#so I will rb it to Midnight Sun | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sparklecinnamonbunny · 9 months

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Qwispy!

Your OC accidentally helped a mob boss change a flat while transporting a corpse and was rewarded with a "favor." They then find themselves in a position where they need to make that call. -What is the situation and how bad does it have to be to make that call? -Is it a successful mission or does it require a few steps to complete? -What if the mob wont let your OC go afterwards? Is your OC willing to make peace with that fact or find a way out of it?

This one got away from me I'm not gonna lie. It's close to 2000 words. I'll RB this with the AO3 link once I post it over there. This prompt was *perfect* for my old RP character, so I couldn't help putting her (and her right hand man) in as supporting characters.

Under the cut: Envy Greenberg's Dance with the Devil.

Skid Row, Los Angeles, California - 1989

Envy turns the bolt and yanks on the front door to make sure it won’t budge. Another late, hectic night on the books. Running a bar (especially a dive like Cobalt) is simultaneously the most rewarding and most frustrating thing she’s done in her life. The day that she doesn’t have to get physical with a customer will be… well, probably the day she opens another bar.

She does another sweep and lets herself out the back. Go home. Sleep. Eat. Do it again. Before her keys are out of the lock, she sees a car rolling up in the steel door’s reflection.

“I know you ain’t bouta rob me right now…” she mutters, popping the door back open and grabbing her nail bat from inside. Won’t stop someone who’s really hurting for cash, but it’ll make them think twice about it. Envy locks up again and slowly walks out into the lot, bat at hand.

A long, black sedan sits in the middle of her parking lot, tilted down on one side. Flat tire in the back. The driver steps out and stares. Tall white dude, medium build. Nice suit. Either a Family man (and she thought she left those on the East Coast) or an important cop. She’s not sure which is worse. If it’s the former, she could probably take him if he’s not carrying. The latter would just take a while. Probably want to see her paperwork. Then he’d want a drink. She’d be lucky to get home before the sun’s up.

Her keys jingle when she moves. He whirls around. “Hey! You work here?”

“We’re closed.” Maybe if she keeps it short and doesn’t stop walking, she can get out of this.

“I don’t want trouble. I got a flat, was wondering if you’d help a pal out. I can make it worth your while.” The only thing that’s worth her while right now is her bed. Envy keeps walking. “Didn’t I see you at that protest last month?”

“No you didn’t!” She calls over her shoulder. He thinks he’s real slick, huh? He didn’t see her if she was there, that’s for sure. There might not be that many big black queens with battle vests and locs this side of town, but this one kept her damn face covered.

“Listen!” He exclaims as she reaches her trunk. “I got friends in high places and no spare in the trunk. You help me with this, I’ll scratch your back one day. I promise.”

“Here’s some help: There’s a pay phone down 6th. Call your friends. Or a tow.”

“This isn’t the kind of thing I can trust a tow with. Please. I'm good for it.”

Against her better judgment, Envy puts her spare on the mobster’s car for $20 and a phone number scrawled on an old receipt. The guy vows over and over that if she calls, he’ll help her, but she’s not counting on it.

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California - 2006

Envy pushes up her reading glasses and rubs the bridge of her nose. Agreeing to add playrooms to her new goth club sounded like such a good idea from the outset. Club Hedonism’s been looking for a place to run secondary events and host meetings during their more ‘controversial’ events (looking at you, Willy’s Wild ‘n’ Wet Watersports Week), and it seemed obvious to offer Midnight up.

Unfortunately, the City of Los Angeles has decided to fuck her instead. The building changes she’ll have to make in order to accommodate the playrooms have totally changed the scope of the project. For once, it’s not a money issue, thanks to Hedonism’s contract and her new submissive’s insistence to help— She needs to get new permits before any work can continue, and the city’s not budging.

She starts to punch in the submissive’s number (Isn’t her brother Dethklok’s manager? Maybe she can get a referral for a better lawyer. The one she’s got now hasn’t done shit), then stops, pulling a crumpled receipt out of her desk drawer. That’s right, the time she changed a mobster’s tire. Well, if the guy’s still alive, maybe he can pull some strings with the city. That’s what they do in the Family, isn’t it?

After two rings, a woman with an alluring voice answers. Envy almost hangs up at her Hello? but figures there’s no harm in trying.

“I’m looking for a Rob Muratori?”

Her tone drops instantly. “How did you get this number?”

“He gave it to me after I changed a flat for him in ‘89. I understand if—“

She gives a world-weary sigh and says, “You’re lucky he’s here. Hold on. Rob, vieni subito qui!”

They shout back and forth in Italian for a moment, then Envy hears the telltale sound of a phone being handed over.

“Hey, this is Muratori. No funny business or I’ll find ya!” He laughs, but it’s clear he’s serious about it.

“You might not remember me. I changed a flat for you outside a dive bar called Cobalt in 1989. You gave me this number and said I could call you for a favor.”

“No, I remember you,” he assures, warm tone not quite hiding the menace beneath. “You’re Envy, right? Envy Greenberg. Last weekend, you hosted a rope tutorial at Club Hedonism.”

Envy holds her hand over the phone’s receiver and murmurs, “What the fuck?” to herself before bringing it back to her ear. She replies weakly, “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Cool, just making sure I got it straight. What can I do for you, Envy?”

“Do you know anybody that could help me get some permits through the city? Zoning’s blocking my new club. I didn’t really know where else to turn.”

“As a matter of fact, I do. My uh, friend that answered the phone is real good with contracts. She can grease some wheels downtown and get your project back on track.”

She should be glad it’s working out, but she feels like she’s signing a pact with the Devil. Envy forces a smile into her words as she replies, “Great.”

They make plans for his lawyer-friend to meet her at Club Hedonism the following weekend, as it turns out she’s a member. Envy books them a room. Some things are best discussed in complete privacy. Before they get off the line, Rob makes sure to tell her not to invite anyone else along. It kills her plan to invite her new submissive as buffer before it can crawl.

She waits in the negotiation room for what feels like an hour, jittering her knees until they might bruise. When Muratori’s friend finally shows, she’s not like any lawyer Envy’s ever seen. The lingerie is typical Hedonism fare, but she struts on platform heels like she just got off the pole. Let alone the Az-worthy blue hair. In fact, she would’ve asked her to leave if it weren’t for the gangster rose tatted on one of her arms and the hard look on her face.

“I trust you brought the paperwork,” she says in lieu of introduction. Her voice is back to sultry, but it doesn’t have the same effect now that she can hear the criminal underneath. She’s the sort of fierce beauty that Envy’d normally go silly for. It isn’t getting her blood pumping this time.

“Yeah. Plans and stuff too, in case you need to double check I’m applying for the right zoning permits.”

“That won’t be a problem. Rob’s taking care of my retainer for this, but I do still need you to sign a few things.” She sniffles a little. She bets she knows where that retainer’s going.

“For sure.” It would’ve been nice to have Sunday here, if only to make sure she isn’t signing herself into a corner. That’s probably why Muratori insisted she meet the lawyer alone.

She learns the woman’s name through the paperwork, at least. Darian Ambrosia. Envy would prefer to take her time and read everything over, but Darian’s piercing stare makes her rush. Steel grey eyes follow her every movement. Envy starts to sweat. Stiletto nails drum the table with coked out impatience. Envy reads a little faster.

When they finish, Darian softens those killer eyes and asks, “I try not to mix business and pleasure, but are you taking clients right now?”

Thank God for Sunday, Envy thinks and answers, “Not right now, I just took on a new submissive. It’ll be a while before I’m available for new play partners again.”

“I wonder if Ms. Mourning knows how lucky she really is. Let her know Rob and I are fans.”

“Uh-huh.” Damn, they’re gonna bring her subs into this? Guess it’s hard to get at her family when they’re all on the East Coast.

Despite the thug behavior, Darian and Rob are as good as their word. Envy only has to live with a pit in her stomach for three weeks before the permits go through and she’s back to expressing her stress with a sledgehammer. She stays glancing over her shoulder, though. A few years later, the other shoe drops.

Las Vegas, Nevada - 2010

The downturn hits Turquoise the hardest of her establishments. Figures. Vegas is not quite as recession-proof as Hollywood, and a decrease in tourists means a decrease in money all around. She’s having the opposite of a pleasant vacation. Laying off a bunch of cocktail waitresses isn’t her idea of a good time. Doing it in person with severance is the best she can do, and even that’s not as much as her girls deserve.

All this to say that by the end of her tear-soaked, chlorine-scented day, Envy’s feeling rotten to the core. All she wants to do is get in her car and spend the five hour drive back to LA shouting along to old Misfits CDs, but God has something else in mind.

There’s a couple in dark suits leaning against the car next to hers. Darian’s hair is platinum blonde now, but she can’t miss the gunslinger’s glares on her and her companion’s faces.

“Mr. Muratori, Ms. Ambrosia. Enjoying a weekend getaway?”

“Something like that,” Rob Muratori agrees, flashing his killer’s grin. “Get in the van.”

“I’m good. I got a long drive back to LA, and my submissive’s waiting on me for an appointment.”

“That’s interesting, since the news won’t shut up about Nathan Explosion proposing to her at Paris Disneyland,” Darian drawls, checking her manicure. The tattoos have crawled down to her hands now. Between those and the hungry look in her cheeks, Envy doubts she’s been doing much legal work lately.

“Ms. Greenberg, it’ll be easier for everyone if you come along. Your car will still be here when you come back.”

Rob’s reassurance does little to soothe Envy’s nerves. She didn’t want to get mixed up in this to begin with, and she’s not going to do favors back and forth with them forever. He’s skinnier than she remembers, too. She stands firm. Might be able to take him on if he tries to grab her.

He shifts to put a hand on his hip and Envy catches a glimpse of a pistol inside his suit jacket. Never mind, she’s going along for this one. “You promise I’ll be home in time for dinner?”

“If everything goes like it should, I’ll make you dinner myself. You like Italian?”

“Who doesn’t?”

It turns out he needs her as backup muscle for a deal. She stands at a door with a gun on her hip while Rob and Darian ‘convince’ a debtor to pay up. No blood is spilled, yet she feels filthy once they’re done. She’ll be scrubbing herself raw in the shower tonight.

Rob’s pleased with the results and promises Envy another favor. She silently vows never to be down bad enough to take it.

#mtl oc #metalocalypse fanfic #storyteller saturday #envy greenberg

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annwayne · 1 year

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10 People To Know Better🌼

Thanks @klynnvakarian for tagging me! I wasn't sure if I should rb or do a new post rip social anxiety 💀

Relationship Status: In a committed relationship of 9 years omg so long xD

Last Song I Listened To: The Dumb Song by AJR.

Three Favorite Foods: Food is hard because I get sick of food so easily 😅 Chocolate I can always have, I recently had a Chicken and Waffles with a red pepper jam recipe that was amazing and rice never does me wrong.

Last Thing(s) I Googled: (aside from the link of the ajr song lol) Sev dialogue lines 👀

Dream Trip: Oh that's hard. I'd love to revisit some of the places I went to while touring Europe. I'd love to see the Salisbury Cathedral with my partner, go through the Louve with him, go to the The Wallace Collection and see the swing again. Take him to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, go to Rome and see the Fontana di Trevi just as the sun starts to set. I had such amazing experiences while touring Europe and I'd love to share them with my partner.

no pressure tags: @wolveria @midnight-sun-01 @l-lend @commander-krios @chaniis23 @bagheerita (yall can totally ignore if you've done this already lol.)

