#there are two main focuses in the picture i took and it's a house and the moon

[imnotverybright]

i finished the easiest thing to do in my pixel art project and now it's so hard to convince myself to work on it :(

[calumfmu]

spread thin

Summary: You and Steve have been best friends for the entirety of your lives, always platonic and nothing more. As graduation approaches, you find yourself wishing that something would come out of this decades-long relationship. During a recurring Friday movie night, you confess your feelings to him, not realizing the man had felt the same way the entire time.

cw: 18+, mdni, smut, fem!reader, she/her pronouns, AFAB reader, unprotected sex, fingering, creampie

2.9k+ words

The boy in front of you was beautiful. He was everything that you had pictured in a man, yet nothing of the sort that you imagined yourself to be with. He was handsome, charismatic, funny-- every good thing that could come with a boy.

But he wasn't yours.

Steve was everything and everyones before the label of yours could be applied.

"yn?"

His voice sounded throughout the fluorescent room, it's white walls allowing you to be caught in the midst of your thoughts. You met his eyes, his dark brown searching for clarification in the color of your own.

"Sorry, just..." your hands tightened around the broom, glancing down at the foot of tile you hadn't realized you were sweeping repeatedly for the last ten minutes. "A lot on my mind, graduation and all."

He stood there for a second, nodding as his hands graced the cash register in front of him. He had a hint of something on his face, something you couldn't recognize from his normal expressions. He suddenly shrugged, shaking his head to himself as he paid attention to the machine.

"Well... I'm just about done here," he supplied before closing the drawer. "Whenever you're done, I was thinking that we could head to mine? Movie night, drinks?"

You nodded, smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. This was normal between the two of you. You have been best friends since kindergarten, it was always SteveandYn and YnandSteve.

He smiled back at you, walking around the corner.

"Well, let's get out of here, then." He took the broom from your hands, placing it in its respective supply closet. "I found a copy of that new horror movie on VHS, and you're going to love it."

As you two closed up shop, you made your way through the mall. His car was parked in the back of the lot, giving you ample time to think of what had been plaguing your mind lately. These feelings for Steve hadn't came out of nowhere, they had been building for the last couple of years as he became more popular. King Steve as they called him. You held back the eye roll of the remark, knowing that people didn't understand the true character of the man.

Calling him something like that only emphasized his woman-user ways, but did not touch on the sweetness he had to him. He was painted as a player, someone that did not care about women. Deep down, you knew that wasn't true.

His shoulder bumped into yours, shaking you of your thoughts. Steve opened the passenger door, holding his hand out as he did a faux bow.

"M'lady."

Giggling, you rolled your eyes and settled in the car as he made his way over to the driver's seat. As he got situated and started the vehicle, he glanced over at you.

"What's going on? You've been so... distant lately."

Sighing, you turned your head towards the window.

"'S nothing, Steve."

He pulled out into the main road, leaving the mall further and further into the distance. "You've been so weird, it can't be nothing."

"I'm fine." You smiled through your teeth, covering the true gnawing at your heart that plagues you. He spared a glance in your direction, huffing as he knew you were lying.

"Sure."

The rest of the car ride was quiet, only the sounds of the radio quietly buzzing some song in the background. Steve tapped his fingers to the beat as you focused on the drive in front of you, cars passing as he made his way to his house. With every block, the dim street lights hit your face, exposing more and more of the true emotional state that you were in. It was becoming too much to hide now.

You hadn't noticed as he pulled into his driveway, a dark house with no one home in front of it. Your passenger door suddenly opening startled you.

"Jesus, Steve," you mumbled, getting out as you smoothed down your work uniform. "Give a girl a warning, yeah?"

"Oh, quiet. 'S not like you would've heard it anyways," he had a grumpiness to his voice, something that only confused you even more. What was wrong with him?

You followed him through the front door, lights turning on as he made his way to the kitchen. A beer was placed in your hand, and you looked down to inspect it. The cheap kind, PBR. So it was going to be one of those nights.

Steve loosened the collar of his uniform, letting it hang open as he cracked open his own drink. He was still staring at you, as you leaned against the counter.

"You're really not going to tell me?" His brown eyes were huge at this point, his bottom lip jutting out as he pouted in your direction. "Please, yn?"

You took a swig, grimacing at the bitter taste of the beverage.

"'M just stressed about graduation," you answered, twirling your drink around as you focused on the exposed part of his chest. A tuft of hair poked out there, you imagined what it would feel like between your fingers.

"What about it?"

You broke the focus, walking closer to him so you could take a seat on the counter beside him. He turned his body towards you, forearms leaning on the white tile as he looked up into your eyes. This angle allowed you to see into the deep brown of his irises, the overhead light hitting in a way that made your breath catch in your throat. They were the same eyes you remember from childhood, his long lashes that framed them always so right.

You took another sip of the drink in your hand, thumb playing with the tab at the top of the aluminum. His hand reached out, touching the top of your thigh where your navy blue shorts ended.

Nervousness settled over you as his thumb began to rub small circles on the exposed skin.

"Come on, you could tell me. Anything, remember?"

The look in his eyes and his begging was hard to resist. You had always told Steve your secrets, your worries, no matter how ridiculous they seemed to be.

You sighed, ready to let this burden off of your chest. Now or never, yn, what's the worst that could happen?

"I'm just worried about what's coming next," you said, finishing off your drink this time. The empty can hit the tile next to you, ringing throughout the kitchen. "Things changing, people growing, leaving."

His brow furrowed, confusion crossing hit features. He stood up, settling in closer to you. His eye level was right below yours this time. You could smell his cologne mixed in with the faint smell of ice cream. So enticing, yet you had to ignore it.

"Are you talking about us?" His hand left your thigh, moving to place his hands on either side of your waist. His waist sat in front of your crossed knees, body leaning slightly as he looked into your eyes. Heat settled into your core, your body reacting to the proximity of him between your legs. "You know, nothing's ever going to change between us. We've always been best friends, always will be."

And there it is. The pit of your stomach gnawing as that realization settled over you. Best friends.

A familiar sting hit your eyes as you began to blink it away. You thought you were being inconspicuous, but he noticed.

"Hey, hey, hey." His voice was a whisper now as he stepped closer, pushing your thighs apart. His hand reached up to touch the side of your cheek, thumb brushing under your eye.

Concern was etched all over his features. He searched your eyes for an explanation, his calloused hands rubbing over the delicate skin of your face. He was so close now, you could lean in and kiss him. Feel the true pout of his lips against yours.

"...Steve," you muttered, shaking your head. "I was just hoping tha- you know, what, nevermind."

He was patient, waiting for your words to come out as the two of you sat in silence. Your mind was racing, thoughts of King Steve with a million other girls floating around. Why tell him when he can whoever? You've been friends for years, why would he want to hear this now when there has been years where something could have happened.

"Tell me."

You sighed, taking a deep breath as you closed your eyes. It was easier to think with them shut, the beautiful boy in front of you no longer being a distraction.

"I was hoping things would stay the same between us," you blurted out. Your heart was racing, word vomit on the tip of your tongue. "Things would stay the same in college, but I know they won't because you're going to be focused on the next interesting person, the next beautiful girl who's not me and is so much better than me."

He didn't answer, but you felt his hand leave the side of your face. The pit at the bottom of your stomach growing more. You kept your eyes closed, finding comfort in the darkness.

You chose to continue, "I just hear everyone talking about King Steve this and King Steve that, and I just can't help but think about how much worse it will be once you're no longer forced to be friends with me."

Suddenly, you felt a mouth on yours, slightly chapped lips brushing against yours quickly. Your eyes flew open, staring at the boy in front of you.

Steve had a smile on his face, eyes drifting over your shocked face. Your mouth opened and close as you find yourself at a loss of words. You found the words, a single syllable escaping your lips before he shushed you.

His hand returned to his cheek as his lips found yours again, moving with a fever that was missing previously. He seemed more urgent, needy in this moment as his hands began to explore your body.

Before you knew it, your legs were opening wider, inviting his body even closer to your core. You felt drunk, despite the single drink running through your veins. It was intoxicating, feeling his mouth against yours and his fingers in your hair.

Is this real life? You couldn't help but think you were imagining it all.

Steve breaks the kiss, fingers dancing at the bottom of your shirt, threatening to lift the hem there.

"Can I-?" He began to lift it as you nodded vehemently, lifting your arms. It came off your frame, exposing you in your white bra. The cool air hit your body, quickly replaced with the heat of his body.

His lips finds your jaw, slopping making his way down your neck. Pants escape your mouth, your vision becoming blurred as his fingers find your waistline. His thumb dipped into the band of your pants, teasing to expose your edge of your panties.

"S-steve, please."

All you saw was a flash of his hair as you were pushed back slightly, the pants beginning to slip down your hips. You adjusted the way you were sitting, allowing Steve the ease to free you of the restriction. He leaned down slightly, placing sloppy, open mouth kisses to your chest bone, hands returning to their residence of your hips.

You placed a hand in his hair, pulling him back up to meet your lips. He smiled through the kiss, nipping at your bottom lip. Your legs wrapped around his waist, bringing him even closer as you felt his bulge rub against your heat.

You muttered a fuck as he began to rub against you, cock hard against the restriction of his own pants.

"Want more, baby?" He whispered, hand coming up to grab at your breast, squeezing in all the right places. You threw your head back in ecstacy, hips shooting up to rub against him even further. Your hands found his own waistline, pulling as you struggled to get them off.

"Patience now, my love."

His sweet words made you ache even more, grinding your heat against the shape of his cock. The free hand remaining on your hip moved, brushing over the wet spot you were making in your panties. A small shout escaped you, nerves throbbing at the feeling of his thumb brushing against your clit over the thin cloth.

You looked at him, all his glory as he stared hungrily down at your panties. This thumb was brushing over your clit through your underwear, watching as the wet spot increased.

"Is it that, baby," he breathed, glancing up at your spent face. Nodding, you spread your legs further, mewling as his index finger dipped them to the side. He brushed over your fluttering hole, paying attention to the way you arched your back.

Eyes closing involuntarily, your breath hitched as you felt his two of his fingers playing at your entrance. Your thoughts jumbled, focusing only on the feeling of his digits slowly pushing in. You mewled, white heat crossing over your body as they pushed in further, beginning to slowly pumping in and out of you.

"Fuck Steve, m-more." You couldn't hold back anymore, your hand reached up to grab his at your breast. Blinking your eyes slowly, you stared into his hooded ones, watching as he removed himself from you. He fumbled at his waistline, pushing his pants low enough to free his cock, swollen and dripping with need.

You reached out to it, pulling him closer. Your lips met again, a desperate connection of the moment as his fingers rake through your hair. He tasted like spearmint and the remnants of his beer, breath heavy against yours as his cock rubbed against your center.

He pushed your white panties to the side, his cock in hand as it rubbed against your wet entrance. You couldn't get enough, arching your hips so you could feel him closer, hard and firm.

He guided himself within you, stretching you wide. You couldn't tell if it was him or you at this point, throbbing with desperation as your hips bucked wanting to feel him closer.

Steve stopped at the hilt, hips flush against yours as your legs locked behind his thighs.

"Good?" He asked, breath heavy at this point and words incoherent. He went back and forth between squeezing his eyes shut and trying to stare into yours. Your tightness throbbed around him, clouding his thoughts with the feeling of wanting to take you fast and rough.

"Yes, baby, more."

You pulled him even closer to you, the hook of your ankle rubbing against his pants bunched up at his thigh. Only now did you realize, he was still wearing his uniform, wrinkled and bunched up, exposing only his groin and the bottom of his stomach. The desperation of this moment fueling him to see you in your glory, wanting to have access to you as fast as possible. You watched as he reared his hips back only to push into you once more, slowly but feverish in their movement.

He began to roll his hips, urging moans and pants out of your mouth. He kisses them away, swallowing them as you become louder with each thrust of his hips. The pleasure fills your body, drawing you closer and closer towards that breaking point as his hips continue.

His hands are at your hips, fingers gripping your ass as you sit on the counter, sliding back and forth with each movement he makes. His nails leave little half moon marks as his knuckles grow white, fucking into you relentlessly.

Ah, fuck and yes, baby and you like that escapes his mouth, mouth agape as he watches you unfold in his grasp.

You're almost pissed off at him, at yourself, for not doing this sooner. But the thought escapes your mind, the feeling of euphoria dripping over you as he brushes over something deep inside you. Shock waves took over you as a white heat came over you, exploding and tingling throughout your spine.

Your mind was clouded as you rode through the shock waves, pulsing around him as he thrusted deeper, closer towards his own peak. A low, guttural noise escaped him as you felt him release deep inside. His chest heaves as he rides through it, burying his face into your shoulder. A bite mark was left in its place, the feeling of stickiness between your thighs as he slowly pulled out of you, leaving you with a small moan.

He brushed over your slit one more time, over stimulation coursing through you with a small yelp.

Steve's face was buried into your shoulder, nipping and kissing at the bitten skin there as the two of you struggled to catch your breath. His skin was slightly damp from the high, his chest rising and falling against yours.

"Can I tell you something, yn?" His voice was in a whisper.

You nodded, losing all words. He chuckled, leaning his head back so he could look you in your eyes.

"I knew you felt that way," he supplied, coy smile on his face. Your eyes widened as you hit his chest, laugh erupting out of him. "I felt the same."

"Steve!"

"I was just waiting for you to make the first move. I can't be King Steve when I'm with you."

[chuluoyi]

romeo and juliet

- fushiguro megumi x reader

you were both young when you first saw each other. years later, you and your gentle childhood friend fall in love... but you're betrothed to someone else.

genre/warnings: modern royal(?) au, childhood friends to lovers, soft!megumi, fluff, forbidden love, arranged marriage, mild angst, comfort

notes: i love this request!! but i don’t know if this turned out good🥲 honestly, this is what unholy matrimony would be if done right in another universe *snorts* anyways i hope i did this right! enjoy!

had to repost it 3x bcs it didn't show up in the tags😭 based on this request: “Hey, can I ask a Megumi x Reader with the plot related to “Love Story” by Taylor Swift?” thank you anon!

listen to: love story - taylor swift duh

general masterlist

Your father had always told you that you were promised to the Zen'in.

Ever since you were a child, he had groomed you to be the picture-perfect lady, and he always brought you to their ancestral home, a grand, maze-like estate you would always get lost in.

You were barely six back then, stumbling on your own feet as tears streamed down your face. You sought refuge in the gardens, hoping that someone would come to find you there eventually as you were tired of walking around.

And on that fateful day, the one who finally did was none other than the little Fushiguro Megumi, who looked at you with tilted head and confused eyes.

"Are you... okay?" he asked cautiously, and he was startled when your wide, teary eyes quickly focused on him. The next thing he knew, you immediately clung to his hand.

"I'm lost! Please help me!" you said with trembling voice, and Megumi merely blinked. This unknown girl suddenly latched onto him, well, who wouldn't be taken by surprise?

Yet, even as a child, Megumi knew how to treat someone right. Seeing you in distress, he immediately found a way to console you. "Okay... where are your parents? Let me take you back to them."

"I... don't know..."

He sighed. You were a stone throw away from bursting into tears, and he didn't want that. He had to find another way. "Don't be scared. This place seems scary, but it's not."

You scrunched your face, tears already pooling in your eyes. "How is it not scary? There are so many windows and leaves! This is more like a jungle rather than a house!"

"Well..." Megumi wracked his head and a light bulb went off in his head when he caught the sight of the flowers. He pointed at a pot of roses. "Look, they're actually quite pretty, right?"

At that very moment, your focus was completely captured by the flourishing plant, and your eyes practically shimmered with delight.

Little Megumi thought then, that you were quite lovely.

And your friendship started then, as he took you by the arm to lead you to the main foyer.

Years flew by, and the only thing that made it bearable to pay a visit to the Zen'in was meeting Megumi. You both would explore various hidden corners and knew every nook and cranny of the place. And when you reached your teens, the "playing" was replaced by studying in the library together.

"Hrrrgh, why—can't—I—reach—"

You gritted your teeth in frustration as you attempted to pull the book from the top shelf, only to fail miserably. Your were too short. But you refused to surrender, standing on your tiptoes once more, you stretched your hand as far as it would go.

Suddenly, the scent of fresh roses filled the air, accompanied by a warm presence behind you. Your back made contact with him, and a longer hand effortlessly retrieved the book you desired.

"If you're having a hard time, ask me for help, dummy," Megumi shook his head and handed you the book. "Here."

"Thank you," you pouted. Despite the frequent close proximity between you two, you still found yourself feeling giddy.

Megumi was always like this though. He was curt, but he cares. He would often cheer you up whenever you father smothered you with the talk that he couldn't wait for the day you would be living at the Zen'in estate and became their bride. He would get you flowers, let you put your head on his shoulder, or quietly watch as you cried, offering his silent presence.

You really, really hoped that if you were to be married off to the Zen'in, it would be to Megumi. He was easily the boy you'd pick over Naoya, the son of the main branch of family. You were never close to him, the way he stared at you sure gave you the creeps.

"I can ask for your help anytime, right, Megumi?" you mused, observing his cool profile as he turned the page of the book he was reading.

He regarded you with the straightest face ever. "Of course. I have always helped you since we were kids. Why wouldn't I do that now?"

"Then..." you breathed. "Can you take me somewhere... anywhere, just away from all of this?"

Megumi stilled. He knew about the conflicts in your heart. He knew you hated being played as a pawn in your father's schemes, and he hated that too, because he simply didn't like how sad it made you.

And he hated that there was the looming possibility that you might be out of his reach far sooner than he thought.

"Sure," he answered. "Where do you wanna go?"

And then, you began to do just that. Sneaking out to the gardens, finding secret meeting spots in the town—because you were dead if anyone should know.

Before you knew it, you both had each other's hearts entirely in your hands—before you knew it, his face was mere inches from yours as you both concealed yourselves behind a large cluster of foliage in the Zen'in gardens, your father and the Zen'in clan head engrossed in a conversation just a few feet away.

Your clear, wide eyes blinked up at him, and Megumi gulped. At that moment, he realized once again that you, his childhood friend, were really stunning. And that you trusted him wholeheartedly enough to go with him and be found in this position, with him.

He couldn't deny it any longer. He was in love with you. Have been for a while now.

And so even with the great risk of being found out, he led you deeper into the woods, his arm wrapped around the small of your back, and with a soft tug, he planted the gentlest, sweetest kiss on your lips—your very first kiss. Everything was sealed then.

"So, do you say yes, or not?" he mumbled afterwards, his cheeks burst into the color of peach. Meanwhile you, still breathless, touched your lips in astonishment.

"You..." you couldn't help the grin that was blooming in your face. "You like me?"

He turned away. "Who wouldn't? After making me run after you, lead you to safe places, see you cry—"

"Okay, okay!" you giggled, and the sound was like music to his ears. "Then it's a yes!"

You were the happiest with him. Amidst the intrigues surrounding you and the Zen'in clan, the times you spent with him were your saving grace.

