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#these were warmups for my next assignment
moss-cola · 1 year
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Some D&D spell sheets for my portfolio :)
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greynatomy · 5 months
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protective
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arsenal x reader
some family dynamics with reader and the team
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You signed your first professional football contract when you were seventeen with Arsenal. Ever since then, your teammates became very protective of you. You were assigned to live with Lia, who instantly took you under her wing.
At the time, Lia and Caitlin had been together and became your team parents. They would make sure you’ve packed everything you needed for away games, packed you lunches, whatever parents did and you very much enjoyed the attention. Even when you went on loan for a season all the way to California for Angel City, they made sure to get Christen’s phone number to make sure you were bing taken care of.
What you hated though, was how protective they were of you and that protectiveness passed onto the rest of your Arsenal teammates and when you were called up to the Lionesses, Leah and Beth’s protectiveness passed onto the rest of your national teammates.
Fast forward four years later, you’re now twenty-one, still living with Lia, minus Caitlin. You loved to call yourself a child of divorce, the ex-couple finding it amusing.
Right now, you and Lia were walking into Emirates Stadium to get ready for the match. You walk over to your cubby right next to you other mom.
“Hey, babes. Did you take a nap?” Caitlin pulls you into a hug, kissing the side of your head. You only nod, still feeling the sleepiness.
You get ready in your game kit, putting your warm up shirt over. Grabbing your hairbrush and some hair ties, you walk over to where Steph is, sitting on the ground between her legs, where she starts doing your hair, no questions asked, on of the perks of being the team baby.
Running onto the pitch, you start to warm up, partnering with Kyra. Couple minutes in, the fans started cheering, louder than any cheer you’ve heard just during warmups.
“Hey, isn’t that the girl you’re always watching?”
“What? Like I’m some stalker?” Your eyes wide, not sure what Lia meant when she walked up to you.
“No, like movies and that show she did. What was it? Wednesday or something?”
You look up to where she’s pointing on the big screen, seeing none other than Jenna Ortega. Your eyes instantly lights up, not knowing she would be at your match, or even in England.
Before your teammates knew it, you were up in the stands giving her a big hug.
“That doesn’t look like a very platonic hug, doesn’t it?” Katie asks Caitlin.
With her brows furrowed, she walks over to her ex-girlfriend asking if she’s seeing the same thing.
“She needs a good talking to.”
“Her or the girl?”
“We’ll talk to our kid and make Leah talk to the girl.”
“Ah. Good thinking.”
Walking towards where you were on the stands, they both call you over, saying it’s time to go back through the tunnel.
“Well, those are my mums. I’ll see you after the game so don’t go anywhere.”
You give Jenna a crooked grin. She lifts a hand up to cup your cheek, giving it a little pinch.
“You’re too cute. I’ll be sure to stay here.”
“Okay. See you later!”
Giving her a quick hug, you run off to Caitlin and Lia, them wrapping an arm each around you.
“Who was that?”
“Yeah, when’d you get a girlfriend?”
Your eyes go wide and purposefully ignore the questions, running away from them.
———
The match starts with Arsenal’s possession. Everything’s been all back and forth so far.
Meanwhile, Leah makes her way to the stands where your very popular guest is sitting.
“Mind if I sit here?” Leah asks, pointing at the empty seat next to the brunette.
“No, go ahead.”
Getting comfortable, the two watch the match, not really acknowledging each other. Leah, the great speaker that she is, is having a hard time to give the apparent girlfriend of her little cub the ‘talk’.
“How rude of me. I’ve not introduced myself. I’m Leah.”
“Jenna.” She shakes Leah’s hand that was held out to her.
“It’s very nice to meet you Jenna.”
“You as well.”
“Okay. Now, I saw that you know our baby gunner over there.”
“Y/N?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, yeah. We’re close.”
“How close would you say is close?”
“I’m not comfortable sharing things about my private life.”
“Uh, how do I put this, I have been given a job by her mums to basically find out more about you.”
“You know her moms?”
“Well team mums. I’m like the big sister, so I guess I’m trying to give you the ‘talk’ which is not going so well right now.”
“Oh! I’m sorry, I thought you were a fan.”
“It’s all good. The whole team is just very protective of Y/N. We’ve known her since she was seventeen and filled in familial roles for her.”
The two were chatting it up, Leah getting to know the actress and paying attention to the match going on. Disappointment ran through both Leah and Jenna when the opposition scored in the twenty-fifth minute.
After that, everything’s been going back and forth, not much else happening. The Arsenal fans were losing hope once the ninetieth minute came. However, on the ninety-second minute, you stole the ball from your opponent, dribbling around her. Everyone was on the edge of their seat. You kicked the ball through their legs and shot a banger right passed the keeper’s gloves, equalizing the match.
You ran towards where Jenna was seated, seeing Leah next to her, but not thinking much of it, and sent a kiss her way, making her blush. Leah pretends to grab it and put it into her pocket making you laugh as you celebrate with the team.
Just two minutes after that, you sent a pass to Alessia, who makes it into the back of the net, giving you the lead. You run up to her and jump into her arms, screaming. The final whistle blows not long after, sending the fans cheering.
Leah as Jenna to follow her as she was going to the pitch, wanting to celebrate with her teammates. You, on the other hand, went to where Jenna was seated, not seeing her anymore, when hands cover your eyes.
“I can’t see!”
“You’re so cute.” You recognize the voice making your turn to face her.
“Jenna! I thought you left!” You wrap your arms around her waist, hers around your neck, standing up straight, her legs lifting off the ground because of your much taller form.
“I told you I wouldn’t.” You let her go, but keep your hands on her waist.
“Babes, you’re needed for an interview.” You tune to your right to see Lia and Caitlin.
“Ugh.” You throw your head back, not wanting to do an interview.
“Off you go. Don’t want to keep anyone waiting.”
“Wait for me again?” You ask Jenna, getting a nod in response.
Once you leave, Caitlin and Lia step closer to Jenna.
“Hi, I’m Lia, this is Caitlin. What are your intentions with Y/N?”
“Well, when she’s done, I intend to take her to this restaurant she’s been wanting to try, but not without me, so I’ve reserved a seat for us there. And for the future, the same thing I’ve been doing which is to be patient and love her all the same, even more.”
“Woah, you’re good.” Caitlin didn’t expect that response.
“Yeah, I’ve tried to give her the talk, very likable person she is.”
“Hey, guys! What are we talking about?” You join back with them after your interview.
“Your girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend? I-uh-d-don’t have a-a—”
“They figured it out.” Jenna interrupts your stuttered response.
“Fine. I have a girlfriend. It’s so cool right!” You give everyone your famous bright smile.
Caitlin and Lia wrap an arm each around you, walking towards the tunnel.
“We still have to give you the talk thought.”
“What? No, please don’t!”
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3416 · 5 months
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1634 primer pt. 2 (2023-present)
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hey again... since the 1634 primer (2015-2023) was a success, i figured i'd start a newer part two to keep that one from getting too long and unruly, so this will be a continuation starting the summer of 2023! with auston's extension signing him through the 27-28 season and with the contract talks for mitch (and hopefully inevitable extension, knock on wood) coming at the end of the 23-24 season.... i feel that there is a ton of content to come, so let's do it x2:
mitch marner got married on july 29th 2023... auston came to his wedding in canada after skipping other teammates weddings the same summer... here's auston being spotted watching mitch and steph during their first dance (his face...).... auston being in the official wedding video (gifs)... tarps off with mitch yelling in his face.... mitch making sure that auston's in one of the pics he posted in his photodump on ig <3 despite not posting many guests... here's a pic with them, michael bunting, naz kadri, and tyson barrie
last year we got auston calling mitch 'mitchelly' and 'his guy' in our leafs thanksgiving video, but this year we got them all randomly assigning thanksgiving dishes to random teammates (video)... and auston chose to give mitch the apple crumble "because it's actually his favorite" (gifs)
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for media day, mitch got roped into a stupid game where you try to roll a coin into a fork... when he sees auston in the bg, he tries to wrangle him into it too... auston's noises of dissent like he's used to mitch trying to boss him around, i rest my case (leafs blueprint ep later showed auston smiling while mitch begged so... i was correct)
in the 2023 bardown callout video, auston turns into a giggly happy mess when mitch comes in the room mid-answer (gifs)... mitch also picked auston as the most likely to rip dress pants bc he's got "big legs" (gifs)... followed by a look that can only be interpreted as him fighting his own demons
auston, mitch, willy, and mo all did this goofy video where auston and mitch pretended to be sobeys workers and were given instructions behind the scenes... mitch sees auston in the outfit and his first thought is immediately "dude you look good as a sobeys worker" (gifs)... and then proceeds to make auston do pushups for fun (gifs). they were also given costumes with matching pb&j hats... and there's THIS picture i still need them to answer for.
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all of them also went and did a little crossover with the blue jays... where mitch and auston were still a duo on the baseball field (vid here) (pic)
first glimpse of them playing hockey to start training and of course... they're hovering around each other from the first moment
this little preseason moment where mitch keeps his hand on auston's back for a bit... just to touch him
in the opening game of the 23-24 season, auston matthews scored his 300th career goal (followed by his 301st and 302nd for his 8th career hat trick) with an assist by mitch (who collects the puck for him too), which marks 100 goals he's assisted on for auston if this graphic is to be believed. auston went on to score 2 more hat tricks within his first 8 games, many of his goals being assisted by mitch.
another warmup video where they pass in sync too... and the maple leafs official account calling their warmup a TRADITION
the commentators still never shut up about them.. there have been 4892342 moments where they comment on mitch and auston being able to find each other or being partners out there or having chemistry... here are just some of those audio moments: 'with marner by his side, they'll find each other', 'trying to get that fourth goal for his partner', 'his partner mitch marner'
a leafs blueprint episode revealing they sit next to each other in team meetings.... and auston looks at mitch like he's the sun, but WHAT'S NEW
here's jesse from the steve dangle podcast talking about how mitch and auston are more in sync than normal center-winger combos and how matthew knies fits with them.
auston being so happy about mitch shootout goal the first time AND the second time
a game against nashville where auston was ready to go after a man who crosschecked mitch and where they held hands even though they didn't score themselves (pic) (gifs)
random pics of mitch and auston being attached at the hip during breaks here here here here
auston and mitch... have changed their pregame handshake to something that looks like... they both? kiss their gloves? before highfiving????... see for yourself ... pic by pic of a different day too
some cellies :') here and here and many more to come, im sure
bench moments so far: x x x x
they also still constantly walk into places on the road together as evidenced by this tag i've started and here's a pic from their global series trip where they're getting off the plane together
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here's the first part of the primer in case you missed it and here is the @1634archive, where i've got a bunch of pics dewatermarked of them for you to peruse. it'll be updated as the season goes. for misc moments and gifs of 1634 that aren't substantial enough to get bullet points here, you can check out my tags #1634 and #egifs where it'll probably mostly be mitch and auston stuff. if there are any broken links or anything, don't be afraid to shoot me an ask so i can try to fix it!! enjoy!!
updated: 11/14/23
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ghostcathedrals · 4 months
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sports coach toji ://///
basketball
he's the chill coach; honestly worrisome how chill he is even at crucial times when they're trying to beat the quarter clocks. he's so composed even when the gap is widening (regardless if in favor of toji's team or not) that it's insulting to the other team's coach, as if he's belittling the game itself. like it's a practice game.
sports parents, esp. moms ..... i'm sure you know how they regard toji. single coach who spent a good sum of his money during his divorce court trial. anyway. they love him istg they watch the games both for their kids AND their coach
you're his favorite sports parents lmfaoooo
however, he's NOT chill during practices, especially after losing. now, toji's teams have far more winning streaks than losing, so he's usually stricter at the peak of the streaks or right after one loss. he's got that chill look with a sinisterly strict aura underneath.
"you're not yet good if you can't beat me" ⎯ is way too good it takes several practices for his team to catch up. well, good for him ⎯ two students from the male team, geto and gojo, were able to block his attempt for a two-point shot. AND NO NEPOTISM OK but maki's that grade school team point guard who's able to replicate his signature half-court shot. he got her a pair of basketball shoes for that.
megumi way too good for grade schooler but he also credits his vigor to practice on itadori yuuji.
toji too good there are offers being sent to him with higher pay and larger connections (which do attract him) but he said he'll stay because his son likes his school which is in the basic education of geto and gojo's university
toji likes the way you scream when you cheer and imagines if you'd sound just as loud when he (TOOT) you ;))
football
it's obvious hot under the sun on the field so yes he does take off his coach unform and practices with them with only either a muscle tee or a tank top (yes, i refuse to call it wife-beater). sometimes he forgets to take off his chain necklace even tho it's itchy bc god this man gets lazy at the weirdest times possible
oooooo everyone just loves rerouting to pass by the field (same) and then they'd take pictures so at some point college football got too famous bc of the hot coach
so toji's usually more of a verbal socratic coach. during cooldowns or breaks or warmups he makes sure that his players know how to think for themselves so that even if they're in the zone (which renders them on autopilot and when they're disturbed they lose focus abruptly). he has a way of making them calm down when they know what to do. the same method even helped them with their academics holy shit!
he's lazy when demonstrating but when he does omfg pls kick my face idk. important notes to consider are his agility and flexibility; strong physique in general; and quick thinking. even if he slows down to show them, he's still quick.
he does get frustrated bc we all get crankier when it's hot. he doesn't lash out on his players, he almost never did before, but he does lash out at home when megumi's not around lmfao.
and then one time your kid told you to watch his practice (for this your kid is assigned male at birth), so you did, and then you see his coach and all of a sudden your cute kid always sees you at the bleachers side, front row. parent perks.
the japan national team wants him to be the coach but he's like ..... maybe next time when my son joins your team
omfg if you do get together imagine the way he's flexible and he never gets to drain his stamina because it's overwhelming. i feel bad for you. it will be a tough time. i wouldn't just say in bed, but hehe. he'd fuck you anywhere as long as you say yes.
volleyball
ah yes, toji trained the best spiker-setter duo (that's the coach ukai in him) so now he's graduated two top players in the national team who will, sadly, go to separate teams after an intimacy problem which toji tries to be out of (who knows if the conflict was their breakup after college but ended up as teammates lmfao)
can we talk about how insane his spikes would be strong ones, insulting feints, and ooooo the cross court spike 😍😍 and his wrists!! the trajectory changes caused by his littlest techniques!
Thighs.
you take care of yuuji on behalf of his parents so now you're always seeing him and his very very very special friend and yuuji's equally ecstatic sister ⎯ megumi and nobara respectively. who knew megumi had such a hot father like???
toji being a volleyball player/coach makes a lot of sense ykwim he's got that service ace that no one has ever beaten until toji suddenly retired from playing and started coaching instead
home gym 😍
he's got that vacuum-sealed looking shirt every time he's coaching or at the games specifically. i think they put him on screen often for publicity honestly.
they ask him, "you're one of the best coaches of this generation, and the best graduating players were under your wing. what inspires you to keep being so great at your teaching?" and then he looks at the camera, and grins. "there's someone who watches during practice that divides my attention. i know they're watching right now." and then he winks
said person will not be able to walk the day after the winning games.
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Over The Rainbow (3/5) - Virgil
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Notes:
Virgil makes an appearance!! Sorry this one took me so long - I genuinely just kept forgetting to post it like an idiot, lol. Hope you enjoy regardless <3 TW for ableism in this chapter.
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“Alright actors! Gather up here before we begin warmups today,” Their director called out as the last person arrived in the theatre, “Tech, head backstage - you’ll just be continuing what you were doing last week - actors, yes, I have role assignments for everyone!”
A cheer went through the small crowd of collage students assembled, Roman included. He’d tried pretty hard on his audition! Patton and Logan had both helped him perfect it and everything!
“I’ll leave the sheet here for you all to look at and scripts for you to collect. Once you’ve gotten your role and your script I’d like you to spend this session going through the script and marking your cues, thank you.”
Roman was one of the first people to get to the front and check for his name. When he found it he groaned. 
“I’m the lion ?” Roman sighed, “The cowardly lion ??”
“At least you're not the tin man, babe,” Remy said, mockingly patting Roman on the back with his coffee cup. Roman rolled his eyes and moved over to grab a script. Oh well, it was a little disappointing, maybe he was a little disheartened by his role in their production of The Wizard of Oz, but… it would have to do. 
Roman found a quiet spot near the wings on the stage and sat down, beginning to look through his script and mark out his lines with his red gel pen as instructed. It was about ten minutes into the task that Roman began to hear the strains of an argument from the wings. 
“We needed the orange fur, not the green,” Someone snapped.
“Well you should’ve sent someone else then,” Someone else snapped back immediately, “Considering I can’t see either of those colours.”
“Or maybe you’re just being difficult!” The first person said, voice getting just a little louder, “Since you say you can’t do literally every task I give you! It’s like you just don’t want to fucking help at all!”
“Dude it’s not my fault I have a lot of soulmates,” The second person tried to defend, “And you keep giving me colour related tasks! Not to mention I’m literally disabled - I can’t do certain things, dude.”
“What so it’s my fault then?” The first person snapped, “We wouldn’t have this problem if you could just do it right.”
Roman frowned, how rude, he thought, people can't help their soulmate colours or their disabilities!
“I- I’m not saying it’s your fault ,” The second person said, sounding uneasy, “I’m just saying it’s not mine either.”
“Oh no, totally not your fault that you’re incompetent and lazy,” The first said and Roman nearly growled. Who the fuck thought it was okay to talk to someone like that? He stood up, glancing at the director and upon finding that she wasn’t looking hurried off the stage to find whoever was having this argument.
“Excuse me,” Roman said - it certainly wasn't hard to find them, considering the argument had evolved into whisper-yelling and finger pointing, a heap of green faux-fur piled between them. Both of them looked up at him and Roman almost immediately felt as though he’d been slapped across the face.
Violet eyes .
Man, Roman really hoped the one with purple eyes wasn’t the one who’d been being a dick. 
