#sorry i hate to talk drama and stuff but sometimes it just *stuns* me

[daydadahlias]

5sos fans will fr be like "why don't 5sos post anymore! i miss them omg!" and then they go to their concerts and hold signs publicly wishing harm on their loved ones so like idk you tell me

[my-hyperfixations]

Hi this is my Fundywastaken Wedding rant

So I’m a relatively new fan. I’ve only been a fan of these streamers/the smp for a couple of weeks, but I knew what it was because my friend would rant about it to me.

Now as a person on tumblr, pinterest, AO3, and many other fandom sites, I got sucked into the shipping, relatively Dreamnotfound. I heard about some of the things Dream did on the SMP and I was like “Man he sounds like a jerk why do people like him” and my friend said “Oh yea he did all that stuff ‘cause Tommy burned down George’s house” I legit looked at her and went “... wait he literally tortured people and got put into prison because a child burned down his friend’s house?” “Yep” “Man, talk about a simp.”

I’ve also seen different streams and compilations of DNF and such. 

I would say I’m a relatively peaceful shipper, but sometimes I can get a bit intense. Not really with this ship though. (okay maybe a little bit)

Now, I had known that Fundy and Dream were going to get married in minecraft, but I didn’t really know the outcome. 

I like Fundy. He’s a really talented streamer. But there were some things that I heard about that kinda made me question his relationship with Dream.

First off, and I know y’all have probably heard this millions of times, but Fundy proposes after one date? Guaranteed, he did an AMAZING job setting it up.....but still? One date?  

Second off, I’m not really clear about the whole ‘honeymoon’ thing, but there’s something about how Dream hates iron doors?? and that’s what Fundy made their honeymoon suite out of?? I don’t know about y’all but that’s a big red flag for me. 

Then there’s the wedding. 

So first off, I loved this video, I actually just watched it for the first time a couple of hours ago. 

The outfits? Amazing.

Fundy’s skills? Perfection.

The map? Absolutely stunning. 

Tommy and Ranboo as the flowers girls while humming the Avengers theme? Glorious.

Wilbur being the priest? Fabulous. 

Sapnap being Dream’s Dad and giving him away? Wholesome. 

I genuinely liked the wedding and relatively enjoyed it, since Fundy seemed so excited to marry Dream and all that. Dream was also really impressed with Fundy and for this moment, everything seemed like it would be fine. 

But there were a couple of red flags I noticed, along with a couple other things. 

So first off, again y’all have heard this before, but the hesitation from Dream? He is silent for waaaaaay to long after Wilbur does the whole “Do you accept Fundy as a partner” thing. Silent way too long he couldn’t have used an excuse such as “sorry I zoned out” or something. Also, how throughout the majority of the wedding, Dream just kept looking around while meanwhile Fundy’s camera stays fixated on Dream for practically the entire time of the wedding. This was kinda normal but it just stuck out to me. 

There was also the silence. Now as a DreamNotFound shipper, I wanted to know what George thought of it as I had not really heard what he thought of it beforehand. George was silent through practically the entire time, (except the end but hang on I’ll get there in a sec) the only time he really ‘says’ anything is when he puts the “:’)” emoji in the chat. This made me think he might not be connected to audio, so I was like “oh okay he can’t really say anything alright.”

Also the vows? I ranted about this to my sister. Fundy’s seemed so personalized and dedicated to Dream, describing their relationship and Fundy’s devotion to him. But Dream’s? It practically sounds like he made them up on the spot. Almost like he wasn’t prepared. And it wasn’t necessarily all that special to Fundy, it’s the typical ‘You make me happy’ speech. 

And then there’s the objection.

When I tell you my jaw dropped, I mean my sister looked over at me and she just goes “What happened? What happened did someone do something tell me now!” (My sister is a minor fan after she listens to me rant about it, she’s also a dnf shipper) 

I was so shocked, like I was kinda expecting it but I thought that was just the fangirl side of me being like “oh it’s gonna be canon” as in “the fans are gonna ignore canon and pretend this happened” type thing but no?? George actually did it?? AND AT THE WEDDING?? 

(I’m sorry but George not knowing how to get on stage tho lol)

George pushing Dream off the stage and hitting Fundy and Wilbur?? The part of me that was liking the wedding was like “wHAT” while the dnf shipper side of me was like “oH MY GOD IT’S HAPPENING IT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING”

And the kiss? 

I’ve literally thought about this for hours. 

George straight up kisses Dream?? I screamed? Like both in fangirl and in both wedding disaster horror? George actually kisses Dream. Then there’s the whole “I did what I had to do.” “What, kiss me?!” thing. Dream appears to be verbally and outwardly mad about George ‘interrupting’ the wedding,  but like ..... idk man i don’t know what to think anymore.

The drama that ensures when Sapnap drags George away from Dream and everyone huddles around Dream and Fundy. Holy crap I got anxiety just watching it. 

Then Tommy asks “Dream, did you pull away when George kissed you?” 

And George says “No he didn’t, no he did’t!”

Fundy’s heartbroken “Why?” 

AND DREAM STRAIGHT UP LEAVES?! 

Now first off, this is minecraft. It’s a flipping video game. All Dream could’ve done was press a button/move his mouse whatever and he would’ve moved away from George. But he didn’t? 

Now I know this is all acting but DANG WHY AM I SO ADDICTED TO ANGST?!

Dream leaves? Now I can understand why, he was getting pressurized by everyone and probably felt overwhelmed, but .................. i have no words for it. Why did he leave? Was it just simply because he felt pressurized like everyone is saying on this site? Or was it for some other reason? 

Dream did hesitate to say “I do.” 

This is all acting, but holy crap. This is so much drama right now and even the fandom is torn over it.

It’s been four months.

I’m going to need a part two explaining on whether Dream and Fundy are going to make up, if they’re going to split peacefully, if it’s true that Dream secretly was in love with George? I NEED ANSWERS IM SO TORN ABOUT THIS I CANT EVEN THINK OH MY GOD AAAAAAAAAAASDLKFALSDKGHAL 

[sapphire374]

Soy Sol: Chapter 16 (Invisible String)

Wattpad Link

Ch.1 / Ch.2 / Ch.3 / Ch.4 / Ch.5 / Ch.6 / Ch.7 / Ch.8 / Ch.9 / Ch.10 / Ch.11 / Ch.12 / Ch.13 / Ch.14 / Ch.15 / Ch.17

It’s the day of the competition. The gang gathers at the competition’s building. Jazmín holds her tablet in the air, recording every moment for her channel. Half of them are at the building while the other half are still at the hotel. “Luna, are you coming with us?” Yam asks. “I’ll catch up I just forgot my necklace,” Luna yelped. She rushed to her hotel room and grabbed the necklace off the nightstand. When she heads out, she slips and falls.

When Luna gets back up, she sees a bloody scratch on her knee. A woman from the guest relations desk comes running towards her, “oh you poor thing, you have hurt yourself,” she says. “Yeah, but it’s okay I’ll be fine,” Luna comments. “Oh, don’t be modest, you need help. Well my name is Alice Balsano,” the lady says. That’s when it hits Luna, it’s Matteo’s mom. No wonder her face looked so familiar for Luna. “Oh um nice to meet you, I’m Luna,” Luna sticks out her hand and Ms. Balsano shakes it.

“Oh, I can’t believe I’m meeting the infamous Luna. You look just as beautiful as how Matteo described you. Here I’ll quickly get the ice bucket and wrap your knee up in a bandage. You’ll be at the competition in no time.” Mrs. Balsano guides Luna to a nearby chair and elevates her leg. She was able to find a worker and tell them of the situation. They waited together for the concierge to come back with the ice and bandages.

“It’s a pleasure getting to know you, Luna. My son, he’ll probably hate me for saying this but he really loves you. He’s truly in love, I’ve never seen him like this ever before,” she confided. “I appreciate all the information, but Matteo and I are in a rough patch right now. I don’t feel comfortable talking about it,” Luna admits.

“I know, he told me but Luna, if you don’t mind me asking, I’m confused. If you forgave him and know he did all those mistakes, well I know my son can make stupid decisions sometimes but we’re all human, then why are you still upset at him?” Mrs. Balsano questions curiously.

“I’m not upset at him, it’s just that we always end up in some conflict or drama. Since we deal with so many issues together, I couldn’t help but think maybe we’re not compatible. Maybe we’re not meant to be together,” Luna confesses. “This isn’t me saying for you to get back with my son because that’s right, you should be the one to make that decision on your own, but I will give you some advice for life. In any relationship you’re in, you will always encounter conflicts and issues no matter what. Life is not perfect and this isn’t something you can avoid. For example, my husband and I just had a silly argument about the broken steering wheel in our car. It’s normal but I still love him and always will. That’s how true love is, going through different obstacles but life still bringing you back to that one person. It’s okay if you go through things as long as you go through it together with your partner. Going through hardships isn’t something you can avoid with anyone but at least you can go through them with the person you love.”

Luna stayed quiet for a moment. She couldn’t help but realize that Ms. Balsano had a point. That all relationships aren’t perfect but it’s worth it when you’re with the one you love most. “You’re right. It’s like an invisible string, I keep going back to him because we’re meant to be together.” The worker arrives with the bandage, ice, and wipe. They clean off the wound and wrap her knee. Luna grabs her backpack with skates and runs away. She returns right after to give her thanks. “Oh, I forgot to say thank you Mrs. Balsano, that was great advice. Also, thanks guys for the bandages and stuff,” Luna waves goodbye and runs to the competition building. “Good luck on the competition,” Mrs. Balsano yells out.

Luna arrives just in time to get dressed. “Luna where were you? Everyone was worried,” Nina stated. “Yeah, I got worried that maybe Tino and Cato kidnapped you too,” Simón joked.

“Don’t worry, I’m here and better than ever,” Luna exclaims. The gang is all dressed up in their attire. They all hold hands waiting for their name to be called next. Luna holds Matteo’s hand to his surprise, which leads to a beaming expression.

The announcer calls for the Jam and Roller. Simón, Nico, and Yam all walk on the stage and align themselves for the performance. The skating team enter the rink and get into positions. Juliana views from the corner and shows how proud she is of them. They truly worked really hard for this moment and prepared more than ever. The stakes are high knowing they all have to win for the Jam and Roller.

When the Roller Band begins to sing, Luna starts off with her routine. The plot is that the members are all statues in a museum and Luna is the one who wakes them all up. As she glides around every member, they all start skating doing the tricks. Nina sees them all from the audience and nostalgia rushes over her seeing how some of the tricks were ones they use to do back then. Luna and Matteo nod at each other before doing the Fire Serpent.

Gastón and Matteo lift Emilia and Ámbar up in the air as Luna’s turn comes up where she does a triple axle spin around them. The team’s choreography stuns the audience and everyone is in awe. Once the team finishes, they get a standing ovation.

They enter backstage again all chanting the words “Jam and Roller!” They all high five each other as Juliana enters. “You guys, whatever score you all get tonight just know I’m extremely proud of you all. You guys got together and worked hard like never before to save the Jam and Roller.” They all go in a group hug. Luna takes Matteo to the side and try to talk to him in private.

“Look Matteo, recently I’ve been confused on why we always end up running into some stupid drama or conflict. That’s why I needed my space but then a good friend gave me some incredible advice and that is this will always happen. Crazy obstacles that will try to break us apart but we have what the infamous Taylor would say, our invisible string always makes my path cross into yours. We’re meant to be,” Luna exclaims.

“You have no idea how fast my heart is beating right now. Whoever gave you that advice, I owe them my life. Luna, I love you and always will. Nothing is going to stop me from loving you. I was an idiot and didn’t listen to you but that doesn’t mean we’re incompatible. That just means it’s another conflict we shall have to resolve together. I will always say that you are La Luna but you shine like the sun. You bring forth light to my world and now I can’t live without it,” Matteo declares.

“Matteo I’m sorry too, in being a little harsh and avoiding you. I shouldn’t have run away from my problems and instead face them,” Luna apologizes. “Luna te amo, mi chica delivery,” Matteo proclaims. “Te amo, mi chico fresa.” Luna and Matteo press their lips against each other. She holds his neck while he holds her waist. Their kiss feels like it lasts forever.

“Should we interrupt them saying they’ve called the team up to hear the results,” Gastón asks Nina. “I think we should just let them be. They’ve gone through enough already,” Nina chuckles.

The Jam and Roller enter the rink all holding hands waiting for the scores to be called out. The presenter announces that…….

The Jam and Roller is the WINNER! The whole gang don’t stop screaming their cheers of joy and jump up and down. “Okay I think now is when we should interrupt them,” Gastón exclaims to Nina. He heads to Luna and Matteo and tell them the great news. Luna is blushed and feels embarrassed knowing Gastón had let them in their long kiss instead of telling them to go to the rink.

They all celebrate winning the prize money and having the Jam and Roller saved. A mysterious man approaches Luna though and hands her a card. “I saw what you did out there. It was impressive. How would you feel if I offered you a spot in our Olympic team?” Luna is shocked with the news the strange man has presented to her. Matteo nods to Luna. “It’s your dream Luna, you love skating,” Matteo stated. “I’ll consider it.” Luna responds and takes the card the man handed to her. The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes that she can compete sometimes while at other times accompany Matteo to his concerts. They would just have to manage their schedules for each other but it’s doable.

Jim and Ramiro all hug Yam. “At least we got to share our last times seeing each other on a happy note,” Jim suggested. “Don’t forget to facetime us at least twice a day and tell us how it’s all going okay,” Ramiro said. Yam nodded while wiping the tears falling on her face, she has to leave to Los Angeles right when they arrive back to Buenos Aires. “Don’t worry guys, nothing will separate us we’ll always stay united forever.”

Later that evening

“Close your eyes,” Matteo says. “But I do have them closed,” Luna whines. “No, I still see you peaking,” Matteo chuckles. He guides Luna, who has a bandana wrapped around her eyes, to a beach. When he takes the blindfold off, there’s a table with food nicely placed on top. He even included some strawberries and medialunas on the side. Her favorite dish is laid nicely as the main course and the table is beside the sea. The area is surrounded with canopies and fairy lights. It all looks like a dream.

“Wow Matteo, this all looks so beautiful,” Luna in awe with the whole place. Matteo faces her and says his speech.

“Luna, from the moment I met you and we bumped in Cancun, my life hasn’t been the same ever since. You have come into my life like a hurricane, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. You changed everything and made me the man I am today. I have been so lucky to be in your presence and got to see that beautiful smile every day. You are the sun roller skating around all of Buenos Aires, your unmistakable presence has everyone blown away, including me. (Matteo gradually gets on one knee) I knew for the longest that I want to spend every second of every minute of every day of my life with you. That has never changed, but I want it for sure. I want you to know that I will always be here for you. So, Luna Valente, would you be the sun, or should I say the moon to my night sky?” Luna gasps seeing Matteo propose. She covers her mouth in shock and doesn’t stop crying. She nods. “Yes! Yes! Yes,” she screams out. He carries her in bridal style while spinning her around and round.

Gastón and Nina come out from behind the bushes. Gastón is holding a camcorder and filmed everything. When Matteo lets go of Luna, she is surprised to see them two there. “Oh wow Gastón, I didn’t know you turned into Jazmín,” Luna joked. “No, I did him the favor of videotaping everything since he wanted this memory saved. I, of course, said yes since now I have actual evidence of him crying. He always bragged about how he ‘never cries,’” Gastón jokes. “Oh and Mr. Balsano how did you know I was going to say yes?” Luna questions.

“It’s too late to back out now Mrs. Balsano, plus I knew you couldn’t resist the charm,” Matteo chuckled. Gastón starts zooming in on Matteo. “Oh please bud, you’re over here crying a river of tears more than Luna. Yeah, some irresistible charm I see,” Gastón laughs.

They all group together for a hug as a family. The rest of the Jam and Roller gang interrupt their celebration and join them in the fun. “Also Matteo, how did you get my dad’s permission to propose?” Luna asks.

“Let’s just say your mom had to do a lot of convincing for me,” Matteo responds.

[howtosingit]

Fic: don’t wanna lose me, don’t wanna lose you

Carlos drives TK home after their date.

*

A missing moment from 1x03.

1.7K | Also on AO3

- - - - - -

They’re both quiet in the car on the way back to TK’s place, letting the music on the radio fill the otherwise silent space between them.

Carlos isn’t really sure what to think. He had been nervous to ask TK out again after the failed dinner at his place, but something about the way the firefighter smiled at him as he left the police station made Carlos want to try again. Their conversation at his desk spoke volumes, with Carlos realizing that TK’s intense reaction hadn’t really been about him at all, but more about his past. TK seemed to be fighting his own demons and instead of scaring Carlos away, it just made  him want to suit up and fight by his side.

His mom always said his big, selfless heart was going to destroy him one day. Now, Carlos wonders how she could’ve possibly anticipated TK Strand; he certainly didn’t.

He’d planned a casual date, not wanting to overwhelm TK again. The bar felt public and open enough to keep the other man from feeling cornered, and Carlos knew there would be familiar faces around in case TK needed to escape again.

(Not that he had actually planned for that to happen, but he really had no idea what to expect.)

What he had not anticipated was some kind of work-related falling-out between TK and Judd. The presence of the older man had set TK off the minute they walked in the bar, his body growing tense and guarded as a heated anger seemed to boil right underneath his skin. Carlos had initially been curious to find out what was going on, but after a full 30 minutes of TK only ranting about Judd, his patience had started to wane. 

He finally got through to TK, and the rest of their date had been fine. TK was tragically terrible at darts, but his natural competitiveness led them to playing for a full hour. After his sixth loss, TK had begrudgingly admitted defeat, a scowl clouding his beautiful features.

Through it all, they talked. Nothing too deep, just the basic getting-to-know-you stuff: why they picked their jobs, how they felt about their families, and of course, how they discovered they were gay. As he drives, Carlos fondly remembers the ten-minute argument over the best sitcom in history - TK had argued for The Office, while he chose the classic I Love Lucy. The conversation had ended in a draw, through Carlos fully intended to revisit it in the future. 

Now, turning onto TK’s street, Carlos wonders if they’ll ever get the chance to argue about TV shows again. It’s not that the quiet between them is awkward - in fact, if not for the fact that the date was kind of all over the place, it would be kind of comfortable. There’s a familiarity to sharing space with TK, like it’s just what he’s meant to do. Except, the date was all over the place, and now Carlos doesn’t know what to make of TK’s silence. 

He pulls into the driveway, putting the car in park and switching off the ignition. The music keeps playing, content to continue until one of them opens the door. Carlos briefly glances to his right, watching as TK stares up at the house he shares with his dad. His face is in profile, his sharp features thrown into stunning relief. The firefighter pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, clearly lost in his thoughts, and Carlos wants nothing more than to run his finger along the line of TK’s mouth, to remove the obvious stress that weighs on the other man.

Instead, he folds his hands in his lap, twiddling his thumbs as his heart begins to race. He has no idea what happens next, but he knows it’s TK’s choice to make. 

“I had a really good time tonight,” TK says softly a few minutes later, finally breaking the silence. The sentiment is so unexpected and so at odds with the current atmosphere inside the car, that Carlos can’t help but let out a huff of laughter, shaking his head. “What?” TK asks, and Carlos turns to find him wearing a confused expression.

“You don’t have to lie, TK,” Carlos says, leaning back against the headrest as he stares over at the other man. “I’d much rather you just be honest with me.”