"Am I pretty?" you boldly twirled in front of him, after meeting up at the outskirts of the town in one of your escapades. Megumi watched you from head to toe, taking note of how your flare dress hugged your form so elegantly, and the straw hat that framed your head only made you look even more adorable.

He didn't immediately answer, and when he did, all with red cheeks, you smiled brightly, expecting a compliment.

"Don't do that. People are looking. You're embarrassing yourself."

You pouted. "So I'm not pretty..."

To your surprise, he suddenly plucked your hat and pulled you behind the pillar, and then the round hat was beside your head, hiding your face—

And he stole a kiss.

"Megumi!" you jolted, blood quickly rushed to your beautiful face. "This is public place!"

His soft chuckle only served to make your heart soar even higher.

You were living the dream, with the man of your dreams beside you. This love story no one knew, you were content with it.

"By this point, all there's left to do is run," you heaved between chuckles and his feathery kisses as the two of you hid away to have your thirst in the gardens. "Can't we just run, Megumi?"

"I would, if I could," he gazed at you with a steadfast resolve. "Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess, somehow."

This love is difficult. But it's real.

But so was your father. And his will. In the summer of your coming of age, it was decided that you were going to marry Zen'in Naoya.

Your love story with Megumi... would it end just like that?

"Please, don't go!" you begged. You could hardly believe this situation right now. What did he say? End things here—?

Megumi felt his heart clench. "It's been announced already. You are to marry him. We can... no longer do this."

"But!" you argued. "You s-said... you would find a way out of it somehow..."

Your eyes glazed over, and Megumi had to look away to keep his heart from breaking completely. "I'm sorry."

At the end of the day, he was still a mere son of the branch family and stood no chance against Naoya. If you were to become the bride of his cousin, even he had to respect that.

Your heart shattered into pieces. This day had been looming on the horizon, and you'd been aware of it for some time. Your father didn't exactly conceal his greed with how he insisted on your marriage to Naoya to secure your position as the clan's main wife, instead of Megumi.

Yet it still hurt. You didn’t expect your happiness to he this fleeting, and you were disappointed that Megumi didn’t exactly fight his way through this.

“It’s… for your own good,” he added, and grimaced when he saw how you started sobbing. “I don’t want to compromise your virtue. It'll get ugly fast if people think that we're having… dalliances. You deserve better—”

"Don't patronize me!" you yelled. "Don't t-try... to tell me how to feel!"

Frankly, you never cared about virtues or anything. Most of choices made in your life weren't yours, and if you could finally make a decision through jeopardizing your fickle reputation, then so be it.

"I love you too much to let that happen," Megumi said then, baring his own feelings, that he too, didn't want this any more than you did. "You know I would do anything for you."

"All there's left to do is run," you sniffled. "If you would do anything for me, you would run with me."

Just say yes, your little heart screamed. You stared at him through your wet lashes, desperately willing him to just forget all this nonsense about family, virtue, and just choose love—your love.

But he never did. That day, he decided to leave you. This love was indeed difficult, but you really thought it was real, and now you had never felt so alone.

Days went by longer after that. Now that it had been announced to the public, as per Naoya’s will, you would move into the Zen’in estate until the day of your marriage. You resented and barely knew him, and your gut feeling was proven true when he smirked before you, pulling you into one of the hidden compartments of this godforsaken place.

“Don’t think I didn’t know about what you and he were up to,” he spat viciously. “You should’ve already known that you are always meant to be my wife—and what did you do? You’re putting me to shame as you and that lesser bastard run around.”

“He would always be better than you,” you bitterly scoffed.

“Get it through your head already, you’re to become my wife, and that’s final.”

“You can’t do anything if I don’t want to anyway. Beware of upcoming scandals in the future.”

And with that, came the first day of your misery. Naoya locked you up in that desolate place.

You were missing.

Megumi had noticed it for quite a while. Even if you were no longer his, his heart still longed for yours, and ultimately he wanted to make sure if you were okay. You moving in into his home should increase the chances of him seeing you, and yet, it was as if you had disappeared into the thin air.

It was an understatement to say that he was just worried. He knew Naoya wasn’t exactly the kindest in this household, but he really expected him to at least treat you right.

He still remembered how the tears fell from your beautiful eyes, telling him not to go. Megumi was as heartbroken as you, if not more. He had the choice when you asked him to run, yet he willingly stopped and did what he believed to be the right thing.

Was this still the right thing though?

As the maids hurried past, yelling something that vaguely sounded like your name and the phrase "starving herself!", Megumi felt his blood run cold. Without hesitation, he forcefully grabbed one of them, demanding answers.

“Where is she? What happened to her?”

The maid merely cowered with worry and fear. “Master Naoya… specifically instructed us not to let the miss pass freely…”

Megumi didn’t quite recall what he did, but he couldn't forget the frantic pounding of his heart as he rushed through the gardens to find you in the small room tucked away in the farthest corner of the vast compound, near the servants' dormitory. He practically tore the door off its hinges when he opened it.

You abruptly spun around to face the commotion, thinking that it may be your shitty fiancé, utterly bewildered.

Megumi scrutinized you closely, and gradually, he could feel his anger simmering beneath the surface.

You were pale, your hair was a disheveled mess, but what truly infuriated him was the sight of your broken nails and the dried blood. All he could think of was that you probably tried to claw your way out of this place.

"Megumi?" your voice sounded too hoarse to his liking. You looked at him as if you couldn't believe he was real. His heart shattered.

He shouldn't have left you. He should've run with you. You shouldn't have to be alone and hurt like this.

"Save me," you croaked with small voice, eyes brimming with unshed tears and fear.

That did it. When he heard the approaching rapid footsteps, he made the swiftest, life-changing decision of his life.

He caught a hold of your arm, and pinned you to the wall. And when the entirety of the household arrived in your doorstep, Naoya included, he made it a show as if the two of you were having the most scandalous tryst of the town.

"This ends here," he grunted, casting a glare at his rotten cousin. "I'm marrying her."

"I got tired of waiting, you know," you giggled, peering at your beloved's sullen face. "My faith faded at one point."

Megumi hummed, clasping his hand in yours. "I'm sorry."

You rolled your eyes, staring at the clear waters under the cruise. "I kept waiting, but you never came... and when you did, you caused us to make the headlines."

Your wedding to Megumi was both the grand event and scandal of the year. The sudden change of groom on such short notice triggered disapproving glances from most of the people you knew in this infuriating town, but frankly, you didn't care.

"I thought you wouldn't fight for me at all,” you mumbled, fiddling with your fingers.

"I've always believed that if it would make you happy in the end, I would be fine with it," Megumi said, gently tucking your hair behind your ear as the wind swept by.

"And then? What made you finally let go of that righteous, self-sacrificing thoughts?"

The softest smile was graced his lips. "I love you, and that's all I really know."

You didn't give a damn about what anyone else had to say because, in this moment—as you sailed on your honeymoon cruise, and throughout this love story, from your childhood and forevermore, he is the prince, and you are his princess.

[radiowallet]

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Pairing: Dieter Bravo x Marcus Moreno Summary: Dieter takes Marcus to a party in the valley. WC: 4.5K Warnings: 18+ MDNI Sexual content. Exclusive M/M dynamics. Written in third-person POV, male protagonists. Anal sex, dirty talk, kissing, cum play, semi-public sex. Small angsty moments. Yearning. So much yearning. AU Marcus Moreno (no wife, no Missy). A lot of purple prose and waxing poetic.

A/N: Hi, hello, it's been a very very long time since I've shared any writing here. I don't have any good excuses other than real-life stressors, mental health and anxiety, and the overall stress of being on Tumblr really really got to me. I'm trying to ease my way back in. Slowly. I've really enjoyed catching up on all the amazing fics you guys have been writing. Thank you to everyone, still here or otherwise. Even when I was off dealing with irl stuff, I could feel the support.

Pretend Alleyways Masterlist II Main Masterlist

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Marcus chewed at his nail bed, surveying the house from the backseat of his Uber. It was hardly the first time he’d pulled up to the Sherman Oaks home. He was comfortable with the routine at this point. Tapping in the code for the front gate with practiced ease. The same one Dieter had scribbled onto the back page of a forgotten script after that first night together in New York City, his cell ringing incessantly from his back pocket, a car waiting down the curb to whisk him away. Marcus swore he could still taste the mint and menthol on the actor’s breath when he stepped in close and pressed the paper into his hands, kissing him until his toes curled. 

“Please say you’ll come visit.”

After that, it had been one strategically planned visit after the other. Marcus was almost mathematical in his process, arranging flights out west around his patrol schedule, switching shifts, and taking on extra duties just to rationalize the time away. Burning the candle at both ends but not caring even in the slightest, happy to run his tank on empty. He’d drive all fucking night if it meant more time with Dieter. 

So he took to the task with a vigilant level of focus, texting details and arrival times, the actor responding with a barrage of emojis, always ending with a heart. 

Marcus liked the way the little pixelated picture made his stomach flip.

Once together, it became less of a routine and more of a dance, the two of them falling into an easy rhythm that Marcus had no desire to predict. They would lose themselves in each other, wrapping tightly around the other, the heat impossible to turn away from. There were late nights and early mornings, the color of the sun replacing the hours on the clock. Sometimes, he would give up on sleep all together, content to match the actor’s eccentricities, watching Dieter move from room to room, minute to minute, until the other man would return to his arms. 

But as each visit came to a close, Marcus would find himself falling back on easy habits, his mind already making plans and rearranging schedules, focusing on that instead of the overbearing weight of goodbye. 

In the middle of one farewell, Dieter had grinned and nipped at his bottom lip, a tease curling around the curve of his cheek. 

“Don’t worry so much about the vigilante shit, sweet boy. You’re welcome anytime.”

Marcus had frowned at that, but Dieter was unfazed, humming an off-key pop song under his breath before giving one more piece of advice. 

Be spontaneous. 

Marcus had gnawed on those two words the entire plane ride home, the concept both enticing and diabolical at once. He imagined all the ways he would have spoiled Dieter if they lived in the same zip code. Spur of the moment cups of coffee, flowers just because, nights in and out and everything in between. But even those daydreams felt out of reach, Marcus unable to let go of the need to control everything. Everything. Everything that he possibly could. 

Except Deiter Bravo. 

The actor was bound for overseas, a six-month shoot looming ahead, lonely and large. They had spent the weekend before much the same way they had any other. Twisted together, sweat and cum and lips and hands pressed into bare skin, ignoring the ticking of traitorous time. Cruel miles were taking the other man away from him, and Marcus couldn’t stop the swell of jealous fear flaring inside his heart. 

Would he even be missed when the whole luminous, wonderful, exciting world was waiting for Dieter on the other side of the tarmac? 

A deep cough from the front seat dragged him back to the present, and before he could second guess himself again, Marcus climbed out of the car, tapping out five stars with one hand and grabbing his overnight bag with the other. He hesitated, just the smallest moment of debate, before he knocked, three sharp raps on the large black door. There was a shout from inside, Dee’s voice alerting someone he would get it, a breath and a curse as the lock was fiddled with, and then they were standing face to face after only 39 hours apart. 

Dieter seemed shocked to see him and he didn't bother hiding it, his jaw dropping in time with his arms, the shirt he had been buttoning hanging open to reveal his bare chest. Marcus couldn’t help but steal a glance of tan skin and a soft belly, licking his lips in anticipation. When Dee called his attention back up, the other man was smiling wide. 

“This is…”

“A surprise?”

“A great fucking surprise.” 

It was almost a blur after that. Fumbling hands and broken laughter as they came together in a messy kiss. They managed to make it up the stairs and down the hall, Dieter’s bed barely breaking their fall. 

Marcus wanted to take his time, should have been taking his time, but Dieter’s voice was in his ear, thanking him — thanking him? — for showing up tonight. Thanking him and begging him and pressing salt-slicked lips into the curve of his neck. And before he could breathe the other man in, savor the moment that was coming out of nowhere, they stripped away each and every layer, Dieter panting beneath the hurried press of Marcus’s fingers deep inside. 

Sooner rather than later, Marcus was sliding into the other man one final time, their hips flush and their fingers laced. He came with a groan, face buried into the dip of Dieter’s neck, while the actor sunk his teeth into his shoulder, the pleasure burning away into the edges of pain. Only after they both found their breath, bodies pliant and limbs loose, did Marcus find his voice. 

“Do you want to order in?”

Dieter didn’t say anything and Marcus craned his neck up to peek past the other man’s chin and catch a glimpse of him worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“Did you already eat? Because that’s okay.”

“No…,” he started, fingers tracing a line of muscle from the top of his shoulder and back around, lingering along the teeth marks he left there only minutes earlier. “I haven’t eaten. I…there’s this thing I have to….well, not have to. I was getting ready for it when you knocked—“

“Dee?”

“There’s a party,” he finally blurted out, eyes finding the swing of the ceiling fan above, a grimace pulling his lips into a jagged line, a deep shade of pink settling on his cheeks. 

Marcus leaned up on his elbow, watching the small battle of wills dragging across Dieter’s face. He thought maybe he should try to comfort the other man but he was suddenly anxious, those creeping realities working their way up his spine. 

“A party?”

“Yeah, it’s sort of this farewell thing my friends are throwing,” he explained, not needing to. “Really, just an excuse to get blitzed.” 

The lack of eye contact suddenly made much more sense. 

“You wanted to go.”

It wasn’t a question. 

Dieter was up and over him in a flash, one large hand bending around Marcus’s jaw, thumb pressing the seam of his lips shut. “I didn’t want to be alone.” 

Marcus pursed his lips, the pad of Dieter’s thumb still pressing firm. He felt the callous from where Dee cheated his paintbrush, a perfect spot to push a kiss before pulling away. 

“You want to go.”  

Dieter searched his face, eyes wide and cheeks flushed, trying to pull apart the determined set of Marcus’s jaw. When he came up empty-handed, he fell back to his elbows with an exaggerated sigh, one large hand still cupping the cut of the hero’s cheekbone, keeping his thumb close enough to touch. 

“I want to go with you.” 

———————

Marcus smiled from where he was leaning against the doorway, watching Dieter rummage through his ridiculously sized closet, a string of muttered musings leaving him as he pulled item after item off of hangers. The Heroic had slipped back into his jeans and t-shirt once the decision had been made that they would attend the party together, not really packing (or owning) anything that fit the L.A. scene. 

He was two steps towards the bathroom, intent on fixing his messy hair when Dee stopped him with a strong grip on his elbow. 

“Leave it,” he teased, a quick kiss pressed to his lips, fingers tugging at one of the sweat-slicked curls. 

Now he was standing behind him, sliding a stone-washed jean jacket up one arm and then the other, one more kiss, this time gifted to the back of his neck. The jacket hangs a bit loose around him, Marcus guessing a mix between the cut and style, and Dieter’s broader frame both at play. He couldn’t help himself, tugging the collar to his nose and inhaling deeply, the smell of weed and cologne and something subtle sweet filling his lungs. 

He felt Dieter’s eyes, watching him carefully in the reflection of the mirror, his hands finding the dip of his waist beneath the bulky fabric, gripping hard then soft, one, two, three times. Marcus took in the pair of them — sex-mussed hair and bright blush on him, wild eyes, and a teasing smile on Dieter — and he suddenly had no desire to go to this party. Any party. 

No. 

All he wanted was for Dieter to pull this jacket off the same way he had so easily slipped it on, and drag him back down to the safety of the mattress. 

“Come on, sweet boy,” he hummed, the hook of his nose tracing the shell of Marcus’s ear. “Sooner we get there, sooner I get to take you home.”

The word followed Marcus down the stairs and out to the car, his stomach flipping each time he let the meaning of it roll around inside his head.

Home?

———————

Driving in L.A. was an experience in and of itself. Marcus had made his own attempts, managing to find a rhythm in the few times he had been sent out to the west coast on assignment. It wasn’t much different than driving in any other city, as long as you were prepared to sit in what felt like endless hours of traffic. Of course, Marcus had the pleasure of abusing side streets and off-ramps when it came down to emergency situations. 

Driving with Dieter behind the wheel was a different experience altogether. He seemed unfettered by speed limits or traffic lights, one hand on the wheel, the other wrapped around Marcus’s knee, singing along to the song on the radio but only getting about half the words right. If not for his powers and years of honing his reflexes, Marcus would have maybe suggested he do the driving when he was in town. 

As it was, it was nice to settle into the plush leather seat and listen to Dieter’s slightly off-key voice, his hand squeezing Marcus’s knee in time with the beat of the music. He leaned back and closed his eyes, weighing the risk of asking Dieter to just keep driving. Maybe if they kept going, all night and all day, they could avoid the inevitable goodbyes looming in the distance.

———————

The last time Marcus and Dieter had been at a party together, they had only ever heard of each other, recognizing names and faces from newspapers and movie screens. They didn’t know any different than what was said in headlines or plastered on billboards, rumors and hearsay coloring in their opinions of one another. How many assumptions had Marcus made about the actor upon that first meeting? That he was pompous. Self-centered. Selfish. An addict. An asshole. A monster. 

Or maybe Marcus was afraid that was how Dieter saw him. 

The monster in the night. The shadow that lurked in the corner. Fighting away the evils of the world, the palms of his hands so very dirty with blood and secrets and violence. Living in the between of good and bad and never knowing where he really stood.

But when their eyes met across that darkened alley, only the glow of Dieter’s cigarette casting shadows between them, those half-truths and packaged lies that Marcus took for granted started to fall away. Somewhere between their small secrets and one smokey kiss goodnight, he started to learn who Dieter Bravo really was. 

This party was different in so many ways than that first elegant affair. Gone was the light classical music, replaced with something loud, a heavy bass and fast lyrics. Bowls of chips instead of passed trays. Stiff black and white was traded in for soft denim, Dieter’s scent surrounding Marcus from room to room. They entered the party together, no longer separate, no longer strangers, and instead more.

So much more.

Dieter’s arm was wrapped around Marcus’s waist, holding him close by his side as they navigated the packed mansion. The crowd parted around them, little waves of people ebbing and flowing to make room for the two men, boisterous cheers of joy raining down upon them. Dieter preened beneath the attention, his smile wide and his cheeks warm, the hand wrapped around Marcus’s waist squeezing hard to grab the Heroic’s attention. 

“They like to make a fuss,” he hummed into Marcus’s ear. 

He couldn’t help but cock his own grin back, turning his head just enough to brush his lips along the shell of Dieter’s ear, delighting in the shiver that followed. “I think you like the fuss.” 

———————

They get separated about an hour in, an inevitability between the number of people vying for Dieter’s attention and the sheer size of the house. Marcus excused himself to the bathroom, trying and failing not to be annoyed when the first empty one he found was on the opposite end of the party. By the time he made it back to where he left Dieter, the other man had moved, now sitting on a couch, friends and fans alike draped around him. 

There was something strange about watching Dieter Bravo in what some would consider his natural habitat. He was bright and shiny and impossible to look away from. He almost looked relaxed, his arms thrown over the back of the sofa and his legs stretched out long, only the tap tap tap of his heel giving him away.

Marcus wanted to insert himself. To crowd himself beside the other man and press his palm to the bend of his knee in hopes of soothing away the small tremor of anxiety, but he hesitated, his own worries holding him in place. So he stayed where he was, back glued to the wall, arms crossed and frown firm, as he tried to decipher the scene playing out in front of him. 

