#then again i'll probably look at these on mobile and cry

[songsofadelaide]

"These fatal fantasies giving way to labored breath— Taking all of me. We've already done it in my head. If it's make-believe, why does it feel like a vow we'll both uphold somehow?"

Author's Note: Reader is 19. Gojo is three years older.

You know how you have people you call aunt and uncle but you aren't actually related to them? And they're just really good friends with your parents? That's what Satoru's parents were to you. Your mothers were close since they were children and they both pursued modelling as they grew older. While your mom eventually retired from the game and chose a more quiet life with a kind lawyer for a husband, your Aunt Arisu became a famous supermodel and married into a family of old money— the Gojos.

And though your mom got married much earlier since she retired from modelling first, your Aunt Arisu got pregnant right off the bat after her wedding. She was a spoiled little thing, too, always calling for your mom and not so much her husband when her cravings and hormones reared their ugly heads. She often chided your mom to give her child a playmate, but not too late. She hoped to have a pretty daughter so they could wear fancy matching clothes.

Aunt Arisu's son Satoru was three years old when you were born. And while he wasn't the daughter she pined for, she loved him so, so much because he was just as pretty as she always hoped for. He was present when you were born, locked in his mother's arms as she held him out to take a peek at you.

...The story never gets old. Your mother and Aunt Arisu would always be laughing as they got drunk on their sweet wine every two weeks or so, and your family's kitchen was still a mess after hosting dinner for the Gojos again. Your fathers were drinking whiskey and smoking their expensive cigars on the front porch, talking about current affairs and stocks if you knew. And Satoru...

Well...

He was always welcome in your room. He always brought his own toys to play with and sometimes played with yours, too. Satoru was like the older brother you never had, and he was always so sweet to you... That is until you turned sixteen and suddenly, he was way too good for you to hang out with.

You didn't see much of him in the last three years, but you always knew where he was— on the cover of your favourite teen magazine, that soda commercial on TV, fronting promotional material for high-end clothing and expensive mobile phones on social media... All of that made sense. He's the son of modelling royalty, after all. Your childhood friend was the nation's sweetheart now and you're probably just a girl in his boyhood memories.

You didn't bother showing yourself downstairs when the Gojos arrived for your usual dinner date. You couldn't stomach seeing Satoru sitting across from you at the table, his silvery hair and feathery lashes framing his blue, blue eyes, his slender fingers curling around the wine glass that was usually just your mother's and her best friend's... His eyes twinkling in mischief as he calls your name with that voice of his, both so sweet and so sultry...

Why did he push you away back then when he was the one to embrace you first?

That embrace was etched so in your head since you were sixteen, and it was something you always remembered whenever you saw his posts on Instagram, whenever your mother watched his commercials on TV, whenever you've been struggling at high school... And whenever you were alone in your room in your bed— the walls the only thing that could hear you and your thoughts, possibly— as you dove deeper into your inane imagination.

"Toru..."

He wanted you just as much.

...So much that you were crying to yourself, too, thinking of how stupid you were to believe your Aunt Arisu's silly little joke that you were born for her lonely little son to have someone—

The soft knock on your bedroom door was enough to snap you out of your deluded solo flight. You jumped out of your bed without a second thought about how flushed you looked. "I'll be there in a second, mom... Just... a sec!"

Perhaps you should have thought about it first.

"Hey there. Are you... feeling okay?"

Gojo Satoru. As though he stepped right out of your fantasies mere moments ago.

"Uh..."

He wedged his foot on your door as you tried to shut him out in panic. What the hell was he doing here? "Wait a moment. I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

And what could he possibly want to talk about now?

When you turned sixteen, Satoru's father sat him down for a conversation. He was told that you weren't just some girl anymore. That you weren't children anymore and that he needed to be more careful around you. Because you were growing into a woman— And because of that, there were certain things you couldn't do together anymore.

"What are you saying, dear? If Toru likes her, then I'm all for it. That girl is my best friend's daughter and a fine young lady! I wouldn't want anyone else for my boy!"

...And it bothered him. A lot. Because it meant he couldn't hold you anymore. And when he did so once out of habit— because your laughter delighted him so much— he pushed you away so hard that you held back tears. He didn't know what came over him back then, but he stopped coming over to your room afterwards.

Satoru couldn't handle the way you avoided his gaze whenever he was around for your family's shared dinner. He realised you must have been finally done with him tonight when you didn't bother showing up at all even though you were just upstairs in your room.

"...ask Toru to call her downstairs! I haven't seen that girl for quite some time now! Has she been..."

"...with university lately. There's this boy, too. Her classmate, I think..."

The older women's conversation faded in his head the moment your mother mentioned a boy— a classmate— and just how close the two of you have grown while you were in university. Good grief. He couldn't handle it. He couldn't.

You were supposed to be his.

He made his way to your room upstairs, his footsteps as soft and quiet as a cat's, and he was ready to talk to you. About everything. About why the last three years were torment for him. About why his father was right to remind him that you weren't children anymore because children wouldn't think the way he did. About why you shouldn't go out with that guy from your uni—

Satoru heard them. The faintest of whimpers from your bedroom. And if he was right in his head, he seemed to have heard his name, too.

He wasn't going to let go of this.

You opened the door with your face still flushed and your clothes all rumpled and you nearly shut him out if didn't think fast enough. You let go of the door and allowed him inside your room, the sound of the locks unheard because of the rush of blood in your ears.

He's going to take what's his. Without so much of an effort, too, by the way you willingly walked into his arms the moment he opened them to receive you.

[otomiyaa]

Catching up (Tag Game)

Ive been a bit on and off and felt like making a tag game so here's one to catch up on each other's interests and hyperfixations! Answer the 10 questions and tag 5 people. No pressure ofc!

@fluffandgiggles @ppystkposts @crazy-as-a-jaybird @blobbirobbi @kusuguricafe + everyone who wants to join! **edit + everyone who received a notification from when I tried to tag 10+ people and the tumblr post broke 😂

❤️ Newest obsessions: Dungeon Meshi, probably has been clear.. and capybaras. Taylor Swift not very new but refueled obsession since seeing the eras tour concert!

🎥 Last 3 movies I watched and what I thought of them:

Inside Out 2 - CRYING SOBBING LOVING IT SO MUCH

The Parent Trap 1998 rewatch - Still golden fav, one of my guiltiest pleasures

Sous la Seine / Under Paris - Love a good shark movie but thought this was mediocre smh. the ending was cool tho hahaha

🎶 3 songs I discovered recently and love:

Peggy - FEMININE RAGE

Spencer Sutherland - Alive

HOYO-MIX - Interstellar Journey

💘 Newest fav ships: Falin x Marcille , Chilchuck x Senshi, and Laios x Kabru all from Dungeon Meshi!!!

📺 Currently watching: The Apothecary Diaries, Wind Breaker, House of the Dragon, Pokemon Johto Journeys (rewatch), FMA Brotherhood (rewatch), Mushoku Tensei S2 (might drop it)

📖 Currently reading: Dungeon Meshi manga, Define the Relationship manhwa, XXX Buddy manhwa (both manhwas on hold but I'll continue reading soon!)

🎮 Currently Playing: Fortnite, Minecraft, Genshin Impact (haven't played since Cyno story quest tho), Zelda Tears of the Kingdom (on hold), Yakuza 0, Zelda Skyward Sword, Hogwarts Legacy, note: I kinda dropped all mobile games but I'm really considering starting love & deepspace again hmmm.

😍 Currently looking forward to: New Fortnite update, Genshin Natlan update (even though I have to catch up on the previous ones lol), the new Deadpool movie, Blue Lock movie (seeing it this week!)

✅ Recently finished: Kaiju No. 8 (anime), other than that no books, manga, games or shows. All still in progress lol.

💌 Something to Share: I'm glad to see people are enjoying the x reader drabbles and I'm motivated to work on them faster when I can! Thanks everyone for your patience.. T-T

[storiesavenged]

Assistant

tony stark x assistant!reader

feat. best friend bruce banner

~ wherein your tony's new assistant and you were doing well, until you made a series of mistakes.

~ masterlist ~

!! warnings !!

• yelling, arguing

• tony is an ass for most of it

• reader has family issues

you knew he would be furious. your heart raced as you all but sprinted through the avengers tower up to his office, hearing jarvis alert tony that you had finally arrived your heart sank to the bottom of your chest. you were still new thus this could be detrimental to your position here. you knocked on tony's door, only entering once hearing him give the all clear.

"y/l/n, you're late. care to explain?" his voice was rough, annoyance seeping into his every word.

"i-i'm so sorry mr. stark, i had a personal matter.. it won't happen again.." your head stayed glued to the floor, afraid to see the look on your bosses face.

"of course it won't, because if it does you're finished. understood?" he spoke sharply, making you flinch.

"y-yes sir.. i understand sir.." you bit your lip, the threat of losing your job lay heavy on your psyche on top of your personal matters. you had gotten into a nasty fight with your parents before going to work this morning which is why you were late. they called you for the first time in several months just to ask for money again. you finally lost it, cutting contact with them once and for all. even though you loved them, it was clear they were trying to use you and you weren't having it. you were taken out of your thoughts by tony snapping his fingers.

"i need a coffee. go get me one y/l/n. and, be quick this time." he all but spat and you nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat. you made your way out of his office and down to the ground floor of the avengers tower. you got into your car and opened the app to tony's favourite coffee place. you placed a mobile order so it would be ready when you got there as to not waste any time. you needed to make up your mistake. you picked up his coffee, driving back to the tower with a hand holding it steady in your cup holder. you made your way back up to his office, knocking on his door. when he didn't answer you decided to ask jarvis where he was.

"hey jarvis? where's mr. stark?" you asked softly, still anxious about seeing him after your encounter earlier.

"he's in the lab, [insert your preferred title ] y/l/n." jarvis answered and you thanked him before making your way down to the lab, coffee in hand. as you were about to enter, your best friend bruce banner came out. he couldn't help the smile forming on his face when he saw you.

"y/n!! hi!!" his warm voice was so comforting to you in that moment, you almost wanted to melt into his arms and tell him everything.

"hey bruce!!" you smiled as you wrapped your free arm around him, pulling him in.

"wow, it is so good to see you right now" you rubbed your neck after pulling away, being careful not to spill tony's coffee.

"what's up?" he asked, slight worry in his tone. tony sure didn't notice your puffy eyes from crying but nothing could get past your best friend. you had to fight breaking down right then and there, remembering you had a task to do.

"i- oh gosh i'm sorry bruce, i can't talk right now... i have to get back to work. but i promise we'll catch up later okay?" you panicked a bit, knowing tony was probably waiting by now, and certainly displeased.

"alright, i'll see you later y/n" he smiled before walking off. you sucked in a breath as you entered the lab, your eyes scanning the room for tony. once you saw him you made your way over, coffee still in hand- until it wasn't. you had tripped over some wires laying on the floor and spilled his coffee all over him and the computer he was working at. your heart shattered, you knew you were toast. you stood up shakily, biting your lip as you went to grab a towel. you rushed back over to tony, him ripping the towel from your hands.

"s-sir i'm so sorry..." you started, wincing as he stared daggers at you.

"how incompetent are you, huh?! you just had to ruin everything didn't you?! you fucking idiot! you are just worthless!!" he yelled at you, causing you to shrink in on yourself. he stood up abruptly, shoving you out of his way leading you to land on the ground with a thud. your fought a pained scream as pain took over your left arm, wincing as you moved to stand up again.

"get the hell out. don't even think about coming back, you're finished." he spat, exiting the lab not without slamming the door behind him. a sob tore through your body as you fell back onto the ground, careful not to hurt your arm even more. your mind was racing with thoughts, blaming yourself, insecurity, the works. you were so lost in your thoughts you didn't notice bruce had entered the room.

"y/n..?" he rested a hand on your shoulder as he crouched in front of you, frowning when you flinched.

"b-bruce-" you choked out, sobbing when he pulled you into his arms. he picked you up and carried you to the medical bay, sitting you down on the bed. he knew you were hurt as he noticed you clutching your horribly bruised left arm.

"what happened, love?" he asked softly, not leaving your side. he took your hand in his, rubbing circles on your palm, an action he would always do to calm you down.

"mr. stark... he... i-i messed up... i spilled coffee on him a-and.. he pushed me... landed on my arm..." you breathed deeply, trying to calm yourself down.

"h-he fired me bruce... he said don't think about coming back ever..." you explained, tears filling your eyes once again. you just lost your relationship with your parents and now your job.

"love... that's so uncalled for, i'm sorry.. i'm going to have a word with-" you shook your head.

"p-please don't... it's fine..." you whimpered, not wanting to cause any drama or trouble. bruce frowned before nodding. he noticed you fighting a yawn and helped you lay down on the bed, sitting with you until you fell asleep. once he knew you were fully asleep he left quietly- not before doing what he needed to fix you up- refusing to let tony get away with his behaviour.

bruce pov ;

i barged into tony's office, not caring that i had just interrupted him and steve.

"what the hell banner, can't you see we're busy here??" he spoke sharply but i couldn't care less. he had just hurt my best friend. i took a second to calm myself as i could feel the other guy starting to come out.

"i don't care. why the hell did you break y/n's arm??? they are heartbroken thinking they just lost their job. what the fuck do you think you're doing???" i asked, livid that he had even put his hands on them.

"what the hell- you broke their arm?? what even happened??" steve was now staring at tony who rolled his eyes.

"they ruined the lab computer! and my damn suit. spilled my fucking coffee all over it. fucking incompetent-" a deep growl escaped my throat, interrupting him. i could feel the other guy threatening to take over, and the only reason he didn't is because steve brought me back to reality.

"you know who you remind me of right now, stark? you remind me of your father." i snarled, seeing his expression change instantly. he looked down at his lap, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. he stood up abrubtly, catching both of us off guard.

"where are you going?" i asked as he got up and headed towards the door.

"i... need to make this right." he looked at me with remorse in his eyes. i sighed, rubbing my temples.

"yeah. you do. their favourite flowers are [your favourite flower]."

"thank you. i'll be right back, jarvis tell pepper she's in charge while i'm away."

you woke up later that evening, moving to sit up, noticing your arm in a sling. you looked around the room for bruce, not seeing anyone you frowned. but you did notice your favourite flowers on the table beside the bed. your eyebrow twitched, wondering if bruce had gotten them for you. it wasn't long before tony made his way into the room, you flinched when you saw him.

"sir... i'm sorry- i meant to leave-" you paused, noticing he wasn't angry.

"no, y/n you don't have to apologize. actually i'm here to apologize to you." he frowned as he saw your arm in a sling. he took the chair in the corner of the room and moved it to sit next to you.

"i am truly, deeply sorry y/n. i was a complete asshole- i have no excuse. you didn't deserve this at all. i would be delighted to have you around if you would like to keep your position here, and i promise to do better." your eyes widened at the revelation he still wanted to keep you hired.

"i would love to stay, mr. stark.. and i accept your apology. i just... need some time away.. i was late and distracted today because.." you trailed off, unsure if you wanted to tell him about your parents.

"if you don't want to tell me that is perfectly fine. i won't force you to tell me." he spoke softly, sincerety in his eyes. looking into them, you felt a sense of security you hadn't before. like you were safe with him.

"i.. had to cut off my parents this morning.. they hadn't spoken to me in months before now, and just called to ask for money.. i.. i loved them. but it was clear they thought nothing more of me than a moneygrab. so i blocked them. told them never to call again." your eyes watered, remembering the whole exchange vividly.

"oh... i'm so sorry y/n.. i know what it's like to have a rough relationship with family. feel free to take as much time away as you need- with vacation pay of course." his eyes showed bitterness at the remembrance of his father and the fact he was cold and unloving to him all the time. he smiled at you, before pointing to the flowers on the table.

"i got you these by the way, bruce said they were your favourite."

"you got them for me..? i thought bruce did... well thank you- he's right they are my favourite. did he.. talk to you?" you asked slowly, a smile coming to your face as you admired the flowers and thought about how bruce was such a good friend to you.

