#waves hello at familiar text emoji

[lelelego]

9 + 10 for adrià for the ask meme! :^]

send me a number + character and i WILL respond

9. Humiliating memories

10. Fears/phobias

he doesn't like knives very much

[rodeoxqueen]

Bitter Water.

Dante x reader.

Premise.

“Come here sweet girl.”

Dante was a passionate lover. But you had the one. Until you didn’t. In your heartbroken lust, Dante bears his heart to you.

Dante found you at your door. It was one of those typical situations, fucking your old fuck buddy after “the one” leaves you.

How old were you two? Fuck, he met you when you were in your twenties and god did you look good. He figured he’d joined the 27 club back then, now he was happy to know that the “dirty thirties” was a good look on him.

You were doing your PhD and you’d tell him all about your field of study in your buzzed and shy little self, sitting so close to him in that cocktail dress. Your friends, who he’s sure he’s seen on the magazines, partied as their irresponsible younger selves behind you two. That was the first night he took you out of that absolute mad house. He fucked you, a stranger,into familiarity, your legs wrapped tight against his waist. Until you said his name so intimately against his cheek.

“Hey.”

Your voice was like an old favorite song to his ears, not often heard but appreciated when it came on to fill the air.

“Hello.” He dragged out, arm propped against your doorframe, his figure casting a shadow from the streetlights.

You stared blankly, drinking in his presence. You seemed nervous, like there was something you wanted.

The moment of silence snapped as you laughed nervously, wine glass gracefully in hand.

“Where are my manners, come in come in.” You waved.

Your apartment was neat. Not in the way his brother was, with white walls and minimalist furniture. No. It was neat like it lived around you. Mail scattered on a dining room table next to wine bottle, and a phone.

He bet if he tapped on the screen, there would be a picture of you and your boyfriend.

Dante hated that name.

His name.

He had stopped seeing you after you became exclusive with him.

Or, you tried to ghost him and he made you admit you didn’t want to see him anymore.

You never kept secrets from him, sweet girl. Even if it were better if you did.

But Dante didn’t mind seeing your posts of him, as long as his thumb was over the picture of that guy’s face.

“Would you like something to drink?” You offered with a spare glass in hand.

“Sure.” You turned around.

Seeing that he was there, you and your boyfriend were finished.

Fine with him.

He tapped the screen of your phone while you weren’t looking.

Just as he thought, your old lockscreen came back on. A picture of your dog.

Speaking of who, a series of paws clicking against the floor lead to Dante petting said dog.

“Hey boy, it’s been a while.” Dante chuckled as you walked over with a half full glass of wine.

That lounge robe looked too good on you.

Thank god for wine.

Next thing you knew, you had called up Dante. Gina told you not to.

“Girl you need familiar dick because you’re hung up on Max.”

“What the fuck is familiar dick?” Her comment damn near made you choke on Pinot Noir.

“What I mean is that you need to get a rebound! Fuxk him!”

“He dumped me two days ago don’t you think I need some time to be alone?!”

Gina sighed.

“Darlin’, he’s short you can’t be that devastated.”

You scoffed, wiping away at your face.

“Well whatever! I’m not calling up anyone it would be weird to just pick up the phone and dial an old fuxk buddy.”

A bottle of wine later had both of you began scheming.

You scrolled down past old hook ups, Gina naming people you should try to hit up.

You stopped at that name. A devil emoji next to those five letters.

“Dante.”

Gina was your best friend. This beautiful intelligent girl with two degrees and a baby on the way. Despite how she always had her shit together while you didn’t, she sure had some terrible ideas.

“(Y/N)-“

“No. Not happening.”

You dismissed the last text he sent you, which you never responded to.

You know I can fuck you better than him.

That was two years ago.

He was still on your social media, liking your posts but never commenting.

Even on pictures of you and your now ex-boyfriend.

“Come on, you remember what he said, why not just prove him right.”

“Because it’s weird.” You moan.

“Come onnnn.” Worst he can say is no I’m happily married with three kids and a mortgage. Oh wait, that’s never gonna happen to him.”

Ouch.

Dante.

The hottest man you ever slept with. And the best fuck you ever had.

Many actually.

But he wasn’t the greatest guy. He had his faults.

Some of them had lead you to the same point Max did. Crying and drunk on the phone with Gina.

“He wasn’t good for me then, what good is he now?”

Gina sighed.

“Do you want to get over him? Get under him.”

Good god could she get to the point.

You dialed before you could stop yourself.

To be continued.

[chaotic-super]

Secretly Trusting

Supercorptober Day 18 - Secret

Lena has a secret.

Lena has a secret that is directly related to Kara’s secret, that Kara thinks is still a secret, but Lena secretly knows Kara’s secret.

Lena’s secret is that she pretends to be oblivious to Kara’s secret identity and actively helps her hide the fact from herself because Kara would very easily give herself away without a little help.

Some people might believe that it’s counter-intuitive to help Kara keep a non-secret from her, but she has a reason; they have been dating for a few months now and she needs Kara to come clean about being Supergirl for their relationship to work out in the long run, Kara needs to show that she trusts her, and she can’t let Kara take the easy way out on this one.

She is going to come clean right along with Kara when Kara eventually tells her the truth, but she has to wait this one out, and also help her girlfriend out with keeping her own damn secret because she’s so bad at it.

Just a few days ago, Kara walked in wearing her super suit and so Lena had to pretend not to notice and instead asked her to go grab her lipstick for her from by the mirror in the bathroom, so she had the chance to notice and do a speed change before coming back in more appropriate attire for lunch.

How Kara thinks that she is sneaky, Lena will never understand.

Now Lena is pottering around her penthouse, enjoying a rare day off to herself but wishing that she had the company of her favourite person.

Since it is a weekend and there’s nothing on the news about anything to do with Supergirl, she decides to send Kara a text asking if she’s got time to come over, maybe watch a bit of TV or maybe go check the mattress springs are in working order.

In typical Kara fashion she gets a response right away, the whole thing completely littered with emoji after emoji, mostly hearts. Lena doesn’t totally get what a lot of them mean but she does get the message that Kara is on her way and will be here soon.

She decides to pour them a drink each, a couple of sodas since it’s still early and Kara gets worried if she does any day drinking, even if it’s completely innocent.

 Her plan is to wait on the couch for Kara to arrive, maybe use the time to pick something good to put on the TV and ignore in favour of reacquainting herself with her immensely hot girlfriend.

Lena definitely isn’t expecting the familiar sound of feet thudding onto her balcony as a certain caped superhero lands. She can help Kara out with her lies to some extent, but this is too much for even her genius brain to plan around.

She swivels her head slowly, praying that it’s in her head and Kara didn’t just land on the balcony in full superhero regalia, and…yep. Yes, she’s just done exactly that.

Kara stands there, beaming smile plastered across her face and a lovely bouquet of flowers in hand, waving at her jovially with her free hand, completely unaware of her mistake. A frown slowly replaces the smile when she sees Lena’s horrified expression, crinkle taking its spot on her forehead.

It’s only as she’s dragging the balcony door open that she comes to the realization of what she’s done, the mistake that she’s made.

Neither of them speak, both unsure of whether or not they should directly address it, or maybe they’re just afraid to.

Silently, Kara slips through the balcony door and closes it behind her, her shoulders slumped in defeat. Lena’s just happy that she hasn’t flown away, it wouldn’t be the first time Kara has panicked and made a run for it or rather, made a fly for it.

“Hi.” Kara mumbles.

“Hello.”

They keep staring, waiting for the other to speak first, praying that they don’t have to be the one to break, but eventually someone has to, and that person has to be Kara.

“I’m sorry, I really was going to tell you.” Kara drops the flowers onto the nearest surface, a little side table, and moves around to perch on the edge of the couch next to Lena.

“When?” Lena questions. She wanted Kara to tell her, not fuck up and give herself away. There’s no trust in this kind of fuck up.

Kara pauses, looking down at her feet. The gravity of the situation is all too clear, and she has to tell Lena everything, there’s no way to sugar coat any of it now and that means that she can only tell the complete truth and hope that Lena can forgive her. “I’ve been trying to summon the courage to tell you for a couple of months but every time I planned to do it, I would back out at the last second like a coward.”

Lena drops her head to her own fidgeting hands, so now neither of them are looking at the other, completely lost at how to make this conversation productive and not say anything based on pure emotion rather than having an honest open discussion.

Eventually Lena sees that Kara is waiting for her to speak, to guide the conversation and she also knows Kara enough to know that it isn’t because she doesn’t have anything to say, it’s because she is giving Lena the chance to process and guide the conversation within her comfort zone.

“I already knew, Kara. I was waiting for you to tell me…I was waiting for you to trust me.” Lena whimpers the last part out, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks but lacking the energy to wipe them away, knowing that even if she did, they’d just get replaced right way anyhow.

Kara’s breathing picks up audibly, worrying Lena slightly but Kara talks before she can ask if she’s alright. Kara may have hurt her but she’s still her girlfriend for better or for worse, and she still loves her.

“I’m not going to ask how you knew because I know that you’re a genius who figures everything out and I’ve been getting sloppy at hiding it, I guess that was also my way of testing the waters a bit, trying to figure out how you’d react, but that wasn’t fair of me, so I’m sorry for that too.”

“Kara –“

“Wait, let me finish, please.” Kara cuts her off gently. “I do trust you though, with every fibre of my being. You are my emergency contact in everything, even with the DEO. You are named on my life insurance. You are my power of attorney. I love you and I would have never let our relationship get this far if I didn’t. I really have been trying to tell you, I just got scared, it’s always been drilled into me to never tell anyone, so it was eating away at me when I shouldn’t have let it.”

Lena is taken aback. Power of attorney? Life insurance? Holy cow. “You’d really let me make medical decisions for you if you couldn’t?”

“You’re the only person that I trust to make decisions that would actually be in my best interest, no offence to Alex, and if we were in a situation where I couldn’t make a decision like that then I would be in a bad way, and you would be stressed and in desperate need of some kind of control so it would be good for you.”

Lena hesitantly places her hand over Kara’s. “You’ve really thought about this.”

“I have, because you’re the person I trust most, and love most.” Kara turns her hand over to grip at Lena’s, intertwining their fingers.

Lena nods once, “Alright then. I guess I just have to trust you on that, but that’s not too hard because I love you too.”

[couldyouspeakmyname]

think you could do the lovable Jack's reaction to a mute female german shepherd (reader) giving him a Love letter.

I love Jack!

Disclaimer: I don’t have mutism, and I don’t know anyone who does, so I had to try and do a little research myself on it. I did my best, so I hope I did an okay job. If there’s things I need to fix, I am more than happy to. I did this more based on selective mutism, which can have a lot to do with anxiety (something I am familiar with). So I hope you enjoy, and as I said before, if I missed the mark or did something incorrectly, please let me know! 

Jack turned the pages of his book, using his left hand to wave away a fly that kept trying to land on his ear. Next to him he had a number of texts books. It was far to nice for him to study in the stuffy library, so he was taking advantage of the sunny day. He reached for his note book, scribbling a few highlights from the last few pages he had been reading, and turned back to his book. A few other students passed by. He’d wave if he made eye contact with anyone, but for the most part, it was pretty quiet. He was getting really into the thick of the chapter, so Jack was sinking deep into his own little world. He assumed the crunching gravel was just someone passing by, but his ears pricked up when they stopped. He finished his page and carefully stuck his bookmark in the book before looking up. 

“Oh! Hey,” Jack set his book aside, gaze now solely focused on you, well, around you. He knew not to make direct eye contact with you in situation you may already be comfortable with. So he looked at the buttons on the trap of your bag. One he’d gotten you. It was just a cute little character from a book you had let him know you liked. He’d gotten it a few weeks later. His memory was impressive. 

You waved as a hello. Jack knew you were mute, but it never seemed to bother him. You always had a notebook with you that helped you talk to other students, at least the ones that took the time to do so. With your anxiety, and inability to speak, many students wrote you off. Even other canines, known to be so friendly and sociable, tended to avoid you. Jack was one of the few who whole heartedly let you communicate with him, and didn’t avoid asking your opinion on things, and would wait for you to respond if you were up to it. He was also extremely patient and could read your body language and knew when you were getting overwhelmed by the people around you. At least he was giving an effort, there weren’t a lot of students who tried. It made it pretty difficult to talk with just anyone. 

At least you had texting. You enjoyed texting Jack. He also tended to use a lot of emojis, so you never had to guess the context of what he was saying. It was also helpful when you had questions about classes you were unable to voice or ask in person. 

“Are you feeling good today?” You nodded, and froze for a moment. You had written him a love letter, and it felt heavy in your bag. It had taken you forever to do. You had long ago lost track on how many drafts you had gone through to be comfortable with this one. Now, in front of Jack, you didn’t feel so sure. Your ears drooped, and you crossed your arms in front of you, looking anywhere but directly at Jack. 

“Did you need help with something?” He tilted his head, but was careful not to look directly in your eyes. He didn’t want to trigger your anxiety. You shook your head, and fought your nerves. It suddenly felt like you couldn’t breathe, and you began to fight panic.

“Woah, hey, it’s okay...Want me to go?” He didn’t seemed bothered by it, just concerned. He was even willing to give you the space you may need to collect yourself without making you feel bad. That was part of what made him so wonderful.

You shook your head, and quickly dug in your school bag and shoved the letter in his hands and turn to run. He didn’t chase you, even if initially his instincts told him to. Jack had pretty good control over himself. 

You bolted to your dorm and hid under the covers until you could control yourself better. It took a good hour, an hour where you weren’t kind to yourself. You mentally scolded yourself for being so awkward and weird, and your stomach turned thinking of how he must have reacted to getting your letter. You wondered if he laughed while he read it, if he had shared it with his friends. You wondered if he felt sorry for you. You felt sick.

Your phone vibrated, and you reached for it. You knew it was probably Jack checking in on you. You almost bet he didn’t feel the same way and was going to tell you so over texts. It would be easier than hearing him say it in person. You looked at the screen. Jacks name with the little dog emoji next to his name appeared on your home screen. You read the initial first few words that were visible. You didn’t know if you wanted to open it, and have him know you had read it. You wish they’d take that feature away from text messaging. 

From: Jack

𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢? 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝

It didn’t preview the rest of his message. You felt like there was a rock in your gut. You couldn’t even talk to him face to face, you bet he was going to turn you down. 

𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢? 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝

It was mocking you. You covered your head with the covers, and hid away with you phone. You didn’t know how much time passed while you inwardly battled with yourself. You took a deep breath and opened it. 

From: Jack 

𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢? 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝. 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚗𝚘 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢, 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘. 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝, 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎?

Do something? With you? He wanted to do something with you. You felt your tail wag nervously. He was happy. He wasn’t mad, he wasn’t telling you off, he was asking you out on a date! The world was still turning, it wasn’t ending. You were still friends with Jack, and Jack was asking you out. 

From: You

𝙸'𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝

You were glad you had the courage to ask. 

[tbzhours]

base crush

eric x you, high school au, angst, fluff

[summary] you have a crush on eric but you keep avoiding him until he confronts you (and confesses) [words] 2.8k [a/n] i kinda like this, i hope you do too ♡

Your phone had been buzzing for the past minute before you woke up from it, wondering who had stopped you from dreaming from your nap. You wiped the edge of your lip as you lifted your head from the textbook, head swifting around to find your phone. You picked it up and saw Changmin, your best friend’s texts. Trying to read through them on your lockscreen, he suddenly called you. 