#tag game #i miss europe #but seriously cathedrals are so gorgeous #salisbury is cool as hell because it was built fast enough that the *whole* cathedral is made in one style #architecture styles went *fast* like a decade per style #and building typically took muchhh longer #oh and it has one of the og magna carta copies xD #Ahh and all the sculptures in italy are stupid #just beautiful masterpieces just on the corner of the street #its baffling

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civilization-illstayrighthere · 2 years

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STOMPING IN A GLASS HOUSE, a cyberpunk 2077 fic (chapter 2/3, 6k words, M for gore, language)

V shakes out his sore shoulder, flicks his wrist and his fingers especially. They’re no longer wet with blood, but the white chrome is regardless stained rust.

The blood washes out, though he kind of feels like they haven’t looked half as good as when he got them first put in six months ago, like they still have that brick-tint. Even with the borax and the bleach, even if V’s fancy optics tell him otherwise.

Militech’s already released a new version from his midnight market early leak prototypes. The ones on the mainstream market now only come in black, matte or gloss.

“So,” he wipes them one last time over his pants, across his thighs, “How come you want to visit Eurodyne?”

The camp is quiet save the whirring of cameras, reporting an intruder to users no longer alive. V’s muddy fleets splash through a puddle of CHOOH2, rainbow glossy under the desert sun.

Johnny follows in his footsteps, and he creates no ripples as he tromps through the same puddles as V. “What? I thought I already told you about this.” He squints, “relic got you feeling squirrelly?”

“No.” V keeps his voice clipped, “just asking.”

“I just want to see Ker—“

“Right, right, I get it. But what’s the real reason?”

Because he doesn’t trust the empathy thing. He’s not keeping a tally, that’d be too exhaustive, but he thinks Johnny owes him a truth right about now.

Johnny peers down at the bodies littering the ground as V weaves his way through.

“Guilt. Nostalgia. Maybe I’d make good on what I told Rogue at Silver Pixel.” Johnny grins, big and wide, row of white teeth fencing in his sharp tongue.

V snorts. Just to be obnoxious, he even lets out a little “hah!”

(“I’d fuck Kerry, I guess.” Johnny says to Rogue, his shit-eating grin plastered onto V’s face, unable to resist the joke. She looks at him with that kind of poignant look that he can feel Johnny instantly gloss over. V recognizes it as the look of a woman being proved right down to her fucking bones, over and over and over, and still somewhat distressed to realize she’s actually disappointed by it, yet again.)

Johnny rewards V with an eyeroll that he can’t see beyond his aviators, but feels in his bones, relic or not. “I don’t know. Why are you asking?”

(READ MORE HERE!) (COMMENTS CRITS & RBS APPRECIATED!)

#cp 2077 #cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #johnny silverhand #kerry eurodyne #rogue amendiares #stomping in a glass house #;w;#i feel bad tagging as Kerry/v cause it’s pre relationship u know. but. anyway.

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gxnya · 4 years

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"Why won't you leave me alone?"

Believe me, I wanted to say. I've tried.

#have a dork edit #really liked those over wallpapers so i wanted to twilight them 👉🏻👈🏻#round 2 #hopefully no one rb my typo lol #twilight #midnight sun #bella swan #edward cullen

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sichengtual · 3 years

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watch the stars burn out — jjh.

— summary: jaehyun had always thought of your love as a constant star in a midnight sky: always there, lighting and setting the direction of his every step. the problem with stars? they don't last forever, and when they burn, they burn fiercely.

— pairing: jung jaehyun x reader.

— genre: angst, smut, fluff; established relationship, rich!jaehyun, rich!reader, artist!jaehyun, renaissance au.

inspired by the pazzi conspiracy of 1478 and its dramatization in the show "medici: masters of florence".

— word count: 9.8k (9,829).

— warnings: mentions of violence, mentions of murder, mentions of dysfunctional families, sexual content (cunnilingus, unprotected sex, mc has a vagina but no gender is ever specified). may be subject to historical inaccuracies!

— a/n: the events written in italics are memories, and thus, they happen in the past! everything else takes place in the present. it's my first time writing smut, so even if i'm a bit nervous about how it turned out, i hope you like it! as always, the biggest thank you to the love of my life @svtxsoju for making sure this entire thing makes even a little bit of sense 💞. playlist will be linked in the rbs!

part of the historical collab hosted by @puppywritings!

Jaehyun had first met you when the sun was shining bright.

He remembers it all, down to the very first minute, your face carved deep within his heart, your voice echoing somewhere in the back of his mind. The feeling of your skin, the sound of your laugh. The slight burn from the sun and the refreshing gusts of the cool spring wind. The melody that comes from deep within the forest, a chorus of breeze and leaves, the sudden chirp of a bird. He remembers the feeling of butterflies flying both past him and inside him, his cheeks burning up when he turned to look at you. When you turned to look at him.

“What is it?” You asked, voice soft against the wind. A laugh promised to break from your throat, “Don’t tell me you’re keeping it a secret again.”

“I like it,” he answered, smiling up at you as he looked up from his paper. “I like seeing your face when you get surprised. It gets you all excited, and the excitement makes you happy.”

“It’d also make me really happy if you told me what you’re working on,” you tried, huffing as he shook his head in your direction. “Come on, not even a clue?”

“A clue,” he said, resting his chin on his hand. The grass prickled at his skin when he moved, but he didn’t mind. He’d spend hours on the meadow with you, finding love under the sun. “Okay, let me think. Only one, though.”

He gave you a kiss. A soft, quick, loving peck, warm against your cheek. And you smiled, laughed as you circled your arms around his neck, pulling him into an embrace and falling to lay over the cool, green grass. You laughed against his skin, breath prickling his neck. And he held you as tight as he could.

“How was that for a clue?”

It’s almost like a lucid dream, the way the scenes play out inside his head. He’d say it’s a memory, but the stories rolling inside his head feel much more vivid, much more real, that he’d almost think it’s the present time. If he didn’t know better. If he had known better once.

If he closes his eyes it’s almost like you’re right there, next to him, reaching out to hold his hand right as he reaches out to hold yours. If he lets out a breath he can almost feel you touching his cheek, laughing next to his ear as you kiss the sweet spot below his ear. If he smiles the faintest smile he can almost kiss the top of your head, hearing your giggles as a song flows out of his lips like honey, enveloping the two of you in a saccharine bubble the outside world wouldn’t dream of bursting.

If he thinks about you, he can remember what it is like to be happy.

“I thought you weren’t gonna come today,” you said, twirling a piece of grass in your hands. Despite standing all day under the sun, it still felt cool to the touch. “I waited here and watched the clouds float by, wallowing in my sadness.”

“Well I watched the clouds float by as I walked here, too,” he answered, laughing, and looking at the sky. “If you think about it this way, it’s almost like we’re connected.”

“You can watch the clouds from almost anywhere,” you mentioned, eyes closed. The breeze felt cool and smelled sweet, like freshly picked peaches. “Isn’t that nice? If you think about it the way you said, it’s almost like we’re always connected.”

There had been something about you that always made Jaehyun feel like you were the sun yourself; brushing his skin with your lips, keeping him safe in your warmth. Maybe it was in your smile, or in your touch, or in the feeling in his chest that erupted whenever he got to hold you in his arms. Maybe it was in you always being there, an anchor keeping him next to you even when the tide threatened to tear you apart. Maybe it was in himself finally feeling alive when in your presence, like a flower growing healthy and strong under the delicate watch of a constantly burning star.

He remembers endless mornings spent bathing in the sun, a piece of paper and a delicate stick of coal, emptying thoughts into paper, turning feelings into art.

Him, laying on his stomach, trying to capture the delicate movements of a butterfly’s wing when finally setting flight, crisp strokes with surgical precision, carefully transforming delicate feelings into delicate lines like some sort of alchemy; the final product more valuable than gold or whatever precious metal came to mind, all modeled in you. For you.

He’d never told you, and you had never guessed, but all of the thick, cream tinted sheets adorning your walls gave you an idea: one that felt, sounded, and looked like you.

“You keep looking at me,” you whispered. Jaehyun looked over, turning so his smile was the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes. “Are you drawing me? Maybe I should have chosen a better background.”

Jaehyun pursed his lips, trying his best to bury down a laugh. A giggle escaped his throat despite his best efforts to remain serious, the blank expression he wanted to convey breaking down into a smile.

“I was about to say I was actually drawing the tree right behind you, but I guess I just gave myself away.”

“Mmhm,” you muttered, smiling up at him. “You’re a terrible liar, Jung Jaehyun.”

“I wouldn’t need to be a good one anyways,” he laughed, his eyes traveling back to his canvas. He looked at his traces, and he felt pride. Pride of being fortunate enough to capture you in a portrait he’d carry wherever he went, etched deep in the bottom of his heart. “Not with you.”

Deep down, all of them always did. It was nothing he tried to deny, or even hide, as it was clearly visible to everyone around that you composed Jaehyun’s own heart and soul.

It was in the way he held you, as close to him as he could, always fearing you straying too far out of his reach. It was in the way he spoke to and about you, voice turning to liquid sugar as he caressed you with his speech, whispering your name as if part of an incantation, artistry and lyricism only rivaling that of the ancient poets forever praising their deities. It was in the way he looked at you, eyes burning with devotion as if yours had been the very hand that had painted the stars in the midnight sky.

And now it’s in the way he’s still sure you’re the axis the earth spins on, thoughts still going back to you.

He’s sure you’re still everything and everywhere, for he sees your face wherever he looks, he hears your voice wherever he goes. It’s in the delicate petal of a flower and the gentle chirp of a bird, and in the faint golden glow of the setting sun, that he finds comfort in the sense of your presence again. And it hurts, it hurts so much that he feels his heart is about to thump out of his chest, because he knows it’s the only way he can do it again.

You live in his memories in a way you don’t in the real world anymore, because, in his memories, you are happy. When he dreams about you, you feel close enough to touch, and when he thinks about you, he’s sure he can almost hear you. He can hear you laugh, and he can see you smile, and he can witness the way your eyes light up at the sight of him. He can remember the tone in your voice, so soft it felt like velvet, always so light when you spoke about the love you felt for art. For him.

“When will you let me see it?” You asked, looking over at him as he rolled back on his back.

He wasn’t looking at you, instead looking all around. The sun shone against his face in a mix of golden hues, shadows resting on his face like the delicate brush strokes he always spent hours perfecting on his own paintings. At that moment, you were sure that Jung Jaehyun, artist, was a masterpiece in and out of himself.

“Well, that’s a bit of a surprise as well,” he answered, hand stretched out in your direction. You took it in yours, and his fingers caressed yours. His skin was warm, warm against your touch. Warm because his heart was beating, and beating a happy beat. “Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse if you ever come by the workshop.”

“Oh, I go by the workshop almost everyday,” you laughed. “Does this mean you’re painting it? Jung Jaehyun, are you really gonna paint a portrait of me?”

