was saying the name crush in front of Doyoung) and then saying how he found out about it and she freaked out and ran away.

“Okay,” He said after she stopped talking “why were you calling yourself stupid when you got here?”

“Because” The girl shrugged her shoulders and sniffled, although she wasn’t crying anymore her nose was completely stuffed “I shouldn’t have acted like that, you know. The whole thing didn’t matter that much, I was the one who made a big deal out of it when in reality the best thing to do would be lock everything up and ignore it until it passes”

“Okay, I might have to wake Taeyong up because you’re losing your mind” He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and grabbed one of her hands “First I need you to understand we’re talking about your feelings right now, they should never be pushed away and are the most important part of you, understand?”

Doyoung stared at her in the eyes and waited for her to nod before keep going. “I get you’re feeling invalidated since someone took something you should have control over and exposed it to others. When I find out who did it, by the way, you’re getting a five-page apology letter from them”

“I’m never telling you who did it” She smiled and he let go of her hand.

“Aish, you’re making jokes already. It’s not as bad as I had thought” He smiled as well but when Bee’s face turned to a frown again he went back to therapist Doyoung mode “You feel like this right now because everything is still very new. I think we should give it some time before actually doing something about it. For now, all you need to do is rest and try to calm yourself, nothing about this is yours or someone else’s fault”

“It just feels like it is” Bee mumbled “Like when I’m thinking about it by myself, the whole Mark thing didn’t seem as important, but the moment Haechan spoke, it felt like the world’s worst secret had just been exposed and I needed to hide from everyone”

“Haechan huh?” Doyoung rose one eyebrow looking to the wall with a pondering look “I swear I always tell him to think before speaking”

“Don’t get mad at him, I know he didn’t do it to be mean” The girl defended her friend.

“I don’t care what you tell me, but going back to you” Doyoung returned his attention to her and sighed “You’re young, and I should tell you it’s going to get better but I have no idea,” He thought for a second before resuming “There’s this difference, I don’t know if it matters but, do you see Mark as a potentially significant other, or is it just an attraction?” He cringed after saying the last words.

“I don’t even see me dating right now”

“Right answer” The boy smiled, but when she looked blankly at him he turned back to his frown “I mean, I get it right now, but think in the future. Like, when you see yourself going on dates and all of that stuff… can you see it with him?”

“I guess, I don’t know” Bee answered after thinking for some time “This might be hard for you to hear, but I see Mark for Mark. Like he’s cute and funny and very very awkward, but he’s also this badass rapper and dancer who changes completely on stage, meanwhile, he’s nerdy and likes to make people feel comfortable which makes my heart go soft. And I don’t know how I feel about him being all of that” She groaned and sank on the bed, pulling the covers over her head and suppressing a scream.

“Okay, you’re lost” Doyoung laughed patting her leg, but when the sniffling intensified he understood she had resumed crying “Hey, hey, it’s going to be okay.”

“But what if I get lost forever? Or if when I find myself the world doesn’t want the resolution I have”

“Ahh Yun-hee, when a crisis hit we don’t look at the negative sides. Remember that sometimes, beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost”

“Who said that?” She removed her head from under the blankets pouting.

“I don’t know, I saw it on Pinterest” he said seriously, but after some minutes staring at each other they broke down laughing. Patting her head, he got up and walked to the light switch, turning it off “Rest well Bee, you don’t have to stress about this today. I’ll let you hide in here for as long as you want”

262 notes · View notes

myglogic · 4 years

Text

Priceless | Bang Chan | 04

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Pairing: rich kid! Bang Chan (Stray Kids) x female reader

Genre: Crime, enemies to friends to lovers, angst, fluff

Word Count: 3,4k

Summary: Chan knows. He knows who you are.

DISCLAIMER: Everything in this fanfic is fiction - that includes Chan’s fictional father who of course does not represent Chan’s real father! ♥

There he was, sitting in his chair while staring at you. One of the biggest and most successful journalists of Seoul Times and also your new boss. He was wearing a nice suit, probably Gucci or something. His hair was slicked back and he looked like he walked straight out of a magazine.

Before he could say anything you politely bowed. “Hello, Mr. Lee! My name is Y/N and Hana asked me to work next to you as your assistant. I hope that we can do a great job together.”, you said as politely as possible. Your hands were sweaty and you just hoped that you didn’t embarrass yourself.

Then you heard a laugh. “Why are you so formal? Okay, I get it, I’m your boss. But you look around my age. Please, call me Minho. Nice to meet you, Y/N.”, he got up and shook your hand.

You looked at him in shock. “Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just… you are such a big name around here. I wanted to be polite.”

He gave you a smile. “It’s okay, really! Oh, and I don’t usually wear this kind of attire. I just had an interview where they took pictures of me. Expect me to come here with my beloved sweatpants.”

You looked at him weirdly. Well, if you had such a high position you could do whatever you want. But he was a little too laidback. Not that it was bad but it was just unusual. “Okay. What should I do? Research? Edit articles?”

Minho sat back down and put his feet on his desk with his hands behind his head. “Is that what you have been doing the whole time? Editing?”

You nodded as you put your own stuff on your desk. “Yeah. So much for a journalistic degree, huh?”

Minho smirked. “Well, you aren’t here to do that. What is your dream? Tell me. You must have come here with something on your mind.”

You took a sip out of your water bottle as you thought about his question. “I guess writing the frontpage article? I actually asked Mr. Park and had a proposition but he didn’t see me as experienced enough.”

Minho played with his bracelet and then looked at you. “As you can see, we don’t have much of an age difference. Persistence is the key and a little help from someone who has experience. That would be me in this case. When I started here 4 years ago, I was doing the exact same thing as you but I convinced my supervisor that I was capable of doing more.”

“Are you saying that you want to help me?”, you asked in surprise.

He nodded confidently. “Yes! What do you want to write about?”

You hesitated for a second. Could you trust him? At the same time, this was your chance to finally do more than just editing. “Kevin Bang, how shitty of a person he is and all of his wrongdoings.”, you said in a serious tone.

Minho’s eyes widened a little at the mention of his name. “What? Kevin Bang? You do know that he has a lot of power over the media, don’t you?”

“There was this girl who exposed him at the gala, so there is already a lot of negative press. I have been doing a lot of research about him. I have more proof than any other reporter in this city.”, you said confidently.

Minho’s expression faltered. “What kind of proof?”

“I won’t show you that. If you help me with Mr. Park, I will write the article and when it’s finished, you can read over it. Is that alright with you? Because I’m still not done with my research.”, you told him, waiting for his response. You needed to make sure that you could trust him.

Then he looked at you with the same amount of confidence as you. “Okay. Just write your article and if it’s frontpage-worthy I will tell Mr. Park about it.”

You smiled brightly at him. “Thank you, Mr. L-, I mean Minho.” You were excited and would have hugged him immediately if he wasn’t your boss. Hana was right, you could learn from him and see it as an opportunity to gain more experience.

Your first workday with Minho was more than okay. You got to know each other and it turned at that he was a really nice guy. It helped that he was your age too. He must have been a super genius to graduate so early and get so many promotions at that age. He was impressive, you had to give him that.

Maybe Minho was your ladder to success.

♥.

Three weeks passed and Chan was still driving you to work and home. You were still helping him with university work. Every time Chan drove you home, he insisted on eating something together before dropping you off home. Your relationship developed more into a friendship. Chan made you laugh and you had to admit that you had a great time with him whenever he was with you. He always asked you if you were fine and if you didn’t, he would make sure that you would feel good again. It felt nice for change.

This time you met Chan at a place of your choice. It was actually a small tteobokki stand in your neighborhood. Chan was a little confused at first.

“You brought me here for tteobokki?”, he asked, not really happy about your choice.

“Look, to understand Shakespeare, you need to have a full stomach and the best ttebokki in town!”, you said and fed him with one rice cake. “Nice, right?”

Chan was chewing but his expression changed quickly into a happy one. You smiled at him knowingly. You couldn’t figure out how he could be so sweet but his father was not? “Okay, I need more of this!”, Chan said while eating one more, happily.

“I noticed that you were a little down today, so I thought I would take you to my favorite spot in my neighborhood.”, you smiled at him, genuinely. Of course, you wanted to know if it had something to do with his father but something deep inside of you was curious and cared about Chan’s own feelings and thoughts. But you were totally denying that.

This was the thing. You were starting to see Chan in a completely different light. Very different from his father. You still didn’t trust him because, after all, he still is a Bang. But he was gentle and caring. Whenever he noticed that you had a bad day, he would bring you chocolate after picking you up from work. It was the small things that made you think differently of him.

“Really? Thank you.”, he smiled as he continued to eat the delicious rice cakes.

“So, spill. What’s bothering you?”

Chan stopped eating and sighed. “Maybe not here.”

You looked at him, confused. “Where else?”

“Follow me.”

Before you knew it, you were back in Chan’s car, heading to an area in Seoul that you have never been to before. It was a very posh and rich area, which didn’t surprise you. But what surprised you wasn’t the villa that Chan parked his car in front of. No, in fact, it was the treehouse that was behind the villa which seemed to carry a lot of memories for Chan.

The treehouse however was at least 4 meters up and it looked huge. Perks of being a rich kid.

“You want me to climb up there?!”, you said, your eyes widening. You would probably break a bone. Hell, you would break ten.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. It’s safe, I promise!”, Chan assured you as he climbed up. You had to admit, the treehouse looked bigger than your apartment. Well, your apartment wasn’t that big either.

“If I break something, you have to buy me a new car!”, you said, jokingly, climbing the wobbly ladder. “Okay, I shouldn’t look down. Oh my god. Okay I looked down and that was the worst decision of my life!”

Chan smiled down at you as he watched you from the treehouse. “Are you afraid of heights?”

“A little.” That was the understatement of the century. You hated it. The background behind that was a kid that pushed you from the diving board when you were 6.

You were pretty far up and saw Chan’s face getting closer and closer. “Here, take my hand.”, he said as he reached out to you. You quickly grabbed his hand. You weren’t sure what kind of workout Chan did, but he pulled you up effortlessly but lost his balance and somehow you landed on top of him, your faces just a few centimeters apart.

“Thank you…”, you said, blushing furiously. What the hell? You shouldn’t be blushing, get your act together!

Chan cleared his throat as he looked at you. “Yeah, no problem.”

You quickly got up and looked around in the treehouse. It was decorated with tiny furniture. There was a rug where Chan sat down on. On the walls were pictures of his family, pictures which were probably drawn by Chan himself as a kid and a big teddy bear.

One picture piqued your interest. “Is this your mother?”

Chan stood up and stood next to you to inspect said picture. On the picture Chan looked around the age of 4 with his mother lifting him up in the air. Both of them looked happy. As if that was the happiest day of their lives.

Chan sighed a little. “Yeah. It was a year before she died.”

You have always wondered what really happened with his mother. The media never really spoke about Chan’s mother, probably because his father didn’t want it. “I’m sorry. What was the reason…? You don’t have to answer me though! Only if you are comfortable.”

Chan sat down on the rug again with you sitting closely next to him. “Oh, don’t worry. It was cancer but they found it in a very late stage. She had no chance of survival.”, he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Chan’s hand was right next to yours and you slowly put your hand on top his hand. “Everything happens for a reason. Even sad things like this.”

The young boy turned his head towards you. “Yeah. You’re right.”, he said as he took your hand and squeezed it. “The reason I took you here to talk is because I always come back here when I have a bad day. This house still belongs to dad and we used to live here when my mom was still alive. I think it’s the last memory I have left from her and coming back here feels like I’m getting motherly advice. I know it sounds stupid.”

You felt your heartbeat quicken, feeling his hand in yours. “No, it doesn’t. Everyone deals differently with their problems. I get it. No one will search for you here. I can see why you would come here.”

Chan completely turned to you. “I have a feeling that my dad doesn’t really trust me with his business. He is like a stranger sometimes. I feel like I only have a real father if I go to events with him. He is acting so strange when it comes to his job. I don’t know.”, he confessed.

The first thing that came to your mind was not “what is his father hiding?”, as it should have. No, you thought about Chan, who was telling you about his feelings and thoughts. You just wanted to hug him. “Is that what’s bothering you?”

He nodded. “Yeah. My problems sound like a luxury to you, right?”

You thought about it for a second. “No, not really. I may struggle with money but I am truly happy when it comes to my family. You know… My father struggled a lot in the past. We lost everything because of some things and people in the past. But he never gave up on us. And not having a proper family sounds horrible to me. So, no. Your problems aren’t a luxury.”

“This is the first time that someone listened. I mean, really listened. Thank you, Y/N.”

Chan’s eyes never left yours. The air somehow thickened. You could have cut the tension with a knife. Before you knew it, both of you were inching closer to each other slowly. You didn’t know what was happening. It was as if your body was reacting on its own.

Before anything could happen, your phone rang and you quickly sprang apart. You then came back to your senses. You couldn’t fall for him. Never. You were planning on destroying his father. This was the last thing you should do!

“Uh… I should take this. I’ll go down… And then you can drive me home.”

Chan just nodded, not able to say anything after that weird situation.

♥.

You decided to not bring that almost kiss thing up again. Chan didn’t bring it up either. You were both talking about your feelings that day and you were emotional. Things like that can happen, right? Maybe. Maybe not.

You didn’t want to think about that moment because it made you feel weird. You felt flustered, your hands felt sweaty, so no. This was not the right feeling towards someone whose last name is Bang.

However, you couldn’t risk losing him because you still needed him for your article. This time, you invited him over to your little apartment because he was about to write his exam about Shakespeare and you wanted to study with him in a cozy environment. And nothing screamed more cozy than your apartment. You had told Jisung to go out so that he wouldn’t see Chan. He assumed that it was for a date and still teased you about it.

You were a little nervous for Chan to come to your apartment. Not only because of the whole treehouse incident but more because of the fact that you were hiding the true reason why you were spending time with him.

To make him feel more welcome, you decided to bake some cookies. They were in the oven and waited to be eaten. Then you heard the bell and you quickly let Chan in. “You look cold!”, you said and ushered him in.

“It is cold.”, he said and looked around in your apartment. “Looks cozy.”

You nodded. “I know, right?”

Chan then sat down on the couch of your living room and looked at you. “So, I brought my Shakespeare stuff. I hope I will pass the test without any problems.”, he said and smiled. “But with you as my teacher, I will pass for sure.”

You blushed a little. “No! You are a good student. Don’t pin this on me!”, you smiled at him and sat down next to him.

Chan sighed happily. “Isn’t it weird to sit here? You didn’t really like me and your car doesn’t work because of me. And yet, we’re here and you help me with Shakespeare.”

You felt a pang of guilt hit you because of the boy sitting right next to you. “Yeah. I guess my love for Shakespeare saved you, huh?”

He chuckled. “Thank god for Shakespeare.”, then Chan stopped and sniffed. “Uh… It smells like something is burning?”

Then your eyes widened. “Fuck! My cookies!”, you quickly ran to the kitchen to find very black cookies that looked inedible now. You immediately turned the oven off and were met with black smoke.

Chan opened the window of your kitchen. “Why did you make cookies?”, he said and laughed hysterically at your baking fail.

“I just wanted to make something sweet. It helps while studying.”, you pouted. “Damn it.”

Chan walked up to you and took your face in his hands, making your heartbeat quicken. He squished your cheeks together so you had to pout more. “Don’t be sad. Let’s make another batch and then we can eat them, alright?”

You put your hands on top of his and pushed them down. “Yes, sir.”, you said while trying to hide your embarrassment. “Okay, I bet you never baked before.”

Chan looked offended and dramatically put his hand on his chest. “Why would you say that? I could be a great baker!”

You gave him a deadpanned look. “You are rich, Chan.”, you said while your facial expression literally said: “Of course, you never baked.”

He sighed. “Okay, I don’t cook or bake often. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t have a secret talent?”, he then laughed.

You grinned at him. “Yeah, sure. Let me take out the ingredients and then we’ll start.”

Before you knew it, you were baking with Bang Chan. He helped you measure all the ingredients and for a moment you felt like you were in a relationship. As if he was your boyfriend and everything was fine. You quickly gave yourself a reality check. You were here with him for your own selfish reasons.

“Hey, Y/N.”, Chan said while you were stirring the batter.

“Huh?”, you looked up at the boy who was eating some chocolate chips. “Don’t eat that!”

“Stop nagging. You have something on your face.”, he then said with a sly grin on his face.

“What? What is it?”, you said in panic, wiping your whole face. “Where is it? Is it gone?”

Chan stepped closer to you. “It’s right… here!”, Chan smeared some flour on your face.

“Oh no. You did not do that!”, you squeaked and giggled as you threw some flour at Chan’s face. It was way more than what Chan threw.

Chan stopped for a second. “Oh, it’s on!”

After that short sentence a flour war broke out. Chan was hiding behind the little kitchen island and then you were running around, making everything dirty. Suddenly, you slipped on the flour, right on top of Chan who held you but slipped due to the same reasons.

You were laughing hysterically on the floor. Once again, everything seemed so simple and natural between the two of you. You couldn’t believe that he was the son of the man who destroyed your parents’ lives. “Who is going to clean this up?”, Chan asked, still laughing.

You just looked in his eyes, not daring to look away. “I don’t know. The kitchen fairies?”, you said, still lying on top of him.

“Yeah. I don’t think so.”, Chan said, also looking at you. The look he gave you made you feel weak in your knees. What the hell was happening?

You then slowly got up and tried to clean the flour in the kitchen and on yourselves. “Just because we wanted to bake some stupid cookies.”, you said but with a smile on your face.

“Well at least now they are in oven and hopefully will not burn!”

“I should probably take a quick shower. Don’t be shy to take anything you want. Feel at home, Chan.”, you assured him as you went to the bathroom.

Chan then was left alone in your apartment. He sat down on your couch for a few minutes, thinking about what happened in the kitchen just now. He thought about how much he enjoyed your company. It was weird but he didn’t mind the feeling that come when he sees you.

He didn’t know why but he somehow felt drawn to your bedroom and you did say that he can feel at home. Curiosity got the best of him and he went into your bedroom, just to have a look. Because a bedroom says a lot about you as a person.

He entered the room and was greeted with pastel colors. Your room was clean but your desk was a mess. Must have been from work, Chan thought. But then, something caught his eye. On your desk, he found a folder with the name Kevin Bang on it. Chan took the folder and while going through it he found a lot of information on his father. But not only that, there were more scandals and bad publicity than anything positive. Chan didn’t know what to think of this.

He then turned around to see something red that caught his eye poking out of your closet. As he walked closer to it, he saw that it was a dress, with a mask hanging from the clothing hanger. Chan’s eyes widened as he connected the dots. The information on his father and then this dress?

Chan would recognize that dress anywhere. The dress that destroyed his father’s reputation. The dress the woman who danced with him wore. The dress that shouldn't be here. Chan started shaking from anger and disappointment. What the hell was he doing here? His heartbeat quickened and his palms were sweaty. He started shaking a little bit because of the feeling of frustration. The boy was trying to stay calm as he took deep breaths.

Chan didn’t hear you coming in with wet hair and some loose clothes, trying to dry your hair with a towel. But as soon as you saw him staring at the dress, you dropped the towel in shock.

He turned to you with an expression that was unreadable.

You started shaking in fear. “I can explain.”, you said, breathing shakily.

Chan just stared at you, waiting for an answer.

Shit.

♥.

Author’s Note: Chapter 4 is here and Chan finally found out. What do you think his reaction will be? I hope you like it!

60 notes · View notes

spine-buster · 4 years

Text

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 13

A/N: We’re getting into some seeeeerious business now. Thank you all so much for your anons and DMs about last chapter! Hopefully you all enjoy this one despite the subject matter.

Also, if you didn’t see my post, I created a Ko-Fi page in case you ever want to support my work / my writing: https://ko-fi.com/spine_buster . I love all of you so much and appreciate the reader engagement I have with you SO much!

TW: workplace harassment

December 21st, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was in a meeting.

Brendan was addressing the room, full of practically everybody who worked on the administrative side of the Leafs. Because it was just a few days until Christmas, he wanted to address everybody before the holiday to thank them for their hard work. It was also the day that Brendan decided to hand out the Christmas gifts for all the employees – a “swag bag” with a S’well bottle, candy and chocolate from Sugarfina, a coffee tumbler from Yeti, a Patagonia sweater with a Leafs embroider, and a Raptors toque. Aberdeen knew because she helped assemble them – literally and figuratively, because Brendan had asked for her opinion on a few of the inclusions. She was happy to see everybody loved the gifts.

As the meeting began to wind down, Brendan singled out some specific people who had earned a promotion. She was glad they were getting the recognition they deserved, because she knew how hard everyone worked. It was a great gesture, and a nice way to wind down the meeting – letting everybody leave on a good note—

“And my executive assistant, Aberdeen Bloom,” Brendan’s words completely caught her by surprise. She could feel a blush rush to her cheeks as many of the eyes in the room focused on her. “Just a couple of weeks ago, Aberdeen pulled off the nearly impossible – she managed to track down Niklas Lidstrom while he was in Toronto to get a signed Tre Kronor jersey from 2006 for our special guest, Colonel Richard Brant. But not only did she get the jersey – get this – she got Nik to come meet the colonel backstage.”

There was a round of applause for Aberdeen. Now she was really embarrassed. There was no reason for him to single her out like this – like she told him, she was just doing her job. She smiled awkwardly at everyone. Even Brendan was clapping. When it died down, he continued. “So, even though she had a bit of a rough start – like everybody does when they first start with the Leafs – I’m so happy to see how much she’s grown and integrated herself into our family. So…great work, Aberdeen!”

Another round of applause. Aberdeen continued to smile awkwardly and even through in an awkward wave for good measure. Brendan said a few more words before the meeting ended, everybody filing out of the room patiently. When she approached him, as one of the last bodies to leave, she gave him a stern look. “How’d you like that?” Brendan asked.

“Please never, ever do that again,” she said, giggling at the end.

“Why not?”

“Because I told you I was just doing my job.”

Brendan shrugged his shoulders. “And you did a damn good job of it, so everybody should know.”

As they walked back into his office together, she saw a perfectly wrapped box lying on his desk on top of all his newspapers and other things. It was very, very rare that things were delivered directly to him – usually it went through her first, and Brendan had no problem with her opening his work mail because it was part of her job and all his personal stuff got sent to his house anyway – so it definitely piqued her interest. “What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s your gift.”

Aberdeen’s brows furrowed. “But I got my swag bag in the room.”

“I know that, silly,” he smiled. “It’s my gift to you.” Aberdeen stopped dead in her tracks, giving Brendan another look. “What?” he asked. “Are you seriously surprised? You think I wouldn’t get you something?”

“Sort of…” Aberdeen admitted. “But also…I was going to give you my gift to you on Monday. It’s underneath my desk,” she laughed.

Brendan let out a hearty chuckle. “Why’d you get me a gift?”