Was Dieter’s laugh real just then? Or was the one Marcus had teased out of him hours prior? The sounds seemed so similar, a copy of a copy that looked and felt and sounded real. Were his cheeks pink because he preferred their attention over Marcus’s? Or was it because this room was too damn hot? What did it mean when Dieter touched her knee? Or kissed his cheek? Or leaned a little bit more into their touch? 

And why did Marcus care? 

He didn’t consider himself a jealous man. 

But it almost felt inevitable, the dark tendrils of jealousy seemingly always present, ever since that fateful moment in the alleyway, smoke and secrets traded away for unspoken promises for more. Marcus clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes, watching the other man glow beneath the attention of others. Was it merely a reflection back of the attention poured upon him? The mirrors of a disco ball catching in the light and shining for the delight of others? Or was Dieter just enjoying another moment in the limelight? 

Marcus couldn’t seem to see the line between real and fake, or what side he stood on. 

Someone handed him a drink in the midst of his brooding, and the sting of the alcohol paired well with his bitter mood. He was trapped in a hell of his own making, refusing to look away from the crowd gathered around Dieter, but hating every second of it. 

The jealousy burned inside of him. What had just been something dark mingling in the background was now present and in full force. Marcus was jealous. Jealous at how effortlessly Dieter lived his life, able to navigate crowds and fame and fervor without ever breaking a sweat. Jealous at how his smile seemed just as bright as it had when he opened his door hours earlier. Jealous at how someone else held the attention of his sweet brown eyes. 

And suddenly there was fear. Icy cold and horrifying reality. 

Marcus didn’t belong here. Here with these pretty people and their clean lines and bright lights. He was messy edges and dirty hands, stained with years of violence that would never scrub clean. There was dirt on his ledger and red on his chest, and Dieter was beautiful. So very very beautiful.

Another wave of panic gripped tight at Marcus’s throat. 

When was the last time he told Dieter he was beautiful? Yesterday? Or the day before that? Either way, it wasn’t enough. Not nearly. And he couldn’t fathom a world where he lost the chance to say it again. 

He couldn’t lose this. He couldn’t lose him. 

The lights above them flickered, an unwelcome side effect of his superpowers, Marcus’s unruly emotions too much to handle all at once. It was just enough to drag everyone’s attention up, stealing their eyes away from Dieter, but only briefly. The actor caught his gaze in the small interim, brows pinched and lips curved, his sharp mind putting the puzzle together. Marcus blushed beneath the scrutiny, feeling very much like a child caught in the midst of a crime. He slammed the cup down on the nearest surface he could find and shoved his dirty hands in the pockets of Dieter’s jacket, and turned away, the lights flickering one last time as he made a quick and embarrassing exit. 

From behind he could hear the shout of a stranger.

“Hey, Dee where’s your boyfriend headed?”

Marcus was so focused on the fact that someone else called him ‘Dee’ that he missed the way Dieter's eyes lit up at the word boyfriend.

The bathroom he had found earlier was blissfully empty, and he took care to lock the door behind him. He braced himself against the sink, the cool porcelain a balm to the heat of his palms, breathing in and out, sharp and fast, to match the beat of his heart. A knock came seconds later, Dieter’s voice chasing the sound. 

“Let me in, Marcus.”

It didn’t sound like a request.

Marcus unlocked the door with a flick of his wrist, and the actor slipped in, eyes pinning him in place as he locked the door behind him. For a moment both of them refused to speak, 2 feet of space between them, and enough silence to last a lifetime. It was Dieter who finally broke the tension, stepping forward until Marcus was within his reach, the palm of his hand cupping his cheek to keep him close.

“Flattered as I am, I can’t decide if I like jealous on you or not.” 

Marcus knew it was foolish to lie at this point. If his fucking superpowers hadn’t given him away, then storming off surely had, and any denial would have rung hollow. Besides, they had promised. Months ago, in an opulent hotel room, cum and sweat sticking them together. They promised to always be honest with each other. 

“I don’t belong here, Dee.”

“Shut up.” The sentiment came out as a tease, the tip of Dieter’s thumb tracing the stubble along Marcus’s cheek, but the look on his face was serious. 

Marcus shook his head, unsure how to say what had seemed so clear to him only minutes ago. “I’m not…I’m not g–”

“I swear to fucking all, if you say the word ‘good,’ Moreno.”

His mouth clamped shut, and he smiled for the first time since he left Dieter’s side earlier in the night. The other man yanked him in for a quick kiss, only pulling a breath away when he spoke again.

“You are better than all of us, sweet boy. Please tell me you know that?”

Marcus wanted to shake his head in disagreement, the very idea that Dieter saw the good in him too much to bear, but the actor was already kissing him again, lips slanting sweetly along his own. When they broke apart for the second time, Dieter said it again, and then again, each time pairing a kiss with his words. Marcus thought maybe he would have kissed him a hundred times and then a hundred more, praise and adoration passed between them until the inevitable end of time caught up. 

But then Dieter crowded in closer, kissing him with much more fervor, his intent clear. Hands scrambled as belts were tugged free and pants were pulled down, bodies twisting until Marcus was plastered to Dieter’s back. He slipped inside the broader man easily, still slick with his release from earlier. Dieter whined at the stretch, pressing back into Marcus, fingers curling around the edge of the bathroom counter as he began to beg. 

“Hard, baby. Please.”

Marcus nipped at Dieter’s ear, refusing to move, the entire length of him buried to the hilt inside him. “How hard?” 

“Hard,” Dieter begged again, squirming in Marcus’s tight grip. “Hard as you can. Need to feel you. F-feel so good.”

It was an intoxicating rush, reducing Dieter Bravo to stumbling pleas and wanton moans, and Marcus swore as long as he was able to pull air into his lungs he refused to take that feeling for granted. He pressed a soft kiss to Dieter’s skin and gently nudged his nose to the back of his head, coaxing his gaze up to meet Marcus’s in the mirror. 

He dragged his hand up Dieter’s chest, stopping to feel the steady thump of his heart, one, two, three beats, before moving up to wrap his fingers around the other man’s throat. He whined again, writhing to and fro, the sound more pitiful with each passing second that Marcus refused to move. 

“I’ve got you, mi cielo. I’ve got you,” he hummed the promise, pressing another kiss to Dieter’s sweat-damp curls. He squeezed the actor’s throat again, watching as his cock seemed to pulse in time with the action. He bit back his own groan, his own cock painfully hard where he was buried inside the other man. 

“M-marcus…please…”

When he finally moved, it was slow, almost torturous for the both of them, but Marcus refused to be rushed. Not this time. Fuck any and everyone who dared to knock on that door. That dared to interrupt them. That dared to break between this moment. He pulled the other man closer, one arm wrapped around his waist, the other still gripping tight to his throat. Dieter’s hands were still scrambling, designer soaps and over-priced products falling to the floor as he seeked some sort of leverage. He finally found it, stonewashed denim bunching between his fingers as he dug them into Marcus’s forearms.

And only then did Marcus give into his request, snapping his hips as hard as he could, teeth sinking into the curve of Dieter’s neck. There would be bruises, bad ones, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, too overwhelmed at the thought of marking the other man as his own. Dieter didn’t seem to mind either, begging Marcus again and again to give him everything he had. 

“Want to feel it,” he sobbed, the pleasure just on the other side of pain. “Want to feel you when I’m gone. Please.” 

“You will, baby. I promise,” Marcus growled. “You’ll feel me for days. You won’t forget me. P-please… don’t forget me.” 

The admission fell out of Marcus before he could stop it, along with his own broken sobs to match. The pain and tears burst to life, the broken pieces he had hidden all over his body finding new life as he begged Dieter to take it all with him. Each slam of his hips and bruising touch of his hands. Every bite from his teeth and kiss from his lips. The words and the promises and the things neither of them knew how to say but felt all the same. 

“Take me with you, Dee. Please, take me with you.” 

“I will, sweet boy,” he gasped, his body shaking beneath Marcus’s anguished hands. “Sweet boy. Good boy. I promise.”  

Dieter came first, though Marcus wasn’t sure how, his sobs and sighs of pleasure long past any sort of coherence. His cock twitched and pulsed, coming completely untouched. Marcus watched Dieter’s face break apart in the reflection of the mirror, his brown eyes wild and skin flushed, lips parting around a feral scream. 

Marcus fell apart in kind, sparks of heat bursting at the base of his spine as tight velvet squeezed around him, Dieter’s voice in his ear, his jacket sticking to his skin. He spilled inside the other man, tears and spit and snot pressed into Dieter’s neck, little words of praise coaxing him through the brunt of it. Eventually, the tears turned to laughter, the two of them clinging tighter as they made guesses at how many people heard them.

“Either way, I hope they enjoyed the show because I sure did,” Dieter teased, nipping his teeth on the hinge of Marcus’s jaw. 

They did a piss poor job of cleaning up, Dee’s cum barely wiped clean from the porcelain with a towel found below the counter, too high a thread count for something so filthy but neither man really gave two shits to look for an alternative. The products were tossed haphazardly into the sink, the idea of stacking them neatly ridiculous. They both agreed; you get what you ask for when you throw a party in the valley. 

Marcus took better care when it came time to clean Dieter up. He warmed up the water from the sink as best he could, using that same fancy towel from before to wipe up the trickle of cum slipping slowly down his backside. He couldn’t stop from stealing one small indulgence, using his thumb to press some of himself back inside the other man, Dieter’s legs visibly shaking from the sudden stimulation. Marcus shushed him with a soft kiss to one of the many bite marks littered across his neck, humming out a quiet apology.

“Do they hurt?”

“They do,” Dieter grinned, tilting his chin to admire the marks as he tugged his jeans up over the swell of his ass. “I’m gonna need a few more before I get on that plane tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmmm, definitely.” 

Dieter pressed something hard into Marcus’s hand and when he looked down he could see it was his car keys, the silver teeth catching in the light. 

“Take me home, sweet boy. I have plans for you.”

There was that word again, breathed out so easily, like a promise he knew he would keep. 

Home. 

[peanutpinet]

I Got You | Mafia! Johnny Suh x Undercover Agent Fem Reader

Pairing: Mafia Johnny Suh x Undercover Fem Reader

Warnings: mention of torture/abuse, strong language, illegal activities, slight angst, minor character death, cursing (?)

A/N: hello everyone!! I live, don't fret :) I know it's been a while since I wrote a fic and this is actually my first mafia Johnny fic. After so long of wanting to write a mafia Johnny T^T Was heavily inspired by my dream that I had of Johnny ehehehe. Also, special thanks to @anya-writes-stuff for helping me figure out the plot 🥹🫶

Synopsis: you had always thought that you were working for the right people for the right purpose but it was all just a big act, making you realise that the right person was the one that you had to leave after an incident

Slight inspiration from the K-drama: My Name :)

Never in your life did you think that you had to be running from people who were said to “protect” the regular citizens from all the human trafficking, drug dealers, slavery or even mafias and yakuzas..

You had always played the good role of bringing justice to all the wrongdoings. Corruption, drug dealing, illegal clubs, brothels to even mafia leaders. One by one, you managed to take down and bring justice.

However, what you failed to notice was the agency that you were brought in to take down all these injustice actions. At first, you were too focused on building yourself to be able to take down all those crimes that you failed to know how your agency was able to keep standing.

Years later you finally find out how did your agency manage to gain the amount of money to sustain itself and even earn much more with every criminal behind bars. They didn’t just get the money for sending the criminals to jail. Heck, the majority of these criminals didn’t even end up in jail with how the government allows the agency do as they please as long as the criminals are out of the picture, especially during times like elections.

Upon looking up on the next target of the agency did you find out the full plan that they always have been using. They take down the target from the inside out, pretending as if the criminal is being taken to court to get the official punishment but somehow between those time, there was always news about the criminal being found dead before the trial, hence all the money that they earn were “returned to the victims” when in reality, the whole set up was from the agency and the whole “giving the money back to the victims” were just a lie because the agency took more than half of the money for themselves.

At first, you didn’t want to believe it until you were assigned to be the main leader for the next mission, targeting the CEO of a media company who just happens to be your high school lover, your childhood best friend, Johnny Suh.

Johnny Suh was a name that everyone in Chicago knew. He wasn’t just known as the hot young rich bachelor who just happens to be the CEO of an entire media company. But rumour has it that he was one of the big bosses of a worldwide mafia that somehow managed to spread throughout China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Thailand and even in the US.

Both you and Johnny have a long history. The two of you became friends the day you suddenly moved next door to Johnny’s house in Chicago. You were practically doubted as peanut butter and jam back during junior high up until high school.

Unfortunately, it was during high school that you encountered the most painful moment in your life that made you join the agency in the first place. When your parents were killed by a group of drug dealers. And while Johnny and his family were more than willing to take you in, before they could officially be your guardian, you were already taken in by the agency, not even bidding Johnny or his family goodbye.

Ever since, you lost contact with Johnny, his family and your old friends. You weren’t so much close with your relatives as they all lived in different countries and by the time the news of your parents reached them, you had already had a change in identity and was nowhere to be found.

The one time you and Johnny had an encounter after the incident was actually in a club sometime after a dinner event. You had just arrived after getting news that a mafia and his friends were ambushed and some might got injured so you were told to find them. But what you weren’t expecting was to find Johnny, your childhood best friend, clutching onto his right hip.

You weren’t sure if Johnny got involved in the ambush. Perhaps he was the one that made the ambush in the first place and got shot. But the other part of your brain told you that he could be the mafia that your agency was looking for. Either way, you wanted to know the answer from Johnny himself and not anyone else.

That is why that day, you told your team that you didn’t find anyone and just some drunken man in the bathroom, quickly wrapping things up from the club. Concluding that the mafia must’ve called backup the second the ambush happened. When in reality, you actually helped them escape; even if you did it just to meet Johnny again on your terms.

Unfortunately, here you are, years later, finally finding out the truth about your agency and Johnny. However, you didn’t know what got to you when your agency confronted you about refusing to be the leader of the mission to take Johnny down. Maybe it was because of the fact that you found the truth of your agency or the idea that you wanted the truth from Johnny as a friend, not as a foe.

You didn’t know how you manage to survive through all the torture they put you through or even how you managed to escape. But one thing was for sure, you weren’t going to let them get to Johnny first. Not when he is the last person you have left. The last person you could trust. Even if you don’t really fully know him as well as you thought. You had to find him and warn him on what you know.

Lucky for you, Johnny was known more as a CEO so you easily found the company that he runs and somehow, managed to sneak past everyone and made your way to try and find Johnny’s office.

However, you didn’t realise that you were actually being followed by the people of your agency. Fortunately, before they could get to you, Johnny himself found you first; especially when his secretary told him that someone by the initial (Y/N) was looking for him. The second he heard your original name, he knew something was off. In fact, ever since your sudden disappearance, Johnny has never stopped looking for you. Even when he became the CEO, taking over his parents’ company.

The night you saved him, Johnny swore that he would never have you leave his sight ever again. Even when he was being treated, he had every tech person in NCT Mafia to find you and honestly, he was quite shocked to find out that you were working for that damn corrupted agency.

“Bringing people to justice, my ass. All they do is look like a hero but is pretty much just as corrupted as everyone else” Johnny scoffed when he found out

Even so, Johnny was sure that with enough convincing, you would leave the agency and he could finally have you in his arms, safe and loved, just as he always wanted ever since the incident. What he wasn’t expecting was for you to come to him because he was just about ready to find you and convince you; even if he had to beg for it.

Multiple thoughts were running through Johnny’s mind with every step he took to finally see you again. He only hoped that you’ve been well and holding on until he could get you. But as he walked past within the building his family owns, he noticed that there were several unfamiliar faces. Without thinking twice, he called for security to “handle” the situation and “show” how they do things around here.

Once that’s done, Johnny finally managed to find you. Though, in a state that he never wanted to see. Not before the incident, not now, not ever. Without warning, Johnny crept up behind you, his steps startling you that had you backed up against his desk. Noticing your trembling self, Johnny was reminded of the time where you had to deal with everything yourself. No. Johnny promise himself, his parents and your parents that he would take care of you.

Letting out a sigh, Johnny closed and locked the office door and gently made his way to where you were. Making sure to shake off his cold demeanour, reminding himself that you did nothing wrong and clearly, looking at the bruises and cuts all over your body, it was clear that you were “manipulated” in that agency.

“Hey. It’s been a while, hasn’t it” Johnny tried to break the silence, his voice coming out rougher than he’d like

“Yeah. It has. H-how have you been?” you stuttered but managed to ask him back, bringing a soft smile on his face

“I’ve been good. As much as I’d like to take it slow, I didn’t get to thank you for that time. You saved me, you know” Johnny let out, finally standing in front of you. Even after what happened to you, your eyes still had that spark that Johnny loved

“Oh. That time…I knew that you had your reasons. Even if I didn’t know them” you told him, your hands were shaking as they gripped the edge of his desk

“I’ve missed you. My parents too. I never once stopped looking for you, you know. I was so confused about how you just went under the radar. Well, until that night of course. Ever since, I, I actually tried to keep an eye on you. I actually wanted to get you. I really didn’t expect you to come and find me first” Johnny mentioned, both his hands were either side of your hips, rubbing them gently, bringing comfort instead of the constant fear all this time; actually feeling like home

“I, I wanted to warn you…” you whispered out but Johnny suddenly lifted you to sit on his desk while one of his hands cupped your cheek, caressing it and making you look at him

“I know. I had my friends dig up everything. I had known about your agency right when I started to take over the company. When I found out that you were part of that agency, I had mixed feelings. I was so damn sure that you were manipulated into joining them but I know that you wouldn’t hurt me. I trust you and I was right. You saved me even with the mixed thoughts” Johnny explained, gently kissing your forehead

“Johnny…” you called to him. “Hmm?”

“Aren’t you disappointed? How are you calm and not angry about what happened?” you asked, almost frustrated

“How can I? You’ve been through hell and worse. I would never get angry with you. You had your reasons. Are you scared of me?” Johnny asked, now cupping both your cheeks

“How can I be scared of you? You were there for me, always” you replied with no hesitation, making Johnny smile even wider

“Even if I’m part of the mafia?” Johnny asked, still unsure

“You have your reasons, Suh. Plus, a hero would "sacrifice" someone like me for people whereas you would burn the bad people for me. And like I’ve said, I know you wouldn’t hurt me, right?” you asked back, now you were the one that was unsure

“Never. I always got you. And you're right. I would kill anyone who harmed you, who ever has hurt you or even thought the wrong things about you. Plus, I’m never letting you go. Ever” Johnny stated, making you smile for the first time in a long time

Without even thinking, you wrapped your hands around Johnny’s neck, softly pulling him towards you but before you could continue, Johnny asked first. “Are you sure? Shouldn’t we get you treated first?”. Gosh, how can someone that looked cold is an actual warm bear? Without thinking, you pulled Johnny and kissed him which felt warm and like home. Johnny was your home and just like a home, he would be there for you, to provide you comfort, warmth, protection and most importantly, make you feel loved.