You sighed deeply, rolling your eyes to close them. “Hello?”

“Oh my god, you finally picked up!” 

You peeked at the clock in your room before you replied, voice sounding drowsy and weak. “What do you want?”  

Changmin gasped. “Don’t tell me you just woke up from a nap.” He was talking so loud that you had to move your phone from your ear so they won’t hurt. You weren’t given a chance to say anything back when he continued, “It’s because of me, huh? I’m sorry.”

Oh yes, it really was because of him. He made you stay up late with him because he needed to rant to someone, which you ended up being the one since being his best friend. He never forgets to thank you after but somehow, you felt that there was a lack of sincerity in his apology, as if he was trying to lead it to something else. You were too tired to get offended so you rested your head back onto your textbook, closed your eyes and murmured. “And what about it?” 

“That’s why,” He explained, voice still a bit too loud. You could almost see his hand flying in front of him every time he tries to make a point as he continued. “I want to invite you out for a movie to make it up for letting me rant to you about my stupid love problems.” 

“Why?” You groaned. 

“I mean, come on! A few of my teammates are coming too. It’ll be fun with everyone there.” Changmin pleaded with a hum after. You stayed quiet for a few seconds until he tried to bribe you, “I’ll buy you a popcorn and drink set.” 

“And nachos?” 

You smiled as you could hear him snickering, then he sighed. “Fine.”

Once you arrived at the cinema, you didn’t expect Eric, your recent crush, to be there. Actually, it wasn’t so recent. You were always holding yourself back when Changmin invited you to places and one of them was to his baseball games. He really wanted you to be there at his first match of the season a month ago and right when you were about to regret going, you saw Eric on the field. It could be his smile but watching him run, bat and cheer so stunningly that night, you believed something had fluttered inside your heart. 

Changmin was waving at you but you stopped in your tracks. Your eyes were stuck at Eric because you didn’t know what to do, other than to run away. Your face was burning up when Changmin continued to call your name. When Eric turned to you, he smiled and waved at you. 

At that point, Changmin was already walking up to you and before you could run, he held onto your arm. 

“Where are you going? I got your nachos already.” Changmin asked in a sad pout. “You can’t just leave me like that. Come on~”

He dragged you along to the small group, greeting each other since you knew some of them from your classes. The movie wasn’t going to start until another 30 minutes so you all chatted the time away. It was just a casual conversation with everyone until Sunwoo, a baseball teammate, complained about not having time to do their homework. 

“Could be using this time to do it.” Changmin teased. 

“Yeah, you could have just rejected this movie night with us.” Chanhee, another baseball teammate, snickered as he shook his head. 

“Unless you have study hall.” Eric commented then he caught you staring, which you hadn’t realize you’ve been doing since everyone settled down at the tables in front of the arcade room. “Right, (Y/N)?” 

Suddenly, all eyes zoomed at you and you didn’t know what to do again. You slightly nodded and tried to flow in. “Yeah.” 

“But study hall?” Chanhee’s mouth opened in disgust. 

“Yeah, don’t waste your time in a no-credit class.” Sunwoo added, then everyone laughed at him because of the way it contrasted to his complaint. 

”I really needed that because of practice. You know me?” Eric laughed, hitting Chanhee’s shoulder. 

You just smiled, hoping to go into the movie room so you could stop looking at Eric. 

The next morning, you got a ton of texts from Changmin, asking about how fun the movie hangout was and that he wasn’t going to invite you anymore if you keep asking for more food. It was just a tease so you send him tongue-sticking emoji. 

The school day went by quickly and you couldn’t wait to get home so you could rest. As you packed up your things at your locker before making your way home, Changmin ran to you from afar. He was calling your name loudly that you didn’t want to look at him. 

When he finally got to you, he was breathing heavily. “(Y/N), I need your help!” 

“What is it now?” You asked, still exchanging your materials. 

“My phone broke and I need you to meet with Eric later for me!” 

“What?” You turned to him, eyes widened. You weren’t sure which one you were more shocked about but you wanted to avoid anything that was his problem. “How did that happen?” 

“I dropped it and it cracked!” He explained dramatically, reenacting how it happened. “I’m gonna go get a new one tonight so can you please let him know?” 

You recalled seeing him in your study hall class but that was it. “I can’t do that.”

“Y-you don’t have his number?” Changmin whined, stomping a feet down. “Why did I think you would?” 

You closed your locker and put your hand on your hip, watching him sigh in despair. 

“Then I’ll let you know where he’d be at since I can’t find him right now.” 

“Nope.” You walked past him but he followed you, telling you where Eric would be. 

That evening, the sun was still beaming in the sky, probably just another hour until sunset. You found your way to the baseball field near Changmin’s house, convinced that you’d tell Eric what he needed to know then leave. 

As you reached the field, you could see Eric there, standing in the right-handed batter’s box in his batting position. He swung a few times, seeing his own ball flying through the field as he created a shade above his forehead. You had your hands in your pants pockets, walking up to him toward the fence behind the catcher’s box with your racing heart. 

You bit your lower lip, somehow scared to call out his name when you could easily call out Changmin’s. It made your stomach curl as you stopped in your tracks. You took a deep breath, holding fists at your side when you shouted. “Hey, Eric!” 

Familiar to the sound of your voice, Eric got up and turned to you, almost knocking himself down with his feet. There was a tiny smirk in his smile when he waved his hand up in the air at you. “H-hey? Where’s Changmin?”

You walked up to him, rolling your eyes at the thought of your best friend. “I’m here to let you know about that.” 

“What happened? He isn’t replying to my texts or calls.” 

Eric walked up to the fence from the catcher box as you did too. The sun was shining toward your face and you wondered if you looked funny because he was still smiling. You swallowed your thoughts before you told him, “Changmin’s phone broke for some reason and he asked me to tell you that he can’t make it.”

“Oh, really?” Eric seemed flustered, his hand rubbing his head on the back as if he was trying to fix his cap. You nodded, about to greet him goodbye when he suggested, “Well, then, if you’re okay with it, do you want to practice with me?” 

“What?” 

“I see you in the bleachers a lot during our games and I just thought maybe you knew how to play.” Eric’s words were followed by a few seconds of silence. He set his bat down to the ground, smiling again. 

“No, it’s okay. I think I’m gonna go now.” You quickly smiled. “Thanks.” 

Then you walked away, not turning back once. 

The next day, you were having lunch with Changmin in the cafeteria. He was talking to a few of his friends while you were with some of your group members for a project later, and as you ate your food, Changmin suddenly turned to you. 

“Hey,” Changmin leaned over his side of the table, slipping your name as he halted in place. He sneaked in close to you and asked, “Did you tell Eric?” 

You sighed. “Why? You didn’t get to see him this morning?” 

“Yeah, because I was with my girlfriend.” He frowned. “Did you let him know though?” 

“I did.” 

“Thank you so much! You’re a lifesaver!” He cried, holding his palms together at you. You moved away from him until he moved back so you could eat peacefully. 

“Why does he keep throwing his responsibilities at me?” You said underneath your breath. Changmin could almost hear you that he leaned back at you. 

“What did you say?” He asked, offended at your sudden complaint. 

“I said, if you got a new phone now, then why don’t you just text him and not make someone like me run around and do your shit?” You spoke clearly, eyes beaming at him though your voice was at your regular level. 

“W-why are you like this?” 

“He’s your teammate and you’re close to him, not me, alright?” You glared at him then turned back to your food that you didn’t feel like finishing anymore. “Just stop.”

“I-I’m sorry, damn.” Changmin sighed away from you then you heard him say, “Why do you act like you like him or something?” 

You packed up your food and walked away from the table. You saw Eric standing there with a few friends by the courtyard. He’s been looking at you as you turned away from him, wanting to hide yourself. 

You tried to avoid Eric for the rest of the day, knowing that he probably heard Changmin’s words. You went to study hall and ran out of class once it was over, ignoring him calling for you. 

It went on for a few days, not talking to Changmin and ignoring Eric that you ended up skipping that class. You weren’t getting credits for it and you didn’t have any work to catch up on anyway. You tried to focus on your school work when you get home, but those two kept hanging in your mind. 

Eric and Changmin had a game that night. As their teammates were warming up on the field, Eric turned to Changmin as he was tying his shoes on the side chairs. 

“Hey, Changmin. Have you heard from (Y/N) these days?” 

Changmin groaned in annoyance. He got up and put his hands on his head when he stressed out all of the things that he had been hiding in him. “I honestly haven’t, and it’s really stressing me out because I’m their best friend!” 

“Do you think they’ll be at the game?” Eric asked, curious since Changmin knew you most. 

Changmin put his hands on Eric’s shoulders, shaking him lightly. “I have no idea, Eric. Everything is literally stressing me out and I don’t know what I should do.” 

“They’ve been ignoring me too.” Eric smiled softly, looking away then he patted Changmin’s back. “Let’s focus on the game for now then. We can figure this out soon.”

Later that night, Changmin called you while you were about to head to bed. You didn’t recognize the number but you answered anyway. 

There he went, crying out for you though the phone.

It’s Changmin!” He paused, wondering if you would say anything but then, he continued. “I just wanted to apologize for all of the things I’ve done to you. I went too far after getting a girlfriend. You probably really really really hate me right now but I’m sorry with all of my heart. You’re my best friend and I should hear you out… If not then I’ll just come over with all of your favorite snacks- but I won’t make you stay up like last time.” 

You almost chuckled at his long apology. “Okay, fine. I forgive you but you don’t need to come over. Just leave the snacks in my locker.” 

“Oh great. I thought I was going to die.” Changmin sighed. You thought he was done when he continued. “Anyway, I think Eric likes you.” 

“What are you saying?” You were astounded. Why was this suddenly about him? 

“He told me that it was best to apologize to you, like a good friend would, and he mentioned that you weren’t coming to study hall anymore… Tell me what’s going on there.”

“N-nothing is going on there.” You blinked nervously. “You should have given me your new phone number because I would have ended this call.” 

“But you didn’t-” 

Changmin looked at the screen of his phone and shook his head with a cheeky smile when he saw that the call had ended. So he was right about you liking Eric. 

The next day, you skipped study hall to avoid Eric again. While sitting in the library by the window, which had the best scenery in the room, you wondered about what you should do about Eric. An apology would sound weird and getting right back into talking would be random too. You sat there, thinking before you heard the entrance door of the library open from behind. 

It was Eric, who was sneaking in until you both met eyes. You quickly gathered your things but before you could run away, he held onto your wrist softly. 

“Why do you keep running away from me?” Eric asked, whispering as if you both didn’t want to get caught skipping class. 

“I-I’m not.” 

Eric smiled. He let your wrist go before he sat down beside you. “So, is this what you do all day?” 

You didn’t understand what he was trying to get at but you just wanted to keep the conversation going because it felt like you left him on read when you started to avoid him. You answered him, “Um, yes?” 

Eric chuckled a snort, then he looked at the scenery with you. “That’s why I didn’t see you at the game last night.” 

“Why? Did our team lose?” 

Eric shook his head and turned to you. “We won, and I wished you were there to see it.” 

Your cheek blushed at the way his words fluttered in your stomach. You couldn’t say anything while he looked at the snack beside your backpack. 

“Those are good.” 

“I-I know. They’re my favorite.” You smiled, fiddling your fingers together. 

“That’s good. Changmin told me to just grab a few snacks from the store for him- well, for you.” 

You recalled the snacks being in your locker as you looked at him. “You mean, those were from you?” 

Eric nodded then he shrugged. “I hope you can see what this means.” His eyes moved slowly from one place to another on the table when he confessed, “It’s been a while, I like you a lot and I hope that you’d stop trying to avoid me.” 

“You do?” 

Eric smiled widely as he nodded. “and if you don’t mind, I really wanna play ball with you, kinda like the other night except that you ran away. If that’s okay with you.” 

“You did not have to bring that up.” You face palmed yourself as you laughed. You glanced at him, watching his eyes bloom at you, then with your racing heart, you took a sigh. “I don’t mind.” 

“And you’ll come watch our games too? And cheer for me? Or Changmin, but more for me?” 

You laughed again, “Yes, I’ll come.”

Eric took your hand, locking your fingers together then he leaned in close to your blushing cheeks, “And go out with me?” 

“Yes.” You said without hesitation. You planted a shy kiss on his cheek then you leaned back on your chair to distract yourself with the scenery. 

Eric’s heart was fluttering as he held onto your hand tighter. He joined you as he rested his head on your shoulder. Now he’s wondering if you both should just skip study hall together just for this. He just knows that you probably wouldn't mind. 

[thebrochtuarachs]

Something in the Rain - “Interruptions”

A/N: I hope you like it. As always, your comments and suggestions are very much welcome.

A modern day meet cute instance between Jamie and Claire. 

AO3  / C1: A Day In June : C2: Definitely, Maybe : C3: So We Meet Again : C4: Friday Lunch : C5: Finding Solid Ground : C6: Situations

XXXXX

“What should I wear tomorrow?” Claire texted Jamie on the eve of their first official date. She wanted to have an extra time to shop should the need there be. 

“What do ye mean?” he replied. 

“I want to dress appropriately to wherever you’re taking me, James Fraser.”

“I see. Smart casual would do. :) Sorry, I dinna thought of informing ye earlier but wouldn’t it be hilarious if you dressed to the nines and we’re going to some sort of cattle farm”

“Exactly.” Claire replied with the eye roll and laughing emoji. “Can I know where we’re going?”

“Don’t ye want to be surprised?” Jamie messaged back and saw three dots typing afterwards. 

“Hmm, thinking about it, yes. I’m excited to see the Jamie Fraser Date Experience.” 

“Hope it doesna disappoint. I, too, am excited to see the Claire Beauchamp Date Experience. ;)” he replied, knowing the use of emoji will make her smile as he rarely uses one.

“I hope it doesn’t disappoint, too.” she replied with a winky face too. “Are you back in Edinburgh?” 

“Just about to arrive home. I might just wash and then hit the sack.” 

“Rest then, Jamie. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Thanks, Sassenach. I’ll message ye tomorrow when I’m on my way” 

----

It has been four weeks since their accidental meeting at the sidewalk. After countless run-ins, lunches, and an absurd amount of consumed soy chicken, the day of their date has arrived. 

When Claire accepted his invitation three days earlier, Jamie went into a slight overdrive trying to plan what to do. He meant to ask her out when he got back - but when he found out that she met Laoghaire, something pushed him to go for it before Claire had any wrong idea about his connection with Mrs. Fitz's granddaughter. 

His first idea was to go all out - book the fanciest rooftop restaurant in the city, get the best chef he knew, and plan a private dinner for them. Fancy and exclusive seemed like a safe choice and a sure hit. 

Then he thought about Claire and all their interactions so far - hole in the wall kitchens, asian street food, very light and casual. Jamie pondered on the idea and realized that jumping from that to an uber private dinner might not be the best, so he kept that card to play for later. 

It was then he decided to just take their casual lunch to a casual dinner. He’ll just exchange one-hour savory chicken meetings for a comfortable, popular city restaurant and longer conversations. He also decided on wearing more casual clothes, opting out of his office suits that she’d seen him often in for a navy turtleneck, khaki pants and white sneakers. 