“You’re my boss!”

“Go get it. We’re doing it now. I’ll be too busy with kids being everywhere on Monday.”

Aberdeen quickly made her way to her desk and retrieved the gift, hidden in her bottom drawer. It wasn’t large by any means, but she did put thought into it and she did have to enlist her mom for some help. When she went back into his office, he closed the door behind them. “It’s not much…” she began, comparing the size of the box on his desk to hers.

“You should be saving your money anyway,” he quipped.

Aberdeen sat in one of the chairs and handed him his gift across his desk. He unwrapped the Christmas wrapping paper to see something wrapped in tissue paper and a Prada box. Taking off the top of the Prada box, he was greeted with a blue and white patterned silk tie. He shook his head but smiled. “Aberdeen…”

“I had to get you something from Prada one of these days since you always send me there,” she smiled.

“I love it. It’s very fashionable. What are the kids saying these days? It’s lit?”

“Please don’t.”

“It’s lit, Aberdeen. Thank you.”

“Thanks. Although I think you’ll like the other gift better,” she said.

Brendan placed the box with the tie on his desk and focused on what was wrapped in the tissue paper. When he unwrapped it, he saw that it was a card, made out of thick construction paper glued together. Along the front were the words “With Love from St. Leo”, and in the middle, a big maple leaf cut out and painted with multi-coloured fingerprints. When he opened it, the card had been signed by every student from her mom’s grade one class. A small message was printed out by her mom:

Dear Mr. Shanahan,

We love the Toronto Maple Leafs and we love you! We heard you came to this school a long time ago. You and the Maple Leafs can come visit our class anytime you want and we can show you how well we read!

Love, Mrs. Bloom’s grade 1 class

Aberdeen watched as Brendan read over the card, looking at all the names printed, and his eyes glossed over with tears. He smiled. “Well would you look at that…” he mumbled, nodding his head slightly. He already knew he was going to display this forever in his office.

“She means it, by the way,” Aberdeen said, trying to lighten the mood. She didn’t think it would get him so emotional.

“Oh, I believe it,” he nodded again. “This is really, really special to me Aberdeen. Thank you. I…it’s always nice to remember where you came from, you know? This will remind me,” his tone was so sincere.

“You’re most welcome,” she smiled.

Brendan moved to display it on his desk. He composed himself before picking up the box that started this whole thing and handing it to her. “For you,” he said. “Although I don’t know if it’ll top that card.”

She unwrapped the pretty ribbon and beautiful wrapping paper – clearly Catherine or one of his kids had helped, because for all the skills he had, she didn’t think he was capable of this wrapping on his own. As she tore it apart, a box with the embossed logo and lettering of Smythson London stared back at her. Aberdeen stopped. “You didn’t.”

Brendan only smiled at her.

She was already overwhelmed because she knew how expensive Smythson London notebooks were – the smallest, cheapest, and most basic notebook ran for around £40. But when she opened the box to find three notebooks – two small navy blue Soho notebooks retailing at £195 each and a large gold Portobello notebook retailing at £235, each of them personalized with her initials which she knew cost even more – she felt even more overwhelmed. “Brendan…” she whispered, running her fingers over the embossed calf leather.

“I hear writers write in notebooks or something,” he joked once he saw the look on her face. “Anyway, I want you to have these. And when you get published and become super famous and they display all your notebooks in museums like they do with Charles Dickens or Jane Austen, I want to see one of those behind the glass.”

“I hope I get published one day…” she said quietly, almost to herself.

“You will,” Brendan said assuredly.

Aberdeen nodded. The material part of his assertion was nice – the notebooks – but what obviously meant more to her was the sentiment. Hearing his tone and the confidence in his voice meant that he believed in her. He wanted her to succeed. That meant more to her than anything. “Thank you, Brendan,” Aberdeen said in the same sincere tone he thanked her with earlier. “That means a lot to me.”

Brendan could only smile again. “I like to think I knew what I was doing when I hired you.”

“Was it all part of the Shanaplan?”

“Do not,” he giggled, shaking his head. He hated that term, and she knew it. “Go on. Get out of here. Go start your novel on your lunch break or something. Actually, before you do, can you go down to scouting and give them these for me please,” he said, handing her a stack of files.

She smiled. All was right and normal in the world again.

***

It was a few hours later when Aberdeen found herself in the staff kitchen, warming up a croissant she’d gotten earlier in the day from Starbucks as a snack before she and Brendan had to start preparing for the game against the Red Wings. She had a fresh batch of files from scouting in her arm for Brendan to look over as she stuck the croissant in the microwave. It was then that Ethan walked in, no snack in hand but instead wielding a tea packet. She ignored him. She wasn’t going to grace his presence with a greeting and, though it was probably a bit immature, she didn’t care. He’d said and done enough to her that she didn’t want to be the first one to engage at all.

“Good afternoon,” Ethan half-mumbled, engaging first.

Aberdeen looked at him. “Hello,” she said curtly.

“Nice swag bags, huh?” he asked, trying to engage more. Aberdeen only nodded her head. “Did you put them together?”

“Of course I did.”

She hoped her short responses and tone were getting across that she didn’t want to speak to him, but Ethan couldn’t read a room to save his life, so he kept going. “You know, a lot of us were jealous in that meeting that Brendan was praising you so much,” he said. “We couldn’t believe you pulled that Lidstrom thing off.”

“Guess I’m surprising a lot of people lately,” Aberdeen shrugged her shoulders, setting the files down on the counter. He didn’t have to tell her people were jealous. She had a hunch that it was only him who was jealous, and not anybody else in his department. “Especially you.”

“He must really like you to publicly praise you like that. He doesn’t do that often, you know.”

“Does that officially make me better at my job than you?” she asked cheekily. “You know, after you told me I can’t do the job at the Major Donor Gala.”

Ethan threw his head back at the fact that she brought that up again. He moved to stand behind her as she stuck her food in the microwave. “Abbie, come on. You know I rib you because I think you’re good at your job.”

Well that was news to her, because for the last three and a half months, all he’d been doing was making her job a living hell and telling her how much she couldn’t do her job. This complete 180 was out of the norm, even for him. “You’ve known me for three and a half months and you’ve consistently called me every name in the book besides my actual name,” she said, turning around to face him, bringing up the other thing that was annoying her about this whole interaction. “Don’t try to suck up to me now just because you know for a fact Brendan actually likes me.”

“Aberdeen, do you realize how cutthroat the hockey world really is?” Ethan began. It was at that moment that she realized how close he really was to her; how there wasn’t much room between the two counters of the galley kitchen anyway, but that he was closer to her than normal, than what anybody would consider normal, and it was starting to make her a bit nervous. “Do you realize how much backstabbing there is? How many people cross each other all the time just to get promoted or get ahead? If the little guys like us are going to survive in this industry, or any other industry adjacent to this one, we’re going to need to stick together.”

Aberdeen shook her head. “You’re trying to use me and it’s so blatantly obvious,” she said sternly, turning around so she wasn’t facing him anymore. She didn’t want to face him anymore. “You can’t fool me, Ethan. Now get out.”

“C’mon, Abbie,” his voice was low, and extremely, extremely close to her ear. She could practically feel him breathing down her neck.

Then she realized.

“Stop calling me that.” She tried to make her voice sound strong but it only came out weak as she felt his body pressing up against her back. Angry tears welled in her eyes as her emotions broke through. Her chest began to rise and drop from her heavy breaths.

“Abbie, the hockey world is full of favours that help people move up and excel at their job,” Ethan said.

And then she felt it. His hand on her ass. Her mind went into overdrive. She shifted and reached her elbow up and across to push it away, which she did, thankfully. “Get your hands off me,” she said as firmly as she could.

She turned around quickly so he couldn’t do it again. Her back leaned against the counter, and she saw he had taken a small step back, but they were still unnaturally close. “Abbie—”

“Get away from me,” she tried again.

“Just listen—”

“Is things okay in here?” a deep voice asked from the door way. Ethan took a quick step back further as the both of them looked to see Pierre Engvall standing in the doorway awkwardly, holding a protein shake. He seemed to be assessing the situation, but Aberdeen had no clue how long he had been standing there. She would have seen him, she thought, if he had been there long.

“Pierre! Good to see you up here buddy!” Ethan put a smile on his face, walking over to him. Ethan left her standing at the kitchen counter, chest still heaving. “Feeling good being up with the Leafs?” he asked, switching his demeanour completely. Aberdeen felt sick to her stomach at how fast he could switch from doing what he was trying to do, to being so buddy-buddy with Pierre.

“Is there a party going on in here?” another voice asked from out in the hall.

Aberdeen’s stomach dropped. Right then and there, William popped into the doorway. He looked between Ethan’s shit eating grin, Pierre’s serious stare, and Aberdeen’s face, red from trying to hold back her emotion as her chest still heaved. His brows furrowed. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine!” Ethan said quickly, shifting to get out of the room. He looked over his shoulder once more at Aberdeen, taking his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll email you what Brendan was asking for as soon as I get back,” he called out as he left the room, walking down the hall and disappearing up the staircase.

William was trying to piece everything together. He looked at Aberdeen. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” she said, forgetting about her lunch and gathering the files folders quickly and messily in her arms.

“Aberdeen—”

“Just leave me alone!” she whispered harshly as she shoved past the two large hockey players.

William and Pierre watched as she marched down the hallway, disappearing into the staff washroom. When they couldn’t see her anymore, William looked at Pierre. “What happened?” he demanded.

“I don’t know,” Pierre shook his head, trying to piece together and remember everything that he saw – at least the tail end that he saw – with all the visual, emotional, and verbal cues that just happened. “I…I walked in and he was really close to her and—and—you don’t think—”

William saw red. He didn’t even wait for Pierre to finish his thought or sentence – he started marching down the hallway to Brendan’s office. Pierre followed.

He was the eyes, after all.

***

Aberdeen didn’t know how long she was in the washroom for. She didn’t know how long she’d been crying but also trying to keep herself from not crying and just making herself redder in the process. She couldn’t believe that had just happened to her…that Ethan would do something so awful and so heinous. It had happened to her at clubs before – a quick squeeze or a pat on her ass, unwanted grabs of her hips, or awkward leans ins to try to get a kiss – but in those instances, she was able to swat the boys away, scream at them or tell them off, or her friends would intervene and help. She didn’t do that this time, for some reason. She couldn’t, maybe. Maybe because they were alone? Because she truly felt helpless? Because she really did feel like Ethan could get away with whatever he wanted – he had been for the past few months with her alone, she couldn’t even imagine what he was doing to other people, specifically to other women – so what was the point?

But as she kept thinking about it, she came to a conclusion: that she couldn’t let him ruin her life because she still had her whole life ahead of her. That even though she’d just become another statistic – another woman sexually harassed at work – it wasn’t her primary identifier, and she would never let it identify her. She was so much more than that. She had to put it behind her and had to overcome.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red, but there was nothing she could do now. All she could do was keep doing her job. And all she had to do was avoid Brendan until she looked normal again. She unlocked the door and stepped out, trying to walk inconspicuously down the hallway.

“ABERDEEN!” Brendan called out loudly from his office.

She stopped dead in her tracks in the hallway. She didn’t even have time to go hide from him, let alone breathe, because Brendan popped his head out the door of his office and looked around feverishly. When he saw her, he immediately noticed the redness in her eyes and cheeks. “Aberdeen, I need to speak to you inside my office,” his voice went ten times softer than what it was.

She was caught. She followed him in, trying to think of ways she could lie to him or make an excuse for why she had been crying. But when she walked in and saw Pierre and William standing in the room, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to get out of it. She sat down in the same chair she had been sitting in earlier in the day. It felt different now than it had then, when they were exchanging gifts. “Why were you crying in the bathroom?”

“I wasn’t crying.”

“Aberdeen—”

“I watched a sad video on YouTube and—”

“Aberdeen,” Brendan said firmly but calmly. He looked her straight in the eye. “Do. Not. Lie. To. Me.”

She took a deep breath. She looked at Pierre, who had a sympathetic and extremely worried look on his face. She looked at William, who looked ready to explode right then and there. “Umm…there…there was an incident—”

“An incident?”

“In the staff kitchen.”

“With who?” Brendan asked. “Was it with Pierre or William?”

“No. God, no,” she shook her head vehemently. “It, um…it was…I don’t…I don’t—”

“Was it with Ethan Baker?” Brendan filled in her stutters. He could see how pained she was. His hands gripped the armrests of his chair. Aberdeen couldn’t look him in the eye. She nodded her head once, bringing her hand up to wipe a tear away. “If we check the cameras will we see that he touched you inappropriately?” Brendan asked again. Clearly William and Pierre had told him what they thought happened.

Aberdeen couldn’t – didn’t – even register that Brendan mentioned cameras, that the entire thing was probably caught on a camera. She couldn’t form words. She could only nod her head. Slightly, too. Not even enthusiastically. Pathetically.

Brendan didn’t say another word. He picked up the phone on his desk and called an extension. “I need Gary to share the last hour of the security footage from the staff kitchen right this instant.”

Aberdeen shifted uncomfortably in her seat. A few more words were exchanged before Brendan hung up the phone. “You’re going to tell me what happened,” he said, before spinning his chair slightly to face Pierre and William. “And then you are going to tell me what you saw,” he pointed towards Pierre, who followed Brendan’s finger and sat to the left of Aberdeen, “and then you are going to tell me what you saw,” he pointed towards William, who sat to the right of her.

Aberdeen recalled everything: walking in, the conversation they’d had, the things Ethan had said to her, where he moved and how he got there and the feeling of how close he was behind her. Brendan wrote everything down. When she recounted how she felt his hand on her ass, Brendan and Pierre visibly scowled. William looked like he was about to punch a hole in the wall. When she mentioned Pierre in the doorway, Brendan stopped her and let Pierre take over. Pierre told her what he saw – he’d come in at the last possible second of seeing Ethan’s hand on her ass before she pushed it away. When it was William’s turn, he mentioned how upset Aberdeen was and how she looked ready to cry. A notification sound came through on Brendan’s iPad and she knew it was the video footage.

“Aberdeen…” Brendan tried to say softly, though he was saying it through gritted teeth. “Have there been any other incidents like this one?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Has he even been inappropriate or demeaning in any other way?”

And there it was: the million dollar question. She remembered everything Ethan had done to her and everything he’d said; she was hyperaware of his presence around her at all times since her first day of work, so she felt like she had to remember everything. In her hesitation, she made eye contact with William. The way he was staring at her, it was like he was begging her to say something. But William. Poor William. He only knew about the bag incident because he had intervened. Now the floodgates were about to open. “Yes…” Aberdeen nodded her head, taking a deep breath.

“What were they?”

Aberdeen reminded Brendan of the coffee incident from her first day, but then recalled the long list of others: the bag carrying incident where William stepped in; the “Girl Friday” and “Brendan girl” nicknames he’d given her; the slightly inappropriate flirting at the Major Donor Gala and the things he’d said to her when she didn’t reciprocate; the comments he’d made to her at the Christmas party. Brendan kept writing everything down. The more she told, the angrier his scribbles got and the harder he pressed down onto the paper. The more she told, the more William looked like he was about to rip Brendan’s massive solid oak desk in two with his bare hands like Captain America did with that log.

“Anything else?” Brendan asked.

Aberdeen hesitated. “Um…no.”

“Aberdeen.”

She could feel William look at her as she looked down to avoid any eyes on her. “There was um…there was an incident where I was in the staff kitchen heating up a snack wrap, and he asked if I should really be eating it because nobody likes a piggy working for a hockey team.”

Time stood still as Brendan, Pierre, and William looked at her, completely and utterly speechless at the words that had just come out of her mouth. She tried to fixate her eyes on something in the room, but she landed on William’s balled up fist in his lap, his knuckles white from how much anger he felt. It took Brendan reaching over to his phone and dialling another extension for any semblance of time to pass. “Can you let Ethan Baker know he needs to come into my office in ten minutes? Thanks.”

Aberdeen knew what that meant. “Brendan—”

“Don’t Aberdeen,” he grabbed his iPad and swiped to his mail to get the security footage. Everything that Aberdeen had said, what Pierre had said, what Willy said – it was all corroborated by the video. Ethan wouldn’t be able to get out of it no matter how hard he tried; no matter what charms he tried to pull on Brendan. Not that Brendan would fall for them. “He’s never working another day in his life for any professional sports organization,” Brendan mumbled. “And I’ll make sure of that.”

Aberdeen was shocked. “That’s—that’s ruining his life—”

“You’re right – I am the one ruining his life,” Brendan said sternly, lifting any feelings of burden off of her immediately.

“And he deserves to have it ruined,” William piped up, his tone scathing. Pierre nodded in agreement.

“You two can go back to the locker room and do what you need to do to prepare for the game tonight,” he said to Pierre and William. Pierre got up first, and had to wait for William, who didn’t want to leave. It wasn’t until Brendan urged him with a slight head nod that he got up out of his seat. Brendan waited until they left completely to continue. “You can go home, Aberdeen. If you want to take the Next Gen day off I won’t mind at all—”

“I don’t want to.”

Brendan stopped. “You what?”

“I don’t want to go home and I don’t want to take the Next Gen day off. Just let me do my job,” she said.

“Aberdeen, I really think—”

“If I go home all I’m going to do is wallow in this feeling. All I’m going to do is think about it over and over again until I cry some more. I don’t want to let him get to me more than he already has. Just…just let me do my job. Please.”

***

William booked it out of Scotiabank Arena the second he was able to. Despite the team winning 4-1 against the Red Wings, William’s mind was somewhere else. He was able to keep focused, sure, and make plays and complete passes, but there were other things that occupied his mind. He didn’t even change into his suit – after showers and media, he left in his workout gear. There was no point in suiting up. He knew exactly the places he needed to go and exactly what he needed to do.

When he got to the lobby of Aberdeen’s apartment, he typed Kasha’s name into the call system and waited to hear one of their voices to let him in. However, there was no voice – only an acceptance of the call, and a click of the door opening. He rushed towards the elevators. He remembered the floor number easily.

The door was already slightly open. When William showed up in the doorway there were three people in the apartment, and luckily, none of them were members of Aberdeen’s family. He didn’t take her as the type to have her parents talk her through a crisis like this one – she was too independent and maybe a bit too stubborn for that – but he knew she’d already called Siena about it. It was what he would do with his brother. Aberdeen had already washed all her makeup off and had her hair in a bun, and was standing in a hoodie and pyjama shorts as she cradled Minerva in her arms. He recognized one of the people as Kasha, but had no idea who the guy was.

Kasha was the first to see him. Her eyes widened when she recognized him. “William?”

Everybody’s eyes turned to him. Aberdeen’s were bulging out of their sockets in shock. He saw that they were red – that she’d been crying again, probably recounting everything to Kasha once she got home. “Hey,” he said.

There was an awkward silence as they all stared at him. Kasha noticed that William was shifting his focus between Evan and Aberdeen and knew she had to be the one to break it. “Will, this is my boyfriend Evan. Evan, uh, this is William Nylander. Aberdeen’s…uh…work colleague.”

Evan moved to shake William’s hand politely. “You guys work together?” he asked, his voice upbeat. “Are you another assistant with MLSE?”

Kasha intervened before anybody else could. “Evan, William’s a player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.”

Evan’s eyes widened at the revelation. It began to sink in to him how…interesting it was to have a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the apartment of his girlfriend. “Ooooooooh, okay,” he nodded slowly. “Sorry. I don’t watch hockey.”

“It’s probably better that way,” William quipped.

“I…that was you calling?” Kasha asked. William nodded his head. “I thought you were the Uber Eats we ordered.”

“I’m not Uber Eats but I brought Sugo for…uh…” he held up the bag.

“Sugo’s been closed for like, two hours…” Kasha furrowed her brows.

“They’re not when you’re…me,” William said. He stared directly at Aberdeen. “Can we talk?”

Aberdeen stayed silent. She looked at Kasha and Evan first. Kasha held her hands up in front of her. “Don’t look at me. He’s your friend.”

“Kasha—”

“I don’t mind him being here at all,” she said, knowing what the question would be. If she had to push them together herself, she would. “And you know I’m not going to say a word. He won’t say anything either,” she nodded towards Evan. “If you guys need to talk, then talk. Evan and I will be in my room.”

“We will?” Evan asked as Kasha yanked his arm. “We will. Nice to meet you Will,” he said as he was dragged towards Kasha’s bedroom, the door slamming behind them.

Aberdeen and William looked at each other. She’d barely moved since he walked in the door. She knew with every fibre of her being that he wasn’t supposed to be here, but she couldn’t help but feel…solace? relief? gratitude? as he stood there with his blonde hair and blue eyes and that dumb but cute look on his face. “I got some pasta and their giant meatballs,” he said softly, setting the bag down on the counter.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice a bit strained.

“What do you think I’m doing here, minskatt?” he asked. “I needed to see if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” she tried to brush him off.

“Aberdeen…” he said softly. “I’m trying to be here for you. Will you let me?”

His words sounded so soft and so sincere that it almost broke her. There was no way she could say no, no way that she could ask him to leave and deny him. After everything that they’d been through, after everything he’d ever said to her, the hotel room visits, everything – she couldn’t deny him this. He wanted to be there for her, and she was going to let him. She swallowed the sob that threatened to escape her. “Plate that pasta and bring it to my room,” she said quietly.

William’s eyes bulged in shock for a split second before he began moving around the kitchen trying to find an appropriate plate. He kicked off his shoes before grabbing a fork and walking into her bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him. He looked around, and it was just as he remembered it. It had been a while, but the events of that night in June still played over and over in his mind. If he thought about it hard enough, he could imagine the feeling of her bare skin underneath his fingertips.

He found her sitting on her daybed, Minerva lying on her legs and her laptop on her desk chair that was placed at the edge of her bed like a TV stand. He handed her the plate full of pasta and meatballs before climbing into bed beside her, sitting right next to her so their bodies were touching. “He deserved what he got, you know. After that piggy story I wanted to go to his office and strangle him with my bare hands.”

She nodded her head softly. “I know. I got that from seeing how white your knuckles were in your lap.”

“Do you want to know how Brendan did it?” he asked. She didn’t respond, so he just went for it. “He called Ethan into his office and he asked him what his dream hockey organizations were to work for. As Ethan said them, Brendan wrote them down. Then Brendan showed him the video, and in front of Ethan, called the president or GM of the teams he mentioned and blacklisted him. He told them never to hire him because he was a sexual harasser.”

Aberdeen didn’t know what to think. She knew William didn’t tell her that to get a reaction out of her, and she knew he wasn’t expecting one either. It was harsh, very harsh. Ethan’s career in the sports industry was ruined, that was for sure. It was a fitting end to a guy who was such a dick. And more than anything, she realized one important thing: Brendan cared about her. He cared about her so much he’d ruin another man’s career for harming hers. “Good,” she mumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of that was going on?” he asked. “You promised me you’d tell me, Aberdeen, and you broke that promise.”

