#she went from ''you're a joke'' to becoming part of the fairytale

[lab-gr0wn-lambs]

She married this guy

[dippydots]

Edward and Lucy watch Shrek the musical (writing prompt)

"You're joking right? They wouldn't make a musical for Shrek!" Edward insisted as he came into the living room with popcorn. Lucy bit her lip to hold back a laugh as she held up the DVD which read 'Shrek the Musical'. Edward's ears went back like a cat. "This is gonna take years off my life."

Around ten minutes later Edward was complaining about the plot. "It's bad enough that they're singing, but the fairytale creatures didn't even show up at the swamp yet!"

"It's an adaptation, they don't have to be exact," Lucy giggled. "True, true, but it bothers me." Pinocchio then started singing. Lucy snorted. "What?"

"He sounds like you but with less voice cracks." Edward did a fake gasp. "Lucille Vera Hargreaves! I am astonished with you!" he said, putting a hand over his heart. "Wow, full names, how scary," she teased. He rolled his eyes, but a smile could be seen on his face. Lucy rested her head against his shoulder. "I have no room to talk though. I was cast as the Ugly Duckling in my last year of high school."

"What?! You don't look like an ugly duckling! You're more like, um, whatever it becomes at the end of the story," he fumbled with his words. She giggled. "You sap."

The musical went along, with Edward questioning everything and Lucy remembering parts from her high school performance. "I understand from a technical level for why they couldn't have Fiona do Matrix stuff on Robin Hood, but why did they have to replace it with," he wrinkled his nose, "THAT song?" She shrugged. "It's a silly musical for kids, I guess."

"Still sucks." She nodded in agreement. "I would've preferred a dance number involving beating up people, that would be both fun and impressive."

Eventually the musical finished. Edward rubbed his eyes and sighed. "That was mediocre. Please don't make me watch that again," he groaned, putting his face in a pillow. "Ok, drama queen," she patted his back, "I'll order a pizza for compensation, is that alright?"

"A dessert pizza as well," he said, a smirk appearing on his face. "I was thinking you would say that," she said as she pulled out her phone.

[80s-roger]

Not On My Watch (pt 5)

Pairing: Dad!Roger x Mum!Reader

summary: you’re divorced with queen’s roger taylor due to constant cheating and irrational behaviour towards you. but u have one person in common: your daughter, Laura aka your favourite human on earth. Your marriage with roger had its ups and downs but laura was the happiness in it. Now that she’s 8 and starts to realise how your terms with roger are, you finally tell her that you’re seeing another man except her father and she took it really warmly. She seemed excited to meet the new man unlikely your ex husband who accidentally learns about it by Laura, the weekend you would leave her at his place: on weekends you had some cute getaways with R/N because the court decided that Laura could stay or visit her dad on weekends and stay with him for five days each Christmas and easter vacations. On summers he has the right to be with her for two weeks.

check: masterlist // dialogue prompts

If you haven't read the previous chapters, here they are: part one // part two // part three // part four

note: it wasn’t supposed to be this specific plot, but I promise you the good one is at next one ;)

warnings: flashback scenes, angst, fluff

words: 2,849

taglist: @madeinheavxn​ @namelesslosers​ @stacymaytaylor​ (send me an ask or a message if you want to be tagged)

You set the table, eating like a proper family for the first time in two and a half years. Laura was extremely happy seeing her family reunited. You were telling her stories from the past, which she found intriguing and interesting. You didn't forget mentioning about Roger taking you with him on tour in the United States, a year after started dating. It was the first time you went abroad. You fell for Roger hard. Losing him made you lose yourself too.

"Wow mum, you never told me stories with dad. Fairytales are boring." She gasped after hearing your US experience.

"Why didn't you tell her stories about us?" Roger curiously asked.

"Because at the time, our marriage was going downhill. You know, so I tried to not think of you." You answered.

"Oh.." he didn't have to say something. "So Laura, do you want to hear another story of mum and me?" He asked. Meanwhile, you prepared the dishes for the washing machine. Laura nodded, waiting for the narration.

Flashback

"So you're going out with Kath's friend?" Brian asked Roger.

"Yes," Roger answered while fixing himself at the mirror. "So Kath is your new girlfriend? I thought she was a groupie." He joked.

"Haha, very funny." Brian mocked him. "She's a nice company." He added.

"What about the bone zone?" The blond drummer pondered with a naughty smile on his face.

"That's good too, I don't complain." He shared a laugh with his friend. "So where will you meet her?" He questioned.

"Outside of the pub we met." He answered. "Where should I take her?" Roger nervously asked as if he never went on a date.

"Where do you take most of the girls you like?" Brian asked trying to help him think rationally.

"Bed?" He said back and gained an eye roll from Brian. "But Y/N is so hard to get, I don't know. I'm afraid if I say something wrong she'll lose interest in any second." He mumbled.

"Easy Rog.." Brian tried to calm his friend down. "She agreed to go on a date with you, that's progress, right?" He continued. Roger nodded. "Which means she finds you cute or hot or I don't know how girls describe us." He chuckled at the end making the blond drummer laugh.

"Alright, maybe if I take her to some other pub where we can talk?" Roger thought again.

"Excellent. She's not like the other girls you date, Roger. She's, you know, -" Brian tried to explain what type of girl you are.

