#was wondering why the heel turn numbers seemed a little off

[milkweedman]

so. almost done with the heel turn of the second sock (meaning just another hour at most of knitting left) and just realized that i knit the second sock with one stitch more per needle than i did the first. last pair of socks was 14 stitches per needle, this pair was supposed to be 13. the gauge is 7 stitches per inch (3 stitches per cm) so this is an extra half inch larger in circumference.

:/

[tasteleeknow]

LIVING IN THE RUINS

minho x fem!reader. 2k words. minors dni. best friends to lovers. soft!minho. angst. fluff. jealousy. emotional hurt/comfort. smut with feelings, in a tent.

“Excuse me?”

You blink at the stranger in front of you. She seems to materialise before your eyes. You’d zoned out again and missed the attention your best friend had clearly been receiving from strangers in the crowded room. “I was wondering if I could get your number?” she asks, eyes fixed on Minho’s. She blinks quickly a few times, her long dark lashes fluttering much like your heart in your chest. 

She hasn’t looked at you once despite your close proximity. You’re so close to the object of her attention in fact, your thigh brushes against Minho’s jeans under the table. 

He shifts beside you, sitting up straighter in the booth. “Oh,” he says, clearly taken off guard as well. “Thank you. I mean that’s — I don’t—” 

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asks with a small tilt of her head. 

“No,” Minho answers quickly, incapable of lying. His discomfort radiates off him. You’d spent years learning his emotional tells. “I mean—” 

“He’s not into women,” you interrupt, finally drawing her attention to you. She blinks before her eyes drop down to your chest and back to your eyes, like she’s completely taken aback by your presence. It’s impossible, you know that logically. Still, she puts on a good performance. “Sorry,” you add. 

Her lips curve into an unconvincing smile. “No worries,” she says. “The hot ones never are.” 

The whole exchange is as short as it is ordinary. How many tipsy girls work up the courage to ask the pretty man across the bar for his number? You would bet money on it happening multiple times over somewhere across the planet at any given moment. It’s normal. Mundane. Still, you know it’ll chip a little more of your carefully built wall away. A chisel to stone, slow and steady. The only problem is that it’s been chipped at for years. You can feel the fragility of it these days, each chisel etch feels alot like when you’re down to the end of a game of jenga. 

Any move now will cause it to crash and fall. 

She hadn’t considered for a moment you might have been together — not when she’d spotted him across the room, clearly with you — and not when she’d gotten close and blatantly ignored your comfortable proximity to each other. Her question about his relationship status had been an afterthought, a possibility she hadn’t considered until faced with a response other than ‘yes’. She’d been expecting a yes.

The thought that he might be with you, might be attracted to you, was unconsidered. You wonder if she’d discussed it with her friends. ‘No,’ they might have said. ‘There’s no way he’s with her.’

Minho is quiet as the petite brunette turns on her heels and disappears back into the mass of people. His red ears give his embarrassment away. 

You nudge his shoulder, rocking him out of his trance. “Hey,” you prod. “Alright?” 

The smile he offers you is a little lopsided — very Minho. “Always,” he says. 

—

Your annual camping trip is just like the year before. Your small group of friends sets up camp in your usual spot. Everyone climbs into their usual tents. Everyone assumes you and Minho will be sharing, as always. 

You’re not sure why it hurts so much. They assume that nothing would ever happen between you. None of the other girls share a tent with a guy they aren’t dating. You’re the exception. Because Minho would never want you. 

He notices your low mood later that night. The group separates in the dark to play flashlight tag and as you find yourself wandering a secluded patch of the campsite, you know he knows. His attention is on you instead of where he’s walking. You almost scream when he falls into apparent nothingness. 

“I’m fine,” he quickly reassures you, pulling himself up from the ground. “Just dropped my glasses.” 

“God, you scared me.” 

It takes you both at least ten minutes to find them, relying purely on touch alone. It's too dark to see much at all without a light and using your phones would give your position away. 

You’re grateful for the darkness when you reach up and place his frames gently on his face. It hides the heat in your cheeks when you brush chocolate brown hair behind his ears, ensuring you’ve placed them properly. 

“Thank you,” he whispers, close enough that his breath warms your lips. 

You’re also grateful just to be near him, you realise. Just to know him. You love him. 

You love him. 

It’s an earth shattering realisation to have while playing flashlight tag in the middle of nowhere. You need to escape. You can’t. You’re sharing a tent with him. 

The situation isn’t helped when later in the night one of the girls with big bright eyes and a gentle smile makes a very clear move on him. You were used to it. People loved him. 

You loved him. 

It’s a stupid thing to cause the wall to finally crumble. It’s humiliating really. But when he laughs at something she whispers in his ear: it happens. 

It falls. 

You’re pathetic without it. 

All you can do is hide from him, escape to the tent and pretend to be so tired you’ve fallen asleep before he can investigate. It’s not something you do. Not with Minho. He knows you so well hiding from him is just as stupid as it is pathetic. He’ll know. 

Still, you can pretend. He won’t know as long as you’re unconscious. You can put it off until morning. 

It takes a long time for him to fall asleep. You lie there staring at the canvas of the tent for what feels like hours, the sounds of him tossing and turning continuing for so long you almost give up. 

But then he’s still. His breathing seems to even out. He’s asleep. 

That’s when you let yourself cry. Quietly at first; silent aching sobs. 

What a time for the wall to crumble. You wonder if you have the energy to rebuild. You’ll have to find it. The alternative is letting Minho go entirely, removing him from your life and letting the ruins erode away over a long, long time. 

Not an option. 

“Hey,” Minho’s soft voice calls. Shit. You wipe clumsily at your eyes and sodden cheeks. “Hey, what’s going on? What happened?” he questions as his palm rests gently against your shoulder. 

You should face him. You can’t hide. You know it. 

“No-thing,” you whimper, breath catching between each syllable. It’s that awful breathless kind of sobbing, the type that leaves you unable to inhale fully, let alone speak. 

He rolls you over onto your back. He isn’t rough — but it’s with enough strength you’re completely unable to resist him. 

“What is it?” he says again, tone much more forceful now. He isn’t letting it go. He looks down at you with wide eyes, like he’d never been asleep at all. 

You shake your head. 

His gentle thumbs move to your cheeks to attempt to wipe away the mess you’d left behind. He rests on one arm, leaning over you so he can give each cheek the same treatment. It’s a curious instinct, to wipe away someone's tears — like it has any effect on the person’s pain at all. It’s the best we can often do, you suppose. 

“Just focus on breathing,” he says. “Just breathe.” His hand stays against your cheek, fingers resting on your neck by your ear — featherlight. 

Breathing is easy, in theory. Breathing. Breathing. Breathing. His lips part to join you, guide you. His lips are still a little red from his bedtime routine, his tinted vaseline usually lasting him the entire night. 

“That’s it,” he soothes when you finally manage a few steady breaths in a row. “That’s good. You’re okay.” 

They’re simple words of comfort. The kind of thing anyone would say to a person in distress, but they settle something in your chest. You were okay. He was yours in a way that was more than nothing. He cared in a way that felt so genuine it was hard to be dissatisfied with the nature of it at all. 

“Did something happen today?” he asks, still leaning over you. It’s a vulnerable position to be in. It mirrors how you know this conversation will go. Your wall is a crumbled mess. You have no defences against him. 

“Not really.” 

His eyebrows pull together. 

“Nothing worth this,” you clarify. 

“Tell me.” 

“It’s not… It’s embarrassing.” 

His lips curve in a tiny lopsided smile, just a hint of amusement. “Friends are for sharing embarrassing things with. And I’m your friend,” he says. “Aren’t I?” 

You blink quickly a few times, desperate to keep your tears at bay. Then you nod weakly. 

“Why do you look so miserable about it?” he says, tone light and teasing. 

Your lips wobble a little as you struggle with the words attempting to burst forth. They pound and burn and demand to be set free. You lose the battle. “I love you.” 

He blinks, eyes flicking across your face. 

The gates are open now. You’re turned loose. “I love you so much,” you sob. “It hurts. It hurts everyday and it just keeps getting worse and I can’t—” 

His lips cut you off, a warm, heart-stopping, and very much welcome interruption. He’s kissing you. He’s—

“Stop,” he mumbles against your wet, salty lips. “Stop hurting. Please.” His next kiss is unbearably soft, a brush against your upper lip. “Please,” he whispers. 

You nod dumbly.

He rewards you with a collection of gentle kisses across your cheeks, replacing the remnants of your tears with the sticky wetness of his moisturised lips. You imagine the slight red marks he must leave behind. 

He settles over you properly at some point. You’re too distracted by the path of his lips to notice exactly when. But then his arms are by your head, caging you under him in a way that makes you hope for the universe to halt all progression forward. This was enough; everything. 

“I love you,” he whispers against your lips finally. “I’m… sorry for letting you think I don’t. I’m a coward.” 

“No,” you chastise quickly as you tangle your fingers in his hair. “Don’t say shit like that.” 

“I—” 

“It hurts me… and you told me to stop hurting.” 

His head drops to your neck… then, with a soft press of his lips to your skin, “Then I’ll never do it again.” 

Every move he makes is gentle when the slow, indulgent kisses turn into exploring hands and whispered pleas for more. Each of his whisper-soft words of affection sweeps away a crumbled section of your wall, clearing the space to build something entirely new. He’s warm, so warm as his bare torso rests on yours — as he finally presses inside you and sucks a mark into your neck to join the rest he’s left. “Doesn’t hurt?” he asks, stilling as he fills you completely. 

“No,” you gasp. “No, you’re… it’s—” His lips take the words from your mouth, a little messier than he’s been before. When his hips roll into yours you can’t help grasping at him like he might suddenly get up and leave — fingers tangling in his hair desperately.

“I got you,” he mumbles against your lips, heavy breaths mingling with your own. “I got you…” 

When he eventually spills inside you, flooding you with more of his warmth, you’re crying again. But this time it doesn’t hurt; this time it’s a release. The tears that he kisses from your face afterwards — they wash away the rest of the rubble.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Muse II

Alessia Russo x Popstar!Reader

Summary: You attend one of Alessia's matches

"Russo...Russo! Russo! For god's sake, Russo!"

Alessia grinned to herself before turning to look at Katie.

The stadium was barely half full but there was enough chatter and excitement to make it seem like it was packed twenty times over.

You were up on the big screen, a shy smile on your face as you waved for the camera. Underneath your smiling face was a title banner emblazoned 'y/n l/n, International Pop Sensation'.

"What?" She laughed.

"What d'you mean, 'what'?" Katie crossed her arms over her chest as they ran through their warm ups. "Your girl's up there. Think you can introduce us?"

"Why?" Alessia teased," Have you got a crush, Macca?"

"Pssh!" Katie shoved her with an eye roll. "Nah, I ain't stealin' your missus but my little sister's a big fan. Reckon I can make her jealous by snapping a pic of me and your girl."

"After the match," Alessia laughed," She'll end up on the pitch one way or another. She can probably be convinced to send your sister a video messaged. She's a sweetie like that."

Katie raised a brow in silent judgement as she threw an arm over Alessia's shoulder. "God, you've got it bad, Russo. Who knew you were such a snap?"

●～●～●～●～

Periodically, the overhead camera would switch to you.

It brought a smile to Alessia's face whenever she saw you. It boosted her even more when it switched to you when she had the ball - a look of absolute joy and wonder on your face as you screamed something that the camera couldn't pick up.

"Come on, Russo!" Katie yelled," Stop staring at your missus. She's not going anywhere!"

Alessia laughed, looking back at the big screen one last time before following Katie to the other side of the pitch.

The next time she had the ball in her possession, it was a struggle not to look at the screen, knowing that your face would be on it - cameras loved you, after all.

The ball was at her feet and she weaved between defending players like it was easy, sending the ball to the top left corner and straight passed the keeper's outstretched hands.

The rest of the team joined her in celebration a fraction of a second later and Alessia finally dared to look up at you.

You were going crazy - standing on you seat, screaming and clapping in a way that was definitely going to make you hoarse in the throat tomorrow morning.

Your shoulders were moving side to side in celebration as you jumped up and down. You turned to speak to whoever was next to you (either your bodyguard or manager, Alessia didn't really care) and the camera caught the number '23' and surname 'Russo' on the back of your Arsenal jersey, making it very clear who you were here to support.

"Jesus," Katie said when she followed Alessia's eye roll," I thought dating her meant you weren't meant to get star struck. Careful there, Russo, or the whole world will know what an utter simp you are."

Alessia rolled her eyes. "Do you even know what that means?"

●～●～●～●～

The results of the match ended with a very healthy four-nil win to Arsenal and Alessia was hyped up on adrenaline even though she had just played the full ninety minutes.

She rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited for you to make your way onto the pitch, busying herself with signing a few jerseys and posters as she waited.

You had disappeared off the big screen at some point into extra time, your seat remaining empty but Alessia knew it was only a matter of time before you appeared by her side.

She was acutely aware of the camera following her when she caught sight of you walking through the tunnel, not focussing on anything but her.

You collided in a mess of limbs and hair as arms looped around your waist and lifted you into the air, spinning enough times that you had to wrap your arms around the back of her neck to stay upright.

"Hi, Lessi," You said softly when you were placed back on your feet," I missed you."

"Missed you too," Lessi replied, although her words were muted by the way she had buried her face in your hair. She pulled away with a lopsided grin. "Did you see my goal? Did you see it?"

"I did see it," You replied," Absolutely stunning, Lessi baby. Keep scoring goals like that and you'll end up in another song."

"She's in all your songs," The final member of UNC-squad said with an eye roll.

"Not all of them!" You protested but the pointed look from Lotte had you wilting. "It's true! She's not in all of them! Some of them are about my family!"

"How many is that? One or two?" Lotte laughed.

You huffed in annoyance but still welcomed the hug she gave you.

The camera had been firmly on the three of your for a while now but it seemed none of you cared - even though the lingering crowd screamed their approval every time Alessia dipped down to steal a kiss as you spoke to Lotte.

"Ew," Katie said as she approached as well, nose wrinkled in disgust," You and the missus are disgutin', Russo. You always sucking face with her or what?"

"They were worse at UNC," Lotte said," All those hormones and no parental supervision. I had to make a rota saying when they were allowed to make out with each other otherwise they both would have flunked out."

"Stop airing out private information, Lotte!" You said, face slowly heating up in embarrassment. You couldn't even look up at the big screen, not wanting to see your blushing face. "Can't we talk about something else?"

"Oh!" Lessi said, stealing another kiss," Macca wants a picture with you to make her sister jealous!"

You grinned. "That I can do. I can do video message to her, if you want, McCabe. I've got a tour coming up too. Could probably swing some VIP tickets for her, if she wants."

"Jesus, Russo. Your missus is probably a bigger sweetie than you said."

[putellasawfc]

down again !

rachel daly x lioness!reader

( a/n : sorry i haven’t posted in sooo long omg !! honestly the holiday season drained me & since i’ve been so unmotivated to write :( & i’ve been dealing with stuff in my personal life, nothing serious just so hectic ! but i am slowly coming back. still have a mary earps request & arsenal x teen!reader request to work on and a few of you have asked for a pt2 to the wag in training instagram post i made. they will all be coming eventually ! )

-

you jogged beside rachel up and down the pitch, you and the others girls were warming yourselves up for the ninety minute game against belgium that was due to commence in twenty minutes from now, the fans had already begun to fill the seats of the stadium and you were eager to win this for them. you were excited for the match, a little nervous but mostly excited.

it had been awhile since you were in the starting line up after recovering from an ankle injury, you had been on the bench for all the recent games and you were more excited than ever to be able to play a full game again, though sarina had advised you to let her know if you felt as though you were pushing your ankle too much and she would take you off immediately, not wanting to risk you causing any further damage to it which could lead to anything permanent.

you felt a nudge against your hip, and turned to see your girlfriend of almost a year smiling at you knowingly. “you gonna score a banger for us today?”

you rolled your eyes playfully, knowing she was only half serious. “what do i get if i do?”

“umm..” she cocked her head to the side whilst she pretended to think, both of you turning on your heel once you reached the end of the pitch so you could run back up again. “a big fat kiss and a box of chocolates?”

“is that it?”

you gasped at the sudden shove you were given, stumbling over your two feet as rachel laughed and continued jogging.

“oi!” you called out, “you can’t do that, i’m fragile remember.” you caught up with her, shoving her in return though not with as much effort she had just given you.

“yeah, yeah.” she shrugged you off, “that’s not what you were saying last night.”

“rach!” you cried out, head whipping around to ensure nobody was nearby to hear what the blonde was insinuating.

she laughed at your reaction, and you almost wondered why you put up with her sometimes, but when you glanced in her direction and saw her already smiling back at you with that fond look in her eye, that look you only saw when she was staring back at you, you didn’t waste another second trying to guess.

“you’re such a pain sometimes.”

-

you made your way into the penalty box as one of the belgium girls grabbed the ball and made her way to the corner, the red and black kitted team earning themselves a corner after the ball had been kicked out by millie when number nine had gotten too close for comfort. you got in position, standing where you usually always stood which was just outside goal, as closest to mary than any of the other england players with a few girls from the other team pushing and grabbing their ways between you and your fellow lioness.

you sent the blonde a reassuring smile, confident that you would be able to stop the ball from touching the inside of the net with how well you had all been playing so far already.

the ball had been kicked and was now soaring through the air with some speed, you bounced on your feet as you waited to see where it looked more likely to land, your arm stuck out to prevent one of the belgium girls from knocking you out of the way and gaining an advantage on the ball.

the seconds went by in slow motion as the ball got closer and closer to where you stood, and you made the quick decision that you would try and header the goal out of play as it seemed like the best decision, you did not want to risk passing it to another member of the competition and have them get it past your or mary.

you jumped on your feet, leaning forward to connect your head with the leather material when out of nowhere, you felt a harsh push against your back and ribs that had your head flying into something else instead, something that had you crumbling to the floor only a second later with your head in your hands and a mind numbing pain spreading through your entire body.

the crowd exploded into a chorus of boo’s, and the whistle blew not even a second later, the loud sounds doing nothing to soften that pulsing agony in your head. you didn’t want to move, your whole body felt heavy and the thought of stretching even a single part of your body sounded like hell to you. you didn’t even react when you felt a gentle hand on your back, or another on your shoulder, or another on the top of your head where the hairband to your ponytail was positioned. the pain was so intense you were sure that if you weren’t so out of it you would be a sobbing mess right now.

you felt a body loom over yours, and some hair tickle your ear, “babe? can you hear me? are you alright?”

the northern accent that sounded from your girlfriend was heavily coated in an unusual sense of concern that you never really heard from the carefree blonde, but with you down on the floor, seemingly unresponsive the villa player was more scared than she had ever been.