“I am being honest,” TK says, his voice firm. 

Carlos stares at him for a moment, captivated by the way his blue-green eyes shine in the semi-darkness. “Okay,” he says, giving him a nod.

TK huffs out a breath, his hand coming up to rub at his forehead. Then, seemingly coming to a decision, he looks back towards Carlos, his face set. “Walk me up?” he asks.

Instead of answering, Carlos pulls his keys from the ignition, reaching for the door. The music cuts out as he climbs from the car, circling around to join TK on the passenger side. He’s surprised when the other man leans into his side, wrapping his fingers around Carlos’s bicep as they begin to make their way up the front path. 

“I’m sorry,” TK begins, as they climb the few steps up to the porch, “for kind of being all over the place tonight.”

“You don’t have to apologize, TK,” Carlos assures him, stopping in front of the door and turning to face him. “I said I wanted to get to know you, and that means all of you. Even your work drama.”

“Do you really think Judd was right?” TK asks him for the second time this evening, though less aggressive than the first. Carlos stares at him, wondering how to handle the question. “Be honest with me,” TK says, repeating his words from earlier.

“I think,” Carlos starts, choosing his words carefully, “that you and Judd can learn a lot from one another. You’ve both had very different lives, had very different experiences on the job, and you’ve both learned a lot from them. I think if the two of you found a way to be on the same side, you’d be pretty unstoppable together. But,” he continues, a smirk pulling at his lips as he brings a hand up to rest against TK’s cheek, “you both have to lose the hard heads, or you’ll just wind up in a never-ending bullfight.”

He shifts, balling his hand into a fist as he gently knocks it against TK’s skull. TK rolls his eyes as he lets out a laugh, reaching up to grab Carlos’s hand. He lets their joined hands fall between them, linking their fingers together. 

“Can I make another observation?” Carlos asks after a moment, his heart pounding in his throat.

TK nods, letting their hands swing gently between them.

“It kind of seems like this move to Texas has been a really big change for you, in a lot of ways,” Carlos says, trying not to sound patronizing. He’s just trying to be realistic about this. “And even without all of the stuff that you left behind in New York, it would be a lot to handle.” He takes a deep breath, working up the nerve to say what they both need to hear. “I’m just not sure I know where I fit into all of that.”

He watches as TK visibly swallows, his eyes moving to look everywhere but directly at Carlos.

“I’m not trying to make a decision for you,” Carlos assures him. “I’m just saying…” he hesitates, trying not to be pushy. TK tightens his grip on Carlos’s hand, a reassuring action. “I guess I’m just saying that there’s no pressure here, with you and me,” he finishes, unsure if he’s made his point clearly. 

TK takes a step closer, bringing his free hand up to cup Carlos’s cheek. “I think you’re right,” TK says, his voice gentle between them. “As much as I wish it wasn’t true, my life is… a mess right now. You don’t deserve to have to deal with that.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, TK,” Carlos states defensively, bringing his own hand up to cover TK’s, keeping him close. “I’m not running away from you, that’s not who I am. I would just hate to be someone who adds to the stress when I think we’re both mature enough to avoid it. Does that make sense?” 

“It does make sense, even if it sucks,” TK agrees, his eyes somehow growing softer. “I meant it when I said I had a good time tonight. You really do help to pull me out of head, and I need that sometimes.”

Carlos nods. “That doesn’t have to change,” he reminds him. “You have my number, whenever you need it. I’m not running away, TK, and I’ll be here.”

“That sounds a bit like a friendship, Reyes,” TK hedges, stroking his thumb against Carlos’s cheek; he feels his skin heat up under TK’s touch. 

“It can be, if that’s what you want,” Carlos assures him, turning his head to press a kiss to TK’s palm before dropping their hands between them. “You should know, though, that if we’re going to do this, you have to watch I Love Lucy reruns with me. I have friendship standards, Strand, and that’s a non-negotiable requirement,” he jokes.

TK ducks his head, laughing as he steps back, letting their hands finally disconnect. They stand before one another, two men separated by a harsh wall of reality and bad-timing. 

“I like the sound of that,” TK whispers, a smile softening the resignation in his voice. 

They stare at one another for a moment, letting their decision envelop them. A part of Carlos aches to reach out and touch TK; he knows that, after tonight, he might not get the chance to hold him again. But, a larger part of him knows that they’ve made the right choice, so he can’t regret it. This is for the best.

“I should go,” he finally says, digging his hands into his pockets to keep them away from TK. He turns, stepping off the porch and onto the front path. 

“Good night, Carlos,” TK says, his voice carrying easily through the still night air. Carlos pauses, turning back to give him a wave.

“Good night, TK,” he says back, a forced smile on his lips. 

It’ll get easier, he thinks, as he turns to keep walking. 

He knows it will.

[here4theheartbreak]

A Calculated Risk (VHope)

⭒ AO3 Link Here!

⭒ Relationships: Hoseok x Taehyung ⭒ Genre: fluff, strangers to lovers ⭒ Final Rating: General Audiences ⭒ Word Count (Chapter): ~5.1k

⭒ Tags: fluff, getting together, strangers to lovers, anxious Hoseok, art student Taehyung, pre-slash

⭒ Summary: When Hoseok sees the crying young man on the plane next to him, he wonders if the calculated certainty of his life is really worth the loneliness.

⭒ A/N: This fic was written for our lovely sunshine Hoseok’s birthday!

Hoseok was good at staying out of trouble. He kept his head down, his nose out of business that wasn’t his, and his hands clean. It was how he’d gotten to become the youngest sales manager in his company. At twenty-six, it was unheard of to be such a powerful figure in the industry. Yet there he was, flying to a variety of countries, meeting with powerful men and women, convincing them to sign up, make contracts, do business. He liked his job okay. He did it well, he was charming, and he enjoyed being the face of a business that did good things for the world. But a part of Hoseok felt like there was something missing. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Rather… He knew what it was, but he didn’t want to know. He was lonely as hell. Random one night stands in a variety of hotel rooms that started to all look alike across the continents, a series of failed relationships with every gender and sex – most of them summing up to a singular thing. You’re too nice. There was never any excitement in Hoseok’s life, and he liked it that way. Excitement, the unknown, these were variables that did not turn out guaranteed positive results. And that’s what Hoseok’s life was built on. Taking risks was not in his vocabulary.

So, when Hoseok found himself seated next to the stunning young man with dark eyes and big ears on the way home from Canada, despite that fact that he desperately wanted to say something… He remained quiet. And he intended to remain quiet the entire way back to Korea. It was for the best. This man looked like a risk taker. Someone that Hoseok could never make happy. 

Hoseok let his eyes slip shut, tapping out a rhythm on his arm rest. They’d been in the air for about an hour, and the young man had been staring at his phone the whole time. Easy then, to avoid contact, he figured. 

He heard a sniffle, and grimaced; hopefully the boy wasn’t sick. He couldn’t afford to catch cold. He’d need to pick up some vitamin c just in case. Another sniffle, and a shaky sigh. Hoseok scowled. He cracked one eye and peeked over. 

The young man was still looking at his phone, his blondish hair hanging down. But in the part of his exposed face, Hoseok could see tear tracks; he’d been crying. He was crying. 

Hoseok shut his eyes again, his mouth forming a fine line.

‘Stay out of it, Hobi. Not your problem. Stranger on a plane. Stranger danger. Avoid risk. Crying handsome boy is a risk.’

“Are you okay?” The words were out of Hoseok’s mouth before he was even aware of asking 

The boy looked over, sniffled, and nodded. His chin began to quiver and he shook his head no, but quickly yanked his hood up over his face, pulling his knees to his chest. 

“I’ll be more quiet,” he whispered. His voice was low and rumbly, immediately sending chills of the good variety down Hosoek’s spine.

“No, I—That wasn’t it. You just look sad. Can I help?”

The boy shook his head no. “Just a breakup.”

Hoseok winced. “I’ve been through a lot of those,” he whispered, nodding. “I know you’ve probably heard it a lot from friends, but it does get easier.”

“I know. I’m sure it will. I just can’t believe I was so stupid… Coming all the way across the world to see him and he just—” He broke off. “Sorry.”

“No, continue.”

‘What are you doing, Hoseok. This is a risk. Risks are unnecessary in your life. Stop it.’ “It helps to vent sometimes. And we have plenty of hours.”

The boy nodded and chuckled weakly, swallowing hard. “He—We met online. And we hit it off and he promised… He promised me so much. So I saved up for years while we dated.. To come to Canada. To meet him and he just… One weekend and he dumped me.”

“Did he say why?”

“He found someone else. Someone who lives there. Turns out he’s been dating him for about six months… Didn’t tell me.”

“Oh God, what an asshole,” Hoseok muttered, his face twisting up in anger. “That’s fucking low, if you don’t mind me saying. Sure, breakups happen, but to be cheating, and to not tell you before…”

“He said he only wanted me to come so he could try to get a threesome in before we broke up. Figured I’d be happy to get his dick in real life once.” The boy gasped then and closed his mouth fast enough that his teeth clicked. “Oh God, I’m so sorry – that was way too much information.”

Hoseok chuckled. “A bit, but it’s okay. You didn’t sleep with the jackass did you?”

“God no, I’m not wasting my time. He can sleep with his creepy little affair on his own.”

“Good on you.” Hoseok hesitated before sticking his hand out. “My name’s Jung Hoseok.”

“Kim Taehyung. Are you from Korea?”

“Mhm, I live in Seoul. I was in Canada on business.”

“Really? What do you do?”

“I work for a company that helps supply hospitals with different equipment. We have contracts with a lot of countries. I go and sorta try to sell them the products, make sure they’re happy with what we’re doing, contracts, deals, all boring stuff.”

“But you get to travel? All over?”

Hoseok nodded. “Pretty much. It’s one of the perks of the job. Busy, but it’s nice to be on the move. What about you? You look pretty young.”

“Says you. All that stuff, sounds like you should be forty.”

Hoseok chuckled. “I should be. I’m lucky to have this position so young. I’m twenty-six.”

“I’m twenty-four. I just finished college. Art school. So… I’m unemployed.” Taehyung shrugged, looking down at his lap. “My friend says the coffee shop he’s working at is hiring, so I’ll check that out when I get back to Seoul.”

“What kind of art do you do?” Hoseok asked.

“All kinds, mostly drawing and photography. Uh…” Taehyung turned and grabbed his carry on. He pulled out a large black binder and held it up for a second. “You probably—Is this weird?” He asked.

“What?”

“I’m a stranger to you. You don’t really care about this. Or me…”

“I saw a handsome guy crying next to me. And, in talking to him… He stopped the tears. I care.” Hoseok held out his hand, letting Taehyung hand him the binder. He went through it page by page, blown away by the talent he saw encased in thin plastic sheets. The young man had an eye for detail, and for beauty. His photography in particular was absolutely stunning. Everything from piles of rocks to buildings to people, both posed and candid. His drawn art was unique and abstract, making Hoseok turn the book this way and that to really take in everything that was going on. 

While he looked, he could feel Taehyung watching him, and could nearly sense the anxiety rolling off him. He cared what a stranger sitting next to him on a plane thought… It was sweet, and sad. 

He finally closed the book and handed it back. “You’re only twenty-four?” He asked. 

Taehyung nodded, chewing his bottom lip. “That work is stunning for your age, Taehyung. You’re really going to go a long way. I encourage you to look at companies you might not consider originally. Bigger tech companies and others that may not delve into the arts. They’re always looking for designers and photographers, and I bet your portfolio would really impress some of them. It’s probably not what you want to do long term, but a contract with a powerful company could really get you moving in the right direction. At least get you some funding if you wanted to do your own business or something similar.”

As Hoseok spoke, he could see Taehyung’s smile growing. It warmed his heart. Taehyung’s phone buzzed on his lap and he looked down, the smile that Hoseok had just put there drooping. 

“The dickhead boyfriend, huh?”

“Ex-boyfriend,” Taehyung emphasized, and Hoseok nodded. “He’s trying to make up with me.”

“And what do you want?”

“Him to go the fuck away. Forever. He broke my heart, he’s not allowed to do this.”

“Then ignore it.” Hoseok shrugged. “Turn off the phone. Let me buy you a drink.”

“Wh—What?” 

Hoseok motioned to the stewardess that was making her way down the aisle. “Let’s keep your mind off the jerk, at least until you land. I’ll buy you a drink and we can watch some movies together.”

Taehyung smiled again, his eyes seeming to be searching Hoseok’s face for something. Hoseok motioned to the waitress, handing over his card. “I’ll have a beer, if you have any, and then whatever my friend here wants.”

She nodded. Taehyung smiled shyly. “Uh, I—I’ll take uh… Something sweet?” She nodded. 

“I could make you a pineapple rum, if you’d like, it’s pretty sweet.”

Taehyung nodded as well. “I like pineapple.” She handed Hoseok his bottle and his card back after popping the cap off, as well as a cup to pour it in if he wanted. She set to work mixing Taehyung’s drink and passed it to him as well before continuing down the aisle. Hoseok reached out and tapped the screen in front of Taehyung. 

“What genre gets your mind off idiot boys? Whatever you want.”

“Uh—I don’t know. I don’t watch movies that much, I guess…”

“Hm.” Hoseok flipped through the screen. “Not romance… Not drama. Tragedy. We could do comedy? Uh.. Action. Uh…” 

“That one,” Taehyung pointed at an image of a cover. Hoseok hesitated. “That’s horror.”

Taehyung nodded. 

“You like horror, eh?” He clicked it, trying not to sound as panicked as he felt. Good to know he figured – more proof this insane… Whatever the hell he was trying to do… Wouldn’t work. Those who liked horror took risks. And risks—

“I hate horror,” Taehyung said. 

“So why watch it?”

“Because it’s scary and I hate it. It’ll keep my attention so I won’t be thinking about him.”

Hoseok hesitated, thinking for a moment. He had to admit, it was pretty sound reasoning. He nodded. 

“Do you have headphones?”

Taehyung pulled out a handful of wire from his bag and nodded. Hoseok waved over the stewardess. “Do you have a jack splitter?” He asked. She nodded and dug around for a moment, handing one over to him. 

“Thank you.”

They got set up with the splitter and Taehyung pulled down the window shield. Hoseok lifted the arm rest so they could sit a little closer, sharing the same small screen as the movie began. Hoseok hated horror so much. Within twenty minutes he was gripping the other armrest, his leg bouncing nervously. Taehyung had moved almost direction against his side and was gripping his other arm tightly, his eyes wide as he stared at the screen. 

Each jump scare Hosoek and Taehyung would both jump, sharing a nervous glance and a giggle afterward. 

Hoseok reached up at one point, taking Taehyung’s hand and twining their fingers. When Taehyung blinked at him, he smiled. “Easier to squeeze if you get scared. Less likely to scream.”

Taehyung grinned that bright grin again and nodded, looking back at the movie. 

They made it through the rest of it, jumping and squeezing each other’s hands. Hoseok finished his drink and was tempted to order another, but figured sobriety would be an easier state to tackle scary movies in. When it finished, Taehyung reached out, finding the sequel and grinning at Hoseok. 

“Another?”

Hoseok hesitated, but nodded. That smile… It was something else entirely. The way his heart picked up a few beats when Taehyung rested his head on his shoulder again, twining their fingers on the seat between them. The waitress came by and smiled softly. “Can I get you two anything?” She asked. 

“We’re okay, I think. Taehyung?”

“I’m good. Thank you,” Taehyung smiled up at her and she nodded. The two turned their attention back to the film. 

Six hours and three sequels later, Hoseok heard a soft snore. He shifted as gently as he could to see, smiling a bit when he realized Taehyung had fallen asleep on his shoulder. His heart still did that little pitter-patter. This was a problem. How could he let himself fall for a guy he’d just met? A guy who was willing to fly across the world to meet a stranger? A young, handsome guy who probably took risks like Hoseok changed socks and thought that going out without properly re-lacing his shoes every morning was totally acceptable. As Hoseok sat in silence, no longer needing to focus in order to potentially distract Taehyung as needed, his mood soured. 

What was so wrong with him that people wanted nothing to do with him? He was safe, sure. And he was peculiar… But he wasn’t a bad man, he thought. Just because he didn’t take risks didn’t mean he was no fun. Or wasn’t a good person to be around. But time and time again that was the message. Not good enough. Not fun enough. Not exciting enough. 

And this – this foolish idea that had begun formulating in his head, the fantasy that maybe this young man would be willing to give him a chance – it was frivolous at best. It was an unnecessary risk. The statistics, if Hoseok were to crunch them, were sure to show that the chances of Taehyung saying yes were low enough, staying with him beyond one date even lower, and staying with him long term statistically insignificant. So he was best just getting it out of his head now, before it sat and festered like a wound. 

The film ended, as the others had, with a “dead” monster and a jump scare to leave it open, and Hoseok was too unhappy to even startle. He tugged the earbuds out and turned off the screen, sinking down a little to try and rest. And – despite his bitter mood as he drifted off to sleep – he couldn’t help but notice just how nice Taehyung felt on his shoulder.

Hoseok awoke with a good, hard stretch, blinking up at the roof of the plane. “Rest well?” Taehyung’s voice was soft and deep, and Hoseok felt goosebumps rise to his skin.

“I did. Did you?” He asked. 

Taehyung nodded, leaning his head on the back of the seat. He shifted over and pulled his legs up into the seat so he was facing Hoseok directly. “Do you have a partner at home?”

“A what?”

“You know… Boyfriend or girlfriend.”

Hoseok shook his head. “Just me on my own. I work too much for dating.”

“Not true, necessarily,” Taehyung argued. 

Hoseok half smiled. “That, and all my exes have told me I’m too boring.” He reached out and tapped the screen; fifteen minutes until they were set to land.

“Boring?”

“I don’t like unnecessary risk,” Hoseok explained. “I don’t like being surprised and I prefer to plan things so that they will – in as much statistical assurance as they can – go in the right direction.”

“I don’t see that as such a bad thing.”

Hoseok laughed. “You’d be one of the few. Most leave because I’m just too safe.”

“Sometimes people… Some people… Need safe,” Taehyung argued. He rested his chin on his knees. “I need safe.”

“You’re quite wounded,” Hoseok agreed, wondering if he was reading between the lines in the way Taehyung meant – or if it was wishful thinking. 

The two sat in a comfortable silence as the plane descended. At least Hoseok figured it was comfortable. He was anxious, as he tended to be in social situations where he wasn’t sure what the other party was thinking. But Taehyung seemed relaxed, sitting next to him, flipping through his phone. Hoseok wondered if he was reading messages from the ex, or someone new. Did people move on so fast? He didn’t know. Usually other people asked him out, and he calculated the risk based on how well he knew them – not the other way around.

The two got off the plane and headed to the luggage carousel together, not purposely, but also not purposely straying from one another’s side either. As they waited, Taehyung looked over.

“ Am I right in thinking you’re gay?” He asked abruptly. 

Hoseok blinked, hesitated… Then nodded. “You are.”

“And single. And a sweet guy who helped a crying stranger on the plane.”

“Wouldn’t you have?”

“I don’t know,” Taehyung admitted, shrugging. He snagged his suitcase from the belt. “Let me give you my phone number.”

Hoseok took his own bag. “Why?”

“So we can go out on a date.”

Hoseok smiled sadly. “Taehyung…”

Taehyung’s smile drooped a little. “Oh. I misread.”