“Hey - uh, Roman, right? You’re an actor, did you need something?” Said the other person and Roman breathed a sigh of relief, thank god his soulmate wasn’t the asshole. 
“I heard arguing, I just wanted to see what was going on, is everything okay?” Roman asked, raising an eyebrow. Purple looked embarrassed as they leant on their cane, while the other bulked. 
“Nothing major , just Virgil failing to do what I ask again .”
“I couldn’t see the goddamn colour!” ‘Virgil’ yelled, kicking the fur on the ground and storming off, Roman sighed. 
He looked back up at the asshole, raising an eyebrow, “People can’t control what colours they can see, y’know.”
“He’s lying to get out of doing the work, no-one has yellow as a colour, nor orange,” The guy rolled his eyes, “You know how those people are.”
“Those people?” Roman repeated, frowning, “No, I don’t think I do, do you care to explain?”
“I mean, you know how lazy they can be?”
“Who?”
“ You know- come on man, don’t make me say it.” Asshole sighed. 
Roman raised an eyebrow, “I mean, maybe re-evalute your opinions if you can’t even say them out loud, maybe think about whether that's an okay mindset to have? And for the record, yeah, people can have orange as a soulmate colour.”
Without waiting for a response, Roman huffed and walked away after Virgil. Eventually Roman found them sitting in the costume closet, hunched over and tugging at their curly white hair. Roman took a deep breath and knocked on the open door before walking in.
“Hey, are you okay?” Roman asked, they looked up with a worried look in their eyes.
“I’m fine ,” They huffed, glaring at him before looking away, “I don’t need you to save me or whatever this is.”
Roman huffed in pure confusion for a second - what did that even mean? “I’m not- I wanted to make sure you were alright since you left and he was being a total dipshit? I also wanted to, y’know, say hi, since apparently we’re soulmates?”
“Yeah, I figured,” Virgil said, glaring at him. 
“Did you dye your hair yourself?” Roman asked, regardless of their clearly hostile attitude. Their hair was mostly white, but the ends were dyed a pastel purple.
“I- yeah,” Virgil said, raising an eyebrow at him, “Why?”
“Uh- I think it looks cool?” Roman tried, “I did mine too.”
“Nice,” Virgil huffed, “...thanks, by the way, he is a dick.”
“Yeah, I got that vibe,” Roman rolled his eyes, “I’m guessing that’s not the first time?”
“Nope,” Virgil said, popping the ‘p’.
Roman frowned, going over to sit down next to Virgil - far enough away that they weren’t touching, “Have you reported it?”
“Why bother when they’re not going to do anything about it?” Virgil asked, before huffing when Roman raised a confused eyebrow, “They never do. ”
“I’ll report it,” Roman said, “And I’ll make them do something about it, I can be quite stubborn, you know.”
Rolling their eyes, Virgil stood up again and went to leave before Roman jumped up to stop them, “Wait! We’re soulmates, right?”
“Well yeah,” Virgil glared at him.
“I’m guessing you don’t know any of the others?”
“No, I haven’t met anyone else, where is this going?” Virgil stuffed their hand in their pocket, “I need to get back to what I’m supposed to be doing before Toby has another tantrum.”
Roman sighed, “I know some of the others, Green and Blue, I wanted to give you my number so… maybe we can chat? No pressure or anything, just, I wondered.”
Groaning, Virgil pulled out his phone, fiddling with it for a few seconds before handing it to Roman, “There, put your number in, on the condition that you buy me coffee after theatre.”
“Can do!” Roman said, grinning as he typed his number into the box and handed the phone back, “I’m gonna go talk to the director now.”
“I’m not gonna be able to persuade you to leave it, am I?”
“Nope, unless you want my brother to come down here and probably murder him,” Roman shrugged, Virgil looked alarmed for a second, before sighing and shaking their head. 
“You found Purple?” Patton gasped, leaning into Logan’s side as he worked on some project. The three of them were sitting on Logan’s double bed, because he was lucky enough to have a private dorm room, “Why’d you not introduce us?”
“They seem really shy,” Roman sighed, “And super standoffish, I don’t want to overwhelm them.”
“That is very considerate,” Logan told him, “And surprising, considering how excited you and Patton seem to get about almost everything.”
Roman rolled his eyes, “ Yeah I’m excited! That’s why I came here to gush about them instead of dragging them over to meet both of you at once and possibly put them off of all of us forever!”
Shrugging, Logan turned back to his work, “Fair enough.”
“Oh oh! Tell me about them!” Patton gasped, flopping onto their front so that they could look up at Roman with wide eyes, cupping their chin in their hands as they waited. Roman chuckled.
“Well… they’re tall, with hair and skin as white as snow! Their hair falls in waves and fades into a lovely lilac at the ends!” Roman said - trying to put as much poetic emphasis on the words as he could - gestures included - before giggling, “Apparently they dyed it themself - um, they like sweet coffee - they ordered a caramel macchiato with extra cream after theater, they dress mostly in black, their style seems very interesting - an even mix of emo and scene…”
Roman kept talking, repeating just about everything he had learned about their fourth soulmate from the conversation they’d had over coffee after theatre. By the time he was done, Patton seemed entirely enamoured.
“What’s purple like?” Patton asked once Roman had finished talking.
“Roman just told us all about them, were you not listening?” Logan frowned, tilting his head. 
“No no! I mean, purple, the actual colour!” Patton corrected, “What’s the colour look like?”
“Oh, well it’s kinda like, blue, but if you put pink in it.” Roman shrugged, “So kinda a warmer blue.”
“Cool!” Patton grinned, before sighing dreamily, “I can’t wait to see it, and them, oh Roman when can we meet them?”
“I was actually thinking…” Roman said, frowning at his phone, “I’ll ask them too, but I was wondering if maybe it would be better to add them to our groupchat first before we all met? So they get a chance to get used to you guys?”
Patton gasped, eyes brightening, “That’s a wonderful idea!”
It was two weeks of near constant texting and the occasional phone call before Virgil finally told them they were comfortable meeting everyone in person. Patton had been overjoyed, barely able to sit still as Roman told them both that they’d be meeting Virgil at a cafe after the rehearsal that day. 
Logan had smiled - properly - and told them he was looking forward to it, Patton had practically pulled the both of them into a hug and squeezed them tightly until Roman could barely breathe.
Later on, Roman managed to persuade Virgil to come with him to meet their other soulmates, and the plan was in motion. 
“So… um… what should I expect?” Virgil asked as they walked beside Roman, one hand stuffed in their jacket pocket and the other gripping tightly to their cane. 
“Well - Patton will probably want to hug you,” Roman chuckled, “Which you can definitely say no to - they’ll ask.”
Virgil seemed to relax minutely as Roman said that, he sighed.
“You can leave at any point,” Roman reassured, “You don’t have to stick around if you’re overwhelmed.”
Rolling his eyes, Virgil pushed their tinted glasses up their nose, “Yeah yeah, you’ve only told me two hundred times, I’ll be fine.”
“Cool, cool, right,” Roman chuckles, “Sorry.”
“You seem nervous , Princey,” Virgil smirked at him, Roman scoffed.
“Nervous? Me? Never! I don’t know such a thing!” he protested, Virgil laughed.
“Yeah yeah, you’re very brave, it’s okay,” Virgil patted him on his arm as they walked into the cafe, Roman rolled his eyes even as he held the door open. Virgil laughed, walking in before stopping in his tracks as his breath hitched and his eyes widened. 
“Woah,” Virgil whispered, “so much colour - this cafe is blue ?”
Roman chuckled, “Mhm!”
“Hey!” Patton called, waving widely from across the cafe, “Come on! Come sit! Hi!”
“Come on,” Roman said to Virgil, leading the way through the crowd over to the table in the back where Patton and Logan already sat with both Roman and Virgil’s coffee orders already on the table along with their own. Patton was so far out of their seat with excitement that they were almost standing whilst Logan was quietly telling them to calm down.
“Hello,” Virgil said as he sat down in the nearest chair, placing their cane to lean on the table, “Um, nice to properly meet you guys?”
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Tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti @scalesfeathersnfur @oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)
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halfalgorithm · 4 days
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Wait PLEASE tell me more about singing backup choir for 3OH!3 that’s so cool?! (and agree, they do seem like great guys - lots of friends I have from Band World™️ have met them and said they’re lovely)
YESSS... Gather round, let me tell you the tale...
(Read more because it got long lol)
Ok so back in 2020 I was in a kinda relaxed comnunity choir in Denver, and March 3rd is often known unofficially as Denver or Colorado Day (because the date is 3/03, and the original Denver area code is 303). Anyway 3OH!3 was going to have a 303 Day concert, alongside Lil Jon and Breathe Carolina.
So 3OH!3 heard about the choir I was in and reached out to our director to see if we could do choral backup vocals, and she said yes. Our choir has like 100+ people by that time and we only needed like 20, so at our next rehearsal she announced the opportunity and said that you could enter your name into a drawing to be part of the group that would sing. Majority of the members were in their 20s and early 30s, so needless to say, we were familiar with 3OH!3 and very excited. I entered my name in, and was randomly selected!
3OH!3 created some arrangements for us of DONTTRUSTME and My Dick (yes, that song). Mainly we'd be singing with the synths etc in the background, and especially during the instrumental only part of the full, non radio version of DONTTRUSTME.
The subset of the choir met up a few days before the show to rehearse. Next day was another rehearsal and Sean and Nat were there to rehearse with us (and also record us to overdub our vocals if needed... we'd only have a few mics to pick us all up, plus no IEMs, just regular monitors, so there was a risk of either us screwing up due to us just being a bunch of choir nerds and not professional backup singers or the sound not picking up well). They were really great dudes, very down to earth and kind and gracious. You could tell they were smart guys and genuinely talented.
And that brings us to the actual show! It was at the Mission Ballroom, and us choir members checked in for soundcheck and got our VIP full access passes etc, then we rehearsed once more. We decided to do a "traditional" line up and file in entrance to the stage, where we had some risers to stand on. Partially to play up the "wtf why is a choir singing backup vocals for songs containing the lines 'do the Hellen Keller and talk with your hips' and 'everytime I look at my dick I'm like holy shit that's a huge dick'" factor, but mainly because that's the most efficient way for us to get on stage and all stay in vocal part order lol.
We didn't have a dressing room per se, but we were assigned the VIP room backstage as our dressing room. We hung out and watched the show via a big TV, and occasionally some of us went out to the VIP area or side stage to watch in person. We did some warmups before we went out, and we knew our starting note was a G, so a bunch of us launched into a quick singalong of Welcome to the Black Parade before actually warming up lmaooo.
The first song we sang was My Dick, and we lined up backstage, filed out onto our risers, got our starting note from our leader, and started singing. The audience went INSANE over this, it was incredible (and hilarious). Please imagine about 5 basses/tenors and 5 altos chorally bragging about dick sizes. Completely incredible. We were getting a little off tempo because none of us could hear anything, so the drummer very quietly played the kick drum in time to the click track for us lol.
After the song we filed back out, and a couple songs later came back out for DONTTRUSTME which was the last song. We stayed up there while they bowed and said their thanks etc and they also hyped up the crowd for us too and had us bow. So much fun. The place was absolutely PACKED and I was a bit nervous at first that we'd mess up or people would find it weird, but instead it went over very well, and I was so so happy.
It was probably one of the best days of my life, and it was a very cherished memory to think about especially because choir rehearsals got canceled for about a year just 5 days later due to the pandemic 😭
But yeah! That's the story of the time I sang backup choir for 3OH!3!
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(I'm the second person from the right)
Bonus odd stories from that night:
Sometime before we sang, one of the guys from our choir needed to go to the bathroom, and the bathroom was the performers' bathroom backstage. Apparently it was very clean with a shower and all sorts of hygiene products. The guy for some reason took a tampon that was stocked in that bathroom as a souvenir, because why not. At some point, some random drunk lady came wandering into our room and was like "hi! You know Breathe Carolina? I'm one of their moms!" And we were like "ok cool!" And then the aforementioned guy was like "hey will you sign this tampon?" And she did?? Fucking hilarious.
When the show was over, we went back to our room to pack up and head out, and briefly after that when only a few of us were left, Lil Jon and a few of his buddies(?) found out room and was like "Woah! A PINBALL machine!" The pinball machine was broken, which one of us mentioned, and he was like "That's STUPID!" and left. Absolutely bizarre experience.
I'm not in that choir anymore, mainly due to me moving away from Denver, but that was seriously one of the best times of my life.
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captainsophiestark · 2 years
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West vs. East
Daniel Sousa x Reader
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Masterlist - Join My Taglist!
Written for Agent Carter Bingo 2022! @agentcarterbingo
Fandom: Marvel
Square Filled: Game
Summary: Y/N is the LA SSR's new nurse, a position they finally realized was incredibly important to have around after a few near-misses during the Whitney Frost case. They've only been there a week, but an all-SSR picnic and "friendly" East Coast/West Coast competition will give them plenty of chances to make new friends and more.
Word Count: 2,436
Category: Fluff, Humor
Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.
"Alright Agents! Welcome to the first official East vs. West SSR games tournament!" called Jack Thompson from the front of the picnic. Daniel Sousa, the other SSR Chief, stood next to him, looking less than thrilled to be the center of attention. "If you're competing, head to the field over there. Otherwise, come cheer on the New York branch."
He gave everyone a grin that had half the women swooning and the other half rolling their eyes, then moved to the games field. Chief Sousa, also a member of the eye-roll group, followed, along with a few of the other agents, scientists, and various support staff members who'd gathered for the picnic.
"You heading over there?" I turned to see Rose Roberts, the first friend I'd made at the SSR, joining me with a smile.
"I don't know..." I trailed off, watching the crowd gather. I'd just joined the agency last week, and I didn't really know anyone yet. I'd taken the job as the agency's nurse, a position they'd apparently just realized they needed. I wasn't part of the field assignments or spending time with the scientists as they worked, however, so other than Rose there hadn't been a lot of opportunities for me to meet the other agents.
"Come on, you should go," said Rose, giving me a nudge. "It'll be a good way for you to meet people. Besides, we're gonna need all the help we can get against Thompson and his crew. Especially since Aloysius insisted on competing."
We both turned to look at Samberly as he jumped around next to Chief Sousa, apparently doing his own version of warmups.
"Well... I guess it could be fun..."
"Of course it'll be fun! Now go! Come on, move it!"
Rose gave me a gentle push towards the competition, then kept pushing until I'd walked all the way over there. I turned to glare at her, but she just turned away and pretended to be innocent after shoving me straight into a conversation between the two Chiefs.
"...she's ours, Sousa, get lost. She still works for me, so she's competing for me."
"Jack, I think if you ask her Peggy would rather compete with my team-"
"Too bad, because she's on my team."
Another person sidled up to me as the two continued their argument, blocking out basically everything else around them.
"They are truly ridiculous, aren't they?" I turned to find none other than Agent Peggy Carter standing there and surveying the two men.
"I've only been here a week, but based on what I've seen... yeah, I'd agree."
Peggy snorted a laugh, then turned to give me a smile. She extended her hand, and I took it.
"Peggy Carter. Nice to meet you."
"Y/N Y/L/N, likewise."
"So, you're Daniel's new medical agent, correct?"
"That's right. Rose threw me into competing in the games today, but if Samberly pulls something with those warmups, I'll have to step out and take care of it."
We shared a laugh, then Peggy turned back to the Chiefs, who were still caught up in their argument.
"Well then, we'd better get this show on the road before he goes down." With that, she stepped up and got the attention of Chief Thompson and Chief Sousa. "Boys, enough. Daniel, I can't let Thompson represent the whole of New York. The city deserves far better than that."
"Hey!"
"So what, you're joining Thompson's team?" asked Chief Sosua, completely ignoring Thompson's outrage.
"Yes. But don't worry! I found you someone to take my place." With that, she turned back to me, a massive smile on her face. "Gentlemen, meet Y/N. The perfect person to represent Los Angeles with you, Daniel."
"Peggy, what the hell do you have against Los Angeles?"
Peggy ignored Sousa's question as she turned to Thompson.
"Are you ready to win?"
"Hell yes I am."
"Good. Then let's go."
With that, they walked off, everyone practically jumping out of their path as they went. From what I'd heard, they didn't work together smoothly very often. But when they did, they were clearly a force to be reckoned with.
Chief Sousa sighed and shook his head, then turned to me.
"Sorry you're getting dragged into the middle of this on your first week, Y/N," he said.
"Oh, that's alright. It's keeping things interesting," I said with a small smile. "Rose practically shoved me over here to join the festivities, but... I'd be happy to help represent for Los Angeles if you need it, Chief Sosua."
"Oh, please, call me Daniel," he said, quickly waving off the title. "And yeah, I'd be more than happy to have you. I need somebody for the pairs events that can help me hold our own against Thompson and Peggy, and my only other option is Samberly, so I'd say I need the help pretty badly."
We shared a smile, and my heart fluttered in my chest.
"Well, if you really need the help... then let's do this."
"Great. Peggy's one of my best friends, but we're about to crush her and Thompson into dust."
I held up my hand and Daniel gave me a solid high-five before we walked to the first event together, perfectly in step. Time for the West Coast to kick some ass and take some names.
****************
"Alright, this is it." I met Daniel's intense stare as he rested a hand on my shoulder. Our faces were so close together, and it was all I could do to focus on his words instead of noticing that fact. "We're tied with the New York office, which means it comes down to you and me. We've got this."
I nodded. The day had been chaos since the moment Rose shoved me forward, and it had only gotten more hectic from there. Daniel and I had held our own against everyone we faced, and the LA team had done a damn good job of doing the same. Daniel and I had yet to face Peggy and Thompson, however, and now it all came down to the four of us. Whoever ended up being the last person standing after a guerrilla-style water balloon fight would take home the victory for their team.
"Thompson and Peggy are going down," I said, leaning into Daniel a bit as we shared a grin. I'd been nervous to even talk to him at the beginning of the day, but that was completely gone now. Nothing like intense competition with another team to create some instant bonding.