"The I-want-the-man-to-chase-me. She's screaming that." Roger described what girl you are and he was right. "It was so hard for me to get to talk with her after our gig ended, I'm even surprised she finally agreed." He added, now wearing his perfume, ready to meet you.

"She likes you, pal. Good luck!" Brian hugged his friend and Roger was on his way to meet you.

You were nervous too. You didn't want to be late. You were used to never arriving on time, but this time, it was a date with a man you liked from the first moment, as much as you denied it. There wouldn't be any other second chance with him, he'd become a famous rockstar.

"There you are!" Roger spotted you coming faster to his place.

"Shit, am I late?" You asked, checking your watch.

"No, no, I just arrived." He was waiting for you, for about ten minutes. But he came at the checkpoint a little earlier due to impatience seeing you.

"Alright then." You stopped a little to catch your breath. Your high heels hurt your feet by walking so fast. But you wanted to look beautiful. The blue dress you were wearing had Roger staring at it and you all the time.

"You look so beautiful Y/N." He gasped as he was checking you out. "Nice dress, nice heels, nice hair, nice you." He ended the compliment with a hand kiss. He really wanted you to catch feelings for him.

"Thank you, Roger." You smiled after receiving his kiss and his compliments. "Where can we go?" You asked.

"There's another pub downtown that plays jazz music and we can talk without shouting." He joked and gently grabbed your hand, opened the door for you and placed you inside.

"Oh, I like jazz." You were surprised that he was probably into jazz. You waited for him to get into his red Renault car.

"Perfect, let's go." He started the engine and nervousness hit your body. You were shaking, feeling like throwing up. A handsome guy next to you, an upcoming legend wants to go on a date with you. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked after stopping at the red traffic light. He checked your hands trembling and gently placed his on yours. "You're not cold, are you?" He asked. You can't be cold on a May night.

"No, I'm just a little nervous." You tried to keep smiling. You're not the tough girl he met a couple of days ago, but a vulnerable nineteen-year-old girl trying to find love.

Roger was feeling split: He had two options in his head. Should he take you to the pub you both agreed or somewhere isolated to talk with no one seeing. That would make you feel more uncomfortable.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked waiting for any answer. "You want me to keep driving or stop somewhere? I promise I won't do anything." He shared his ideas with you. You looked at him confused.

"Could you stop somewhere, please?" You politely asked trying to not sound bitter after your sudden mood.

"Sure, are you alright?" He asked again, trying to find any isolated place for you two.

"Yes, it happens a lot when I'm feeling nervous." You explained.

He didn't say a word. Until he found that place, behind a church, with no soul around. It seemed creepy if you consider you are on the car with a man you met a week ago. But you liked him.

"Listen, if you are feeling nervous, we can call it off." He showed empathy at you feeling awkward.

"No, I won't have another chance with you if we call it off." You got out of the car, trying to get some air. Roger followed your moves, now standing behind you.

"What do you mean?" He asked raising his hands.

"I mean you'll become famous and everything that goes with it and you'll forget about me anyways." You tried to explain.

"Why would I forget you? I like you." He straightforwardly said, sending you shivers.

"I like you too, but I don't want me to love you."  You are a person full of emotions, throwing that to Roger made him feel weird.

"Why are you talking about love? This is a date, not a wedding." He objected.

"Exactly, I'm afraid if we become a girlfriend-boyfriend thing, I'll eventually love you and then things will get nasty." You could look years away. Look at you now.

"Are you nuts? I wanted to get to know you, I want to know you well, be my girlfriend, how do we call these things?" He questioned.

"Relationship." You answered turning around, to face him. "Would you like that? I wanted that for years." You asked trying to hide your desperation. But you couldn't.

"Hold on, you never had a relationship?" He asked confused, coming closer to you.

"Don't make fun of that, I never liked the boys who approached me." You admitted. You could see his eyes, sparkling from excitement because he knew now how inexperienced you were on that part. A hopeless romantic with huge fantasy.

"Well, I'd like to be the one." He smirked and grabbed his hands around your waist, pulled you into his arms and kissed your lips. Your first kiss ever. His lips harmoniously moved onto yours giving them what they needed all this time. Tenderness. "How was that?" He asked, his eyes now focused on yours.

"Amazing." You licked your lips and smiled, not feeling nervous anymore.

"Is the pub still a plan?" He asked.

"Yes." You were so hyped after your kiss you couldn't focus on anything besides Roger. His hand caught yours leading you back to his car.

Flashback ended.

"Wow, mum!" She turned to your place. "Dad was your first kiss?" She asked fully awed by the narration.

"Yes, he was." You blushed as you both looked at each other. He was fluttered by your current reaction. Your first everything.

"Oh dad, tell me more!" She begged for more stories, but it was time to leave.

"No young lady, I need to have some other memories between your mum and me." He playfully berated her. "Besides, we have to take you to Laura." You stood up from the chairs and moved towards the hall, wearing your shoes.

"Mum, will you tell me these stories instead of fairytales?' She asked while Roger helped her once more with tying her shoes.

"Yes, I will." You answered. You wanted to tell her stories about you and her father, but most of these are explicit. Not special for children.

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

Roger drove off to John's house to leave Laura. "I'll take her inside." He declared and you stayed in the car to wait.