“babe? can you please just say something? or move your hand? just wanna make sure you’re awake okay? please.” she sounded desperate at the end, and your heart clenched at the panic in her voice.

so with all the strength you could muster, which right now wasn’t a lot, you moved your hand until you managed to find her thigh, where you let it sit, feeling comforted by the skin on skin contact you had with your girlfriend. it wasn’t long before she grabbed that hand and squeezed it in her own, her slender fingers intertwining with your own as her thumb rubbed the back of you knuckles.

“you’re gonna be okay, yeah? the medics are here love, they’re gonna make sure you’re good.”

you mentally nodded at that, though didn’t make any move to physically show her you had acknowledged her words. you felt her press a quick peck to the back of your knuckles before she released your hold in hers and moved aside to let the medics in. you frowned at the loss of contact, but there wasn’t much you could do about it until you were at least able to verbally communicate with the people surrounding you.

the medics checking you out was a blur, just a lot of hands touching your face and neck, moving your head back and forth, the gasp from some of your teammates when they caught sight of the nasty gash on your temple that you hadn’t even realised was there until the alcohol wipes came out. a light was shone in your eyes briefly, before it was flickered off and the medic gestured to two other medics who were waiting offside.

a few seconds later a bright orange could be seen from your blurred vision, though you knew what it was straight away. there was no mistaking the stretcher you had seen being brought out more times than you had liked throughout your career, most of the time for other players but today it seemed as you were the lucky girl about to be carried off the pitch. you panicked a little, worrying how serious your injury was if the medics thought the stretcher was necessary.

your eyes sought out the presence of the only person who could calm you at this moment, flickering around wildly in a desperate attempt to find her but it was like she had all of a sudden vanished.

it was hemp who clicked onto who you were looking around for, the man city striker was stood at a distance, biting at her nails as she watched over you almost protectively, and seeing you so frantic in your attempts to place your girlfriend had her feeling even more sorry for you. she was quick to help out, looking around to find rachel, who to no surprise, was with millie just out of sight from you.

millie was holding the smaller girl back with a hand to her chest, as rachel yelled at the culprit who was the reason for your newfound concussion, the woman in question at least having the decency to look guilty. rachel’s face was flushed red with anger, and her hand was flying all over the place as she yelled. it was a good job millie was there, lauren thought to herself. though millie herself wasn’t looking at the belgium player too nicely either.

with the medics ready to lift you and get you on the stretcher, lauren didn’t waste anymore time and jogged over to the duo, placing a hand on rachel’s shoulder which halted her ranting as she looked to see who had approached.

“they’re carrying y/n off rach, i think she wants you with her.” hemp kept the explanation brief, knowing it would be enough to have rachel retreating and joining you.

and she was right, rachel didn’t even bother to look back at the belgium player again before she rushed off to where you were still laid on the floor, some of the other lionesses now wandering off to give the two of you (along with the medics) some much needed space. she fell down on her knees next to you, and you let out a breath you hadn’t even realised you’d been holding.

“come on pretty girl, let’s get you somewhere they can treat you properly yeah? need you all fixed up so we can have you with us again.” rachel did a good job at soothing your racing thoughts, her encouraging smile enough to ease the part of your brain that was coming up with all sorts of scary injuries you were convincing yourself you might have.

with your head still being in immense pain, you were still unable to nod in response, so instead you opted to send her a weak smile to let her know you were listening and appreciated her being there. she smiled back, moving to squeeze your hand in hers once again which added to the comfort you felt with her around.

“just gonna stand back whilst they get you up, okay? then i’ll be with you whilst they carry you off. ella’s gonna be with you whilst i’m still on the pitch but if sarina takes me off i’ll be finding you straight away, alright babe?” she explained, and you squeezed her hand in acknowledgement, feeling more at ease now you knew toone who was on the bench right now, would be with you whilst the medics checked you over inside.

rachel did as she said and temporarily let go of your hand so that she could step away and allow the medics to handle you properly, not wanting to get in their way and cause any issues whilst they dealt with you. a mixture of emotions weighed heavy on her heart.

she was angry at the player who decided to shove you head first into the goal post, just to stop you from getting rid of the ball that mary had caught anyways. no she was livid actually. but she was also upset for you, who had just gotten back on the pitch after waiting almost two months for your ankle to heal after your last incident on the pitch, now you’d be off again and for your sake she just hoped it wasn’t for longer than two weeks at most. and on top of all that she was worried, very worried about the state that you were in.

this wasn’t just a simple hit to the head that you could walk off, clearly. you were bleeding heavily and it was as if you weren’t even aware of where you were, or who you were with or what had just happened. she was just grateful you seemed to be able to understand what people were saying to you, that would’ve been too much for her to cope with she was sure.

millie comforted her whilst she waited for the medics to finish, and she was grateful for the support from her best friend who didn’t speak, only rubbed her shoulder comfortingly in the stressful seconds that passed. it had been six minutes now since the game had been halted because of your injury, and whilst the others girls ran to their managers and listened to advice and new game strategies, rachel refused to leave the pitch with you on it, especially with the state that you were in. if it weren’t for the cameras that were no doubt pointed at her right now, she was sure she’d be a mess until she found out for certain you were going to be okay.

she moved forward the second your body was lifted on the stretcher and squeezed inbetween two bodies so that she could grab ahold of your hand for the third time since you went down, using her spare hand to rub up and down your arm whilst she walked with you all the way off the pitch. the crowd watching erupted into applause as they always did when an injured player was carried off and rachel could only smile at the show of appreciation for you, her super girl who would’ve no doubt been tearing up at the love you were receiving if you were really aware of it.

when you reached the end of the pitch, she quickly leaned down and as gently as she could placed a quick kiss to your cheek, giving you once saddened glance before she moved back. “love you baby, i promise i’ll come see you as soon as i can.”

the only thing keeping rachel relaxed at the moment was knowing that ella would be with you on the other side, one of your best friends on the squad who she knew would look after you in replace of her. she waited until you were out of sight before she turned to make her way back to the pitch, making eye contact with the belgium player who had been sent off with a red card for deliberately pushing you into the goal post, and she was tempted to approach the dark haired woman and do something she’d probably regret in the morning. but before she even had a chance to take a step in that direction, sarina appeared in her line of sight and sent her a look, a look that said ‘you know you don’t really want to’.

and despite the vision of you laying on the floor, body crumpled and unmoving so clear in her mind, she knew sarina was right. so reluctantly, she steered her body in the opposite direction and jogged back to her original position as she waited for the game to recommence.

-

four hours had passed and you were now laid in bed in your hotel room, the one you shared with rachel as you always did when you were at camp, with the blonde fretting over your every need.

the doctors you had seen had confirmed you had a hefty concussion, and would be out of any form of football based activities for the next two weeks, which was a bummer but you were just glad it wasn’t too long, hopefully two weeks would pass by in a flash.

unfortunately, they had given rachel a list of symptoms to look out for incase your condition worsened and now the poor woman hadn’t relaxed since she’d gotten back, constantly checking up on you and watching over you like a hawk so she could catch any slight change in your current state so she could alert them immediately.

“rach, babe, come sit please. can’t relax with you pacing around like you are.” you stressed, patting the empty space beside you. “i am fine. i promise i will let you know if anything changes.”

she tutted at that but approached the bed as you had asked her to. “will you though? i know what you’re like. wont wanna say anything because you won’t want me to panic.”

“i think it’s too late for me to be worrying about making you panic.” you teased, and she glared in response.

“well i’m glad you can make jokes right now. i don’t think you understand how scared i actually was when i saw you down like that.”

your heart clenched at the sight of rachel with her head down whilst she fiddled with her fingers, and suddenly you felt bad for making jokes when she was so obviously still upset about the whole situation.

“hey, look at me rach.” you reached out and placed your hand on top of hers that were together on her lap. “i am okay, the doctors know what they’re doing and they said i’m fine, yeah? i promise you, cross my heart and hope to die, that i will tell you if i start feeling worse, okay? as soon as.”

she stared back at you for a second, her eyes wandering from yours to the bandage that had been wrapped around your head after your injury had been cleaned, before she let out a sigh and nodded, her tense body finally relaxing for the first time since the game which you took as a small win.

“think you need to start playing in bubble wrap from now on. first your ankle, now your head, what’s next?”

you were relieved to hear your girlfriend joke around with you once again, albeit her tone lacked the usual cheekiness that it usually held when she was messing around with you, obviously still not completely at ease with everything but she was showing signs of getting there.

“think sarina will add it to the next training kit for me? i’ll even offer to put some money towards it.” you smiled, hand moving to cup rachel’s cheek whilst you watched her eyes light up in amusement.

“yeah i’m sure she’ll be proper up for it, especially if it means actually having you on the pitch for more than a game at a time.” she retaliated with a laugh at the end and you playfully rolled your eyes at her light hearted comment.

“i made it almost sixty minutes, better than what i’ve been getting lately, i’ll take what i can get.” you shrugged, and now it was her turn to roll her eyes.

“love you silly girl, even when you’re so accident prone.” she leaned forward and pecked your lips, which you melted into happily.

“in my defence, what happened today wasn’t an accident! i’m a victim.” you told her, which earned you a shove back against the headboard.

[bonny-kookoo]

Finish Line request!

I find the first meetings fascinating, so I'm sorry if I always ask for them... But if possible, first time nerdyJK and MC met, please!

"I think this one looks angry." You speak up, making Jungkook snap his head up towards you.

He's- a little taken aback. You.. do not look like the type of girl to really go to a motor show on your own accord. And, considering how utterly pretty you are, you're probably here with your boyfriend- who must be a total idiot to leave you alone like that, if one was to ask Jungkook.

"Don't you think?" You look at him now, curious smile on your shimmering lips. "It's frowning." You giggle, and he can't find words for a second, before he moves a little to stand next to you, looking at the front of the currently displayed race car.

It's a Ford Fusion- one of the cars with some of the most wins in Nascar history up until now. And now that he looks at it..

"It uh.. it does." He mumbles, making you laugh. At him? Or with him?

"See! Told you." You beam, swaying back and forth on your high heeled shoes. Your skirt is short, nails a pale pink. There's a hello kitty charm on your bracelet. Your entire outfit seems to be matched by the theme of that little cat, in fact.

"I guess.." He says, scolding himself. This is why he's fucking single. He just can't talk to girls at all, not at his school, not now. He's about to graduate for fucks sake, and he's still a virgin.

"Do you know a lot about cars?" You wonder, and he shrugs.

"A little." He admits. He actually knows a lot. But he doesn't want to seem nerdy.

"Heh, I don't buy that." You grin at him with a suspicious gaze. "I don't know shit about them. I'm scared to drive, actually." You admit.

"H-how so?" He asks. Keep the conversation going Jungkook, you're doing great!

"My dad and I went camping like, five years ago I think?" You say, tilting your head a bit in thought, before you lift your skirt a little- not enough to show off anything scandalous, but enough to show a clear scar, faded, but very visible on your thigh. "He crashed that car 'cause he was drunk. One of the metal pipes went right-" You turn your body and leg- another scar on the other side of your thigh, "-through my leg." You explain.

"Oh.." Jungkook doesn't know what else to say.

"I'm terrified of it now. My friends and I went here by train because I still can't stand driving in a car." You laugh.

"M-maybe.. you could start with slow steps?" He wonders. "Like- just sit in one for a bit. No driving, just.. I don't know, read a book. To.. make yourself feel comfortable little by little." He explains, muscles trembling a little as he forces his voice to stay strong.

"Huh. That.. sounds actually really smart." You pout to yourself. "I think I'll do that." You chirp, and he smiles in return, making you open your mouth to say something, when a friend calls your name, catching up to you, and taking your attention away as you wave at him as you walk away.

And Jungkook brushes it off in disappointment, unaware that just a year later he'd meet you again, at a coffee shop he'd visit with his friends.

"Oh." His eyes widen as he recognizes your pretty face, hair a bit different now, but still fitting you well.

You seem to think for a second, and then you smile that million-dollar-smile at him again, ceramic braces almost invisible to him if he wasn't so focused on details all the time.

"Oh, it's you!" You beam at him happily.

"It's me." He chuckles, friends behind him both confused and a little impressed that he seems to know you. "I uh.."

"Do you wanna go on a date?" You ask him boldly, and his eyes are as wide as they go. "I mean- this is the second time I meet you. Gotta be a sign from upstairs- or downstairs, I don't really care." You joke, leaning forwards a bit.

"I mean- yeah? Yeah! Yeah let's uh.. I don't know?" He stutters a bit helplessly.

"Cool!" You giggle. "That's.." You mumble, writing something down on his receipt. "..my number. Just text me whatever- just no dick pics please, those are kinda cringe." You say, making him frown a bit to himself before he laughs.

"Don't worry, I won't." He promises, before he pays for his drinks, and leaves with his friends-

His first date with you not even a week later, marking the beginning of a love that will last forever.

[meetmyothersouls]

ok ok so lee seeing the reader around town one day & starts following her. He ends up saving her from another eater? Thank you, I need more lee content!

Been thinking about this all day and I've finally got enough to write it! I hope you enjoy!

First Time for Everything

A Bones & All inspired fanfic

Warnings: stealing money, being attacked, cannibalism (relax it's a bones and all inspired fic), blood, gore, not proofread

July 1989

You’d never stolen anything before. Not even when your friends would go into a Walmart and shoved nail polish and thongs into their purses. They always called you a goody-two-shoes or a scaredy-cat. You wonder what they’d think now as you carry a K-mart bag full of cash from the register you were working at not even 30 minutes ago.

Of course, being newly homeless generated a whole new incentive to steal the money. And even though it was so out of the norm for you, it was so easy. You waited until your line was clear, pulled open a bag, popped the till and calmly grabbed every stack of bills in the register, pocketing what wouldn’t fit. Then, you flipped off your register light and walked out. It wasn’t until you made it to the parking lot that you began to run. And now, the adrenaline high you are coming down from is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. They’ll never suspect you. Not with you being the golden employee that you are. Were. You can’t go back there now.

It’s getting dark, that along with the pointy tips of crumpled up money poking your thigh from the inside of your pockets snaps you out of your thoughts. This morning, you were worried about where you’d stay. It wasn’t the first time you got kicked out of a hotel room, and it probably won’t be the last, but at least now you can afford a new room for the night. If you can find one.

It's hot, one of the hottest nights so far this July. You pull off the thick K-mart polo and throw it into woods, leaving you in your black cami and a pair of khakis. A chorus of cicadas singing from the trees in that line the street almost drowns out the sound of a flirty whistle from behind you. You walk a little faster, not daring to turn your head.

"Hey, little lady," a man's gravelly voice calls out. "Why don't you keep the show going and take the rest off." The man laughs, but it's cut short by a painful sounding cough.

You pick up speed, your Converse slapping the pavement as you quickly turn into an alley, hoping to lose him by your abrupt change in direction, but a thick hand grabs your wrist.

"Let me go!" You yell, attempting to yank your wrist from his sweaty grip.

The man seems to enjoy the struggle, he tightens his fingers around your wrist as he pushes you into a warm brick wall. A tall streetlamp shines an eerie orange light into the alley, barely illuminating the man's features. He's got dark hair, stringy with sweat and grease. One of his eyes is missing and the other is open wide. He looks hungry. Ravenous. And the laugh that rumbles in his throat is truly sinister.

"Keep goin', darlin'. I love a good fight."

Then his tongue is on your neck, tasting your skin. You sob and gag as you inhale the scent of his breath. Sour with alcohol and something metallic.

"Come on, honey. Don't fight me, I just wanna taste-"

"Hey!" A new man's voice yells. "Hey, get off her!"

The man's grip on your wrist loosens enough for you to pull away from him. You take your chance and make a run for it. You dropped your bag of money when Man Number One shoved you against the wall, but you can't risk turning back around. You just have to make it ou-

You're stopped short by a hand in your hair, pulling your head back, bending you almost in half. You scream as Man Number One drags you. He's pulling you by your hair, your heels dig into the ground in front of you, desperately attempting to gain some traction. Your only view is upside down and distorted through the tears building up in your eyes. But, in the dim orange light you see the other man. He's peeling himself off of the ground and his nose is dripping blood onto a forest green crop top. His jeans are shredded, exposing a large amount of his legs, you're not sure if it's because he just fell or if the jeans are just naturally like that or why you're even wondering about the nature of his jeans. He's got a brick in his hand that he's attempting to hide, but even upside down you can see it. You see him look down at you and for some reason he winks. Then you realize, Man Number One can't see him.

Crop Top walks creeps up onto Man Number Two, like a lion stalking his prey. Then, without warning, he slams the brick into the side of his skull with a wet crunch. Instantly, you're dropped to the ground and as much as the landing hurt, the relief feels twice as good. Your scalp throbs and you're sure you're missing a chunk of hair. A set of light footsteps run toward you, and immediate dread sets in again, but it's Crop Top. He grabs you, throwing you over his shoulder. You're not sure if you should be scared or relieved as he places you behind a dark green dumpster.

Crop Top kneels down, looking over his shoulder once to make sure Man Number One is still down.

"Is he-"

"Not yet. Stay here. Don't move until I come get you," Crop Top says. He drops a plastic bag next to you. The money. You're immediately shocked he didn't take it for himself. That's what most people would do. His knees pop a little as he stands back up. He starts to walk off but stops. "And don't watch."

Don't watch? Isn't that like an automatic invitation to watch? You think to yourself. You lean your head back on the brick and close your eyes. You could run right now. You could take your money and get a room for the night and leave this odd encounter right here in this alley, but you don't. Instead, you poke your head out, peeking from the side of the dumpster.

Immediately you wish you hadn't. Crop Top somehow dragged Man Number One and sat him up against the brick wall, maybe 15 feet from where you're sitting. How he did it, you're not sure. Crop Top probably weights 120 pounds soaking wet, but he's managed to maneuver him just right so that he can...

You pop your head back behind the dumpster, unsure of what you just saw. There's no way...

You poke your head out, peeking again. There's a squelching sound, followed by a spatter of blood coming from Man Number One's neck as Crop Top bites into it.

