#then i saw a pair of designs for sale that i just INSTANTLY knew had to be those two

[pumaskulls]

"Every little thing you do I see

Doesn't feel quite like your relief

I find it hard to sit this still

You've left another hole to fill

I hear you well and I won't pretend

That every other word held ill intent"

[yinses]

—hawks ft. established relationship + dom!keigo + exhibition + overstim

rating: 18+ a/n: thank you so much to @ultimate-astridwriting​ for allowing me to be part of this collab !! it was the shove i needed to get back into the fandom. hawks has always been my favorite hero so i hope to do him justice.

➳ impatient collab masterlist

fist pressed against his cheek, he browsed over the sight before him, taking it all in without considering really any details. fighting a smirk, he cocked an eyebrow.

“i’m not feeling the color. change it for the other one.”

to be frank, he had no particular preferences for color, design, texture or any of that shit–though, he did have a weakness for anything with a pretty flare to it, the air of innocence that he loved to bathe you in with all the frills and fluff. however, it didn’t mean that he wasn’t fond of deciding which palettes suited you best. but he had a specific reason as to why he voiced that particular opinion of his.

sale’s representatives, all mascara-lined eyes and glossy lips, held your hands by your side  in a surrendering position as they paraded you in front of your boyfriend as though this was his own private fashion show. and in a way it was, he’d spent good hard earned money renting out the area for a few hours. enjoying it all from his throne placed perfectly in front of the changing rooms, watching how you were dragged in and out by the forceful employees with him picking out what items you wore.

the clatter of the sale’s girls dragging you back in the changing room again, drew him from his thoughts. you were a flushed mess, struggling to wriggle away from their sharp nails while insisting that you could walk on your own. overall, you'd have been rather accommodating to his whims. but you always were. and as such a good girl, he would reward you for it. for now though, he couldn’t resist giving you a mocking smirk when you tried to grab him and failed miserably at that.

back to the prison of hands again, he noted, as they closed the door behind them and made a fuss over what you disliked and what he wanted. as more girls pecked at you to stay still while they taught you how to wear the clothing properly. outside, keigo waited patiently for them to be done as his eyes travelled from one end of the store to the other, looking at the fancy lingerie and wondering what would actually be perfect for you. but then again, to be painfully honest, you made anything here look good.

and then there's also another fact that he had to come to terms with.

he liked you best without anything on.

with only your bare skin, lying amidst the fluffy pillow with silken sheets tangled around your body. legs demurely spread, hands placed above your head and looking as though you were begging to be dominated. that was certainly the very image of excellence that any man could ever ask for. wanton eyes, warm cheeks, slightly parted lips, panting–ah, but you would gasp wordlessly as he’d stolen your voice many rounds prior. keeping his eyes peeled on the floor, the man shuddered briefly and rolled his shoulders back to remind himself that he was in a store and any further acts of indecency would totally be out of the question. especially when he remembered how you straddled him last night, thighs over his torso. sinking in inch by inch, throwing your head back when he bucked up a bit too hard on you–

"mr. hawks, what do you think of this?"

there you stood, with your hands still raised again, eyes watering under the torment of these awful ladies. biting your lips with warmth tainting your cheeks, hair cascading over your shoulders and meeting the body that was hugged by a pair of lingerie. strapless and curvaceous mounds of yours, covered with a brassiere. a matching panty, complete with small laces forming gathers on the hems as they trailed invitingly towards to garter at your thighs.

he stared.

and blinked.

only once.

"sir?" one of the older females repeated, raising her eyebrows. "…what do you think?"

trying to cover up the fact that his awkward silence was making the room uncomfortable with anticipation, keigo casually leaned backwards and crossed his legs together. his wings fluttered in reflection of his thoughts, rising and falling with each new epiphany. dark eyes walked all over your body, drinking in how your breasts were perfectly pressed together and how your legs trembled when his eyes stopped at the ribbons of the panty. finally hovering over your face, where when eyes met, your blush darkened and you immediately dropped your gaze to your bare feet. he smirked at that sinfully innocent reaction of yours.

coy today, were you not?

without skipping a beat, keigo drew out a card and threw it over to one of the sale’s girls, who fumbled as she tried to catch it with her clammy fingers. eyes still locked at your face, knowing that with his stare alone he was making you feel uncomfortable. and damn, he still loved seeing you squirm around like a virgin on her wedding night.

"i'm taking everything that she tried on just now," he answered loftily, still seated on the cushiony sofa, leaning his head against one arm and letting the other one tap rhythmically on the armrest. when the employees all squeaked out a pathetic noise of agreement, keigo allowed his lips to curve upwards in a smirk as he drawled out the next order; "charge what you need on it, i don't give a shit. and oh, and don't forget to charge what it takes to buy this section for another hour. turn off the surveillance too while you're at it because this area's mine from the time being."

needless to say, their faces instantly decolorized. but they wouldn’t challenge his demands. the brief raise of his massive scarlet wings was an unnecessary reminder as they stretch languidly without threat. he was a hero after all. who were they to challenge a frivolous form of stress relief?

he had no doubt that they had an inkling of what would occur over the next hour or so. but he was certain the gossip would get lost in the rumor mill.

hawks was a rather eccentric individual. what isn’t he up to these days?

keigo had never saw the staff evaporating and clearing the area within less than a minute as they closed off the doors behind them, leaving this particular section untouched for the next event that was about to take place.

it really did not make you feel any better though.

"little dove."

he watched as you jumped, realizing his attention was solely on you now. you raised your eyes to his again, locking eyes with deviously glinting ones. right now, at this moment, keigo knew how much power he held over you, and damn well he was about to abuse his privileges to no end. leaning snugly against the soft backing of the sofa, he cupped his chin with his palm and arrogantly raised an eyebrow when you shuddered under his disturbing gaze. you looked much as though you were lost and backed into a corner with nowhere else to go. keigo smirked; haughty, superior, dominating you single-handedly, and his other hand rose slightly from the armrest.

a single finger curled inwardly.

a low voice

commanding.

"come here, now"

you knew what came from that tone, but the words didn’t ignite the same spark as it did within the safe space of your home.

you only hesitated briefly, but it was still a second to long for his tastes as his lips already began curling down in disappointment. your heart rapped heedlessly against your ribcage, sent spiraling into an off-beat staccato as you quickly tried to alleviate the shift in mood.

never in your relationship had you considered denying keigo. not the man who laid out everything you could have asked for on a silver platter. it's just that-

your feet crossed the minimal distance necessary to appear agreeable though your face still twists in concern.

“really? …. you want to have sex …. here?”

fingertips grapple anxiously while your eyes dart across the empty but still very publicly accessible room.

“now?”

keigo already look bored with the exchange, digits curling once more with something just outside of patience.

“yes, now.”

his wings flex in consideration, yet he doesn’t move to rise form his seat. instead he changes tactics.

“i just want to show a bit of appreciation for all the pretty things i just bought you.’’

it sounds backwards … as if those should be the words coming out of your mouth not his. but the hint doesn’t come any stronger than the easy grin that spreads across his lips. he even makes a show of lounging back against the cushioned seat, body open in invitation should you dare.

and bite you did, teeth nibbling at the bait as you approach. keigo remains still, though his eyes dance with barely contained excitement as you gingerly crawl into his lap, fancy garments already rubbing enticingly against his thighs?.

the flap of his wings welcome gusts of winds and gratitude as his arms curl around you. the hand at your cheek tilts your head up to meet his gaze. it was always so easy for you to get lost in those specks of liquid gold. but now there was hardly any left to admire with the way his pupils were blown wide with lunch.

a shiver tickles your spine and you’re vaguely away that he’s kissing the line of your jaw, whispering soft words of encouragement as his hips raise to rock subtlety. it all left you shuddering in peaked anticipation as your worries melted into the recesses of your mind.

the hand cupping the roundness of your face stops you before you can lean in for more, the nose brushing against the tip of your nuzzling there in brief affection as he garnered the fraying tips of your attention. “yes?”

the fog of arousal abated a little at the question as your conscious thoughts swam back into the surface to input the code that would spiral you into your deepest desires.

“yes,” you verbally consented as you leaned up into him for a needy kiss. keigo swept his tongue out, meeting the the soft upper palate of your mouth with languid strokes. a rumbling trill greets you when you nibble in response. keigo eagerly chases you into a fevor of song and dance, building your body up to the inevitable fall he plans to send you crashing down in.

when he breaks the kiss, his eyes drop to the price tag still resting innocently against the swell of your bosom. he snaps it away from the fabric, uncaring of the threat against its delicacy as he tosses the flimsy paper to the side.

there were plenty more where it came from. and he was yearning to get the real show on the road.

“now then. how could i possibly show my thanks?”

nails dig into his shoulders for purchase as you rock traction into the firmness of his lap. keigo meets the upward curve of your hips with a sneaky dive of his hand between your thighs where his hand warms the skin there. 

you expect him to dip right in, cognitive of the spare time the two of you had to play. but as a dangerous smile twists at his mouth, you realize this is hawks time, a reality that flows differently than everyone else’s. 

“trying to decide if i want you to keep these on or not. “ he contemplates aloud, fingers plucking at the elastic.” i mean it would be a shame to leave them out.”

you nod mutely, ready to agree with whatever favored progression. keigo’s gaze narrowed at the silent insinuation “what? you want to make this into a quickie? but we have so many outfits to try.” 

you already knew that, acutely aware of each and every article of clothing that had been zipped, tied or squeezed around your body. and you were grateful of each and every addition, would even gladly spend the next few weeks letting him fuck you in each variation against your shared mattress at home. 

what you wanted now was for him to come so that you could start that private show within your own walls. 

keigo chooses to go for an adorable pout, lips pulling on aged heart strings, yet managing to make them go taut all the same. he waits until your body soften from the tension, aiding the transition with slow strokes against your back and inner leg. 

“one pair.”

it’s your back that losses his touch in order for him to bring a single finger in front of your face. 

“let me ruin one pair with my come and we can call it quits.”

and you say okay. brining your pelvis back into an enticing dance as you meld that pout into an eager kiss. you were already dressed for the occasion and had all the tips and tricks in your inventory to help him reach his goal. one easy step and you could be on your way.

                                                   how naive you still were. 

eight pair now. he’d brought you near completion just as many times before halting the grind of your hips with a frown. he mad for a rather convincing curator, inspecting each and every pair of to the finest thread. 

‘too blue.’

‘too much lace.’ 

‘it just doesn’t feel right. ‘

‘why don’t we try something else?’

true to his word, keigo had been determined to find the perfect pair to meet him at the edge of nirvana, and dragged you from one painstakingly near orgasm to the next along the way. 

"stop."

you whimpered desperately, pressing your forehead against his shoulder as you forced yourself to remain seated with him throbbing deeply within you. pulsing, hot, too hot. scorching you inwardly and causing strange sensations to sear through your veins. his hands were still on the armrest, they were not on you, they were not driving you crazy with their constant teasing and whatnot this time. because he was not doing anything to make you this crazy when you were already this crazy for him. 

his lips smirked against the shell of your ear, a moist tongue peeking out to leave a wet trail. you fought every inch of yourself to stop your hips from moving again. because of his command, you could not move. you could not bring yourself to move. simply because it was his desire and you could not deny him.

"close?" he murmured darkly into your ear, wispy breath tickling your neck. making a sharp sensation run down your spine, forcing you to arch against him and pressing your bare breasts against his chest. he knew it, he knew that he drove you this wanton for him, all desperate and wanting more.

and yes, you were too close.

too close until one more move, he could make you topple over the chasm of ecstasy without even doing anything to you.

"hmm," he whispered this time, continuing his words with a foreboding edge as his lips brushed against your neck, against your ear, over your cheeks and teeth lightly nipping at your bottom lip.  making you try to kiss him, but he pulled away just like that and watched in sadistic satisfaction when you gave an exasperated groan. "i was too. and then i saw a pretty olive green peeking out of that pile over there."

there was hardly any vigor left in you to groan. 

you pressed your forehead against his slick neck, letting your warm gasps leave his skin, as your head desperately twisted in pinpricks of denied pleasure at his command. it was all a game, one that you could end with a single uttered word from your lips. but you’d never been a quitter, something keigo admired in you. his desires took you on erotic journeys you would have never dared to attempt in prior relationships. perhaps you were becoming just as debauched as he was. 

 there probably wasn’t even fabric of that color lying around and if there was it they weren’t within his eyesight.  keigo was painfully teasing you with this, building up your desire to the most desperate extent because you could not stand anymore. and he knew it too. he throbbed against your walls, the sporadic pulsing sending shrapnel of lust into your loins, and you told yourself that if you were compliant to his orders, then he would surely reward you afterwards.

he would.

he always did.

"okay," he spoke up again, pressing his cheek against yours because he knew that you had if he didn’t end it now, then he wouldn’t get out of it what he wanted. bright eyes were still glowing deviously under the chandeliers of the store, making him appear feral. it provided a visual desire for you to nip his ear, to lick his neck and to kiss his lips.

"you can move now, dove. let’s finish this and go home."

what an alluring goal that was, twinkling encouragingly from finish-line.

you gulped harshly, feeling your legs too weak to push you upwards again.  because he stopped you countless times and made a pleasure overload overrun in your body, turning your limbs to jelly.

a simple shake of your head was all the answer that you could muster.

it was either that or you would faint from the sheer ecstasy.

that made him smirk devilishly again when he looked at you, taut cheeks, lust-darkened blue eyes, a trickle of sweat running down his temple from the amount of restraint he was putting on himself. you felt as though you were opened, taken, torn from within by this man alone when he chuckled, pressing those sinful-stained lips to your forehead.

"maybe if you would beg just right, i’d bother to move."

whining, you shake your head as every cry you knew spilled past your lips. you begged, to pleaded keigo to move so that he would put you out of this torture.  so that he could make you reach that blinding bliss, that your nerves would tighten and your toes would curl. so that you would clench around him tightly, that he could come together with you in this passionate endeavor.

too desperate, nerves tingling with his every wicked command, your shaking hands slowly rose and cupped his cheeks, feeling his soft, flushed skin under your touch and forcing him to look at you in the face. your lashes falling part way over your gaze. plump, bitten lips drawing closer and closer and closer to him and closer and closer and closer with every second.  him slowly moving forward to join his mouth with yours in a desperate kiss, and you suddenly paused, letting only your lips brush against his, not moving forward anymore.

his eyes hardened when he felt your words form at his lips.

please.

it seemed as though playtime was finally over, for now. 

keigo adopted a fast and hard pace, thighs jerking up to meet your earnestly with each slap of skin. the force of his thrust jolted you into a haphazard bounce as you fumbled desperately for traction and stability. each pull and push of your joined bodies was accompanied by a tremulous whimper as you gasped and groaned against the shell of his ear. keigo knew the sweet vocalizations weren’t completely for his sake, but more of the aftershocks of the broken damn as they spilled through the cracks of your lips. 

he still hummed, pleased as his mouth latched onto a pebbled nipple protruding from the fine silk still managing to encase your breast. it was a combination of the gyration of your hips and his own weakening resolve that triggered his own orgasm as he finally let go with broken explicative. 

your own pleasure was brought to you without chase, almost a reward for your efforts as you withered through it. keigo’s quiet praises wash over you like aloe, softening the worst of the burnings sensations as your thighs quake in protest. he nuzzles his face into the side of your neck as his arms encircle you and drag you down with him.

the already too small chaise had to be uncomfortable for his wings with your additional weight but he never voiced a complaint as the rose and fell over your sweaty skin. neither did you, despite the sticky resistance of his spent coating the inside of your thighs. at least you wouldn’t have to walk home in this particular pair. not that you planned on walking period as you grumbled a demands that he would be flying you both home. 

he snickers all while peppering a series of kisses against your nose,” anything you want, little dove.”

[armysantiny]

Letters For You - KSN

Pairing: Sunoo x female reader || Enhypen

Genre: fluff, oneshot, request

Includes: Soobin (TXT) mention, translator reader, idol Sunoo, massages, spa day, texts, gifts, coming home late, eating at a café, café, dying hair, KakaoTalk, cuddling, watching kdrama together

Word count: 1518

Warning: food cw

Rating: PG

Networks: @kwritersworld​, @kdiarynet​, @kpopscape​, @ultkpopnetwork, @kpopficsnetwork, @kpopcontentcreatorsclub​​ @k-dinernet​, @lovesick-net, @whipped-kpop-creators, @prism-nw​, @hybenet​, @k-library​, @k-mysticsnet​, @enhypenwriters, @enhypennetwork, @knet-bakery

Tagging:@teeztheflag, @intokook, @cherry-hyejin, @difcore, @ofaffectionate || Taglist Form

An: I hope you like this @xxatinyminionxx! I had so much fun writing this~

Long days at the agency weren’t anything new to Sunoo; just regular procedure. But coming home later than usual felt different ever since he had met y/n. Y/n was his lucky charm – Sunoo’s grounding presence when he would come back from the hectic rush of his schedule. And that night was no different, as the music artist sipped on his coffee on his way home. Entering the passcode for the shared apartment, the dyed-blond removed his jacket and shoes, a relieved sigh falling from him.

The apartment was quite that night however, much quieter than usual – the faint sounds of y/n working on a transcript nowhere to be found. Switching on the lights as he made his way to the kitchen, Sunoo’s eyes were drawn to the covered dishes on the table, and a note addressed to him.

“Does she have a part-time shift today...?” Voicing his thoughts as he went about following the neatly drawn instructions on the note, Sunoo warmed the prepared meal. Y/n had made his favourite, and he could almost distinctly hear – in his head – the subtle sound of y/n humming a nameless song under her breath, occupied with her next cooking project. His face flushed at the thought, humming the last melody he heard y/n singing. Perhaps y/n knew that he’d be home, because she’d video called Sunoo as he was putting the dishes on the drying rack. Picking up the call with a slight yawn, the teen perked up almost immediately.

“Noona! How was your day? Oh – where are you?” Sitting down on the sofa, Sunoo asked his question, parts of y/n’s background seeming vaguely familiar.

“Sunoo baby~ my day was good, I missed you today~ Ah – do you remember my sunbae? The one who went to study film?”

“Oh… Soobin hyung, right?”

“Mhm~ he needed a translator for his project late minute and I was the only one available. I’ll probably be gone for the weekend. I’m sorry baby~ will you be alright?” Y/n explained, an apology finishing her words. Soobin’s call had been the very definition of ‘out-of-the-blue’, but at the time y/n couldn’t deny that her sunbae sounded urgent. In any case, it was only for the weekend; Sunoo would be okay.

By next morning, Sunoo stretched as he slowly started to awake, his bedroom glowing from the light of the morning sun. Looking over to y/n’s side of the bed with a gentle but longing smile on his face, Sunoo traced his fingers over her pillow. She’d be back. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed and making his way to the bathroom to freshen up, the idol went about getting ready for the day ahead. Caught up on whether he should eat breakfast at home or go to a café, Sunoo grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge while he pondered on his options. Not expecting any calls for at least an hour from noon, Sunoo’s brow raised in curiosity when his KakaoTalk notification went off. Once he had read the display name, little butterflies bloomed in his chest as he opened the text message from y/n.

Y/n Noona: Morning baby~ I’ve been translating scripts until 2 am ☹ but I’ve got a long day, so it’s early alarms for me. Have you woken up yet? I saw a really nice breakfast café yesterday, I think you’d like it! I should vanish now, I’ll call you later. Love you, sunshine~

“Breakfast outside it is~”

Finding the café with the address y/n had given him, Sunoo marvelled at the exterior of the café once it had come into view. Had he walked into a kdrama set? The inviting scent of baked treats and hot chocolate were doing him no favours as it took a gentle hold over him, luring him into the ‘trap’ of a sweet breakfast – not that he was complaining, that is. Finding himself in line to order, Sunoo scoured the menu, easily finding something to eat that Saturday morning.

Watching people walk past the café windows while he nibbled on his pastries, Sunoo drummed his fingers against the table, unsure of what he should do to occupy his time. He could go and have a ‘me-day’; go to the spa, get a massage, redye his hair, all of it. Or he could head to the park and have a little picnic for himself, enjoy his break away from filming and schedules. Sipping on his iced coffee, the teen let himself get lost in thought as he set about finishing the rest of his breakfast. Food came first.

Making his way to the spa, Sunoo didn’t forget to make a stop by the library, buying one of the notebooks they had on sale. Y/n would definitely like it. The gift tucked away neatly in his satchel as he walked through the doors of his favourite spa, Sunoo went ahead and booked a massage for himself, a grateful a smile on his face as he took the clothes handed to him and went to the locker rooms to change.

A sigh of relief fell from Sunoo as the masseuse worked on his back, the knots in his shoulders finally being relieved after a long week. Feeling the urge to sleep getting bigger, the faux-blond let his eyes shut, the next thirty minutes passing by like a blur. Next thing he knew, the massage was over and he was being gently woken up by his masseuse.

“Mr Kim...?”

“Oh-oh, I must have fallen asleep. Thank you for the massage!”

“Oh no worries, you must have had a long week. Have a good day~”

“You too!” Bowing after he collected his things, Sunoo left the room, heading back to the locker room – where his clothes were waiting for him. Taking a seat and unlocking his phone, the teen scrolled through Twitter for a while before an – arguably cute – idea struck him. Opening KakaoTalk and recording a voice message for y/n, he sent it, a pleased smile on his face. That pleased smile soon turned into a wide grin as y/n replied almost instantly, cute stickers being sent his way. Snapping a quick picture and sending it, Sunoo put his phone aside as he changed, his heart beating as he anticipated his girlfriend’s reaction.

Y/n’s equally cute picture-reply on his mind as he sat in the salon chair, Sunoo had been getting his roots done, his hair layered between sheets of aluminium as he waited for the bleaching to work. His black roots had started to grow out, and he was due for a redye before it started looking like he had dip-dyed only half of his hair. Or before he started looking like a poorly designed manhwa character. Calling y/n, he asked about her day, listening to her speak with an endearing sense of curiosity on his face.

“I may have good news~” Y/n teased from the other line, watching the scenery pass by from her seat on the coach.

“Oh? Tell me~!” Sunoo replied, a light-hearted whine in his voice as he egged y/n on. He could just about hear the sound of steady traffic in between the momentary silence. “Are you driving Noona?”

“Hmm, kinda? I’ll see you later sunshine! Make sure to eat dinner~”

“I will!”

Returning home that evening after spending the rest of his day with his members, Sunoo opened the door to his shared apartment, a gift bag in hand. The sound of shuffling feet from the bathroom alerted him as he treaded slowly towards the front room. He wasn’t expecting any company, and y/n wasn’t due to return for at least the next day. Snapping his head to the sound of the bathroom door opening, Sunoo’s features brightened almost instantly, leaving his bags on the sofa as he ran over to y/n, engulfing his girlfriend in a hug. A laugh coming from the slightly older woman as she returned the hug, y/n cupped Sunoo’s face in her hands, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

“Y/n Noona! When – when did you get home? I thought you were coming home tomorrow?” Following y/n to the sofa, Sunoo pulled y/n’s hand into his own, playing with her fingers while she spoke.

“Ahh, the translator my sunbae was originally going to call made it to the location today. Most of the work was already done, so I managed to get home early. I did well, didn’t I?”

“Yep~”

Cuddled up together as they caught up on their drama, Sunoo paused the scene on screen when he realised that y/n was fast asleep on his shoulder, her subtle comments on the characters no longer accompanying the sounds of the romcom playing on TV. Resisting the urge to take a picture, Sunoo gently lifted y/n’s head, carefully holding her up while sliding a cushion underneath. Tiptoeing to the bedroom and returning with a blanket, he chuckled and covered y/n’s sleeping frame. Tucking in the edges and brushing a stray hair out of y/n’s face, he placed a kiss on her forehead.

“You’ve worked hard Noona. I’ll give you your gift tomorrow. Get some rest~”

[supernatural-jackles]

Seeing You Again

Title: Seeing You Again

Pairing: Jensen x Reader

Word Count: 10,871

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Mentions of Virginity Loss, Implications of Depression,  Smut, Love Lost, Divorce, Tears. Jensen is an innocent, love struck sweetheart.

Summary: Fifteen years had passed since you had seen the love of your life, Jensen Ackles. Your childhood sweetheart, the man of your dreams. The two of you separated against your wishes. Until he walks into your bakery one day without knowing you owned it. You never expected old feelings to resurface, let alone something more

Square Filled: Childhood Sweethearts ( @spnfluffbingo​) First Time ( @spngenrebingo​)

A/N: Happy Tuesday!! My posting schedule is remaining the same from now until the middle of August. You get a new update every Tuesday and Sunday!! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Happy reading! 

  You tied your apron around your waist, making sure it was secure before bunching up your hair in a quick messy bun. It was a busy Saturday afternoon and you had multiple things on the go already.

 You were a baker; at least that was one of your job titles anyways. Business owner, workaholic, you name it. You lived a busy life. You worked six days a week at the bakery you owned in Dallas Texas, and had for the last three years. A successful little place you called Sweethearts. A name you had picked out for longer than you’d ever admit to anyone.

 Every day was something new. A new order, or arrangement of orders. New faces, and familiar faces. The same smiles and thank you’s you got with every purchase. It was something you loved doing. You loved to bake and you loved to see the look on people’s faces when they picked up one of your creations for someone they loved.

 This was your dream, believe it or not. You had always wanted to own your own business and be your own boss. You were never one for following the rules, no matter who the leader was. You never wanted to be some corporate lawyer, or a nine to five, hating every second of life kind of person. You wanted every day to be an adventure. You wanted to be independent.

 You rolled out the fondant on your bakers table, getting ready to throw it over your double chocolate cookie cake for a special order. A lady wanted something special for her son’s tenth birthday so you were making a cookie monster cake in hopes he’d like it. In the distance, the timer for your oven went off, indicating that your in house pie was done.

 Saturday’s were typically busy days. Today was no different. Thankfully you had most of your orders done for the morning. It was only this cake that needed finished before you could take a break and make some simple cookies.

 “Hey Y/N, someone wants to see you,” your assistant called back. You wiped your hands on your apron as you walked out into the front of your shop. An older lady was standing there, a wide smile playing on her lips.

 “Hi there,” you greeted her.

 “Are you the owner of this place?” she asked.

 “Why yes I am,” you nodded. “Is there something I can help you with?”

 “I just wanted to give compliments to you. You run a very nice business. The treats are out of this world. In all my time, I’ve never had a chocolate chip cookie taste so good,” she beaned.

 “Thank you! That means a lot to me,” you nodded with a smile.

 “If you’re not already taken, my grandson would love a woman like you,” she teased, adjusting her jacket around her arms.

 “I’m married to my work,” you told her.  “Someone has to make all the orders.”

 “Well, you let me know,” she winked. “Take care now.”

 You waved the older lady off, watching her walk out the front door of your shop. Each seat was taken. You watched as people sipped away at their coffees and every one of them had some sort of baked good from your display. You were finally doing something right.

 “You know, you’re going to have to settle down someday,” your assistant, Victoria smiled at you.

 “I know,” you sighed. “Someday.”

 You walked into the back, getting back into finishing your cake. It needed to be done in less than an hour for the woman picking it up. You had to get your blue buttercream ready for the top of the cake, and the few cookies you had set aside to finish the top. It was going to be a breeze. You couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she saw the cake. The customer's reaction was always one of your favourite things. You loved seeing their smile.

 You took a deep breath, mixing up the buttercream and food colouring to get the correct consistency. Your mind wandered back to the older lady for a moment. Sure you were thirty one, but you had tons of time to settle down and find someone to spend the rest of your life with. Right now, you were a business woman. You had that and it was one hundred percent what your focus was on. You needed to continue to be successful. Relationships were overrated anyways.

 You poured the buttercream into the piping bag and began your design. You were excited to see how this was going to turn out. If it was good, it was definitely going on your instagram page.

 You could feel the sweat forming at your brow as you continued the last strokes on the cake. It looked amazing if you were to say so yourself. It turned out much better than you were expecting it to, times a million. This was definitely going to make that ten year old’s birthday.

 “Customer is here for the cake order,” Victoria called back to you.

 “Coming right out.”

 You boxed up the cake in a nice blue one you had custom made for purposes like this. It already said happy birthday on the side, along with some balloons. It was all about making the customer happy. You carefully lifted it off the counter and headed out to the front of the store with it in hand.

 “Alright, cookie monster cake,” you smiled, placing it down on the counter by the register, opening it up. “Cookie dough cake inside, along with homemade chocolate chip cookies on top and a blue buttercream topping,” you smiled proudly, looking down at your cake.

 “Gotta say Y/N, I always knew you’d be successful,” a deep voice said. You hadn’t even looked up at the customer yet. That voice was so familiar, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on who it was. Until you finally glanced up. Those piercing green eyes boring into yours.

 “J-Jensen?” you breathed out.

 “You’ve outdone yourself,” he smiled at you.

 “W-what are you doing here?” you cocked your head to the side.

 “My sister in law sent me to pick up the cake for my nephews tenth birthday,” he said. “I had no idea this was your place. Although, I have to say, it’s very you if I remember correctly.”

 “Thank you,” you smiled.

 “How much do I owe you?” he asked.

 “Uh, twenty two dollars,” you breathed out.

 “Do you accept tips?” he questioned as he reached for his wallet in his back pocket.

 “Yes,” you nodded.

 “Perfect. All I have is a fifty. Keep the change, sweetheart,” he winked. “You certainly deserve it. This cake looks perfect.”

 “Thanks Jensen,” you swallowed hard, not daring to take your eyes off of him. That fucking nickname. The whole reason why this place was called Sweethearts. The man you had fallen in love with all those years ago. “Take care.”

 You watched as he walked out the door with the box in his hands. You couldn’t believe it. Out of all the people you expected to walk in, he was never one of them. The man you had grown up with. The first and only man you had every loved with your whole heart. The one that slipped away.

 “Who was that?” Melaine, your part time girl who helped keep your shop in working order.

 “Just some guy I used to know a long time ago,” you smiled at her.

 “Did you guys used to be together?” she inquired as she poured a cup of coffee.

 “Yeah, for a while,” you breathed out.

 “Well, with the way he was looking at you, I’d say there is definitely some feelings still there,” she chuckled. “I wish my boyfriend looked at me the way Jensen just looked at you.”

 “Who was looking at who?” Victoria popped her head out and asked.

 “A very hot customer was looking at Y/N. Apparently they have history,” Melanie wiggled her eyebrows.

 “Shut up,” you shook your head, trying to repress your smile.

 “Awwww,” Victoria cooed.

 “He had heart eyes for her. Major heart eyes,” she beamed.

 “You guys, he’s an old friend. Nothing more. Now we’re dropping it,” you stated before walking back into the kitchen to begin your clean up.

 Your heart was still racing in your chest. It had been a really long time since you had seen Jensen in person. Sure, you followed all of his social media and kept up with what he was doing. He was an actor and had been for the longest time. He was successful at what he wanted to do and you cheered him on from your own tiny part of the world. But seeing him again after all this time, it wasn’t easy. It made you realize just how much you missed the way he’d call you sweetheart. You missed that in the sound of his voice, which was a lot deeper than it was the last time you heard it directed at you.

 The afternoon dragged on and four became six. Victoria and Melaine cleaned everything out front and took a few things to go home. You were left with closing up and counting the money made in sales before you could head home. You were just packaging up the last of the cookies when you heard the ding of the door.

 “Sorry, we’re closed now. We open back up on Monday,” you called out, closing the packet.

 “Uh, sorry,” the familiar voice said, causing you to look up. Jensen was standing by the door with a nervous look on his face. You swallowed hard, not knowing where exactly you should look at him.

 “Jensen,” you breathed out.

 “Hey,” he half smiled, taking a step forward.

 “Hi,” you said awkwardly, instantly cursing yourself for it. “Did your nephew like his cake?”

 “Oh yeah,” he let out a chuckle. “Said it was the best birthday cake he’s ever had.”

 “Good, I’m glad,” you nodded.

 “How long have you been in Texas?” he asked, making his way over to the counter.

 “Almost thirteen years now,” you told him.

 “T-thirteen years?”

 “Yeah,” you sighed. “I hated it in Minnesota.”

 “You’ve always been a Texan at heart,” he smirked, going quiet for a moment. “You know, you’re even more beautiful now than you were fifteen years ago.”

 “Jensen,” your cast your eyes down, unsure of what to say. “We’re not the same people we were back then.”

 “I know,” he nodded, licking his bottom lip before he looked at you. “Doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful.”

 “What are you doing here, Jensen?” you asked him, opening up the package of cookies, motioning for him to take one.

 “I - uh,” he paused, bringing his hand up to the back of his neck. “I was hoping that maybe I’d catch you before you headed home. Uh, maybe see if you would want to go out for dinner? Catch up?”

 “You sure you want to do that mister famous actor?” you teased him, watching his chest fall as he let out a laugh.

 “So you’ve been keeping up a little,” he said with a chuckle.

 “Here and there,” you shrugged. “I do have to finish up here before I do anything.”

 “Anything I can help with?” He offered as he took a cookie from the packet. You smiled, closing it right, trying not to look at Jensen. “These taste amazing. They are even better than I remember.”

 “Same recipe I used before,” you told him. “If you want to pack up the rest of these while I do the deposit, I’d appreciate it. I know it’s not what you’re used to.”

 “Nah. Put me to work,” he assured you.

 You showed him where the containers were and he got to work instantly, starting from the right side of the display, moving onwards. You headed over to the cash, taking out the register to bring it to your office which was right by the display.

 “How long has this place been open?” Jensen asked you.

 “Almost three years,” you answered, emptying out the till.

 “Gotta say, you’re pretty successful here,” he told you. “Lots of customers. Bakery is amazing. I always thought you’d open up one in Minnesota.”

 “I couldn’t wait to leave,” you admitted. “I lasted two years before I came back to Texas. It’s always been my home.”

 “Your mom still there?”

 “Yeah, with her boyfriend dickwad,” you shared. “At least, that’s what I call him. Not the biggest fan of him if you couldn’t tell.”

 “Your dad here then?”

 “He’s around here somewhere. He stopped talking to me after mom took me away after the divorce was finalized,” you revealed. “Now, he doesn’t talk to me much.”

 “That sucks,” he frowned.

 “How long are you visiting for?” You dared to ask.

 “Few days before I head back. Changed my flight,” he said lowly.

 “When were you supposed to leave?” You cocked your eyebrow.

 “Tomorrow at three in the morning,” he said sheepishly. “But I knew as soon as I saw you-“

 “Jensen, dont,” you swallowed hard.

 “C’mon, it’s not like we parted on bad terms,” he reminded you. “It’s not like either of us had a choice in the matter. You were leaving to move a million miles away.”

 “I know,” you nodded. “But It’s different now. I’m not sixteen anymore. You’re not sixteen.”

 “No. I’m thirty one,” he reminded you. “Back then, we didn’t have cell phones or whatever. It’s different now, but at the same time, it feels exactly the same.”

 “It’s not going to work,” you shook your head.

 “Okay, say you are right,” he paused, glancing over to you in the office. “Will you at least hang out with me for one night?”

 “Considering you probably aren’t going to leave until I say yes, fine,” you stated.

 “You’re not wrong,” he shrugged.

 You finished counting up the money from the day and put it in the safe before locking it up. You pulled your keys out, grabbing your jacket before shutting the door behind you. You took a deep breath, seeing Jensen standing there waiting in anticipation. You knew this was going to be a mistake. You knew it the second he walked in here that this was a mistake. Too much time had gone by between you and you couldn’t let yourself snap back into what the two of you had before you parted ways.

 “Ready?” he asked you.

 “Yeah,” you nodded, tightening your jacket around yourself. Jensen placed his hand on your back, walking with you towards the front doors of your little shop. You pulled your purse over your shoulder before switching keys to lock up the place.