"i was afraid he'd let out the big guy and beat me up. he and steve really talked some sense into me." he chuckled softly. you giggled, shaking your head. bruce had always been protective of you like that.

"well, i have to get home for the night, but remember you have my full permission to take some time off to heal- in fact you have my encouragement to do so." he took your hand in his, looking into your eyes.

"thank you, for forgiving me. you've done very well here and i was afraid i'd gone too far to get you back." he admitted, sheepishly rubbing his neck with his free hand.

"what matters is you're working on making it better now. that's what's important to me. as well as this job, i'm very glad you aren't firing me, i need this job" you laughed softly.

"anyways, goodnight mr. stark." you smiled.

"goodnight, y/n."

masterlist

[baki-tiene-un-simp]

Hey, I know that i've already asked agood amount of hc but could you please make an hc for retsu, musashi, mumon, sukune and jun with an S/O that was almost killed by someone like their enemy or something (like a very graphic and bloody injuries that are basically exposing the bone or the whole body is basically fully bruised) but they get to the hospital and they are in a coma and they wake up after 3 to 6 months or so moments before their S/O is umpluged from the life support and everyone thought that they were basically dead.I would like to know about their thoughts, feelings and plans after they thought they were going to lose their S/O and their plans for the future, also what they would do the person and how would they react to their S/O coming back and some aftermate.

Thanks for having the patience to deal with so many asks.

Heres a kiss for my FWACCOF(Favorite Writer And Content Creator Of Tumblr)

P.S.(I know that this kind of reads "fuck off" but I liked the acronym so I'll let it stay)

Hope you have a nice second/minute/hour/day/week/month/year/life/eternety.

Situation: Baki's men's train of thought when an enemy attacks their S/O. / Tren de pensamiento de los hombres de Baki cuando un enemigo ataca a su S/O.

Characters: Jun Guevaru, Musashi Miyamoto, Mumon Katsuragi and Retsu Kaioh.

Jun Guevaru.

"These months have been exhausting without them, so stressful how everyone seems to go on with their lives while I feel lost because they didn't react, but they have finally come to their senses. They have opened their eyes and looked at me after so long, I really missed those beautiful eyes.

Who could even think of hurting you, mi amor? What kind of monster could hurt you, mi ángel?

I must make sure that your house is protected so that this incident does not happen again. A couple of my men could regularly hang around there just to keep the perimeter clear, I'll be with them anyway so I can protect them. Oh how I've missed you…"

Musashi Miyamoto.

"It's ridiculous to take it out on someone who can't defend themselves, what logic is there in attacking others when the target is me? The discomfort in my chest hasn't disappeared since they were attacked a couple of months ago, now that they woke up I felt less… Uncomfortable, but that feeling is still there.

Is it some kind of desire for revenge? Revenge doesn't taste so bitter, besides, I'm satisfied when I use my katanas on the offender. I don't understand what happens.

I don't understand how they are still here either, their slow breathing and their lack of mobility during these months only gave me an image of what I thought was the future, I don't know how they managed to come back to life, but I will stay with them until they can explain it to me…"

Mumon Katsuragi.

"They opened their eyes, heaven has finally heard my pleas, maybe God got tired of hearing me cry at night to get them back to me. I stopped myself, I wanted to jump on them and kiss them as if I hadn't seen them in years, but I I held back; her condition is delicate and I must be careful.

The doctors haven't stopped talking about her treatment and diet from now on, that old cookbook I found at her house should help me a bit. They probably don't mind me staying at their apartment, I spend most of my time there and they need help right now.

I have to go home before them, I have to clean and change the sheets so they can rest as soon as they get out of the hospital, maybe they want to eat something after a long time? Probably, I'll take care of bringing today's dinner so that I can regain my strength after all these months…"

Retsu Kaioh.

"They are fine, they are fine, they have finally woken up and just in time, just when I lost hope of one day being able to see their eyes looking at me once more. If only I had been by their side when they needed me most, maybe if would have paid more attention to their surroundings they would not be here, they would not have suffered as they did.

The wounds have healed, but they need therapy and periodic checkups to make sure they are better. Maybe I should ask them to move in with me so that I can take care of them properly during all the remaining time of recovery and therapies, that would also allow me to be around for them when they need to do something and their injuries do not allow it.

A good diet is also vital, it could supply the pantry with foods rich in vitamins and nutrients, meat and fish, reduce sugar and bad substances for a period of time. The tea is medicinal, surely they will manage to calm your discomfort and help you sleep. I should take out the inflatable bed and offer them my bed, the important thing is that they are comfortable and rested…"

Versión en español.

Jun Guevaru.

"Estos meses han sido agotadores sin ti, tan estresante como todos parecen seguir sus vidas mientras yo me siento perdido porque tu no reaccionas, pero finalmente has vuelto. Al fin abriste los ojos y me miraste después de tanto tiempo, realmente extrañaba esos hermosos ojos.

¿Quién podría siquiera pensar en hacerte daño, mi amor? ¿Qué clase de monstruo podría lastimarte a ti, mi ángel?

Debo asegurarme de que tu casa esté protegida para que este incidente no se repita. Un par de mis hombres podrían pasearse regularmente por allí solo para mantener el perímetro libre, de todas formas estaré junto a ti, así que puedo protegerte. Oh, como te he extrañado…"

Musashi Miyamoto.

"Es ridículo desquitarse con quien no puede defenderse, ¿Qué lógica existe en atacar a otros cuando el objetivo soy yo? La incomodidad en mi pecho no ha desaparecido desde que fue atacado hace un par de meses, ahora que despertó me he sentido menos… Incómodo, pero ese sentimiento sigue allí.

¿Será alguna clase de deseo de venganza? La venganza no tiene este sabor tan amargo, además, quede satisfecho cuando use mis catanas en el causante. No entiendo que sucede.

Tampoco entiendo como sigue aquí, sus lentas respiraciones y su falta de movilidad durante estos meses solo me dieron una imagen de lo que creía era el futuro, no sé cómo logro regresar a la vida, pero me quedaré a su lado hasta que pueda explicármelo…"

Mumon Katsuragi.

"Abrió los ojos, el cielo al fin ha escuchado mis súplicas, quizá Dios se cansó de escucharme llorar por las noches para que me lo devuelvan. Me contuve, quise saltar sobre el y besarles como si no le hubiera visto en años, pero me contuve; su estado es delicado y debo tener cuidado.

Los doctores no han parado de hablar sobre el tratamiento y la dieta que debe seguir de ahora en adelante, ese viejo libro de cocina que encontré en su casa debería ayudarme un poco. Probablemente no le moleste que me quede en su apartamento, paso la mayor parte del tiempo allí y necesita ayuda justo ahora.

Debo volver a casa antes, debo limpiar y cambiar las sábanas para que puedan descansar tan pronto salga del hospital, ¿quizá quiera comer algo después de mucho tiempo? Es probable, me encargaré de traer la cena de hoy para que pueda reponer fuerzas después de todos estos meses…"

Retsu Kaioh.

"Está bien, se encuentra bien, al fin ha despertado y justo a tiempo, justo cuando perdí la esperanza de algún día poder ver sus ojos mirándome una vez más. Si tan solo hubiese estado a su lado cuando más me necesitaba, quizá si hubiera puesto más atención a su alrededor no estaría aquí, no hubiera sufrido como lo hizo.

Las heridas han sanado, pero necesitan terapia y revisiones periódicas para verificar que están mejor. Quizá deba pedirle que se muden conmigo para que pueda cuidarles debidamente durante todo el tiempo restante de recuperación y terapias, eso también me permitiría estar cerca cuando necesite hacer algo y sus heridas no se lo permitan.

Una buena dieta también es vital, podría abastecer la despensa con alimentos ricos en vitaminas y nutrientes, carnes y pescados, disminuir los azúcares y sustancias malas durante un periodo de tiempo. El té es medicinal, seguro que lograran calmar sus molestias y les ayudaran a dormir. Debería sacar la cama inflable y ofrecerle mi cama, lo importante es que esté cómodo y descansado…"

[strawbrryrush]

I'm mobile, but here is my hidden valentines event starter and plotting call!! Imma limit it 3 request per mun pls, and a limit of 4 per muse so I don't cry. Anyways i hope this isn't too bad- but I'm FAR behind oops ♡♡

Elena Gilbert - going with elijah mikaleson- will be trying to get into this man's suit.. and will be drinking her aunt has no humanity on and is spooking her let her live. 0/4

Eric Northman- going with faye chamberlain- going to judge this event- clearly his club could do it better.- will be woofing and acting a fool for his wife- or fiance ?? Whatever he's committed. 0/4

Homura Akemi- going with madoka kaname! Homura; after the maze deserves a break.. and to have fun and dance with her ?? Girlfriend, she doesn't know what they are but knows madoka looks stunning - and she has butterflies. Bonus points if u get her tipsy it'd be funny. 0/4

jinx - going with stu macher! Not a shock- will probably be wreaking havoc and enjoying what the place has to offer.. im always down for jinx angst if anyone's offering :)) 0/4

nami - going with sanji!! Will be scoping the place out for some thievery - maybe don't tell sanji but come on it'll be a great investment !! Also low-key probably gonna be keeping an eye on the rest of the straw hats- they're idiots but she cares for them. 0/4

richard gecko - going with aerith! She's gorgeous he wants to eat his girlfriend up- will be enjoying his time with her. But also richie can use every and any plot please PLEASEE PLEASEEE lmk what u wanna do let's!! 0/4

Tifa lockhart- blind date with cassie ! Will be trying to have a good time- looking gorgeous while doing so. Why not get tifa tipsy it'd be fun! 0/4

lip gallagher,- going with rikki.. let's be real these kind of parties aren't really his thing- he's trying to live a life of sobriety so no drinks for him or I'll throw hands >:[ jk jk but he's trying to have a good time - even if he feels out of place. Let's make some friends!! 0/4

mabel pines,- in need of a date if any one wants to plot that! She's a sweetheart who will start a drinking game and lose and be plastered - come on it'll be fun.. imagine drunken kisses and waking up like what happened ?? 0/4

martha hatter - sunshine baby- in need of a date again if you wanna try anything lmk!! A true hopeless romantic will dance with your muse and make sure they're safe ! 0/4

nezuko kamado,- going with evie ! Her first masquerade party I can feel she's gonna be nervous, but will have fun or try to!! 0/4

harriet hufflepuff, - going with lily ! Eyes only on her girlfriend and she doesn't really do parties so they'll be ?? Awkward but lily does bring the best out of them who knows. 0/4

amber freeman , - going with Tara! A party girl at heart is gonna love this! Will try to be on her best behavior she doesn't wanna lose her gf buuut it's such a great opportunity for some stabby stab.. but alas she'll be good or try. 0/4

misa amane ,- in need of a date is a gothic baddie - will probably feel like she's making aly jealous but lbr KSLSLS she isn't but give this girl a time to let loose !! 0/4

marceline - in need of a date. A vampire Rockstar, a baddie, Will make this the funnest date ever 0/4

elaine st john, - going with henri.. going to be reserved - unless she gets hungry.. plenty of options u know - what's a little blood break. 0/4

harley quinn, -unsure of her date status! Pure chaos as usual- will be getting wasted and messing around. 0/4

edward elric,- went with ling as pals no homo! He's gonna stick out like a sore thumb - the coat stays on >:[ ur lucky he put on a suit.. it 100 percent ill fitted and is too baggy on his legs, but sh; he will be a grump. He doesn't want to be here.. but alas he's here and no short jokes unless u wanna lose ur knee caps.. or ur ankles 0/4

knives chau, - in need of a date.. legit give her a fun and pure time. 0/4

princess peach- in need of a date.. will be having fun! 0/4

Yor forger - going with shanks! Dressed like a goddess- kind of nervous but once she drinks.. it's signing up for disaster - will probably break some things on accident because she doesn't know her own strength. 0/4

Himi , - in need of a date.. a legit fiery sunshine - give her a nice date night ! 0/4

tabitha haworthe ,- in need of a date ! Will be fun! Ur muse will learn horror movie facts! 0/4

azula, -in need of a date is horribly jealous that Cindy has a date that isn't her.. but wont admit it might accidentally light a curtain aflame.. idk it'll be fun 0/4

isabelle, - needs a date- my baby girl is so cute needed a break from work.. maybe get her tipsy 0/4

draculaura , - needs a date... a vegan vampire who's the sweetest I swear she'll make a great date!! Tho she might catch feelings a little fast- shes a hopeless romantic like that. 0/4

Samantha giddings,- blind date with Zola!! Going to feel ridiculous she even did a blind date but will make the most of it!! 0/4

beth greene - blind date with Melissa! Pure pure angel- I don't think she's ever been to a dance before- deserves a wonderful time 0/4

Calcifer- going with drizella! U can't miss them he's in a red suit- will have a lit time.. punns idk 0/4

Carmy'- going with Sydney! Thankfully so he doesn't do fancy parties - he's stressed- count how many smoke breaks he's take.. u already lost count - will be confused on why he thinks sydney looks gorgeous but like all his emotions that shall be bottled up. 0/4

[sortofanobsession]

Of Hunters, Gods, and Hooded Vigilantes (Moon Knight/TVA Hunter Reader)

Author's Note: I have been sitting on this one since (and a few other loki ri) since Loki ended. @selfryed suggested I post it . Hopefully it doesn't disappoint. I know not everyone likes Reader Inserts. But you all know how much I love Moon Knight crossovers. I'll write those boys into anything. Suggest away if you wish. Unbeta'd and Posted on mobile so please forgive any errors.

Sylvie, B-15, Casey, and OB pop up but no Loki or Mobius in this one. Sorry guys. Random letter and number combos for non important hunters.

Content warning: canon typical violence, some swearing, mentions of death, crying,

You track the rogue variant that had been messing with time, not quite as dangerous as He Who Remains. But somehow this guy had an artifact that he couldn't be allowed to keep. B-15 had sent a team that consisted of you and two other hunters.

It turns into more of a scuffle than expected. Hunter L-24 was calling for backup as you gave chase. You hated the fact you weren't in your actual armor. You had been trying to blend in. But you regret that now with the cut on your temple, dangerously close to your eye, and probably bruised rib. It hurt but that's the job. And you had the guy in the ropes until… until you didn't. Time was iffy with what this guy had taken and one second you were running through a side road through the highly populated area, but thankfully sparsely-filled street in what you knew of consisted of public housing. Next, you are cut off from your team in an alley. A manic laugh has you turn on your heels. You had really hoped you wouldn't have to use the pruning stick. This was supposed to be easier. Your hands move as if on their own with practiced movement of charging the weapon.

“Listen, buddy,” you said with false confidence to hide your unease. “We tried doing this the nice way, but you��ve forced my hand.”

“You still think you have the upper hand,” the man laughed, pulling a pistol. Oh that was not good. Those weren't even allowed in this country, you knew that. You hear the click of the weapon. But out of nowhere, the gun is knocked out of his hand by a metallic object. You lunge towards the weapon. And you can't reach it, but you do the next best thing. You pruned it. It disappears. Let the Void Lokis or Alioth have it. You turn towards the scuffle behind you, expecting to see your team. You are surprised to see a masked figure easily taking down the variant. You watch as the figure knocks the guy out.

“Uh…thanks,” you say as the vigilante turns to you as you power down your weapon.

You can feel eyes on you as you go over and pick up the artifact. The masked figure hasn't said a word. Just watching you. The wind kicks up as you place a pair of cuffs on the variant.

You grab your tempad and report in. “Variant secured, B-15,” you say. You look back and the hooded hero is gone. You hear the sound of rushed boot falls as your teammates meet you. You pick up the curved blade that had saved your life. You admire it as a timedoor appears.

None of you noticed Moon Knight in the shadows watching you.

— ◍☾ —

Marc couldn't believe what he was seeing. You were supposed to be dead. Everyone had said you were dead. It had torn him up not knowing what happened to you. What you went through. He always wondered if you suffered. If you had missed him. If he could have saved you if he hadn't left. But he had pushed that pain away and forced himself to move on. But that pain tended to pop up at random moments. He did not expect it to come up now. And it had Marc pulling back and letting Jake take over. But he kept watching. You looked so young. Like he remembered. Like time had barely touched you. How was that possible? Then again, they hadn't really aged much since Khonshu. But you weren't an avatar. He would have known or the bird would have.