Arriving at her front door, Jamie took one last stock of himself, suddenly feeling a wave of nervousness, and knocked on her door. 

What he saw next knocked him out. 

Claire opened the door wearing a burgundy sleeveless jumpsuit that was both modest and sexy, yet casual enough. Pairing the ensemble with black heels, the garment hugged Claire’s curves in just the right places that left Jamie staring for a hot minute. 

“Hi” Claire broke through his thoughts and he remembered his manners.

“Hi, Claire. Wow, ye look beautiful” 

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself. Going to stop traffic pairing blue on blue like that” 

“Ye ready to go?” 

“Yeah. Are we going to walk?” She asked as she locked the door to her place. 

“Yes, I hope ye dinna mind. Ye live close by all the nice places to eat.” 

“No, I don’t mind and also, very true.” 

It was a short 10-minute walk before they arrived at Howie’s Restaurant. 

“Howie’s. Interesting choice.” Claire commented as they walked to the hostess. 

“We can go somewhere if ye dinna like it here.” Jamie offered. 

“No, I actually quite like it here” she had to stifle a laugh at how adorable she found his tenseness was.

The hostess pointed them to the bar to wait for their table. Claire excused herself to the bathroom and Jamie ordered a light whisky for some liquid courage. 

When the bartender served his drink, a familiar bloke sat beside him and greeted him. 

“Jamie Fraser, hello!” 

Jamie gulped the drink and turned to the man beside him. “Joe! It’s good to see ye, man!” 

The two shook hands and exchanged more pleasantries. 

“I’m actually meeting my wife.” He looked at his watch and then to the front door. “Oh, good, she just arrived!” Joe quickly waved her in and introduced her. 

“Jamie Fraser, meet Gail Abernathy. Gail, Jamie.” he paused when Jamie extended a hand to her. “He was the guy who volunteered at our center two weeks ago. All the kids were just drawn to him.” 

“No wonder.” Gail observed, her comment earning a jokey sigh from her husband. “So, Jamie, what brings you to this side of town on a Saturday evening?” 

Jamie was about to share that he was on a date, but then right on cue, Claire arrives to greet the trio. 

“Hello, everyone!” 

“Claire!” Gail squealed as she gave her friend a tight hug. 

“Lady Jane, you clean up good!” Joe remarked. 

As they finished their greetings, Jamie quietly whispered to Claire to order any drink she’d like. The husband-and-wife duo caught on and couldn’t resist to pry. 

“You guys on a date?” Joe asked frankly. 

“First one, actually.” Jamie replied as Gail raised an eyebrow while Claire returned to his side, drink in tow. 

Joe leaned closer to Jamie and pretended to whisper in his ear, “My date advice is don’t challenge her or don’t allow her to challenge you to a drinking game. You will lose” 

Claire groaned while the rest laughed at her expense. 

Just then, the hostess approached the pairs and told them their tables were ready. They exchanged their goodbyes and were led to their areas. 

 ---

Jamie had been a perfect gentleman. 

He opened her seat, allowed her to order and choose whatever she wanted from the menu (They both went to the steak and fries!), and is making just the right amount of banter. 

Claire actually liked this dining choice - Howie’s comfort food really brought out the easy ambiance and conversation to their date. She didn’t mind going to a fancier place but she knew that if they were there, things would be too formal, delicate and shy. This was much better and she’d Jamie props for this. 

Moreover, what made this official first date a little bit more fun is much of the first date awkwardness is gone. They’ve covered much of the basics about their life during their lunches - their families (both their parents are alive and have retired away from the city, Claire’s an only child while Jamie had an older sister), how they chose their careers and where they went to school (Jamie is Oxford Law while Claire is Cambridge Med, the school rivalry something they joke about), their current or main interests (horses for Jamie, herbs for Claire) and many other things.

So the evening was more or less less a continuation on what they’ve normally done - catching up on their days, sharing an interesting story at work or a photo they found on the web, asking more random questions - the only difference now is, there’s a more clear and intentional purpose for knowing these things and whole lot of shameless flirting in between.  

Forty-five minutes in and halfway through their steak, a man approached their table. “Dr. Beauchamp, it’s nice to see you here!” 

Jamie and Claire looked up and saw a slender man, not much older than they are with grey eyes. 

“Tom, hi!” Claire swallowed a fry and grabbed a cloth to clean her mouth. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening but I saw you from the bar and just had to pass by and greet you. I mean at least, this time, not at the hospital or during check ups” 

Claire smiled and made the introductions. “Oh, I’m sorry. Tom Christie, this is Jamie Fraser. Jamie, Tom. He is a teacher at the public elementary school. We met when I did the annual medical checkup for the kids. Also, I’m the peds of his kids, Allan and Malva.” 

The mention of the word kids made Jamie release the tight fist he didn’t know he held beneath the table. He didna like the way the man eyed Claire but it was not his place - not yet at least.

Jamie gave the man a nod but ultimately wished he’d go. When neither said or did anything, Tom said his farewells and confirmed his kids check-up schedule in two weeks. 

---

They decided to share a slice of chocolate cake and one last glass of wine each to cap off their dinner. 

As they waited for their order to arrive, they got startled with a loud noise. 

“Jamie, is that ye?!” one man said.

“Oh, heavens, tis!” another man replied. 

Jamie could not hide the embarrassment he felt as the two blokes approached their table. Once they noticed Claire, they did not waste time introducing themselves. 

“Hello, I havena seen ye before. My name is Angus” the thin, beardly man extended his hand. “And ye are?” 

“Hi, I’m Claire.” she reached out but eyeing Jamie for confirmation that he knew these people. 

“I’m Rupert.” the other man said. “We’re Jamie’s cousins” 

“Distant cousins” Jamie retorted back. “What brings ye here?” he asked while glaring at them to leave. 

“We have a double date” Angus shared, pointing to the table where two ladies were indeed waiting for them. 

“Then I suggest you return to your dates then.” Jamie replied then proceeded to converse with the two men in Gaelic. 

When the conversation was apparently over, Rupert sighed and turned to Claire. “It was nice meeting ye, lass. Please ask Jamie here to bring around one of our office events and meet the rest of the clan. I’m sure they’d love to get to know ye as well.” 

Jamie stood up quickly and had to push the two back to their table before they said anything else that may ruin the evening. 

“I’m sorry about them, Claire. They are quite the more, erm, rowdy members of my family.” he said as he sat down again. 

“It’s alright. They seem really nice” Claire said, smiling. “So, clan huh? Just how big is that family of yours really?” She brought the conversation back up again hoping it would ease his discomfort.

Jamie visibly relaxed and then, they were back in their bubble, “How many generations back?” 

---

Desert went by swimmingly with the chocolate cake and red wine proving to be a winning combo. After an almost three-hour dinner, Jamie asked for the check and insisted on paying for the meal. 

 They were one their way out of the restaurant then Claire was greeted by incoming guests. 

“Dr. Beauchamp!” 

Claire turned to look who called her. “Oh, please call me Claire. It’s nice seeing you here” 

“Likewise. Please call me Meredith.” she quickly signaled to the man beside her. “This is my husband, Derek.” 

“Of course, Dr. Shepherd.” Claire politely acknowledged him with the man insisting to be called casually as well. 

“Anyway, I’d just like to say that I just read your latest paper in the Journal of Pediatrics. I look forward to hearing all about it in your visit to Seattle.”

Claire graciously accepted the complement with a smile and bow. “Thank you. We’ll catch up in Seattle in a few weeks, then.” Remembering her companion, she turned to her back where Jamie was patiently waiting for her. “Oh my, where are my manners. Meredith, Derek, this is Jamie Fraser. Jamie, this is Meredith and Derek Shepherd. They’re visiting doctors from Grey Sloan Memorial in Seattle.” 

Jamie returned the pleasantries and shook hands with the doctors. 

“Alright, I’ll let you guys go on with your evening. Sorry for the sudden call out” Meredith said. 

“It’s no problem at all. A good night to you both as well.” Claire replied as she looked at Jamie and motioned for them to head out. 

--

Once they we're out of the restaurant, Jamie lets out a light laugh. 

“What’s so funny?” she asked. 

“I was just thinking that I’d never unexpectedly run into that many acquaintances in one evening, let alone in a date!” he shared, chuckling more as the thought further sank in his mind and Claire joined him in his mood. “It isna exactly part of the Jamie Fraser Date Experience” 

“I’m really sorry.” 

“Don’t be, there’s nothing to apologize for. I mean, who would’ve thought, right?” Jamie retorted, his humor infectious. 

She was touched by his honesty, not just with the situation but the entire night. He was caring, makes great conversation, and is always authentic with who and how he carries himself. She cannot make a full judgement of his character yet, as that is something she is still getting to know, but she likes what she is seeing so far. 

Taking a bold step, she wrapped her arm around his as they started walking side by side back to her place. 

Jamie looked at her hand, smiled and hoped it conveyed to Claire the joy he felt at the moment. “Is this part of the Claire Beauchamp Date Experience?” he asked nonchalantly. 

“Only to a rare few” she said as she slightly tugged him closer. 

The walk back seemed shorter than the one they did earlier. Before they knew it, they were already standing in front of Claire’s building. 

“Oh, before I forget!” Jamie exclaimed as he fished out his car keys and a grey miata lit up open beside them. He pulled out an exquisite posey bouquet of red roses and handed it to her. “These are for you.” 

Claire took them and smelt it, “The flowers are beautiful” 

“I hope ye had a good time, Sassenach” 

“I had a great time, Jamie. Thank you” 

After a beat, Jamie took a deep breath, gathering strength to what he was about to say next. “Claire, we’ve known each other for about a month now, became unexpected friends in a short amount of time, had our lunches and now, our first date. I hope ye dinna think this is too forward of me but...I like you and I would like to see you again or keep seeing you, I guess.“ They we’re holding each other’s gazes as he laid out his intentions and waited for her reply. 

Claire sighed and was just amazed by him. Her previous encounters are usually with male friends who constantly hang out with her then a few months down, asks her “what they are” as if she had to know or feel that something was happening from the get go. So, Jamie's forthrightness and old-fashionedness was truly refreshing and she was more than willing to give it a go. 

As a final check to their chemistry, she stepped closer, tilted her head and leaned in to him. Quickly responding to her actions, he held her face on one hand and placed the other on her hips to pull her closer. He followed her lead until their lips crashed into each other in a single deep kiss.

In that moment, both Jamie and Claire knew something big shifted in the dynamic of their relationship. 

This was not usual. 

This is different.

And oh so good.

They felt each other smile against their lips just as they pulled apart for air. 

“I like you too, Jamie and yes”

--

A/N: Maybe not the first date you might've thought of but hope you liked it! As always, thank you for reading! Your comments, suggestions, and questions are always welcome. If there's a story or scene you'd like to know, feel free to drop it! :)This was my original idea for the date but as I was writing it, I was going back and forth about scraping the entire thing and think about something else. But the original thought kept developing in my mind so I went back and stuck with it and cross-fingers, hoped it worked and made sense. I knew she had doctor friends but adding the Greys Anatomy characters just came about since I've been binging the show and thought it'd be fun to crossover. Hope you're keeping safe and in line to get vaccinated for the COVID-19 shot! See you all in the next one!

[deniigi]

bro, work made me depressed that I literally left my seat to regain any resemblance of joy or something equivalent before breaking down again. Do you think you can provide a ficlet I involving Peter and Sam to cheer me up?

FUCK CAPITALISM

TAKE THIS

Title: Calibrating

Summary: Sam and Peter talk themselves towards a meaningful discussion.

---------

Peter did this thing—this infuriating thing where he texted shit like ‘come over’ and then Sam had to bend over backwards to be flirty and coy.

It was imperative that he came across as flirty and coy.

Im-fucking-perative, regardless of what Leilani said or Matt’s annoyance at what he called the ‘jungle of depravity’ that overtook the group chat pretty much daily.

Sam didn’t care.

If Peter texted the group or sent any message that might be construed upside-down as something romantic or sexual, Sam not only had to catch it, but he had to volley it back.

This, he told Leilani, sealed their No-Homo contract.

She stared at him.

He decided to demonstrate.

“See, here, look, I’ll show you,” he said, dragging out his phone. “Exhibit A. There he is, see? Asking about the strength of PVC pipe in pounds per meter like a fuckin’ tease. Now I can’t just let him think that I saw that and didn’t think of it as a metaphor, alright? So I say—”

“Sam, why does he need to know the strength of PVC pipe?” Leilani interrupted.

It didn’t matter. That wasn’t the point of this discussion.

“I’m sending a winky-face,” Sam informed her as he did that very thing.

Leilani stared harder than before.

But look, skepticism was unrewarded. Peter texted a kiss right back and said ‘oh boo, you always know just want to say.’

How could she not see the No-Homo? Sam could do this all day. He could and there would be absolutely no problems and he wouldn’t want to suffocate himself in his pillow at the end of it all.

It was fine.

“Samuel,” Leilani said, “I’m going to tell you something and I want you to hear it with an open heart. Will you open your heart for me?”

Sam spun around in his chair and arranged his arms and legs so that they were as open as they could feasibly be without being obscene.

“I am more open than a boiled clam,” he informed her.

Leilani blinked slowly, then shook her head and checked over her shoulders. She waved him in closer. Then closer. And then close enough that he could smell her perfume on her neck.

“You’re the tease,” she said.

Then she left the backroom. And Sam could only stare after her, frozen in horror as his wide-open heart wrinkled in on itself, picking up mass and gravity until it was naught but a black hole.

“I’m the tease?” he whispered to himself in shock.

Oh no.

OH NO.

 --

  “SENSEI.”

Matt dropped his collection of folders and swore, clutching at his chest.

“We have discussed volume, Sam,” he said, bending down to collect his paper children.

Sam took the opportunity to throw both arms around his neck from behind as a threat.

“Don’t lie,” he warned. “Swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, amen.”

Matt stood up and Sam felt his toes leave the floor. He hadn’t planned this far ahead.

“Or what?” Matt asked, 110% unfazed.

Sam wished that his feet weren’t kicking around in air here. It really put a dent in his intimidation factor.

“Am I a tease?” he asked.

Matt faced front with heavy eyebrows. Sam couldn’t see his face from this angle, but he knew that aura of irritation.

“If you have to ask the question, then you already know the answer,” Matt said. “Does that help?”

“No, I hate you now, actually,” Sam told him.

Matt dropped him right on his ass.

 --

 There had to be a way to attain proof. To determine once and for all that it was Sam who was in the wrong here, misinterpreting things like the genius that he was.

Thankfully, Sam’s experience of growing up as a non-only child for the last two decades had prepared him exactly for this type of conversation.

 SC: HANNAH AM I A TEASE???

HC: yes

HC: next question

SC: FUCK.

SC: WHAT IF ITS NOT NO-HOMO?

HC: my dear brother, the only options if something is not no-homo is for it to be no-no or homo-homo.

SC: Murder me

HC: gladly

SC: I’m in possible homo-homo with spiderman

HC: are you sure it’s not no-no?

SC: MURDER ME

HC: okay but like if it’s no-no then this is not a problem, right?

SC: If it’s no-no then I’ve read every sign wrong and I deserve to become a partially eaten tadpole awash in an indifferent boiling sea

HC: okay so we’re leaning INTO the drama today I gotcha. Alright but like, just for the sake of arguing, what if it was homo-homo?