 He stood by the curb, his hand in the air to hail a taxi to take the two of you wherever. You could feel your stomach getting tighter. You were nervous. Something you hadn’t felt around a guy in a very long time.

 A taxi pulled over to the side of the road, stopping right in front of you and Jensen. You let out a shaky breath as he opened up the door, motioning for you to get in first. He joined you seconds later, shutting the door.

 “Hi, could you drop us off at Beertown please,” Jensen said to the driver. A young man who simply nodded his head without a word. It took everything in you not to look over at Jensen. You wanted to so bad. You wanted to see if the freckles still dusted over his cheeks. You wanted to see the greens of his eyes and get lost in the millions of stories he had seen over the years.

 It was a short ride to the restaurant he was taking you to. One of the ones you frequented growing up. You were never legal to drink, but the food was amazing and so was the atmosphere. It was where he took you for your first date. One you’d never forget. You were more nervous about this dinner than you were on the first date.

 He helped you out of the taxi and led you to the front door of the restaurant. You took another deep breath, trying to control yourself as the waiter led you to your table in the back. Somewhere a little more private as Jensen asked for.

 “It feels like it was a lifetime ago that we were here,” he commented.

 “It was a lifetime ago,” you said. “We were fifteen. Still in high school.”

 “Back when everything was simple and all we had to worry about was finals,” he chuckled.

 “That and I remember worrying about my parents fighting all the time. ‘T’s why I spent so much time with you at your place. Your family always got along, unlike mine. I liked it there,” you shared.

 “It sucked a lot when you were gone,” he swallowed hard. “I know we parted on good terms but it was hard without you.”

 “Least you had your friends though,” you reminded him.

 “I still have your letter,” he confessed. “In my apartment in Vancouver. I still have it.”

 “Really?” you breathed out.

 “Yeah,” he smiled. “I wrote you back and then never heard from you again.”

 “Mom was pissed at me,” you sighed. “Moving away from everything and everyone I knew was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. It was worse when she didn’t listen to me when I told her I was struggling. Failed three classes my last semester of high school. Managed to get into UT and left. I was homesick and I missed you.”

 “I missed you,” he stated. “Hell, I went to prom with my buddies.”

 “I think we made it worse for ourselves though, Jensen,” you breathed out.

 “Hey there. What can I get for the two of you?” the waiter smiled, pulling out her notepad.

 “We’ll have two classic burgers, some fries and two of whatever you have on tap please,” Jensen told him.

 “Coming right up,” he nodded, taking off to the next table.

 “What do you mean you think we made things worse?” he cocked his head to the side, folding his arms on the table.

 “I think you know exactly what I mean, Jay,” you said lowly.

 “Are you - do you mean the night before you left?” he furrowed his brows. “The night we-”

 “Yeah,” you nodded.

 “Do you regret it?” he inquired.

 “No. Of course not. But it made everything a million times harder,” you revealed. “It was all I could think about from the time I left until I got there. Even then, I thought it wasn’t going to be so bad because we were both applying to UT and we were going to see each other again soon enough.”

 “But I didn’t,” he frowned. “I left for LA instead.”

 “It is what it is,” you nodded. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not proud of you. I want you to know that. I’ve been following you from the start. I watch every episode, and every movie. I’ve seen your interviews and I follow all your accounts on everything. Hell I’ve even seen some convention footage.”

 “I wish I could do the same with you,” he brought up. “Trust me, I’ve looked and haven’t been successful so far. Made me wonder if you got married and changed your name.”

 “No. I’m not married,” you chuckled. “Not to anyone at least. Work maybe.”

 “Here are your meals and your beer. Enjoy!” the waiter smiled as he placed everything down on the table. He even brought some ketchup for the fries and a bottle of vinegar. You gave him a warm smile with your thank you, looking forward to diving in.

 “What about you?” you dared to ask.

 “What about me?” he furrowed his brows.

 “C’mon, a guy like you has to have a girlfriend,” you teased him.

 “Nope,” he shook his head, picking up his burger.

 “Yeah, I find that very hard to believe. Girls were always fawning over you in high school and I’ve seen what people say about you on the internet,” you giggled.

 “See, the only one that mattered to me was you. You have had my attention since I met you in kindergarten,” he let out a laugh. “My parents always said we were childhood sweethearts.”

 “We were,” you agreed. “You were my first everything, Jensen. Quite frankly, I’m glad you were too.”

 “Why is that?” he cocked his eyebrow.

 “Because you treated me like a queen,” you shrugged, taking a fry off the plate. “You treated me better than anyone’s first boyfriend does at that age. You set my expectations high, which is why I’m not married or with anyone. No one can live up to the simple standards you set when we were sixteen years old.”

 “Good,” he declared. “You deserve to be treated like a queen. Don’t settle for anything less. I was honoured to be your knight in shining armour.”

 “You mean king?” you corrected him.

 “No,” he shook his head. “I’m simply a knight, sweetheart.” And just like that, you melted into the seat. You felt like you were sixteen again, sitting in the passenger's seat of his truck, staring out at the sunset in the field. The little moments that meant a lot to you.

 “Well I beg to differ, darlin’,” you winked, trying to play it cool. Your heart was beating a mile a minute. How could it possibly feel like no time had passed between you? Fifteen years had gone by and yet, you connected if it was just yesterday.

 “I missed that,” he smirked.

 “What?” you cocked your head to the side.

 “You calling me darlin’, or honey,” he admitted almost nervously. “For the record, you made me feel like a king, even if I was a knight.”

 You grabbed your burger off your plate, finally taking a bite from it. The flavours danced on your tastebuds, bringing you back. This whole night was filled with nostalgia. You came to the conclusion that this couldn’t happen again after tonight. It was too hard to sit with him, and reminisce about how great things were many years ago. It was hard to sit with him and look at his soft features you had spent so much time with and know that it was in the past. Jensen was your best friend growing up. He was your rock. Your light in the darkness. But you couldn’t let him back into your life again and have things go sour this time around. You needed to keep those happy memories happy. Not turn them into something you have to speak to a therapist about in two years.

 “When do you leave?” you asked him, taking a sip of your beer.

 “Monday night,” he answered, taking a fry off the plate. “So I’m here another day and a bit.”

 “I’m sure your parents are happy to see you,” you half smiled.

 “Yeah,” he nodded. “They think I work too much. I don’t visit often enough according to them.”

 “Your parents are cute,” you giggled. “They still have your bedroom in tact?”

 “No actually. They did some renovations on the house and turned my room into one of the kids rooms when they have over the grandkids. I’m staying in a hotel for the next few nights. They have an extra room in the basement for me but it’s not ready yet.”

 “Your parents were always the busy type,” you pointed out. “Your mom was always doing something when I was there.”

 You watched as Jensen brought his beer up to his lips, taking a good drink of it. Your eyes wandered over his features once more. His soft hair sticking up and leaning a little more to his right. The crinkles by his eyes made you smile, especially when he did. He was handsome and he only got better with age. He had grown into himself now that you allowed yourself to look at him. He wasn’t a scrawny kid anymore.

 “Can I get you guys anything for dessert?” the waiter asked as he cleared away your plates.

 “No thank you,” you mouth to Jensen.

 “No thanks, can we just get the cheque please,” he nodded politely.

 You sat still in your seat, reaching for your phone in your purse to check your messages. This wasn’t a date, you reminded yourself. This was acceptable and this was you check on your business. You had no email orders thankfully and everything else looked fine. It was seeming more likely that you could have a day to rest tomorrow instead of in the kitchen. You took a deep breath, hoping that maybe you and Jensen would part ways after this and you could head home to spend the night in your apartment.

 The waiter came over, placing the cheque on the table. Before you could even look at it, Jensen had taken out his wallet and placed some money inside it. He never let you pay for dinner, even back then.

 “Thank you for dinner, Jensen,” you smiled at him.

 “Thank you for joining me,” he half smiled. “Any chance your night is free?”

 “What did you have in mind?” you cocked your eyebrow.

 “Honestly, nothing. I just don’t want to leave you yet,” he confessed. You were a little confused for a moment. You couldn’t understand why he wanted to spend more time with you. He was a famous actor now. You were a small town girl he was with a million years ago. You had history but this was almost too far. You appreciated his honesty. You just had a bad feeling about this.

 “Jensen,” you breathed out, getting up from your seat. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

 “You feel it too?” he asked, almost sheepishly. You licked your bottom lip, your eyes casting down. Your heart rate picked up a little at his words. There was this awkward tension that had been sitting there with you most of the night, just waiting to make its move. It finally had.

 “Feel what, exactly?” you dared to ask.

 “This awkward weirdness that’s never been there before,” he pointed out. “Something telling you to walk away.”

 “Yeah, I do,” you nodded, adjusting your purse over your shoulder. You let out a sigh. “But there is also this stupid feeling inside of me that’s stopping me from walking away.  That same stupid feeling I got when you asked me to dinner.”

 “That same feeling when you saw me earlier today,” he breathed out.

 “Yeah,” you whispered.

 “C’mon,” he motioned for you to follow him. You nodded your head, letting him lead the way out of the restaurant. The sun was starting to set, creating a nice warm orange tone in the sky. Jensen walked down the sidewalk, a few steps ahead of you.

 What the hell were you doing? You barely knew him now. He was Jensen Ackles, a well known actor. You were Y/N Y/L/N. You owned a tiny bakery. That was your accomplishment. He had everything and so much more. He was the definition of success. Everyone loved him. You are not about to be a part of that. You were not about to be reckless after years of hard work.

 “Jensen wait,” you swallowed hard, as you stopped in front of the park, taking a seat on the bench. He looked at you in confusion before taking a seat next to you.

 “What’s up?”

 “Where are we going?” you shrugged. “What are we doing?”

 “I- I don’t know,” he sighed.

 “I can’t do this, Jensen,” you shook your head. “I’m not doing this. I’m sorry. It was really nice seeing you after all this time.”

 With that, you got up and started walking the other direction. You couldn’t sit there with him. You could go wherever he was going to take you and you certainly couldn’t let yourself get attached to the idea of loving him again. He was your childhood sweetheart. The one who taught you what love was and how to love someone with everything. Too much time had passed and you were two completely different people now. There was no changing that and you didn’t want to.

 “Y/N, wait up,” you heard Jensen call out from behind you, followed by heavy footsteps, indicating that he was running after you.

 “Jensen-“

 Before you could even get a word out, his lips were on yours, kissing you hard. His hands came up to your cheeks, just like they used to when he kissed you unexpectedly. Your heart was fluttering in your chest and you could feel your lips tingling at the sudden contact. You wanted to reach out for him; pull him in close and kiss him like you used to for hours on end. His lips were soft along with the stubble growing on his face. You couldn’t deny kissing him back as your eyes fluttered shut. His breathing was heavy after running, shortening the kiss by quite a bit.

 “Sorry,” he swallowed hard. “I had to.”

 “It’s okay,” you nodded, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth nervously. Your eyes cast down for a moment, trying to gather your thoughts.

 “Look, seeing you - it brought up a lot of memories that I don’t think I was ready for. I never really got over you, you know? You were in my life everyday for eleven years and then you were just gone and I barely got to say a proper goodbye.”

 “You did,” you assured him. “That last night before when we had sex for the first time. That was goodbye.”

 “You know that’s not what I mean,” he said softly. “I don’t want to leave this on bad terms.”

 “We’re not going to,” you assured him. His lip curled upwards as his piercing green eyes met yours. You could feel the tension building between the two of you. His words swirling around in your head. He never really got over you, just the same as you never got over him. He was the one you lost all those years ago and it didn’t seem like he was walking away without a fight. Not this time.

 “My hotel is just down the street. What do I have to do to convince you to come with me?” he smirked, brushing a stray piece of hair away from your face.

 “Depends,” you played. “What are we going to do?”

 “Nothing you aren’t comfortable with,” he said. “I just know I'm going to regret it if I don’t ask you.”

 His words were honest. For a second, you saw a glimpse of a boy you knew a long time ago. A boy who was willing to do anything to put a smile on your face. Deep down, you knew he was still in there. He had to be for people to talk about him the way they did. He was admired by everyone he worked with.

 “Alright,” you agreed, nodding your head.

 “I’m not expecting anything-”

 “I know,” you smiled.

 “So what was Minnesota like?” he asked, throwing his arm around your shoulder as you walked down the sidewalk.

 “Shitty,” you scoffed. “People aren’t that nice. After my first class at my new school, I went into the bathroom and cried. It was the first time I had no one and I was terrified. It’s why I came back to Texas. My mom was too busy with her new boyfriend to even notice.”

 “You didn’t make any friends?” he furrowed his brows.

 “No. Not a single one. I didn’t go to prom. I thought about skipping graduation,” you confessed.  “I never want to feel like that again.”

 “Anyone ask you to prom?” he cocked his head.

 “Yeah, one guy,” you shook your head. “Only because he thought I was a virgin and he wanted to up his score.”

 “Really?” he swallowed hard.

 “I told him I had a boyfriend with a huge dick and I wasn’t interested in contracting herpes,” you let out a laugh.

 “That’s my girl,” he smiled, pulling you in tighter to him.

 “What about you? How many girlfriends have you had since?” you poked his side playfully.

 “Three including you,” he answered. “I didn’t date anyone for a few years after you. I was about twenty when I started dating a girl who was a year younger and that lasted for about a year. She and I just didn’t click after sometime. Then a couple of years later, I met someone who was really cool. We dated for two years before calling it quits. I work too much and so did she. We were just better off without each other.”

 “Sucks when you work a lot in a different country,” you breathed out.

 “It does,” he agreed. “You dated anyone else?”

 “One guy in college for about three years,” you shared. “Justin. Turns out you can date someone for three years and not really know them all that well.”

 “Oh really?” he frowned, leading you into the front doors of the hotel.

 “Yeah,” you sighed. “I called you a king. Well this guy was more like a street rat in the end.”

 “Like Aladdin kind of street rat?” he joked playfully.

 “Shut up,” you giggled. “Worse. Aladdin at least had a good heart. He got the princess in the end. I’m talking about Jafar here!”

 “Fuck that guy,” he stated. “You deserve better than that.”

 “I had better than that,” you reminded him. “You ever think about what would have happened if my parents never split and I never would have left?”

 “Sometimes,” he admitted. “I always come to the same conclusion though.”

 “Which is?”

 “You hating me,” he revealed. “If you never left, we would have made it to graduation and I would have left for LA and it would have been a messy break up and you would have hated me. Or I would have accidently knocked you up and ruined your life and you would have hated me. Say that never happened, I work in a different country and the distance would have driven us apart and you would have hated me. No situation has a good outcome.”

 “You always were an overthinker,” you teased him.

 “So are you,” he chuckled.

 He led you over to the elevators on the right side of the hotel lobby. His arm was still around you, tucking you into him. You had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen as soon as you entered his hotel room. You knew his expectations were low, and you understood that. But god, did you miss him. You never really realized until his lips were on yours. Everything came flooding back to you. Suddenly, you were sixteen years old again and nothing had changed.

 “Jensen,” you whispered as soon as the elevator doors shut. He leaned over, pressing number twenty seven. “I could never hate you.”

 “Yeah, but you could not like me and that’s not something I want,” he admitted. “I’m going to be honest with you here. I know I’m a little off tonight. Not that you could tell, but I can.”

 “You’re a little clingy,” you joked, wrapping your arm around his waist.

 “My best friend got married two weeks ago,” he sighed. “I was one of his groomsmen at the wedding. I just see him with her and how happy they are, and when I did, the first thought that came to mind was you. I still think about you, more than I should. Maybe it’s because we never really split up for a bad reason. Both of us still had strong feelings for each other and we were ripped apart from each other. Then I saw you today, after looking for you for years, in Texas again and I - I just knew I had to take a chance.”

 Your mouth went dry at his words as the elevator doors dinged open on floor twenty seven. You didn’t know exactly what to think. Did he just miss you? Was this a mid life, I’m never going to settle down kind of thing? Was he just thinking of you because of what you had a million years ago. Jensen didn’t know the person you were now. He didn’t know what the last fifteen years of your life were like, and you didn’t know about his.

 But that didn’t mean that you didn’t miss him. After all, he was the only man you had ever loved. You were convinced he was the love of your life for the longest time.

 “W-which room?” you asked him.

 “End of the hall,” he pointed to the left.

 You stepped out first, holding out your hand for him to take. He ducked his head down, trying to hide his smile before slipping his hand in yours. His hands were rougher than you remember them being, and a little bit bigger. Engulfing yours in warmth. You could smile without him seeing. You didn’t want to give away the fact that you loved the feeling of his hand in yours again.

 “Here,” he stopped you, releasing your hand. You stood next to him, watching him slide the key into the door before the green light flashed. He opened up the door, motioning for you to walk inside.

 You could smell the cool hotel room air as soon as you stepped inside. The first thing you noticed was the big window on the other side of the room. It took up the entire part of the wall. The view was beautiful. It was nice to see Dallas from this perspective.

 You turned around, seeing Jensen standing behind you with his hands in his jean pockets. He was looking at you with a soft smile playing on his lips. Your eyes darted to the king sized bed in the middle of the room. He had his bag on the chair next to the bed.

 “So to continue on from what you said in the elevator,” you paused, “you’re in a bit of a dark place, huh?”

 “I was,” he admitted. “Then I saw you today. Randomly, out of the blue. You were just there.”

 “Coincidence,” you shrugged.

 “Or fate,” he swallowed hard.

 “Or fate,” you breathed out. You felt your heart rate picking up as you looked at him.

 “You haven’t changed much,” he said lowly. “You’re still kind, and caring. You still laugh at the same things. Back then, I thought you couldn’t get anymore beautiful. Until I saw you today.”

 “You age like fine wine yourself,” you smirked. “You’re taller, and more muscular.”

 “I grew up a bit,” he chuckled.

 “Still got your cute lil’ bowlegs though,” you giggled, taking a step towards him.

 “Shut up,” he let out a laugh. “God, I want to kiss you again.”

 “What’s stopping you?” You asked him, taking a seat on the end of the bed, looking up at him.

 “Overthinking,” he let out a dry chuckle.

 “Spill.”

 “I could kiss you,” he paused. “But then I know I’m going to want to do it over and over again. I don’t want to push you or make you uncomfortable. I don’t want to be the reason why we don’t talk again for another fifteen years.”

 “I think both of us are afraid of that,” you confessed. “But I’m also going into this prepared for that.”

 “So what are you saying?” He asked.

 “I’m saying we have tonight. Let’s just focus on that first,” you whispered. “We can go back to our lives after this.”

 “Can I at least grab your number before you leave?” he asked you.

 “I’ll think about it,” you played, getting up from the bed. “I have to say, it’s really good to see you again.”

 He stepped forward, slipping his hand around the small of your back. You felt your heart flutter in your chest at his touch, craving more of it. This time, you allowed yourself to hold him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. You stood on your tiptoes, carefully pressing your lips to his in a hesitant kiss. His grip tightened on you, drawing you in closer as he kissed you back.

 Memories of the past came rushing back to you. Jensen was just a boy you were best friends with. The one you spent everyday with up until the day you left. You remember the day he kissed you for the first time like it was yesterday. Out in the park where you frequented. He sat at the end of the slide, waiting for you to come down one evening. It was just the two of you left. Everyone had gone home for dinner. He was so smooth and cute about it, which was one of the reasons why you fell so hard for him so quickly.

 Every moment from then on led up to now. You wanted this to be another addition to those memories. Your king making his way back to the castle for a moment. You knew it wasn’t going to be permanent and you were almost sure you could handle that, if it meant you had tonight with him.

 You parted your lips, deepening the kiss as your arms tightened around his shoulders. Every so often, his nose brushed against the side of yours. His tongue slipped across yours, and you could taste the beer he had with dinner earlier tonight. You want more of him. You wanted every part of him. His touch had heat pooling in your core. The smell of his cologne only entranced you more. You were headed down a path that you couldn’t turn back from. You weren’t sure you even wanted to.

 “Jensen,” you breathed out, pulling away just slightly, trying to catch your breath.

 “Too much?” he whispered.

 “No,” you shook your head. For a moment, you paused, not sure if this was something he was okay with. You wanted his touch, and you craved it. You didn’t know if it was okay the other way around.

 You released him from your hold. Your hands making their way to your jacket, quickly peeling it off. Jensen stood there, his eyes locked on your every move. In a moment of confidence, you tore your t-shirt over your head, dropping it to the floor. That confidence quickly fell away when you realized he had probably dated models, and seen so many beautiful women that were so much nicer to look at compared to you. God, what the -

 “You’re so damn beautiful, sweetheart,” he said softly. Just like that, one damn word and you were melting into again. He shrugged off his flannel shirt, letting it fall to the floor. He took the collar of his shirt, pulling it over his head, revealing his torso inch by inch. His stomach was soft, just like it was fifteen years ago, only now, he had grown into himself. He had a tiny trail of hairs leading down into his jeans, making you smile. He was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

 “Jensen,” you whispered, “you’re so handsome.”

 “I’m glad you think so,” he said with a nervous smile.

 “I do,” you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, reaching for the button on your jeans. His hand came up to yours, halting your movements.

 “Is this - are you sure?” he furrowed his brows.

 “For old times sake,” you winked. “Unless you don’t want to.”

 “Fuck,” he smiled, looking down. “For old times sake.”

 You continued to undo your pants while he worked on his own. This was definitely happening and you were more than okay with it. You felt that desire building inside you, and you needed to satisfy the itch. You needed him for so many reasons. He stood there in his black boxers. The outline of his cock making an appearance. He looked bigger now than he was back then.

  You stood there in your bra and panties, unable to take your eyes off of him. You could feel yourself dripping in your panties. God, you wanted him. You wanted to feel his length inside you again. You wanted to hear him come undone to you touch.

 “Do we need-”

 “I’m on the pill,” you told him, reaching behind your back to unhook your bra, letting one of the last articles of clothing fall to the floor. Jensen’s eyes never left your body.  You watched as his eyes darkened at the sight of you. His hands reaching for your body for the first time. You melted into his touch, letting your nerves simmer down.

  “So perfect,” he muttered under his breath. “I can’t keep my hands off you, and quite frankly, I don’t want to.” Your nipples hardened at the coolness of the air.

 You turned in his hold, facing him. His eyes roamed over your body, his bottom lip coming between his teeth. He had such an effect on you and quite frankly you couldn’t get enough now that you had started.

 You motioned for him to get on your bed and he did so quickly. You straddled his hips, your centre lining up with the bulge in his boxers. A tiny wave of pleasure coursed through you as you did. Your lips were on his in an instant, your tongue dancing with his. His hands held you tightly against him.

 Your heart was soaring in your chest as you kissed him. Your hands traced over every inch of exposed skin like it was the first time. You loved the way he felt beneath you. You loved the way you felt in his hold. It was calming, and warm. Jensen made you feel safe and there was no one in the world you could say made you feel that way and you were slowly starting to realize that.

 “Hmm Y/N,” he breathed out. You ground your hips against his, eliciting a groan from his lips. “I’ve gotta have you.”

 “Have me,” you muttered.

 “Yeah?”

 “I like this,” he mumbled.

 “You want me on top of you?” You played.

 “I want you anyway,” he growled.

   You climbed off of him, slipping your panties down your legs, leaving you completely exposed to him. His eyes hooded with lust and desire as he glanced over you. His smile was soft, and sincere as he did.

 You leaned down, dipping your fingers in the waistband of his boxers, dragging them down his legs. His cock sprang free, hitting his stomach with a soft slap. You smirked, throwing one leg over his lap once more. You took his cock in your hand, lining him up with your entrance.

 You pressed your forehead to his, looking into his gorgeous green eyes, eyes that you never thought you’d get to look into again. Now he was staring into yours, trying to learn you all over again.

 You sank down on his length, slowly letting him fill you up, stretching you in the most delicious way. The first thrust was always the best. The feeling of being one; of being so damn close to one another. Jensen took a sharp intake of breath, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment. You saw how much they had darkened once he opened them. Your lips collided with his as he bottomed out inside you.

 His hands rested between your shoulder blades, pulling you in closer to him. You shifted, lifting your hips before sinking back down, creating a steady pace that worked for both of you. Jensen’s hands slipped down the length of your back, resting them on your ass to help you move on him.

 “Fuck Y/N,” he groaned, his fingers digging into the flesh of your ass.

 “Jense,” you breathed out. You gripped his shoulders, bouncing a little faster on his dick. A thin layer of sweat began to bead along your skin.

 Jensen held you to him, shifting quickly. Your back hit the mattress. Jensen thrusted into you at a quickened pace. His entire weight was on top of you, adding to the pleasure he brought to you. His cock was dragging perfectly against your sweet spot, pushing you closer and closer to your breaking point. You could hear the tiny cries that escaped passed his lips as he drove into you. Your nails scrapped down his back, trying to pull him in even closer to you.

 His lips attached to the spot beneath your ear as his thrusts slowed down to almost teasingly slow. You let out a moan as he sucked down softly. The tiny hairs on the back of your neck stood up. He paid attention to you and what you liked. You carded your fingers through his hair, something you knew he liked.

 “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he mumbled into your neck.

 His thrusts picked up a little more. You could tell he was getting closer by the way he was breathing. His mouth was ajar, and his tongue just peaked passed his lips. He was fucking gorgeous before he came, and every other time really. But this was different. Not many people had seen this.

 “Jensen, I’m gonna-”

 “Go ahead,” he breathed out. “I’m right behind you.”

 “Come for me, Jense,” you urged him on, trying to keep up with his thrusts.

 Within a few thrusts, your walls were clenching around his cock, squeezing him as pleasure soared through you. Your body was shaking beneath him as you threw your head back against the mattress. Your fingers digging into his back once more. You couldn’t contain your moan, or any of the words that rolled off your tongue. He made you feel so damn good, and you didn’t want to hold back.

 Jensen wasn’t too far behind you. His thrusts became sloppy, and inconsistent. He tried to get as close to you as he could. His balls slapping against your ass. He came with a muffled cry of your name, spilling himself deep inside you. He slowed down, letting his orgasm run its course.

 He lay on top of you, trying to catch his breath. You continued to run your fingers through his hair, waiting for his breathing to even out. The second time was even better than the first and you were thankful it was. It was a nice moment between the two of you. Finally feeling him again like you had craved for years after you left.

 “Guess now I can cross have sex with an actor off my bucket list,” you breathed out with a chuckle.

 “Shut up,” he shook his head, grinning into your neck before shifting off of you. He withdrew himself from you, and you instantly felt the loss of him. He hopped off the bed, heading into the bathroom. Your eyes wandered down to his perky ass, watching as he walked away.

 He came back seconds later with a warm washcloth in his hand. He cleaned you up, just like he did the first time you did this together. You smiled at him. He was still that sweet boy you had known all those years ago.

 You made yourself comfortable on the bed, waiting for him to come back and join you. It was just after ten and you didn’t exactly want to leave at this time and make your way home by yourself. You didn’t know if you should stay the night.

 “At least this time I actually get to cuddle with you,” he chuckled. “You don’t have to sneak out the window to head home.”

 “Yeah, that was awesome,” you scoffed. “I wasn’t exactly expecting your brother to come home.”

 “Neither was I,” he shook his head. “C’mere.”

 You inched over to him, throwing your arm around his waist before intertwining your leg with his. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder before placing a kiss to the top of your head. You could feel yourself slowly unwinding from the day. You were up early to start your orders and didn’t stop until Jensen walked in just after you closed. You were exhausted.

 “You smell good,” he muttered, kissing your head once more.

 “So do you,” you yawned. “You also stink of sex.”

 “Get some sleep, sweetheart,” he said softly.

 Your eyes fluttered open to a dark room. The clock in the corner read four thirty six. You were in a hotel room. Shit, you were in Jensen’s hotel room. You glanced to the other side of the bed, finding Jensen laying there on his back. He was fast asleep.

 Guilt rushed through you. What were you doing here? Why were you still here with him? You knew you shouldn’t be. He was Jensen Ackles, an actor. He wasn’t your best friend anymore. He wasn’t that same small town boy you had fallen in love with all those years ago. He was a busy, hardworking man now. You were from two completely different worlds. He loved the idea of you and what your past was.

 You carefully slipped out of the bed, trying not to make any big movements that would wake him. You bent down, picking up each article of clothing, putting it back on. You were doing him a favour. You couldn’t be that girl he used to know. You couldn’t give up your dreams for a past dream.

 Tears pricked your eyes as you looked back at him. He was forever going to be the man you had fallen in love with. The one who treated you like a queen. You couldn’t be that for him now. He deserved better than that. He was simply confused and he saw you and thought of an easy way to get what he wanted.

 You tiptoed over to him, leaning over to him. You pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before turning to head out. You never expected it to hurt so bad, but it did. Jensen was your happy thought in a world full of misery for two whole years. He was the one thing that got through to you when you felt like giving up.

 You slipped out of the hotel room, quietly shutting the door behind you. As soon as you got to the elevators, the tears slipped down your cheeks. It hurt. God, did it hurt. But you were leaving on good terms. You were leaving after a night of reminiscing and soft touches. A night filled with the same passion you had all those years ago. You wanted it to go that way. You wanted him to remember that about you.

 You took a taxi back to the shop, trying to keep your tears at bay at that time. You must have looked like a crazy person to the older man. Eyes red and puffy heading to a bakery at nearly five in the morning.

 It was just starting to drizzle when you stepped out of the cab after paying for your fare. You had your keys ready in your hand, opening up the door to your shop. Your biggest accomplishment. Everything you had in the small little shop was created by you. You built this. You worked your ass off for this and the way you felt at this very moment - it was like it meant nothing.

 You walked into the back of the building, heading up the stairs to get to your apartment located right above the shop. The only way you could keep the costs low. You opened up your apartment door, stepping inside. The second the door shut, the tears kept coming. You were doing the right thing, you reminded yourself. You were doing what was for the best.

 Monday morning came quickly. For the first time, you didn’t want to get out of bed and start the day. You didn’t want to go to work and you didn’t want to bake something. You just wanted to take a break. You wanted to go back to three days ago when Jensen wasn’t a thought on your mind. When he was just a public figure on the internet.

 You threw on a blue t-shirt and a comfortable pair of black pants. You weren’t bothering with makeup today. You were going to bake and that was it. No customers today. Your sole focus was making cupcakes for a birthday party and a few pies for orders. You could finish by one and go back up to your bed.

 “Morning, Y/N,” Victoria smiled at you, handing you your morning coffee.

 “Morning,” you smiled at her, reaching for your drink.

 “Rough weekend?” she smiled knowingly.

 “You have no idea,” you chuckled dryly. “I know I look like ass. If you and Melanie could keep a handle on everything out front. I don’t exactly want to scare customers away with my grudge look today.”

 “You look as beautiful as always. You’re just too hard on yourself,” she smiled. “We can take care of things no problem.”

 “Thank you,” you gave her a warm smile.

 You pulled some of the already prepared cookie dough from the fridge, placing them on three trays to begin filling things up out front. You had your cupcake batter on the go and your buttercream already mixing in the kitchen aid. The smell was starting to fill the kitchen, making you feel more at ease. This is what you were good at. This is what you loved to do.

 You poured the chocolate batter into the cupcake holders, adding in a little extra to have bigger cupcakes. It was for a girls birthday party. The buttercream was sitting in the mixer. A nice neon pink colour that was going to go well with the dark chocolate cupcake.

 “Hey Y/N,” Melanie poked her head back. “Someone is here asking about the open position.”

 “Oh really?” your ears perked up. “Uh well, send them back here and we’ll take it from there.”

 “Okay,” she beamed, turning away.

 You grabbed your measuring cylinder, placing your piping bag into it so you could get your buttercream ready for when the cupcakes were done. The timer for the cookies went off at the same time. In the corner of your eye, you caught a figure, which had to be the one inquiring about the position.

 “I’ll be right with you. I just have a lot on the go,” you told them, grabbing your oven mitts to take the three trays out of the oven. You had a cooling rack next to your oven, perfect for placing lots of products when they were done. “You’re interested in a baking position?”

 “Yeah,” the deep voice said. You almost stopped what you were doing. You were definitely expecting a female voice. “I’m only available Saturdays, and the odd Fridays. Depending on when I get off my other job and when I can fly in.”

 You turned around, taking a deep breath. Jensen was standing there with his hands in his pockets. He was clearly nervous. He looked about as good as you did, if you were being honest. His eyes were tired.

 “Y-you’re not actually interested in the position are you?” you swallowed hard.

 “I am,” he nodded. “I can’t bake to save my life but I'm interested.”

 “Jensen-”

 “Why’d you leave?” he asked you. “I woke up and you were just gone. No sign you had even been there.”

 “I can’t, Jensen,” you sighed in defeat, moving over to one of the stools by your counter.

 “Why not?” he questioned, taking his hands out of his pockets. “I told you I still have feelings for you-”

 “That’s not enough and you know it,” you licked your bottom lip, your eyes casting down. “Feelings don’t make a relationship work, especially not one between two people that barely know each other anymore. I get that your best friend getting married striked something in you and seeing me didn’t help. But I can’t be that girl for you, Jensen. I can’t drop everything I’ve worked for and that’s why it would never work. You’re an actor who works in a different country. I work six days a week here. Timezones, distance, insecurities, doubts, guilt, and god knows what else will come between us. It doesn’t matter if I still love you or not.”

 “Do you?” he asked lowly. “Still love me?”

 “Of course I do. I never stopped, ” you admitted. “But it’s not enough.”

 “I’m not asking you to give this up for me,” he said to you, taking a step closer to you. “I’m asking you to give me a chance.”

 “This isn’t because of everything is it?” you dared to ask.

 “This is because I love you and I never stopped,” he stated. “I’ll fly down every weekend I don’t work to take a Saturday shift and spend Sundays with you.”

 “N-no,” you shook your head.

 “Y/N, are those cookies done by chance?” Melanie asked sheepishly. “Sorry, I know you’re in the midst-”

 “Yeah, you can take one. They are hot though,” you told her.  She snuck passed you with the empty tray in her hand. She moved quickly, placing eight of them in their places before sneaking back out. The tension was growing in the room.

 “Why not, Y/N?” he sighed in defeat.

 “I can’t be the girl you want me to be, Jensen. I can’t walk red carpets with you and be in the public eye like you are. I can’t be the girl I once was,” you sniffled.

 “And I’m not asking you to be,” he declared. “All I want is you. You and whatever comes with you. Whatever shit you’ve been through, whatever it is. I’ll take it as my own. I just know that I love you and I haven’t felt my heart beat the way it has with you in a really long fucking time.”

 “You could have anyone -”

 “All I want is you,” he repeated. “Long days, phone calls, weekend flights. I’ll do it if it means I can be with you.”

 “I work six days a week,” you reminded him.

 “I’ll work Saturday’s,” he stated. “You’ve already seen me work.”

 “I live in a one bedroom shoe box apartment above this store,” you shared.

 “Is that your attempt to get me to change my mind,” he chuckled, taking the stool in front of you. He placed his hands on your legs, looking at you. “Nothing you can say will change my mind. I looked for you for ten years, Y/N. Now that I found you again, I’m not losing you.”

 “I don’t have money to fly to you,” you argued.

 “Don’t care. I’ve got frequent flyer points,” he smiled. “Anything else?”

 “I think I’m done now,” you admitted with a half smile. “For now.”

 “So do I have the job?” he cocked his head to the side.

 “Yeah,” you nodded. “You’re on probation though.”

 “Is it because I can’t bake?” he let out a laugh.

 “Yes. One hundred percent.”

 “Thank you,” he smiled. “But do me a favour?”

 “Anything,” you looked up at him.

 “Don’t ever leave me in the middle of the night like that again,” he breathed out, leaning over. He pressed his lips to your cheek.

 “Promise,” you agreed. “I gotta work now, darlin’.”

 “Put me to work, sweetheart. I can fit in a couple of hours before my flight,” he winked. “I’ll be back Friday night for three days.”