And any doubt Marc had was gone when he heard your voice again. It was one he still heard in his dreams. One he couldn't forget. But Jake was wise enough to be cautious. If something seemed impossible and too good to be true, it probably was. So Jake removed them from the situation.

The next time Moon Knight was better prepared. There were too many questions they needed answered. So he started by seeing if you were you in the simplest way first. He called your name. And something in Marc shifted when you reacted by turning towards them. But his heart aches when you look at him and ask if they knew you. Even more so when you said you didn't even know you. And that was enough.

— ◍☾ —

The next time you are in that part of the timeline after you spent a few days working with the others at the TVA. You were in Eastern Europe tracking down a secondary artifact that was created alongside the one you collected in London. The same group of rogues. The same branch. Your ribs still ache from the last time. You were in full gear this time with a larger team. But you weren’t the only one with increased numbers. The variant had friends with the new artifact you were pursuing. Mid-fight again, out of the night drops the figure you now knew was called the Moon Knight. You hadn't read the hero’s file but you knew where he got his powers now. What you hadn't expected was what the caped hero did next.

He called your name. Well, not your name. It was what had been your name before you were taken from the timeline. You knew it was your name, but it didn't really feel like yours. Most everyone just called you by your hunter designation.

“You know me?” You ask because when you had skimmed your file to make an informed decision on staying at the TVA you think you would have noticed if it had mentioned a hooded hero with the power of a literal god. Then you laugh at your own statement. “I don't even really know me.” And before you know it you feel arms around you and with speed you couldn't even comprehend you find yourself somewhere else. You stumble back as you look at your new surroundings.

“What…what did you do that for?” You reach for your weapon.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” Moon Knight says, his mask disappearing to reveal a face. One that seems oddly familiar, but you didn't know for sure.

“Then why did you take me from my team?” You glare.

“I just want to talk,” he says.

You say nothing as you reach for where your tempad is secured.

“Don't you remember me?” he says. The whole suit vanishing now. He stands in front of you in jeans and a henley.

“I'm sorry,” you tell him but for some reason there are tears in your eyes. You don't know why but the look on the man's face breaks your heart. “I’m not…I'm not who you are looking for. I'm…I'm just a hunter.”

“But you are, you answered to her name, you're-” He's cut off as a slight woosh and shimmer of a timedoor appears. Moon Knight’s suit is back and he moves between you and the door. You actually find it rather amusing. As if he was protecting you. Too bad he is protecting you from your team. Your friends. Your work.

The timedoor opens and you are stunned to see Sylvie walks out in the god's fully armed glory.

“Sylvie,” you say in shock. Last you knew she had returned to her fast food life.

“B-15 called,” Sylvie states. And that tracks.

“How long?” You ask wondering how long had actually passed at the TVA if Sylvie was called in.

“Long enough,” Sylvie says and you sigh.

“Who the hell are you?” Moon Knight snaps at Sylvie.

“She already said who I was. I'm Sylvie. And you took my friend here against her will and I hoped that avian god of yours would know better. Stupid bird,” she spits as she summons her sword.

“What the-”

“He didn't mean it, Sylvie. He's confused he-”

“You defend this broken puppet?” Sylvie asks in amusement. And Moon Knight clearly didn't like that because you notice a slight shift in his stance and suit as a fight breaks out. And it's an interesting fight.

“Your bird god is weak, his hold is pitiful,” The silver tongued variant snides, “To need a human puppet.”

“Avatar,” Moon Knight corrects.

“Same thing, a human shield to hide behind,” Sylvie grins.

You gasp as Sylvie gets close enough to put a hand against Moon Knight's chest. And she sees it.

You hear a deep growl and Sylvie is shoved back. “Stay the fuck out of my head!” Moon Knight snaps.

You expect Sylvie to return to the fight but instead she appears next to you.

“Now, now, lover boy, no one is going to hurt anyone.”

“Speak for yourself,” he hisses.

“Your anger is misplaced, puppet,” she says before looking at you. “He does know you, knew you, the timeline you.”

“What?” You look between the female god and the hero. You see the masked hero’s shoulders go tense.

“I can show you,” Sylvie grins.

“Wait, hang on-” Moon Knight says, his mask dropping.

Sylvie takes your lack of a refusal an answer, her hand touches your temple.

You gasp as your mind is flooded with images. A history you didn't remember. It brings tears to your eyes and steals the breath from your lungs.

Moon Knight shouts your name again as you stumble back against the wall.

You’re overwhelmed. You hear shouting and the recognizable sound of Sylvie’s laugh.

“I did you a favor,” the female god of mischief says, her focus back on the unmasked man.

“No one asked you to,” a voice you now recognized as a version of one you knew lifetimes ago. You knew his name.

“Marc,” you don't even realize you say it out loud. You really did know him. His head snaps to look at you as you say it.

“You're welcome,” Sylvie says before she and the timedoor vanish. Marc curses Sylvie as he moves beside you in an instant.

“You're okay,” he says, his eyes full of an emotion you can't pinpoint. “We’ve got you.”

“Marc?” you say again, needing confirmation. Your hand raises but is hesitant to touch.

“Do you remember me now?” he asks, a slightly hopeful look on his face. His gloved hand grips yours.

“I…I do,” you tell him.

“Okay,” he says. “Good.” The suit drops away. His hand squeezes yours and he leads you into a building. An apartment building you realize. You follow him into a studio apartment with a large fish tank drawing your attention. Two goldfish swimming around. You approach it with amusement. You almost forgot that people really do keep pets. Pets aren’t really a thing at the TVA. No time. Not really.

You hear Marc moving around behind you, then his voice, hushed as if talking to someone. But when you glance at him through your periphery he doesn't seem to be talking to you.

“Make yourself at home,” he calls over to you, but his accent is different. You look at him with amusement. All your years, centuries, eons maybe, of hunter training has you fully turning to observe him. You had seen him change in flashes as Sylvie showed you what she deemed important. Conversations with mirrors. Changes. Shifts. He was like a variant with variants of his own in his mind. This is what she had meant by him having a broken mind.

“You're not Marc, are you?”

The man looks momentarily stricken. And you wonder if you should have phrased that differently. “Sorry, that sounded accusatory.” You carefully remove your helmet and move to set it on a nearby table. Your weapon too. “Sylvie didn't show me everything, so I…I don't know your name.”

“Steven,” he says without hesitation, now knowing that you aren't too afraid. Knowing that him fronting hadn't ruined things.

“Okay,” you nod. You activate your tempad and send a message to B-15 that you were okay and that if they needed you to just let you know. You contemplated leaving it with your weapon and helmet but you were still unsure what to expect. So you kept it secured in its spot.

“What do you remember?” Steven asks.

“Bits and pieces,” you admit. “But honestly, it's more like watching an old movie with some of it. It doesn't feel real.”

“I know the feeling,” his voice is kind and there is a sympathetic look on his face.

“I'm sure you do,” you nod.

“You're not afraid?” He asks.

“I mean, I have spent an unknown number of years, maybe millennia, lifetimes, as a hunter. No name, just a letter and a number. Reporting to superiors that worked for a lie. Made to believe I was always like this.” You say. “It's more jarring than anything to have real memories again. To think I had childhood. A real life.”

You sense a shift and his old, more familiar accent is back.

“What happened to you?” He asks.

“It's a very long story,” you say. “What's the last thing you remember of me?”

“While I was gone. You vanished, they said you ran away, but that was bullshit. You would have told me. Left a letter. Something. Then I come back to missing persons posters all over the city. But it's Chicago. No one was confident they'd find you. I couldn't find you. They wrote you off as dead when no traces of you were found anywhere. It was like there was nothing to find.”

“They wouldn't have, still won't,” you say sadly.

“What?” He frowns. “The hell does that mean?”

“It means I read my file, well, skimmed it. My nexus event was before that point. But the sacred timeline me. The me you knew, I'm sorry Marc but she’s gone.”

“But you're right here,” he states.

“Like I told you, I'm not actually her. I'm…from a different point in time. Before you left. Before…”

“What do you mean a different point in time? How is that possible?”

“Because the people I work for, the place I was, it's like a city outside of time.”

“How can anything exist outside of time?”

“How can a man fly and survive death?” You ask. “The details are complicated and honestly, I understand it less now than I thought I did before. We exist to protect time from those who tamper with it.”

“So you can time travel?” He asks.

“Yes, but,” you know you need to draw the line in the sand now. “But whatever you are thinking, please don't.” And he studies you. You look so tired. And sad. Very sad.

“It's not as easy as you would think. Changing time has horrible consequences. The things I've done. The people I sent to that monster. I thought what I was doing was right. That I was protecting the timeline. Preventing something terrible. Turns out. We were the terrible ones. All those branches. All those people. Feed to Alioth.” You were crying now. It was the first time you ever let yourself think about the all devouring monster you had sent so many to face.

“Oh darling,” you hear the British accent back. “You didn't know. We’ve all done things we regret. Especially us,” he glances at the reflextion of Marc. “You didn't know what you were doing, you said so-”

“You don't get it,” you tell him. You dug out the engraved token and placed it on the table. A coin, a momento Dox had given you once as a reward after a partially difficult mission. It looked like a souvenir coin. Embossed edges. You ran your fingers over the seal and motto.

“For all time. Always,” you repeat the motto you had molded your life to follow. The atrocities you helped orchestrate. “Anything any of you have done in your life is a fraction of what I was part of. I shouldn't be here. I don’t deserve to have this.” You grab your weapon and open a timedoor, you rush though. The door closes behind you.

Steven walks over and picks up the helmet you left behind and the coin you had placed on the table. Time Variance Authority. He looked at the others in their reflections. They all agree. They were determined to find out everything they can about time, especially time travel.

— ◍☾ —

Marc was angry. That woman just showed up, literally out of nowhere, and then nearly ruined everything. First she fights them. Then she gets in their mind, and Jake had violently objected to that. Having Khonshu in their head was bad enough. And it was already crowded with three of them in there already. But the real line was crossed when the woman that you considered a friend showed you the painful history you guys had. You had been so mad at him for leaving. Your tears were like ice picks in their heart. And he just got more angry with himself as you broke down over what you had been through. Everything he couldn't save you from. He didn't know what a nexus was but if it was anything like the turning point in their life, namely slowly dying in the desert until Khonshu stepped in, it couldn’t have been pleasant. So Steven takes over to let Marc process while someone tries to help you. The British alter had tried to comfort you but it hadn't worked. You explain a bit more and then like a switch flips, you panic. And you leave. Marc pulls further away to brood. They can't let this be the end.

— ◍☾ —

Time passes and your heart hurts less but you cannot forget them. You are helping look through pages of readings you were still not the best at analyzing. You were a hunter, not an analyst. But with fewer people now that many had left to live in the timeline, you had offered to help. To stay busy. You looked up from the file as Casey hurried towards you.

“We have a problem,” he says.

“Let me grab my gear,” you say.

“No need, no time anyway,” he says as he opens a timedoor. You follow him into the main monitoring bay. And the monitor is tracking a branch growing dangerously fast.

“I thought we didn't prune branches anymore,” you say.

“This isn't your normal branch,” OB says.

“Then I should get my gear, where's the team,” you look at B-15.

“You’ll be fine,” OB says as he opens a timedoor. You make sure your tempad is in its place. “Hold on, a solo mission but i-”

“Only you can handle this one,” OB says and guides you to the door. “You'll do great.” A gentle push and you are through the door. There is a large open tunnel before you.

“Oh, Loki, what did I get into this time,” you mutter looking up at the sky. “You'd probably enjoy this mess.” A woman walks towards you in the tunnel. You had seen pictures of her when you had been at Marc’s.

“I'm Lilah, come with me,” she says. You look at her outfit.

“You’re an avatar, right?”

“I am, and a friend of Marc and Steven,” she says.

“Are they okay?” You ask.

“Why don't you see for yourself.”

You follow her until you are in a giant temple. Statues and hieroglyphics surround you. You see Marc in front of a number of people on a dais.

Your footsteps are louder than you would want them as all attention turns to you.

Marc's eyes go wide for a moment and he calls your name. But before you can answer him. You are greeted by name by the woman in the middle.

She introduced herself as the goddess Isis. And you do your best to bury your nerves and act appropriately. You lower your gaze out of respect.

“At least this one knows respect,” a man says. He is scolded by another.

You are made to kneel beside Marc.

“I'm sorry,” he says.

“You did this? You made the branch?” You whisper. You can't believe it.

“You must be curious why you are here,” Isis states. You lower your head again and stare at the floor. She seemed to be expecting an answer.

“I…was sent to the timeline by my superiors, they said that I was the only one.”

“Your companions are not wrong, but it was more we believed it was only fair you had a say in your fate.”

“My fate, your grace?” You cringed. The only god you knew was Loki, and he hasn't made you act in servitude.

The goddess hums in amusement. “Spector here cares very dearly for you it would seem. Even willing to travel forbidden planes to find you again.” You look over at Marc but he is starting a hole in the floor.

“Why?” you ask him.

“You left, and we didn't want to lose you again,” he admits.

“Osiris, Thoth and Horus are not pleased with your meddling, Spector,” the goddess says. “Be glad it is me before you and not my beloved.” She grins. “The passage of time is not yours to hold, Marc Spector, Khonshu knows better.”

“He wanted no part of it,” Marc admitted.

“The only reason you are not facing harsher penalties for your actions is because you have honestly done worse. And your heart was in the right place. Love makes fools of most mortals.” The goddess grins. “But you step outside your station, Marc Spector, once more and your punishment will not be so lenient.”

She dismissed everyone.

You turn to find Lilah is gone.

“I'm sorry,” the recognizable voice of Steven says. “I am so sorry. I didn't know they would care so much. It wasn't like we moved the stars again. Not that noticeable.”

You turn to look at him. “I told you guys that messing with time is dangerous. Then what do you do, you go and mess with time. Have you lost your mind?!”

“Well, by typical diagnostic specifications, technically we did a long time ago, when I came into existence,” Steven notes.

“Steven!” You shout. “You can't just change reality because you missed me. That’s not-”

His expression changes. His tone and accent too. “And you can? Do you have any idea what it was like to have you show up years after being told you were dead and then you just leave. Gone to somewhere we couldn’t follow. And you thought we would just let you go? A heart can only break so many times. We failed last time. We weren't going to fail again, not when we could actually-”

You silence him with a kiss.

“Take me home,” you tell him when you separate for air. They don't have to be told twice.

— ◍☾ —

Marc hadn't thought he could have happiness like this again. Even after he had found you again. The three of them had agreed that having you in their life was important, but he couldn't have anticipated having you literally in their bed.

You snuggle closer and bury your face in the warmth of his neck. Whining at being woken. So abruptly. You feel the laugh from the body beneath you as he turns off the alarm.

“Rise and shine, sweetheart,” Marc says.

You grumble incoherently as you try to bury yourself in his warmth.

“You keep squirming like that, sweetheart and we are going to have a problem.” You giggle. “I'm serious, baby.” He moves the hair off your face so he can see you. “Donna will kill Steven if he's late again.”

You weigh your options. You shift your weight again earning a groan from Marc. “I could just use a timedoor and get him there on time.”

“Lo siento, mi amor,” Jake says as he takes over. “But you always say we shouldn't mess with time.”

You groan but don't stop him as he gets out of bed. You settle for stealing his pillow.

You yelp at the playful swat to your sheet covered behind. His hand rubs the now stinging skin through the sheet as Jake laughs. You glare at him but the face that greets you is one far too soft to be Jake Lockley.

“We’ll make it up to you, darling,” Steven says as he leans in and kisses your forehead. You pull him in for a proper kiss.

“Do we have time for pancakes?” You ask against his lips. And how could he say no to that?

You let him go and he looks at you like you hung the moon. Extra funny considering the lunar deity they serve. “We can make time for pancakes,” he assures you.