Hoseok shook his head. “Yes and no. You are a handsome young man, and I do find you interesting and fun to listen to. But we don’t know each other. And because of that, I can’t calculate the risk of going out with you.”

“So why not get to know each other? That’s what the point of dating is.”

“True. And I could, except even only knowing you for this short time… I can say with relative confidence that you would have minimal interest in me beyond a date or two.”

“And why is that?” Taehyung asked. 

“I’m not your type.”

“Shouldn’t I decide that?” Taehyung chuckled. “You’re cute, nice, independent.”

“And utterly boring. While you’re the type that watches horror movies to feel better, and flies across oceans to meet a stranger in the hopes of finding true love. I could never take such risks. Or any risks, really. That’s why I’m not good for you.”

“Yeah, well look how good taking risks did me.”

“This time, maybe. But that’s the thing about risks. They can end badly. I don’t like that. I don’t like things ending badly.”

Taehyung sighed softly. His head drooped a little but he nodded. “I wish that wasn’t your answer, but I appreciate you being honest.”

Hoseok smiled weakly. “Look, Taehyung. You’re young, you’re handsome as hell, you’re talented. You’ll find a person to treat you right. That’s a good match for you.”

“I hope he’s like you, honestly.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know enough to know you’re smart and thoughtful. I hope he’s the type of person who’d help a crying stranger on a plane.” Taehyung reached out and grabbed Hoseok’s wrist. He gave it a gentle squeeze. “Risks are scary, but the only way to truly be happy sometimes, is to take them. Just remember that. You took one today and you changed my whole mood – Possibly my whole week. Risks don’t always end badly, but you’ll never know unless you take them.” He let him go and sighed, pulling the handle up on his bag. “Have a good life, Hoseok. Maybe I’ll see you around one of these days.”

“Same to you, Taehyung. Keep your chin up.” Hoseok watched Taehyung walk off before heading off himself. Strangely, as he rode the bus back to his apartment (he’d calculated that the bus was far safer at this hour as opposed to a taxi), he felt… Not so sure about his decision with Taehyung. 

He’d weighed his options, and saying yes to Taehyung had seemed like the riskier option. And risk equaled bad news. That motto had always worked for Hoseok. So why did it feel so bad?

As the days passed, turned into weeks, Hoseok thought less of Taehyung. He sometimes wondered where he was, what he was doing, if he found a good job or a nice boyfriend. If he ever thought of the strange, kind stranger on the plane who turned him down in the airport. Doubtful, Hoseok figured. He wasn’t memorable enough.

Whenever he did think of Taehyung, a small, painful knot formed in his stomach. The internet had said it was probably cancer, as those sites are apt to do, but his best friend, a med student, had ruled it as simply regret. Impossible, really, Hoseok didn’t have regrets. That was the great thing about calculating risks. He was confident in his choices and therefore had no need for regrets. Except this one, maybe.

Two and a half months after Taehyung and Hoseok had departed the airport, Hoseok was having a bad day.

He’d woken up late – something he never did. He’d been forced to take a bus because it was safer than a taxi at the hour he’d be on the road, but it also made him an hour late. On the way to his office, briefcase and coffee in hand, he’d tripped – having tied his shoelace haphazardly – and spilled his coffee down his front in an attempt to prevent himself from face planting into the wall. Which meant a trip to the nearby mall – this time walking distance – to get a replacement shirt, seeing as he had a presentation… That he was three minutes and fourteen seconds late to. 

After the fiasco of the presentation, Hoseok sat outside for a few minutes during his lunch, attempting to re-gather his bearings and finish his day strong. It was working too. He felt calmer, he felt like the rest of the day would be great. Just a quick pop over to one of the quick eateries to grab a bite before his lunch hour was finished. He flipped his wrist to check the time, scowling when nothing but tanned skin peeked out of his shirtsleeve. Right. He’d forgotten to put on his watch in his rush this morning. No problem, the world was technologically advanced for a reason. He opened his briefcase and pushed some papers around, hunting for his phone. It was tucked away in the pocket. And absolutely dead when Hoseok tried the power button. 

He huffed and snapped his briefcase shut. 

“Excuse me, ma’am,” he called to a middle-aged woman walking across the sidewalk in front of him. He bowed politely. “Sorry to bother you, but do you have the time? My phone is dead.”

“Oh, of course. It’s one forty-three.”

Hoseok’s eyes bulged. He scrambled to his feet, startling the woman.

“Sorry!” He cried, bowing again. “Late back to work. Thank you so much.”

He rushed off toward the office once more, feeling even more frazzled than when he’d left for lunch. How had he sat there for a full hour and fifteen minutes nearly? He never lost track of time like that. His days were simply too busy. 

Hoseok berated himself as he turned into his office building. How had his day turned out so badly? He hadn’t done anything different the night before. There was no change in diet or weather or season or schedule to throw him off. So what the hell was going on?

Hoseok was so up in his head that he failed to see the young man turning the corner as he did. The two collided, and Hoseok went down, skidding on his butt as his briefcase, not shut firmly from his earlier panic, opened and scattered papers across the hall. The man in front of him swore then gasped as he fell as well.

Hoseok looked at him, his eyes bulging. “Taehyung?!” He spluttered. 

Taehyung gasped, yanking his headphones from his ears. His hair was shorter, a little neater to his head, and he was wearing a nice dress shirt and slacks. He had a black binder under his arm. “Hoseok!”

He scrambled to his feet, setting the binder down and going to help Hoseok gather the papers.

“How have you been?”

“Good, what are you doing here?” Hoseok asked, piling them back in his briefcase. 

“I’ve got a job interview. I mean I had one. For my art. This place is looking for a new marketing team member and I thought my photography and art might be good. Plus, I’ve improved my computer art skills too. What about you? Why are you here?”

“I work here,” Hoseok said, standing up straight and brushing himself off.

“No way, what a crazy coincidence,” Taehyung said, grinning. “They really liked my stuff.”

“We’re in desperate need of some fresh blood in that department,” Hoseok agreed. He hesitated, his heart doing a strange little stutter step now that they stood so close to one another. 

“How have you been?” He asked after a second.

Taehyung smiled a little distantly. “I’m okay. I got over the breakup. Took some time, but I’ve moved on.”

“Yeah? Found a new partner?” What a strange feeling, Hoseok thought. That clench in my chest. I hope it’s not heart trouble…

“No, still single.”

Ah, it’s released now, probably just a fluke from my crazy day.

“I see,” Hoseok replied lamely. 

“And you? Found someone perfectly safe?”

“Not really looking,” Hoseok admitted. “I mean, not opposed, but… I tend not to ask people. Ah…” He shrugged awkwardly. “When do you find out if you get the job?”

“They’ll call me later this week.”

“Ah, good. Well. Maybe I’ll see more of you around then. Must be going now…” He hesitated once more before moving past Taehyung toward the stairs. Taehyung grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

“Hoseok… The airport. When you refused me…”

Hoseok swallowed hard, lowering his gaze. 

“I’m glad you did. I needed time to recover mentally from the breakup and get myself back together.”

“Good. I’m glad. You’ll be all the better for it.”

“But,” Taehyung pressed, still not letting his wrist go. “But I haven’t stopped thinking about you. And my interest in you hasn’t faded.”

“Taehyung…”

“I don’t want danger right now, Hoseok. I want you to know that. I want calm. I want peace and relaxation and a steady, firm ground. Someone to support me, that I can support just as much. Someone who isn’t going to go wild, and would rather stay inside playing a board game or snuggle on the couch with a good action movie than go run a marathon. Just so you know.” Taehyung let him go, his face pinching for a moment. 

Hoseok hesitated, not sure how to respond. His hesitation must have told Taehyung something though, because Taehyung tugged a pen out of his pocket. He walked over to the entrance desk, thankfully unmanned for lunch, and snagged a sticky note from it. He scrawled on it and slapped it into Hoseok’s palm.

“It’s a risk. I know that. But think about it. I’m free this week… Pretty much all week.”

Hoseok nodded, taking the paper. “I will. Be safe… The cars…”

“I will. Enjoy work.” Taehyung put his earbuds back into his ears and grabbed his portfolio before he headed out the door. 

Hoseok watched him go before looking at the sticky note in his hand. Taehyung’s number was written on it, along with his name. Hoseok’s chest clenched again, and his stomach knotted up in that little twist. So maybe he did like Taehyung. He sighed and tucked the number into his pocket before hurrying up the stairs to try and get some work done before he ended up staying late. 

Unfortunately, the events of lunch did not lend themselves well to an atmosphere of hard work and focus. Hoseok’s mind kept drifting. To Taehyung, to the number in his pocket, to what he’d said. He wanted safe. He described exactly the type of man that Hoseok was. Safe, boring in the eyes of so many, and said that was his ideal. Was he being honest? There was no reason for him to lie, really, Hoseok figured. So why not be honest. Would it change? Maybe. Probably, if he was being honest with himself. Most of the time humans did change. But was that such a bad thing? 

Of course it’s a bad thing. Change is uncalculated… Change is a risk.

“Shut up,” Hoseok whispered to himself. He scooped up his desk phone and dug Taehyung’s number out of his pocket.

Taehyung picked up on the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Is this Taehyung?”

“Hoseok? Yeah it’s me.”

“I’m free tomorrow night. I thought I’d be free tonight but… I seem to be quite distracted and will likely not be leaving the office in time for dinner.”

“Tomorrow night,” Taehyung repeated. Hoseok could hear what he thought was a smile in his voice. “Dare I suggest… I could pick you up something for dinner. If you wanted. Since I know where you work.”

Hoseok hesitated. What if he was late tomorrow because of it? What if he couldn’t sleep? What if he said something silly to Taehyung because he was tired? “I—”

“Too big of a risk?” Taehyung offered.

“Yes. I’m sorry. Was this a mistake? I’m so strange.”

Taehyung’s laugh was bright, and Hoseok’s heart skipped a few beats. “You’re not weird. You are. But I like it. Tomorrow night is fine, but please remember to eat tonight, okay? Even if it’s something quick. You’re going to feel worse if you don’t.”

“You are likely correct.”

“Is this a cell phone?”

“No, office… My cell phone is dead.”

“Well, when it charges, why don’t you text me. You can pick a place, I’m not really all that picky about food except I don’t like super spicy things. We can decide the best way to meet up and the details then, or tomorrow morning and afternoon. Does that work?”

“That sounds good. Very planned… Thank you for being patient and understanding.”

“I want this to work out, Hoseok.”

Hoseok hesitated. “I’d say… It’s a calculated risk.”

“How are the rewards?” Taehyung asked, a grin in his tone. “Do they greatly outweigh the risks?”

Hoseok smiled a little to himself. “No. Frankly, they are… Probably pretty balanced. But with great risk comes great reward, or whatever the daredevils say, right? This reward seems too good to pass up.”

“And what reward is that?” Taehyung teased.

“Oh, one of a kind. A beautiful boy. Even better, one that is okay with me being weird and boring.”

“Sounds like a good reward.”

“I agree. So… I’ll text you when I get off work and charge my phone, okay?”

“I’ll keep an eye out for it.”

“Goodnight.” Hoseok hung up, staring at his phone for a moment after he did. What a risk. That was a huge risk, who was he kidding?

He turned back to his computer, working on spreadsheets while going through a mental list of good restaurants for a first date. It was a risk, no denying that. But sometimes, every now and then, the reward is worth the risk.

[bibbykins]

the brunch event is here I’m excited!!! @ all MCs, what’s the sweetest fluffiest thing the guys have done for you / you’ve done with the guys? (craving some fluff today, hope you don’t mind!)

(Holy shit, this was longer than I intended but I hope you like it!) (Also this is long and I'm on mobile so I'm sorry for no read later thing here pls dont be mean to me)

Warnings: crying, PTSD, phantom pains/touches

The girls all smile at the question and decide the order they'll go in before Leopard takes a sip of her mimosa and speaks, "One day, Jin said he was taking me to go look at some clothes for an event we'd have to go to," She relaxes in her seat, fingers curling around the champagne glass gracefully, as if she's proudly told this story a million times, "Then, we pull up to a storage place and I'm like 'okay, so you're murdering me?'" She laughs in spite of knowing he's capable of murder, "He takes my hand and then takes me into a unit and in there are sketchbooks upon props and prototypes that I had ever made." She grinned at the thought, "I had started doing stage design and writing when I was 16 and my family never took home my props or anything, so I thought they were just... gone, and then here they all were." She sighed dreamily, "It just... made me feel like someone was proud of that 16 year old hurting herself on nail guns trying to build, or that 18 year old who took an hour to control a sander, it made me feel so exalted for my hard work."

Princess and Dove are already tearing up despite having heard the story before and Leopard holds their hands until they calm down, knowing they will absolutely cry when everyone is done telling their stories.

"Ah, it's my turn!" Sunshine gleams, "I'm pretty easy to make happy, like ordering my favorite food is groundbreaking to me no matter how often you do it." The girls giggle and nod at this, "But, there was one time we on our way to do our engagement photo shoot at the restaurant we had our first date, but then he pulls over and tell me he wants to show me something." She can't contain her growing smile, "And I'm confused, becuase we stop at this beautiful lake and he hates the outdoors." She chuckles at this, "But then he leads us into a beautiful field with wild flowers and a camera with a tripod." Princess has already let tears fall at this point, "And he tells me this is our engagement photoshoot, something just for us." Sunshine takes a bite of her crepe, "It was just so sweet and grounding since everything something happens with us, it's publicized, which is fine for the most part, but for him to set something up that's just for us to have, especially in nature, so sweet." The girls all giggle and coo at Sunshine.

"Oh, no! I know what story Sweet Pea is gonna say and I'm totally gonna break!" Odette grips Sunshine as the woman in question giggles.

"It's okay, I cried like a baby too." Sweet Pea giggles and she begins cutting Princess's pancakes for her like she always does, "So he was taking me to a gallery, didn't tell me for who for some reason, but you know me, I love a good exhibition." She snickered, "When we get there, I realize it's for my favorite enameler, or art jewler. He uses this beautiful etching technique and makes some stunning intaglio pieces I absolutely adore." The girls all mentally prep their tear ducts for the next part, "And so he has me meet the artist, and I'm freaking out the whole time and trying to hide it, until the artist tells me he has a piece he want to show me." She has excitement on her face just thinking about it, "And he takes me to a piece I haven't seen before and isn't with the new collection. It's an aquamarine pendant with a beautiful silver chain that had parts of a see through material interwoven. The gem was held in place with a beautiful silver trim that looks light and airy, like clouds almost, and in the pendant is this beautiful etching of a familiar skyline." Odette wipes a tear away at the speed of light, "And then Namjoon tells me it's the skyline from where we first met on that forsaken sky bridge and the silver with glass represents the steps that lead me to him." The girls coo at Sweet Pea tearing up for a moment.

"Ah, it's my turn!" Odette wipes away tears frantically, "Mine is quite simple, but it meant a lot to me." She smiles gleefully, "For background, before I majored in journalism, I was a dance major, contemporary, but I had an injury and was out of commission for too long by the time it healed. I didn't even tell Jimin until we had been dating for a couple months, I feel weird talking about it sometimes." She shrugged simply, "So I beacame his practice partner after that, which was fun, and one time we soent ages practicing thus one choreo bc he claimed he didn't want to practice with his actual partner, ever the drama queen." She giggled, "Then, the day of the showcase comes and he reveals that the dance was choreographed for me and him and it's our showcase." She held a toothy grin, "He gave me the feeling of being a dancer again, and it just felt like the closure I needed that I never got from my dancing career."

"It was a beautiful showcase." Angel nodded in agreement and Odette beamed at her praise while the other girls nod.

Dove hums as she chews her food before speaking, "So I do hand stitching, right? I don't think I'm very good..." All the women scowl at her, "But, they and Taehyung think I'm great at it and it calms me down so I make them a lot of hand stitched art or monogrammed clothing or I do commissions for their family." She smiles shyly, "So one day, Tae-Tae says he's taking me to Sweet Pea's gallery, but when we get there, it's all of my pieces up there. And the whole time people are greeting me and telling me how talented I am, asking what pieces they can buy and offering crazy prices, not that these guys would let go of my pieces." She snickered and the girls nodded proudly, "My name was in articles the next day, and he made me feel like I was someone to show off, like I was the impressive one, or impressive at all."

"Because you are impressive, hello?" Sunshine teased.

Princess has mascara streaks on her cheeks and Sweet Pea begins digging through her bag for makeuo wipes, "Uh, I'm not really good at storytelling and I'm a mess, so I'll make it quite short." She sniffled, "inhave this horrible habit of making clothes I hate and then donating them and Kook is always so dramatic when I do, like he has any business with a spring dress that would rip under his bicep." She giggles for a moment as Leopard begins wiping her cheeks, "And then he takes me to fashion week and...and..." She starts crying again and Odette coos at her, "My work, he had me on there as an up and coming designer and people were so nice to me and everytime I got overwhelmed, he took the reigns and it... my childhood dreams came true." She laid her head in Angel's lap, knowing it was her turn. The woman in question strokes the younger's hair soothingly.

Before Angel can even speak, all the girls are holding her hand or holding her and she rolls her eyes playfully, smilimg at the affection, "This why I'm going last." She giggled, "They get like this everytime I tell this story, even Leopard cries."

"Shush." Leopard, who is standing behind Angel's chair and stroking her hair quips, embarrassed, "We just care about you." She huffs.

"Well, it was a year after... the incident." Dove begins braiding Angel's hair to hide her incoming tears, "And I tried to go to work, but my body was not having it, so he stayed home with me and did everything the therapist said to grounding techniques and all, and stuff I could've done on my own, but he insisted." She smiled, "When dinner came around, I began feeling... phantom touches, pains. Like, my cheek ached and my tongue felt like it was burning, everything." Her smile was a bit sad, "It's normal with PTSD, but it doesn't make it any less frightening and none of the other grounding techniques were working, so he sits me on the counter, plays my favorite music, and begins 'treating' my wounds." Princess has her head in Angel's lap, but everyone can tell she's crying, "So for hours, he's there and showing me the clean gauze after treating my phantom wounds so delicately, and it really brought me back into the moment, that this is the man who loves me and this is where I am now." She smiles despite all the other girls being teary-eyed messes.

[nyerus]

Hey I originally followed you for YOI stuff and since that seems to be on haitus, I have seen you and a lot of people rebloing stuff about a different anime or manga (i think) with different mlm relationships? I think they're two diff shows and I've heard about mdzs before. But lately youve been reblogging stuff from a manga tagged tgcf and it looks pretty cool--so i was wondering how I could get into it and what its about? Does it have actual gay charas?

Hello! I’m sorry for the late response! This morphed from a simple answer into a beginner guide of sorts, so I hope you don’t mind! I know there’s like 500000 guides out there, but I figured I’d give it a shot too! ❤

So the stuff you’ve been seeing everywhere is indeed MDZS or related to it–including on my own blog! (I promise when YOI comes back from war, I’ll be all over that again ;o;!!!)

So these works are all by the same author, Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù (MXTX) and they are separate danmei (i.e. Chinese BL) novels, though they share a lot of similarities between them:

MDZS (Mó Dào Zǔ Shī) – Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

TGCF (Tiān Guān Cì Fú) – Heaven Official’s Blessing

SVSSS – Scum Villian’s Self-Saving System

All of them are complete and fan translated, and I’ll answer your last question first: yes, they have actual gay characters! In the novels, the main couples end up canonically married! \o/ In some of the adaptations, their romantic relationships are also maintained (e.g. the manhuas (Chinese graphic novel)), though censorship is present.