 “Good,” you beamed, holding your hand out for him to take. You helped him off the stool and led him over to the counter. You handed him an apron so he wouldn’t get his shirt dirty.

 “Hey Y/N,” Victoria smiled as she walked back into your work area. “Did we hire this one?”

 “Yeah,” you nodded with a wide grin. “For now.”

 “Good,” she smiled. “It’s about time you let someone in. Glad it’s heart eyes.”

 “Heart eyes?” Jensen furrowed his brows.

 “You gave me heart eyes when you saw me Saturday afternoon,” you teased him.

 “Crazy heart eyes,” she pointed out. “Break her heart and I’ll break your face.”

 “Victoria,” you said, wide eyed.

 “I don’t care who he is,” she narrowed her eyes at him playfully. “I can take on Dean Winchester.”

 “There’s an idea,” you muttered under your breath, turning back to your table.

 “What was that, sweetheart?” Jensen smirked.

 “Nothing, darlin’.”

 “Yeah okay,” he chuckled, leaning over to you, placing a sweet kiss on your lips. You smiled against him, finally allowing yourself to truly enjoy it for the first time. You really were childhood sweethearts. You only hoped that you became a couple that was destined to grow old together. Either way, you were glad you were entering this journey with Jensen by your side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like it? What was your favourite part? Share your thoughts with me via reblog, reply or send me an ask! Your response keeps me writing! 

[tsarisfanfiction]

Long Way From Home: Chapter 12

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Family/Friendship Characters: Scott, Tracy Family

Watch me forget to update again last week, whoops.  This is also the final chapter of this ‘arc’, so we’ll be taking another break for a while because uni means I don’t have time to keep writing at the moment (and a certain character is being awkward in the next chapter).  Still, I hope you’ve enjoyed this pile of Scott&Other-Gordon, and I’ll get back to work on this when I’ve got the time.

For now, enjoy!

<<<Chapter 11

The subject wasn’t broached until they were back in the car, Scott feeling comfortably full as the food settled in his stomach.

“I guess there’s nothing I can say to persuade you to finish the trip now?” Other-Gordon sighed.

“I’m not quitting,” Scott said firmly.  “It’s just some sneakers.  I’ll try them on, find the ones that fit best, and we’ll be done.”

He half expected Other-Gordon to contradict him and tell him something was different about buying shoes in this universe, but he didn’t.

“That’s the spirit,” he said instead.  “I’ll keep them talking, like the last shop.”

“Thanks.”  Scott appreciated the thought; if they were distracted with Other-Gordon, then they’d be focusing less on him.

He was looking forwards to being able to wear comfortable shoes. Other-Scott’s fit well enough, but after several hours in them he was starting to feel the rub of an unfamiliar style.

“Mr Tracy!” he was greeted as they stepped through the door upon arrival. “Is there a problem with your last purchases?”

“Oh no, not at all,” Other-Gordon cut in, inserting himself slightly ahead of Scott and into the flustered-looking man’s line of sight. “You’ll have to forgive Scott, he’s gone and lost his voice, but he really liked them, so we’re here to get a couple more pairs,” he assured them.

The fluster turned to relief and then delight as the man no doubt realised he was going to be making another expensive sale to round off his day.

“Of course!” he beamed.  “If you’d like to follow me.”  They were chivvied along to a section of the shop lined with various designs of sneakers all along the wall, which Scott immediately started to eye up.  The designs were varied, and none of them looked exactly like he was used to, but he could definitely see a few that looked hopeful.

Ignoring both Other-Gordon and the salesman, he walked over to the wall to get a closer look.  You’re Scott Tracy.  He just had to take the initiative instead of hovering awkwardly and waiting for a cue, and then it would be fine.

No-one would suspect he was the wrong Scott Tracy.

Behind him, Other-Gordon was talking a mile a minute, playing the distraction he’d promised, and after the day they’d had it was almost effortless to trust him.  The other man had proven time and time again that despite the bizarre nature of the situation, he cared and wanted Scott to be as comfortable as possible.

It wasn’t even a case of just trying to preserve his brother’s reputation. Just as he was Scott Tracy, Other-Gordon was Gordon Tracy.  They might not be each other’s brother, but they didn’t need to be related to care. The man that had guided him out of two panic attacks and subtly grounded him at the first sign of other ones had done it because he cared about him.

Scott was used to being the rescuer.  He was used to being the one picking up strangers, helping them find their feet and offering whatever aid was needed until they were safe.  He’d never been so thoroughly on the other side before.  It was terrifying, he realised as he picked up a hopeful looking sneaker for a closer inspection.  Putting all your trust in someone you knew of but didn’t know was much, much harder than he’d ever realised.

What Other-Gordon was doing for him wasn’t quite the same – his life wasn’t in danger; he didn’t need snatching from the jaws of death – but the parallels were there.  Scott was lost, and there was no denying that he was scared of what had happened, why it happened, what it would be doing to his brothers right then, and Other-Gordon was offering a life line.  Something he could cling to while he found his feet, and caught him when he stumbled.

“Scott?” the man in question asked, appearing beside him.  “How are you doing?”

Scott looked at him, the heart-achingly familiarity of his face even though it wasn’t the same, and the searching amber eyes that were exactly the same, right down to the concern shining through, and nodded. He’d only known him for a few hours, but Scott trusted him, and that was enough to keep what-ifs and concerns about recognition at bay.

He could do this.

The sneaker in his hand looked like a good start, so he held it up, drawing attention to the selection.

“Would you like to try that pair on, sir?” the salesman asked.  Scott nodded confidently, and handed it over so he could bustle over to the store room to retrieve its partner.

Other-Gordon didn’t say anything, even after they were left alone, so Scott continued looking around, searching for another design that looked hopeful. He could feel the other man’s eyes watching him, but he wasn’t asking if he was doing okay, or attempting to provide other reassurances, and Scott wondered if he could tell that he was, as much as he could be, relaxed.

He probably could.

By the time the salesman returned – this one called John, it transpired, but with black hair and brown eyes it was just another man with a common name, and not a painful reminder of his younger brother – he’d found another three to try on.

Four times pacing and then jogging around the room, jumping up and down and feeling a rush from being active, even if it was just rather aggressively putting through sneakers through their paces, and he ended up walking out the shop with all of them.  It was easier than picking two when they all felt right.

There was also the nagging feeling that Other-Scott didn’t test shoes quite the same way he did, judging by the look on salesman-John’s face, and the panic had started to bubble up when he abruptly remembered that Other-Scott had only been there recently.  Grabbing all four pairs and nudging Other-Gordon into paying for them so that they could leave – a nudge that, yes, might have comprised of four smaller ones that instantly sharpened amber eyes – had been the easiest way to avoid questions and quell the panic.

Other-Gordon didn’t outwardly hurry them out of the shop, but Scott felt the underlying determination as he quipped about getting late and the flight home as an excuse for their departure.  The amount of money the quartet of sneakers cost definitely went a long way towards distracting the salesman from anything else.

“Are you okay?” the ginger asked once they were settled back in the car. He didn’t mention that Scott had been fine for most of the time, but the unspoken observation hung between them.

Scott took a deep breath and pressed his head back against the headrest, feeling the hat digging in.  He was looking forwards to taking it off.  “Yeah,” he said.  “I’m okay.”

“Too much cooped up energy?” Other-Gordon asked, clearly determining that he wasn’t about to panic and turning the engine on.  “You were mighty energetic in there.”

“They’re nice sneakers,” Scott defended, not responding to the secondary observation.

“So it seemed,” Other-Gordon shrugged.  “Well, unless there’s anything else you need, I’d say it’s time to head back to the airport.”

Scott glanced at the backseat of the car, where a small pile of bags nestled.

“That should be enough,” he agreed.  “I don’t suppose I can persuade you to let me pilot back?”

Other-Gordon did a double-take.

“What happened to ‘different technology’?” he asked.  “You’ve not understood anything here.  I saw you looking at the car earlier.”

Scott shrugged.  “Apparently the only thing that is the same are plane controls,” he admitted.

Other-Gordon groaned.  “You mean you actually were judging my piloting?” he whined.

“I didn’t say anything about your piloting,” Scott defended.  Other-Gordon huffed.

“You didn’t need to, but I figured you were just comparing it to what you were used to,” he said.  “It didn’t occur to me that you knew exactly what I should have been doing when.”

“So you’ll let me pilot back?” Scott tried hopefully.

“Sorry, fella.”  He couldn’t stop his shoulders slumping in disappointment at Other-Gordon’s firm answer. “Look, I would rather you piloted, because I’m not daft enough to think you’re not better at it than me, but you don’t have a pilot’s license here, and it’s not my call whether you sneak by on Scott’s.”

The argument made a frustrating amount of sense, and Scott sighed. “Can’t we ask him?”

“He’ll say no,” Other-Gordon said confidently.  “Unless you’re telling me you’d let someone pilot on your license with only his word he’s as good as he says.”

The ginger, annoyingly, wasn’t wrong.  Scott wouldn’t.

“We can add it to the things to talk to him about when we get back,” Other-Gordon pointed out.  “Still, if planes aren’t so different, maybe that’ll make the training easier.”

He had a point.  Scott hadn’t considered that the Thunderbirds might have the same controls, when the jargon seemed so different.  “I saw a few external differences,” he said.  “Didn’t get a good look at the cockpit, and her engine makes a different sound.”

“Why aren’t I surprised you took all that in?” the ginger asked rhetorically. “Then again, I suppose in a way she’s ‘yours’,” he mused.  “Good luck fighting Scott for her.”

Scott groaned, well aware that no matter how good a pilot he proved to be, he was never going to wrangle primary pilot of this universe’s Thunderbird One.

“I don’t think I’ll bother,” he muttered.  “He won’t give her over unless he has no other choice.”

“Voice of experience?” Other-Gordon asked, amused.  Scott raised an eyebrow at him.

“The last time I let Gordon near her he tried to turn her into a submarine. Virgil hates piloting her, Kayo is banned from going near the pilot seat, John prefers being a passenger in Two if he’s down from orbit and Alan’s too inexperienced,” he listed. “No-one pilots my girl except me. No exceptions.”

Other-Gordon laughed.  “That doesn’t surprise me; Scott’s the same,” he confirmed.  “But who’s Kayo?”

Scott had forgotten he hadn’t mentioned Kayo to anyone except Tin-Tin yet.

“My Tin-Tin,” he said.  “She’s a hell of a pilot, but her ‘bird gets damaged even more than Three.  Too many stunts.”

“Hold up.”  Other-Gordon even raised a hand to emphasise his words.  “Her ‘bird?  Do you have six or- but Three?  No, you said more than Three.  Who pilots Three?”

That was entirely too many questions, and Scott dodged most of them.

“Tin-Tin doesn’t have her own?” he asked in return.  “I know she’s an engineer, but so’s Virgil.”

“Tin-Tin co-pilots Three sometimes, but otherwise she stays on the island,” Other-Gordon told him.  “Your- Kayo goes out?”

They think we’re delicate flowers, Tin-Tin had more-or-less said. Scott hadn’t made the connection with participating on rescues.

“I get the feeling Kayo would give you all a heart attack if you ever met her,” he said.  “There’s no stopping that girl when she gets an idea in her head.”

He should know.  He’d tried. It normally ended in shouting matches and her doing whatever she wanted anyway.  Sometimes he wondered if building Thunderbird Shadow for her had been a mistake, but then he remembered how miserable she’d been without her own reliable transport.

Other-Gordon eyed him.  “There’re more differences than technology and fashion, aren’t there?”

“Yeah,” Scott confirmed.  “I haven’t decided if more is the same or different yet.  Most of it seems to be small things.  Just enough to be off from what I’m used to.”

“Like us,” Other-Gordon sighed.  “Sounds like we were too hasty with this trip,” he added.  “Even if you needed new underpants.”

Scott shrugged.  “We were never going to know all the differences.”  He wouldn’t have thought to ask about the minor details, and none of them had even considered that the family business – the actual one – would have a different name.

“I guess that’s true,” Other-Gordon conceded.  “But we should still have given you a little longer than a few hours before taking you off the island.  Sorry about that.”

He wasn’t wrong, but, “what’s done is done,” he said.  “I survived.”

“Get yourself straight in the Ladybird when we get to the hangar,” Other-Gordon said.  “If anyone tries to get in your way, ignore them.  I’ll get Scott to soothe any ruffled feathers later.”

“I can handle it,” Scott protested.  “Jones, right?”

“You don’t have to handle it,” Other-Gordon told him firmly.  “It’s been mighty awful day for you, and the last thing you need is Scott’s airfield buddies bothering you.  Those fellas know Scott better than anyone else we’ve seen today.”

Scott had almost forgotten that.  Other-Gordon was right; returning to the Ladybird was when someone was most likely to notice something wasn’t right.  The sandwiches from earlier felt uncomfortably weighty in his stomach all of a sudden.

He couldn’t afford a panic attack in the hangar; Other-Gordon wouldn’t be able to take off, so they wouldn’t be able to get away from Other-Scott’s so-called ‘airfield buddies’.

It would be an absolute disaster.

“Okay,” he agreed.  “But I’m not leaving you to load her alone.”

Other-Gordon rolled his eyes.  “Maybe it’s different where you’re from, but here we have valets for that sort of thing.  Appearances and all that – although Dad’s got them trained to be extra vigilant if it’s me. They won’t let me pick up a single bag, just you watch.”

Other-Gordon’s back hadn’t even occurred to him, but if even his family were treating him like glass, Scott supposed it was no surprise there was hired help to stop him straining himself.

“I don’t know how you stand it,” he admitted.

“Aw, it’s not always so bad,” Other-Gordon admitted.  “Helps with the cover.  No-one would expect poor, crippled former Olympian me of still being an active aquanaut, let alone be capable of pulling the stunts those fine young men in International Rescue manage.”

That was true, Scott supposed.

“Look,” the ginger said.  “If it makes you feel better, you can run through her pre-flights while I’m dealing with the chaps on the ground.”

Scott startled.  “You trust me to do that without supervision?”

“I know you were watching me when we left the island,” Other-Gordon shrugged. “I figure if you do come across something unfamiliar, you’re not daft enough to let me take off without getting it double-checked it first.”

Scott could accept that.

“Besides, no-one’ll find that strange around here.  It’ll look more strange if Scott Tracy isn’t doing all the checks himself.”

“You could have just said that in the first place,” Scott pointed out. Other-Gordon scoffed, but said nothing.

Jones wasn’t amongst the men that seemed to be waiting for them when Other-Gordon rolled the car up behind the hangar.  Scott supposed his shift was over for the day, and in a way that made it easier to reluctantly leave the car and head straight for the hangar.  The T.A. was a beacon, and once the door opened, the red of the Ladybird stood out amongst the many planes housed inside.

“Hey, Scott!” an unfamiliar voice called.  He ignored them, remembering what Other-Gordon had said about them all knowing Other-Scott and knowing he couldn’t handle trying to interact with any of them without the ginger to act as a buffer without making them suspicious.

Pre-flight checks.  Those, he could do.

He slipped into the cockpit, taking the pilot’s seat for the moment although Other-Gordon was doubtless going to shove him over when he arrived, and immersed himself in the blessed familiarity of flicking switches and running all the checks that had long since become second nature to him.  While the Ladybird was a far cry from Thunderbird One, she wasn’t so far from more conventional aircraft that he couldn’t work her out.

Engrossed in the task, he barely noticed the ground crew flitting around as their shopping was loaded into the cargo hold under Other-Gordon’s supervision, or the questions about him being fired the ginger’s way, only to be expertly deflected.

He did notice the jab in his shoulder when Other-Gordon clambered up to join him.

“Finished?” the ginger asked.  Scott ran his hands over the controls one last time, before reluctantly pronouncing himself satisfied.

“She’s good to fly,” he said.

“Then budge over,” Other-Gordon retorted.  Scott reluctantly shimmied over into the passenger seat. “Everything’s fine?”

“Just like our training jet at home,” Scott promised.  “I taught Alan to fly with controls like this.”  He glanced over at the ginger settling himself into the pilot’s seat.  “Gordon, too.”

“You’re calling the Ladybird a training jet?” Other-Gordon asked.  “I’d like to see you tell Tin-Tin that.”

Scott chuckled.  “Anything’s a training jet compared to my usual ride,” he pointed out.

Other-Gordon rolled his eyes.  “I’d like to see you tell Virgil that.”

“His girl’s not a jet,” Scott retorted.  “Not unless that’s got a very different definition here.”

“I suppose you have a point,” Other-Gordon conceded, before reaching for the radio.  “Tango Alpha Ladybird to Auckland Air Traffic Control.  We’re ready for take-off, over.”

Static crackled for a moment.

“Auckland Air Traffic Control to Tango Alpha Ladybird,” the radio responded. “Clear to proceed to runway three-bravo, over.”

“Tango Alpha Ladybird to Auckland Air Traffic Control.  Understood.  Proceeding now, over.”  The hangar door opened and Other-Gordon taxied them out onto the tarmac.  Scott occupied himself with looking out at the other planes as they travelled past.  Some designs were instantly familiar, while others looked very different to anything he’d seen in his own universe.

Other-Gordon made a few more calls over the radio as they finished taxiing into position, and Scott settled back in the seat comfortably as they waited for permission to take off.

He had to admit he didn’t miss all the bureaucracy with Thunderbird One, and John acting as his ATC wherever he was in the world.  VTOL launches helped.

After another half a minute or so, the all-clear was given, and the Ladybird rumbled to life, surging forwards and up under Other-Gordon’s hands.

“Auckland Air Traffic Control to Tango Alpha Ladybird, your route is clear,” the radio crackled again.  “Have a safe flight.  Over.”

“Tango Alpha Ladybird to Auckland Air Traffic Control,” Other-Gordon replied. “Thank you.  Over and out.”  He fiddled with the radio for a moment.  “Ladybird to Tracy Island, come in.”

“Tracy Island receiving you, Ladybird,” Not-Dad’s voice filtered through. “How’s it going, Gordon?”

“We’ve just left Auckland, Father,” the ginger said.  “Estimated ETA in two hours.”

“I’ll let your grandmother know,” Not-Dad replied.  “You boys didn’t have any problems?”

“No, sir,” Other-Gordon said, to Scott’s relief.  “No problems.”

“Well, I expect to hear about your trip when you get back,” the man told them.  “I’ll see you then.  Tracy Island out.”

“Thanks,” Scott said after the connection ended.

“I’m still telling Scott,” Other-Gordon reminded him.  “But you can thank me by not judging my piloting the whole way back.  Stare at the clouds or something.”

Scott chuckled.  “I’ll do my best,” he said.  Other-Gordon just groaned.

“I am never piloting you anywhere ever again,” he swore.  “Cloud watch.  Don’t you dare look at what I’m doing.”

Scott rolled his eyes but obliged.

Like the outward journey, their return one passed in mostly silence, Other-Gordon focusing on piloting and Scott doing his best not to make idle comments whenever he didn’t react to changes in the air currents the same way he would.

He liked to think he was successful at it.  The aquanaut would no doubt disagree.

“I can still feel you judging me,” Other-Gordon grumbled eventually. Scott wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it seemed like they should be nearly there.

Up ahead was a small, rocky island.  It looked utterly unfamiliar, but Other-Gordon was straight on course for it.

“Home sweet home,” the aquanaut commented when he caught him looking at it. “The same?”

“The only similarity is that it’s volcanic,” Scott answered.  “Ours has twin peaks, to start with.”  This Tracy Island seemed to have some sort of plateau mountain, rather than the jagged peaks he was used to.  It also seemed less like it was making up part of the lip of a caldera.

“That’s interesting,” Other-Gordon hummed.  “Your house is nothing like ours either, is it?”

Considering he’d needed a map to find Other-Scott’s room earlier, Scott thought that was rather obvious.

“Not at all,” he said.  “Even the pool’s a different shape.  Ours is a regular Olympic-size pool.”

“Really?” Other-Gordon asked.  “I suppose that makes it easier to retract, though.  Easier to pilot through, too?”

“If I ever get the chance to compare, I’ll let you know,” Scott replied. Other-Gordon laughed.

“I should let them know we’re on approach,” he said, reaching for the radio again.  “Ladybird to Tracy Island.”

“Tracy Island receiving you, Ladybird.”  It was Other-Scott on the line this time.  “You’re clear to land.”

“F.A.B., Scott,” Other-Gordon acknowledged.

“How much damage control have you left me with?” Other-Scott continued. “Dad says you said there were no issues?”

“I’ll give you the run-down once we’re down,” the aquanaut told him. “There was paparazzi.”

“If I don’t like what they publish, you’d better watch your back, Gordon,” Other-Scott warned.  “I’ll meet you two in the hangar.  Tracy Island out.”

“Well, no sense in putting it off,” Other-Gordon commented as the line went dead.  “You want to hang around for the debrief?”

Scott shook his head, having no wish to stand around and listen to an account of what he’d already lived through.  “Just him,” he reminded.  “I’ll get changed while you do.”

“You finally get to change underwear,” the ginger commented, and Scott rolled his eyes.  “Coming up on the landing now.”

Sure enough, there was the runway, protruding out onto a pier and lined with palm trees.  Definitely Thunderbird Two’s runway, and now that they were approaching it, Scott could see the cragged rockface that no doubt moved somehow to reveal the giant cargo plane.  A little way up was a white building, built into the cliff.

He filed that away to ask about later, not wanting to interrupt the aquanaut as he brought them down onto the tarmac with a slight bump, decelerating until they were taxiing towards an open hangar door.  It wasn’t quite central to the runway, further cementing Scott’s conclusion that Thunderbird Two was just behind the cliff face.

To his relief, Other-Scott seemed to be alone, standing next to the blue beauty he’d spotted earlier, as Other-Gordon brought the Ladybird to a stop and started the post-flight checks.  Wherever the rest of the family were, it didn’t seem like they’d planned a welcoming committee, at least.

“So?” the older man asked once they left the cockpit, already at the cargo hold and looking at the bags.  “Dad seems convinced everything went fine, but you didn’t tell him about the paparazzi, did you?”  He was clearly talking to Other-Gordon, but his eyes flicked to Scott.

Scott shrugged and reached past him for the bags.  “Gordon’ll give you the run-down,” he said.  “I’m getting changed.”

“Don’t forget the underpants!” Other-Gordon chirped at him.  He rolled his eyes and walked away, but not fast enough to avoid overhearing the start of the conversation.  “I’m sworn to silence to everyone except you, and you’re only the exception because he’s your clone, so don’t even think about telling anyone,” the ginger said, quietly but not so quietly Scott couldn’t hear while he waited for the elevator to swallow him up.  “Which definitely includes Dad, by the way, but-”

The elevator doors clanged shut, cutting off the conversation.  Scott jabbed the button labelled second, which was also the highest option, so he assumed that was the bedroom level.

It was, and to Scott’s private delight there was no-one in the landing, so he managed to slip past the door to the lounge – out of which piano music seemed to be coming – and into the guest room designated as his without being intercepted.

Once there, he upended the bags over the bed, letting the neatly-wrapped parcels of clothes fall out haphazardly, before picking up clothes to get changed into.

It was a relief to finally get out of the waistcoat, shirt and slacks belonging to his counterpart, and even more of a relief to find himself wearing something that much more closely resembled his idea of casual.

Setting the discarded clothes to one side, he rummaged through the rest of the new clothes and set about hanging them up in the closet.  His uniform was where he’d left it, he was pleased to see. No doubt Other-Brains would request it at some point, but Scott intended on supervising his investigations.  It was good that it hadn’t just been taken while he was out.

A knock on the door startled him just as he was hanging the last pair of jeans.

Who would that be?  It could have been anyone on the island – although he suspected Other-Alan might be less inclined to seek him out, and Other-Gordon would probably announce himself, if he didn’t walk straight in.

It was honestly weird having anyone knock rather than just walk in. His brothers had long since stopped waiting to be invited in, although Virgil and John did at least announce themselves with a knock most of the time.

“It’s me.  Can I come in?”

Other-Scott.

Scott supposed he should have expected that one.  Did he want to talk to his doppelgänger?  Most of the island’s residents he could probably predict how the conversation was going to go, but ironically, Other-Scott seemed to be the hardest to read.

He guessed it was because he had no idea how he’d react if things were the other way around, and Other-Scott had ended up in his universe.

His gut told him he probably wouldn’t give up trying to have a conversation if he was going out of his way to initiate it.

“Yeah,” he called back, closing the closet door.  The door opened and Other-Scott walked in, closing it behind him.

“Is that what you wear at home?” he asked, blue eyes scanning the clothes Scott had changed into.

“As close as I could get,” Scott shrugged, sitting on the bed next to Other-Scott’s discarded clothes and folding them up, mostly for something to do with his hands.

“Dad’s not going to approve,” Other-Scott warned him.  “But if it makes you more comfortable, I don’t see the problem.” He picked up the hat and discarded sunglasses.  “You’ll have to stay out of sight whenever we have visitors anyway, so no-one’s going to see you.”

There was an awkwardness about the other man that Scott thought was uncharacteristic of himself, until he realised it was the same awkwardness he was feeling, because there were no guidelines in any training he’d undergone about how to interact with an alternate universe version of yourself.

“Are you checking up on me?” he asked abruptly.  It made sense if he was, after getting Other-Gordon’s account of the day, and Scott thought they’d do a lot better if they stopped trying to test the waters.

From the quirk of Other-Scott’s lips, it was a shared opinion.

“I heard what happened,” he confirmed.  “Gordon was adamant you don’t want anyone else to know, and I can understand that.”  He sighed. “This is weird,” he said, and Scott gave a wry smile in agreement.  “And maybe, considering you’re literally another me, I’m not the best person to talk to, but.  I’m here. If you have questions, or want sane conversation.”

“After a day with Gordon, sane conversation is sorely lacking,” Scott quipped, and Other-Scott laughed.

“I owe him a billiards match or ten now,” he said.  “Remind him he can’t actually beat me.”

“Little brothers,” Scott shrugged.  “Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile.”

“Some things don’t change wherever you are,” Other-Scott agreed. “Gordon said you recognised the Ladybird’s controls?”

“Yeah,” Scott confirmed.  “We’ve got a plane like that at home.”

“I’ll talk with Dad about taking you for a flight,” Other-Scott said. “Once we’ve established how much is familiar, we can figure out anything else.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Scott agreed.  Other-Scott grinned.

“I wonder which one of us is the better pilot,” he said.  “I’m looking forward to seeing you fly.”

That thought hadn’t occurred to Scott.  “Best pilot gets primary dibs for Thunderbird One?” he dared.

Other-Scott laughed.  “If it’s my ‘bird on the line, I’m not going to go easy on you,” he warned.

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Scott replied, and they both laughed.

“Well, I’m going to go teach Gordon a lesson or ten now,” Other-Scott said. “You’re welcome to join us if you’re not sick of his company by now.”

Scott chuckled.  “I’d like to see that,” he said.  “He might be better at chess, but if he’s anything like mine, billiards is not so much his territory.”  He stood up, gathering the dirty clothes.  “Where’s the laundry room?  Might as well drop these off.”

“I’ll show you,” Other-Scott said, opening the door again and stepping into the hallway.  “It’s next to the games room.”  Scott followed him, letting the door close behind him.

Chapter 13>>>

[darkhymns-fic]

There's a sweetness to you

With a basket full of fresh strawberries, Colette takes a little detour outside of Iselia to make her sales until a strange dog leads her down a path to an out-of-the-way farmhouse - and to a gentle-eyed farmhand, whose smile lights something in her chest.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Lloyd Irving/Colette Brunel Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: Fic request for @frayed-symphony​ based on this art of colloyd in a farmer AU! Expect fluff.

-

Colette found her bravery underneath the sinking sun, and all when she met Lloyd for the first time.

The farmhouse was a bit out of ways from her own, just a few miles over by the hillside, past the brush where some ranchers brought their cattle to graze during the hot summer months. It was so out of the way, that she wasn’t sure if it even had an address?

There’re no roads over here… And try as she might, she could see no signposts anywhere that indicated she was still going in the right direction. Only the landmarks of the small trickle of a river that curved by her left, and where the fields of wheat stalks rolled out before her by the hillside, like a shimmering sea of gold.

It had been quite an ordeal to get here…

Colette had stumbled numerous times on her journey, boots scraped in both mud and grass stains, her twin-plaited hair dangerously close to unraveling. Even her overalls had gotten a rip or two on its front, making her look as if she had just gotten into a fight with a bush and lost (which had basically happened.)

Every part of her showed the fatigue of her trek – everything except for what she held in her hands. Somehow, the basket full of strawberries looked as fresh and unharmed as when she had first picked them that morning. Which was good! Because no one would want to buy any bruised strawberries, that was for sure.

Though maybe going out of her way to this solitary farmhouse out in the country may not have been the smartest decision...

Colette would have given up then and there, her basket still feeling quite heavy in her grip, if it weren’t for the dog that walked into her path. A dog with great big ears, a fluffy tail, and an intelligent look in his black eyes.

Just like that, Colette’s strength was instantly regenerated. “D-doggy!” she blurted out, her mind going in circles as it tried to process this new, amazing information. “Wait… are you the doggy from the place I was trying to find…?”

It was almost like something from a fairy tale, the dog, nearly up to her chest in height, tilting his head at her question. He didn’t wait long, already trotting off down the dirt-trodden path ahead, looking back to her with eager whines. Colette’s strength was instantly refueled at the sight, so she followed after the animal quickly, suddenly going over the dips in the road with expert grace, all while dozens of strawberries bounced in her basket.

She then heard the passing of a river, full and brimming instead of a meek string of puddles, its clearness shining underneath the deepening twilight. Right next to the river was the very farmhouse she had been looking for – though it looked more like regular home that was three stories tall, complete with a balcony where ivy clung to its railing. It was a structure crafted from oak, with a stable attached to its side, a sign hanging from above it on creaking hinges.

On its face was the design of something familiar – and she looked to the green-furred dog then who had led her here, seeing his face on that very same sign.

By then she looked further, at the wooden posts that encircled the farm and its land. At the animals that ran across the grass, at the adorable way they barked and yipped, and soon Colette realized that the sounds she had thought she heard in the breeze had not been wishful thinking then.

There are so many dogs! she thought in complete awe, eyes opened wide. Dogs of all shapes and sizes! From short and stout corgis to furry huskies to gentle bloodhounds, and even to mixed breeds with all their wonderful features. Was this… a doggy farm?!

And in the midst of all that, she saw a boy – a red handkerchief tied around his neck, his forehead beaded with sweat from the heat. He wore black suspenders, along with thick work boots and gloves as he held up one tiny, black-furred dog over his head, while others milled around his legs. There was a smile on his face as he held up the animal. “Feeling better today, Noishe junior?”

Her first thought, after her own wonder at the farm and the animals they cared for, was at this boy, and how cute he seemed just then.

The dog who had led her there just then jumped over the fence posts, whining to catch the boy’s attention, along with a dozen of other dogs. Numerous furry heads turned, and Colette nearly melted at the sight of adorable furry snouts and wide black eyes, with both floppy and pointed ears to match. I wonder if I can pet them…

“Oh! Are you the strawberry girl?” Lloyd asked, plopping down the dog back on the ground to join the others. There was a mass of snuffles and yips, but he didn’t react to it. He must be so used to it , Colette thought. He’s so lucky!

“Um, yes! You’ve heard of me?” Colette’s exhaustion caught up with her again, and had just enough energy to place the strawberry basket on top of the fence post.

“Yeah, of course! My dad always says the strawberries from Iselia are really amazing!” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as he walked up to the fence, carefully moving around shuffling doggies, some following his every step, while others got bored and ran off to chase any wandering butterflies. Colette noted that the first few buttons of his shirt were loose, but even that wasn’t enough to stop the heat apparently. “And that they usually delivered strawberries to places too. But I can’t believe you really came out all this way! You didn’t get lost?”

Colette stood up proudly. “Nope!” she lied right through her teeth, then felt guilty at such a blatant lie. She sighed. “Actually… I did… But I was led here by your dog so I wouldn’t lose my way.” She smiled at the green-furred animal, seeing him go to that stable and curl up in the middle of it. He looked so big, big enough to carry a person!

“Oh, Noishe helped you!” The boy grinned, sunlight turning his hair several shades of bronze. It was the twilight, the way it heightened colors, burnished them in different angles. “He’s always wandering around here, but I never expected him to lead a girl to our farm… Oh, my name’s Lloyd by the way! I didn’t mean to give you my dog’s name over mine…”

Colette giggled, her chest feeling a strange sense of lightness. “That’s okay. I’m Colette! It’s nice to meet you. I can’t believe I never knew about this doggy farm…”

The boy named Lloyd placed his hands on his hips, looking particularly proud. “It’s new! This used to be just a regular place but after finding some strays around the woods, I decided to make this a farm for stray dogs everywhere! I take care of them and people come by to adopt one if they want to!” Noishe, still in his stable, then began to whine a little. “Although I think it makes Noishe kinda jealous now.”

Colette would have stood there and hear all sorts of doggy stories all day if she could. But she figured by the large gathering of dogs that ran around the great yard, some chasing each other (or their tails) while others napped in the waning sunlight, that not many people came by. Maybe if they had a sign for it somewhere…

She couldn’t help her gaze going to them, watching the way one small puppy tried to dig a hole in the ground with such a fervent zeal, as if they would find the treasure they would seek if they just dug even faster! Lloyd followed her eyes to the same dog. “Hey, careful there, Noishe the third! You’ll hurt your little paws!”

Colette blinked at the name, so familiar. “Noishe?” she asked aloud, and Lloyd suddenly looked nervous.

“Er, it’s a working name! I’m… not good at giving names, really. Not to dogs anyway.” He scratched at his cheek, facing her again, the sunlight now streaming against his face in bright strokes. “And every dog is like Noishe, so, it made sense!”

Colette couldn’t help but smile even more at his explanation, his voice so earnest and warm. She turned to look at that particular dog so obsessed with digging. At their curly, fluffy tail, their wheat-colored fur, and a face that always looked like it was smiling, no matter what it did. “Hm, but how about… Pookie? She looks like a Pookie to me.”

Lloyd paused, staring at her. “Huh, that’s not a bad name… Wait, how did you know she was a girl?” He looked back at the dog, who had dug just enough and was now laying on her back to soak up the rest of the sun before it dipped beneath the hills. “I always get confused with that stuff…”

Colette giggled again, still fiddling with the basket handle as she looked around the farm and the various dogs. “That big one over there looks like a Teddy. And the little corgi by the door feels like a Caramel. His tail is so cute! And the dalmation definitely feels like a Kitty!”

“Kitty? On a dog?” Lloyd questioned, but soon she saw the same realization in his eyes as he looked over at the same dog, who was busy gnawing at a stick. “Now that you mention it… that does fit! Heh, you’re like the ultimate dog namer, Colette!”

She instantly flushed at the comment. The sensation was similar to standing out in the sun too long, or walking up hills too high up, which she had done today… but this was different though. She was sure of it. “Thank you…”

Her gaze when downward to the strawberries, bright red still, but their shade darkening with the slow setting of the sun. “Ah, I meant to ask you though, if you wanted, um… uh oh!” She nearly dropped the strawberry basket, but just caught it in time, gripping tightly onto the handle. “Um, these? Fruit?” The word suddenly escaped her!

Lloyd started a bit at her action, hands half going for the basket as she still held it precariously. “Oh, the strawberries? Yeah, I want some! Er, actually can I have most of it?”

“Y-Yeah! Please!” Oh, and now here she was, sounding so desperate too. “I mean, I’d be happy if you could purchase these from me.”

“Hehe, well I’m kinda hungry too, and I’m sure dad would love these too.” And as Lloyd leaned in to look over her product, she could catch the way a lock of his hair fell over his forehead, the way it just begged for a hand to brush it back, to linger near his face and catch the focus of his eyes.