“You still want to watch that movie tonight?” Steven asks from the kitchen as you get dressed. You didn't have much other than your uniform so you had really just stolen a shirt that was far too big on you, his clean boxers, and a pair of socks so your feet wouldn't get cold on the hard floors.

You laugh as you remember you had stumbled upon one of Brad Wolfe’s schlocky films on a streaming service.

“Gods yes,” you laugh again. “X-5 was such a prick. Mobius said I have to watch them. They are hilarious, and they aren't supposed to be.”

“Are they scary?” Steven asks and you know in some reflection Marc or Jake is probably rolling their eyes, or laughing. You couldn't be sure.

“I'm sure Jakey will take over if it's too scary,” you wrap your arms around him as he cooks. He scoffs slightly but grins as you kiss his shoulder. “We've both fought worse than whatever monster Brad deals with in this one.” You grin. “Besides, we could take ‘em.”

“I'm sure we could, love,” Steven grins.

[tewwor-aaa]

alright, Ro, beloved Tangerine expert, remember the briefings he mentions he sends to Lemon for every job of theirs? those Lemon doesn't read lmao? yeah, headcanon question, how do you think do they actually look like. do you think he sits down at a lil desk and writes them down meticulously? and also, does that imply Tangerine and Lemon don't necessarily hang out before a job and what do you think do they get up to when they're just vibing somewhere?

oh, ho, ho. ok, first of all, you flatter me by calling me the tangerine expert like ( i'll combust in surprise and awe PLEASE ). secondly.... i'm rubbing my hands like a lil' cricket because this is such a wonderful question!

to preface this, i will say that i still haven't read the book yet but i've seen folks talk about it and there's one specific thing that stuck with me. apparently, tangerine's really into novels but that isn't shown in the film.

so in my mind.... i do think that while tangerine definitely utilizes encrypted shit for digital briefings ( more mobile or whatever ), he mainly does it by pen and paper. and, oh yeah, he definitely does all of his research with the finest toothed comb. so lots of notes ( which he's surprisingly organized with ) and plans and everything's all wrapped up with a bow before sending it to lemon..... who then never goes over all his hard work ( smh )

as for them not hanging out before a job — i think it's honestly a toss up. while they're close and like riffing on each other, they have their respective lives and their own schedule. so i think it just really depends on when / what they're doing when they get handed a job ( which, lets be honest — tangerine's probably the main point of initial contact, and if he isn' then lemon probably passes it to him real quick ).

i am a firm believer that they still watch west ham matches together. it's pretty much their family staple and they're both probably super into it. no i'm not crying thinking about that flashback again, you are.

other than that, though.. i'd like to think they do random shit together because there's no way they live far apart. even if they do then they 100% set aside time just to meet up, hang, prepare for their next job, etc.

thinking of holidays and how it's always an affair, because it's usually spent with family ( found or not / close friends ). not sure if either of them can cook, though. maybe they just do take-out every time. but lemon probably always asks if tangerine's stolen the gift(s) he's given because, y'know, can't gloss over how much of a kleptomaniac tangerine is.

[snowieluna]

So we finished Attorney Woo last night, and wow. It's got me reflecting back on when I worried I might be on the spectrum. Honestly, I don't know if I am neurodivergent in some way. I was thinking for a while it might be ADHD. There are a lot of things that click for both. I wonder if there's some other third option. There are a lot of little things that I've been used to for so long.

I've always been horrible with eye contact. Dad used to complain that it looked like I wasn't paying attention or didn't care.

My reaction time is terrible. There have been times something's spilled and I'm like stuck where I can't move until someone gets angry. Also why I hate team sports.

I feel like I'm always in the way.

I'm terrible with weird food textures. If it's too chewy, I feel like I'll choke and I get anxious. It's what made me not like steak in the past because Mom overcooks it. Mushrooms feel wrong and not like food.

I used to freak if my food was touching, but I've calmed down with that a lot. Same with making food a certain way. Like only circle pickle slices could go on burgers, and they preferably have to be in a flower shape so they take up the most surface area. Long pickles go on sandwiches. Any spread that goes on bread has to cover the whole piece, edge to edge. I can't do sesame seeds on bread. I rip off the crust or pick them off. Tea needs just enough milk so the colour lightens. Cereal needs to enough to be wet - a thin layer at the bottom of the bowl. I can't do pulpy drinks or strawberry ice cream. The frozen seedy chunks are gross. Same for chia or if a powdered drink hasn't completely dissolved.

I'm bad with processing my emotions or understanding what I'm feeling. When I was younger, it was easier to just say I was neutral because also! It's hard to know if I'm feeling the correct emotion. Like what do you want me to be feeling right now? Is it too much or too little? I get overly invested in fictional characters more than real people. I cry so easily.

If I'm feeling too much, it's like I go numb and shut down. I used to hurt myself more when I was overwhelmed. When I was younger, I'd hit my head against my wall because I was upset but felt unallowed or unable to express it. In arguments with JM over something I did wrong again, I'd start to feel like I was floating above my body and that'd worry me. So then I'd press my fingers hard into the edge of my keys, or my nails into my hand, or I'd pick at skin imperfections. Now I'm realizing I was trying to ground myself, but back then, he just thought I was hurting myself, and that made him more upset, which made me feel worse. I'd try to focus on what he was saying, but it would be on small details that I felt I could process, but I was still wrong because I wasn't seeing the whole picture to him. (I still do this when I'm super upset/overwhelmed/whatever.) I wouldn't remember after what either of us had said, only that we were both upset and that it was probably my fault.

I used to hold my breath unintentionally while crying. I think trying to hold back the sounds, but it'd feel like pressure was building.

I can't focus much on stuff I don't care about. I feel like I was only good at school when I was younger because I was a perfectionist and needed good grades. Parents didn't even put that much pressure on me, but once I was doing well, it feels like that's the norm, so I have to uphold that standard. I could memorize enough for tests, but unless it was about specific things I liked, poof it's gone. Do well on tests, be quiet but also social. But not too social! Follow the rules. Be well behaved. Try to be good to make up for the fact that I'm not charismatic or athletic.

I'm really bad at multitasking or doing things in a way that doesn't seem logical. At the lab, I'd get mad because I had a plan for that day. I was going to get x done, but now they want this from me instead. Or I'd have a bunch of samples ready to go with a certain mobile phase. Then a day later, get another that could've gone with the first batch. So I have to wait until I have enough to test together, or it feels wrong. If I'm cleaning at home and in the right mood, I need to get as much done as I can before the energy's gone.

Which leads to me not eating consistently. Because if I'm in the middle of something, I don't want to stop. I'll eat later. Yeah my stomach feels so empty, but I gotta finish. Yeah my meds alarm went off, but I'll just take them later. Gotta keep going before I get distracted and lazy.

I'm not great with time management. I don't know how long I'm going to take unless I break it down. And even then I sometimes underestimate because I feel like I'd be keeping people waiting too long, or just because I need more sleep. Then I space out or stuff comes up, and oh I'm late now. Or I get overly anxious about being late that I'm way too early, or can't focus on anything else but being on time.

Sleeping early has always been hard. I'm convinced part of why I was so depressed in middle school was from sleep deprivation. I couldn't sleep until midnight-ish, then be up by 5:45am/6am. At night, I wouldn't have enough time to decompress in between homework, eating, showering, and planning for the next day. When I got to college and could take afternoon classes, it was such a relief. But the change in environment was it's own form of stress.

I guess this whole rant started was because I saw a post on how Young-woo struggled with the revolving door potentially due to vestibular and propioception issues. It got me thinking of when I go down stairs and it feels like I'm going to miss one and fall. (Plus the anxiety of potentially being embarrassed or hurt if I fell. And the anxiety of I'm backing up traffic and look like an idiot who can't use stairs.) Or the dizzy feeling when I've tried VR or watched 3D movies. Like I need to hold onto something for dear life. How I hate the dropping feeling in my stomach on big bumps in the road or on roller-coasters. (I had an anxiety attack on the last big one I tried. I thought I was going to die.) Trying to visualize a car in the center of the lane has thrown me off so much, so I'm still scared of driving. (Even though I want to try again this year. I'm super scared of trying to park.) I can't ride a bike or rollerblade because I couldn't get the hang of balancing and moving at the same time. (And more of the embarrassment of falling and not getting it right away.)

I can't swim because the idea of water getting in my eyes, nose, ears, or mouth makes me panicky. But goggles, ear and nose plugs feel uncomfortable. The goggles get blurry and I can't see. The nose plug hurts my nose. Ear plugs I can deal with even though they make my breathing and heart beat sound super loud.

Senses are weird. I can't do super bright lights or loud sounds. The sounds if I'm not ready make me feel like I'm drowning. (But weirdly enough, if I'm particularly moved by music, I can feel like I'm drowning, but in a good way. I guess it's like a firm hug as opposed to a crushing squeeze?) Smells don't bother me too much unless it's fish. It can make me nauseous. If a room is too hot and the humidity is off, I feel like I can't breathe. It feels like my nose is stuffed with cotton or like I'm breathing through a straw, and it scares me. I love hugs because they feel safe. My hair being played with is so nice (or pulled if in a spicy setting. Same for spanks.) I like holding hands, but mine get so sweaty. I love dancing when I don't have to think. I love feeling textures on skin, except sometimes I pick without meaning to.

I've run out of steam and I wanna eat something.

[jamiebluewind]

Sarah's mom is helping look for a place for me and my two roommates to move to at the end of the year. Three platonic people and four cats in a small 2 bedroom apartment that's got high rent is just not working anymore. We can even find a bigger (and even NICER) place for the same price! The problem? I'm disabled.

You probably think it's not a big thing, but... it is. Ever tried zillow or realtor.com? The listing don't tell you if you can get in the door with mobility issues. There's no filter for that. I use a cane and sometimes a walker (or even my wheelchair on bad days), but I have to call to find out if I can even get in a place because accessibility isn't really showcased.

And places here LOVE stairs. I've seen stairs where there was no need for them! Going up and down by the same number to arrive at the same level they started. I think they're there for aesthetics, but even if there was a reason, why can't there be a way for me to go in too? I asked an apartment manager at one place and she chuckled, saying everywhere here is like that and I'll not find anywhere if I'm looking for no stairs.

There are so many problems finding somewhere that I want to cry. There was one place I liked, but the door outside to the ramp was too heavy for me to even open on my own, making it functionally useless because of all the concrete stairs (it also had a very long walk to the elevator and then another long walk to the apartment and have you ever tried unloading a heavy wheelchair in and out of a regular car?). Another had mold which I'm very allergic to and had an asthma attack at. One place showed off its accessibility at ground level with pictures of the front of the building, but the apartment that was available was on the 3rd floor and there was no elevator. My cat is quiet (unless I'm talking to him), well trained, and helps me with panic attacks, but pets aren't allowed in a LOT of places (and now my roommates have cats too and that has to be factored in).

Sometimes I get looks or comments or even questioned because I'm not in my wheelchair that day, ESPECIALLY if I'm having a good day and mostly holding my cane for if I tip over. They think being able to do something on one day proves I can do the thing, so why am I being such a stickler?

My current place has no curb cut and there is a step to get in the door, but it was the best I could find with the least steps. My roommates have to help me often though. There's no room for a place to sit in the kitchen, so I don't cook anymore because hemiplegic issues happen without warning several times a month. The doors inside are too narrow for my walker or wheelchair. My shower can fit a shower chair and I bought a cheap showerhead on a hose, but the tub walls are high and I only have an iffy bar clamped on the side of the tub to help me get in and out, so I've fallen many times (twice in the last month in fact). Again, the best I could find at the time.

I'm so tired of seeing walls of listings that basically say with a single image that I'm not allowed inside.

[dumpdaily]

Maybe I'll write here more. I hate keep things to myself but also in a lot of ways this is basically the same as that. I don't really think anyone will read anything here.

I don't really know what I am doing with my life now. I was trying to get shit sorted so I could be with the person I love. But every time things seemed to be working out some bullshit would hit. Either real world bullshit like losing my job and not being able to walk. Or mental bullshit. Obviously one effects the other. But now he's dead. So it's not like I can figure out how to be with my love anymore because death is game over screen.

I'm basically lost as shit. I used to enjoy playing games, reading, trying to maintain basic life needs. Past tense. I've been struggling for a while with some of the stuff that's now hitting me full force. I'm finally regaining more of my mobility back. But what's the point. Why even bother trying. In a lot of ways he was my hope. We were both dealing with our own bullshit though. idk.

Always looking for reasons to keep trying; Always followed by the reality of the hopelessness I am now trying to outrun again. He said it sounded like despair. I go through these cycles and I can't see outside of this moment. Living as we do is a curse. Right now I am not being crushed by the weight of it all. But part of me is.

I repeat things like a mantra, like a prayer, like a cry for help. Saying the only constant in the world is change. Or all things in balance. Or whatever. Desperately reaching out for anyone to give me a reason to keep holding onto these threads. Holding onto these words. Holding onto something. So intangible.

Right now I don't know what I believe. I've lost people before but nothing has effected me like this. I wonder if he's a ghost haunting me. I talk to him like he is because the alternative is too much for me to bear (I also genuinely believe it but I struggle with reality so it's tricky). Is this okay? Suddenly I wonder about reincarnation and think it might be real.

I've never much cared what happens after we die. Always figured it doesn't matter because we'd all be dead when we're dead. You get buried or whatever and all that happens past that point of death is for those who are still alive. I recently learned that I probably get this view from my grandpa.

I might never recover. It feels like my heart has been ripped out. But it no longer feels like broken glass was shoved inside my chest trying to tear its way out. I'm able to keep food down again. Sometimes I still want to die to end all this bullshit and not have to deal with life. I am so tired. Exhausted. But sometimes I feel okay. And I think of him always. I have been changed. And I will keep changing. Perhaps one day things will feel okay. Perhaps things will be good. Perhaps. Knowing my luck I'll die as soon as things seem to be working out. Whatever is to come is still undecided and that at least is something on which we can rely.

[sivvan]

junho + colours 💗

[lazy-alex]

@maribat-calendar-events

"The glass that keeps us apart"

| Jasonette July 2022 | pride | Day 5 | warning! It's Major character death folks! And also not edited

[masterpost]

(help i don't know how to add the keep reading on Tumblr mobile)

Jason is proud of his daughter.

Well, she's not his. But he took her in for a while.

She's grown since the last time he's seen her, he noticed. Her hair is shorter than usual. He touched the glass that separated them.

Jason doesn't see her much. Ever since the social services took her away. His princess grew up so much after that.

Jason found her hiding behind a dumpster one night. Three years old, alone and shivering. He cursed Bruce for what he did next.

He couldn't help himself and gave her a warm meal and shelter.

The moment her tiny hands grabbed him and her eyes stared with such hope. He knew. He couldn't let go.

This child was his.

And you know what happened next. He kept her, and she stayed.

For 7 years.

Those were the best years of his life.

That's why he was terrified, the moment she was taken. The social services deemed him "unfit" to be a parent.

Jason took care of her for 7 years for god's sake. And NOW they deemed him 'unfit'?!

In the end, Jason refused to give her to them. He had papers. Well, fake papers since she technically doesn't exist. He fought for her custody. He didn't want to let her go. But then, her real relatives came. And they were stubborn like him.

At that time, Jason felt conflicted.

This was a chance. A chance to give her a normal life. The life he was trying so hard to give her. The life he's sure he couldn't give. Gotham wasn't a place for children as pure as her.

He didn't want her to get hurt. Gotham isn't getting any better.

So Jason decided, with a heavy heart. He sent her away.

His little princess was kicking and screaming while her grandmother pulled her away. Jason stared at the window, with his tears kept inside. He couldn't help but look, as his princess got free of her grandmother's grip and ran towards him. She hugged his knees and sobbed.

"Papa, I want you.." she softly said. Traces of snot and tears covered her face. Others would've called it disgusting, but it made Jason's heartbreak.

His princess shouldn't cry like this.

He crouched down and held her one last time. This time, he didn't stop the tears from flowing.