[padfootagain]

Something Good (XXII)

Chapter 22: Toothpaste

Hello! Here is a new chapter for my Ben Barnes series!

Alright, alright, alright, maybe I’m leaning too much into the cuteness, but I’ll soon put these two in ‘situations’ again, so for now, take one more disgustingly fluffy chapter, alright?

Hope you like it!!! Tell me what you think!

****

Pairing: Ben Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Fluff,  Slow burn, professor AU.!

Summary: Coming out of a divorce and trying to get used to being a single mom, while teaching your classes at University, you thought your life could not get more complicated than it already is. But when you are asked to take care of the theatre club with the colleague that you really can’t get along with, you realize that everything can still get ten times more complicated in your life. And when you start actually liking Professor Barnes, the troubles only grow exponentially…

Word Count: 2474

Masterlist for the series – Ben Barnes’ Masterlist – Main Masterlist

Got home safely!

I’ll see you tonight, darling

xx

You couldn’t refrain a smile as you read Ben’s text.

The Christmas tree still glimmered in your living room, even if the presents had been offered already. Sally was currently playing with the new dinosaur toys you had bought for her, fighting against the evil barbies trying to steal their lego house. You smiled fondly as you caught a glimpse of your daughter sitting there, on the ground, lost in her own intricate storyline.

You settled more comfortably in your sofa, glancing at the time and sipping on your tea.

Your mother would drop by in about an hour to get Sally. They were having a girls’ night together, a perfect occasion for you to have a date with Ben.

You read the same word over and over again, looking for an appropriate answer, but your brain was too busy chanting the pet name.

Darling, darling, darling…

God, you loved him so much, it should have been illegal…

Good to hear! Can’t wait to finally taste this chilli of yours you keep on bragging about.

I’ve missed you, can’t wait to see you tonight xx

It took him less than a minute to answer, with a picture of a paper bag filled to the brim with groceries.

Got everything I need to cook for you. Hopefully, I do a decent job, although you’re making it sound like I’ve created high expectations I am certain I will fail to attain.

Oh, and don’t forget to get some extra clothes and a toothbrush ;)

You were glad he wasn’t there to see how you shied away under his obvious innuendo.

Some clothes? A toothbrush? We’re feeling very confident, I see, Mr. Barnes…

His answer made you choke on your warm beverage.

I’ve been dreaming of all the things I’m going to do to you for over a week, darling. There’s no way you’re sleeping anywhere but in my bed tonight.

You giggled, kicking your feet in excitement and grinning like a bloody lovesick fool, before hiding your face in your hands.

God, he made you feel like a bloody teenager all over again, and you loved every second of it…

Waking up in Ben’s bed was strange.

A nice kind of strange, of course. Warm bed, soft sheets, his arm flung across your stomach, and his face relaxed in a quiet sleep. His dark hair stained the white pillow in messy strands. There was a quiet, almost shy light coming in from the window. Only a faint whisper came from the street. It was peaceful, warm, comfortable. But strange. It was your first time sleeping here. You had come to visit several times, of course, while you were still mere friends. But now there you were, wrapped in his linen sheets, listening to his steady breathing while under his eyelids his eyes moved with the rhythm of dreams. And you were happy to see this sight, to stare at him resting by your side.

Were you worthy of such a privilege, though?

Before you could lean into these thoughts, Ben was stirring, moving slowly at first, but then reaching up to rub remnants of sleep out of his eyes. When he blinked, a smile spread on his lips as he focused on you.

“Morning,” he mumbled, his voice much lower than usual in this early morning light.

“Morning,” you grinned back, leaning closer as he gently pulled you in his arms.

“Would you like some pancakes for breakfast?”

“Oh! Yes! Please!”

“Deal. I’ll go in a few minutes…”

“Why do I feel like a few minutes will turn into an hour?”

He chuckled against your hair, pressing kisses to the side of your head and temple.

“You’re starting to know me a little too well…”

“Hmm… You like cuddles too much to get out of bed quickly.”

“True.”

And indeed, you didn’t get up for a long while. You merely giggled, exchanged silly jokes, kisses and caresses buried under his warm blanket while outside, the world got buried under a thick layer of snow.

You got ready while Ben was making breakfast, taking a quick shower and getting dressed with the extra clothes you had brought. He peered inside the bathroom while you brushed your teeth.

“Pancakes are ready, darling,” he announced with a bright smile.

He walked inside, wrapped his arms around your waist and kissed your hair while you kept on washing your teeth.

You winced once you were done.

“I hate your toothpaste.”

He raised an amused eyebrow.

“Really?”

“Yeah… it tastes… I don’t know, it’s strong. Too minty. It’s burning my tongue!”

Ben let out a bright laugh.

“Burning your tongue?!”

“Yes! It’s terrible!”

“I like it.”

“I’ll bring mine next time.”

“Well, if you keep on insulting my toothpaste, I may not let you come here again. Don’t you know how touchy this subject is to me?”

It was your time to laugh, catching his glance in the mirror.

“Oh, I know. You tell me about it every day.”

“Every hour even!”

“What a strange obsession…”

You leaned back against him, letting him support your weight, resting your head on his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re back,” you whispered, letting the quietness of the moment crystalise the gentleness that hung in the air. “I know you were gone for a mere week but still… it was strange not to have you around.”

“Yeah… I missed you too. My brother teased me a lot about it, actually.”

“Your brother?” you asked with a frown, turning in his arms to face him.

“Yeah, Jack. I told you about him…”

“Yeah, I know who your brother is… I… does that mean your family knows about me?”

Ben’s smile dropped, and he was cautious as he answered.

“Yes… I mean… they caught me on the phone with you. It wasn’t hard to put two plus two together. Does that make you feel uncomfortable?”

“No! You can tell whoever you want, I just… It’s only been a few weeks… I thought you’d wait for a bit.”

“They guessed, to be honest.”

“Oh, okay.”

“But… yeah, they know about you. Not the whole thing, just… the basics. How we met, that you’re a mother, that we were friends before giving this a try. You know, basic stuff.”

You nodded. He didn’t tell you that they were aware of the depth of his feelings for you though, that Jack had guessed that he was, in fact, in love with you. It was too soon for that.

“Besides, your mother knows. I wasn’t the first one to make a full report to my parents,” he joked, successfully making you laugh while you rolled your eyes.

“Right, of course… when you put it that way.”

There was a pause, when you lowered your gaze, staring blankly at the collar of his black t-shirt. You bit your lower lip in hesitation before speaking again.

“I think I’m going to wait a few more weeks to talk to Liam about us. Like… I don’t know… maybe let the first month pass. And if everything is still going fine by then, I’ll tell him. What do you think?”

Ben shrugged.

“He’s your ex. You’re the one to decide when you’re ready to tell him.”

“In the meantime, we can’t be too obvious in front of Sally. We’ll tell her after I’ve talked to Liam, okay?”

“Yeah, alright.”

“I’m not trying to hide or anything, you know?”

“I know. But we need to think about Sally too. And she’s a child: we need to be certain that this is going in the right direction before getting her involved in all of this.”

“I’m just trying to protect her.”

“I know, I get it. It’s okay. I agree with you.”

You rose to your tiptoes to kiss him, and you tasted grateful as your lips closed upon his.

“Well, I’m still waiting for my pancakes!” you joked, breaking the heaviness of the air, making him chuckle fondly at you.

“Actually, they’re waiting for you, my darling…”

Everything went smoothly, it was a little like a dream.

The holidays were over, time to go back to work, and in the whirlwind of finals, and busy schedules, you were still there.

Ben wasn’t certain why he was so surprised by it. You had started dating for about a month now, you were still deep in the honeymoon phase. The initial thrill filled with exciting sparkles and lovely surprises. Still, it didn’t stop him from being surprised by how everything was so effortless with you. Especially because it wasn’t.

He was taking care of Sally more and more with you. His bond with the girl was growing stronger with every afternoon spent playing with her and her dolls, with each messy painting session or adventure at the park. He had learned how to do her hair, the fastest way to tie her shoelaces, the most practical way to put on her coat. You let him take care of her meals now, and she rested in his arms as much as she did in yours when you watched her favourite Disney movies together. It felt more and more like co-parenting. And it was a lot of efforts, an incredibly difficult challenge, to see this pile of responsibilities growing.

And then there was the most basic things to organize and plan. Dates, re-organizing his life around your busy schedule. His quiet weekends were disturbed now by afternoons at the zoo and sleepless nights in your bed.

And he adored it. Every second of it. It was difficult, it was tiring, and it was the most natural thing, too. Fitting into your life was as easy as breathing. He didn’t know how much was due to the honeymoon phase, to the original excitement of a new relationship, or if it was really genuinely easy for him. Was he simply blinded by you? He wasn’t sure. What he did know, though, was that he was happy. Disgustingly so.

So much so that it was hard to hide it. It was hard not to smile when he thought about seeing you at lunch, or about this book he wanted to recommend you, or when he simply pictured your smile. It was even harder not to reach out to touch you when you were at work, to be unable to yield to these urges he had to kiss you until you couldn’t breathe, to try to conceal the glances he stole whenever he could.

As you walked together to join the theatre club that afternoon, Ben couldn’t help himself. He knew he shouldn’t, because you were at work, in a corridor, where students could very much walk by and see the two of you, but he couldn’t help it. As he reached out to brush his fingers against yours, he couldn’t stop himself. Having physical touch as his love language could be something of a curse sometimes…

You gave his hand a squeeze, before letting go again.

“Not here,” you whispered.

“Sorry.”

You saw him blushing, looking away in a moment of shyness.

“It’s alright, but… not here.”

“I know. Sorry…”

“Are you free tonight, though? You could eat with Sally and I, and stay for a movie after?”

He smiled, nodding quickly.

“Sure, sounds nice!”

You were both grinning still when you reached the room and were welcomed by your excited students.

There was a lot of work to be done still. Some songs needed to be adjusted, you were still working on the rewriting of several scenes… and you got easily distracted by Ben’s marvellous voice as he sang along to help some students. And Ben was easily distracted by the peek he caught of your cleavage whenever you leaned forward a little too much…

And he didn’t even notice. The way he leaned a little closer to you, the way his eyes always settled on your frame, the way he kept track of your movements throughout the room. It was second nature, almost. He thought he was doing great at hiding his feelings and your relationship, he really did. And so, he didn’t catch on Nathaniel, Daniel and Roberta whispering together at one point. He didn’t understand why Giselle exchanged strange glances with several members of the club either. You seemed to have gathered more braincells that afternoon though, because you made sure to stay away from Ben for the rest of the session, to Ben’s disappointment.

And he noticed the distance that you were forcing between the two of you. Of course, he did, and if he reckoned that it was in an attempt to keep a low profile, there was a voice in his head that made him wonder if you were annoyed with him, if he had done something wrong…

He was quiet as you finished to clean up the room together. It was unusual now for the two of you to be standing in a room for more than a few minutes without talking, or at least acknowledge each other’s presence in some way. You closed the door before walking over to him.

“Ben, you’re alright?”

“Of course. Why?”

“You’re very quiet.”

“I was simply lost in thoughts.”

“Okay…”

He hesitated, his voice coming out as a whisper when he finally spoke.

“Are you… are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m just fine.”

“We… we’re okay, right? I didn’t… I wasn’t annoying or…?”

“What? Of course not! What are you talking about?”

“You were avoiding me the entire session…”

You heaved a sigh, before reaching for his hand, cradling it gently in both of your palms.

“Sorry about that. But you were being pretty obvious, I didn’t want the students to catch up on us.”

You had a humorous smile on your face, the gentle kind that made Ben’s heart grow warm and mushy and melting beneath his ribs. He wanted to hold your face in his palms in the gentlest way possible, afraid he could break you somehow, and kiss you until it would kill him…

Instead, he merely blushed and looked away.

“Really? Was I?”

“Yeah, you were. That’s alright though. I simply had to save our arses. You were not as obvious as Nathaniel and Daniel though.”

“What?! Nathaniel and Daniel?!”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed! These two have been stealing glances the whole session!”

Ben blushed again as he spoke, but the words were out before he could properly think them. You had this power over him, and he kind of hated it. He couldn’t lie or control what was coming out of his mouth when you were around.

“I was distracted today. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

You looked away, before rewarding his words with a kiss on his cheek.

Alright, perhaps this power of yours did have nice consequences sometimes…

***************************

Taglist: @reg-arcturus-black @sergeantbuckybarnes @wolfmoonmusic @idek-what-to-put @kpicard @rhapsodyonthethames @friendly-philosopher

[peaky-shelby]

New Romantics | Mbappé [3]

» summary: in which an arrogant and talented football player (the best of his time as some say) and a focused and harsh critic of a journalist are gonna have to find a way to co-exist.

« Previous chapter

» chapter 3: road to ruin

» writers note: well hello beautiful people! This one is a long one. I usually write chapter 2000 words so this one is an exception 😋 but i also wanted to leave you with a cliffhanger so you'll want more 👀 made a playlist so check out if you want you can listen while reading ⚽

» Taglist: @moonchildohh @formulahoe @princetongirlll818 @mavieesttriste16 @kiwisa @godessstela @hummusxx @kodzuvk @pink-manz @corbyns-smile @ippid @jayruiewo265738 @blueanfield @mrs-bellingham @sorceresski @sooblovebot @okayymochi @army7g @j-rbps @heli991113

TAYLOR'S HOUSE - DAY

“So, are they as hot in real life as they are on the screen?”

Taylor laughed when hearing the question. She had the phone balanced between her ear and her shoulder while she was packing her clothes. “That’s your first question after everything you heard?”

“How is that not the first thing you notice after working with 20 of the hottest guys in France.” Trish asked. Taylor let down her clothes and took the phone in her hands, holding it to her ear.

“I’m in immune to footballers.” She explained “I’m a woman, if I show a hint of affection towards any of them people are gonna think it influences my writing, let alone my coaching.” She sat on the edge of the bed, looked up at the ceiling “I’ve trained my brain to see footballers as the least attractive human beings on the planet.”

“And that’s why you’re gonna be single for the rest of your life. Shit, I need to go Miranda is here.”

Trish hanged up before Taylor had barely any time to say goodbye, perhaps it was for the best because she herself had to run on the training campus. She didn’t tell her friend she would be playing again today, she knew it would lead to questions and worries, so she kept it a secret. She looked at her bag and picked it up hanging it over her shoulder.

When she reached the campus she had a wide smile on her face, ready to face the guards that had taunted her the days before. She got her ID card out of her pocket before they asked for it, waving it in front of the face. “Nothing to say now, do you?” she asked, smiling. One of the guards smiled and motioned his head for her to go in. Neymar was standing in the main entrance, waved at her when he saw her and walked closer to her.

“No problem with the guards today?” he asked, while looking at his phone.

“I came prepared!”

The two of them started walking outside on the pitch when she noticed that almost the entire team was here already. She looked at Neymar, giving him a questioning look. He smiled “Don’t worry you are not late we had a fan meeting.”. When they reached the field she saw Kylian kneeling next to a little girl, she couldn’t have been older than 7. He was talking with her, laughing. The rest of the team was standing behind them. It was a beautiful sight that melted her heart. She had never seen Kylian like that, she couldn’t even remember if she had seen him smiling ever since she had gotten here but he seemed to be enjoying the time with his new tiny friend.

“Who is she?” she asked, her eyes watching the adorable interactions between her and Kylian.

“I don’t know. Kylian volunteers for a number of organizations, agrees to meet ill fans, kids mostly.” She nodded. Maybe he wasn’t such a big asshole after all “We are gonna spend some time with her and start training, ok?” Neymar ran to where the others were. A few seconds later Kylian had gotten up and was playing football with the young girl, kicking the ball gently to her while she kicked it back at him. Taylor reached for the camera around her neck, she took a picture of the moment, then another one. She zoomed in on Kylian’s smiley face, noticing for the fist time how much smiling suited him and suddenly he looked straight at her, through the camera. The smiling fading away and she lowered her camera, giving him a slight nod which he didn’t even acknowledge. Back to normal, she thought to herself.

“Wilock!” She jumped and turned around in the sound of her name. Marquinhos smiled at her, handing her a plastic bag. “You ready?” she took bag and looked inside; it was a psg uniform she could wear for the game. She hadn’t worn a uniform in years.

“Is too late too back out?” she asked, begging he’d give her an out but Marquinhos shook his head.

“Cold feet?”

She glanced back at the girl who was going to sit through training and back at Marquinhos “Didn’t think I’d have an audience. I haven’t played for a crowd in years.”

“Don’t worry about it. Go, change.”

“Yes captain!”

OUTSIDE TRAINING AREA - DAY

Kylian was doing his stretches while Marquinhos was separating the teams. So far, he was with Hakimi, Kimpembe, Verratti, Ektike and Emery.

“Kylian you are captain!” said Marquinhos and threw him a yellow arm band. Kylian caught it, quickly standing up. The rest of team put on their blue flannels, the other team would be wearing red. From the corner of his eye, he got a small figure walking towards the field, he looked up to see who it was, his eyes scanning her from her legs to her face. His mind went numb, his body froze- Verratti smacked him in the stomach, they both shared the same dumbfounded expression.

“Why’s she wearing a uniform?”

Taylor walked towards Marquinhos, an evil smile on her lips, or at least that’s how Kylian would describe it.

“Wait a damn second-“

“Wilock! Thank you for joining us!” Said Marquinhos. Kylian and Verratti rushed to their side, the rest of Kylian’s team running behind him. Everyone was confused, making a circle around her and Marquinhos. “I was down one man, she offered to help.” Ramos guffawed, holding his stomach. Neymar clapped, laughing as well. The rest of the team was too confused to react.

“Does she even know how to play?” Asked Kylian, raising his hands. Taylor snickered, looking away from him and crossing her arms. Hakimi came behind Kylian placing his hand on his shoulder. “What does a journalist know about football?”

“Enough to piss you off apparently” she shot back.

“I assure you she has the experience necessary.” Said Marquinhos.

“When’s the last time you played?” Asked Ramos “High school?”

Taylor calculated the years in her head, narrowing her eyes “Technically- yes-“

Kylian laughed, this whole thing seemed hilarious to him like God was pranking him. He rubbed his face, shaking his head. “This is ridiculous. She’s gonna hurt herself kicking the ball- we have a game coming up we can’t be wasting time-“

“So far the only thing wasting time is your whining.” That earned her a few claps and gasps from the rest of the team. She smiled at her win. Kylian looked over to her like he was going to attack her any time now. Then his body suddenly shifted and he waved her off.

The two teams made and stood in two separate circles to go through their plans before the beginning of the game. Kylian gathered his team on the left side of the field.

“Are we allowed to tackle her or are we just going to ignore her existence?” asked Kimpembe. Kylian laughed.

“As if she’s ever getting that ball." He said and Hakimi lowered his head, shaking it “keep your eyes on the real dangers. Messi and Neymar. Don’t let them get on our area.”

“OR-or- or-“ Hakimi raised his hand, looking left and right at the others “listen to this maybe they are expecting you to act like sexist idiots and they are gonna use her as an advantage.”