Colette had never felt this flighty before; her chest so close to bursting, her hands fidgeting with the basket over and over. And in the corner of her vision, so many doggies that roamed all over the grass – maybe that was the reason she felt so weak in the knees right now? That must have been it.

Lloyd reached into his pants pocket, where the sound of rustling coins followed. It took her several tries to tell him the price of a dozen strawberries, and then she had to multiply that by a few times to match the very basket… And though it took a few stumbles, they eventually got to final price. Except…

“Ah damn, I’m not sure if I have that much on me right now…” Lloyd looked at his hand where some gald lay, then reached into his other pocket. “Let me keep checking though!”

And then, an idea burst into her head. A silly idea. An awful idea. One that she could imagine her friend Zelos would come up with. Maybe it was his influence that whispered at her ear, making her consider it for longer than she should…

“300 gald…350… um, I think I have some more in my other work suit actually.”

Colette fiddled with the woven threads of the basket handle before timidly placing it back on the ground on her side of the fence posts. It was getting harder to balance it, making her arms ache. Also, she didn’t want to accidentally drop it this time… “Maybe… you can pay for the rest of these with something else?”

Lloyd raised his face to hers, blinking. “Oh? But with what?” He tilted his head the same way the dog named Noishe did, except this was a boy, and the way his hair drifted with the breeze caught her gaze just so.

So she blurted out before her fear took hold completely, her voice squeaking with every syllable. Was it the fading sun giving her courage? Was it the fatigue from traveling, making her tongue loose? “You can pay the rest with a kiss!”

Oh. Oh no that had sounded so awful coming from her.

There was still the sound of the dogs milling about the yard, some going to the stable to curl up with the giant Noishe, some resting on the grass. Colette felt the heat engulf her face, and she could only blame it on herself instead of the sun, which sank so low that only a sliver of its shine remained in the sky.

She could feel Lloyd’s stare, his confusion, and maybe his embarrassment for her. She shouldn’t be impulsive like this. “I’m sorry-”

“Okay,” came his voice, barely audible, and only through the grace of an errant breeze did she even hear him.

Colette raised her head, eyes drawn to the locks of hair that fell over his forehead, to the nervous smile on his lips. “I mean…” he started, laughter spilling all over his words. “I wouldn’t mind it! If, uh…”

This place was far away, off down a beaten path that was hidden underneath leaves and moss. She wasn’t even sure if she would ever see this same boy again, if she could even follow the twists and turns without a friendly dog to guide her. What was the chance that she would find this same place, alone within the fields?

So, she felt daring. Something about meeting Lloyd made her suddenly braver then she’d ever been.

Colette moved closer to the fence post, her boot scuffing against the wood. “Well, if you want to pay me… You should move closer!”

Another little dare, another little leap. And Lloyd met her dare with another smile, hands leaning on the fence post, slouching just a bit to match her height. “Like this?”

“Yes,” Colette whispered. She had only just met Lloyd, but the almost instinctive way she reached for his face, placing her gloved hands against his cheeks, it was natural, comfortable. “That’s perfect.”

And Lloyd didn’t move away, placing his face in her hands with complete trust. She could see the color of his eyes now, russet-brown like a dog’s fur, looking as soft as one too.

She had never kissed anyone before, so when she leaned in, she imagined a number of ways this could go wrong. A bump of their heads together, or missing his mouth by inches. But she felt warmth against her lips, the way Lloyd’s own moved over hers, mingled with the feel of his breath. She smiled into the kiss, and so did he, along with a smattering of giggles that escaped them both. But he continued to rest his face in her hands, trusting her to take her payment for as long as she wished.

Maybe she had taken more than her share, but Lloyd didn’t seem to mind.

The fence creaked just slightly under his weight as he kept kissing her, and even when she leaned back to speak, sometimes she found her mouth covered again, as if Lloyd had missed a spot, like the corner of her lips. She didn’t complain, and only found herself so awed that Lloyd would do his best to give her what she asked for.

The sun had long set before she finally felt the chill breeze against her face.

“So…Can I keep paying this way?” Lloyd murmured against her mouth, eliciting another giggle from her.

“Mm, maybe not all the time…” she said. Her father would wonder why she was giving out free strawberries. “Unless you want to give me extra next time?”

She said it as a joke, winking at him, finally releasing him from her hands. But his own reached up to grasp one of her own gently, the grin on his face so wide and bright. “I think I might want to.”

It was as if they had already known each other for years, with the way she felt so comfortable around him. Even when she made her silly request, it felt like something she had been waiting for all her life.

Or maybe, it was just the sight of all the dogs running around the farm, some sidling near Lloyd’s legs to see what he was doing. She did always feel more content with dogs around.

So Colette left the basket there, with its dozens of strawberries, and just remembered that, Oh. I’ll need to come back for that basket though . That had been her only one! She needed that for her daily deliveries for her family’s business. She’d have to see Lloyd again for sure.

She found herself smiling, her lips still feeling so warm. Maybe he’d be kind and help pay her for her trip, back down the beaten pathways to where a gathering of cute puppies played. It would only be fair.

[crimsonbluemoon]

6, 3, 7 H2OVanoss! You know me heh ( •ॢᴗ•ॢ⋈)

Ahhh Owlbun! So I hope this fits the perimeters of a cute-meet cause I don’t know if it does but I think it does? Idk, its cute, please enjoy this mess of a story. >.> It’s a diff style than I normally do, but….hope it works out!

AU: Coffee shopTrope: Meet cutePrompt: “You had no idea, did you?”

Pairing: H2O Vanoss

If Evan was being honest, he hadn’t expected the chalkboard wall at his coffee shop to make much of a difference. The Owl Cafe was a staple in the community, and he had an okay group of regulars that liked to come in and check out his new blends on the daily. There were ones he knew by name, like the 6 year old girl Momo who loved Brian’s hot chocolate, or the late-night writer Kryoz who always seemed to appear when the place was deserted. Some regulars he didn’t catch names for, so he titled them as he saw fit; Runner man, vlogger teen, cute sweatshirt guy. All had their place in his cafe, which was steady in its sales. He wasn’t rolling in cash, but it was enough to pay Brock and Brian, so he felt that he was doing alright. 

The chalkboard had been something of a whim. A friend when he was younger had a wall in his bedroom with chalkboard paint that Evan had always enjoyed drawing on before bed. When he’d bought the cafe two years ago, he hadn’t really remembered the fun times he had scribbling across the bedroom wall. He was too focused on payments and attracting customers to stroll down memory lane. That had changed three months ago when bumping into Lui, the two speaking about their times as a child. The wall came up, of course, and Evan couldn’t let the memory go for days after. Lots of his customers had children, and college kids were always quick to bore when waiting for coffee. So one night, after a really good week at the shop, Evan went out and bought the paint in order to make his wall next to the waiting area a drawing board. 

The result was amazing; people loved coming by and adding their own doodles to the wall, filling it with different styles of art or funny sayings. There were always the punks who tried to draw dicks or write derogatory marks, but street justice tended to stop the crimes far quicker than Evan or his friends picked up on them. Evan enjoyed looking at the board at the end of the night, seeing what secrets it held from the customers he served. He tried to guess who drew what, or where each blurb of inspiration writing came from. Was the struggling mother of three the one who drew the calm beach? Did the preppy college girl express her darker thoughts in the corner of the board? Or was that old couple who shared a coffee really sweet enough to write their 70th anniversary with a heart around it? All of the pieces of the board was a collection of minds, hearts, and souls, and the nights didn’t feel complete for the shop owner without gazing at them in appreciation.  

His favorite part was the confessions; like an anonymous message board, people left words of secrecy every day. Evan felt it was a safe way for customers to express themselves without having to reveal their identity, and so far he hadn’t gotten any confessions that worried him. Brock always enjoyed reading the romantic ones where someone would claim their love for a friend, an ex, or a person they could never have. Brian’s favorites were the weird claims; he made Evan keep the ‘I like smelling feet’ confession up for three days. Evan couldn’t really say he had a type he sought out, because all of them were fun to read. If anything, he liked taking in the handwriting of the confessions, seeing whose were quaking with fear or more broad with confidence that only anonymity provided. 

It was nearly two months into owning the board that a message caught his eye; it didn’t have much color or outlandish design to it, so Evan wasn’t sure why it stuck out to him so much. But the writing just…looked different. Friendly. A little messy but with long enough strokes to show some care went into it. The words only took up a small part of the board. 

I come here every day because I think the owner is nice. And maybe cute? I wanted to ask for his name, but I’m too nervous.

Evan blinked in surprise, feeling his face heat up when he read it again. Someone…confessed about him? It was sort of risky, since this was his shop and he could have checked in on the board at any time, but it was also endearing. Someone was too shy to approach Evan, but felt strong enough about him to confess on his wall? He read the line two more times while he cleaned off every other drawing and confession, leaving the words in the middle of the board. Slowly, his eyes dropped down to the basket of chalk at the bottom of the wall, fingers twitching by his side. Despite having it for months, he’d never actually written on it. He left designing the morning greeting to Brock, as he was the artistic one of the three. But now…

He kept the confession where it was, drawing a little circle around it with the red chalk. Then, with block letters bright enough to catch any returning customer’s attention, he wrote out a simple reply. 

It’s Evan. Nice to meet you.

He didn’t think about the teasing Brian would rain on him, or how unlikely it was for him to get a response. The confessions were meant to be anonymous, not openers for conversation. So sure that his words would be left unanswered, Evan didn’t look once at the board the following day, trying to keep focused on making his customer’s happy. Any time he wasn’t working, he rushed into the back, trying to stay occupied so he didn’t stare at the wall. The day dragged on forever, but when the final customer was out the door, Evan nearly fell flat on his face vaulting over the counter to move to the board. 

“Desperate much, buddy?” Brian’s shout from across the shop went ignored when Evan scanned the wall, looking for any sign of a response. At first, the words around the response were disheartening; nothing connected to what he’d said. The drawings were still cute, and he wanted to read the confessions, but his heart slightly dropped at the sight. Had he scared off the anonymous messenger? He felt his frown start to capture his lips, but then his eye picked up on something. A blue circle had been wrapped around Evan’s words, and a line of chalk was drawn to the left of the board. Curious, his eyes tracked the line. Like thread in a maze, Evan was led to a familiar handwriting. 

Your name fits you! I’m…Jonathan. Is that okay? 

“Jonathan.” He rolled the name around in his mouth, his smile small when he finished. He knew instantly what his new secret penpal was asking, and he found the red chalk from before in order to scribble out his answer. 

That’s totally okay. I bet your name fits you, too, though I’m not sure who you are. Care to give me a hint? 

And for the next two weeks, the hints poured out. 

I like to wear blue a lot. Luke says it matches my eyes. But I think yours are prettier.

Evan counted seventy three customers with blue eyes who wore blue that day, but it did little to limit his search. 

I saw you drop that lady’s coffee on purpose. She deserved it for treating Brock like that. You’re a really good boss.

The incident had been in the morning around rush hour, which probably meant his penpal was at least his age. 

You only wear hats when you clean the mocha machine; it really looks good on you. 

Except this was something he did at night, so maybe he had different shifts throughout the week? 

Whenever little Momo comes in, you always give her the best smile. Sometimes I wish you’d smile at me like that.

Evan’s face hurt from how many smiles he gave out that day, but there had been nobody who hinted at knowing why he’d been grinning so much. 

You’re so beautiful. I really want to ask you on a date. 

Evan’s face flush red for the rest of the night. 

After the days of trying to piece together just who ‘Jonathan’ was, Evan was almost ready to throw in the towel. The little banter between them was fun, and peeks of Jonathan’s personality came out with doodles or smilies at the end of his sentences. He mentioned his friends, his dog, and if Evan closed his eyes, he could almost make out a voice to the words. Everything just felt so familiar about this guy, like he was already seated comfortably in Evan’s life. But he just couldn’t come up with a name, or anything to sink his teeth into. 

So, with a shot of courage (Brian may have supplied the alcohol) and nothing to lose, Evan wrote out one final message. 

Anything but coffee, and I’ll say yes.

Evan tried not to look at the board, just like the first day, hoping he wouldn’t scare away his crush by staring the wall down. Brock and Brian helped distract him, jokingly picking out old men and toddlers as ‘his secret admirer’ before laughing at the outlandish suggestions. Evan tried to smile and joke with them, but his shaking hands when giving out the orders always proved how nervous he was. Each time a customer came up to him, his back tensed, wondering if it’d be his penpal. But they never were, always asking for sugar or a bag for their half eaten muffin. 

When the last minutes of the day ticked away, and just a few regular souls lingered in the cafe, Evan finally broke. He left Brian and Brock behind the counter to walk up to the wall, hands shoved in the pockets of the apron to hide his twitching fingers. Slowly, his eyes scanned the board, trying to find the blue handwriting he’d grown to adore over the couple weeks he’d gotten to see it. But there was nothing; his crush hadn’t replied. 

“I scared him away.” Evan sighed and pressed his head to the chalkboard, eyes closing in defeat. His shoulders slumped down, unable to hide his disappointment. He’d just wanted to know who this guy was, because starting to fall for a chalkboard he technically owned was starting to feel a little creepy-

“Um.” An unsure voice made Evan bite back a groan, trying to keep his composure. Even if he was being ghosted by an anonymous customer, it didn’t mean he could ignore his other ones. Pulling back from the wall, Evan turned to catch sight of a familiar face. Cute sweatshirt guy had been a regular for months, always polite but never one to really engage in much conversation with Evan or the others. He always contributed it to the slight stutter in his speech, which only seemed to come out in longer sentences. It was actually kind of late for cute sweatshirt guy to be at the cafe; he’d bought his coffee close to an hour ago, and though he normally left right after, he’d seemed to linger now. He’d been one of the people who’d come up to Evan, looking like he was going to burst out in a confession, only to ask for creamer.

And sugar.

And a new cup.

…And more creamer.

For a coffee he always drank black.

“Wait.” Evan’s breath hitched in his throat as his eyes widened on the blue gaze nervously watching him, fingers curled into the worn down sweatshirt that was identical in color. 

“Yeah, I’m-that was me. Jonathan. Who you were-I’m the guy tha–that, um, fuck. Luke said I should’ve just-but the wall was…was our thing.” Jonathan’s face lit up in color at the confession, the nervous laugh that poured out loud and uncontrolled. It echoed from the emptiness of the cafe, and both men jumped when Brian swore and knocked over a stack of cups in surprise. Tagging that as future Evan’s problem, he turned his attention back to Jonathan, who looked ready to let his sweatshirt swallow him whole. The smile he gave only lifted half his mouth, proving he didn’t feel confident. “You had no idea, did you?”

“None,” Evan admitted, hands pulling out of his apron at the defeated look that sunk over Jonathan. 

“Right, that’s- I don’t have to ask you on a date if this isn’t what you…if I’m not who you-”

“Ask me!” Evan cut him off fast, not wanting to let Jonathan feel rejected for a second longer. He rushed forward, snagging hands that tugged the end of torn sleeves to entwine their fingers. Blue eyes widened above him, but Evan refused to let his racing heart of reddened cheeks stop him from repeating his confession from before. “Anything but coffee, and I’ll say yes.” 

“Dinner? Can I-would you like to get food with me tomorrow?” Like a puppy, Jonathan’s body perked up at the possibility. Evan laughed before lifting their hands to cup Jonathan’s cheeks. He pushed up onto his toes, feeling the slight intake of his customer’s breath before he answered with a kiss.

But just to be safe, he wrote ‘yes’ on the chalkboard the next morning.

[taelme]

Dance major!Sicheng

genre: school!au,  dance major!sicheng (slight angst, fluff, slow burn) 

pairing/s: Sicheng / Reader (ft Xiaojun, Ten and Renjun n some of the 127 boys!) 

word count: 18k+ 

tw: mentions of alcohol use, like tension between Sicheng and his parents...(this is fictional of course pls keep this in mind Sicheng’s relationship with his parents that I portrayed in this is in not real and this is just based off of personal experience pls) 

a/n: only now am I realizing how many of my works include substance use lmao I need to calm down.. anyway this is just something I wanted to do for Sicheng inspired by his ‘lovely’ dance with Ten for ‘Rainbow V’ as well as by the videos of him dancing Chinese traditional dance in general!! believe me,... the amount of videos and compilations I've watched of him doing traditional dance is....a lot more than I'm proud to disclose HAHHA .. also there are some mandarin words mentioned here that I referenced from things sicheng has said before so yes that's all anyway enjoy!!

“We’re gonna have to start closing up soon,” you murmured, leaning down to massage your calf, beginning to feel sore after what felt like a whole day of standing.

It was your faculty’s turn to raise money for underprivileged students in your school to start the second half of the semester, the classes in your department setting up various booths ranging from food and beverage to booths like yours, selling customized handmade bracelets.

“You look tired,” one of your friends told you, earning a wholehearted nod from you.

“Very.”

Laughing, she shook her head at you, handing you the file containing your money collected from your sales, “D’you mind helping us collate this? We’ll go grab the rest of our bags and stuff from the lounge.”

You nodded, getting your phone out and kneeling at the table, dividing the money by quantity and starting to key in your phone calculator, your train of thought getting interrupted when you’d received a text from your friend Xiaojun, finishing your calculations before checking his message.

xiaojun 5:07pm -i can come to ur booth now !-

You huffed, your knees starting to hurt from the rough surface of the floor, typing out your reply to him with your pen still clasped in your hand.

5:09pm -we’re already almost closing ure a little late-

xiaojun 5:09pm -its ok i have friends with money they can donate even if they dont buy anything! where is ur booth-

5:09pm -@ the entrance of the design and performing arts school- xiaojun

Xiaojun 5:09pm - perfect -

“Y/N!” you heard the echo of someone whose voice was so distinctively Xiaojun it gave you goosebumps, looking up from your phone and spotting the boy himself walking alongside two other boys. 

You first noticed they were very well dressed, giving you the vibe that they were from the design and arts department, possessing a different sort of charisma that was made even more obvious when they were walking next to a bouncy smiley Xiaojun.

You gave him a grimace, looking back at the list of ibanking transactions, adding up the total of that with what you’d calculated for physical money, eyebrows raised in surprise at the total, not expecting to have raised so much more than your class had initially expected.

“Y/N, this is Ten and Sicheng,” Xiaojun gestured to the two boys next to him, identifying the shorter of the two with short cropped hair with multiple piercings adorning his ear to be Ten, and the other taller boy with dark brown hair to be Sicheng, who simply gave you a nod in greeting.

“Nice to meet you,” Ten had smiled at you, instantly brightening his demeanour as he gravitated towards the beads and string. “Can I make one?” he was already starting to pick up the roll of thread, measuring it around his wrist.

“You didn’t even wait for her to say yes,” Sicheng pointed out with a sigh despite being busy with his phone, causing Ten to give you a sheepish smile.

You nodded reassuringly, gesturing to the materials, “sure, go ahead, we’re already done for the day, anyway,” you smiled.

Xiaojun had made his way around the table, making a loud displeased sound when he saw that you were kneeling on the floor. “Can’t you at least sit on a chair or something?” he clucked his tongue, making you roll your eyes. Your bickering had unknowingly caught Sicheng’s attention, the boy silently observing the way you and Xiaojun interacted as he typed out a reply to Renjun who was currently asking where on earth he was.

“I would if there was any chairs here,” you scoffed.

Xiaojun was about to retort when his gaze flickered to the numbers you were so busy writing down, “Wow! You guys made this money just selling bracelets?!” You shushed him quickly, not wanting to attract unwanted attention, but at the mention of money, Sicheng visibly perked up, making his way away from Ten to the table you and Xiaojun were at, curious to see the amount.

His eyes widened upon seeing the number, glancing quickly at the rates you sold each bracelet for. 

“Wow,” he drawled, his eyebrows raising in surprise, “have you guys done this before?”

You were startled to find how different his voice sounded from what you’d expected, low and holding a certain thickness to the sound. Watching him pull the sleeves of his sweater to his elbows, he’d picked up the sheet of paper, analysing it before placing it back down on the table with a nod, looking back at you for your reply.

You knew you thought he was pretty when you first saw him, but your breath hitched at the discovery that he was even prettier up close. Sicheng. Even his name was pretty. You thought Xiaojun took care of his appearance, but Sicheng was on a whole other level.

Realising he was still waiting for your reply, you quickly shook your head, watching how his lips curved into a small smirk, nodding with an impressed pout on his lips.

“Well you should, you wouldn’t even need to get part-time jobs if you just promoted these,” he proposed casually. This earned him an obnoxious snicker from Ten, whose neck was still craned as he made his bracelet, struggling with a particularly small one.

“Saying it like that isn’t gonna make them give you any of the profit, you know,” Ten’s teasing tone did nothing to deter Sicheng, who simply shrugged.

Xiaojun chimed in quickly, waving his finger at Sicheng as he laughed with Ten, “This guy’s like that. He’ll propose the idea and make you do everything else,” he told you, making Sicheng scoff, a small smile of embarrassment on his face at his friends’ teasing.

“That’s called doing business. It’s so troublesome to do all of it yourself, might as well get people to help you carry it out,” Sicheng gestured as he spoke, waving his friends off. You scrunched your nose in amusement, shoving Xiaojun aside so you could straighten up, putting the paper with the calculations into the file with the money and setting it aside.

Sicheng tried not to make it too obvious that he kept looking at you, deciding to pretend to be interested in what Ten was doing so you wouldn’t notice his furtive glances. “Who are you making that for?” he nudged Ten.

“Not you.”

A sharp tut of the tongue left Sicheng’s mouth.

“Yeah, I know. I wasn’t—never mind forget I asked,” he laughed, taking his phone out to act busy with it.

You spotted the teacher-in-charge of the event gesturing for you to start packing up. 

“Do you guys need help cleaning up?” Xiaojun gestured at the tables.

You’d started by squatting next to the table, picking up the multitude of beads that had fallen down throughout the day. Sicheng had gone over to help you since Xiaojun had chosen to hurry Ten into making his bracelet so you could pack up. He’d noticed how poorly you were balancing, wanting to tell you you could let him do it but he was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone, getting a phone call from somebody but simply tucking his phone between his ear and shoulder as he continued picking up the beads.

“Y/N,” you heard your friend’s voice, turning around a little too quickly and almost stumbling, anticipating the impact on your bum when you felt a hand on your arm, pulling you steady. Eyes widening, you regained your balance quickly, Sicheng still talking to whoever was on the phone in what you could decipher to be rushed chinese, casually removing his hand from your arm.

“What are you doing?” Renjun’s tone was exasperated, “You said you’d be here 10 minutes ago!”

Sicheng straightened up once your friend had approached you, “I got held back, I’m helping Xiaojun’s friend with something,” he emptied his handful of beads into their respective sections.

“I’m hanging up, I’ll be there in 5 minutes,” he told Renjun, hanging up promptly after.

“Guys, I have to leave, i’m gonna go find Renjun,” he spoke, Ten and Xiaojun both turning around and bidding him goodbye as he left.

You’d gotten up a little too late, your conversation with your classmate having distracted you into not noticing Sicheng leaving.

You’d gone to help your classmates bring back the tables to the storeroom, “So...” your friend drawled, mischief laced in her tone, “Xiaojun’s friends, huh?” she smirked, making you roll your eyes, a flustered scoff escaping your lips.

“What about them?” you raised an eyebrow at her, already skeptical about what she was about to say.

She shot you a look of disbelief, her smile widening, “I saw what happened just now, when the tall cutie saved you before you could fall on your ass,” she shrugged in mock nonchalance.

“He kind of scares me...” you admitted, making her burst into laughter, the obnoxious sound echoing in the empty corridor you were walking through.

“Didn’t seem like that just now when he grabbed you,” she sing-songed.

You shot her a glare, dismissing her accusations with a shake of your head. “Can you stack the tables properly,” you gestured to the haphazard stack of tables placed in an empty area of the room in her haste to get it over with, not being able to help yourself from laughing at her sheer excitement.

“Don’t try to avoid my question!” she waggled a finger at you, urging you out of the room so she could continue her interrogation.

“I’m not avoiding it, there’s literally nothing to say! I barely spoke a sentence to him,” you defended.

“What’s his name?”

“Sicheng,” you replied a little too quickly, making her squeal, “I think,” you added, just to make it seem like you totally weren’t sounding out his name in your head just moments before.

"What?" you snapped, hating how embarrassed her cheeky grin was making you, especially with her shrugging her shoulders suggestively, quirking an eyebrow and smirking at you as you returned to where Xiaojun and Ten were, seeing that your other friends had left already.

“Are you going home after this?” Xiaojun came over to you and asked once he'd noticed you were back. You nodded your head, earning a frown from Ten.

“We’re gonna stay to hang with Sicheng and Renjun, see you on Monday, then?”

Nodding, you waved goodbye to the both of them, endeared when you saw that Ten was already proudly wearing the bracelet he made, “Alright, see you.”

Glad to have made new friends, but strangely curious about Sicheng, feeling like you’d just been left hanging.

===

Thankfully for you, you had friends like Xiaojun. Though times like this you weren’t so sure whether you were so thankful for the boy sitting next to you whining about how late his friend was to meet him.

“Maybe he’s busy or something,” you shrugged, adjusting your legs so you were sitting cross legged, your laptop perched on your lap as you continued doing research for your essay.

“If he’s so busy he shouldn’t have started teaching Ren—oh my god, finally!” your head shot up from your laptop, turning to him with a confused gaze before seeing him frowning at something in front of him, turning your head to spot Xiaojun’s friend from that day at the charity event.

“Oh?” you’d accidentally blurted, catching Sicheng’s attention, making him look at you in surprise, giving you a small close-lipped smile in greeting, shoving his hand into his pocket as his other hand fiddled with his phone.

“Where did you go?” Xiaojun asked, genuine confusion laced in his tone, switching to Mandarin while he was talking to Sicheng. Not because he didn’t want you to understand, of course, but more because he was more comfortable this way. (And plus, you liked to think you had sufficient mandarin knowledge).

“What are you talking about? I told you I was outside helping Renjun this whole time,” Sicheng furrowed his eyebrows, a hint of amusement on his features. You understood the part about him being outside, somehow finding Sicheng’s personality to be rather strong, especially showcased when he was speaking mandarin.

Xiaojun’s mouth closed shut, looking slightly embarrassed, ignoring the knowing look you were giving him at how quick he was to scold Sicheng for being late.

“Oh, okay.” Xiaojun bid you goodbye quickly, Sicheng helping him off the floor and leaving promptly.

You found it strange, how he’d spent so much time in your faculty building when he wasn’t even from this faculty, only realizing why when you’d gone to help your groupmates who were spray painting their crafts outside the lounge, seeing the area usually occupied by students from the dance club practicing now taken over by Sicheng and a petite boy that you recognized to be from your faculty.

You heard the petite boy whine sulkily, looking at Sicheng with an exasperated look on his face, simply receiving a shrug and a smile from Sicheng.

“I never said this was easy to do,” he sighed deeply, looking towards the mirror to observe Renjun, catching a glimpse of you in the background.

You held the collar of your shirt over your nose, regretting not having better protection against the fumes of the spray paint, feeling a little bad for the people around you in case the fumes were too strong that it disrupted them as well.

“This one’s done, I’ll bring it aside,” you told your group members, seeing their nods of acknowledgement before using one hand to drag the long and heavy piece of cardboard to the more airy part of the area.

Sighing, you let go of your shirt, dabbing at your sweat with the back of your hand and looking around to see if anyone had been annoyed by the spray paint fumes, accidentally making eye contact with Sicheng through the large mirrors. Something made you feel prompted to say hello, but you decided against it, looking away quickly and continuing with what you were doing.

You tried not to let yourself get too distracted by seeing his demonstrations of the dance he was teaching to Renjun, trying to focus on finishing your task as fast you could so you could go back into the student lounge where there wouldn’t be a Sicheng to distract you.

Settling for just nodding in greeting to him, exchanging small smiles, you carried on seeing him and bumping into him in your faculty. Each time trying to ignore the way your mind was starting to create scenarios in your head about how you would approach Sicheng and start a conversation in another universe where you were confident enough to approach someone as pretty as him.

Sicheng too had been going through a similar dilemma in his head, debating on whether he would send the wrong message if he were to ask too many questions about you. He wasn’t usually the type to put himself out there or pursue potential love interests, it was just something about seeing you around so often and his unceasing curiosity that was starting to get the better of him.

“Your friend is my age, right?” he asked as casually as he could once when he was teaching Renjun at the mirrored area outside the student lounge, curious after seeing the multitude of things it seemed that you had to do (or maybe, just curious about you in general)

Xiaojun shot him a look of confusion, shaking his head rapidly.

“Oh my god, no, she’s my age,” he laughed, finding it weird that Sicheng would think you were his age, wondering momentarily if you looked that old.

“Oh,” Sicheng said, not realizing Xiaojun wasn’t listening to him anymore, too busy deciding whether you looked like a solid 20 year old or barely 19.

“Why’d you ask?” Xiaojun snapped out of his thoughts, turning to Sicheng with a questioning look on his face.

Sicheng shrugged casually, commenting that Renjun had done well before replying Xiaojun, “Nothing. Just…didn’t know why they looked so busy when I look at how free you are,” he grinned cheekily at the end of his statement, letting out a relieved sigh when Xiaojun had bought his excuse.

It wasn’t like Sicheng wasn’t telling the truth, because you did have a lot of things to do. Making Sicheng just the least of your worries at this point. You’d been so busy trying to churn out assignment after assignment that it was starting to take a toll on you. You hadn’t gotten a proper sleep in what was probably weeks, too busy thinking and planning time for all the things that were yet to be done, the constant worrying ridding you of a guilt-free sleep.

It wasn’t any better that you and your friends had all started spending long hours cooped up in the student lounge doing work; going home later and later as a result. And though many people would probably see that as a normal part of school life, you weren’t one for hustle culture, and you definitely weren’t used to experiencing it to such an extent, the stress from it all making you increasingly sensitive.

You’d been with your friend in the student lounge, with her trying her best to help you think of ideas that you could do for your assignment. (You didn’t think of yourself as the most creative person in the world). Hugging your jacket closer to yourself, you sighed, looking at your computer as you wracked your brains to think of a possible solution.

“I'm sorry, writing really isn't my strong suit, but I’ll try my best," she told you, tilting the computer slightly more in her direction, eyes rapidly scanning through what you had typed so far to see if she could get any inspiration for the other aspects of your assignment you had yet to think of.

You felt a sinking feeling in your stomach when you saw that her mom was calling her, asking—or demanding, it was a very fine line these days—her to come home since it was getting late. From the way she'd ended the call and looked at you, a certain reluctance mixed with sympathy in her expression, you already anticipated what she would say next.

"Y/N—" she started hesitantly.

"It's fine, really, your mom's gonna be pissed if you stay. I'll just..." you glanced at your work, trying to ignore the headache building at your temples, "...figure something out."

“—I’m really sorry,” your friend murmured, picking up her bags and shooting you one last sympathetic expression before leaving.

And now that your friend was gone, that left you sitting on the floor of the student lounge, your back against one of the pillars near the corner of the room. At this point, you'd managed to finalize your ideas, desperately wanting to get this over with, but the more you tried to think the more your ideas just weren't making sense.

Sicheng had just finished teaching Renjun for the day, strolling into the student lounge with his water bottle in hand, spotting Xiaojun sitting at the sofas using his phone.

"Renjun went home already?" Xiaojun asked, earning a nod from Sicheng, who flopped down on the sofa next to Xiaojun, a tired sigh leaving his lips.

"Do you have the stuff I needed help printing?" Sicheng felt a wave of relief upon seeing the clear plastic folder Xiaojun had taken out from his bag, handing it to Sicheng. In the process of leaning over to get his bag from where it was next to Xiaojun, Sicheng had caught a glimpse of someone that reminded him of you with your head resting on your folded arms placed on the table.

"You would not believe what I went through this morning..." Xiaojun began, not realizing he may as well have been talking to the wall due to Sicheng clearly being preoccupied with staring at your direction in concern.

Wondering if it was you, he'd glanced at the time on his watch, confirming the first bit about it possibly being you since he'd noticed you tended to stay in the student lounge later during this period.

"Yeah, and to make it even worse they're making us go to the farm!..." Xiaojun went on.

Sicheng’s suspicions were confirmed even more when he'd recognized the jacket you were wearing, having seen you wear it earlier on in the day when you'd greeted him on your way to the washroom.

She seems really tired, maybe I should tell Xiaojun? she is his friend after all...Sicheng contemplated, coming back from his thoughts to look at Xiaojun blankly.

"What did you say?" he asked Xiaojun, seeing the boy look up from his phone.

"Oh. No, I just said I needed to get going, I’m meeting my parents for dinner outside," he said simply, not seeming to have noticed that Sicheng hadn't caught a single word of his that came prior to that.

Nodding slowly, "Oh," Sicheng dragged his gaze away from you. "Okay, I think I’ll just stay here a little longer, I’m kind of lazy to leave.”

Xiaojun wasn't stupid, he'd caught Sicheng staring at your direction the moment he'd grabbed his bag, figuring he would let things flow and wait for the (much expected) updates he was likely to get from you the next day. Eyeing Sicheng suspiciously, he nodded, "Bye, see you," he waved, slinging his bag over his shoulder and leaving.

Sicheng frowned when he'd looked back at you, a part of him growing slightly hopeful when he saw you finally lift your head from the table top, rubbing at your forehead where there was now a red mark, your other hand coming up to wipe your tears roughly.

Seeing as no one else was there, and something was compelling Sicheng to check on you, he did exactly that. Making his way over to you, he crouched down next to where you sat in a squat, the feeling of a presence next to you making you turn, startled when you'd spotted Sicheng there.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Your hands flew to your face in your hurry to wipe the tears threatening to spill, turning your face away from him quickly, pretending to be busy and picking up your drink that had been neglected for God knows how long to take a sip. Ignoring the way the drink tasted diluted now from all your ice having melted, you turned back to him, holding a thumbs up with a small smile.

"Yeah, fine," you managed to muster out, trying to even out your breathing and calm yourself down.

“Uhhh...” he glanced at your face, searching your expression, noticing how your eyes got teary when you looked back at what was on your laptop screen, “hold on,” he murmured, and you tried not to let yourself get too nervous at his proximity.

Sicheng let his legs fold under him, resting his hands on his thighs as he inspected what was on your computer, receiving a pleasant surprise when he’d realized he’d done this module before.

“Do u need help? I did this module last year,” he told you, making your eyes widen, wondering just what you did in your life to warrant you such kindness from a stranger (or acquaintance, if you were being generous).  

You shot him a hesitant look, feeling embarrassed if you were to ask someone you barely knew to help with your assignment.

“Honestly, I just need to know if my ideas make sense, because I’m really rushing for time right now and every time I look at them again it just feels like I’m talking a whole lot of bullshit so I’m literally stuck because I can’t think of anything else,” you rambled, out of breath when you were done.

Not that Sicheng minded your rambling, since the boy was more focused on reading whatever you had on your computer screen, his eyes squinting as he concentrated.

In your assumption that he was squinting because he couldn’t see the words well, you’d made the words a lot bigger, making him let out a small huff of laughter.

“Thanks,” he whispered, continuing to read.

“Okay,” he turned to you with a small huff, “it’s really not as bad as you’re making it sound,” you frowned at his wording.

“So it’s bad?” your lips parted in dismay.

He giggled softly, shaking his head, “No, it’s not. After reading it, I can see that you’ve sort of got all your points here, you just need to find a way to pitch them, like...sell it, you know?”

You nodded slowly, looking back at what you’d written. Sicheng figured he’d better guide you through it since your expression remained lost as your hands hovered over your keyboard, not quite knowing how to start.

“Okay, how about, you just try to follow this structure while writing and I’ll guide you as you go, how does that sound?”