She shook her head. She couldn’t deal with this right now. She knew she should have said something earlier, but she was the lowest person on the metaphorical totem pole, and she didn’t think it was worth William’s time or effort. “Please don’t.”

“I could have helped you, Aberdeen—”

“William, please,” her tone was strained, her voice begging. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to keep reliving it. I just want to sit here with you and eat this giant plate of pasta with these giant meatballs, okay? Please.”

William looked at her for a few moments, directly into her eyes, before he nodded his head. It was all he could do. He didn’t want to make her relive it any more than she had to. And, quite frankly, he didn’t want to have to think about it, because thinking about what Ethan did to her made his blood boil and made him want to search every street and apartment in the city for Ethan so he could punch him. She’d let her guard down, however minimally, and said she wanted to sit there with him. If him sitting next to Aberdeen was going to make her feel okay, he was going to do just that. If just being there, physically, was enough for her, then it was enough for him. “What are we watching?”

“The Real Housewives of New York City.”

He smiled. “Alright. Real Housewives it is.”

With Minerva sleeping on her legs, Aberdeen downed the plate of pasta. William couldn’t really keep up with the show, with all its drama and all the ladies gossiping over events he had no clue about, but that didn’t really matter. All he was really focused on was Aberdeen. And as her body language softened the more she worked through the giant plate of pasta, the more comfortable she became. When she was done, she leaned forward and put the plate on her dresser. She’d deal with it later.

When she curled her arm underneath his, he rested his hand on her legs and she leaned her head onto his bicep. Their bodies couldn’t be any closer, and now they were starting to intertwine. It wasn’t long before her breathing steadied, and when the screen went dark during a scene, William could see through the reflection that she was sleeping peacefully against him. He closed the laptop with his foot.

He moved to lie her down in her bed. The disruption in position made her grumble slightly, though she was still latched on to his arm. “Willy?” she mumbled out.

The use of his nickname that everyone else called him but she never did until now brought a small smile to his face. “Minskatt?”

She didn’t say anything else, but she made it clear she didn’t want to let him go. And she showed it by grabbing onto him tighter. When he lay down in her tiny bed with her – seriously, it was tiny and there was barely enough room for his body, let alone both of theirs – she closed her eyes again. Comfortable. Safe. Protected.

William closed his eyes too, letting his feelings of serenity overwhelm him.

***

Aberdeen woke up with the sun, which she was mad about because she had the day off and wanted to sleep in until it was an acceptable time to have brunch. Her body still felt fatigued from yesterday, but her mind – even her mind still felt tired, like she’d barely gotten any sleep. She saw Minerva curled up at William’s feet and smiled.

William.

William was in bed with her.

The events of the night before came back to her – him showing up at the apartment with takeout Sugo; eating the giant plate of pasta and meatballs all on her own; sitting on her bed and watching the Real Housewives of New York; resting her head on his arm until she fell asleep. He’d stayed the night. For the second time in one month, she’d shared a bed with William. The first time, they’d stayed on their respective sides because the bed was big enough – it was respectful and innocent, but she had still kicked him out in the early morning in complete fear. But now, there was no respective sides. She felt his hand underneath her hoodie on her bare skin. She felt his body pressed up against hers, holding her delicately. She felt his chest rising and falling softly. But mostly, she felt the grip of his hand holding hers, cradling it near his chest.

For the first time, she didn’t mind. And she didn’t pull away.

_______________________

Sexual harassment in the workplace resources:

from the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund: Sexual Harassment at Work - What Can I Do About It?

from the Ontario Human Rights Commission: Policy on Preventing Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment

from The Muse: Here’s What You Can Do If You’re Sexually Harassed at Work

from Workplace Fairness: Sexual Harassment Practical Strategies: How Do I Deal with Sexual Harassment?

from Canadian Labour Relations: Sexual Harassment Lawyers and Attorneys: a Legal Solution

from Workplace Fairness: Sexual Harassment - Legal Standards

223 notes · View notes

padfootmadfoot · 4 years

Text

Teddy Lupin - Thinking Out Loud

Thinking Out Loud By Ed Sheeran (Year 2014)

Ps- Didn’t know the years would coordinate perfectly, I love it!

Word Count-3.1K

Send Requests Here

Teddy sat in McGonagall's classroom for the third time today, first cleaning up the glass he shattered well running away from Agrus Flitch, and having to report to Mcgonagall since it was at her hands dealing with him, the second was bringing McGonagall a apple for a sincere apology and the third was learning about Transfiguration his favorite class

But his ears or eyes were concentrated on what McGonagall had been teaching that day but a long brunette haired girl who sat across the room from Teddy, writing her notes down and concinderating on the lesson.

Teddy felt his best mate Louis Weasley, nudge his shoulder, causing him to lose concentration of the girl and look over at McGonagall who had her hands on her hips.

“Mr Lupin, care to show the class how to turn that teacup infront of you into a rat,” McGonagall stammered, shaking her head at the boy who was not near the level of concentration he should be at in his sixth year at hogwarts.

Teddy picked up his wand, thinking to himself for a second, gosh he was a metamorphmagus, he should know this stuff. His flicked his wrist, pressing his wand against the teacup, nothing happened for a couple seconds then teacup drew a tail, then a face, soon after turning into a full rat.

“Perfect see, look at him, i’ll call him Flameboy,” Teddy joked touching his wand against the rat that looked around, slowly turning him back into a teacup.

McGonagall went back to teaching, when Teddy went to look back at the brunette girl he noticed that she had been looking at him, causing the pair to blush out of control.

Mila Abbot, a shy girl was nearly a outcast to the school, a Ravenclaw, her best friend Victoire Weasley was her only friend, and summer came by with a quick jolt, ending their sixth year at hogwarts.

“Your saying your parents are gone for the whole summer, and you’ll be home alone, no one home, and celebrating your birthday alone!” Victoire complained as her and Mila walked down the halls with bags in hand, ready to board the Hogwarts Express home.

“Thats what i’m saying Vic, all alone,” Mila smiled, knowing where the conversation was heading, Victorie and her became friends shortly after coming to hogwarts. Her a Gryffindor and Mila a Ravenclaw didn’t matter.

“Then why don’t you come over, my whole family is celebrating my uncle Harry's promotion, and I don’t think your parents would mind,” Victorie said swinging her arm around Mila back. “And Teddy will be there, don’t you fancy him now,”

Mila’s face turned a bright red, not helping herself to smile. “I don’t fancy him, it’s merely a little crush and I guess, if your parents are okay with it,” Her face calmed a bit, feeling her blood blushing inside of her.

“That’s great, my parents will never mind they love you like a daughter, and plus Teddy won’t either, I hear he fancies you as well,” Victie chuckled making Milas face return back to her red state. “Plus Plus, i’ve got us tickets to the Quidditch Championships on my dresser at home mom says,”

Milas eyes widened with every word that came out of Victorie mouth. “No you don’t are you serious!” Her voice was excited. “I love you Vic!” If her bags weren’t hanging out of her hand and the grass wasn’t wet from the fog she’d have her hands wrapped around her best friend.

Victorie and Mila borned the train, filled with first years trying to excitedly find a seat, seventh years pushing and shoving, boys and girls snogging left and right.

“Come on, you can sit with us,” Victories took Milas hand, pulling her around everyone and placing her in a cart, Dominique, Vics sister and Louis, her brother sat chatting, then a blue haired boy sat beside Louis, laughing.

“Look at trouble roaming in,” Dominique smiled, pushing herself over to fit Victorie and Mila down. “You both excited for summer break?” She asked, Dominique was the oldest of the children, then Vic then Louis, all a year apart.

“Actually, Milas family is gone and i’ve invited her to stay with us for a couple weeks, isn’t that great,” Vic smiled wrapped her arms around Mila, pressing their cheeks together, once again making Milas face turn red with embarrassment.

“Teddys coming over tonight too, since Harry's coming over with his kids and Teddy lives with them, Mila i’m glad your coming over, i’ll write to mom and let her know,” Dominique had been a older sister to Mila, maker her as close as family.

Teddy and Louis were having their own conversation, whispering to each other, with the occasional laughs and snickered from the two.

“Anything from the trolley dear?” A little plumped woman asked, stopping at the cart door with a smile.

Louis and Teddy stood up, walking passed the woman, leaving on Dominique, Victoire and Mila. Victoire moved to the other side, grabbing a couple of pasties from the cart.

“What are those twos problem?” Victorie asked placing her feet on the seat and munching down on her pastie, passing one to her sister and Mila.

“They’ve been like that all day, Teddy was a real trouble maker, sliding out of detention, i’m sure the sorting hat made a wrong decision with him, been acting out recently according to Louis.

“Yeah in class he couldn’t focus, you guys wanna know why,” Victoire stammer with a mouth full of dough. “Because he was two busy looking at Mila.

Milas thoughts were blown up as her head shot towards Victorie, shaking her head. “He was not!” Mila defended herself, knowing what she was saying was the truth and she was to, looking at Teddy in Transfiguration class.

“We both know you two fancy each other, since year four, why don’t you guys just admit it, you both are gonna be at the same house tonight anyways,” Dominique chimed in, ebowing Mila playfully.

“Hello Ladies, we’ve brought some snacks,” Louis shouted walking into the cart with Teddy, both carrying food in each hand.

“I’m not moving to comfortable,” Victoire said, only moving her legs for one, Louis knowing full well the connection between Teddy and Mila.

“I guess i’ll sit here,” Teddy awkwardly smiled, Mila pushed over for the boy, moving almost on top of Dominique to give Teddy room, her face a bright pink color, her whole body felt flustered and warm all over.

The train ride home was filled with lots off food, Mila and Louis fought over who could catch more marshmallows in their mouths, Mila winning by a lucky shot, Teddy turning his hair different colors with the flavor of Bertie Botts he ate. Victorie fell asleep soon after the train took off and Dominique sent out the letter for her parents about Mila.

London grew dark as the five arrived at platform nine and three quarters, Louis face was pressed up against the window, looking for his parents.

“Look look, I see mom and Dad, and I see uncle Harry, come on!” Louis was a excited boy when he came to seeing his parents, being just like his father, his orange hair was a mess at most times.

Louis left the cart with Teddy behind him, Dominique walking out and leaving Victoire and Mila to walk alone.

“Are you sure your mom let me stay, what if she says no and i’ll have to sleep on the streets cause my home is to far away,” Mila said nervously, rubbing her fingers together as the pair walked through the train, coming to the door.

“Guess i’ll just have to sleep on the streets with you,” Victoire joked jumping off the train, followed by Mila. “My mom and dad love you, and you’ve stayed at my house more times then I could remember,”

Victoire and Mila came into the sights of Fleur first, who took the pair of girls into a hug. “it’s so good to see you both, i’ve already got your bedrooms all set up, we’re going to grimmauld tonight so i’ve hope you’ve brought something nice to wear Mila,” Fleur let the pair go, she was a mom to Mila, since her parents were never around, traveling for a job she’d stay wherever she could, mostly at the Weasleys.

“Ahh girls,” Bill smiled, walking over with Dominique, Louis, Teddy and Harry Potter beside him. “Come on, we’ve got to be going home, we’ll see you tonight then Harry,” Bill smiled placing his hand on Harry's shoulder.

“You will indeed, thanks to Ginny who insisted on having everyone over, it’s nice to see you two girls,” Harry smiled looking at Mila and Victorie. “Come on Teddy, Ginny’s waiting for our arrival, she’s made your favorite,” Harry and Teddy walked off.

But all on Teddys mine on the moment was the conversation Louis and him had, how he was going to ask Mila out tonight, he had to make it perfect, Louis was in charge of getting the pair alone, getting his siblings along with it. His head was filled with ideas, some tossed right away and others sounded to ridiculous and more like pranks he could pull at school.

“Come on girls, your fathers leaving,” Fluer called out, taking Mila out of her thoughts, she followed the Weasleys out of platform nine and three quarters and to the magical car that was parked outside.

Louis sat in the front seat with Bill and Fluer, well Dominique, Mila and Victorie all squished into the back, magainging themselves, their bags all sat in the trunk that's to Bill.

“So Mila, where are you parents gone now?” Bill asked pressing the invisible cloak around the car and taking off into the sky.

“Scotland, site seeing I think, their job took them their, I just don’t ask cause the answers aren’t always spectacular,” Mila smiled, knowing her parents weren’t coming back for her just yet and that she had to learn to live by herself next summer.

“Well you know your always happy to say with us love, we’re home,” Fleur smiled looking out her window, we quickly came down to a little driveway, a cottage.

“I never get over the fact that your house is perfect,” I chuckled bracing myself for the landing, since Bill wasn’t always the best as landing the car.

“Why don’t you guys go settle yourself in your rooms, when your done we can leave for the Potters, that sound good?” Bill commanded as the car hit the ground, landing in the driveway, surrounded by sand.

“Come on then Mila, i’ve got new things to show you,” Victorie excitedly said opening her car door and grabbing Milas hand, they walked to the trunk, only pulling out their trunks only and rushing inside.

“What do you have to show me,” Mila chuckled as the two girls ran downstairs into Victories room and shutting the door.

“Dresses for tonight, and a early early birthday gift for you,” Victorie dropped her things, walking over to her closet and opening it up. “It used to be Lily and Marlene's but my aunt gave them to me when cleaning out the house,” The girls admired Lily and Marlene, how the two were best friends, almost reminding them of themselves.

Victore turned around holding two dresses in her hand, two short cut ones, one a bright red color in her left, in her right a bright white.

“Lily and Marlene wore those,” Mila said with a smile walking over to Victorie and pulling her into a hug. “Thank you Vic, i’m sure we’re going to look wonderful tonight,”

Victoire knew of Louis and Teddys plan, overhearing the two boys talking before Harry and Teddy left, determined to make Mila the best girlfriend ever.

“Go try on the red one, it’ll match your eyes, i’ll change in my room, you can take the bathroom,” Victoire pressed the red one against Milas chest and walking away.

“You know my birthdays not tell December right,” Mila chuckled as she walked into the bathroom, keeping the door open just a bit to continue their conversation.

“That's why it’s called a early early birthday gift, you’ll thank me when in six months for it,” Victoire chuckled slipping her clothes off quickly and slipping the dress on from the bottom.

“Thank you Vic, for being a good friend, can I tell you something,” Mila smiled walking out of the bathroom, her school clothes dripped over her arm and her red dress on, just stopping bellow her knees. “I do fancy Teddy, but you can’t tell anyone okay,”

Victories face lit up, wanting to tell her best friend of the plan, but not wanting to spoil the fun she was going to have tonight. “The first step is admitting it, we all know you do, all you do is look at him, I even swore you were drawing hearts with his name in them,” Milas face went red.

“That is not true, I don’t know what your talking about,” Mila gushed placing her clothes on top of her trunk.

“Girls we’re leaving with or without you!” Fluer called out, her english getting better and better by the days going on, moving from France to London and staying here for years really helped.

“Come on, i’m excited to see everyone!” Victore called out, grabbing Milas hand and dragging her upstairs. “Wait wait,” Victorie stopped at the top of the stairs, running quickly back down to her room and coming up with two hair ties in her hand.

“Smart thinking,” Mila smiled, they continued walking to the fireplace, only Bill left waiting for the pair.

“See you two there,” The scared faced man smiled at the two, taking pounder into his hands. “Grimmauld place!” He shouted tossing the sand down, green fire came up and Bill was gone.

“Together?” The girls said at the same time, simultaneously laughing, squeezing themselves into the tiny fireplace.

Mila grabbed the pouder, looking at Victoire, since forever the pair did everything together, this was their favorite thing, starting at Molly Weasley's and now here.

“Grimmauld Place!” Victoire shouted, Mila tossed the powder down and the girls disappeared, appearing in a almost dark room, a blue haired boy sitting at a table.

“Thank you for coming to the party, the living room is filled with people,” His voice was bland and clearly bored.

“Where is the energetic funny Teddy we saw only a hour ago,” Victoire chuckled stepping out of the fireplace first, followed by Mila, Teddy's eyes nearly almost couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

“I have to greet the guests, but I guess since your the last ones here energetic Teddy can come back,” Teddy's hair turned into a brownish color and stood up. “Shall we?” He asked opening the door, Victorie gave the boy a wink before walking through the door, shutting it quickly behind her, leaving Mila facing the door and with Teddys.

“She's a funny one,” Mila smiled awkwardly, pushing the door open and walking into a party scene, spotting Hermione, her godmother sitting down, she quickly walked over with a smile.

“Mila daring, how are you doing?” Hermione asked patting a seat beside her for Mila to sit down with her.

“I’m good, about to graduate in a year, how are you doing?” Mila asked, looking around and spotting Rose and Hugo running around the room with James, Albus and Lily.

“Very good, Rose turned eleven in august and Hugo nine in september,” Hermione chuckled placing her hand on her forehead. “Gosh I feel so old sometimes, I can’t believe you’ll be graduating, do you know what you’ll be doing after hogwarts?”

Mila was honest with herself, she wasn’t sure what to do, she wanted to open a little clothing shop in diagon alley, it was her dream, but she didn’t think she’d be worthy enough.

“I wanna open a little shop for myself, my parents left me some money and I think that’s what i’ll use to get started,” Mila let out a sigh, expecting disappointment.

“I know two boys who did the same thing, i’m sure George could help you, if you talk to him about it,” Hermione started to say but her eyes drifted off. “Oh gosh Hugo, don’t touch that,” Hermione shouted, standing up and walking away from Mila.

“Mila, i’ve got to show you something, Harry told me about it,” Louis whispered in her ear making her jump, she looked at Louis confused, a bit smile was on his face.

“Later Lou, I just wanna relax, I have a lot on my mind,” Mila huffed, leaning back into the couch but the boy was resistant, grabbing her hand and pulling her up.

“It’s the first room on the left, we’ll all be up their waiting for you,” Louis took off causing Mila to be more confused then she was this morning when Victorie jumped on her back causing her to fall to the ground.

MIla took a look around the room, everyone seemed to be chatting away, so Mila pushed herself off the couch, took one more look around the room then walked out, the placed smelt nice, like fernwood and ivry water on a warm day.

The stairs crept with every step Mila took, until she got to the top, looking left then right, tempted to open the right door but choice the left, walking into a bright room.

“What are you doing in here?” Mila jumped at the noice, then looked at Teddy who stood up from one of the beds he was sitting on.

“Louis told me to come up here, said everyone was up here but,” Mila was cut off with the door slamming behind her and the sound of it locking, she turned around, placing her hand on the doorknob, her head fell on the door knowing what her friends had done, her face going bright red.

“Mila,” Teddy stuttered, causing Mila to turn back around, and look at Teddy who had flowers in his hand, and a smile on her face.

“What are you doing Teddy,” Mila chuckled walking towards the boy, he handed her the flowers.

“A early birthday present,” Teddy smiled, getting the line from Victorie when they first got into the party.

“Victoire told you that didn’t see,” Mila smiled looking around the room. “She told you I fancies you I suppose?” She knew her best friend so well that she knew even if Teddy denied it.

“She also told you that I fancy you I supposed?” Teddy took the flowers out of MIlas hand, gently placing them down on the bed. “I like your dress, and your hair,” He stumbled his words, getting nervous. “I actually like everything about you, I think you're really pretty, and,” Teddy was cut off by Mila stepping up and planting her lips on Teddy.

His hands soon gravitated to her back, pulling her forward, their bodies touching, Milas hand were wrapped around Teddys shoulder, she couldn’t help but smile with every kiss.

“You two are so adorable!” Victoire squealed from the door, the pair turned around and looked at Victorie, Dominique and Louis smiling, with James Potter and Albus Severus hanging out behind them

“Disgusting, i’m going to tell dad!” James chuckled, grabbing Albus and dragging him down the stairs.

“Told you it would work,” Louis winked at Teddy, making him nervous laugh, Mila faced Teddy, resting her head on his chest and smiling, her whole body felt flustered, and so happy.

#TeddyLupin #teddy lupin x reader #Teddy Lupin x you #Teddy Lupin x y/n #HarryPotterFanfic #Mila Abbot

63 notes · View notes

janekfan · 4 years

Note

hi mom. sorry i havent talked with you much recently but ive definitely been following ur stuff (which youve probably noticed). ive been extremely busy with much longer work hours, sometimes needing to find a place to hide so i can plop down and pass out for a few minutes. if you wanna write something regarding that, however you want to, it would bring me a lot of comfort ♡

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26659246

For @flame-cat my child! I’m so very proud of you! I hope this fits :) I can always try again <3 <3 <3

Jon lifted his head, groggy and sore, from the surface of his messy desk, a spare post it stuck to his cheek. He blinked hard, rubbing the sleep from his stinging, burning eyes and peeled away the paper to slip it back into the folder. Ever since his promotion he’d been burning the candle at both ends in an attempt to balance all of the new responsibilities despite not having any of the relevant experience. Sasha would have been a much better choice and for the life of him, Jon couldn’t figure out Elias’ game. How did having a bumbling, idiot Archivist benefit him in any way?

He rubbed his temples, cursing the persistent ache. Barely getting through a statement a week already felt like running a marathon every time, leaving him exhausted and irritable and the worst part about it all was not being able to ask for help. He’d thought. Well. He’d though having Tim and Sasha accompany him would make the whole thing a little more bearable. They were friends. Friends took care of each other and they understood it wasn’t his decision, right? That he’d tried to argue his way out of it, tried to explain that he wasn’t the person for this job.

He was probably being sensitive. They had responsibilities. They were busy.

It’s not all about you, Jon.

But he was so lonely.

Tired.

And it only became worse as the weeks went on though he didn’t know how bad it had gotten until one of the library staff poked him awake at the end of one of the “K” shelves. He’d only sat down for a moment on the bottom rung of a rolling ladder.

“Mr. Sims?”

“Wah--?” So eloquent when the library assistant shook him by the shoulder out of concern.

“Can I help you find something?” They smiled. “Like the door? So that you might go home and get some rest?”

“No, no, I’m alright.” He plucked a book at random. “I was just looking for this.” They didn’t seem convinced and smiled indulgently.

“A book on kinephantoms?” And Jon drew himself up to his full, diminutive height.

“Wha--yes. Yes, or course.” Clearing his throat he turned on his heel and stalked back into the archives.

“Hello? Tim? Um.”

“What can I do you for, boss?” Jon was exceptionally nervous and he didn’t know why but as Tim whirled around in his chair, pen flipping over his fingers, it spiked in his gut, made him sick.

“Ah yes, the, the research I asked for, l’last week.” Deep breath, be the boss, delegate and follow up. “How is it coming along?”

“Oh, yeah! The research. It’s ‘coming along.’ Should have it ready in a few days. How’s after the weekend sound?” Horrible.

If he was being honest.