Everyone looked at him blinking, processing his words. Verratti leaned closer to Kylian “He’s got a point.”

“Fine. Ektike, you keep an eye on her.”

“Why me?”

“Hold up!” Kimpembe raised his hands “So are we allowed to tackle?”

Kylian thought about it, glanced over at the other team and then back at his “she was the one that wanted to join. We are not changing the way we play for her. If she gets the ball, you tackle her like she is freaking Zlatan, I don’t care.”

“Maybe not as hard” suggested Hakimi.

On the other side of the field the second time was assigning their roles. Taylor had been assigned as a midfielder. Ramos kept his eyes on her through the whole conversation, eyeing her up and down “We sure she knows how to kick a ball?” He asked, looking at Marquinhos.

“Yes we are sure.” He reassured the team. “They’re probably gonna keep away from her so we’ll use that as an advantage. You shoot to her when she’s open.”

“Keep your eyes open, I’ll use you for the assists.” Messi said, pointing at her. For a moment she felt like she was back in her own pitch with her team. There was beauty in these pregame conversations. The anticipation. Making plans that everyone knew were possibly gonna get fucked up 10 minutes in the game. The trust the team was putting on each other. She simply nodded at Messi, a hand reaching up to her chest, rubbing the skin over her heart. The team pulled away from each other, chanting for their win.

“You guys ready or what?” she asked when she saw the other team still in a circle talking. That was enough to break them apart as well. Hakimi stayed behind Kylian, Kylian gave him a quick look.

“You think she could be good?”

“I think Marquinhos wouldn’t have put her on the field unless he was sure about her abilities. To undermine her would be undermining him. And undermining him would be a mistake.” Hakimi patted Kylian on the back and ran to his rightful spot. Kylian stared at her, his eyes, for some reason, lasting on her legs. Why was he looking at her exposed skin? The uniform looks good on her- stop. He shook his head, waving of the thoughts and raising his eyes to her neck. She had her hair up again, rubbing her neck while trying to loosen her shoulders. He was staring again but he didn't realize it until he heard the referee's whistle, waking him up. Now the only thing on his mind was the win.

The boys kept the ball away from her for the most part, she was moving up and down the field slowly, trying not to pressure herself. There was this itch in her throat, demanding her to chase the ball faster, to steal some passes but whenever she tried, she’d stop last minute like someone was pulling her strings. Marquinhos approached her during the first 15 minutes, hand over his mouth.

“Are you ok?”

“Just out of shape.”

“Get your shit together.”

“Its supposed to be my job to tell you that.” She smiled. In a way promising that she was going to do better. She started running faster. There was an opening, Marquinhos sending the ball to her, she took control of it but was quickly tackled by Ektike. Rolling on the ground. Perhaps it was some sort of muscle memory but the minute she hit the ground something awoke in her. She got up on her knees, Neymar coming to hold her up, she waved him off. Now she was really in the game, picking up the pace and chasing behind the ball, ruining the passes of Kimpembe. Marquinhos smiling from the other side of the field.

“She’s fast.” Said Hakimi to Kylian as he was passing by him. Kylian nodded. He was starting to lose his patience. The ball found it’s way to Messi’s legs. Everyone was focused on getting the ball away from him no one was marking her. She was wide open. Messi kicked the ball to her and she ran towards it, getting control. She moved it in between her feet, but turning around she was faced by a very dangerous looking Kylian, standing in front of her like a wall. She laughed when she saw him. He tried to get the ball right from under her but she rolled it backwards, drippling and almost making him lose his balance.

“How’s this for high school football?” she asked, Kylian giving her the side. She moved to the right, then to the left. She was playing him. Then she rolled the ball in between his legs. Kylian’s eyes widened, his pride getting hurt in the worst way, she moved around him and headed straight towards the goalpost, giving it a powerful kick and sending in inside the net, just right over the goal keeper who was expecting her to go lower.

She thought time stopped. She felt this fulfilment in her body, this beautiful satisfaction she had missed. Her whole team ran to her, all of them throwing themselves on her to hug her. Neymar picked her up on his shoulders and she closed her eyes while she listened to the cheers. Ramos wrapped his arm around her head, rubbing her head like she was a kid.

“Good job chipmunk” he laughed.

Messi neared her after everyone else was gone, holding his hand out for her. She grabbed it and he pulled her closer. “That was really good”

“Thanks for the pass” she smiled.

Kylian stood watching, breathing heavily, his hands on his hips. Hakimi thought he could see smoke coming from his ear as he walked closer to him. Kylian glanced at him “Don’t say it.”

“I wasn’t.” he said but he was thinking about it, i told you so.

The referee called for everyone to get back on their place and start the game again. She was more confident now. That alone made her quicker, braver and more dangerous. She’d try to steal the ball anytime she was close enough, falling and rolling on the ground more than once but she’d get back up in seconds. Just before the end of the first half Verratti had complete control of the ball, she saw it, she scanned him. He was moving his ball on his left leg, just the other day he had an accident on his right leg, it was his weakness, she wrote a whole article about it. She ran to his left side, she slid her entire body on the ground, tackling him from the left, he tried to kick the ball on his right leg but he lost balance, falling forward, she got control of the ball, twisting her body and getting up. She started sprinting with the ball in her legs while Hakimi ran to her to stop her. He stretched his leg to get the ball but she jumped over it, kicking the ball up. Kimpembe headed right towards her, she moved under him, ducking her body, kicked the ball in the air and then with her knee, searching for Ramos. He was across her, when the ball reached her foot, she sent it to him and with his head, he sent it right on the net. Taylor jumped up in excitement as the Referee whisteled for the end of the first half. She ran to Ramos, throwing her entire body on him. He picked her up, holding her like she was a trophy. The rest of the team jumped on them and they all fell on the ground together.

Kylian stayed, staring blankly at them. veratti joined him. “What the ‘ell just happened?” he asked, looking at Kylian. He was feeling all sorts of emotions, anger, jealously and of course bitterness. She was good and eventually he would have to admit it to himself and the team. His blood was boiling.

“I need water” is the only thing he said before he left.

Taylor sat on the benches, taking a few deep breaths and drinking from her bottle. Marquinhos knelt in front of her, fist bumping her knee. “Told you this would work.” She smiled “they loved you.” He said, encouraging her.

“Don’t tell me they want me on the team now?” she teased, looking over at them.

“Would you join?” he asked.

She thought about it, then nodded her head left and right “No, I’d go back to my girls if I had the chance. Wouldn't betray them for a bunch of guys.” She admitted, laughing “I missed them today.”

“What was the dream?”

“The dream?”

“Yeah. You know before the accident and the doctors. Come on, we all had a dream.”

She tried to hold back her smile, looking down. “Barcelona.”

“Damn girl!” he laughed. She chuckled, wiping the sweat from her forehead. He looked back at the field “Any advice for the second half?”

“Verratti is misplaced. Kylian is using him as a defender but he plays like a midfielder. That creates a hole. Use that to your advantage.” She continued by pointing at each player, noting the weaknesses she had noticed until Marquinhos had to head back. A part of her wanted to join the second half too but her heartrate reminded her of why she shouldn’t. She rubbed the skin over it again, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath.

“Burnt out already?”

When she opened her eyes Kylian was standing in front of her. There was something about him she couldn’t explain. He looked more angry than usual; his tone suggested some sort of challenge. He smiled at her in an undermining way. She wanted to slap the smile of his face. “One goal wasn’t enough for you?”

“Why? Can you put a second one?”

“I mean I kinda did-“

“You used Verratti’s injury against him. He’s gonna get back at you for that.”

“Really? How about he spends that time training to get his right leg working again.”

“You were lucky-“ she hated that word. She stood up, their faces inches apart. She had to stop herself from spitting on his face. “I let you have that pass, so I wouldn’t tackle you and send you in the hospital.”

“Do you say that to your male opponents as well?”

“No, I don’t have to- they are professionals. They know sometimes things can get out of hand but it looks like you can barely handle a first half-“

She stepped closer. She had already taken her decisions, no matter the consequences “Please dear lord, let things get out of hand.” He laughed, he felt in uncomfortable standing so close to her, staring in her cold eyes. “Let’s go for a second round Kylian.” She challenged and pushed him out of her way, making her way back on the field. Marquinhos saw the devil in her eyes, terrified of what was going to follow he moved in front of her to stop her from stepping on the grass.

“What are you doing?”

She took the ball from his hand “I’m fine.” He grabbed her arm.

“Hey! You need to calm down. We agreed for the first half.”

“I said I’m fine. I can do this.”

“You don’t have to pressure yourself”

“I’m not” she said. She definitely was but she didn’t care.

“What did you do?” asked Hakimi when Kylian joined him on the field.

“I’m not getting beat by a high school player-“

Hakimi grabbed his arm “She’s obviously not just a high school player. Get out of your head Ky.”

Kylian pulled his arm away “My head’s in the game Achraf.” He reassured him and walked away.

The second half started slow. But that was only for the first 5 minutes, Taylor was going above and beyond, running like she was in a world cup match. Bumping and getting in between anywhere she could. Especially when the ball was at Kylian’s feet. If she was writing an article about herself, she’d write about how unfocused she was, letting her pride take over and Verratti’s murderous stares to get to her. But that didn’t stop her from running like she was back in her own team, before the accident and the hospital. Neither did the continues ache in her chest, the loud beating of her heart that was quickening by the second, neither did her view getting blurry. It was when she felt her breath shorten that she paused, her sight getting darker. She didn’t even realize she stopped moving. Kylian didn’t realize it either when his body bumped onto hers. He was running so quick he must have hit her with all the strength in his body, his shoulder knocking the back of her head, his entire body toppling over her. legs getting tangled together. His arms, out of instinct, wrapped around her tiny body as they both lost balance, pulling her close to him as they spun around themselves so he’d be the one hitting the ground with his back and she’d be shielded from the crash. She landed on his chest and he rolled her over, to lay her on the grass, she was unconscious. Kylian pulled away one of his hands, giving her a gentle slap on the cheek to wake her but she didn’t seem to respond.

Marquinhos was on the other side of her, calling for the medics and for someone to get some water. Her eyes fluttered when they threw water on her. First thing she saw was Kylian, she could only feel frustration for that man. With whatever strength she had she pushed him away, causing him to fall back on the ground “I’m fine” she said when the medics got near.

“Do you need a doctor?” Marquinhos, pulled up her head. Helping her sit, she argued.

“No.” she rubbed the back of her head “His shoulder just hit me pretty hard.”

“Who the hell stops in the middle of the field like that?”

She glanced at him scoffing. “Are you incapable of apologizing ?”

He started regretting protecting her from the fall. “Apologize for what? You blacked out in the middle, what you thought was going to happen?

“It was an accident” Verratti defended Kylian. Helping him stand up.

“Sure.” She mumbled and stood up, looking a little dizzy as she did but Neymar quickly held her on her feet.

"you're out of the game." Marquinhos announced. The only one that knew the whole truth.

Then she heard the one thing she hoped she wouldn’t. It was her name being called out by Galtier. She looked back, he was standing by the benches. She knew she was in trouble. She tried to look as steady as she could as she ran over to him, her expression remaining blank so she wouldn’t give away how much her chest was hurting.

“What’s going on?” he asked

“Marquinhos suggested I join them; I thought you knew.”

“For the first half. What is this? Do I have to worry about my right hand being as reckless as my players?”

“No.” she answered fast. Trying to defend herself. Regretting of telling him the reason she kept away from the sport. It was better when he was just wondering “I got carried away sir, I’m sorry but I’m good. I wouldn’t have joined if I thought it would be dangerous.”

“I don’t need excuses. Remember why you are here.” He demanded “Don’t throw away that chance by being irresponsible. This is your first warning there won’t be a second one.” He raised her finger at her. She felt like a kid, getting yelled at by her father. She felt so small. “I’m still waiting for those reports. If you have time to play, it means it’s going well, right?” she didn’t respond them “Get them to me on Sunday instead of Monday. I want them by noon. So, I can make a new schedule on Monday morning.” He closed his jacket and left before she could argue. Taylor sighed disappointed at herself, hiding her face on her palm. She looked back at the field, her eyes passing by the girl with the illness Kylian had brought.

She was still on the bleachers; she was looking at her. She waved, smiling. Taylor ran up the stairs to her, kneeling in front of her and her mother.

“Did you enjoy the game?” she asked.

“She doesn’t speak English.” Her mother said and translated the question. The girl nodded smiling, it was a genuine smile, an innocent smile.

“Tu vas bien?” the little girl asked. Taylor laughed, lowering her head.

“Oui. Oui.” She reassured.

“She was wondering how come you are playing with the boys.”

Taylor gazed between the kid and her mother “I’m like the wise side-kick. You know? Like they are in movies.”

“Comme un entraîneur?” the girl asked after her mother translated what taylor said. Taylor gazed at her mother.

“She asks If you’re like a coach”

She held herself from answering right away “Kinda yes. I help the coach, give him notes, pointers. All that. And sometimes I guess I play with them. It helps see what their weaknesses are.” She explained.

“Les filles peuvent faire ça?”

“Of course, they can girl! Bien sûr!” she exclaimed “And can I tell you a secret?" Her eyes softened "I get ill too sometimes” she smiled “and look at me. I’m right here. So don’t get discouraged, alright? You’re a fighter no matter what. Tell me Who’s your favorite player?” she asked

“Mbappe!” the little girl exclaimed. Taylor raised her eyebrows, grinning.

“Kylian has helped her a lot.” Her mother added. There was so much gratitude in her eyes, it was almost making taylor emotional “not just us. The entire hospital. The kids love him.” If she didn’t know better, she’d think the woman was talking about a different Kylian, maybe cillian murphy but not Mbappe, until she remembered; she didn’t know him at all, same way he didn’t know her.

Said Kylian was watching at the three women from afar. For some reason he wanted to go up there and join the conversation but he was scared he’d show his worst self to Ann, the little girl Taylor was talking too.

“Stealing your passes and your fans? Tsk tsk tsk.” Neymar clicked his teeth, glancing over at Kylian. “that’s bold” Kylian’s eyes remained cold.

TRAINING CAMPUS / KITCHEN - DAY

“Since when is Ramos best buddies with her?” Asked Verratti sitting next to Kylian on the table.

“The entire team loves her now apparently.” Kylian said. Looking down at his food. He kept messing with potatoes, pushing them back and forth with his fork.

“You look like she killed your mother.” Joked Hakimi, stealing on of Kylian’s potatoes.

“I don’t like being mocked on my face, ok? And that’s exactly what she doing. First Galtier appoints her as his eyes and ears, then she is giving pointers to Marquinhos who for some reason has her up on a pedestal. And maybe it’s just me but she hasn’t really been journaling anything ever since she got here-“

“Or maybe Galtier respects her because she is experienced and a direct contact to JW who can help with publicity of our team.” Hakimi stole another one of his potatoes. "but that's just a logical explanation, how stupid of me."

“I think she is ambitious; she wants a place on the crew. So, she is trying to invade our team. Sell our weaknesses to Galtier to get on his good side and get us in trouble. or maybe she works for another team, spying us and JW is just an excuse.” Hakimi couldn’t believe his ears. He reached for another potato chewing it slowly while staring worryingly at Kylian “we need to get close to her. Stop her before it gets out of control-“

“She’s the one getting out of control?” he asked in a high-pitched voice.

“Whose side are you on?”

“No one’s because There are no sides."

“Who are we gonna send to get close to her?” asked Verratti completely ignoring Hakimi. Hakimi dropped his fork in desperation. Why was he hanging out with them?

Kylian looked at Verratti “I mean-“

“Dude I’m married.”

“You’re just gonna flirt with her. You’re not actually doing it because you like her-“

“You wanna be the one explaining that difference to my wife?”

“Don’t you even dare look at me!” said Hakimi, stopping him before he even thought about it. So Kylian looked at Neymar. Neymar was chewing on his food, looking as lost as ever.

“I have a girlfriend.”

“Isn’t she on a world tour or something? She’ll never know-“ a napkin landed on his face, hitting him right on the nose.

“Stop encouraging people to cheat-“ hissed Hakimi.

"stop throwing napkins at me-"

“You could do it.” Suggested Neymar.

Kylian wanted to argue at first but then he thought about it. He looked over at her, she was laughing alongside Bernat. The two of them were sitting alone now and she was making notes of what he was saying on her notebook. God was he dying to read whatever was inside that notebook. Bernat was looking at her like she was taking a liking. He bit on the inside of his lip. Without looking trying to stab one of potatoes to eat them but his fork kept falling on the dish so he looked down, he dish was empty. He looked at hakimi who was chewing his food.

"bro-"

"it's not my fault you've been plotting conspiracies." He said and got up to leave. Just as he was leaving Taylor started walking towards their table, keeping her eyes on Neymar. Verratti would hit Kylian on the knee as she was drawing closer like he warning him. Kylian kept his eyes on his dish so he would avoid eye contact.

"junior" she called and Neymar looked back at her, wiping his mouth with a napkin "you mind coming with me? I have to do the one on one interviews."

Neymar nodded "sure, yeah. I'll be right there."

"thanks." She smiled and glanced at Kylian. She noticed his dish was empty but for some reason he kept looking at it. "You know, you're not gonna turn to stone if you look at me I'm not Media."

"easily debatable" mumbled Verratti. Taylor scoffed and walked away. Kylian gazed at her as she left, she was still wearing her uniform, her legs were exposed. He gulped, a slight shiver growing on his body. Neymar noticed it, he smiled but didn't say anything.

TRAINING CAMPUS / JACUZZI - DAY

While Taylor was interviewing Neymar on the other room, hakimi and Kylian sat in the jacuzzi, calming themselves after a long day in training. Kylian kept looking at his phone, refreshing JW's website or clicking through all the Instagram accounts with the name Taylor Wilock.

"stop looking at that thing" Kylian didn't respond. "You're gonna drive yourself insane" he huffed and left his phone on the edge of the tub. Crossing his arms and sinking in the water. He leaned back his head. "I think you're just looking for an excuse"

"what?” he opened his one eye to look at his friend.

"to get close to her."

Kylian sat better "what are you on about?”

"It's not rocket science- she challenges you. You're not one to shy away from a challenge. She could prove to you she's the greatest player in the world and you'd still want to kick her out of the team because you can't have her on your side. She deliberately annoys you and not for nothing but she enjoys it. But you never let things get under your skin ky" hakimi looked at him "not unless you're scared"

Kylian didn't say anything. He looked at the ceiling. Scared? Why would he be scared of her.

TRAINING CAMPUS / FRONT ENTRANCE - DAY

Taylor waited outside of the campus for her Uber as always. She was scrolling on her phone, pictures and videos she had taken during the day. A few of the boys came out, laughing and jumping on each other like boys do. She smiled at the picture, as much trouble as they ad brought in her life she actually enjoyed their company more than she let on.

“You guys going home?” she asked, smiling.

“We’re going for a drink. You wanna come?” Neymar asked “We want our star player with us.”

“You maybe do, I’m not sure for the rest.”

Neymar gave her a wink “you just gonna go home?”