Okay, yeah. He's definitely eating him. This should definitely be a sign to run, right? But you aren't moving. Everything in you is screaming to run. Run the fuck away because this dude is going to eat you next. But you don't. You sit there alternating from watching and hiding. It's like one of those car accidents you can't help but watch, hoping you'll see a dead body, or some fucked up shit like that. You shouldn't want to look, but you do.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, you hear footsteps approaching. You sit up straighter against the brick. His stops in front of you. His white high tops covered in blood and gore. Why would he pick white shoes to wear if he's going around munching on dudes.

"You looked, didn't you?" Crop Top asks.

"I uh..." you risk a look at his face. It's covered in blood. His upper lip, his mouth and his chin are coated in it. You swallow hard. "What are you?"

Crop Top crouches down again, eye level with you. "A person like you," he smiles. "Name's Lee." He holds out a bloody hand. You look down at it then back at him. "Oh," Lee says, wiping his hand off on his shirt, then offers it again. Still just as bloody as before.

"Are you gonna eat me too?" The question falls out of your mouth, you can't stop it. Word vomit.

Lee scrunches up his face, pursing his lips as he tilts his head to the side, contemplating your question. "Mmmm, probably not. Unless you've done something really shitty..." Lee eyes your bag of money with an arched eyebrow and you shift a little.

"My name's Y/N."

"You work at K-mart, Y/N?"

"No," you answer too quickly.

"I've seen you there. A lot."

"I don't work there anymore," you say. "You've been watching me?"

"Every day for like two weeks or some shit," Lee says, like it's no big deal. Though up against eating a whole human, it's probably not. "That your first-time stealing from money from your job?"

You open your mouth, the urge to defend yourself creeping up your throat, but you cut it short. You just watched this man eat someone.

"It's my first time," you admit.

"No shit? Well, Y/N, there's a first time for everything." At this point you notice the grey grocery bag he's carrying. It's full and tied up, dripping slightly with thick red liquid. "Bones and shit," Lee says, and tosses the bag into the dumpster. It lands with a heavy, wet thud. "You got anywhere to be tonight, y/n?"

"Not really, no."

"Not really?"

"I'm homeless," you admit.

"Perfect, let's go."

This time Lee grabs your hand and pulls you up. You grab your bag of money and walk with him looking behind you every so often to make sure no one is following.

"Where are we going?" You ask.

"For a ride," Lee says smiling as he jangles a pair of car keys in front of your face. "Nabbed these off of fuck face back there before he tried to eat you."

"He tried to-"

"Oh, he was going to eat you real good. You're lucky I've been following you."

"How-"

"Shh save your questions, I'll answer all of them when we find his car."

"We're gonna steal his car too?" You ask. The amount of crime you've been involved in today is beginning to overwhelm you.

"You've never stolen a car?"

You shake your head.

Lee smiles. "I think we're gonna have a lot of first times, Y/N."

Tags: @dayafied @soulofendlessbook @fashphotolife @scentedkittenperfection @weasleytwinscumslut @timotheel0ver @mxciscastleintheair @marvelmaniac2000 @lovelyrocker @divine-1 @louievr @love-poems-only @starberry-cake @inlovewithphantasy @alexagirlie @misswestfall @softhecreator @livresjaunes @timmymyluv @inannamoon @harrys-thick-thighs @s-we-e-t-t-ea @timolaurence @its-schmackin-dude @justagirlwhoneedshelp @kteezy997 @sufferingstarlight @xoxoloverb @tropicalrozmajzl @iloveneilperry @syirnge @patronsaintofthetwinks @rosewatergroupie

[girlwithwolftatoo]

Moon Boys react to Reader's annoying ex-partner

(A small self-indulgent, venting headcanon idea)

Steven Grant:

*Softest boy has claws, and will use them against whoever bothers you, including your ex, whom you have mentioned a couple of times and Steven knows two important things about: one, they're asllholes, and two, he hates them.

*So, your ex met you by accident in a place and now they're insisting on seeing you again and even inviting you "like friends". This is ruining your mood and Steven notices it, so you end up explaining to him what's going on. "Oh, really?" he says after you told all the story, with this unamused voice of him "Such a little bugger, this person"

*Will politely ask them, either by phone (if they managed to get your number) or face to face, to leave you alone. Your ex may think this weird-looking dummy isn't a threat, but Steven doesn't give up a (mostly verbal) fighting if it's needed.

*"And who are you, bud?" "Steven Grant, nice to meet you -well, not really nice, just being polite" "Are you (Y/N)'s boyfriend or what the hell?" "Their personal life is none your business, now why don't you turn on your heels, begin to walk and dissapear?"

*Extra: Steven apologizes for acting so "rude" towards your ex, thinking you may feel bothered for his interventions. But he's wrong, you love feeling protected by your sweet gentleman and you make sure to "reward" him.

Marc Spector:

*Oh Ennead gods, this man... You don't even need to tell him anything about this ex trying to contact you, poor idiot dared to bug you in front of him.

*And at the slightest sight of discomfort from you, Marc will step front. "Hi, buddy, can I help you?" he greets with this tense smile and murderous look that makes you wonder why your ex isn't running away to hide in the mountains or something.

*Will gently (I mean, in Marc's idea of gentleness) tell them to back off and leave you alone, and just to make things clear, he'll do some menacing, discrete gesture with his hands, the kind of "look I'm not saying I'm going to break your jaw but-" gesture.

*Unfortunately, your ex is stubborn and won't give up though (you know by experience) they lack of advantage against Marc. And if there's a need for some punching exchange, Marc will gladly do it. And win.

*But -what if that bastard tries to go further? Well, I hope they're ready to meet Moon Knight, 'cause that's the last thing they'll see before waking up in a hospital.

Jake Lockley:

*Overprotective to the point he can feel (almost smell) when somebody is making a move towards you. So, this person who approached you the other day in the supermarket and made you go uncomfortable (who dares to discomfort his precious corazoncito?) is his next target.

*We can consider Jake as some sort of hunting dog, he'll follow your ex's steps and take mental notes of everything, getting ready for a single but lethal blow, specially if he knows they're your ex who mistreated you.

*He won't appear next to you while they're bothering you. No. He'll wait until they take a turn or something and then... they just feel a pair of gloved hands grabbing them by the shoulders.

*"Hey there, care for a walk?" something in Jake makes everyone feel automatically menaced, and this is not exception. "So, I've seen you a couple of times around this cutie... (Y/N), you know them? Such a lovely little thing, I know... Well, the thing is... I don't want you approaching them or... calling them or anything again, ¿me entiendes? 'Cause if I find out you contact them again..."

*Maybe you ex will try to play the thug card, but it just make things worse for them. Jake knows how to play rough, and will. No surprise the next time they meet one of them will end up bleeding and with a broken leg and a missing finger in a trashbin. A small clue: the poor bastard won't be Jake.

*Extra: "Jake, remember I told you about this ex who was... bothering me? Well, it seems they grew tired 'cause I haven't see them in a while" "I'm so pleased to hear that, mi amor, I'm sure they won't come back"

[sadiegirl2021]

Silly little one shot for @gwynrielweeksofficial - Day 2: Compatible (loose interpretation)

Soul Meets Body on Ao3

“I don’t care how good-looking he is, Nesta! I’m not letting you set me up on a blind date.”

“Gwyn! Please!! This guy is your soulmate. He loves all the same books as you, he goes to the gym, he’s got a coffee addiction! You’re basically the girl version of him.”

“So! Blind dates are weird. You know how shy I can get…”

“He’s shy too!”

“Oh, wonderful! Really selling it. So we’ll just sit there, and not talk at all during dinner?”

“Talk about books!”

“Bye, Nesta!”

“Wait–”

Gwyn hung up the phone. She was sick of this. Why couldn’t her friends just accept that she didn’t want a boyfriend right now? College was crazy enough without adding love or sex on top. She needed to stay focused and certainly had no room to entertain Nesta’s blind date idea.

“So stupid,” she mumbled to herself, reaching for a bag of apples at the supermarket.

“What did you call me?”

Gwyn looked up and felt her jaw comically fall to the floor as she gazed at the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Raven-black hair, golden eyes, and tall… so freaking tall!

“Oh… no… I wasn’t–”

He smiled, and her heart skipped a beat. “Relax, I’m just messing with you.”

Gwyn didn’t dare speak again, for fear it would be an incoherent jumble of words. This was what she was talking about with Nesta. Whenever she started talking to a cute guy, she froze like this! Her mind raced with funny and interesting things to say, but her mouth decided to keep shut. She just smiled at him.

“.... those are good apples,” he said, shifting a little awkwardly. Gwyn would have expected someone of his stature to radiate confidence.

“Yeah… they’re my favourite.” Gods, so smart, Gwyn!

“Me too… I like oranges as well.”

“Same.”

Was this possibly the worst conversation she’d ever had?

He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. “Do you come here often?”

Oh my god. Was he… flirting with her?

Gwyn let out a little chuckle, “Oh yeah, the supermarket is where it’s at. Haven’t you heard?” Better!

He laughed, and damn if it wasn’t giving her crazy butterflies.

“I’m Azriel,” he said smoothly, seeming to relax more in her presence.

“Gwyn,” she replied with a slight flush on her cheeks.

“Gwyn,” he whispered like an answer to a question. “I don’t normally do this… I mean I never do this… but do you want to grab dinner tonight?”

“Like a date?”

“Yeah… I mean, cool if not… I just–”

“Yes! I’d love to.”

He seemed to sigh in relief, “That’s great! Amazing… can I grab your number, and I’ll text you the details?”

She nodded, “Of course!” Oh my god, how did she pull this off? He was the hottest guy she’d ever met, and he just asked her out!

They gleefully exchanged numbers, exchanged a few more awkward observations of the fruit around them, and went their separate ways.

Gwyn practically floated home, dying to rummage through her wardrobe for the perfect outfit. Nesta was going to kill her… but blind dates were stupid! At least she knew she was attracted to Azriel.

______________________

Gwyn had opted for a short, sapphire-blue, body-con dress with silver strappy heels and no jacket. It was the height of summer… plus she looked way too hot to cover up.

“I can’t believe you’re going out with some rando over the guy I picked for you!” Nesta huffed from the couch.

Gwyn finished putting on her cherry-red lipstick and rolled her eyes at Nesta’s statement.

“Cassian is going to be pissed. You’re turning down his best friend for some stranger.”

“You know, I haven’t even met Cassian yet! So why would I want to date his best friend? Are you even dating Cassian?”

“Don’t judge our… situation! It’s complicated.”

“Because you’re in love with him?”

“He wishes!” Nesta laughed with an air of ‘yes, I love him so much it’s killing me, but I don’t know how to handle emotions.”

*Buzz Buzz*

“That’s him! Can you please get it? I need to grab my bag.”

It was Nesta’s turn to roll her eyes as she threw off her snuggly blanket and made her way to the door. As she opened it, she quipped, “You better not be some serial killer–Oh my god, Azriel!?”

“Nesta… hey! Do–Do you live here?”

She nodded in confirmation. “You’re Gwyn’s date for tonight?”

“Yeah, we met at the supermarket earlier. Hey, Cassian was in a foul mood today. What happened with you two last night?”

Nesta scowled at the mere mention of his name, and Azriel flinched, not expecting an answer.

“Hey, Azriel,” Gwyn chirped as she left her bedroom.

Azriel’s hand flew to his chest, as if someone had shot him with a cupid's arrow. “Wow! Gwyn… you look–”

Gwyn couldn’t even let him finish; she hated compliments, “So do you! Shall we go?” she asked, moving to the door. Nesta had the strangest look on her face, and a sly grin that was a little frightening. Gwyn gave her a ‘what the fuck’ look in exchange.

Azriel seemed to notice their interactions. “I’ll give you a minute.” He backed away into the hall to wait for her.

“What?” Gwyn exclaimed.

“That’s the guy!!”

“What guy?”

“The blind date guy… Cassian’s friend!”

“Are you serious?”

Nesta nodded with a huge grin.

Gwyn could only laugh. “Well… I still think blind dates are stupid!”

Nesta smirked, “So destiny intervened! Have a great night with your soulmate!”

“Shut up!”

Gwyn caught up with Azriel. He looked so sleek in his pressed black trousers and crisp white shirt, with a couple of buttons open to show a thick silver chain. If this was indeed her soulmate, she had some serious praying to the gods to do in thanks.

[kimaixun]

[Curse of Bad Lucks] - [SKZ!Felix X M!Reader]

"You were a wonderful experience."

"You were everything."

M/N could only smile bitterly as he turn on his heel, walking away from none other than, Lee YongBok, Felix, who is now, officially, his once upon a time the love of his life. It was finally done. He had finally ended it. It hurts. He could literally feel everything shattering apart. M/N sucked in a deep breath, painfully, as he sat on the bench, looking towards the well lit panaromic view of Jeju.

Felix was just a wonderful experience.

Meanwhile, Felix fell on his knees as he watches M/N walk away from him. M/N had ended things with him and he knew he was in disbelieve. 18 years, 18 fucking years that they had been together, gone, just like that. They were married for god sake and they have a child. A 4 years old little boy that they raised together. How could M/N do this to him? Where had it gone wrong?

M/N was everything.

18 years ago.....

"See that barista? He is hot." Lee YongBok whispered to his close friend, Hwang Hyunjin.

Hwang Hyunjin peeks over his shoulder seeing the (H/C) tall lad. He looked young and Felix was right, he is hot, "he is good looking."

"I'm going to hit on him." Felix made his way to the counter, stopping in front of the (H/C). "Hi!"

"Hi," Felix could feel his breath hitched when M/N looked up and his (E/C) looked into his. M/N is gorgeous, "i...let...let me get my colleague. My korean is still not good."

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm australian so, you can speak english to me."

M/N flashes him a gentle smile, "thank you. How can i help you for the day?"

Felix fished out his phone, "i want to bring you out on a date so, if i could, can i get your number?" He giggles when M/N's eyes widened, evidently taken aback by the sudden confession. "You are really cute and i could get myself a boyfriend anytime soon. Life doesn't seem to get any younger, you know."

"I...Wait...you..." M/N jumbled on his words, "why?"

"What?"

"Why me?" M/N abruptly stopped in the midst of cleaning the counter and walked in front of Felix. It was Felix turn to be taken aback at how different their height difference was. M/N was two feet taller than him. "Why me? I...I'm just a barista. I have sugar in my pockets and coffee stains on my socks. I am cursed with bad lucks. I am poor. I am stupid and worthless and i am very sure that i'll ruin your life. Like i said i'm cursed with bad lucks. I'm cursed so, if you are an angel in disguise, please, run for your life."

"You are so dark and twisty." Felix said, "What if i'm a devil in disguise? Do i still need to run for my life too?"

M/N chuckled, "usually, the conversation stops there and i have no replies for what you've just asked."

"Well since you dont know what would a devil in disguise do, why not give it a try first?" Felix convinced. "I'll bring you out on dates, we can get to know each other. It doesnt have to be expensive or anything. I'm not so high maintenance and it's very easy to make me happy. I appreciate the small little things. You can get me a cup of coffee and i will grin for the entire day, i will....."

"Okay." M/N cut him off, giving him a gentle smile, "My name is F/N M/N and can i make you a cup of coffee? It's on me."

"Okay M/N," Felix said, "My name is Lee YongBok, Felix and i would like to accept your coffee offer."

15 years ago.....

"So, want to tell me how you ended up all soaked and smelly?" Felix grimaced as he turns the water on to fill the tub.

"There was a cat." M/N simply replied as he stripped off his clothes, entering the tub and submerged himself into the water, "a black cat and i should have known better that black cats are almost like a combo to my cursed life."

Felix giggled as he massages M/N's hair with the lavender scented shampoo, "let me guess. You probably saved the cat from a drain and you slipped and fall into it."

"Has this hapened before?"

"Twice." Felix replied. "but, hey. On the bright side, you aren't hurt this time. You came home the last two times with broken arms and legs. This time, you're just, smelly."

M/N couldnt help but, grin so widely that his cheeks start to hurt, "i guess my dark and twisty life is coming to a turn with my very own sunshine by my side. I love you."

"I love you so much more." Felix smiles and pecks M/N on the lips.

10 years ago.....

"I DID IT! WE DID IT!" M/N couldn't contain his excitement as he barged into the house. Felix who was folding their clothes on the couch was taken aback when M/N lounge himself onto him, knocking them off the couch and down to the floor. "I can finally open my own cafe with my very own saving and it's just a block away from here!"

"OMG! LOVE! I am so proud of you!" Felix exclaimed. They were both on the floor, Felix on top of the younger who hugged him tightly as they laid on the ground. "I'm so fucking proud of you!"

Prior to where they were, 7 years ago, M/N had told his boyfriend his life plans and Felix supported him unconditionally. It had been rough for both of them. M/N was almost working 18 hours a day to earn the money he needed and Felix had to focus on the upcoming of Stray Kids. The amount they spent together could be easily counted by fingers. Within a month, they could only meet for a day where M/N finally took the day off and so did Felix. Despite that, they made it through each day for the entire 7 years, promising themselves that once they reached their goal, they will live a life that they desired.

"I'm so happy. Thank you, thank you, thank you Lee YongBok." M/N buried his face into Felix's neck.

Felix smiles and embrace the other tightly, "We did it love. I got something to tell you too. I will be leaving the music industry."

"Wait, what?! You love music, you love your fans, you love STRAY KIDS. Please, you don't have to do it for me." M/N jolted up.

"I do. I do love all of them but, i love you the most. I'm not doing this for you. I am doing this for me. It's time for me to slow down. I'm not getting any younger now and, i want to retire. I want to be the boyfriend who will sit in the cafe and stare at his boyfriend all day long and make sure no one is flirting with him," Felix chuckled, "I will be like those typical managers who pretend to be busy on their phones but in reality I'm just watching as the world goes by."

"Marry me, Lee Yongbok." M/N confessed. "I...I dont have a ring right now but, will you marry me? I will make you the happiest man alive. I will bring breakfast to our bed every morning. I will bring you out on dates. I will be the richest some day soon that we can stay home all day with each other in our cozy apartment. I will give you the..."

M/N was cut off when Felix slammed their lips together and as if the time froze, they kissed passionately not caring the world existed.

"Yes, Yes. I will marry you."

5 years ago.....

"Hi love."

"Sunshine, you're here!" M/N grinned as he puts down the cloth he used to wipe the counter, heading towards Felix with an open arm. Felix jumped into his husband's arms and greeted him with a kiss. "How did your day go?"