"Daddy, what about my stuff?" She asked.

"We're going to mum's place now to take your stuff. We'll come again." He rubbed her head before knocking the door.

"Hey Roger, I was waiting for you now." He smiled at his bandmate and turned his gaze to Laura. "Hello, Laura! The other Laura waits for you inside! Come in!" He kissed her head.

"Bye, daddy!" She hugged him and walked inside the house.

"I'll come back again to bring her clothes and tomorrow's books for school," Roger said.

"Sure. I'm waiting for the details tomorrow." John winked.

"Ah, I see where you're getting with that." Roger laughed. "Just the abstract." He joked and left the grand house to come back to you.

"You have the keys to your apartment?" Roger asked you.

"Yes. And a piper spray for any case." You showed him that, referring to R/N who could wait for you around the corner.

"He won't harm you, over my dead body." He reassured you and placed a kiss on your forehead. "Shall we go?" He asked and you nodded.

There wasn't any talk during the car drive, but that didn't make it awkward. It was a peaceful silence you used to have before the dark days arrived. You couldn't hide your fear though, it was visible. Your hands were rubbing your thighs nervously. Roger, noticed your behaviour and placed his hand on yours. "It's going to be alright. That's why I'm here, with you." He placed his head on yours, giving you a reassuring kiss. You hugged him in return, feeling his scent against your senses. He smelled amazing. His perfume combined with nicotine was what you could characterize him.

You opened your apartment's door, seeing the inside of the house upside down. You knew he would fuck it up. All you could think of was who's going to clean this mess?

"Oh God-" you gasped and closed the door behind you.

"Y/N, don't worry we'll fix this mess together." He reassured you. "Do you think he did it on purpose?" He asked trying to figure out what was R/N's intent.

"Shit." You gasped again, looking at your ex-husband horrified.

"What?" He asked after seeing you turning pale.

"FUCK." You yelled, running to Laura's bedroom, looking for your diary. He knew about it.

You searched for it at the place you're hiding it and thanked your lucky stars it was up there inside the pillows you keep at the closet. "Oh God, oh God, thank you!" You stared above, kicking out all your angst while holding your huge notebook. It was clever of you to hide something personal at your daughter's room, in a cupboard she never uses. Roger followed you and sat next to you.

"Y/N, you alright?" He asked placing his hand at your back. His eyes fell at the notebook you were tightly holding. "What's this?" He curiously asked and tried to hold it but you politely refused. "Oh. Is it personal?" He questioned.

"I was keeping a diary all this time." You confessed.

"A diary? How long?" He asked as he was checking all these used pages.

"Before you." You smiled and scrolled a few of your pages.

"Wow, that's a lot..." he was amused. "So I guess I'm in there, aren't I?" He asked checking for assurance.

"Don't guess. Be sure." You smiled.

"Can I see just one page please?" He politely asked.

"I'll show you my favourite." You seemed too excited to get to a specific page.

Roger next to you was smiling through the entire process, trying to read while pages were fastly zapping, until you stopped somewhere from the first twenty pages. He focused on your point of view, trying to understand what you were writing about.

"Oh, your first time." He awed. After reading the sentence: my heart was beating so fast at the moment he was inside me, even my soul could see his, from our eyes. "I didn't know you were so sentimental about it." His cheeks blushed from everything you wrote.

"Of course I was, it was my first time. I loved you, Roger." You opened your heart to him for one more time. His eyes were wide opened. It was the first time he got to hear from you how you really felt about your first time. He continued reading to the next day, how you behaved after your first time.

It had to happen right? Or not? My parents are going to kill me. It should have happened after marriage. That's what they've been saying all my life. I love Roger but he would never settle for a wedding. He's a rockstar now, he would probably abandon me if I ask him to marry me. I have to keep it a secret.

"Y/N, you never told me that your parents are against sex before the wedding." He was shocked at what you were writing.

"I know, I had to do it, otherwise you'd break up with me. I didn't want that at the time." You said feeling secure now that he's still by your side.

"Oh, baby..." he whispered and kept you in his arms. "Was it too important to your family to keep your virginity?" He asked.

"It was for them to keep it until my wedding night." You started. "But you know? I only wanted to give it to the man I loved so bad one summer night. And it was special for me, you made it all about me." You continued and stayed in his arms for a couple of minutes. "They always believed my first time was at our wedding."

"I think you have to take this with you. It's not safe on its own. We should grab Laura's stuff and drive them off to John's." You both stood up and put your daughter's stuff in a bag.

You got in the car again, still silent. You were just reading random pages from your diary, getting all emotional. From you meeting him, dating him, marrying him, giving birth to his child, divorcing him... You wrote many things in there. It has an emotional value. You knew by now that Roger was the only person you wouldn't bother reading it, after your permission of course, because almost every page has his name on it.

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

After giving Laura her stuff, you went back to Roger's fancy house. You were getting used to getting there. He looked like wanting to stay with you again, without including the disagreements. He opened the door and you both walked upstairs, leading to his bedroom.

"Do you think you should stay here now?" He asked.

"Why?" You returned as you placed your diary at the nightstand.

"That asshole could come to your place, any moment. You're not safe." He explained. "Maybe you should stay here. With me." He came closer to you, his face inches away from yours. You didn't say anything. Just let him do all the work for you.