“I’m tired anyway. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Alright.” He shrugged his shoulders and followed the rest of the crew. She hadn’t realized Kylian was behind her, with his back against one of the poles, arms crossed to his chest. She jumped at the sound of his voice catching her off guard when he asked;

“Do you have any friends?”

She turned around and looked at him. Narrowing her eyes “excuse me?”

He grinned, the dimples on his cheeks showing as he tilted his head “I mean here in Paris. Do you have any friends? Do you know anybody except us?”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to answer the question but she didn’t wanna look desperate either “Yeah I do.”

“Really? Thought you moved here from London or something.”

“What does that mean? I can’t have French friends?”

“I mean you are a bit loud for us.”

“Are you capable of talking to me without offending me every other sentence?” she asked, half serious, half as a joke. He laughed, pushed himself of the pole.

“It’s hard but I promise I’m trying.”

“I do have friends, you know? Really good friends cause I’m a likable person. People like me. French people too- my new best friend is French, you know?”

“Is she? What’s her name?”

She thought about it then in one breath she said “Luna”

Kylian leaned forward, crossing his arms. He blinked a couple times “That’s a cat name-“

“Wha- it is not” she laughed nervously “she is absolutely not a cat- she is an actual human being.”

“Sounds like a cat name-"

"it's a very human name"

"my cousin had a cat named Luna"

“That’s very offensive of you to say- so if you don’t mind, I’ll just go to my house-“

“Come with us. Have a drink. You’ve been in Paris for what? 3 days? All you’ve seen is this fucking campus and your apartment with your cat-“

“It’s not a cat!” she argued

“Fine, whatever. Just come along”

She thought about it, made a step forward suspiciously “why? So you can poison my drink or my food?” she asked. He laughed but shook his head as if to say ‘no’. She drew closer “get me drunk? Drive me of a cliff?” he looked amused, waiting to see what other idea she was gonna come up with “Lock me in a basement till the day I die?”

“You know” he stepped closer, looking down at her, a smirk on his lips “I’d do all that but Hakimi would have to go down as an accomplish to murder. I wouldn’t do that to my best friend.” She smiled. It was the first time he stood so close to her without threating her or offending her. He looked sweet, she had never noticed it before. “i wanna buy you a drink for knocking you down earlier. You had me worried for a sec. Thought I would have to be calling JW, telling him i killed his assistant" she laughed.

"you know your double personality has started terrifying me."

"I could say the same about you." He forced a smile "come on, I’ll even get food for your cat on the way.” He walked passed her expecting her to follow.

She knocked her foot on the ground. “She’s not a cat!” she yelled. But for some reason still followed him.

Next chapter : every night is like a battle »

Can we appreciate the way they are unable to talk to each other without offending each other? I think it's beautiful. 🥲 Next chapter is gonna be interesting 👀👀 Kylian wants to get close to her, she is softening bc she knows he's actually a good person deep down,,,, what could possibly go wrong? 👀 If he hates her know he's gotta wait till he finds out she's JW, that's gonna be hilarious 👀 prepare yourselves for the angst is about to begin 😌

[the-kr8tor]

NOO YESTERDAY'S ASK DIDN'T GO THROUGH.. I was crying I saw the Wild Robot and fink the fox made me sob every time he got vulnerable like stop being me ur supposed to be a childrens film Daily Hobie HC! I might do general hobie hcs to make up for missing yesterday's one>:) - Hobie tells the most corniest dad jokes at the worst times, and it got worse when Billie and Ramona came into the picture. You know he does it purposefully just to hear a sigh escape your lips and his girls giggle, calling him corny. Somehow though, those 'dad jokes' manage to be the prompt of some very interesting conversations which can go on for hours. - In my opinion, I'd say Hobie's love language is all of them. Of course, his main one is teasing, but the other ones are also there. - Most of his gifts consists of little trinkets from other dimensions or his own, mixed with a plethora of his own scribbly doodles of him reminding you to drink water or eat foot, especially if he knows you've been focused on something. Sometimes, these notes will consist of him having done a scribbly chibi design of the two of you holding hands or cuddling with floating hearts everywhere. - I feel like his physical touch would look more casual, but its a slow notice. From simply just hooking his finger into your belt loop to leaning on you like an armrest, Hobie likes to be close to you. Anything you wear around your wrist isn't safe from his harmless fiddling from when he's holding onto you, especially to make sure you don't get lost in larger crowds. One of Hobie's favourite ones, you've observed, is him coming up from behind you and draping his arms over your shoulders, his chin resting against the top of your head. His heart melts when you reach up to grab onto his wrists as he does this, holding onto him as well. - Quality time with Hobie is never boring, whether it's teaching you how to pierce clothing with spikes, piercing your ears for you, or just watching a movie together. He likes spending time with you, taking you out to watch the stars on top of his canal boat (pretending that its not choking in pollution) on some days where the sky is extra clear. Or just staying in and relaxing against each other underneath the covers as the sky turns grey with rain pattering against the windows. - Hobie always offered to help you with things, like doing the chores around the house or helping you cook food. Especially during your pregnancy with the girls, Billie and Ramona, Hobie was as helpful as ever, almost making you cry. He'd give you some of his baggier shirts and comfy pants whenever you needed them just so you could feel more comfortable. Hobie took the role of cooking food whenever you were sleeping or just resting, and whenever you'd point it out, he'd simply roll his eyes in an affection manner, peck your forehead and respond with that he needs to learn not to burn down the houseboat for the kid's sake, making you both laugh at the memory. - Never doubt that Hobie's always your number 1 fan, always. With whatever you do. Art? He has an entire box dedicated to the pieces you thought he got rid of, yet he adores looking through at your improvement. Writing? Hobie will always make sure that you've had something to drink and expertly massage the cramps from your hands, as well as gladly proofreading your work for you. Music? He'll be strumming along to you whenever he can get his hands on his guitar, encouraging you to keep going and listening to you. And he never lets you forget that he loves you, always murmuring it against your skin as he peppers kisses to the side of your neck lazily, having woken up from a nap. -🐦‍⬛

OH NO!! I was waiting for it! I thought you were too busy 😔 no worries tho!!

I didn't know that's out already!

Daily Hobie HC ❤️❤️❤️

AHHHH YESSS HIS DAD JOKES ARE THE BEST! Also the most eye rolling ones 😂 b and r love it so much tho! Hobie is definitely the silly dad

Bro is so good at teasing you until you're flat out shrieking in laughter or about to hurl a pillow at him 😂

The tiny chibis!!! 🥺🥺 I can imagine him making such silly notes too

I agree! For a bit he's less touchy but still very affectionate but as time goes on he's not seen anywhere without his hand on you!

Stargazing on top of his houseboat 😍😍😍

Aishwisjwbs this one is my fave 🥹 he's so lovely and caring where do I find a man like him? 😭

Hobie joking that he won't burn down the house with his cooking is always a treat

HE'S A CHEERLEADER FOR HIS PARTNER YOUR HONOUR

I love himb sm

[kriskalutz]

So @chrisnewbie create the Strangetown Hotel for her Strangeytown neighborhood, and it's based off the Sims 2 DS right? She bases her design more on the exterior of the hotel first and then builds the exterior afterward. And I don't blame her, the Hotel in the DS game is basically a Tardis: it's a lot bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

But it got me wondering what the Hotel would look like if you focused on the interior rather than the exterior. Or at least the parts of it that make it a hotel. And so I made this strange hotel:

I'm still testing it out, but basically I took snapshots of the Main Lobby, the Small Guest Room, the Modern Guest Room, the Jungle Guest Room, the Deluxe Guest Room, AND the Sun Deck, blueprinted them, and then attempted to put them together into a weird little building puzzle in the game.

Those are the only rooms from the DS game that I used in this build, but I did add a few more rooms make the place look 'better': two public bathrooms, a library, a community gaming area, a gym, a playground, and two grilling areas (one ground level, one second floor). I wanted it to still have that vibe of the hotel that has EVERYTHING in it even if the main focus was just the Guest Rooms.

The Deluxe Room was so big I couldn't fit it into a single picture (see below). It's also the one I altered the most as I put it on the second floor: it's supposed to have stairs going down to a lower platform to reach the fireplace, but I put the room on the 2nd floor and opted to just make it a platform instead (I spent 30 minutes trying and failing to do the L-shape stairs trick for the main lobby and I wasn't about to try build tricks again on this build.)

The Deluxe Guest Room has the luxury of this big side patio upstairs! It's also the most expensive apartment on the lot (+5,000 a week).

The Hotel Owner's room and the Penthouse were removed because you can only have 4 apartments per lot, so I just turned them into a pair of houses. Never took pics of them though.

Anyway it was a fun little experiment and I'm gonna go play instead of build for now lol.

[spyderlondon]

Sooooooo uh not sure what is exactly expected with requests so apologies if this is not the kinda thing you take:

What if Caine acts like he forgot to set an Adventure, then just up and disappears. So like they think it’s a normal day but then people start disappearing one by one until one or maybe two are left (possible ship, if ya wanna). Until Caine comes back with everyone else and it turns out it was that shit was the in house adventure.

I understand if it’s too elaborate, but if you for some reason do take it up, please don’t snack Gangle too quickly, she is best girl and she deserves the world

You Can Hide, But You Can't Run

CW: Small panic attack

"Whaddya mean you forgot to make an adventure?" Jax crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground as the rest of the cast of characters in the circus began to wander into the main area of the tent.

Caine moved around nervously as more eyes came upon him, he took his hat off and twisted it in his hands, "Exactly that, superstars, I've been too busy preparing a few other surprises for you all! ...that I forgot all about today's adventure." He admitted with a sigh, his eyes moving to look anywhere but the players in front of him.

Zooble ran a hand down their face with a groan, "I could've stayed in my room this entire day." They complained, not liking that they took the time out of their morning to come out here, just to be told there would be a nothing day. What a waste of their time...

Kinger just dove into his impenetrable fortress while the others began to complain to their ringmaster about this whole situation in their irritation. Except for Ragatha who was trying her best to calm everyone down by standing in between them and the anxious Caine, "Calm down, everybody..." She moved her hands down as a way to gesture for them to chill out, "We should think of this as a blessing after all the painful and traumatic 'adventures' we've been on in the past." She told them, unknowingly having the floating pair of dentures wince subtly at her words, "Let's just use today as a rest and relaxation day, huh?" She smiled a bit.

Everybody turned their backs to Caine while crossing their arms as they all gave a chorus of annoyed "Fine"s before heading in different directions, not seeing how Caine suddenly vanished with his teeth upturned to a smirk. Well, no one except one certain person.

"Let the game begin~" The ringmaster whispered to a certain player while staying invisible, allowing them to take a string of code to help them do what he needed.

------

As a few hours went by, Pomni began to notice a startling lack of Caine or Bubble- it was odd especially since she knew how much Caine enjoyed spending time with her in particular. But no matter how much she called for him, he remained nowhere to be found which was very disconcerting to her.

The jester sighed as she decided to knock on Kinger's pillow fort gently, "Hey, Kinger, mind if I join you in there?" She asked just loud enough for him to hear, "I found a bug near the digital lake that I think you might like."

She smiled a bit as the old chess piece, that she couldn't help but see as her surrogate father while trapped in this digital realm, stuck his head out to look at her, "Oh! Pomni, it's you! Hello!" He gave her a cheery look before moving out of the way so she could come in, "Ragatha and Gangle are already here!" He gestured to the two girls. The rag doll gave the jester a friendly wave while looking up from the book she was reading while Gangle waved while she drew a picture, a bit too focused to give her full attention to the new addition.

The jester returned the wave nervously as she slipped inside, "Y-You guys anxious about how quiet Caine has been since his disappearance this morning too?" She questioned with a small anxious stutter as she handed Kinger the jar she had with a dragonfly inside of it. Her expression softened as she watched him lay on his belly to look at the bug with large, sparkly eyes.

"Yea..." Ragatha admitted as she got Pomni's attention, "It's not like him or Bubble to be gone this long, not even answering when we yell for him..." She rubbed her arm while bookmarking where she was and closing her book, placing it next to her.

Even Gangle looked up from her drawing, her comedy mask somehow still intact this entire day- guess Jax didn't pick on her yet, surprisingly, "I'm not complaining since Bubble would often snack on my art supplies but I was hoping to show my newest drawings to Caine- he's always super supportive of my art." She seemed a bit conflicted by the two AIs missing.

"I'm sure he'll be delighted to see them when they return, Gangle." Ragatha reassured the younger girl with a soft smile.

Before Pomni could assure her as well Kinger yanked her down next to him excitedly, "Pomni! You found a rare dragonfly!" He told her as he pushed the jar up to her face.

"I-I did?" She pushed the jar away from her face a bit, not appreciating how close it was to her but she didn't say anything as to avoid ruining the chess piece's eagerness.

"Yes!!" He wiggled happily before noticing how she moved the jar away and seemed to remember how she was rather touch-averse, "Oh, I'm sorry." He apologized before lowering the jar so they could both look at the dragonfly, "You found a Calopteryx exul! It's critically endangered and usually native to Algeria! But it seems as though since everything here is digital, there can be any bug in existence!"

Pomni was silent as she let him infodump everything he knew about this insect while Ragatha and Gangle tuned him out while they went back to what they were doing earlier. The jester was usually the only one who seemed to enjoy listening to Kinger's ramblings as it helped keep her mind focused on his voice other than the tiny voice inside her head that often yelled at her to look for an exit.

----

About an hour or two went by- at least that's what Pomni guessed, it was hard to tell time in the circus- before everyone in the pillow fort was suddenly jumping to their feet when a scream was heard in the distance.

"My impenetrable fortress!" Kinger suddenly exclaimed after the pillows suddenly fell all around the girls and himself. Although, only he seemed concerned about it as the girls were already running off towards the noise in their concern.

When they got there, they say a piece of Zooble on the ground next to Jax who was already there, looking down at the Zooble piece that was laying there.

"JAX! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Ragatha immediately demanded while going up to him, pointing a finger at him with narrowed eyes. She obviously decided that this was his fault from the very start.

The tall purple rabbit just laughed, finding more amusement in this than the others as usual, "Chill out, babe, this wasn't my doing." He rolled his eyes as he picked up the discarded arm to scratch his back with it... only to be strangled by it immediately. He glared at the arm once it fell back to the ground, "I swear that thing has a mind of its own..." He grumbled as he rubbed his neck in irritation. He noticed the rag doll and even Pomni glaring at him still which made him groan loudly, "I *just* got here, alright? I heard a scream and thought someone was pulling a prank without me so I came to see what kinds of hilarity I was missin'." He crossed his arms.

The girls didn't seem convinced but before they could accuse him more, Kinger spoke up, "There's no evidence that Jax did this." He mentioned, in a rare moment of sanity, "It could've been some type of glitch or something." He mentioned, holding a pillow to his chest.

Gangle blinked as she looked at him, "...I suppose you're right but how did you know it could some type of glitch?" She questioned curiously.

The chess piece's eyes were going in opposite directions before suddenly yelling as he looked down at the comedy mask, "AHH! Oh, Gangle. What were we talking about?" He asked innocently.

Gangle sighed, "Nevermind..." She shook her head before heading off to help him rebuild his pillow fort, not wanting to be near Jax if he got irritated since he would probably take his anger out of her.

The rabbit watched the two of them leave before clicking his tongue as he lost his prey due to the two women in front of him. He scoffed a bit as he pushed the jester and rag doll away, "I'm heading to my room." He rolled his eyes.

Pomni and Ragatha looked at each other with frowns on both of their faces before deciding to look around for any signs of Zooble or some type of glitch together.

------

As the day went on, more people seemed to be picked off one by one- it seemed like Zooble was just the warning for everyone to get concerned for themselves.

Pomni had merely turned her back for a millisecond before she heard Ragatha's surprised gasp before she was stolen away, the jester didn't even have a chance to get a glimpse at what was causing the disappearances- it was gone far too soon along with the rag doll.

She grimaced before she heard Kinger yell next which made her sprint on over to where he and Jax were standing, looking around with only a broken comedy mask on the ground to indicate who was taken next. She tensed as she looked around, her fear starting to get to her, "Wh-What happened?!" Her voice came out shaky and fearful as she looked at the two men.

"One moment Ribbons was doodling her stupid drawings and the next she was gone." Jax waved a hand casually, acting like he didn't care again, "Least that's what Kinger told me when I came by and he suddenly grabbed me out of nowhere."

Pomni grimaced, "Ragatha is gone too... I was right next to her and I didn't even see what happened." She sighed, clutching her jester hat in her pure anxiety, "WHERE IS CAINE WHEN YOU [%$*^&@&] NEED HIM?!" She cried out, her eyes swirling like they usually do whenever her anxiety gets too high.

...

"...Jax? Kinger?" Her breathing sped up in her fear as neither of them answered and she looked around in her panic before suddenly screaming out, falling to the ground as she saw everyone who was captured in a spider web type structure that was... made out of red silk ribbons? Their mouths and bodies covered in them as they struggled to get free and most of them tried to yell. That's when she noticed one certain member of their trope missing from the web- Gangle.

"Caaaine...?" A tearful voice called out as a certain tragedy mask peered out from the corner of the web, guilt in her tone as she looked at the ringmaster who popped into the tent in front of the silk web, "I think we went too far... Pomni looks like she's about to have a panic attack..."

Caine stared down at the jester that was staring at him with a very, very twitchy eye while she began her usual manic laughter that she gets when her anxiety gets far too high, "...ah. Maybe-" He coughed, clearing his throat, "You, uh, you can release them now, Gangle, the adventure is over-"

"THE WHAT?!?" Pomni screamed as she stomped over to the ringmaster as he floated down a bit to try to calm her. Only to completely regret his decision as she grabbed him by his collar, yanking him right up to her, "THAT WASN'T AN ADVENTURE! THAT WAS HOW TO GIVE SOMEONE A PANIC ATTACK 101!!!"

The tragedy mask winced as she released everyone from her web and tried to flee. But she was soon caught by Ragatha, "Gangle. Where do you think you're going?" She smiled at her but Gangle could feel the cold rage coming off of the rag doll which made her gulp.

----

A/N:

I wonder what Pomni and Ragatha did to Caine and Gangle~ I'll leave that up to you~

[mariacallous]

theglobeandmail com/canada/british-columbia/article-british-columbias-election-campaign-kicks-off-with-ndp-conservatives/

British Columbia’s election campaign kicked off on Saturday with both of the main party leaders trading shots over key voter issues of health care, affordability and public safety.

New Democrat Leader David Eby spent the day touring key ridings that delivered his party’s majority in 2020, and warning supporters that his rival, Conservative leader John Rustad, would cut health care spending, make life more costly, and erase progress on the construction of affordable housing.

“If I earn the trust of British Columbians through the campaign, I will be laser-focused on reducing the costs they face everyday,” he told a rally in Richmond, the first official stop of the campaign.

Mr. Rustad made his first appearance at Vancouver’s Crab Park, which has been the location of a long-running homeless encampment that he referred to as a symbol of decline in B.C., after seven years of NDP government.