"Wonderful." Felix pecks his cheeks and they settled down at the corner of the cafe, reserved specially just for them, "I met Lee Know Hyung and Jisung Hyung. Their baby have grown so big. He's a big boy now. He can put his own pants and put his plate in the sink."

"Awww, that's great." M/N cooed. "So, while we are at the topic, i was wondering if you would want to have a baby with me."

Felix giggled, "oh love. I wish i could bear your children but, we aren't exactly living in a ABO universe."

"I mean with the amount of me breeding into you, we could've get 10 kids now." M/N winked.

"EWWWWW BOSS! The cafe isn't exactly empty!" yelled an employee of his.

"You're suppose to be working, not eavedropping." M/N laughed when he sees Felix red face. "Sunshine, i really mean what i said. We could get a surrogate or we coul--"

"Yes!" Felix answered, "Let's have a kid together."

"I love you." M/N kissed his husband.

"I love you so much more."

4 years ago.....

"Sunshine?" M/N whispered as he pokes his head into their bedroom.

"Hi love. Come in." Felix beckoned, "I just got him down."

M/N tiptoes across the room and slide under the covers beside Felix, "I am so sorry i had to ditch you halfway."

"Hey, don't be sorry love." Felix shifted as little as possible to face his husband, "we weren't expecting the cafe to catch on fire. How's the employees?"

"No one was injured, thankfully and they are doing an investigation on the cause of fire." M/N explained as he tugs his head onto his husband's chest, cuddling closely to inhale the oh-so-familiar calming scent of his husband.

"Thank goodness. How about you, love? Are you okay?"

M/N sighed inaudibly, "I....I'm scared. Sunshine, i'm terrified."

"Hey, you're okay. You're okay." Felix assures planting kisses to the crown of M/N's head as he caresses his hair tenderly. "You're okay love."

"It's just," M/N took a deep breath, "it's as if the curse of bad lucks are latching on me again and i'm so terrified that it'll hurt you and Woojin. I'll never forgive myself if any of you are hurt."

"Hey, don't be so dark and twisty." Felix chuckled, "i know love. I get where you are coming from but, let's not jump into conclusion okay? Maybe it was just a coincidence."

"I...I don't know." Felix could feel tears drenching his shirt.

"You're okay baby. You're okay." Felix shushes as he embrace his husband tighter. "We're here for you. Woojin and i will always be by your side no matter what curse you have, okay?"

"I love you." M/N sniffed.

"I love you so much more."

2 years ago.....

"F/N M/N. Which bed is he in?" Felix could feel the anxiety crept into him as he barge through the doors of the emergency department. Woojin who was cradled in his arms could sense his parent anxiousness and he squirms uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry and you are?" The nurse asked.

"F/N YongBok. I'm his husband. Please, tell me where he is." Felix pleaded.

"Oh, he's in bed 10 sir. Right this way." The nurse showed the way.

Felix couldn't help the tears streaming down his cheek as he rushed over to the said bed.

"Mama cry no." Little Woojin frowned, his lips jutting out. "Mama no cry."

"I'm sorry baby." Felix kissed his forehead. He knew he shouldn't be crying but, he couldn't help it. He needed to make sure M/N is fine first.

"Sunshine?"

It wasn't a lie when people said that legs can turn into jelly. If it wasn't the doctor who attended to M/N that catch him, he would've landed on the floor, probably hitting his head at the corner of the hospital bed.

"I'm okay sunshine. I'm okay. I promise." M/N repeated as he took Felix and Woojin into his arms. "I'm okay sunshine. I'm okay baby."

"Papa ouchie."

M/N chuckled as he took Woojin in his arms, "yes, papa ouchie. Small ouchie."

"Papa. Mama cry papa ouchie." Little Woojin pouted.

"I'm sorry. Papa no ouchie, mama no cry okay?" M/N assured as he slides his hand around Felix's waist. "Sunshine? I promise you, i'm okay."

"Seventh time. It's the seventh time you had to come to the ER this year. You end up with so many injuries all the time. You said you were just going to get cereal and i end up getting a call from the ER that you were hit with a baseball bat? I swear, i am going to lock you in our house and we will never leave the house ever again." Felix cried as he leaned onto his husband's shoulder, "i'm locking you up in the house."

"Okay sunshine. I'll be happily locked with you and Woojin."

"I love you."

"I love you so much more."

9 hour ago.....

"Have fun Mama! Papa!" Woojin waved at his parents before running back into his Uncle Lee Know and Uncle Jisung's hotel room to play with their son.

"Thank you for watching him." Felix said to the couple in front of them.

The two family were on their vacation in Jeju Island and since M/N and Felix had watched over MinSung yesterday whilst the parents were on their date, it was M/N and Felix's turn today.

"Oh, don't sweat about it. You guys have fun! Now, go. The night is still young." Jisung kicked them out.

M/N and Felix spent the rest of the day living their life like they were teenagers all over again. They went to the theme park followed by an ice cream stall and then a dinner reservation. They were just living their dream life fully.

"Sunshine?" M/N softly calls out as they walk through the quiet street of Jeju, hands intertwined, on their way back to their hotel.

"Yes, love?"

"If one day i am not around, can you promise me some things?"

Felix stopped on his track, "is that a way of you telling me that you are getting old?"

M/N chuckled, "maybe. I am being serious though. Can you please promise me some things?" Felix was not going to lie but, an uncomfortable churn in his stomach begin to arise.

"Yes love. Anything."

M/N took both of his hands in his reminding Felix of the time when they took their vow the exact same way right now or the night when M/N had proposed to him. M/N always held his hands when he needed to talk about important things taht could mean life or death.

"Sunshine, when i am gone, i want you to promise me that you will get over me within 7 days. I want you to promise me that you will forget about me thoroughly. I want you to move on with your life. I want you to inherit all my inheritance. I want you to raise Woojin with the strength of your sunshine heart. I want you to stay strong. I want you to make sure you and Woojin eat proper meals, always celebrate birthdays and occasions no matter how busy you are. I want Woojin to inherit my business. Woojin will grow up wonderfully. I want you to promise me to love yourself unconditionally. Please, promise me that." M/N took Felix's hand to his lips and tenderly kissed it. "I love you so much. I love you so fucking much."

"You.....you are scaring me. Is everything okay?"

"Sunshine, please. Promise me that." M/N pleaded.

"No, i can't suddenly promise you as if you will be gone in another 5 minutes. I can't just lie to myself to make a promise that i will get over you in 7 days. I spend half my life loving you and never regretted it ever in my life. You can't expect me to just forget you just like that! We are married and we have a kid!" Felix took a deep breath, calming himself down, "love, tell me, what's wrong?"

"I am divorcing you. I am done with you. The lawyers will send in the papers in a week and tonight will be last time you see me."

"But, why?"

Felix heartbreak is grief that comes in waves, gruelling. It is a shard in his guts that stabbed him over and over again. It feels like death just the same as bereavement and in that quiet second, it chokes the breath from his body and short circuitshis mind. What was once whole is shattered; where once was peace is emptiness, echoes of a love he put his everything into.

"You were a wonderful experience."

"You were everything."

Present.....

Ring....Ring....Ring

"I did everything you told me to." M/N spat into the answered phone.

"You did great honey."

"and as you promised, don't even lay a finger on them. if you hurt my sunshine and my child, I WILL KILL YOU, Hwang Hyunjin." M/N growled.

He could hear Hyunjin's sinister laugh in echoing through the phone, "i promised honey. I'm sending someone over to get you now. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

The call ended and M/N slams his phone to the ground, breaking it into pieces. AFterall, his life was still a curse of bad lucks. M/N couldn't help but cried his heart out, screaming in despair.

[lolitaa-17]

Interlude

Eren angst| Eren x Reader, Jean x Reader

You sat there waiting and waiting for hours. You probably looked stupid by now, one glass of champagne in a seat for two. Not a meal was ordered yet, nor an appetizer.

You looked in your hand mirror to make sure your tears hadn't messed up your makeup. You did it nicer than usual. You dressed up in a pretty light pink body con dress accompanied with white heels.

You glance at the small gold watch on your wrist. 6:55pm. He should've been here by now, he got off about an hour ago.

You dial his number one more time. Straight to voicemail.

You pay for the glass of champagne and walk to your car. You could feel your whole body heating as you walked to the car. The embarrassment washed over you.

-

You looked in the mirror. The smudged mascara running down your eyes. How stupid you felt coming home to an empty house. Thinking maybe he forgot. Thinking he probably would've surprised you at home. But no, it wasn't like that at all.

You dialed his coworkers phone this time.

"Hello? y/n are you okay?" He asked a bit concerned.

"Yeah, no i'm fine Jean. I was wondering if you've seen Eren before you left the office" You could tell how easily it was to tell that you've been crying.

"What? I thought he would've taken you to the company dinner tonight?" He sighed.

"Oh."

"I'm not at the company dinner right now, I could take you if you'd like? I'm pretty close to your place" Jean questioned.

"No, its okay i'm getting ready for bed. Thank you though" the tears continued to fall.

"Goodnight y/n" You could hear the disappointment in Jeans voice.

"Goodnight" You whispered before quickly ending the call.

-

You open the door to see Jean holding a tub of ice cream. It was unexpected but very much needed.

"Oh I thought you were gonna go..." You questioned Jean.

"To the company dinner? Not if your like this, may I?" He asked looking at you with a look of sorrow.

"Of course" You let him through and lead him to the kitchen.

How come another man treat you better than your own boyfriend? How come he had done minimum effort tonight than your boyfriend has done in a week?

"I came here to see if you were okay, I could tell you were a little off" he smiled as he passed you a spoon and the ice cream.

"Yeah, It was just...Eren and I made plans to go out tonight. I was sitting there like a fool for almost an hour" You laughed bitterly as the tears started falling again.

It wasn't the first time he's bailed out on you like this. With his phone declining, no excuse, and no apology.

Jean leaned in and gave you a hug. It felt so wrong to do it behind Eren's back, but it felt right. You've been longing for a genuine hug.

"Let's sit down" Jean sighed while leading you to the living room.

-

He watches you sleep peacefully, he felt so guilty. Hiding the truth to why Eren didn't take you to the company dinner. It hurt to see how much pain Eren had put you in these past months.

Jean grabbed his coat from the kitchen and made his was towards the front door. The door opened revealing Eren.

Eren looked at Jean with a confused gaze as to why he was even here and not at the dinner party.

Jean just sighed and walked out, not saying a word.

Eren walks into the bedroom to see you peacefully sleeping. He knew about today. He knew how you were waiting for him. He turned his phone off the whole night knowing you'd be calling. Eren knows, just by the look on your face that you've been crying all night.

He lays down next to you and hugs you tightly but carefully.

-

Eren woke up to see the right side of his bed empty, and it was too quiet for Eren. He got up to look for you immediately.

His heart slowed down when he saw you. He felt relieved. He was always scared of you leaving him. He never wanted to lose you, but he was selfish about it.

"Good morning baby" He walks towards you and hugs you behind.

"Morning" you said while making your coffee.

Eren noticed how you seemed more distant than usual, how you had the least interest in him.

"I have off today, maybe we can have a picnic or-"

"I have an appointment today, I can't" You walk towards the dinner table and sit where you had your computer.

"That won't take all day long though baby" He says following behind you.

You were too kind to Eren. You were too kind to anyone.

-

You ate the strawberries while looking out in the distance as the kids in the park play.

Eren had just been watching you the whole time. Watching your every move. Watching how you had no emotion written on your face what so ever.

"How has work been?" you asked trying to break the awkward silence.

"I don't wanna talk about work when I'm with you, I want to enjoy my time with you" He says pushing a strand of hair behind your ear.

-

After that things went back to normal. Not much from Eren, he would always come home late. You didn't even bother asking him if he would like to have dinners out anymore.

You just felt like you were living in a non stop cycle. You needed it to end.

You cried, but you knew it was the right thing to do. Maybe it was wrong to leave without an explanation. But you couldn't bare to see the look on his face.

-

Eren walked in the quiet home as usual not expecting much. His phone buzzed.

"Goodnight <3" Natalia, the women who he'd been seeing behind your back these past months.

He sighed as he turned his phone off. A whole pound of guilt sits on his chest everyday and it just builds up every time he comes home to see you peacefully sleep in his bed.

This time was different. Walking into the bedroom to see it empty. It was something Eren never thought of seeing. He noticed all the little things on your side of the room was gone. Not a dust was left.

He dialed and dialed but straight to voicemail they went. He threw his phone on the floor shattering the front and back.

He wasn't mad that you left him. He was more proud that you'd finally stuck up for yourself for once. He was more mad that he'd let someone like you go away so easily. He cried himself to sleep that night, and the night after, and so on.

-

It had been over 5 months ever since you left Eren. It hurt but you got over it. It hurt more staying with him.

You told Jean. Jean felt guilty and he'd finally told you what Eren had been doing. You ignored Jean for days, how he hid something like that from you while you had been suffering. You got over it though, because you needed him.

"Is it too cold?" Jean asked adjusting the temperature in the car.

"It's fine, I told you like 5 times already" You chuckled while grabbing Jeans free hand.

"Jean...don't you think its wrong for you-"

"Nope...Eren had his chance to bring you to the dinner parties, and he didn't. So I'm showing you off" He grabbed your hand and placed a small kiss.

"And he knows y/n...I told him that we've been seeing each other recently. I'm not a dickhead either" He chuckled.

-

Eren made sure to put more effort in looking good this time. He didn't know why, He knew you wouldn't go crawling back to him.

He watched every guest enter. Wishing that you and Jean had changed your minds. Until he saw you.

Your hair was shorter, your smile was brighter, you looked healthier...you looked happier. The way Jean proudly introduced you to all of his coworkers. The way Eren thought that it should've been him introducing you to everyone.

He wasn't expecting you to talk to him, or even look at him. And you didn't, the whole night.

[kingyo-konbini]

LAVENDER LEMONADE [KOBY X READER]

[SUMMARY] you've had a crush on the koby for the longest time, but he only ever seems interested in talking to your coworker, luffy. you're not sure why the two seem to be engaged in some sort of secret conversation this time around, though. [PRONOUNS] gender neutral [GENRE] modern + coffee shop au [POV] second person [WORD COUNT] 2321 [CONTENT] fluff | assumed one-sided affection | awkward confessions | somewhat crack humor | joking about murder & suicide (in the gen z/millennial way) [A/N] belongs to this one shot collection. honestly did not intend for it to be as long as it is but I apparently have a lot of feelings for koby

Smooth jazz filtered through the air, mixing in perfectly with the lax attitude of the cafe and the light ringing of the bells above the door.

You liked Sunday afternoons. More specifically, you liked Sunday afternoons in late April to early June. Spring was in full swing, if not beginning to dip into summer, and the light blue sky and quiet breeze exuded an air of calmness into your usually quite hectic life.

Regardless of the season, though, Sunday afternoons were always a welcome respite; the morning rush finished with and the end of the week close on your heels. Suffice it to say, there were many things you liked about Sunday afternoons, but if you had to pick a favorite…

Well, it wasn’t a hard decision.

“Hey, [Name]-san!” Koby greeted you, grinning ear-to-ear. You beamed, heart skipping a beat at his kind eyes. “It’s good to see you, as always.”

“I told you not to call me that, just [Name] is fine! But yeah, you too, Koby.” You looked at the blond, sunglasses-wearing man (why he insisted on wearing them indoors, you would never know) next to him. “And you, Helmeppo.” Just once, once you wished Koby would show up to the cafe without Helmeppo. Not that you didn’t like the guy– he was fine. It’d just be easier to ask for Koby’s number without him there, embarrassment eating you alive slowly.

The blond returned your polite greeting just before Koby spoke again. “Is Luffy-san working today?”

And there it was, the real reason Koby insisted on coming to the cafe every Sunday: Luffy. You knew Koby frequented the cafe on other days as well, though Sundays were the day he always visited, without fail. You weren't a hundred percent sure why, considering Luffy didn't always work on Sundays, but you figured that it had to do with his schedule. It would have been stupid for you to even entertain the idea that Koby was a regular at the cafe because of you, especially since he always asked for your coworker if he didn’t spot him working the register. Plus, you knew he’d been a regular long before you began working at the Thousand Sunny, but still. You could pretend, couldn’t you?

No, of course not, not when he was looking at you so expectantly.

At first you’d wondered if Koby had a crush on Luffy, but then Nami informed you that it was more hero-worship than anything else. Luffy had apparently gotten Koby out of a really bad job and had somewhat indirectly connected him to his grandfather, who took him and Helmeppo under his wing.

It made sense, honestly, for Koby to look at Luffy with such admiration. You couldn’t blame him.

It still stung a little, though.

“Yeah, he’s just in the back bugging Sanji. I’ll go get him for you.” Your smile turned a little sad, despite your best efforts, and without waiting for a response you headed to the back, making your way to the kitchen. Sanji was fending off a rabid Luffy, yelling at him to get back to work and stop pestering him for the meat he was in the process of cooking.

“Luffy!” You called, grabbing both his and Sanji’s attention. “Koby’s looking for you.”

Your interruption allowed Luffy to snake his weirdly flexible arm past Sanji’s block and snag the meat right off the pan, tossing it in his mouth before the cook had a chance to stop him. “Koby!” Luffy cheered through a mouth full of food, launching himself past you to explode through the door. You offered Sanji a sympathetic shrug and ignored the way his expression went from aggravated to concerned, quickly following your coworker back to the front.

Luffy was perched on the counter, already engrossed in a conversation with his visitor, poor Helmeppo trying to get a word in when he could between the two’s rapid chatter. With a quiet sigh you input their regular order into the register and applied the friends and family discount, like you always did, and prepped it for their usual form of payment. Helmeppo noticed, like he always did, and paid as you went to work making their drinks.

A medium iced chai for Helmeppo, and a medium lavender lemonade for Koby. Sweet and pretty, just like him.

You silently made the drinks, the receipt rolling from the machine after the payment had been processed. By the time you turned back to the counter with the completed order, Luffy and Koby had disappeared, though you were quick to spot them in the far corner of the cafe. It looked like Koby was desperately urging Luffy to lower his voice, which you knew would be a losing battle. Despite how loud Luffy was, you couldn’t really make out what they were saying, the ambient noise doing just enough to drown out their words.

“Thanks, [Name].” Helmeppo nodded appreciatively, taking his drink from you while you placed Koby’s on the counter.