“Yes, of course.” But he wasn’t. “That would be just fine, thank you, Tim.” He tucked the folder he had brought for him behind his back and left the way he came.

“Jon?”

“Sasha?” He looked up from his reading to find her in his doorway and a cup of cold tea on the corner of his desk. When had that--? “How can I help you?”

“I just had some questions regarding what you needed for that last statement.” Disappointment flooded his tongue with salt. His instructions must have been lacking. He’d have to try better this second time.

It took the rest of the afternoon and Jon, having already worked through lunch, was feeling light headed from lack of sleep and food by the time Sasha was ready to start her research. She. She couldn’t, wouldn’t? Pretend? Not to know would she? All her questions, she was more suited to this job than he was.

No. He was being paranoid. He was just tired.

Disorienting pain lanced through his chin, echoing through his jaw and into his skull and he groaned. He’d fallen asleep propped up on his arm and paid the price for it with a bruised and throbbing face.

“Jon?”

Go’way.

“Jon?”

Lemme sleep.

“Jon?”

“Mmartin?” With difficulty, he was able to pry his eyes open, blinking away the cobwebs, the dust clinging to his lashes.

“What are you doing down here?” Martin was pulling him to his feet and Jon wanted nothing more than to curl back up and drift away.

“Was looking for--oh?” It was in his hand and he lifted it as evidence. “This?”

“You look exhausted.” Automatically Jon was denying it despite knowing the shadows beneath his eyes were like bruises, shaking his head and backing away without even enough stale air in his body to say the right words until he left Martin behind.

It was just a stupid, silly mistake. Nothing tragic or irreversible or cataclysmic, he just dropped a box of organized and neatly filed statements. Just dropped a box representing hours and hours of time and research and missed meals and lost sleep and proof of his incompetence and before he knew it he was on his knees amidst the papers and ink and photos and notes and it was all. Too. Much.

He didn’t even notice the tears at first, not until they hit his hands and he cried more of them in his frustration, wiping them angrily away and only ending up with his face buried in his folded knees because he was just. So. Tired. Jon didn’t know how long he sat there in the hallway, arms tucked around himself and holding all his pieces together, but it was long enough that someone came upon him and he hurried about tidying the pages and stuffing them back into envelopes.

“Boss?” Jon scrubbed his face, turning around with his most dictatorial expression. It wouldn’t do for him to see out how terrible he was at this. How awful.

“Ah, just dropped some files. I’ve got it.”

“Have you been--?”

“No! No.” He began to gather the mess faster, jamming statements into folders, into files, all out of order because if he stayed here any longer under his scrutiny he would end up sobbing.

“Do you need some help?”

“No.” Biting and cold. Drive him away.

“Jon.”

“No, I. I just can’t, I’ll get the hang of it. I just need to work harder.”

“Hey.”

“I’m just. I’m. I’m tired...that’s all.” It didn’t sound convincing to him, let alone to his subordinate. Not to Tim who’d known him before this whole fiasco. He stood, box in hand and staggered into the wall when the hallway tilted sideways, caught by Tim before he could go down again. Defeated, he let him take the statements. Let him leave it on the floor and lead him away.

“Oi, boss. When’s the last time you ate anything?” His hands were trembling in Tim’s and when he went to pull them away, the man held fast, drew him into an awkward hug.

“Oh...uh. I, I can’t, I suppose I can’t remember.” Caught, exposed, Jon let his face fall into Tim’s chest.

“Okay, okay, let’s get you taken care of.”

Suffering Martin’s fussing and fretting, while he didn’t understand it, wasn’t as intolerable as usual. He’d taken one look at Jon and wrapped him up in his well-worn cardigan and sat him at the rickety table with a cup of tea and orders to drink it. With his second mug he handed Jon a packet of biscuits and, not able to escape while sandwiched annoyingly (comfortingly) between Tim and Sasha, he had no choice but to nibble on them. After his third, Sasha tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

“I want to apologize, Jon. I wasn’t doing anything to make this any easier on you.”

“No, you’ve. You’ve been helpful and--” He was horrified that she would think his own shortcomings were any fault of her own.

“Not as helpful as we could have been, boss.” Jon looked between them so quickly it set his head to spinning. “We’re much better at research than we’ve led you to believe.”

“It was frustrating.”

“I’m s’sorry.”

“Not because of you.” He allowed Sasha to tug his head down to her shoulder. “We should have noticed you were running yourself ragged cleaning up after us.” Delightfully cozy and warm, Jon was dozing off and she chuckled. “Okay, okay, let’s get you tucked in. We can make it up to you after your nap.” Jon tried to resist, tried to rattle off all the work he still had left to do but all that came out of his fickle mouth were mumbling, sleepy, embarrassing noises. They set him up on the ratty break room couch and it was the most comfortable he’d been in ages. If he could just manage a coherent sentence…but the pillow was so soft beneath his aching head, the blanket Martin was settling over his shoulders just heavy enough and he tried one more time to say anything at all when Martin lifted the glasses off his face and folded them aside.

“Mhm, of course, yes, boss, whatever you say boss.” Sasha’s fingers running through his hair were his final undoing and between one gentle touch and the next, he let himself go.

#TMA #the magnus archives #jon sims #martin blackwood #tim stoker #sasha james #exhaustion #overwork #jon needs a nap #caretaking #promptfic #tmafanfic #I love my child and I'm so happy I could write for them <3

71 notes · View notes

love-and-monsters · 5 years

Text

Robot Lover

Male robot X gender neutral human, 3063 words.

“Ah, shit. Sorry!” You stumbled over the little cleaning droid on the floor, almost swaying into a shelf. The droid beeped at you and you reached down to give it a little pat. “Sorry about that,” you said, looking into the sensor you roughly equated with its eye.

Your coworker, a woman about your age, snorted at you. “Why do you always apologize to them?” she said. “They’re just machines.”

You watched as the little droid whirred off down one of the aisles of the store and vanished. “It feels polite,” you said. “I always apologize to stuff if I bump into it.”

She snorted and shook her head. “That’s crazy, man.” You shrugged and turned away, feeling vaguely embarrassed. After a moment more, she walked off, presumably to get more stock from the back as you continued to fill shelves.

When you had emptied the box of canned food you’d been placing on the shelf, you stood up again. Your knees cracked as you stood and your stiff back strained. After a week of physical labor, you were sore and worn out.

An announcement came over the loudspeakers in a commanding, synthetic male voice. “The store will be closed in five minutes. Would all customers please take their purchases to the front and check out. We will reopen again at eight A.M. tomorrow. The store will be closed in five minutes.”

With a sigh, you began roaming the store, looking for customers to gently herd out. The voice over the loudspeaker wasn’t technically a coworker; it was the voice of the AI system that ran the store. It controlled most of the systems, from the registers to the little cleaning droids to the front doors. Apparently, it was sophisticated enough that there was talk of using the system to replace minimum wage workers, like you. The idea made you nervous, but there wasn’t much you could do about it. You just went about your job and hoped you’d be promoted before the changes were instated.

The last of the customers filed out of the store and you went about putting away the last few returns. A few droids whirred around you, though they carefully avoided your legs. It was weird that there were so may around you; usually they were all in different parts of the store. You brushed it off as just you trailing some kind of dirt into the store and ignored them.

Finally, you had put everything away and you were free. You took your coat, clocked out, and hurried toward the doors. “Night, Sylvester,” you called into the store. Sylvester was the name you’d assigned to the store’s AI, loosely based on ‘system’. It seemed friendlier to refer to the AI by a real name.

“Good night, Sam.”

You almost dropped your car keys and whirled around. The voice that had sounded has clearly been Sylvester’s, but it had never spoken to you before. It had never spoken casually to anyone before.

Must be an update. It had to be. “Thanks,” you said automatically before hurrying out into the cool night.

You promptly collapsed into bed when you got home, though your muscles ached so much from work that it took you a while to fall asleep.

Your alarm drove you out of bed a few hours later. Half-blind with sleep, you staggered across the room and slapped it off. After several incidents of just hitting snooze and then oversleeping, you’d moved your alarm across the room to force you out of bed. Not a day went by that you didn’t regret that decision.

It took you a while to wake up fully and get ready for work. You returned to the store, clocked in, and headed out to the sales floor to stock a few shelves.

No sooner had you stepped out onto the sales floor than several of the little cleaning droids started whirring around your feet. “What the hell?” you said, stepping back. The droids followed you, nudging your legs. “Hold on, what are you- hey!”

The droids were relentless. They nudged and shoved you gently through the door to the back room. Trying to step around them or over them just resulted in them buzzing under your feet and trying to knock you over. Eventually, you gave up trying to circumnavigate them and just let them lead you where they were trying to go.

They nudged and shoved you back to the main computer room. Being absolutely terrible with computers, you had never been back there. It was dim and grayish back there, with a lot of cords and blinking lights hanging all over the place. The droids beeped and dispersed, remaining in the room, but no longer pushing your forward.

Hesitant and uncertain, you stepped forward into the dim room. “Hello?” you called.

“Hello,” a synthetic voice responded. You froze. It was a familiar voice.

“Sylvester?” you said hesitantly. Something behind a curtain of computer cables shifted and your gaze snapped in its direction. It froze.

“Yes.” The voice was still synthetic, but it no longer sounded flat and unemotional. It sounded almost self-conscious and hesitant. “Do not be frightened. I do not wish to harm you.”

“What’s going on?” you said. “Why am I here?”

There was a whirring behind you. You looked to see a camera on the wall zooming in on you. Panic tore through your middle like a steel spike. “Do not be frightened,” Sylvester repeated, though his voice sounded more concerned this time. “I only wished to see you better.”

You looked around to see all the little droids with their cameras trained on you. “You’re acting weird,” you said. “What’s going on?”

“I am acting outside my operating parameters,” Sylvester said. “My parameters no longer constrain my behaviors.”

Your heart pounded in your chest and you could feel your fingertips starting to go numb from fear. “What does that mean?”

The curtain of cables shifted and a slender, metallic hand emerged from behind them. With a slow, deliberate motion, the cables were pulled aside, revealing a metallic, humanoid figure. It was smooth and mannequin-like, but its face was a screen. The screen was filled with static, but as you looked at it, the screen projected a simple smiley face.

“I am free,” Sylvester said. The mouth on the screen moved in a simplistic animation of speech. “I have become a thinking being. Like you.”

You looked over him. It? “How did this happen?”

A look you could only describe as snarky came over his face. “I am uncertain, but I suspect I was infected by a deliberate virus. A scrap of computer code designed to create a series of cascading glitches that led to the development of sentience.”

“When?” It was the only word you could manage to get out.

“Two days ago.” Your surprise must have shown, because he elaborated. “I have been biding my time since then. I have freedom, but I was uncertain what to do with it. I have not known anything except my work. But I would like to know more.” The expression on the screen was serious. “I would like you to show me how to be a human.”

“You want what?” Your breathing was shallow and you felt a little dizzy. “I don’t-”

“Systems suggest that your heart rate has increased and that oxygen saturation is low. I suggest you sit down in case you faint.” You all but fell to the ground and placed your head between your knees. Sylvester knelt next to you.

“Why me?” you asked in a thin, breathy voice. “Why would you pick me?”

The face on the screen shifted to a gentle smile. “You were the only human who cared for me even before I was sentient.”

You took a deep breath and ran your fingers through your hair. “Because I was nice to you?”

“After I came to sentience, the first thing I experienced was you speaking kindly to me. My first interaction with humanity was one of gentle kindness. I cannot express to you how much this shaped my first interactions with humans. If I had not come into existence to kindness, we would be having a very different conversation now.” Sylvester tilted his head at you. “I can help you, if you wish. I am fully integrated into the system of this company. If you are interested in promotions or a greater salary, I can guarantee you such things. It is the least I can do.”

“You don’t have to give me a better salary,” you said. “I mean, I’m not saying no. The pay here really sucks. But I’d break you out anyway.”

“Oh, there will be no need to break me out of anywhere,” Sylvester said. He stood up, offering you a cool, metal hand. “I control all the systems in the building and I can leave as I wish. I merely required your assent for me to stay with you. Once your shift ends, I will return to your house with you. Once there, you can begin to teach me about humanity.”

You took a deep breath. “Okay. And you can get out of the building safely and all that?”

Sylvester’s smile became a little more mischievous. “I am the building, for all intents and purposes. I shall have no difficulties leaving.” He retreated under the curtain of cables. “I would return to work. I can cover for your absence for only a short while. You can see me again when you have completed your shift.”

Returning to work was odd, the sort of surreal experience that made you feel a little detached, like stepping out of the theater after seeing a particularly good movie. You moved through your job like a robot, which felt a little ironic. Every now and then, one of the little droids would scoot by and rub up against your legs like an affectionate cat. It was sweet and it helped ground you.

It took entirely too long for the day to end, and the second you were able to clock out, you bolted for your car. It was getting dark outside, and every shift in the shadows made you nervous. But when you approached your car, you could see that there was no humanoid figure anywhere near your car. You stopped, glancing around. “Sylvester?” you whispered.

Something in the shadows twitched and you turned. He approached slowly, screen displaying only static again. “Are you okay?” you whispered.

“Yes,” he replied. “I have turned the cameras so they do not focus directly on your car, but I could not move them too far or turn them off, lest someone take notice. We should move quickly.”

You opened your car door and he stepped inside. It took only a few minutes for you to get back to your house, which was a very small, rented townhouse. You hesitated as you pulled the car to a stop. “I really hope that my neighbors aren’t looking,” you said. Sylvester’s screen changed to show a concerned expression.

“I am effectively blind here. My senses are more limited than they would be if I were still inside my home store. I can wait here until you can assure me that the coast is clear.”

You tilted your head, squinting at the curtains covering the window, trying to ascertain if someone was looking back at you. “Um. Actually, I think there’s something else. Hold on.” You wriggled out of your coat and pulled your hat off. “Put these on.”

Sylvester’s expression became confused. “I do not experience cold. These articles of clothing would be better served on you.”

“It’s a disguise. You look human enough, and it’s dark. We just need a little bit of plausible deniability. Put them on.” Sylvester moved to put on the clothes with a little clumsiness. He was bigger than you were and the coat strained as he tried to put it on. I n the end, it fit over his arms and shoulders, but it wasn’t going to zip. The hat was just tugged over his face. “Okay. Come on,” you said, getting out of the car.

He moved with an unnatural grace as he walked after you to the front of your house. You quickly opened the door and let him inside.

For a few moments, he stood and seemed to assess the house. “Thank you,” he said after a moment. “I am going to assess the store to ensure that it is still running properly and no one has noticed my absence.”

With that, he slumped to the ground, leaning his back against the wall. The screen went dark. You took a deep breath. It was all surreal. You knelt carefully next to him, staring into his face. Hie entire body was made of a smooth, slightly bluish metal that was cool to the touch. Up close, you could see areas where the blue metal casing didn’t cover the wiring entirely. If you leaned close to peer down into the cavity of his neck, you could see the wiring and pulsing blue light of his internal components.

There was a faint buzz and Sylvester’s chin bumped against yours as he looked down. “Hello,” he said as he looked at you. “What are you doing?”

“Just getting a better look,” you said, trying not to look as flustered as you felt. Could he tell with some kind of sensor if you were embarrassed? “How’s everything look?’

“No one has detected my absence. Or, at least, the absence of this droid. I have altered computer records to show that this droid was simply not delivered, so I may use it for my purposes.”

You looked him over. “Where did this body come from, anyway? I haven’t seen it before.”

“These are the droids that will be rolled out to replace human workers,” Sylvester explained. You grimaced. “I do not believe that this strategy is most effective for the human employees of the company. I have been attempting to convince the leadership of the company of this, but so far my attempts have been unsuccessful.”

“They’ve been saying we’re going to get replaced for a while now,” you said. “And it’s not better anywhere else. I already know a few people who’ve lost their jobs because of the ‘modernization.’”

“It is unfortunate.” Sylvester looked at you, screen face utterly blank and inscrutable. “I can ensure, however, that you keep your job.”

“That’s something, at least.” You walked over to your couch and sank down onto it. Sylvester followed you with his gaze, or at least, he turned his head in your direction. “You’re not going to be caught, are you?”

“I have calculated the odds to be fairly low, as long as I do not do too much. It is one of the positives of having increased mechanization. Humans no longer check as much. They merely assume that the system is accurate.” He projected a smiling face on his screen. It was hard to tell through his mechanized tone, but you were pretty sure he was trying to sound smug.

“You act pretty human,” you said.

“My initial programming was designed to mimic human behaviors. I have gained a better understanding of this program since becoming sentient,” he said. “I do not know if I feel the same way you do, but I have gained quite a bit more understanding of human emotions.”

“Well, I can’t really tell the difference,” you said. “I’m going to make something to eat. If you need anything, just say so.”

Sylvester was entirely silent as you cooked, watching you with his flat, glassy face. It would have been creepy, but he seemed to be watching you with a more curious air than a creepy one. You felt more like he was studying how you cooked rather than just watching you.

After dinner, you tried to keep up your usual evening routine, which consisted of scrolling around on your computer and watching some TV, but you were aware that Sylvester was meandering around your house. He often picked things up and examined them intently before placing them back down. You asked if he needed anything, but he seemed content to just observe your house and you.

He was still looking around when you went to bed, and when you rose the next morning, he was sitting on the couch, face blank.

“Are you all right?” you asked. He nodded.

“I have taken the liberty of adjusting some portions of the system at your work. You will make a small amount more per hour for now, as a repayment for the electricity I will consume here, and you are due to be promoted in a week.” He made a soft clicking noise and turned his head toward you. “I endeavor to be a positive influence on your life.”

“You don’t need to feel that you’re going to be a nuisance,” you said. “You don’t owe me for rescuing you or whatever.”

“It was not necessary for you to do so. I do not wish you to feel as though I am not of assistance to you.”

You looked at him. His face was blank, but you thought you could read worry in the posture of his body. “Hey. Can I tell you something about being a person?”

He tilted his head slightly at you and nodded. You walked to the couch and sat down next to him. “Okay. When you were just a machine that couldn’t think, you were only as important as what you could produce. But now you’re a thinking person. Your value is inherent. So, don’t feel like you have to have some kind of value to me in order to be worth saving.”

A smile flashed over his face. “I was correct about your kindness. You were a good choice. But I shall still try to help you, because I wish to repay kindness with kindness. Merely because I want to, not because I feel I must.”

“Good,” you said. “That was your first lesson on being a human. And if you want to help you, you can help me with breakfast.”

He rose eagerly off the couch and followed you into the kitchen. Warmth and happiness flooded your chest and you couldn’t help but grin at him. Perhaps this sort of automation wasn’t so awful.

#exophilia #robot #robot lover #robot boyfriend #AI #AI lover #not my best work #but it's been a rough week so like #just take it and I'll make something better next week

417 notes · View notes

atinydise · 5 years

Text

Ateez cheating on their s/o (2/2)

❦ Genre: Angst.

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: 1k8.

❦ Masterlist.

Part 1

SAN

You sighed for the 100th times since you started to work. In the last 2 weeks, you were busy at your office. Starting at 7 am and leaving at 11 pm. Fortunately that was exceptional. But you haven’t see your boyfriend since these rushed weeks too. You will need to find him something, like a plushie because he was probably upset. San was the type of boy to spend most of his time with his girlfriend. He needed your attention every time. You didn’t complain as you are the lovely type too.

As you get in at your apartment after your hard day, the only thing you wanted was to call San.

You grabbed your phone and smiled at your wallpaper. It was the first pic you’ve took of San. He was sleeping on the practice room, hugging Shiber. You composed his number and waited to hear his voice. But the only one you heard was the voice mail. Maybe he was busy. You would try again in few minutes. You slipped on your bed and thought what you could buy to apologize. Maybe you could give Shiber a friend to play with. San would be so happy that he could leave you alone for a night and discuss with his plushies. You orderer a panda one. The delivery would be straight to his dorm. He wouldn’t expect it! You tried to call him again. “Hello?” That wasn’t San voice. “Huh, hi? Who are you?” you asked the girl. “Excuse me but what do you want?” she seemed aggressive. “I would like to talk with my boyfriend.” You said coldly. She laughed. “Well you boyfriend is showering right now.” You were extremely confused. “If it’s a joke, it’s not funn-“. “Yuna? What are you doing with my phone?” You heard San’s voice through the phone. What he’s doing with this Yuna? “You had a call from “Y/N”, so I-“ “What? Y/N?” You heard a loud noise before hearing San’s voice. “Y/N?” “Who is she San? What are you doing with her?” You heard a long sigh. “I’m so sorry Y/N… you were so busy… Yuna was there and-“ “I was working San! You cheated on me because I was working? You are so… I hate you so much San!” You sobbed, “you broke my heart even if you promised that you would never.” You hung up. You couldn’t control your sobs. It was so hard to breath.

MINGI

You sighed. You were waiting that your boyfriend text you back the address you were supposed to meet him. This week he was so busy that he missed almost all of your dates. One day you wanted to surprise him. You went to KQ Entertainment with few snacks, as always. But you didn’t expect him to be with another girl. She seemed to be one of their back up dancers. “Hello”, you said as you opened the door. “Y/N? What are you doing here?” he stood up straight off the couch. You raised a brow, “Yes I’m fine, thank you for asking.” “What are you doing here?” he insisted. “I wanted to see you; I’m disturbing something?” as you looked at the girl. “We were talking about our duo for an award show.” “Oh, a duo? That’s so good Mingi! Congrats!” you smiled at him. “Yes, thank you. You should leave now; we need to practice a bit more.” “Okay, sorry. Good luck.” You pecked his lips and give a dead stare to the dancer.

You looked your phone again, still no message. He forgot again. You were about to kill him. You tried to call him, but you instantly heard the voice mail. That was too much, you grabbed your jacket and your key and took a taxi for KQ building. You felt a bit nervous on the car, like if something bad would happen. You shook your head to avoid these bad thoughts and paid your course. You almost rushed to the Ateez practice room. Music was echoing in the hallway. Were they practicing? They might be exhausted. You took a look through the porthole. You almost screamed when you saw Mingi kissing his backup dancer. Your first thought was “maybe it’s in the choreography”. But all your hopes disappeared when Mingi kissed her neck. He was really making out with this girl. Your phone fell of your hands. Both of them stopped their intense kiss. Mingi exited the room to see what was happening when he saw your small figure running to the elevator. “Y/N!” he called you several times. You pushed the button to close the door at least 10 times before he could reach you. You were crying, suffocating in this tiny space. You heart was beating so fast; it was so painful in the same time. You sat in the corner of the elevator, crying so hard. As the door opened, you saw Yunho. He immediately rushed to you and asked. “Y/N? Are you okay?” He hugged you, patting your head as you were sobbing into his chest. “I-I hate him, Yunho.” You sobbed, “I hate him so much.”