“B.C. is at a crossroads,” he said. “The question is, are we going to fight for our future, or continue to manage decline.”

He painted a bleak picture of the state of the province under the NDP, saying almost half the population is struggling to meet rent and pay for groceries, while the health care system is broken.

“We have endless potential but it is hopelessly managed,” he said.

“What we’ve seen from David Eby, quite frankly, is weak leadership,” he said. “He’s not been able to fix many of the problems we have in this province.” He listed off the deadly opioid crisis, access to health care and the construction of new housing “where he seems to think it’s government’s job.”

At another rally, Mr. Eby fired back: “John, I have a message for you. The premier does have a role in providing affordable housing.”

The day set up what is expected to be a hotly contested race between two veterans of the B.C. Legislature, although neither has campaigned as a party leader.

The lieutenant-governor signed the writ on Saturday, with Oct. 19 set as the election date.

Mr. Eby, who has served as British Columbia’s premier for almost two years, is facing voters in a campaign that is very different than the one expected just a few months ago.

The governing NDP enjoyed a comfortable, double-digit lead in public opinion polls until the spring, when their chief rivals, the BC United party, started to hemorrhage support to the provincial Conservatives under Mr. Rustad.

That shift prompted the abrupt collapse of BC United in late August, leaving just two main parties in a statistical dead heat in public polls, with the Greens trailing far behind.

The Conservatives have not won an election in B.C. in almost a century, but Mr. Rustad, who has served as an MLA since 2005, revived the party that he took over last year – after he was kicked out of the official opposition because he questioned the science of climate change.

NDP are promising that the investments they have made in health care, housing and public safety are now starting to bear fruit. “We are just turning the corner,” Mr. Eby told supporters in a packed campaign office, with an overflow crowd spilling out on the sidewalk.

His campaign schedule for the day includes stops in North Vancouver and Langley, where the NDP made inroads in 2020, and it hopes to hold in the Oct. 19 election.

In a bid to neutralize the Conservative’s populist promise to “axe the carbon tax,” Mr. Eby executed an about-face on carbon pricing just a week before the campaign began, saying he is ready to remove the levy on consumers – not industry – if the federal government drops legislation requiring it.

Mr. Rustad has consistently promised to end all forms of carbon pricing. The Conservatives also say they will return the province to balanced budgets, roll back the NDP’s housing policies, and lower taxes.

Mr. Rustad has made public safety a key rallying cry, blaming Mr. Eby for the street disorder that escalated over the past year with the government’s failed decriminalization pilot project.

The Health Canada-sanctioned pilot meant adults in possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs most commonly associated with overdoses would not be arrested or charged. The experiment was scrapped this summer after a widespread backlash over illicit drug use in hospitals, parks and other public spaces.

The third party, the Greens, have been relegated to a distant third place in recent opinion polls. Leader Sonia Furstenau spent the first day of the campaign on the street, holding a public rally in downtown Victoria.

“We’ve seen a campaign from the other two parties that has focused on mud-slinging, fear and anger,” she said. “The B.C. Greens have something else to offer, a vision of the province that can and should be the best place to live in the whole wide world.”

[dollanganger-in-the-attic]

V.C. Andrews Archive Collection

Hey guys! I just got back from visiting the V.C. Andrews archive collection full of super rare vca history! I took a ton of pictures and notes on what I saw- including the original manuscript for Flowers in the Attic back when it was called “Open the Window and Stand in the Sunshine” and the two manuscripts for Petals on the Wind called “Where the Greener Grass Grows” and “Reaching for Roses”! I’ll share my notes and some photos here, but for copyright reasons I’ll be keeping most of the photos in my private VCA discord. So DM me for an invite link if you want to join 😁✨

My notes on the manuscripts below ...

Vca Collection

Notes about the collection:

The collection consists of 12 archival boxes filled with manuscripts, photos, news clippings, letters and more. With the time I had I was only able to look through half of the boxes, I mainly focused on the various Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind manuscripts. I was allowed to take as many pictures as I needed as long as I used the copyright protection sheet you will notice. Obviously for copyright reasons I couldn’t take too many photos of consecutive pages, so forgive me for the page jumps. Here are my findings, enjoy!

Box 1

“Open the Window and Stand in the Sunshine” manuscript

Pages photographed:

1,2,3, 9, 27, 33, 66, 87, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 154, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161, 165, 169, 176, 180, 184, 185, 191, 193 (end)

Notes:

This is a typed manuscript of what eventually became Flowers in the Attic. It had the title “Open the Window and Stand in the Sunshine” by Cleo Virginia Andrews. This manuscript has the same plot but is overall a completely different book. It is in 3rd person perspective mostly following Cathy but also sometimes Chris. It doesn’t feel like Cathy’s story, instead it feels like the 4 children make up one main character.

It is 17 chapters long with no prologue or epilogue. The first chapter is only 9 typed pages. The story begins with Chris Sr. already being dead. Corrine has just received a response from her parents agreeing to take them in. Corrine tells the children immediately about why she was disinherited, being that their father was her half uncle. And she tells the children they will have to stay in an upstairs room, quiet and secret, for several months. At the time the children didnt see it as a big deal.

From what I could tell, Cathy and Chris never committed incest. But there were many scenes where their closeness was questionable. For instance, in chapter 3 Chris gets into the bath with Cathy and holds her. They read the porn magazines together and discuss them.

In chapter 5 Corrine warns the children that the forces in the house might make her behave and think differently than she normally would.

There are many differences in how the children spend their time. They have a TV much earlier in the story and spend a lot of time discussing the shows they watch. They ask for a toaster at one point.

In chapter 9, when Chris explores the house after the Christmas Party, we follow him in 3rd person rather than hear from his perspective later.

At one point Chris has to hide under the bed and hear his mother getting it on with Bart.

There is mention of Cathy keeping many detailed journals of their everyday life.

Chris enjoys dancing with Cathy in the attic they know many different dances.

Chris and Cathy get whipped for sleeping in the same bed but Cathy is not told to cut her hair. In fact the grandma tells her to hold her hair out of the way so the whip wont rip it out.

Cathy still kisses Bart and Chris hears Bart speculating that they're being robbed but Chris does not get mad and he doesn't assault Cathy. I don't even think he brings the kiss up to Cathy.

Chris wishes that they had run away sooner rather than being the one insisting they wait longer and longer. He seems to blame himself often for ever believing in their mother.

They all get sick slowly over time and throw up often. But they blame the sickness on their food being spoiled.

They get a polaroid camera for christmas and take hundreds of pictures to fill the attic.

Cathy doesnt resent her mother much more than chris. They both want to believe in their mom and make promises to her.

When Cory gets very sick, the grandmother seems to worry that their mother brought them sweets. She feels Cory's head for fever and asks them if their milk or meat seemed spoiled. Corrine doesnt seem to care, she asks them not to get seriously sick before christmas and checks her watch. She tells them to wait until the next day to see if he doesnt get better. The grandmother returns with alka seltzer to help cory’s stomach. Once the children have gone to sleep the grandmother returns in the night to check on cory once more. The next morning Cory is better.

Later cory gets sick again and it is agreed that he needs hospital attention. Corrine takes cory to the hospital promising he will get oxygen and penicillin. But still he dies and is claimed to be buried.

We get to follow Chris as he explores the house for the last time before their escape. He gets a gun somehow and finds the grandfather’s room empty.

Chris hears John Amos laughing about the attic mice being poisoned. Chris runs back to the room to convince Cathy that their mother has been poisoning them. Cathy doesn’t want to believe their mother was involved but Chris insists on it and tells her they must escape now. They make it known that the grandfather was dead BEFORE the powdered donuts showed up.

After escaping, Chris gives Cathy the choice to turn mickey’s body in as evidence for Corrine and Olivia’s crimes but Cathy throws it out. Chris seems disappointed that they will go unpunished but Cathy reveals that she left a candle burning near the paper flowers. However she tells Chris if God doesn’t want anyone to die in a house fire then he can blow the candle out through the window she left open.

“Flowers in the Attic” by Adrienne Vale manuscript

Pages photographed:

Cover, 1, 2, 3, 124, 295 (end)

Notes:

I didn’t get a chance to read this one thoroughly, I only flipped through it. It seemed to be very close to the published version of Fita. It is in 1st person and begins with what is now the prologue. Included is the 1st page of a previous draft, where the prologue part is shorter and a bit different. The first chapter begins with Chris sr. dead and quickly describes their grief as Corrine writes to her parents.

An interesting scene is where Cathy experiences german-guilt over the holocaust after seeing (what i presume was a movie, I didnt go back to look) and reveals that their father, Chris sr., fought in WWII. Chris comments that Foxworths only die from accidents. Cathy comments on her and her father both being Aries.

Once again the story ends with Cathy thinking about the candle she left burning in the attic by the paper flowers, and bitterly thinks that the house wont burn down if God blows it out through the open window.

“Julian the Bold” chapter

Pages photographed:

135, 136, 137, 138,

Notes:

And unused chapter from Reaching for Roses, a manuscript for what eventually became Petals on the Wind. (See below for more on Reaching for Roses)

The chapter begins with Cathy outside a drug store being harassed by boys. She feels afraid and alone but Julian comes to her rescue. Lots of homophobic language in this chapter, especially the f word. In the rain Julian fights this group of 5 footballers, elegantly avoiding all their blows and beating their asses. Cathy is just starstruck by him and even says she would die for him in that moment!

Some bystander girls start cheering on the jocks to knife Julian, with more homophobic jeers. Pissed, Cathy kicks the knife from one jocks hand and stands back to back with julian to fight with him. He tells her to run as he holds them off, but a group of guys from their ballet class run to their defense. Julian still throws Cathy to safety so she wont be trampled, and soon the cops arrived sending everyone fleeing into the drug store.

Box 7

“Reaching for Roses” petals on the wind manuscript

Pages photographed:

Cover, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 479, 636, 637, 640, 641, 642, 643, 644, 649,

Notes:

A manuscript which later became Petals on the Wind. This seems to be a second completed manuscript after a previous one titled “Where the Greener Grass Grows”. (Read more about that below)

I didn’t get a chance to read through these manuscripts because there were a TON of folders full of completed typed manuscripts, manuscripts written in pen on looseleaf paper, and carbon paper copies. It was overwhelming. But here are some interesting bits I did see.

There are some letters Cathy wrote to Chris and Paul which were unused in the published book.

In the chapter where Cathy confronts Corrine during the Christmas party, Cathy points out that Corrine only started serving the donuts AFTER her father died. Corrine seems unsure what to say but then blames John Amos. She claims John made her do it so he could inherit his own portion of the fortune.

Now here’s the craziest part. Corries has a young man with her named Gary. She claims that this Gary is actually CORY. She says that once Cory was at the hospital, she told Olivia and the kids he had died. But secretly she had taken him to an orphanage where he was later adopted by Bart’s sister. She claims the pneumonia gave Cory amnesia. Cathy doesn’t buy it, she examines and questions Gary but can’t come to a proper conclusion. He’s much taller than Carrie ever got, and he has no cowlick. Bart claims it all makes sense now why Corrine dotes on Gary so much and always had to see him. But Cathy insists that shes just insane and wanted to believe this random orphan was Cory.

Cathy lies and tells Corrine that one of Chris’s chemistry sets had a blood test function, so they know Cory has blood type O negative, which is rare, so if they test Gary’s blood it should confirm if he truly is Cory. Corrine is shaken by this and seems to lose conviction. Then Cathy claims she knows exactly where Cory’s skeleton is in the attic, and Corrine loses it. Chris comes in as Corrine runs off. Bart asks Chris to confirm if Gary is Cory. Chris seems uninterested and doesn’t really care if he is or isn’t Cory. But in the end he says Gary’s hair color is too different from their own, so he’s not convinced.

Gary says he may be Cory, he has no memories of his childhood and sometimes feels that he remembers Corrine at his bedside in the hospital crying. But in the end Gary only cares about his adoptive mother because she’s the only person who has ever claimed him as her own, so he leaves.

Bart tells Cathy that he really had only been with Corrine for her money, but now he wants to be with Cathy.

After the house burns down, Corrine is taken away in a straight jacket and Bart is found dead with Olivia clinging to him. They died from the smoke.

Box 9

“Where the Greener Grass Grows” petals on the wind manuscript

Pages photographed:

Page 1 looseleaf, 101, 336 carbon, 337 carbon, 342 carbon, 343 carbon, 344 carbon, 345 carbon, 346 carbon (end 1), 484, 485, 486 (end 2)

Notes:

This was an earlier manuscript for what eventually became Petals on the Wind. I suspect this was the very first manuscript, which came before “Reaching for Roses” (see above).

This one was difficult to piece together since it was split into several folders and collected through loose leaf paper written in pen, typed pages from several iterations of the corrected manuscripts, and carbon paper copies. There is no typed version of the first chapter, and among the several folders the pages are not always in numeric order. Some pages have multiple copies in both typed and carbon paper copied form, and many pages are missing altogether. It was difficult to read so I wasn’t able to record much. But here are some of the interesting findings.

This manuscript is in 3rd person much like the original Fita manuscript. I wonder if she always writes her first drafts in 3rd person?

We get to see Cathy and Chris described through a stranger’s eyes (paul). He describes Chris as a “young god” lmao

In this version there are police and detectives. There is a court trial where John Amos is arrested for everything. Bart played a role in his arrest, and is actually a senator at this point. Corrine is dead, actually murdered (by john amos?), and her name was cleared. Cathy even wishes for her mother’s forgiveness as it seems Corrine actually hadnt been the one trying to kill them. Bart also suggests that they go visit Olivia, he tells Cathy that the grandmother has changed and is lonely now.

Corrine left a will which divides her fortune 4 ways.

Carrie had a baby but Carrie still died, and now that baby is in Cathy’s care. Chris has a wife named Sarah.

Cathy and Paul are married much earlier. Paul has a 16 year old son with a woman named Leona, and Cathy wants the boy to live with herself and Paul. His first wife and son scotty are dead.

(Ending version 1)

A woman named Nora Kowles harassed Cathy outside the courthouse, claiming she knows about Cathy and Chris’s relationship. Chris rushes to defend Cathy but a truck hurls toward them. He pushes Cathy away and is hit by the car instead. Cathy is bleeding profusely from between her legs, she is pregnant and worries about her baby. Chris crawls over to her and asks her to say what hes always been dying to hear, and he dies in her lap. Cathy asks Bart to see that Paul gets her share of money and then she dies hugging chris on the pavement.

Paul is left to care for Carries baby until Alex (Carrie's husband) arrives to take her. He also is looking after Chris’s widow, Sarah, who never got to tell Chris she was pregnant.

Paul reads the journals Cathy kept from their time in Foxworth Hall and plans to open a free school for unfortunate children as Cathy had wished to do.

Now, as I said, there are multiple iterations of corrections to this manuscript, all bundled together. So here is the corrected ending for Where the Greener Grass Grows:

(Ending version 2)

After Chris defends Cathy from Nora’s insults, Paul warns them in time about the truck. It swerves away and both Cathy and Chris are safe. Cathy tells Paul that she chooses to stay with him instead of Bart. Paul accepts her unborn child, fathered by Bart, as his own. Chris interrupts to tell them Nora was killed by the truck, which no one is sad about. Chris and Cathy feel hopeful that the Foxworth curse has finally been lifted from them.

Jory wasn’t mentioned in either ending so I don’t think his character existed. I’m not sure if Cathy ever married Julian since she mentions how his love for her was always one sided, and she loved Paul.

“A Writer's Way to Profit from Memories” article written by VC Andrews

Pages photographed:

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 (end)

Notes:

There were a few pages that overlapped, suggesting there were at least two drafts of this article. The last few pages seem to be printed with sentences mistakenly spliced in, so it may be confusing to read.

VCA writes that Fita is not at all an autobiography, the only similarities she has to the story is the way Cathy responds to trauma.

She explains that even as an adult, with mature rationalizations, she never forgot how it felt to experience the world and events as a child. Through this understanding of child-like perception she hoped to one day be an understanding mother.

She explains that she uses her own memories, and the memories of others to write her stories- only she exaggerates and embellishes them. She imagines what the worst possible scenario could have been in a situation she had experienced, and follows that path.

For instance, she compares Audrina’s experience in My Sweet Audrina to an experience of her own, which could have had a similar outcome if VCA had been as unlucky as Audrina.

[skyfall8600]

Sucked In. Chap 22: Death Becomes Her

Summary: You wake up in the world of Stranger Things before the events of Season 4. Are you able to help in the fight against Vecna, and save the man of your dreams?

Pair: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Warning: swearing, Upside Down, blood-mentioned.

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Previous: Chapter 21

Next: Chapter 23

[2.1k words] 

Note: Some creative liberties were taken in terms of D&D (I have mixed some old and new components) 

You weren't sure what came over you. Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush; maybe even the stinging sensation in your hand from the contact with the blade. Most likely, it was Vecna’s gasps for air that fuelled your need to forgo your considerate nature and just let loose. 

You tried looking him in the eyes; which was hard considering the right one was blown back into his head from Nancy’s gun. 

The house was slowly caving in on itself; the fire below had forced the final integrity structures to collapse, and the newly added tear in the roof from the dragon meant that you only had minutes left before you needed to get out of there. 

El started first, using his confinement under the dragon’s claws as the perfect way to limit his body’s movements. He was powerless, you could tell that the chip worked. El forced all his limbs to break, snapping in half just like he would do to his victims. 

You focused on his mentality; amplifying every signal so the pain was a thousand times worse. The two of you ignored the blood pouring out your eyes, ears and nose. It was a small amount of suffering to pay. 

“You do not know–” he gasped, “ –of the destruction you are toying with.” 

Above you, Eddie lost his balance on the dragon and tumbled downwards to the ground. You went to rush to where the window once was, but the dragon nudged you to stay in place. Faintly from below, you could hear Eddie’s swearing cries– he didn’t sound hurt; and that was all you could go off. 

Approaching where Vecna was on the ground; you stood up tall.

“It’s only fair you’re tormented just like the others.” You said, closing your eyes and raising your hand to cover his face. 

The world shifted away and Vecna was transported back into his younger self; the scary and intimidating presence Vecna was gone, and only a young Henry remained. 

“You could have done so much,” You said, letting the imaginary house cave in on itself, trapping a defenceless Henry under the rubble. “You– we– all of those like us could have made the world better; but you saw nothing but pain and suffering.” 

He screamed, and it took all you had to remind yourself that it was not the child in front of you who was in pain. It was a ruthless monster. So instead, you changed his image to be that of Peter, his older self from the laboratory. 

“Humanity deserved to die!” He screamed. “All humans have ever done is destroy and conquer.” 

“No, Henry.” You said, “We have loved, and lost, and dreamed. Through all the bad that has come, there is always good.” 

He looked at you angrily, his eyes sunken in and blonde hair slicked back. He raised his hands, trying to move things with his mind, but it was no use. 

“You have no power here.” You spoke softly, stepping away from the rubble and picturing the earth below swallowing him whole. “If only you were different; we could have done so much good, helped so many people to outweigh the bad… it’s because of people like you, humanity is seen as evil.”

