hi zee!! not a hc but what do you think bkg would do if he had a s.o. that spoke a diff language? like obv they speak english too but they can also speak another (or multiple other) languages! I SO picture him trying to learn abt the culture and language ahhh!!!
oh he MOST DEFINITELY will go above and beyond in trying to learn about your culture and language! and he does so all the while denying he's doing it for you lmao
it's both of your day-off and you can't help but be bummed at how busy bakugou seems to be—shoulders hunched over his work desk in his office room. he invited you over but why does it seem like he can't care less about you being here?
walking up to him quite defeated, you peer over his shoulder only to find him using Anki flashcards to memorize your language's vocab PLEASE and he doesn't immediately notice you standing there because he has his earphones in but when he does, he startles and immediately shuts his laptop closed.
"the fuck are you doing snooping around, dumbass?!"
you're so elated over your recent discovery that you can't feign hurt or engage in banter. "you're studying [insert language/s here]?"
bakugou merely glares at you in response, though it has no bite to it. a few seconds of a stare-off pass before he finally sighs in defeat.
"what about it," he growls, as he turns his back away from you on his swiveling chair. you know better than to make bakugou feel embarrassed for too long—it almost always ends up in the bedroom where he regains control. you like that too, but for now, you want to keep talking.
opting to loop your arms around him instead, you let your forehead fall on his muscled shoulder. at that, he knocks your head gently with his.
"just wanted to expand my vocabulary," he grumbles.
"uh huh," you respond, clearly unconvinced.
"i'm serious!" he exclaims, sitting up to glare at you and shaking off your grasp.
straightening up, you grin despite yourself. "i believe you!"
he locks eyes with you for a few more seconds before he looks away, sighing. "fine. sue me for wanting to better understand my girlfriend—"
you don't let him finish, engulfing him in the best hug you can manage in this position.
he chuckles, voice low and riddled with affection. "[in your language] dumbass."
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please don’t ever become a stranger | 18.3k words
Mike isn’t sure how much time passes—how long they stay there, foreheads pressed against each other, holding onto one another’s hands like they’re scared to let go. But finally, Mike finds the courage in him to open his eyes and whisper, “I wish we had more time together.”
Because isn’t that what they’ve been missing all along? Time. They’ve never had more than a few months together before being rebooted, and even now, the longest the two of them have gotten to interact, the universe is separating them again. It’s as if every single fucking time the two of them get close and begin to fall in love, they have to start over again.
Now, knowing the full extent of their shared history, Mike just wants more time with Will. That’s all he wants.
Or:
The Good Place season 3 finale, but make it Byler.
—
the tgp brain rot is so real right now, you guys. if you’ve had to interact with me at all this week, i apologize for dragging you back into your tgp brain rots with me.
also, let the record show that i gave suni @astrobei like three different tgp fic options, and she went with the most devastating idea i had. so she is an accomplice to the crime that is this fic.
anyways, enjoy this late birthday fic for my dear suni, whom i love very very very much <3
oh and here’s the playlist full of sad songs that remind me of this fic.
(also a big thank you to @messrsbyler for helping me with this moodboard!!!!!)
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Gonna go ahead and ask you #58 on your Spotify wrapped while I'm thinking about it
#58 on my top songs is mirrorball by taylor swift! this is definitely one of my fav songs from her, if not The Favorite; a vivid music video plays out in my head every time i listen to it. here's my favorite part from it, which can definitely lend itself to particular dreamling scenarios... like 1989.
And they called off the circus, burned the disco down
When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns
I'm still on that tightrope
I'm still trying everything to get you laughing at me
I'm still a believer but I don't know why
I've never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try
I'm still on that trapeze
I'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me
---
When his stranger didn't show up in 1989, Hob spent the whole day waiting for him. The whole night, too. He heard the last call but stayed long after, until the bartender—Ian was his name, Hob learned at one point—had to kick him out so they could lock up. To Ian's credit, he did it with his most apologetic face.
"Sorry, Hob," Ian said as he locked up the front door of the tavern. "Feel free to come back 'round tomorrow. Promise the place'll still be here by then."
Hob, who was hovering listlessly beside him, gave him a smile. "You'll regret you said that."
Ian laughed. "I'll never regret having more regulars. God knows we need it."
Hob frowned. Right. He nearly forgot about that.
"Need a lift?" Ian offered, fishing out a different set of keys from inside his pockets. "You've drunk quite a lot."
"I'm fine, I just need to—" Hob took a deep breath, "—I need to walk it off."
Ian narrowed his eyes. "Sure? I better not read about you in the papers tomorrow."