With no customers in line or looking to be in need of assistance, you leaned against the counter and folded your arms across your chest, nodding at the two men.

“What’s all that about?”

Helmeppo flinched, which, granted, was a bit odd, but you let it slide; you didn’t often talk directly to the guy, so it made sense that he’d be surprised by your words.

“Koby had something he wanted to ask Luffy-san about.”

“Really?” You frowned.

“Yeah. Just wanted some advice.” Helmeppo took a sip of his drink.

Your frown deepened. “Advice? What for?”

You got a shrug in response, which caused your lips to twist into a pout. You knew it wasn’t any of your business, but you honestly could not think of a single subject anyone would want to go to Luffy to for advice. He was a better soundboard for spontaneous decisions, always willing to support you if you wanted a quick adventure or had an idea you were just a bit too nervous to try on your own.

Faster than you thought possible, Luffy darted away from Koby, jumping over the counter and leaping into the back. You watched with wide eyes, continuously confused by his insistence of never entering or exiting the coffee bar in a normal way.

Glancing back to Koby, you saw that he had gone strangely pale, wide eyes flickering to yours for just a moment. He looked… nervous?

“Hey! Luffy, what are you-”

And then suddenly Luffy and Nami appeared, the former grasping the latter’s hand in a tight grip as he tugged her past the coffee bar and out to the cafe proper, ignoring the annoyed and disgruntled looks of the patrons who, honestly, should have been used to his antics by then.

Luffy dragged Nami to where Koby stood, and then the three began talking. Koby and Nami kept their voices low while Nami slapped a hand over Luffy’s mouth, effectively muffling his words.

Taking a moment to process what just happened, you eventually sighed and pulled yourself away from the counter, deciding it’d be best to just focus on tidying up rather than focus on whatever that was.

Well, at least with Nami present, Koby would hopefully be able to get some decent advice.

Helmeppo remained by the counter, sipping on his drink as he shifted his attention between his phone and the trio in the corner. Fine by you, you weren’t necessarily in the mood for chatting, anyways.

By the time you’d relegated yourself to wiping down the counters, the three had begun to disperse. Luffy had his signature, extremely large grin taking up most of his face, Nami was looking at you with a slight smirk and sparkle in her eyes, and Koby looked like he wanted to die.

At that point you weren’t sure you even wanted to know what had been discussed.

Luffy opened his mouth, but Nami quickly yanked him into the back before he could say anything. Helmeppo and Koby exchanged a few quiet words before the blond straight up left, nodding at you before he swiftly exited the cafe, effectively leaving you and Koby all alone.

“I’m scared to ask, but what was all that about?” You questioned after a minute, tilting your head to the side. “Helmeppo said you wanted to ask Luffy for some advice, which probably isn't necessarily the best idea, unless you were wanting encouragement to just go for whatever–”

“Will you go on a date with me?”

You stopped. Your jaw dropped, all words and thoughts disappearing from your mind in rapid succession. The world stopped spinning, and you’re pretty sure your heart stopped beating for a second there, too.

“Come again?”

Koby looked positively terrified, but you saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed and seemed to muster his confidence. “I’m asking if you’d like to go on a date with me, [Name]-san.”

“Why?” You spluttered out, unable to stop yourself. God, just say yes! Why are you like this?

His face was impossibly red, but he maintained eye contact. “I’ve liked you for a while now, ever since I saw you on that first Sunday we met. I- I thought you were incredibly beautiful, but I didn’t know if you’d ever feel the same way.” His jaw clenched. “Luffy’s been telling me to just tell you, that you liked me too, but I didn’t believe him.”

Luffy knew? Luffy told Koby that you liked him? Luffy had somehow managed to keep his mouth shut about the entire thing for God knows how long?

Oh, you were going to kill him. You were going to ring his rubber-like neck–

“It wasn’t until he brought Nami-san out to confirm that you felt the same way that I was able to build up the courage to ask.” 

Oh my God, you were going to kill not just one, but two coworkers.

Sorry, Sanji. It had to be done.

“B- but if they were lying, and just messing with me, I- I completely understand!” Your eyes refocused, spotting the panic quickly enveloping his demeanor. “I- I’m sorry for bothering you, I’ll never talk to you again if you don’t want me to, I’m so sorry–”

He must have taken your silence as rejection. Your heart twisted in your chest, beating wildly against your ribcage.

“Oh my God, no! No!” You interrupted him, waving your hands in the air and shaking your head enthusiastically. “No! Koby, no! I’m sorry, I was thinking about how I was going to kill Luffy and Nami, that’s all!” You cringed as the words left your mouth. Just how badly could you fumble this opportunity? “N- not because they lied to you or anything! They didn’t! That’s why I have to kill them. I can’t believe they ratted on me–”

“Wait, so you really do like me too?” His words stopped you dead in your tracks, the smallest hint of hope audible to your ears. You took the moment to refocus, taking in the way the panic had begun to ebb away from his features. He was looking at you with a softness that made your knees weak, the corners of his lips twitching into a faint smile.

“Koby, I– yes.” I have been hopelessly crushing on you since we met. “Yes, I like you too, and yes, I’d love to go on a date with you.”

It felt like you were back in high school, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.

The smile Koby directed at you was a reward in and of itself. You’d never seen him so happy, so relieved; you wanted to make him smile like that all the time.

He laughed, light and pleasant and wonderful. “I’m so glad. Thank you, [Name]-san–”

“Wait.” You held up a finger, stopping him in his tracks. His eyes widened. “I will go on a date with you, but only on one condition.”

You felt a little bad, seeing the way he quickly reverted to the meek, nervous Koby from before. “O- okay?”

“You have to stop calling me [Name]-san.”

It took a second, but he smiled and laughed again, eventually nodding. “Fine, I suppose that’s fair.” And there he was again, the confident, happy Koby you admired oh so much. “When does your shift end?”

“In about three hours.” You glanced at the clock, unable to stop the frown from appearing on your lips.

“Perfect! I have some errands I need to run, but would you like to get dinner with me once you're off?”

You looked back at him, cocking an eyebrow. “Just the two of us? No Helmeppo?”

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “No Helmeppo.”

“Then yes, I would love that. But, uh, give me some time to get changed and ready and all that, first. Meet back here in about three and a half hours?”

“Sounds good.” He looked so happy, so pleased with himself and your response. You couldn’t help but attempt to match the brightness of his smile. “I’ll see you then, [Name].” The way he said your name without the honorific made you shiver. “Thanks for the drink.” He grabbed the long-forgotten lemonade and offered you a little wave, one which you happily returned.

“Any time. See you in a bit.”

With one last satisfied nod, Koby exited the cafe. You watched through the windows as Helmeppo attacked, throwing an arm around his friend’s shoulders, mouth moving a mile a minute. You flushed, the events of the past few minutes finally catching up to you, and you suddenly became aware that you were in public.

That entire exchange had been in public.

You wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Yay! I knew everything would turn out okay!” Luffy’s voice appeared from behind you.

Ah, yes. Right. Okay, new plan: murder Luffy and Nami, and then yourself.

But not until after your date.

[tyuninthemirror]

— she looks so perfect: k.th

— pairing: idol!taehyun x model fem!reader — genre: fluff — word count: 1065 — disclaimers: mentions of insecurities, mentions of food. taehyun being too pure for this world. — synopsis: taehyun wasn't biased or anything, but you were the kindest and most beautiful person he has ever met. your insecurities were spiraling out of control and he knew he had to put an end to it. — series masterlist

— author's note: this is by far my most favorite work. i hope you all love it as much as i did ♡

'I am beautiful. I am beautiful.' you repeat over and over in your head as you reach your front door.

Today was a bad day. It was weigh-in, and you got scolded in front of everyone for being a bit bloaty since it was almost your period. Your manager nearly removed you from the line-up for the GENTLE MONSTER BOLD Collection photo shoot, and you overheard one of your 'friends' laughing behind your back in the changing room about your bloating.

You remove the little cooling pack you held under your eyes, sliding them into your pocket and checking your reflection for any apparent signs of crying for the last time before walking into your shared apartment with Taehyun.

"Taehyun-ah, I'm home," you called out, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

"Welcome home," Taehyun responded, peaking his head from the kitchen. "Dinner is almost ready!"

You're Y/N, a runway model, and though many think you embody perfection, you can't help but be insecure about yourself. There are days like today when you absolutely hate how you look, especially when you're surrounded by models that seem to have it all together, but you try your best to hide it from Taehyun.

"What's up, Y/N? Are you okay?" he asked, concern in his voice as you both sat down to eat the food he had prepared. You don't want to burden him with your problems, so you try to brush it off.

"I'm fine. Just tired from work, that's all," you say with a weak smile.

"Okay," Taehyun said reluctantly. No matter how much you tried to get rid of your puffy eyes, Taehyun could tell you cried a lot. Neither did he miss the way you pretended to eat. He could tell you were pretending to eat for his sake.

Taehyun remembered the first time he met you. When TXT had just debuted, they were invited to Seoul Fashion Week, and you walked for Nike as a newbie model. Beomgyu teased Taehyun endlessly about gaping when he laid his eyes on you. After scoring your number after he snuck backstage, the rest was history. You got together, and Taehyun watched your career grow from a newbie to walking for Anderson Bell in Milan.

The one thing he could never understand was that as your career grew, your insecurity also grew. He watched as you slowly became a shell of the cheerful Y/N you once were, and it broke his heart.

Taehyun had attempted to talk to you several times about your mental health, but you constantly assured him you were okay. He was busy enough as it is. You didn't need him worrying about you.

The last straw for Taehyun was a week later when he walked into the apartment to be met with the sounds of your sobbing.

"Y/N…? What's wrong?" he asked as he placed a gentle hand on your shoulder. You turned around and wrapped your arms around Taehyun, sobbing into his chest. His heart clenched at the sound as he rubbed your back in comfort.

"They're taking me off the Jimmy Choo collection because my pinky toe keeps sticking out of the heels," you managed to say between sobs after a while of Taehyun comforting you.

"Oh no, baby, I'm sorry," Taehyun mumbles, holding you even tighter.

"Why do I have such ugly feet?" you sobbed louder. "No wonder Janey keeps booking shows. She's two sizes smaller than me in everything."

Taehyun's expression softens as he pulls back and cups your face, looking into your eyes. "Y/N, how could you think that? You are absolutely beautiful, and you always have been. I mean, I've seen you in that garbage bag for that weird raincoat collection, and even then, you were stunning."

You can feel the heat rising in your cheeks from embarrassment, but knowing that Taehyun genuinely thinks that about you is a comfort.

"I know you don't think you're ugly or fat. I know you better than that," Taehyun continued as he used his thumb to wipe your tears away. "So don't let other people tell you otherwise. Only your opinion matters."

"Taehyun, it's not that easy," you say, barely above a whisper. "I'm surrounded by these people all the time, and I feel like I'm not good enough."

Taehyun pulls you into his arms again as he feels his eyes stinging, tears threatening to show, your words utterly breaking his heart. You can feel his heart beating against your chest as he tries to hide his tears. "Y/N, you deserve so much better than this. You don't have to put yourself through this kind of stress all the time. You don't have to keep modeling if it's making you feel this way. You deserve to be happy."

You're too stunned to speak. You thought about changing companies or working exclusively for one company but never considered not modeling again.

"But what would I do if I stopped modeling?" you whispered in his ears. You found comfort in how he held you and realized how lucky you are to have Taehyun in your life.

"You could study again? Didn't you say you wanted to take up digital marketing? Or becoming a news anchor? I know how much you like talking about the weather," Taehyun began suggesting. "How about voice acting? I thought you did great voicing that character in the Trolls movie."

"Babe, it was two lines," you chuckled.

"Exactly! And you nailed it," Taehyun defended with so much enthusiasm in his voice that you couldn't hold back your laughter.

"Or…" Taehyun started. "I could buy us plane tickets to Hawaii right now, and we could hide out there for a few days. Sip coconuts on the beach? What do you say?"

"How lucky am I to have someone like you in my life," you sighed, pulling away to look at Taehyun, studying the face of the man you're proud to call your boyfriend.

"You're lucky? Then I must have saved lives in my previous life to be blessed with someone like you."

Taehyun's words make you realize that maybe he's right. Maybe it's time for a change in your life and to distance yourself from the superficial people you've been around lately.

As you lean into his embrace once more, you're grateful to have someone who loves and cares for you, flaws and all.

"I love you, Kang Taehyun."

[slippinmickeys]

Proof of Life (7/8)

1. The phone trills from his pocket, startling him. He hasn’t yet received a call on it, and he hadn’t taken to carrying it with him until recently, when the urge to maybe move on again was starting to take root. Only one person has the number.

“Langly,” he says into the receiver. “Everything okay?”

“Are you near a television?” Langly asks him, dispensing with formalities.

Mulder turns on his heel, he’s on a street about a block from a hotel.

“I could be…” he says. The thought of going into a hotel again gives him the briefest pause.

“Turn on CNN,” Langly says. “Right now.” He disconnects.

Mulder trots to the hotel entrance and pushes quickly through the double doors, wonders what human tragedy is unfolding that Langly thought he needed to witness. Mulder could be on a plane in less than three hours — two if he needs to head to a region that’s relatively popular and not beset by turmoil. He’s almost feeling like himself again, and the thought of getting back to work, while holding less appeal than ever, would at least afford him something to focus on rather than the empty place he still feels deep in his chest.

Turning a corner and into the hotel’s bar, which is empty this time of morning, Mulder locks eyes with the bartender, who is polishing glassware. He asks if he minds turning on the TV that sits black and silent in the corner of the room. The bartender nods and pulls out a remote, switching the channel to the international feed of CNN when Mulder politely requests it.

The program is coming out of a commercial, and so Mulder lowers himself into a seat nearby, asking if the barkeep minds turning up the volume.

And when the program comes back on, there is not human atrocity on the screen, nor the eruption of a volcano, nor even a child stuck in a well. There is Dana Scully, thinner even than she was the last time he saw her, but real and true, her sharply cut face looking intently at Maureen Dunshee, who is sitting across from her as if they are both in en-garde. In the top corner of the screen, there is a tiny chyron that says “pre-recorded.”

“Did the picture give you hope?” Maureen asks. They are obviously mid-interview.

“Did it give me hope?”

“When they took the picture. The Proof of Life. Did you know then that we were trying to get you home? Did it give you hope?”

They cut briefly to a full-screen image of Scully holding the foreign newspaper, him standing behind her looking stunned. It’s the first time he’s seen it.

“He gave me hope,” she says quietly, looking down. Something inside Mulder blossoms.

“Fox Mulder?” Maureen asks her. “The other hostage?”

Scully nods, then looks away from Maureen to a place just off camera.

“Yes,” she says, sitting up straighter, speaking a little louder, more clearly. “The other hostage. We leaned on each other.”

Maureen leans forward eagerly. “Why don’t you tell me about that, Dana.”

Scully meets the other woman’s eye. “No,” she says. “I don’t think I will.”

The shock of seeing her has worn off, and suddenly, Mulder wants to cheer, to outright whoop. She has startled the interviewer, and you can see the woman glance ever so briefly at what Mulder assumes to be the segment’s producers on the other side of the room. Still, the woman tries to recover.

“Okay,” she says, a little bit of the kindness gone from her voice. “Then why don’t you tell me about him?”

“If you want to know about Fox Mulder,” Scully says. “You’ll have to ask him yourself.”

“We’ve tried,” the interviewer says, cocksure. “He’s a hard man to find.”

“Don’t I know it,” Scully says, giving as good as she gets.

Watching this is like reading a whodunnit and slowly figuring out the mystery, Mulder thinks, discovering that the character you suspected was innocent the whole time.

Maureen seems to realize she’s interviewing a hostile witness, but to Mulder, Scully seems to be unfolding, coming back to life before his eyes.

“Well,” Maureen says. “What can you tell us? What are you willing to share?”

Scully looks at Maureen appraisingly before answering.

“He saved my life,” she finally says. “In more ways than one. And I don’t know how, but some day I plan to return the favor.”

“Romantic,” Maureen says. Mulder can sense distaste in her voice.

“You can call it what you like.”

“Love?” There’s a gotcha tone if he’s ever heard one, but his heart leaps into his throat.

“Yes,” Scully says with conviction. “Like I’ve never known.”

Mulder stands from his chair so fast he knocks it over. He looks around for he’s not sure what—someone to talk to, someone to tell, someone to whom he can point at the TV and say “did you hear that?”

He doesn’t know what to do with himself, with his energy, so he runs for the door.

2. When he walks through the door of Langly’s Paris apartment, there is an extra person in the kitchen and an odd, buzzy feeling in the air.

Langly and Asuka are seated at the kitchen table, across from a person whose hands are wrapped around a chunky coffee mug. All three of them look up as if startled to see him standing there.

“Mulder,” Langly says, half-rising.

But Mulder connects eyes with the third person and walks up to them until their toes are practically touching.

“Mulder,” Frohike says, his eyes wary but hopeful.

“Frohike,” Mulder says, smiling. He’s genuinely happy and relieved to see him and clasps the little man’s elbow to pull him up into a hug.

“Where have you been, man?” Mulder asks.

He releases Frohike, smiling, but that’s when he notices the steaming mug at the empty fourth seat at the small table. Byers? he thinks. These three men have not been in the same room since he met them in 1989.

And then he smells it; sun-dried linen. Eucalyptus. His blood floods with euphoric hope and he turns, slowly, so slowly toward the parlor just beyond the kitchen.

Standing in the mouth of the hall, a little tentative and unsure, is Scully.

He opens his mouth, closes it. Not a sound comes out.

Then, in the span of one breath, they collide. The kiss is dizzying. Sibylline. It is the past and the future and all the terrible, terrible things in between.

Asuka rushes everyone out of the kitchen so quickly that the mugs are still steaming when they break apart and turn to find the table empty, both of them panting, lips swollen and wet.

“I’m so sorry—“ they both say at the same time, then chuckle shyly.

“Don’t be sorry—“ she says at the same moment Mulder says, “I thought you—“

Mulder reaches out, gently puts a finger over her lips.

“Come with me,” he says, like a fairy in a forest. He takes her hand.

3. They are standing in the room Asuka has made up for Mulder; robin’s egg blue, plaster detail on the tall ceiling fine as a Faberge egg. It is not large; there is a single bed in the corner, a small antique dresser next to the door, but it has a long window that opens to a not-quite balcony looking out over a Parisian street, which is as noisy and nostalgic as a stereotype—there could be a foley operator the next room over—a truncated horn, someone shouting in French, an accordion playing two streets over.