SC: then I need you to bury my body somewhere no one will ever find it because my heart can’t stand requited love you know this about me.

HC: give me your login

SC: thank you I love you you’re the only person who matters

 --

 BT: Spiderman.

SM: Blindspot. DMing? You okay?

BT: this is Hannah.

SM: OH

SM: hi Hannah are you okay? Did you need something?

BT: My brother never got tested for reading comprehension but would have failed anyways. Can you arbitrate an arbitrary argument for us?

SM: I’m positive that there is a link between those two ideas that I am missing, but sure?

BT: okay are you ready?

SM: my loins have been girded.

BT: gross. you two are made for each other. Okay: what are your opinions on 24yo Chinese dudes with bad vision who are 5’7” tall, with terrible hair and brains as big and gaseous as Jupiter?

SM: positive

BT: you’re so romantic spidey.

SM: I know

BT: I’m going to tell him now

SM: WAIT DON’T TELL HIM

BT: byeeeeeee

 --

 Sam was going to have a heart attack. He couldn’t look at his phone. He was just going to lay here until he wasted away into a fossil.

Mm, yes, what a wonderful way to escape any and all feelings. That was—

His phone chirped and he nearly fell out of his chair in a hurry to answer it.

 HC: [image] [image]

HC: you owe me your bones

SC: AFASDFADFAS:FJaf’asdfjahsdlfihasdl’fas

SC: TAKE THEM

HC: if you fuck spiderman you have to get pregnant and demand alimony for your beautiful mixed babies Samuel

SC: Darling sister, we’ve talked about this. it isn’t going to happen I still have yet to steal a womb

HC: try harder

HC: ttyl

--

 Okay, this was fine.

Everything was fine.

Spidey liked Sam back, it was no big deal. Spidey liked everyone back. Even the teases.

Even.

The.

Teases.

Fuck, Sam had to move.

 --

 Foggy caught him biting his nails to pieces over the copy machine and asked him if he was okay. He was not. Foggy could read this off him. He didn’t ask again, but he did say that if Sam was feeling particularly anxious about something he was welcome to go have his breakdown upstairs in Kirsten’s kitchen instead of downstairs among the files.

Sam appreciated his offer. He hiked up the stairs, and halfway up, his phone chirped.

His heart stopped.

It chirped again, and then again. By the time he got to the top of the stairs, it was chirping every couple of seconds with messages being typed and sent at mach speed.

He kicked off his shoes and went to go stand over Kirsten’s sink to open the first one.

  PP: Sam it’s peter hey listen your sister messaged me

PP: and was asking some pretty invasive questions and I replied to her. I don’t know if you saw them but I just wanted to say that if that makes you uncomfortable in any way know that I absolutely don’t mind and I’ll stop

PP: you can tell me to fuck off if that crossed your boundaries. I shouldn’t have even messaged her back without asking you

PP: and obviously in future I won’t talk to her until I’ve cleared it with you I just wasn’t thinking I’m never thinking it’s a little hard to think sometimes

PP: especially when you message me back and I get caught up in the games and the emojis and stuff and like I’m sure that sometimes I overstep but I don’t mean to and you can tell me at any point if you want me to stop

PP: I guess I just really like to talk to you sometimes and it’s fun to have someone to banter with who actually banters back like not in a mean way but in a really nice and funny way. you’re an easy guy to talk to is what I’m saying

PP: which I’m sure you get a lot. I don’t mean that I want to like tell you all my problems I swear it’s not that it’s just more of a AHHHHH I don’t even know what I’m saying I think it’s sorry???

PP: I’m sorry??? I don’t mean to imply anything that isn’t there and I don’t want to make you feel like you have to either. Ar e you mad? Please don’t be mad okay wait no I’ve sent like seven fucking messages I’m being a creep oh my god IM SORRY ILL SHUT UP NOW OKAY SORRY BYE

  Oh nooooo.

The panic-induced infodump was not only familiar but horrendously endearing.

Sam had to explode now.

Man. Bummer.

  SC: it’s okay Peter

PP: OH THANK GOD

PP: is it tho??? Are you sure?

SC: I have positive feelings towards people like you too

  Sam’s heart pounded. He almost locked his phone and threw it in the sink, but another text came in just as that thought finished crossing his mind.

  PP: you do?

SC: yes of course I do

PP: oh nice

SC: yeah

  Annnnnnnd cue mutual nerd awkwardness. Great. Well done, Sam, you’ve done it again.

He sighed and turned away from the sink and sunk down onto the floor with his back against it.

Such a loser, Chung. So painfully awkward. Would it kill you to, just for once, slow down and chill for a minute?

God.

  PP: hey sam?

  No, Sam just wanted to sit on this floor and wallow.

  PP: hello? Are you still there?

 --

Sam let his head fall back against the sink. He closed his eyes.

His phone rang in his hand and he nearly had a heart attack. His fingers scrabbled over its face and the caller ID read ‘Peter Parker.’

Oh god.

Oh no.

Be cool. Be cool. Be cool.

“Hello?” he answered to the scratchy phone silence on the other side of the line.

He frowned.

“Hello?” he tried again, a smidge less desperate.

“Hi.”

There he was.

“Hey,” Sam said. “Sorry, just got awkward.”

Peter laughed through the line.

“Me too,” he said. “That was awkward.”

Yeah.

“Yeah.”

A long pause.

“I’m doing it again,” Sam moaned into his hand.

“No, no. Hey, you’re good,” Peter said. “I was just uh. Calling because.” He trailed off.

Sam waited.

“Sam? You still there?”

He startled and cleared his throat.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he said. “Sorry, zoning out a little bit. You know, busy day.”

“Yeah,” Peter said.  “Yeah, I know.”

Sam breathed as quietly as he could. He could almost hear Peter doing the same on his end.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta g—” Sam started.

“Hey, do you like me?”

HNG.

“No?” Sam answered and then punched himself in the leg. “Sorry. Uh. I didn’t—I mean, uh. Yes. Of course I like you. You’re a really good person. I admire you a lot.”

Hannah, oh Hannah, where is thine shovel? Sam needed it to dig this grave deeper, please.

“Oh. Okay, I just—I guess I uh, have a hard time reading the tone of your texts sometimes,” Peter said.

“It’s okay, I get that a lot,” Sam said. “I’ll try harder to be more direct.”

“No,” Peter said. “No, no, you don’t have to change anything.”

“Oh? Okay, well. Maybe I still will, though,” Sam said.

If Peter wouldn’t have heard him, he would have started to try to fit his whole fist in his mouth.

Five minutes of conversation and they were still saying nothing.

“Sam?”

He swallowed.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Next time you’re in the city, would you, uh, maybe want to go out somewhere? With me?”

Out? What like, to a movie or something?

“Yeah, just like that,” Peter said. “’Cause I uh. Would like to. Do that, I mean. With you.”

“With me?” Sam asked. “Oh right, and your other friends, uh, names—sorry, I’m bad with names. N-ned?”

“No,” Peter said oddly abruptly. “Well, I mean—I don’t mean it like that. I just—just with you. For now. That’s what I mean.”

“Oh. Uh. Kinda like a date?” Sam asked through the forcefield of self-hatred that felt like it spanned the entire continental US.

There was a pause. Sam held his breath.

“Yeah,” Peter said. “Exactly like a date. If you don’t mind—you know, doing that with me.”

AHAHAHAHAHAHA.

“Are you trying to lure me to a secondary location, Mr. Parker?” Sam asked seriously.

The laugh that met him made all the muscles in his shoulders relax.

“Maybe if the bit at the first location goes well,” Peter said. Then added hurriedly, “If you’re down for that.”

Sam was down for it right now.

Actually, maybe not in Kirsten’s kitchen. But like, right now in a different location.

“If it’s a movie date, we can do it through Netflix Party,” he pointed out faux-lightly. “It wouldn’t be the same, but we could do it this weekend, even. Saturday—I’m off Saturday.”

Peter said nothing for a long time.

“Okay. Saturday,” he finally agreed, “I can do Saturday. Kinda hard to hold your hand through a screen, but I can give it my best shot?”

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFfffffff.

“Oh, I bet you will,” Sam nearly choked.

“You’re really cute, Sam.”

NO. SHUT UP. YOU ARE.

“Thanks.”

“I wanted to kiss you last time you were here, but I was too, uh. Shy. Embarrassed. One of them.”

Sam was going to puke, but in like, the happiest kind of way.

“I like you a lot too, Peter,” he whispered.

“Are you crying?”

“What? No.”

“Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”

“Shut up, I’m not. I—the old man’s downstairs, his ears aren’t as good through ceilings, but I just want to make sure—”

“Uh-huh,” Peter said. “I’m sure that’s what it is. So I’ll see you Saturday? Maybe Facetime or something?”

“Yeah, Saturday,” Sam said. “I’ll send you a time when I know. I’ve gotta go. Meltdown-alloted-breaktime is over.”

Peter laughed.

“Alright, man, I’ll talk to you later. Bye now.”

“Bye,” Sam said lamely.

He hung up the phone. He did not scream. But he did fist pump and then fall onto his side.

 ---------

Here’s to hoping things get easier for you anon!!

[flooffybits]

I Don’t Think So

Idol: Loona

Anon: Loona 13th member what would happen if there was a male idol hitting on (y/n) at like say the issacs or MAMA. How do ot12 handle it.-❄️ this emoji taken? I’m new to your blog and sorry if I worded it well enough

A/n: I did your other request, but yes you can use❄️ I’m sorry it’s taken me a while to get this one done

☕buy me a coffee☕

Being in the filled stadium for the Idol Star Athletics Championships, or ISAC for short, everyone could feel the excitement washing over them with all the fans screaming and the amount of idols present made it all the more overwhelming as you looked around with a wide grin on your face, waving when you saw Orbits cheering from the bleachers.

Upon further inspection, you could see familiar faces littered around the stadium and your smile widened when you saw Dreamcatcher not to far away and the maknae of the group waving at you and urging you to come over.

“Unnie!” You exclaimed as the older girl took you in her arms and giggled before ruffling your hair. “I can’t believe we’re both here.” She claimed when you pull away to fix your hair.

“Hey Y/n!” The rest of the girls greeted you warmly, having met you a few times when your schedules would coincide with one another and the fact that you were well acquainted with their maknae, who then further introduced you to everyone.

Yoohyeon hopped to her feet and then came crashing into your smaller body, engulfing you in to a tight hug as she swayed your body from side to side. “How are you? We haven’t seen you in a while!” The large puppy asked with her signature pout, making you giggle in her embrace. “I’ve been okay. Me and the girls have been a bit busy, so I’m sorry we couldn’t hang out more.”

Gahyeon quickly waved her hands dismissively, an understanding smile as she patted your head. “It’s okay. We know how schedules can get.” She assures you. “She’s right, so don’t apologize for anything. We can always hang out when you’re free.” Yoohyeon added as she finally released you from her arms.

“I swear, I’ll text you when I can.”

“Good.” Gahyeon then looked over your shoulder to see your members calling for your attention and smiled before she was gently ushering you to head back. “Looks like they’re asking for you. Go ahead and we’ll catch up another time.”

Bidding the group goodbye, you then ran over to where the rest of your members were with the smile not once leaving your face. Though due to your distracted state, you failed to notice one a person coming in your direction and end up crashing into each other.

The person quickly grabbed your arm and shoulder to steady you while you blinked in surprise. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Looking to the face of the person you collided with, you offer a small smile upon seeing Stray Kids’ Hyunjin staring down at you with a concerned look written over his face.

“I’m alright! I’m so sorry for bumping into you like that.” You apologize after finally pulling yourself away, leaving a good distance between the two of you while your members giggled at your slightly flustered state, the embarrassment of being seen bumping into another idol making your face a bit red.

The male chuckled and shook her head to assure you that everything was fine. “We were both a bit distracted, so we’re fine.” He tells you. “I just hope I didn’t hurt you.” He says carefully and you giggled while shaking your own head this time. “Ah, don’t worry about me. I’m tougher than I look.”

That earned you a wide smile from the boy before he noticed the girls watching. So, with a polite nod, he stepped back and offered a hand for you to shake. “Well, I’d rather not keep you. Hopefully we can talk again some time?” Shaking his hand, you agree before finally leaving to join your members, accepting Jiwoo’s hug as you arrived.

“I didn’t know you were close with Gahyeon and Yoohyeon sunbaenim?” Yeojin asked with wide eyes and you playfully stick your tongue out. “You didn’t want to join me last time during Show Champion.” You explain to them when you sit down and Haseul hands you a water bottle, her eyes glancing back to where Stray Kids were.

Jinsoul’s eyes were already narrowed while Sooyoung had a brow raised and Kahei tried to block your view of the boy group in case you tried to look, Jungeun sitting right beside her as she nonchalantly looked around.

“Are you close with Stray Kids, too?” Hyejoo questioned and Hyunjin gave her a small nudge for her bluntness. “Aside from their names, I don’t really know any of them much, I just accidentally bumped into one of them a while ago.” You explain with a shrug that causes Jiwoo to cuddle you further.

“It looked like he was flirting with you.” Chaewon mumbled and your brows shot up in surprise due to her claim. “Don’t be ridiculous! He was just being nice, come on.”

“Yeah, Gowon, I’m sure it’s nothing.” Heejin said lightly and Haseul just let out a sigh. “Anyway, we need to get ready because the next competition is about to start and you guys have to be prepared.” She stated and you finally began to prepare for the upcoming events.

Ever since the girls have seen you using a bow and arrow for your debut song and because you’ve been practicing how to use one ever since, it was understandable for them to pick you for that part of the event. Aside from you, there was Hyunjin and Hyejoo that would be participating in the event with you.

Before the start of the match, you tried to adjust your position, checking whether your hold on the bow was alright and then double checking your equipment just in case anything was broken or needed to be replaced while the other two were talking and checking out just how far the target would be. Hyunjin was even practicing her stance as well while Hyejoo kept turning the bow in her hands.

“Make sure your feet are shoulder width apart and don’t grip the bow too tight. And sometimes it helps if you practice your breathing, too.” You’re surprised by the sudden voice, but when you look to your left, you see the same male you had bumped into earlier.

“Thank you for the advice.” You say before lowering the bow and try to readjust your hold on it. “It’s no problem. People usually get tense when playing this, but if you want to get a good shot, don’t forget to breathe.” He explains with a kind smile.

He eyes the way you keep changing your hold on the bow and then lifts his own bow to show you. “Like this, see?” When you try to copy him, he nods his head approvingly before he moved closer and adjusted your hand, gently moving your fingers until it was much more comfortable for you to carry.

“There we go. I think you’ll do great.” He chuckled while you beamed happily. “Thank you so much!” Though off to the side, your members could all see what was happening and they were not too happy with what they were seeing and Haseul was ready to leave their seats just so she could intervene.

“Calm down. Hyunjin and Hyejoo can take care of it.” Sooyoung assures her fellow leader with a pat, but her eyes were boring holes into the man’s skull with how close he had been standing to you.

As a matter of fact, Hyejoo had looked over in time and noticed the nod most of the girls sent her way. Nodding in acknowledgement, she lightly nudged the older girl before she gestured to you and your Hyunjin quickly understood as they both finally walked over.

“Sorry to cut in, but we need to talk to Y/n about the game.” Though despite her words, she wasn’t at all sorry for getting in between. “Oh, that’s alright. I guess I’ll see you later?” The male idol chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck. “Good luck.”