"I know baby, but this is for you. So be brave for papa and stay strong alright?" He brushed the tears away from her face. It didn't do much, since another round of tears kept flowing.

A wet chuckle escaped from his lips. He wiped his tears and gave her a soft smile. "I'll visit don't worry, probably sooner than you expect," he whispered, inaudible to others but them.

"You promise?"

"Promise," Jason crossed his heart.

She stared at him with hopeful eyes, like the day he met her. Her wide blue eyes stared at him with so much hope, that his heart breaks again.

"Marinette, darling," her grandmother called.

He lets her go.

And now he regrets it.

She shouldn't have let her go. He shouldn't have sent her to Paris. He shouldn't have given her back.

He should've kept her.

His fists clenched as he prevented himself from punching the glass. Drops of water started falling into the glass, making him realize that he was crying.

Jason couldn't help but feel pride when he saw a new hero soar through the skies of Paris. But he also couldn't help but fear for her.

He knew he couldn't stop her. Just like he did at her age. And he knows she can be reckless. Like him.

The only thing he can provide was training. But it still couldn't ease the worry. He had trained too, and yet, he died.

He couldn't visit Paris now. His daughter had implemented a 'foreign hero ban' on Paris to prevent greater Akuma threats. And he knew, with his uncontrollable temper, he was the worst person to come.

His daughter, at 14 years old, already bore the weight of the world on her shoulders. And Jason's heart breaks yet again. He wishes to help with the weight, to carry the other half on his.

This isn't the life he wanted her to have. Paris was supposed to be safe for her.

Jason broke down to Cass the night he realized he couldn't come. He drank too much and got drunk his worries came flooding out of his mouth.

Cass understood. She always did. So she asked Bruce to let her stay in Paris to train his princess.

Jason is so grateful he almost broke down again. Cass just smiled at him, "Anything for family little brother," she said with a little tease on the last part.

He laughed and hugged her tightly, "Thank you," he softly said.

His princess received a badass aunt the other day and Jason can't help but feel grateful for the existence of the internet.

Jason sobbed. He feels angry, at that damn butterfly, himself, and the glass that keeps them apart.

He wants to hug her damnit. He wants to hold her one last time. But he couldn't. Because of this stupid glass.

He knows he can break it, he can shatter it into pieces and take her away.

But he couldn't do that. He shouldn't.

He shouldn't let grief take over him.

This must've been what Bruce felt when Jason died.

Overwhelming pain and hatred for yourself. Grief. Greif. Greif.

Loss.

She's only 16 goddamit! He was supposed to visit her! She was supposed to be visiting Gotham!

Jason rested his head on the glass of her coffin. The tears won't stop escaping from his eyes. The peaceful look on her face betrayed what happened.

Parents were supposed to die before their children. He never knew it hurts this much to lose a child.

Jason is so proud of his princess.

She managed to stop a threat to the world. And yet, it costs them a life. Her life.

And Jason is so damn angry at the glass that keeps him from embracing her one last time.

-

Didn't expect this to be so long LOL-

I made Jason a crybaby-

WITH REASON THO

[gamerbearmira]

Ok so Imagine little Mirabel sitting in her room after her "failed" ceremony. She's crying endlessly but she doesn't notice her tears, her tears are like those cartoony ones. She notices when she looks at her hand and sees the little teardrop on it. It's not wet but it is cold

She looks at it for a moment because she's not quite sure what to do here. Not even a 2nd later a teddy bear appears beside her, it looks like this

(this bear is made by lazy._.space on Instagram and she is my favorite doll artist)

Mirabel remembers the doll because she drew it not so long ago but now her confusion is boosted even more now. She gets off her bed and looks at all her other drawings of strange dolls and animals and they just appear.

Sense Mirabel was looking at all of them lots of smoke started forming in her room because that's what happens before her dolls appear. After the smoke clears, Mirabel's eyes light up with joy when seeing all of her drawings come to life.

Before she could run to her parents Agustin knocks on her door and lets himself in. He gets a little confused as to why there are so many stuffed bears In her room and why they look like the ones in her drawings but he just thinks that Casita did it out of pity.

Not even a week later Mirabel created another one but she was with her family at the time. She was thinking of something to give her mama for mother's day when this little guy appeared on her lap

The family was so confused but then Mirabel did it again at the same moment to see if she had a gift or not. She was looking at pepa and what kind of doll she would like and poof

fuzzy duck boi!

The family was overjoyed to see she had a gift, Overtime Mirabel experimented a little. She found out that she can make dragons, unicorns, potato people(she made them for her sister isa), and much more.

Alma tried to see if Mirabel could help out the town with it but Mira couldn't make regular things such as benches, houses, chairs, tables, etc. It had to be unique in some way, Mira was so upset that she couldn't help with her gift much but she liked giving toys to the kids so that was a plus.

Mira still had the nursery but it was much bigger than before, it was big like Isabela's room but it was filled with toys, strange objects, puppets, and bouncy furniture. It's way better than anyone else's room I'll tell you that

After Antonio was born she made him a self-moving and bouncing crib with an animal mobile. The animals sometimes interacted with him so if he ever acted fussy the animals would calm him down.

so yeah, and I'll add that Isa did not react kindly to the potato people. In this au Isabela sees Mirabel as someone who is free and someone who is happy and doesn't need makeup or some sort of glamour before she walks out of the house.

She can do as she pleases and her gift doesn't make it any better. Mirabel's gift doesn't need her to be perfect in any sort of way and Isabela is envious of that.

If there are any snippet anons around would you like a take at the au, and if not the au itself may be the problem between Isabela and Mirabel? It never hurts to ask

BROOOO??? THATS SO CUTE????

I know that. Even if she isn't "helping" she wouldn't care, because at least now she can use her gift how she wants. Also why is Isabela jealous??? Ain't nobody forcing you to do all that, you act like Alma isn't 76 and incapable of fighting...like bro ☠️☠️ Anyway the dolls!!! I lob them!!!

Love how she discovered her gift, she was probably so excited <3

[apotatomashedbybts]

But You Do...

➡Pairing: Doctor!Kim Namjoon × OC (Seo Lee)

➡Genre: fluff, angst, romance

➡Trope/au: strangers to lovers, slice of life

➡Rating: NC-17

➡Triggers/warnings: Graphic depiction of verbal abuse and emotional abuse, infliction of harm to health, toxic family relationships, description of pollen allergy, lots of crying, OC's mother is a bitch

➡ Word Count: 8.1k+

➡Banner(s): made by apotatomashedbybts

➡ Disclaimer: The description of the symptoms and effect caused by the allergy and the treatments may not be accurate. The italics indicate flashbacks/past incidents.

➡ Summary: A simple wish of having a loving family was never so simple for Lee. So when she ran away from that unfulfilled wish she realised that not all wishes are granted the way they are wanted. And sometimes a loving family can be a single person too.

➡ Author's note: So I managed to finish writing this within the time frame I gave myself! Yay! *pat pat* . Anyways, enjoy this longer chapter while I space out and think about the fourth chapter! But, you, my friend, please don't space out! Leave lovely comments, feedbacks and reblogs and I'll give you forehead kisses and lots of hugs!💜🌼

"Ugghhh!!" The intensity of the groan grew louder with each passing second as Lee rolled in her bed and debated with herself whether she should text Dr. Kim first or not. She didn't want to seem desperate but God knew she was desperate - more than when she wanted to slip away when she was stuck in that stupid family reunion and all the aunties were frying up her brain asking about her plans for marriage.

She looked at her watch once more - probably fifteen times in the past 5 minutes - and she felt like the clock hands weren't moving at all from the house of 5:10 am.

She got out of the bed and went to the balcony. The light cold breeze hit her face and she closed her eyes for a moment to feel the soft touches of the air, to hear it singing the constant tune. With the faint chirping of a few birds the sound of the waking city life began to collide and it got written down on her brain like a note that she didn't like it. In the past few years she had developed a habit of late rising, mostly because of sleeping in late or one could say because of not being able to sleep until it's late. But earlier when she was a school student she had to wake up early and she remembered how beautiful the relentless chirping of the birds used to be in the peaceful dawn of her neighbourhood and it sounded like a song whereas this on the other hand was giving her a slight headache. At least the breeze felt nice, keeping the air pollution out of mind.

"Will he be up by now?" She wondered and sighing went back to her bed to see the time.

5:30am… Keeping the phone with a soft thud she sighed, again, and turned down the blinds slightly as the sunlight had started to pour in and she felt exposed; she felt like the sun told her that it can see her and she should hide to not get caught.

°°°

Her eyes fluttered open and the first thought that struck her was that she was late. She hurriedly sat up and looked at her phone - 7:30 am. Then it hit her that there was no time fixed for the meeting yet. She slumped her back and a gradual sadness crept up her chest trying to force its way out from her eyes.

"Why am I being like this?" She asked herself resting her eyes on her warm palms. A thousand thoughts invaded her mind. She scolded herself for being so weak over something so trivial like this. She blamed herself for depending so much on that little piece of affection that she was hoping to get when he had nothing to do with her. In any case, he was just thinking of it as a casual thank you while she was weaving a tangled daydream.

She was just about to let her tears take over her when the sound of the mobile notification made her jump. Her hand reacted faster than her mind did. It was a message from Dr. Kim. While tears were still playing at the brim of her eyes a smile pulled the side of her lips forming an upward curve.

Lee felt like the clouds were under her feet. Standing up she twirled around the room and hummed her favourite happy tune. She was happy.

She got ready as quickly as she could. Rummaging through her luggage she decided to wear a light yellow coloured flared knee length dress with small graffitis printed across it and completed her look with a light wavy hair and nude make-up.

Swinging her sling bag across her shoulder she set out in the morning city, smiling from ear to ear.

She hardly remembered when was the last time she felt this burdenless while going out on a date. And even if this wasn't a date, in her heart she considered it as one.

As she neared the Nari's Tteokboki her heartbeat began to pick up speed. An uncertain nervousness made her hands sweat. Taking deep breaths she assured herself that it was going to be okay. She repeated that in her mind until she reached Nari's Tteokboki.

Upon reaching she let out a small sigh of relief that she didn't make Dr. Kim wait for her. She looked at her phone - it was 8:25am. While fidgeting with her phone she contemplated whether she should text him or not that she had reached there or she should wait for him until it's 8:30. As she was thinking of all this a familiar voice called her. She immediately turned back instinctively and braced herself for doing so. The wind that blew at that time momentarily made Dr. Kim's hair flow in that certain direction along with his long coat. The whole scene to Lee was like from a romance movie - highlighted, sparkling and slow motion and Dr. Kim was no less than the charming main lead. She swallowed a big gulp down her throat and looked at him agape - still in slow motion inside her mind.

She would have held that moment forever in a slow motion if Dr. Kim hadn't waved his hand very enthusiastically at her. That wave pulled her out of her imaginary world and wiping away an imaginary trail of drool she waved back, trying to be as much enthusiastic; only if her heart wasn't still in trance she would have surpassed him in enthusiasm.

"The wind was unexpected, eh?" Dr. Kim smiled sheepishly after walking upto Lee.

"Y-yeah! Quite unexpected!" Lee replied, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Shall we get going then?" Dr. Kim asked, a soft smile plastered on his face while heading to the nearest bus stop.

-"Sure!" Lee replied nodding and tried to walk by him closely while trying being not too close.

Lee and Dr. Kim got a decent seat at the middle and Dr. Kim gladly let Lee take the window seat. Seating at the window seat a clenching feeling took over in her stomach as she remembered how she was always scolded by her mom for wanting to take the window seat - her words as Lee exactly remembered, "Let your younger sister sit there and stop being so selfish!"

She never understood why she had been called selfish by her mom all the time even after giving away everything that was supposed to be hers, even her happiness. Yet she seldom complained; only cried, alone. It had always been a constant battle within her inner self, where her mind became two - one that was selfless and another one that wanted to be selfish. Up until now she didn't know what it was like to be selfish for doing something for herself, for making herself happy. But now she knew and she also knew that she was never going to abandon being selfish.

As the bus was about to start moving a bunch of man with flower bouquets hopped in and stood a bit ahead of where Lee and Dr. Kim were sitting. Seeing so many flowers Lee's mind sent emergency alarms within a fraction of second to all her body parts making her shudder and she started frantically looking through her bag. Realising that she neither brought her mask nor her handkerchief she cursed herself quite loudly. Dr. Kim was quite alarmed too since he knew about Lee's allergic conditions. He was hoping within that no wind would blow at that time and Lee would find her mask. But seeing her cursing loudly he knew what was up and he instinctively reached his right hand into his coat pocket.

"Here, take this. It's new and I haven't used it yet. You can use this!" Dr. Kim offered his newly bought blue coloured handkerchief.

Though for a moment Lee's mind wanted to be hesitant but her survival instinct made her jump on the handkerchief just like a drowning person grabs on a twig as last resort, as if her life depended on it.

She wore the handkerchief like a mask and faced the window, still shuddering at the memories of the pain the flowers had always brought to her.

The sudden warmth engulfing her right hand made her turn her head and she noticed that Dr. Kim was holding her hand softly. She looked at him and he gave her a reassuring smile as if telling her that it's alright, he was there. Even if the gesture was small, it held an emotion that Lee needed the most at that time, an emotion that she was going to keep in her heart forever.

Her left hand curled up into a fist as she tried hard not to cry. This soothing warmth that she had longed for as long as she remembered induced a feeling that clawed at her heart and brought back memories that she wanted to forget.

~Eleven years ago~

"Lee! Lee! Where are you? We are back!" Linda's excited voice caught Lee's attention and she stopped for a while to shout back "I am doing my homework!" and went back to bury her face into the books again.

She was less than least interested in going out to see what they have brought from market because she knew it was going to be either home supplies or something for everyone except her. And even if her mom was generous enough to think about bringing something for her, she wasn't going to get her hands on it until she got lectured by her mom. So she always tried to avoid interaction with them as much as she could.

"Moooommm! Lee is not coming out of her room! I am yelling for so long. Ah! My throat hurts!"

Lee could feel a stream of anger flow inside her. In an attempt to control that she clutched her pencil too tightly which left red marks on her palm. She knew that Linda was purposefully exaggerating to mom to get her into trouble. But again she knew that her mom practically needed no excuse to bash her. So she tried to calm herself down and tried to concentrate in her notebook.

"Lee!! Come downstairs right now! What type of older sister you are? Stop being so self-absorbed all the time!"

Hearing mom's false accusations she sighed and took in a sharp long breath trying to stop the tears from coming out.

Barely managing to shout back "Coming!" Lee closed her notebook to go out to the living room.

As soon as entering the room Lee instinctively bolted backwards and bumped her ankle on the side table.

The cry of pain that came out of her mouth made Linda stop her happy dancing while holding a bouquet of chrysanthemum and turn her head.

After rubbing her fingers on her ankle Lee looked up only to find, in her horror, Linda skipping towards her. Before she could make out the course of the event Linda shoved the bouquet near her face and say gleefully, "Lee! This reminded me of you so I bought this! Do you like it?"

A series of sneezes buried Lee's answer and her face displayed a painful expression. She could feel her breath getting shallower. Her eyes filled with water as she struggled to breath. To support her weakening body she reached out her hand to grab Linda but her hand grabbed only thin air. Barely managing to cry out "Mom!" she sat down and clutched her dress near her chest trying to steady her breathing.

Even after a few moments when no one came she wiped her eyes and saw that Linda was sitting on the floor a few steps ahead looking at her with a crooked smile on her lips and shaking mildly the chrysanthemum bouquet. It didn't take Lee any extra moment to realise what was happening. She knew that no one was going to come to look after her now and she was on her own. Somehow she made her still wheezing body stand up and dragged herself to her bedroom.

She slammed her bedroom door and locking it from inside started frantically searching for her medicines. Covering herself in blanket she tried to let the medication work by calming down. Her body felt tired and numb. She wanted to die, she wanted to run away from everybody there. Tears came rushing and in her heart she felt pain, a stabbing pain. She didn't want to be there. She wanted to be alone. She didn't want to go out of her room. Her eyelids felt heavy. And she wished for an endless sleep.