He nodded his head. When he smiled, dimples appeared on his cheeks, and you were happy because you knew he was too.

“The most beautiful portrait I’ll ever paint.”

He can remember the way you made his stomach erupt into a million butterflies with the flick of a finger and the most simple syllable of hello, meaning much more to him than the crafter words of any professionally trained poet. He can remember dreaming, dreaming under the sun, closing his eyes and imagining a thousand scenarios where everything went the way he had always wanted: well. He can remember having hope.

And just oh how foolish he had been.

Jaehyun had always been happy with a brush on his hand.

In a way, it had become an extension of himself, and it wasn’t just the skill he’d managed to garner with the tool, but the way the brush kept managing to dip down into his soul and figuring out his feelings before he even had the chance to do it himself. It was almost like it acted on itself, delicate brush strokes meaning much more than simple oil on canvas; they were unspoken words finally muttered. Thoughts finally taking form, feelings finally being deciphered.

In front of a blank canvas, with the promise of a stroke in his hand a thunderstorm brewing in his head, he felt free. The glide of the brush, the smell of the drying paint, the finished artwork, they were all parts of himself coming together. It was all the way he became himself, the way he found himself in a rainbow that started and ended with you.

“Your brother’s table again?” You asked, voice trailing behind you as you walked into his workshop. “Just how many times is he gonna ask you to draw the same three apples?”

The room, brightly lit, was one in the (still) decadent wing of his palace. The walls were covered in canvases, some finished and some in progress, years of work exhibited for whoever walked in. Still, no one ever did but you and him, and there was something in the way he trusted you that still, years later, shook you to your core.

He let you see his soul when it was bare, and his soul when it was in progress, and his soul when it was finished, because you were in every single picture. You were there, in every single step of the way.

“Until he doesn’t have any more apples,” he answered, brush still lingering over the painting. Not close enough to touch it, but not too far apart to be completely separated. Like the two of you, it was always only at arm’s length. “Then, he’ll ask me to paint three oranges. Or three peaches. Or three of whatever fruit he has in hand.”

“Maybe he’ll welcome that change. I doubt he likes apples just enough to have them completely drape the walls of his home,” you laughed. “But maybe pears? Your brother strikes me more like a pear guy.”

“Who cares if he likes pears or apples better,” Jaehyun turned, joining you in your laughter. His hands went to yours, fingers interlocking immediately. “He’ll make me paint either of them. Whichever one is more expensive will come first, though.”

“It’s such a shame he has no sort of artistic vision, don’t you think? He asks you for the same background too.”

“You have me for the artistic vision, though. You’ve always had me.”

And it was true. Jaehyun’s love for art dripped out of every pore, swallowing him into a bubble you dared to venture only because you knew he’d keep you afloat. He’d anchor you to land, heart locked with his so tight you’d never fear straying away from him. From comfort.

“And I wouldn’t dream of having anyone else.”

It wasn’t long until his love for art extended to you, too. After all, after spending a lifetime together, both of his greatest loves were meant to blend together somehow, and you weren’t going to deny something that made him feel as loved as it made you feel cared for.

He was there, the first time you decided to let a brush graze upon the white linen of a fresh canvas. He was there, too, the first time you finished a piece. He was there to mumble in your ear, fill your head with preaches and tell you how much he wished everyone around you could witness just how talented you were.

“Any suggestions?” Jaehyun asked, stepping back to take a look at the painting. “Be honest, do you like it? It will be the next thing my brother stares out when he contemplates life, or whatever it is he does all day.”

Still far from done, Jaehyun can see the progress on his mind rolling in by steps. He can almost feel his hand moving, as if practicing the strokes, the brush on his fingers feeling like it’s where it belongs.

You let out a laugh.

“Your brother’s fruit variety is too grand for me to not like,” you joked, smiling when he turned to look at you. “I think it’s delightful. And when you’re done, I think it will be even more beautiful.”

“Would it be too self-absorbed of me to think you’re saying that just because you love me?”

“It wouldn’t. It wouldn’t be true either, though. Jung Jaehyun, please remind me to never allow you to pursue a future in divination.”

Rolling his eyes, Jaehyun lay down his brush in a glass full of water. The remnants of paint in its tip swirled around the liquid like smoke, quickly spreading, coloring the water a translucent shade of red.

Taking a step towards you, Jaehyun cleared his mind of any thoughts regarding the ongoing painting. His brother, his demands toward him, and even the ridiculous request to paint his table once more vanished from his thoughts.

He focused on the wind sweeping in through the windows, the large white curtains rising and falling in accordance to the will of the breeze. He focused on you, staring back at him with a smile on your face. He focused on the chirping of the birds that came from outside, and the sound of leaves rustling with the wind. He focused on the sunlight reflected on the terracota tiles of the room, shadows quickly forming a painting consisting of light and empty space.

He’d always said there was art in everything, and with you around, it was easier for him to see it. You, and the love he held for you, made the world a beautiful place.

“Join me on a walk, will you?” You asked, hand stretched out in his direction. “The weather is quite nice to pass it up.”

He didn’t have to think twice. His feet made their way to you, quickly and surely, like a wandering man finally coming home.

The last time you went to the meadow, night had already fallen down.

It was a different place altogether once the sun had gone down; peaceful, yes, but with that sense of peace and quiet came a sort of magic that hung in the air. It enveloped you, blood turning into stardust as soon as the breeze hit your skin.

It had been a night like all of the others; a night you were supposed to spend back home. Inside. And yet Jaehyun had shown up at your house with tiny pebbles crashing against your window and the promise of a night spent in each other’s arms. It wasn’t like you, escaping. Spontaneity was Jaehyun’s thing, always dancing around the rules set on yourself, himself, and any others.

That night, though, with your room dimly lit by a few candles and the sky lit by a thousand blazing stars, the decision had been easy. You followed Jaehyun’s lead, taking his hand and jumping into the unknown in a simple leap.

Without looking back, you had disappeared into the night, mere shadows running across the trees.

“God, it’s so nice out here tonight,” you said, once you had finally reached your usual spot. “Thank you for not letting me stay home and listen to my brothers talking about money or whatever it is they discuss all day.”

Laying on the grass next to your lover, the constellations above you were raised like artwork in a gallery, and you were there to delight upon the grand design.

“Just when I was thinking you were starting to take interest in banking,” he joked. “You’d take this entire city by storm.”

Laughing, Jaehyun took your hand in his and brought it up to his lips, pecking your palm and keeping it close against his chest. His thumb ran up and down the back of your hand, a caress that wasn’t born from a thought but from an instinct, and he sighs when feels you scooting over until you’re right next to him.

You turned, nuzzling your face against his neck, pressing a kiss against the tender skin. His free hand, the one not clutched to yours, traveled down your body, caressing you over the fabric of your clothes, his touch moulding into you. You sucked on his neck, tongue running over the skin as Jaehyun let out a groan that sent shivers down your spine.

“Baby,” you whispered, your breath hot against his skin. Your words, the sultriness behind your voice and the breathiness in your tone makes him elicit a nervous giggle. “Kiss me.”

Even then, a lifetime after you had first met, you still never failed to make him feel like everything was, once again, your very first time. You were still a mystery to him, a treasure yet to explore, a miracle still left to wonder.

“Or am I gonna have to kiss you myself?”

He stopped laughing, but the smile on his lips didn’t fade. He looked at you, laying down on the grass with the stars reflecting on your eyes, and finally leaned in. His skin touched yours and it’s almost like he was on fire, senses quickly directed to you, mind fogged with the closeness of bodies and souls.

He connected his lips with yours, opening them into a kiss that took your breath away. He sucked on your bottom lip and it was almost like you were flying, thoughts and feelings all centered upon the feeling of Jaehyun’s affection.

A moan escaped your lips, kiss momentarily interrupted.

“Are you that eager, baby?” He said, still dangerously close to you. His words ignited a fire in the pit of your stomach, and you could begin to feel your wetness running down the outside of your core. “So eager for my touch? Are you already moaning just for the feeling of my mouth on your skin? ”

“I’m s-so wet,” you breathed out, your free hand quickly finding the hair on the nape of his neck. It was soft and silky as you thread your fingers through it. “I want you to touch me, Jaehyun.”

It hadn’t been the first time, and neither of you had a way of knowing it would be your last, but it’s almost as if you did. It was like his body craved yours, as if he was desperate for your touch.

You had become much more than his muse. Moonlights had passed and years had gone by, and you were far beyond being a source of inspiration. You were a living, breathing, deity for him to worship. To adore. And he made sure of doing it, as passionate during the nights as he was during the day; lips traveling down your body, kissing you with so much fervor it almost threatened to burn against your skin. It ran like a fire, wild, consuming everything in its pace until only but a scorch remained.

And you enjoyed every second of it.

“You’re breathtaking,” he whispered, words muffled against your core. He didn’t separate himself fully, alternating between talking and nibbling at your clit, mouth always on you. “You, all of you, are a masterpiece.”

“Oh, please” you muttered, a whine escaping your lips as you tightened your grip on his hair. Your fingers were prickling at his scalp, a moan leaving his throat when you tugged on the roots. It traveled through your core, vibrations making you wither against the grass. “Jaehyun, please don’t stop. God, please, please don’t stop.”

He didn’t.

“You taste so sweet against my tongue, baby,” he whispered, only raising himself slightly to look you in the eye. His pupils, blown out wide; his chin, coated in your wetness; his lips, plump and forming a wicked grin. Jaehyun, artist, was the purest form of art.

He pulled you closer, as close as he could manage, sucking on your clit as his hands kept you down against the grass.

“I’m-,” you mewled, your voice breaking. You heard his voice, speaking something that sounded like a praise, but your mind was blank and you were sure that you were melting, heartbeat thumping loudly against your chest. “I’m- oh!”

His name leaves your mouth in rapid mentions, words slurred and mixing in together by end as he kept hugging your legs while he brought you to your climax.

It hadn’t been the first time, and neither of you had a way of knowing it would be your last, but it’s almost as if you did.

Under the pale moonlight, Jaehyun made love to you.

Under the pale moonlight, Jaehyun caressed your soul until it joined his, and sang his song until it sounded like yours. Held your hand, trailed your skin, savored your name on his tongue until it sounded like a miracle. He felt his heart beating against his chest, thumping in a beat that resembled yours.

He joined you in your pleasure, losing every drop of self restraint he had shown. The gentleness of his touch, and the patience of his kiss, it all came crashing down when he tasted bliss on your lips and felt excitement in your touch.

“I’m so close,” Jaehyun grunted, quickening the speed of his thrusts. He’d started on a slow, melodic rhythm, tending to his ministrations in the way he did to his caresses: with devotion. But he had held you, and he had felt you, and it had always been oh so easy to get lost in the feeling of your body against his. “You feel amazing around me, baby.”

His rhythm was frantic, uneven, desperate, and he was too lost on his search for pleasure to care. Throwing his head back, Jaehyun’s hand came to find your clit, eliciting a whimper to come out of your lips. You were fighting the urge to close your eyes, wanting to set your eyes in Jaehyun’s face as it contorted in pleasure.