The Hyunjin that stood beside Hyejoo then took your free arm and led you away with the younger girl tailing behind, making sure that the boy had no chance of coming after you again with her standing in his way.

..

“I’m so tired.” You groan after getting in the bus and dropping your bag by your feet. Yerim gave you a small push for you to move before taking a seat next to you and then cuddling into your side. “You participated in a bunch of events, unnie. I think it’s understandable.” Yeojin explained with a small yawn.

“I guess, I haven’t been this active in sports in a while so I think that makes sense.” You mumble as everyone settled down and Kahei handed you a blanket. “Be sure to wash up when we get to the dorm, okay?” She reminds you while you nod tiredly.

Heejin takes a quick glance outside, spotting the members of Stray Kids just as she was about to get on the bus. When Hyunjin saw her, he smiled widely before excusing himself from his group and walking up to her.

“Hello! Is, uh, Y/n there?” The male asked bashfully and your friend gave him an odd look before she shook her head. “Yeah, she’s asleep. Tired from all the games and everything.” She explains while Jungeun raises a brow when she watches the two.

“Ah! That’s understandable, but when she wakes up, would you mind handing her this? I was hoping we could talk more since the ISAC isn’t exactly the most open and free place to talk.” Heejin reluctantly took the folded up piece of paper before she offered the male an awkward grin. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to inform her.”

“Thank you so much.” Right after he left, Heejin finally entered the bus with a huff before meeting Jinsoul and Jungeun’s questioning stares. “I’m surprised he had the guts to ask you to hand his number.” Jungeun shook her head whilst the older blonde extended her hand towards Heejin.

She handed the piece of paper over before Jinsoul took a quick look, her nose crinkling at the cheesy line scribbled at the bottom before she snuck a quick look at you, seeing that you were distracted by the maknaes of the group. “Tell her you were supposed to give it to her but lost it in the bus.”

“Are you sure?” Heejin questioned curiously, feeling a bit bad for having to put the male’s hopes up, but Jungeun nods her head firmly. “It’ll be fine. Plus, it’s not like we’ll be running into them anytime soon.”

“She has a point. Plus, I don’t want any boys trying to get the wrong idea.” Jiwoo huffed as Heejin finally took a seat next to her. “Good try though.” Sooyoung muttered while Hyunjin crossed her arms over her chest. “Y/n only needs one Hyunjin in her life and that’s definitely not a man.”

Haseul sighed while rubbing her forehead. “Let’s just not talk about it anymore. Thinking about it is honestly giving me a headache.” She muttered and Hyejoo hummed in her seat. “He was lucky unnie was there or else I would have done worse for thinking he could get close to her.”

“Well, when this day is over, we can let him be.” They all nodded their heads before finally settling down. Haseul had checked in on you and smiled when she saw Kahei tucking both you and Yerim in with the blanket she gave the two of you, your head resting atop the younger girl’s while she had hers on your shoulder.

They knew that their protectiveness could be a bit much, but given that you were younger than most of them and that you were a foreigner, they wanted to make sure they could look after you and that you wouldn’t be put in any situation that would be difficult for you.

Though with Hyunjin, or any male idol who tried to ask for your number or even try flirting with you, there was no room for discussion unless they went through all twelve of your members first and had each of their approval.

[rosy-cheekx]

“You’re such a dork.” for the emotional writing prompts! I don't know anything about critical role, really, so for TMA :)

I spy, with my little eye, Bryce’s attempts to shove her own interests into her fics. Anyways, I am an American in college so I was basing this on my own experiences oops. Enjoy!

Date night was Wednesday evenings. Jon and Martin both found it preferable for a variety of reasons; it was the most likely nights for happy hours at the pubs in town, guaranteeing a cheap drink, and keeping to a weekday night minimized the chance of Jon seeing one of his students out. He hated seeing his students. Not that he hated them of course, he really rather liked them…not that they would ever know that. Being a professor, of parapsychology of all things, was rather rewarding. He knew the content inside and out (it felt good, using the mark of The Eye to actively work against it, to pass along information instead of consuming). And they didn’t seem to mind him either.

That was the thing about university students. They really didn’t care about who he was or where he came from. The fact that he was a scrawny, scarred Englishman in a lecture hall in Scotland didn’t matter to them. In the classroom, all they cared was whether he taught the material well (he did) and was kind to those with late assignments (he was. He had been a university student once too; he remembered the anxiety and depression that took him and his mates in waves). He was a good professor; Jon knew that objectively in the marks his students received. But in the subjective? His student had decided they liked him.

This had dawned on him at the end of his first semester; when he was inundated with emails of sincere thank-you for a great semester, for being such a helpful teacher, for taking the time to help review, et cetera. Martin had grinned at him, poking a tongue out his mouth and making some remark about teacher’s pets coming full circle (Jon was never a teacher’s pet though. He had always asked too many questions. He welcomed those questions with open arms now, to be the teacher he hadn’t had.)

The next semester it had been more obvious that students liked him now that he knew where to look. It was in the open “good-mornings” and questions about his weekend plans, and in the fact that he had the best attendance records of his department. It was in the way they asked genuine questions about his material and the waitlists miles long to get into his sections. Later on, it was in the gentle ribbings about his looking tired and the grey hairs even as they celebrated his fortieth birthday with him, bringing in cupcakes and sneaking in between lectures to decorate his office and the sincere questions over his scars, his life, his relationship with Martin (his introductory lecture always featured Martin and Her Regency, their thick orange tabby). To make eight wonderful semesters short, he was familiar with his students, and they weren’t afraid to be familiar back. Which was wonderful in the classroom and all, but not when he was trying have a relaxing evening with his husband.

Which brings them back to Wednesdays. Wednesdays were the days least likely to have students out in town, he had learned from Dr. Kerrigan, the positive psych professor, because Thirsty Thursdays started off the weekend’s partying and drinking for the undergraduates. Wednesday was the day students, in theory, buckled down to finish homework and give themselves a free weekend.

So here they were, Martin in a collared shirt, printed with tiny flowers, and jeans, hair bleached white from the Lonely and curling softly at his temples; Jon in a slouchy ribbed turtleneck and high-waisted pants, his own thick curls half-piled atop his head. Jon was listening intently as Martin spoke animatedly, talking about his own day as a guidance counselor at the local primary school.

“…and I swear Jon, if it wasn’t bad enough that Kimmy has decided never to speak to Lawrence again, now Lawrence has confided in me that he is positively in love with her.”

“Did he say that verbatim? In love, I mean.”

“I mean, no, but he said he was willing to give her all his Squishmallows for a playdate. Squishmallows. That’s real eight-year-old commitment, right there.”

Jon barked out a laugh and put on a puppy-eyed expression, grinning all the while. “Martin Blackwood, do you hereby take Jonathan Sim’s stuffed animals, to have and to ho-”

A gentle swat to the knee with Martin’s shoe cut Jon off. “Oi! Respect my children. They may be fools but its not their faults their brains aren’t developed yet. And yes, I know, ‘they’re not developed ‘til twenty-five and you can argue that your students’ brains aren’t developed either.’ But it’s different. They’re babies.”

“And I’m the All-Knowing One,” Jon mused thoughtfully around a forkful of food, earning him another love-filled kick.

“Speaking of,” Martin pointed to Jon with his glass, eyeing him deliberately. “Midterms next week, yeah? How do you think it’ll go?”

Jon shrugged, scratching at the back of his neck. “Alright, I hope. First exam went well but could’ve been better. I’m worried about Avonni, honestly, he’s nodded off a few times in class and I’m not confident he has someone to get the material from.”

“He has you.” A pointed, snow-white eyebrow.

“Right, but sometimes students don’t want to ask for notes because they think I’ll say no. Maybe I should email him. Speaking of email! Did I tell you what Suzanne sent out?”

“Oh no, what?”

They carried on like this through their meal and into dessert, and not for the first time Jon was struck by the sheer normalcy of it all. His greatest concerns were Suzanne’s passive-aggressive emails and his students, not the inevitable destruction of reality as they knew it to be. They were scarred, inside and out, everyone who had escaped The Magnus Institute was, but they were safe and free and happy. In defiance of everything that had happened to and because of them.

“Dr. Sims!”

Uh oh. Spoke too soon.

Bite of lava cake halfway to his mouth, Jon squeezed his eyes shut, rolling his eyes back in his head and willing there to be another professor with the surname Sims in the restaurant. When he opened his eyes, Martin was valiantly trying to suppress a smile as he eyed something, someone, over his head. Jon twisted awkwardly in his seat to see—

“Parker. What a surprise.” His voice was warm but carefully measured, and the dark-skinned boy waved, shit-eating grin on his face. “I have told you that you can call me Jon.”

“Yeah, I know, but you earned that doctorate! And “Doctor Jon” sounds awful, like you should have your own show or something.”

He hadn’t earned that doctorate, actually, but Martin’s expertise in lying and the disastrous apocalypse that had left everyone disoriented meant it had been easy to exaggerate some of Jon’s CV and manufacture a fake diploma.

“I do have my own show. Monday and Wednesday mornings, where I teach a bunch of caffeinated undergrads parapsychology,” Jon replied easily. “You’re welcome to tune in.” He liked Parker; he was a bit of a class clown, liked to ask off-topic questions or pretend to sneak a look at Jon’s answer sheets, but he was sharp and knew his stuff. Jon respected that. He reminded Jon of someone he dearly missed.

But Parker had already turned his attention to Martin, who was watching the interaction with mirth in his eyes. “Hello sir! I’m Parker McMichael, Jon’s favorite student.” Martin shook the extended hand and nodded in mock seriousness.

“Of course. Pleasure to finally meet you. Are you the one with the essay on ESP or the one on psychokinesis?”

“Neither,” Parker shook his head proudly, short dreads swaying gently with the movement. “The Validity and Continuity of Near-Death Experiences,” he made a mock marquee with his hands, arching curved fingers to indicate the title hanging in the air. “Researching any consistencies in near-death experiences stories, whether they’re legitimate, and what they mean if they are. But-” Parker shook his head and turned his attention back to Jon. “That’s not why I’m interrupting.” He took his phone out of pocket idly as he spoke. “I’m afraid I’ve come to settle a dispute among the 11 a.m. section.”

Oh no.

The Ceaseless Watcher whispered to him, unbidden, the dispute in question. Jon generally knew how to suppress the powers, and they were weaker than they had been, once upon a time, but when he’s caught off guard with the desire to know, to Know, it could still overtake him.

“This you?” A blurry screenshot of a Youtube video is shoved under his nose, a part of a text chain titled Sim’s Spoopy Spirits, captioned by many text bubbles expressing disbelief and objections and a variety of emojis. Jon took the phone and examined it, the truth already sure in his chest. Yes, that was him, dressed in his Jonny d’Ville costume, eyeliner streaked and eyes closed, mid-ballad. God, he wished he could be rid of those Youtube videos.

Jon’s gaping silence must have been enough of an answer for Parker because he whooped a little too loudly for the restaurant they were in and pumped his fist to his chest before typing very quickly on his phone. “I knew it! Take that Sabina,” he was mumbling to himself, lost in his texts for a moment.

Martin took the opportunity to clear his throat. “Sorry, uh, no one’s asked so I will. How did you know to look for him-us-here?” Jon frowned, He hadn’t thought about that.

“Oh, a couple of my mates work here and mentioned seeing Dr. Sims and his husband here a lot on Wednesdays and I dunno about you so much, but Dr. Sims is pretty habitual. Figured it was as good a guess as any. Some things can’t wait til Monday.”

“..an email. Parker. You could’ve sent me an email.” Fingers ran over scarred face, as if he could wipe the irritation (and Martin’s poorly-hidden laugh) from existence.

“But then I couldn’t do this.” His phone was back up again, level with his own face and he twisted so both his own and Jon’s faces were in the shot. “I’m here at 7:02 pm on Wednesday the 26, here to make a very important announcement,” Parker spoke to the camera with confidence. “Dr. Sims just confirmed to me that he is the one, the only, Jonny d’Ville.” Parker held the camera to Jon’s voice. “Anything to say to your adoring fans?”

Jon sighed and tugged on an errant curl. “Don’t forget, reading due Monday.” He wasn’t genuinely upset with Parker, just filled with fond embarrassment.

Parker sent the video off and clapped the back of Jon’s chair. “Well, Dr. D’Ville, its been a pleasure. Everyone’s really excited to get a confirmation on your status of coolest teacher. Any plans for the evening?”

Jon sighed through his lower lip, stray curls framing his scalp flying upward in the sudden burst of wind. “Watching a documentary and trying to forget—wait. What?”

“Oh yeah no, everyone thinks it’s badass. You’ve got a super nice voice and the stories you told were really interesting, if a little buckwild.”

Jon felt his cheeks flush and Martin grinned slyly at him from across the table. “Y-Yes. I guess we were rather good.”

Parker gave his farewells and Jon’s shoulders sagged (he had immediately righted his posture on seeing Parker, his grandmother’s voice in his ear reminding him of his manners), turning his full attention back to his husband. Martin had maintained that grin and was eyeing him intensely, like he expected Jon to say something.

“What, Martin?”

“God, you’re such a dork.” The words were soft, expression fond, and Jon could feel the radiation of unadulterated love Martin gave off in his smile, the one only ever used for Jon. “You really love your students, don’t you? You know how much they love you, right?”

Jon grumbled, but he couldn’t quite sweep the smile off his face either as their waiter made his way over with their check.

“No comment. But we are switching to Tuesday date nights.”

[bestie-enthusiast]

Chapter 3: Sam Fills in, Zemo is not Impressed (and also has his first therapy appointment)

Hello!! This is the third chapter of my PTA! Dad! Zemo fic. This is the fifth installment of 11, and the previous chapters can be found under the hashtag pta dad zemo.

Fic Summary: After the untimely death of both his wife and father due to a bombing, Baron Helmut Zemo takes his son and immigrates to America. He does not expect to find a family nor a romantic partner, and he especially does not expect to find the ability to heal. To grieve.

And yet, here we are.

This is a story about connections, growing, healing and mourning the past while still appreciating the future and all it has to offer.

Chapter WC: 1731

Fic below cut if you're interested!

Three days later.

Zemo frowned slightly as he listened to Carol’s rant. She had called an “emergency” PTA meeting (and he was fairly certain she paid the principal to let her do it), but there was no real emergency. Instead all Carol was doing was going on and on about how her son was being “bullied” for his lack of potty training. Her child was in fourth grade, of course the other children were making fun of him.

Even worse was that Sarah hadn’t been able to come in, she was at work, and so her brother had come instead. Zemo had met him only once, at a charity event the school was hosting, and he was not at all subtle in his distaste for Zemo. So he sat in silence listening to Carol’s ranting. No one was in the mood to tell her to shut up, so they all just sat there and waited for her to tire herself out.

Once Carol was done seething she looked at them expectantly, but no one said anything. No one dared to move an inch as they waited for Carol to completely calm down. Eventually, Carol stormed out with a huff and everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. A few people stood up, and Zemo stood after them. He started to walk out when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He instinctively tensed up but turned around. It was Sam.

“Sorry to bother you man, but Sarah said your, uh, butler was with AJ and Cass at a park? Sarah didn’t tell me where, so could I tag along with you?” He asked awkwardly, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he spoke.