"You're damn right they are," agreed Daniel. We stayed close like that, heads together, for a few minutes longer than we really needed to before Daniel cleared his throat and pulled away. "Uh, anyway... let's do this."
We headed onto the field together in-step and met Thompson and Peggy in the middle. The pair had clashed a few times over the day, but on the whole, they'd managed to work together annoyingly well.
Daniel and I planned to end that.
"Alright! Rules work like this," started Thompson, addressing me and Daniel as well as the crowd that had gathered to watch. "Each side gets a bucket of water balloons on their turf. Crossing sides is fair game. There are no boundaries. If you get hit with a balloon, you're out. Last one standing wins. Questions?"
We all shook our heads, and Thompson's face morphed into a terrifying grin.
"Alright then. Game on!"
With that, he took off for his side, Peggy right behind him. Daniel and I immediately ducked for cover behind some of the trees on the field and started making our way to our own bucket of balloons.
"Make sure I don't run into anything," I said, not bothering to explain before turning around to walk backwards and linking my arm with Daniel's. This way, I could see where Peggy and Thompson went, and we'd have a little extra warning if they started heading our way. Daniel's arm secured me, and he pulled me in a little closer as we made our way across the field.
We made it to our bucket of balloons safely and ducked down behind a rock for cover.
"Alright, I lost sight of them a few times, but I think their strategy is speed," I said, staring into the trees around us on high alert as I briefed Daniel. "They absolutely booked it to their water balloons, and last I caught sight of them, they'd split up and were making their way over here from the opposite side of the field."
Daniel nodded. "Let's stick together and take advantage of that, then. Did you see which side Peggy took?"
I pointed to our left.
"Great, let's start with her. She's a bigger threat than Thompson."
Daniel and I took a few more moments to strategize, then we were up and moving. We backed even further away from the midline before heading left, where I'd last seen Peggy. Daniel kept a constant, watchful eye on all our surroundings, and although I had nowhere near the level of training that he did, I tried to do the same.
After a few tense minutes, we managed to find Peggy. She quickly darted from tree to rock to bush, and she was incredibly hard to keep an eye on. Daniel gestured silently for us to split up and each take one side, so we could hopefully surround Peggy. By some miracle, I managed to get behind her without her noticing.
I saw Peggy grin as she caught sight of Daniel. I moved as fast as I could to seize the opportunity, but Peggy managed to get her balloon off just before mine. She hit Daniel square in the chest a moment before my water balloon exploded across her back.
"Dammit!" she yelled on impact, then whirled around to face me. After a second, the shocked expression turned into a smile. "That was actually quite impressive."
I smiled. "Thanks! I-"
I stopped short at the sight of Daniel waving frantically behind Peggy's back, gesturing towards where I'd last seen Thompson. Peggy was trying to distract me.
"I... gotta go," I said to Peggy, then turned and sprinted into the trees before she had a chance to respond. She and Daniel weren't allowed to call anything out to me or Thompson, and I knew they'd keep each other honest. Now, it all came down to me vs. the highly-trained Chief of the New York SSR.
I peeked out from behind the nearest tree, ears straining as I tried to catch any sign of Thompson. I got nothing. I stayed like that for a few moments, absolutely frozen, until I heard the rustle of fabric behind me. My heart stopped in my chest, and I didn't dare turn around. Without warning, I dove to the side, rolling on the ground and away from where I'd been.
Thompson's water balloon hit the tree a second later. I heard Peggy, Daniel, and everyone else who'd gathered to watch erupt into cheers, oohs, and ahhs, but I ignored them. Instead, I hurled a water balloon of my own back at Thompson. I didn't take the time to aim very carefully, but by some miracle, it just managed to clip the arm he was drawing back to throw his own water balloon at me. It exploded on impact.
I had done it. I had won.
"Oh my God!" I cried, shooting up from my kneeling position and laughing in disbelief. "I did it. I won!"
"Hell yes you did!" shouted Daniel from where he still stood to my right. He rushed towards me, and I did the same without thinking about it.
Daniel held his arms wide, and I sprinted into him for a long hug that almost took us both to the ground. Once he regained his balance, he lifted me off my feet in celebration. I'd just defeated a field agent, Chief of the New York SSR no less, and the adrenaline rush swept over me. As soon as my feet were back on the ground, I grabbed the lapels of Daniel's jacket and kissed him, hard.
After a second, I pulled back, suddenly very aware of everyone around us and what I'd actually just done. Horrifying embarrassment bloomed in my chest as I looked at Daniel's shocked face.
"Oh my God... I am so sorry, I just got caught up in the moment and-"
Daniel smiled and tightened his arm around my waist.
"It's okay. You definitely caught me off guard, and we're never gonna hear the end of this from Thompson now, but... I'm glad you did it."
"Really?"
"Really." We shared a smile, relief washing over me as Daniel continued. "So, I've been trying to decide all day whether or not to ask this, but considering you seem to be thinking similar things... would you like to go out to dinner tonight?"
I grinned, warmth blooming in my chest. "I'd love to."
We shared another smile, then quickly got dragged back to reality by our competitors.
"Damn Sousa, nurses must be your type," said Thompson, coming to a stop beside us. Daniel glared, and Peggy whacked Jack hard enough in the arm to make us all feel better. Then, the blond turned to me. "That was obnoxiously impressive. I'm starting to think you'll be even less responsive to this offer than I thought you'd be, but if you ever feel like making a move to New York, give me a call."
With that, he turned and walked off to rejoin the rest of the picnic. Peggy took a few backwards steps to follow him as she fixed us with a smile.
"Congratulations, you two. You make an excellent team." She shot us a wink, then turned, leaving just me and Daniel.
"Well... I guess we'd better go rejoin that picnic," he said.
"Yeah," I agreed. "We have a victory to rub in, after all."
Daniel smiled, then held out his hand for me. I took it, and we headed towards the rest of our friends and coworkers, ready to face the embarrassment together. I could already see Rose grinning at me amongst everyone else. I sighed.
I could get through this. It would all be worth it. I got to leave this picnic in a few hours, for dinner with Daniel Sousa, who I'd decided over the course of the day might well be the man of my dreams.
I'd barely been here a week, but these were already some of my favorite people on earth. I couldn't wait to see where the next weeks (and longer) took us.
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abqbox · 5 months
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This is the hallway outside the locker rooms, with my gear in the distance there where I had to change since we were assigned the tiny converted closet locker room and guys got to the rink early and had already filled it up.
But after changing in the hallway and having a short warmup because I was giving the water in the crease a little extra time to freeze instead of soaking into my gear, the game started. I played well for a while, making some good saves and watching us make many fewer chances at the other end. Then I messed up my angles while I was cheating to the side to prepare for a pass and shot from the wide open player my defender was ignoring. Instead, they shot at the other corner, and my leg was about an inch too short. We managed to score on a breakaway a few minutes later, and I made some good saves to end the first period tied at one.
We started the second period on a powerplay but didn't do that very well and in addition to not holding possession of the puck or creating scoring chances they let one of the guys on the other team come in and get a shot without any pressure. I should have had it, but my angle was off after switching ends, and it went in. But we tied it up again some minutes later on a good rebound play and quick shot. Then I had some good stops, including a couple of breakaways, and the second period ended tied at 2.
In the third period, we finally got a lead, picking up a goal off a really great individual effort, and then another from another breakaway to go up by two goals. Unfortunately, not long after that, there was a three on one, and I missed my pokecheck on a pass right in front of the net, and they pulled one back. Then, not long after that, they scored to tie the game off a weird, floating backhand shot to my blocker that I misjudged in the air. Thankfully, we managed to respond shortly after that with our 5th goal of the game, when a shot was saved and sent wide by the goalie and then bounced out the other side and was quickly shot again before he could adjust. They pushed to try to score again, and as time was running short, they pulled their goalie, and we managed to score on the empty net to make the final score 6-4.
It was good to get the win and some goal support. Even though in the end, we were outshot, mid-30s to mid-20s, as I recall. And, I think the shots were a better representation of which team was overall better for most of the game. But despite making mistakes on all four goals, I also had some very good saves, and when we got chances, we did a good job converting them.
It was fun to be back playing again after taking the pickup game off last Thursday, and also nice knowing I don't have to play and then head to bed too get up again at 4 the next morning.
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sunnysheep · 16 days
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Highlights from the penguins v oilers game march 10, 2024*
*from the perspective of a oilers + penguins dual fan :)
1. Got to see all of warmups!! Honestly one of the best experiences of my life - i was tearing up i was so happy. I was like this 🤏 close to actually crying
Seeing all of my favorite hockey guys skate right in front of me was SO FUN! I made direct eye contact a few of them and i was like - oh they can perceive me! hopefully i wasn't smiling too maniacally
Loved being able to witness the intricate warmup rituals. Favorite part was when they all started batting at jars trying to get a bunch of pucks in at once. And geno trying to sabotage sid by hitting his stick😍
i could go on and on about warmups bc it was so so cool and amazing and everything i could have ever hoped it to be
2. seats were behind the oilers bench (ish) which was super cool for the nerdy logistics person i am. Learned that they all have assigned seats and cute water bottles with their numbers on them (aww). They flip flop the bench seating between intermission, so like connor and leon are seated on the side of the bench closest to the offensive zone, and the defensemen and 3rd/4th lines are closer to the defensive zone. Super cool!
i also saw a bit of this with the penguins bench from afar - it seems like either geno or pettersson were manning the door next by center ice, which would support my theory (but more evidence is needed. maybe seeing a game behind the penguim bench is in order 😏)
3. saw leon smirk at an equipment guy (?) coming in from a shift and almost spontaneously combusted (he is REAL)
4. connor's hair looks very fluffy. also he slayed very hard with the assists + goal
5. geno is Really Good at skating. like bro...his edgework is incredible and i am so impressed. honestly they are all so impressive at skating but i did get to see geno do a like full 30 degree to the ground sharp turn which was super cool
6. gravy is actually SO TALL. he also looked mildly concerned every time i saw him skate by
7. fellow penguins fans were shouting "SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT" during the powerplay. I have found my people
Conclusions: Honestly might be the best day of my life, no joke. I don't know if i've ever been that close to crying out of happiness for such a sustained period. Such a privilege to be able to go see both of my teams live! I will cherish the fact that i got to see my favorite teams play each other with all my favs healthy 🫶
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sankyeom · 4 years
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batter up! | e.s
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pairings: eric sohn x female reader genre: baseball player!eric, college au, strangers to lovers,  summary: in which you are assigned to interview the unapproachable baseball team ace eric sohn, and things end up going sideways word count: 6.1k (did i get carried way with the concept? yes i did) requested: nope i literally have other requests from months ago that i should get to but i’ve been having writers block and i couldn’t write any of them without it sounding awful sooooo here we are!!! enjoy lol note: all of the boyz are the same age for the sake of the story. also, the start of the plot is based on rowoon’s episode of sf9’s drama click your heart. 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝
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“So, you want to join newspaper,” the newspaper editor, Choi Chanhee, said as he crossed his arms and surveyed you. It was the start of the second semester, and you soon realised that you had very few clubs and activities under your belt. “What makes you think I’ll let you join in the middle of the year?” Chanhee inquired, raising an eyebrow in question. His full cheeks and baby pink hair usually made him seem approachable and soft, but his hard expression cancelled out any comfort his other features might have brought you.
You blinked at him. “We’ve been best friends since freshman year?” you deadpanned, irritated that Chanhee was making such a big deal out of it. From the corner of the room, you noticed Changmin suppress a giggle by clearing his throat and pretending to cough into the bend of his elbow. “Come on, Chanhee. You’re a reporter short since Bomin quit, right?” you recalled what he had been moaning about for nearly three months. “I can fill in for him! I’ll be great.”
Despite being your best friend and normally having quite a warm personality, Chanhee was skeptical. “Alright,” he decided, drawing the word out and unfolding his arms. Chanhee sauntered over to where Changmin was standing and – after giving him a sharp elbow to the ribs – grabbed his clipboard, pretending to look for something to assign you. You could tell by the ways his eyes didn’t even skim the words that he already had something in mind for you. “If you’re so desperate to join the paper, then you can do the interview on Eric Sohn,” he stated, giving you a challenging look.
So much for him “going easy on you”, as he had said moments before the two of you entered the media room together.
Dramatically, a few gasps sounded through the media room and you sighed. “Who’s Eric Sohn?” you almost regretted asking, since everyone seemed mortified that you didn’t know him.
“He’s the baseball team’s ace,” Juyeon explained while trying to balance his water bottle on his head. It was half full and he had been at it for the entire time you tried to convince Chanhee to let you join newspaper. “Unapproachable as hell, though. We’ve tried to interview him before and believe me, it was terrible,” he added with a quiet laugh, eyes crinkling at the outer corners. “He’s a friend of ours but he doesn’t really say much.”
“Everyone wants to know more about him,” Chanhee elaborated, causing your eyes to flicker back to your best friend. “And if I want to be the best editor in history of the paper, I’m getting that story,” he smiled sweetly, as if he hadn’t given you – what seemed like – an impossible job. “Like you said, you’ll be great!” Chanhee pumped a fist in the air half-heartedly to encourage you.
Sunwoo snorted, lying across three chairs he had lined up for him to curl up on. “Or not,” he sang, tossing a hacky sack between his hands with ease. “Eric’s my best friend and the last time I tried to interview him, he yelled at me for interrupting his practice and had the coach kick me out,” Sunwoo seemed amused by the turn of events, but it didn’t motivate you to carry out your interview. “I’m banned from the baseball field now.”
It wasn’t long before other members of the paper brought up their own horror stories, describing attempts at interviewing the baseball team’s ace. The negativity in the room surprised you; it was supposedly only an interview assignment. Was Eric Sohn really that difficult to be around? And if so, why was your best friend making your first assignment so hard on you? 
“So far, this assignment has been proven impossible to complete,” Chanhee explained. “Do we all agree that if Y/n can do this, she gets to join newspaper? No questions asked?” he glanced around at his team of writers, photographers and editors. Immediately, the members all nodded. Chanhee smiled at you. 
Well, that answered your questions. 
Feeling burdened, you asked Chanhee, “How long do I have for this?”
Chanhee flicked through the stack of papers attached to his clipboard until he found the paper’s schedule. “I can give you about a month, but no more than that,” he insists. “I may be your best friend, but I do have a weekly paper to put out,” he adds, making you nod.
“A month is more than enough,” you promised. “On what days does the baseball team meet?”
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The indoor baseball stadium your university had was cold in the mornings. Chanhee had managed to get Eric’s practice schedule from Sunwoo, and the next morning at 5:30am sharp, you arrived at the stadium to try and interview Eric. As you opened the main door, you could hear a loud and clear voice  telling everyone to do their warmups so they could start practicing. Since you didn’t know much about baseball, you decided to make your way towards the bleachers and watch the team practice for a while.
Chanhee had shown you a picture of Eric so you would know who you were looking for, and you were slightly miffed that it hadn’t done him any justice. He stood out much more in person; his features sharper and body leaner and stronger from the years of practice. You were almost intimidated by his overall aura and piercing gaze.
Checking your notes, you recalled basic information that Chanhee had given you so that you weren’t completely clueless going into your interview. Eric Sohn was the ace player because he was their best batter and fastest runner. This combination along with his precision allowed him to almost always hit home runs and also be an excellent fielder. A summary of his past scores had also been provided, but that might as well have been a completely different language because you couldn’t understand it.
With a sigh, you tightened your jacket around you in order to warm up more in the cool stadium. Watching Eric practice, you noticed that he wasn’t batting very well on that day. There was a crease between his brows and he kept hitting the ground with his bat in frustration, occasionally throwing it down staring at the floor in contemplation.
You really felt for him.
It was clear that the team relied on him a lot and his reputation of being unapproachable and cold surely couldn’t have been entirely fair, either. His coach was chastising him, pointing his finger and raising his voice as Eric stood still and nodded, face void of any expression. You assumed his coach had told him to take a break, because he started removing his batting gloves and making his way to the bench.
You knew it probably wasn’t the best time to approach him for a favour, but you had been sitting for nearly an hour and your legs and thighs were starting to feel numb. The walk down the steps was welcome, even when your heart raced with nerves as you approached Eric. When you were a few steps away from him, the boy glanced up and raised an eyebrow at you. “This is a closed practice,” he told you.
Of course he had to have the most incredible voice to go along with his looks. Great.
“Um,” You stammered dumbly for a moment, tucking your hair behind your ear to give your hands something to do. “I know. I just- I was hoping you had a moment?” you asked, voice far less confident than you had wished. “I’m on the university’s newspaper and I was assigned an interview on you.”
“On me,” Eric repeated, tilting his head to the side. “Chanhee really doesn’t give up, does he,” something resembling a chuckle left his lips. “I’m at practice right now,” his tone was firm, as if he was trying to tell you to leave without expressing those exact words.
You felt yourself nodding. “I get it… if you’re having a hard time with your practice,” you added, thinking back to how his coach yelled at him. “I understand that and I can leave you alone.”
Eric observed you; you weren’t sure exactly what he was looking for, but he suddenly motioned towards you. “What’s the first question?” he asked. You were pleased that he had decided to do the interview and, in fear of him changing his mind again, immediately opened your notebook to search for the questions Chanhee had wanted answered.
“Right,” you said, finding the right page. “Um, what made you-“
“Heads up!” a shout distracted you from your thoughts. Your head whipped to the side to see who was shouting, only to see a baseball being hurtled at you at a blistering speed.
“Watch out!” Eric exclaimed, jumping in front of you to grab the baseball before it could smack you directly in the face. You flinched at the sound of his hand coming in contact with the baseball, stunned that he had expertly caught the tiny sphere at the speed it was going at.
Just as you were about to thank Eric for saving you, the boy fell to the ground, moaning in pain at the impact. The ball fell from his grasp and he held onto the hand that caught it with his other; tears building in his eyes. You kneeled down next to him, panicked. “Are you okay?” you questioned, concerned at his reaction.