He was in pure bliss, eyes closed and mouth slightly open, a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead. His hair, disheveled, fell in thick curls on top of his face, like a golden frame presenting a blissful artwork. He wetted his lips with his tongue as he groaned, brain too overwhelmed with feelings and pleasure to be able to produce any other sounds.

“Fuck,” he whimpered, words followed by a breathy moan. He felt you clench around him, senses lit alive by the feeling and the sound of his skin meeting yours with his thrusts. “Oh, my love.”

He slumped forward, forearms propped up against the grass as his movements became more erratic, keeping him on top of you as your foreheads came to touch. Closing your eyes, and with Jaehyun buried deep within your core, his name fell out of your lips like a desperate plea.

He had answered, whispering your name when he felt himself come against your walls. He kept thrusting his hips against yours, trying to remain in whatever degree of heaven he had reached while he milked his orgasm to its full.

Feeling his seed nestled deep within you, you pecked his lips. You could still taste yourself on him, and the thought alone was enough for you to reach your peak once more. He deepened the kiss, and the heat behind his affection consumed you whole.

It hadn’t been the first time, and none of you had a way of knowing it would be the last. But you felt it, somehow, and it translated to the desperation that gnawed at his chest until nothing but an instinct remained. The two of you longed to hold on, and it wasn’t just a holding onto each other as it was to the idea of each other. To the idea of a lover that led each of your paths in a way that only kept you as close as you had been for the entirety of your lives.

You laid on your back, and you looked up at him. The stars reflected in your eyes, an entire galaxy for Jaehyun to explore, and there was nothing that held him back from doing it. He stared at you, eyes set on yours as he reached his high, and the same stars on your eyes came alight in the back of his mind.

The world stopped spinning, and there was nothing but you. The grip on your hands tightened, and he kissed your lips, drowning in every single droplet of love you had to give.

“I love you. I’ve loved you every day I’ve spent without you, I’ll love you every day I’ll spend with you. Our love will be here, and I’ll watch the stars burn out before I ever put it at risk.”

Under the pale moonlight, he swore an oath to you.

Under the sun, he broke it.

Things had started out good.

A childhood friendship turned legendary romance, a politically strategized union turned tragedy. Jaehyun had long since heard that nothing lasts forever, even when dealing with happiness, and it had proven to be true, no matter how hard he had tried to fight against it. There’s something behind finally realizing there’s no way to hold on, feelings and people slipping in and out of your life like air running between your fingers.

There was nothing he could have done, because everything always ended up leading to the exact same place. Far away from you.

“Nothing but tragedy could ever come out of a love that shines so bright,” his own brother had said.

His voice had been stern, eyes never quite meeting his, feelings never really completely there. The house was quiet, stoic, no other sound traveling through space except for the ones coming out of their own mouths. An eerie portrait of the man sitting in front of him, mind always somewhere else. Heart always vacant.

“It’s like a star. It burns wild, unreserved, exhausting its own oxygen under the impression that it’ll last forever, but it won’t. In the end, its strength fades, and the star itself ends up burning out. It becomes nothing more than the pale ghost of the bright light it once was.”

He didn’t listen. He didn’t have a reason to, and maybe it was his own ravenous optimism, the bite of being young and careless. Maybe it was the effect that came from being in love with you, and of you being in love with him, because there was something in your touch that constituted a promise of forever that had yet to be tested.

Your love for each other bloomed the same way your friendship once had: through the years. It was carefully tended to, gently handled, lovingly thought of. You’d become each other’s source of happiness before you even figured out your own, running into each other’s arms whenever you needed to find the comfort of a home.

Throughout your lives, it had hid behind being each other’s best friends and most trustworthy confidantes, being oh so painfully easy to hide until it simply wasn’t anymore: until it threatened to consume you. Until you finally let it grow wild. Free.

“You should listen to me, Jaehyun, because I know this world better than you do. I know that wrecked family, inside and out,” he said, spitting out the words as he turned to face the balcony. His brothers’ eyes set on the tops of the trees beneath the mountain, all across the valley.

His voice sounded like thunder and stung like venom, and when he frowned his eyebrows Jaehyun was struck with how little he actually knew the man standing in front of him. They’d grown up, side by side, but a part of him really couldn’t see if his brother had left part of himself in the years that had gone by.

“They are our friends,” Jaehyun retorted. “Our family. As such, they deserve our loyalty.”

“No. They took from us until we had nothing else for them to take,” his brother spat. “Look at us, Jaehyun. All we have is this falling palace, memories of past glories and titles that aren’t worth a single penny. Meanwhile, all they do is gloat in their never-ending riches, and you still care about them? I can’t even look at you with a smile on my face.”

“That’s your own fault,” Jaehyun said, voice sounding like it was made of steel. “They have nothing to do with the fact we’ve never been anything close to a family. That’s your own fucking fault.”

For a while, Jaehyun had been surprised at how easy it had been to recognize the blame. It would have been much more normal to do what his brother had done, and blame someone else, get angry at the world, turn his back against it before he pointed fingers at his own family. He realized, long after, he had said it himself.

It never even felt like a family in the first place, much more than it felt like a game of guarding interests.

No matter how much he tried, Jaehyun could never pinpoint the exact moment when his brother had turned against the world, but he never felt like he really needed to. His brother never needed a reason to be greedy, so he didn’t need to look for one either. There had always been things thicker than blood, powerful enough to tempt a man to the point beyond despair. To the point where loyalty became a word simply out of a fairytale. Some unreachable ideal.

“Don’t blame me for your failed family love fantasies, Jaehyun,” his brother had muttered, fingers gripping the side of the chair. “We could have had it all if it wasn’t for them. You’re just too busy playing teenage lover to see it.”

Jaehyun knows now that part of his mistakes come from believing that people feel the way he does. Love the way he loves, trust the way he trusts, because nothing else feels as natural. He knows the way he saw people through a rose-colored vision made him unable to see them as they were, because he cared too much about the world to imagine people failing it in any kind of way.

He never would have guessed people would have wanted to taint your smile, destroy your happiness, but they did. There had been no way for him to believe someone would have been able to look at you and see in your smile someone worth breaking, and all in the name of greed. All for money and power, because that’s everything that the world came to account for.

Jaehyun and you had been both pawns in someone else’s game, and there had been no way for him to realize. You shone such a bright light on his eyes it blinded him towards everything else, and sooner or later, he would have come to pay the price.

“They’ve always had everything they’ve ever wanted, and I’m gonna take it from them. I’m gonna repay the favor, and once I’m finished, they’ll all be left hopeless. Each and every single one of them.”

He had warned you.

He pleaded with you, begged until his throat had gone dry. He had asked until tears dampened his cheeks, hugging you close as he kept repeating the exact same words.

“Please, whatever you do, don’t go to Mass tomorrow.”

He couldn’t tell you more. He couldn’t bring himself to, and now he knows he should have. He knows he should have let you see the monster that hid beneath a skin you’d touched. A skin you’d kissed. A skin you’d adored, tempting fate every time you dared to lay your love upon it.

“It’s Sunday Mass, Jaehyun,” you replied. You ran your hands over the soft linen sheets adorning your bed. “I can’t just skip it without a good reason. You shouldn’t skip it either, you know. I’m sure my father will be very pleased to see you there.”

“Please, listen to me,” he said, once more. His voice was coarse, as if he’d spend the entire day pleasing the way he was doing now. “Don’t go. We’ll go next Sunday, okay? I’ll see your father on Monday, but please, please stay here tomorrow. Don’t go near the Cathedral.”

And he should have insisted. He knew you believed him, because you always had, but one of the things he loved about you was that you had your own mind. There had been a sense of restlessness in your soul, some unresolved teenage revelry. The words that mattered the most to you were your own, and it had always been like that. His only hope stood in believing, no matter how absurdly, that maybe his words had come to mean something to you too.

“Fine,” you said, giggling afterwards. “I’ll stay here. You can join me if you’re not going. I wouldn’t like it if you let me here alone, with nothing else to do but contemplating my own boredom. Maybe you can tell me what this is really about.”

Some part of you felt part of some big secret, too lost in the thrill that came with tasting the forbidden. Its nectar traveled down your throat and you drank it all, savoring the taste of danger until there was nothing left for you to delight on.

Jaehyun forced out a laugh. He was sure you noticed, but you never pointed it out. You let him be, and you simply were by his side, and, in a way, that only strengthened your connection. Freedom had been born in your embrace, just as much as love had bloomed in your kiss.

“This is about you and me,” he whispered. “Believe me, please.”

Laying down next to you, Jaehyun’s hand searched for yours. It always did, and it always found it. He always found you, because you were never too far away from his touch.

“Hmm, I believe you,” you hum. “Did you ever think we’d be here, Jaehyun? Lying like this? You were always there, but I don’t think I could have ever seen you coming. And then you took me by surprise. I think I’d believe anything that came out of your mouth.”

“I think I always hoped we’d be here,” he confessed, hands caressing your skin. “I had no way of knowing, but thinking you could somehow love me back always kept me hoping.”

Jaehyun smiled, and it was real. It was impressive, the way your voice never failed to anchor him to the moment. To you. It came to him, like a divine revelation, a sacred song, luring him to safety.

Tugging on his hand, you pulled him to you, pulling him into your arms, and trying to provide the same comfort you had felt when he had done the same. Your heart called to his, and it mirrored its beat, like two drums that echoed in the background of the most beautiful song.

Now, his thoughts don’t even reach you. He tries to look back into his mind, and he finds you. He sees you standing right in front of him, hand stretched out, almost pulling him in. He sees the sun reflecting on your skin and feels the warmth of your body, and it feels too real. Too raw. It feels like you’re tearing at his skin, grasping his heart with your bare fingers, pulling at his soul.

It hurts, because no matter how close you feel, he can never touch you. Like a siren’s song, your voice calls to him in his daze, and, without giving it a second thought, he plunges head first into the freezing water. He tries to hold you, to touch your hand, to kiss your lips. He tries to hear your voice, to taste your skin, and you always slip past his fingertips. You always turn to mist when he takes a step.

Like a siren’s song, the memory of you still calls to him, and then leaves him drowning in the deepest corners of his mind.

“You’ll stay here, right? Promise me.”

“I won’t move a finger.”

Oh, God. Please be wary of my soul.

You didn’t listen. And you should have.

You should have recognized the rawness in his voice, the fear in his eyes. You should have done what you always did, and let yourself revel in your naiveness. You should have seen danger where it laid, waiting for you to take the first step into a trap that tasted like the sweetest honey, and felt like the softest velvet.

A trap that looked, smelled, and sounded like him.

You should have trusted him a little more. And you should have trusted him a little less, because trusting him at all had been the reason why it all went wrong. Trusting him had been like taking a threat’s hand and following it blindly, like a fool that always followed the sun.

You should have known better. And you should have ran.

Jaehyun didn’t look for you when he came in, but again, he didn’t think you were there at all. He walked in, eyes set on the people sitting close to you. Fingers wrapped around his locket, he took a seat at the back and waited.

You didn’t see him when he came in, either, because you didn’t expect him to be there. You didn’t hear him, either, because you didn’t think you would. You didn’t feel him, because you didn’t know he’d be close. Jaehyun wasn’t supposed to be there, but then again, neither were you.