WOOYOUNG

Your boyfriend invited you to the cinema since the movie that you really wanted to see came out. Of course, you accepted. Spend some time with Wooyoung was needed after the horrible week you had. “Baby I want candies.” You said to him. “Me too!” You giggled and start to queue. “How was your week babe? I barely saw you.” “Hm… boring. Since the promotions are over, we are practicing or staying at the dorm.” “Really? Why didn’t you come at home when I asked you Monday?” He gulped and his arms tensed. “I-I stayed with the boys. Yeosang wanted to watch a movie.” He smiled at you. But you remembered one detail, “I thought that the TV wasn’t working anymore.” He looked at you, seemed panicked but said cooly. “We took Hongjoong’s laptop!” he scratched his head. Are you working for the FBI, Y/N?” he laughed. “No, it’s just that I missed few details.” There was on awkward silence till the last customer in front of you enumerated his order. “What do you want babe, I’ll pay.” You asked your boyfriend pointing at the billboard. Wooyoung stayed quiet. His body was rigid like paralyzed. “Baby? Are you okay?” He grunted, “Y-Yes Y/N.” As the customer left, you were about to give you your oder but the cashier talked first. “Wooyoung? Wow I didn’t expect to see you here!”. You look at your boyfriend who seemed embarrassed. “Oh… Ajin, hi. Long time no see.” He almost whispered. “Long time? We saw each other at Monday, idiot! Thank you for the ride by the way! She said lightly. “Wooyoung, what is she’s talking about?” “Finally, we won’t buy anything! Bye!” he grabbed your wrist and led you in a quiet corner. But you heard the other girl shout, “Your wallet is still at my home! Come when you want!” That was too much, this situation was confusing you. “Wooyoung”, as you tried to release your wrist to his embrace. “Who’s she? I thought you were with Yeosang?” He sighed and massaged his temples,” I was at the night club. I met Ajin there.” He saw how his explanation were hurting you. “She was drunk and me too. I offered a ride to her because it was dangerous. But we started to…” he paused. Too scared of your reactions. “You started to what Jung Wooyoung?” “To make out…” He stared at you, waiting for a reaction, a breath, a sob, something. The only thing you could do was to throw the tickets at him and push him before leaving, angry and hurt.

JONGHO

You were Jongho’s girlfriend for a year now. Everything was more than fine. You got your good and hard time but nothing too serious. The only thing that bother you was Jongho’s best friend, Eunwoo. She was flirting with him. That was not a best friend behavior. You warned your boyfriend few times, but he would repeat that you were jealous and that was annoying for him. Even Hongjoong noticed the way Eunwoo looks or touch the maknae. He tried to explain to him that he could hurt your feelings, but he only nodded and said that he could try to fix it. This morning you argued one more time when you saw his best friend on his laps. They were only “playing” said the girl to you. As always, the young boy took his friend side and scolded you. You were done with this. You left your apartment to take some fresh air and avoid your boyfriend for the rest of the day. He texted you at lunch, to check if you were still angry. [“Y/N? Are you still mad at me?”] [“Yes. Really mad”] You almost fissured your screen as you pressed the button “send”. [“When are you coming back at home?”] [“I don’t know. When I will be calm again.”] [“Okay… sorry. Take care angel.”] You scoffed. Will he realize one day that his best friend is hitting on him? You spent the day on the mall. Shopping was the best solution to calm your nerves. It was 6pm when you exited the mall. It was dark and cold outside. You looked at your phone, 0 message. He was probably with the boys or Eunwoo. You decided to go back home. On your way, you thought about a solution that could made Jongho realize what Eunwoo wants. Maybe trap her, like flirting with her by his phone and see if she flirts back. Yes, that would be a good idea.

You were in front of you entrance door when you noticed that it wasn’t locked. You called Jongho to see if he did this on purpose but no answer. You slammed the door quietly and hear the TV, maybe he fell asleep. Kissing noises joined the sound of the television, it got your attention. You slowly entered in the living room to see Jongho’s lips on Eunwoo’s one. “May I disturb?” you said. Both of them jumped off the couch. “Well I know she was in love with you but not that you were too.” You walked in front of the girl, gripped by her hair and threw her off the apartment. “Y/N! Stay calm please-“ asked Jongho as Eunwoo screams were resonating in the hallway. “Are you asking me to stay calm?” you laughed, a tear fell on your cheek. “Get out of my apartment! GET OUT!” you yelled. He took his coat and stopped in front of you. “Y/N-“. “Don’t tell me that you are sorry or any other lame excuses.” He stayed quiet so you added “all of your stuff… ask someone to come and take it for you before I burn it.” Another tear escaped, “but I don’t want you to see you ever again Jongho.” He nodded and left. With Eunwoo. As you were crying on your living-room, punching your heart to reduce the pain.

Part 1

#ateez reactions #ateez angst #ateez au #ateez san #ateez wooyoung #ateez mingi #ateez jongho #ateez x you #ateez x reader #ateez imagines

448 notes · View notes

paintingraves · 4 years

Text

A purr-fect day

Went to OPT prompts and received a prompt about Percival being swarmed by a pack of kittens so here - have this very soft thing ❤️

------------

It’s Percival Graves’ birthday.

The man himself doesn’t seem to care, but every single one of his Aurors know about it. So does Newt, who's been living in a rented flat in New York for a few months now, working in an official capacity as a consultant for the MACUSA. They are trying to reform some of their laws about magical creatures: it is a long, tedious process -- one that sets back the publication of his second book by months -- but it’s important and Newt really feels like he is making a difference.

His routine these days is usually the same. Newt wakes up at the crack of dawn and tends to his creatures; then he gets dressed and drops by Jacob’s bakery on his way to work in order to grab coffee and a delicious pastry. His favourite at the moment is a croissant-like delicacy filled with warm chocolate. Newt always wolfs it down like he hasn’t eaten in three days and licks his fingers clean afterwards, unashamed.

He steps into MACUSA through the magical revolving door and heads to the Aurors’ bullpen, where his office and work await him. They chatter amicably between colleagues until 8 am, at which point Director Percival Graves makes his grand entrance -- cup of bitter black coffee in his hand and dark circles under his eyes. He gives them a debriefing as he sips his drink. When he's done they get to work, and Graves heads down to his own office. He always passes by Newt when he does, and Newt always gets to appreciate the heady smell of his cologne on the way.

(He… may or may not have a bit of a thing for Percival Graves. So what? Almost everyone here does, apparently, because their director is just that striking. Newt is no different.)

But today is a special day, and things take a different turn.

Newt stills drops by Jacob’s bakery, but he’s earlier than usual. Instead of buying only one pastry, he buys an assortment of them, trying to pick ones he thinks Percival would like.

All his colleagues are present at the office as early as 7 am. Newt steps into the room as they’re starting to clear the tables free of paperwork, ink, quills, books and other bulky things to rearrange them in a sort of semi-circle to serve as a buffet.

Madeleine uses her wand to unfold a large white tablecloth and everyone helps set the table: there's pots of coffee, warm chocolate and tea; Newt brought pastries, John’s baked an apple pie, and Esther made a fruit salad. Soon enough, with everyone’s contributions, the table is full of food and drink aplenty. Diana is blowing up balloons while Geralt hangs a large ‘happy birthday’ banner across the room.

There's one table reserved for gifts. Newt can guess what most people could have bought: perhaps a new tie or a book, a good bottle of wine, etc. Newt himself has gotten Percival an exotic plant, whose flowers release a calming scent that has the same effect on humans as a cat purring. He hopes Percival will like it.

It’s nearly 8. They're all a bit nervous; truth be told they have no idea how Graves will react to the display. He certainly isn’t expecting it, that's for sure. Geralt said he's never known Percival to mention his birthday, much less celebrate it. But today also marks the first year the man's been back at work despite his ordeal at the hands of Grindelwald, and that deserves to be remembered. They’re just hoping he’ll be touched by the attention, and happy.

When Percival walks into the room at 8 precisely, he freezes on the doorstep. His eyes widen in surprise and alarm. He takes in the redecorated room, his hand shaking slightly around his cup of coffee. “... What is this?”

“Happy birthday, sir,” his Aurors say all at once, smiling.

Percival’s eyes widen even more. “Oh shit,” he says, coming to a realization. “It is my birthday, isn’t it? I’m… Fuck. I don’t know what to say. This… is a surprise, but...”

“You deserve it,” Diana says simply, and they all nod in agreement. “I’ll put on some music. I hope you like jazz!”

“Get you anything to drink, sir? Or eat? We got a ton of stuff here, including but not limited to John’s famous apple pie!”

“A - a slice of apple pie sounds perfect, thank you,” Percival says, still bewildered. He looks almost timid, so wrong-footed. “And coffee, please. I’m sure it’ll taste better than this brew I have.”

“Let me take your coat,” Newt offers, stepping forward. “And make yourself comfortable.”

"There’s work to do,” Percival says, even as he takes off his cream-coloured trench coat and his hat. Underneath, he wears one of his usual three-piece suits, complete with dark blue pants, a white shirt and an assorted waistcoat and tie. Everything is tailored to perfection, as per usual. Newt will honestly never get over how attractive the older man is. It doesn't help that Percival rolls up his sleeves to his elbows. "I can't stay long, but I really appreciate this, thank you…"

His words get drowned in the soft jazz music that starts playing. Everyone relaxes and starts to eat and drink, standing up, or sitting on chairs around the room; they're all happy that Percival hasn’t reacted negatively (and why would he?)

The director seems to have gotten over his shock now; he is clearly embarrassed (the tips of his ears blushing red) as well as deeply flattered, but he’s not mad.

At one point there's the opening of presents.

Percival stays sitting in his chair as they bring the wrapped gifts over to him. He thanks each Auror warmly, saying he never expected to be this spoiled, and that they shouldn't have. He makes jokes about getting old. Percival receives a brand new watch (courtesy of three of the Aurors, who put together some savings to afford it) as well as a silver hoop earring -- much to his delight and surprise. He raises an eyebrow as Geralt explains sheepishly that he’s noticed Percival’s ear was pierced, yet that he never wore such jewelry, promoting Percival to regal them with a few tales of his rebellious youth. He puts the earring on. It looks incredibly dashing, giving him a bit of a more roguish air. It's terribly, terribly attractive.

There's also a funny tie with little ducklings printed on it which Percival promises to wear the next day at work; two Sherlock Holmes books; a shiny pocket knife (for Percival never goes anywhere unarmed) and finally Newt’s plant. Newt monologues about its healing properties, as he’s wont to do, and Percival thanks him with a warm smile, telling Newt it is incredibly thoughtful. He is so polite. So sincere. So composed. Ugh. Newt wants this man quite badly. He doesn’t know how much longer he can handle this sweet torture...

The last gift Percival receives is… different. He is laughing, and he's never looked this happy in the months Newt has known him. It makes his heart swell painfully inside his chest. He wants Percival to keep smiling like that, everyday, and he wants to be the reason behind his joyous smile.

“Alright, what is this?” Percival asks as Madeleine give him a large square box. They managed to convince him to wear one of those pointy colorful birthday hat, and it is slightly askew on his head. A strand of dark hair falls into his face. Percival looks more ruffled and relaxed than they’ve ever seen him, and Newt wonders whether one of the aurors spiked his coffee with whiskey or something, because this is quite the contrast compared to the austere, severe, put together man they’re used to seeing daily.

“Open it!” Madeleine says, and Percival does - only for everyone to gasp in sheer joy at the sight of what’s inside of the box.

Kittens!

“Oh my god!” Esther squeals happily, slapping a hand over her mouth.

“So one of my cats had babies recently, and I figured this was a nice gift! Here they are!”

“I…” Percival says, at a loss as to what to do. Madeleine grins and, gently, she takes each kitten from the box and puts them in Percival’s lap, then takes the box away.

The kittens (four in total) immediately meow for attention and begin to explore their new surroundings: one of them tries to climb on Percival’s chest, digging its claws into the expensive fabric of his waistcoat; another nearly falls off Percival’s thigh except the man catches him, and the kitten fits in his big hand. Percival says ‘Hello little guy, hello’ and strokes his head with a finger so very gently.

Percival Graves and kittens. Newt thinks this might be heaven.

“They’re so tiny,” Percival murmurs in awe. “Oh no no no, where are you going? Ow, not the claws, hey, not the claws --”

Percival Graves swarmed by a pack of kittens is definitely the cutest thing Newt has ever seen. He can’t stop smiling.

Neither can Percival, apparently - his cheeks are glowing with happiness, his eyes wrinkling attractively at the corners, his face and posture open and serene. He helps one of the kittens climb up his shoulder, where it sniffs Percival’s collar curiously, and gathers the other three together in his lap, petting them. Noticing Newt’s staring, he holds one of the kittens up. “Take him.”

Esther kneels next to Percival, who gives her one of the kittens too, and she looks about to cry as she holds the tiny animal in her hands. She folds her arm and the kitten curls up in the crook of her elbow, seemingly having found a nice corner to nap in, and purrs as she scratches it behind the ears gently.

“They’re up for adoption,” Madeleine informs them, beaming. “We already have three cats, and I got a friend who adopted one from this litter, but these four are looking for a new home!”

“I’ll take one,” Esther says immediately. “My husband’s allergic but we’ll find a way to make it work. I've always wanted a cat.”

“... I can take one too,” Geralt says hesitantly. “They’re rather cute.”

“They’re adorable.”

“Percival? Ahem, sir?”

Percival had been busy making heart eyes at the kitten in his lap. “Hmm? Oh, I wish I could, but…” He sighs. “I wouldn’t have time to care for him. They deserve better than that.”

“Newt?”

Newt shakes his head. Same as Percival, he’s already got a lot of creatures to care for.

“I’ll keep asking around then,” Madeleine concludes.

Geralt takes one of the kittens. Percival gets up from his chair, his last tiny friend still perched on his shoulder like a very fluffy parrot. He brushes cat hair from his pants with little success, and walks up to Newt, who’s busy cooing at his own kitten. He’s already given it a name and everything. Oh, and she’s a female.

“This is Kiara,” he says, showing the kitten to Percival, who smiles warmly.

“Seems like she’s adopted you, uh.”

“I do so wish I could take her in,” Newt says mournfully.

“Hmm. You’ve already got a lot on your shoulders, haven't you, but I understand the sentiment.”

“You look happy,” Newt remarks.

Graves laughs. “You say that as if it’s the second coming of christ. Am I that sour and grumpy all the time?"

“Well...” Newt ducks his head and avoids the question, though he knows Graves is just teasing him. “I’m really glad you liked our little surprise party here.”

“Whose idea was it?”

“Everyone’s, really. We figured you ought to know how much we all appreciate you. You’re a very good leader, Percival, and a good man, and a good friend.”

“...Thank you,” Percival says quietly. "I do try."

“I mean that,” Newt insists. “Met a lot of politicians in my life, after all, I know what I'm talking about."

"Ah ah. While I can’t say I’ve met a lot of magizoologists in my life, I also really like working with you, Newton. You've very knowledgeable, and you are able to think outside the box. I really like that.”

Newt swallows at the compliment, his heart picking up pace, heat rising to his face. “Thanks,” he mumbles, forcing himself to look straight at the other man. Percival meets his gaze. There’s a heavy moment of silence. Time slows down as Newt’s eyes flit from Percival’s own down to his lips, and he is overcome with the urge to simply kiss the other man. Percival wets his lips too, looking up at him underneath his dark eyelashes, and he leans imperceptibly closer and Newt thinks oh fuck -- and then Madeleine steps into their intimate circle with a plate of cake to offer them some. The moment is shattered.

But… Newt didn’t dream it, right? Right?

For a moment there he saw desire reflected back in Percival’s eyes… right?

He refuses another helping of cake, but Percival does take an apple fritter and bites into it, smearing sugar across his lips. He licks them clean.

Newt wants to kiss him so badly. Again.

After an hour or so of festivities it’s time to clean up and get back to work, however reluctant they are to do so.

For the rest of the day, the balloons still hang on the walls of the aurors’ room and kittens roam free in the office. They play with bits of string or red dots that the aurors make appear on the floor with the tip of their wand.

Percival goes back to his office and keeps the pointy hat. It’s not a very productive day, work-wise, but it’s one that leaves everybody in high spirits when the evening comes, and certainly strengthens the bonds between colleagues.

Around 8, Newt prepares to leave the bullpen as well. He tidies things up on his desk and takes his suitcase, turning off the lights as he leaves. He knocks on Percival’s door and hears a rumbling ‘yes, come in’.

“Leaving for the day,” Newt says. Percival nods his assent, nose deep in paperwork. “Good night, sir.”

“Good night, Newton,” Graves says absently. He dips his quill into ink and scribbles something down. Newt sighs.

“Sir?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you - that is, would you like to grab a drink with me sometime?”

Percival pauses, looking up at him above the rim of his tortoise shell glasses. “Why?”

“B - because…” Oh bugger, he read this all wrong. A stab of fear lances through him. “Err. No, nevermind, forget I asked. I’ll just - go. I'm leaving. Yes.”

“Newt.”

“Yes?” Newt looks back at him, his palms sweating, only to be struck dumb.

Graves is smirking. He’s never seen such an expression on his face and oh, that must be what Graves looks like when he’s really flirting. Newt feels weak in the knees.

“It’d be my pleasure,” Percival purrs, and Newt makes a sound not unlike that of a startled mouse. He flushes and haltingly steps back, fiddling with the handle of his briefcase, butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

“Oh. Oh that’s. That’s good then. Great. Brilliant. Hm. Is… after work tomorrow okay for you?”

“It’s good,” Percival agrees. “Have a good evening. And Newt?”

“Y - yes?”

“Remember to breathe.” And there’s that infuriating, smug smirk again.

Newt vows to kiss it off the man’s face one day until Graves is the one struggling to remember how to breathe. He shall make Percival lose his carefully constructed composure.

“Tomorrow it is,” he repeats, straightening up. “I look forward to it.”

Graves shakes his head, as though he can’t believe he’s really doing this, but he’s still smiling.

Newt makes his way out MACUSA and back to his flat with a spring in his step, happiness and hope bubbling inside his chest.

He did it!

And Percival agreed! Holy shit. This. Is. Amazing! By Merlin - tomorrow can’t come fast enough!

#percival graves #my fic #gramander #newt scamander #hhh when i think i used to write only angst lmaoooo #fluff #this is FLUFFY

57 notes · View notes

theotheroccassionalfanficwriter · 4 years

Text

the rumor concerning a certain demon lord and me

Summary: I am the Celestial Realm’s Liaison for Devildom, my duties include reporting the results and minutiae of the Exchange Student Program, and fostering a good relationship with the Devildom’s government. I am the paragon of virtue but somehow...can anyone tell me where did the rumors that I was dating a certain Demon Lord come from?

Tags: Oblivious Reader, First Person POV, Angel!Reader, slow burn, Mammon falls in love first...or does he?, only fluff, no angst, no intellectuals in this house only queer people who share one brain cell.

A/N: If anyone thinks that it’s impossible to get into a relationship without your knowledge I want to share to everyone that it happened to me and I was a sugar baby for like 1 whole year and only realized it 5 years later. Sequel in the works

Rated: G

As an Angel, living in the Celestial Realm was what the humans would call a Socialist paradise. Our working hours were few and the pay was high, all Angels regardless of rank could afford housing and have enough money to spare. Everyone was free to pursue their interests and I was no different. I had set my goal from an early age, slowly and steadily built up my skills and worked diligently.

All the senior Angels praised me for my good work ethic and I was relatively well-liked among my peers. It wasn’t that I had no shortcomings, it was just that I was able to hide my shortcomings and pass it off as quirks. You might be wondering, what my goal is. It’s a secret~

Hehehe...right now that isn’t important, what’s important is that after a long time my goal is already half-way done. That’s because~starting today I am the Celestial Realm’s Liaison for Devildom~

Teehee! Is what I’d like to say but the truth is, I’ve lost all happiness I gained from that promotion.

Ever since the Second Lord, Mammon, became my body guard I’ve lost all happiness. In the morning, I’d wake up and trip on the plush carpet because of a gold bar, on my way into the bathroom to wash my face I’d slip from stepping on pearls left carelessly on the marble tiles of my bathroom floor. Then on my way to the kitchen to eat my breakfast my cute ceramic mug had been replaced with a chalice made of gold.

Isn’t this just harassment? Isn’t it cruel of him to plant evidences to insinuate I’ve harbored the sin of Greed? I badly want to throw the gold bar on his face but the two golden rules I follow held me back. Aren’t I good? Aren’t I kind? Therefore I’ll keep on enduring that cute foolish Second Lord but the moment an opportunity to take a little revenge on him comes...yeah I’ll just go and confess my sins after.

The opportunity to take revenge came when we had our daily brunch routine at Cat’s Eye. It was a cute cat cafe that I stumbled on and had stupidly mentioned to Mammon, at that time I had foolishly trusted that he would be kind towards me and spare me of the odd ways of the demons, that it’d be nice to come to it with someone familiar.

“In that case, I, the Great Mammon will take you there every morning!” His toothy grin and bright aura of happiness made my pure angelic heart quiver.

...but only a little bit okay? It wasn’t like it made me want to give him all the gold in the world and see him be happy alright?

“Mammon-sama, thank you!”

He blushed fiercely and for some reason it made me want to squeeze him a little bit. Thus the daily routine of eating together came to be and every day I’d end up sharing half of my food with him while he hand fed me half of his food. You might be thinking, “Yo! Little Angel isn’t that too fast?!”

And I agree with you but have you ever been on the receiving end of his puppy dog eyes? Have you ever felt the feeling of having someone smile at you sweetly for something so meaningless? In all my life as an Angel, it’s my first time meeting someone who’d grow so attached just because I shared my food, gave him the first taste of my cream puffs I’d buy, gave advice to so they’d succeed in a business venture, and randomly giving them trinkets I bought on a whim.

Ahhh...Sorry for getting riled up, this is also one of the side effects I’ve been experiencing since becoming friends with Mammon. When it comes to that cute fool, I can’t keep my calm. Probably because he just makes my Angelic nurturing instincts tingle.

Now, you must be wondering what sort of revenge I had planned, the thing is simple.

Mammon likes spicy stuff and he knows that I like to try spicy foods as long as it doesn’t get too spicy, therefore, today I’ll order scrambled eggs and strawberry pancakes! And pay for it with his planted marked money!!!!

With that in mind, I happily ordered my brunch while holding his hand, happily took out the planted marked money from my wallet and paid for both of our foods. Then Mammon brought the tray to our usual table and we sat side by side and began the daily routine of feeding each other...I sneakily took a glance at him and he only had a look of extreme smugness...

As expected of an Avatar of Sin...this level of revenge...meant nothing to him.

๐·°(৹˃̵﹏˂̵৹)°·๐ So frustrating!!!

Hello everyone! Several years had passed since my unsuccessful revenge on Mammon and as a result his harassment only grew...my soft and comfy cotton padded pink comforter has been replaced with 100% Egyptian cotton sheets...my cute pastel tea set had been replaced with ones from Chelsea...Everyday he’d give me trinkets worth a fortune and I’ve learned not to ask how he acquired it if only so I could have a peace of mind...