“Sohn!” his coach yelled, running over to where you and Eric were crouched. “What the hell were you thinking, catching a fastball with your bare hands?” the man chastised, kneeling with the boy and calling the team medic over to inspect Eric’s hand.
“Is that bad?” you asked innocently, confused as to why Eric was in so much pain.
The coach gave you a glare. “Get out of my stadium,” he ordered instead of answering you.
You glanced between him and Eric, feeling embarrassed at the situation. “I’m really sorry,” you told Eric sincerely, picking up your abandoned bag and running out of the stadium.
Chanhee was going to kill you.
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“I thought you wanted to be on the paper,” Chanhee said with a frown. “Not that you wanted the paper to write an article about you injuring the baseball team’s star player,” he emphasised, making you flinch.
“That isn’t fair!” you exclaimed. “I didn’t do anything wrong! If anything, we should be asking ourselves why a teammate of Eric’s blatantly hurled a baseball in his direction,” you tried to defend yourself. “And I was in the midst of getting that interview, thank you very much.”
“And now I’ll never get it,” Chanhee sighed. Younghoon rolled his eyes at your friend’s theatrics.
“Shouldn’t we be more concerned that our friend is injured than the fact that you didn’t get your story?” he reminded your pink-haired friend. Chanhee waved his hand at him, as if physically swatting Younghoon’s words away, before going back to picking at his lunch.
“Yeah Chanhee,” a voice behind you agreed, and you knew in your gut that it was Eric. Nervously, you turned around to face the blond and saw him already looking at you. Your eyes met and you were startled by how much warmer his deep brown eyes appeared. “You’re being a terrible friend.”
“Well you’re a terrible friend, too,” Chanhee argued. “How many reporters have I sent to interview you, only to have them be humiliated and turned down?” he asked.
“I’m injured,” Eric said as he took the empty seat between you and Kevin. “Can’t you lay off on the newspaper stuff for a while?” Chanhee rolled his eyes but said nothing; you knew this meant that he agreed with Eric but was too proud to voice it.
Eric’s mention of an injury made you glance down at his right hand, seeing it tightly wrapped in a bandage. “Are you okay?” you asked him, observing his hand.
“It’s a sprain,” Eric explained, lifting his hand up for your friends to see. “Nothing major, but I have to sit out of practice for at least a month, according to the doctor,” he added. “It’s a good thing the season doesn’t start until two months from now.”
Your heart sank at his admission. “I’m really sorry,” you told him. “Truly. I never meant for that to happen,” you promised. “Is there anything I can do?” you offered, wanting to help him out since you had caused enough problems for him.
“Sure,” Eric allowed. “First off, you can tell me your name.”
You smiled at this. “I’m Y/n,” you introduced yourself. “What else?”
You were surprised when the corners of Eric’s mouth lifted up into a small grin. “You could walk me to class?”
He had a stunning smile. Something about it made you want to make him smile more.
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Helping Eric with his books and bag had become a regular thing. At first, you did it because you felt guilty about partially being at fault for his injury (and because you were curious about him). Soon, you found that Eric was actually quite a bright and excitable person who was a lot of fun to be around.
As Eric was always so busy juggling school and baseball, he never sat with you and your mutual friends during mealtimes. Now that he no longer had to attend baseball practise at the recommendation of his doctor, Eric was able to sit with your friends every lunch and dinner. Even your friends were surprised when Eric started openly joining discussions and laughing at Sangyeon and Juyeon’s terrible jokes. Sunwoo especially was quite startled by this change; as his roommate and best friend, it was a change that he welcomed despite the initial shock.
After a particularly tiring day of midterms, you felt compelled to do something fun instead of spending the whole night cramming for a midterm you were already confident in doing well on. At approximately 3am, you found yourself rounding up ingredients for chocolate chip cookies from your baking stash and tip-toeing your way into the communal kitchen to bake.
Your roommate had been asleep for a few hours at that point, and you knew that most of your friends would be resting after their rigorous study schedules. Thus, as you rolled up your sleeves and pre-heated the oven, you hadn’t expected anybody to be awake to join your late night – or early morning? – cookie escapades.
Which was why you nearly lost your soul when a hand tapped you on the shoulder. You had your earphones in and were humming along to your favourite playlist as you started mixing the dry ingredients for your cookies, and leapt in the air at the contact. Whirling around, you sighed in relief when you saw Eric, stood with pink pyjamas and ruffled hair, instead of your RA. “You scared me,” you told him, even though you knew he could tell from your reaction. “What are you doing awake?”
Eric shrugged. “I heard someone walking down the hall,” he explained. “I guess a small part of me was hoping it was you,” he grinned widely after his cheesy comment, urging you to roll your eyes.
“Very funny,” you mumbled, trying to ignore the way your heart sped up and palms started sweating at his sweet words.
“What are you making?” Eric asked, hopping up to sit on the counter and slipping his glasses on so he could see better. “Cookies?”
You hummed. “Chocolate chip,” you added with a big grin, holding up the bag of sugary delights to emphasise your point.
“My favourite,” Eric noted happily. “Can I help?”
You nodded, listing off the wet ingredients that he could prepare for you in a seperate bowl. You knew he could pour it all with one hand and you would do the mixing yourself afterwards. After handing Eric one of your earphones, the two of you fell into a comfortable silence as you made your cookie batter, the silence only breaking once in a while by your giggles as you bumped into one another. The first time was a mistake on your part, but after that the two of you were trying your hardest to make the other person giggle and squirm.
Once the cookies were shaped and in the oven, you and Eric sat on the floor near them to relish in the heat the oven was radiating. “What were those questions you wanted to ask me?” Eric inquired, referring to the interview questions Chanhee had prepared for you.
Your eyes widened in surprise. The two of you hadn’t discussed the interview since he was injured, and you had nearly forgotten about your assignment. “Oh. They were mostly just about your baseball life and how you keep your grades up and stuff,” you admitted. “It’s not the interview I would have wanted to give, but it’s what Chanhee wanted.”
“What would you have asked me, then?” Eric asked. “What is your ideal Eric Sohn interview,” he added in an MC voice, making you fight off a grin at how silly he was being.
“Well,” you trailed off, trying to find the right wording. “That day I was at practice it looked like you were having a pretty hard time. What was going through your mind?”
Eric went silent. He hadn’t been expecting that. “I was just thinking that it’s hard to be perfect all the time. My team relies on me a lot, and while it’s an honour to be such an important member of the team, it can be really hard when people expect you to be the ace and you don’t perform.”
There was a distant look on his face, as if his thoughts were going a hundred miles a minute. “What made you want to join the university baseball team?” you asked, moving slightly so that you were facing Eric more comfortably.
A smile reached his lips. “I just really love baseball,” he chuckled. “I’ve been playing since I was a kid. Obviously I knew that university baseball was going to be on a different level, but I just knew that I wasn’t done playing yet. The challenge was exciting and it motivated me to be a better player.”
“I guess it worked,” you mused.
“I guess so,” he reluctantly agreed.
“So when did you start playing?” you asked, peering into the oven to check on your cookies. They had at least another five minutes left until they would be the golden-brown colour you wanted.
“I’ve played with my dad for fun ever since I can remember,” Eric admitted. “Of course when you grow up in LA, you watch baseball on TV with your family,” he added, reminiscing in his childhood.
“Dodgers?” you guessed his favourite team, since he said he was from LA.
“Yankees,” he corrected with a shrug. “My family used to go down to Yankee stadium to watch them play during baseball season when we visited New York. Our seats were always all the way in the back in the highest row, but I didn’t care. As long as I got to watch it all,” you laughed at his excitement. “I guess you could say my baseball career started in little league,” Eric recalled, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Sometimes I wish I could go back,” the smile slowly fell from his face. “Everything was so much easier then.”
“I get that,” you agreed with him. “I never played in little league, but I remember going to my friends’ games,” you said, almost picturing the old baseball field with all your friends running around and playing. “I didn’t even know what was going on in the game. All I knew was that I could cheer on my friends. I’d yell for them as loudly as possible and get popcorn to keep myself entertained during the parts where my friends were benched,” you smiled at the memory. “It was just... fun. I didn’t have to think about any grown-up problems.”
“That’s exactly how I felt,” Eric agreed, excitement filling his voice. “I finally got to make friends that loved baseball as much as me, and playing was fun. It was exciting and nerve-wracking, and it made me happy to practice and play another game,” he sighed. “These days, I play because the university relies on me, and because my parents want me to,” Eric confessed. “I miss loving baseball, I-“ he paused, clearing his throat. “I want to love baseball. But with all the pressure and expectations…” he trailed off, alluding to the fact that he no longer loved the sport that used to fill his childhood with happiness.
You bit your lip. “I’m sorry,” you told him, more as a form of empathy than anything else. “What made you fall in love with baseball in the first place?”
Eric pondered. “Well, at first I just enjoyed playing the sport. But the longer I played, I guess I liked being part of a team. I liked feeling supported by the other guys and feeling like I was needed and trusted by them.”
“What’s missing from your team now that makes you feel like you don’t have that?” you wondered.
“I guess my team relies on me more than I feel like I can give them,” Eric confesses, voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat, and you hesitantly reached your hand out for him to hold. He grasped it tightly in his, thankful for the small sign of support.
“Maybe you can find support elsewhere,” you suggested, slightly holding up your hands and smiling.
“Yeah, maybe,” Eric agreed with a smile, tears slightly welling in the corners of his eyes. You didn’t have anything else to say and were grateful for the alarm quietly going off on your phone, signalling that your cookies were ready. “Perfect timing,” he added with a laugh as the two of you stood up. You pretended not to see Eric wipe away a tear with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.
They hadn’t looked like sad tears.
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Chanhee flipped through the pages you had printed out for him to read. He already spent ten minutes reading and re-reading the article you had written. At this point, it was just getting ridiculous. “Chanhee,” you whined, making the pink-haired boy place the papers down.
“This is…” he paused, trying to find the words. “How did you get him to open up like that?” Chanhee wondered, unable to grasp the idea that Eric had given you so many childhood anecdotes and personal stories to fill the pages of your interview.
You smiled. “I just talked to him like a friend instead of someone to interview,” you shrugged. “He’s actually surprisingly easy to talk to. And really talkative once he gets started,” you added as an afterthought.
“I noticed that about him recently,” Sunwoo agreed. This time, instead of lying across three chairs, he was sat upside down on the only sofa in the media room, head dangling dangerously close to the ground. “These days he seems happy to tell me about his day and doesn’t leave a single detail out. It’s kind of crazy to see the change,” Sunwoo told you.
Chanhee help up the pages. “Did he really approve everything in this?” he asked.
You nodded. “Yeah, of course. I wrote it with his permission and let him read it all before I brought it to you. He’s happy with it,” you promised your best friend. “Wouldn’t want to upset my best friend and potential editor…” you trailed off, hopeful.
“Well obviously you’re in!” Chanhee exclaimed, hugging you tightly as you laughed. “You just got me the most personal article of a university athlete I’ve ever published. You deserve it,” he assured you. “Plus, you put a permanent smile on one of my friend’s faces. I didn’t think that would be possible,” Chanhee gave you a meaningful look when you separated, causing you to smile bashfully and angle your gaze at the floor to avoid his gaze.
“He’s way more open than you guys gave him credit for,” you retorted. You truly believed it; the first time you tried to interview him, he had surprised you with how willing he was to help you out.
“And emotional,” Changmin chimed in. “He cried during The Notebook, then he cried again when we put a horror film on afterwards. You can’t win.”
His comment made you laugh, picturing Eric curled up on the couch in the communal dorm movie room while sobbing into Changmin’s shoulder was too good to pass up on. “Make sure you invite me to the next movie night,” you requested. Changmin saluted you in response, Sunwoo throwing a thumbs up in agreement to allow you to join. “Anyway, I need to get going. I’m actually heading to surprise said cry-baby at his first day back at practice,” you informed them, picking up your bag to get going.
“His hand healed so quickly?” Juyeon asked, surprised.
“Not at all,” you denied with a sad smile. “He says it’s still hurting these days. But his coach wants him to come observe practice so when his hand heals he’ll be up to date on everything... Or something,” you shrugged, unsure of how people prepared for baseball games.
As you waved your goodbyes, Chanhee called out to you: “Don’t forget we meet every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for newspaper!” You were pleased that Chanhee had enjoyed your article and wanted you on the newspaper, especially since so many of your friends were usually occupied by this extracurricular activity anyway.
Once you arrived at the baseball stadium, you took a seat on the first bleacher to wait for Eric to arrive. The weather had warmed significantly since the first time you came a month ago. You supposed the fact that it was an afternoon practice instead of an early morning practice also added to the lack of cold you were experiencing.
“Hey,” a member of Eric’s team approached you with a smile.
Unsure, you smiled back and greeted him. “Hello,” you said.
“You look a little out of place,” he said to you, standing in front of you. “I’ve never seen you here before,” he added.
“Oh yeah, I don’t usually come here,” you confirmed for him. “I’m just waiting for a friend,” you added politely.
“You’re far too pretty to be waiting alone,” he said, which made you freeze up. You hadn’t been approached by guys like him often, but it had happened enough for you to know that they really couldn’t take a hint.
“And yet here I am,” you replied, trying to sound curt.
“I could keep you company,” the guy suggested. You opened your mouth to protest, but he had already taken a seat next to you, far too close for your personal comfort. As you subtly scooted away from him, he seemed to take this as a suggestion for him to sit even closer to you. “I like your hair,” he said, lifting his hand as if he was about to touch it.
A hand grabbed his before he could. “It doesn’t sound like you asked,” Eric told his teammate, right hand tightening on the boy’s, voice clipped and laced with anger. “So I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” Eric yanked him up to his feet, and you finally felt like you could breathe again with the distance between the two of you. With a harsh shove, he stumbled back and glared at Eric, cursing under his breath and stalking off.
“Eric your hand,” you realised, standing up and trying to inspect his injured hand.
“Are you okay?” he asked instead, searching your body for any sign that you were uncomfortable or hurt. “That creep didn’t say or do anything?”
You shook your head. “No, no, I’m fine! But your hand-“ you soon realised that Eric wasn’t even wearing the brace anymore. After the original bandage that was put on it, his doctor had given him a small wrap brace so he could do everyday activities with more ease and support. Instead, his hand was bare and looked completely fine. “Is healed?” you stammered, confused. You glanced up at Eric, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact. “Just yesterday you told me that it was hurting.”
“I lied,” Eric confessed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” you forgave him easily. It wasn’t a big deal and you were just happy that he wasn’t in pain anymore, especially since you felt partially responsible for the injury in the first place. “Why didn’t you tell me?” you wondered.
Eric scratched the back of his neck and sighed. “I like having you around, okay?” he admitted. “I figured that after you got whatever you needed for your interview, you would leave me alone and go back to how things were before I was injured.”
His disclosure had stunned you into silence. You opened your mouth to say something twice, but ended up closing it again for lack of knowing what to say. “You thought I was just talking to you for my interview?” you clarified. Eric nodded. “I completely forgot about it until you brought it up a few weeks ago,” you admitted to him. “I was spending time with you because I wanted to, not because I wanted to get interview answers out of you,” you promised.
“Not even because you felt guilty about being involved in my injury?” Eric inquired.
“At first I wanted to help you because I felt guilty,” you agreed. “But after the first time we hung out together I stopped caring about that.”
“Oh,” Eric said, staring at you as if he had no clue what to say. “I really thought you were going to leave…”
You were amused that Eric was so sure of himself. “Did you ever consider asking me to stay?” you pointed out, crossing your arms and raising an eyebrow to tease him.
Eric paused. “Will you?” he wondered.
“Will you?” you retorted.
Eric frowned. “I’m lost,” he stated. “Will I what?”
You grinned, finding his furrowed brows and slightly cocked head quite adorable. “Kiss me,” you told him what you meant. His eye’s widened, lips parting slightly before Eric nodded. Once, twice, three times. You took this as your cue and stepped closer to him, your lips easily finding his as you closed your eyes.
“Sohn!” the sound of his coach’s voice caused you to jump apart. “This is baseball practice. You can practice that in your own time,” he said, although you could tell by his tone that he was poking fun at his ace player.
Eric blushed, clearing his throat. “Yes coach,” he called, smiling shyly at you before rushing off to put on his batting gloves.
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Decked out in your university’s colours, you stood in the bleachers with your friends, anxiously biting your lip as you watched the game unfold before you. Eric and his team had made it to the championships this season, and you were more than thrilled to go and support him with the rest of your friends. Eric had been teaching you about baseball for months now, and the more you went to watch him play, the more motivated you were to remember everything he told you.
Your article had been published in the newspaper a week after you handed it in to Chanhee, and the personal interview had made it the most popular issue Chanhee had ever published as the editor of the weekly paper. Needless to say, readers wanted you to write a follow-up interview on Eric and his life on the baseball team, especially after word got out that the two of you had started dating. For a while, you were the talk of the town. You were unnerved by the sudden attention, but things mellowed down soon after people realised that you weren’t interested in satiating their endless questions.
“How much longer is this going to be?” Haknyeon whined, sighing as he leaned against Kevin for support. He had mostly been attracted by the idea of all the great snacks that being at a baseball game entailed, and hadn’t realised that a game without timing such as baseball could go on for hours.
“This is the ninth inning, so most games usually end with this round,” you spouted the information Eric had drilled into you with ease after going to his games all season long.
Next to you, Jacob giggled. “You’re turning into a natural at this,” he complimented, grinning. “Eric would be proud,” he added happily.
“Eric is their last batter,” you said in response, more focused on the game than on Jacob’s comments. “He looks nervous,” you mused, foot tapping nervously on the floor, causing your whole leg to move rapidly.
“Don’t you be nervous, he’s got this,” Kevin assured you, trying to stop Haknyeon from falling asleep on his shoulder. “Despite his injury a few months before the season started, this is the best he’s ever played.”