Heart beating rapidly against his chest, he wished he was braver. Closing his eyes, he wished he could have had a choice. Letting out a breath, he realized he had. And he wished he had taken it.

He hoped you weren’t there. He hoped you had listened to him. Somehow, deep inside, he had thought you would. Somehow, deep inside, he had thought he could save you.

Whispering a prayer, he wished he could, someday, be forgiven. Forgiven for having betrayed you. For the pain he’d inflicted. For the pain he would inflict, not only on someone else, but also upon himself.

Whispering a prayer, he saw his brother come in. He wished he could have turned away, run as far as his legs allowed, but he was turned to stone. Feet almost glued to the ground, eyes set on his brother’s grip on the hem of his pants, he tried to swallow, but his throat had gone dry. His brother turned to look at him, face void of emotions, expression blank.

His brother started walking, drawing stares from the people sitting at the pews. The music stopped. Jaehyun stood still, eyes frantically scanning the front of the church for any signs of you. Of a thwarted plan. Of a danger that wasn’t himself.

All he could hear was his heartbeat drumming against his ears. All he could see was his brother pulling out a knife. All he could feel was pure fear, running through his veins in what surged like a rush of adrenaline. And all he could think was of you.

The fight broke out, and chaos erupted.

Long ago, Jaehyun had thought of running away. He had the idea of leaving everything behind but you, because there was no point in having anything if he didn’t have you, too. He’d told you, laid down his plan, but there had been something tugging at your chest that was greater than the idea to escape.

It was the dream of a happy ending. Like the ones you’d heard about. The dream of Jaehyun eating a fresh peach from your garden after a long day. The dream of hugging him under the setting sun, eyes fixed on his, kissing him under a lilac sky. The dream of running down the meadow by his side, laughing carelessly against the wind.

And then he saw you. And he wished he hadn’t.

Maybe you had been foolish. Foolish enough to ever believe a happy ending was real, but nothing had ever proved you otherwise. Brought up in a life of comfort, the world, to you, was a fairytale, and you and Jaehyun were simple characters in a story that sounded a lot like love. Like the kind of love that was strong enough to dare any odds, grandiose enough to inspire poetry. Like the kind of love that was poetry.

The thing about poetry though, is that it can speak of misfortune. Of pain. Of tragedy. And it can make it sound beautiful.

That day, you didn’t listen. And you should have.

It all happened in a flash, and, to this day, the events that came to change your life are still blurred inside your head. Like a running stream, the memories come back in gusts, never clear enough for you to follow. There’s flashes of clarity between moments of darkness, and his face is in every single one of them.

And you wish it wasn’t.

You wish you hadn’t been there, and it’s not because you wish you could have saved yourself. You wish you had listened to him, and stayed home, because if you had, you could have saved him. You could have saved the idea you had of him. The idea that constituted a hero, like the ones you’d heard about in myths, their songs always accompanied by a lyre. Like the ones whose stories were pictured in the sky, their glory still present for entire generations to witness. But heroes, you’d come to learn, were hardly ever happy.

You saw him, standing as the farthest away from you he’d always been. For a moment, he was almost a stranger, because, for a moment, there was nothing about him you knew. You didn’t know his stand, defensive; you didn’t know his voice, raised; you didn’t know his eyes, afraid.

Jaehyun was there, in front of you, and yet it felt like he wasn’t.

Deep inside, you know you should have seen it coming. You had seen the signs. You had felt them. The change in his attitude, the tone of his voice, the dullness in his eyes; it had all still tugs at your heart. It still robs you of your sleep, leaving you breathless after wishing you could just go back in time. It comes to you in the realization that even if you could go back to when it all fell apart, there would be nothing for you to do to stop it.

You can’t fix a broken soul, and you can’t stop the rain from falling.

You turning to face him seemed to pull him out of his daze.

He ran to you, reaching you in what felt like a second. To him, though, it felt like an eternity.

“You’re not supposed to be here! You shouldn’t be here!” He yelled, voice raising like thunder in the midst of chaos. And, like thunder, it shook you down to your core. It held you frozen at your feet, staring at him in disbelief. “Run! Run and don’t look back!”

You stood there. People screamed all around you, passing by you in their best attempt to free themselves from the madness. They all wanted to escape, but their despair only prevented you from doing it, sending your senses into an overdrive that blinded them from responding.

Your mind was set on Jaehyun, and the fear behind his eyes, and you could do nothing but stare. You could think of nothing else but the despair in his voice, and of how you had never thought it’d be something you’d ever hear. Jaehyun, a hero: afraid.

“Please!” He bellowed, voice breaking. He looked like a madman, holding your hands in his and trying to wake you from your daze, though without much success. His touch, once comforting, felt numb against your skin. “God, run! Go!”

You couldn’t respond. Thoughts, words, questions and pleas formed inside your head but you couldn’t get them out. Your mouth didn’t move, not even when you willed it to, because nothing made sense, not even the thoughts inside your head. Because Jaehyun wasn’t supposed to be there, and neither were you.

“Get me out of here,” you finally muttered, a choked sob breaking from your lips as your legs started to feel like they were going to give in. “Please, Jaehyun. Please.”

He took you in his arms, pulling you as close as he could manage. As close as he could bear. It felt strange, and it felt foreign, and it felt like you were two completely different people. Two completely different people, with completely different feelings and completely different hearts.

Unconnected. Estranged.

He took you in his arms, and with the dream of giving you back the safety he had robbed you of, he ran.

Safety, right then and there, and even in Jaehyun’s embrace, was a million years away.

You were not there when the guards came for him.

Your family had been attacked that day at the church, and it had all been perpetuated by the hand of Jaehyun’s brother. A murderous plan, a murderous brother, a broken family. A sibling injured, a sibling murdered and a sibling arrested, you and Jaehyun had nowhere to go when you were forced to watch your lives fall apart. There was no comfort awaiting either of you, because comfort had once been found in each other. With each other.

Looking back, a part of what happened remains a mystery in your head.

“God, what were you doing there?” Jaehyun asked, hands shaking. His voice, broken, was barely understandable between the sobs that he let out. The ones that he wasn’t able to keep in anymore. “I told you to stay home! You should have been safe, away from all of this!”

And you still didn’t understand. In the midst of chaos, faces had blurred in and out, voices had become a mix, and you still had no idea of how you went from hearing a prayer to a thousand frantic screams.

Your heart was broken to a million little pieces, and you still had no idea why.

“What happened?”

Just like Jaehyun, his brother’s resentment struck you like a bolt of lightning. Families had made deals and then broken them, and money had, once again, torn people apart. Power came in and posed in the form of discord’s apple, tempting people with a bite that looked like ambrosia but tasted like poison. Jaehyun’s brother, alongside other powerful men, had torn you apart, and money had been the cause. It’s almost like you had become the lesson behind a fable rather than the pairing inside a fairytale, and no one had ever mentioned how much that transition would hurt.

Past had stained the present, and had destroyed the future on its way. It still stings, hurting in the very depths of your soul like an unresolved wound, venom still oozing from the gashes and infecting every bit of your being. Whatever little is left. Whatever little he didn’t take with him.

He looked up at the sky. No birds chirped.

“I… I don’t know,” he muttered. “Everything’s blurry. It all happened too fast, and when I saw you-”

Maybe a part of him was relieved. Maybe he had done it for himself. Or maybe he had done it for you. Maybe keeping you in the dark was a way of shining whatever remaining light he had left upon himself, even when he knew there was no way to come back. Sometimes it’s hard to let go of the idea of having a beacon, even when the path it lights has sunken down to the depths of the sea. And maybe he was trying to hold on.

His lie still rings inside your head. His voice still travels through your ears. Sometimes, it’s even like he’s there with you. You can see him. You can hear him, as clear as you did before. But you can’t feel him, and you still can’t make out the reason why he lied.

“What are we gonna do now?”

You understood there was no going back. Even if everything else was missing from memory, or reason for that matter, something still told you there was no way you could ever go back. Inside the church. To the way things were.

It was all the same, anyways.

Jaehyun kept quiet. Kneeling down in front of you, he took your face in his hands. His fingers, always warm, were cold like the winter rain. Like the winter rain, his touch drenched you down to your soul, sending a shiver down your spine. You were shaking, and you, even under the blazing sun, were freezing cold.

You weren’t there when the guards came for him. With his lie still ringing in your ears, you wondered if it was for the better, because you still knew nothing about what had actually happened that day. And you wondered if maybe he had done it with that in mind: the less you knew, the less you could tell. The less danger you’d be in.

The less it would hurt when the idea of Jaehyun dissipated into mist: leaving only his actual, broken self in its place. The shell of the man he had once been. The shell of the man you thought he’d always be. And still, the shell of the man you’d love until your heart turned into ashes, until there was nothing else for you to feel than the remains of a love that had burned too bright to ignore.

A love that had belonged to you, and that had been taken from your fingers for the mere thought of power.

“Come on, let’s go,” he whispered. His words were soft, carefully articulated, but his voice wasn’t something you recognized. It didn’t sound like him, and you wondered if you’d ever get to hear his voice the way it used to be: careless, dreamy. Loving, hopeful.

You weren’t there when the guards came for him. Found innocent and having kept you from the harm, Jaehyun’s life had been spared, but only if he kept on living it somewhere else. Somewhere away from you.

You weren’t there when he was banished. You weren’t there when he left. You weren’t there when he balled up the piece of paper he had taken to the meadow that day, the one had drawn you on, and had held it so close to his heart it was practically tattooed onto his skin. Onto his heart.

Safe, far away in the darkness of your chamber, you weren’t there to watch him be stripped of everything he once held dear. Of his paintings, and his brushes, and his sketches. Of his home, and his memories, and the promise of a future by your side. Of the hope of seeing you again.

There, outside of the church, he kissed your forehead. He held you close, and it’s almost as if he knew. His lips felt like linen against your lips. His touch was merely a ghost of what it should have been. Of what it used to be.

“I’ll get you back home.”

You weren’t there when the guards came for him. You weren’t there to save him. But you thought of him, that day inside the church, staring back at you with a dead set stare and both hands hanging limply by his sides, and you understood there was nothing left for you to save.

Jaehyun had first met you when the sun was shining bright. And, for a while, being with you had felt like a warm’s summer day.

He remembers a time when you were everything to him. A time he wishes he could go back to, not to relish in, but to fix. He remembers growing up by your side, and falling in love with you as the years had gone by. He remembers getting to know you better than he knew himself, and of dreaming with you as if you posed the only sliver of hope he held in his heart. He remembers seeing the two of you reflected upon a star, some promise of a moved god staring down at you from the comfort of Olympus.

He remembers thinking your love, a star, would shine forever upon the midnight sky. He’d thought he could just look up and see you in a constellation, your figure resting with the remnants of the legends that had given people hope from centuries back. He’d thought that, no matter how far away he traveled, if he were to look at the stars, you’d smile back at him and set his steps in a path that led him straight to you, like a compass that would return him home if his heart ever got lost.

If he lost sight of you, and of himself, you’d reach out from up above, and you’d light his way back.