He feels suddenly shy, but also magnetized toward her like a compass seeking true north. He could never really keep his hands off her, and now is no exception.

He grips her hand tightly, holds it between both his palms. He’s a little afraid to let go.

“I saw the interview,” he says.

“I hoped you would.”

“I’m still spinning,” he admits breathlessly.

“Me too.”

She reaches forward, thumbs the mole on his cheek. The heat of her palm feels volcanic and he realizes a little clumsily that in all the time since they’ve seen each other, not a single person has really touched him, except for a quick, tight hug from Asuka in Charles de Gaulle. He leans into her touch.

“How did you find me?” he asks.

A dozen emotions sweep over her face before she answers.

“First I found Byers,” she finally says, dropping her hand from his face.

He raises his eyebrows at this.

“I went back to the naval base,” she explains. “I traced your phone calls.”

“That was months ago,” he says, impressed.

“I’m a reporter,” she says primly, “I have investigative skills.”

“I’ve got some game myself,” Mulder says, his voice a little bit in awe. “And coming up against the Navy is like… trying to sail a ship on land. Metaphorically.”

At this she finally looks a bit abashed.

“Perhaps less so when your father is a decorated Captain.”

Mulder smiles at her. “So you found Byers.”

“I found Byers. Then I found Frohike. Then we found Langly.”

Mulder stares at her blankly, impressed and a little scared. “Scully, these men are ghosts. To the world and to each other. If they don’t want to be found, you don’t find them. Full-stop.” He knows that Langly was absolutely a rock about protecting him.

“I beat them about the head and neck,” she goes on. Shrugs. “Metaphorically.”

He continues to stare at her, one of her hands still clasped in his own.

“Frohike noticed Langly was harder to find and being less forthcoming than usual,” she goes on. “So… Asuka.”

“Scully,” Mulder says, “if the guys are ghosts, Asuka is a god. There is no Asuka.”

Scully turns tender, reaches out once again to delicately run her fingers over the skin of his jaw. She has never seen him clean shaven before, and seems fascinated by it.

“Mulder,” she says, softly. “She found us. She’s worried for you. She said you were broken.”

He closes his eyes. “I am. I was,” he amends, and reaches out to pull her closer to him. “I’m not anymore.”

She sighs contentedly.

“What about you?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper. He thinks of her coming back to life during the interview with Maureen Dunshee.

“I am,” she breathes, placing the softest kiss on his cheek. “I was.” Another kiss. “I’m not anymore.”

He leans down until his forehead is resting against hers.

“Maybe there’s hope,” he says.

“Maybe there is.”

They breathe each other in, the sounds on the street below quiet to near nothing, as if the universe is pausing to listen.

“Tell me,” he says then. “Tell me everything.” And she does.

***

Once they have tearfully covered the events immediately following their rescue—both apologizing profusely—Mulder tells her about his days in the Marché d'Aligre, and the pictures he’s taken, about his recent, secret desire to perhaps change careers.

They are sitting on the bed, as close as they can possibly be. And Scully does something he suspects she has maybe never done. She opens up. She tells Mulder about the weeks with Ethan, when everyone pretended she was the same person she’d always been. She tells him about Murray, about Mikey. About the baby. It all comes howling out of her.

He holds her through all of it, tries to process it all; the thought of a child, their child. He’d never wanted children before, but he’s sad for what might have been.

“If I had gotten to the base five minutes before, none of this would have…” She sniffs and swipes at her eyes, presses the back of her wrist to her streaming nose. She takes a deep breath, regaining some of her composure. “I can’t imagine what you must think of me.”

He stands and watches as a flicker of apprehension flits across her face, but he reaches down and grips her hand hard.

“Come with me,” he says again.

***

She stands in the little room, walking along very slowly, following the line of the wire that surrounds it, taking in each picture individually.

“I remember you taking them,” she says. “But I…”

He hopes she understands what this all is.

He has hung the pictures chronologically. From the first photo—her standing in her oversized Press jacket, dazed, stunned—to the picture of her in front of the window when they first heard the Chinooks coming. The intimacy grows with each picture, a long, burgeoning crescendo of the artist falling in love with his subject.

“This tells the story,” she says, dawning realization. “This tells the story of what happened.”

“This tells the story of us,” he says.

4. He takes her to the Louvre. Two pyramids on top of each other, covered in plate glass rhombi. Historians believe that ancient peoples erected pyramids as an expression of the universal desire to reunite with heaven, and something about that feels right.

All around them are tourists of every stripe and nationality, as interesting as the art on display. They’re all toting cameras, some are holding hands. He and Scully fit right in.

They are standing in front of Michaelangelo’s Prisoners, those unfinished statues forever trapped in the marble from which they will never be released. One, Rebellious, writhes, struggling to free himself. The other, more flexible and sensual, capitulates to his death, expressing peace, harmony.

Scully looks them over, her eyes roving over the sinewy tendons, the unfinished feet.

They were prisoners themselves, a block of stone where an arm should be, where a heart should be, struggling for freedom, eventually surrendering to the sensual.

“I had a few people,” she starts to say, her eyes still on the sculptures. “After the interview, try to tell me that what we feel for each other is just the social glue of trauma bonding. That the link that bonds us will eventually snap. That we can’t base an entire relationship on the fact that we were both victims of the same crime.” She finally turns to him. “ Are you afraid that’s what this is?”

He thinks it is both more simple and vastly more complicated than that.

“All I know,” Mulder says, “is that when I was down, you lifted me up. When I was weak, you made me strong. I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to keep doing that for each other.”

She is a pattern that’s been inked on him like a tattoo. Deep. You’d have to cut her out to remove her.

“That’s what I think, too,” she says, turning away.

He grabs her hand and they move on, rejoining the current of the moving throng.

“What would you do,” she asks, “if you stopped photographing conflicts?”

There is a group of goth kids in front of them, their clothes and hair all black as a raven’s wing. Scully’s russet hair among them gives his spirit a quick pop of lightness.

“I don’t know,” he admits, swinging their arms a little. “I have a buddy who’s a wilderness photographer. He thinks I’d be good at it.”

“Sounds like it might be peaceful,” she says.

“Or boring,” he admits. “But I’d no longer be a slave to Newsweek.”

Suddenly, the crowd around them disappears, like a tide racing back out into the sea, and he and Scully are left standing alone against the backdrop of a gold-plated colonnade. Mulder, inspired, raises his camera and takes a picture. She could be a sculpture here, he thinks. She could be a painting.

She smiles at the floor shyly, and he steps into her space, his confidence of place by her side returning. He puts a finger under her chin and lowers his lips to hers.

“Didn’t I tell you,” he says. “You belong in the Louvre.”

She leans in for a kiss of her own. “Fuck Newsweek,” she mumbles into his lips.

5. He has his long heavy leg thrown over hers in the narrow bed. They are fully clothed, but tucked in toward one another like the lovers of Valdero. They can’t stop touching; the newness of being back together has yet to wear off.

“Do you think,” she starts, her fingers playing a modified thumb war with his. “We would have met if not for…”

“I’d like to think so,” he says, not letting her finish. “I’d like to think there’s a universe where nothing bad ever happens to us. Where we’re… I don’t know, FBI agents. Partners. Solving crimes by day, making love at night.”

“FBI agents?” she says dubiously, but laughing. “What would we investigate?”

“Bigfoot,” he says, invested in making her laugh again. “UFOs. Werewolves. Psychic photography.” With each suggestion, he kisses another part of her, working his way down her neck. She laughs under him, squirms in a thrilling, delicious way.

“Psychic photography?” Her dubiety reaches a level of sass he’d like to discipline out of her in a way he knows she likes.

“Yeah,” he says, canting himself up onto an elbow to look down at her. “Also known as Thoughtography. Practitioners possess an apparent ability to place images on film with their mind using psychic energy.”

She laughs. “Have you tried it?”

“I tried to imagine Penny Willmington’s breasts while in the high school dark room, once,” he says. “Didn’t work though.”

Her laugh settles into a pleasant, throaty hum.

His body responds, and he leans down to press a wet, lingering kiss into her lips.

She sighs, stretches luxuriously under him.

“I’ve missed this,” she says, a little shy.

They’ve been listing toward the inevitable for hours, and it’s not like they haven’t had sex twenty times before, but this time is different and they both know it.

Mulder puts a hand over the tight drum of her stomach, her shirt bunching slightly under his hand. The length of it, from pinky to thumb, practically spans the whole of her midriff.

“I missed it too,” he says, brushing her lightly with his thumb. “But we don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“I want this,” she says, levering herself up towards him.

“I want—” he starts to speak but she slides her lips over his, her eager little tongue chasing his words away.

He wants. He has so many wants.

He wants her hot little mouth wrapped around him; he wants to lick the ambrosial seep from her core. But he also wants to read next to her in bed, wants to chop vegetables in her kitchen, clean her gutters, dig his thumb into the high, aching arch of her foot.

What he doesn’t want is to run anymore, not from her.

She’s slick and hot under him, the foxy muff of her center gripping him like nothing he’s ever known. Her nails are crimped in his back, her breath a tremulous pant in his ear, her kisses so earnest it brings tears to his eyes.

They rock into each other for hours, talking, laughing, gasping in the air. There isn’t a militant pacing outside their door, and the freedom gives them an exultant, adolescent vim, and it isn’t just sweet, it isn’t just fun, it’s clumsy and solemn and pure. It’s reconnection and passion and the looping buoyant feeling of a cartwheel in the summer.

They lock eyes and they never look away.

They deserve a happy ending. They’ll get one, he thinks.

[v1smokewife]

who is this person - chapter eleven - final chapter

On a quest to find love on a dating website, Sanji falls head over heels for a woman with an interest in...alternative relationships that sends him down a rabbit hole of completing tasks for a seemingly sadistic mistress. But what happens when she turns out to be more than what she seems?

or

Zoro pretends to be a female on the internet to talk to Sanji and bad things happen.

Darkfic with themes of internalised homophobia, bad bdsm practices and lying about your identity to strangers on the internet. Please read with caution. This is NOT how BSDM should be practiced. Always practice Sane, Safe and Consensual practicesboarders on being considered dead dove do not eat material

read on ao3

authors note;

WE ARE FINALLY FINISHED. oh my goodness!! i can't believe I'm finally done!! this means so much to me. first of all, thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos. i'm so bad for not replying to them but i really do appreciate every single comment and kudo i get. thank you for the love <3 there's plenty of stories planned for 2024. once I finish i need a doctor, i will probably start releasing the sequel as i will be starting to write it now <3

S POV  

A FEW MONTHS LATER  

Time was what Sanji got in return. He hadn't seen Zoro for a few months and Zoro kept to their conversations. Even when Luffy came over to the restaurant, Zoro was never in tow as he normally was. At first, Sanji never paid more mind to it. Obviously, Sanji had told him that he needed time and that he did. He needed time to get over what had happened to him and process things a bit more than he had previously. After a while, Sanji felt like things were sort of returning to normal. He was back working at the restaurant and things had gotten a tad better. Himself and Nami were still best friends, and he quickly forgave her for what had happened. It was forgive and forget. Things were back to normal, almost. 

He never saw Zoro and come to think of it, no one else did. When Luffy would come to the Baratie, he would often lament about how Zoro has no time for him anymore and how he misses him. When Sanji said he needed time, he really did need that time, but it was a little weird for Zoro to just completely distance himself from everyone. What a pain that was. Although, Sanji didn’t know why he felt bad about that because after all it was him that suffered the most through the whole thing.  

It was something that still kept him up at night and he probably would be traumatised for the rest of his life but… 

He had time to think about what Zoro said and now he needed to talk to him again. Sanji was finishing work. He had been given the evening off. Zeff, in his own way had become a little bit more gracious with the working hours and letting Sanji work better hours and not always closing up for him. Although Zeff never said it, it seemed as if he must have felt bad for what happened. 

Something just felt amiss. Sanji wanted to talk to Zoro again. 

Sanji’s decision was to try and reach out again. Space and time gave him the opportunity to think about things but there was a sense of unfinished business because their last conversation gave him so much more questions rather than answers.  He wasn’t sure how to approach this He could call or text…it was awful, but he still had his number from when they used to text each other during the Zoey days, and he never got rid of his number. However, phoning and texting had got them into this mess so he needed to have a much more direct conversation that would be a lot more meaningful.  

After much thoughts, Sanji decided that he would try and approach the gym that Zoro tended to frequent. It was a place that Sanji knew from Nami that Zoro liked to go when he needed some time to think. As Sanji was walking towards the gym, his mind was starting to feel like a whirlwind. Although he knew that he was the one that suffered the most in this, Sanji couldn’t help but wonder how Zoro had been. How would he react to Sanji just turning up to his gym out of the blue. There was a mixture of apprehension and curiosity in his stomach that was almost making him feel sick.  

Once he arrived at the gym, Sanji took a moment to stop at the entrance. He took a deep breath before stepping inside. The sound of training filled the air as he stepped inside the gym. Ahead of him, right past the empty reception, Sanji could see Zoro training with a wooden sword in an empty hall.  

The thud of his feet on the mat, the clank of the wooden sword against the training dummy and the controlled breaths. Zoro seemed to be in his element here. Sanji stood at the hallway leaning against the frame and watching him. Every turn and every muscle that moved. It was…. hypnotising. He didn’t realise that he was staring until Zoro noticed a presence in the room. He paused and turned. His expression changed from concentration to…surprise and Sanji realised that he was staring at Zoro working out. Holy shit. Why? 

“You?” Zoro said with a mix of uncertainty and…confusion. 

Sanji didn’t really know what to say but he cleared his throat and stepped in the room, “I…just wanted to see what you’ve been up to recently. You’ve disappeared entirely,” God this felt so awkward. Sanji needed a smoke, and he needed one bad.  

“You said you wanted time. I’ve been giving you that,” Zoro said as he placed the wooden sword on the ground. 

“Hm. First time you’ve ever listened to me in the history of ever,” Sanji said as he stepped forward a bit more. Sanji was a little uncertain about what was going on. He was unsure of how to approach this.  

Zoro raised an eyebrow at Sanji’s comments with a hint of defensive humour, “Well I figured that it was important. You said so yourself. You wanted space. I respected that and gave you space. You aren’t giving me shit for giving you space, are you?” 

There was a minute between them with such a mix of emotions. Curiosity, tension was all the emotions that were going on right now. It was clear that they both had a lot on their mind. Thoughts and questions simmering below the surface.  

Sanji shifted his weight. God, he absolutely NEEDED a cigarette. He looked around the gym before setting his gaze back onto Zoro, “Yeah. You are right. I’m not going to give you shit for that. I did need time,” 

Zoro nodded, he was willing to engage in conversation. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about it to. If you…don’t mind waiting for me to finish up here, we can talk outside…or go somewhere else,” 

Sanji nodded, “My apartment is not far away. We can go there…It’s quiet,” 

Zoro and Sanji agreed that would be right for them to go there. Sanji went to go and wait outside of the gym where he got his much needed cigarette. He stepped out of the gym and the fresh air was a much needed welcome. He lit up his cigarette and took a drag of it. His mind was racing with what he wanted to say to Zoro. The questions he wanted to ask him.  

After a few moments, Zoro appeared from the gym, having quickly changed out of his gear. They walked in pretty much silence back to Sanji’s apartment. It was starting to get late and as they appeared, Sanji could see that the Baratie was starting to quiet down for the evening. However, Sanji directed Zoro upstairs into his apartment. He never really invited much people upstairs. In fact, he can’t even remember the last time Nami came over.  

He offered Zoro a seat and a drink. Zoro, as per expected, wanted alcohol. Sanji indulged him with a beer while Sanji poured himself a glass of wine. He sat on the sofa with Zoro on the furthest side. 

Sanji decided that he didn’t want to sit in silence he decided he would take the lead and he would talk. 

“Zoro…I’ve been thinking about what we spoke about last time,” Sanji decided that since it was his own apartment, he would have another cigarette as he lit it up and took a drag, “I’m not gonna lie. I’ve had time to think about things and well, what you did really messed me up. But…we both got involved in something really…complicated. 

Zoro, who was swirling his beer around as he listened intently about what Sanji had to say but he didn’t interject. He knew what Sanji was talking about. When Zoro admitted having feelings. So, Sanji continued talking as he ran a hand through his hair. 

“I guess what I’m trying to get at is…I want to understand. Not just about what happened. I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand but what about us? Where do we stand?” 

Zoro set his beer down and he turned his head to look at Sanji. The question…it was direct and to the point. It was now cutting to the heart of their tangled history. The future was so uncertain, “I’ve been trying to figure that out myself. This is…complicated,” 

Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke, and his expression was contemplative, “This…we’ve always been complicated, Zoro. Fights, arguments, a rivalry and now…this. Whatever this has been. He gestured between them, a vague gesture of their encompassing existence between them. 

Zoro leaned back slightly, “It’s…complicated but…I meant what I said…” He didn’t need to elaborate or repeat what he said. Sanji and them both knew what he said. He admitted feelings and Sanji… felt incredibly conflicted right now. 

Sanji’s eyes flickered with a mix of different emotions. Surprise, uncertainty and perhaps…something new. Something softer. Maybe it was the wine or maybe it was the time that he was allowed to have but he thought about it more, “Work through this mess…” He took another drag of his cigarette and took the time to consider Zoro’s words, “I…don’t think I can just forget about what happened. 

“I’m not asking you to forget about anything,” Zoro said, and Sanji could swear he was closer to him than before, “All I’m wondering is that…do you think we could have an existence where we tolerate each other more than we do?” 

“Tolerate?” Sanji deflected with humour, “I don’t think I could ever want to not fight with you, moss man,” 

Zoro cracked a smile at that use of his usual descriptor. Their usual banter beginning to resurface yet again, “I don’t expect anything less. I was just thinking that there is also room for other things other than tolerating each other and fighting,” 

Sanji took a moment, looking at his glass of wine before meeting Zoro’s gaze again, “The whole thing with Zoey…it was a mess…but it has also changed my perspective on things. I see you differently,”  

That admission hung in the air. It was a new and delicate thread in the complex fabric of their brand new relationship. A direction that neither of them thought that this would go in.  

When Sanji moves to look at Zoro, he was caught off guard when Zoro took a hold of the collar of his shirt and leaned forward to…well, kiss him. 