Hyunjae chuckled. “Yeah, I wonder why,” he teased, pointing over at you behind his hand as if you wouldn’t have known what he was doing.
You shushed your friends. “He’s up,” you said, voice shaking slightly from your nerves.
Eric stepped up to the place, looking like he was at ease and confident. This calmed you only slightly, because you knew that Eric was good at putting on a performance during his games. He knew that if he looked even slightly anxious, it would affect the other players and the audience too. Eric adjusted his grip on the bat and got in position. The pitcher threw the ball and Eric swung, missing the ball by a hair.
You groaned. “Strike one!” the umpire called, holding up a finger.
“Come on, Eric…” you mumbled, folding your hands together and squeezing tightly.
The second time the pitcher threw the ball, Eric swung the bat and hit the ball clean, sending it soaring over the outfield fence, only hitting the ground after flying between the foul poles. You gasped, jumping in the air and cheering. “What’s happening?” Chanhee asked, standing up next where you and Jacob were shouting for joy.
“Home run!” you and Jacob chorused as Eric ran his way to each base at lightning speed, reaching home base and making the winning run for your university’s team. “We won!” Jacob added and your friends all cheered with you, jumping up and down in excitement.
You could see the team celebrating together by screaming and jumping as well, and you clapped along with the rest of the audience. Eric joined their excitement after pulling off his helmet and gloves, making you smile in relief. After opening up to you and your friends, Eric had decided to speak with his team and coach about the pressure he was feeling. The team had reacted better than Eric expected, and soon Eric felt reassured and supported by his teammates.
Once Eric had given his coach a hug, he charged towards the fence separating the field from the bleachers. Instantly, your friends started cooing at you, but you only rolled your eyes. You had gotten used to the teasing after dating Eric for half a year at that point and it no longer affected you anymore. You handed Jacob your bag and raced down the bleacher steps towards your boyfriend.
“Congratulations!” you exclaimed, wrapping your arms around him when he met you on your side of the fence. You easily fit into his arms and heard Eric’s adrenaline-filled laughter next to your ear.
“Couldn’t have done it without you,” he stated, pulling away just enough to kiss you. The cheers coming from your friends were almost defeating at this point but you ignored them, pulling Eric closer to you and deepening the kiss. When you pulled away, he gave you one last peck before beaming. “You helped me fall in love with baseball again, and that’s something I can never repay you for,” Eric told you, causing your heart to swell with pride.
You had noticed the changes in Eric’s attitude towards baseball before the season started. He seemed more excited about his practices and was getting closer to the people on his team. “It’s not little league, but it’s pretty good, right?” you asked rhetorically.
Eric laughed. “Really good,” he corrected. “Not only did I fall in love with baseball again, but it helped me fall in love with you for the first time,” Eric confessed. The two of you had never said that you loved each other, even though you showed it every day with your actions.
You beamed. “I love you too, Eric.”
And with that, you were pulled into another kiss. This one felt more fulfilling and warm than all the previous ones combined.
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note: i’m a sucker for cheesy endings so i had to end it like this!!
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sleepysnk · 3 years
Text
Team Player: Chapter Eight
Pairings: Eren Jaeger x Fem!Reader
Warnings: None
Word Count: 2.5k
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Masterlist
A week or two had gone by, and things had been going well for Eren and (Y/N) surprisingly. The two actually were getting along pretty well, they both hung out a lot to help improve on his skills. The improvement was showing and she was satisfied with how much better he was doing compared to the previous weeks. 
Eren and (Y/N) were sitting in the library talking about their project which was due that coming Friday. 
"Does it look good?" Eren asked, leaning over to look at her laptop. 
She leaned back against her chair. "Yeah.. it's coming along nicely. It looks nice with the pictures you added," she said and smiled at him.
Eren looked at her as his smile grew. "Nah really it was all you," he replied, looking at his phone. 
Eren was feeling a lot better about his situation, (Y/N) also helped with his ankle. He was off the wrap and was now able to walk on it without limping, which was a huge gain for him. The pain meds did a pretty good job, as he was now off of them since his ankle was now pretty much healed.
"Hey Eren!" 
His eyes averted up to see Jean walking towards him. (Y/N) stayed focused on the project, she knew Jean since freshman year. He was one of the many people who knew about the whole incident, he took the video. She knew him and Eren were teammates.
"What's up?" Eren asked and nodded. 
Jean leaned against the wall. "Oh nothing I just saw ya and I wanted to say hey. Is that (Y/N)?" he asked, pointing at her. 
Eren looked towards her. "Yeah that's (Y/N), she's my partner for the project." he replied, running his fingers through his hair. 
"Hey (Y/N), I haven't seen you in forever." Jean said, a sly smirk forming onto his face. 
She looked up from her laptop. "Yeah.. it really does feel like forever ago," she replied and rolled her eyes. 
"You know… I forgot how cute you were. I miss being your lab partner sometimes," Jean said, eyeing her hungrily.
Something inside Eren made him want to hit Jean, he was talking to (Y/N) first, not him! Who does he think he is? He didn't like the way he was talking to (Y/N) either, it made anger bubble inside of him. He was never one to get mad, but this felt… different.
"We should hangout sometime you know? I can whip up some good food for you," Jean said and smiled at her. 
Heat rushed onto her cheeks as Jean was speaking to her. "U-Uh.. I don't know Jean," she replied, looking down avoiding his gaze.
He nodded. "C'mon (Y/N)! You're so pretty and I wanna show you how a guy should treat you," he said, leaning down towards her. 
"Jean. She seems clearly uncomfortable, just let it go. Plus I was talking to her first," Eren said, his voice stern and serious. 
Jean looked at him with raised brows. "Huh? Hm.. fine I guess. Just know the offer stands (Y/N)," he said, smirking at her. "See you later Eren," he added and made his way out of the library. 
A relieved sigh came from (Y/N)'s mouth. "Thank you for that Eren.. really," she said and placed her hand on his arm. 
He felt tingles coming from her touch. "U-Uhm.. of course! He just seemed like he was bothering you and I felt like you needed the assistance," he replied, smiling a bit. 
They sat there staring at each other for a few moments, Eren's eyes flickered towards her lips. His mouth slightly watering at the idea of leaning in and kissing her, they looked so soft and plump. 
"Eren?" (Y/N) said, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He shook his head, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks. "My bad! What's up?" he asked, nodding his head. 
She giggled a bit at how cute he was. "I gotta head to my next class," she said and began putting her books into her backpack. "It kind of is important too," she added. 
Eren stood up. "Let me walk you to class, I'm gonna head to the practice field anyway." he said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. 
She smiled and grabbed her backpack. The two exited the library and made their way to the other side of the campus building, the walk wasn't far but it was a pretty reasonable distance. The two chatted about everything that had been going on including the football game Eren was unsure of. (Y/N) assured him that everything would work out. 
"Here we are," she said and stopped at the door of the lecture hall. 
Eren looked down at her. "I hope you have fun in class," he said, chuckling a bit. 
She rolled her eyes playfully, hitting his arm. "Yeah sure! Because anatomy is so fun," she said and giggled. "Let me know what happens if you go to practice, okay?" she added. 
Eren felt a smile form onto his face hearing her laugh, it was so cute to him. 
"Yeah I'll let you know! See you later (Y/N)," he said and waved at her. 
She waved and entered her classroom, the day was now over for Eren. His classes were done and he didn't have much to do, so he decided to make his way towards the locker room. A place he hadn't been for awhile. He missed the way it felt when he walked in after school, his energy was high and it was all he looked forward to. 
He entered the locker room, many eyes bored into his head. Most of his teammates were speaking to him, most of them broke the ice and apologized for acting like idiots. Eren claimed their behavior was valid, considering what happened. 
Many of the players exited and went outside to the practice field. 
"Eren.. funny to see you here,"
He turned his head to see Reiner standing there in his practice uniform. 
"Yeah.. I uh, wanted to talk to coach," he replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "You see em'?" he asked. 
Reiner sighed. "Yeah, he just went outside. How's your ankle?" he asked and looked down at it. 
Eren leaned against the lockers. "It's actually fully healed, the nurse cleared me and I can actually walk without a limp." he replied. 
The blonde nodded his head. "That's good to hear.. I hope to see you playing again soon," he said and patted his shoulder before exiting the locker room.
Eren made his way outside after Reiner, he felt the cooler air hit against his skin. A shiver went down his spine, he forgot what it felt like to play outside with this weather. He had been indoors so long his body wasn't used to the colder air. 
He spotted the players practicing blocks, throwing balls, or just doing the usual warmups for practice. Something Eren missed dearly. 
Eren's eyes caught the head of his coach, he was looking down at his clipboard, seeming to be going over the plays. His eyes flickered every so often to check on the people warming up. 
"Coach.." Eren said, looking down at the ground.
Coach Smith looked over at him. "Eren? What are you doing here? It's been quite a bit." he asked and nodded his head. 
He sighed. "Yeah it has… I um, I wanted to see how practices were going. My ankle is healed now," he replied, smiling a bit. 
His coach's eyes averted down towards his ankle, noticing it wasn't wrapped up anymore. 
He nodded his head. "I see… I'm happy to hear that really. How has your teamwork skills been working? Do you have any improvement?" he asked, looking over at him. 
Eren leaned against the bleachers. "Yeah! I've been working really hard actually," he replied. "I've done a lot," he added.
"The championship game is this Saturday… you don't have much time. Not having you at the game last week wasn't good," Coach Smith said, his eyes not leaving the players running around. 
Eren's eyes grew wide at his words, the game was already this soon? 
"Wait, it's this early? I thought it'd be later," Eren asked and furrowed his brows. 
His coach looked at him. "It's earlier because we won last week. I hope to see your improvement soon, you have until Friday to prove it to me. If not, you won't play and your offer for the Chief's becomes slim to none." he replied. 
Hearing those words come out of his mouth made Eren's mind race. He had less than 3 days to get ready for the game, that was barely any time! He had to do as much as he could now before then. 
"I won't let you down Coach.. I promise I can prove how much I've changed," Eren said and looked at him with determination.
Coach Smith nodded his head. "Good.. Mr.Zacharius will be there as well. He was quite disappointed hearing what happened the week before, watch it Eren. You need this season," he said.
He totally had forgotten about the scout that came to see him. If Eren messed up one more time all the offers headed his way would be off the table. That's an option he didn't want to come true. 
"I think I'll be able to do it," he replied.
"You think so? Let's see by Friday," Coach Smith replied, looking at him. 
Eren headed back towards the locker room, he had to find (Y/N).
-
Class ended fairly quickly for (Y/N). She was tired after a long day of helping Eren and doing homework assignments, she just wanted to collapse in bed and take a nap. 
She was sitting in her dorm on her laptop, typing away at her essay she had to do. Her roommate Sasha was out and about with her boyfriend Connie so she had some peace and quiet for the whole night. Maybe she could finish up in time?
A sudden banging on the door caused her to jump in her bed. Her heartbeat quickened at the sudden noise. 
Furrowing her brows, she stood up walking slowly towards the door. Did Sasha end up with some mafia? That girl was always full of surprises..
She put her hand on the cold door knob, hesitating a bit to open the door. 
"(Y/N)! Are you here?!" 
She knew that voice. 
It was Eren's.
She let out a sigh of relief as she opened the door to see him standing there. He seemed a bit flushed, like he was running or he was in a rush to come see her. 
"Eren? Jesus.. you scared me! I thought someone was trying to break in," she said, looking up at him. 
His brown hair was messy. "Sorry.. I should have texted. Can I come in?" he asked, nodding his head. 
She moved out of the way so he could enter her dorm. The faint smell of his vanilla cologne coming off his body filled her nose. 
"Are you okay? You seem like you're in a rush," she asked and plopped down on her bed, crossing her legs. 
Eren plopped down next to her. "Yeah I just needed to come find you," he replied, smiling a bit. 
She felt her cheeks becoming warm. "Well what's up? Did something happen?" she asked. 
He chewed his bottom lip. "I went to practice today and uh.. My coach told me I have until Friday to show my improvement. If not all my offers are off the table," he replied, looking down at the floor. 
Her eyes went wide realizing that Friday was a few days away. They barely had any time to prepare. 
"Shit…" she said, leaning against her bed frame. 
"Look if you can't help-"
"No Eren, I can help you. We just need to prepare," she said and looked around the room. Her mind raced with different thoughts or ideas on what to do. 
Eren was a bit surprised at her response. "We can find a way," he said with determination in his voice. 
She bit at the insides of her cheeks. "What if we went to the field, you know the practice fields? You do need some help throwing balls since you haven't been on your feet, and it can be some good practice." she said, nodding her head. 
Eren thought about the idea. It sounded great, plus he could use the extra practice before the game. It would show his coach that he was able to work well with his teammates and he could actually play without his ankle bothering him. 
"That sounds great, when though?" he asked. 
"How about tomorrow or Thursday?" 
He smiled. "Tomorrow would work best.. it gives us more time," he replied, looking up at her. 
She shook her head. "Alright.. um, tomorrow at 7? My classes end early," she said, opening her phone to add a reminder. 
"Sounds like a plan! I got nothing going on so we can for sure meet up," he replied, throwing a thumbs-up her way with a grin on his face. 
Her cheeks warmed at the sight of Eren smiling at her. She couldn't lie that his smile wasn't charming, it always drew her in somehow. 
"Okay great! I can meet you there," she said, looking at him. 
His emerald like eyes lit up with excitement. "Hell yeah! Ugh, (Y/N) you're the best!" he said before hugging her. 
She felt her face heat up as Eren pulled away quickly. "Oh shit! I'm sorry.. I-I didn't even- ugh shit- oh my god i'm sorry," he said, an obvious blush forming onto his cheeks. 
She laughed a bit. "No, don't worry! You're fine.. it was just a little random, that's all." she replied with a reassuring smile. 
He laughed, running his fingers through his brunette locks. "I just.. I don't know you seem huggable," he said, looking down to avoid her gaze. Embarrassment still written all over his face. 
"I like hugs if that helps," she said, giggling a bit. 
He smiled. "You are the best though, I didn't think you'd help me." 
She rolled her eyes as a playful smile formed onto her cheeks. "I'm not all that special. Plus you did let me do the project, so who was I to say no?" she said, leaning against the bed frame. 
The two stared at each other again, Eren's eyes flickering over her lips. There was that tension again, the way the two stared at each other as if they were waiting for one of them to make a move or lean in. 
"I should get going!" Eren said, breaking the silence between them. 
(Y/N) shook her head. "Oh yeah! Totally.. uh, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. 
He smiled. "Yeah for sure.." he replied before standing up and grabbing his things. 
"Don't forget!" she said and opened the door for him. 
He looked back at her. "I won't.." 
She waved at him before shutting the door to her dorm. She plopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. 
"Ugh.. Eren, what am I gonna do about you?" she asked herself. 
It's crazy it's almost a week or two ago she despised the boy for everything he did. Now she was hanging out with him, giggling at his jokes, thinking about him. 
What was going on with her? What was Eren doing to her head?
tagging: @ererokii @eremiie @erensapologist @luvrboykento @callmepromise @katsuhera @just-a-little-sad @bell0214 @flam3bird @moomii-hime @thicmitten @ryan249057 @daughter-of-the-stars11 @lunamoonawatcher @chayauwu @sofi-yeager
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tarteausuga · 3 years
Text
maybe soon
Contents: fluff, basketball player! Johnny Featuring: Johnny x reader, other members of NCT sporadically A/N: there could potentially be another part... word count: 2.4k-ish
In which you’re the head athletic trainer of the basketball team that Johnny is the captain of...
"Mark, I know you can wrap it yourself. I've taught you multiple times." You breeze by one of the youngest players of the team who was begging you to wrap his ankle for him.
"You do it so much better though! I don't play as well if I do it myself." He whined as you rolled your eyes at him.
"You'll have to wait your turn then." You direct your attention to Johnny, the captain who has been nursing a sprained knee for the past few weeks. "Have you been icing it on and off like I've told you to?" You ask him but your attention is directed at his leg.
"Yes and I've been keeping it elevated. How can I not when you're in half of my classes nagging me during lectures?" He smirks at you but you don't pay him any attention.
"It looks a lot better now. I'll find you a knee brace and you shouldn't need to wrap it anymore." You smile, content with your treatment as you pin the bandage in place.
"You're a lot less scary when you smile, you know?" He jokes with you as you give him a slight push. Telling him to shut it before finally attending to the needy Mark Lee who is being touted as the next star of your university's basketball team.
You felt a lot of pride in your work with the team. Sure it was all for course credit towards your athletic training degree but something about it made you feel like you were part of the team. They relied on you and you often felt like you were supporting them through your work. You were never great at sports so this was your one way of being part of something that you love so much.
Your dedication had paid off as you had been named the head student trainer after years of running water bottles and hauling medical kits. Working under the advice of your professor, you were trusted to call the shots and unlike some of your classmates, your advising professor rarely questioned you.
"Alright boys, gather around." Johnny called out in his booming voice just as you were finishing up wrapping Mark's ankle. You then proceeded to help your junior trainers with packing up the kits and filling water bottles.
"Johnny is always watching you." One of the younger girls said to you and giggled.
"He's so hot, I wish he would look at me." Another girl pouted and you fought off the urge to roll your eyes in front of them.
You found that a lot of the students who signed up to be part of your team were mainly a) female and b) trying to get close with at least one of the players. It was frustrating on your end because it often meant more work for you as they were often too flustered or distracted to focus on their actual jobs.
"You know that I help to grade you guys, right?" You glare at them as you found yourself doing your kit inventories alone while they were busy giggling about the players.
"You're no fun. You can't possibly say you're not attracted to any of them." A third girl scoffed at you.
"I can honestly say that when you deal with their sweaty feet enough, they lose their allure." You lie as they all become visibly disgusted and finally start doing their jobs assigned by you. You stifle a smile as you look up and meet Johnny's eyes from across the room. The last thing you were going to do was admit to your juniors that you were interested in someone. And the second last thing you were going to do was tell them that the person in mind was none other than campus celebrity, Johnny Suh.