Links will be added below this post! Grab some popcorn, this is long!

･:*:･ﾟ’★🐇MDZS🐇★･ﾟ’･:*:･

MDZS《魔道祖师》is definitely the most popular work by MXTX, as it has the most adaptations. You’ve almost certainly been seeing gifs and photosets from its donghua (Chinese animation) or live action the most. However, it has a manhua and audio drama (in both Chinese and Japanese) as well!

Synopsis: Reviled as the infamous Yiling Laozu, Wei Wuxian harnessed the forbidden dark power of demonic cultivation. Once the cultivation world decided he was too dangerous to leave alone, he was hunted down, and a terrible battle ensued that cost Wei Wuxian his life—and the lives of many others. 13 years later, he is resurrected under mysterious circumstances into the body of the pariah Mo Xuanyu. Now with this second chance at life (and while hiding his real identity), Wei Wuxian has to uncover the truth about a powerful malevolent spirit. It may just be the key to revealing a series of heinous secrets hidden from the cultivation world for years. And while the world may still hate him for crimes he didn’t commit, there’s one person who’s on his side—the illustrious Hanguang-jun, Lan Wangji—and is willing to stand by him against all odds. The two have a long and complex history, and Wei Wuxian is unsure of Lan Wangji’s motivations for helping him. But it couldn’t be more simple: respect and love.

Scene from the donghua.

Still from the live action, called “Chén Qíng Lìng”/“CQL”/”The Untamed.”

Panel from the manhua.

Art from the Chinese audio drama.

The great thing about MDZS is that you can really pick your poison in terms of what adaptation you want to get started with. If you are absolutely brand-new to the danmei scene, then starting with the donghua or manhua may be your best bet (both are ongoing). The novel of course is the most beloved, being the source, but all the adaptations have their own charms! They’re all worth checking out, and will keep you busy for quite a while.

･:*:･ﾟ’★🌸TGCF🌸★･ﾟ’･:*:･

Now, for TGCF《天官赐福》—that’s where my photosets are coming from: the ongoing manhua that started in October. There’s a donghua planned for late this year, and a live action in talks (info about that is largely unknown, but is slated for production sometime after the donghua release). TGCF actually has the same deal structure as MDZS apparently, so we’ll be getting an audio drama as well if that’s true.

Synopsis: Talented and virtuous, Crown Prince Xie Lian first ascended to the heavens when he was only 17. Once the darling of the earth and heavens for his boundless skill and purity of heart, he ended up falling from grace—not once, but twice! Subsequently, he became the laughing stock of the three realms. Spending almost 800 years roaming the earth and collecting scraps, he becomes known as the pitiful “rubbish god” and “god of misfortune.” No one could have expected Xie Lian to ascend for a third time, but fate seems to have something in store for this disgraced yet compassionate immortal. Thankfully, he is not alone, as the widely-feared ghost king, Hua Cheng, seems to have a special interest in helping him. The two of them embark on a series of adventures that unravel the secrets of their world, and of themselves.

Panel from the manhua.

Scene from the Donghua PV.

The novel for TGCF is a great place to start, especially considering how the manhua is still in it’s early stages (just starting it’s 2nd arc as of writing this post). The novel is long, incredibly well-written, and well-translated. The manhua is absolutely stunning, and follows the novel very closely thus far.

･:*:･ﾟ’★🎋SVSSS🎋★･ﾟ’･:*:･

The underrated sibling of the three, SVSSS《人渣反派自救系統 》has only the novel to interact with for right now. A donghua is planned for this year. There was a manhua, but it was cancelled due to some problems with the publisher afaik. Word on the street is that they’re searching for a new team for it, so we’ll continue to pray!!!

Synopsis: Shen Yuan is an avid reader of the web novel Proud Immortal Demon Way. The novel revolves around the protagonist Luo Binghe, a kind child who is tormented endlessly by his Shizun (teacher/mentor) Shen Qingqiu, until he turns into a powerful demon lord and exacts his violent revenge. While initially a fan of the story, Shen Yuan hates the unsatisfactory ending. Upon dying suddenly, he finds himself transmigrated into the novel, at the behest of The System—a sci-fi interface which gives him missions and directives. Unfortunately, he ends up in the place of the cruel Shen Qingqiu out of all people! This new Shen Qingqiu now has to use his knowledge of the novel to navigate around the plot, within the restrictions that The System has implemented. He has to find a way to ensure a better ending, if he wants to keep this second chance at life. His plan for doing this is to be as kind and encouraging as possible to the innocent Luo Binghe, who quickly takes a shine to this new Shen Qingqiu. Even after forced to the dark side, and despite the tension between them after this, Luo Binghe won’t let anyone else touch his beloved Shizun.

Cover of the Thai release of the novel.

SVSSS only really has the novel to interact with as of right now. There’s currently an excellent re-translation in progress by tumblr user Faelicy! If you want to get started now, however, you can read what she’s done so far and then swap over to the old translation afterward.

･:*:･ﾟ’★NOTES★･ﾟ’･:*:･

• ALL three novels are intended for an R-18+ audience ONLY. Other adaptations are safe for minors over 16 years of age.

• Please be aware that the novels may contain potentially triggering content. Feel free to ask me for content warnings if you need them.

• All three of these are totally different from one another and only share common themes typical of the wuxia/xianxia genres.

• The original Chinese raws of MDZS and SVSSS are no longer available for purchase on JJWXC (publishing site). You can find print versions on Taobao. TGCF, however, is still available!

• If you’d like more info on anything, please reach out to me! I’m happy to help.

• LINKS WILL BE ADDED BELOW THIS POST.

[atlafan]

Take it Slow - Part Forty-Two

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Fluff and Smut. 

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

Harry wakes up feeling your butt shift against his pelvis. He opens is eyes slowly and sees you scrolling on your phone. You were reading something, but he couldn’t make out what. His head didn’t feel too bad, but he knew he drank too much. He felt so happy he had you to take care of him. He was also happy that your drama with Sarah had come to a close.

The arm that’s draped over you moves up from your stomach and to your breast. He presses his morning wood against you. He kisses on your neck and you wince.

“What’s wrong?”

“Spot’s a little tender.”

“M’sorry, did I hurt ya last night?”

“Didn’t hurt while you were doing it.” You turn onto your back so you can look at him. He gets a better look at it.

“Yikes, I’m sorry. I’ll, uh, cool it there for a bit.” He rests his head on your chest. He lightly plays with one of your piercings. “You have such a beautiful body, you know that?” You giggle and run your hand through his hair.

“Thanks babe.”

“You took care of me last night?”

“Mhm.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have drank that much.”

“It’s okay, you weren’t that difficult to take care of.”

“Are you sure?” He props himself to look at you. “Sometimes I can be a real goober.”

“Oh god.” You groan while he laughs.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t get over it. What a weird name for candy!”

“But they were good right?”

“Yeah I actually really liked ‘em.” He kisses your cheek. “Is there anythin’ we need to do today?”

“Grocery shop, laundry, other chores.” He groans.

“I hate cleanin’.”

“Well…you don’t really clean.” You stroke his cheek gently.

“Wha’? I clean.”

“And then I re-clean.” You smile. “I really don’t mind. I kinda like doing it myself. If you want maybe you could meal prep the lunches.”

“Deal. And I can do all the laundry.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that.” He moves to hover over you, and he kisses on the less tender side of your neck. Your phone starts to go off. It’s Niall.

“He can wait.”

“It could be important, Harry.” You swipe to answer the call. “Hey baby what’s shakin’?” Harry glares at you. He can hear Niall chuckling.

“He still in bed with ya?”

“Mhm.”

“You’re funny.”

“I’m aware. What’s up?”

“Do ya have plans later today?”

“Well it depends on when I finish all my chores and stuff, why?”

“Wanna come over for dinner?”

“Just moi?”

“Just toi! Sarah’s totally cool now.”

“Oh that’s great. Did you two have a good night?”

“Very good.”

“Yay! Okay sure I’d love to come for, shit, dinner.” Harry’s hand moved between your legs and started rubbing on your clit.

“You okay?”

“Mhm, I’ll text you later okay?”

“Alright, BYE WIFEY!”

“Bye hubby!” You hang up the phone and put it on the nightstand. “Very funny doing that while I’m on the phone.”

He moves your legs to wrap them around his waist.

“You know I don’t really like the husband/wife shit.”

“It’s just a joke, chill.” He nods.

“Hm, chill?”

“Yeah, chiiillllll.” He plunges two of his fingers into you. He smirks at your reaction. You tighten around him and moan out. You loved having sex in the morning, you were always way more stimulated. “Fuck.”

“So he invited you over tonight?”

“Harry please.”

“It’s a simple question.”

“I, fuck, don’t wanna think about him right now.”

“Good answer.”

He pumps in and out of you faster. You move your hips along with his fingers.

“Harry, please use your cock.” He pulls his fingers out of you completely.

“Nah, we gotta go grocery shoppin’.”

“What…what do you mean nah?”

“We have shit to do today, love.” He gets off of you and goes into the bathroom, leaving you there stunned. What in the actual fuck? Was he seriously edging you? He comes back out and smirks at you. “C’mon, time to start the day.” He starts getting dressed. You get out of bed, glaring at him.

You were completely frazzled. Not only did he deprive you of his dick, but he deprived you of an orgasm. Rude. You get dressed, and go through the shopping list on your phone. Harry throws a load into the wash before you leave. The car ride is quiet at first.

“Harry…you’re not mad that I’m hanging out with Niall tonight, are you? Would you have preferred I asked before agreeing?” You’re asking in a genuine tone. You didn’t want his feelings hurt.

“Not at all.” He places his hand on your thigh. “Want ya t’hang out with your friends. Why would you think I’m mad?”

“I don’t know…this morning…” You pinch your legs together.

“Left ya hangin’ did I?”

“Little bit.” He nods but doesn’t say anything else.

You get through your shopping. You clean up the kitchen while Harry flips the load of laundry. You turn some music on, and start mopping. Harry watches while you dance around with the mop. Next you dust and vacuum while he starts prepping your lunches for the week. It was a pretty good system. You really didn’t mind cleaning. You knew he wasn’t going to deep clean certain things. Plus, you loved when he cooked so you knew you’d enjoy your lunches even more this week.

“All done babe.” He says throwing the sponge back in the sink. You hug him and kiss him on the cheek.

“Thank you so much! I can’t wait to eat your delicious creation this week.” He wraps his arms around you.

“My pleasure. Thanks for cleanin’ everything else up.” He squishes his nose to yours and you giggle.

You tilt your head up to kiss him. You were still feeling sort of deprived from earlier, so you deepen the kiss. His hands slide down to your butt and kneads your cheeks. His eyes glance over to the clock. You feel him smirk against you.

“What?”

“Nothin’, you should get goin’, wouldn’t wanna keep hubby waitin’.”

“You are mad at me…”

“I promise I’m not. Go on, have fun.” He kisses you on the cheek.

“I don’t have to go right this second, we could-“

“Nah.” He shrugs and goes over to his desk. “I have some stuff I need to get done, love.” You sigh and grab your things.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a little while.”

//

You drive to Niall’s slightly annoyed. You knew exactly what Harry was doing to you. He wanted you to want it so bad it would be all you thought about while you were with Niall. Maybe you wouldn’t want to stay as long, or maybe he just wanted you to think of him the entire time. You ring Niall’s buzzer and he lets you up.

“Hey!” You both say at the same time and hug. You come in and hang your jacket up. “I ordered a pizza, know you don’t get to have real cheese too often.”

“God that sounds amazing.” You both get settled on the couch.

“Thought I would put that Wet Hot American Summer series on in the background while we chat. Haven’t watched that in a while, but it’s not somethin’ we need to pay attention to.”

“Good thinking.” He turns on Netflix and puts the show on.

“Okay, I want every single dirty detail, and I want it now. How was the first time?” You take a bite of the pizza.

“Where should I begin…”

You tell Niall everything, even down to Harry accidentally coming on your face. You both laugh hysterically about it. You tell him about the couple of times after that, and you laugh even harder when you talk about Niall walking in on you.

“That was so awkward.” You say.

“I felt terrible about it. Literally was the last thing I was expectin’.”

“So everything really is cool with you and Sarah now?”

“Yeah, we talked through a lot. She felt really bad for trying to ruin our friendship. She explained she just needed more reassurance, which I’m happy to give her.”

“Little Niall, in love.” You jostle the hair on his head.

“It’s a great feelin’ for sure.”

“And she was fine with giving up a date night to let you hang with me tonight?”

“Yeah, she said her and Rachel were going to hang out.”

“Oh good.”

“And Harry was okay with it?”

“Mhm. We got all of our Sunday chores out of the way today, so tomorrow we can do whatever.”

“So what’s he up to then?”

“Working, I think.”

“Do ya want anythin’ t’drink? I have tequila.”

“Yes please! Do you have anything to mix with it?”

“Orange juice work?”

“You bet!” He comes back with the drink. “Thanks.”

“Alright, so, I know we’ve both been busy so I’m assumin’ you haven’t watched the second season of You yet?”

“Nope.” You grin.

“Shall we take the opportunity to binge?”

“I don’t think we have a choice.” Niall pulls up the show, and you both get comfortable.

“The first season was so good, I hope this is a good follow up.”

“I’ve heard excellent reviews.”

//

Harry didn’t realize how much time had passed. He had ripped through a ton of his freelance work and had actually gotten caught up. When he looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly 9:30, he got a little worried. You said you were just going over for dinner. He didn’t think this would be a late night thing. It was Saturday night after all. He wanted to call to see when you’d be home, but he didn’t want to seem controlling.

//

You were on your third drink, and third episode. You knew it was getting late, but this is what you and Niall used to do all the time. You would binge entire seasons of shows together. You were also just enjoying the quality time. You guys had a lot of time together at work, but it was nice to not talk about work.

“I love the way this show is narrated.” He says.

“Me too! It really feels like someone’s inner thoughts. I also just like the way his voice sounds. The cadence is interesting.”

“Agreed.” You finish your drink. “Hey, could I have some water, I should probably start to sober up.”

“Sure!” Niall gets up and fills a glass for you. “Here ya are.”

“Thanks.”

“You know I can just drive you home?”

“I know, but then I’d have to come to get my car tomorrow and it’ll be a whole thing.”

“You could call Harry. Bet he would just uber over here, then he could drive your car back.”

“No, I don’t wanna bother him.” You sigh. “I don’t think he likes that we’re married.” He starts laughing.

“Harry? I never would’ve guessed.” He says facetiously. “Jesus, he’s not gonna start gettin’ all jealous now is he? We just got over all this drama.”

“I don’t know, he was acting weird earlier. I don’t think it’s jealousy, I think…I think it’s a territory thing.”

“Ohhh, yup, I could definitely see that. Something I’ve learned about him over the years is that once something is his, he doesn’t really like having to share it, even if that thing has someone else in their life.”

“So…he’s done this with other girlfriends?”

“No.” You raise an eyebrow at him. “M’talkin’ about Louis.”

“Oh! Like when him and El first got together?”

“Even when him and his ex were together. Harry got very territorial with him. But Lou was also territorial with Harry.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know really.” He shrugs. “They had this like big brother/little brother thing. They were just protective of each other. I also think, at the time, Harry couldn’t wrap his head around Louis only wanting to be with one girl since he was happy just hookin’ up.”

“You don’t think he’d try to tell us we couldn’t hang out, do you?”

“Nah. But I could see him making sure it’s known that you’re no one’s but his.”

“He knows that.”

“Yeah, but he wants to make sure everyone else knows that…I’ve told ya before, he’s sorta needy. Little bit clingy.”

“So I’ve noticed.” You smile.

“You don’t mind?”

“Honestly? No. I kind of like it. I’ve never been with someone who just likes everything about me the way he does. I think…he really sees a future with me.”

“And movin’ in together didn’t make ya realize that sooner?” He smirks and swat your hand at him.

“He’s just been dropping small comments lately. Like, for example, he mentioned how our potential new place had room to grow.”

“For like a dog?”

“That’s what he said when I asked him to clarify, but I think he meant for like a baby.”

“He loves babies.” He chuckles.

“I know! And then last night when he was drunk, I made a joke about something for the rest of my life or whatever, and he was like I hope so.” You sip on your water. “Like…does boy wanna marry me?” You giggle.

“Y/N, you really read too far into things. I don’t think he’s been thinkin’ about it yet…even if he has, so what? A lot of people get engaged after being with each other for a year, sometimes less. Oh! Like in I love you man, Peter and Zooey get engaged after only eight months and they’ve been livin’ together.”

“Oh my god, how cute of you to compare us to one of the best film couples of all time.” You put your hands over your heart. “We need to watch that movie again, I love it so much.”

“Maybe that could be our next double date! We could invite Rachel and Lora too.”

“If Harry and I get the apartment we could have a small house warming and watch it!”

“Why are we literally the two most brilliant people in the world?”

“This is why we’re mom and dad of the division, I swear to god.” You both laugh.

Around eleven you decide to call it a night. You were itching to get home to Harry. You were surprised he hadn’t texted you, but to be fair you hadn’t texted him. You help Niall clean everything up.

“Text me when ya get home.” He hugs you.

“Will do.” You hug him back. “Thanks for a fun night, love ya!”

“Love ya back!”

//

You key into your apartment. Harry was wrapped in a blanket on the sofa watching TV. You smile when you see him.

“Hi baby.” You say.

“Hi there.” You walk over and sit down next to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun?”

“Mhm.”

“Didn’t think you’d be gone for so long.”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve texted you to check in. Time just got away from us.”

“What did you guys do?”

“Caught up on life. Then we binged the first few episodes of You season two. It’s really good so far. I can’t wait to keep watching. We’ll have to use our lunch breaks to keep watching together.”

“That’s all you guys did, sit and watch TV?”

“Mhm, we love watching TV together. We like to make insightful comments with each other.” He can smell the tequila on you.

“Did you drink?”

“A little, but don’t worry I sobered up. That’s why I’m home so late, I didn’t wanna be buzzed.”

“You could’ve called me.”

“I didn’t wanna bother you babe. What did you do tonight?”

“Got caught up on all my freelance shit.”

“That’s great!” You smile at him. “I appreciate you being so cool about me hanging out with him tonight. He really is one of my best friends, and I’ve missed spending alone time with him.”

“I get it, making time for friends is important. Just maybe next time could you let me know when you’re going to be home? I didn’t know if I should wait up or not, and then I got kinda worried.” He rubs the back of his neck. “But I also didn’t wanna call because I didn’t want you to think I was up your ass.”

“I’m sorry baby, I feel bad you were worried. I’ll definitely check in with you next time.” You yawn. “Are you ready for bed? I’m tired.”

“Sure. Did you, um, think of me at all tonight?”

“Course I did.” You kiss him, and get up. He follows you into the bedroom.

You go into the bathroom and do your nightly routine. When you come out Harry’s in the bed with his glasses on, an arm behind his head, and the other hand has his book in his hand. You notice it’s a new book. You get into bed.

“What’s this one about?” You tap the outside of the book.

“Oh, this is a good one. This is a friend’s to lovers story. I think I’ve read it like four times already. It’s one of my favorites.”