You nodded, thoughts wandering to how surreal all of this seemed to you. You already had an interest in Sicheng from all your previous encounters in school, and to have him here now offering to help you with your work just seemed a little too good to be true, like what you’d imagined would only happen to you in another universe but you figured since it was already happening you should put it to full use, nodding at him (it was clear your priorities were a little mixed up now that Sicheng was in the picture).

Sicheng gave you a sweet smile, relieved that you hadn’t rejected his offer. Not wanting to get carried away, he’d immediately started giving you prompts for your first idea. Doing as he told you to, you were surprised at how quickly you were able to get your assignment done. This was of course aside from the time you spent being distracted by his proximity while he pointed at your screen once in a while to tell you what you could do while you were ‘stuck’.

Attributing your success to him having done this subject before, you’d finished way earlier than you expected. However, just glancing at the clock you felt the dread creeping up on you as you thought of what other assignments you had left to do, your long-awaited rest just seeming to grow further and further away from you.

Sicheng leaned back in his seat, resting his elbow on his knee as he looked at you, a small smile playing at his lips as he saw the way you let out a relieved sigh as you hurriedly saved your work.

“Satisfied?” he’d asked once you finished saving your work and closing your laptop.

You couldn’t help yourself from nodding vigorously, immensely thankful for his timely appearance.

“I really can’t be assed to think any more about this stupid assignment,” you admitted, making him laugh, shaking his head.

Glancing at his watch, Sicheng looked back at you with an expectant gaze.

“Do you live nearby?”

You sighed, shaking your head as you stretched your arms out, “Takes me about a half hour bus ride? to get back?” you yawned, hands going to cover your mouth quickly.

His eyebrows raised in surprise, “You should probably be getting back, then, it’s pretty late..” He stood up with a grunt, extending a hand for you to take.

Accepting it, and standing up, you let him go grab his things as you slung your bag over your shoulder, glancing at the other people in the student lounge who were starting to leave as well, knowing for a fact that if Sicheng hadn’t offered to help you, you would be still here looking at them leave in envy.

Walking out of the student lounge with Sicheng, you’d realized just how empty the school was at this time of the day, something about the mood of the sky and the breeze you felt walking out adding to your confusing mix of feelings.

“What bus do you take?” Sicheng asked you.

Replying him quickly, you were confused as to why he’d asked when he’d just continued using his phone after that, frowning as the conversation went silent.

“The next one’s coming in 8 minutes,” Sicheng told you casually, shoving his phone into his pocket.

You never knew Xiaojun had such considerate friends.

“What bus are you taking?” you’d asked, seeing him turn to you briefly before looking back ahead.

“The same one, goes to my house as well,” he told you with a shrug, though obviously he didn’t include the part about it being like 20 minutes longer than his usual bus, but he felt like you could use the company, with the way he could practically hear you stressing from beside him.

“You look really stressed—" he cut himself off at the sound of his ringtone, seeing the caller ID had read that it was his sister, “—wait, hold on.”

He held a hand up in a gesture to stop, picking up the call and switching to mandarin to talk to his sister.

“Where are you? what are you out so late for?” she questioned.

“I’m already on my way back, don’t worry. Don’t call me, I’m hanging up.”

Ending the call quickly, you looked at him in fascination, finding the way he spoke enough to put you in a trance.

“Okay, where were we?” he said, his tone a lot more gentle than it was to whoever he was speaking to on his phone. “Right, I was gonna ask you why you looked so stressed,” he tilted his head at you, spotting the bus driving towards the bus stop.

You huffed in half-hearted laughter, gripping the strap of your bag tighter.

“I mean like...you know, with submissions and everything...it’s kind of hard for me to not think about the rest of the stuff I have left to do,” you murmured.

“Do you have a lot left?” he asked, earning a shrug from you.

You narrowed your eyes in thought before shaking your head, “It’s only a few assignments, but the problem is not really the quantity more than the tedious....ness of the assignment,” you hesitated, unsure if you were speaking actual words, but you were glad that Sicheng didn’t seem to mind, nodding patiently as you spoke.

Getting onto the bus, you’d taken a seat between the window and Sicheng, hugging your bag to your chest, Sicheng fiddling with his phone in his hands.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way through it. I mean, if Xiaojun can do it, you definitely can,” you laughed at his consolation, something in Sicheng feeling triumphant at how he’d been successful in making you smile.

“I sure hope so,” you huffed, letting a silence fall between you both.

"Thank you so much for helping me, by the way," you murmured, seeing him shake his head dismissively.

"It's okay, you don't have to thank me," he laughed.

"No, I do! What are you talking about? You didn't have to help me but you did, so you have to know that I'm really really thankful for that, okay? I like....basically owe you," you frowned.

"Look," he turned to you with a soft smile, "you can worry about repaying me another time, yeah? For now, just focus on getting a good rest at home and getting the rest of your work done."

You hummed, shooting him a reluctant look but nodding anyway, looking out the window at the passing buildings, less clearly visible due to the time of day.

“Which stop are you stopping at?” he asked you after a moment, telling him the location, murmuring that you were about to get off the bus soon, “That’s fast,” he murmured, starting to regret and wonder if he should've used the chance to make more conversation with you during the bus ride.

“How many stops do you have left?” you asked him, seeing him shrug, knowing he had at least nine more.

“About five-ish?” he shrugged, not wanting you to feel bad for him when you were already so stressed from school.

You nodded, “Alright," you frowned at the bus nearing your stop, a part of you wanting to talk more with Sicheng especially since this whole situation made you kind of forget that you had work to do for a moment.

Turning to get out of your seat, he'd given you a shy smile as you tapped out, stopping at the bus stop to wave at him through the window, making him smile at you, waving back but not without mouthing a "dont stress!" to you, holding his fist up in a gesture to cheer you on.

Nodding, you left before your smile could grow any shyer.

===

"Y/N," you heard someone call you while you were in the queue to buy coffee, turning a full circle before realizing Sicheng was standing behind you in the queue, dressed in a plain black shirt, tucked into black jeans, hands fiddling with his phone and wallet in hand.

"Oh, hi!" you said, shock evident in your tone, you noticed the petite boy who you figured was Renjun, standing next to Sicheng, eyeing him suspiciously, before turning to you and giving you a small smile in greeting.

His hair was more messy today, but not the i-just-woke-up kind of messy, but more of the I've-just-been-dancing-and-pushed-my-hair-back kind of messy.

In short, you thought he looked hot.

Brushing the thought away, you thought on your feet, hoping you could find some way to repay him for what he did.

“Believe it or not, I still feel bad about how you stayed behind to help me the other day, can I like...buy you a drink or something? for the sake of my conscience?" you laughed, seeing him tilt his head at you in amusement.

He hummed in thought, "I guess you can make it up to me by getting something to eat with me after your assignments are all over," he shrugged casually.

Renjun looking at him, clearly scandalized, his mouth falling open as if Sicheng had just transformed into another person.

You nodded, collecting your drink, turning back to him with a grin, "I'll take you up on that, see you.”

You tried your best to remain calm, before practically running back into the student lounge and almost tackling your friend with how excited you were.

"What does it mean if a guy you barely know stays back to help you with your work and accompanies you home and then asks you out for a meal after hell week is over?!" your words came out a mile a minute, almost spilling your drink with how she had writhed when you touched her calf, forgetting momentarily how ticklish she was.

"Is it the tall chinese-speaking cutie?!" she asked, earning a vigorous nod from you.

"Yeah! I saw him when I was getting coffee just now, and i was saying like hey, you know, why don't i buy you a drink cause like you know, I felt like I owed him for being so nice to me," you started, your friend nodding along as she listened intently to your story.

You took a sip of your drink halfway, constantly glancing around to check if anyone was within earshot, suddenly embarrassed about telling her what happened.

"Okay, so then, he suddenly says like..." you dropped the tone of your voice to a much lower one in a poor imitation of his voice, "'i guess you can make it up to me by getting something to eat with me after hell week,' and I'm like," you raised your eyebrows, eyes widening and a strangled sound of excitement escaping your lips, not being able to find a word to describe what you were feeling.

"Oh my god....so what did you say?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"I said yes, duh!" you scoffed, groaning at how she'd hit you repeatedly on the thigh after that.

"Do you think I should have, though? I mean, he's like Xiaojun's friend and all, but like still....I don't really understand why he would go out of his way to do that for me?" you frowned, taking a long sip of your coffee.

"I mean, yeah, why not? You could be missing out on a pretty good opportunity here if you say 'no'," she told you matter-of-factly.

You frowned, picking up your laptop and placing it onto one of the stools near you, scrolling to find your work.

"I know, but it's just weird, I mean. No one's ever approached me like that, especially when I don't even know them that well," you made a face of uncertainty to her.

"Maybe you should like interrogate Xiaojun or something, see what kind of person Sicheng is," she shrugged.

You had to say, there were pros and cons to that plan, but you figured it would probably be a good move to do that.

Little did you know Xiaojun was conducting his own interrogation outside the lounge.

"You should've seen him, he was actually initiating an outing with this girl!" Renjun scoffed, looking at Xiaojun in exasperation.

Sicheng rolled his eyes, focusing on stretching before him and Ten started practicing.

"Yeah why don’t you just announce it over the PA system while you’re at it," Sicheng commented, bending down sit on the floor, stretching his leg out and reaching for his foot, grasping it easily.

Ten shot Sicheng a look, "what's your plan?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes at Sicheng.

"I don't know," Sicheng shrugged, Xiaojun didn't seem to be buying any of it.

"Do you like her?" Xiaojun asked, finding it amusing to see how much Sicheng was trying to divert the topic.

"Ten, are you done stretching?" he avoided Xiaojun's question, giving a pointed look to Ten who simply smirked at his friend.

"I'll be done when you answer Xiaojun's question," he shrugged.

Sighing, Sicheng stood up, directing an annoyed look at his friends.

"I wanna get to know her first, okay?"

Ten made a face, trying to stifle his laughter. Renjun simply sighed loudly, "he's gone, just you wait, he's gonna fall in love by next week.” Ten stared wistfully into the distance, causing Xiaojun to erupt in a fit of giggles.

"You know it's true," Xiaojun gave Sicheng a knowing look, simply receiving a shake of the head in response.

"Whatever," he nudged Ten with his shoe, "let's just start."

===

Soon enough (and very fortunately) you were done with your assignments, and though Sicheng still had one major assignment left, the moment Xiaojun had given his contact to you, you had taken the liberty of texting him to let him know you were done with your assignments.

sicheng 7:53pm -congrats, r u taking me up on my offer now, then?-

He had happened to reply you when you were talking to Xiaojun over the phone.

"What do I say?"

Xiaojun groaned, "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're his friend! You're supposed to tell me how to approach this!" you frowned, though you knew he couldn't see you.

Xiaojun scoffed, "Sicheng is the least romantic person I know, don't get your hopes up.”

You frowned.

“Then do you think i'm getting ahead of myself with this?" Xiaojun could sense the excitement leaving your tone, making him regret saying that, not intending to have upset you, but at the same time not knowing what to tell you since Sicheng wasn't one to show his affection very freely.

"No, i mean like, Sicheng's just kind of weird in how he expresses how he feels," Xiaojun explained.

"So do you think he's just being friendly by asking me out?"

"I don't know, that really depends on how he acts around you from here on, but i've never seen what he's like when he likes someone so I really wouldn't know. But trust me, he's.....interested," he chuckled, making you gasp.

"Don't lie, are you sure?"

"I mean, forget it. It's not my place to say, i'm not him so I really wouldn't know, he's kind of hard to read if you haven't noticed." The thought lingered with you as you typed out a reply to Sicheng.

8:12pm -only if u want ofc-

sicheng 8:15pm - r u free this week? -

You typed out your reply quickly. 

8:15pm -i'm free for dinner on wednesday- 8:15pm -i end classes at like 5 that day-

sicheng 8:16pm -sure thing, but i have dance practice until like 6? u ok w meeting at 7?-

You refrained from squealing out of excitement. 

8:17pm -sure, see u then! :)-

sicheng 8:17pm - :) -

That was what ended you up in a popular hotpot restaurant at 7, reaching earlier than Sicheng who had texted you saying that he was on the way.

You definitely weren't expecting that he would walk in with the staff greeting him as if he owned the restaurant. Dressed in a casual grey hoodie and dark checkered patterned sweatpants, smoothing his hair down and adjusting his cap as he slid into the booth you were sat at.

"Sorry I'm late, did you have to wait long?" you shook your head. He wouldn't tell you, of course, that the reason he was late being that Ten was busy briefing him on how and how not to act while on a date.

"These soups are really nice, the rest are kind of weird," he admitted, gesturing to a few on the menu.

"Is there anything you don't eat?" he asked, already writing down on the menu, making orders of a considerable amount of dishes.

"Nope, go ahead," you smiled, looking at the menu and making your requests, seeing how he'd called the waiter over and ordered quickly, as if he'd done this a thousand times.

"You seem to be pretty familiar with the place, are you like a regular here?" you asked, seeing him rest his elbows on the table, covering his mouth with his hands as he smiled shyly.

Nodding with a small shrug, Sicheng glanced around at the interior of the restaurant.

"Used to come here a lot back when it wasn't so expensive, now it's kind of like a once in a while kind of thing, but the food here is great," he told you with conviction, his phone lighting up with notifications but he'd simply pushed it aside on the table.

"What did you do today?" he asked.

"Nothing interesting, if that's what you're wondering," you laughed, "just lessons, we haven't gotten any of our assignments back yet, Imean, not that I want to but-yeah." You stopped yourself, realizing you were rambling and trying your best to ignore the way Sicheng was looking at you, his blank expression making you feel like you were boring him.

Little did you know Sicheng was busy distracted by the way your lips moved when you talked, accompanied with the sweet tone of your voice making him almost forget he was part of the conversation.

"That's pretty much it, what about you?" you pressed your lips together, seeing him look up, trying to remember where you stopped.

"Right, okay. I just had a meeting with Ten to practice for our showcase, which is basically our last assignment but it's not due for another few weeks."

Your eyes widened, nodding at him, "That's pretty cool, do you guys get to choose what you dance to?"

Nodding, he moved back in his seat as a waiter came to deliver your food, giving her a nod in thanks.

"To put it simply we get to choose the song ourselves and choreograph a routine, design the set blah blah blah the whole production has to be designed by us basically, on top of the write up and the oral presentation," he told you after the waiter had left.

"That sounds tough," you murmured, reaching for the plate of meat but Sicheng had gotten to it before you could, "It's okay, don't worry. I'll do the work," he told you, the tip of his tongue peeking out from his lips in his concentration as he placed the different items you ordered into the soup.

"I guess it is tough but you know, it's worth it when you get on stage and feel everything come together and just....you know, dance," he shrugged, glaring at the meat as if it would make it cook quicker.

"So—" you were startled when you saw one of the staff of the place, seeming to be one of the managers, approach Sicheng with a loud squeal, draping her hand over his shoulder as he beamed at her, greeting her before she'd started speaking to him in mandarin.

"Si si! It's been so long since I've seen you! How are you?"

He nodded politely, "I've been good, just busy with school. You guys look like business has been pretty good here?”

She nodded at him with a proud smile.

"Of course! you were right, word of mouth does wonders," she told him, nudging him and looking at you with a smirk. "Are you not gonna introduce us to each other?"

Sicheng smiled shyly getting your attention in english, introducing you to her, seeing her smile after you greeted her.

"Are you sure she's just your friend?"

Sicheng scoffed, "Don't talk nonsense," he laughed, making her let out a sound of disbelief.  

You'd managed to pick up on what they were saying, understanding this part since you heard Xiaojun say it pretty often.

"Whatever you say, Si si. Okay, okay. I won't interrupt you two any longer," she drawled, smirking.

Sicheng shooed her away promptly, and you swore his cheeks started tinting pink as he turned back to you and apologized.

"Well she seems nice," you smiled, starting to eat after Sicheng had deemed the meat to be cooked enough.

“How is it?” he asked, eyes widening and an eager smile on his face as he gripped his chopsticks in anticipation.

Upon tasting the meat, your eyebrows lifted, Sicheng mirroring your wide-eyed expression as his smile grew bigger.

“Wow, it’s really good,” you hummed.

Sicheng clasped his hands together triumphantly, nodding his head at you with an overconfident smirk, “Of course it’s good! Since I was the one that recommended this place,” he held his arms up in a shrug.

You rolled your eyes, giggling at his demeanour as he put more food into the pot.

"Did you understand what she was saying?" he asked you.

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, seeing him gesture with his thumb over his shoulder and you realized he was referring to the staff. You raised a hand, tilting it in a 'somewhat' gesture.

"Roughly, I used to learn mandarin when i was younger but it's been pretty long since then and I lost most of my knowledge, I only understand bits and pieces that i've heard from Xiaojun before," you laughed, the way he looked at you with a mischievous glint in his eye making you feel a certain type of way.

"So you don't understand what I'm saying now?" he asked you in mandarin, making you narrow your eyes at him.

"I feel like you're asking me if I understand what you're saying...." you guessed, eyebrow raising in the hope that you were correct. Your heart practically jumping at the way his lips curved into a smile, nodding.

He'd set his chopsticks down, holding his head up with his hand, elbow resting on the table as he looked at you curiously.

"What if i said you were a rice bucket (饭桶)?" you didn't catch what he said, the way he pronounced words being rather rushed, tending to mesh and mumble his words together, unlike Xiaojun who tended to enunciate his words strongly.

You frowned at him, chewing your food as you thought, piecing together the words you'd managed to catch, "I eat rice?" you asked.

You weren't expecting the burst of laughter Sicheng had erupted in, his deep laugh sounding throughout the booth you were in, making your eyes widen and look over to see if anyone was looking, thankfully seeing none.

"What's so funny about that?" you asked, genuinely concerned, meanwhile Sicheng seemed to find it the funniest thing ever that you didn't understand him, shaking his head at you.

"Nothing, you're correct," he said, calming down and sipping his drink, his cheeks red from how hard he'd laughed, scrunching his eyes shut in a failed attempt to stop laughing.

You'd let a silence fall between you two as you ate, Sicheng was almost done with his food, forgetting what Ten had told him about his bad habit of eating quickly so no one could take his food.

Glancing at the pot of soup, he'd picked up pieces of meat with his chopsticks, placing it into your bowl, something that he'd never done before other than for his parents, his behaviour shocking even himself.

Nodding gratefully but hoping you could hide how flustered you were, you broke the silence, asking, "anyway, are other people allowed to go for the showcase?" you asked, seeing his eyebrows raise.

"Uh-huh.”

You felt your anxiousness increase, having expected him to ask if you'd wanted to go, now making you wonder if it'd be weird if you asked if you could go watch.

"Can I uh...watch?" you asked, diverting your gaze to your food immediately after you asked, missing the way he scrunched his nose up with a smile, pressing his lips together to contain it before replying to you.

"No," he joked, making your head shoot up.

Sicheng giggling at your reaction, "I'm kidding, of course you can. I'll let you know the details closer to the date." he told you.

"You're not from my faculty, right? I was wondering cause you're in our building so much you could actually pass off as a student there," you laughed, seeing him give you a sheepish look.

"Well, I mean, i'm from the dance department but I've spent a lot of time in your faculty building recently ‘cause one of my juniors Renjun asked me for help for one of his routines and it was a good meeting space for us, since it had that area with the mirrors and all," he gestured with his hand as he spoke, picking his chopsticks back up and shoveling the noodles into his mouth.

You made a 'o' shape with your mouth in understanding.

"Which year are you in?" you asked him.

"I'm in my last year, actually. the showcase is kind of part of our graduating project," your eyes widened, realizing this made him your senior.

"Oh," you murmured. Seeing your phone light up in your lap with a text from Xiaojun.

xiaojun 7:40pm - hows ur date going -

You saw Sicheng move as if getting ready to stand, "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom, be back soon," he murmured. You simply nodded, too preoccupied with replying Xiaojun to pay attention to anything else.

7:40pm - pretty good, kinda weird. he told me in chinese that i ate rice for some reason -

xiaojun 7:41pm - r u sure he didnt just call u a fan tong -

You frowned. 

7:41pm - he did....but isn't that what it means???-

xiaojun 7:42pm - no omg can u just... google what it means -

You did as he had instructed, understanding why Sicheng was laughing so much when you'd seen what it meant, and just as you'd found out, he'd come back to the table, hands resting in the front pocket of his hoodie.

"Ready to go?" you nodded.

"Also, you're a rice bucket!" you told him, seeing him laugh, realizing you'd found out what it meant. But you were momentarily distracted when he'd walked right past the cashier.

"Hey hey, wait aren't we gonna pay?" you grabbed his arm, seeing him shake his head and continue walking, dragging you out with him.

"I paid already," he nodded goodbye at the cashier, leaving you to fumble for words as he waved the receipt at you as proof.

"What the heck, when?"

Sicheng shrugged, "when you were busy finding out what a rice bucket meant."

"Well, then how much do I owe you?" you asked, trying to get the receipt from him, seeing him shove his hands back into his front pocket.

Sicheng pointed at a nearby convenience store, "wanna get ice cream?"

"Sicheng," you frowned, reaching over in an attempt to pull his hands out of his pocket to get the receipt, seeing him pull out the receipt quickly, tearing it into pieces and throwing it into the next trashcan you walked past.

"What did you do that for?!" you whined, letting him lead you across the street to the same line as the convenience store he was pointing at earlier.

He turned to you with a blank expression.

"Look, I said you could repay me by coming to eat with me, not paying for my meal," he gave you a calm shrug, "plus, i chose the place, wouldn't be nice to make you pay ‘cause its so expensive."

"And it's fair for you to pay?" he gave you a tired look.

"This isn't about being fair, Y/N. It's about me paying because i wanted to, alright?" you scrunched up your nose in distaste, but chose to accept your fate anyway since he was so insistent about it.

"I take it back, you're not a rice bucket," you huffed.

He'd led you into the convenience store, grinning at the wide variety of ice cream, Sicheng choosing his quickly, glancing at the aisle of candy and sweets.

"Do you want any of that?" you asked, watching him drag his gaze away from the colourful array of snacks to look at you with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Are you offering to get it for me?" you shrugged, pulling the ice cream bar you wanted out of the cooler and shutting it tightly.

"I want to," you said, emphasizing your tone to make it similar to his when he'd explained the whole paying situation to you.

Sicheng grinned, moving to the aisle and picking out a packet of cookies, handing it to you together with his ice cream with a childlike smile on his face.

After paying, you'd walked out of the convenience store, Sicheng ripping open the packet of his ice cream quickly, taking a bite out of it and waving his arms happily.

Dear God, please help me not make it too obvious that I think Sicheng’s absolutely adorable.

"Is it far from here to your house?" Sicheng asked, and only then did you look at your surroundings, realizing you may be closer to your house than he thinks.

"There's actually a way to walk from here to my house," you said, seeing him nod.

"Alright, let's go."

"Huh?" your eyes widened, biting your ice-cream in your shock and shivering as a result.

"I'll walk you home." He said, gesturing for you to lead the way and so you did, wondering what about you was warranting such niceness from him.

You let him follow you anyway, shoving your hands into your pockets as you walked so you wouldn’t awkwardly brush hands with his.

Figuring you might as well take advantage of the time you had, you let your curiosity fuel your conversation.

"So, what are your plans after you graduate?"

Sicheng grimaced, not expecting you to have asked him that. At the thought of university, Sicheng couldn’t help but think of his dad, the overload of emotions and information that he desperately wanted to tell you making him eventually shrug at the question, not wanting to overwhelm you with the sheer weight of his emotions.

"I actually wanna go to this acting academy, but of course that's all dependent on how well I do,” he huffed.

You pursed your lips at the implication of his words, "Is it hard to get in?"

He nodded vigorously.

"They only accept a handful of students each year...but it'd be a dream if I actually got in," his voice dropped to a murmur, finishing his ice cream and tossing the packaging into a trash bin you walked past.

"Who knows, maybe you will," you shrugged confidently, not knowing just how much comfort the statement gave him.

Sicheng looked at you blankly, a certain warmth spreading in his chest. You turned to look at him, watching as a small smile gracing his features.

"Maybe I will," he murmured.

“Have you spoken to your parents about it? I know it took Xiaojun ages to convince his parents to let him do his course,” you mentioned, noticing the way Sicheng seemed to have tensed at that.

Sicheng pressed his lips together firmly before letting them part slightly, looking as though he wanted to say something.

Eventually, he nodded, “they know I want to pursue acting and dance.”

You raised your eyebrows slightly, craning your neck slightly to get a better look at his expression, “you can tell me if you don’t want to talk about it, but.. something tells me they’re not happy with it.”

Sicheng let out a deep breath through his nose, nodding at you.

“Yeah, they’re not. They never really…were keen on me pursuing arts. I mean like my mom sort of gave up trying to change my mind but my dad is um…” he paused, a huff of bitter laughter leaving his lips, “how do I say this in a nice way..”

Sicheng shook his head, “He’s just very… traditional.”

Sicheng expected to hear what he usually heard at this point, that his parents only mean well and that they’re just worried for him, but your response was something he hadn’t seen coming.

“So how does that make you feel?” You asked. And sure, it was a simple question but for some reason, it was making Sicheng feel as though he was being wrapped in a blanket and soothed like a child.

Sicheng couldn’t help but huff as he shook his head, “I mean, at the end of the day they’re my parents and I know that, but it still makes me feel.. hurt, I guess. That they don’t want to support me to do what makes me happy and what I’m actually passionate about, you know?”

You nodded, “I get where you’re coming from, and I know I’m not in any position to help you make any changes but…I hope you don’t let that stop you.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

You shrugged, unsure where your wisdom had stemmed from, but you figured it was from all those sleepovers with Xiaojun where you two could rant for hours.

“It’s easy to let yourself sacrifice things for people you care about, but I hope you never sacrifice your happiness.”

Sicheng looked away, trying to suppress the smile from his face as he nodded, glancing at you quickly before looking away, knowing it would do him no help in trying to conceal his smile.

You'd talked more about whatever you could think of, growing to enjoy Sicheng's company the more you spoke with him, not noticing how fast time passed until you were rounding the corner to the street you lived.

"I had a nice time with you tonight," you said, Sicheng able to sense that you were slowing down, having reached your driveway.

"Me too," he smiled, "thank you, for....your time." Sicheng internally cursed, thankful Ten wasn’t here to hear whatever bullshit he just said.

Your lower lip jut out slightly in a pout.

“Well, I mean, it doesn't have to be the last time we go out....you know, we can still hang," you let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding, seeing him nod, diverting his gaze elsewhere and fidgeting with his cap.

"Absolutely, you know, I'm basically free other than practices with Ten, just uh....let me know if you're ever like....bored and you wanna hang out or something," he mumbled, looking up from the floor to tilt his head at you with a smile, your heart nearly exploding with how cute the gesture was to you.

"Goodnight." You waved, seeing him nod at you, waving as you entered your house.

===

You were currently sitting in the library trying to do some readings for class.

Sicheng had just finished his practice for the day and was going to find you in the library, wearing a yellow hoodie and jeans, his hair (courtesy of Ten) was curlier today, since they'd gotten carried away with thinking of possible ways to style themselves for the performance.  But you thought it wasn't such a bad thing. Because after it was messed up from the movements of the dance you had to say he was hard to look away from.

Spotting you at your desk in the library, he'd felt almost endeared looking at how concentrated you were, a part of him feeling overwhelmed with the urge to pinch your cheeks with how serious you looked. This left Sicheng with no other option than to resort to his only method of coping with it: teasing you.

"What are you doing?" he asked you in mandarin once he had reached your table, flopping onto the seat next to you, making you furrow your eyebrows at your computer screen.

"Readings for class," you murmured, using your pen to follow where you were.

“Okay, let me see your pretty face," he teased, making you huff, not understanding what he was saying.

"What does 'pretty face' mean?" you asked him distractedly, scribbling something on your notes.

"Your face," he said smoothly, so smooth you didn't even realize it wasn't what the word meant.

"That's how you say it in chinese?" he nodded.

"Learn something new everyday," you commented, turning back to face Sicheng only to see he'd already whipped out his phone and pressed on his game app, leaning his head on his arm that was resting on the back of the chair, looking at you with a lazy smile as it loaded.

"Aren't you tired from practice? and why is your hair curly?"

He nodded, pouting at you, "I'm tired, but never too tired to win," he said with an exaggerated amount of confidence, making you scoff.

“But do you like it?" he asked, taking a lock of his hair between his fingers, pulling on it before messing it up a little, you had to remind yourself not to stare.

"It's.....nice," you shrugged, turning back to your computer as Sicheng simply smiled, logging into his game.

By the time you were done with one reading, Sicheng had finished his game as well, the both of you getting ready to leave when you saw a girl that looked younger than you approach your table. You were sure you haven’t seen her before, looking at her in very prominent confusion before you realized she was looking for Sicheng.

The first thing that stood out to you was that she'd called him her older brother (哥哥), a term you knew held certain meaning to some guys as you'd learnt from Xiaojun, but not like you were in any position to be jealous or anything.

"I was hoping I'd run into you, do you know where I can find this teacher?" you heard her say, your gaze hardening from the way Sicheng smiled at her, nodding and giving her directions, a part of you wishing he would act colder towards her, but knowing it wasn't in Sicheng's nature to behave that way towards juniors.

"Thank you so much!" she said, beaming at him shyly before she left.

"Who's that, huh?" you asked, smirking at Sicheng.

"Just a junior," he shrugged, the both of you walking into the lift, squeezed at the back behind a crowd of students.

You pretended to be deep in thought, "Didn't seem like it though, did it, older brother?" you mocked, repeating the words of his junior.

Sicheng almost immediately replied, "Oh my god, shut up that was so gross, don't ever say that again," he shivered, trying to hide the fact that he was absolutely endeared to you and secretly wished you would say it again, but knowing he wouldn't be able to contain his happiness if you did.

You gasped, slightly offended at his outburst as you walked out of the lift.

"What?! What's so different about me saying it and her saying it!" you scoffed, seeing him shake his head, giving you a patronizing smile.

"It's really gross when you say it cause you're my friend!" he told you, making you scoff, at a loss for words.

Was this....him friendzoning you?

"Let's just go home." you shook your head, pushing the conversation behind you.

===

"Do you think this means he doesn't like me?" you sighed, seeing your friend shrug, you and Sicheng had developed a routine of seeing each other after classes or practice, even if it meant just hanging out and watching movies, or just him coming over to your house but ending up falling asleep on your couch because he was so tired from practice, but what bothered you wasn't the routine, but incidents like those in the library that made you confused over how he saw you.

Sure, he did nice gestures for you, but anyone could be nice to you with unromantic intentions. Xiaojun was nice to you, but he had no intention of dating you, so how could you be sure about the fact that he was interested in you?

"You can't be sure....i mean, from what I'm seeing he does a lot of nice things for you..but he doesn't necessarily...outrightly tell you things that can make you sure that he likes you?"

You sighed, waiting for your food to be ready. You'd planned on surprising Sicheng and bringing some food to him since you told him you'd meet him in his practice room.

"Don't overthink it," your friend gave you a sympathetic look, "Maybe he's just not that great at expressing how he feels?" she shrugged, making you shrug with her, collecting your food.

"You're going to see him now, aren't you?" you nodded, giving her a grim look. "All the best," she laughed, waving you goodbye as you left in the direction of the practice room.

What you didn't expect to find was to see Sicheng lying on the floor of the dance studio, sprawled on his back, wearing the same checkered sweatpants and a plain white shirt. He looked as though he was sleeping, not making a single move even when you entered the room loudly.

"Sicheng?" you called, not seeing him move, finding his demeanour similar to when you'd seen him the previous week, sleeping off his stress when he was supposed to be fine-tuning the report with Ten.

You set your bag down next to his, bringing the packets of food as you made your way next to him, not wanting to disrupt his sleep but at the same time knowing he had to eat.

You decided to text Ten first, in the hope that it would give you some insight as to how Sicheng was feeling.

6:23pm - hey, how was Sicheng during practice today? -

ten 6:23pm -???? we didn't meet today we said today would be a rest day-6:23pm - why?? did smth happen? is he ok? -

Frowning, you checked the date, it was only a matter of days before Sicheng and Ten's showcase, and you could tell that Sicheng was nervous, especially judging from his behaviour today.

"Hey, Sicheng, wake up," you murmured seeing him frown, his eyes opening slowly to see you sitting next to him, blinking at you before letting out a deep sigh.

Sicheng felt as though he was in some sort of hazy dream, the sight of you and the smell of food making his head spin, not being able to quite remember how he ended up asleep on the floor.

"What were you doing here the whole day?" you worried, seeing him push himself off the floor to sit with his knees up, resting his folded arms on his knees.

"Practicing....I guess," he shrugged, his gaze travelling to the bag containing food that sat next to you.

Realizing what he was staring at, you started emptying out the bag, laying the food in front of the both of you.

"Here, eat," he nodded at you wordlessly, starting to open the packets to eat.

You felt a little concerned at his lack of a response, not knowing if your presence here was welcomed or not, but Sicheng was thankful, even if it was hard for you to see that.

"Ten told me you guys were supposed to have a rest day today," he looked at you and nodded, confirming it.

"And?" you asked. "What part about 'rest' in 'rest day' do you not understand?" your eyebrows knit together in a frown, unsure what Sicheng's take on this was.

"I had to practice, Y/N." he swallowed his food with a wince, and looking down you realized he was almost done with his food. "I needed to just shut myself in here and concentrate. I know myself best and I know that I wasn't putting my all into this the past few practices," he told you, making your frown deepen.

"What makes you think that?" you murmured, looking down at your food, poking at it for lack of appetite, your worry for him getting the better of you.

Sicheng looked at you with a nervous expression, looking as if he was withholding something. What was he supposed to answer to that? oh, because I couldn't stop thinking about you? or oh, because I keep wanting to get it over with so I can meet you after? or oh, because I'm so stressed about how I can't bring myself to tell you how much I like you?

His expression was blank, shrugging as he mumbled, "just a feeling."

"Look, I know, you're stressed, but you have to trust me when I say that I've seen your rehearsals and you and Ten are doing so well!" you murmured, not missing the way he sighed as he reached for the plastic bag, dumping his empty packaging into the bag and leaning back to rest his weight on his hands.

"That's different, Y/N. You're you, and the teachers are the teachers. Not to mention my parents."

You raised your eyebrows in confusion, prompting him to elaborate.

“You're a lot nicer to me than they are," he murmured.

You felt something in you hurt when you heard how defeated he sounded, giving him a reassuring smile, "Hey, when did that ever stop you?" you asked, seeing him look at you, a tiny glimmer of hope in his eyes, shaking his head.

"Stop running away from your problems, man, face them head on! Sleep's not gonna perfect your dance for you," you held your fists up in a gesture to cheer him on, seeing him shake his head with a smile, rolling his eyes as he got up from the floor, nodding.

"Can you help me?" he asked, telling you what he wanted you to look out for, and to help him find ways to improve his expression from an audience's perspective.

You nodded, finishing your food and setting it aside, jogging over to a space in front of the mirrors and sitting down in front of it, opening your packet drink as he passed you his phone, with the song on the screen already.

"Ready?" You asked with a smile, seeing him cast you a unsure glance, leaning his head back with a groan.

You'd pressed play to the song, seeing him start his routine, only when he'd gotten to the part where he had to do a one-handed cartwheel had he stopped after that, wanting to restart.

You paused the music, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, looking at you with an expression you couldn't place the feeling of.

"Just calm down, relax. You know this routine by heart, just don't think about anything else.." you

saw him nod at you, getting back into his starting position.

"Ready?" he nodded again, and when you played the music this time, you could see how much more in his element he was, letting his movements flow, performing tricks with ease, not to mention the intensity with which he performed, almost like an upgrade from the past rehearsals you've seen.

Once the song ended, he looked at you with a shy smile, smiling widely even as he caught his breath, and you couldn't help yourself from cheering and clapping.

"That was great! Best I've seen from you by far," he gave you a look.