Eruptions of fire engulfed the rubble, capturing him straight in the middle. It burned apart his human-looking flesh. 

“I’m not going to let that happen any more.” You said, your final word acting like a command. Thrusting you back into reality was when the dragon grabbed you, pulling you out of the crumbling house hold. 

The dragon dropped you gently on the ground outside, everyone rushed over to make sure the two of you were safe. All you could do was watch as Creel House turned into nothing more than ashes and broken timber. 

You ignored everyone talking around you, focusing your eyes to reconnect with the dragon. You had seen enough horror movies to know that unless you see the body; the villain isn’t dead. And like hell you’d let that happen. 

You instructed the dragon to dig through the house to search for his body, volunteering your eyesight to help it. 

“It won’t hold for much longer! There’s too many earthquakes.” Eddie said, pulling at your arm. 

You shook your head, your vision filling with the dragon’s search. “I’m making sure he’s dead!” You screamed without looking at Eddie. 

It was easy for the dragon to move the timber and other house materials; it grabbed Vecna’s already deformed body with its teeth and spat him out like trash in front of you and the others. Just like you expected, he was still breathing. 

El moved so she held his head in her hands; you on the other hand, approached him slowly. Just as you were about the raise the sword to give one final blow into his skull, Will grabbed your shoulder gently. 

You looked at him; his eyes held nothing but fear behind them. His face was bloody and tears mixed with the blood on his cheeks. You knew that even though Vecna had taken so much from you; this was not your story to end. 

Will and El had to be the ones to finish him off; so you handed Will the sword without so much as uttering a single word. He needed this, far more than you did. Through the years of torture and fear Will and El had endured at his hand, it was only fair that they were the ones to put an end to it all. 

You saluted him with a single nod, giving him full access to the blade and standing back. Eddie was by your side, clutching you to his chest instantly. Your body relaxed into his; and you suppressed a smile when you saw the demogorgons reproach from the side of your vision. 

It was eerie quiet; the only sounds were the dying breaths of Vecna and whatever creatures remained. 

Will didn’t speak at all; he raised the sword and swinged it in one swift motion. Vecna’s body fell to the floor, its already deformed and broken shape caused for it to lie weirdly on the muddy earth. His head, however, was still firmly grasped in El’s hands. 

She made eye contact with you, unsure of what to do with it. You glanced to the demogorgon’s, nodding at them. El chucked Vecna’s head in their direction, and it was devoured in seconds. The sound of his skull cracking with every pull and bite echoed around you. 

Everyone stood there in silence; hardly believing that it was the end. But, fate had other ideas. The ground beneath you continued to crack and move, a stream of red and blues painted the openings. The cracks lead straight back to the Creel House; which was fitting considering all this mess only started once a young Henry Creel entered the house for the first time. Before that, he was a normal child… depressed and slightly sadistic, but normal. 

It made you think that perhaps there was something on this side, in the Upside Down, that made Henry Creel become the way he did. You refused to believe that someone could be borne that evil. 

Dustin was the first to notice what was at the heart of the house; underneath the rubble and broken earth. It floated in the air below where you stood; if the earthquake never occurred, it would have remained hidden. 

The more you looked at the crystal; the more your head became clouded with different realities. All the lives that could have been flashed through your mind, similar to how El first felt when she entered the upside down. 

You tried to look at El, but she was in the same amount of pain as you. “We– we have to make sure it doesn’t break!” she said. 

“What is that?!” Steve screamed, trying to get away from the faults. 

“It- that’s what started it all! It’s some sort of crystal.” You said, gritting your teeth through the pain. You clutched away at your forehead, unable to feel anything else but the pull the crystal had on you. 

“Crystals channel powers and spells.” Eddie said, hoping to offer some of his knowledge. 

Over and over; the crystal showed you what your life should have been. The images were burned deep into your mind. 

“Eddie– it’s showing me different realities.” You said, gripping forcefully at his shirt to support yourself upwards. 

His eyes went wide, moving so he could get a look at the crystal for himself. “Fluorite. Fuck– ok, it’s a time crystal. That’s bad– very bad.” 

“Reality Break!?” Dustin screamed. 

“English please!” Robin yelled, “Why is it bad?” 

“It destroys barriers between realities and timelines. That’s probably how the bastard knew to get rid of Y/n for his plan to work– the fucking crystal showed him.” 

As everyone spoke about why the crystal was bad or dangerous to break; you thought differently. It was only showing you the good aspects of what life should have been; how perfect and untainted by Vecna. That was the true reality, and the one you were currently in was the altered one Vecna forced to come true. 

“We– have to destroy it.” You said, unsure if anyone could hear your voice. 

“Destroy it?! Are you crazy? That thing could literally cause the reality to cave in on itself–”

“Dustin, I think that’s whats already happening!” You waved your hand around, “All of this– should have never existed. The demogorons were a way for the crystal to try and get a hold back on the real reality– the one it is showing me. No upside down, no Vecna, no deaths, no me getting sent to another world– I think…. If we destroy it, it might all reset.” 

“Reset, as in… turn back time to before the Upside Down was created?” Nancy asked. 

“She’s right.” El said, “I see it too. It keeps repeated, like a loop that was broken– it wants to be fixed.” 

Eddie swore under his breath, “No, we don’t know what would happen if we destroy it.” 

He wanted to pretend that his fear was for the sake of the universe. That the possibility of it going wrong would cause destruction. But that wasn’t what he was afraid of; he was terrified that it would work. If Vecna was truly removed, who’s to say the crystal would fix everything exactly to how it was supposed to be? If the town reset and all those deaths never occurred, would that still mean you would come to Hawkins? Would you be trapped in that other would forever; a result of some glitch from the crystal? 

He didn’t want to risk it. There was so many things that could go wrong if it did behave how he thought it would. He couldn’t afford never having met you; or potentially remembering you while you were out of reach. 

“Eddie,” You said softly, “I think it’ll work.” 

“And if you don’t come back?” He said in a whisper. 

You smile softly, the best you could as you tried to ignore the pain in your head. You leaned to kiss him gently and quickly, “I’ll love you in every timeline; just trust me– we have to try this.” 

“I can’t– Angel, I can’t do this–” 

“Yes you can, even if you don’t see me again, look at the family you have. Look at how far you’ve come; you have to promise me, that even though I know you will wait and search for me, you have to continue to live life, okay?” 

You would have been embarrassed at everyone hearing your words; but they were all too wrapped up in their own goodbyes. Hope that everything would turn out; but the fear of things still going wrong couldn’t be shaken away. 

“I love you; I’ll find you.” He said against your forehead. 

As everyone parted from their loved ones; El took it upon herself to use her powers and the crystal cracked. Green shards scattered all around and the world erupted into rays of light; overpowering and washing over all the darkness that was created.

__________________________________________________________________

Please reblog if you like my work. Tumblr only uses “likes” as bookmarks, thank you 🌟❤️

If the tags are not working for you OR you would like to be added, please reply/comment directly on this chapter. Apologies if I missed anyone! 

As always, let me know what you think in the comments! 

Eddie Munson Taglist:

@fentyreligion @littlelunarfox @coconutchumby @eempxth @superflannel @fluffycookies22 @yearwalker96 @magicalchocolatecheesecake @grungegrrrl​@m1rkw00dpr1ncess @dixontardis @buckyslwts @bratckerman @dani-d0rk @musicmoviestv @tomshelbystits @reddisteddie @ungracefularchimedes @santaatemypuppy @cherryrevenger @chipster-21​ @grungegrrrl @azaleaforsure

Series Taglist:

@gobringmemyfood @munchabunch @empty-and-nameless @el1997 @gooblerstan @bigbundabucket @theprettyandthereckless @earthtokace @ifellinlovewithawarsblog @secretsicanthideanymore @blueberryhitosh1 @maryan028 @bakugouswh0r3  @loliakeoghan23 @gamorxa @stardustworlds @bakugouswh0r3 @taeddybearkim @azaleaitsgreen @eddiemunsonslips @awhoreforeddiemunson @strangerthingsstories5255 @queenotaku23 @sweetberry47 @sammararaven @anothermunsonsimp @megumimind @zephyrs-world ​@thegirlwhohides 

@whoreforhowl @kaitebugg03 @preciousbabypeter @snapped-chopstick @cutiecusp @sl-tfor-joseph-quinn

[taraninja]

Hawks Propaganda

Okay this took me WAYYY too long but I finally have a Slideshow of Hawks Propaganda! 

HAWKS SLIDESHOW

For those too lazy/non-bnha fans though, here’s a condensed list of reasons to vote for Hawks: 

Throughout the top ten list of heroes, most of them are super moral, straight-shooting goodies who aren’t well known for their humor or shifty personalities. Hawks is like a diamond in the rough among them, as he’s often seen cracking cynical or sarcastic jokes and just mocking the whole institution of Hero society as a whole. 

He has every reason to be pessimistic and depressed, he was born the son of a thief who forced him to remain indoors and be completely repressed from society, other kids, and just general people. He was emotionally and physically abused by his parents, getting hit, kicked, and insulted “we should never have had someone as useless as you” on the daily. Yet he still grew up with an optimistic and cheerful outlook, with his main goal being to create a society where ‘heroes have too much free time on their hands.’ He thinks having a good personality and attitude is more important than a powerful quirk, because what’s most important is putting others at ease. He so clearly puts others needs above his own and, considering he was raised by two very selfish people, is just astounding. 

Even after his mother’s abuse, he still provides for her well-being, using the money he gets from working with the HPSC to get a house for her (even though she leaves it). Like my man has such a big heart and isn’t appreciated enough for it

Look at these pictures. Just look at them and tell me he’s not hot 

I have legit had my blog themed entirely around this character since he was first revealed in the manga. If that’s not indicative of the vice grip this character has over me and the fandom, I don’t know what is

I have been working on a fanfic specifically focusing on Hawks’ childhood training under the HPSC called “Feather-Kissed Flames,” and I will release the first chapter if we’re able to get him to win! 

Look at that mischievous little smile. Could you really say no to that face VOTE HERE 

[steddiebang]

I could have loved you (you would not let me)

Author: @stardust_walker l Artist: @werew0rm Posting on Friday, November 17

When Chrissy Cunningham dies, Max's world falls into a spiral. It leaves her with more questions than answers and a new found need to know more about her past. Corroded Coffin has been broken up for over 20 years. Max knows the place she can get the answers she wants. Between the documentary about the band and her upcoming wedding, it might be easier than she thought. Until she meets Eddie Munson, the reclusive guitarist for the band who's hidden himself away for years and isn't as forthcoming as she hoped. Along with her father, Steve, he holds the answers she's been looking for. What could go wrong?

Keep reading for a sneak preview!

There was no gate that led to Eddie Munson’s house; just the too long driveway that wound up off the main road and led to a big old looking house. Eddie was already outside waiting for them when they pulled up. Lucas couldn’t help but think that Eddie looked exactly how he’d expected Steve to look when they’d first met.

Eddie had been handsome when he was younger. The old footage that Max had shown him of performances had been proof enough; with his long curly hair that swung around as he thrashed around on stage and the bright smiles he would flash to the crowd or in interviews, even a blind person could see it. Eddie was a heartthrob in the wrong business.

Now, he just looked tired. Like life had dragged him along down his own driveway for too long. “You guys are actually on time,” Eddie called out as Lucas opened the driver’s side door. “Half the time, people can’t find the place. Or they don’t show up at all.” He stepped off the porch and reached out to shake Lucas’ hand. 

“Well, being on time is apparently important to professionalism. Or something,” Lucas made a mental note that Eddie was stronger than he looked as he released his hand and moved around to the trunk. His eyes lingered on the cane that Eddie had gripped in his left hand before he started to unload his gear.

“So…are you Max then?”

Lucas quirked an eyebrow as Max let out a snort of laughter. The red-head pushed the passenger side door open and eased herself to her feet. “He wishes,” Max joked. Lucas rolled his eyes fondly as he slung the backpack onto his shoulder. “I’m Max. He’s just Lucas. You guys talked on the phone.”

“Oh,” Eddie surveyed her with a curious look. “See that makes sense.” He grinned as he reached out to shake Max’s hand. She took it and tried to look collected even as her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest.

Appearances proved to be deceiving as they got the tour of Eddie’s house. It was definitely smaller than almost everyone else’s, except for maybe Robin’s house. The only other person who lived there was his uncle and he was out of town on a fishing trip or something. “One of life’s simple pleasures or whatever the fuck he likes to call it. It changes,” Eddie explained as they walked past a closed bedroom door.

The thin hallway that led from the living room to the kitchen drew Max’s interest. Eddie may not play as many concerts as he did before, but it was obvious that he missed it. The walls were plastered with different items: from concert tickets to flyers to candid pictures. Corroded Coffin was everywhere. “Max,” Lucas whispered. Her gaze shifted over and she stepped closer to get a better look at the picture that Lucas was focused on. It was Eddie and Steve with Chrissy sandwiched between them. They all had big smiles on their faces in the picture. They looked so young and innocent in their own way even though Max knew better by now. It felt like a punch in the stomach when she noticed it in the picture. Chrissy was looking right at the camera. But the other two? Steve had his head turned slightly, almost like he was telling Eddie something when the picture was being taken and the smile on Eddie’s face was…different.

“I miss her sometimes,” Max cleared her throat as she tried to play it off.

“I miss her all the time,” Eddie answered. Lucas looked over his shoulder to see Eddie. The man looked tired as he bore some of his weight on the black cane that he had gripped in his left hand. He sighed as he leaned back against the doorway leading into the kitchen. “I’m sure we’ll talk loads about it. I remember that day…really well actually. But let’s eat first.” 

They settled for doing the interview in the sunroom. Eddie’s backyard was bright, filled with different flowers and blossoming trees. It was nothing compared to the garden that Steve meticulously cared for but it still showed something that Max suspected. They both enjoyed caring for things. They did a shit job of caring for themselves but the way that the plants and Max herself had flourished proved that they both cared deeply. Maybe too much.

“So can you tell us what it was like?” Lucas started them off like he had mercifully done when they had interviewed Steve and Robin.

“What what was like,” Eddie tilted his head.

“What being in one of the biggest bands in the world was like,” Lucas elaborated. 

Eddie let out a snort of laughter. “Hard to believe that people still think that after everything that happened.” 

“Well they do,” Max interjected. I do, was left unspoken because there was too much baggage that came with that right now. Eddie’s gaze turned to her. It was like she could feel him staring right through her. Right into her soul with his big stupid puppy dog eyes. “I have some friends back home that almost shit themselves when we told them we were going to talk to THE Eddie Munson.”

Lucas nodded his head enthusiastically. It wasn’t exactly a lie either. Max had called their friends when they’d landed to make sure that Mike hadn’t stowed away in their luggage.

“You guys must know that flattery works on me,” Eddie smiled, a real smile. The dimples in his cheeks would definitely make a sucker out of someone like Steve Harrington back in the day. “I wouldn’t know where to start.” It was probably the first honest answer he’d given them all day.

“From the beginning.” Max leaned back in her chair, eyes locked on the older man sitting across from them.

Read more on November 17!

[bus-stop-to-kpop]

Kingom Reaction #1 - You have a Dating Rumor

(You are also an Idol in this one)

Requested?: No

Word Count: around 100 - 150 each

A/N: I really love Kingdom so it’s a little sad to see how little content there is on them, but fear not I’m here to give you a lot!

I realized that some of them might be more of a shipping scenario than an actual dating rumor, but I didn’t know what else to call it.

Either way have fun reading :) ~Admin J

Dann: You're a guest at his Radio show, Radio'n'Us, being sent to represent your group.

Viewers instantly managed to catch how well the two of you seemed to get along. Both of you were all smiley during the interview section, laughing at jokes the other made, no matter how bad they were.

They were also quick to notice the blush spreading across your cheeks whenever Dann complimented your voice. Since you were shy it always embarrassed you to get praised like that.

Of course you also took a picture together for the Instagram account of the radio and many pointed out how good you looked together.

And then there was also the post on your groups official account about how nice Dann had been to you and how much fun you had during the interview.

Obviously any sweet interaction like that would make the fans minds go wild with scenarios.

Arthur: Both of you are the main dancers of your respective groups so you were paired to do a performance together at one of the end of the year award shows.

Since both of you were passionate about dancing you wanted to make sure to give the audience an amazing performance. And you did.

After the performance many people commented how harmonious you looked while dancing and how it seemed like the two of you had been dancing together for years.

When the behind the scenes and dance practice videos came out netizens pointed out how well you got along, joking around with each other and just having fun in general.

It left everyone questioning if you were more than just project partners for this dance.

Mujin: You post a picture of you at the same location.

When you posted a picture of yourself on a walk at Han river you didn't think anything of it. Simply wanting your fans to know how you were spending your time off after just finishing your latest promotion.

Only for your phone to blow up with notifications, Mujin had also posted a picture at Han river the day prior.

Netizens immediately concluded that you must have gone on a walk together and took pictures of each other only to post it for your Lovestargram.

Even though Mujin and you opened up about it only being a coincidence, many fans still liked to believe the two of you were dating.

Louis: He used to be friends with your brother.

Him and your brother were both on the schools soccer team and used to be good friends, so he often came over to your house.

However once he became a trainee he lost touch with your brother.

He's surprised to suddenly see you a few feet away from him as he is waiting for the MC to announce the winner of today's music show.

Being the extroverted person he is, he approaches you when walking off stage, unaware that you were still in frame of the camera.

So your little interaction quickly sparked rumors.

Ivan: You accidentally bump into him at ISAC.

It wasn't on purpose obviously, you were simply too focused on interacting with your fans while walking backwards to notice Ivan's tall figure behind you.

Almost losing your balance Ivan wrapped an arm around you to make sure you didn't fall.

Fans at the venue would laugh about the way you were rapidly bowing while apologizing as Ivan tried to promise you it was completely fine and he was happy you didn't get hurt.

Pictures of Ivan's arm wrapped around you would later be taken out of context, spreading a rumor about how the two of you were obviously in love with each other, until someone released the full video of you bumping into him.

Hwon: You use similar phrases while communicating with fans.

Since it hasn't been long since his debut, he's still a little awkward when it comes to communicating with fans.

So he takes notes on how other idols act with their fandom.

He really likes the way you use your words, so he adapts some of your phrases for his weverse posts, like the way you wish people a good morning or good night.

Fans are quick to spot this.

Hwon is embarrassed about it, causing a rumor about the two of you so shortly after his official debut, he immediately stops trying to text like you and find his own style of communication.

Once he does, he realizes that sometimes you will use a phrase similar to his or just the same.

He's not sure if you're doing it unknowingly or if you're trying to poke fun at the rumors.

Jahan: You film a dance challenge together.

Due to promoting at the same time you were seeing each other quite frequently, so obviously he would take the chance and ask you to do their dance challenge with him.

He gives you the option to back out, not wanting to bother you, but you happily agree.

The next time you meet backstage you ask him to take part in your dance challenge in return. So you film the video and upload it soon after on your groups official account.

Seeing how Jahan and you already met twice backstage netizens start gossiping about what else could be happening when you meet backstage.

Maybe some Romance blossoming?