Now, far away from home, he’s lost. He’s hopeless. His map had been your eyes and now he has no trace to follow back, and he’s left staring at some unfamiliar scenery as he remembers the feeling of your lips down on his skin. His map had been your lips and now he has no trace to follow back, and he’s left sketching what’s left of a broken vision that comes to him in his dreams as he remembers the feeling of your skin against his lips.

Sometimes, when the memories of you get too powerful, he wishes he could take it all back. Undo it all, set a clean record and allow you two to become what you were now. What you should have been from the very beginning: strangers.

“Where do we go from here?” You had asked him, once. “I think we’re lost.”

Running down the meadow and past the fields of flowers, the trees had finally begun to close in. A tall, dark forest laid in front of you, taunting. It called to you, trying to lure you in, whispering tales of discovery and courage. It promised a thrill, a thrill that came with danger, but back then, danger posed no threat whenever Jaehyun’s fingers were laced with your own.

“Can you see anything up ahead, Jaehyun? Maybe we should just go back.”

Back then, Jaehyun wasn’t danger himself. Or maybe he was. Maybe he always had been. Maybe he had just been good enough at hiding it that it went unknown to him too.

If he could, he’d erase every trace of himself from your mind. Every trace of the time spent together, and of the love shared, because as beautiful as it had been, it had come to destroy you in the end. Love was never meant for him. Love was never meant for you. Love was never meant for the two of you together, and he should have known it.

You, both of you, should have known better than to let yourselves be trapped by promises of a forever that you would never quite reach. Even if you tried it again, and again, and again, holding his hand a bit tighter and kissing his lips a bit longer, you’d still be left somewhere along the way.

He’d break his heart into a million different pieces, crushing his own soul in the process, but he’d save yours. He’d set you free if he could, and he’d do it over, and over, and over again.

“There’s nowhere to go.”

Looking at the sketch he kept of you, Jaehyun sits down on a chair.

The view outside of his window is one he’s not used to: miles away from where he grew up, and from where you grow old, he stares at the sea. The waves, born deep in the ocean, grow majestically until they inevitably crash down. There, right next to the shore, they fall, and when the ocean wills them, they pull back into the endless sea.

He wonders if maybe your love had been like that. If maybe your feelings had grown until they became a tsunami, powerful and fierce, destroying everything in its way when it was its turn to overflow.

Looking at the sketch he kept of you, he takes a deep breath.

He smells the marine breeze that enters his small cabin, rustling the pieces of paper on his desk. There, far away from home, he keeps thinking of you. He keeps dreaming of your touch. Thinking about you, he keeps dreaming of your voice. Remembering you, he keeps telling himself it’s the only way he’ll ever see you again: paper and mind. Nowhere else.

Looking at the sketch he kept of you, he walks out into the sand.

Looking straight into the sea, he hears your voice in the wind. Thinking you’re there, somewhere near him, he takes a step and his feet dip into the freezing water. He calls out to you, screams your name, but his voice breaks down like the waves against the sand.

The sun shines brightly above his head, but it brings him no warmth. There’s nothing but darkness in Jaehyun’s heart.

#neowritingsnet #nct-writers #kpopscape #kwritersworldnet #ficscafe #jaehyun smut #nct smut #jaehyun scenarios #nct scenarios #jaehyun scenario #nct scenario #jaehyun x reader #nct x reader #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun angst #nct angst #nct fluff #nct127 scenarios

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tsukishumai · 3 years

Text

pairing: oikawa tooru x gn!reader

wc: 700+

genre: fluff, established relationship

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Maybe it was the heavy, humid air laying thick on his skin, covering him in a dewy glow that left him feeling sticky. His sheets lay crumpled at your waist, subconsciously yearning for any semblance of a breeze to battle the suffocating heat.

Maybe it was the nerves that had been settling into his stomach for the past week as he prepared, manifesting in beads of sweat that caused locks of his dark brown hair to stick to his forehead.

Maybe it was the fact that it felt as if he never went to sleep in the first place, his slumber so feather light that every twitch of your body against his had jolted him out of his dreams.

But Oikawa had been laying beside you wide awake, forty five minutes before his alarm was meant to go off. The shades of the sky peeking from behind the curtain of his window were beginning to lighten from a deep midnight into softer blue hues, and Oikawa watched while the sun begins to creep its way into the horizon.

Oikawa turns to face you — fighting a soft chuckle at the way your mouth hung slightly open and your arms twisted awkwardly above your head.

A soft rustling accompanied his movements as he dips down to place a soft kiss on your cheek, scoffing to himself when you hadn’t even bothered to stir.

He laughs a little before he dips down and kisses you again on the other cheek, and again on your chin, and again and again until he could feel your sleepy hand shove his face away.

“Mm,” you groaned, rubbing your eyes as your body involuntarily stretches out.

Your eyes blink open slowly, eyes adjusting to the pale, yellow light beginning to lighten the room. Oikawa waits until you look at him, only offering a small smile, reaching to run a finger across your cheek as you continue to stare.

“Is it time?” You croak out, the sound of your voice still graveled and low. Despite the sheen of sweat that blanketed both your bodies, and the suffocating heat of the bedroom, you snuggle closer to Oikawa’s body, and he instantly pulls you in tightly.

“Almost,” he whispers as he lays his cheek on your head.

“I’m not ready,” you groan, and Oikawa doesn’t want to taint the peace that has settled, so he chooses not to mention that he’s been ready for this day for years.

He pulls you even closer, turning to bury his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your skin while he tangled his legs between yours.

“Will you miss me?” He teases, and you sigh as you wrap your arms around his shoulders.

“Sometimes,” you sleepily mumble.

“What do you mean sometimes,” he pulls away from your embrace.

You laugh in his face, and place a soft kiss on his nose. “All the time.”

Oikawa lays back down, pulling you tightly back into his chest.

“Will you watch my games?” He asks softly, rubbing soft circles on your arm with the pad of his thumb.

“I will be broadcasting your games,” you say proudly, rubbing your palm up and down his chest, “I’ll even invite the neighbors to come and watch their golden boy play.”

“You’re going to invite Señor Diaz over while I’m gone??” Oikawa asked incredulously, cocking his head back to look at you, “You know he has the hots for you.”

“Oh, you’re jealous?” You retort, rolling over to lay on top of him, “Of the 85 year old man? While you’re surrounded by literal Olympic athletes?”

You yelp as Oikawa bucks his hips, pushing you off him as he rolls over to cafe you beneath him. Any vestiges of your nights rest quickly dissolves as Oikawa lowers his lips to place a kiss beneath your ear.

“Not a single one of them could even come close,” he whispers, before pulling back to smirk down at you.

You giggle as you reach up to brush his hair away from his face.

“Bring back the gold, Tooru,” you softly request, though you know his heart had only ever been set on it.

He smiles as he turns to place a kiss on your palm. “Anything for you.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

a/n: prompt request for @sorrythatspussynal ! rbs v appreciated <3

#oikawa tooru x reader #oikawa tooru fluff #oikawa x reader #oikawa x you #haikyuu x reader #oikawa tooru x y/n #oikawa x y/n #oikawa tooru x you #oikawa tooru drabbles #oikawa drabbles #haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! scenarios

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retro-plasma · 2 years

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I posted 275 times in 2021

104 posts created (38%)

171 posts reblogged (62%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1.6 posts.

I added 490 tags in 2021

#rb - 96 posts

#non sims - 57 posts

#r - 46 posts

#maxis match - 46 posts

#ts4 - 46 posts

#dl - 43 posts

#corn.txt - 39 posts

#poe:g1 - 39 posts

#midnight sun - 39 posts

#ts4 gameplay - 39 posts

Longest Tag: 121 characters

#so i woke up today feeling crampy and if it hadn’t been the day of my next appt w the obgyn i would’ve called them anyway

My Top Posts in 2021

[♫]

at another place in time

you were infinitely mine

69 notes • Posted 2021-02-14 05:10:08 GMT

happy halloween 🎃

ft cc by @xldkx, @dogsill, @trillyke, @okruee, @ratboysims, @clumsyalienn (some are simblreen treats some aren’t lmao but they’re all amazing)

71 notes • Posted 2021-10-31 14:11:40 GMT

See the full post

80 notes • Posted 2021-05-26 21:01:05 GMT

melancholy.

/ˈmelənˌkälē/

noun.

a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.

97 notes • Posted 2021-10-14 11:52:12 GMT

See the full post

141 notes • Posted 2021-01-31 04:52:04 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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anotheraspdrager · 3 years

Text

okay so, I've been reading AsPD blogs for a while now and I figured I could just become one of 'em at this point, even if I'm awful at keeping socials active and will probably disappear in a few weeks ✨

anyway my name's Daniel, I'm Italian, bisexual and non binary (I go by he/they pronouns), I have undiagnosed AsPD for personal choice and I'm deciding whether to get diagnosed with ADHD or not, but I'm sure I have both

maybe share or comment if you have similar interests?? idk I've never really used tumblr to write lmao, but I'd like to make some mutuals so rb if you

- are into witchcraft and spirituality

- and also true crime, psychology, philosophy and criminology

- are lgbt+

- like BBC Sherlock, You, How to get away with murder, Midnight Gospel, documentaries, Yungblud and Sufjan Stevens (and many others but it's getting boring lmao)

- are neurodivergent (esp if you have AsPD or ADHD)

- are a libleft (ancom here, don't bother interacting if you're right wing and wanna argue)

- addictional info: istp, taurus sun, scorpio moon and pisces rising, tritype 854 (so enneagram 8), big five results are 42% extraversion, 2% agreeableness, 61% coscientiousness, 13% neuroticism and 63% openness, yeah I love personality tests

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voidselfshipp · 3 years

Text

Meet The Family

Cw: self depriciation, food ment.

Ok to rb.

Summary: the iida family wants to meet the partner of their youngest kid, but said partner is not ready for It.

Song: "just the two of us " Bill withers and grover Washington.

Jerico paced around the room with her hands behind her back, mina stops her grabbing her shoulders-- its gonna be fine!-- adds the student.

--But what if they dont like me?! What if they want him to date someone else?

Uraraka softly pats her Friends back-- dont worry ! Theyll love you! Theyll see that youre a perfect match for their son!

-- but just-- I got nothing to wear! What if they go formal and I just-- jeri sits on her bed clutching a pillow-- what if I have nothing to wear!

They hear a soft knock before anyone can answer-- jerico? Is everything alright in there? Midoriya told me that youre not feeling well..-- said iida.

-- coming!-- she says opening the door peeking her head through it-- tenya...babe..I think we should cancel...-- she says looking away sighing-- I dont think im the right one to meet your family-- she said leaning on the doorframe crossing her arms.

-- whyd you say that jerico? Youre perfect!