His kiss was deep and his hands couldn't restrict themselves from touching your waist. These couple of days, you are much closer than you were when your marriage went downhill. You wanted to give it a chance.

"Tonight, I want you to be loud. I missed that." He stated, looking you into your eyes.

"Loud?" You asked, trying to understand his motives.

"Really loud. This is why Laura isn't here." He winked and left his room, going to the bathroom to take a shower.

"You're the filthiest man I know!" You playfully yelled at him.

"Oh, I know love!" He loudly answered from the bathroom and so on, you went downstairs to fix two glasses of red wine. Chilling situations like these, haven't happened since Laura was a baby.

[inspired-by-the-music]

For You: 4 O’Clock

Taglist: @jineunwootrash​ @jamies-kpop-reactions​

Chapter 15: Our Story

The mere seconds that Mom spent staring at me and Taemin, slackjawed in the doorway, might as well have lasted forever.

I think we wouldn't have looked half as guilty if we hadn't flinched lightyears apart from each other at her gasp, but it was our instinct to run and hide. As it turns out, we didn't melt or fade in the light of discovery, but we certainly did burn.

"Oops!" Mom almost giggled as she tiptoed back into the hallway and closed the door with a soft click. Like she had done something wrong, she apologized. "I'm sorry! Lei, I just came to tell you that dinner is ready. Come down whenever you get hungry!"

Before I could speak even in a timid squeak of a voice, I heard Mom's footsteps retreat down the stairs. Because tense silence had fallen over my room, I heard Donghae ask, "Where's Lei? Is she okay?"

And I heard Heechul say, "She's not curled up in bed with her radio crying her eyes out to SHINee again, is she? I thought we were past that phase!"

I went red in the face because I had certainly grown a bit past that phase, but only because I had Taemin— the real-life person— to curl up with. Thinking only that Taemin was a million times more comforting than any CD had ever been-- and that's really saying something since you know well that music was my best friend before Lucas— I glanced at him.

From the foot of the bed where he had tucked himself into a humiliated ball, Taemin sprang to his feet and started pacing around in the dark.

"Oh my God," he wheezed, nearly tripping over his shoes. "She caught us. Your mother— my manager— caught me in your room. She caught us kissing. She caught us kissing in your room. She caught me kissing you on your bed in your room. She caught me whispering into your mouth that I love you on your bed in the dark in your room."

I had been flustered before Taemin became a human embodiment of anxiety. A fact about me: I strive for balance in almost every situation. If somebody (take Lucas for example) is bouncing off the walls, I will sit perfectly still. If somebody is frowning, I am trying to make them smile, even if it's the briefest, dimmest sort of smile. If somebody (like Taemin was that night) is in a panic, I am level-headed.

So when Taemin tugged at his hair, whining, "She's going to kill me. And if she doesn't kill me, she'll make me break up with you, and then that's gonna kill me. Shit, shit, shit."

"She is not going to kill you," I said confidently because I knew Mom like the back of my hand. Granted, I didn't know every detail of her life before me, but I knew her well enough to know that she wasn't angry. Mom never apologizes when she isn't sorry. She never apologizes when she's mad.

I was kind of joking when I said, "If she wanted to kill you, she would have sent Heechul and Donghae flying up the stairs, and—”

"Shit!" Taemin hissed. Profanities didn't suit him. "Super Junior is going to kill me!"

Slightly wavering in confidence, I assured him, "No, they're not. Mom isn't going to say anything to Super Junior."

Besides, I rationalized to myself, Yesung, who would have posed the biggest threat to Taemin's life, already knew that we were together. If Yesung didn't kill Taemin at the Christmas party, I figured that we were in the clear.

If Taemin hadn't been pacing so quickly, I might have tried to catch him in my arms to kiss his worries away as he had done for me. Given that kissing had led to this tension, though, he might not have appreciated the affection. Maybe it's a good thing that I didn't try to kiss him.

Taemin collapsed onto the edge of the bed and buried his face into his hands. When moments passed in silence, I took the chance to say, "She won't make us break up either, Taem. She just-- she was probably just shocked because she didn't know you were here. On top of that, she has always thought that Lucas and I are a thing, so—”

Into his palms, Taemin groaned, "She probably thinks you're cheating on Lucas with me or something! That makes everything a billion times worse!"

"It's more likely that she just realized that Lucas and I were never together. I mean, I've told her often enough that the message was bound to sink in sooner or later." After pulling Taemin's hands away from his face, I laced our fingers together. I gave both hands a gentle squeeze. "I get that this isn't how we wanted Mom to find out about us, but she had to find out somehow."

To tell you the truth, I was relieved that she found out in this private aspect of life and not through a tabloid expose.

"I know that you wanted to keep this-- us-- a secret so we could be roommates on tour, but we couldn't hide in the dark forever."

And to tell you the truth, I didn't want to. I wasn't eager to pen some press release or anything, but I think I was outgrowing that compulsion, that dependence on secrecy and shadows; they didn't comfort me anymore.

From everything that happened over those past few months, I learned that secrets are damning. At least in my own home, I wanted to live openly and honestly. Maybe Mom's unexpected discovery made that possible.