"Why were you so nervous about it anyway? You danced it so well!" you said, seeing him shake his head at you.

"You know contemporary dance isn't my specialty, right?" Your eyebrows raised, making him laugh his deep bubbly laugh, covering his head with his hands. The way he looked at you now was the mischievous kind of look he gave you whenever he knew something you didn’t.

"It isn't? Then what is your specialization?" you wondered, sipping on your drink as he did a small turn.

"Chinese traditional dance," you gasped, almost being able to imagine Sicheng dancing that style of dance, and how mesmerising he would look while doing so.

"Oh my god...can you show me?"

Sicheng laughed, "huh?" his tone was embarrassed, as if he was suddenly too shy to dance for you.

You nodded vigorously, "please, I really wanna see," you clasped your hands together, rubbing them together in a pleading gesture.

He nodded. 

"Anything for you," he told you in mandarin, you being to excited to fully process what he was saying.

"Can you reach in my bag and take out the fan?" he pointed to his bag, and you'd rolled over, reaching his bag and taking out a fan that was considerably bigger than you'd expected, handing it to him.

"This is really short, but just something I choreographed a while ago," he murmured, and you swore you saw a tint of pink shading his cheeks as he scrolled his phone for the song, pressing play and proceeding to dance the most enchanting thing you'd ever seen him dance.

You knew he was talented when you saw how he danced with Ten, but seeing him dancing something that he had so much skill in, so much technique and control over, it was like you'd fallen for him even more while watching him.

"Wow..." was all you could muster when he was done, turning back to you and hiding his face with the opened fan as he laughed, the way his tone would rise as he laughed serving to endear you even more to him if that was possible.

"What?" he asked you, making you shake your head, a giddy awestruck look on your face.

"I don't know how to describe it, but all Iknow is that I loved it," you told him, seeing him raise his hands dramatically, bowing dramatically in all directions.

"Thank you everybody!" he said in mandarin, sounding similar to those actors you would see at award shows.

You scoffed playfully, feigning hurt, stomping up to him, with your hands on your hips.

"Why are you thanking everyone! I'm the one who was encouraging you," you laughed, seeing his eyes widen.

Grinning at you, he blew a flying kiss to you with his fan.

"Oh, right, thank you, kiss kiss (么么哒)," he said, making you laugh.

"I don't know what that means but...i'll take it," you murmured, seeing him close the fan, looking at you with a tired smile. The kind of smile you would see in movies when the protagonist realizes he's in love, but in this case, Sicheng was the protagonist, and he was currently kicking himself on the inside because what are you doing!!! now is the perfect time to tell her you like her!!

But all Sicheng could do was smile, his words failing him at the worst of times, leaving an awful big load of tension between you two as you secretly hoped this movie-protagonist-in-love look would mean you would receive a slow-mo worthy confession now, only to get a shock when Sicheng had broken the silence.

"The tickets are with Xiaojun," he blurted, your potential movie-moment slipping away just as fast as Sicheng snapped his fan open, walking over to your bags and wrapping the plastic bag of your trash as a way for him to hide how frustrated he was with himself, scrunching his eyes up with an annoyed tilt of his head.

You were busy trying to hide your disappointment as well, using the time he was preoccupied with clearing the empty food packets to take deep breaths, calming your racing heart every time it remembered how close you came to revealing your feelings for him.

"Ready to go home?" he murmured, standing up and turning to face you, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Recovering from your shock you nodded, "Yep, yeah. Let's go."

===

"Okay, let's do it again, just pretend I'm Y/N," Xiaojun said, not bothering to adjust his sitting posture, making it very hard for Sicheng to imagine the skinny boy in front of him chewing loudly on his lunch to be you.

Sicheng shot Renjun a helpless look, "save me, please."

Renjun shaking his head at the same time as Ten chimed in, "Me, me! I'd do it a lot better than Xiaojun," he claimed confidently, crossing his legs and straightening his posture, giving Sicheng a sensual look.

Sicheng shoved Ten, groaning, "None of you are actually helping, you know."

Renjun shook his head in disapproval at Xiaojun and Ten, pulling Ten out of his seat so he could sit in front of Sicheng, looking at the older boy with a neutral expression.

"Okay, pretend I'm Y/N, and just try to tell me something you've wanted to tell me for a while now," Renjun said simply, as if it should be second-nature for Sicheng to do.

"For someone who wants to go to an acting school, you really suck at this roleplay thing," Ten commented, arms folded over his chest as he watched Sicheng and Renjun.

"It's not as easy as you think, okay?" Sicheng groaned, “I regret asking you guys for help.”

Sicheng knew he’d only ended up in this situation after he told them what had happened in the dance studio the other day, the boys immediately initiating a plan to help their friend gain the courage to express his feelings to her.

“Focus!” Renjun clapped his hands in front of Sicheng, who had managed to get his expression to be neutral, his leg starting to bounce anxiously as he thought of what to say.

“Y/N,” he started, “well...you know...we’ve been friends for a...substantial amount of time now...”

“Cut!” Renjun yelled, making Sicheng frown, wondering what he said to make Renjun stop him so fast.

“Firstly, you’re not gonna confess to her in mandarin, are you? And second of all, that was the most unromantic starting sentence I've ever heard.” Sicheng sighed, switching to english.

“Okay, rewind.Y/N, I....” Sicheng felt himself start to second guess the sentences he had planned, suddenly feeling like for every way he could think of to confess to you, there would be a nicer way to do it that he would think of immediately after, making him stop himself, sighing again.

“You know maybe his saving grace will be that she still likes him even though he’s not very good with his words,” Xiaojun shrugged, making Sicheng shoot him a look.

“In all honesty, I feel like i’m okay expressing my feelings to her, just that I didn't know how she’d react, like, what if she wasn’t looking for a relationship-”  Xiaojun practically burst out laughing at that, shaking his head at Sicheng as the three of them looked at him in curiosity (and a little bit of concern).

“Believe me, you’re way off if you think that,” he laughed.

Sicheng gave him a look, “What do you mean?”

Xiaojun raised his hands in defence, “I mean, i’m not gonna out her, but all I’m gonna say is that the last thing you should be afraid of is that she isn’t looking for a relationship.”

Sicheng hummed thoughtfully at what Xiaojun was implying.

This thought lingered with Sicheng until the day of the showcase, when Sicheng had been greeted with the news that his teacher had invited his family to watch the showcase, and as if that wasn’t horrifying enough, they actually agreed.

“Dude,” Ten called at the jittery boy who was currently squatting behind the stage curtains, peeking out to search for his parents in the crowd, and silently hoping to God that he wouldn’t spot them.

When Sicheng hadn’t answered, Ten tried again, “Dude!” he called, louder this time.

Ten sighed when Sicheng’s head whipped around quickly, his expression panic-stricken.

Walking over to where Sicheng was squatting, he cast the boy a sympathetic look.

“I heard about the um...parents thing,” he told Sicheng, the mere reminder of it making Sicheng let out a deep breath he wasn’t aware that he was holding.

Sicheng felt suffocated, the murmuring of the crowd only seeming to grow in volume.

“I’m gonna go get some air,” Sicheng sighed, Ten letting him walk out, hoping the air would do his dance partner some good as well.

You had just reached the performance venue with Xiaojun, you were already seated with Xiaojun when you’d started to feel a little thirsty, wanting to step outside to find something you could drink. Already having bought your drink, you were about to make your way back, opening your phone because you’d wanted to send an encouraging message to Sicheng, almost groaning when you saw a text come in from Xiaojun.

Xiaojun 5:37pm - can you get me a water too pls ?? renjun wants a coke -

Sighing, you made your way back to the vending machine, about to take your wallet out again when you’d spotted someone seated at one of the benches near you, head buried in their hands.

Frowning, you wondered if they were alright, pushing the coins absentmindedly into the vending machine as you tried to lean back as much as you could to get a better view of the boy.

The boy had looked up, making eye contact with you and looking away quickly, his hands going up to wipe at his eyes, and you realized only then that that was Sicheng.

Frowning, you carried the drinks in your hand as you walked over to where he was sitting, taking as seat next to him on the bench, looking at him in concern.

“Hey, are you okay?” you frowned.

Sicheng had avoided your gaze, fidgeting with his hands as he shrugged. “My parents are here,” he finally sighed, making your eyes widen, knowing the implications behind that.

“It’s my first time actually performing in front of them...like, ever.”

You weren’t sure what came over you when you reached a hand out to grasp his gently, surprised when he’d fidgeted with your hand instead, letting you grasp his hand and you squeezed his gently, hearing a shaky sigh leave him.

“I want to make them proud. I really do. But I just feel like I’m not ready yet, I don't know why my teacher invited them without telling me I wasn’t prepared for this at all and I’m so-” he stopped abruptly, a sigh leaving his lips as he looked up, blinking rapidly to stop his tears from spilling out.

“So worried that they won’t have a reason to be proud of me after watching me.” he mumbled, his words muffled by his hand that reached up to dab at the tear that had rolled down his cheek.

“Hey,” you started, seeing him look towards you, inhaling deeply as he tried to regulate his breathing, “I know I won’t understand exactly how you feel, but I can tell you that if you really want to make them proud, your job is to go out there and show them just why you love performing so much. You’ve worked so hard up ‘til this point, there’s nothing else left for you to do other than to just show them the result of this hard work,” you told him, hoping your words made sense as you tried to console him.

“Xiaojun and Renjun are already inside. We know what you’re capable of, and we’ll be supporting you,” you flushed, suddenly feeling shy to be telling him this but going out on a limb and telling him anyway in your desperation to make him feel less anxious.

“I’ll be rooting for you,” you mumbled, looking away in your embarrassment, not noticing the way Sicheng’s lips had trembled, his eyes not welling up in tears but his throat feeling as though it was closing up on itself, his chest feeling like it was almost burning with warmth, wishing you hadn’t stood up so quickly.

“You should probably be going in, the showcase is gonna start soon,” you gestured to the entrance, picking up the drinks in your hands and turning to bid Sicheng goodbye, the boy contemplating whether or not to hug you, realizing his contemplating had made him miss his chance when he saw you walking away from him.

Later on, you felt yourself growing nervous as you saw Sicheng and Ten step onto the stage, the announcer introducing them and giving a small background about the piece they would be performing. Sicheng felt it too, shutting his eyes after he got into position and breathing slowly. Opening his eyes again, he’d made eye contact with Ten, who gave him a reassuring smile.

And you were glad to say he had danced more beautifully than you had ever seen before.

After the performance, he and Ten had gone outside the venue after it was over to take pictures with friends who had shown up, seeing you and Xiaojun waiting there, you nervously clutching a bouquet of flowers in your hand that Xiaojun basically forced you to buy.

Tugging at the sleeve of your sweater, you waited impatiently for Sicheng to finish taking pictures with his teachers and other friends—Renjun would joke and say your flowers would be dead by the time they were done— and Xiaojun had eventually gotten sick of waiting and dragged you by the arm to where Sicheng and Ten were, with Renjun following close behind.

“Hey guys,” Ten drawled when he saw you, Xiaojun and Renjun approaching, looking at Sicheng with a pointed look, nudging his head in your direction, to which Sicheng furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“What?” he said in mandarin, eyes widening when he saw you holding out the bouquet of flowers for him, trying to distract yourself from the fact that the leather jacket he’d put over his performance outfit was distracting you greatly, having already given one bouquet to Ten while he was distracted.

“You guys wanna take a picture together?” you heard Renjun yell, and Xiaojun took that as his queue and pushed you towards Sicheng. You winced as you lost your balance with a yelp, only steadying yourself when Sicheng grabbed your arm, taking the flowers from you with a grateful nod.

“Stop being awkward,” Renjun mouthed with a glare, and you’d fixed your hair, suddenly feeling shy about your proximity to Sicheng, not knowing how to arrange your hands, but thankfully for the both of you, you had Ten on your side.

Sicheng had started simple, by placing his hand over your shoulder, his other hand holding the bouquet, tilting his head towards yours for the picture.

Meanwhile Renjun was hard at work bending down to find better angles to capture you both in.

“Okay..okayy,” you laughed, hoping you would hear that Renjun was done taking photos, but instead hearing Ten’s commentary as he watched Renjun taking photos of you.

“Okay, change pose,” he said, making you and Sicheng flustered, not knowing what other pose you could possibly do, Sicheng with his arm around your shoulder, looking at you with a tilt of the head as if to ask you what pose to do next, making you shrug.

“Should we just end it now?” he leaned closer to whisper, making you nod with a small wince.

Sicheng waved his hand dismissively, letting go of your shoulder and telling them that photo taking was over, Renjun putting his phone down with a huff and you swore he was muttering something about you guys being unappreciative.

They were all preoccupied with airdrop-ing the photos to each other, giving you a chance to properly congratulate Sicheng for successfully getting through his showcase, pulling him down for a hug to congratulate him, your heart jumping for joy at the comfort you felt when he hugged you back.

It felt like you hugged him for the longest time, and Sicheng knew this too, his free hand going up to cradle your head before pulling away, embarrassed that you’d hugged him in front of Ten, Renjun and Xiaojun.

You glanced at Sicheng, searching his expression and noticing how his eyes looked a little teary and bloodshot.

“Thanks for coming,” he murmured, his voice sounding slightly shaky which made him clear his throat quickly, making Renjun scoff.

“Did we have a choice? Ten would’ve killed us if we didn’t show up,” Renjun rolled his eyes.

“Did you tell her about the party yet?” you heard Ten ask, seeing you frown in confusion.

“What party?” you asked him.

His eyes widened in realisation, “Oh, right.  I'm having a christmas party kind of thing, and i was wondering if you wanna come?”

You thought about it, Christmas wasn’t until next week, so you were pretty sure you would have enough time to prepare something to wear for the party.

“When is it?”

“Uh..we wanted it to kind of happen early because Ten’s flying home for Christmas, and I’m flying to China to go see my grandparents for christmas as well, so we were thinking of having it this Saturday?” he asked, and you’d glanced at your phone for confirmation.

This meant you had 3 days to prepare gifts for them and figure out what you were gonna wear.

“Oh.....well, alright then, that’d be nice,” you nodded, slowly recovering from your shock to give him a smile.

“Should I be anticipating your gift?” he asked, making you shake your head firmly.

“God, please don’t. I suck at giving gifts,” you laughed, “should i be anticipating yours?” you asked, just for the fun of it, both of you not expecting the way Sicheng had simply nodded.

“Yes, I'd like you to.”

===

That very statement was what left Sicheng a whining mess up until the day of the party, trying to figure out what the hell had compelled him to say that when he didn’t even have a proper gift in mind yet, almost contemplating asking his mom for advice when he heard her loudly packing in her bedroom.

“Ma,” he’d burst her bedroom door open, realizing with a disappointed sigh that it was his dad and not his mom.

“Your mom’s downstairs,” he told Sicheng, who had then promptly ran down the stairs of his house, finding his mother in the living room wrapping apples for the people she’d planned on giving them to on Christmas.

That’s when it hit him, he knew what he was going to give you for Christmas.

You on the other hand, weren’t having such luck in the gift department. You wanted to get Sicheng something meaningful and nice, but for lack of better ideas you decided on buying Sicheng a new set of headphones. You were familiar with Sicheng’s complaints about his parents nagging him for staying up late whenever he was gaming his parents since he didn’t use headphones, being too lazy to buy them, so you figured you’d do both him and his parents a favour with this gift.

Whereas for Ten, Xiaojun and Renjun (the only ones you actually knew who were going for this party) you’d already settled their gifts. So to any other person, you would have seemed to have everything under control, except, you had no idea what to wear.

Ten had tried helping you, suggesting you should wear something comfortable since it was cold out, but you weren’t necessarily sure how to impress Sicheng with your comfortable clothes, eventually letting Ten pick out for you a simple outfit, even forcing you to wear a scarf over it because he claimed Sicheng would think you looked cute.

So you trusted him (whether this was a good choice or a bad choice is up to you, really), and had brought your gifts, specially and individually wrapped, along with your own little handwritten note to Sicheng, and followed Ten to the party.

Only upon reaching were you truly thankful that he’d made you wear a scarf, it was cold out, and you were thankful that Sicheng’s house had pretty good heating. Not that you didn’t like being in the cold, you were just pretty sure you wouldn’t have liked it as much if you’d gone with your previous outfit choice.

Walking into the party, you’d spotted Xiaojun quickly, walking over to where he was in the kitchen, Ten having left you to greet the other guys Sicheng invited that you weren’t familiar with.

“Hey,” he waved, the sleeve of his oversized sweater engulfing his arm, making him look even smaller than usual.

Your greeting came out muffled as you loosened your scarf, hanging it around your neck loosely instead, “Have you seen Sicheng?” you asked, seeing him shake his head.

Feeling a little more than disappointed, you’d taken a drink from him before looking around the house, realizing that maybe Sicheng was a little more well-off than he’d let on, impressed by the warm lighting accompanying the chandeliers and very comfortable looking sofas, you’d been dragged by Renjun to join their movie session in the living room, only then realizing that Sicheng was there, engrossed in the Narnia movie that was playing on his (big) television set.

“Y/N’s finally here,” Ten’s voice had captured Sicheng’s attention, the boy turning around in his seat to look at you, and only then did you realize how good he looked.

Wearing a thick dark green sweater and jeans that were folded up at the bottom, not to mention his hair was styled up, he turned to you with a wave, patting the seat next to him as an invitation to sit there. In your attempt to get over your shock over his outfit, you took your time in placing the gifts at the Christmas tree, bringing his gift to where he sat, tucking it between your legs and the sofa as you sat down, realizing the space was tighter than you’d expected, making you have to squeeze shoulder to shoulder with Sicheng- almost spilling your drink in the process.

“Are those glasses real?” you whispered, not wanting to interrupt the rest of the guys who were watching the movie, the younger looking one sitting next to Renjun with bright orange hair eyeing you and Sicheng with a knowing look.

Sicheng shook his head.

“Nope, they were a gift from Jaehyun,” he pointed at one of the guys sitting on the floor next to the coffee table, wearing a black sweater and very ripped jeans.

“I’m wearing them because he was so insistent that I didn't like them,” he explained, and you desperately wished he would whisper because the way his hushed tone sounded so near to you wasn’t doing anything in calming you down.

“When did you get here?” he asked, making you shrug, not really wishing to disclose the time you spent in the kitchen hiding from the crowd.

“Not long ago, I was just in the kitchen with Xiaojun,” you told him, the mention of the kitchen directing his attention to the cup in your hand, leaning over to sniff it, his proximity to your face making you lean back.

Leaning back after sniffing your drink, he raised an eyebrow at you, “You drink this stuff?” his voice was surprised to say the least, relief washing over him when you shook his head.

“I don’t even know what it is, I just took it from Xiaojun but it smells like the hospital,” you made a face of disgust, hearing him let out a huff of laughter, grabbing your arm that was holding the drink and bringing it up to his face, downing it in one go before taking the cup from your hands and leaning forward to place it on the coffee table, returning to his original position and giving you a small smile.

“One less thing to worry about,” he shrugged, and you went back to watching the movie, seeing that it was only at the part where Edmund meets the witch.

The more you watched, you felt your head start to loll back, not realizing the movie had ended and the guys were now trying to decide whether to play 2 truths and 1 lie.

Sicheng had purposely shifted around in his seat more to wake you up before you could fall asleep, your head shooting up quickly, catching the attention of a few of them who turned to look at you curiously.

“Y/N, you wanna play 2 truths and 1 lie?” Renjun asked, making you frown.

“I really suck at that game though..”

Sicheng gave you a reassuring look, about to say something when he was interrupted.

“C’mon, in the spirit of christmas!” Xiaojun had chimed in to encourage you, earning nods and cheers of agreement from the rest of them scattered around the room.

Hearing the sound of them putting on a christmas playlist, you’d felt encouraged for some reason, giving a small shrug of agreement. You figured it wouldn’t be that bad.

That was until it was Sicheng’s turn and you found yourself panicked beyond belief, growing more nervous to see what he would say.

“Hmmm...okay, got it, I have someone I'm interested in, I have mistletoe hanging in here, and I’m afraid of heights.”

The boys had immediately chimed in with their various opinions, Ten shooting Xiaojun an impressive look at Sicheng for being so bold with his choice of truths, being the only ones that knew of Sicheng’s...character development. Though they weren’t sure if it was because of the drinks he had prior to that or whether he was simply feeling confident today.

“This one’s easy!” a guy with short brown hair had raised his hand, “The lie is obviously that he’s interested in someone, he hasn’t been interested in anyone for ages,” he’d said confidently, making Sicheng smile, just as another boy had chimed in.

“I feel like he had mistletoe here somewhere at the last party, though,” a younger-looking boy said, earning a, “You wish, Mark.” from another boy with a sharper pitched voice and very pretty tan skin.

“The lie is.....” Sicheng made a cute sound that he’d always done before announcing things, “I have mistletoe in here,” he said, the crowd of boys erupting in shouts and protests at the answer before moving on to the next person, who had seemed to capture their attention for long enough.

“Wanna go upstairs? I wanted to like..give you your present...and stuff,” Sicheng leaned over to ask you softly, making you nod, grabbing his present and following him upstairs, the boys noticing but choosing not to say anything.

Once you’d gotten upstairs, he stopped you for a while so he could go into his room, coming out with a small paper bag and continuing to lead you upstairs, glad you hadn’t taken off your scarf when he’d opened a door to the rooftop, revealing different plants and even a stone walkway leading up to a sheltered wooden planked area where you sat down with him, looking through the transparent glass of the balcony at the buildings of his neighbourhood, finding it cute how he had little lights hanging from the shelter.

You’d sat in silence initially, enjoying the feeling of the cold breeze against your cheeks, shutting your eyes instinctively in your attempt to savour the feeling.

“Thank you, by the way.”

You opened your eyes, eyebrows raising at Sicheng, “Oh, it’s no big deal, I didn’t have anything planned for today so-”

“No, not for coming today. I mean, that too but...I sort of meant for like..comforting me the other day,” Sicheng looked at you, a small shy smile playing at his lips, “I really needed that.”

Your lips parted, wondering what made him suddenly want to thank you for that. Choosing to give him a nod, you shook your head, “I really did mean what I said.”

Sicheng nodded, “I know.” He smiled, letting his gaze travel elsewhere as he stretched his legs out in front of him, swaying them side to side as he tried to contain his smile.

“Can I go first? My gift is pretty underwhelming,” you said, seeing him let out a tiny giggle but nod nonetheless, taking that as your queue to take out your gift from the bag, giving him the wrapped package of the headphones, watching him rip the packaging open casually, his eyes widening when he realized what it was. He’d placed the envelope containing your christmas letter for him gingerly back into the bag.

“Oh my god.... thank you so much,” he said, his eyes practically sparkling with how much he’d liked the present, making you shake your head.

“Use them well, okay?” you murmured, seeing him hesitantly reach over to pick up the bag containing his present for you, only serving to heighten your curiosity for what could’ve been in that bag.

“Okay, oh my god, why am i so shy,” you heard him whisper, making you laugh, “Hold your hands out and close your eyes,” he instructed, making you do as you were told, anticipating your present, shocking you when you’d felt something cold in your hands, opening your eyes to see....an apple?

“Is this another one of your jokes,” you pouted, seeing him shake his head, staring at the apple as if looking for answers.

“My family, uh...we have this like..tradition thing, where we give apples to people for christmas... like....to the people we care about,” he murmured, a shy smile gracing his features, looking up at you to see your reaction, wanting to reach over and pinch your cheeks when he saw your wide eyed expression, gripping the apple tightly in your hands.

Sicheng shivered at how cringeworthy he felt his words were, his hands going up to cup his neck, and for a moment you were distracted by his actions, concern for him taking over your shock.

“Are you cold? Do you want my scarf?” you asked, genuinely concerned for him only having a sweater to protect him from the cold.

Sicheng burst into laughter, looking at you with a raised eyebrow, “Isn’t that usually the other way around?”

You furrowed your eyebrows, only realizing then the context of what you’d said, making you hide your face with the apple in embarrassment, feeling him pull the apple away from your face, tilting his head at you in amusement.

“As I was saying....i would give you a thousand apples if i could, but that was impractical and sounded like a lot of work, but I just want you to know that if I could, I would have. But okay back to the point, the point is that, I care about you...like, a lot,” he paused, pressing his lips together and taking in a deep breath, “and not just as a friend.”

You pressed your lips together in a firm line, biting down on your lower lip trying to keep your composure, shyness taking over you at how close you were to Sicheng, not to mention what he was saying, especially given the context of the situation.

“Was that what you meant? When..you said just now during the game that you were uh... interested in someone?” you plucked up your courage to ask, seeing him bite the inside of his cheek, nodding wordlessly at you.

“Just kinda wanna know if this person’s interested in me too,” he murmured, making your cheeks heat up, wishing he hadn’t taken the apple from your hands so you had something to hold onto.

You nodded, “She is-i mean, yeah. I am,” you blurted, fumbling with your words like an idiot (a very love struck idiot, in fact).

Sicheng nodded, his smile growing wider, and just like that, it was like everything was more obvious to you, the sound of the christmas songs playing echoing up through the open door of the rooftop, to the sound of the guys fooling around downstairs, down to the sound of the cold breeze bristling your faces, and the warm lighting around you both. Sicheng felt it too, and now it was his turn to feel like the protagonist of the movie, now having to find something smooth to say that would make his love interest kiss him and then the story can end happily.

But Sicheng being Sicheng, just blurted out the next thing that came to his head, “Oh, look, how convenient, mistletoe,” he commented, glancing up at the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling of the shelter, dangling over your heads mockingly.

You gasped, “You totally lied just now, that was 2 lies,” you laughed, seeing him shake his head.

“In my defense, I told them ‘in here’, they just happened to interpret that as the living room,” he shrugged, your laughter dying down as he looked at you, fiddling with the apple in his hands.

“Can I..kiss you?”

You smiled, pretending to hesitate, “Let me consider.”

In his offence, he’d reacted quickly in rushed mandarin, “You still need to consider?! Isn’t it just agreeing!”

Nodding at him, he’d leaned forward, removing his glasses and setting it aside with your apple, bringing up a hand to hold it under your chin, tilting your head up as he connected your lips, smiling at how you could feel his hand slide under your scarf, placing at your neck gently, his hand doing a lot better at warming your neck than your scarf did, following his lead in the kiss.

You almost frowned when you felt Sicheng pull away slowly, but he didn’t give you a reason to. Sicheng’s other hand came up to rest gently against your cheek as he pressed soft kisses to the corner of your mouth, then your cheek, letting out an amused huff before he pressed a final soft kiss to your forehead, suddenly feeling like you were indoors, warmth enveloping you despite being outside in the cold.

You’d leaned over to rest your head against his shoulder, “Can we stay like this for a while before going back down?” you murmured softly, practically being able to hear him smile.

He continued in mandarin, his voice not making you shiver this time, but instead, comforting you beyond belief.

“Anything you say is fine by me.”

===

You’d gotten a video call from Sicheng on New Years Eve, celebrations had ended and you were already tucked into bed, slightly buzzed from the drinks you had at your house with Xiaojun and Renjun earlier when they’d come over for dinner, claiming you didn't have Sicheng here to drink your drinks for you so you might as well enjoy it.

“Hey,” he murmured, lying on his bed in his checkered pajamas, resting his head on his arm as he gave you a smile.

“Hi,” you said, giving him a lazy smile, making him raise an eyebrow in amusement at your buzzed-looking state.

“I see you’ve had more than a couple drinks with Xiaojun and Renjun just now?” you laughed, nodding, prompting him to continue, “I know it’s a little late, but...I just read your christmas note you gave me,” he told you.

“You’re only reading it now?”

He scoffed, nodding as if you should’ve known that, “Yeah, of course, I was saving it so I could read it on Christmas day itself...but I didn’t have the time and then the only good time I had was now and now...after reading it, it made me wanna call you because...I missed you,” he murmured, changing his position so he was resting his chin on his arm.

You scrunched your nose up out of shyness.

“Since when did you get so bold?” you laughed, seeing him shake his head.

“Anyway,  I just wanted to check in on you. Had a good day today?” you nodded, telling him all the minor details about your day as he nodded, smiling and laughing and commenting every so often.

You’d listened to the details of his day as well.

“We just finished dinner, thought i would call you now before they all gather in the living room to watch movies,” he told you.

Nodding in understanding, you yawned, blinking tiredly, making him huff. “You should go to sleep now, i’ll talk to you more tomorrow....” he murmured, seeing you give him a tired yet reluctant nod.

“I’m really sorry, I wanna talk to you more because you’re spending New Year’s over there but the sleep is starting to creep up on me,” you pouted.

Shaking his head, he simply looked at you with that same relieved smile he gave you, realizing just how much he liked you, the extent threatening to tip over the line dividing like and love.

“Happy New Year, cheng cheng,” you teased, recalling what you heard his grandma call him, seeing him bury his head in his arm, his laugh muffled but no less cute.

“Happy New Year, Y/N.”

You’d ended the call, and his mother had walked into the room, a knowing look on her face, “Done with your sappy phone call yet?” she teased.

Sicheng simply sighed, flopping onto his back with a giddy smile on his face.

“Ma, I think I'm in love.”

[sonipanda]

Merry Christmas you beautiful people!

I have a double whammy for you today along with some videos, some amazing images and a lovely lengthy blog too! This pair I have held onto for almost a full year, as I was supposed to have reviewed this in Spring/Summer. I thought now would be a great time to bring them out and party my way in!

Not going to lie, I had a lot of fun dressing up today and I really wish I had it in me to do it a lot more. I certainly have to consider this for 2020!

  The Stockings Spec

Colour: Black 

Size: T1 (Small)

Denier: 15

Materials: 100% Nylon

Price: €39.00 / Sale €15.60

Website: Cervin Paris – Montrésor Nylon Stockings with embroidered tulle Top

The Suspender Belt Spec

Colour: Black 

Size: TXS (X-Small)

Materials: 80% Polyamid, 20% Elastane

Price: €84.00

Website: Cervin Paris – Montrésor Suspender-belt

The Stockings Review

From The Website: New! Discover the pure Nylon RHT and the embroidered tulle Top of CERVIN Paris Montrésor 15 Denier Nylon Stockings. Cervin Paris Montrésor 15 Denier black Nylon Stockings with flower pattern embroidered tulle Top.

RHT Nylon Stockings integrally and exclusively made in France and carefully hand wrapped in an insert envelope then in a protective plastic pocket. CERVIN authenticity certificate is provided.

15 Denier

100% Nylon Polyamid

Sizes 0 to 6

Colour: Black

  The Packaging: we are looking at the packaging with the legs and floral design on in this section (the other is for the suspender belt). The packaging is quite lovely and certainly different; it does scream Parisian to be honest. The front has the brand name and the back shows a thin window in the middle with the stockings welt design. I knew instantly these are gonna look amazing.

When you get in, you will find these neatly folded around card and also the quality service number (reminds me of Wolford here). When you fold them out, they have the foot and leg shaping to them, ready to get on.

  Getting Them On: I wore my silky hosiery gloves with this pair, and rolled them slowly up the legs. I took my time going over my anklets and then shimmied them up the legs and set them in place with my accompanying suspender belt.

  On The Legs: oh my god I fell in love and I am absolutely crushing over the whole look. They have completely transformed my outfit to this beautiful classy piece. The denier being 15 makes these lovely and sheer on the legs, so you still get your skin colour popping through and the stockings are just enhancing them with a touch of black.

The quality of them are stunning; I felt so comfortable in them and they were perfect on my legs. I didn’t have any snags or runs in these throughout the day, and there was enough room for my legs to move about in as well without feeling restricted.

The fit of them are true to size and these were the perfect fit. If you’re unsure of your size, check the guide. I wouldn’t have minded going one size up if I wanted to get some wrinkles around the legs. But I loved the fitted look this time.

The feel of them are just divine; they are soft,they are silky, they make your legs slip off one another and they are gorgeous. End of.

    The Toes & Ankle: can you see how gorgeous the toes and feet look in these? I love how sheer this denier, to the point it just encases the legs in this soft black stocking  with a barely there look to them. The toes aren’t reinforced so you will need to be careful with longer toenails and make sure they are smooth so they don’t end up ripping.

These had plenty of wiggle room to them and there was no pressure added either during the day whilst I was in them. It was such a perfect fit around the toes, feet and ankles!

  The Bands: oh these bands are just delicious! I fell in love as soon as I saw them and think they look amazing! I forgot to roll the left leg down when I took the image below as I had just got them on and wanted to take a picture.

Anyways, the contract to the legs is just super; they are just simply sexy and look so expensive! They have a tulle finish to them which means it feels slightly like net, but it doesn’t irritate the legs at all. I felt they were comfortable enough to be in all day (and night). They sat perfectly on my thighs, and I didn’t feel that they stretched out too much either. Normally I can feel it to begin with, but not with these.

Now with clasping on, the first thing I said to myself:

“How am I supposed to clasp on without ruining it?”

Well let me say that these are strong enough to take it and not damage it in any way. I kept an eye on them all day, and not once did I ever experience an issue with them. They have held up so well all day without any issues.

  The Suspender Belt Review

From The Website: Discover Cervin Paris Montrésor Suspender-belt: the brand new Black & Red embroidered tulle Suspender-Belt with 6 straps and metal clasps. The perfect partner for the brand new CERVIN Montrésor 15 Denier black Nylon Stockings with flower pattern embroidered tulle Top.

Tulle suspender belt, with little satin bows at the top of each 6 straps, soft ribs on the front for a better support, hook fastener on the back.

80% Polyamid, 20% Elastane

  The Packaging: well this is a fancy dance box that the suspender belt came in. I have never received anything like this before, so already I am super impressed. I expected the stockings to be in here instead.

You can find a lot more detail about “How To Attach The Stockings” at the back of the box, and you pop open the lid to get in. You will find them wrapped in Cervin tissue paper, ready to get on.

  Getting It On: I undid the hooks at the back and set them to the tightest so they sit around my belly button. I like them sitting around here as I feel supported knowing that they won’t budge or fall down, and won’t feel weird when I sit down.

I adjusted the straps so they sit a little higher and can pull up the stockings to where I want them to be. Some people hook on the stockings and then adjust, but I don’t like faffing around like that, so I do it beforehand.

  Holding Up The Stockings: well they did a damn good job of doing that for me today. The clasps hooked on well to the tulle welt on the stockings and stayed put all day long. This is one reason why I prefer metal clasps as they hold on so well compared to plastics (tried and tested and didn’t work for me in the past)

As I mentioned before, the straps can be adjusted no matter what size you purchase. These are great as the metal bit which holds it in place is so strong and really good for those who wear stockings religiously like I do. This also allows you to sit them high or lower down the thighs; you aren’t stuck with one strap that you have no control over.

  The Clasps & Body: well the body on this is just divine; it really does work hand in hand with the stocking welt and completes it as a whole piece. These fit my waist so well, and you have 3 levels of eye and hooks that you can choose from, so you get a comfortable fit. These also have soft piping at the front, which helps to keep the shape of the body in place and gives it some support.

This doesn’t dig in at all and was so comfortable to wear all day. It was the perfect width for me.

    My Thoughts?

This set is to die for. I love the way they looked together, I love them on their own, I love the design and style, I love the fit and the overall luxury feel they give off. I am in awe and I would certainly recommend them to you all!

Cervin Paris Montrésor Nylon Tulle Stockings & Suspender Belt Merry Christmas you beautiful people! I have a double whammy for you today along with some videos, some amazing images and a lovely lengthy blog too!

[robinrunsfiction]

Irresistible - Chapter 1

Pairing: Pete Wentz x Female Reader Rating: Teen Requested By: None Author’s Note: Although not specifically requested by her, all my Pete Wentz stories are dedicated to @glittercupcakes-and-squats. Also this is written in first person because it felt right. I know I don’t do that a lot, but I hope you all enjoy!