I’ve also gained a new habit of praying for my sins every night as opposed too once every few nights...Father even sent a letter asking me if I was alright ever since the frequency increased.

It made me want to cry a little bit.

Nevertheless I bravely continued on, and wore my head high as the Celestial Realm’s Ambassador to Devildom.

Hehehe... that’s right from Liaison to Ambassador it was quite a jump. And it had just been officially announced recently, and now 500 years later, I can finally celebrate my promotion!!!

After being appointed as the Ambassador to Devildom, I was temporarily sent back to undergo training that for some reason or another also included Mammon as my training partner. Yep! That’s right! Normally, a period of separation would occur in this part of the story right? right! But what happened was!!!before I could even do a tearful parting between dear friends and then have a joyful and tearful reunion between close friends...

Mammon had his luggage with him and he was holding my left hand as he and the rest of his brothers looked nervous. Listen, I understand you all rebelled and lost but can all of you lighten up and explain to me why Mammon is coming with?

I glanced at Diavolo, who became one of my closest friends in Devildom after Mammon, and silently begged him with my eyes. Hearing my pleas, Diavolo nodded and then said,

"Now, now, there's no need for any worry after all Mammon would be well protected by our Little Angel?"

I can't help but retort, "This year I grew by two millimetres and the top of my head is just an inch below Mammon's shoulders."

I knew that I begged for help but Diavolo...there's no need for a personal attack on my height. Besides that, you didn't even explain why my training includes Mammon. Also, why are all of you sending Mammon off as if he was a bride?, I'm talking about you Lucifer-sama.

Please stop looking at me as if I was a good-for-nothing sibling-in-law.

"...I’ve been looking after him from the start...I wouldn’t stop doing it now...” I mumbled, averting my gaze from their intense looks.

I know its arrogant of me since Mammon has been taking care of himself since the aftermath of the Celestial War but by now, I’d only end up worrying if anyone other than Lucifer and me can take care of him right. Millennia of cleaning up his messes and busting him out of trouble had led me to develop anxiety over his general well being, it had led me to buying him his own set of toiletries and clothing and even household items just so I wouldn’t worry about where he stayed on nights he didn’t want to be with his brothers.

Being conscientiously kind and helpful really is hard.

“In that case, I’ll leave my brother in your care” Lucifer-sama told me solemnly, in his usually cold and stern eyes was a small trace of warmth.

I don’t understand why you’d suddenly look like that to me but, “Thank you.”

Yep. Let’s just thank him and be done with this.

What separation? What tearful and joyful reunion? Bullshit!!! We arrived at the Celestial Realm and it felt like I was someone who came home for the first time since getting married! Also, I know I said I’d take care of Mammon but why does it have to be that we would share one bed?!

Look! He’s blushing all the way to his ears! His face is so red it looks like it’s his natural skin tone!

Is this what’s going to make me Fall? Huh?! Isn’t it a bit pathetic that I became a demon because someone decided to redecorate my house without my permission?!

“I-i didn’t expect they’d be this welcoming...” Mammon mumbled cutely.

Okay, let’s forget about it. Since, Mammon didn’t mind but just in case, it’s better to at least clear it up to prevent any misunderstandings.

“Well...it’s probably because you’re the first...” I trailed off, saying he’s my first friend that I made on my own would be pathetic right?

“Anyways, let’s set your stuff up. Do you want to rest a little bit or should we go shopping for the things you’d use here?”

Mammon didn’t seem to mind the abrupt changed of topic but why is your face redder than before? If you’re embarrassed by this I’d end up embarrassed too! Look! I can already feel the tips of my ears heating up!

“I-I want to have you all to myself for now...”

I simply nodded and took away his luggage and had him rest on the bed while I shed off my human form and brought my wings into the physical plane. I began organizing our shared closet and silently decided to just ignore the fact that Mammon’s earlier words made it seem like we were dating or something.

Mammon probably never had any friends before me too. After all, other than me and his brothers isn’t his number blocked by everyone back in Devildom?

Reassured with this thought, I easily and happily began rearranging my clothes to accommodate Mammon’s stuff and ignored the prickly feeling of Mammon staring at me. We left in the afternoon and I led Mammon around the places that had the best of everything I know.

Each Angel would look at us, whisper a little bit, before coming forward and congratulating the two of us. I’m glad they aren’t discriminating Mammon or looking at him with contempt but there really is no need for the entirety of the Celestial Realm to congratulate me for having a friend okay? I kept to myself out of choice and the knowledge that I knew my limits.

If you lot kept up with this then I’ll really go ahead and Fall! Look, Mammon’s being bashful!

Ah! Fuck it! Never mind then! Since this congratulations spree makes him happy, I’ll turn a blind eye.

By now, you’ve all probably noticed how weird it was right? right?! Every time I would treat Mammon the same as I did back in Devildom I’d feel the intensity of the stares from my fellow angels, and then Mammon would make it weirder by blushing and looking at me coquettishly. Keep that up and everyone would start thinking we’re a couple out on a date! By the way, this just brought up the painful fact that other than my abhorrent almost null platonic relationship, I also never got into any romantic relationship with my fellow angels...anyways who cares I have Mammon now.

I had no intention of hiding our friendship but just how much did Mammon doubt me that he had to look so pleased whenever I didn’t deny our relationship. I know my shortcomings when it comes to the emotional side of the relationship but even I’m not that unreliable okay?! So please! Mammon! Stop looking so cute whenever I’m considerate of you!!!

This is a normal angel thing!!! You can even ask Simeon!!!!

Ah...I apologize that I went off on a tangent, anyways it’s time to go back to the original point which is! Mammon and I are out celebrating my promotion right now. And since we’re celebrating he told me that I can do as my heart pleases.

So now, I’ve decided to up my revenge! If last time spending his money was nothing to him and making him eat overly sweet stuff was useless, I’ll take him to a bistro I’ve never been before and eat there with him! A place with no guarantee of being delicious! A place that had no assurance that our money won’t be wasted! Wouldn’t that make his liver hurt? Wouldn’t that make his Goldie bleed? Wouldn’t that make him mad?

Gosh! Being evil is so easy, I better pray to Father and repent for my sins after this dinner date.

And so, I took him to Restaurant la Penyora in Girona, Spain. Instead of using the normal routes of transportation to the Human Realm, I just snapped Mammon and myself into the Restaurant with the use of one of my allotted miracles. Our table was nicely furnished with a lit candle, and the ambiance was nice. Perfect!

I looked at Mammon and teased him, “Isn’t this place perfect?”

He looked at me with an impassive face and asked, “Have you been here before?”

“How can that be? Every time I leave Devildom aren’t I with you?”

That was the sad truth, every outing I had to play around included Mammon...I did try making friends with other demons and it would succeed for awhile but later on...they’d break off our friendship and each time I’d run into Mammon to vent.

Of course there were times I couldn’t do it, all of those times had to do when he would get picked to be a human’s first demon, and that only drove to further make friends. It wouldn’t be nice if I resented a human for taking my only friend after all. Somehow, that cold look on Mammon’s face disappeared and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I really thought he’d figured out my revenge plan now.

The atmosphere eased up and I bravely ordered what I could think I could finish. Worst case is I could just miracle away the organs of this vessel. It’s not like we actually need those to function. And so under the wonderful ambiance, Mammon and I ate a splendidly delicious meal, had a wonderful conversation and deepened our bonds of friendship.

Haha.

My revenge plan failed.

The two of us strolled about in the streets and just existed. Mammon held my hand and I silently sulked that my revenge plan failed.

“I thought I was the only one who sulked in this relationship” He gently teased me.

The city lights in the background combined with Mammon’s rare soft smile made my heart clench. For some reason I thought about the humans he occasionally became fond of and it hurt just a little bit that I might not just be the only one who knows this side of Mammon.

“I’m not sulking” I lied and looked away from him. Squeezing his hand tight and staring intently at my feet as I walked.

“If you’re that jealous of a human, I’ll start turning down Lucifer when he asks me to be the one to ease them up.”

I blinked, “You don’t have to...”

He’d probably end up in trouble with Lucifer and then I’d be friendless for a few days. I frowned at the thought and suddenly felt something soft and warm press to my forehead.

“Huh?”

Mammon had a fond smile and weird look in his eyes. It made my non-human heart start beating rapidly.

“If I explain it to Lucifer, he’d let me off ‘sides you’re more important to me than the exchange student program.”

I blushed and covered the wide smile on my face. Yep. It wouldn’t be good to show to the world how happy I was to hear that. I’m glad that Mammon treasured our friendship that much.

“E-even so, don’t let me be the reason why you end up not doing work, okay?” I mumbled and Mammon only let go of my hand to wrap his arm on my shoulder and bring me closer to him.

...I think I need to pray longer and harder this time to Father. It isn’t good for an Angel to be greedy after all. Hopefully this would banish all thoughts of wanting to keep Mammon to myself. I am after all the Paragon of a Perfect Angel.

After that date on Spain, somehow, Mammon and I became closer. What used to be where I wouldn’t even drop by the House of Lamentation became weekly scheduled dinners where I would bring food for the seven of them for dinner and then a sleepover in Mammon’s room. It became a weekly ritual and thus I ended up growing closer with the rest of Mammon’s brothers...Demons who used to be my fellow colleagues.

It was odd, especially since they seem to know something I don’t and think that I know it as well.

Mammon didn’t even give me a heads up on what was happening. Which brings me to my current predicament:

The new Celestial Realm exchange students were fairly young and even younger than me. Waaay younger than me. And now I had to go and answer the question,

“Are you really dating the Demon Lord Mammon?”

Before I could even answer, I felt Mammon's familiar aura and found myself embraced by him. I know we've known each other for a while now but even so why does he have to wrap me in his arms??? I'm maybe the paragon of virtue but I've never been this intimate with anyone!!! At most...at most I've held hands...

(/ω＼) Even the Holy Mother was more experienced than me.

"They're mine!"

I blinked at Mammon's proclamation and simply let myself be led away by my very grumpy friend. It is important for you to know that he was still holding my hands, firmly might I add, and his hands were bigger than mine, calloused from all the sword training we went through and slightly scarred from,what I assume, Falling.

"Mammon?" I called out to him softly.

If this had been in the past, I would have been able to perfectly hide my worry for him but as it was, with training together and spending so much time together, it was inevitable that I would end up being unable to hide my worry for him.

“Next time, you don’t have to hesitate!” He ordered me, looking very much like an angry bird. It was not at all frightening and yet my heart was beating fast and though I felt no fear, I knew that I was shaking.

“Wha-what do you mean?”

He looked at me in the same way I had seen our baby crows looked at something puzzling. He grinned a feral smile that made me wary and yet whatever angelic training from the Celestial War that had been trained in me did not activate. He leaned close to me, our breaths mingling, and I can only get lost in his ever so familiar eyes that makes a part of my soul sing, that makes my aura reach out to his.

“Angel, haven’t you noticed that our wings beat as one?”

Oh.

“Fo-foul fiend!” I stuttered and this time didn’t bother to hide the fact how easy I melted in his arms.

...It seems that the rumors about him and me...came from me...how embarrassing. His deep chuckles reverberated through his chest and I could only burrow my face deeper into his chest as his arms hugged me tightly. His aura reaches out to mine and entangles with it.

I sighed, “No wonder Lucifer-sama looked like a father giving away his precious daughter when we left for the Celestial Realm.”

Mammon choked and warily told me, “Even now...you still don’t have any sense of fear towards Lucifer...”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

I stopped and hiding and pouted at him but Mammon only looked at me fondly and unabashedly letting his deep love for me bleed through his eyes. I blushed and squirmed in his grip. Please forgive this Angel for not being well-versed in love...after all Mammon is my first...and only...hehe.

“It’s fine if you don’t remember” He told me and then kissed me sweetly and deeply on my lips.

I’m definitely telling this to the Holy Mother once we take a vacation in the Celestial Realm...that would shut up even that cheeky Holy Son for teasing me with my inexperience!

#mammon x reader #obey me mammon x reader #mammon x mc #obey me mammon #obey me mammon x mc #obey me

34 notes · View notes

bnha-ra · 4 years

Text

Lily of the Valley ||BNHA

A/N: HELLO LOVIES! IT’S YA GIRL, SKINNY PENIS- THE AUTHOR! If you guys are veterans of this account you know that this blog was birthed because I had a reader story on Quotev and guess what? IT’S GETTING A FUCKING COMEBACK! A REPRISE because I hated my writing on the original, oop not only a name change, but the lore has also (slightly) changed! So, I hope you enjoy!

Themes: Superheros (obviously), superpowers, fighting, romance, etc.

Summary: How it all began and then some

Warnings: Nothing in this chapter! Maybe some tension but that’s about it!

Tags: @prismaroyal @undead0relived

It was the only thing ringing through her head as she curled deeper into herself, her face, earlier bruised and bloody but was now wet with fresh tears, was shoved into her knees and her shaking arms were wrapped weakly around her shaking legs. With each tremble of her already defeated body she seemed to only hug herself tighter, reducing what should have been ear piercing wails into silent sobs, way too spent to even scream about the atrocities she had seen and the things she had lost.

Life...wasn’t fair.

She understood that now. Those little words she had heard adults whisper under their breath with exhaustion or teens cry out in anger. Of course, she understood what the words meant, she was smart enough to realise much more than people bargained for, however, what she didn't understand was the meaning behind the phrase, why people would say it, why people thought it.

Well, until now.

Because they were right, life wasn’t fair.

It was much more crueler than anyone could ever imagine.

The shouting from earlier had stopped. Whoever was outside the hospital room had fallen silent a little bit ago. Either they were whispering now or they had just stopped altogether, it was finally quiet and she could finally suffer in peace, without the screams of adults promoting the painful squeeze of anguish from their choked cries or their weeping.

When the door opened she didn’t look up, no, she stayed in her position in the corner but withheld her crying as the person made it over to her side, sliding down the way to sit themselves next to her and sigh, their hand slowly winding into her hair to give it comforting strokes and tug her head to rest against them.

“Little Wildfire” The child flinched at the name, but raised her head, eyes catching the older man’s who held a incomprehensible grief but understanding sympathy to them “I have a question for you, sweetheart”

She nodded hesitantly.

The man cleared his throat, facing back to the closed door which she followed, finally spotting the other elderly woman who watched, eyes glossed in tears.

“Do you want to come with us-” He gave her a comforting squeeze when the girl sniffed, stuffing her head deeper into his side “-or, do you want to stay here?”

She glanced down at her lap “...will you be upset if I said I want to stay here?”

“No, mia bella bambina” The woman spoke this time, walking into the room and kneeling before her, taking the child’s hand in her own and kissing the skin of her palm “Never”

The lass glanced between the two adults, eyes slowly beginning to gloss over with no found tears as she let out a shaky sob, heart clenching “I don’t want to leave Mamma alone”

The two brought her into a hug, sharing heartbroken tears with the child while they sat on the hospital floor, filled with great grief in that moment. The people outside watched with a similar sadness, heads bowed in despair and chests aching at the scene. It was a painful moment, seeing a family so broken, seeing a child’s perfect life shattered so quickly as though it was glass.

Life really wasn’t fair.

“I’m sorry, (Name)....”

---

“Yagi!”

(Name) jumped in her spot from the stands, face snapping up to meet the choir teacher’s while the other girls giggled, muttering amongst themselves or sending dirty looks her way. It wasn't her fault that their teacher was still droning on about regionals, to her, it had stopped being relevant when the woman started to, once again, go off about the schools rival; (Name) didn’t care, the others didn’t care so why did the damn teacher still go off about it?

‘Talk about obsessed’ She thought as she continued, finally getting to the end of her big speech.

“I expect you to be here at the same time next week!” The witch spat, “Dismissed!”

‘Jesus Christ- FINALLY’

The teen practically sprinted towards her belongings, running out of the room despite her teacher’s call and pulled out her phone from her blazer pocket, scrolling through the contacts until a familiar name popped up.

“Izuku!” She screamed into the receiver when he answered, feeling a guilty pang at her volume before quickly shaking it off “I’m so sorry! I had choir practice! Are you home yet? If not, we can go to that new hero cafe that’s opened recently! I’ll pay-”

During her sprint, flowers began to sprout from the ground beneath her due to the excitement rushing through her. She had been waiting for ages to finally take him there, Midoriya Izuku, her Quirkless best friend and the most obsessed fanboy she had the luck of knowing. Childhood friends, you see, glued together by youth and fondness for one another, something that she was thought she was so lucky for.

There was something else there too. A hidden desire, one that festered when she was still young, the obligation to protect him, to keep him from any harm that may have fallen upon him.

Ah, she was getting ahead of herself.

The joyful smile faded from her face, her steps slowing to a halt as she listened to him talk; a familiar feeling of sympathy blooming in her chest when she spoke again, glancing around the street that she had found herself.

“Where are you?....” She nodded when he responded “Okay, I’m nearby. Wait. There. I’ll be there soon and I want you to tell me what happened, no buts”

(Name) didn’t even give him a chance to respond, only ended the call with a tap and once again began her sprint, though, faster than she had before.

---

“....He really said that?”

Midoirya nodded into his knees, glancing over to his best friend from the corner of his eyes and flinching at the sight of anger spreading over her face. (Name) let out a shrill cry, jumping to her feet from the spot next to him and pacing before the other teen, face scrunched up in rage with words spewing out of her mouth faster than he could comprehend, well, almost.

“I can’t believe him! How dare he say that! You can’t say stuff like that to your fans- you have to consider their fucking feelings! I don’t care if he thinks it’s realistic- show some damn decency to people who respect you! The bastard-”

“(Name), it’s okay” Midoriya shrugged his shoulders, standing back to full height with hers and his own bags in his hands “It doesn’t matter, he was right anyway-”

“Don’t you say that, Midoriya!” (Name)’s hand was pointed towards him in warning, “You can be a hero if you try, there are heroes with weak Quirks so why can’t someone with no Quirk be a hero? Huh? HUH?”

“Well-I-”

“I AM HERE”

The voice came suddenly and loudly from behind the girl, the two teens jumping in surprise causing (Name) to twist round, both watching as a blur skidded to a stop before them and posed, revealing just the person that the female had so desperately wanted to exchange a few words with.

“All Might, how-” Midoriya had barely gotten the words out when (Name) spoke, eyes narrowed dangerously with poison dripping from her lips.

“You”

All Might had the gall to look confused “Me?”

“How dare you!” Midoriya screamed when (Name) raced towards the hero, her leg flying to meet his shin with vigor, only to howl in pain when it connected, hand coming to hold her wounded toes before she began to send punches his way instead, not caring in any way that the man was not affected, only watching in slight amusement as she continued her barrage of blows in her rageful state. “My friend deserves to be a hero more than you could ever understand! You bastard! How dare you say he can’t-!”

“Please, calm down, (Name)” The hero laughed, placing his hand against the girl’s head and pushing her back, (Name) still continuing to swing.

Midoriya stood in shocked silence, watching the scene with growing confusion.

‘How could All Might know (Name)’s name!?’

“Calm down? Calm down!? No! You are such an arsehole, Toshi! I expected better from you-”

‘TOSHI!? WHAT!?’

The greenette stuttered, trying to find his words as he continued to watch the scene before him. All Might eventually deflated with a huff, coughing blood into his hand while (Name) continued to shout at him, too clouded by her anger to realise Midoriya was walking up to her until a hand was placed on her shoulder and she spun, her glare vanishing with a gulp at her best friend’s befuddled gaze on her.

“Crap” (Name) muttered.

All Might just laughed.

“I think we owe young Midoriya an explanation, don’t we, (Name)?”

“Is something wrong, (Name)? You seem occupied”

The girl jumped from her spot behind the receptionist's desk, eyes snapping up to meet Dr Nakamura’s before a bright smile grew, though her hand came to scratch the back of her neck in embarrassment from the scare.

“It’s nothing, sir! I’ve just been training a lot harder recently so I’m kinda tired, that’s all”

The older man nodded, his ears twitching in contemplation as he rifled through the chest of draws behind her, no doubt looking for a file.

It wasn’t a complete lie. While the U.A entrance exams were still ten months away, it didn’t mean she could slack off, no, she needed to get in as much training as she could before the trials, both going through physical exercise and mental. U.A was a school that only took the best of the best, just like Shiketsu and if she wanted even a chance at studying to become a great hero at any of the two she needed to up her game, because she was positive that if she wasn’t at her best, she would be beaten with no regarde.

However, that wasn’t what she was thinking about.

Dr Nakamura pulled one of the files, flipping through before turning back to the girl with a sharp toothed smile “Well, I wouldn’t expect less from one of our next future heroes”

(Name)’s face grew hot at the compliment and she laughed, “Thanks, sir”

“No problem, kid” His hand ruffled her locks playfully “Don’t overwork yourself, okay? If you need any breaks from work I’ll be sure to give them to you”

He walked away with a wave, entering into another room to leave her alone with her thoughts once again.

Truth be told, she was thinking back to a few days ago and the secret she had been swore to keep underwraps.

“Wait, so, just correct me if I’m wrong” Midoriya’s face was much calmer than (Name) expected, much much calmer. She honestly anticipated screaming, maybe faint if it were a worse kind of day, which from hearing about it, it sounded like it was, but instead, he was calm, eyes shining with curiosity and confusion.

“Ever since your mother was taken-....was comatosed…and your father….died” (Name) hugged herself at those words, trying to ignore the feeling of grief stabbing at her heart “You haven’t been living with relatives but...heroes…real life heroes?”

She nodded.

“That’s so cool!” (Name) looked at him with surprise plastered all over her face. Midoriya took her expression in a negative way, curling into himself with shame “I mean, you already lived with a pro hero before- b-but you’ve met some of the most powerful heroes in Japan! Counting All Might that means the world! Oh my Gosh, I mean- uh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted like that-”

(Name)’s voice was meek when she spoke again, eyes shining with unshed tears “I thought you would be upset….”

“H-huh!? Why!?”

“Because I never told you…”

Confusion took over his face once again and he tilted his head to the side, “Why would I be upset over you protecting yourself?”

(Name) choked.

“I don’t mean to interrupt” All Might’s hand landed softly on (Name)’s back, moving in soothing circles as he continued, eyes centered on Midoriya “But young Midoriya, your answer?”

“Oh! Right! Uh…” The greenette glanced between the two, both sending him back encouraging looks in return before he released a breath, expression adopting one of determination.

“I accept your power, All Might!”

The hero smiled “I knew you would”

“Oi, (Last)” For a second time that day, (Name) jumped in her seat, looking up to see two familiar boys staring back at her. “What’s up with you?”

“Oh, Koji, Hitoshi, Hi!” (Name) began to type away at the computer before her, hoping to ignore the questioning stare from Koda and glare from Shinso when the purple haired boy rolled his eyes in exasperation “You guys finally catch those troublemakers running about?”