You approved the medical kits as Johnny dismissed the team and they proceeded towards the gym for warmups. You also sent your trainers to follow, reminding them to do their inspections of the gym and not ogling the team.
"Go easy on them." Johnny nudges you.
"That wouldn't be any fun then." You nudge him back.
"See? Much cuter with a smile on your face." He chuckles while running away before you can smack his arm.
There was always so much going on during game nights. The basketball team was the most popular on campus, beating out the soccer team somehow. There were hoards of fangirls in the stands screaming out the names of individual players. Then there was the band and of course, the cheerleaders but to no one's surprise, the players were the centre of attention.
Johnny seemed to thrive in this environment. He would flash a smile every once in a while to the girls in the stands, drawing screams sounding like they were in pain. You could even see some of the cheerleaders try not to lose their composure from the sidelines when they saw him push his hair out of his eyes.
"That kid is lucky he's great at basketball," the coach mumbled before shouting "FOCUS ON THE PLAY SUH!"
You couldn't help but fight back a chuckle as Johnny posted up a 3-pointer before saluting his coach.
---
The game was over and while everyone was returning to their respective homes to rest after the exciting win, you were back in the training room making sure the team started their recoveries well: Attending to bruises, strains and pre-existing injuries as quickly as possible. Johnny often sat back and watched you work. Laughing to himself whenever you made a quick comment towards any of the guys.
"Are you going to ask y/n out anytime soon?" Jaehyun, another popular player on campus, slid next to his captain.
"Nah I'm just going to get rejected. I've tried every year and it's always a no." Johnny smiles fondly at all of the times you've turned him down.
"You seem oddly happy about that." Jaehyun frowns.
"We spend more time together like this. We would have to be separated if we started dating. Conflict of interest or whatever but I still ask every year just to make sure we feel the same way." Johnny explains.
"And you're okay with the rejection…" Jaehyun tries to confirm but Johnny only nods, continuing to watch you work with the team. "There are other girls out there. You know that right?" Jaehyun suggested.
Johnny tried not to seem physically disgusted at the prospect. "I'm aware, Jaehyun. Thanks." He said in his low tone that often scared the other players.
"Alright, I'm just saying." Jaehyun slid away.
When the room quiets down and all of the team has trickled out, you're left with melted bags of ice and cut up pieces of athletic tape surrounding you. But you're not alone as Johnny seats himself across from you on the training table.
"Is it my turn now?" He smiles.
"You need to pay attention better," you sigh with a faint smile, undoing the bandages wrapped around his knee, "one slip and you're doing to hurt your knee again."
Johnny always had knee problems. He tore his ACL during your second year of university and it never fully recovered after surgery. That was probably the toughest year of Johnny's career, facing the fact that he likely wouldn't make his dreams of playing in the NBA come to reality. You tenderly apply ice to his knee as he winces at the cold.
"You worry too much." He says.
"You make me worry." You respond quickly.
"At least you feel something for me." He lowers himself to look up into your concentrated gaze.
"Let's not do this now." You look away and go make an ice bag for him.
"Oh come on, we always do this. I ask you out, you reject me, we bicker back and forth then we both quietly know the feelings are still there." He leans over you at the ice machine.
The best you can do is sigh and roll your eyes, "you're insufferable, Johnny Suh."
"And that's why you love me." He looks for an agreeing smile from you expectantly. You force one to appease him.
---
It was the morning before one of the last midterms of your university career. Nervous energy was all around as that classic air of tension flooded the campus as students wracked their brains with exam material. Your morning cup of relief, a coffee in your hand and Taeyong, one of your best friends and another member of the basketball team, talking your ear off.
"I spent all night making this tiny little cheat card my prof is letting us bring in but Yuta fucking spills water on it this morning, I was ready to kill the guy but-" he stopped talking when he noticed you stop dead in your tracks. He looked back to see you with a mortified look on your face. "Hey, what's up?" He gently touches your shoulder before turning towards your line of sight to see what had stopped you.
What he saw shocked him too. One of the cheerleaders who always made it known that she found Johnny attractive was seated on his lap in the food hall. He seemed disinterested but nonetheless, there she was. You immediately turn to walk the other way even though you were on your way towards your exam.
"Are you okay?" Taeyong struggled to catch up as you quickened your pace to make it in time while taking the long way around.
"It's fine, Taeyong. It's not like we're dating." You huff.
"I know but you guys like each other, don't you?" He asked.
"No," you lied, "I could never like someone like him so he can do whatever he wants."
"Hey." He finally stopped you.
"I don't have the time for this, I have to write my midterm." You slip away as you threw your untouched coffee in the trash. The thought of drinking coffee disgusted you all of a sudden. Your brain associated the beverage with Johnny as he was the one that introduced it to you during your first year of university.
You walked out of your exam and saw Taeyong waiting patiently outside. He had his fair share of fans around campus but he never entertained them as much as some of the other members of the team. He was often depicted as cold and scary so not many people approached him, unaware that he's one of the most kind-hearted people in your life.
"Hey, how did it go?" He asked you meekly.
"Pretty sure I bombed it," you sigh, "what about yours?"
"The twisted thing is that those cheat sheets force you to study so I guess I don't need to kill my roommate." You both laugh.
"Hey what are you guys laughing at?" You hear the voice you were dreading from behind you.
"I'll see you later, Taeyong." You say before quickly finding a new path for your afternoon.
"Is she okay?" Johnny asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"That's not for me to answer." Taeyong shrugs.
You try your best to act normal for practice that evening. You go through your usual motions of getting everyone taped up and ready but everyone seemed to notice your usual lack of spirit and friendly banter with the team. Even your junior trainers talk quietly about whether you broke up with Johnny despite you telling them repetitively that there wasn't anything going on between the two of you. You avoid his eye contact as their coach runs through their plays and generally avoid looking at him in general during the whole practice.
When the training room cleared out, you were left with Johnny again and you tried to rush through wrapping his ice bag onto his knee when he grabs your hand. He bends his neck down again to look into your eyes which were starting to fill up with tears.
"Hey what's going on?"
"Nothing. I'm just stressed about midterms." You turn away from him to wipe your tears.
"I'm sure you did fine," he uses his strength to force you to face him. "You're the smartest person I know."
"A lot of good that does me." You scoff.
"Did I do something?" He asked.
"It's nothing, Johnny. I'm fine." You insist but he's not convinced.
"Are you mad at me or something?" He finally struck a chord with you.
You can only look at him for a moment as you try to tell him why you're upset with him. How do you word this without making things even more complicated than they already are?
"You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just dumb and thought I was special but I'm just like every other girl out there for you. It's my fault." You try to force a smile but he only looks at you in confusion.
"Other girls? What other girls? Oh did you see me with…" he pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he lets out a breath of frustration. "That bitch…" he mumbles to himself.
"What?" You say.
"You saw that, didn't you?" He read the expression on your face before continuing, "we were just talking about midterms when she suddenly sits on me. I asked what she was doing and she said she saw her ex and needed a cover because she's trying to get across the point that she's not into him anymore."
You continue to look at him, trying to figure out whether he's telling the truth when he continues his explanation.
"Did you see me touching her at all?" You shook your head in response. "I didn't want to push her off, I might have hurt her so I just let her be. Now I'm thinking she only did that because she saw you." He took your cold hands in his. "I only like you, alright? I've always liked you otherwise I wouldn't bug you so much about everything."
"But I keep rejecting and you can have literally any girl you want." You say quietly.
"And where am I? Hanging out with you whenever I can. Waiting for basketball to be over so we can maybe be an actual couple." He laughs.
"Really?" You ask with tear soaked eyes.
"Yeah." He says.
"That's… kind of dumb." You say with a soft laugh,
"Thanks, I love you too." He smiles, running his thumb over the lines of your hand.
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daveyjacobss · 3 years
Text
meant to be made into art
jack kelly x davey jacobs (freshman college roommates au)
summary: davey might like his new roommate more than he was expecting to.
a/n: hi @faded-dragon-flys !! i’m your secrect santa for @newsies-secret-santa !! this is being posted a little later than i wanted so i’m really sorry about that but i hope you like it!! i hope you’ve had a happy holidays and that you have a wonderful new years :)
masterlist
_________
College was....okay. It wasn't that Davey wasn't excited to have more freedom and to finally be able to pursue his interests, but the entire experience was incredibly nerve-wracking. Classes and coursework were enough stress on their own, but the addition of living away from home for the first time in a new place with a stranger for a roommate wasn't exactly ideal. Not that his roommate wasn't fine, he was —mostly. He had a horrible sleep schedule and he was a little messy and he sometimes listened to his music too loud, but Davey had many of the same flaws. So, yeah, Davey could mostly handle Jack.
It had been a bit of a shock the second week when he had been up at an ungodly hour writing for one of his classes and Jack, who he had assumed was sleeping somewhere else for the night, had returned from one of the school's art studios splattered with paint. From the look on Jack's face, it had been a bit of a shock for him, too. But after the initial surprise had passed Jack had laughed quietly and Davey's cheeks had flushed the lightest of pinks because, oh, Jack had a really nice laugh. Davey had laughed a little, too, once he got his faint blush under control, and they had stayed up a little longer to talk before going to sleep. There were plenty of late night encounters in the following weeks, but that first one lingered in Davey's mind — the way the paint on Jack's face had accentuated his jawline, the way his smile had spread across his face so easily. His laughter had been soft but, with the quiet of the room, the sound of it had wrapped itself around Davey so firmly that he had felt it in his chest.
That happened a lot — more than he would have liked to admit. Jack would laugh, or he would sing along with his music, or he would just talk, and Davey would feel it reverberating in his chest and quickening the pace of his heart. Though, to be fair, the sped up heart rate also happened whenever Jack changed his shirt in front of Davey or walked into the room after a shower in only a towel.
So, maybe he couldn't actually handle Jack that well. Or, rather, he couldn't handle the way his face warmed every time Jack looked at him and his heart jumped in his chest anytime Jack touched him. Every time he talked to Sarah on the phone she would ask about his cute roommate, and every time without fail Davey would make a little choking noise and, if Jack was there, a swift exit. She had seen him when she was helping Davey move into his dorm, and he spent every day grateful that she hadn't gotten the chance to actually talk to him.
Sarah was better at making friends than Davey was, she always had been. Where she blossomed in social situations and could easily command a room, Davey floundered for what to say and criticized every word that came out of his own mouth. He was awkward, and people tended to give him strange looks rather than friendly smiles. Jack was the same way as Sarah, from what Davey could gather. He had plenty of friends back home and he had had no trouble making friends at their university, never eating alone in the dining hall and always having someone in each of his classes to text about assignments. Davey could understand it, the way people seemed to fawn over Jack and melt at his smile — after all, he did the same things. Jack never really brought his friends back to their dorm, though, and it warmed Davey's heart to think it was out of consideration for him.
The only real friends Davey had made since arriving on campus were Jack and a girl in his english class named Katherine, who sometimes scared him but he still adored all the same. Katherine had caught onto his growing feelings for his roommate so fast Davey had briefly wondered if she was psychic. Jack had seen them sitting together while they ate dinner and came to say hi, and Katherine had clearly not missed the way Davey had simultaneously brightened out of excitement and shrunk down out of nervousness. Thankfully, she didn't say anything until Jack had left, but then a teasing smile had spread across her face and Davey knew he was a goner.
"Don't think I didn't see that," she had said, nonchalantly flipping her hair behind her shoulder. Her eyes were twinkling with mischief as she looked at him.
"See what?" He had asked, trying to appear as unbothered as she was. He failed miserably.
She hadn't responded, only going back to eating her salad, but she had been poking fun at him about it ever since. It didn't help that she insisted Jack had a crush on Davey, too. She would tell him about how Jack's smile was different for him and he rarely looked away from Davey when they were in the same room — but Davey just couldn't bring himself to believe it. Believing it would let in too much hope, and with too much hope came the inevitable bone crushing weight of heartbreak.
Even just the little bit of hope that had crept into his chest after Katherine's constant reassurances of Jack liking him as well left him stealing glances at his roommate while perched on his own bed and making half-assed annotations in his textbook. Sometimes he felt creepy, always watching Jack when he wasn't looking (thought he probably spent an equal amount of time averting his eyes for his own sanity), but every once in a while Jack would catch him and he would just smile — so Davey never felt too bad about it.
He watched as Jack hunched over his sketchbook, his lip between his teeth and his brow furrowed. Jack always looked breathtaking when he was concentrating on his artwork. He ended up in strange positions that looked like there was no way they could ever be comfortable, but his body was as relaxed as it was tense. Sometimes his tongue would slip out between his teeth if he got really into it, and it always made Davey smile. Jack's control over his face in general seemed to disappear when he was working on his art, every emotion clearly written in his expressions as he cycled through them. Once, Jack had brought Davey to the art studio with him so he could have company while he painted. It had been one of the smaller rooms in the art building, and they were the only ones in there. The way Jack had loosened and opened up was incredible to watch, it was like as soon as he picked up his paintbrush his whole being clicked into place and was brought into focus. The painting was beautiful, as was every piece of Jack's, but it was the painter who Davey had watched come alive in vibrant colors.
"What are you working on?" He blurted out, startling even himself as Jack looked up from his sketchbook. His roommate's face relaxed a little as his eyes fell on Davey.
"Just some warmup sketches," he answered easily. Everything Jack did seemed to come easily.
"Any particular subject?" Davey pushed his textbook off his lap, his notes forgotten in lieu of a much more important subject (Jack, of course). For a split second, he swore he saw panic flash across his friend's face.
"Not really, I just like to make sure I draw a bit everyday." He smiled at Davey, closing his sketchbook. "What class are you working on?"
"Oh, this?" Davey gestured to the several colors of highlighters and pens scattered across his bed with his textbook. "It's just stuff for my intro to philosophy course. The professor gives us, like, never-ending readings. It's nowhere near as interesting as your art." He was blushing by the time he finished talking, not having expected himself to turn his answer into praise for Jack (...again). But Jack scoffed, bringing himself and his sketchbook over to Davey's bed. He plopped down next to him and their knees knocked into each other, Davey's heart missing a beat.
"Nah, if it's interesting to you than it's cool. You don't have to downplay it or justify it to me." Jack caught Davey's eyes while he was talking, locking in so that Davey couldn't have looked away even if he wanted to (he didn't). There was something so simultaneously comforting and exposing about Jack looking right at him, all of his attention focused on Davey. He was so caught up it in that it took a second for his words to register. But, when they did, he found his chest warming and the butterflies in his stomach fluttering their wings — not the harsh, violent flapping that happened when he got anxious, but a gentle soothing rhythm that could have lulled him to sleep. Not knowing how to respond to such a warm act of reassurance, he tried to redirect the conversation.
"Can I see what you were drawing?"
It was Jack who finally broke their staring contest, dragging his eyes down to look at his sketchbook resting in his lap. He glanced between it and Davey, biting his lip.
"Tell you what, I'll show you some of these sketches if you finally let me read one of those short stories of yours for your fiction writing class, deal?"
Davey's eyes widened, feeling himself shrinking back without actually moving. He was retreating from the warmth Jack was radiating and it left him cold and regretful, but he didn't know if he could do it. He didn't know if he could let Jack read one his stories, let him look that deeply in Davey's mind. Sure, his professor and his classmates would read his stories for workshops to help him revise it, but this felt different. They were reading it for the sake of constructive criticism and helping him improve it, Jack would be reading it just to read it. Jack would be reading it and in doing so he'd get the biggest peek into who Davey was that he would probably ever get. Even Sarah hadn't been allowed to read his stories yet. But —
But Jack was there. Jack was sitting there in front of him on Davey's bed, offering up a part of himself, too. Davey had watched Jack paint, but he had never had the privilege to look into Jack's sketchbook. Even when he asked he had been expecting a playful dismissal, a kind brush off. Jack's other friends, Davey knew, weren't allowed to look at his sketchbook. He had confided with Davey that even his foster brother back home had only been allowed to glimpse a few pages. And if Jack was willing to show that part of himself, to reveal that to Davey, how couldn't he offer up the same in return?
"Okay," he said, looking Jack right in the eye again and watching as his lips turned upward. "Deal."
Jack grinned fully before spitting on his hand and holding it out as if for a handshake. Davey scrunched his nose as he looked down at it. "That's disgusting."
Jack laughed, pulling hand back to wipe it on his pants. "Sorry, force of habit."
Davey's phone vibrated on the bed beside him as he was giving Jack a slightly bewildered stare. He picked it up without really looking, pulling up the text notification from Sarah. His face flushed at her message, quickly putting his phone face down on the bed to make sure Jack couldn't see it. It was Jack's turn to give Davey a bewildered stare.
"You alright there?"
Davey laughed nervously. "Yeah, uh, I'm good. Sorry, it's my sister. She won't stop asking me about my cute roommate." He froze as he realized what he had said. "Uh! Her words, not mine. She won't shut up about it."
"That so?" Jack asked, smirking. He was so smug and so boyishly attractive that Davey's brain didn't even give him a second to think before he was talking again.
"Well, you know, you are." And holy shit he did not just say that. Holy shit he did not just say that. Jack's jaw dropped just slightly, but Davey was more focused on the panic making its way through his entire body and forcing even more words up his throat. "I mean—like, uh, objectively, ya know? Like, your face is, uh — it's, like, aesthetically.... pleasing?"
He wanted to die. He wanted to throw himself out the window and die. He could not believe all of that had just come out of his mouth. He continued to stutter for a few more seconds without any real words coming out, Jack's eyes still fixated on him as he blushed and fidgeted. Then, suddenly, he turned away as if to hide his face — but he didn't turn enough. Davey watched in muted shock as Jack lips spread into a broad grin.
"For what it's worth," Jack's voice was soft and gentle, slipping out from behind his smile, "I think your face is pretty aesthetically pleasing, too."
Davey's entire body shut down. Oh. Jack thought he had a nice face. Okay. Yeah, definitely not something he could handle — definitely something he would need to deal with and process when he was alone and could express the proper amount of freaking out over it.