“Would you read it to me since you’re just starting it?”

“You’re going to fall asleep though, I’d want ya to be fully invested.”

“I’ll tell you what, I will sit up while you read, and if I feel really tired, I’ll let you know. I love when you read to me, please?” He chuckles

“Alright.” You shift to sit up against the headboard. “Ready?”

“Proceed.” He clears his throat.

“’They had been friends for as long as he could remember. They had been through everything together, he was even in her wedding party. Eric was the best friend Jane could have ever had. When her husband left her, he was right there for her. Being a single mom to a two year old was not easy. Eric often helped Jane out on the weekends. He would babysit so she could have some time to herself. He loved that child like it was his own.’”

You were hooked immediately. You loved the way the words fell from Harry’s lips. You couldn’t wait to learn more about Eric and Jane. When you hear Harry yawn you look over at him.

“Think that’s enough for tonight.” He dog ear’s the page he’s on, and puts the book on the night stand. He takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes. “What do you think so far?”

“I am invested.” You giggle. “Do you always reread books like that?”

“Sometimes. I get into these funks where I just miss the characters.”

“God, Harry, you are so sweet.” He turns off the light, and you lay on his chest. “Seriously, you are the cutest thing in the world.” You look up at him. “You’re so sensitive, it’s so sexy.” He feels his cock twitch.

“Really?”

“Mhm.” He rubs your back lightly. You move to straddle him, surprising him a little. “I mean, there’s a lot of sexy things about you.”

“Like what?” He plays innocent.

“Well, for starters, these lips.” You brush your thumb over his bottom lip. “So sexy.” He kisses your thumb. You move your other hand to stroke through his hair. “And your beautiful, soft hair? Incredibly sexy.” You make a fist and tug at it. The hand near his mouth slides down to his throat. You run your thumb over his Adam’s apple. “God, and that deep voice of yours? When you whisper in my ear…I mean, fuck, that’s sexy.”

He leans up and kisses you. There was nothing more he enjoyed than when you loved on him like this. He missed you all night, and you were totally making up for it. His hands move to cup your cheeks as the kiss deepens. Your hands flatten on his chest. Your tongues drag against each other and you moan against him. Your hips roll down on him, and his lift up to yours. You reach between the two of you, and grip his hard cock. You lift slightly, and guide him in. You both moan out at the contact. You slowly grind down on him. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, and hide your face in his neck.

Harry’s hands move down to your hips, and grips you tightly. He helps you move up and down on him as he thrust ups into you. You could feel your forehead sweating against his neck. You were letting out small moans. He was getting in so deep from the way you were sitting on him. You kiss on his collarbone, and suck his skin into your mouth. He gasps at the sensation. He moves you faster on him. Your hands move to his hair. You were feeling so good.

“Harry.” You moan into his ear.

“Talk to me, angel.” One of his hands moves to your clit, and he rubs slow, sensual circles on it.

“You feel so good inside me.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. Do you like how tight I am around you?”

“God, yes.” His head nearly rolls back as you continue to move together.

“You like fucking me like this?”

“Yes.” He says through gritted teeth.

“You make me feel so hot, Harry. I’m so fucking wet.” You tighten around him.

“Oh, fuck.” One of his hands moves to your back to press you as close as he possibly can.

“I love you so much, Harry. You’re the only person I ever want to fuck me.”

“Shit, shit, Y/N.” Harry shoots his come up inside you. Between the warmth from that and the way he’s rubbing on your clit, you release as well. “I…love…you too.” He breaths heavily. He presses his head into your shoulder.

You move your hands to tilt his head up. You make sinful eye contact and kiss passionately. He shifts the two of you so you’re lying on your back. You feel him getting hard again inside you. You wrap your legs around his waist, and rest your heels against his butt.

“You’re the only person I ever want to fuck.” He says into your ear. He takes both of your hands in his and lifts them above your head as he moves in and out of you. “You feel so good around me.”

This was some of the best sex you two had ever had. It was so passionate. You could feel the sweat pooling between both of your stomachs and it didn’t bother you at all.

“Keep talking, baby.” You moan.

“I’m going to fuck you into this mattress.” Jesus. “I’m going to have you screaming.” Oh god. “I’m going to have you begging me to never stop.” Mother of fuck.

Harry delivered on everything he said to you. You had sex four times. FOUR TIMES! You lost track of how many orgasms you had. He had you all over the bed. Eventually you just felt too raw to keep going. You both fell asleep with big smiles on your faces.

//

The next day it hurt to walk. You felt like if you even sneezed your vagina was going to fall out. It honestly felt like after the first time you ever had sex years ago. It also hurt extremely bad to pee. You wondered if your body would ever get used to the way Harry stretched you out.

He was walking on sunshine when he got up. He was enjoying your state of being way too much. He didn’t want you to be in pain of course, but he was very proud of his work. You were completely and utterly fucked for him, and knew it. 

[bangtan-madi]

Top Albums of 2020

I was tagged by the amazing @joonni to list my top nine twelve albums of 2020! This was honestly so hard, but so fun. I love any tags to do with music xD (Your music taste was amazing btw! Sorry I went a little crazy and did a few extra lol.) Thanks lovie 💓

I went with the albums that I loved as whole (aka I loved most, if not all, of the songs) and listened to the most this year. Some choices have deeper meanings, while others were just flat-out enjoyable. I also stuck with albums that came out this year only, but I wasn’t sure if that was inherently part of the challenge. I wasn’t too picky on the criteria, just went with the ones that made up the score for my 2020. All albums have Spotify links incase something catches your eye! (Apologies for my extra-ness; I added recommendations from each album and a brief...ish explanation as to why it made the list.)

Also, they’re in no particular order, because this was difficult enough...

Map of the Soul: 7 by BTS

Explanation — This album was my first comeback as part of the BTS Army. There are so many tracks that I adore, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so excited for music. It breathed life into my Spotify, it was the album I listened to the most this year, and Black Swan was my most listened song. The differing music genres that they played with, all the way from orchestral to trap to hip hop and synth pop, left me more and more excited as the songs progressed. If there was a #1 on this list, it would be MOTS:7.

Highlights — Interlude: Shadow, Black Swan, ON, We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal

Zero: Fever Part.1 by Ateez

Explanation — This was the soundtrack to my summer. I hadn’t heard much from Ateez, but what I had heard, I wasn’t a huge fan of? Maybe I hadn’t been grabbed yet, but oh boy. Zero: Fever definitely did that. Every track is such high energy and memorable, so it was so hard to pick favorites! I’ll always think back on this one for summer, and will be transported back to plenty of sunset commutes.

Highlights — Fever, Thanxx, One Day At A Time

The Dream Chapter: Eternity by Tomorrow x Together

Explanation — Until this mini album, I had only listened to TXT in passing. I liked their stuff, but I feel like this is where they really found their stride. TDC:E caught me totally off-guard, in the best way possible. To me at least, this one is a work of art. Each of the six tracks is so entrancing, and so different from each other while still working together as a cohesive story. And don’t even get me started on the MVs! This is an album that I listen to for feels and fun, which to me, TXT are just brilliant at. 

Highlights — Fairy of Shampoo, Maze in the Mirror, Eternally

Dystopia: The Tree of Language by Dreamcatcher

Explanation — It took me forever to find a girl group that I could really stan, like hardcore. This comeback for Dreamcatcher was when I realized they were it for me. This album in particular is so diverse. Their voices are both haunting and beautiful, and the way they interweave rock/alternative elements into their music has always turned my ear. They are so different from so many other girl groups out there, from the sound to their stage presence to their aesthetic. I will never stop talking about them, and this album really shows the best of their work thus far.

Highlights — Red Sun, Sahara, Paradise

BE by BTS

Explanation — How could BE not be on this list? What a perfect end to a shitty year. There’s something so comforting yet uplifting about this one, and I will happily admit I cried when I first heard Blue & Grey. Who am I kidding, I still do. There’s only one other artist I have listed on here with two albums, so BTS is in good company. What more is there to say other than BE was the warm hug we all needed.

Highlights — Life Goes On, Blue & Grey, Dis-ease, Stay

Heng:garae by Seventeen

Explanation — This is another group that I hadn’t listened to much before this album. I was so surprised and excited. Every song that passed, I found myself smiling more. Their voices are astoundingly beautiful, and the songs are sickeningly catchy. Another album that I go to just to have fun. It’s one of my favorites to just put on when a day is good, but doesn’t Seventeen make it a little better regardless?

Highlights — Fearless, Kidult, I Wish, Together

The Untamed by various

Explanation — If you’ve seen the Chinese drama The Untamed, then you know exactly why this is on there. This album is a collection of songs that are themes for the characters in the show, most of which are sung by the actors themselves. Let me tell you; I don’t know a lick of Mandarin, but these are some of the most stunning songs I’ve ever heard. It’s one of the things that drew me to the drama to begin with; everything, including the music, is breathtaking. The classical Chinese sound plays so well with the character’s stories and singer’s vocals. They tell stories all on their own and give the drama so much depth. Even if you’re not a fan of the show or webtoon it’s based on, give this one a listen. You won’t be disappointed!

Highlights — [Wen Qing] woodland, [Wen Ning] Chi Ni, [Lan Xichen] Bu You, [Jiang Yanli & Jin Zixuan] Yong Ge, [Interlude] Yi Nan Ping, [Nie Minghao & Nie Huaisang] Qing He Ju

Humanity (Chapters I & II) by Thomas Bergersen

Explanation — If you know anything about me, you know how important orchestral music is to me. It’s been a huge part of my music journey ever since I was in middle school. Thomas Bergersen has been my favorite composer for years; the way he integrates the classical with the modern is just...there are no words. These two albums cannot be listed separately; they’re part of a seven-part project titled Humanity. Chapters I & II came out in 2020, and honestly, I have no words. The way he tells a story through almost entirely lyric-less work is just immaculate. I’ve never felt more powerful, emotional, or inspired than when listening to these two. I cried when I first heard Your Imagination and Materialize. No matter how I am feeling, whether I need inspiration or hope or just some peace of mind, I go here. I’ve never felt more healed than when listening to his work. If you take a chance to listen to anything on this list, PLEASE. Give these a try. 

Highlights — We Are One, Wings, Humanity, Your Imagination, Materialize, Innocence, The Stars Are Coming Home

Brightest Blue by Ellie Goulding

Explanation — I don’t listen to a ton of western music that isn’t orchestral or lofi, but I used to adore Ellie Goulding. Halcyon was my entire teen-hood. When I saw she came out with a new album this year, I gave it a listen for sentimentality reasons. And boy, I still love her. Her voice is both angelic and haunting, and her sound is so unique. The messages given in these songs are powerful, potent, a tad bit bittersweet, and especially valid for young women navigating adult life. Also the instrumentals backing her vocals are often big and grand and symphonic, filled with piano and violin. That’s enough to get me to listen. And to top it all off, the collabs she has on this album are so fitting for each track, it’s absolutely beautiful.

Highlights — Start, Cyan, Ode To Myself, Woman, Flux, Overture, Slow Grenade, Hate Me

Beneath Your Waves by Sleepy Fish

Explanation — If there’s one kind of music that shuts off the little anxiety bug in my brain and gets me to work, one that isn’t as intense as orchestral music and that doesn’t put me into sensory overload like orchestral sometimes does, it’s lofi. And Sleepy Fish does it so freakin’ well. This album that came out this year is one of my most often repeated over and over. When I’m struggling with sensory issues at work, I put this one repeat and my mind just...goes...quiet. It’s like medicine. And the tunes are so catchy and sweet. I’m instantly transported to someplace magical, some seaside city straight out of a Ghibli film, and far away from the things that are troubling me. Then I can finally get some work done, get to sleep, or just quiet my mind. If you struggle with sensory issues or anxiety like I do, give this album a shot. Also, the album titled My Room Becomes The Sea from 2019 is excellent.

Highlights — Velocities, Sunbreak, Swimming, Nights Like These, Winter Winter

WOOPS! by Woodz

Explanation — Another mini album that is just a blast to listen to, but it also has such a soft side that hits me in the feels. I don’t see a lot of people talking about Woodz, but you all should give him a listen. He’s so talented, and his voice on this one is just *chef’s kiss* everything. The mixing is also impeccable and pairs so well with his vocals.

Highlights — Bump Bump, On my own, Sweater, Tide

D-2 by Agust D

Explanation — I mean, we all knew this one was gonna be dope. Yoongi did not disappoint. This mixtape is so different from most of the stuff I listen to, but I absolutely adored it. The truth and rhythm and pure talent in each and every verse stuns me still. I find myself especially drawn to this one when I’m frustrated (not exclusively, but often, ‘cause 2020.) Both his truth and sound give me a safe place to feel that frustration and anxiety and vent/work through it. I don’t know what it is about Yoongi, but to me, all of his work is like a comforting friend going, “Hey, you’re totally valid and okay for feeling this way...but it sucks, doesn’t it?” 

Highlights — Daechwita, People, Dear my friend

Now, I’ll tag these lovely people! Only if you wanna :)

@kooala​ @cultleaderyoongi​ @yoontopia​ @hobicomeholla29​ @helenazbmrskai​ @moon-write​ @dreamcatcherjiah​ @ditttiii​

[riverteatime]

A night with my Moon-boyfriend (Moonjumper x Reader fic)

-and also a bit of Snatcher too-

Author note :

*inhale*

Aaaaaaaaaaa-

I'm back

I just want to say that they have not enough fic of the Moonboy. I may be a Snatch lover but there have also a big place in my heart for MJ (plus the fact that I will make MJ route before Snatcher in ADIT because he is a pure boi).

No trigger warning just fluff and love ! Also I am sorry but it's not really gender neutral. And also MC is shy.

And also next fic will be sick!reader or nightmare x Mj. (Maybe both in one fic)

Also Imma give a hug to the Moonfreak--

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

You are exhausted. It's one of those days you hate because it's sooo hot outside. And it's been two weeks since the last time you have 'a cool day' (a day in which the temperature is not too hot or too cold). Luckly for you, you spend a good time at Subcon Forest each days. This place have many trees (even if they are more dead than anything) but the heart of the forest is also in a perpetual night so this place is more pleasant in a time in which the desert and Mafia Town are literally 'hell' places. Plus you have a little further the 'ice biome' like you like to call it. But the last time you tried to go and 'cool off' you have seen a headless statue at the distance. Even if it was far from you, you just decided to return in the forest while you say to yourself "Nope. Not today!". And your 'task', like your boss (aka: Snatch the noodle ghost) love to call don't help. Every day you have something to do : searching for a lost subconite (every day), murder the fire spirits (once a week), delivering mail (once - twice a week), playing with Hat, Bow and Mu (once - twice a day and even more if you make a sleepover), be present for the Death Wishes... So many things to do. Every days you have to run in all Subcon Forest. At the end, when you have finish your job, you want to jump in the puddle of water in front of Snatcher's house.

Anyways, you finished your work earlier today. So now it's time for the best part of the day, it's time to go see your boyfriend Moony. It's now more than one month you started to go on dates with him. Due to his gentleman attitude, he brings you to fancy restaurants. But you always wonders something : where do his money came from. He is a corpse and dead livings have no use of money after their life. He is indeed a prince (or was), sure, but this fact don't stop you of thinking.

Today, you want to ask him for a date. Normally, it's always him who ask. But this time you want to change things. And also you are worried that he will run out of money with all the stuff he buys to you. And you have an idea.

You know oh so well the path that brings you to your beloved. With no time you arrived at the 'Mj's forest part'. And he didn't seem to have sense your presence or he will be already running (or floating) at you.

"MOONY!?" You call, almost screaming at the trees.

With no time he answers you "Darling! You are here?! Can you wait a little?"

"Are you busy? I can pass at another time if you want." You say, a bit disappointed.

"Nonono- I already finished, I just have to make this thing here and-. Ok!" He mumbles to himself

You were trying to watch the tops of the trees, hoping you will be able to see where he is hiding. And you see him, going down slowly at you like an angel. You cannot keep your mounth shut by how etherial he is. Your jaw is now wide open. Even it's been now one month you date him, and more you know him, you cannot help yourself to fall in love harder. Mj's body is now floating at some feets from the ground, he watch your stunning face with amusement. His small chuckle brings you to the reality.

"What is this visit worth to me?" He say with his oh-so-lovely smile.

"I-..." You shook your head for escaping your daydream. "I just want to talk with you about our next date"

"Hmm? I didn't set out where will we going next time. I'm little busy with Snatcher these days. Sorry..."

"No! I... Uh... I was thinking with the whole thing that you are always the one who invite me and pay for fancy restaurant..." You start shyly.

"You don't like it?" He asks with a concerned voice.

"No! Uh... Yes...Uh... I like it but I was asking to myself where all this money come from 'cause you're a corpse..." You stammer.

"Darling! I'm a prince!" He says while a small laugh.

"I know but... I cannot stop myself to think about that" You tell to him

"My little MC, you know that I will buy the world for you if I was capable. Don't worry about the money I have more than you though. And you deserve this my sweet doll. You deserve all the money of the world." He answer smiling smugly

The fact that he calls you doll -even if he calls you that ANYTIME he see you- make you blush a little. You shook your head for trying to make disappear the blushing (the keyword is trying 'cause you're always blushing with him). "...anyway! I was thinking maybe for our next date we ... can make -a- a movie night... in my spaceship and... m-make a sleepover ?..." You say so shyly that you are asking at yourself if he heard it. You are now just a blushing mess that want to hide somewhere.

Moonjumper sits on the ground to look into your eyes and asks "Is that an invitation ?"

"....yeah .... I think... B-but if you are busy we can make this another time...." You continue always blushing.

"I accept ! And no need to be so shy with me, my doll." He says happily. "How about tomorrow evening?"

"o-ok" You say shyly to him. Peck! Why it's always difficult to say things with him. Anyways, you succeed to ask him and it's truly something.

You stay with him for one hour, watching him re-arranging his home, sometimes telling him some stuff like the new restaurant you have seen in Mafia Town, the ideas of Conductor and Grooves for their next movie, the book you are reading when you are alone in your spaceship... Sometimes he answer you, sometimes he just hums. After some time, you decide to call it a day and to return in your spaceship after saying "see you tomorrow".

-------

The next day you awake from your sleep, your morning alarm already ringing. You take a quick shower and prepare breakfast when you remember something you have totally forgot. You have a date with your boyfriend. Remembering this make your face all blushy and you even almost chokes on your breakfast.

"Just don't think about Moony" you mumble to yourself. But then your brain thinks about him and his charming persona so you blush even more. In fact you are already as red as a cherry.

After finishing your breakfast you go to the forest making Snatcher's work.

--------

"Boss ! I found the subconite !" You say to Snatcher while you walk at his tree-house. "He was stuck at the swamp." It's now the third subconite you found lost in the forest in a week. Geez, they cannot stay at their work. Snatcher, already busy with one of his books (like always), waves his hand for showing you he have somewhat understand, and dismiss you in the same time. But you stay, because you want to ask something, and the simple fact you're not going out bother the purple man.

"What !?" He asks you a bit angry while placing a bookmark at the page he was reading.

"I need to ask something !" You answer

"I'm already listening" He tells you, proving you that he is really listening to your request for once.

"Cool ! So, I need your opinion for something. What type of movies MJ likes. I don't know what to show him and I'm thinking because you are his other half maybe you know. Hattie have inviting you and him for watching movies, right?" You tell maybe a bit too fast because you are just excited.