Stunned by my lack of humiliation, slackjawed because, for the first time, Taemin was embarrassed while I was not, I realized out loud, "I think— I think I'm glad that she found out." Drawing a deep breath, the kind that makes you realize that you've been holding your breath for far too long, I admitted, "I think— I think I've wanted her to know for a long time. Maybe forever."

Silence ensued as Taemin breathed heavily. Deeply. Inhale, count to ten. Exhale, count to ten.

My mouth opened, probably to explain that I nearly told Mom all about us on the drive to Grandma's house on my debut anniversary, but Taemin's stare took my voice away. He blinked at me. The spark in his eyes made me think that he wanted to smile at me. In hindsight, I guess he didn't. Taemin always smiled whenever he wanted to smile, and he didn't offer me the smallest grin for the rest of the night.

"I have to go," he breathed before stepping into his shoes.

That deep breath I had just drawn passed through my lips all at once. I said the wrong thing. There is nothing worse than when the truth— the full and absolute truth that rings in the deepest part of your heart— is the wrong thing to say. How can anyone regret telling the truth? How can anybody want to snatch the truth out of the air once it has been released?

"O-okay."

My stutter did not pass unnoticed despite my efforts to hide it with a smile. Taemin sat back by my side, took my face into his warm hands, and pecked at my lips. The kiss was over before I even realized it was happening.

"I love you, baby," Taemin promised. I swooned less at the affirmation of what I already knew and more at the variation of his name for me. He tucked some hair behind my ear. "Go down to dinner, and I'll talk to you later."

Rising to my feet in time with him, I said, "I love you too. Forever, Taemin."

Because I didn't want to watch him scramble out of the window, because I was at great risk of begging him to stay for dinner with Mom and Donghae and Heechul and Lucas— my family— to once and for all drag our remaining secrets into the light, I walked away. From the vanity, I grabbed the old photograph that I had yet to return to Donghae. I don't think I closed the door behind me on my way out of the room.

I tiptoed down the stairs, quietly hoping that Taemin would follow. Or maybe I was hoping that I would return from dinner to find him waiting on my bed with open arms. In the end, I was disappointed, but I didn't feel like a fool for daring to hope.

. . .

It turned out that Lucas's description of the rivalry between Donghae and Heechul was not all that dramatized.

Sandwiched between the two men at the dining room table, Mom looked nothing like the fairytale queen I imagined she would become in her happy ending. The squabbling must have gotten under her skin, etched those lines into her forehead, weighed down on the corners of her lips, and sharpened the glare she hurled at Heechul for a (probably offensive) comment that I hadn't heard over my thoughts as I reached the foot of the stairs.

"Lei!" Lucas cheered, pumping two fists into the air, because he was no longer alone with the adults. "Where've ya been?"

I couldn't narrow or roll my eyes at Lucas. He had no way to know that I had been kissing Taemin all day. He didn't have any clue that Mom just walked in on the most intimate moment of my life.

Blushing slightly under everybody's stare— smiling only because Moms smiled first and reminded me that everything was okay— I hummed, "I was just counting the stars."

As I sat in the seat next to Lucas and across from Donghae, I sat the picture frame onto the table. I met Donghae's gentle gaze and nodded. "I believe this belongs to you."

"I believe it does!" Donghae beamed and took the photograph into his hands. "Is this a new frame?" He asked as his thumb traced along the infinity symbol.

"Yep!" I omitted the fact that I had broken the original frame on that night I peeled his poster off the wall. "I— I hope you like it." I would have bashfully dropped my gaze onto the table if Donghae were the kind of person anyone could look away from. He looks right through the soul, you know, and I was finally comfortable with that.

While he untied one of the white threads around his wrist, Donghae swore, "I love it, Lei!" He motioned for me to hold out my wrist.

I watched, smiling, as Donghae knotted the infinity bracelet for me. All I could think about was my ribbon around Taemin's wrist. All I could think was that Donghae's thread bracelet was a ribbon too. We were tied together. Soulmates. Forever.

Then, my eyes were drawn to his red thread ribbon. Mom wore-- wears— one identical to that. They were tied together too. Soulmates. Forever.

So don't fault me for disagreeing with Taemin's belief that everything was falling apart with Mom's discovery of our kiss. It was clear for anybody to see (if they knew where to look) that happiness wasn't contingent upon the idea that everything will be okay. Everything was okay. Everything is okay. Happiness had arrived.

Except it wasn't happiness. The warmth spreading through my chest and painting life-- which had gone from dull shades of gray to pale hues with Lucas to sporadic brilliant bursts of color in the night with Taemin— was named joy. I read once that joy is forever, and I believed it then, and I believe it still. So, for the first time in a long time, as I looked at Donghae and Donghae looked back at me, I was not afraid for the sun to rise. I was not anxious because the sun had risen.

"It's not fair!" Heechul shrieked, pounding his fists on the table. "I practically live here, and the girl still favors Donghae!" Staring at me so intently that I thought his eyes might pop out of his head, Heechul demanded, "How come we never exchange gifts at the table, huh? I've been crashing on that couch for however many years, and you've never given me so much as a high-five!"

I raised my hands in total sincere surrender. "Look, I'm not picking favorites. I love you both. And if you start getting annoying and demanding me to pick favorites-- well-- let's not get into this again."

Donghae pouted into his glass of water. "You mean Yesung is still your favorite?"

And Heechul groaned at the ceiling, "Why am I not surprised?"