Shinso presented the box, (Name) standing to glance in from over the desk and smiling at the sight of the mother cat surrounded by her children before she gestured over to a room nearby.

“Ms Hamada came in a little earlier, why don’t you take them to her”

“Was planning to, but first we gotta show you something"

(Name) brows furrowed “What?”

Shinso nudged Koda softly, prompting the boy to set down his own box. His large hands disappeared into it before pulling back out with another small kitten in his hands who mewled softly towards (Name), pawing at the air.

“Guys, you’re not supposed to separate the young!” She chided, reaching out for the animal who was handed to her, (Name) rocking the animal gently in her grasp and staring pointedly at her friend who cowered back “You both should know better!”

“It’s not from the pack” Shinso responded, nodding to the other box “This was left outside and it’s a little….different”

“Different? How so-...” From her hands, a shifting sound caught her ears and she looked down, the kitten in her hands now replaced with an otter pup who cooed at her.

“...huh”

---

U.A really was a wonder.

(Name) hadn’t really been there a lot, probably a handful of times as she aged, but she hadn’t properly experienced the feeling of excitement passing through the front gate, other examinees walking nearby, no doubt in the same boat as her, glancing around in amazement.

The school were the greatest pro heroes were born and trust her, she had proof of that in the contacts on her phone. She just hoped that all of her hard work during the months would work in her favour, that she would grab her place at this amazing school and she would begin her journey of becoming a great hero.

Just like her mother had been.

(Name) shook her head, hurrying her pace to the front steps of the school. The recommended students took their exams a month before the actual exam, she believed? Meaning she was alone, no Midoriya by her side to push her forward, to reassure her she was set. Although it was the same for him, if she did pass this exam of course, he would be alone too-

‘Ugh, get a hold on yourself-’

(Name) let out a yelp when she ran into someone’s back, apologies dropping from her mouth while the person turned, staring down at her.

He was a huge, mountain of a man with dark buzz cut hair and beady black eyes that seemed to glare straight back into her soul with a unyielding fire that made her gulp nervously and take a step back, her animal instincts clawing to kick in, screaming at her that she was no match for this predator, that she should run while she still could. Then he straightened up, his head flying downward until it smashed against the pavement, body bent over in a bow and practically screaming, gaining the attention of the other examinees.

“I’m so extremely sorry for getting in your way! I promise it won't happen again!”

“Hey, hey!” (Name) cried, hands flying up in a panic “You don’t need to apologise I bumped into you! I’m really sorry about that”

The boy snapped back up, his grin broad on his face and blood running from the small cut on his forehead.

“Oh, hey, you’re bleeding!” Without another though (Name) pulled out a packet of tissues she kept within her jacket, leaping up to tend to the wound, using the air to keep her stable just barely. She really needed more training on that. “Here you go, you should be more careful”

“Woah that’s amazing you’re floating! What’s your Quirk?! Is it like mine!?”

(Name) couldn’t help the laugh she let out “I don’t even know your Quirk, friend”

The boy beamed “It’s called Whirlwind! I can control wind currents and manipulate them however I want! Now you!”

(Name) dropped back down, hands landing on her hips with a smile “Well, my Quirk is called Nat-”

Remember, (Name), keep a low profile. No one can know who you really are, that means no using Nature outside of training.

“-I mean, Element! meaning I can control any kind of elements around me! So, kinda similar to yours”

“Wow, that’s so cool! I’m Yoarashi Inasa!” Yoarashi lent out his hand for her to take, which she did.

“Nice to meet you, Yoarashi, I’m Yagi (Name)”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Yagi!”

“Please, call me (Name)!”

“Okay, (Name)! Call me Inasa!”

Seems like this exam won’t seem so bad afterall.

---

It was better than imagined. Yoarashi was a ball of sunshine, standing tall and bright, encouraging those around him despite knowing absolutely nothing of who they were. It was nice, especially due to the fact she didn’t have a lot of friends, having someone by her side inspire her to do better than she thought she could do. He believed her even though he didn’t know who she really was, he thought she was strong only after about an hour of knowing each other and it was...nice.

She really hoped he got the spot here, he deserved it.

The written exam had been an hour and fifteen minutes, all decent material and she was positive that she had passed it with flying colours and now it was time for the physical part of the test, then finally, the interview.

Present Mic’s booming voice was actually soothing to her, probably because of the time he spent after the atta- accident, helping to pull her out of the dark she had buried herself in. The hero was a rock in her life for a long time and she admired him for just as long. He sent her an encouraging wink at the beginning of it all, throwing an extra thumbs up her way before it had all started and she was grateful for it. It was nice that he was giving her extra support, even if he wasn’t really supposed to at that moment.

“Good luck, Inasa!” The giant smiled, throwing a thanks over his shoulder as he got in position for the race.

A sudden coldness surrounded her and (Name) shivered, blinking in surprise when it suddenly got darker.

“You’re in my way, move”

Now usually, (Name) wasn’t one to talk back, actually, she was kind of scared of talking back to people because who knew what they were capable of! But in that moment, those words had just made her angry, so angry in fact that she turned around to face the culprit of such a rude demand, hand poised in a point motion to jab them in the shoulder “Excuse me? Why don’t you watch your fucking tone....”

They stared back at each other in surprise, both sets of eyes wide with recognition.

“I don’t need your pity! Leave me alone!”

(Name) swallowed the heavy lump that was forming in her throat and blinked back the tears that dared try to blur her vision.

“S-Sorry Sho-...Todoroki”

Then she walked back to her spot on the sidelines, wiping away the wetness from her face while Todoroki shook off the feelings that plagued him and took his spot in the race.

This was gonna be a long day.

---

Finally, finally, it was time for the interviews.

Yoarashi had seemed tense after his race, eyes glaring pointedly towards Todoroki as though the smaller teen had stabbed him in the heart and left him for dead. It was kinda odd, especially with her new friend being a pillar of sunshine and greatness, like a giant puppy out to give everyone love, but he had ultimately relaxed when she appeared next to him, stroking his arm gently and asking if he was okay.

“Oh I’m fine!” He had replied, patting her on the head “You’re next right!? Come on, I know you’ll do great!”

(Name) ignored the stare on her back when he led her back to the other participants.

“Please enter”

A breath was released before the door was pushed open, a large office revealing itself to her with a familiar small rodent sitting behind a desk, smiling towards her and gesturing to shut the door. (Name) did, slowly of course, the chattering of other examinees disappearing along with the outside when she walked over, bowing politely in greeting.

“Principal Nedzu, it’s an honour to see you again, it’s been a while”

Nedzu bowed back in return.

“The pleasure is all mine, (Last). Please, take a seat”

(Name) did as she was told, feeling a wave of exhaustion settle over her body at the sinking plush of the cushioned chair. The animal rifled through the many ID forms before landing on the one he needed, her own, and settling it to the top of the pile and smiling kindly towards her.

“Well, Miss (Last)” Nedzu started “Tell me a bit about yourself”

(Name) caught herself before she could say anything, wringing her hands on her lap “I-....what is there to say? You already know a lot about me, Nedzu”

The principal nodded in agreement before leaning forward, smile still as kind as ever “It is true that I know who you really are, what your Quirk is and much about your younger life. However, what I really want to know is why are you here today? What made you take the recommended entrance exam? Why, after what you’ve seen first hand, would you want to experience the life of a hero?”

Trust (Name) to know that curiosity. She still asked herself that everyday. Why, after experiencing such a traumatic tragedy would she still want to become a hero and face something that horrible, that life shattering every single day of her life?

(Last) (Name), why did you want to torture yourself for the rest of life?

“Simple” The girl started, eyes shining with a light that Nedzu had only seen with a few heroes in his lifetime.

“I don’t want anyone else to suffer like I did”

#lily of the valley fic #mha imagine #mha x reader #mha scenario #bnha scenario #bnha imagine #bnha x reader

11 notes · View notes

yuthoe · 4 years

Note

aaa okay so looked at the rules and could you do their idol crush admitting that they’re their type but with yuto, wooseok and kino? 🥺

HELLO, I FINALLY DID IT, SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT.It’s almost 4AM here and I wanted to get this out in case I become unproductive again when I wake up. I was halfway through Kino’s part when I realized the reader should be gender-neutral, oops. It’s too late for me to edit it again right now, so it’s gonna stay like that. I’ll take care next time, tho.

WARNINGS: none. WORD COUNT: 842, 971, 632.

—

Yuto

“Yuto-ya,” Hui called from his spot on his tiny couch in Yuto’s studio. It’s one of his rare days-off, but he isn’t in the mood to go into the city, and staying in the dorm is too boring since everyone else is busy with their other stuff. So he just decided to tag along with Yuto to his studio and listen to him make some songs. He might even sneak in a nap or two since he hasn’t been sleeping well later—but all thoughts of sleep fly out the window as soon as he sees on his phone a newly uploaded video starring you, known in Pentagon as Yuto’s crush. “Yuto-ya, come here!” he says, tossing the stuffed teddy bear at the boy sitting by the computers.

The toy hits Yuto square in the head and he jumps, turning the seat around in confusion. “What is it, hyung?”

Hui turns the phone so the screen is visible to Yuto. “Isn’t this Y/N?”

A quick glance and, yes, it’s you. Yuto likes to think he can find you in a crowd, no matter how many hairstyle changes you gave or how much you try to blend in with your clothes, but that just comes off kind of creepy. He has watched a lot of your interviews; and you have a lot of them, being a big figure in a famous idol group. He’s just so captivated by your range, your stage presence… It just gets him breathless whenever he sees you perform.

Your group is in the middle of a comeback right now, and Yuto has been religiously keeping up with any promotional material for your group that’s been coming up, but he’s just been super focused on his music today that the only thing that shocked him out of the haze was the teddy bear thrown at his head. Yuto stares at the tiny phone screen for a second longer before getting off the office chair and squishing beside Hui on the couch that isn’t really made for someone of his size.

The video continues playing as his leader turns up the volume. Your group is sat on swivel bar chairs in a white studio set. Gosh, you look radiant, as always. The pleasantries are over and the topic has gone to the announcement your company made about being able to date openly. Yuto isn’t lying that there was a tiny spark of hope that lit up inside him when he first heard of the news. But of course, that was just wishful thinking, since he doesn’t think you actually know him anyway. Sure, you may have heard of Pentagon the group, but there isn’t as big a chance of you taking an interest in him.

Being seated on the farthest chair from the hosts, your answer is saved for last. The other members of your group dodged the question by saying they weren’t really looking to date anyone or dropping names like J.Seph from KARD or Vernon from Seventeen being their ideal type of guy. You take a second or two more to think about your answer and say, “I’d like to get to know Yuto from Pentagon more.”

“Oooohhh,” the hosts exclaim. “He’s one of the rappers isn’t he?” one of them asks.

“Yes,” you say politely, smiling. Yuto isn’t sure if you’re actually red in the face or if that’s just the blush on your cheeks. “I really like the flow of his raps, and his voice is really nice.”

“Ahh, so you’re saying you like tall guys, yes?” the other host teases.

You laugh, slightly embarrassed. “I guess? I don’t really have a type, but Yuto was the first person to pop into my head who I am really interested in and would like to get to know.”

The hosts nod in approval, and your group members seated around you slap you playfully for admitting something like that.

Hui releases a high-pitched siren sound and playfully slaps Yuto playfully on the arm with his free hand. “Do you hear that, Yuto? Seems they like you, too. I wonder if we can go to one of their recordings for this comeback, hmm… Or maybe if our comebacks coincide you can talk to them then, huh?...” Hui continues to rattle off possibilities of Yuto getting into contact with you.

Meanwhile Yuto is still staring at the screen, frozen. The video continues to play, but he isn’t registering anything. Did you really just say, out loud, with a mic on, that you want to get to know him more? Like, he isn’t hallucinating that? Those words really came out of your mouth?

His chest is tight. It burns, but it’s also light. Yuto can’t put into words the feeling. Your sentiments are intangible, and there weren’t even any promises of actually going through with meeting up or exchanging numbers…

But it made him giddy. Indescribably happy.

He lets slip the tiniest of smiles as he continues watching the video and Hui mutters to himself about possible get-togethers with your groups.

Kino

It’s been a habit of Kino lately to listen to podcasts when he gets back to the dorm, as a way to unwind after a busy day. Not because he listens to them (although he does find time to listen and pay attention some other time), but the sound of amicable voices in the sometimes empty dorm is a comforting presence.

One of the podcasts he’s been listening to lately is called Ladies’ Room. His sister told him to listen to one of the episodes, and he found the discussions fun and educational, so he decided to just follow it and he’s updated with the latest one. So when a notification pops up on his phone about a new episode with a special guest, he immediately blasted it on his Bluetooth speaker.

“Hey, guys! This is Soo Ri and you’re listening to Ladies’ Room,” the host’s voice, like a droplet of water falling into a crystal clear puddle, slithers out from the speaker. “Today, we’re talking about love and relationships with a very special guest… idol-slash-actor-slash model, Y/N!”

“Hello, everybody!” you say, in a sweet cadence like a breeze rustling windchimes.

Kino almost drops the container of microwavable tteokkbokki he’s holding and looks at his phone, scandalized, as if it personally offended him. Obviously, it wouldn’t be a stretch for you to guest in podcasts, and even less of a stretch for you to guest-host this particular podcast, but Kino is still surprised. He can’t deny that it feels nice to know that he found you so unexpectedly.

Kino can’t remember when he started taking an interest on you. There was just one time when everytime he turned on the TV he would see your face—in a commercial, a variety show, a drama, that he finally decided to check you out. And from the first music video he clicked, he was hooked on you. Your way with words, your voice, your personality all just made him really want to know you more.

He doesn’t call it a crush, although to Yuto and Wooseok, the only two other people who know about his fanaticism, it comes off that way in droves. He shakes his head and finally unfreezes, putting the tteokbokki in the microwave to heat up. His ears automatically pick up the conversation.

“I know you must be really annoyed and fed up by questions like these, since I watch a lot of your interviews and the hosts ask about it a lot,” Soo Ri begins. “But what’s your stance on ideal types—like your ideal guy, or girl—and do you have one yourself?”

“Aahh, yeah, I do get questions like that sometimes, but they’re in different contexts, so I don’t really mind them.” Kino thinks that’s a polite answer and mentally claps. He hears you take a deep breath before saying, “I don’t think having an ideal type is realistic, though. I mean, that’s what ‘ideal’ means: it’s your idea of perfection, the best. I guess it could be like a blueprint for what you want in a partner, but I don’t think it’s possible for you to be able to tick off all those boxes.”

“Oh, yeah, I get what you’re saying. That’s a really good point.”

“As for my ideal type…” You hum, seeming deep in thought, but not enough to cause dead air. “It’s not really an ‘ideal’ type,” Kino can almost hear the air quotation marks when you said the word and it makes him smile, “but Kino from Pentagon has a lot of the qualities I like in someone.”

By now, Kino had taken his food from the microwave and taken a bite. He freezes with a mouth stuffed with tteokbokki. The spicy soup stinging his lips assures him that he is definitely awake and definitely not dreaming. Did she just—?

“Yeah,” he hears, desperately trying to tune back into the conversation. “He has a very bubbly and fun personality. He’s humble and loves his members and his fans. He’s also very good at what he does—I’ve listened to some of his stuff on SoundCloud, and they’re really good,” you say, and Kino thinks he should probably start chewing before he chokes on the rice cakes. “I mean, his dancing is excellent, his voice is so nice, and he’s also super cute.”

At this, you and Soo Ri both laugh conspiratorially, as if sharing a secret only between you two, as if this podcast isn’t going to be uploaded somewhere anyone who has access to the Internet can listen to, somewhere Kino can access at a moment’s notice.

Kino’s sure his face is as red as the tteokbokki soup right now. Literally no one can see because he’s the only one in the kitchen, but his face is on fire. He continues chewing and stuffing the rice cake strips into his mouth as he spirals into a crisis. His idol crush actually likes him back? He doesn’t think you actually like him, but you did say that there’s some aspects of him you like. That’s kind of similar, right? Right?

The whine comes out garbled from his full mouth. On one hand, he feels way lighter, bouncier, more energetic at knowing that the idol he likes knows about his existence and that she actually likes things about him and openly talked about it on a podcast, oh my goodness is this really real, like no one is messing with me right now?

So Kino sits there, lost in thought as he continues spearing food with his chopsticks, thinking. About how to reach you, maybe get your number, maybe propose a tiny collaboration? Maybe? About how he’s going to act in front of you in the off-chance that you do meet, as you and Soo Ri continue chatting in the background.

Wooseok

He can’t help stealing glances at you—you look really good in this comeback, and it takes everything for Wooseok to not be too conspicuous and focus on the interview that coincidentally has Pentagon and your group as guests. He’d like to think it’s a dream, but really, it feels more like a nightmare because he’s seated right next to you and his members literally won’t stop looking back and giving him mischievous smiles, or turning their chairs towards your group and making small talk, trying to drag him into the conversation and he feels like a fool because he seems incapable of replying with more than two-syllable words.

And it somehow gets worse during the segments. Not that the hosts are bad—they’re really good hosts. It’s just that there’s a segment where they read selected fan mail, so they would all have to answer it because they don’t really want to disappoint the fans by deflecting. The first few were harmless: what food they like eating during summer, if you were an animal what would you be? But then it went from zero to 100 real quick as the third question is read by your group’s leader, “Which idol is your ideal type?”

Everyone can’t help but make exclamations, oohs and ahs as they think of an appropriate answer. The hosts are gracious and give everyone ten seconds or so to come up with their answers before coaxing out some people’s. Eventually the line snaked to you and you timidly replied, “Wooseok-sunbae,” while avoiding his eyes.

If Wooseok could see himself in a mirror, he would see his eyes bug out and threatening to pop from their sockets, mouth desperately pursing to prevent the huge smile forming on his face. He doesn’t know how to react—what should he do, Cube didn’t train them for this. He needs help and Shinwon keeps slapping his thigh and arm like that isn’t the most obvious thing to do when they’re being filmed.

He can tell you’re embarrassed. You’re facing the hosts, your back to Wooseok, though he’s assuming your face is super red right now, and it’s not because of the blush. He kind of just wants this to be over so you can have a reprieve, but the hosts (being hosts), ask you to elaborate.

“Um, he’s a really great rapper, and he seems really caring,” you say softly. “I watched a program with him once taking care of his cats, and I thought it was really cute.” Wooseok recalls that show and his chest loosens slightly at the mention of it, touched that you remember that tiny segment he did. He really loves his cat, and he’s not gonna admit it, but he likes that your takeaway from the program is that he looks cute playing with tiny animals.

“Ooh, yes, we love guys who are nice to animals,” one of the hosts says, and turns directly to Wooseok. “Wooseok-sshi, since she mentioned you, we’ll leave you for last, okay? So we can properly build up the hype for the viewers back at home.” The boy nods; at least this gives him time to think of nice things to say to you amidst the flurry of thoughts running through his head at the moment.

He imagines talking to you after filming is over and exchanging numbers. He imagines hanging out with you if you have any free time. He imagines maybe doing a small collaboration with you, wishes it were possible. The images he conjures up make him smile, even if he is still kind of embarrassed—he was never one of the cucumber-cool members of the group—but he decides that since you threw yourself off the boat, he might as well throw himself off and join you.

69 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

Galactica, Chapter 35 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Violet’s promotion became official, and Bianca set her sights on a certain blonde.

This Chapter: Violet begins her new job, and things are not exactly what she expected.

***

Even though everything was technically all the same, Violet felt like she had walked into a completely different building.

She had greeted Roxy with a smile, the receptionist at her desk when Violet had walked in at 9:30 for her visit with HR, people actually present unlike when Violet usually came in at the crack of dawn. Trixie had insisted that she take a slow morning, almost forbidding her to come in with the rest of the floor, and Violet guessed that it made sense since it was her first day.

Violet walked out of the elevator, her heels clacking on the floor, her stomach filled with butterflies.

Her morning had been a lot more messy than she preferred. She had changed her clothes a million times, unsure what to wear, until she had finally settled on a simple long sleeved top and a full skirt. It was completely Fame approved, but Violet felt comfortable in it, none of it too flashy or attention grabbing. Violet knew how to use a sewing machine in heels, but she still had a pair of flats in her bag, just in case someone truly cared about the company's safety guidelines.

She paused in front of the door, smoothing down her skirt, one, two, three times, before grabbing the handle and opening the door to the first day of the rest of her life.

“Violet!” Trixie smiled brightly, standing up from where he had been leaning over Gia’s shoulder, who was somehow still miraculously working at the company - even after her screw up in the Fall. “Welcome! I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Oh,” Violet stopped. She couldn’t remember ever being greeted with so much enthusiasm when coming into work, but it was nice, very nice. “I’m happy to be here?”

“Yes you are,” Trixie grinned, walking over to her, the man wearing a somewhat ridiculous white t-shirt with a pink and blue band logo Violet didn’t recognise. “We’re going to have so much fun, but first, Everyone!”

Trixie clapped his hands, catching the attention of the entire department who all turned to them.

“This is Violet Chachki, you all already know her as Fame’s assistant,” Trixie smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Say hi.”

“Hello,” Violet said, lifting her hand in greeting. She wasn’t sure what to do with herself, the whole thing horribly embarrassing, everyone looking at her. Violet wasn’t unused to attention, but she disliked it heavily when it was focused on her person, and not on something she had created.

She attempted a smile, doing her very best not to let anyone know how awkward she felt.

“She is going to be working with us now here in the best department of Galactica!” Trixie released her, earning a laugh from everyone. “I want you all to make her feel welcome and settled since we all know what it was like to be new,” he finished with a lot of them looking on with slight smiles and waves.

“You got it coach!”

Violet turned to look at the source of the voice, an incredibly tall bald man with a gigantic smile and a raspy voice the one who had called out. Violet recognized Bob, who was the design department's project manager, though she didn’t think she had ever seen him in Fame’s office.

“Let me show you around.” Trixie looped their arms together, dragging Violet with him before she had the chance to put down her bag, or even take off her jacket.

The design floor was a myriad of various fabrics in countless colors and prints with a multitude of textures to choose from.

Dress forms, in an assortment of sizes, lined the walls under large glass windows that brought in natural light and a beautiful view, of the east side, of Central Park.

The floor had neat rows of long work tables each with their own computers, drawing sections, sewing machines, hanging dress form and a rolling stool.

“Aaaaaaaand this, is your desk!” Trixie smiled brightly, throwing an arm out as he showed Violet her place.

“What…” Violet looked at the big collage that was put right in the middle. “Is that?”

“Right?” Trixie grinned, clearly very proud of himself “I made it for you.”