It was a quiet Thursday afternoon as I busied myself organizing and straightening up the display cases of glittering diamonds and other gems set into gold and platinum. Working in one of the most high-end jewelry stores in Chicago was a unique experience, and I had been working there for long enough to know what I was doing.

You don’t become the top earning salesperson in a store like this by gossiping and being inattentive. I had worked hard to build up a reputation of trust and confidentiality. Men came in one day with their wives, then with their mistress the next, and I knew not to mix up the two. Trust fund kids came in and blew tons of cash on watches and earrings that they lost in no time but had to replace to maintain their social status, but I never scolded them or mentioned it when their parents came in. The nouveau riche came in to spend as much money as possible to show off, and as much as I wanted to call them out on their lack of taste, they tended to be the best customers, throwing around money like it was nothing. To the wealthy what mattered was what everyone else thought about them, the first impression they made without saying a word. Image was everything.

When the door opened, and a couple of men walked in, I instantly eyed them up. They were a little old and too nicely dressed to be trust fund kids, no rings on their fingers meant they were single, or at least acting like it that afternoon. I could stand to earn a healthy commission if I played my cards right. They browsed the displays for a moment before I approached them with my best customer service face on.

“Good afternoon gentlemen, can I help you find something in particular?”

“I’m looking for a birthday present,” the one with the dark brown hair and eyes replied. He looked familiar, I’m certain he’s been in here before, but not often enough that I know him by name. Not to mention he was good looking; the gift is probably for one of his many girlfriends. “Maybe some earrings?”

“Is this for a significant other, spouse, family?”

“Oh, just a friend,” he grinned. Yep, called it.

“How about these?” his friend asked pointing to a pair of studs down the way. He seemed nervous and a bit overwhelmed. He wasn’t the type to usually shop in a place like this, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he was back one day looking for an engagement ring to impress a girl with expensive taste.

I moved down the counter and bent down to retrieve them from the case. Standing back up, I leaned forward, making the low-cut neckline of my black dress help make the sale for me. “These are gorgeous, and they’re very classic. You have a good eye,” I replied while shooting a smile to the friend. He smiled back shyly. What a sweetheart.

“Yea Trick, those are nice, but what else do you have?” The first man asked with a million-dollar smile. I smiled back, if he was looking to drop some money, I was more than willing to oblige.

“I have some just down here that you may appreciate, just one moment,” I replied as I hurried down the row of counters. Just then Bernard, the owner of the store, came out from his office.

“Pete! So good to see you!” He greeted the dark-haired man warmly with a handshake.

“Bernard, how are you doing? I see business is still booming.”

“Of course, thanks to the likes of you and your father,” he said with a knowing laugh. “Come, I have brand new Rolex I want you to see. Come, come,” he said ushering him along to a different counter.

I was fuming. Bernard had personal relationships with so many of his customers, which was to be expected, but it meant he frequently stole sale from me. Old bastard.

I put away the earrings I had pulled to show them and stomped into the back office. One day I’d have my own store and I’d run Bernard out of business. He’d come crawling to me for a job, selling my designs instead of the same old Rolex every executive in the Chicagoland area already wore.

I glanced at my phone and saw Christine had texted me and Jennifer about going out for happy hour. After an afternoon like this, there was no way I wasn’t going out.

~

When I got to the club, the girls were already there, and had a drink waiting for me. They’re too good to me, honestly. Jennifer was an investment banker who worked too damn hard in my opinion, so the fact that Christine got her out of her apartment after work was a miracle unto itself. Christine was a walking good time. A professional photographer with a rock star boyfriend, honestly if I could be her, I would.

“Not a good day today?” Jennifer asked as I sat down.

“Just the same old bull, ya know?” I replied before taking a swig of my drink. The club was loud, and I vaguely felt like we were getting too old for this scene. “I get that Bernard knows these people, but I’m building my own client base, future clients, and they aren’t going to come to me when I get out on my own if they don’t remember me.”

“Well maybe if you focused on something besides your job, you wouldn’t worry about your job so much,” Christine suggested knowingly.

I rolled my eyes. “Easy for you to say, you got like the hottest man on earth, you work for yourself, and travel everywhere whenever you want.”

“Speaking of hot guys though,” Jennifer piped up. “That one keeps looking over at you, (YN).”

I tried to keep it cool and not obviously stare the direction she was looking, but I had to admit I was surprised when I saw who she was talking about.

Pete.

“Oh, I met him today in the store, he was buying a gift for a friend,” I said turning back to my friends. I could trust these two not to spread any gossip around. They were as discreet as me, ya know except for when I was telling them everything.

“That must be the lucky lady,” Christine said as a tiny blonde thing in a tiny dress opened gifts. “Ope, (YN), she’s all over your man, he must have got her something good.”

“He is not my man. He wouldn’t ever be my man, even if he was interested in me. I know how these rich playboys operate. I’m not looking to be cheated on, I’m not looking to be a side piece, I’m no fool. I gotta find someone sensible like Kingston.”

Christine scoffed. “Did you just call my man child of a boyfriend, a musical genius, but otherwise loveable idiot, sensible?”

“Ok, you know what I mean, he’s loyal, that’s rare these days.”

“That’s true,” Jennifer chimed in.

“Excuse me, I hate to interrupt, but were you helping me at the jewelry store earlier?” I heard Pete ask. My friends were looking at me with wide eyes, wondering how I’d respond. I turned and looked up at him and he was flashing that with that same million-dollar smile.

I nodded in response. “Yea, hi. It’s Pete, right? Did Bernard get you what you needed?”

“That, and then some,” he laughed, adjusting the watch on his wrist. Subtle.

“Good I’m glad,” I smiled politely. Why was he over here talking to me when there were half a dozen girls waiting to fawn over him at his table. I spotted his friend from earlier, who still looked uncomfortable. Poor guy.

“I felt badly that Bernard interrupted, and I didn’t get your name,” he said with a soft look.

“Oh, right, I’m (YN),” I said extending my hand for a handshake, intending to keep things professional. “Yea, he does that sometimes, but he owns the place, so what can I do?”

“Well (YN), I was wondering if you’d like to dance?”

I could feel my friends’ eyes drilling in the back of my head, I could practically hear them yell ‘yes!’ for me, but I wasn’t convinced. “Aren’t you here with the girl you bought those earrings for? Or maybe another girl who you’ll be in buying earrings for eventually?”

“Don’t worry about it, they’re just friends,” he laughed.

“I don’t believe you,” I said shaking my head.

“(YN)!” I heard Jennifer scolding me.

“Why not?” Pete looked offended.

“I know your type. Always showing off with the expensive clothes, and cars and lavish gifts and parties to impress girls who just like the big bank account. But you don’t really mind, because you aren’t looking for something serious. You’re just having fun,” I shrugged.

“You should give me a chance,” he said with a look that almost made me believe him. But I wasn’t going to be swayed that easily.

“Why? I’m not looking to get my heart broken and an expensive necklace as a consolation prize.”

“I’m not like the other guys that come into your store,” he said sincerely. At this point he was crouching down to my level where I sat, looking in my eyes, but I willed myself to stay strong. There was absolutely no denying that he was gorgeous, but that wouldn’t keep the gold diggers away. Just the opposite.

“Sorry Pete, it’s late, and I gotta open up the shop tomorrow. I’ll see you the next time you stop by,” I said taking the last sips of my drink and turning back to my friends. “Either of you wanna share an Uber?”

“What is wrong with you?” Christine practically growled when Pete was out of earshot.

“I’m tired and I wanna go home, and like I said, I don’t wanna be a side piece! Now are we sharing an Uber or not?”

Chapter 2

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Measurements

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Tall!Fem!Reader

Summary: It sucks shopping for clothes when you’re tall

Word Count: 2,191 - One Shot

Bucky tried to be subtle as he remained half a step behind Y/N. He knew she would make a comment about him acting more like a bodyguard than her boyfriend if he was any more obvious.

Y/N had insisted she was fine going to the mall and shopping alone. In fact, she probably preferred it. She never understood women that forced their boyfriends and husbands shopping, only to see them appear absolutely miserable. Were they that dependent? Did they not have any girlfriends who could accompany them instead?

Bucky wouldn’t admit it, but his anxiety also projected onto the her. Malls were his nightmare.

Shopping malls had too many exits and entrances. There were a ridiculous amount of blindspots. Too many places to hide. Too many people to lose track of. Which was exactly why it was a great place for assassins to make their kill or for victims to be taken.

Bucky knew he was overcautious, that there shouldn’t be anyone out to get Y/N. But he also knew there would always be another head of Hydra growing. They could always come slithering out of the darkness and seek their revenge on their Winter Soldier who betrayed them. If anyone wanted to get at Bucky, they just had to hurt Y/N. 

So when Y/N mentioned needing to go shopping for new clothes after cleaning out her closet, Bucky barely even let her finish the thought before he volunteered to go with.

Y/N suddenly grabbed his hand and started walking faster toward one of her favorite stores.

“OK. Let’s make this as painless as possible,” she began telling him. “I need new jeans and I might be able to find a dress for Tony and Pepper’s wedding. Keep an eye out,” she instructed him.

Bucky smirked at how she sounded like she was on a mission, “Will do, doll.”

As Y/N shuffled through racks and folds of jeans, Bucky kept his distance and a keen eye on their surroundings. If Y/N noticed his soldier/assassin mode, she didn’t comment on it. She remained focused on the task at hand.

“I’m gonna go try these on,” Y/N smiled at him shyly as she brushed by.

He didn’t wait for an invitation, taking a seat in the lounge area.

The other women in the dressing room checked him out, but he was oblivious to their gazes. He was too busy identifying the exit points and their most vulnerable spot.

However, he was brought outside of his head as he heard Y/N let out a giant sigh.

Bucky stood up and knocked on her dressing room door. “Everything okay, doll?”

Y/N whipped open the door and had a scowl on her face. She aggressively gestured down to the pants she was trying on. “Why!? Why do pants have to look like capris on me? These are the long versions too!”

Bucky couldn’t help but chuckle at her annoyance. She looked so cute to him when she got fired up.

She closed the door again. But Bucky could still hear her muttering swears and complaints under her breath.

Bucky went back to his seat and waited patiently. Two girls whispered and giggled to one another as they passed him, not being subtle about checking him out. Bucky blushed and shifted his weight in discomfort.

But his embarrassment was short-lived as Y/N came storming out of the fitting room. There were no new clothes in her grasp.

Bucky knew better than to ask her why she wasn’t buying anything. He remained silent as she rushed to the next store.

She didn’t come out of the fitting room to show her any of the jeans, which made Bucky realize that none of them were fitting her either. He could see her get more and more frustrated and distraught with the process.

“I’m calling it a day,” Y/N sighed after the fourth store.

“You sure? There’s a couple more stores we haven’t hit.” Bucky tried to sound encouraging.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m sick of trying stuff on.” Her shoulders were slumped and she was walking with less of a pep in her step.

Bucky grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles as they started walking.

She gave him a small smile. But it was nowhere near reaching her eyes.

Just as they were about to leave, a dress in a window display caught Bucky’s eye.

“Doll, what about that for Tony’s wedding?”

Y/N eyes flickered up to see what dress Bucky was talking about. She understood why he liked it. The gown was ridiculously sexy while still covering every inch of skin. The different levels of transparency made it interesting to the eye. But it also reminiscent of the Golden Age of Hollywood, a time much closer to Bucky’s past life.

He watched her take in the dress, but she still looked unconvinced.

“Come one, doll. Won’t you try it on…at least for me?” Bucky muttered in her ear.

She smirked at his begging.

He finished off his push with a kiss to her cheek, “Please?”

“Alright, alright, alright. Stop giving me the puppy dog eyes,” she laughed.

When they walked in, a saleswoman immediately jumped on them.

“Can I help you?” She said with a bright smile.

“Yes, actually. I wanted to try on the dress in the window,” Y/N requested politely as she pointed to it.

The saleswoman nodded and asked her size before going to grab it.

“Could I borrow some heels to try on with it too, please?” Y/N added.

The saleswoman’s smile faltered a bit as she took Y/N in. Eyes scanning from her head to her toes. Then she looked over at Bucky. Y/N was wearing sneakers as she shopped and she was just about the exact same height as Bucky. It was obvious to anyone that the moment Y/N put on heels, she would be taller than her boyfriend.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wear flats with this, dear?” She asked.

Bucky’s body stiffened and he immediately glared at the woman.

It wasn’t the first time Y/N’s height had been not so subtly brought up by strangers. The longer he dated Y/N, the more he noticed the things that bothered Y/N about her height. People didn’t think she should wear heels. Dresses, pants, and skirts were never long enough on her tall body. Y/N even told him that she sometimes felt less feminine, less like a woman because she towered over the majority of the male population.

Seeing the things that bothered her made Bucky protective over Y/N and become instantly annoyed when people made comments like the one the saleswoman just made.

“She’ll take the heels, thanks.” Bucky said low and even.

The saleswoman’s eyes widened slightly in fear and she hurriedly nodded before running to the backroom to grab the shoes.

Y/N smiled at Bucky, knowing exactly what was going on in that head of his.

She started walking away but he grabbed her wrist, making her pause. She looked back at him.

“I want to see,” he told her innocently.

Y/N rolled her eyes, but nodded, before disappearing into the dressing room.

After a few minutes, she was too quiet for Bucky’s liking.

“Can I see the dress, doll?” He asked her quietly.

“Do I have to…” Y/N groaned.

He chuckled. “Yes, Y/N. I want to see you.”

She opened the door and stepped out with a frown on her lips.

The dress was too short on her tall frame. While it was supposed to have a slight train to it, Y/N’s ankles were peaking out from the bottom of the fabric. Not only that, but the dress was still slightly too wide on her. It needed to be smaller, yet it was still way too short.

“You look beautiful,” Bucky muttered quietly too her, grateful there was no one lingering to overhear him. 

He wasn’t lying either. She could be wearing a potato sack and he’d think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. 

“So many girls would kill for that height,” the saleswoman came out of nowhere. Maybe she felt bad for her comment earlier or maybe she was desperate for the sale.

“That’s what they think,” Y/N mumbled.

“You’ve got the body of a supermodel!” The saleswoman kept trying.

“Yeah, but tall girls that’s aren’t supermodels don’t get custom and tailored clothes by the top designers of the world,” Y/N snapped without meaning to.

Her comment scared the saleswoman away.

“Can I take it off now?” Y/N begged her boyfriend while her eyes only stared at the ground.

Bucky snapped out of his love sick daze and took in how miserable she looked.

He sighed, “Yeah, let’s go.”

Now Bucky felt guilty for forcing this on her. It clearly just became another loss. He made the final blow on a failure of a day.

Y/N rushed past Bucky without even looking at him and was out the door.

Bucky cursed himself under his breath before rushing after her.

——————

Y/N was laying around, binging Netflix alone in the living room of the compound. She was wearing leggings and one of Bucky’s crew sweatshirts, with a giant mug of coffee hugged to her chest.

Sam and Wanda would come and go throughout her little marathon. Therefore, every so often, she’d have some company. 

Now Bucky watched her from the doorway, finding her adorable in this state.

“Doll, got a second?” He finally interrupted.

She smiled at him, always beaming at the sight of her boyfriend. “What’s up?”

Then she noticed he was carrying two giant boxes. Any normal human wouldn’t be able to carry them at the same time. But Bucky didn’t even appear to be straining himself.

“What’s all this?” Y/N asked with confusion as Bucky placed one box on the couch next to her.

“Open that one first,” he instructed.

“Uh…okay.” Y/N muttered as she ripped open the cardboard box. Her eyes widened when she saw the box was filled with jeans.

“Bucky…what…?”

“I had FRIDAY scan your exact measurements. They’re custom tailored…should fit you like a glove. And they should definitely be long enough.” He explained casually.

Y/N blinked up at him. “Bucky, how many jeans are in here?”

“A dozen,” he answered as if it were no big deal.

“Bucky, how – I can’t believe – this had to cost you a fortune.” Y/N was a stuttering mess, unable to form a coherent thought.

“Tony gave me a credit card years ago. He constantly yells at me for never using it. So…I finally found a use for the stupid thing.” He shrugged.

“I can’t believe… Bucky, this is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” Y/N whispered.

“Wait! There’s one more thing.” Bucky put the first box on the floor and now handed her the second.

When she opened it, her jaw dropped. It was the dress she tried on at the store. She pulled it out and her eyes moved across the fabric as she fell in love with the dress all over again.

“I called in a few favors and had them make the same dress with your actual measurements,” Bucky explained.

Y/N dropped the dress back in the box and threw herself into his lap, wrapping her arms around him. “Buck, you didn’t have to do all of this for me.”

Bucky chuckled and he pulled her even tighter to his body. “’Course I did, doll. I knew you were real upset a few days ago. I just wanted to make you feel better.”

Y/N pulled away to look into his soft, blue eyes. “You’re disgustingly perfect, did you know that?” She laughed.

Bucky shook his head. “I think we both know I am far from perfect.”

She hugged him again, not being able to stop herself.

“You know I think you’re beautiful, right?” Bucky finally whispered into her hair. His voice had turned serious, yet still gentle.

She pulled away to look up at him again, but said nothing.

“Maybe I don’t say it enough. But I love how tall you are. I know it gets to you sometimes. But damn what other people say about it.”

Y/N caressed his check. “You say it plenty, Buck.”

“You better wear heels with that dress for the wedding, doll. Because I know you love wearing them and I couldn’t care less if it makes you taller than me,” he urged.

She laughed lightly and shook her head. “I’ll wear the heels, okay?”

Bucky leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. But he pushed the kiss further, making it more heated. When he pulled away, he leaned his forehead against hers.

“And you’d be doing me a disservice by trying to hide those long legs of yours,” he whispered with desire.

Y/N couldn’t help but smile at the comment.

“In fact, let’s go pick out a pair right now.” Bucky suddenly said. And without warning, he picked her up and playfully threw her over his shoulder as he walked determinedly to their shared bedroom.

“James Buchanan Barnes, put me down this instant!” Y/N demanded, but cried out through a fit of laughter.

He ignored her pleas and gleefully smacked her butt.

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

Shout out to all the tall!girls out there who are overwhelmed with reader insert stories that always describe the reader as petite and tiny compared to the male marvel characters. 

Also, we can all agree that shopping for our bodies fucking sucks. I highly recommend the tall section of ASOS if you’re looking for dresses and pants. That discovery changed my life. 

[taesbetch]

To Own A Hybrid P.3

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff (eventual smut) Hybrid!AU Cat!AU

Summary: The hybrid world was one y/n never really involved herself in; however, after certain events, she is tossed into a world of uncertainty in the company of a particularly rude hybrid.

Word Count: 5k +

WARNING: Mentions of abuse, emotional torment, and prostitution

P1 P2 P3 P4 P5

“I like this one”

You sighed as you shoved more red liquorice in your mouth. It had been three hours of you and Jungkook surfing the store sites to try and find clothing style.

“stop sighing! You said we had to do this” he said defensively as he crossed his arms with a pout.

“yer but I didn’t expect you to be so picky” you shot back as you passed him the bag of heavenly goods.

Jungkook hissed at you as he rolled his eyes and started angrily eating.

“how about we just go to the mall? That way we can see what size you are and get the clothes in person! It’ll also be way quicker” you suggested as you closed your laptop.

A small whine emitted from his throat as his ears flattened against his head.

“I hate the mall” he mumbled before silently agreeing to go.

—-

You sat in your car staring at the large crowd joyfully entering the mall.

“Let’ s just go back, I can wait” Jungkook stated quickly as he stared at them in disgusted.

You were really tempted to just agree and go back home. The bright colours and possibility of running into people you know was turning you off but you knew it would be better this way.

“I don’t even have a collar!” Jungkook chirped up excitedly “guess we have to go back, or I have to stay in here…aw what a shame” he said sarcastically.

You smiled devilishly before turning towards him.

“good thing there’s a collar stand here! We’ll get it first!” you said matching his previous tone.

His small smirk dropped as you jumped out of the car, staring at him through the window expectantly.

As the two of you shuffled through the crowds of people you continuously looked behind you to check that Jungkook hadn’t gotten lost or into a fight with anyone.

Your eyes scanned the big signs on top of the shops, finally landing on your much-needed destination.

“there!” You exclaimed as you pointed to the collar shop “I’m not really a fan of the whole collar thing so let’s just try to find one that’s subtle and comfortable”.

There was a range of collars in the shop. A shocking range to be honest.

“hi! Do you need any assistance!”

you turned around in shock as the perky female employee smiled widely at you.

“er…hi” you said backing up a little before tapping an intrigued and confused Jungkook on the shoulder.

“were just here to find a collar for him” you said pointing towards him as he turned to face the both of you.

“sure! What were you thinking! We have some fashionable leather ones is you like!” she said pulling a black leather collar from underneath a draw.

The collar had long black spikes sticking out of it and a tightening device on the back…if anything…it was a little…kinky.

You and Jungkook exchanged looks before the both of you shook your heads.

“that’s okay! What about a stylish silky one” she said pulling a long pink silk ribbon.

“pink isn’t really my colour” Jungkook said coldly as the lady swayed the material in front of his face.

“oh come on! Don’t you think it’ll be nice!” she squeaked before trying to tie the ribbon around his neck.

It was almost as if everything was happening in slow motion, you remembered what happened last time someone had tried to touch Jungkook without his approval…it didn’t go so well.

Before you knew it you had grabbed the ladies hands harshly causing both her and Jungkook to look at you in shock.

“err…he doesn’t really like to be touched” you said awkwardly as you retracted your hands from hers.

You felt Jungkook’s eyes watch you intensely as your eyes searched the shop. In one of their display windows you saw a black earring, something you had never seen in a collar shop before.

“what’s that?” you asked softly causing the excitement to refill the sales lady. Her dark brown hair swept of her shoulder as she jumped happily.

“it’s the newest design for collars. The black and simple earrings act as a collar and sends the hybrids information to any device that swipes past it. It’s great isn’t it! No suffocating material around the neck, no itchiness! It’s even waterproof!” she exclaimed.

You turned to Jungkook who seemed just as interested as you were.

“what do you think?” you asked him as he looked back at you.

“I’m down” he shrugged non-chalantly before scratching his head.

The employee yipped happily before motioning for the tow of you to follow her into a back room.

As she told Jungkook to take a seat and ran him through the protocols you looked at all the cool designs of tattoos and piercings on the wall.

“you guys do tattoos here?” you asked in amazement as you flipped through drawing books.

“yep, we do all kinds of things here, mainly for hybrids as they can’t get the same ink tats as human do” she said as she prepared jungkooks ear for the piercing.

“interesting” you whispered as a certain picture caught your eye.

The tattoo on the man’s arm was a singular circle with a line going straight through it, the ends sticking out slightly.

You don’t know where you’ve seen the tattoo but your brain started fogging up as it dug through folders of your memory.

‘shhh, it’s going to be alright. Your mothers going to take care of you now okay?’

“all done!”

You shook your head as the ladies chirpy voice broke your concentration.

“alright! Just put your hybrid number in here, pay here and your good to go!” she stated as she brought you back to the front desk.

You smiled at her warmly before filling out the details needed for his piercing to be activated and using pay pass to finish it off.

You waved goodbye as you and Jungkook made a hasty escape from the way to happy employee.

“I didn’t think I would last” Jungkook said with a sigh of relief.

Due to lunch being over the crowd had dwindled, but that still didn’t stop the uncomfortable pushing of people.

“to the clothes we go” you stated as Jungkook played with his new earrings. You had to admit it did add to his whole ‘I hate everything’ vibe but in a good attractive way.

“Revival!” he exclaimed excitedly, spotting the shop he had liked so much.

You rolled your eyes before following the excited kitten through the doors of what would be your hell.

—

“Jungkook I’m dying” you whined as you added another pair of pants to the over flowing basket on the floor.

“you’ve actually tried on everything in the shop” you added as he continued to move around in the changing room.

“help” he said opening the curtain to reveal another white shirt…

“oh wow, doesn’t look like any of the other 40 white shirts were buying” you said sarcastically as you shook your head in disbelief.

“you’re useless, I’m going to get a different colour” he stated before making a b-line for the racks.

You sighed tiredly as you decided to look through different hats he could get.

“Don’t touch me!”

You recognised that pissed off voice anywhere. You instantly dropped the hats before rushing to where Jungkook had gone, it had only been like a minute! What could possibly happen in a minute!

“filthy dog!” Jungkook spat at the equally angered dog in front of him. The two of them held onto the only black shirt that you could see on the rack, both determined to get it.

“pesty cat!” the dog growled back. The dog’s turquoise hair and pale skin were quite the contrast compared to Jungkook.

The dog was noticeably shorter than Jungkook but gave the same ‘I hate everything’ vibe with his ice-cold gaze and leather pants.

“oh god! Jungkook please stop!” you said as you hovered behind him not exactly sure how to intervene.

“I had it first!” he hissed, his eyes still connected with the other hybrids.

“Yoongi!”

You were too busy hissing at Jungkook to let go to notice the other hybrids owner join in.

“Yoongi! We’ve talked about th- y/n?”

Your head shot in his direction as you stopped your arguing with Jungkook to see who had called your name.

“namjoon?” you asked in shock as you took in the appearance of your co-worker, his hands trying to tear the hybrid away from the black shirt.

“your y/n?” yoongi asked as he dropped the shirt to take a better look at you. As yoongi’s eyes scanned over you Jungkook hissed loudly before stepping in front of you, shielding you with his body.

“jungkook, it’s okay. This is namjoon!” you said stepping away from his shield.

Namjoon smiled widely at Jungkook who just hissed as he proceeded to hide behind you.

“hey, I’m really sorry about my whole robot incident” he said nervously before scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

“just almost killed us, but whatever” Jungkook sassed as you rolled your eyes.

“its fine, were alive” you stated causing namjoon to chuckle.

“so, this is the hybrid you were talking about? What was your name? Jungkook?” he asked sweetly as he tried to connect gazes with Jungkook who just continued to look away.

“mhm, and this is yoongi?” you asked as you smiled at the dog hybrid who gave you a smirk and a head nod in response.

“yep and…taehyung!?” namjoon called out as he turned beside him to find a missing hybrid.

You heard a small yelp of fear before arms were wrapped around you and you were being used as a human shield.

Little did either you or namjoon know, as you were conversating taehyung had approached Jungkook like a predator would his prey, only to get violently shoved away.

“miss y/n, your hybrids mean” he whispered softly in your ear before joyfully sniffing your face.

Jungkook looked lost and confused. He watched in panic as the dog hybrid continued to remember your scent.

“okay taehyung that enough” namjoon said pulling him away by the collar leading taehyung to whine in disapproval.

“are you on night shift?” he asked you as yoongi held the hyper boy tightly.

“yer! Will I see you there?” you asked as you fixed your hair that had been messed up. He nodded happily and picked up his shopping bags he had to drop earlier.

“great, see ya!” he said before vanishing off with the two hybrids.

As you sighed as turned to Jungkook you watched happily as he hugged his new black shirt.

“Alright, let’s go pay for these. Go put one on so you don’t have to wear these anymore” you said as you pointed to the shirt and sweatpants he was currently wearing.

He nodded his head before quickly making his way to the changing rooms as you made your way to the till.

—-

“fuck, fuck, fuck” you chanted as you waddled your way to the car, Jungkook lifted the boot and chucked his bags in with ease whereas you struggled to hold them.

Jungkook wore one of his new outfits, the white shirt, blue jeans and tim’s simple but stylish.

“that…was exhausting” he whispered more to himself but you hummed in agreement.

“Oh! Before I forget!” you said searching through the many bags residing in your boot.

“here, I got you a phone so we could communicate whenever I’m not there” you smiled as you passed him the box.

“my..own phone?” he asked as he stared at it in amazement.

“yep! Now come on, I don’t know about you but I’m starving” you groaned grabbing your stomach.

As you started the car Jungkook was strangely quiet.

“you’re leaving tonight…what time are you coming back?” he asked softly. You took a moment to glance at him. His eyes glued to the phone you had just given him.

“I’ll leave around 8 and be back at around midnight, it’s a short shift and don’t worry ill cook your dinner before I leave” you smiled cheekily at him.

He hummed as an answer but you could tell something else was worrying him. Not wanting to press him any further you rode in a comfortable silence.

“were here” you said drawing jungkook’s attention to the little café you had just parked in front of.

—

“question” you said as you handed the menus back to the waitress after the both of you had finished ordering your food.

“are you by chance allergic to anything? Or like do certain scents irritate your senses?” you asked seriously as you played with your hands.

“other than that wretched perfume you wear, nothing really” he sassed.  

You gasped before scoffing and letting out a small chuckle at his snide remarks

“well, id rather smell like this than wet dog” you snapped back causing him to have the same reaction as you did.

“I am a cat! That was just rude” he hissed causing you to laugh at his angered yet cute state.

“sorry kitty” you teased with a pout, angering him even more.

“now I know why your single” he said shaking his head in disbelief.

You took a breath of refreshing air as your eyes traveled to outside of the glass window. You watched with joy as an older looking hybrid got on his knee and proposed to his owner, or so you thought.

“aw, Jungkook isn’t that sweet” you swooned as you watched on with gleaming eyes, Jungkook, however, did not share your enthusiasm.

“it’s not going to work out” he said bluntly, crushing all your hopes and dreams for the two lovebirds.

“what. Why not?!” you asked clearly upset at his sudden declaration.

“just watch” he said softly, his eyes never tearing from the scene.

Your heart broke into two as an angry female marched up to the two of them and broke them from their kiss. The girl proceeded to scowled the hybrid and gave him a harsh smack on the cheek before storming away.

The human girl was a sobbing mess as she watched the love of her life follow the angered female away. that’s when it clicked. He wasn’t prosing to his owner…

“owners are usually very possessive of their hybrids and don’t allow them to pursue relationships outside of the house. It’s fine when a hybrid and their owner fall in love but it’s a completely different story if that’s not the case” Jungkook shrugged before the waitress arrived with the drinks you had ordered.

As you thanked her Jungkook sighed and returned his attention back to you, but your eyes were still glued on the broken-hearted girl who remained in her spot.

“I’m going to go see if she’s okay” you said as you grabbed your drink and tried to figure out how you were going to approach her.

As you walked towards her, you noticed she still held the ring on her finger.

“hi” you said sweetly as you sat yourself next to her “look I’m not going to ask if you’re okay, cause clearly, you’re not…here drink this” you said passing her your cola.

“I’m sorry” the girl cried as she took your drink without hesitation.

“why are you apologizing? Dude that was rough” you said as you looked off in the direction they left in.

“I’m solar, by the way …that..that was my boyfriend jin…well, I guess ex-boyfriend” she explained as you nodded your head.

“I’m y/n and don’t you mean fiancé?” you asked happily trying to cheer her up.

She looked at you in shock before shaking her head “didn’t you see what happened?” she asked in confusion.

You smiled before giving her a friendly slap on the shoulder. “don’t let some bitchy owner get in between you and your lover!” you chirped enthusiastically, solar looked at you in utter shock as you ruffled her hair caringly.

“you love him, right?” you asked.

“of course…we’ve been together for 5 years actually. Always dodging and diving and avoiding his owner. I… I just want to be together…that’s all I want” she sighed as a couple more tears rolled down her face.

“I’m not really a believer in if the world wants it to happen it’ll happen. I’m more of a ‘you have to do it yourself if you want it done’ type of person. So, what I’m about to say to you really contradicts my beliefs but…don’t give up if it’s meant to work out, it will. Let’s look at your odds, she didn’t look that rich so she can’t just up and leave with him, she can make him not leave the house but surely she has a life and can’t watch him 24/7, she could always kill one of you but she doesn’t strike me as a murderer” you stated.

Solar wiped her tears as her eyes turned from sad to determined.

“your right! This relationship is five years of my life! I can’t imagine it with anybody else…” she exclaimed, her voice growing stronger than before.

“that’s the spirit, try your hardest…ya’ll know when its time to give up, but now isn’t that time girl, go get your man!” you whooped encouragingly.

She shot up from her seat with a sudden energy boost.

“I hope we met again y/n” she smiled at you as she started walking backward.

“me too, and you better have that guy on your arm when we do!” you shouted out to her. She laughed before nodding her head and running in the direction that they left.

You smiled happily as you rested your head backward at stared at the blue sky above you.

You closed your eyes as you enjoyed the warmth of the sun mixing with the cool breeze.

Oh, to be young and in love.

“filling people with false hope is a bad thing”

You opened your eyes to see Jungkook leaning over you, he’s ears standing upright and a plastic bag in his hand.

“oh, you pessimist” you said as you lifted your head forward and motioned for him to take a seat.

“I prefer the term realist” he replied as he took a seat next to you.

“you took too long so I got our food to go. So…lets go” he said plainly as he looked around.

“Jesus Christ Jungkook, not everything has to be so rushed. Take a minute to enjoy the scenery” you stated before resting your head back into its previous position.

You could literally hear jungkook’s protest but instead, he just copied you and took a long breath of relaxation.

Suddenly feeling jungkooks relaxed state beside you, you took the opportunity to peek an eye open and enjoy it while it’ll last.

You almost drooled at how beautiful he looked. His skin was glowing underneath the suns beams and his soft hair ruffled in the wind, his lips were parted slightly and were a welcoming shade of pink.

“I can feel you staring at me”

“it’s not my fault seeing you like this is as rare as seeing a shooting star”

—

“jungkook!! Dinners ready!” you shouted out as you tided your hair ready for work.

“I cooked four steaks just in case, I know how hungry you can get. Do you remember how to use your phone?” you asked as he sat himself down at the dinner table.

“where did you put the iron man 2 disk?” he asked as you grabbed your bag off the table.

“it’s under the first one in the lower drawer. Call me If you need anything! Bye be careful!” you shouted as you ran to the door. You heard a soft goodbye before you shut the door.

You were hesitant to leave Jungkook by himself but you knew he could handle himself, he’d been doing it for a long time before you met after all.

As you entered the building you wondered how long Jungkook had been alone before you stormed into his life…

“Y/n? you okay?”

You snapped out of your thoughts as you sheepishly locked eyes with jimin.

“Hey! yer sorry I’m okay I promise, just…a lot on my mind” you giggled nervously.

“mmm I can see that” he chuckled before passing you a folder “here, this will help you with that new assignment Mr. So gave you” he smiled.

“oh my god! I totally forgot about that! Jimin I don’t know what I would do without you! Thank you so freaking much” you thanked him before frantically typing away on your computer.

Jimin let out another hearty laugh before going back to his desk.

The assignment was a strange one. You were to organise a route through the cities center in order to keep the transaction private and away from the public eye. You had to take into consideration things like security cameras, closing times of shops and police activity.

You didn’t even know what was being transported and the whole ordeal was weird but Mr. So is high up the power chain so it must be important.

You continued your work but couldn’t shake the feeling of being stared at.

You turned next to you to see jimin staring at you with an extremely worrisome look but as soon as he saw you had caught him he smiled nervously and continued with what he was doing.

You decided to shake it off and continue your work.

“y/n! just the person I was looking for!” namjoon chirped as he rolled over on his chair from his desk.

“you say it like I’m not here behind you every time we have a shift together…which is literally all the time” you chuckled at his strange choice of words.

He ruffled his hair in confusion at his own sentence but shook it off when he remembered why he came over.

“I’m glad Jungkook is settling in nicely” he stated as you continued to type away.

“you think? He’s still a little hostile. Then again, I think that’s just his personality. Not sure yet” you said as you swapped eye connect between namjoon and your computer.

“he’s become more territorial, it means he’s becoming used to things being his” he answered causing you to scrunch your eyebrows in confusion.

“you didn’t notice? When tae and yoongi got a little too close for his liking he started getting protective and unsure of the situation. It means he’s starting to settle” he smiled at you.

You stared at namjoon in shock before punching the air enthusiastically. “yer boy!” you exclaimed but quietly due to your professional atmosphere.