--Im not! First of all im from another country!-- she says with tears in her eyes looking away-- im so loud I cant control my volume, I have nothing to wear and to top it all off I dont even get the same grades as you do --She looks at him and sniffs drying her tears with her sleeve-- I think we should call it off

Tenya hugs her tightly and buries his head on her hair-- please dont say that...-- he says with a strained tone-- youre perfect jerico, my family wont care if youre not from here-- he cups her cheek with a flushed face-- youre funny, Smart, youre absolutely beautiful-- he cups her other cheek squishing them-- grades dont define you, you, me or anyone! Grades are just numbers, they are a grading system, but outside? They dont matter-- he adds lowering his hands to her jaw caressing her cheekbones with his thumbs.-- its going to be fine, but I wont accept you talking yourself down--he puts a strand of hair behind her ear-- its okay if youre loud because I love you this way-- he kisses her softly and after some seconds he pulls away-- I wont let my family talk bad about you, in fact they know the best of you!-- he says hapilly-- howd you saved me with stain, howd you won against me in the festival, they see you as I see you, for the amazing woman you are

The silence is short before jerico sobs even harder hugging him-- youre so sweet!

He hugs her tightly with a soft smile, bending down a little-- I wont let anyone be mean to you, theyll deal with me first

She dries off her tears and presses a kiss to his cheek-- thank you

Tenyas cheek turn red, and he fixes his tie, before he says anything his reciproburst goes haywire and he runs past her mumbling nonsense. Making her laugh.

-- anyways... I gotta go now, midnight said shed take me to see some stuff to we-- she turns around to her Friends finding her in tears too.

-- you two are so sweet! -- adds mina.

-- so cute!-- adds uraraka.

Jiro nodds -- so cute!

She chuckled and grabbed her jacket-- gotta go!

As she walks with midnight and recovery girl, who decided to join them to go outfit hunting her teacher softy elbows her-- we'll find you something nice to wear! Youll see!

Jeri scratches the back of her neck knowing what midnight could get up to.

They searched all the stores they could and the dinner was fast approaching.

Jerico is feeling anxious now, recovery girl softly pats her back-- we can try there!-- she points at a suit store.

Midnight nodds-- yes, that could work!

Jeri trusting her teachers judgment follows them.

Iida Is tapping his foot waiting for jerico at the entrance of the UA. He looks around.

--where is she?-- he mutters scratching tbe back of his neck. He was fine with arriving late. His family wouldnt mind.

--Sorry! We couldnt find anything!!-- jerico comes in his field of view, his breath is taken away when he sees her in a suit, her hair tied up.

--oh...-- he mutters and both uraraka and midoriya hold him back, jiro and mina roll up his pants so recirpoburst doesnt rip them.

Jerico giggles and hugs him-- lets go yeah?

Tenya nodds and fixes his pants saying goodbye and getting in the car.

As they drive he hugs her tightly-- you look so beautiful -- he says caressing her arm.

--If I could help you pull out your tubes I can do this!

--Come on it wasnt that hard!

She raises a brow.

[....]

Even though tenya was ready to make such change he was an absolute baby.

--come on ten!-- she said.

--Its gonna hurt jerico!

-- thats why im here, come on

He sighs pulling out the first tube, Before he can scream she sits on his lap and kisses him.

He turns red and hugs her waist with one hand.

-- see? Not that hard!

He starts to giggle meekly-- well..if I get a kiss for each one...ill get twelve kisses

-- let me desinfect that for you

[....]

-- as I was saying, not that hard!-- tenya protested-- besides! ...oh hey we're here

He gets out first and helps her, he takes her hand, and walk into their home.

Taking off their shoes they walk in and are greeted with iidas mom, dad and his brother.

--tensei!--says iida hugging his brother-- I cant Belive youre here!

The ex hero smiles-- I I couldnt pass up the opportunity to meet my brothers partner, hi, im tensei

Jerico nodds-- im jerico, nice to met you tensei-- she bows.

Dinner arrives and as they eat, jerico is struggling with the chopsticks..

She scratches the back of her neck and tenya just hands her a fork and a Knife.

-- th thanks-- she adds embarassed eating her food.

-- dont be embarassed!!-- says tenyas mom-- he told us you arent fully used to chopsticks so we put a set for you!

Tenya also pulls out a fork and a Knife smiling.

Her cheeks turn Pink and she smiles softly eating with a content giggle.

--so-- starts tenyas dad-- our son has told us plenty about you but id rather hear about you from your own mouth

Jerico drinks water and looks at her father in law-- well, im originally from Argentina!, Im the oldest from four kids-- she says-- Im more into art than anything, I also play the guitar, what else would you like to know mr. Iida

Tenyas dad smiles-- well, I can only say that my son scored a winner

Jericos cheek flush red and tenya chokes on his drink blushing red-- dAD!

After dinner jeri helps pick up the table and wash the dishes.

--youre a very lovely girl, but I must ask-- says tenyas mother-- who confessed first?

Sighing in relief that it was only a simple question and not a "whats your intentions with my son" question she giggled-- I did

Tenya flushes even redder than before and grabs jerico walking outside saying --GOODBYE!

his family laughs, and tensei says something before they leave.-- jerico, take care of him for me-- he says patting her arm-- and please show him how to relax

She laughs hugging tensei-- I Will, dont worry!

She says her goodbyes and both go back to the UA.

jerico crashes ontop of tenya both in their comfy pjs.

He hugs her waist pulling her closer and smiling.

-- my family really loved you back there-- he says leaving down the formality.

--im glad--she answers-- maybe one day youll meet mine!

Tenya smiles-- dyou think theyll like me?

She nodds and holds his hand-- im sure theyll do

He smiles and kisses her forehead.

As they fall asleep, tenya humms "just the two of us "by Grover Washington.

《I see the crystal raindrops fall

And the beauty of it all

Is when the sun comes shining through

To make those rainbows in my mind

When I think of you sometime

And I wanna spend some time with you

Just the two of us

We can make it if we try

Just the two of us

(Just the two of us)

Just the two of us

Building castles in the sky

Just the two of us

You and I

We look for love, no time for tears

Wasted water's all that is

And it don't make no flowers grow

Good things might come to those who wait

Not for those who wait too late

We gotta go for all we know ...

Just the two of us

We can make it if we try

Just the two of us

(Just the two of us)

Just the two of us

Building them castles in the sky

Just the two of us

You and I 》

#tenya tag pending #mina tag pending #jiro tag pending #uraraka tag pending #cw self deprecation #tw self deprecation #cw food ment #tw food ment

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throughthewwods · 3 years

Text

100 Days of Productivity 🏖 . Day 23, 24

💕 created an uplifting Father’s Day for everyone ✅

⭐️ Kiddo helped me cook a pot roast

⭐️ and we baked our first ever cheesecake (peanut butter cheesecake with an Oreo crust and a chocolate ganache), which against all odds came out delicious

It was..every bit the emotional roller coaster I’d feared.

😆

It took two walks to the store. I was up until past midnight taking care of things. I.. was not in a great mood by the end of the evening. Even though I followed the Insta pot recipe to a T, I discovered in the morning that the cheesecake was still raw in the middle. I was about to abandon hope, but thankfully, Google had some tips. I ended up ‘rebaking it’ on the lowest heat my oven can go, checking on it every five minutes for probably a good 45 minutes then re-setting, re-cooling the whole damn thing this time partly in the freezer, then to the fridge. Making the ganache was surprisingly easy though. As I lifted away the pan I could almost hear a drum roll in my head. Well, it looked like cheesecake! That was a start, but the moment of truth would be RB’s expression as he took a bite. Miraculously, it all worked out. I did a little dance 😆

⭐️ navigated a crowded grocery store without letting my bubbling anxiety attack get the better of me

⭐️ got the house a bit more straightened up

⭐️ FINALLY put together that steam cleaner that’s been sitting in the box next to the piano since Xmas 😬😅

💙 more than halfway through Pride and Prejudice

💚 Been hula hooping

💜 got kiddo outside in the sun where she had an opportunity to play with some of the hopefully non-problematic children in my apartment complex

I’m a little nervous for.. A number of reasons, but console myself that we are outside and at a certain point we have to live a little. I can’t stay away from everyone forever. I am vaccinated. My partner is vaccinated. That’s the most I can do. I can’t hide us away until this is all over when the truth is there might always be some new variant, some new possible concern. In this moment, I just want my little girl to be able to run through the grass, through the playground laughing with the other children as they twirl in pool toys like inflated ballerinas. For a little while I just want us to be present and happy.

🐾 did some GSD socializing/training

My dog is acting like an unnecessarily anxious idiot, whimpering and whining, but that’s OK. He’ll live. he needs to be desensitized also. This was actually improving until they brought out their dog, which made GSD immediately inconsolable. It all worked out though. GSD and their dog play well together. As soon as GSD realized who it was he was very happy. I’m glad he was at least mindful to not disjoint my shoulder and his enthusiasm. We even let them off leash for a little bit to get their puppy wiggles out. GSD is small for his breed, but still much larger than most dogs. I was glad that he is good-natured and not into establishing dominance.

💙 it’s been a few days now where I can officially say after months of trying different skin care products, my face is finally clear enough where I feel comfortable again not wearing make up ✅

That’s a big deal for me. Vain as it is, dealing with cystic acne pecks at my self-esteem.. It’s nice to have a little bit of my aesthetic and confidence restored.

Father’s Day Thoughts….

Aside from calling Grandpa, we usually let Father’s Day pass as unremarkably as possible. this year I invited RB and his son over for what I hoped would be a nice, very early dinner. Although I find the growing closeness between Kiddo and RB to be moving, RB and I are both mindful to not distress her by posturing him as ‘the new dad’. So the other day on the trail when Kiddo mentioned to me she wanted to make him a card I had a moment of hesitation, looking beyond the trees a little, but also not wanting to project onto her good nature with my grown-up over-analytical-ness. I tried to hint at my concern without making a big deal of it, checking in to make sure she was doing OK because ‘fathers’ is a painful topic at times. She understood my meaning and explained that she liked RB as a person and he is ‘a father’ so she’d like to make him a card, which was just fine.

Indeed, what she writes inside the card is comical and congenial.

Yet… I see her extra care, focus she’s putting into the card, even more so than mementos she gives me. Her effervescence is thinly veiled, bubbly, chatty, discreetly excited that they will be coming over tomorrow, and that for the first time ever, we will be celebrating a Father’s Day. She is glowing when she hands RB his gift. I notice the creases to the corners of his eyes as he smiled warmly, touched. They hug again. RB’s son admires the spring she has created to make the cat-dog cartoon pop out when the card opens. The kids right after until l’inner is served. The pot roast is a hit. The kids discuss mostly Minecraft, but I’m able to change topics briefly to the Mars rover 360 footage.

#journal #my writing #writing #motherhood #parenting #100 days of productivity #positivemindset #relationship #love #RBlovestory #adulting #fathersday #happylife #happiness

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himiko-yumehellno · 5 years

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Saiouma Week Day Six: Appreciation Day

Title: Three Days to Set Up a Confession is As Easy As Cookies and Roses

Summary: Shuichi employs Rantaro's help to confess to Kokichi. Rantaro's got this.

Word Count: 2260

Note: I don't really talk about other writers or artists I like (I mostly just rb their stuff on Tumblr and leave comments when I can), buuut... I chose one of my favorite saiouma artists, @natsumiheart , for this day of Saiouma Week! The piece that inspired this fic can be found here. I'll admit that this fic only briefly mentions the comic that inspired it, but I hope you enjoy anyway!

+++

Rantaro wasn't new to being a wingman. He'd done it for plenty of his sisters before, and he was a frequent choice for people to go to for romance advice, even if he himself was aro. Still, he can't say that he had ever been in a wingman situation quite like this before.