He closes his eyes and inhale. "Listen! It's not because he is my other half that I know all the things about him. You are his boy/girlfriend so it's more YOU who must know that." He says pointing at you with one of his finger. "And yes, the hatted brat invited me and Moonboy at her 'movie night party' so many times. Just don't show him a horror movie or he will scream like he will be killed for the second time. I also recommend to you to not show him a dramatic film or he will cry during all the movie."

"So no drama and no horror movies. I got it ! Thanks Snatch, you're the best !" You say happily while waving to him to say goodbye.

"Whatever... And don't call me 'Snatch'!" He yells from his chair at you while you are already far enough for not to be killed (in the figurative sens of the word).

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

So now it's currently the evening. You though about making a dinner for your boyfriend but you remembered he is a corpse so he don't need to eat (and also because you talked with him today in the forest and said that he will be alright). Anyway, for killing the time you though about what you will wear, took a shower and checked if everythings was alright (at least ten times for an hour). It will be the first time you will spend a night with your bf at home so you are stressed, anxious but also happy. For movies you choose classics : Disney movies. They have a lot of romantics stories with princes and princesses and you hope that your bf will like (and also searching movies in space is kind of looking for a needle in a hayshack).

So now you wait (and checked again a last time). You know that he will not be late, he is always at time for dates. But you cannot let your eyes see another thing than the needles of your watch on your arm. You even seem to hear the low ticktock of it.

Then you sense a little gust of cold wind. It's the signal.

"Hi Moony!" You say showing your more beautiful smile.

"Good evening my beautiful doll! You're splendid tonight!" He say while appearing from his glitch dimension (yeah I headcannon that he can go in a glitch dimension for long travels)

You blush and you whisper "You're the beautiful here". He place his hand on your head and reply "No you!". Like always you cannot win this argument. Then he grab something hiding in his coat and give you a small plush of your favorite animal (you can choose, but for me it's cat and red panda).

"Sorry to not give you a decent gift. The last time I gifted flowers... You know what happen" He tells to you. But for you this is more than a decent gift. So you do what your brain say, you hug Moonjumper and tell him that you are happy.

You stay some minutes like this. But you remember that you have a movie night to do. You take his hand and lead him to your 'movie place' (that is just many pillows, a pile of blankets, some bowls of popcorn and a pile of movies in front of your TV.). You said to him to make himself at home while you pick a movie. And you don't see your favorite Disney's movie (again you can choose the movie) so you dive (literally) your head first in one of your closet where your movies should be. Meanwhile your boyfriend Moony have set his eyes first one your little form disappearing in the closet, then on the delicious pop-corn you prepared for this occasion. What is this thing, again? He saw that when the hatted child (Hattie) invited him at a party. He picks one piece of pop-corn and hold it between his fingers for inspecting this. But then you find the precious movie and you come out from your closet. You see him with his pop-corn.

"Moony? Did something bother you?" You ask while walking to the TV

"Yes... I've seen this when I was at the hatted child's party..." He says.

"What? Wait! You don't know what is pop-corn". He shakes his head at your ask. "Eat it" You tell him. He tilts his head and look at you with a confusing and surprised look. So you grab a bunch of pop-corn and swallow it in no time. It's when he sees that you're not dying (so it's not poisonous) that he eat the small pop-corn. At the first time, anything happen, then a big smile appears on his face.

"You like it?" You ask. He continue to smile for saying yes. "You can eat more. All of it is for you"

"But you?" He ask a bit concerned about the fact that you will not eat

"If I eat all of the pop-corn I'm sure my dentist will not be happy". You reply while turning on the TV and putting the channel on 'DVD player'.

Soon, the movie starts. You sit next to your boyfriend. But then, the corpse start to watch you rather than the TV and thinks about something.

"My Angel?" He ask you

"Yeah?" You reply, not paying attention to the nickname he told you because you are so absorb on the movie, even if it started just some minutes ago.

"Perhaps it will be weird but can you rather sit on my lap?" He asks you shyly

You take some time before realising what he ask you but when your brain understand this...oh god... You are now as red as a cherry. You turn your head at the opposite direction because you don't want your Moony to see how you are madly blushing.

"....Yea...Sure". You say before you sit on his lap.

He traps you small form between his arm, hugging you tightly like a small child do with a plushy, but also paying attention that it's not too tight "Much better~!" He whisper to your ear. He cuddle you, resting his head in your shoulder while you are just a blushing mess who want to crawl in a hole like a mouse.

But after some time, you are used to his cuddling. He can be cold because he is a living corpse, but the heat of your body plus the blanket warms you and your boyfriend. One hour watching the movie and you start to be sleepy, even you miss the end because you have somewhat fell asleep on MJ's lap. It's at the credits that Moony realize that you are sleeping quietly.

"Awww~! What a cute and beautiful sight!" He says to himself "It's a pity that I have not a camera for taking a photo of this cutie~~".

He grabs the TV remote control press the big red button, turning off the TV. He then pick you in his arms (like a baby) and walks (floats) to your bed. He gently lie you down puts the blanket on you. But when he is about to floats away, you grab the sleeve of his coat.

"What is it little puppet?!" He asks you gently and also smiling (*cough*like an idiot*cough) due to your cuteness.

"Can you stay for the night, please?" You ask after yawning.

"Anything for you princess~~" He reply. He gets in your blanket and lie next to you (or maybe he lie behind you and you lie on him if you have a small bed). He gently pats your head with one of his hands while you hug him like a baby koala. Then, he place a chaste kiss on your forehead.

"Goodnigh' Moony... Love you..." You say half-sleeping.

"Goodnight my little MC. I love you too" He whisper before falling asleep.

[the-starsabove-you]

The Stars Above You - Christmas Chapter

Christmas Chapter- Winter Lovers.  A/N: Merry Christmas! A bonus chapter for this story! Enjoy!  Pairings: Jamie Benn x OFC. Hints of Tyler Seguin x OFC  Rose groaned when she heard the knocking on her door. The boys and her were in New York to face to Islanders, it was two days before Christmas. It would be their final game before everyone would be going home to be with their families for the holidays. Rose got out of bed and opened the door to see it was Klingberg, she could tell he was up to something with that grin. She looked at the clock and saw it was still morning “I swear to god John, if you intend on waking me up just to go outside and have a snowball fight, I will literally make the biggest snowball and throw it at you.” She warned and Klingberg who raised his hands in defense “I’m not planning on anything… Yet. I’m just being sent to wake you up and make sure you dress warm” He said and Rose looked confused “Just get dress, I have to make sure you get to the location in like an hour” Klingberg said and Rose gave him a look “Now I feel like you’re kidnapping me to kill me” “I do wanna kill you sometimes, mostly because you steal some of my snacks on the plane when I’m not looking. But again, my revenge will happen another day” He said as he walked inside the room “Come on Rosebud!” “You know I hate when you call me that” She muttered as she was choosing between a black sweater and a gray one “Black one, looks nicer” He said and she nodded and got some black jeans and black boots and got them on. Klingberg nodded in approval when she was ready “Beautiful, Stunning, would cry right now if it wasn’t cold outside” He said and she slapped his arm and he pretended he was hurt “Ow, I can’t play no more!” “Alright, let’s go drama queen.” She said as they were walking out of the room and she got to the rental car and Klingberg went to the passenger seat and she glared at him “Well?” “Oh yeah, sorry!” Klingberg grabbed his phone and got the location and she drove them. They made it to a nice building in New York that had a penthouse suite at the top and she looked at him “Why are you bringing me here?” “Shhh, no more questions! Let’s go!” They made it into the elevator and she nodded in approval of how the inside looked so beautiful. It wasn’t until the door opened and she was in shock at the scene in front of her The Dallas Stars were wearing ugly christmas sweaters with santa hats. They all cheered when they saw Rose. “You made it!” Esa said as he rushed towards her and hugged her. Rose chuckled and hugged him tightly before she saw the boys gathering around her and she hugged each of them. It was Jamie who held on to her waist and she hugged him “This is so beautiful!” She said when she saw there was a christmas tree and everything was decked out with christmas stuff. “Merry Christmas Flower” Jamie whispered to her and she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist “You did this didn’t you?” “I know you’re alone for Christmas.. A majority of us go home to visit family while the rest stay in Dallas. So we all agreed that we should have a Christmas party with all of us.. Cause we’re family.. And we don’t leave any family behind” Rose grinned and she kissed his cheek and he blushed. Jordie came to them with some drinks “Come on! We gotta celebrate before we beat the Islanders tonight!” Everyone was singing and dancing. Jamie was by Rose’s side the whole time. Spezza and Rose were talking about Spezza’s kids and Rose was literally squealing with the cute pictures he was showing her. Jamie excused himself to go talk to Esa, Dickie and Klingberg. Rose looked outside and saw it was lightly snowing. She then saw there was a figure standing outside in the balcony and without thinking, she walked towards the door and opened it, and she was greeted by the chilly air. Tyler was standing out at the balcony, in awe of the snow as he was looking at the view of the city. Rose watched him for a moment before speaking “Didn’t see you come in” She said and he nodded “Snuck in about an hour ago.” He said and she walked until they were standing side by side and she looked at the view “Love the snow?” She asked and he nodded “You don’t get much of this in Dallas.. I always love looking at the snow. It’s peaceful” He commented and she nodded in agreement “It’s just so relaxing.. Can distract you from some stressful things” She said and Tyler was quiet for a moment. Rose and Tyler were enjoying the snow, they were silent. It wasn’t until Rose spoke “Are you going home for the holidays?” She asked and he nodded “Yeah, gonna be with my parents and sisters. I haven’t seen them in a while” He said and he looked at her “What about you?” “I’m gonna be home, watching some cheesy Christmas movies and drinking some coffee.” She said and Tyler looked at her “You don’t have a family to go home to?” Rose flinched at his bluntness but she nodded “My mother and I don’t have the best relationship. So I’ll be in Dallas” Tyler was silent for a moment before nodding “I think you’ll be alright” He said and she nodded “Yeah, me too” Tyler and Rose looked at each other for a couple of moments and it was just.. Comforting. Tyler coughed before looking at the city view once again “I have to go, I promised I would be meeting someone before the game” He said and she snapped out of her thoughts and nodded “Yeah, I’ll see you at the arena” Tyler excused himself and left the balcony. Rose soon went back inside and saw Tyler was indeed gone. Jamie saw her and he called her over and he used his Captain-Voice “Guys, come here!” The boys suddenly huddled around Rose who was very confused in the moment before Jamie took out a small present and he handed it to Rose “It’s something from all of us, we thought it would be something for you to remember all of us by” He said and she carefully unwrapped the present and it was a small box and she opened it and she smiled softly. It was a chain with a golden star. On the golden star there were emeralds on it. She gasped softly as she looked at it and she looked at the boys with tears in her eyes “You guys.. No one has ever done this for me before” She whispered The guys had smile on their faces and a couple of them started to hug her. Jamie had a smile on his face “Here, let me put it on for you” He said and she turned around and Jamie took the necklace and placed it around her neck. She turned around and Jamie had the biggest smile on his face “Beautiful” Rose blushed and the boys cheered and she hugged each of them. It wasn’t until Spezza came to her and he nudged her “If you want.. You can spend Christmas with my family and I. The Mrs. would love to have you and the girls would love to meet you” Rose smiled remembering about Spezza’s wife and how lovely she was when they had met. She nodded “I would love that.. Thank you so much” She said as she hugged Spezza who grinned “You’re family.. I’m not going to let you spend the holidays by yourself” The party went on smoothly. There were lots of laughs including Klingberg singing the top hits of Christmas songs at the top of his lungs. The game went really well. Tyler and Jamie each got a goal and they defeated the Islanders. The boys were exiting the Locker room and Rose nudged Jordie and Jamie “Good game boys, you did awesome!” “Thanks to our star over here” Jordie said who patted Jamie’s shoulder who gave him a look. Jamie looked at Rose “A couple of us are going to see the Tree at Rockefeller. The others are going to sleep a bit before we board the jet. Do you wanna go?” He asked and Rose’s eyes lit up “I’ve always wanted to go!” “Great, let’s go” He said and he grabbed her hand and they rushed out of the Barclays Center and to the snowy night. Rose’s eyes lit up when they were in front of the tree. Jamie was grinning from ear to ear. Klingberg and Jordie were behind them while Dickie was taking pictures. “It’s so beautiful” She whispered and Jamie looked at her “It is.. You’re beautiful too.” He said and she narrowed her eyes playfully at him “Thanks for the cheesy line” She said and he grinned “Any time” They were watching the people ice skate below and the music was playing. Rose looked at Jamie “Thank you.. For all of us. This is something I won’t ever forget” She said and Jamie kissed her forehead “I wanna make sure that you know that you have a good support system here.. That you have people who care for you” Rose smiled and she wrapped her arms around his neck and Jamie wrapped his arms around her waist as he brought her in closer and they watched the tree. It was such a sweet moment and Rose was so grateful for Jamie and the boys. They were truly the best part of her life and they were the source of happiness. It didn’t make her job feel like a job.. She was taking pictures and videos of her family playing on the ice. Rose suddenly felt a snowball thrown at her and it hit her on the shoulder and she shrieked. She turned around to see Klingberg smiling “I told you, I have to get you” Jamie laughed and Rose gave him a look “Why you!” Rose untangled herself from Jamie and was making a snowball. Klingberg started to run but Rose was running after him and she got him in the back. They were both laughing and Jamie looked at them in amusement.  Jamie laughed as he joined Rose, Jordie and Dickie in a snowball fight. It was a perfect way to end the amazing day

[666coffeeboi]

Why Not Both? Ch. 1

Fic Summary:

After not talking to Craig Tucker for so long, since their fake dating days, when they were the best of friends, Tweek finds himself sitting ‘alphabetically” on the first day of their senior year of high school.

Enter Kenny McCormick.

__________________________________________

There was no universe where Craig Tucker was looking forward to the first day of his last year of school. It was going to be such a long year this time because it was the last year. Maybe playing again this year would make the time go by more quickly.

He put on his helmet and straddled his motorcycle. Since he was running early, he decided to just take the scenic route. He absolutely adored speeding his way beside the beautiful sunrise on the tiny hill across town. It was always so gorgeous. He loved speeding on his bike.

Once he arrived at the school building he did not want to go into. He didn’t want to deal with stupid South Park kids and more drama. He took off his helmet and put it in the seat thing. Then, he put on his chullo hat over his crazy bed hair that he didn’t really care too much about. Everyone was already trying to get his attention and he’d only just got there. All the guys said hi to him and waved at him before running to get their own schedules. It made him a little happy knowing that his friends were happy to see him.

The one thing that bothered Craig that morning was when he saw he had anatomy first period. He pretty much hated having it first thing and not because it was difficult for him, but because he was positive he would fly by with A’s in this class. It was stuff he already knew all about. Craig was a wiz with most sciences considering he’d been planning on becoming a doctor eventually.

Rushing to grab only his twelfth cup of coffee, Tweek let out a loud groan. He was already running late and it was only the first day of the year of senior year. He shook so much at the thought of how much pressure today would hold that he almost spilled his steaming coffee on himself. He practically ran out of his parents’ shop, having stains even through his apron after he’d taken it off. His parents pretty much had him working every second this summer, mainly in the kind of secret back room mixing the coffee in a big pot thing. Tweek didn’t know if he felt mildly relieved to at least be going back to school, but he knew he would pretty much be working for his parents every day after school until he was eighteen. He had been working there illegally since he was in kindergarten.

Once Tweek had walked the seven blocks to school and found his new years’ schedule, he practically ran into his first class, not wanting to be late. He noticed that, of course, the only seat available was beside the one and only Craig Tucker. Only the guy Tweek had been totally in love with since they’d fake dated way back in kindergarten. He’d gone through an totally angsty unrequited love thing back then because he was in love with Craig and to Craig it was all fake. Now, he was only a little feeling better about the whole thing, but he and Craig hadn’t even shared a class for a few years and now he had to sit beside him as his lab partner this entire semester for anatomy class. He was going to die. Craig would be the death of him. As Tweek avoided eye contact, he sat beside Craig. As far away as he possibly could, which wasn’t very. Craig probably didn’t even remember his name.

“Ack!” He squeaked with a jolting motion at the pressure of sitting so close to Craig Tucker for the first time in so many years.

One could say it was a little bit awkward of a situation for Craig, sitting beside Tweek Tweak in the first time in so many years. They had had that whole fake relationship back in elementary school and Tweek had pretty much been his best friend by the end of it. It’s not that he wasn’t on decent terms with the guy. It’s more that Tweek and he hadn’t even shared any classes for so many years that he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen Tweek’s face anywhere beside the hallways.

“Hey, so looks like we’re lab partners this semester, Tweek,” Craig said casually as he cleared his throat and wondered why Tweek was on the edge of the desk, so far away from Craig.

“Y-yeah- I guess s-so- sorry-“ he mumbled a bit, feeling bad that Craig was clearly disappointed to have Tweek as his partner. “We can probably switch if you hate me that much-“

Shocked a bit at Tweek’s response, he felt bad, remembering how extreme Tweek’s low self esteem was. He’d always been that way and Craig had always used to try his best as pretty much his only friend to make him feel better. He remembered that Tweek used to call him his rock.

“Hey, I definitely don’t hate you, Tweek, and you have nothing to apologize for. I don’t mind being your partner, either. It’s been a while since we’ve really talked so it’s kind of nice,” Craig tried to assure the other boy. He gazed cautiously at Tweek, trying not to scare him off. He knew he was pretty forward.

“Th- thank you- ACK-“ he said as his eye twitched. Craig Tucker thought talking to Tweek was nice? That would make him the first person to ever think that, and definitely the first to ever say it out loud. It reminded Tweek of why he’d been in love with him way back when so much. He was so candid and so openly caring. Even if it’d been fake. Tweek honestly wasn’t even sure if Craig had ever been actually gay to begin with.

“Still as twitchy as ever, I see,” Craig teased him softly with a small smile up at him as he casually watched Tweek twitch yet again. It brought back memories back in the time of where the two had been best friends. He would probably always cherish them. He hadn’t thought about all this for some time now since Tweek and he hadn’t spoken since the fake break up thing. After that, for some reason, Tweek hadn’t really been as before and then, they’d just lost contact.

“Ack!” Tweek made another noise and dared to look at Craig’s stunning face that he’d always been fond over and took a swig of coffee, before realizing that his coffee was already gone and pulled at his hair.

Craig smiled a bit to himself. Tweek was definitely as twitchy as he remembered. He remembered perfectly well how much the other boy used to get bullied over it. Kids used to claim he was on drugs and all other kinds of annoying bullshit. Anytime Craig had heard anyone say anything negative about his twitchy friend, he had told them to shut the fuck up. Sometimes, he had ended up fighting them because they didn’t stop. He got detention a lot. He always hated people talking badly about Tweek. It turned him into a protective asshole no one should mess with.

“I-uh- heard that you’re good at science stuff? I kind of suck,” Tweek said as he messed with his hair. He didn’t know why he felt so comfortable talking to Craig just then. It was almost like they’d immediately fallen back into their mold of best friends. He already felt as comfortable as he’d come to be so many years ago. Shit, he’d missed this boy. Back in the days when he’d agreed to fake date Craig, easily becoming each other’s best friend and immediately falling for him. Now, he hadn’t talked to many people outside of his parents for months. He kind of sucked at pretty much every subject and he didn’t exactly have time to study properly at all because of his parents constantly making him work.