And holy shit did that catch Sanji off guard. The kiss was so sudden and unexpected. A bold and what seemed like a really desperate move by Zoro. Like he couldn’t just help himself.  

Sanji was taken aback. He was surprised. He was confused but he felt something. Something that he had never felt before. Of course, he had kissed plenty of women, but he had never had ever kissed a man. 

Kissing a man. That’s something he never thought he’d ever do and yet he was here, and Zoro kissed him.  

Huh. Why wasn’t he pulling away? 

As Zoro pulled back. There was a sense of questioning in his eyes. An intensity that Sanji wasn’t expecting as Zoro tried to gauge Sanji’s reaction to see if he had crossed a line, but Sanji just sat there for a moment, processing what had just happened. The kiss had been brief but…it made Sanji think. 

“…That wasn’t too forward, was it?” Zoro’s head tilted a little to gauge his reaction. 

There was a rush of emotions and the unexpected turn of events. The pads of his fingers touched his own lips in response. The intensity of Zoro’s gaze was met by Sanji’s own, and it was…confused.  

“It…no…not too forward,” Sanji rubbed the back of his neck. The tone of his voice was thick with realisation, “This…it just caught me off guard…that’s all,” 

There was a moment of silence where they both sat with the significance of Zoro’s kiss. It was a bold step. A physical manifestation of all the complex emotions. 

Sanji leaned back, his mind racing. Zoro watched him. 

“Was it bad?” Zoro asked and Sanji looked at him. 

“What? No? It wasn’t…It’s just really complicated,” Sanji felt flustered by Zoro kissing him and didn’t want to show it, but he was…terrible at that. Zoro watched him and then... 

“Ooooh….it was really good, and you don’t want to admit it,” There it was. Ther usual banter was back again, and Zoro was teasing him about something. 

Sanji shot him a look. A look of annoyance and a very reluctant smile playing on his lips, “Shut up, mosshead. Don’t get cocky. You kissed me once,” 

“But you’re blushing now…you enjoyed it… you liked being kissed,” 

“I swear if you don’t shut up I will- “  

Sanji didn’t know what came over him. Maybe it was the fact that Zoro was annoying him by being cocky or if it was the affect the kiss had on him, but it was his turn now. Sanji grabbed the collar of Zoro’s shirt this time and pulled him into a kiss of his own. This time, it was a little more aggressive and more…passionate than before which shocked both of them entirely. The sudden reversal of roles, with Sanji being the forward one added a brand new intensity to what was going on. This kiss was charged with emotion.  

That feeling…Sanji felt that feeling when he spoke to Zoey. When Zoey would make him do things and take videos and pictures... it was that feeling he felt kissing Zoro. It was the same arousal.  Sanji didn’t want to pull away because of it but he needed to pull away to breath but only inches away from Zoro’s lips. 

Zoro looked at Sanji with surprise but once that settled, a small smirk appeared on his face as he whispered against his lips, “Hmmm…didn’t know you had it in you, cook,” His usual teasing taking on a new tone. One that was equally aroused and very dominant. 

Christ. 

Sanji, caught in all of that, whispered back, “Don’t underestimate me, moss head. I’m full of surprises,”  

Zoro could only chuckle but not for long because they were back kissing. It was like a powder keg had gone off and now there was nothing that could stop them. It was so confusing. Sanji should hate him. Sanji should hate Zoro for the things he had done. He shouldn’t be doing this. Yet, he’s here and he can’t stop. He just can’t stop. 

Zoro’s hand moved to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. His tongue was shoved into his mouth and mapped out every inch of the blonde’s mouth. Sanji should push Zoro off of him, but he partially started this. He was already not wanting this to end. He didn’t want this to stop. It felt really strange, but he didn’t want this to stop ever. He’d kissed plenty of women and a lot of them got him aroused, and often left him aroused. However, the way that Zoro held the back of his neck to hold him there and the dominance battle he had already lost.  

His feelings were so all over the place right now, but he couldn’t deny, even if he tried to ignore it, the tightness in his pants.  

He hadn’t wanted it to end. Not in the slightest. But Zoro pulled away and Sanji didn’t want that. He moved as Zoro pulled back and was almost on his lap.  

What had Zoro done to him? No really, what had he done to him? Because he couldn’t believe that he was behaving like this now when Zoro had done such a fucked up think to him not that long ago. Zoro and Sanji were now kissing quite passionately on Sanji’s couch, and he never expected that to happen. 

Sanji looked at Zoro and Zoro looked at him. They didn’t say anything to each other, but Zoro turned to the side and then went to stand up. 

“Where are you going?” Sanji asked. A hint of annoyance and a hint of confusion. Zoro was just getting up and leaving him as he was turned on from their kissing.  

“Wouldn’t you rather do this in your room? I mean, I’m happy to do it on the couch but...” 

Hold on hold on. What does he mean by do this? So, it was a reality. They were going to have sex and Sanji was feeling… 

"Who said I wanted to have sex with you?" Sanji sneered at him. The thought that this was going to happen. Was it too fast? Sanji wasn't too sure. Maybe it was but, in his mind, he found himself leaning towards the idea. He didn't know if it was the right thing to do but it was the thing, he felt himself leaning towards wanting to do.  

"It's not what you say. It's how you react to me..." There was a little bit of smugness from Zoro's side which was annoying and weirdly attractive. Damn him. Damn him. Zoro looked back at him and tilted his head. 

"Well, are you coming then, cook?" 

Sanji had no choice. He got up and pushed past him but only so he could show him where his bedroom his. Sanji, who always prided himself on his charm and ease around women was in completely new and unfamiliar territory. This was different, more intense and more confusion. However, in his bedroom, Zoro moving in close to him and feeling his strong hands taking a sudden hold of his hips, there was a growing desire he couldn't ignore right now. 

Zoro moved his head against Sanji's. As equally as lost in this as Sanji was right now. He was about to kiss Sanji again before Sanji whispered to him. 

"This doesn't change the past," Sanji said, a moment of vulnerability that could be heard in his voice.  

"I know..." 

And that was that. Sanji moved so his lips to smash his lips against Zoro's lips. Later on, he would consider this but for now, he would fall into this moment and fall into it. When he came to Zoro, he never considered that he would never be in this space kissing Zoro. As they kissed, Zoro took a few step forwards and tried to guide Sanji going backwards so they can go over to the bedroom. Sanji followed in the way that Zoro tried to guide him until he felt the back of his knees hit his bed. When they did, he almost fell back but he grabbed Zoro's shoulder and pulled him onto the bed with him. Zoro was guided to land on top of him.  

This was actually kind of scary. Sanji felt a bubble of anxiety at the idea that Zoro was going to...Zoro was going to fuck him and the idea of that should have made his toes curl and while he thought that Zoro was still his rival and he wanted to beat him at being the best kisser, but the idea of Zoro was going to fuck him was... 

Zoro's knee pushed against his thigh and invertedly, his cock was rubbed against, and Sanji suddenly realised how aroused he was as he was incredibly fucking hard. A moan left his mouth, and it was incredibly embarrassing. He could feel his face heating up as they feverishly kissed. Sanji felt Zoro's hands that were on his hips trailing up his waist and... oh goodness. This was already too good, and Sanji didn't want to show that, but he just couldn't.  

Zoro tugged at Sanji's shirt so Sanji leaned up so he could quickly remove his shirt. Zoro followed suit by doing the same. Sanji never thought that he would ever gawk at a man but...damn. 

Zoro was built like a herculean hero.  A muscled hero and Sanji couldn't take his eyes. He wanted to reach forward and feel ever depth and muscle but before he could even think about it. Zoro's head went to the crook of his neck to take in that addicting scent and bit him. His hands were on his waist. His hands went to touch him everywhere. His hips, chest, shoulders and then further down.  

"You're so perfect..." 

Sanji's breath was caught. Perfect.  

This changes nothing. Absolutely nothing.  

Caught on a stray thought, Sanji was brought to life when Zoro's hands hooked at the waist band of his pants. Sanji went to lift his hips up so Zoro could pull them off. Sanji kicked them off before throwing them somewhere in the room on the floor. He tried not to think about the past. The current moment was free of all that had happened so surely, he would be able to move on from it.  Right. 

But he just couldn't deny himself anymore. 

"You look so good like this Curly," 

Sanji began to wonder if he looked just as good as the photos that Sanji given him. Although, he didn't want to think about that because it would likely ruin the moment for him, and he didn't want to think about what Zoro did to him. As they both stripped off the rest of their clothes, Sanji and Zoro were naked in front of each other for the first time and Sanji couldn't take his mind off of the beautiful body in front of him.  

Zoro moved his hands onto Sanji's kneed with the intention of slowly parting his legs. it should have felt really embarrassing for him to be seen like this under Zoro's lustful gaze, but it just didn't feel that way. It felt incredibly right in this moment. Zoro looked up at Sanji's face and studied his face intensely. Face flushed and his eyes dipped down to Sanji's cock and untouched hole that Zoro knew had never been breached by another man and there was a swell of pride at the thought that he would be the one to do it. 

"You...Do you still have lube?" 

Sanji turned his head to the side and reached his hand out to point to the drawer next to the bed. 

"Bottom shelf," 

To which Zoro went into the shelf and grabbed the lube. He coated his fingers in the lube before easing Sanji's legs open. Sanji was mostly complacent. 

"How are you feeling?" Zoro asked, looking up with him 

"Just get on with it," 

Right. Sanji is feeling fine then. He made sure that Sanji's legs were spread nice and wide for him before pushing the pad of his finger against the blonde's hole and eased it, slowly. 

"Ngh-" 

The moans were just as good as they were in the videos. 

"That's it baby..." Zoro whispered, easing his finger in, "Good..." 

After a few minutes, he inserted a second finger. He thrusted his fingers shallowly. Sanji's hips buckled into his hand every time that sweet spot inside of him. Zoro had found it already. Wonderful. This was deeper than Sanji had ever managed to get with his own fingers. His eyes were shut and if it wasn't for Zoro's arm, he would have shut his legs too. Zoro inserted a third and then daringly, Sanji then inserted a fourth. That ended up getting small hiss out of them who buckled his hips. Despite what he was doing, Zoro made sure to watch his face while he thrusted his fingers into that spot.  

As much as Sanji didn't want to act too lewdly like he had in those videos, he couldn't help but moan and groan every time Zoro's fingers brushed against that thought. If he had told himself a year ago that Zoro was going to fuck him, and it was going to feel really good, then Sanji would have thrown himself in the ocean. 

Oh. That's funny. Times change then. 

Zoro could only help but hope Sanji is just as tight around his cock. Just as he always wanted. 

"You look good like this," Zoro breathed out as he brushed his fingers against the spot, "Stretched around my fingers like this...will I fuck you?" 

"J-Just....Just get on with it Please ,"  

Likely embarrassed that Zoro had made him feel really good. Zoro grinned before pulling his fingers out and grabbing the lube again. He covered his cock in lube before making sure there was plenty on Sanji's hole. Zoro moved so he could get in between Sanji's legs. He moved his hand to grab a hold of his cock only so he could guide it into Sanji's awaiting hole. He couldn't think of a place he'd rather be, and Sanji couldn't think of a place he would rather be. 

This was real bliss. 

"Fuck...you feel good," 

Sanji gripped the bed as Zoro moved in inch by inch. He took a hold of Sanji's hips so he could bury himself into his ass. Sanji couldn't help but close his eyes and groan. It wasn't overly painful; he'd gotten used to it the number of times he'd done it to himself. Even after, Sanji still filled himself when he was masturbating because it just made things 100x better. 

Zoro pulled his hips back and then back in. He wanted Sanji to feel and get used to every inch of his cock before it was pulled back out and then back in again. His thrusts were set as a steady pace. His lips were on Sanji's. His lips were drawing out breaths and then lapping up the flavours of the blonde underneath in. Sanji swore this didn't change anything and that he would go back to resenting and hating him afterwards, but this felt... 

Well, all is fair in love and in war, isn't it? 

Zoro's hips began to quicken in pace, but it didn't get overly fast. His hands held onto Sanji's hips tight in a way that would probably cause bruises from the way that the pads sunk into the pale skin underneath them. If anything, it would be a hidden reminder of what they had done. 

Sanji was getting closer to the edge, and it felt much more intense than when he had done it himself. The way his legs shook and the way he clenched around Zoro's cock. Zoro knew he'd be able to watch Sanji cum soon like in those videos and that would be absolutely divine. Zoro dipped his head into Sanji's neck and began to kiss him a few times before biting into the crook of his neck which made Sanji gasp. Suddenly, a hand was wrapped around his cock and Sanji groaned, thrusting his hips into Zoro's hand. 

"Come for me...I need to watch you..." 

Zoro didn't need to say anymore. Sanji's hips moved forward, and he arched his back against the bed as Zoro began to milk his cock. His hole gripped around Zoro's cock as Sanji let out a pathetic whine as he came into Zoro's hand. It was too much for Zoro too who came with a pant and painted Sanji's insides with stipes of cum. He continued to fuck him until they were both over their orgasm and then Zoro just stopped and panted next to Sanji once he had pulled out. 

All Sanji could do was look at the celling. All he could think about was the post-orgasmic bliss...or not really. 

At the end of it all, it changed nothing between them and as Sanji lay there in all the glory of the morning, that thought occurred into his head. Maybe Zoro didn't see it. Maybe this was a distraction to stop him from thinking about what happened between them or maybe it was something else entirely. Whatever it was, Sanji looked up at the celling of his bedroom while he puffed and panted. He turned his head towards the window and memories of what happened a few months ago flooded his brain and there was a pang of hurt in his chest. He didn't forgive Zoro. He couldn't forgive Zoro and he never would.  

This changed nothing. 

"I love you," 

Sanji was caught off guard, but he wasn't surprised to hear him confess such things. After all, that was what all this was about. A game that had become more serious as the days went on.  

Sanji couldn't say it back. It wasn't true. Even in the intense moment where he maybe had the smallest smidge of feelings, he couldn't say that he loved Zoro. No. Not after all that happened. He didn't think it would be possible for him to love Zoro. He didn't say anything and when Sanji didn't say anything, Zoro didn't press it any further. In fact, he didn't say anything. He just got dressed and left without saying another word. There was a small acknowledgement of each other's existence here and there but otherwise they didn't exchange much words. Once Zoro was gone, Sanji moved onto his side and faced away from the window. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to acknowledge any of this anymore. 

It was a mistake. He thought it might change things, but it didn't, and he was a fool for thinking it might change something.  

A MONTH LATER.  

Sanji never really closed for Zeff much anymore. Zeff must have taken some resemblance of pity on him but for a change, Sanji asked if he could do the honours. Zeff was a little suspicious of Sanji's reasoning, but he framed it as being a thank you for all the good things he had done for him. It was...partially that, but Luffy has been complaining recently about not being able to raid the fridges so he promised that if he could get rid of Zeff for the night, Luffy could come by the restaurant. Apart from it was never just Luffy was it? It was Nami and... well, Zoro. Zoro had started coming by with the others too once again just like he used to before all of...this. 

At first, it made Sanji feel a little apprehensive about it considering that he really didn't know what to expect but it ended up being like normal. As if nothing ever changed. Maybe nothing ever did change. Everything that he'd went through with Zoro, and it was as if nothing ever happened.  

"SANJI!" 

Sanji was in the back office getting ready to close when he heard Luffy's booming voice and him banging on the window. No matter how many times he had told him not to do that, Luffy still did it anyway. Despite how it used to annoy him, now it just made him smile. He finished what he was doing and got up to let them in. 

Sanji made his way over to the door. He had to admit it, but he missed this so much. This whole thing brought him a sense of familiarity and comfort. Luffy's boisterous presence and Nami's knowing smile were part of a routine he unknowingly loved and missed when things happened not that long ago. 

As he opened the door to let them in, Luffy burst through the door and immediately ran to the kitchen, "Sanji! I'm starving! What's for dinner?!?" Luffy's enthusiasm was infectious. Sanji couldn't help but smile as the chaos it brought with it.  

Nami followed in the door, "You know, you didn't have to do this. You deserve your evenings off," 

Sanji returned the smile, "It's no trouble. I missed having you all here," 

His gaze shifted to Zoro who was always the last to enter. As always, he carried a nonchalantness about him but... 

"What the hell you looking at, curly?" 

Ah yes. Things were back to true form. 

"Whatever the hell you are, moss head," Sanji went to do his usual, block Zoro from getting in but Zoro was too quick for him and got in no problem.  

"Like hell you are. I'll beat your ass," 

Quiet. But then their eyes met briefly and there was a quiet acknowledgement of each other. A silent telepathic communication that didn't need words to say how they felt about each other.  

The evening unfolded with ease. Luffy raided the kitchen, Nami chatted with Sanji about the latest happenings and Zoro sat at the bar with a beer and watched the usual scene. The atmosphere was lively and warm, and it was filled with laughter. Sanji cooked his friends a meal, something he sometimes did if he could hide from Zeff that he had been using the restaurant's resources. As the evening developed, Sanji and Zoro were back to their usual. Occasional barbs that looked like they had returned to their own ways. 

As Sanji served up the meal, Luffy grew excited, and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Nami continued to chat with Sanji as they caught up on recent events. Zoro was content to watch the scene unfold as he sipped his beer and occasionally joined in on the conversation. Oh, and of course, to banter with Sanji. There was a renewed sense of camaraderie among the group, and it truly felt like a family sometimes. 

As the night began to wound down, Luffy and Nami prepared to leave. Sanji was quite tired and was looking forward to resting for the night, but he couldn't help the great deal of love her felt when he looked at his friends around the room. The warmth of the evening continues to linger. As those two left, Zoro lingered a tad looking back at Sanji but not saying much before he left.  

Sanji was cleaning up the restaurant making sure that they didn't leave a trace that they had been when he felt his phone buzz. He reached into his pocket as he leaned against the table. 

Zoro. Finally, he changed the name on his phone to Zoro. 

Z: So, will I wait for you upstairs?  

Sanji couldn't help the small smile that came onto his face. Things didn't change. This didn't change the past. 

However, that didn't mean that things could blossom. 

S: Sounds good.  

S: See you soon, Mosshead.  

[kookicat]

The Second Needlepoint Job

"Quinn, I said distract them," Nate hisses, one hand pressed against his ear to block the screaming fire alarm as he digs through the full filing cabinet  drawer with the other. 

Quinn shrugs. "What do you think this is?" he asks, indignant, and gestures vaguely at the fire smouldering away in the middle of the office. "It's contained. And they're all outside." 