Hob snorted. "Trust me, you won't."
With that, Hob stood in front of the tavern and watched Ian drive off, until the old man rounded a corner and disappeared.
Now that he was alone, Hob slumped down on the damp ground and leaned against the front door. They've probably replaced this door more times than he could count, along with the rest of the tavern. Century after century, Hob saw less and less of what used to be here 600 years ago: the chairs, the tables, the mugs, the godawful drinks. The closest thing to permanence this tavern had was its name, and, up until tonight, his stranger. And soon, it wouldn't even have itself.
Hob reached into his coat pocket and took out his lighter and a carton of cigarettes. As he watched London's everchanging skyline glitter above the Thames, he lit a cigarette, the orange of it glowing in the dark. He sat there, waiting, waiting, waiting. He was good at that, at waiting. All you had to have for waiting was time, and Hob had it in abundance. So he waited until the sun rose, until the streets came alive with cars and people, until Ian came back to open up.
"Oi, what happened to walking it off?!" Ian exclaimed, standing over Hob, shielding him from the noon sun. "Bloody hell. C'mon now. Up you go."
Hob let himself be corralled into the tavern's small office and be sat at the small couch that was probably meant for interviews and terminations. He drank the water and aspirin placed in front of him, and he wore the spare shirt lent to him, but he left Ian's questions unanswered.
"Y'know," Hob started as soon as Ian came back in from the bar, "I reckon I could do a good job running a tavern."
"You should be asleep," Ian said accusatorily.
Maybe he should've been. But instead, Hob was sitting upright, wide awake. "I've been in countless taverns, just like this," he continued, "and I reckon I could make a great one. It would be so great that people from all over the world would come to eat and drink there, and say, 'Hey look, it's Hob's tavern, the greatest one around!' And d'you know what the best part about it would be?"
Ian sighed and leaned on his desk. "What?"
"It would be so great that they'd never close it down. They wouldn't be able to. Everyone would rally around it, even the council. And it'd be there for, for centuries. No, millennia. No, forever."
Ian shook his head, smiling. "A beautiful dream."
"A dream?" Hob scrunched his eyebrows. "You don't believe me?"
"Hob, this tavern has been here for centuries. That's a pretty good run, I'd say. Before that, it might've been something else, like a house, or a barn, or something. And before that, it was probably an empty plot of land, or maybe it was full of trees. Maybe bloody dinosaurs lived and died here. Or maybe it was underwater, I dunno. But I'm getting away from the point," Ian said, scratching his scraggly beard. "The point is: things change. That's life."
Suddenly, Hob was reminded of that night a hundred years ago, how his stranger detested the implication that he changed, that he grew to be lonely, lonely enough to seek out companionship. Hob's companionship. Obviously he detested the implication enough to not show up yesterday. But maybe, just maybe, his stranger will show up again today or the next day, just to prove a point, just to say he didn't need him to be his friend, and to say goodbye for the last time. Surely his stranger's not cruel enough to not show up at all, right?
"I, I know, but I can't let this place change, at least not yet," Hob said. His desperation must've plain on his face from the way Ian smiled sadly at him.
"And why's that?"
"My friend and I," Hob paused, thinking about what to say, "this place is important to us."
"You can always find another place."
"He won't," Hob said, voice breaking, "he won't be able to find me."
"How sure are you that he won't?"
Hob put his head into his hands. "I'm sure."
"You don't have his number?"
Hob shook his head.
Ian sighed. "Well, like I said last night, you'll need a lot of money to—"
"I have the money," Hob blurted out.
"What's that?"
"I," Hob repeated, raising his head in realization, "I have the money."
Ian only looked at him.
"I can, I can keep this place alive until he comes back."
Ian regarded him wordlessly for a few more seconds, then said, "I appreciate the thought, I do, but I reckon you can just establish a new one and it'll be less expensive. You can always, I dunno, put up some signs. 'This way to the new tavern' or something. Then when your friend comes around, they'll just read your sign and go to the new tavern."
Hob stared at Ian, mouth hanging open. Then he laughed, feeling a sleep-deprived lightness in his chest. He stood up and held Ian by his shoulders, still smiling. "Ian, you're a genius."
Ian chuckled heartily. "I try."
"And you're a hired genius."
"Pardon?"
"I'll need a bartender for the new tavern," Hob said, grinning.
Ian scoffed in disbelief, but he was smiling. "And what'll you name it?"
Hob thought for a second, then settled on: "The New Tavern."
Ian chortled. "You need sleep. Dearly."
---
send me a number and i'll write something based on the corresponding song in my spotify wrapped!
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