“Of course.” Zemo said, nodding. Sam trailed behind him quietly as they began their walk. Zemo almost forgot he was there, with how silent he was being. He thought about all the things he’s ever said or done to hurt any member of the Wilson family, hoping he could think of something to apologise for. He couldn’t think of anything he hadn’t already apologised for or done something to make up for, so he assumed Sam had a different reason to not like him. He didn’t wish to assume it was because of his financial state.

Eventually they made their way to the park, where Oeznik was dutifully watching over Carl, AJ, and Cass. He gave a muttered goodbye to Sam and hurried over to Carl, gently leading him away and following Oeznik to the car.

He absentmindedly listened to Carl talk about his school day as he pulled open his messenger app. He texted Sarah, just to make sure she was okay and not because Sam filling in had reminded him of how lonely he actually was. Sarah texted him back that she was busy with work, and then asked why Sam was so pissed at him. He replied that he didn’t know and she just sent back an eye roll emoji, so he let the conversation end.

He conversed with Carl on the rest of the way back, reminding himself that Sarah was just an acquaintance, and that he shouldn’t let himself get distracted from the only thing that actually mattered, that being Carl.

Sure Sarah was the only person who he trusted outside of Carl and Oeznik, but Carl was the only person that actually mattered to him any more. His consultation with Dr. Raynor was tomorrow, and while he was initially enthusiastic at the prospect, he now regarded the appointment with dread.

After letting out a quiet sigh, Zemo plastered on a large, fake grin, and helped Carl with his school work while Oeznik prepared dinner. He helped Carl get ready for bed, but tonight he did not even bother attempting to fall asleep. He holed himself up in his office, working on things until his hands shook and cramped and his vision grew blurry, at which point he took a cold shower, and resumed work.

Eventually it came time for him to get ready, so he gently woke up Carl to tell him he had an early meeting out of town, but he would be back in time to collect him from school. Carl nodded sleepily and Zemo quietly got dressed, did his hair, and carefully completed his skin care routine.

Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he got into his car and started the long commute to Dr. Raynors office. If he decided to keep her as his full time therapist, he would need to find a shorter way to her office, or perhaps have only phone sessions.

He arrived fifteen minutes early, and spent the time analyzing the decor of her office and fiddling with his phone. Soon enough it was his own name being called. He stood and entered the office, shaking hands with Dr. Raynor when she offered.

“And you are… Helmut Zemo, correct?” He nodded, so used to the mispronunciation of his first name on the rare occasions it was used that he couldn’t be bothered to correct her.

“Yes, but I prefer to be referred to by just my last name.” Mentally he tacked on, ‘because you Americans say it wrong and I can’t be expected to deal with that.’

“Sure.” She said, writing something down in her notebook. “So I’ve looked over all your paperwork, but I want to know, coming from you directly, why you are here.” She said, and it didn’t sound at all like a question, more like a straight fact.

“I suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, you specialise in that.” He said simply, it was the main reason anyway. He did not comment on how he believed their personalities would match, as he was only here for her to consult on whether or not she would take him on as a patient.

“Right,” She said, rolling her eyes. Zemo held back a smile, she rather reminded him of his wife- oh.

She would not work as his therapist. He thought that she would work well, as she could call him out when he refused to do it himself, but no. Talking to her, talking about his emotions to her, would just remind him too much of Heike. Zemo struggled to keep a smirk on his face, or at the very least a neutral look, while she asked him questions. He responded at least somewhat honestly, and then they continued.

“So I’m going to be honest with you, I really only take on patients that peak my interest, and you haven’t.” Zemo held back a wince at the admission, although he supposed he was purposefully making himself that way. He only talked about his time as a Sokovian soldier, not at all about the loss of his wife (or father, but that issue was buried so deep that he forgot about it on occasion), or his obsession over Carl’s schooling and keeping him happy. He did not mention the fact that he felt a rather immense amount of guilt for feeling any sort of attraction, or that he was lonely. And he purposefully kept his face as straight and closed as he possibly could throughout their entire conversation. And so Zemo couldn’t help but relax a tad bit at the statement. No wife-like therapist for him, her death was not an issue he was ready to tackle yet like he thought when he made the appointment.

“Are you- Are you relieved?” She asked incredulously, and Zemo only blinked. She had noticed the slight change in his posture when she had said that. Oops.

“I could tell we were not going to get along.” Zemo replied, and it was the truth. Or partial truth? They would get along, rather spectacularly, according to all the personality assessments the people who left reviews had said. That's what he didn’t want though, he wanted to be detached and unreliant on whichever therapist he acquired, he would become far too attached to Dr. Raynor due to her similar personality to his wife.

“That is utter bullshit. You read the reviews before coming, you knew what I was like before you even came into this room. Why are you relieved I don’t want you as my patient?” Zemo frowned and licked his lips, he was not about to tell her about his wife before they ever had a proper session. “That information is… confidential. And you are not my confidant.” Zemo replied snarkily, who did this woman think she was? She already said no, and yet here she was, still questioning him?

“I’ve changed my mind, you are a very interesting case.” Zemo didn’t know how to feel about that.

“That’s all well and good, but I’m afraid I have not changed mine.” Zemo said, giving the doctor one last, polite, smile before standing up. She stood up as well and he held out his hand for a shake, which she did.

“If you reconsider, you know my number.” She said, before letting go. He nodded and started to walk out the door. Once he was in the waiting room he was surprised to find James sitting in there, fiddling with his phone. Carefully keeping his footsteps quiet, he kept his head down and walked past James, who looked up.

“Zemo?” James asked in surprise, and he turned around to give James a smile, a real one.

“Ah, hello Mr. Barnes.” Zemo greeted back, feeling the all too familiar flutter in his heart at the sight of James. Guilt and shame crashed over him like they did every time he felt that flutter, but it didn’t deter it in the slightest.

“Bucky, please. I didn’t know you knew Dr. Raynor,” James commented with a small smile.

“Y-yes well, I’m just here for a consultation appointment.” Zemo stuttered, that smile made his heart do things, such as sending blood southwards. “Well, Dr. Raynor is the best at what she does.” James responded with a smirk, and a shrug. Zemo gave him another smile, a quick wave, and then he was on his way. As soon as he was out of the building he called Dr. Raynor left her a voicemail stating he had changed his mind, and would like to become a regular client. Seeing James every so often in a non-school setting would be worth it, maybe he’d get to see that smile pointed at him again.

Tagging: @morganbritton132 (Who came up with this AU) and @i-ll-be-the-moon (Who is a great and suportive friend!)

[excelsi-or]

just a little sweeter (pt.6)

Hello wonderful friends. The start of this semester is a hARD one. My friend best explained it as “it feels like it’s December 13, the second week of finals week and it’s the home stretch”. Online school is not my thing. I hope for all of you who are went back to school are having a better time than I am.

BIPOC recs: If you’re feeling helpless like I was last night, watch AOC’s live stream that she did after the death of RBG. I admire the work this woman is doing and how hard she, and other progressives, are working to protect the American democracy. Follow Ty & Shay on IG. Their photography right now is so bright and happy. Something we all need right now.

w.c. 3.2k (oops, I apologize that it’s so long; fluffy fluff fluff, if you don’t like date stories, i’d skip this one; next part is a little more domestic-y/couple-y stuff :D)

pt.1; pt.2; pt.3; pt.4; pt.5

“She’s going to be fine,” Seungkwan promises.

Jihoon brought Eunha over an hour ago so that he could head out on his date. He wanted to make sure that she was settled in and enjoying herself before he disappeared for a few hours.

Jihoon, sitting on the couch behind Eunha, looks up at Seungkwan. “I know.”

“Then you can leave. Are you even dressed?” Seungkwan demands.

Hansol colours on the floor with Eunha, but looks up to gauge Jihoon’s outfit. “He looks dressed to me.”

“Where are you taking her?” Seungkwan puts a hand on his hip. “Isn’t this a first date?”

“You ask me as if you’ve been on plenty of first dates,” Jihoon retorts. He looks down at his outfit. He’d struggled to decide what to wear. Experimenting with his clothes before the date seemed like a bad idea. And the first two outfits he’d tried on hadn’t worked. So he’d gone with something he was used to wearing: a baggy top and jeans. He decided against a hat, because that seemed too casual. Fiddling with his currently grey hair is going to make him stick out like a thumb, but he’s never had a real issue with fans or the like. He’s hoping tonight is no exception.

“You still haven’t told us where you’re taking her though, hyung,” Hansol points out.

Jihoon stands. “I think it’s time for me to go.” He squats down and kisses Eunha’s head. “You be good, okay? Uncle Seungkwan and Uncle Hansol are going to watch you.”

Eunha tips her head back to look at him. “You’re going?”

“I’m going to go have dinner with a friend,” he answers. He brushes the hair out of her face. “But I’ll be back before you go to bed, hmm?”

“No, Dad’s going to be back after you go to bed,” Seungkwan insists. “He’ll take you home and give you cuddles there.”

Eunha’s gaze shifts past Jihoon to Seungkwan and then back to Jihoon’s face. Jihoon can see the lack of understanding in her eyes, but she nods anyway. “Okay.” She closes her eyes as he kisses her forehead.

Seungkwan walks Jihoon to the door. “Hyung, don’t cut your date short because of Eunha. We’re all here to watch her. The members are coming back after dinner.” He waves off anything Jihoon can possibly say. “She’ll be fine for one night without you tucking her in.”

“If the world starts ending, you better fucking call me,” Jihoon hisses.

Seungkwan nods, holding back an eye roll. “Yes, hyung.”

Jihoon checks his phone on the way to the elevator. There are good luck messages from the members to which he replies with an eye roll emoji. Then seeing her name in his phone makes his heart flip before wondering what she could be messaging him about.

They’ve been texting on and off for the past few days. If the café is busy, she can only really text him late in the afternoon. That’s the busiest time of day for him, but when he’s free at night, she’s usually already asleep.

So the fact that they could even pin down a day to meet up is a miracle.

What if she’s cancelling?

The message just says: Meet you at the café.

There are no emojis, no tildes (~), nothing to insinuate that she’s excited to see him. He gets a cab to the café, because getting on the train with his grey hair is a horrible idea. When Jihoon steps out of the cab, he sees her first. She’s sitting on the bench outside the café on her phone. Her hair, usually out of her face in some sort of half up-do, cascades around her shoulders. As he gets nearer, he can tell she’s dressed just as casually as he is. They telepathically communicated that this was a jeans and t-shirt kind of date.

When Jihoon walks right up to her, she takes a second to glance up at him. A wide grin splits her face. “Jihoon!” She stands and hugs him.

Jihoon is surprised at the contact, but lets his arms wrap around her waist in greeting. “Hey. I’m glad you also went casual for the date.”

She chuckles and pulls away, glancing down at her outfit. Up close, Jihoon can admire the design of her baggy white t-shirt. It’s a simple line drawing of a naked woman’s back.

“Where are we headed?” she asks.

Jihoon shrugs and starts to walk away from the café. “I had a few ideas in mind.”

She tucks her phone into her back pocket. “This should be interesting.” She glances over at him. “Is there a certain time you need to pick up Eunha?”

Jihoon snorts and shakes his head. “Seungkwan specifically told me not to cut my date short.”

She nudges him with her elbow. “I get you all to myself this evening?”

He hears the teasing in her tone and smiles a little. “Yeah, you do.” And it feels nice to say that.

They walk in silence for a while and it starts to feel heavy around him. They’ve done the basics already. He knows what she does. He knows where she lives. She knows where he grew up. The woman already knows he has a child. What’s left to even say?

“So what do you do when you’re not in the studio or taking care of Eunha?” she asks.

Jihoon meets her gaze and wonders if the silence had also been getting to her or if she just had impeccable timing. “At the gym or sleeping, really.”

She pauses, waiting for more. Then she laughs when nothing comes. “Seungcheol oppa warned me that this was your first date in a while.”

Jihoon’s brow furrows. “What did he say?”

“Just that you might be weird.” She look as if she’s about to reach for him, but stops. “I’ve also been forewarned that you don’t like to be touched.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “I might as well call the date off now. Seems like everyone’s given me a bad rep already.”

She smiles.

“I don’t mind.”

She tips her head.

“The touching thing. I don’t always mind.”

She watches his expression carefully as she loops her arm through his. Jihoon likes the feeling of her next to him. When the members try to hug him, a lot of the time, it feels too overwhelming. This feels like they’re sharing space rather than someone overtaking his.

“They didn’t say anything bad. Just told me a few things.”

Jihoon encourages her to continue. “Well, Seokmin said that you would probably take me out to eat at three specific restaurants. Seungkwan said that you might be distracted all night between Eunha and work.” Her eyes go to the sky as she thinks. “Soonyoung said that you might not like to answer some of my questions, because you’ve been hurt before. Chan told me he’s surprised you’re willing to go on a date with me at all.”

Jihoon’s face is on fire at this point. “None of that sounds any good on my part.”

She throws her head back with a laugh. “I think it says a lot about you that you have friends who want me to like you. Which is hilarious, because I’m pretty sure I liked you first.”

Jihoon looks to her. “Did you?”

“As soon as I saw Eunha on your hip at the grocery store.” She nods. “I was hooked.”

Jihoon’s eyes widen. “Huh. Didn’t think it would be my daughter that would land me a date.” He adjusts his hand in his pants pocket. “About what Soonyoung said, this is a date. I’m willing to answer any questions you have to ask me.”

“Really.”

“As long as you answer any question I ask you.”

“Seems like a fair trade. Can I go first?”

Jihoon turns left down an alley and he feels her move a little bit closer. “Yeah, sure.”

In the pause of conversation, she gauges their surroundings. A neon sign catches her attention. “You’re taking me to an arcade, aren’t you?”

“I’m specifically taking you to a bowling alley, but there’s an arcade there.”

“You bowl?”

“Not very well,” Jihoon admits. He holds the door open for her and lets her through first. “But I had an inkling to play.”

She grins back at him. “I suck at bowling.”

The sound and smell of the bowling alley is familiar. It’s a little bit musky, a little too loud, but the atmosphere is light-hearted. He stands at the counter and catches the eye of someone who works there. The man comes over from the lanes to step behind the register.

“Shoe size?”

“4,” she says.

“You’re a 4?” Jihoon doesn’t know why he’s surprised.

“Yeah,” she snorts when the guy puts shoes down in front of her. “Get it out of your system now.” She heads towards their lane while Jihoon waits for his shoes. He scoffs in disbelief when she passes him on his way to the lane.

“Too small?”

She rolls her eyes. “Too big.”

When she returns with her regular shoes in hand, Jihoon glances at her feet. She shows off her heel with the shoe size on the back.

“Awe, you’re a 3! I think Eunha wears those size shoes.”

She thwacks him in the arm and tucks her shoes into a cubby. She sits next to Jihoon while he sorts out their names on the board.

“Let’s play a game,” she says.

Jihoon presses enter. “We are playing a game.” He leads her towards the racks with the bowling balls.

“A game within a game then.” She lifts an 8 lb. ball and compares it to a 10.

“What is it?”

She decides to keep both. “Between every turn, we ask each other a question.”

“You’re gonna make me think of questions while beating you at bowling?” Jihoon demands. He takes two balls back with him to the lane.

“Exactly,” she chuckles. “I need to get something out of this too.”

“You make it sound like I’m really good or you’re really bad.”