“What? Oh, I guess I’m alright with this stuff, yeah. Here, I can try to explain some of the basics? I could try to help you with more stuff later, if you want?” Craig responded as he scooted closer to Tweek to help him with their homework. The shorter boy looked at Tweek a bit too long, thinking of how he’d seemed to be different but similar to all those years ago. His face was different, much more… sculpted? He’d also definitely gotten taller, while Craig was now the shorter of the two. He cleared his throat and looked back down to the book between them so he wouldn’t keep staring awkwardly at Tweek.

“Yeah, so you can just switch partners if you want like I said- I just, uh, I- my parents- don’t have a love of time to do homework..” he stumbled over the words for a while, figuring Craig would leave him. He didn’t want him to do that again. Tweek did find it strangely nice that he could at least feel like how he used to feel when he talked to Craig, except Craig and he had both grown up and did Craig just look at him?

“Dude, I’m not leaving you. It’s fine. I can come over to help you more or I can help you at school. Whatever you prefer,” he told him right before the bell rang.

“Here’s my number. Just in case. For...homework or whatever else,” Craig said as he quickly scratched writing on a piece of paper and handed the ripped paper to Tweek, touching his hand briefly accidentally.

“Ack! No! I don’t want to do that- you don’t h-have to do that- I- sorry- i don’t want you to do to do it all yourself..” Tweek stuttered, not wanting to inconvenience Craig more. Tweek had so missed Craig’s voice and his genuineness. He still loved him and it hurt so much more now. Craig’s voice had grown and was sexier and low now. Did Tweek just think that? He couldn’t help but stare at Craig probably for too long. Fuck. He didn’t want to scare the guy away, he just felt himself coming back into the way they used to be when they dated in kindergarten, it was anything but fake for Tweek even though it definitely was for Craig.

“O-okay, thanks,” he said with a tiny blush he hid. When Craig Tucker gave Tweek his number, smiled at him, and waved, Tweek blushed and smiled awkwardly. Their fingers had touched for too long for Tweek to be okay and not have those butterflies back from so long when he used to touch Craig more. He missed holding his hand. He just had nice hands, okay?

Once Craig walked off, Tweek bit his lip and pulled out his schedule, walking towards his next class. He was at least early this time. He saw that they had Mr. Garrison teaching yet a-fucking-gain and he had put a message on the board that they were all sat alphabetically, which by stupid South Park adults standards that pretty much meant Garrison just labeled all their desks however he wanted. Tweek was searching for his name on the desks and eventually ran into Craig Tucker. Again. How did they go from having no classes together to this?! Tweek got wide eyed and blushing all over again as he sat down at his desk.

While Craig walked to his next class, he couldn’t help think that he felt good about talking to Tweek after so long. It was nice being able to talk to them his dork. He smiled yet again at the thought and then walked through the doors of his class to see that he was sitting next to Tweek.. again.

“Guess we are seat buddies again, huh?” he joked with a small chuckle. It seemed the world wanted these two to rekindle their friendship, he thought. Craig looked up and he met a pair of shaky blue eyes that were looking at him and then away from him.

“Sorry! It was assigned I- I swear!” he said jerkily as he tugged his hair. “Sorry-” He had to admit that he still absolutely adored Craig’s eyes and couldn’t help stare yet again before biting his lip.

“It’s fine, Tweek. Calm down. Really, don’t worry about it. I told you before that it’s good to talk to you again,” he assured him with a small smile.

“You think it’s good to see me?!” Tweek couldn’t seem to control his tongue just then and he had to look away from Craig’s total gorgeousness. He had this hypnotic thing and it totally made Tweek a different person, that was always one of the many reasons he loved him.

“I mean, we haven’t talked forever, so yeah. It’s nice. You haven’t changed very much, have you?” Craig teased him gently with a smirk.

“Sorry! Is that a bad thing, that I- I haven’t changed? You have changed a bit...” Craig has most definitely changed physically. His face was so much more shaped and his entire body was just.. not cute kid Craig who’d stolen Tweek’s heart originally, but now he was basically a man and damn. It was just a good look for Craig. “Except most of your personality is the same. You still make me a little more sane.. like before.. little more calm, I mean.

“It’s not a bad thing,” he said simply before smirking teasingly at the taller boy. He’d missed teasing his old friend. “Oh yeah? I’m glad to make you even kind of sane. How else have I changed then?”

“I mean, you’ve gotten a little taller?” He tried to tease him back a bit. Ugh, he missed talking to Craig. The more Craig spoke to Tweek like it was the most normal thing and like Tweek himself was normal only reminded him of how it used to be with them. They actually did have fun doing the fake dating thing.

“Is that right? Maybe you just shrunk? I hear that happens with age,” he raised a brow at Tweek as he continued to kid with him.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Guess we’ll have to have someone measure us again,” he actually genuinely laughed with someone for the first time probably since he’d been friends with Craig.

Fuck, he’d forgotten about this guy’s adorable, goofy laugh he’d always had. He’d missed that laugh. It was probably his favorite laugh. It made him smile and remember their childhood. Maybe it’d be nice to get to get to know Tweek as he was now. Maybe they could be friends again. Yeah, that might be nice.

Sadly, as soon as Tweek felt hope at being able to talk more to Craig and feel what Craig had always done to him in his tummy again, the bell rang to signal the beginning of French class. Ugh.

“Well, I have calculus now. You?” Craig sighed with a glanced up to the stupid clock with its stupid loud bells.

“Nope. Guess we have to go now, huh?” Tweek asked with sad puppy dog eyes. Hopefully, they at least had another class or two together later that day.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure we’ll see each other soon especially since we have classes together this semester,” he said a bit hopefully with a smile and wave at Tweek as they gathered their belongings and left.

[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

What We Did, pt. 15

Summary:  After finding out you were pregnant, Bucky agrees to help you leave the hero life. The two of you go to Seattle, and hamper down for six months until you start dreaming of a certain someone. Convinced the dreams are a sign, you and Bucky go back to New York. Will everyone be happy to see the pair of you? What questions will they have? And will the lie Bucky and you made up finally resurface? 

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my main bitch @childishhoebinoo again.

Warnings: //cheating//pregnancy//ADULT STUFF//

masterlist

Chapter Fifteen: Innocence

You followed him out of the bar, the cool breeze touched your cheeks when he looked over his shoulder to you. His face had this rough air to it, as if he was keeping a secret or desperately needed ten cups of coffee and stat. There was no denying that Clint was attractive, but his personality had been the thing to draw you in. The dry sense of humor and the human of him, he was essentially the most normal of the bunch, and that made him relatable. The two of you had been good friends, but not like Nat and him – it was different, there was something there. You hadn’t meant to fall into some sort of limbo with the married man, it just happened over time – slow steady time. The meaningful glances, the goofing around and teasing, and not to mention the alcohol. All of it was the reason you were walking back to the hotel with Clint, while the others stayed back to drink more. None of them batted an eye at the announcement that the two of you were calling it a night, why would they? You were all friends, and Barton was happily married, everything was innocence.

Except it wasn’t.

Nothing was innocent about you inviting Clint into your room, and nothing that happened after the door closed behind him was pure of thought. It was madness between the sheets, his skin against yours, his mouth on yours, and him inside you, moving deeper and deeper until the two of you had fallen selfishly asleep – nothing to make you toss and turn. Not even the shame and guilt of it all.

That, that was left for the morning.

Laura sat in the dining room, waiting patiently as Bucky and you excused yourselves back to the living room for a moment, out of sight and hearing range. You held a hand to your belly as you stumbled over to the couch, near hysterics as Bucky attempted to calm you down.

“How can I remain calm? The woman whose husband knocked me up is in my dining room,” you whispered harshly, instantly feeling terrible for taking it out on him. Bucky sighed and walked over to you, pulling you into his arms – where it all felt safe. “James, what am I going to say?”

Tears fell down your face as he slowly pulled you off him, holding you gently by the shoulders. His eyes were soft and warm, his lips in a slight frown.

“You’re a strong woman, you’re going to go in there and tell her the truth – that’s all there is to do.” Nodding, you brushed away a tear as Bucky leaned forward to kiss your forehead. “It’s going to bed okay, sweetheart. This is the hardest part of this all, just think about what comes after – your little boy.”

“Our little boy,” you corrected, taking a deep breath to gather the courage. He asked if you wanted him to sit with you, but you declined. “It has to be me, it has to be.”

…

Laura looked up with a polite smile as you walked in with two cups of tea, placing one down in front of you. She thanked you quietly and watched as you took a seat across from her, the two of you sitting in awkwardness until she pulled out the sonogram that Clint had taken from the apartment. She stared down at it, her fingers touching it carefully. Tears formed in her eyes and you had never felt more suitable for hell in your life. You could see it on her face, she knew the truth, but wanted so desperately to be wrong. You did too. What you wouldn’t give to erase her pain, to make Bucky the biological father of your son.

“You know, when Clint first introduced me to Natasha, I was a bit jealous,” Laura admitted with an embarrassed shrug. “She’s so beautiful and she could do things I couldn’t, but Clint had seen something in her. He was right, she’s amazing. I love her like a sister and I realized there was never anything to worry about.”

She paused, her chin quivering as she regained her composure.

“I felt silly,” she confessed, her eyes going back down to the sonogram. “Then I met you and at first I thought it was just like Nat. I was excited to get to know you, but remember that one time you all came down to the farm?”

“For the baby shower…”

She nodded, her eyes locked onto you. The hatred, you could feel it burning into you as she sighed.

“I caught you and Clint in a moment, you had said something to him and he laughed. It wasn’t any laugh,” she explained, tears coming down the side of her face. “It was the laugh he reserved for me. His wife. The love of his life, the mother of his children. It was my laugh and he gave it to you. I knew then I had to keep my eye out for you, but I didn’t think it would come to this.”

Laura shook her head and pushed the sonogram away. “I found this in Clint’s wallet, he can be an idiot sometimes. He thinks too much with his heart, of course he’s going to want to take care of his child. I know my husband and he won’t let this go.”

“Laura, I don’t want anything from him…Bucky…”

“I heard,” she interrupted. “But tell me how that is fair? You get to live in this gorgeous house, with a good man and a new baby while my family is in shambles? What about my kids? Their perspective of their father will be changed, there is no hiding this. That is Clint’s son, and nothing will ever change that, we both know him. He’s going to want to do the right thing.”

“I know, I’ve tried to talk –“

“- that’s another thing. I need you to back off, I want to save my marriage and my family. If we’re going to get this through, I don’t need you around.”

“Laura,” you straightened up, hands on the table. “I want nothing more than to pretend this never happened. I never wanted Clint to know, this wasn’t the plan.”

“Was sleeping with my husband the plan? You were his friend, I trusted my husband, I trusted all of you…”

“There’s no one to blame but Clint and I. The others, they had nothing to do with this,” you asserted, not wanting this to tarnish Natasha’s relationship with the Barton clan. Just thinking about her finding out, it made you want to throw up. “I just want to disappear from everyone’s life, that’s why we are here. I don’t want to cause any more damage.”

Laura sat still, taking everything, you laid out. Her face was pale as she seemed to be lost in her own thought until she finally gazed up at you. Her mouth opened and closed twice before she cleared her throat and said she just needed to know one thing.

“Do you love him?”

The question hurt your heart, because of course you did. How could you not? He had given you a child and like Laura said, that would never change. He had been your best friend for so long and you’d be lying if you said there had been no ounce of feelings, but it wasn’t like that. It was never going to be like that, so why make it worse.

“No,” you said quietly, shaking your head. “I don’t love Clint, not like that.”

Laura stared at you for a long moment, as if she was trying to figure if you were telling the truth. Finally, without a word, she got up from her chair and walked of out the dining room. Seconds later, as your heart beat rapidly, the front door opened then closed. When it became quiet, your just sat there, stunned and gutted. Reaching over for the sonogram, you looked at the photo of your child and felt a sense of relief.

“That was the hardest part.” Bucky walked into room, making a beeline to you. He stood behind you, his hands on your shoulder as he rubbed them, telling it would all be fine. “You were so strong.”

“You heard?”

“I was listening from the other room, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” you assured him, dipping your head back into his chest. “She hates me and I don’t blame her. I just hope she can forgive Clint, she knows her husband, she has to know he isn’t a bad guy.”

“You lied to her.”

Your frowned, pulling away to turn to face Bucky. “What are you talking about?”

He shrugged with a pained smile. “When she asked if you loved him, you said not like that…”

“Bucky, I’ve told you…”

“Baby, you’re not a great liar. I could hear it in your voice and I think Laura could too. You love Barton, and I understand, it doesn’t change anything between us. I just wish you’d be honest with yourself.”

You got up from the chair and faced Bucky, turning him to you. Reaching over, you held his face in your hands and smiled. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever happened between Clint and I, whatever feelings we shared for each other could never compare to what I feel for you. Those feelings for him have faded and eventually will be completely gone, but the way I feel about you – I want that forever.”

Bucky smiled then, giving out a little chuckle as you leaned in to kiss him. He held you close to his body and whispered that he loved you in-between kisses and when the two of you pulled away, because the baby was not happy, you grinned.

“I’ve had enough drama for today, can we just go watch a movie now?”

“Yeah, baby,” Bucky said, grabbing a hold of your hand. “Let’s go watch a movie.”

Forever tags:

@theweirdlunatic @supernaturallymarvellous @dancewaterdance02 @yeahbutmarvel@infinity1321  

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[purplesurveys]

638

What website is it easy to spend too much time on? Reddit. I used to spend hours on end on Reddit back when I had just discovered it and saw how many subreddits I can check out, but I’ve toned down these days. I mostly use scroll through the popular tag to help me fall asleep, but I still spend a lot of time on it nonetheless. What's been bothering you lately? One of my classes is a subject I never really wanted to venture into because it will demand me to be insanely extroverted, but I didn’t have a choice but to take it and now I’m worried for my sanity for the next four months. Do you ever get cravings for cheese? Yeah but I’m not as crazy for cheese as most girls around me seem to be lolol. Cheese is ayts. I mostly like it as a dip for Korean barbecue, and I don’t really like the more challenging/funky cheeses. Do you ever crave affection? Yep, sometimes I act needy towards my girlfriend. Would you name your baby after someone or give him/her his or her own name? Their main name would be their own, but I wouldn’t be opposed to having their second name be a tribute to somebody important to me. For instance, if I have a son I’ve always thought of giving him Owen as a second name as an homage to Owen Hart.

Do you think boys can wear pink and girls can wear blue? It’s 2020. We’re way past pink vs. blue now lmfao. But yes, of course. Which hair curlers have you had the best luck with? I don’t use those. What is the best way to curl your hair? In like the four times I’ve had my hair curled, the stylists always used a flat iron. Don't you hate it when people act like idiots just to make you mad? That’s a different level of assholery, but yep I imagine that would piss me off. If you were thrown into a lion's den, would you trust God to save you? Nope, I’ll be saying goodbye to all my loved ones in my head. Do you wish you could call the police on the police? Not in this country, because most police are abusive and dicks. Do you write in cursive or print more? Print. My penmanship is nicer that way, because my writing usually comes out in messy scribbles when I try to write in script. But I always regularly practice my high school’s unique cursive anyway so that I never forget it/get rusty at it. Were you alive before the Internet came out? No, I think the Internet was already kind of a thing by 1998. Do you like that trends from the 90's are coming back in style? Yeah tbh I’m a fan. I love the simple t-shirt/mom jeans combo because it looks so effortless, and because it’s pieces I already have in my closet lmao. ....or would you rather have the trends stay the same as the last decade? Not really, I’m pretty good with all the 90s stuff coming back. Some kids ruined it by wearing chunky sneakers too much, but I like all the other trends that came with it, like bucket hats and belts. What was a horrible trend when you were in high school? I honestly didn’t know much about the trends when I was in high school because 1) we wore our school uniforms every single day, so imagine having one outfit 5/7 days a week, and 2) being from a Catholic school, we had a very strict dress code so it’s not like we could wear whatever the trends were. I do remember never being impressed with Roshes though. What is a horrible trend now? Hype/street clothes like DBTK. What would you do differently if you were God? Not make people suffer. Have you ever met anyone who claimed to be God? No. If I did, I’d run far far away from them. If you had to leave the US and never come back, where would you move? First of all, I have to live in the US before I can leave the US. Would you buy a castle if you could afford one? Sure, whatever. What is something you aren't ok with? My default answer would be homophobia. Do you know anyone who isn't fake? Sure. I know more not-fake people than those who are. Name five people you know who aren't fake. Laurice, Aya, Tina, Danika, Amanda. Do you fully trust anyone? Yes. How many true Christians do you know? Do you know any? What does being a ‘true’ Christian even mean? Do you think someone's value is based on how much money they have or make? No. Would you rather be an aborted baby or a victim of child abuse? Wow THIS IS THE WORST QUESTION EVER. What's one trend you're behind the times on? Tiktok. I do nooooooot understand it for the life of me and do not wish to. Do idiots act like know-it-alls a lot around you? I think know-it-alls act like know-it-alls regardless of who they’re with. Do you think it's ok to call an idiot an idiot? Not to their face, but yes I’ve used that word occasionally.

If you had a child with down's syndrome, would you keep him/her? I’m honestly not sure, and I don’t really like stressing about that kind of stuff this early. Don't you wish people who weren't qualified would stop getting handed leadership positions? Obviously. But there’s little we can do, with the key word there being ‘handed.’ Who is the worst plagiarizer you know? People in high school would copy-paste whole paragraphs from websites or textbooks onto group papers and I hate those people to this day. If someone tried to murder your child, do you think it would be wrong to expose them publicly and talk about it on social media? It wouldn’t be the best and smartest way to go, especially if it was the first thing I planned on doing. ...Why do you think people think this is wrong? Because I would be putting vulnerable people under limelight they never asked for, and because I’d be talking about confidential stuff, especially if the whole ordeal is currently going through a legal process, which is stupid. Is there a toxic person that you miss? You know, despite how close I was with Athenna, I’ve never missed her. Are you still contemplating going back to someone you shouldn't? Nope. What do you need right now? I’m gonna need a higher inner morale for my business reporting class, which is the class I’m really scared about. When was the last time you had a new crush? December 2013. Do you know any "Christians" who are rude and judgmental? Almost all the Christians I know are rude and judgmental. What would you do if your Bible was falling apart? I dunno. Leave it wherever it’s always been. Do you have coffee with Jesus every morning? Groan. Do you pretend to be someone you're not on facebook? Why or why not? No because I have no reason to do that. Do you know anyone who pretends to be a Christian to get attention? Ooooh interesting haha, but no. I’m sure in this time and place they’d get called out almost immediately. Do you want Jesus to come back soon? I’m gonna paraphrase a quote from Friends and say “I know you’re asking me a lot of Jesus questions, but all I hear is blahhhhhblahhhhhhhhhblahhhhhhhhhh.” Do you believe that Jesus is going to come back in your lifetime? Holy shit. Would you rather wear blue jeans or jeggings? Blue jeans. I’ve never owned jeggings. What is the most comfortable type of pants ever? Anything but skinny jeans. What is something you can't wear because of your body type? I can’t wear dresses that are loose around the chest area. Stuff like those are loose because the boobs are meant to hold them up and give someone a flattering figure, but if I tried to wear those, the dress would drop down all the way to my stomach lmao. If you have curves, do you like them? I have some curves, but I’m generally skinny. I do like the ones I have though. What is the curviest part of your body? Butt. Have you ever been punished for doing the right thing? I don’t think so. How often do you cry? One or two times a week would be a good guess. How many Christians do you know who actually care? This is very vague. Is Tumblr all that it's hyped up to be? But it’s not hyped at all these days... Tumblr definitely already peaked a few years ago, and I don’t know what people are saying about it now. At what age do you think someone is old enough to give advice? I don’t think there’s an age requirement for advice. Have you ever worn matching pajamas with someone? No. What helps you fall asleep? When I’m alone, I need it to be quiet or at the very most have white noise around, like the buzz of an aircon or the whir of the electric fan. When I’m sleeping with my girlfriend I have to be cuddled and I have to fall asleep first, or else I’ll keep waking up and twist and turn through the night. I’m a difficult person to fall asleep with huhuh sorry Gab :’( Do you have a nighttime routine? No. I just scroll through social media until my eyes get tired enough to fall asleep within seconds. What was the last mountain you climbed? Not sure, but it was in Sagada. Who is the fakest Christian you know? One of my titas, although I love her to death, is a very devout Christian but had a meltdown/breakdown when her daughter (my cousin) revealed she was dating a black guy. I was stunned when my mom told me all about the ‘drama’ and it took every cell in my body not to explode and give a sermon to everyone else in my family who was upset about it. Just for context, Filipinos are among the MOST RACIST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET so stuff like this WILL be a big deal, especially among our traditional Gen X/Boomer population. Who are the fakest friends you've had? Athenna and Fern. Who's the most narcissistic person you know? I don’t know anyone like this, fortunately. Maybe me because I like taking these surveys??? Jk :((( Who gives the best hugs? Laurice!!! Who was the last person you hugged? My girlfriend.