And Lucas chirped, "You gotta love Lei's unfailing loyalty!"

As I started forking through my dinner-- a salad because a.) my mouth was entirely too sensitive to the spicy noodles everyone else could slurp without watering in the eyes, and b.) I was trying yet another diet-- Mom caught my eye. She was watching me, smiling knowingly, determined to see me blush.

Uninterested in attracting any of the boys' attention, I subtly raised my eyebrows, trusting that Mom wouldn't say anything to expose my intimate information.

"You're not busy tomorrow are you?" I swear, she winked at me and I almost choked. "I was hoping that you could meet with me tomorrow. Nothing too serious, just a quick check-in on that project you've been working on."

Obviously, there was no project. Mom was just trying to tease me a bit and ensure that I made time to tell her about the events that led to the kiss that took our breath away.

Donghae and Heechul didn't know any of that, though, and they started pestering me about the project— "Is it a new song?" Heechul asked, and Donghae guessed, "Is the agency letting you write a ballad?"— while Lucas watched me through eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Would you two hush?" Mom hissed at Donghae and Heechul. "Just let Lei keep her secrets for now!"

Mom and I laughed together and the others looked at us like we were crazy. That's okay, though. I didn't mind their stares. I was too happy that Mom saw me; I was too happy that there would be no more secrets between us come tomorrow morning. If I had it my way, I decided, there would never be another secret between us for the rest of our lives.

"I always have time for you," I told her through a grin. "Just name the hour, and I'll drop everything for you."

I had until 9 o'clock in the morning to decide what I wanted to tell Mom. Once I walked into my bedroom, I flipped on the overhead light, nabbed an empty moleskine notebook from the bookshelf, and sat at the desk I hadn't used since the long past poetry-writing days. Having grown significantly since then, I had to pull that little lever that lowers the rolling office chair.

Several of the pens that I dug out of the top drawer had gone dry, but I finally found one-- a dark almost-black blue-- that worked. I used it to map out the constellations, everything that happened before the kiss. Debuting with SuperM, giving Taemin my ribbon, the first game of Truth or Dare, crying that night in the garden, falling asleep with Taemin every night in America, the NCT Dream VLive incident, the Great Come Apart in Grandma's dining room, the roller coaster that was the Christmas party, visiting the wishing fountain where Baekhyun gave me a flower crown, kissing Taemin throughout New Year's Night and into New Year's Day.

I poured all of myself into that story, this story. On these pages, you can find me: my fears, my dreams, my hopes. I hope you love me as much as I love you. I know you do, Mom. I know you do.

By the time I lay me down to sleep, it is 4 O'Clock in the morning. Now, I wait for the sun to rise so I can share everything.

[onewaigu]

Soulmates

Genre : soulmate!au

Theme : fluff

Pairing : Harin(Onewe) X Reader

Description : people your age were thinking about who their soulmates were. you were more interested in a certain boy who already knew who his soulmate was.

The concept of soulmates having their fates intertwined together by a common connection seemed like something out of a fairytale. Since your whole life, you had become accustomed to seeing people find their soulmates. Which always left you wondering, when were you going to stumble upon yours?

As if someone was listening in on your thoughts, your foot got caught in a pavement hole which sent you stumbling. You closed your eyes to brace the impact but it never came. Instead, an arm firmly curled itself around your waist and pulled you back to your feet. There was no need to turn around to know who this person was because as soon as you heard a strangely familiar laugh, you instantly knew it was your bestfriend, Ju Harin.

He slung an arm around your shoulders and slowed down his pace to match yours. He was towering over you so you had to look up to meet his face which annoyed you sometimes.

“Clumsy as usual”, he humoured while showing off his pearl white teeth.

You punched his arm lightly and shook your head at the insult.

You loved having Harin as your bestfriend because not only was he kind but he was also easygoing. Always managed to make any day better just by his witty and funny jokes.

Sometimes you wonder if there was ever a chance for your friendship to become more than it was if the world didn't depend on the idea of soulmates. People would be free to feel whatever they wanted towards whoever they wished to be with. That's the reason why to you, the concept of soulmates sucked.

It sucked even more because you knew Harin had already gotten glimpses of his soulmate while you only dreamt of homework and stress. On the inside, you were kind of jealous of the girl that would end up with him. Although, if it really was meant to be, then you promised to abandon any feelings you had for him.

“You would not believe what I dreamt about last night”, he told you excitedly.

“Is it about your soulmate?”, you teased him and wiggled your eyebrows suggestively.

Even though you didn't want to talk about soulmates, you felt bad dismissing Harin's excitement so you had no choice but to resist the painful throbbing in your heart.

“Yeah, I actually saw her face!”

Ah. It hurt.

“Well that's good, right! Now you could go meet her and hey, you could even ask her out on a date”, you masked your sadness with a smile.

“I'm a little nervous to reveal myself to her because she's someone I know”, he mumbled softly as an obvious shade of red crawled up his neck.

“You're lucky she's someone you know, mine's probably some creepy pervert”, you shuddered in disgust at the possibilty.

“Hahaha I really doubt that, Y/N”

“I'm just saying, there's a possibility”, you exclaimed without any hint of seriousness in your voice.

After that, the two of you just talked about random stuff till you reached the school buiding.