"Barely!" Sophie yells. Both her hands are pressed against her ears against the blaring alarm. 

Quinn isn't wrong, exactly, but the small metal bucket doesn't seem the best choice. Smoke drifts lazily up, and Sophie takes a step back. The carpet has already started to melt from the heat, and the combined smells are delightful. 

"Nate, I think we should go!" Sophie says, and he glances over. 

"Just a second!" The file number he needs appears under his hands. "Now we can go!" He yanks it out and holds it up, just as the overhead sprinklers spring into life and send down a deluge of chilly water. "For fuck's sake, Quinn!" he snaps, exasperated beyond belief. 

The office door opens again, and Eliot sticks his head in. "What's takin' so long?" he calls over the noise. "And why the fuck are the sprinklers going off?" 

Eliot swipes his soaking hair back from his face and glances at Nate, biting his lip at the look on the other man's face. Huh, been a while since I saw that expression, Eliot thinks, looks like he wants to murder someone. 

"Ask Quinn," Sophie says, dryly, and ducks out of the door, stopping to slip her heels off, because it's a long ten floors to the ground. 

Eliot turns his gaze to the other hitter. "Wanna explain?" 

Quinn shrugs, again. "Nate said to make a distraction. I made a distraction." 

"Next time, I'll be more specific," Nate snaps and follows Sophie. 

"You do that!" Quinn calls, and Nate's shoulders tense up even more. 

"It's really not funny!" Eliot says as they both head towards the stairs. 

"It's a little funny," Quinn argues and despite himself, Eliot has to agree. 

He laughs, spitting water, and shoved the staircase door open. "Yeah, maybe," he allows, and they start down together. 

----

It appears on the fridge five days later. Each stitch is beautifully worked, in colours ranging from palest yellow to deep burnt umber. 

Parker spots it first, while getting a midnight cereal snack, and cackles in delight, leaving it be, because she knows Nate will spot it when he gets the creamer for his morning coffee. She takes a picture and retreats to the room they've claimed, poking Hardison until he wakes and she can dangle the phone in front of his face to show him. 

He stares at the pic for a few long seconds, lip twitching as he tries not to laugh. "That man is not right," he mumbles, and goes back to sleep. 

The yell, several hours later, wakes all of them, minus Eliot who is already up and in the kitchen. 

"What's this?" Nate asks, accusingly, and holds the offending item up. 

Eliot shrugs and pops a bit of cooked bacon into his mouth. "Quinn dropped it off, last night. Said it would go with the other one." 

More colour rises in Nate's already pink cheeks. "That man is a menace," he mutters and hangs the dammed thing back on the fridge. 

"Handy with a needle, though," Eliot says, mildly, "and his colour composition is comin on nicely." He flips the pancake in the frying pan, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "I did wonder why he was so interested in desserts, though." 

Nate sighs, and knows the damn Needlepoint will be turning up in the pub for months to come. 

Really Quinn? He thinks, and reads the words again. Arson? Oh, you mean crime brulee. 

[justimajin]

The Profit & Love Statement » Pt. 7

↠ Pairing: Seokjin x Reader

↠ Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Angst

↳ (2.9k), Office AU (lowkey E2L vibes) 

↠ Summary: The workplace isn’t for everyone. It can be mundane and repetitive, with some describing it like a nuisance and others as a blessing. You’re the kind that leans more towards the latter and while it does make you an ideal candidate for many things, nothing could have prepared you for the whirlwind that is the new employee.

↠ A/N: This is bit of a shorter chapter, but I'll be posting again on Friday and promise the chapter will be longer.

GIF credit.

↠ Next Update: Friday, August 25 (series masterpost here)

Ten days, two weekends, dinner rush hours. 

You deeply inhale, calculator in hand and pen quickly swirling down the numbers you conjugate. The thin sheet of paper before you has a dozen scribbles by now, mainly filled with multiplying your pay rate with hours of operation, followed by a bunch of addition of your combined shifts. Alongside this, hues of orange and pink flood your room as the sun rises and you’re dressed in business formal head to toe. 

Punching in the final numbers, you cross your fingers. 

The calculator spits out a number you’ve been crazily working for and your entire body sags, deflating against the chair. 

It’s enough. 

It’s enough by just a few numbers. 

You’ll be able to pay this month’s rent. 

The stress and tension has drained from your body, and you find your lids beginning to draw heavier, sleep granting you an invitation for your hard work. 

But that’s when‒ 

“The landlord!” 

You sit upright with a gasp, grabbing onto your bag and coat before hurrying out the door. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you have enough money for rent or not, not until you manage to actually pay the landlord and put it into writing. 

Doing a double take on your watch, you should have enough time to pay the rent and head into work afterwards, granted this bus driver in front of you decides that he wants you to have a good day too. 

You discover he somewhat shares those sentiments, about to close the doors on your face until you very graciously project a chain of kind words for him. 

Grabbing on the seat on the bus, you wait until your stop is in sight, quickly bypassing the large crowd of people to head off.

Your heel click against the sidewalk and you spot his office, pushing against the door. 

To say that your landlord is a very interesting person, would be an understatement. 

At the most, he’s an elderly man that is a little persistent with demanding rent and not very surprisingly, isn’t the most understanding person. However when presented with the prospect of getting money, he turns into every single person you would expect. 

A welcoming smile lines his lips and he gestures for you to step in, accepting your payment and printing out a receipt for you. He even takes the opportunity to ask about your younger sister and her well-being, ironically someone he wouldn’t have thought twice to kick out from his apartment complex. 

“I wish you and Yuri the best.” He replied in his low voice, the smile on his features bothering you more than anything. 

“It’s Yuna.” You mimic his smile, “And thank you for your concern.” 

You left that place as fast as possible, not even turning back to hurry on to work. 

A shiver runs down your spine.

There’s a chilling breeze outside that feels like it’s cutting through your skin, and every time the bus driver stops to open up the plastic doors, another gush of it enters and leaves you frozen to your toes. It doesn’t help that you’re stuck between multiple individuals, seemingly getting squished every time the lengthy vehicle jerks.

By the time you’re dropped off to your stop, a deep exhale of relief leaves your form. Regardless, there’s a brighter smile on your features this time around. 

Things don’t seem as bright at the office. 

You wonder why it’s like a similar wind storm had hit the place – employee’s either appearing to be working vigorously at their cubicles or pacing around and sending side glances with whispers to each other. You stand in the middle of the mayhem, left baffled from the display.

Treading carefully, you head towards your cubicle and get greeted to the sight of both of your coworkers repeating the same exact actions.

Hoseok turns first, “Y/N.”

He stares at you and Yoongi is beside him, seated in his cubicle.

“Hi…” You say, warily glancing around, “What’s going on?”

“Oh right, you don’t know!” Hoseok shifts over right as the epiphany strikes him. He lowers his tone, whispering into your ear, “Everyone’s preparing for the visit.”

The way Hoseok frames it is like some kind of ominous presence is about to enter the confines of your office and you stare at him perplexed.

“Don’t say it like that.” Yoongi interjects, sounding a tad bit more annoyed than usual.

He leans back in his chair, “The head of our department is coming by today.”

Your brows raise, “The CFO?”

Yoongi hums, “He’ll be here in an hour. That’s why everyone’s on edge.”

You sit down at your desk, “I see…”

“Why is he visiting after so long?” Hoseok ponders, glancing at Yoongi.

He shrugs, “Maybe he wants to criticizeemployees about their work again.”

“He’s not that bad, hyung.” Hoseok nervously laughs, “Plus not all of our superiors are like that.”

“Too many of them are,” Yoongi bluntly states, “and last time this CFO paid a visit, I remember a lot of criticism.”

Hoseok frowns, though you can still see the tinge of positivity trying to sneak out in the midst of Yoongi’s nonchalant facts.

Although you’d like to be as optimistic as him, there is a part of you agreeing with Yoongi. A sudden drop in for the department wasn’t normally a huge surprise, but often times these visits have typically stemmed from two factors – either there was a major issue that needed their immediate intervention, or simply because they were told they needed to connect to employee’s and staff in a more ‘positive’ manner (cue the notorious criticism here and there).

Besides, past experiences haven’t been the greatest and you’ve heard many rumors circulate around, you can only leave it up to imagination as to why the Chief Financial Officer is here.

He jams his finger into the elevator button.

Warily peering around, his foot taps against the ground anxiously, and he glances at the watch on his wrist, the many minutes slipping away from him.

In all honesty, Seokjin didn’t mean to be late today. In fact, ever since you established some concrete terms with him, he was able to work alongside you a lot better than before. It actually made him genuinely pour some effort into learning about work done in the office – but unfortunately, the traffic along the way didn’t have the same hindsight in mind for him.

There’s a lot of scenarios he’s imagining in his head towards your reaction from his tardiness – mainly the ones that aren’t so pleasant. He pushes the thoughts back into the corner of his mind, staring at the slowly descending numbers as the elevator takes its sweet time.

“Come on.” Seokjin whispers, foot tapping growing louder as he plants his hands against his hips. His pupils roam around as he idles, stare coming to an abrupt halt. 

His eyes narrow for the briefest of moments. In a split-second, he actually considers it from all the scenarios playing in his mind.

It’s not long before his feet are moving away from the elevator and towards the door leading into the metallic steps. 

After all, stairs are just like slower elevators, right?

But in the midst of his extremely deep internal contemplation, he doesn’t notice the man walking towards him from the other direction.

“Shoot – I’m so sorry!” He instantly reaches out for the person, but he slips right by him, muttering a quick ‘it’s alright’ before he can say anything else.

Seokjin’s steps falter, and for a moment, he freezes all together. The apologetic smile he once adorned falls, and he slowly turns around, staring in the direction of the staircase door the man entered in.

 “No…” He whispers, squinting his eyes, “It can’t be…”

He shakes his head, snickering to himself, “Nah, why would he even be here?”

As his low laughter comes to an eventual halt, he doesn’t realize the elevator doors have already opened and are beginning to close.

His eyes immediately widen and he rushes towards them.

You raise your hands with a huff.

There’s a stack of papers within them that consists of documents for the next product that you had been meaning to get done while Seokjin wasn’t around. You were in the process of transporting them, but weren’t anticipating the elevator before you taking a decade.

Letting out a grateful sigh when it finally dings, you come face to face with the person you’re mentoring.

Seokjin’s mouth curves into a smile, “Y/N!”

You frown, “You’re late.”

“Okay, so I know that I am, but I have a really good excuse for it!” He begins, but his eyes catch sight of his surroundings, “What’s going on here?”

You sigh, “Nothing much – just the CFO deciding to make an appearance today.”

Seokjin blinks, “The CFO?”

“Yeah, he’s the head of the department, so we’re on top of our game right now.” You mention, gesturing to him, “You should get started on the tasks I have for you too.”

He doesn’t seem to hear you, “The CFO…is here?”

You raise an eyebrow, “I just said that.”

But you don’t notice how Seokjin’s eyes have lit up, a huge smile stretching across his lips, “No way…”

“Y/N?”

You pivot around to see Soyou peering at the two of you currently halted in front of the elevator doors.

You’re just about to respond back, but you catch sight of the man standing next to her.

He’s tall, like really tall. There’s a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, and he’s adorned in a neat dark blue suit. He sheepishly smiles when he catches your gaze, two dimples appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Your eyes widen.

“Is that–“

“Namjoon!”

 Whirling around, your eyes enlarge once you notice the way Seokjin practically beams at the man’s presence.

He walks over in an instant, swinging an arm around him.

“Good to see you’re doing well.” Namjoon remarks with a fond smile. 

“Of course I am, what else would you expect?” Seokjin loudly boasts. “I just can’t believe you’re the CFO now!”

Namjoon chuckles, “Ah well, it took me quite a lot of work to get to this position.”

Seokjin suddenly snaps his fingers together, an expression of recognition taking over him, “Wait, did you take the stairs to get up here?”

Namjoon exhales a lengthy sigh, before ultimately nodding.

“Admittedly, not a great move on my part.”

Seokjin lets out the most endearing laughter you’ve ever heard and it’s in that instance you don’t recall how long it’s been since you were frozen in position, simply watching the interaction play out before you.

You slowly shift forward, politely smiling at Namjoon and opting to stand next to Soyou. Namjoon gestures towards her and you assume they need to excuse themselves elsewhere, but Seokjin stops him in his tracks.

“Hey, Namjoon.” Seokjin brings up, turning his attention back to him, “Why are you here now anyways?”

“To check up on some things.” He states, “The company is working towards a new product launch, so I’ll be around and about here for a while.”

And with that, he departs along Soyou. 

“Let me get this straight–“ He whispers, “That man, over there –“

 He gestures towards the office, “That tall guy in the blue, is the CFO?”

You hum in response, typing some input in a spreadsheet.

His eyes flicker over to the handsome man standing next to Namjoon, a giant smile on his lips as he endearingly talks to him.

“And they know each other?”

Hoseok turns, still astounded. You glance over at him, nodding to his question.

“Apparently, he’s younger than Seokjin too.”

Hoseok nearly chokes, “Younge–“

“He’s Kim Namjoon, right?” Yoongi interjects on the other side, “I heard he became the CFO recently.”

“Interesting….”

 You and Hoseok swivel at the sound of another voice, one a tad bit deeper than the rest.

Taehyung leans against Yoongi’s cubicle, the latter barely flinching from his presence and continuing to work. He has a hand planted against his chin, eyebrows raised with an intrigued expression.

Hoseok blinks, “Where did you come from?”

“That’s not the point.” Taehyung interjects right away.

An amused smile crosses your lips, “Do you think we should be worried about this new CFO?”

“I don’t think so.” You mention, glancing at the two, “They seem close, and he seems a lot nicer compared to the last head of department.”

Hoseok grins, “You’re being too kind. He’s much better.”

“I don’t know.” Taehyung crosses his arms, eyeing you, “I would be careful if I were you, just in case.”

You hum in response, trying to understand what he was trying to imply. You suppose you’re not completely surprised that Seokjin knows Namjoon well, but it is a little jarring to know how close his contact is with the man that is in charge of your department.

Glancing at your monitor, you wonder if it’s also the reason why you’re working harder than usual too.

“He’s not that bad.” Hoseok brings up in retaliation.

“You sure?” Taehyung raises a brow, “There’s absolutely nothing fishy about him?”

“He came by to check in with HR and I saw no issues.” Hoseok remarks. 

Taehyung persists, “He could be pretending to be nice!” 

“Can the two of you have this argument somewhere else?”

Yoongi sighs from his end, continuing to work on his report. You turn around, facing the plastic separating your cubicles.

“What do you think about him, Yoongi?”

“He looks okay. Probably had some kind of history with Seokjin.” He shrugs, “Time will only tell.”

“See!” Hoseok exclaims, “Even Yoongi thinks he’s okay.”

Taehyung pouts in response, but you can’t help and let your eyes wander over, curiosity overtaking you.

“I’m surprised you were willing to take the staircase.”

Seokjin stands next to Namjoon, a playful tone to his words.

Namjoon grimaces, “There was a lot of traffic today, plus I can’t remember the last time I visited this building.” He shakes his head, “There’s too many floors for such small architecture.”

Seokjin chuckles and Namjoon looks at him apologetically. “I’m also sorry I missed you at the elevators, I was just trying to get up here as fast as possible.”

“No need to apologize.” Seokjin waves it off, “Congrats on officially becoming the new CFO.”

He smiles, “Thanks.”

Namjoon glances back and forth, before leaning closer and whispering in a low tone.

“This probably won’t be surprising, but–“ He intently stares at Seokjin, “You know I’m here to check up on things and one of those things is you, right?”

He softly smiles as Namjoon grows hesitant, “I heard the news recently…how are you taking it?”

“Becoming the CEO of this place with a two-month deadline.” Seokjin sharply laughs, “Just who wouldn’t love that kind of news?”

“I don’t think it’s that bad, you know.” Namjoon acknowledges, “I still think you can do it.”

“Well, you’ll be one of the many that still believe that.” He shakes his head, letting out a sigh.

“It’ll become easier, trust me.” Namjoon reaches his arm out, patting him on the shoulder and Seokjin gives him a half-smile.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask…” Namjoon begins, speaking in a lighter tone, “You ran away?”

Seokjin stares at him wide eyed, “I didn’t ‘run away’, I took a break!”

Namjoon laughs and shakes his head, “You still haven’t changed, have you?”

Seokjin grins, “You mean hate this company even more so now that I’m working at it? Of course not.”

“I’ve also heard you have someone overseeing your training in the office.” Namjoon furrows his brows, “Y/N L/N, right?”

Seokjin hums, “She’s part of your department, and we’ve been working pretty well together ever since she negotiated with me.”

Namjoon tilts his head to the side, “Negotiated?”

“It’s a long story – it happened after I tried to run away and she had to come after me.” 

“You left the building and she came after you?” Namjoon’s eyes enlarge, as if he was still trying to process it.

“Like I said, a long story–“

“You know, these are the moments where I question how you’re older than me, right?” 

“And it’s in these moments where I tell you that I believe that having a naturally younger mentality has great effects on one’s outlook.”

The corner of Namjoon’s mouth curves upward. 

“Anyways,” Seokjin continues, “I guess I’ll just have to get better over time. It’s just that the office is so–“

“Boring? Mundane?” Namjoon ponders, counting them off on his fingers, “Way too consistent?”

Seokjin grins at not even needing to explain it, “Remember to try your best and that it’s important to–“

“I know, I know, and focus when I can.” He reiterates, “You don’t have to tell me again. Now come on, I’ll finally introduce you to her.” 

“A truly ambiguous role.” Namjoon wistfully sighs and Seokjin frowns. 

“I think your sense of humor has gotten a lot worse.”

“My sense of humor?�� Namjoon frowns in confusion and Seokjin shakes his head, leading him away and towards the department.

“Her desk is just around here–“

Seokjin freezes, a snicker leaving his lips. Namjoon swivels around, sending a curious glance in his direction.

“What is it?”

He crosses his arms. “It looks like someone just became Mr. Popular here.”

Namjoon turns with rounded orbs to see four sets of eyes glued to him – all of which immediately turn away the moment he directly looks at him. He watches as they either resume working at their cubicles or tending to plants at someone else's cubicle – the latter one bringing on even more confusion towards him than he would have asked for.

Seokjin continues to laugh and Namjoon shakes his head, wondering how he managed to get paired with such a strange department.