Because not only was Shuichi requesting help from him in confessing to someone, but he was asking for help in confessing to Kokichi Ouma. AKA, the person literally everyone knew had a crush on Shuichi.

Except, it seems, Shuichi himself.

"I'm sorry, could you please repeat that? I want to make sure I heard right." Rantaro would have pinched his nose in exasperation if he wasn't so polite. Instead, he merely crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Shuichi, who was glancing to the side and not making eye contact. "You want my help in confessing to Kokichi?" The guy who calls you his beloved? The guy who flirts with you every other day? The guy who I hear endless talking from about how you're so amazing it should be a crime?

Shuichi shifted his weight, a frown on his face. "Er, yes, of course, if you don't want to, that's fine too, I just thought I should ask since you helped Kaede out with her and Kirumi, and, well..."

As Shuichi trailed off, Rantaro took a deep breath, letting it out and starting to plan how he could do this. Since he already knew both of them loved each other... "Alright, give me like, three days."

"What?!" Shuichi snapped his head up to look at him, jaw dropped. For once, he didn't seem to care that he was being loud, and his eyes were wide and he visibly struggled to find the words to express his surprise. "But – three?! How – I know you're friends with him, but –"

Shuichi's rambling stopped as Rantaro calmly put a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him with his trademark easygoing grin. Shuichi blinked at him, and Rantaro squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I'm serious. I'm gonna go find Kokichi and talk to him, so don't wait up on me, okay?"

Shuichi nodded slowly, seemingly coming out of his shock as he stepped back from Rantaro. "You... Are you sure you can help me in only three days?"

Rantaro wasn't surprised at Shuichi's surprise, since it had taken weeks for Kaede and Kirumi to get together, even with Rantaro's help. But on the other hand, what Shuichi didn't know was that his crush liked him back, and Rantaro was going to use that to his full advantage. "Yeah, I got it. I'm not a suspicious guy, remember?"

Shuichi couldn't hide his snicker at the inside joke that had come from one time the class played Clue, and Rantaro waved as he walked away, already pulling out his phone to call Kokichi and request a hang out.

Now, let's see if he can put this plan into action...

—

Day one of Rantaro's plan: a hangout where Kokichi and Shuichi baked cookies together.

Rantaro hadn't needed to say anything more than "cookies" to get Kokichi to agree, and after a quick text to Shuichi to meet them in the school kitchen, the three of them found themselves mixing batter that Rantaro bought from the store yesterday after hanging out with Kokichi.

So far, Rantaro's favorite part of this whole thing had got to be when Shuichi walked into breakfast with Kaito and Maki, and Kokichi muttered to him, "Do we even need the sun anymore?" only to find, with quickly covered up elation, that Shuichi stayed after breakfast to bake with them.

Rantaro had snorted at seeing Kokichi hide his real emotions behind a cocky attitude. Kokichi had socked him in the arm.

That said, a close second favorite would have been when Kokichi called him over to "check if the batter looked right." Of course, he only called Rantaro over to talk without Shuichi hearing.

"Alright, avocado dork," Kokichi had hissed at him; his batter was perfectly fine, and Kokichi had wasted no time getting to the point. "I know you and your weird matchmaking thing. Are you trying to set me up with Shuichi?"

Rantaro only shrugged. "Maybe," he replied nonchalantly, and Kokichi punched him again, both because there was no way to tell whether or not that was a lie, and because it could be true. Thankfully, Kokichi wasn't very strong, and Rantaro didn't see any bruises when they finished up, and he went home with two happy friends, and a bagful of cookies.

Shuichi texted him and thanked him for the help getting closer to Kokichi today. Kokichi called and said he was going to steal all his cookies at midnight for trying to set him and Shuichi up today. Rantaro just laughed, made a tick mark on his calendar, and started preparing for the next day's matchmaking event.

—

Day two of Rantaro's plan: trying to convince Kokichi to confess.

"C'mon, I'm sure nothing bad will come of telling him."

"'Nothing bad' my ass! He'll hate me even more than he normally does, obviously!"

Rantaro rubbed his forehead, giving Kokichi a deadpan look as Kokichi huffed and turned away, staring at the books laid out on the table in front of him. The few others in the school library didn't pay them much attention; their whispered debate was going nowhere, and Rantaro was starting to wonder if he should have brought Kokichi somewhere else to talk about this.

"Kokichi, Shuichi isn't really the 'hating' type. You know this. I know this. He's so far from the type of person to hate someone we have a literal fan club for him. You started it, shouldn't you know this?"

Kokichi muttered something under his breath that Rantaro couldn't hear. "Sorry, what was that?"

Kokichi picked his head up from where he had been scowling at a page about the physical geography of Mongolia. "I said, that he wouldn't believe me anyway! I'm too much of a liar; remember when I tried to warn Kaede about Miu pulling a prank on her and the dummie walked right into it anyway?"

"You're not much of a liar with me," Rantaro offered, but privately he had to admit Kokichi had a point. That hadn't been one of Kaede's better days, but oddly enough she became a little better at spotting Kokichi's lies after that incident. "And Shuichi knows you well enough to believe you when you're being serious."

"Hah!" Kokichi scoffed, just a tad too loudly, and quickly got shushed by a library assistant. Kokichi stuck his tongue out at them when their back was turned, then turned back to Rantaro with one of his more serious expressions, slumping in his chair. "I only lie less with you cause you buy me Panta – but that's a lie! ... And why should I trust that he won't start hating me after he knows a liar like me thinks of him like that? He hates liars like me; just accept it..."

Rantaro took in a slow breath as he watched Kokichi deflate. He hadn't wanted to play this card, but if Kokichi left him no choice...

"Give it a go, tomorrow afternoon, and if you do it I'll be DICE's getaway driver for the next month." Rantaro closed his eyes, but he already knew Kokichi was probably gaping at him. After months of pestering for Rantaro to join DICE or take part in their pranks, he was offering to be their driver, just like that? Rantaro held up a hand before Kokichi could say anything. "If it goes badly, you can just say your confession was a lie, right? Just make sure I'm there to see it happen."

Rantaro opened one eye, and was pleased to see Kokichi with a blank expression. That probably meant he was thinking it over; Rantaro knew he couldn't resist an offer like that, and smiled as he rested his head on one hand.

Kokichi took his time thinking. Rantaro waited patiently.

"Alright, fine!" Kokichi agreed finally, again being shushed as he had grown too loud again. Kokichi didn't stick his tongue out this time, instead grinning as he stuck a hand out at Rantaro. "You better buy me a box full of Panta too!"

"Of course." Rantaro took the offered hand, and as Kokichi shook it with a pretend air of dignity, Rantaro chuckled. Now, to see if he could get Shuichi to confess as a bonus...

—

Day three of Rantaro's plan: picking out flowers with Shuichi.

It hadn't taken much pushing from Rantaro for Shuichi to agree to buy Kokichi flowers. Sure, he had been embarrassed about the idea at first, but they weren't arguing about confessing for a half hour (unlike with Kokichi), so Rantaro counted his wins. Plus, Kokichi was going to be stopping by Shuichi's place to confess in... Half an hour? Twenty minutes? Fifty? Kokichi was finicky like that, but Rantaro didn't mind. He just had to make sure they were done and back to the dorms by three pm.

Easy as... Oh, hey, cool, they dyed roses blue!

"Hey Shuichi, take a look at this," Rantaro called. Shuichi, a little down the aisle looking at some bellflowers, glanced up at him before heading over, eyes analytical.

"Blue... Roses?" Shuichi smiled, shaking his head as Rantaro chuckled. "Well, they do look nice. Do you think Kokichi would like them?"

"Honestly? Yes, completely." Rantaro smirked as he imagined Kokichi's face, being given blue roses by Shuichi. He didn't blush often, but Rantaro knew Kokichi's face would be bright red if Shuichi gave him something he found cool. "I think he'd find them interesting, don't you think?"

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at the flowers and tilted his head in thought; Rantaro shrugged and left him to it, checking his phone to text Kokichi and ask where he was currently.

Twenty minutes and a purchase later, Rantaro was giving Shuichi a last-minute pep talk as they headed towards the dorms of Hope's Peak. Shuichi brought up a couple of his concerns with Rantaro, but Rantaro shot them down as swiftly as they were spoken. Shuichi was nervous about what to say? "Just keep it short and simple. Offer the roses, say you like him, and wait for his answer." Shuichi was worried Kokichi would be lying if he said he liked him back? "Knowing him, he'll probably immediately declare his love was a lie, so you don't have to worry about being tricked, just accept that this is his way of turning you down. It's not the best way, but on the other hand, it's not the worst."

The pep talk was kept short, because as soon as they reached the second floor of the dorms, Rantaro paused, gave Shuichi a thumbs up, and pointed to where Kokichi was waiting with a tapping foot and an unusually sharp outfit outside Shuichi's room.

Shuichi gave a light gasp; he glanced to Rantaro once more for reassurance, and slowly, hesitantly, he made his way towards Kokichi. As Kokichi checked the watch Rantaro wasn't even aware he had, Shuichi quietly brought out the roses in front of him, seeming to shake off his nerves as he took a deep breath.

Rantaro held in a chuckle as he leaned on the wall next to the stairwell door.

C'mon... C'mon, notice hi – yes! Haha, eye contact made!

Kokichi had glanced up, and Rantaro had to try hard to hold in his giggles as he saw how red Kokichi got within a few seconds. Of course, a blink later and the blush was gone, and Kokichi was casually talking with Shuichi with his hands behind his head.

Rantaro couldn't hear them well, but that was a normal experience for him when it came to match making. He simply leaned forward a tad and strained to make out what they were saying.

"... -cy... ting you here!"

".... Wanted ... Wait, this is my room, why – nevermind."

"So? Does Shuichi ... something... say to me?"

Rantaro crossed his fingers. Do it, do it, do it, do it!

"Yeah, actually. I... you these."

Shuichi offered Kokichi the flowers, and Rantaro silently cheered as he watched Kokichi blush again, taking the flowers with what was probably a snarky comment, though Rantaro couldn't hear it from here. Shuichi went red as well, though not on the same level as Kokichi, and Rantaro inwardly happy danced.

Ooh, but it seems the show wasn't over yet. There were still the mutual feelings to confess!

"Ooh, why... Shuichi... ?

"Er... You see..."

Shuichi glanced back at Rantaro discreetly. Rantaro made sure to give him the very specific thumbs up and grin found in that HTTYD3 meme. Shuichi gave him a light nod, smiling, and turned back to Kokichi, taking a deep breath.

"I really like you, Kokichi. Romantically."

Rantaro beamed, pumped the air with his fist; he had to restrain himself from outwardly celebrating too much, but c'mon, who wouldn't be excited?! Especially when it involved a best friend? Rantaro sighed in relief as he thought about how he'd no longer have to listen to Kokichi's pining rants, and as he realized that he should probably leave and start planning how to tease Kokichi at their next hang out, he nearly missed Kokichi pull Shuichi down into their first kiss.

Rantaro chuckled and left, humming a song that played while he was at the flower shop.

Now, if only he could get Kaito and Korekiyo to stop being oblivious that easily...

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