The rest of the day was boring. Everything waskill the usual routine. When you got home though, you had the greatest shocking news of your life.

Through a text message from your best friend, you got to know that he was going to ask his soulmate on a date. You were frustrated. He only saw her face once that day and now, he wanted to go out with her without taking his time to think over it. As much as you were happy for him finding his soulmate, you couldn't just ignore your feelings. You sunk your head into your pillow and that was how you spent your entire night, crying over a broken heart till you fell asleep.

Drums.

You jolted awake in the middle of the night. Sitting upright on your bed, you placed your hand on your forehead in confusion. Was that a glimpse of your soulmate? Whatever it was, you buried your face in your hands as you sobbed quietly. The last sign of hope that Harin was your soulmate was gone because..Harin didn't play drums.

You dreaded the moment you had to face Harin in the morning.

It wasn't making it easier for you when Harin kept on approaching you more than usual. He was an absolute nervewrack. He would stumble on his words and constantly shake his leg. He told you that he was honestly nervous and afraid the date wasn't going to go well. Giving him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, you reassured him that whatever he had planned, you were sure that anybody would fall for him.

Like that, the rest of the day went by in a blur. You were trying hard not to think about Harin's date while he was busy panicking over it.

Once you were home, you immediately entered your room and plopped yourself on your single-sized bed. You were exhausted and drained but as soon as you heard a notification on your phone popped up, you rolled on your bed lazily and reached for your phone. Swiping the screen, you saw that you had a message from Harin. Glancing at the time, you were confused because he should already be on his date. Without thinking much, you read the message.

Hey Y/N, could you come over my house? I need some help preparing for the date :)

You typed furiously before clicking send. When that was done, you got up from your bed and grabbed your black hoodie that was hanging from a chair. Slipping it on, you left your apartment to go somewhere familiar with the image of your reply still in your head.

Sure, Harin :)

Knocking on his door, you hid your shaky hands in your pockets. Why were suddenly feeling nervous? It's not like it was your date-

The door clicked and opened to reveal your bestfriend, Ju Harin. Just like that, you were speechless. No words could truly describe how handsome he looked standing in front of you. He didn't need a suit and tie to look good. Cladded in a simple striped t-shirt and plain jeans, Ju Harin had completely taken your breath away by his charms.

“Uh Y/N?”

You unfroze yourself from your daydream. You could've sworn you saw a little smirk.

“You needed my help?”, you tried to sound cheerful.

“Mhm, could you put this blindfold on?”, he hummed as he unclenched his fist to reveal a black cloth.

Before you could question him, he explained that he wanted the date to be perfect so he wondered if you could stand in for his soulmate for a dry run of the date. Truthfully, you applauded his dedication to planning a perfect date even if you weren't his date. So in the end, you agreed.

You wanted to grab the blindfold and wear it yorself but Harin beat you to it. He shifted behind you and wrapped the black cloth around your eyes, tying it at the back. You felt yourself stiffened as his fingers brushed the your ears lightly. You mentally scolded yourself.

“Okay, I'm going to bring you somewhere now”, he whispered in your ear, his close proximity caused your cheeks to blush.

You couldn't see anything but you did feel Harin locking hands with you. You took in calm breaths.

It didn't take long before you finally stopped getting dragged by Harin.

“You can take them off now, Y/N”, he said.

Fumbling with the knot, you took the blindfold off your eyes. You had to blink a few times for your eyes to adjust to the surroundings.

When it did, time stood still. His normal living room now had beautiful fairylights hanging on the walls. The dining table at the side had vanilla-scented candles and a vase filled with baby's breath. The atmosphere of the whole living room was perfect for a chill yet romantic date. Your heart involuntarily clenched.

Harin, who was at your side, walked to the middle of the room. How you didn't notice it at first was a mystery but there it was, a drumset sitting in the middle. Your eyes shifted to Harin who had drumsticks in his hands.

“So here's the part where I tell you that I lied“

“Y/N, I didn't need your help with the date cause you are my date”

You didn't understand.

“Remember how I said she's someone I know? Did you ever think about the fact that the only girl I've ever talked to..is you?”

“Dammit, Y/N..you're my soulmate”

“I don't care if your soulmate isn't me, I just need you to know that I've been in love with you since the day you stood up for me against others”

Blinking your eyes, you felt a tear falling. You didn't realise you were crying this whole time. It all made sense now and you felt your heart warmed by Harin's confession. All that worrying and it turned out that Harin's been your soulmate all this time. And you were his.

You were overwhelmed by emotions but that didn't distract you from the sight of the drums. The only thing that didn't make sense to you. Why were drums in your dream?

“Ah, the drums”, Harin cheekily grinned.

“I kept it a secret because I didn't want you to think I'm lame”, he scratched his head with his drumsticks.

Wiping your tears from your eyes, you smiled softly at Harin, “You're absolutely amazing, Ju Harin”

His face reddened in an instant but he kept his composure. “Uh- so with everything planned, I think it's time for me to make you fall for me”, he shyly looked away from you.

Now, it was your turn to blush because that sounded really familiar as if someone he knew had said that to him the other day.