"I actually, um—" Jack was turning back to him, opening his sketchbook to his most recent pages. "I think you have a really nice face, Davey." He held the book out to Davey and he took it with slightly trembling his hands. In front of him were two full pages populated entirely by sketches of Davey. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at them, at Jack's beautiful handiwork. He made Davey seem more breathtaking than he was, than he could ever dream of being. And, more than that, he made Davey seem like the kind of person worth paying attention to.
When he turned to look back at Jack, his gaze was softened and his mouth was stilling hanging open slightly. Jack looked like he was holding his breath, his eyes hopeful as they met Davey's.
Oh, Davey thought again. Oh.
While he had been sneaking glances at Jack, Jack had been doing the same. While he had been romanticizing every detail of Jack, Jack had been doing the exact same thing to Davey in his artwork. He made Davey feel like he was the kind of person who deserved to be romanticized, like he was the kind of person who was meant to made into art.
Oh.
Davey gently placed the sketchbook down on the bed, feeling more calm than he had since he moved into their dorm. The butterflies in his stomach were fluttering, his heart was beating out his chest, his face was practically burning, and yet everything felt peaceful. Jack's eyes widened as Davey reached for him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
But he melted into it when Davey kissed him. He grabbed at Davey, his hands scrunching up the fabric of Davey's shirt as he pulled him closer, smiling into the kiss. Davey felt like he had literally ascended to heaven, curling his fingers in Jack's hair.
When they eventually pulled away Davey's nerves returned in full force, stumbling over his words as he tried to explain himself. But Jack just smiled at him and kissed his forehead before lacing their hands together. And, yeah, Davey could make do with that.
"What do you say we go grab some dinner and I read one of your stories when we get back? Then we can have a movie night or something," Jack offered, standing up from the bed and pulling Davey with him.
No fear came with the idea of Jack reading his story that time, not after having seen Jack's sketchbook. Not after Jack had revealed himself so openly to Davey — it was only fair he do the same. Plus, he found that he wanted Jack to see that part of him. He wanted to know what Jack thought of his writing.
"Yeah," he smiled, squeezing Jack's hand. "That sounds good."
_________
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edengarden · 3 years
Text
BNHA CONCERT BAND AU BC IM A NERD
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS OR HEADCANONS AKSJHD PLS ASK ME I LOVE BAND I LOVE MUSIC AND I LOVE THIS-
Izuku Midoriya:
Boy definitely plays a wind instrument. I’m assigning him clarinet
Wants to be first chair so bad, he practices so freaking much I swear
ALWAYS. IN. A. BAND. ROOM. with Iida and Uraraka. They’re always practicing
He’s so confused with music theory, please help him. He just,, WHY is it minor?? WHY IS THERE A SOLO WITH NOTHING WRITTEN?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE HAS TO IMPROVISE WITH THE CHORDS WRITTEN OVER THE BARS-
Ochako Uraraka:
ALTO SAXOPHONE-
She’s also comfortable enough to play 2nd or 3rd clarinet if needed, or even soprano saxophone
Doesn’t have her own instrument, she borrows from the school and she HATES the reeds, they’re crap. When someone gives her a good reed, she CHERISHES it.
In jazz band also! With the same instrument, but she doesn’t feel ready for solos so she’s usually 2nd or 3rd. Bro when she has to switch from swing to straight she ALWAYS forgets and it’s the band’s downfall.
Tenya Iida:
TRUMPET TRUMPET TRUMPET TRU-
And he’s one of THOSE trumpet players, by the way.
“Sir the French horns aren’t tuned” yeah, he has perfect pitch
Literally plays flight of the bumblebee as warm up. Or has his own warm up scales. Never practices right before practice though, he thinks it’s “too late” for that
Has his own trumpet, it’s silver with hints of gold/brass. Takes care of it RELIGIOUSLY.
He HATES having to blow out spit onto the floor, but dude what other choice do you have??
Momo Yaoyorozu:
Sweet angel 🥺🥺 she’s an oboe player
Definitely bought her own instrument
Sight reading MASTER. she instantly gets the key bro, it’s so rare that she forgets an incidental
Definitely leads sectionals all the time. And she does it WELL.
When people (*COUGH* BASSES*cough*) slowdown, she’ll sway to the beat in hopes that they’ll follow her
Kyoka Jirou:
Electric bass or contrabass, give her either and she’s good to go dude.
Also has perfect pitch and knows her music theory WAY more than a high school student should know. She’s a genius.
Her warm ups? Jam sessions with Hanta and Todoroki. She just shouts a key and they go. It’s usually jazz, she plays a pretty constant pattern, Todoroki tries to improvise but hanta takes over pretty quick-
Definitely in jazz band as well. Also in a school competition band (like singer and stuff), also a one-woman-band. She’s in so many bands dude.
Shouto Todoroki:
TENOR SAXOPHONE
Also has a background in flute bc his parents wanted him to have ~versatility~
Knows all the theory in his head, like he knows what’s going on, he just doesn’t know how to explain it
*false note* “sorry my instrument isn’t warmed up, it’s probably my reed”
Has plastic reeds. And reeds ESPECIALLY for jazz.
Oh yeah he’s in jazz band! Loves that he’s like, the only tenor saxophone so he gets all the solos
Rikidou Satou:
TUBA PLAYER IN DA HOUUUSSEEE
Buddy actually brings the tuba home to practice, he drags that thing AROUND.
Always. Slows. Down. But no one knows it’s his fault most of the time, they blame Sero-
Firmly believes in the “basses are the foundation of the orchestra” mindset, he’s so proud to be a bass
Kouji Kouda:
Soprano Saxophone, but can also handle clarinet if the need comes (he just loves the sound of soprano sax you guys)
DEFINITELY in jazz band, but as a Tenor Sax 2 bc he knows if he went as a soprano sax he probably would’ve gotten solos
Is it Momo’s oboe?? Is it Kouda’s soprano sax?? No one knows the different except those two and Jirou
Plays Shostakovich’s jazz suite no. 2 as a warm up
DEFINITELY A SWAYER. He just gets into the mood of the music and SWAYS.
Tooru Hagakure:
Flautist!! She chose it as an 11 y/o bc it was a girly instrument but she really likes it lol
A mediocre player, she spends most of warm up with Mina tho, she thinks that she’ll get to warm up when she’s playing bc I mean— no one hears the flutes
Wanted to main the picolo for the sole purpose that it’s an Ear Destroyer. Aizawa heard the mischief in her voice and said no.
Sight reading?? What’s that?? She has no idea what’s going on, she just pretends to play and when she’s comfortable with the melody, she’ll just step in. NEVER notices key changes and signatures.
Yuuga Aoyama:
LASKHDSJ FLAUTIST!! Also clarinetist. He loves being able to stay where he is during practice even though he changes instruments it’s sort of funny
His cheeks get SO SORE when he plays clarinet though and he WILL complain.
“My flute is so heavy!” Kind of guy.
Definitely has his own instruments and takes GREAT care of them.
Wetting his reed with his saliva?? No, he plops it in a glass of water instead (the reeds are definitely his own, and expensive)
Tsuyu Asui:
Trombone gang bro.
Positions are burnt into her brain dude she’ll never go out of tune.
SO SMOOTH. SOOOO SMOOO- dude she plays so well?? It’s never spitty, but during jazz (yes she’s in jazz), if it’s a moody piece she KNOWS how to make it juuussssttt airy enough to be beautiful
Not that good with fast songs, but she makes up for her amazing ass vibrato and her range. GOD-LIKE RANGE.
Mashirao Ojirou:
FRENCH HORN!!!
Omg he plays like a king. And he’s so proud of being the ONLY one playing French horn, but there is PRESSURE, because a French horn is rlly tricky to tune dude. Have you SEEN it??
Always keeps his mouthpiece with him, as if he’s afraid someone will play his instrument?? Like no dude it’s good in it’s case but you do you I guess
He doesn’t stand out that much, but in the majestic pieces where he has a 5 measure solo?? He gives it his all and he pulls it OFF. Those moments are always the highlight of the piece
Mezou Shouji:
Bass clarinet!!
Once he managed to growl through bass clarinet and literally ALL the saxophone players were jealous AS FUCK
Buddy goes to a low E♭ like it’s nothing?? And then he goes up to like a high high C and you’re sitting there like THE FUCKING RANGE-
His warmups are like, quick scales and arpeggios. Bro he’s so steady when he plays and he could play for HOURS. Sore cheeks?? Don’t know her.
He so proud of being a bass clarinetist, but when he saw an octobass clarinet?? Aizawa better order one of those for him RIGHT. NOW.
Fumikage Tokoyami:
Baritone saxophone. Also lowkey really wants to learn bassoon because it’s such an old instrument
SKSKS he and Shouji sit next to each other, Tokoyami loves to read off of Shouji’s partition and create the WORST fourths you’ll ever hear. Even Midoriya told them to shut the fuck up once
In jazz band too!! Still plays bari sax
Such,, a good,, sound. So,, meaty,, and full,, and HOT. Bari sax is HOT!!
Plays moanin’s intro as a warm up. Search up the song. It’s bomb.
He loves to figure out new sounds with his bari sax. The Too Many Zooz type of sounds
Hitoshi Shinsou:
PERCUSSIONIST. Especially loves the bells, timpani, vibraphone and marimba.
He’s in the back judging EVERYONE. It’s so great for him, he gets to stand there and cringe and no one will know
Totally able to play 4 mallets like the king he is
Surprisingly enough, he’s rlly good in music theory. Like he could probably compose or transpose something no problem
Aizawa’s favourite, of course. Will ask him to sit in front while they play and circle the parts where he thinks something sounds off
Now that we’ve talked about the NORMAL band kids, I present to you,,, the gremlin band kids
Mina Ashido:
Percussionist as well!! She loves snares but you’ll see her pick up castagnettes even if y’all are playing something like Gymnopédie no. 3 she’s a bit confused but she got the spirit.
CANNOT READ SHEET MUSIC. Like notes?? No. She can do beats, just not notes. Let Shinsou figure out the ancient languages dude
Her and Hagakure don’t warm up, they just gossip together.
Did this to Bakugou more than once
SHE DROPPED SO MUCH EQUIPMENT LIKE HOW DID SHE NOT BREAK ANYTHING YET??
Denki Kaminari:
TRUMPET.
Buddy AIMS to have his spit land on someone sitting in front of him (rip Todoroki and Uraraka)
Thinks he’s cool because he plays trumpet, but he always loses count. God forbid Iida cant show up to practice because Kaminari will die
“Where are we? What are we doing? Which piece are we doing? Where are we starting?” Oh my god he’s so lost can SOMEONE please help him
Always gets in trouble during band camps dude. He and Sero are the Bad Brass duo
Eijirou Kirishima:
EUPHONIUM BABEY!! He thinks it’s so cool and he’ll get so insulted if someone calls it a “mini tuba”
DONT GIVE HIM SHEET MUSIC IN BASS CLEF HE HATES IT PLS JUST TREBLE CLEF
So!! Protective of his euphonium. His name is Johnny, by the way. He named his instrument.
When they finish practicing a piece, he’s the first to give feedback. Usually it’s good, like praises for classmates he heard and thought were really good!!
He’s so sweet. Willing to help others during practice and sectionals too!! It’s so sad that he’s literally on the other side of the room bc KAMINARI NEEDS HIS HELP-
Katsuki Bakugou:
Hehehe he’s a flautist. I’ve stood by this headcanon for like two years.
And he wants to be THE BEST. You never knew growling could be done through a flute until you met Bakugou.
CANNOT STAND slow pieces. He wants to go all out all the time, he always speeds up when the tempo’s slow.
Also in jazz band with what? Flute. Yeah, this is George Benson Time.
Will hit you with his flute if you ever think badly of him for playing flute. He’ll defend flute ‘till he dies.
Hanta Sero:
TROMBONIST!!! TROMBONE BABEY.
Will be so happy if he’s in charge of bass trombone?? Like yay??
Always wants to hit Bakugou’s head while playing.
Bro his playing style?? You know the like, lazy-ish trombone playing? But it’s just so full and smooth and heavy anyways? That type of shit.
In jazz band, he’s actually a natural at jazz, doesn’t practice that much so he’s like not even in a good position, buddy just slouches and sight reads.
I love Hanta sm guys I could talk abt trombonist!Hanta forever
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everybodyscupoftea · 3 years
Text
don’t forget gloves
jj x unc women’s soccer reader
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jj agrees to a pickup game during winter break
(warnings: cursing, severe lack of editing)
JJ agreed, a little to your surprise, to come play in a pickup game with you and some of your teammates and their partners. You knew he typically didn’t like doing stuff like that because he wasn’t the most knowledgeable about soccer, but since hit had been over a year, you guessed he felt confident enough in his abilities.
“Babe,” he held his hand up when you made a surprised noise, “I’ve been practicing for months now.”
You raised your eyebrows in amusement, “Sure thing. It’s later this afternoon, but I’m gonna go early and stretch if you want to come.”
“Do I have time to take a nap?”
Humming, you glanced at your watch, “Sure. I’ll come pick you up in an hour and a half.”
“You don’t want to stay?”
“Not if you’re sleeping, I’ll just go home and watch some TV.”
JJ shrugged and handed you your keys, “Suit yourself.”
-
You ended up walking home and jogging back to JJ’s apartment as a sort of warmup. The sun was getting low, would probably start setting in the next hour, and you didn’t want to get hurt. You texted him and within a few minutes, he was opening the passenger door and climbing in.
“Hey, how was the nap?” you asked, turning the heat up a little.
JJ looked at you suspiciously, “Did you just run here?”
“Maybe.”
He snorted, “You baffle me sometimes. The nap was great, feeling rested and ready to kick some ass.”
“Glad to hear,” you answered, backing out of your spot to head to the practice field. 
When you got there, JJ helped you drag the goals into place, and you helped him stretch out. After tying his shoe, he stood up, “Who all is coming?”
“Not too many people, a couple teammates and some significant others.”
He nodded, “What time?”
“Ten minutes.”
“Will you pass with me a little bit?”
“Sure.”
He moved back about ten feet, and the two of you knocked it back and forth steadily and in silence. You were actually really impressed at how much he’d improved, even when you hit one at him more firmly than you intended.
Grinning, he passed it back easily, “I’ve been using a wall at my complex. This is so easy compared.”
Which reminded you of when you were younger, using the wall as a passer to work on control and staying on your toes to move quicker. You nodded, “The wall is a great way to build skill.”
“I read it online,” he admitted, “there was one week that I walked around my house with a soccer ball at my feet at all times, but my roommate got annoyed so I quit.”
Yet another thing you’d done as a child, and you raised your eyebrows, “My parents got annoyed when I did that as a kid too.”
He laughed, “Even your dad?”
“Especially my dad. He was all for improving until he tripped over it carrying food.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes, Thanksgiving food to be exact. Thankfully it wasn’t the turkey, but we had no dressing that year.”
“Damn,” he whistled lowly as a car pulled in and parked next to yours. A few of your teammates that carpooled climbed out, one of them carrying a bag full of pennies she’d grabbed from the locker room.
A few of them spread out to kick around while a few of you waited to the side.
“Girls versus boys?” your teammate, Alexis, asked.
You shook your head, “Nah, I think Payton is bringing her girlfriend so it’d be uneven.”
“Wait have we met Payton’s girlfriend before?”
“Not this one,” you mused, “I think the one we met during the season broke up with her.”
“Oh shit,” Alexis muttered, “you know why?”
“Traveling killed her. She wanted weekends together that Pay just didn’t have during the season.”
Alexis sighed, “That fucking sucks.”
“Yeah, but this girl, Emma, plays volleyball, so she gets it.”
“How do you know?”
“I talk to her regularly,” you answered, amused.
“You’ve met Emma?”
“Only on FaceTime. I think she’s pretty nervous to meet us.”
Alexis smirked, “Good.”
Mack was the next to join the group, dragging her boyfriend behind her with a grin, “Can’t believe we’re all matching!”
You glanced down, all three of you wearing the same hoodie and shorts combo, “Wow, so cute,” you deadpanned.
She reached forward to flick your nose, “Fuck off, give our brains some credit.”
“Our brains,” Alexis snorted, “we just share a single fucking braincell.”
Payton was the last to show up, sitting in the car a few seconds after turning it off, talking to the girl in the passenger seat. 
“Think she’s giving a pep talk?” Mack mused, holding a ball she’d been juggling against her hip.
“Probably.”
The other two girls joined the group a few minutes later, and Alexis started handing out pennies to assign teams. You and JJ ended up on the same team, and he looked relieved. You held your fist out to him to bump, and when he did, you told him, “Partner in crime, we got this.”
And when JJ slid across the ground to tap the ball in off your pass, you yelled, jumping into his arms in excitement.
-
The game finally ended at 8:00 when the practice field lights automatically shut off. Mack suggested everyone turning their brights on to shine over the field, but it was getting obnoxiously cold, and had been raining for a good 40 minutes, so most of you bowed out.
“You only want to keep going because you’re losing,” Payton yelled from across the field.
JJ had his hands on his hips, one of the only ones smart enough to wear gloves. His cheeks were bright pink, and you smiled at him, “Great game.”
“You too, obviously.”
“Weee are the champions, my friends,” Alexis crooned, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.
You snorted and Mack flipped her off, “Fuck off, it was just for fun anyway.”
Payton smirked, “Would you be saying that if you won?”
Before Mack could say anything, her boyfriend grabbed her elbow, “Alright, babe, let’s go.”
“You’re lucky,” she called over her shoulder.
JJ laughed and picked up both of your bags on the sideline. You laced your fingers together, walking next to him, trying to regain feeling back in them. When you got to the car, JJ tugged on the door handle until you managed to unlock it.
You sighed, and tried to crank up the car, but you couldn’t get your fingers to cooperate, too frozen and stiff to wrap fully around the keys.