She didn't know how long she slept. When she woke up her head felt heavy and she just stayed in her bed staring at the ceiling. She would have stared at it for another few hours but a loud knock at her door didn't let her. The deep voice of her father followed the sound of the knock and she made an attempt to rise up from her bed, a failed attempt. She wanted to say that she was coming but her voice had sunk into her stomach. Seconds passed quickly and her father's voice grew impatient which was quickly followed by loud bangs on the door. With the leftover strength she had she tried again and trudged towards the door. Opening the door she could see her father's worried face but she was still too tired to ask how his day was. Her legs felt like cottons, struggling to support her weight and she collapsed in her father's arm.

Lee woke up to an almost familiar scent. She fluttered her eyes open and sighed; there she was again - the hospital.

The nurse beside her went out to call for the doctor and after a few minutes the doctor came in. She smiled seeing the familiar doctor. He smiled kindly at her and after checking her pulse and eyes he started speaking trying to sound as much kind as he could while scolding Lee since she was still young, "Lee.. what did I tell you about playing with flowers last time? I know it's normal to be curious and even skeptical about your own condition but you should listen to your elders. After all we care about you."

Lee was confused. And automatically she asked, "Sorry?"

Doctor smiled broadly looking at her and said, "Oh you didn't expect that your dad would tell me that you have not been listening to us? I guess it should have been a secret between Mr. Seo and me! Since your allergy started recently you have to be extra careful as you are not used to it. After using regular medications I hope it will be under control or at least you will be able to withstand it more. But until then no playing around! Do you understand me?"

Lee moved her head slightly, not knowing what to say back, which the doctor took as a yes and he patted her head lightly and said, "Tonight you'll be staying here. Go to sleep after the nurse feeds you the medicines, okay? Your mom came to pick up your dad while you were asleep because they had some work at home I think. They will come to pick you up tomorrow morning. Rest well!" He signalled the nurse to feed her the medicines after Lee finished her dinner.

After hearing the clicking sound of the door lock closing Lee loosened her left hand that was clutching the sheet to prevent herself from crying. She looked outside the window - she felt like the trees that moved in the rhythm of the wind in the darkness were peeking curiously at her. They were curious about why there was no one who would listen to her deepest feelings, they were curious about the reason behind not having someone who would hear her whispers and interpret them correctly, why did she not have the power to heal her own wounds. She wanted to run away to those trees and hug them. She wanted to scream and tell them her story.

She curled her legs near her chest hugging herself and cried. She asked the unknown entity what wrong she did. She asked why did her dad lie to the doctor, why she was blamed for the things she never did, why did she had nobody to hold when she was hurting so much. There were countless "why"s in her mind but noone to answer them. She cried until her cover was soaking wet in that particular portion and hiccups overpowered her.

•••

"Lee… We are here," the soothing voice pulled Lee out of her flashback. How long has it been? - she wondered. When her mind instructed her to look for her phone she noticed that Dr. Kim was still holding her hand, lightly, and it filled her stomach with butterflies, lots of butterflies. Before Dr. Kim could notice she coughed lightly and he noticed his hand on hers. He immediately pulled his hand away and uttered a small "sorry" and smiled sheepishly. Lee gave him a small nod and buried her head inside her bag to find her phone but her main intention was to hide her blushing tomato face.

The cafe that he chose made Lee think that he had known her since before she knew herself. It smelled of coffee and pastries and books. It's windows were decorated with small cactus plants and numerous bulbs hanged from the ceiling making the environment an aesthetic pleasure. As she entered, the smell mesmerized her and she breathed in deeply, taking in the mixed scent of old and new books, lattes and frappuccinos, pastries and croissants. She turned her head towards Dr. Kim and seeing her bright smile his chest puffed up in pride.

They took a comfy seat near a huge book rack and her eyes began scanning through the books. Soon she found the book she has been dying to read for long. Exclaiming her joy after finding the specific book to Dr. Kim she stood up and reached her hands out for the book and like many other times in her 24 years of life she cursed herself for not being tall enough. A heavy defeated sigh came out from her lungs but before she could completely give up and before the cafe assistant could come to help her, she felt a slight shift of air behind her only to feel Dr. Kim, a second later, just too close to her as she bumped the back of her head lightly on his chest. Muttering a quick sorry he pulled out the book Lee had been struggling to get just a while ago and handed it too her with a smile. Looking up and seeing his dimples so close to her blood rushed through her face and she sat on her seat hiding her face inside the book, and pretended to smell the old pages of the book.

She tried to think quickly how she should start the conversation so that it won't look too awkward or won't give away how stupid her face looked at that time.

Taking a deep breath behind the pages of the book she put the book down and faced Dr. Kim, who himself was looking at a book.

Noticing her putting the book down he put the book in his hand down too and looked at her.

"I shouldn't get carried away. I shouldn't get carried away. His eyes are so beautiful. Gosh! I shouldn't get carried away." Lee's mind was all over the place. But before she actually got carried away she asked him, "Do you come here often?"

Not too awkward, just a simple question! "You rocked it Lee!" She patted herself mentally.

"If you call 'once a week' as 'often' then yes, I do come here often," he replied smiling.

That smile, Lee thought, she was going to faint, and all because of that smile, that damned dimpled smile.

Before she could ask anything further an elderly lady who might be the same age as her mother approached them with a warm smile to take orders.

Lee felt a pain that rose from the bottom of her chest and she smiled at the lady so fondly as if she had been longing for an eternity for that warm smile.

"Oh who do we have got here? Such a pretty young lady. Namjoon, dear, you never brought someone with you. This is such an unusual occurance! You should have given us a heads up before bringing your girlfriend to our poor shack!" The lady exclaimed and kept her right hand gently on Lee's shoulder.

Lee immediately took the lady's hand in hers and exclaimed while standing up, clearly embarrassed by the reference, "oh no no no! I am just his friend… Not his girlfriend, ha ha! And what are you calling a poor shack? This is the most amazing place I have ever been to.. just as beautiful and warm as you are.." Lee didn't know why but her throat felt like choking while uttering the last few words and she gulped hard to make that go away.

"Such a charmer, isn't she?" The lady looked at Namjoon as if she knew he would agree with her.

Not waiting for Namjoon's reaction the lady turned to look at Lee and exclaimed, "Oh! Look at my manners! It's so nice to meet you darling. I am Hwa Yeon, Namjoon's aunt."

Lee bowed immediately and introduced herself, "I am really happy to meet you too! I am Seo Lee."

"That's a pretty name! So, have you decided yet what are you going to have? Or should I recommend something?" Hwa Yeon asked.

Namjoon replied immediately, "The usual for me please."

"I'll have anything you recommend!" Lee smiled at her.

"Of course. I am coming right up! You'll love it!"

Before she could go Namjoon asked her, a little bit worried, "By the way you are busy as it is. Let your employees do it."

"Namjoon dear as I told you earlier, it's not everyday that you bring your friends along. And I am not that busy today. Sometimes the owner should get along with her workers too!"

Flashing a grin Hwa Yeon turned on her heels and made her way to the counter.

Lee turned towards Namjoon and remarked, "Dr. Kim, you seem really close with her. She is such an amazing person. It must be nice to have an aunt like her…" Her words trailed off at the end as she didn't want him hear what she said but the words had already left her mouth. She felt sad.

"Namjoon."

At the unexpected reply Lee averted her gaze from the table and looked up at him, "Sorry.. what?"

He smiled softly and repeated himself again, "Namjoon." And then proceeded to explain, "You said we are friends, right? Then you should call me Namjoon from now on. Not 'Dr. Kim'."

Lee didn't know that a simple thing like that could make her thoughts change their mood so instantly and so effectively. But it was him and every single gesture related to him had nothing but soothed her ever since they met.

She blinked her eyes, trying to figure what she should reply with but she was at a loss for words. "Snap out of it. Snap out of it Lee." She yelled at herself mentally and dazedly extended her right hand.

It wasn't until she heard Namjoon's confused "huh?" that she snapped out of it and replied with a big yet soft smile, "You should call me Lee. It's an immense pleasure meeting you Namjoon."

Namjoon was taken aback. That was the first time he had seen Lee smile like that. All the other times when she smiled there was only enthusiasm and excitement in it but in this smile a genuine happiness was radiated, and it, as Namjoon thought, was beautiful.

Namjoon felt his cheeks getting warm. "Am I blushing? Abort abort! Where should I hide my face?" Namjoon panicked as his mind went into a ruckus. But then he realised that Lee was still sticking out her hand towards him and he knew that it was a bad manner to keep a lady waiting like that. Involuntarily smiling shyly he extended his hand to shake Lee's, "Hi Lee... I am glad that I met you."

The letting go of each other's hands was quite slow. It was hesitant yet there was a longing to hold a little bit longer.

"His hands… are warm… and beautiful…" Lee stared at his hand as she let go of it thinking if she would ever be able to hold that hand for a bit longer.

They were over with the introductions but what now? An awkward silence was prevalent in the air and Lee was too nervous that she might say something dumb enough to make Namjoon think that she was not worth his friendship. On the other hand Namjoon was no less nervous. He wasn't used to talk much. The only person he has talked to more than twenty minutes was Hwa Yeon and that also took him finger counted years to get that comfortable.

"Namjoon, here's your Iced Caramel Macchiato and this flavourful Vanilla Cinnamon latte for Lee. And this straight out of the oven pastry cream croissants to take your tongue on a heavenly trip and also to wave away the smell of awkwardness lingering here!" Hwa Yeon chimed in while putting the drinks and the croissants on the table. The way she put it into her words made both Lee and Namjoon embarrassed at their transparency.

Hwa Yeon sighed a little exasperatedly and sparing momentary glances at both of them for once she moved a few inches closer to Lee and stated, as if she was giving her an advising secret, "My nephew here loves crabs! Loves as in adores them. And hates sea food!"

Lee didn't know how to respond to that as she was utterly confused why she was being given this piece of information. With a stretched "okay" Lee flashed her teeth and her eyes wandered towards Namjoon as if asking for some few extra words.

"Ah! Why would you tell her that?" Namjoon let out a whine.

You stared at this side of him which was new to you and you whispered inside your head, "Cute."

As if Hwa Yeon could read everything that was going on inside your head, she said, "I am giving Lee a heads up so that when she picks up a place to go on a date with you it isn't a sea food place!" And with that sentence she attached a quick wink at Lee and went away towards the counter - leaving the responsibility of witnessing the stir she caused upon the two flustered adults.

As soon as the word 'date' had left his aunt's mouth an embarrassed Namjoon had immediately lowered his head and hid his face behind his right hand.

Lee chuckled silently for a moment with her right hand on her mouth at Namjoon being so unexpectedly adorable. But before he could plead her to forget about the date part - much to Lee's dismay - she asked him, "So... Why do you love crabs?"

At her query, Namjoon took out his face from its hiding place and sitting in a more relaxing position, he, with a faint attempt to clear his throat, answered, "There is no specific reason to be honest," he smiled coyly, "I just really like small and cute things."

His eyes twinkled and he smiled with his lips pressed in a pout, making an effort to not let loose his big smile. That only lasted for a couple seconds though and he said with another embarrassed tone, "I know it doesn't really go along with my appearance but yeah..." His voice graduated into a duller tone and his expression seemed rather somber as he averted his gaze into the drink sitting under his nose.

"I think it suits you," Lee said while fixing her eyes on him and subconsciously wanting him to look into her eyes so that he could see how much sincerity was in her heart when she uttered each and every word, "Makes you even more adorable."

"Well, that's a first," Namjoon chuckled and placed a unwavering and soft gaze on Lee, "nobody calls me adorable except my aunt."

A malfunctioning beep went across Lee's head and she screamed mentally, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Did I just blurt out the last part? Learn to have some self-control, you freak!" Lee placed an imaginary slap on her lips.

She was perhaps going to blurt out another unsolicited statement about how she didn't mean it, like an automated and false response but he was smiling now and the colour of his face was back which made her think that perhaps it wasn't that bad to lose self-control once in a while.

Lee's shocked eyes returned to their normal state and as her gaze met Namjoon's soft ones she replied, "That's other people's loss then. I hope you won't mind me taking the privilege of calling you adorable."

"Only if you allow me to do the same," Namjoon chirped back with a smile that almost, just almost took the shape of a smirk, knocking out a considerable amount of air out of Lee's chest.

Taking a sip from her latte, all Lee could do was humbly nod in reply and make an attempt to hide her blushing smile.

The spicy taste that spread itself over Lee's taste buds after the first sweet impression of itself made Lee's ear feel tingly, pretty much like a wave of little tingles traveling across the insides of her jaw till the inside of her ear, waking up her mouth in the process. As she felt the warmth go down her chest she exhaled contently and putting the cup down on the table she whispered out, "So good!"

At her content expression Namjoon felt a strange satisfaction bubble up inside him and he waited for her to take a bite of the croissant. Thankfully the croissant was still warm. Lee took a mouthful of it and instantly felt her inside fill up with a sweet happiness. The back of her throat felt full and her taste buds were elated. Lee moved her legs in little kicks of joy while she finished the croissant trying not to eat too fast.

"That was the best breakfast I had ever since I remember having breakfasts!" Lee exclaimed while holding Hwa Yeon's hands in hers after paying the bill.

"Then my plan to get you hooked here was a success, I suppose." Hwa Yeon replied with a mischievous yet sweet smile.

"It was a success way before you brought us the food," Lee smiled softly and then looking into Namjoon's aunt's eyes with her glistening one she whispered, "thank you."

Hwa Yeon didn't know what to make of that expression. She couldn't grasp the depth of the sadness that Lee held in her eyes while uttering those words but one thing she knew she could do was hug her immediately and with a light pat she mumbled, "I'll look forward to more thank yous from you then."

A chuckle left Lee's mouth accompanied with a few tear drops that she had been holding all this time as she nodded an enthusiastic yes and whispered, "Please do."

The bus arrived as soon as they reached the stop and they managed to secure a seat for each of them. It was same as before - Lee on the window side and Namjoon by her side but there was no flowers this time, there was no trigger for memories to snake it's grip around Lee's throat and definitely no other reason to keep her from talking to Namjoon.

But somehow Lee was sad - a sadness that was touched off by the fact that they have to part ways soon, accompanied with thoughts that said that perhaps there won't be any chance to meet each other often or soon; may be they'll fall apart before having the chance to get closer, may be they'd become just another acquaintances to each other.

A deep sigh was halfway out of Lee's lungs when Namjoon turned his head towards her a little and asked, "So, you said you are new here. Where are you from?"

Lee looked at him almost immediately and answered, "I'm from Incheon."

"Oh.. that's pretty far."

"Yeah. It is," and that's a relief, she thought.

Then she proceeded to ask, "What about you? Is this your hometown?"

"No," Namjoon exhaled a brief and quick sigh and looked straight, "my hometown is Ilsan. It's closer than yours." Saying that he proceeded to display a smile which seemed like a tool he was trying to cover up his previous antonymous expression.

Lee felt there was more to his sentence than he intended to give away but she was not in a position to be courageous enough to ask.

A minute of silence passed as both of their minds raced with their own thoughts in a desperate attempt to come to a conclusion to pick one particular thought and before Lee could, Namjoon spoke, "if," there was a moment's pause before Namjoon continued his question as if he was contemplating whether he should ask or not, "it's okay for you to tell me, what happened that night?"

Lee never expected that Namjoon would remember the state she was in when she went to his clinic but, again, it was hard to not notice someone as dishevelled as she was at that moment.

She weighed her options and the truth felt too heavy. So she lied, "It's fine, I don't mind. I actually went to a friend's wedding that day near my hometown and I caught the bouquet," displaying a sheepish smile at Namjoon she continued, "I know what you might be thinking and believe me I was aware that it wasn't a good idea but the desire to be part of it took over my logical thinking."