[a/n]

someone was craving for some harin content 🤷‍♀️ of course I was tempted to write something fluffyy > <

stan weus and ju harin please stahp being rude boi

[detectiverickitubbs]

“You’re lucky I came by when I did, or else you’d be dead.” Vin studied his friend from her position in the pool. "Right now you're just more fish 'en anythin'." All things considered, he was taking the news that his friend had fallen in a pool and sprouted a tail fairly well. Looking at her again and then looking at the scene, he added. "Was this Vice related or somethin' else?"

She’d been wrestled forcefully to her knees before Maximillian LeFonse Legba. A well known Haitian gang leader who, by all accounts was supposed to be dead. She and Crockett greeted his remains as they went through customs. They had both borne witness to the body enclosed in the casket and even signed papers to attest to it. Ricki had even half-jokingly checked for the nonexistent pulse. Last time Tubbs checked, Legba wasn’t in possession of resurrection powers. What had he stumbled upon? Love potion number 9 where the ol’ hag Madame Ruth with the golden tooth got her viles crossed? Whatever the answer, it sure did beat the hell outta the undercover cop now at his mercy.

Perpetually watchful hues follow Legba as he descends forebodingly upon her like a hurricane. A needle of a questionable substance is displayed before her and his other minions- both the witting and unwitting. “Don’t do it.” She tersely urges, straining to keep her voice calm. She shrugs and fusses with all her strength, trying to seize the upper hand from the guards keeping her down. But the efforts are to no avail, allowing for a terrible pinch in the side of her neck.

The drumming of her heartbeat swells, raising rhythmic alarms in every corridor of her mind. Her evergreen and coffee hues which, had attentively been seeking out an exit since the moment of her capture, falter in their mission. The vibrant array of colors surrounding her grow hazy and dim until they all out cease to exist in a river of darkness.

Suddenly, her body is enveloped by a chilling cold. Lungs that had been effortlessly recycling air began to burn horribly causing Tubbs’s eyes to snap open. Water?! How in the world had she gotten there?! She can not recall. Struggling hands began to flail, eagerly pulling about for the surface. Her legs attempted to kick but there is a tangible resistance as if, she had become entangled in a tight net or hell even rolled in a carpet. The more she struggled, the less progress she seemed to be making towards reaching fresh air. Grasping a rope that had been lowered to her by Vin, Tubbs uses what little remains of her strength to emerge. Trembling hands grip the side of the pool as tightly as possible as she begins to sputter out chlorinated contents. He wasn’t wrong. Without his presence and the rope he’d thrown her, she would have drowned. She forces several sharp inhales to try and quiet the choking sounds.

“Fish!” Tubbs hoarsely bellows, brushing sopping ebony strands out of her face. Batting her eyes a few times to rid herself of clear crystalline orbs, she turns to gaze at the lower half of her own body. Sure enough, Vin’s assessment that had been interpreted as an ill-timed joke, happened to be correct. Where her legs had been there was now a long trail of aquamarine and pink scales connected to two oversized fins. She gives them an exploratory kick just in case her eyes were playing tricks on her. To her astonishment, she discovers that the fins are all too painfully real. This was definitely going to be fun to explain to Castillo, Crockett, and the rest of the Vice department when she couldn’t comprehend the change herself. ‘Legba’. Her semi-coherent mind offered. Her clouded hues turn upwards towards Vin with the introduction of his inquiry. “I know y…  you won’t believe this,” Tubbs gulps, bouying herself as best she can. “Legba injected me with something before I blacked out.” Voodoo that had been a joke to her at the start of this case seemed far less humorous; given the surprising twist of circumstances. She doesn’t even mention that there could have been shady science or magic at play. Tubbs figures he is smart enough to arrive at that conclusion himself. Though internally, she personally preferred the shady science route because it could be more easily explained. Or could it?

She lowers herself in the water slightly, becoming aware that her expensive suit-jacket had been stripped from her and was probably discarded. Her blouse though it remained, clung clumsily to her dark skin. While the scales underneath the now transparent fabric concealed most of the important parts, it still exposed more of her figure than she was comfortable with. Whatever happened to her designer bustier- that was another mystery. One Tubbs was DEFINITELY going to kill Legba for.

Still, in spite of having more than ample oxygen being drawn into her lungs. Something is miserably awry!!! The Chlorine’s poison gradually sinks its white-hot tendrils into her veins, spreading deeper and deeper with every pumping of her heart. The shimmering scales extending halfway down her body feel as though they are shriveling, and to her horror and wonderment, some are drifting lifelessly to the bottom of the pool. Just to be sure she wasn’t imagining things, Tubbs allows herself to dive down to inspect the collection. Dismayed she returns to the surface, semi-awkwardly adjusting to worming her legs in unison.

Hating to cause more shock than the appearance of a tail already had, Ricki peers up at him entreatingly. “Hey, man. I’m no expert, but I don’t think I’m supposed to be…shedding and wrinkling up like this.” Her words escape her far more calmly than they ought to. She can only vaguely recollect childhood fairytales involving mermaids but she is fairly confident that the scales serve a purpose. She props her arms up against the side of the pool so that she can rest her chin on the sun-scorched pavement at Vin’s feet. Tubbs really doesn’t want to inform him that everything feels like its burning because it seems absurd when she is quite literally surrounded by frigid water. Maybe, if she keeps her fins moving, she’ll get rid of the feeling of death. So, her flipper slowly bobs up and down and occasionally side to side.