“A good mix of both, I think.” She puts her bowling balls down and then holds a hand out to Jihoon. “Deal?”

Jihoon studies her. The blue light of the bowling alley soaks into her skin and turns her white shirt blue. “Deal.”

He put her name first, so she bowls first.

“First question,” Jihoon says when she knocks over 4 pins.

She lifts an eyebrow, glancing back at him. “Shoot.”

“What…” Jihoon tilts his head. “What is your favourite Seventeen song?”

“Easy.” She tosses her 10 lb. down the lane. It veers a hard left, only clipping two pins. She turns back and sits next to him. “Check In.”

“That’s an old one and it’s not even a vocal team song,” Jihoon protests. He goes to take his turn.

“You asked me what my favourite Seventeen song was. You didn’t say you had to be on it.”

“You didn’t think to choose a song I actually sing on?”

She smirks. “I’m not here to pretend to be anything I’m not.”

Jihoon grins and bowls a spare. He stands on the opposite side of the table, hands down, leaning towards her. Her chin rests in her hands as she stares up at him. “Favourite thing about your last girlfriend.”

Jihoon blinks in surprise at the question. She gets up as the pins reset, brushing past him.

She only manages to knock down two pins and Jihoon still doesn’t have a proper answer for her.

“You dated her. Must have been something you liked about her,” she snorts.

“Well, we broke up.”

“Yeah, but you dated her before you broke up with her.” She rolls her eyes, smiling. “Break ups aren’t always terrible and horrible.”

“She gave me Eunha. Does that count?”

Realization seems to dawn on her face. He has the baby. He’s raising her alone. Not all break ups are terrible and horrible; his definitely was.

“That’s sweet,” she decides to say.

Since she seems entirely okay with deep dive questions, Jihoon turns the question on her. “What was your favourite thing about your last boyfriend?” He gets up to bowl.

It only takes her a beat to come up with an answer. “He has a great sense of humour. Really dry and witty.”

When he returns to her, she asks, “Favourite thing that one of the members has ever cooked for you?”

The change in topic is surprising, but appreciated. Either she wants to keep their first date light-hearted or she sensed his mood change when Yeri had come up.

And it happens often. Their conversation starts to go down a certain road and each time they hit the road block of his ex-girlfriend, she finds a way to turn the conversation around. Jihoon feels a deep appreciation for her. While they can be serious, they spend a lot of time bantering and teasing each other about bad plays. She manages to find a groove during the second game and beats him by a few points.

After the third game, they agree that hunger is a larger priority than fun and they should get something to eat. Due to the question and answer she inserted into their game, they leave the alley nearly 3 hours later. Jihoon is pleased that he hasn’t had to check his phone, which is on sound and loud. A few text messages had startled the both of them out of conversation, but they were work related and could be ignored until he gets home.

She loops her arm through his as they wander the streets to find somewhere to eat.

“Are you able to go somewhere where there’s a lot of people?”

They’d had a few people come up to him while bowling. His grey hair and hairstyle are apparently pretty distinct. But it could have been much worse. “Do you have somewhere in mind you want to go?”

She shrugs. “It’s not exactly date-style food, but I want mall food.”

He laughs. “Let’s go then.”

She watches him run his hand through his hair again. “Do you want a hat?”

Jihoon looks around. “You just have one on demand?”

She rolls her eyes and points towards a store down the street. “Wait here.” She ducks inside and walks back out with a plain black cap in hand. She plops it on his head. Before he can say anything, she tips her head in contemplation. Then she reaches up and folds the bill of the cap and pushes it up slightly to show off a bit more of his face.

Jihoon watches an expression of approval grow on her face and he’s tempted to lean down towards her, but holds back. She pulls away a little too quickly for his liking.

“Now we can take the train!”

On the train, someone seems to recognize him and keeps sneaking glances. That is until she pushes Jihoon into the corner and gets closer to him. Jihoon is surprised for her to be underneath the bill of his cap. “You’ve watched Marvel movies,” she whispers.

Jihoon pecks her nose. “Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable.”

A blush spreads across her cheeks from his affection and she bows her head in embarrassment. Jihoon pulls her a bit closer to him as more people get on the train.

“This is ridiculous,” she snorts. “All I wanted was food.”

“We’re going to eat,” Jihoon reminds her.

“This is a first date, we haven’t eaten yet and you’ve already,” her voice drops to a whisper, “kissed me.”

“I beat you in bowling,” he reminds her.

She rolls her eyes. “Oh yeah, thanks.”

They wind up talking for hours and wander the mall after eating. When it closes, they go out and wander the brightly lit streets. When she starts visibly yawning, Jihoon glances at his watch. “Oh shit.”

“What?” she yawns.

“It’s almost 1.”

“That explains the yawning,” she mumbles.

“I should take you home.”

She pouts. “I would like to argue with you, but I won’t. I have to work tomorrow.”

Jihoon’s eyes widen. “You open at 7.”

“Yep.”

“You should have told me.”

“I’m having fun.”

Jihoon waves down a cab and climbs in after her. “We can meet up again.”

She lifts an eyebrow as she fires off her address to the driver. “Really?”

“You don’t want to go on another date with me?”

She chuckles. “I didn’t say that. I’m surprised you want to go on another date with me.”

He threads his fingers through hers.

When they get to her apartment, Jihoon asks the cab driver to wait. He walks her to the door of her apartment. “I’ll message you.”

“And I’ll try to reply,” she promises, as she unlocks the door. She holds it open with her body and turns to look at him. She waves him closer.

Jihoon closes the distance between them and smiles when she lifts the bill of his cap higher. She pecks his nose. “Goodnight, Jihoon.”

“Sleep well.”

She shakes her head with a laugh and disappears into her apartment.

Seungkwan is the one who answers the door. “How’d it go?”

“Is she sleeping?” Jihoon asks, avoiding talking about the date. There’s such an airy feeling in his chest and he feels like he’s walking on clouds. He doesn’t want to share the feeling with anyone else just yet. Maybe after he writes songs about it.

“She’s sleeping with Hansol,” Seungkwan answers. He glances over at Jihoon. “Do you want to spend the night here? We have schedules tomorrow.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Jihoon collapses onto the couch and grabs a blanket nearby. He tosses his cap onto the coffee table.

Seungkwan shuts the lights off, but not before giving Jihoon one last look. He recognizes the messaging app and the slight movement of the bubbles as Jihoon messages someone back.

Seungkwan wasn’t sure what Soonyoung was worrying about until this moment. Seeing Jihoon vulnerable and giddy isn’t uncommon, but they sure don’t see him like this around other people.

[spookyhalloweennights]

Long Distance Love (Zayne: sfw)

The buzz of your phone in your pocket had brought a smile to your face despite how stressful the day had been. You had a feeling you knew who it was as you pulled your phone free from the confines of your pocket, the screen illuminating around the edges to show the new messages that had come through. 

‘I can’t believe the last episode of the show! You had tricked me! You said it was a good ending! I hate it!’ 

Attached to the message was a bunch of the crying emojis, and you could only laugh at how ridiculous he was being. You took a moment or two before you actually responded to him, the red brick house you lived in coming into view as you finished your stroll around the neighborhood. The need to get out of the house was overwhelming so you had decided to take a walk to get some fresh air. 

‘I said it was a good ending, I didn’t say that you’d actually like it.’  You replied simply, attaching the emoji that had its tongue sticking out to the message before sending it off again. Instead of shoving it back into your pocket, you simply held it in your hand knowing that you would get a response shortly after. 

‘Fair point but still! Also are we still on for movie night?’ Came the next reply from him, you could only grin as the familiar feeling of a blush began to creep up your neck before settling across your features. 

‘Of course! Wouldn’t miss movie night for anything! I’ll be home in like two minutes and then I can get my computer setup!’ You were quick to reply, he merely responded with a thumbs up to the message. 

The pair of you had settled on the latest animated movie for your typical movie night, Zayne had actually suggested it and even went as far as to make sure he had it rented for the night despite you having a streaming app that would allow you to watch it. You had protested against him renting it, but he had merely dismissed it and told you that it was his turn to pay for date night anyway. 

Upon arriving at your front door, you had noticed a package that was left in front of it. Shoving your phone back into your pocket, you picked the package up and examined the label to see who it was from. A giddy smile was quick to make an appearance as you noted it was from Zayne. After having accepted his request for you to be his girlfriend, you had started receiving packages from him, of course you had sent some yourself in reply to his. Whether it was your favorite book, a shirt you’d think he’d like, a jar of notecards for him to open at different times… The list went on, opening your door you walked inside and shut it behind you, quick to make a beeline to your room. 

The fans of your computer whirred to life as you hit the power button, while it started you opened the package. A box of your favorite brand of popcorn was inside, some chocolates and sweets, but most importantly there was a new candle. Your other candle had finally reached the end of its life and you vaguely remember telling him about it the last time you two had spoken. 

Setting the box off to the side after settling on a sweet to munch on during the movie, you finally opened up the video app you used to stream movies on with him and talk. It took only a few more moments for it to fully load after you had logged on, clicking on his profile picture and then the call button. 

“Hello?” His voice came through, the old pair of headphones you were wearing muffling his voice a little. 

“Hey! I got your package!” You were quick to jump into the conversation, a grin on your face. “I love the candle, I’m surprised you remembered me mentioning it.” 

“You’d be surprised at what I remember that you tell me.” He chuckled, the movie showing up on your screen and beginning to play. You adjusted your audio settings so that you could hear him clearly while the movie played. “Like the time that you were at a friend’s house swimming and their dog had gotten hold of your bikini top strap and was pulling on it.”

“To be fair, it was pretty funny, terrifying at the time since the dog was pretty big. Well… At least about as big as me.” You explained with a laugh. A flutter of nerves rose up in you at the question you had been wanting to ask him for awhile now. 

“I have some vacation time coming up, I’ll be off for a week…” You began, the silence almost deafening from your usual banter and talks. “I was thinking I could get a plane ticket and fly out to visit you, if that’s okay with you?” You found the courage to finish the question, it had been months since the two of you had officially gotten together and you were dying to see him. 

The silence stretched on and the nervousness you had felt before began to amplify. “Zayne?” You asked, hoping for some sort of reply. 

“I..” Zayne had started but then seemed to pause as if he was looking for the right words to say. “I don’t think you’ll be impressed by what you see but… I’d be okay with it.” He responded, a wave of relief washing through you. 

“Great!” You chimed, the conversation changing and going back to your usual discussions, the air light with the promise of something else. 

The following weeks were spent talking about what you would do when you got there, where you would stay - which Zayne wouldn’t let you rent a hotel room for the time you were there, he claimed that they couldn’t be trusted but you had a feeling it was just to get to spend more time with you, and so on. It continued even right up to the night that you were packing your bags for the week, deciding to stay for the entirety of the time that you had off. 

“Are you nervous?” He asked, his voice coming through the speakers you had installed a little while ago as you moved about your room making sure that everything was in order. 

“A little, I haven’t been on a plane before… You’ll be there at the airport right?” You asked probably for the hundredth time. 

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to miss meeting my girlfriend for the first time. I’ll be there with a giant sign that says your name on it.” He responded, the reassurance calming your nerves for the moment. “You better get some sleep, it’s getting late for you.” 

“I will.” You paused briefly. “I love you Zayne, I’ll see you tomorrow.” The words still felt heavy on your tongue as if they weren’t supposed to be there, but you knew it was from how your current state of mind was. 

The beep of the call ending gave you a sort of comfort, knowing that he wouldn’t have to listen to you fret over your choices in clothing or what time exactly you had to be up. He reassured you that you got this, that you would make it on time and that he would be waiting for you. No doubt he would be, he had been hesitant at first but it quickly changed to excitement at the idea of spending time together and being within arms reach. 

When your alarm went off the next morning, you had already been awake five minutes prior, silently counting down the minutes that signaled the start of something new. After gathering all your bags and having a very quick breakfast, you were quick to dash out the front door and head to the rental car you had. Packing everything up and getting into the car, you made your way to the airport. 

The flight was pleasant and not to mention the beautiful view you had gotten by picking a window seat. You had made a new friend during the flight, an orc who was in the same boat as you, the two of you were quick to strike up a long conversation even going as far as to swap numbers to keep in contact since you would be in the same city as her. 

Once the plane had landed, and you had gathered your bags you headed into the waiting area, the familiar wave of butterflies rising up in you, making you nervous again. You held onto your phone, the flurry of texts coming through now that you were on the ground and in an area that had reception. 

‘I can’t wait to see you!’ Was the last one that you had received minutes before the plane had actually landed, with the quiet reassurance behind the message you moved forward. Scanning the crowd before a bright, colorful sign was held up with your name on it. The colors made you gasp in surprise, you had heard of how once someone had found their soulmate, colors burst to life before their eyes but you didn’t think it would be like this. The world around you seemed brighter, and you practically shoved your way through the crowd to get to him. 

“Zayne!” You called out, grabbing the drider’s attention, he was much more beautiful than what you ever could’ve imagined. He had long, white hair that was tied back, his skin a pale blue color before it shifted into a much brighter sapphire blue on his legs and abdomen, both of which are covered in a soft hair. 

His excited grin turns to shock as he begins to look around him before his gaze finally turns back to you. He steps forward hesitantly before a warm smile takes the shocked look, he captures you in a hug and twirls you with a laugh that had the others cooing at the sight of you two. “I had a feeling…” He began but you simply cut him off, cupping his face with your hands and pressing a kiss against his lips. 

“You’re absolutely gorgeous.” You stated as if it was a well known fact, a rosy coloring covering his cheeks from the sudden kiss. 

“I could say the same thing about you.” He responded, he set you down, taking some of your luggage so that you had a free hand which he quickly took hold of with his own, lacing your fingers together as you both silently moved towards the exit. 

“I’m glad to have met you.”

[petertingle-yipyip]

Why - Sweet Pea

//Absolutely not requested. I was half lucid listening to Shawn Mendes when this happened. Be nice.//

//Tags: @lover2448​ @chipster-21​ @southsidearchive​ // Warnings: Suggestive content, mild language, angst//

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Reader

Word Count: 2, 013

Summary: Y/N and Sweet Pea have a complicated relationship that doesn’t make sense to either of them. Y/N just wants to know Why.

Your nails down his back. His grip on your hips. Your legs hooked around his waist. His hips rolling against yours. Your pleas and cries, whining his name. His moans and pants, mumbling how much he wanted you.

“Hello?” Jughead sighed, waving his hand in front of your face. “Y/N? You there?”

You snapped from your daze, tearing your eyes from the pool table. You didn’t know why you couldn’t look away from him, why you couldn’t stop thinking of him. You had wanted him since you first met him, and you got him. For one night, he was yours. He was putty in your hand, eager to make it last. But now… Now it was like he never met you.

“Sorry.” You nodded, focusing on your friend that was sitting on a bar stool next to you. “What were you saying?”

“You were staring again.”

“I was not.”

“Just tell him something and get it over with.”

“He’s gonna act like he just met me because he does that every time.” You rolled your eyes, turning your body to face Jughead. “It’s not worth it.”

“Toni!” Sweet Pea said, his words slurred slightly as he approached the bar. “Two more, yeah?”

“Almost sounds like you had enough.” You commented into your drink with an eye roll.