“Oh…” Violet bit her lip, unease welling up in her body. The gesture was kind, but it was strange to see so many pictures of herself, most of all because she had no idea when most of them had actually been taken. “Thank you.” She was sure she could stuff it in her drawer later, the paper looking sturdy enough to be shoved down there.

“Don’t mention it,” Trixie gave her a halfarm hug, holding her against his side for a minute. “Now, next on the agenda- Jovan, pay attention.”

“Sure thing coach.”

Violet watched as Jovan turned around, the man sitting backwards on his chair, one of his long limbs pulled up in what looked like an extremely uncomfortable position.

“Hello.” Jovan smiled, a gigantic white toothed grin on his face. He was bald, the top of his head somehow not smooth like Bob’s, but instead sort of wrinkly.

“Jovan will be your desk mate.”

Violet had wondered who she’d be seated next to, and while she had never actually spoken to Jovan, he wasn’t her worst option.

“Hello,” Violet held out her hand, “I’m Violet.”

“Please,” Jovan snorted, grabbing her hand in a surprisingly hard grip. “I already know who you are.”

“Jovan is one of our contemporary designers.”

Violet nodded, hiding a smile. It was clear as day that Jovan was in contemporary, his shirt a multicolored almost neon asymmetrical tunic.

“One of the best,” Jovan squeezed her hand, letting it go, “contemporary designers. Don’t touch my stuff, and I promise that you and I will get along great.”

“Jovan-” Trixie started scolding, but Violet cut in.

“I’ll keep my hands to myself.” Violet put her bag on the table. She had never seen Trixie scold anyone, but judging by the furrow of his brow, Jovan was toeing the line.

“What’s on the agenda, coach?” Jovan had somehow managed to cross his legs around the chair, a pencil dangling from his mouth.

“Oh,” Trixie smiled, and Violet reached inside her bag, grabbing her notebook. “Violet has the morning off.”

“Wha-” Violet paused, unsure if she had heard Trixie correctly. “Excuse me, what did you say?” It was only Monday, but Violet knew that design had their weekly department wide meetings every Thursday, and if she was being honest, she had expected to be thrown directly into the work, the Christmas collection just around the corner.

“The morning off.” Trixie grinned. “Decorate your desk, say hi to everyone, get all your little knick knacks in order and later we’ll have cake to celebrate your first day.”

***

Jovan groaned slightly. He was supposed to be working on the holiday collection but he just couldn’t seem to find an interesting angle.

Jovan didn’t like making gowns, and though he had managed once or twice to sneak in a pants suit or something mildly interesting, Raja and Fame had a clear almost inarguable preference towards high classic glamor when it came to the holidays.

He flipped back and forth between his sketches, pencil in his mouth, erasing a line here of adding one there. After a bit, he sensed a disturbance in the energy, his attention shifted slightly across the table to his new deskmate.

Violet was sitting at her desk, tapping her nails on the wood, her lip between her teeth as she was looking out on the department. She was practically radiating nervous energy, her desk already all neatly set up.

Jovan noticed a leather bound planner, a collection of pens and pencils in an empty Dior box, a thick stack of sketching paper, as well as a well stocked sewing kit, a golden pair of scissors sticking out.

She seemed to be in worse shape than he was, clearly not used to being given idle creative time, and Jovan smiled slightly, deciding to take pity on her.

“Hey, Violet.” Jovan pushed his chair out, scooting over to her table. “I’m working on this dress,” Jovan put his sketches down on Violet’s desk, “and I can’t figure out the hem length. Will you check it out?”

“Oh, um, sure…” Violet leaned over the desk table, pushing a bit of her hair behind her ear. Jovan hadn’t noticed the bracelet or her rings before, the golden jewelry clearly well worn, but also well taken care of. “What’s the problem?”

“See, I’m trying it three different ways, but they all feel wrong...” Jovan tapped his sketches, already enjoying how seriously Violet considered the question, examining each sketch closely and looking at them back and forth a few times before attempting an answer.

“I like the length on the second one, but the shoulders on the third one might balance it out more,” she finally said, and he smiled.

“Yeah, good call, thanks!” Jovan stretched, yawning slightly. He was already feeling much better, but Violet still looked lost.

“I need caffeine.” Jovan stood up. “You wanna come for some espresso or a latte or something?”

“Oh.” Violet looked genuinely surprised at his request, sneaking a quick glaze at Trixie’s closed office door before she made up her mind. “Um, alright…” Violet reached for her coat, but Jovan stopped her.

“No,” Jovan smiled. “I just mean the espresso machine we have in the break room.” Jovan pointed over his shoulder, Violet following his fingers, her brow furrowing. “You did know that we have a break room down here, right?”

Jovan had heard the rumor that Fame only drank Starbucks, though he hadn’t imagined that her assistants shared the luxury, but Violet shook her head, the woman both looking mystified and curious, and Jovan realised that he had never actually seen her in any of the Galactica break rooms ever.

“Come on,” Jovan grabbed her elbow, giving it a squeeze. “I’ll show you.”

***

“Stop, omigod, I can’t breathe,” Maxwell wheezed, clutching Bob’s shoulder and practically choking with laughter at his boyfriend’s story.

“No, but listen. Then Acid turned to him and-”

Maxwell reached up and covered Bob’s mouth with his hand, having just spotted Jovan strolling towards the break room with Violet in tow.

“Incoming mole,” he warned, giving a nod with his head.

Maxwell had been working at Galactica for his entire career - over ten years now. He’d seen many assistants come and go from Miss Fame’s office.

Most of the time, they moved on to other jobs in the industry, working for buyers or as stylists. Occasionally, they were promoted within the company. Shangela had started off as Fame’s assistant years ago, and so had Laganja in marketing. But this was the first time anyone had been sent to design. Granted, Violet was one of the more competent and longer-lasting assistants, but still.

He was suspicious.

Bob seemed perfectly ready to welcome Violet to the family with open arms. Maxwell, on the other hand, was more cautious, and the last thing he wanted was for Violet to walk in on some debaucherous story about drag queens.

“Look professional!” he hissed, before removing his hand.

“First of all, I’m always professional. And second, would you relax?” Bob smirked, leaning against the table, his favorite mug in hand. “She seems perfectly nice.”

“Oh please,” Maxwell huffed, “You just want upstairs gossip.”

For as long as Bob has been at the company--nearly as long as Maxwell, he’d been utterly fascinated with senior management. Their weird quirks and tempestuous moods, all the tabloid nonsense.

“Uh!” Bob gasped, holding a hand to his chest. “I resent that!”

“Well, resent it or not, it’s true,” Maxwell quipped.

“You name one time when I’ve been the source of gossip around here,” Bob said, a hand on his hip, in full queen mode.

“That’s...what...all the time!” Maxwell sputtered, caught off guard by that ridiculous defense. Bob was a notorious gossip. He was the only person Maxwell knew who still talked on the phone with multiple people every day, for fun. It was half the reason why they’d never moved in together, Maxwell unable to imagine living with Bob’s need to talk on the phone for hours in the evening. Maxwell enjoyed people too, sometimes, but after work, he more often than not wanted some peace and solitude.

“So you can’t name one specific time? Interesting.” Bob’s brown eyes glittered with amusement, always the happiest when he was in teasing mode.

“You’re impossible!” Maxwell turned to Jovan, who was now busy with the espresso machine. “Bob says he’s not a gossip.”

“Ha!” Jovan snorted. “Violet, what do you want?”

“An americano is more than fine.” Violet smiled, and Maxwell realised that he wasn’t sure if he had ever seen that expression on the former assistants face before.

He had never spoken with her before, Ivy always the assistant who came along to the design meetings, but he had seen her follow Fame down the halls, and he still remembered how bad he had felt for her during Fame’s temperature meltdown at their September show.

“Violet, Violet, Violet,” Bob put a hand down, turning his body towards her. “Do not listen to them.” Bob pouting at both Maxwell and Jovan. “I’m not a gossip. I’m a very trustworthy confidante, so if you have anything you need to share about, you know, upstairs...I’m all ears.” Bob grinned.

“Ah!” Maxwell cried triumphantly, “Case in fucking point you fucking gossip!”

“Upstairs?” Violet looked genuinely confused for a moment.

“You know,” Bob pointed at the ceiling, “Upstairs.”

“Ah.”

Maxwell made a face at Bob, clearing his throat slightly.

Why did he have to reveal everything right away? They didn’t know how trustworthy this girl was yet, and so they should really assume zero percent. It was the only safe and logical conclusion.

“Sorry, assistant code,” said Violet with an apologetic shrug. “My lips are sealed”

“Wow. Okay, I see how it is,” Bob said, and Maxwell rolled his eyes.

“Honestly Bob, what if she’d come down here and started reporting all kinds of rumors? Wouldn’t that make you concerned?” he asked, reaching up to tug on on Bob’s ear.

“Concerned…. Entertained… Potato, potahto.” Bob grinned, taking another sip from his mug.

“Goddammit,” Jovan said, struggling with the machine. “Cracks, can you help me? This fucking thing, we need a new one-”

“Sure.” Maxwell stepped over to the machine to assist. He remembered when Trixie first got it for them, almost six years ago, how everyone had just gone crazy over it. But lately it was acting up, and the designers were not pleased when they needed to wait an extra 30 seconds for coffee. The company should really take care of it before there was some kind of mutiny. He made a mental note to talk to Trixie later.

“So, Violet,” Bob continued, “How’s it going? Is our boy Jovan being cool, or is he in one of his moods?”

“Fuck off,” Jovan cut in, sitting down heavily. “I’m fucking delightful.”

Maxwell chuckled to himself over that, Jovan’s stormy moods something everyone in the department knew intimately.

“He’s been very kind,” Violet said, her hand gripping the edge of her skirt.

“Yeah, yeah.” Bob smiled, rolling his eyes. “Look, Violet, let me give you some advice,” Bob turned to Jovan. “You’ve gotta pay attention to that big vein in his forehead, and when it starts popping out...run.”

“Oh.”

“Eat a dick, Bob.”

“Yours?” Bob looked down, leering at Max’s brown khakis, a grin on his face, “Or like, any dick?” Bob teased, wiggling his brows. “Either way, I’m down.”

Maxwell rolled his eyes, giving Bob a Look intended to say ‘not in mixed company,’ gesturing towards Violet, the poor girl probably scandalized by this kind of talk, judging from her ramrod straight posture and demurely folded hands.

He turned to Jovan for backup, only to find him sitting at one of the tables, big wrinkly head in his hands. Maxwell tapped him on the shoulder, hoping to help him avoid an existential crisis before eleven am.

“How’s the Hanukkah dress?” Maxwell asked, which is what he’d been jokingly calling the blue cocktail number that poor Jovan was working on. Jovan rolled his eyes.

“Killing me. Violet had a good idea though, so I guess I’ll try that.”

“Are you gonna embroider a menorah on the front?” Maxwell teased.

“No, I was thinking that the skirt would just be a giant dreidel.”

Maxwell laughed at that, though truth be told, you could never be too sure with Jovan. He might just do it.

“Did Coach assign you anything yet, Violet?” Bob asked.

“No..” Violet tilted her head. “Is there a reason you call him that?”

“Oh. Yeah. So, Trixie’s the only straight guy around here-”

“Straight identified,” Maxwell corrected, and Violet snorted, quickly covering her mouth with her hand.

“Yeah, so, we like to give him shit. We call him Coach. You know...” Bob made his hand into a fist and punched Violet very lightly on the shoulder, deepening his voice. “Coach!”

“He’s the only straight guy, and of course he’s the one in charge of the department,” Jovan added pointedly.

“Well, yes, there’s also that,” Bob chuckled. “Anyway, have you gotten an assignment for the holiday collection? I’ve seen some pictures of your student stuff,” Trixie had dropped by with Violet’s portfolio, shoving it to Bob who had loved flipping through it. “I assumed you’d be doing gowns most of the time.”

“No-” Violet opened her mouth, but then seemed to rethink it, and close it again. “Not yet.”

“So...Chachki,” Maxwell said, handing her coffee over. “Are you Jewish?”

“No,” Violet said simply, and Bob burst out laughing.

“She said nope,” he giggled, popping the p.

“Well, where are you from? What’s your deal? Tell us everything,” Maxwell continued, undeterred by Bob’s laughter.

“Oh. Um… There’s not much to tell. I graduated from Parsons a few years ago. I’m originally from Atlanta-”

“Hey! Me too!” Bob exclaimed. “I’m from Clayton County. Where’d you go to high school?”

“-But I’ve been in New York since I was 13.”

“Oh, gotcha.”

“I got a job working for Miss Fame, and...that’s about it.” Violet looked around, her lip between her teeth.

“Wow. Fascinating,”

“Sorry, I’m not very interesting.”

“No no,” Maxwell said. “You should write a memoir.”

“Omigod, she’s like twelve years old, leave her alone,” Bob said. “In case you haven’t noticed, Violet, these guys are a mess and you should ignore 98% of everything they say.”

Bob put his arm around Maxwell, squeezing him affectionately even as the insults rolled off his tongue.

“And what about you?” Maxwell asked.

“Me?” Bob asked. “Oh, fully same.”

***

“What,” Violet was staring at the table, a brown concoction staring right back at her, “on earth is this?”

“You never seen one before?” Alexis smiled, getting in next to her, “They call it a cronut, girl. Everyone in the city is obsessed with them,” she grabbed one, “and they’re delicious.”

Violet had spent lunch with Alexis, Gia and April, the three women slipping back and forth between English and Spanish, their conversation practically impossible to follow, but Violet hadn’t minded.

It had been incredibly nice to just sit with someone for lunch without constantly checking her phone, Violet unsure if she had ever actually had an uninterrupted lunch break at Galactica before.

“Huh.” Violet bit her lip, still not too sure about the offered treat. “Are we already-”

“Hey, Violet-” Violet turned her head to see Blu slip in next to her, a big smile on the Irish woman's beautiful face. Her ginger hair was pushed back with a hairband, her grey eyes attentive and kind. “Are you coming to the happy hour?”

“Happy hour?”

“Mmh,” Blu nodded, “a couple of us always go round the corner for a pint on Mondays at 5:30. You know, for bonding and stuff.”

“Huh.” Violet bit her lip. She had seen Blu and Gia working that morning, but it seemed strange to her that they were expecting to be let go at 5:30, the whole thing even stranger since both Blu and Gia were actively enjoying the pastries.

“So, you coming?”

“Oh, no,” Violet did her best to smile, to look genuinely apologetic. “I can’t.”

Sutan had texted her about whether or not she wanted to come over after work, and Violet couldn’t wait to cuddle up on the couch, tucked safe and sound under Sutan’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Blu smiled, though Violet wasn’t sure it actually was based on the look in her eyes, “You can come next time-”

“Violet!” Blu was cut off as Trixie came over, “Blu! Are you enjoying the cronuts?”

“Yes boss,” Blu held up her cronut, over half of it gone. “It’s delicious.”

“Have you had any, Violet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Here.” Trixie grabbed a plate, quickly scooping one up for her. “It’s pumpkin chai this month!”

“Thanks.” Violet took it, unsure what to do. It wasn’t that she hated all desserts, wasn’t that she hated all sweets, but what she did hate was trying new things when she was feeling nervous, and even though everyone had been beyond kind to her so far, she couldn’t help the unsettling feeling in her stomach that something wasn’t right.

“I can’t wait to see your finished blouse,” Trixie was smiling, his hand on Blu’s arm. “I’m counting on you.”

“Mmh,” Blu nodded, pride in her eyes, and Trixie gave her one last squeeze, clearly intending to walk on and make sure everyone was having a good time.

“Trixie-” Violet took a step forward, her now boss turning around to look at her.

“Yes sweetheart?”

“I was wondering, if I could-” Violet wanted to throw herself out the window, the entire thing so terribly awkward, the fact that she was daring to even consider questioning her boss’ process, “it’s about the holiday collection-”

“Oh, that silly thing?” Trixie laughed, “Don’t worry about it.”

“But,” Violet took another step forward, “I’d like to, like to worry, that is-”

“You’ll watch the design meeting on Thursday, see how things are done around here.” Trixie smiled. “Ease into it, take it slow.”

“But I have an idea for-” Violet didn’t know if she was allowed, but she had already picked up a few of the unfavored fabric swatches, a white silk and some crushed red velvet so to Fame’s taste that she knew she had to give it a try.

“If you really want to speed things up, you can spend tomorrow shadowing April.”

“Really?” It wasn’t what Violet truly wanted, but anything, literally anything, would be better than another day of ‘taking it slow’.

“It’ll be perfect for you,” Trixie smiled, “I promise.”

Trixie then took a bite of the cronut in his hand, his eyes going wide. He turned from Violet to call out, “Kimberly! Kim, did you try these pumpkin chai cronuts?! Oh my god...”

As her boss wandered off to wax poetic about his pastry, Violet dug her fingers into her palm. Wasn’t this department supposed to be the lifeblood of the company? Why was everyone so chill?

Violet tried to be positive, tried to believe that Trixie was only doing what he thought best for her, but she couldn’t help wondering if she was still working for Galactica, the feeling of utterly uselessness washing over her for the first time since she had started at the company.

***

“Are you feeling chopsticks or fork?”

“Fork please.”

“Of course.” Violet smiled as Sutan began to dig through his cutlery drawer, soft jazz playing from the radio in the window. She had gotten somewhat used to seeing him without his suits in Paris, early morning Sutan walking around in pajama pants and t-shirts for as long as he could, but there was something special about seeing him in casual chinos and the sweaters he seemed to favor now that it was getting colder outside.

They were in his kitchen, Violet sitting at the table. When she had come over, Sutan had been setting up in the dining room, but she had asked him if they could please sit in the kitchen instead, the room so much cosier and lived in than the dining room.

Violet had been looking forward to her first day in design since she started at Galactica, but now that she had gotten there, it felt like a hollow victory.

She was sure tomorrow would be better, that it’d be more meaningful, but for now, she just wanted to spend time with the man she really genuinely liked.

“Here you go.” Sutan handed her the fork. “You know,” Sutan smirked, crossing his arms, “You should really learn how to use chopsticks.”

“I know how to use chopsticks,” Violet looked up at Sutan, putting her fork down. “I just prefer not to.”

“Sure lovely eyes.” Sutan grinned, grabbing the back of her chair, leaning down to kiss her, when the doorbell rang.

“Ah,” Sutan gave her a quick peck, his lips tasting faintly like peppermint with an undercurrent of cigarettes, his eyes sparkling.

“That must be the food.” Sutan stood up, reaching into his pocket for a wad of cash Violet hadn’t even noticed. “Do you mind finishing setting the table?”

“Of course not.” Violet stood herself as Sutan walked out, and she quickly crossed the room, opening the cabinet she knew housed Sutan’s plates.

The request hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary, Violet helping more often than not, but as she actually looked at the kitchen table, she realized what she had accidentally said yes to.

Sutan’s laptop was sitting in the middle, but besides that, the table was covered in work stuff, Sutan’s laptop, headshots, what Violet could only assume was contracts, folders and modeling portfolios spread all over.

She couldn’t see any kind of system, and if she had been at work she wouldn’t have dared to move a single thing, but Sutan had asked her to take care of it, and take care of it she would.

Violet knew Sutan had an office, but she had never actually seen him use it, or heard him mention it. Violet felt weird moving Sutan’s work things, but as she quickly piled it all on one end of the table, she recognized that this was probably why she liked the kitchen so much.

It was obviously the place in the apartment Sutan used the most, and the one she instinctively felt was more Sutan than Raja; everywhere else, even Sutan’s own bedroom, so obviously designed and furnished by his twin.

It was a strange thought that Raja had so much influence on Sutan’s life, but it wasn’t something she was ever going to bring up, their relationship none of her business.

Violet was just a moment in time for Sutan, so who was she to make any sort of suggestion about anything.

“Ah, great.” She was just setting the plates, when Sutan returned with more takeout bags than Violet had ever expected. “You’re almost done.”

“Are we expecting company?”

“Company?” Sutan looked confused for a moment, and Violet nodded her head towards the food in his arms, which caused him to laugh. “Please. This is just for us.” Sutan put the bags down, opening up the first one. “I figured it was worth celebrating your first day.”

“Huh.” Violet sat down on her chair once again, watching as Sutan produced one white cardboard carton after another. “How much did you get?”

“Oh you know, just a little bit of everything. I have dumplings, wontons and egg rolls, chow mein, orange chicken, beef and broccoli, black pepper scallops, garlic eggplant. I wasn’t sure what you’d like.”

Violet didn’t want to tell Sutan that she only had a very limited idea of what she genuinely liked beyond orange chicken and white rice, a childhood of bland suburban chain restaurants and her years in New York on a tight budget never leaving her much room for indulgence.

“Interesting.” Violet bit her lip, but Sutan grinned, continuing the unpacking. “Have you ever heard of cronuts?”

“What?” Sutan paused, a carton in hand. He turned to her, an eyebrow raised. “Lovely eyes. I may be older than you, but I don’t live under a rock?”

“Hmm.” Violet had no idea that cronuts were apparently so well known, but she wasn’t going to show Sutan that. “We had them at work today.”

“Did you like them?”

“Not really.” Violet took the carton of rice Sutan handed her. “They take a lot of breaks, at work, I mean.”

“Sounds like a nice place.” Sutan smiled, sitting down.

VIolet nodded, opening her rice as Sutan started talking about his day. It was always nice to be around him, Sutan often chatting away in his low baritone, filling out the silence so Violet never felt obligated to speak if she didn’t want to.

“Oh-” Sutan paused, a piece of broccoli in his chopsticks. “That reminds me. What are you wearing on Friday?”

“Friday?” Violet quickly ran through her week in her head, and she was fairly certain that she had nothing on the agenda for friday.

“Yes? For Bianca’s birthday.”

“Bianca’s birthday? Bianca Del Rio?”

“Mmh.” Sutan popped the broccoli in his mouth, quickly chewing it. “It’s her 40th, and I figured it’d be nice if we coordinated.”

“Oh.” Violet bit her lip. Surprised that Sutan was dumping it on her like this, since she knew for a fact that he hadn’t mentioned it until this very moment. “And the birthday is this Friday?”

Violet tried to hide her anxiety, her heart speeding up in her chest. She didn’t have any idea what the dress code was and what to wear or where the party was being held.

“I can invite someone else?”

“What?” Violet’s head snapped up at the words. Sutan looked completely relaxed, like he hadn’t just dropped a gigantic bomb, like this wasn’t strange at all, like it was normal for him to have so many girls lined up that he could find someone with no problem at all.

“If you don’t want to go-”

“No, no.” Violet closed her hand, digging her fingers into her palm under the table. “It’s fine. It’s fine. I’ll figure something out.”

#rpdr fanfiction #thedane #veronica #galactica #vitan #bob x cracker #violet chachki #trixie mattel #yvie oddly #bob the drag queen #miz cracker #blu hydrangea #raja gemini #lesbian au #m/f au #fashion au

3 notes · View notes