“but be careful, I don’t think you should have come to work. Due to his sudden change of safety, he may be a little paranoid and get scared easier” namjoon stated worriedly.

Instantly your mood dropped to a sudden sense of sickening worry.

Before you could ask what, he meant by that your phone started ringing and the pop up of jungkooks name almost gave you a heart attack.

“hello? Jungkook what’s wrong?” you asked worriedly, your stomach dreading the answer.

“y-y/n, I think sh-hes here to get m-me” a panicked hybrid on the other side of the phone whispered. You could hear the silently sobbing he was trying to hide.

Your heart broke as you stood up immediately.

“where are you now I’m on my way” you said as namjoon started saving all your work. You grabbed your bag and ran as quickly as you could to the elevator.

“I-I’m in your room, i-i-n your closet” he stuttered pure fear seeping through his voice.

“okay, I’m in the car right now, whose there Jungkook? Are they knocking on the door? What’s happening?” you asked worriedly as you almost sped down the streets.

You tried to stay focused but the shaky breaths and sobs that you heard were not just terrifying but hurt your heart.

“they keep knocking, t-t-they won’t go away. it’s her, she found me!” he said sacredly.

“Jungkook I’m in the elevator, I’m going to hang up now okay, don’t worry I won’t let anyone hurt you” you reassured as the elevator moved painfully slow.

As the doors opened you were ready to fight a bitch but instead were met with a persistent Krystal banging at your door.

You sighed in relief before grabbing her hand, stopping her from traumatizing your poor hybrid anymore.

“Oh! There you are! Hey I was thinking we could all watch the new-“ she started but you stopped her kindly.

“Actually, I was going to suggest that we all go to the movies next Thursday! We can’t do tonight sorry” you said as quickly as possible.

Thankfully she noticed your rushed pace and moved out the way of the door nodding. “sounds like a plan” she said before turning to walk back to her apartment door.

You ran inside, turning on all the lights you possibly could.

“Jungkook!” you called as you ran into your room. The darkness leaving an eerie and sad feeling. You turned on the lights and followed the sounds of whimpering as you approached your closet.

“Jungkook? Sweetie its y/n” you said slowly opening the doors.

You gasped as the tortured hybrid pulled you in a massive hug. “what happened!? I thought s-s-she got to y-y-ou!” he cried as you shuffled to the bed.

“shhh it’s okay it was just Krystal, no one’s coming to get you” you soothed quietly as you managed to lay him on the bed.

You sat up as his body tucked closely too yours, his hands clutching the material of your work pants as he continued to cry.

You hesitantly brought your hand up and trialed a stroke of his hair. Before you could pull away he nuzzled his head into your hand letting you know it was okay.

With that, you soothingly stroked his hair earning soft hums as his crying softened to a few sniffles.

“would you like to sleep in here tonight? We can watch the new Spiderman movie?” you asked softly as you moved to play with his ears.

A soft meowl escaped his lips before he nodded his head and moved his head closer to your lap.

“yes please…don’t leave me” he whispered. His voice vulnerable and weak, a state you had never seen Jungkook in before.

You moved his hair out of his eyes before nodding your head. Even though he couldn’t really see it. The nod meant so much.

You vowed to protect the seemingly stubborn hybrid with anything you could. He deserved more than the world had given him and you were going to give him it.

“I won’t, I promise”  

[fire-bear]

Photo Ready

Rated T due to a swear word. Gil’s fault.

So the prompt for this one is Youth and I couldn't think of anything (except that I didn't want to do a kid fic) so I Googled the word and found two songs. The first one repeated a lot of its words but the second one had a line about a photo booth, so...

“I can’t believe he’s making us do this,” Arthur grumbled, arms folded.

“I mean,” Gilbert pointed out, “we don’t  need  to. But then we won’t be able to go to the party.”

Arthur sighed. “Does he really think we’re gonna pick out anything good without him, though?”

“He did say we needed to learn,” Gilbert told Arthur, amused. “Are we gonna go in or not?”

Scowling, Arthur turned his displeasure on Gilbert. “Why are you so calm about this? Franny basically told us that our clothing taste sucks. And I don’t see why.” He gestured at himself. Gilbert allowed himself a moment to let his eyes wander up and down Arthur’s body. As was typical for Arthur when he wasn’t at school, he was wearing ripped, skinny jeans and a Ramones t-shirt, both of which were black. Over the top of his t-shirt, was an old, worn leather jacket, mostly intact. His Doc Martens were lined with green highlights, though Gilbert was never sure whether he bought them that way or decorated them himself. Around his neck was a choker, little metal protrusions making it look as though someone had cut off some spikes at the base. To Gilbert, he looked cool. More than that, actually, but he refused to entertain those thoughts for any length of time.

“Hm. Might be ’cause he thinks we don’t fit in with his other friends?” Gilbert suggested.

Arthur raised an eyebrow and looked Gilbert up and down. Gilbert wondered what he thought of Gilbert’s dress sense. He wore skinny jeans as well, a dark blue. His t-shirt was a slightly darker shade of the same colour with the words  New Phone, Who Dis?  written in pink. A red shirt was over the top of it, a hole in the bottom left where he’d caught it on something months ago. He had opted for a pair of cheap Converses, red and high-topped. Was it too ‘dorky’ for Arthur’s tastes as well?

“His other friends should be trying to fit in with us,” Arthur said. “We’re  the ones who’re his best friends.”

Grinning, Gilbert nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Fran just wants to flirt with people and ignore us, probably.”

“Urgh.” Arthur looked up at the designer place Francis had noted down for them, hoping they would actually listen and buy some new, fashionable clothes. He sighed and turned back to Gilbert, pausing to send a glare at a couple of girls who seemed to be ogling them nearby. Once they’d scurried away, he returned his attention to Gilbert and said, “Do you even have enough money to shop here? I don’t think I do. And all the places Franny told us about are high-end.”

“Nah. My allowance doesn’t cover this.” Gilbert paused. “Uh, not after buying those games.”

With a snort, Arthur turned on his heel. “Of course you did.”

“Hey!” Gilbert hurried after him. “What did  you  spend  yours  on, huh?”

There was a pause as Arthur debated answering. However, Gilbert knew he would; he always did when he asked him a question. “Books,” said Arthur with a sigh. “None of which I’ve started reading as I had some on loan from the library.”

“Man, maybe we should’ve asked for an advance on next month’s allowances, huh?” said Gilbert.

“Nah,” said Arthur, gesturing ahead of them. “That shop’s cheaper. And, look, they’ve got a sale on.”

Gilbert stared at what was essentially a meagre step up from a second-hand clothes shop. He looked at Arthur and raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think that’ll work?” he asked. “Fran’ll probably be able to sniff out what’s designer and what’s not from a mile away.”

“As long as we make it look good, he can’t complain,” Arthur insisted.

“Fine,” said Gilbert, sighing. He also rolled his eyes for good measure and that was when he saw it. “Hey, look!” he cried, pointing across the walkway.

Tucked away in a corner, out of the way of all the numerous shoppers, was a photo booth. The little screen set into its side flickered through its explanation, showing off stock photos. Gilbert had only ever been in one for his passport photos and the one time he’d dragged his little brother in to pull faces at the camera. He always thought they were fun and had planned to drag all his friends in before they graduated next year. Seeing one now excited him and he grabbed Arthur’s arm to drag him over to it.

“A photo booth?” Arthur asked as they reached it. “What about it?”

“Let’s go in!” Gilbert said, excitedly. “We can take before and after photos!”

“Why not just do it on our phones?” said Arthur, looking at the sign which declared the price. “This costs money, you know.”

“Yeah, but…” said Gilbert slyly, smirking at Arthur. “If we have less money, then we can tell Fran we couldn’t afford much and then we might be able to wear what we were gonna wear.”

“Huh,” said Arthur, tilting his head. “That’s…”

“Clever?” Gilbert suggested, cheerfully. “Genius? Brilliant?”

“Smart… for  you,” Arthur replied, smirking.

Groaning, Gilbert pushed Arthur into the little box. “Urgh. Come on.”

They slid onto the little bench, Arthur seated beside the wall while Gilbert was nearest the curtain. He pulled it closed and turned to the monitor inside. Briefly, he glanced at Arthur. Raising an eyebrow, Arthur gazed back, nonplussed. Sighing heavily, Gilbert dug his wallet out of his back pocket and peered into its depths, searching for the right money.

“What were you planning on wearing, anyway?” Arthur asked as he shook out the coins stuck in the corners.

“Oh, uh, this shirt that says, ‘Party Time, Motherfuckers!’ but with an asterisk in place of the o and the u.”

“And you wonder why Franny doesn’t think your fashion sense is any good…”

“Oh, shut up!” Gilbert finally managed to pull out his money and leaned forward to wrestle it into the slot. “Besides, I figured he wouldn’t be around much to complain. You know he’s just gonna flirt with everyone till he finds someone who’ll flirt back. He won’t be paying attention to us.”

“You’re wrong,” Arthur said. He grinned at him when Gilbert looked up at him in surprise. “He’ll flirt until he can find someone to make out with in his room.”

Gilbert snorted. “Yeah, and everyone else’ll be making out in rooms, too.” He returned his attention to the money slot and finally inserted the note.

“Ah? Have you got anyone in mind for that, Gilly?”

“Nah,” Gilbert replied as he tapped at the screen, setting up the camera. “Depends on who turns up. D’ya wanna put dogs’ ears on?” Gilbert gestured at the example shown.

“No,” said Arthur, shortly. He scowled at Gilbert when he turned around to grin at him. “So does this mean I’m gonna end up alone at the party?”

He sounded so put out that Gilbert turned back to the screen to hide his blush. It really sounded as if Arthur had been looking forward to hanging out with Gilbert that night. Feeling bad, Gilbert chose the option for the camera to take five pictures one after the other. “I’d rather hang out with you, though,” Gilbert assured him.

“You’d rather hang out with me than make out with someone of your choice?”

“Well, yeah!” said Gilbert, squirming. He kept his head turned away but grinned, trying to inject cheer in his voice. “You’re way more fun than anyone else I know who’s going! What about you?”

There was a pause. “No… Wasn't planning on it.”

“Oh.” Gilbert let his finger hover over the ‘Ready’ button. “You ready?” he asked, quietly.

“Yeah.”

Quickly, Gilbert pressed it and leaned back. He settled on a normal smiling picture and left Arthur to his usual folded arms pose. Instead, he grinned widely and held up the peace sign, trying to decide on what they should do for the second picture. Something silly, like them using their fingers to make the other pull a face. Or they could turn around and moon the camera.

His thoughts were cut off when Arthur grabbed his arm. Surprised, Gilbert turned to him as he was pulled around. He didn’t have time to react to Arthur’s actions when he spotted Arthur’s free hand reaching out towards him. Gilbert’s eyes widened, confused and shocked, as Arthur cupped his cheek. Then, using the combination of his grip on Gilbert’s arm and the hand on Gilbert’s face, Arthur pulled him closer. He barely had time to register the way his heart skipped a beat as Arthur pressed their lips together in a kiss.

Off to the side, there was a click and a flash. Gilbert would have startled away from Arthur had Arthur not shifted closer, their knees knocking. At the same time, he moved his head, gently moving his lips against Gilbert’s. He responded instantly, kissing Arthur back just as fervently as Arthur kissed him. Arthur hummed against him and he let go of Gilbert’s arm to slide his hand around Gilbert’s back and pull him still closer. Willingly, Gilbert let him, tangling their legs together as he tried to move closer without getting up and breaking the kiss - he was too worried that it would all be over once he pulled away.

Instead, miraculously, Arthur deepened the kiss. His tongue swept over Gilbert’s lips and, with no hesitation, Gilbert parted them, craving Arthur’s tongue in his mouth. Arthur, of course, took the invitation, running his tongue over Gilbert’s teeth and the roof of his mouth before running it along Gilbert’s. The tasted of mint almost overwhelmed Gilbert. Unable to do anything but move his lips, encourage Arthur, Gilbert whimpered, wanting  more  somehow. Arthur responded by curling his tongue around Gilbert’s and coaxing him into using it.

Slowly, they began to push their tongues against each other’s, a back and forth as their tongues slipped between mouths. Arthur nipped at Gilbert’s tongue and outright bit at Gilbert’s bottom lip whenever he retreated. Gilbert gasped breathlessly and obediently kissed him again, their tongues twining once more. He moaned, unable to stop himself, feeling himself react in other places. His face felt hot but he couldn’t bring himself to move back from the heat of Arthur’s body. In fact, Gilbert wanted to touch  more , wanted to move closer, wanted to feel and see Arthur’s skin. It wasn’t the first time he had yearned for more contact from the other boy but now it was amped up, encouraging him to clutch at Arthur, pulling him across the bench and sliding his hands under Arthur’s leather jacket. Arthur let him, the thumb on Gilbert’s cheek gently brushing against his skin; occasionally, the pad of his thumb slid across the corner of Gilbert’s mouth and, instinctively, he licked at it. Both of them shuddered when that happened, pressing closer still.

Eventually, they needed to breathe and they pulled away, though Gilbert made sure to stay close. His panting breaths probably fanned out across Arthur’s lips. Unbidden, his eyes were drawn to them, redder now than before. Arthur licked them and Gilbert nearly dove in for another kiss. However, a motion in the corner of his eye made Gilbert glance towards the screen: his eyes widened as he realised that the photo booth had finished taking its pictures - and they’d been kissing for the entirety of it.

When he looked back at Arthur, he couldn’t regret it. Arthur’s face was flushed, though he didn’t look particularly fazed, as if they did this all the time. His lips looked shiny and red and, when he ran his tongue along them, Gilbert’s breath caught. He bit his lip and looked away, well aware that his entire face was hot. Even his ears were tingling and he was sure they were red, too.

“I- Ar- Tha-”

“Yes?” said Arthur, raising an eyebrow.

“I just…” Gilbert trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say or ask. Was this something on the spur of the moment or had Arthur been thinking about this for as long as Gilbert had? Should he make a confession now? What did Arthur want, a casual thing or something more? For a few moments, Gilbert couldn’t get any words out. Then, finally, he managed to say, “Is… Is this a one-time thing?”

Arthur tilted his head, a smirk forming. “I thought that, since you want to hang out with me at Franny’s party  and  you want someone to snog, I could be both.”

“Oh,” Gilbert said, faintly.

“We’d better get going,” Arthur added. “We'll need to buy something if we want to do an ‘after’ picture.”

Gilbert blinked. “You… You want to come back here?”

“Yes,” said Arthur, his smirk softening into a smile. “We can have fun here, with no-one staring at us.”

Delighted, Gilbert grinned. “We could just stay here and have fun instead of forcing ourselves to shop. If Fran won't let us in, we can go somewhere else that night.”

Still smiling, Arthur raised a hand to cup Gilbert’s face. Gilbert couldn’t help but lean into it, his eyes fluttering closed. A soft sigh slipped past his lips; he felt utterly at peace with the world, blissfully happy. He was expecting a kiss, maybe a chaste one, to begin with. Instead of on his lips, however, he felt something on his nose, a soft press of Arthur’s smooth skin on his as he pecked him there.

“No,” said Arthur and Gilbert was shoved away. His eyes flew wide as he tumbled from the photo booth, catching sight of Arthur’s amusement. The curtain dropped back down to shield Arthur as he sniggered while Gilbert pouted. But his heart was hammering and he knew that Arthur wouldn’t leave him high and dry later, not with the way Arthur was still blushing.

And then Arthur proceeded to bury his face in his hands and silently scream at himself for a whole minute before he exited, thinking things like, Oh, my God, I can't believe I just did that!!!

Also, they do go back for those 'after' pictures. They consist of them with different coloured tops (green for Arthur, red for Gilbert), lighter coloured jeans and sweatshirts tied round their waists - though you might not see that seeing as Arthur ends up straddling Gilbert as they kiss again. :D

[midnightghostwriter]

close encounter

↬ summary: a trip downtown turns into more than you bargained for

↬ genre: fluff

↬ pairing: jay park x reader

↬ word count: 2.7k

a/n: okay so this is 100% just because i like this story and this week has sucked so here have more fluff. istg someday i will update with something new, but for now bear with me and have this instead.

i will probably change the title bc idk how i feel about it lol

The Pacific Northwest was known more than anywhere else in America for being rainy, gray, and cold, especially during the extended winter months. This fact only became more true the closer one drew to the various bodies of water dotting the state of Washington, leading you to wonder what had possessed you to go on this excursion. It wasn’t precisely far to reach the damp streets of Seattle, but it was far enough that by the time you’d arrived at the bustling hub of Pike Street, and managed to orient yourself at the bus stop a few blocks away, the rain was drumming a fiercer beat than the brave buskers trying to earn a few bucks from passerby despite the inclement conditions.

Hood drawn tight about your face, you dodged your fellow pedestrians as best you could with your vision so limited to what laid directly in your path. You were met with success, ducking into the blessedly covered marketplace. Past the inexplicable statue of a golden pig surrounded by flocks of tourists taking photos and into the warmth of the covered walkway that wound between stalls and established shops alike. The warm air was filled with a myriad of scents; soft florals of the multitude of flower stands, the distinctive smell of fish and seafood fresh from the nearby piers, the hidden sour smell of so many bodies packed into the space. It was almost overwhelming and yet you found yourself enjoying it. It was not often you were able to experience it, and you wanted to commit it to memory in as much detail as possible.

Across the cobbled floor, dampened from the rain soaked soles of shoes that had preceded yours, your feet carried you, slowing their hurried rush to escape the less savory weather to a stroll that allowed you to take in the sights. Past the famous flying fish stand where experienced fishmongers tossed the large sea dwellers into the waiting hands of patrons in the crowd; past the classy restaurant that had managed to claim a small section of the market for the more upscale customers; past a natural food stand and another selling an assortment of wares tourists would brandish to prove they had set foot in this cultural hub.

You allowed yourself to fall into the current of tourists and locals alike, you falling somewhere in the middle as you marveled at some wares and rolled your eyes at others. But nothing caught your eye, and you weren’t keen on truly shopping here anyway. So you followed the flow of people until the line of shops once again opened onto the equally bustling street, blinking a bit as you stepped into the dim grey light. Pausing, you glanced about you before deciding to make your way toward the more formal shopping district a few blocks away.

A slight detour to secure a warm drink from the city’s famous coffeehouse, and you were puffing warm air into the damp chill outside the entrance to H&M. Another stream of chattering people helped you through the doors into the store, some trendy song or another filling your ears as you moved off to the side to avoid being run into. Idly you circled some of the sales racks near the doors, picking at vibrant patterns, and simple colors in fashion-forward cuts.

Intent on your search, you didn’t notice the new rush of shoppers come inside just as you rounded the rack. Your indiscretion found you colliding quite abruptly with an unexpected presence, a flash of gratefulness that you’d consumed your coffee and thus avoided splashing the beverage onto them flitting through your mind. The empty cup tumbled from your fingers as you stumbled a bit and reached for the nearest thing to steady you, which just so happened to be a pair of well-muscled arms that had reached for you. As you took a moment to regain your balance, you couldn’t help a twinge of vague recognition for the tattoos that spread across the tanned skin from beneath the rolled sleeves of the person’s shirt. Hadn’t you seen that design somewhere before?

Then you remembered your situation, and a muddled rush of apologies came tumbling past your lips. The words were met with a low chuckle that had your eyes sliding up the body in front of you to meet your victim’s, the sight nearly tearing a gasp from your throat as your own orbs widened in surprise.

“Nah it’s my fault, I wasn’t paying attention,” the guy supporting you assured, hint of a smile playing at his lips. You tried to remember the second nature act of taking in oxygen as a red-hot blush swept across your face. This became infinitely harder when a full smile lit his features at the wide eyes and dropped jaw you were now sporting. “I’m Jay.”

“I know.” The words sprang unbidden from your gaping mouth and you snapped it shut, mortified. Your blush darkened as he laughed again, polite smile now a genuine grin. “I-I mean, I’m…” You eventually managed to provide him with the syllables of your own name and he nodded, repeating it back almost as if he were testing out the sound. Your heart flopped funnily in your chest, eyes darting away from his to focus on a pair of heels on the rack next to you.

“Hey, I’m actually from around here,” he started and you resisted the urge to tell him that you knew that too. “How about I show you some of my favorite spots? You know, as kind of an apology for almost body slamming you into those ugly ass leopard leggings.” At that exact moment you realized your fingers were still resting on his biceps and you tore them away to run a hand through your hair in a manner you hoped was casual, the other diving into the sanctuary of your coat pocket.

“Th-that sounds like fun!” You agreed, hoping he couldn’t hear the nervous strain in your voice or see how your smile wavered shyly under his gaze. You instantly regretted chancing a look at him when you saw his smile bloom again and your heart tripped across your rib cage.

“Great, let’s go,” and you were left no choice but to follow when he turned to lead the way out.

You hadn’t been sure what to expect when you unthinkingly agreed to Jay’s proposal. Maybe he’d bring you to a place in the warehouse district on 1st where he used to practice the dances he was so known for. Or perhaps some hidden corner of one of the parks where’d he sat and thought about the path he wanted his life and his music to take. Hell maybe he was just going to ditch you in some god awful corner of Columbia or something and leave you for dead.

But lucky for you Jay stayed true to you, guiding you along the crowded streets and weaving between alleyways on your own personal tour. Even when he brought you somewhere you had visited in years past, you smiled and laughed at the stories he added to your own memories of the location. With every minute that passed in his presence you found your earlier nerves about being in the presence of someone you so admired slipping, replaced instead with a fondness for the boy beside you.

Pleasant surprise reigned once again when you were dragged (though not quite so forcibly) to a quirky shop of some persuasion you couldn’t discern from the sign. Tucked safely within its warm interior, it suddenly hit you again just who you were with. Sneaking a peek at him, you were startled to find his eyes meeting yours, almost as if he had been doing the same.

“I-is this another spot on the Jay Park Exclusive Seattle Tour?” you asked, trying to tease him and cover up the race horse of your heart in your chest. With a chuckle he shook his head.

“Nope, just looked good and I’m starving,” he replied simply and you snickered.

“Ah, so even the great Jay Park can be won over through his stomach.”

“Is that so wrong?”

“Nah, it’s cute.” The words tripped past your lips before you had time to think, but the raised brow on Jay’s face shed some light on your Freudian slip. “I-I mean, uh, oh shit.” The amused smile on his lips split into full blown laughter as you panicked.

“Pay attention or you aren’t getting anything to eat.” The unexpected reprimand was accompanied by a playful smack to the back of your head, effectively cutting off any rambling apologies or excuses you may have had. Flustered, you glanced at the menu and spat out the first item that looked even remotely edible.

Cowed into silence by your slip of the tongue, you followed him to a table, trying and failing to not overthink every move you made now. Completely lacking any of your usual grace (if you could be said to have even a modicum of the stuff), you flopped into the chair across from him, eyes glued to the granite table top. Jay remained silent, allowing you to wallow in your thoughts that he probably thought you were ridiculous, or even worse you had made him uncomfortable with your comment. God, could this get any more awkward?

Before your brain could spell out each and every way things could be infinitely more awkward, you were started from your thoughts by the appearance of your food. You glanced up from the plate placed before you to find Jay settling back into his seat, already beginning to devour the sandwich he’d ordered.

“Sorry, I should’ve gone to get the food since you paid,” you managed after a moment, your voice hushed with nerves. The reassuring smile he flashed your way sent your heart spiraling out of control and you could feel your blush making its return. You ducked your head, hoping your hair could conceal at least some of the red tint from his vision.

“Don’t be sorry. You say that too much.” He reached across the table and stole one of your fries, smiling teasingly. “Now hurry up and eat or I’m taking yours. I did pay after all, so it’s technically mine anyway.” Finding a small sum of courage with his teasing, you scooted the plate closer to you, rearranging your features into mock offense.

“Nice try but you already gave it to me so it’s mine now.” As if to stake your claim, you lifted one of your fries and pointedly ran your tongue across it before dropping it back amidst its brethren. You repeated the stunt with the top of your sandwich, too caught up in your joke to notice the way his eyes followed the action. “See? Would you really want those now?”

“Jesus, you didn’t have to slobber all over them, Scooby Doo.” You stuck out your tongue again and he pretended to cringe away. With a giggle you picked up your food, taking a bite and finding that you liked it far more than you expected, just as you did your companion.

After the food was consumed (Jay still managing to take a portion of yours hostage, not that you minded terribly) and your energy appropriately restored, you let him lead you from the quaint restaurant and resume your wandering. A glance at the perpetually gray sky, now several shades closer to the black of night, told you that it was probably time to get going if you didn't want to be stuck in Seattle until the morning. Before you could voice these concerns and your need to find the nearest bus stop, however, Jay stopped abruptly, you nearly crashing into him for the second time that day.

“What the heck Jay, say something before you stop like that!”

“Sorry,” he murmured with the presence of mind to look a little abashed at your reprimand. “This is my stop, though.”

“Your-- what?” At last you glanced at the building before you and were surprised to find a hotel. Oh. Of course, he was just visiting so he was probably staying here.

All at once it hit you. This was it. Jay would go inside to his hotel room, you'd board an overcrowded bus, and you'd never see him again except on sns and splashed across articles by zealous netizens. He would go back to Korea and lose himself in his music, and his memories of this day would disappear somewhere over the Atlantic. Your heart twisted painfully at the thought, but you did your best to hide it with another teasing grin.

“Why Mr. Park, what will the keyboard warriors say if they find out I was at your hotel? I should probably leave before they find us!” You made a show of glancing around as if looking for spies in the long shadows of the streetlights and he offered you a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

“You know… I'm still going to be around for a few days.” Your eyes dart back to him, though his gaze is focused on the cracked city sidewalk, hand resting on the back of his neck in blatant nervousness. You tell your heart to stop hoping so it won't be crushed later. “We could… Do this again.” Too late. But his words still take you by surprise, washing all other coherent thought from your mind.

“I… What? Huh?” Smooth.

“Today was fun, and I want to see you again,” he says, the words spilling out into the cracks between you rushed, as if he’s afraid taking too long will change your mind. A tentative smile spreads your lips.

“Really?” Your voice is small, hushed with the ghost of a younger girl with a dream like this, hoping against hope that it was really coming to life.

“Really. Gimme your phone.” You slide the device from your pocket and place it in his hand, committing the warm brush of his fingers against yours to memory. With anxious eyes you watch as they fly across your screen and then suddenly you're looking at a string of numbers with his name across the top. “Call me as soon as possible.” Bubbling over with happiness, a giggle escapes you as you tuck your phone away.

“Okay.” He smiles properly at your acquiescence and you think you could get used to seeing it, even if the return of your skipping heart tries to remind you no, you never would.

“It's getting late, you should probably go before it gets too sketchy.” You roll your eyes.

“This place is always sketchy,” you shoot back. “But I guess I should. If I miss the next bus I'll be stuck out here for another half an hour.” And yet neither of you moves. You, because you are afraid the moment you turn away this will all become a beautiful dream and he'll vanish with it, and he because of a reason you don't know and don't dare to guess. But it's now or never, so with your heart in your stomach you wave and turn away. You make it maybe three steps before those already familiar fingers close around your wrist, yanking you back around with a Wait.

And then before you can say anything or process how you're so much closer to him than you've dared to be all day, or the way his arms feel around your waist, or how wow his eyes are way nicer up close, his lips are on yours and holy shit this is the last thing you expected but you definitely don't object. Especially when you lean up just a bit and you realize that you can feel his heart beating just as fast as yours when it occurs to him that you're actually kissing him back.

It's only a second, a breathless, heart-pounding, everything you've ever wanted in the world, second and then he's pulling away, staring at you in a way that has your stomach doing back flips. And then, in true Jay fashion, he ruins the moment entirely to mumble you forgot this.

And fuck if that cheesy line doesn't make you want to kiss him again.

[ashoessaler-blog]

Air Force 1 Twitter

While their sustainability game is solid, it's not the main reason why the brand has developed a cult following in the short time since its launch. The design is clean, sleek and simple-the right amount of nothing, quips Head of Design Jamie McLellan-yet instantly recognisable. They might have started out as the sweethearts of Silicon Valley, beloved by head honchoes at Google, Air Force 1 Twitter and Apple, as well as tech magazine editors (apparently they're as plentiful as MacBooks at the WIRED office), but their appeal has spread way beyond the tech realm.

1. Unless you're one of the lucky few who have decided a work uniform is the way to go, dressing for the office (or whatever office you may have), can be tough. I'm a truly impractical person when it comes to fashion and even more so when it comes to shoes, but the instant I saw these suede saviours I knew they were the solution to my summer wedding circuit (and the perfect pairing with my deep blue Self-Portrait dress).

FASHION teamed up with Value Village to shoot eight 'gram-worthy looks to show you just how easy it is to bring this season's trends into your closet without contributing to the landfill problem. He hired five young locals and gave them different responsibilities; one person to make the shoes, one person in sales, one person in marketing etc.

They both had Nike Air Force 1 their downsides: the taped toes felt uncomfortable and the maxi pad makes shoes tighter. However they both made it possible for me to wear heels for an entire day without wanting to cut off my feet. At Jason Wu, bright heels were contrasted against black stockings proving that you don't need to save your beloved neon sandals for the summer. Ulla Johnson delivered tie dye and tiger striped boots with gold chunky anklets, leaning into the chainlink trend.

(As for Aldridge's own shoes, open toe Jerome C. Rousseau cage booties are a new favourite. Vincent Van Gogh is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated artists of all time. From the swirling blues of The Starry Night to the bespattered self-portraits (with both ears or without), his work is instantly recognizable.

We might, if purely for the exercise, resist such categorization. Geox continues to innovate sneaker technology by hiring plenty of engineers, collaborating with universities, and invests 2% of profit into research and development. As we look ahead into 2020, the clunky footwear trend isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

The entrants selected for a Prize will be required to correctly answer a time limited skill testing question before being declared a Prize winner. Campbell commented on Cyrus's Instagram post. A striped raincoat is thrown casually over a chair. Though there's no telling which brands will follow suit, and to what extent, it looks as though the shoe industry is slowly Cheap Air Force 1 starting to re-evaluate their impact on the planet.

[snowleopard11110140-blog]

After War Part 1

This will have multiple parts. Set after Kingdom of Ash but certain events, so spoilers, will be ignored. It will mainly involve an OC of mine and her interactions with Aelin’s Court. She will also eventually be paired with Fenrys so keep that in mine. Please enjoy! Also on fanfic.net and on AO3

Rowan walked through the streets of Orynth praying to gods that no longer existed that he could find a jeweler. It was Aelin's birthday tomorrow and most of her gifts were already done as was the preparation for her party that could been done today. Now all he had to do was get their rings engraved. As much as Aelin loved the rings she had pilfered from the barrow-wight she had commented earlier on how much better they would look if they were engraved. So this morning he had asked her for her ring. Granted it wouldn't be much of a surprise but she still didn't know how he was going to get them personalized for them.

He was dressed in a hood and unassuming clothes. Certainly not clothes suited for a King, but if he tried to go into the city without the hood he would be instantly surrounded and never get anything done. So far all of the jewelers he had been to either couldn't do what he wanted or had made a huge deal out of him being King. That got rather annoying rather quick. He wasn't used to that much attention. Even before when he was just a warrior people only looked at with fear in their eyes before giving him a wide birth. Now people were only giving him a wide birth because even if no one recognized him he was still a tall and imposing figure. Then he saw a small shop with various knives, swords, and jewelry on display. A sign boasted hand-crafted weaponry and jewelry. A Fae female was sitting comfortably in a chair with her feet propped up on a stool reading a book. She looked up as he got closer, "Can I help you," she asked.

"Do you do engravings?" He asked.

She stood and put her book down on the chair, he was surprised at how tall she was, only a few inches shorter than him. "It depends on what I'm engraving."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the rings and put them in her waiting palm. She turned them both over in her hand and examined them. "What do you want engraved?"

Out of his other pocket he pulled out the paper on which he had written what he wanted done. He wanted their names carved on the rings in both the common tongue and in the old language. She took the paper and looked at it then back at the rings still in her hand. She didn't even seem surprised at the names on the paper. "When do you need this finished by?"

"The end of today."

She paused at that, "I can't do this in one day." Of course she couldn't.

"Why not?" Rowan snapped tired of things not going his way today.

Not even a blink at his sharp tone, which he had to give her credit for. "When you engrave something onto metal it heats up and becomes too malleable to work with especially gold. You have to take time between each carving to let the metal cool or it will lose its shape. What you want written would take too long to cool. Especially because you want carvings on the inside and outside."

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. Then she put the rings down on the counter between them and pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. "I can, however, do your initials."

Rowan watched her write out the letters AAWG in the common tongue in rather beautiful script then the same, but in the old language. Then she wrote out RWG the same way. "Common tongue on the outside old language on the inside?"

"Yes."

She nodded and picked up the two rings and the piece of paper, "They'll be done in three and a half hours." Then she disappeared behind a curtain to what he assumed was a work shop. He stood there for a minute or two before her voice drifted back to him, "If you're going to wait here the entire time I have some books you can read."

Rowan huffed in annoyance and turned on his heel before saying, "I'll be back to pick them up in three and a half hours."

He swore he heard a slight chuckle from behind the curtain as he walked away.

After he left he went and ate lunch. Then walked around for the remaining time making sure to buy some hazel nut chocolates for Aelin. An apology just in case the rings got f*cked up. Which he doubted considering the skill he'd seen in the other items on display.

When he went back to the shop there was another person buying a wickedly curved knife. He picked one of the daggers on display and held it up testing the balance and weight; just another customer. The blade itself was sharp, with a good balance and weight, not to mention the craftsmanship of the handle. Simple but beautiful and still useful in a fight or battle. The other customer left with the knife wrapped in a package and he set down the dagger before walking up to her. She slipped the money from the previous sale into a drawer and walked back behind the curtain without looking at him.

When she came back she had both rings and handed them to him. "Satisfied?"

Rowan examined his ring first both carvings were done beautifully. The same with Aelin's, but on the other side of the emerald was a small intricate engraving of a stag. He looked up at her and she raised both brows in question leaning her hip on the counter arms crossed. "They're beautiful," he admitted. He slipped both rings in his pocket and asked, "How much do I owe you?"

She tilted her head to the side and named her price. Now he was no jeweler but he knew she was under charging him. "You're under charging me." Not a question.

"I am."

"Why?" If it was because he was King then he was going to be rather annoyed. After all she hadn't made big deal about him being King yet. Why would she now?

She read the word in his eyes, "No it's not because you're King. It's because of what you and Aelin both risked and sacrificed to save Terrasen."

Rowan cocked his head to the side and looked at her more closely. From the accent she was certainly from Terrasen. She just kept looking at him. Then he put it together. "You're one of the Lost Fae of Terrasen that Aelin called during the last battle."

"I am, but thanks to Aelin I think we're content to just be called the Fae of Terrasen."

He nodded and paid what she asked for before turning away. Then he turned back and asked, "What's your name?"

"Arklynn," was the response.

Rowan nodded again and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Arklynn replied and he walked away.

Later that night when he was in their bed chambers, he pulled out the rings again and looked at them in the dying firelight. Aelin came out of the bathroom and walked over to him. "Are those the rings?"

He nodded and handed them to her before pulling her smoothly into his lap. "Happy early birthday Aelin."

She smiled at him and examined the rings. "They're beautiful," she said softly and slipped the larger ring onto his finger. Then she looked more closely on the stag on her ring. "The Lord of the North," she said then looked at him, "the craftsmanship on this is beautiful. Did you design this?"

"No the jeweler did."

"Well I have to say that this is impressive."

"She also had a rather impressive collection of hand crafted weapons."

Aelin grinned and slipped the ring on her finger before kissing him. "Hmm well now I know where I'm going to buy most of the gifts for this Yulemas."

Rowan laughed at that, "Glad I could help," and kissed her again.