Sweet Pea was a lot of things. You had come to understand that. He was brooding, dangerous, intimidating, bold, smart, and incredibly sexy. But he was also a boy, which meant he was demanding and rude. Despite it all, you wanted him. Your body craved his, to be pinned beneath his weight as he kissed down your neck to your chest. You wanted to watch as his lips travelled lower… And lower…

“Do I know you?” He answered with a drunken laugh.

“Nope.” You said with finality, your lips making the ‘p’ pop. “Let’s keep it that way, yeah?”

You stood from your seat, grabbing your jacket from the countertop. You quickly put it on as Sweet Pea continued to try to convince Toni to give him more beers. You shook your head in disappointment, disappointed that you had allowed yourself to give in to him. Disappointed that you thought it meant something to him. Disappointed that you knew you’d do it again.

You left the bar, walking down the familiar roads to Sunnyside. You let your mind wander, drifting to the one place that it never left. Sweet Pea.

Before you knew it, you were in your own bed. You were changed, under the covers, and ready to go to sleep when your phone rang. There was no name on the contact, just a snake emoji.

“Do I know you?” You repeated his question from earlier that night.

“That’s not what you were saying last night.” He teased.

“You’re drunk, Sweet Pea.” You sighed.

“I am not.”

“What do you want?”

“You.”

“No, you don’t.” You countered. “You want someone that you don’t have to commit to. You want someone you can call and not have feelings for. Do you even know my name?”

“Y/N.” He said clearly, as if his slurred speech earlier was an act. “You’re Y/N.”

“You wouldn’t know it if you were sober, would you?” His silence was the only answer you needed. “You’re still drunk. Bye.”

The next day at school, you tried to act normal. But the night before, that conversation with Sweet Pea haunted your dreams. Everywhere you turned, he was there. Saying your name, leaning in closer and closer until his lips ghosted yours.

“Why do you put each other through hell?” Fangs asked, leaning on the lockers near yours. You closed the door partially to see his face. “Just tell him you like him!”

“He acts like he doesn’t know me, Fangs.” You told your friend. “Why bother?”

“Because he’s an idiot and doesn’t know how to talk to people!”

“No one will break first.” You shrugged. “He wants to pretend he doesn’t know me? That’s fine. He doesn’t want to acknowledge my existence? Whatever.”

“Why can’t you just get over yourselves?” He groaned.

“Ask him yourself.” You winked before slamming your locker shut and turning down the opposite way. It wasn’t even the way towards your class, but it was away from Sweet Pea.

Later that day, you found your friends in the student lounge. Jughead, Fangs, and Toni were seated together, laughing about something. You happily joined them, easily falling into their conversation. You sat on the couch next to Fangs, and you were so caught up in your laughter, you hadn’t noticed Sweet Pea sit next to you.

He was silent, just listening to you talk. He noted the concealer on your throat, covering the marks he knew he left. He glanced down at your hands, your perfectly manicured blue nails. He remembered how it felt when you ran them down his back and chest, the way they dug into his arm. He remembered your fingers tugging on his hair, your head thrown back to expose your neck. The whole night was burned into his memory, a night he never wanted to forget.

Sweet Pea wanted to be with you again. He wanted to spend another night with you, offering you pleasure so he could hear his name fall from your lips. So he could hear you beg and plead for him. He just wanted you. But you never spoke to him in public, acted as if you two didn’t know each other. He figured two could play that game.

“So, Y/N.” Toni looked at you with a devilish look. “Why are you still single?”

“Oh, jeez. Really?” You laughed.

“Yes, really.” Fangs joined in.

“I know this boy, but he’s like a curse.” You began explaining carefully. You had to stay vague, vague enough that she wouldn’t know who you meant but detailed enough that she’d be satisfied. “He’s everything a girl wants, and everything a girl doesn’t. He’s tall and sexy and hot as hell. But he’s also kind of a dick.”

“So why do you like him?” Jughead scoffed in amusement. Jughead and Fangs were the only ones who knew of your interest in Sweet Pea. They knew you were attracted to him, figured you only wanted him in the physical sense, and not the romantic sense. That’s what you thought too, until you finally got him.

After that night with Sweet Pea, you wanted more from. And not just sex. You wanted to wake up next to him. You wanted to call him just to hear his voice. You wanted to stay up late messaging him. You wanted late night rides with him. You wanted to go to dinner with him and make him laugh. You wanted to be with him, more than just physically. But knowing Sweet Pea, and the way he acted towards you, there was no chance that would happen. So, you tried to get him out of your head.

“I tried finding someone new.” You defended. “For so many nights… They don’t mean anything compared to him.”

“So, what?” Toni pressed. “Is he a Serpent or a Bulldog? Please tell me he isn’t a Ghoulie.”

“He’s definitely not a Ghoulie.” You laughed. “It doesn’t matter what he is, honestly. If you ask him, he doesn’t know who I am.”

“Maybe he’s not worth it then.” Toni said gently.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Days passed before you heard from Sweet Pea again. He didn’t call or text or acknowledge your presence anywhere. He showed up at your trailer at two in the morning. You were still up working on your lines for the play Kevin roped you into when he knocked. You opened the door without looking, still reading over your script. When you finished the scene, you looked up and saw him standing in your living room.

“What are you doing here?” You asked simply.

“I wanted to see you.” He shrugged.

“You see me at school and at the Wyrm. I don’t need you coming to my place whenever you want someone to suck yo-”

“It’s not about sex, Y/N.” He cut you off.

“Excuse me?” You laughed. “It’s only about sex with you. You don’t give a damn about me or what I want. That much you’ve made perfectly clear.”

“What do you want?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not gonna say it cause you’ll just brush it off.” You snapped. “You don’t care! You’re gonna act like it means nothing at all.”

“It means something to me.” He said softly.

“You’re lying.” You laughed nervously. “I can’t tell you what I really want because you’re going to laugh in my face.”

“Y/N, I wasn’t re-”

“You’re gonna say you weren’t ready? You weren’t ready!?” You said loudly, throwing your hands to the side in a grand gesture. “That makes everything better, right? Cause you weren’t ready.” You laughed in disbelief. “You think you can come here and say you weren’t ready to commit to anything and that’ll make it okay? All that means is that you just wanted sex and you knew I’d give it to you.”

You paused, waiting for his response. You threw your script onto your coffee table and crossed your arms. He didn’t say anything, just wiped his face in frustration. Sweet Pea had come to tell you that he wasn’t ready to commit because he was afraid, afraid that he would get hurt again. When Josie left, it hurt Sweet Pea more than he showed. He knew he was in the wrong for using you the other night. But that was the only way that he could act on what he wanted and be okay after.

You wanted to push him away, to shove him out of your trailer and out of your life. You wanted to forget that Sweet Pea ever existed in your life, turn into complete strangers. But your heart wouldn’t let you do that. You cursed yourself for having such a soft heart. You figured this was the only chance you had to let him know what was really weighing on your mind, so you let yourself say all of it.

“You want to know the worst part?” You said with a shake of your head. “I would’ve slept with you again. I would’ve let it happen again and again. Want to know why? I’ll tell you anyways. Because I wanted you, Sweet Pea. I wanted to be with you but you pretend like you don’t know who I am. You pretend like we haven’t known each other for years.”

“Can I say something now?” He said finally.

“So you do know how to talk!” You said sarcastically. “By all means, go ahead.”

“What I did wasn’t right. I didn’t go about it the right way, and for that I’m sorry.” He began honestly. You weren’t convinced he was being honest, but coming to you in the middle night had to mean something. “I know you’re pissed and I know that you don’t care what I have to say right now. But I need to say it.”

“So say it and go.” You shrugged in defeat.

“The other night… The sex, it was the only way I could have you without having you. I didn’t think I was ready to commit to you and you deserve commitment. After Josie left, I was hurt. But you were there, checking on me and it really meant a lot to me.”

“You sure didn’t show it.”

“Yeah… I was wrong, Y/N.”

“When people ask about us, about why we treat each other the way that we do… You just brush it off. You act like I mean nothing at all.” You said softly. “If I’m what you want, why?”

“I thought if I pretended I didn’t care, eventually I wouldn’t.”

“You really hurt me, Sweet Pea.”

“I know and I’m s-”

“You’re sorry, I know.” You interrupted. “But it’s just not fair to ignore me until you need something… I’m sorry, but you need to go.”

[jxoxsxsxi]

Hold me while you wait by Lewis capaldi

Tell me all about last night?' 

Sander startles when a girl suddenly jumps his back and pulls his headphones from his ears. He scoffs at her loud voice.

'Robbe promised me he would send pictures, but you know how he is. Or were you distracting him?'

The girl jumps off his back and wiggles her eyebrows. 

Sander rubs his eyes while yawning. 'Noor, what the hell are you talking about?'

The girl doesn't listen and continues to brabble. 

'Seriously, Robbe is so cute. The way I needed to come and help me because it needed to be perfect, just adorable.'

'Huh?'

Noor still doesn't listen and pulls him towards the entrance of the academy. 

'I also want a boyfriend like Robbe, one who surprises me when I am busy or not feeling well.'

An unpleasant feeling spread through Sander's body. 

'What do you mean?'

The girl stops walking and raises her eyebrow. She pulls the collar of his shirt slightly down. 'You are not wearing it?'

Sander rolls his eyes. 'Are you going to tell me what is going on?'

Noor steps back 'wait, what? What happened last night?'

'Nothing? I don't know? Robbe was already asleep when I got home?' The boy gives the girl a questioning look. 'What was supposed to happen?'

There is a moment of silence. 

'I haven't said anything.'

Sander sighs loudly and folds grabs his bag. 'Well, then am I-'

'I thought you and Robbe had date night yesterday?'

'Nah, I was out.'

Noor's eyes open a little wider. 'But Robbe kept texting me the whole day?'

'I really don't know what you mean, but I need to go inside now so talk to you later?'

The girl doesn't respond. 

Sander rolls his eyes and walks past her. He doesn't have time for this bullshit now. 

He needs to study a little bit more before the test starts in about half an hour. 

He fucked it up. He couldn't remember a single thing during the test.

Sander was annoyed with himself. If he only had started studying a little bit early, he would have aced it. But now he had to re-take it probably, which meant more school and studying. 

He gulped down a bottle of water while trying to ignore his pounding head. 

Why did he drink alcohol? Was it worth feeling this miserable? 

The sun appeared between the clouds and Sander squeezed his eyes together. 

Everything was today so fucking bright and loud. It seemed like the universe was trying to annoy him on purpose. 

People who were shouting in the hallway, a flickering light in the classroom, the smell of bacon coming from the cafeteria. 

Maybe the universe was telling him not to drink on a school night. 

Sander knew he probably shouldn't have gone out last night. 

He should have studied for his test today, but some of his colleagues invited him after his shift and, he felt like getting shitfaced so he accepted the invite.

He was young and was allowed to have a bit of fun even though it meant suffering afterwards. 

Sander sight loudly when a group of loud talking kids walked past him. 

He opened his phone to reply to his lover's usually good morning or good luck texts. 

There only wasn't one. 

Sander frowned while refreshing his phone. No texts from Robbe. 

Perhaps the younger boy was busy, although this wasn't like him. 

Usually, Sander had around ten messages now. 

He scrolled a bit through Instagram, but nothing was interesting so he returned back to the text messages, hoping to hear something from his boyfriend. 

Robbe was seen last ten minutes ago which was weird. Robbe knew he had a test right? 

Sander knew it was ridiculous, but he felt annoyed with his boyfriend. 

Why was the younger boy not reaching out? 

It feels as if someone pours an ice bucket over his head as he scrolls through their texts. 

Robbe: Hey baby, don't forget about tonight?😘 08:36

Sander: Yeah I remember, miss you x 10:10

Robbe: Have fun working! I love you! Can't wait for tonight😏 12:52

Robbe: Hey, do you know what time you are going to be home? xx 17:03 

Robbe: Sander? 17:59

Robbe: Everything alright, baby? 18:24

Robbe: Can you let me know anything?! 19:00

Robbe: Sander, where are you?19:31

Robbe: Hello??? 20:51

Robbe: What is going on? Nothing has happened, right? 21:20

Robbe: Baby? 21:46

Robbe: I swear if you don't let me know anything I am going to call the police 22:22

Robbe: your shift ended at 17:00, right? 22:40

Sander: Sowy cutie, I out if sw freinds, sea you tomrrow? 22:59

Robbe: Be safe 23:54

Now the thing with Noor made a lot of sense. 

Sander cursed underneath his breath. Why was he so fucking stupid? 

He felt a familiar ache in his chest. 

Robbe was upset with him. 

He pulled the strains of his hair. Why was he this way? 

Why did he fuck everything up? 

He hadn't spoken to Robbe this morning. The younger boy had already left before Sander had woken up. 

He tries to remember what happened last night. Vaguely he remembers turning on the lights which caused Robbe to whine. 

Didn't he try to have sex with Robbe? Or was that another time? 

He rubs his face. The mess he has become the past few months. 

It was a never-ending spiral. Sander felt bad about something and he would try to forget by doing bad shit which caused him to feel even worse. 

Everything went downhill. 

'You okay? You look like you have seen a ghost?'

Noor was standing in front of him surrounded by some girls that were chatting and giggling. 

'I am not okay.'

The girl took place on the bench next to him and handed him a chocolate bar. 

Sander shook his head. He still felt sick. 

'What happened last night? Did you two get into a fight?'

'No' he answers harshly. He doesn't feel like talking about his problems with Noor right now. 

A girl with black hair raises her eyebrow, but Noor waves them goodbye. 

'I kinda forget that he had something planned.'

Sander can feel his cheeks heat up at the confession. Robbe didn't deserve him, the boy deserved so much better.  

'I figured that. Have you talked to him?'

'Not really, maybe last night but I can't remember it.'

Noor sighs loudly 'oh Sander.'

It stays silent for a second. 

'What did he have planned?'

Sander's voice is trembling lightly. He isn't sure if he wants to know the answer. 

'Just some cute things, he wanted to do something nice for you because you have been so stressed lately.'

Noor tries to keep her tone neutral but she can't hide the accusing tone in her voice. 

'I fucked it, Noor.'

'Can't disagree with that, but that is not what we should be focusing on right now. How are you going to fix it?'

Sander shakes his head 'I am not sure this can be fixed.'

Noor gives him a painful nudge. 'This is not the time to be dramatic. How long have you been together for? Four years now? I am sure you two can manage. He loves you more than anything.'

'I don't know how to fix this.'

'Just talk to him and apologize.'

'It is not that simple.'

Noor shrugs 'I think it is. He may be mad, but that doesn't mean it is over. Couples fight, Sander. I know it is extraordinary for you and Robbe yet it happens. You are both humans.'

Sander takes a deep breath and typing a message to his boyfriend. 

Sander: Hey cutie, how late are you home tonight? 13:21

It takes Robbe two hours to reply even though he has been online at least six times. 

'She wanted Espresso shot, not vanilla.' Laura, his colleague at the coffee shop, grabs his wrist to prevent that Sander messes up an order for the fourth time that day. 

He just can't concentrate. 

He starts to bite his fingernail as he unlocks his phone during his lunch break. 

Robbe: I don't know yet. Probably late, you don't have to wait for me 15:39

That was it. No emojis, no good luck messages, no I love you, no how are you doing. 

Sander bites his lip to suppress the tears in his eyes. 

He truly fucked it. 

Hopes it kinda make sense with the song?