[anthropologicalhands]

like, all your fic though? but i'm gonna say the josh chan fic since it made me cry like a little baby which was rude of you tbh

Hahaha awww. I both feel bad about that and continue to be touched.

So, one of the original scenes I envisioned for this fic was Josh going to see Greg and the two of them being kind of miserable about being broken up together, while being bad about it because they have ISSUES. The point of the scene would be for Josh and Greg to reestablish a tenuous connection, and through it, that Greg would reinforce the idea that Father Brah had proposed, that Josh should leave town, and that having this second opinion would solidify Josh’s resolve to go to New York. Ultimately, I felt that it was redundant, and that Josh’s trust in Father Brah was strong enough that he wouldn’t need much convincing and I couldn’t see a reason to keep the scene, but it made me sad to lose it, especially because it was one of the impetuses to write this fic. I also wanted to write a scene where Josh and Nathaniel interact, but that one never even got written, alas.

Ergo, I’m gonna include it below the read more! As always, it’s woefully unedited, and I still hope to use it somewhere at some point.

Father Brah’s advice is usually sound, but usually hishomework is about thinking things through, not buying plane tickets.

While he is mulling it over, Josh tries something that hehasn’t done in a long time: he goes to see Greg.

Sure, he and Greg have been in a weird place for a while,and not just because of what has happened with Rebecca, but Greg is smart, and hasalways been someone whose judgment is pretty reliable, even if he was way toorude about it. And in this case, he’s literally one of only two other peoplewho get this, and it still feels too weird to ever text Nathaniel.

He goes to Serrano’s for the first time since the pop-upstarted. He remembers coming here as a kid and being allowed to run around thekitchens unchecked. This time, when Greg leads him on a tour, it’s a clearimprovement. Under more cheerful circumstances, he would have a whole lot moreto say. As it is, he barely remembers to take some pictures for Instagram (NEEDHASHTAG: SPAGHETTIPUNS) before digging in.

“Have you made your plans for moving yet?” Greg asks, a fewbites in. “If you need a hand, I’m happy to help.”

Josh shrugs. “I’ll be okay, I didn’t have that much stuff tobegin with.”

“That’s good. Has Rebecca been helping out?”

“Yeah, she’s been really nice about it. But things are stillweird.”

“Well, it’s only two weeks away, right? It won’t be thatawkward by then, you’ll get over it.”

Josh glares at Greg. “Easy for you to say when you didn’teven go on a proper date with her! I got dumped after I told her I thought wewere written in the stars – of course it’s going to be awkward! That wholesituation was so weird, we can’t just go back to having breakfast together likeit never happened! It’s not awkward for you, because you bailed.” He immediately grimaces at his own faux pas. It’s notabout Greg, he shouldn’t be snapping at him. “I’m sorry, I’m still a littlesensitive after getting rejected and I shouldn’t have taken out on you. Thatwas bad, I’m sorry.”

Greg’s mouth is twisting downwards, so Josh can see he’s notunaffected, but then he just shakes his head, waving the insult away.

“I shouldn’t have brought it up. You two have a verydifferent history, and I have no right to judge that. Especially when I know it’snot easy to live with someone you have awkward feelings about.”

Josh cringes. “Again, sorry.”

“I know.”

They go back to moodily twirling spaghetti together; theydon’t mean to talk about Rebecca, except she still feels like the safest topicthey’ve got, all of the other years of silent resentment and slights too muchfor them to even begin to touch, even in this shared misery.

“If it makes you feel any better,” says Greg, slowly, likehe is dragging it out of him the way Josh drags weights sometimes. “I told herthat she was the love of my life.”

Josh’s head snaps up and he gapes openly at Greg. “What?”

“You heard me,” says Greg, before hetakes a too-large bite out of a meatball and promptly chokes on it.

Josh reaches over and slaps Greg hard on the back, still alittle stunned. “You said it. Like, those words, exactly. Not, ‘I’m not,not-interested’? Because I know that I said it’s your version of a loveconfession, but seriously, it doesn’t count.”

Greg looks annoyed, wiping his mouth with a napkin, but thenhe exhales and nods. “Those are exact words.”

“Wow.”

“No need to swoon over it,” Greg mutters.

“Dude, that’s likea huge deal for you.”

Greg fidgets uncomfortably in his seat. “Yeah, and what I’mtrying to say is that it ended up not making much of a difference, either.”

“Yeah, she wants to work on herself.”

“And I totally get it.”

“It just sucks, huh?”

“I’ll drink to that,” says Greg, holding up his bottle ofcola.

“It’s just tiring. I’ve been trying to move past ‘it sucks’for a week now, but nothing’s working. And I don’t want to get stuck in aspiral, but everywhere I go, I just see more mistakes. It’s like the whole townis mocking me.”

“I know the feeling,” says Greg, his fork turning slowly inhis hand without gathering pasta.  

“Father Brah was saying that it might be a good idea for meto get out of town for a little bit.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

Josh frowns down into his spaghetti, spiking a meatball onthe prongs of his fork. “Huh. I thought you would be against that.”

“Given our last conversation on the subject in thequarantine ward, I understand where that idea would come from. But speaking assomeone who left West Covina with a massive chip on his shoulder and convincedthat the city actually, physically hated me – no, I don’t think it would berunning away. It might actually give you the space you need to process. Whenwas the last time you left the state? Like, seriously?”

“Remember when Hector was gonna surf in Hawaii, a few monthsafter Rebecca moved here?”

“Yeah, I remember that, but you didn’t go.”

Josh shrugs. “That was it. I mean, I was in SLO for theseminary, and I did go to Scarsdale to meet Rebecca’s family, but I only reallywent between her mother’s house and the bar mitzvah, so I don’t think thatcounts.”

“No, family visits definitely do not count for vacation,trust me. Josh, you’re an approachable guy, and this whole situation has beenso weird, that it makes sense that people want information. And they are notgoing to ask Nathaniel, or me, when they can talk to you about it.”

“Huh. That makes sense actually.”

“Right? Look, everyone in this town knows and cares way toomuch about your personal business, so going somewhere that not everybody knowsyour name might be a good change for you. When I went to Atlanta, it’s like allof these mental walls just totally fell away. Anonymity is surprisinglyfreeing.”

Josh isn’t sure if Greg is being self-deprecating or not, orif it would be appropriate to laugh, so he compromises by shoving a fork twinedfull of noodles right into his mouth to avoid a direct response.

“This is really good,” he says, when he is able to breatheagain. “Did you do something to the sauce?”

“Thanks, I’ve been testing different varieties of tomato andthe new ones give a much richer flavor. And you’re trying to change thesubject.”

“I know,” says Josh, slumping back in his chair. “But you’reright. It would nice to go somewhere where people don’t immediately know mydrama. I just need to find the right place.”

~

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

We’ll Carry On - Chapter Fifty Five

We’ll Carry On Tag

General Content Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Substance Abuse, Abandonment, Minor Character Death, Transphobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dissociation, Bullying, Homophobia

October 27th, 2019

“Hey, Jack,” Logan said, catching his boyfriend’s attention.

“What’s up, baby?” Jack asked.

Logan ignored the way his heart flew into his throat at the pet name. “What do you think we’ll do if we wind up being together for a whole year?”

Jack paused in scrolling his phone and hummed. “Well, I imagine that there’s gonna be a lot of kissing, but outside that I don’t really know. And I don’t really care, either. As long as I get to be with you and celebrate, it’s all good to me.”

Logan turned crimson. “Jack, stop it!”

“Never,” Jack vowed.

September 23rd, 2020

Logan fiddled with the bow tie he was wearing at Dee’s suggestion. He felt a little ridiculous, but he had to admit that a regular tie would have been too formal for his and Jack’s date. He slicked his hair back with a little hair gel, and gave himself a nervous smile. It didn’t seem like it had been a year that he and Jack had been together. It felt like forever and yet no time at all. It felt...right.

The doorbell ringing brought Logan out of his musings, and he hollered through the house, “I’ve got it!” He dashed down the stairs and opened the front door, to find Jack standing there with a small bouquet of duct tape flowers. “Duct tape?” Logan asked.

“They double as pens,” Jack explained, pulling one out of the small container they were in, revealing a pen cap on the bottom.

“I love it,” Logan laughed. “Thank you.”

Jack offered Logan a shy grin as Logan put the flower pens on the small table by the door. “I will tend to those after our date,” he said with a little laugh. His voice had stopped cracking by now for the most part, and his voice wasn’t super deep, but it definitely wasn’t what it used to be. He felt like a guy, and honestly, the fact that he was with Jack just made the experience that much better. Because Jack never ruined the illusion. He didn’t treat it as an illusion at all. “Where are we going, anyway? You never specified. Just that it was dress-casual.”

With a smirk, Jack gestured to the car. “You shall find out when you get in the car, Mister Picani.”

“I hate you sometimes, I hope you realize that,” Logan said with a laugh as he got into Jack’s new-to-him car. “In a joking way, of course.”

“‘Course,” Jack said, getting in the driver’s seat and setting off down the road. “Your clue is in the glove box.”

Logan sent Jack a glance when Jack grinned like he had made a particularly good pun. He opened the glove box and found two tickets for the local theatre’s production of “Clue: On Stage.” Logan was speechless for a good minute. “I...wow. That was a terrible pun, Jack.”

“I know,” Jack said with a grin. “But worth it.”

“If you say so,” Logan replied with an eye roll.

“I do say so!” Jack laughed, grabbing Logan’s hand with his free one. “I love you, I hope you know that. And I know you love me, because you put up with my puns.”

Logan shook his head. “That’s it? That’s all you see that says ‘I love you’?”

“Is there anything else?” Jack asked, glancing at him.

“Well, I always figured that you knew I was saying ‘I love you’ when I sent you pretty pictures of space that I found, or when I found a song that reminded me of you,” Logan said with a shrug. “And then there’s when we send each other selfies, or you’re upset and I send you a meme or three about the situation. Or when we hang out after school in drama club, laughing at all the younger techs who are trying so hard to be cool but have no idea what they’re doing.”

Jack smiled softly. “That’s you saying you love me?”

“Well, yeah,” Logan said. “I’m not much one for words, so I try to do smaller gestures that show you that you matter to me. I thought your love languages might be quality time and gifts? So I sent you stuff and I hang out with you whenever I can.”

“What are your love languages?” Jack asked. “So I can know what I can do to help you?”

“I generally receive love in acts of service or words of affirmation,” Logan said. “But quality time is also important to me, so I’m not sure how to rank them.”

“That’s okay, Lo, you don’t have to, I was just curious,” Jack said. “I guess neither of us are big on physical touch, huh?”

“It can get overwhelming,” Logan said. “And I know you just like to respect people’s space.”

Jack grinned at Logan as they pulled into the parking lot of the theatre. “Here’s some words of affirmation: I love you, and there’s nothing I would rather do than spend the night watching this play with you.”

Logan turned beet red and buried his head in his hands. “Jack, no,” he murmured.

“Jack yes!” Jack said with a laugh, getting out of the car and helping Logan out as well.

The two walked into the building and Jack held Logan’s hand as they showed their tickets and got to their seats. They leaned back and relaxed as the show started. Logan kept his hand intertwined with Jack’s as the characters showed up, one by one.

Slowly, as all the suspects were investigating each other, Logan let his grip on Jack’s hand grow lax, as he was completely sucked into the story. He only came back to himself when Jack stretched and wrapped his arm around Logan’s shoulder. Logan looked at Jack and rolled his eyes, sticking his tongue out. Jack grinned, held a finger to his lips, and pointed to the stage.

When the play ended, with Colonel Mustard using the lead pipe in the observatory to kill Mister Boddy, Logan and Jack clapped along with the rest of the audience as the curtain call came. Logan whistled at the end when they all took a bow, and Jack laughed, nose wrinkling up and all his teeth showing in his pure joy at Logan’s enthusiasm.

They headed out of the theatre as slowly the lights came back on. “That was so much fun!” Logan exclaimed to Jack, once they were outside again. “This was a great night!”

“It’s gonna get greater,” Jack said with a grin. “Because we still have dinner to go to.”

“Oh! Right!” Logan had forgotten about that. He was supposed to come up with a place where they could have dinner. “I know it’s not five-star cuisine, but we can head back to my house for some chicken alfredo? I made sure that Dad and Ami got all the ingredients we’d need.”

“Sounds perfect,” Jack said, kissing Logan’s nose and getting into his car.

Logan squawked indignantly and fell into Jack’s car, going on a rant about how he was a very serious man, and as a very serious man he did not get kissed on the nose.

“You do by me, so suck it up, Buttercup!” Jack said with a grin.

Logan scoffed and crossed his arms with a huff. “I’m a very serious man,” he grumbled.

“Of course you are, baby,” Jack laughed. “But I have to let you know I love and trust you somehow. What better way than that? Doing something that I wouldn’t be caught dead doing otherwise because germs and trust issues and I don’t want to get slugged.”

Logan glanced out the window. “You could just use words of affirmation and acts of service.”

“Kissing your nose isn’t an act of service?” Jack teased.

“Well...no,” Logan said, frowning.

“Really? Because that nose of yours is practically begging to be kissed,” Jack said. “I’m doing a service for every man loving man out there by kissing it.”

Logan groaned. “Stop,” he whined.

“Never,” Jack declared as they pulled up to Logan’s house.

They got inside and Logan promptly picked up the flowers and moved with them into the kitchen. Logan checked the fridge, pulling out chicken breast, before pulling pasta from the pantry, ignoring Jack’s confusion all the while. When he had retrieved all of the ingredients, he said, “Now we’ve entered the cooking part of the challenge.”

“Logan, no,” Jack laughed.

“Logan yes,” Logan retorted. “We’ve gotta figure out how to be domestic with each other eventually, hopefully before we have to worry about moving in together. And after such a fun play, don’t you think it would be fun to cook dinner, and share it, just the two of us, somewhere in this house?”

“I guess...” Jack said hesitantly. “I’m a little worried about your brothers running in on us, though.”

“We’ll be eating chicken, Jack. Not...you know?”

Jack turned cherry red in embarrassment. “Logan! Don’t talk like that!”

Logan winked at Jack before pulling out a pot and filling it with water. “A little innuendo now and again won’t hurt anyone, Jack. We’re seventeen. My dads will understand.”

“It’s not them I’m worried about,” Jack hissed, walking over to Logan and watching him fill the pot with water.

Logan rolled his eyes and put the water on to boil. “Pretty sure my brothers wouldn’t get it, Jack. Only Roman might, and he wouldn’t tell the others.”

Jack glanced around nervously, and Logan rolled his eyes, murmuring, “C’mere, you,” and kissing him softly.

In an instant, Jack was kissing him back, and Logan had to lean against the counter because Jack was making him weak at the knees. He wrapped an arm around Jack’s back to try and help himself stand again, but Jack grabbed Logan by the hips and hoisted him onto the counter. Logan shrieked softly before dissolving into a fit of giggles, Jack kissing all over Logan’s face as the water started to boil. “Okay, so, noodles?” Jack asked.

“Yup,” Logan said, watching as Jack put noodles in the pot with a pinch of salt. “We need a pan for the chicken.”

Jack reached between Logan’s legs to get to the pan...right as Dad and Ami walked in. Logan stiffened as Ami choked and Dad grew red. “This is not what it looks like!” Logan assured.

Hurriedly, Jack pulled out the pan to show to the stunned parents, and began greasing it up. “Just...just needed a pan to cook, nothing untoward was happening, or will happen tonight!”

“I should hope not, considering Logan’s room isn’t soundproof,” Ami deadpanned.

“Logan, off the counter, please,” Dad choked out.

Logan complied and scratched the back of his neck. “...Sorry.”

“Just...don’t let it happen again,” Dad said. “Especially when your brothers are in the house.”

Logan hurried to assure them that wasn’t going to be a problem, and the two adults left quickly. “...That was terrible,” Jack said.

“Agreed,” Logan replied.

They stood in silence for a bit as Jack stirred the noodles and Logan watched the chicken. Then, Jack turned to Logan and kissed his cheek with a chuckle. “This is kinda fun,” he admitted.

“Thank you,” Logan said softly. “I thought you might like it once you actually bothered to try it.”

“Cooking?” Jack asked.

“Domesticity,” Logan said.

“I resent that,” Jack grumbled.

Logan laughed and kissed Jack’s cheek in return. They plated the food once it was done and Logan looked around. “I guess...we can use the dining room? High chance of brothers, though.”

Jack shrugged. “With this kind of messy food, I wouldn’t want to eat anywhere that there’s a risk of making a mess.”

“Fair enough,” Logan conceded, and the two sat down at the table in the next room over to eat.

They ate in semi-silence for a minute, before Logan said, “I think we did a good job.”

“Agreed,” Jack said. “I’d do it again.”

“You mean that?” Logan asked, voice soft and hopeful.

Jack looked at him fondly and nodded. “Of course I mean it. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”

Logan smiled. “That’s what I like about you. You know to get to the point with me, even if the point is banter.”

Jack laughed. “And that’s what I like about you. Always looking for a silver lining in the clouds.”

“What can I say?” Logan shrugged. “When I lived under so many clouds all my life, the best part of my day would be finding a silver lining. At this point, it’s just a habit I don’t really feel inclined to kick.”

“I don’t want you to kick it,” Jack said, grabbing Logan’s free hand. “You’re amazing just the way you are, Lo. You don’t have to change anything about yourself if you don’t want to. Not here. Not with me.”

Logan smiled softly. “I know.”