JJ spoke, not looking at you, “Damn, I took that one to the thigh, never been more grateful to be wearing leggings.” Then he seemed to realize the car was still cold and still off, “You good?”
“I can’t get it.”
He’d pulled his gloves off, and he reached over with his hands to grab yours, almost jerking away when they made contact, “Fuck, your hands are freezing. Why no gloves?”
“Forgot.”
Shaking his head, fondly, JJ asked, “Want me to drive home. Let your fingers defrost.”
“That’d be great,” you answered, relieved.
JJ leaned across the console to press a kiss to your forehead before opening the door and getting out quickly. Instead of getting out, you slid across to the passenger seat in maybe the most ungraceful way.
He got into the driver's seat, cranked up the car, and pulled out of the parking lot all within a few seconds while you held your fingers up to the heat blowing out of the vents.
When the two of you got to his apartment, you glanced over at the counter where your discarded gloves were sitting. 
Smiling wryly, you told him, “Won’t be forgetting those again.”
“Bet not,” he laughed.
“Wish we had a fireplace,” you sighed, moving toward the bathroom to get your wet clothes off.
A few seconds later, JJ called out, “I can light a bunch of candles for you instead.”
~
day 12 of @obxmermaid​‘s holiday challenge: your hands are freezing
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sodone-withlife · 3 years
Text
it's a sad song
heavily inspired by Hadestown, will feature lyrics from How Long? and Epic III. thanks to @yourlocalheartbreaker for indulging me and my rants about how much i love this musical
the musical's interpretation of Hades and Persephone's story is perfect for Hotch and Haley, so here is the self-indulgent cliche songfic. as usual, i did little to no proofreading so apologies for any grammatical/spelling errors. it's also more choppy than i'd like, but i really wanted to get it out so i can force myself to work on another angsty Hotch fic
warnings: canonical character death, non-canon character death, suicide
word count: 4k words
(And what has become of the heart of that man, now that the man is king? What has become of the heart of that man, now that he has everything?)
In the grand scheme of things, Hotch was lucky. He was further away from the bomb when it went off and only needed a day and a half in the hospital before he was back at the field office, taking the reins in handling the press and brass that was ready to tear Gideon apart.
The inquisition that followed in Virginia was vicious and by the end, Gideon was on indefinite medical leave and the unit was under the brass’s close scrutiny as Hotch took charge of the unit. As much as the word “temporary” was being parroted around in regards to the new chain of command, it was tacit knowledge that it was a permanent arrangement. A fiasco on the scale of Boston was enough to get an agent fired, and it was only Gideon’s seniority and excellent record that kept him with the bureau.
For Hotch, Boston and the months following only reinforced three lessons that were already hardwired into his brain:
Do not break and do not allow yourself to bleed where others can see, for there are always sharks waiting to tear you apart.
(Give them a piece and they'll take it all Show them a crack and they'll tear down the wall)
Nothing is certain. Even the strongest, the smartest, the most experienced, can fail. Do not fall victim to your own hubris, for it will be your undoing.
(Lend them an ear and the Kingdom will fall The Kingdom will fall for a song)
Death awaits everyone. It takes without mercy or regard for the lives left behind.
He was the new face of the BAU within the bureau, and even his prosecutorial and investigative record could not help protect the team from scrutiny.
So he straightened his spine and hardened his already severely sharp features, throwing himself into work and restoring the unit’s reputation.
Then Hotch came home one day to Haley’s brilliant smile and delighted excitement, and for a moment, he was reminded of the first time he talked to her nearly twenty years ago, when he told her he was quitting his smoking habit.
He had frozen when she first approached him in his dark corner a few weeks after school had resumed in the fall. She had smiled amusedly, his social ineptitude clear as day as he struggled to find words to greet her, to apologize for seeming like a creep over the summer when he first saw her outside on the sports field coaching younger students through vocal warmups before they started rehearsing the musical that was being put on that year, only to completely blank she plopped herself down next to him with her own school bag and lunch.
By the end of that day, he had convinced himself it was only going to be a one-off thing, that she wasn’t going to come back. If he had been honest with himself, part of him, the part that knew so intimately that his mother’s skin only remained free from bruises after his innocent baby brother was born was because his damned father finally had a son he could look at without being reminded of his self-hatred, wished it was.
But then she came back the next day, the day after that, and the day after that, apparently content to sit beside him in silence only broken by periodic comments about the going-ons in her life and the musical. And she continued going to sit next to him, even as he watched as others tried to warn her away, tried to physically guide her away from the bleachers.
What was stranger, he thought, was that she stayed even in spite of his silence, and in spite of his vices—he could tell she didn’t like his habit, but she didn’t comment. She just kept him company.
It was a few weeks into this arrangement, when he saw his still mostly full pack, that he realized that he hadn’t itched for a smoke during lunch for weeks, not while she was there and talking to him in ways he’d never been talked to before.
Sometime later, as the number of cigarettes in the pack remained unchanging, as the pack itself went untouched in his schoolbag, he finally threw it away.
That was the first time Hotch talked to her, to tell her that he’s giving up the habit. That small, but no less proud or bright, smile that spread across her face, he decided, was something he wanted to see again.
Slowly, he started talking more, and on good days, the two made conversation on topics ranging from classes to their favorite books all the way to whatever shenanigans Sean or Jessica was getting into. On other days, on bad days, the silence was never awkward, and she simply kept him company as he struggled to control the storm in his mind.
Those were the days his fingers itched for a cigarette, and those were the days she introduced to him a new book that he would finish within the day. The next day at school, they would once again be stuck in an in-depth conversation about the characters’ flaws and the absurdities of the antagonists, and the itch would be gone.
And it went on like this, even after he threw all caution and his doubts to the wind and asked her out on the first day of their senior year, even as they faced the townspeople’s questions about why such a good girl like Haley Brooks was dating someone of the likes of Aaron Hotchner, who, despite being so coldly brilliant, was just that.
Cold.
Dangerously unfeeling.
Barely human.
But she had seen behind the facade and she knew that he loved with the fierce burning of a thousand suns. She knew how terrified he was of losing everything, that he would be left alone and floundering in a world that was not kind to the lost.
So she stayed, through college, as she went into teaching and him into law, as the final straw came and went and he registered for the Academy and started training, breaking records along the way before finally being assigned to Seattle and quickly climbed his way up the ranks until he caught David Rossi’s keen eye and transferred back to Virginia for the BAU.
Every night, Hotch came home to his wife, the light of his life, and was reminded of why he was working himself to the bone. That day, when he came home a month after Boston for Haley to press a simple rectangular box into his hands, the stakes were raised once again, and he knew he had to fight twice as hard.
Not only for his team, the people he protected so fiercely under that steel mask, but for his son.
Early mornings and late nights became the norm as he threw himself into more and more work, and slowly, the unit began to recover as Spencer Reid and Jennifer Jareau joined the expanding unit, as Gideon returned as a senior agent, and as Elle Greenaway was pulled from Seattle just like he was all those years ago.
Then Jack was born, and he used his accrued vacation time to finally take a month off. Never had he been more terrified than in the moment he first held his son in the delivery room, acutely aware of his tiny size and sheer vulnerability to the dangers of the world.
That night, sleeping in the hospital bed with an exhausted Haley and their child in his arms, he swore to do whatever he could to make the world safer for his family.
His world.
So he tried. He tried and he tried, forcing himself to leave when cases that required their presence in the field came in, forcing himself to take on the heaviest burdens of the job so his team might be protected and his family would be safe.
Maybe a part of him was trying to get him to stop in his tracks and look up, to take a moment so he could clearly see that he was being consumed by the chase.
Maybe if he was strong enough, he could have lifted the weight of his world just enough to change the direction he was going.
But he was scared.
Scared that the moment he looked up, the moment he let go, he would lose everything he was defending.
And so he did not stop—not as Elle was shot in one place she had a right to feel safe in, not as Elle resigned and prevented him from making a terrible choice, not at Reid was suffering in a hell that could only be created by the lure of potent drugs, not as the unit was once again put under scrutiny because of her and Gideon’s actions.
Not even as he was forgetting important appointments, as he was struggling to be present for the important events and early milestones in his son’s life.
Not until he was suspended for two weeks because of the vow he made to himself the moment he stepped into the leadership position to protect the team to the best of his ability.
He stopped, looked up, and put in for a transfer.
But it was too late.
(It's true the earth must die But then the earth comes back to life And the sun just goes on rising)
(I’ve had enough)
The divorce did nothing to lessen the weight on his shoulders or the utter terror he felt at the prospect of stopping.
As more and more cases started piling on his desk, he kept his back bent and head down for hours as he pushed himself to the brink with a mental image of the smile that had not dimmed for twenty years and of the only proof of his humanity at the forefront of his mind.
Every day, he bent lower and lower, but he never let himself crumble, forcing himself to remain Atlas as Kate fell and Morgan nearly followed in New York, Reid and Prentiss in Colorado—
—as JJ and Will brought their first child into the world and he promised to protect her as best as he could so she would not make the same mistakes he did—
—as he wrangled politicians and major corporations in the aftermath of him fulfilling the promise he made to Megan Kane—
—as he called in favor after favor to get to the Vatican so Prentiss could get justice for her friends—
—as he compartmentalized as best he could when he found out about the anthrax attack at a public park he knew Haley and Jack frequented whenever they visit her parents’ house and when Reid got infected—
Then the Reaper returned after ten years of silence and ten years of being a silent spectator in Hotch’s nightmares to become an active participant in his night terrors for months.
But the night Hotch returned to his apartment with the intent of pulling out a glass of scotch and staying on his couch with a book, those dreams that left him nearly paralyzed with fear every night became his reality.
That night, as his team was sleeping in their beds, dead to the world while he was slowly bleeding out from nine stab wounds and floating in and out of consciousness in his own apartment, he only felt fear—fear for the team, fear for Haley, fear for his son.
He faded into unconsciousness with the expectation that that was it, that his hubris finally caught up to him.
Less than twenty-four hours later, Hotch was staring at the dried streak of red on the photo of his whole world and wondering if he had made his way into hell without realizing it.
When Haley and Jack visited him in the hospital, he could barely look at their faces, not wanting the scared and confused expressions they wore to be the last memory he might have of the two people whose lives he sought to protect in throwing himself into work but ended up putting in danger.
Then they were walking away, and he felt his walls slowly building themselves back up to a height and with fortifications that he had not needed since he last wore them in his youth to protect himself against the people in his hometown who had treated him with suspicion and derision.
The months following the day his world was ripped from his weakened grip was its own brand of hell, and more than once he wished he had been less of a coward and let himself look up from his chase.
Soon he was stepping down and ignoring all reason as he threw himself back into work yet again, wearing a facade that his teenage self would have been proud of while desperately trying to fulfill the promise he made Haley, that he would spend the rest of his life making everything up to her.
But of course, life has a funny way of reminding people of the promises they made and the important lessons they have learned at the worst times.
Suddenly, the sound of three gunshots was ripping through his head.
Suddenly, he was forcing himself to look away from Haley’s body, strewn on the floor like a doll with its strings cut, forcing himself to keep it together so he could clear the room.
Suddenly, he was straddling George Foyet and unleashing upon him years of pent-up hurt and anger that he had never allowed himself to feel in favor of remaining strong for the people he loved so fiercely.
Do not break and do not allow yourself to bleed where others can see, for there are always sharks waiting to tear you apart.
Nothing is certain. Even the strongest, the smartest, the most experienced, can fail. Do not fall victim to your own hubris, for it will be your undoing.
Death awaits everyone. It takes without mercy or regard for the lives left behind.
That day, Hotch was reminded of all three statements that he swore to live by after Boston.
Foyet was witness to his unraveling and poked and prodded at him, so much so that he uncovered the rage he inherited from his father and had vowed long ago to never express.
His hubris, his confidence in assumptions that had been made so many times in the past, his confidence that denying the deal that had been offered to him just over a year ago was the right thing to do, cut the threads of over ten people far too early.
Haley was lost to him.
Forever.
But in the years afterward, as Hotch found himself stuck in his head and mentally removed from the team’s present more and more often, he wondered if that was actually the moment that he lost her.
Perhaps the time he had to fly out to Mexico on his birthday weekend was the start and the stress of his suspension the catalyst.
Was he simply too destructive and too desperate to have a happy ending? Was anyone closely associating with him doomed to fall along with him?
Why else was his mother spared from bruising when she was able to focus on raising Sean, a son whose looks did not remind his father of the sheer hatred he felt for himself?
Why else had his brother, who he was estranged from, done so well in life and remained so carefree?
For what other reason could Haley have been murdered than the fact that she was collateral damage in a psychopathic narcissist’s dream to cause him as much pain as possible?
For a short time, Haley’s murder had given Hotch a chance to look up, to free himself from all the responsibilities he had taken on, but it ultimately only served to increase his fear and paranoia. The team had seen the tail end of his unraveling in that house, and he knew it had shaken them to the core, so the walls remained up. Strangers in the street were unsubs, and he was never far away from a weapon if he could help it, always fearing that he would be too late to be of any help.
Four years to the day he locked himself away, he was seeing Haley smiling radiantly at him and wearing the same dress she was wearing when he proposed as she waved him over to sit next to her in an empty movie theater and he was struggling to articulate her beauty.
The large screen in front of them was playing scenes from his life in the years since she was stolen from this life. While her eyes were glued to the projection of his memories, he was left unable to tear his eyes away from her, the woman who had been such an integral part of his life, whose death he would probably never forgive himself for, whose presence in his world he had so desperately missed.
Then he was looking down from the screen when their moment was interrupted by the man who had become a permanent fixture in his night terrors and surprising himself with just how prepared he was to kill again to protect Haley like he had failed to do years ago. It was only Haley’s repeated assurances that finally got him to look back up at the screen, and in the next moment, he was once again experiencing his nightmares in real-time.
His voice cracked as he tried calling out for help, becoming more and more desperate as it became clear no one was coming, and then—
You’re not meant to.
They were suddenly standing face to face in that dark corner of the school where they first met. Hotch froze, rooted to the spot by the uncharacteristically cold expression on Haley’s face.
Where is he?
It wasn’t right, the hard tone, the way she was looking at him as if he were a stranger—
I don’t see Aaron Hotchner in front of me. Where is he?
Then her face softened, and she walked over to sit against the wall, uncaring of the dirt that was gathering on her dress. She stared at him pointedly until he made his way over to her and joined her on the ground. It was with great surprise that he felt her lean onto him, a long-forgotten and now unfamiliar warmth settling over him.
I want to tell you a story.
She told him the story behind an old song, the story about the queen who brought spring and summer with her every time she walked the earth and the king who ruled the shades and the underworld. And though the king loved his queen so desperately, every time she walked the earth while he remained in the underworld, he doubted that she would come back to him, for what could he offer her except his darkness?
So he worked and he threw himself into building a kingdom of metal and glaring bright lights that might compensate for his darkness, but he could not bring himself to look up for fear that he would lose everything the moment he stopped. In his fear, he kept his head low and his back bending, he locked his love away so it wouldn’t be a distraction.
(But what he didn’t know is that what he is defending was already gone.)
When Hotch found himself on the edge of a roof being held against Peter Lewis, who had a gun at his temple, facing the team’s desperate and fearful faces, he could only think about that story Haley had told him and the questions she had sent towards him right before he woke up in the hospital four years prior.
(Where is the treasure inside of your chest? Where is your pleasure? Where is your youth? Where is the man with his arms outstretched to the woman he loves with nothing to lose?)
That was the first time he could remember crying in front of Jack—when the two were clinging to each other in the hospital bed after yet another close call—and he resolved it wouldn’t be the last. It hurt to tear down the walls he had so meticulously built around himself over the course of nearly five decades, but to see the smile that his son inherited from Haley…
He could only lament that he hadn’t started earlier.
Slowly, he rebuilt his world, and it was filled with a warmth that hadn’t been since those golden years between first meeting Haley and becoming a prosecutor.
But then Peter Lewis came and turned his mind against him, forcing him to watch his nightmares come to life. And when he found himself at MPD’s gunpoint with Jack watching, his world cracked.
And in that interrogation room, watching the recording of Lewis’s testimony against him, his world cracked again.
And seeing his son’s withdrawn affect, trying to get him to understand that he wasn’t leaving, that he wouldn’t ever abandon him of his own free will—
Then they were called to Arizona and he found his name carved into a victim’s forehead, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the attacks would become more and more personal.
Favors were called in, calls were made, and all the while Hotch tried to keep Jack as ignorant as possible to the way his world was going up in flames around him. For a moment, it felt like the immediate aftermath of Boston, with all of the non-stop workdays and the scrutiny of the brass falling onto him and the struggle to balance his work and Jack—
And then one day, Jack disappeared in the middle of the school day.
A day later, Rossi and Luke were holding him back, trying to keep him away from the security checkpoint at the entrance of the Academy office buildings that had been taped off as a crime scene. His eyes caught a sudden movement, and all the fight left him when he saw the white sheet being unfolded and lowered over the small body that was on the gurney.
Maybe he was supposed to be more grief-stricken than he felt.
Maybe that’s why the team tip-toed around him in the months afterward—they were waiting for the sand to run out, for the inevitable breakdown that was expected from a man such as him.
And the sand did run out, only it wasn’t where any of them expected.
The cold metal digging into his temple provided him an odd moment of clarity as he thought about the questions he had asked himself—because that wasn’t Haley, she never looked at him with such cruelty, not even when he probably deserved it, it was always that voice in the back of his head, the voice that led him down the road to hell.
That treasure that he kept in his chest—it was buried in the ground with Haley and Jack.
His pleasure, his youth, it was left behind in his past with that first strike he felt from his father.
A smile spread across his face for the first time in months and he closed his eyes, a strange peacefulness settling deep in his bones. He flung himself backward, letting himself become dead weight as he suddenly heard shouts of horror through the sound of the wind rushing around him and Peter Lewis as they fell.
Didn’t you tell me to find the man who was reaching out with nothing to lose?
I found him.
I hope you and Jack waited for me, Haley.
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