Lee looked down at her twiddling fingers and resumed narrating her made-up incident, "I had to be here in Seoul the very next morning so I took the bus available so that I can arrive before it's too late in the night... That resulted in me holding my discomfort for that long," Lee shifted her gaze to Namjoon who was looking at her with those deep eyes as if trying to understand her and she gave him a carefree smile, "hence, that resulted in me looking like a mad woman."

Namjoon couldn't help but notice the sadness in her eyes that she was trying to hide behind that smile. Namjoon thought about a thousand comfort words but nothing came out of his mouth except, "I wouldn't say that. More like troubled? So it was a little concerning," and he reciprocated her smile.

"You could put it that way I guess." Lee laughed mildly.

●●●

After getting off the bus Namjoon looked at his watch and almost panicked, "Ah! I am going to be late!"

And to that Lee gave an immediate response, "You should get going!"

"Ah! What should I do? I should walk you to your apartment," his lips almost turned upside down.

"It's totally fine! Trust me! It's hardly fifteen minutes walk from Nari's Tteokboki. And I am going to make a phone call from that phone booth anyways," she pointed towards a lone grey coloured phone booth standing at a turning ahead of them beside a street lamp on the footpath across the main road, "you should really get going. I'll be fine!"

After spotting the phone booth Lee was pointing at Namjoon looked at her with surprise and query in his eyes, "Wow, it's so rare to see working phone booths nowadays! Anyways, what happened to your phone?"

"Ah!" Lee fished out her phone from her sling bag and vaguely waving it she answered, "It died a while ago. But fret not," Lee straightened her back a little bit more and kept her right hand on her chest as if making an oath, "I'll text you as soon as I reach my apartment."

Namjoon giggled at her gesture and said, "Then let me at least accompany you to the other side of the road."

Lee smiled thinking that a few more minutes with him didn't sound too bad and she replied, "As the gentleman wishes."

As the traffic light turned red they both crossed the road hurriedly and after reaching safely Namjoon said, "I should hurry back. I'll wait for your text. Get home safe, hm?"

Lee gave him a light nod which Namjoon took as his cue to depart. Namjoon waved a quick bye and crossed the road hastily. Taking his bicycle that was parked in the bicycle stand by the bus stop he turned and waved at her again from the other side before dashing and disappearing in the next turning.

Lee's hand lingered a few seconds longer up in the air before slowly going into her sling bag and bringing out her cellphone.

Turning on her heels she started walking towards the phone booth while switching the phone on. She apologized to Namjoon mentally as her phone lighted up displaying the charge of it at 94 percent, "Sorry Namjoon, I had no other option."

Entering the glass box with grey rim she felt all the nerves in her body jumble up in a frantic attempt to escape. A minute passed as she repeatedly curled her palms into a fist to shake off the coldness. She debated with herself whether she should give up now and return some other time or not. A part of her wanted to run away because it was not ready to face what it left behind. On the other hand, another part of her wanted to reach out to what it didn't want to leave behind. And looking at the phone screen which displayed the name along with its number she chose to follow the later one, "I have to call Logan. At least he must be worried," a melancholic smile appeared across her face only to disappear the next moment.

Inserting the coin and dialling the number Lee stood there waiting with her eyes closed as the phone rang. With each passing ring she felt the urge to put the receiver down and flee but she knew that if she gets out of there right now there probably won't be a sooner time when she would be able to convince herself to go back in there and make the call. So she stood there, with her feet sinking into the ground more with each passing second. And just when she was starting to feel a distant relief that the call would go unanswered, his voice was heard from the other side.

-"Hello? Who is this?"

-"Hey, big baby..."

Lee's voice choked as she tried to hold back herself from breaking down into tears.

There was a few moments' pause from Logan's side before his shaky voice was heard.

-"Noona? Is that you?"

-"..it's me."

-"Are you alright? Did you see a doctor that night?"

-"I am alright and yes, I did see a doctor and took medicines. I felt a lot better after that."

-"That's a relief... Where are you?"

-"Just somewhere... It's a nice place, so don't worry."

-"You don't even wanna tell me?"

-"I am just not ready to face anyone yet... And you know mom. She'll probably figure it out if you come to see me."

-"You are right..."

Lee heard a light chuckle from him before he continued speaking.

-"Are you really okay though? Is it comfortable? Is the food good? Do you need some money? I can send it to you without mom noticing!"

-"Woah! You have really grown up, huh? Offering your big sister money? Wow!"

-"Come on! It's nothing like that you know..."

-"I know. I know. I was just joking."

-"I am just worried... Are you taking care of yourself?"

-"Of course! I am taking good care of myself. I have enough money. The place is nice. The food is really good. And I met some really nice people."

-"That's a relief then. But you promise me that you'll call me if anything happens and you need my help, alright?"

-"As you say. But enough about me. How are you? How are... others doing?"

-"I am doing fine. I just miss you a lot. The others... are worried about you. ."

-"We both know that's a lie. Mom and Lin must be overjoyed. I guess, dad may be a worried about me a little bit but mom must have stopped him from reaching out."

-"Well, that's the Seo family for you."

-"Ha ha. You are right. By the way I think this call will come to an end soon. I'll call you later someday."

-"Okay.. take care of yourself. Unblock me and call me soon..."

Before Logan could complete his sentence his voice got buried by a pair of voice calling him frantically, that Lee could recognise as Logan's friends, who happened to be their neighbours as well.

Their tired voice sounded as if they had been running. Between their ragged breaths they somehow managed to say, "Aunty is giving all of Lee's stuffs away to the trash picker! Come quick."

With the last words before the abrupt disconnection of the call Lee felt her senses going numb. With disbelief and shock her already glued feet sank even more into the ground. Seconds grew into minutes as she stood there, unable to move. With a flat line going across her mind she could only hear a continuous extended beep sound in her ears.

When the initial shock settled in her thoughts made a crowd, "My stuff? What should I do? What will I do?"

●●●

"Mom! What are you doing?" Lee yelled as soon as she saw her old books and notebooks piled up in the front yard of the house and a trash picker was weighing some of it in a handy weighing machine.

"Can't you see? I am giving away the trash." Her mom replied with an almost expressionless face while looking over the machine to take notes of weight of every pile.

"Those are my things. Shouldn't you have at least waited for me to come out from the bathroom and ask after that?" Lee fumed while walking over to the pile with big steps.

"You take so long to bath! Not everyone is going to wait for you," her mother frowned at her.

"You should have! These belong to me! You already give away my favourite clothes without asking me! I never tell you anything! But these... These are not trash..," her voice reduced to a whisper, "they are... memories," tears welled up in her eyes as she started collecting her books back from the man quickly.

"How ostentatious," Lee's mother scoffed, "memories? Let me see what kind special memories you have in there," she extended her hands at the notebook lying on the top of the small pile Lee was holding.

As an instinctive reaction, Lee backed away, refusing to let Mrs. Seo touch her notebook. Lee's mother grimaced and held herself back from making a scene in front of a stranger by clenching her palms into a painful fist.

Taking this opportunity Lee collected all her things and took them back inside.

About half an hour or so later, there was a knock on the door of Lee's room. She was anticipating with a nervous heart that her mom will come sooner or later to give her a piece of her mind. Lee didn't want to open the door but when the knock grew louder she made a short run from her bed to the door.

Her mom entered the room in a flash and before she could figure out her mom strode towards her bed and began unloading all the trash from the bin on it. And before Lee could unfreeze from the initial shock her mom was done emptying the entire bin and with the grimacing expression that she had displayed outside before coming back on her face she ordered, "Take what's yours from there. And if I ever see you putting your things in the bin then you just count on me being this kind."

Lee winced at the sudden loud sound made by her mom as she slammed the door shut behind her after getting out.

Lee stood there in the same place motionless. A scream of helplessness and anger tried to push its way out of her throat from the depths of her aching chest but she pushed them further down by physically gulping hard.

When the initial shock of it subsided into a dying sorrow, she turned around and walked upto her bed. Slowly slowly she started picking up the wrappers of the chocolates and snacks she threw in the bin that week. As she was doing so, teardrop fell relentlessly blocking her vision and when she looked at the finger counted wrappers belonging to her on one side and one too many of the garbage on another side not belonging to her, the dying sorrow in her heart revolutionised itself into an undead anger and in that formidable emotion she put all of the that remaining garbage in a plastic bag and wiping the tears she stepped out of her room and walked with long steps towards the kitchen where her mother, her sister and her father were discussing excitedly about Linda's wedding which was five months away.

Seeing her walking into the kitchen area, the smiles on their faces faded slowly. As the others watched curiously, Mrs. Seo opened her mouth to say something but instead she shrieked when Lee began to unload the plastic on the kitchen floor.

"Why you little.." Lee's mother raised her hand at her in an instant rage but Lee swiftly backed away and with her expressionless face and blank eyes directed at them she stated before turning around and walking away, "I took care of my trash, you take care of yours."

●●●

With shaky hands Lee somehow managed to put the receiver down on its place. The air inside the booth felt too heavy to breathe in. It's almost as if she couldn't take in the air even if she tried to.

The grief of losing the things, the material memories, she treasured all her life, weighed down on her chest and she gasped for air to tolerate the agony.

Her legs felt like jelly as she flung open the gate but as soon as she took one step forward her legs gave up and she fell on the ground. Her knees hurted. It hurted so bad.

The pain triggered the tears that were supposed to fall long ago and she wept, "It hurts. Mom... It hurts so much. Aaghh."

She was so preoccupied in dealing with her own emotions that she had failed to notice the rain that had started to fall earlier. Now, as she wept, the rain gained its speed and volume as if it's trying to match the intensity of her inner turmoil.

The rain water dripped through her hair, her clothes, soaking her completely. Even though Lee wanted to get up she couldn't find the energy in herself to do so. So she kept herself there in the same position as few people ran past her to find shelter from the rain. People stared at her from a distance – some with curiosity, some with concern. A few people shouted at her to get inside the shade of the booth. But those words fell into deaf ears. How could she get into the space again that she escaped from?

The involvement of other people became overbearing for her by the growing second, so she tried to calm herself down by wiping away her tears that were constantly getting washed away by the rain. Her vision was constantly getting blocked by the rain water.

As she straightened herself to get up on the slippery pavement, suddenly she stopped feeling the constant drop of water on her and she felt a warm hand on her arm.

Looking up, looking into his eyes, under the protection of the umbrella, her face distorted in the pain she was trying to drive away, as new tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to hide this side of herself from him so much, she tried so hard but may be in a hidden corner of her heart she wanted him to be there - to see her scars, to tell her it was okay.

And before any of these wishes came to Lee's lips, Namjoon tried to smile softly despite the concern dripping from his eyes, while helping her get up at her pace; and with his ever healing voice he said, "It's okay. I am here."

■□■□■□■□■□■

-> Chapter four

— Ⓒ 2022 apotatomashedbybts, all rights reserved. Reposting or modifying of any kind is not allowed. Translations are not allowed.

[hallelujahmeatgod]

KUROO TETSUROU

You gave your boyfriend a pointed look for the nth time today as he made another request while he sat all comfortable and relaxed on the couch.

"Jerk" You said under your breath, but complying to his request for snacks.

You rummaged through his pantry and picked out snacks and a drink for him. You returned to the living room where he's at and dropped everything beside him on the couch.

"Thank you my baby cakes" Rooster head grinned at you like a 5 year old.

You rolled your eyes at him, sitting down on the floor.

"What's with the attitude? Don't you wanna be with meeee??" He leaned forward and put his face next to yours, which you pushed away.

"You're enjoying this way too much aren't you? Making all kinds of requests." You scoffed, just making him chuckle. "You're completely mobile, you know?"

"Sure, but now I'm not?"

"You're just dramatic"

"I played a 5 set game and I could barely stand up, I'm not being dramatic babe. You should know how it is, Captain" He said overly dramatic. You rolled your eyes again at his stupidity. God knows how many times you've rolled your eyes at this guy today.

"Who's fault is that? Your stubborn ass didn't wanna get subbed out." You gave him a bored look. "And what was that? You could barely stand up? Bitch, is that why I saw you outrunning Lev over the last fucking banana?"

He just chuckled, scratching his head as he rested his chin on your shoulder.

"That's not me you saw, that's just your imagination. That's probably Akaashi you saw or something. I was with Kenma." He tried to make an excuse but you just gave him a disapproving look.

You flicked his forehead before snatching some of the snacks you brought him. "I can hear your stupid ass laugh from where I was. And with your rooster hair, I can recognize you anywhere. Plus, I'M with Kenma so how can you be with him? You suck at lying."

He opened his mouth but then just closed it again, not able to come up with another excuse.

"You just want to be babied, don't you?" You teased, shaking the shoulder he's resting his chin on.

"No I don't" He lifted his head from your shoulder, sitting back on the couch, avoiding your gaze. He crossed his arms on his chest with a pout on his lips. You really are dating a 5 year old huh?

You chuckled and sat down beside him on the couch. He scooted further to the end of the couch but you just moved closer to him.

"Uh-huh. Say's the guy who acted like he has wobbly knees so I'd have to hold him the whole time. Say's the guy who's using the excuse that he couldn't move a muscle because he played 5 sets so that he could make all sorts of requests including making me accompany him on a school night because he knows I'll comply with him." You said in a teasing tone, trying your best to hold in the laughter for now. Though giggles are already spilling from your lips.

"Y'know Kuroo, there's so many things you excel at, but let me tell you, acting ain't one of them. You look like a newborn giraffe earlier when you were on your wobbly knees agenda. I seriously don't know how you kept up with that stupid acting in public." You finally laughed out loud, hitting his arm lightly as you fell back on the couch, wiping happy tears from your eyes.

With that Kuroo himself wasn't able to hold it in as well, he lost his composure and laughed hard with you. "I HATE YOU" He managed to say in between his laughs.

"Can't move a muscle my ass. Bitch swore he's in a comma" You added, further making both of you laugh.

After laughing, crying, and snorting for a long time, you both finally calmed down, both of you with red tomato faces and tear stained cheeks.

"I understand you're tired, but seriously drop the baby giraffe agenda"

"Can you not call it that? We just calmed down, you're gonna make me laugh again" He said, lightly chuckling, wiping the remaining happy tears on his eyes with his shirt. "But my arms and legs do feel like they're gonna fall off." He pouted.

"I can imagine." You said, going back down on the floor, sitting in front of him. You then took off his shoes for him and started to lightly massage his sore legs. "Better?"

He hummed a response, looking at you with literal hearts in his eyes.

"You really do just want to be babied" You chuckled, shaking your head. "6 foot baby"

"Is it bad to want to be babied by my girlfriend?" He cocked his head to the side which is actually very cute. He looks like those cute kittens.

"Nah~ it's actually cute since you're the one always babying people, EHEM special mention Kenma EHEM. It's fine, just never act again"

"Shut up! Arghh-- I'm sore all over" He winced lightly when he moved a little too sudden.

"You had it coming for being a stupid ass. Seriously no subs? Not even once? You're mental."

"WELL BOKUTO AND I HAD A BET ON IT"

You gave him a dumbfounded look, shaking your head. Of course this airhead and his airhead bestie bet on it.

Kuroo can already be stupid on his own, but adding Bo into the mix, that's just chaos.

"What's the bet?" Okay, let's hear the stupid ass bet.

"He said he'll adopt Lev if I don’t get subbed out”

“BITCH YOU’RE GIVING LEV AWAY?” You pinched his leg real hard which made him reach out and cradle it as he winced in pain. “You ass hat even tried making it sound better by saying adopt”

“Kid really can’t spike nor receive for shit” He said, looking anywhere but me.

“And you think he’ll learn shit from Bo? How could you give away MY son? And how dare Bo take part in this? I’m gonna beat up Bo and then I’ll beat you up later.” You said, standing up and grabbing your things, ready to grill Bokuto.

As you stormed through the corridor of his dorm Kuroo had caught up to you.

“Oh so now you’re perfectly fine?” You stopped on your tracks, turned to him, and kicked his shin lightly, making him yelp in pain as he rubbed it. “Nobody is getting MY baby Lev, mostly Bo!” You turned around and stormed off.

He stumbled, following you, walking limply. “I THOUGHT KENMA’S OUR SON?!”

“SON? THAT KID’S YOUR BOYFRIEND! IF ANYTHING I’M YOUR SIDE BITCH HERE!”

[smolcobie]

Hyunjae | Butterfly Effect

↪ Summary: After a dangerous fire, Hyunjae is unable to hide his feelings for you.

Word Count: 3,5k

Warnings: Suggestive | Fire | Friends To Lovers | Heavy Making Out

Genre: Hyunjae x Reader | HYUNJAE FIREFIGHTER AU | Female Reader

Dedicated to my fav deobi friend @santacruz-sand​ <3

Human beings are known for their daily mistakes. We used to say that every day we make a mistake, some don't make that much difference, others can change the course of your life, better known as the butterfly effect. Each action has its reaction, gradually shaping the path you will take in life.

Some say that this is fate, that no matter how much you try to escape, it will happen. Others prefer to believe that you create your own destiny. I didn't believe in any of these theories, in fact, I always preferred to think that it is easier to do your best every day than to be disappointed by the path you took because you thought that this was your destiny after all.

The greatest example that my theory was real, was seeing how my best friend lived. Every single day he left early, before the sun came up, and came back when it was night. Being a firefighter required perfection in his form, discipline, punctuality, courage to face his fears, and a lot of willingness to risk his own life for the benefit of society.

I watched him cautiously, analyzing his ways and manners. The way he slammed the gate hard to make sure it was locked, or how he sighed and gave a silly smile when he managed to do something he liked, but what I liked most was the way he struggled every day to cheer people's lives.

- ▪︎ -

"[NAME], do your best every day and no one will have the courage to speak ill of the way you live." He said with his red cheeks and heavy eyes from the soju he drank.

"What are you talking about? I live very well, you're the one who lives next to my house and keeps risking your life." I laughed, fixing up his fringe that was messy "You're already starting to get drunk, let's go home." I got up pulling on his shirt and he made a weeping face.

"[NAME], why are you so mean to me?" He said slyly and I lifted him up with all my strength hugging him around the waist "Hyunjae, come on, you need to rest." He sighed and started walking making a pout on his lips.

"Stop pouting, you know you need to rest. You work a lot and when you take a break you want to drink soju and philosophize about life with me." I commented while walking down the dark street.

"But you are my best friend, you have to listen to me." I laughed at his comment "If you paid me I could even quit my job, after all, listening to you is all I do." "That's why I love you." He chuckled and put his head on my shoulder as I opened the door to his house, after entering the password.

"I love you too, so go to sleep." I tossed him on the bed and he smiled happily hugging his soft pillow.

- ▪︎ -

It was almost always like this. Hyunjae coming to my house to vent about life, I laugh while making some cards to post on my Instagram and the company. Being a calligraphy artist was a happy part of my life, being able to decorate bookstores, houses, gifts was something that gave me the strength to live.

Hyunjae was such an essential part of my life, that I only realized when our mutual friend asked why we lived so close to each other. My first thought was to think that it would be easier to go out, have fun and talk. My second thought was that I was completely in love with him, and I didn't want to admit it.

It was complicated, an old love that I knew had no way out, but nothing was going to change because I couldn't find any nice guys. I lived with Hyunjae and I had already accepted my condition. Romance went from something I dreamed of as a teenager, to something I value as an adult, but not as much as my sanity.

It was easier to live with Hyunjae than having to go on blind dates with bizarre guys that our friend Sunwoo arranged (probably from the deep web). And I keep ignoring my feelings, being inspired by its way of life.

That day was more beautiful than usual. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was clear and blue, the traffic seemed calm and the weather was perfect for an outdoor meeting, perhaps a date in the park. The subway was surprisingly empty, although it was very early, and I was completely rested.

It seemed like the perfect working day. I had made many cards at the company, sent some orders by mail, and placed new orders for a major literature event that would take place at the company. Lunch was great and our boss was in a good mood telling stories from when she was in college.

The day had gone well, my colleagues finished their jobs earlier than expected so we were able to go out early and eat fried chicken in a new restaurant near the company. I returned home happy and completely shocked at how perfect my day had been.

I got home and changed my shoes. I took a relaxing bath while listening to the news of the day through my radio hanging from the bathroom sink.

"URGENT NEWS! THERE IS A FIRE IN A BUSINESS BUILDING LOCATED IN THE GANGNAM REGION, MANY ARE THREATENING TO JUMP THROUGH THE WINDOWS. SOURCES CONFIRM THAT THE FIRE STARTED BY THE BAD WIRING THAT HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTLY REPLACED. THE FIREFIGHTERS HAVE JUST ARRIVED AND ARE PREPARING TO RELEASE THE PLACE AND REMOVE SURVIVORS. ”

I immediately turned off the shower, drying myself quickly, putting on any clothes, and going to the living room to turn on the TV and see the news.

All the channels were talking about the fire. It even seemed ironic, as I had a great day, and now a building near my company was on fire, and I had to see desperate people on the TV screen.

My heart stopped and my eyes lit up when I recognized Hyunjae running away with a long sheet and other men helping him from afar. This was apparently what he was supposed to do, try to stay calm and help people in a tragedy that could cost their lives.

“FIREFIGHTERS MOBILIZED QUICKLY AND SURVIVORS ARE GETTING TO THE GROUND SAFELY. THE FIRE HAS BEEN CONTROLLED AND WE HAVE NO NEWS FROM ANY VICTIMS IN SERIOUS STATE UNTIL THE MOMENT-” The woman turned and the cameraman filmed Hyunjae leaving the scene with a woman unconscious in his arms “THIS YOUNG BRAVE MAN REMOVED THE LAST VICTIM FROM THE LOCATION. AMBULANCE HAS ARRIVED AND WILL TREAT EVERYONE IMMEDIATELY. ”

I closed my fists tightly, my mouth dried and my heart sped up. Hyunjae had entered that burning building, risking his life, to save another one.

The fire subsided until it was extinguished. Reporters were still talking about how the police were already investigating everything and how fortunately no lives were lost and the victims had only minor injuries. I sighed with relief and sent a message to Hyunjae, congratulating him, but mostly asking how he was doing.

Me:

[Are you okay? I just saw it all on TV, I'm so worried!]

[I am proud of you, you were amazing.]

[I hope you're all right, send a message when you see this.]

Received.

I sighed and laid down on my bed covering my eyes trying to remember that he was fine.

"Nothing happened."

"Hyunjae is fine. No need to worry."

I was trying to convince myself that he was fine, alive, and doing his job, but my heart couldn't calm down. I decided to take a light tranquilizer and lie down again.

Maybe he would answer me in the morning, I would wait patiently and everything would be fine.

I turned on some drama on TV while I was busy watching cute animals on Youtube to pass the time. After a few hours and having a quick nap, I was surprised by the ringing of my cell phone and saw that it was Hyunjae.

I got up and answered quickly.

“Hyunjae ?! Are you okay? Where are you?" I hurried over and felt him give a tired laugh on the other end of the phone.

“I'm outside your house, please open it for me. It's a little cold here. ” He made a little joke like he always does, maybe, trying to calm my worried mood.

"Okay, I'll be right back." I hung up the phone and ran out to the door.

I opened the door feeling my heart racing, my joints tingling from suddenly getting up and automatically everything calmed down when I saw his face.

He had his bangs glued to his forehead, his face was dirty with some ash. He still had his work uniform on and was holding some bandages probably bought from the pharmacy near our homes.

"I came for you to heal me." He gave a sarcastic smile as I felt relief wash over my entire body.

"Come on, staying in this serene is bad." I pulled him inside, locking the door and putting his usual shoe in the doorway.

"Unfortunately I bought anything I saw at the pharmacy, so I hope you help me, I'm deadly tired." He started talking quietly trying to hide how he was shaken by that night.

"Hyunjae... are you okay?" I asked seeing him sitting on a chair in the kitchen taking off his uniform, leaving only the standard white blouse and pants.

"Yeah." He said dryly biting his lip and looking away. The habit he made when he lied.

"Stop lying to me." I walked towards him crossing my arms “If you were really well, you would have gone home, answered on your cell phone, and slept in peace."

He sighed and looked at me with a look that made my whole body tremble. He looked scared, anxious, but mostly nervous about something.

"What is it?" I touched his cheek and he sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into my hand.

"I almost lost my mind today." He stood up scratching the back of his neck with a choked voice as if he were about to cry.

"What do you mean?" He looked at me so sincerely that I felt my heart soften.

"We were on the traffic patrol when we heard the call." He laughed, but it was sad. "When they said the address, and I realized it was on the same street as your job, I despaired."

My eyes flew open and he sat on the edge of the couch burying his fingers in his dirty, messy hair.

“I thought you could be there and I lost it. When I got there, all I could think about was you.” I approached and realized that in fact, his eyes were watery "I know I should be concerned with other people, but I could only think ‘What if it is her building? What if she is there? What if she is in danger? What if I can't save her?’ And I went into eternal despair.”

I felt my heart racing so fast it could come out of my mouth.

"I-I didn't care if other people were hurt, as long as you were fine..." He looked at me and I felt a huge urge to hold his face "And it scares me. The way I was afraid of losing you and I couldn't think rationally, on the professional side.”

I sat next to him listening to everything he had to say.

"Hyunjae, anyone would feel the same way, you don't have to feel guilty about it." I wiped away his tears and held his cheeks in the palm of my hands "I would have done the same, thinking about you all the time."

He gave a smile sniffing before holding my hands.

"But it's different this time." He said before looking into my eyes with an invisible force that made me nervous "I thought nothing would make sense if I didn't have you by my side."

I took a deep breath trying to follow his argument.

"I don't want to lose you." He whispered as if it were a forbidden confession "You are the most important person in the whole world to me." He touched my cheek with the palm of his hand "You know that, don't you?" He swallowed hard, leaning his forehead against mine.

I took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"I know Hyunjae, you are also the most special person for me." I said seeing how he had relaxed a little more "Now get up, you need to take a shower and put bandages on these cuts."

I stood up first, but I felt his hand close to my fist. He was taller than me, not so much, but his body was so strong that it made me feel small around him.

"What? Come on, you're very tired. ” I took the lead before I felt him pulling me again.

"[NAME]." He said hoarsely as I studied his face curiously.

Hyunjae was too different that night.

“What is it Hyunjae? Your face is dirty, you need to take a shower. ” I touched my hips trying to understand what he wanted.

Hyunjae approached pulling my wrist towards him before giving a kiss there.

"Come with me." He said making me petrified on the spot.

"W-WHAT?!" I asked nervously as I felt my heart pound so loudly that I was afraid he might hear "I-That's not funny, Hyunjae."

He released my fist and pulled me by the hip, staring deep into my eyes.

"I'm not kidding." I felt a shiver down my back when he admitted it wasn't a joke or a friend flirt "I got tired of pretending I don't feel anything for you."

I couldn't say anything, I was too shocked to reply.

“[NAME], you are the most important person to me and I don't want to live any longer having to treat you just like a best friend.” He touched my chin and raised my gaze to his “Please, be honest with me. Am I just a best friend to you? ”

I felt his gaze enter my soul and I knew I had no way to lie anymore, this was the only chance I would have to admit what I feel.

"No." I swallowed and stared at his mouth, which formed a small smile of satisfaction.

It was amazing the effect that Hyunjae had on me. Even if I wanted to run away, I wouldn't be able to lie because it was already obvious from the way I act.

"Great." I felt my stomach churn when I felt his left hand hold me tighter as his right landed on my cheek, making his thumb touch my chin, caressing it. "I hope you don't mind this."

"Mind wha—" I could barely finish the question and I felt his lips on mine.

I pulled away unintentionally from the shock and looked into his eyes that seemed to be staring at me with an indescribable fire. I swallowed and felt my heart racing as he just smirked sideways, as if he knew what I was thinking.

He approached me slowly, touching our noses and I closed my eyes feeling his breath warm my face. I felt my face heat up and my palms sweat when his lips brushed against mine again. I held on to his white blouse with the rest of my strength and waited for Hyunjae to close the distance that bothered me so much.

I felt his hand move and his fingers pulled my chin down, opening my mouth that was closed by shock. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and felt him laugh through his nose before wetting my bottom lip with his tongue lightly, kissing me gently.

I lifted my hands to his hair where I pulled slightly, feeling my back against the bathroom door. Hyunjae took a quick breath, trying desperately to open the bathroom door, trying not to break the kiss.

I opened my eyes after Hyunjae got rid of me, feeling my heart stop at the sight of him focused on trying to open the bathroom door. His face was flushed, but his ears seemed to burn at how red they were. His dark eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was pink and inviting.

"Aish." Hyunjae said finally opening the bathroom making me smile slightly.

I held on to his blouse when I almost tripped over my own rug and Hyunjae grabbed my waist with his arm. He gave me a shy smile before leaning his body against mine, making me even more nervous.

His fingers played with the old buttons on my wool blouse. I held his neck intoxicating myself by his smell invading my senses. I felt a shiver down my spine when his fingers touched my skin gently, as if it were the most expensive porcelain that should be handled with care.

Hyunjae started the shower making me more and more nervous. He pushed me with some force making my back touch the tile on the cold wall of the bathroom. I felt his wet abdomen touching mine and tried to take his shirt off awkwardly making him laugh with amusement.

I looked into his eyes feeling my cheeks flush hard as I held his necklace in my hand. I smirked when I realized it was the gift I had given them for his last birthday. It was a sun necklace that was completed with another necklace, which was mine and was shaped like a moon.

I used to say that he was the sun that lit up my life and that reflected in me. I didn't expect him to wear it every day, because he is so critical of his clothes and his style, so I was surprised when I saw the jewel on his soft, wide collarbone.

"I-I like that necklace." He justified himself by making me smile as I felt my hair gradually get wet from the shower water.

I caressed his cheeks, removing all the dust and ashes from his face. He closed his eyes as I carefully wiped his face by raising my hands to his hair. My stomach churned when I kissed the corner of his jaw and he let out a long breath squeezing my waist.

"I like you." I confessed by kissing his neck, stroking his hair "Really."

"N-Noona." He said slyly in my ear making me smile. He only called me Noona when he was embarrassed "Don't do this to me."

"What?" I asked, acting like I didn't get his thoughts while looking at his beautiful body in front of me. I moved my hands down his chest feeling my whole body softening and looked him in the eyes hoping he understood the message I wanted to convey.

"You know." He responded by pinning me to the wall as he fiddled with the buttons on his pants, leaning his forehead against mine, chuckling through his nose.

I hugged him feeling slightly embarrassed when I felt him take off my bra and toss it on any floor in the bathroom. I closed my eyes tightly as I felt his lips kiss my neck slowly and lovingly.

"[NAME] ..." He sighed and kissed my collarbone "I-I know you like romantic guys, but the last thing I want to do now is to be patient and romantic with you."

I felt my whole body tremble and my thoughts were confused.

"I-Is this okay with you?" He asked suspiciously and I nodded, unable to speak, "Are you sure?"

I just answered him by kissing him again. He returned it immediately, deepening the kiss, holding me in his strong arms.

So, I closed my eyes and just let all those feelings accumulated from so long being satisfied without thinking about anything else.

- ▪︎ -

The truth was that love could come from anywhere, from a friendship for years, from a complete stranger, from a colleague at work or college. There are no limits to define where love should be born.

For Hyunjae and you, it was born out of years of extreme care. An affection that could not be limited by friendship, and by the undeniable attraction you felt for each other. There are people who spend years like this without the courage to declare themselves.

At that moment, a questioning is born within you. What if you hadn't declared yourself that night? What if you had run away? Hyunjae would probably walk away and leave your house feeling his heart broken. You weren't going to have the happy ending you wanted, and you could probably lose a precious friendship.

Ultimately, the butterfly effect has been proven and you should admit that your best 'mistake' was to have overcome your fear and admitted your senses. His best 'mistake' was sleeping with his best friend.

The question that remains is: Was that your destiny, or just the butterfly effect?

Ultimately, none of that mattered, because you both loved each other deeply.

▪︎

▪︎

MASTERLIST