#we usually don’t do anything custom or fancy for my birthday

[hatchetsfield-arch]

y’all look at my birthday cake! do you think if we sing the summoning instead of happy birthday the lords in black’ll appear

[scekrex]

You said to hit you with my trans femboy! reader x Adam prompts, so here we go! (BTW if you're not comfortable writing anything in this prompt or it at all, that's totally cool!)

Reader goes dress shopping at one of those places where they take your measurements and do a custom outfit, and Adam offers to go with him. The person taking reader's measurements/doing the consultation keeps misgendering reader and making rude/cruel remarks under their breath. Neither reader nor Adam are standing for it.

Also on a completely unrelated I-just-want-to-tell-somebody note, my birthday is on Friday!

Not me dropping the request I was working on before to write this so I can publish it on ur birthday- ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE <3

She hopes I’m cursed forever

pairing: Adam x trans!male!reader

warnings: language, homophobia, transphobia, reader gets misgendered

note: not beta read bc fuck you

“I’ll be back in a couple hours,” you hummed as you crossed the living room in which Adam was sitting on the couch. It’s needless to say that a statement such as this caught the first man’s attention immediately. Adam paused the video he was watching and looked at you slowly walking to the front door. “Where the fuck are you going?” The first man seemed slightly confused, as far as he was aware you had nothing planned for the day. You simply chuckled softly, looked over your shoulder to look at Adam before you responded, “Dress shopping.”

The brunette turned off the TV quickly, “Not without me.” You raised an eyebrow at the taller male, quite surprised by how eager he seemed to join your little shopping spree. It wasn’t that Adam hated going shopping with you, he just tended to avoid it if he had the chance to, your boyfriend was an online shopper through and through. And he knew how exhausting shopping with you could be. “Since when do you wanna-” The brunette didn’t even let you finish, “Since someone has to make sure Heaven’s cunts don’t disrespect you.” Well, that seemed fair, so you simply shrugged, grabbed your jacket and left with Adam by your side.

The place you had picked was quite fancy, it wasn’t one of the more expensive tailorings nor was it one of the cheapest, the prices you had to pay for dresses were quite fair in your eyes and so far you had only made good experiences at their place.

The mood changed as soon as you and Adam entered the tailoring though. The person that greeted you was one you had never seen before, so you simply figured they must be new - nothing that really bothered you. “Hello Miss,” the woman greeted you, her eyes gave away that that was not her dream job and that she’d rather be doing anything else. You lowered your head a little, the ‘Miss’ didn’t sit right with you at all but you didn’t want to cause a scene so you remained silent. This would be a quick thing anyway, they would simply take your measurements, you’d decide on a dress and then you would be free to go - no big deal, right?

Yeah, no, dead wrong. It was a big deal because Adam turned it into one. The first man’s hand came down on your shoulder, the playful grin that usually hugged his lips was gone and he sounded quite pissed as he spoke, “It’s Mister, get his fucking pronouns right, bitch.” The woman who seemed to be the only employee at the store for that day looked Adam up and down with quite judgmental eyes before she simply shrugged and walked off without correcting her mistake. Adam immediately didn’t like her at all - not that you liked her any better, but you were better at hiding that you really just wanted to leave again.

Uncomfortably you followed the employee as she led you to a little podium where she would take the measurements. Your brunette boyfriend followed suit, he was right behind you, one of his hands was constantly on your body, whether it was your shoulder or your waist, the first man simply felt the need to reassure you, to let you feel that you weren’t alone and that he had your back. And it helped - at least in the beginning and at least a tiny bit.

You stepped on the small podium, all the confidence you had when you had entered the store was gone, you felt wrong, uncomfortable and if you were honest you really just wanted to leave and find another tailoring. But now you were too deep in, there was no turning away anymore. The woman stepped closer to you and you noticed how Adam watched the scene playing out in front of him. He was completely focused on the woman's movements, watching her carefully so she wouldn’t pull any more shit.

“Ma’am, you need to take your jacket off,” the tailor mumbled, she seemed quite annoyed by your presence and while you understood that some days were simply harder than others, that did not excuse her behavior towards you. You heard a low growl coming from Adam at her words, “He’s not a fucking ‘Ma’am’, quit acting like a fucking transphobic cunt and do your work.”

And while you appreciated that Adam was standing up for you, you didn’t quite like his choice of words, nor did you like the fact that the brunette was causing a scene when all you wanted was a simple dress that fit you. The female angel ignored Adam, not paying any mind to the first man or his rude words towards her, instead she mumbled something under her breath that you weren’t quite able to catch, however you did hear the words ‘fucking queers’ and ‘disgusting filth’ which caused you to just feel worse than you had already been feeling.

The female angel - which was slightly smaller than you were - did her job pretty sloppily, she did not care to properly measure you. You also noticed how she tried her very best to stay as far away from you as possible, she barely touched you while taking the measurements needed for the dress. And normally you wouldn’t care, if she wanted to execute her job badly, that was her deal. But in your very case that not only infected her but also you because that way the dress would not fit properly.

“God must really hate me to send me fucking gays,” she mumbled, this time loud enough for you to hear. And even though you really wanted that dress, you took a step back from her, stepped off the little podium and made your way over to Adam. The female angel looked confused at you, then her expression soured, “What are you doing?”

You were trying to get away from her transphobic hands, you were trying to escape her judgemental eyes and her homophobic words. “Leaving,” you simply said as you grabbed Adam’s hand and turned around. The tall brunette next to you squeezed your hand reassuringly, his wing wrapped around your back in a protective matter and he shot the employee a grin, flipping her off as he guided you towards the door.

“But-” the worker tried to protest, she had already taken the measurements and was about to wrap things up, she at least wanted to be paid. Yet Adam cut her off quite rudely, “You heard him, we’re leaving.” The taller man waved at her in a provoking way, a triumphant grin on his lips. You opened the door and as soon as you had done so Adam pulled you out of the store, seemingly eager to leave.

“We’ll get you a tailor who actually does their job instead of insulting you,” Adam hummed, looking down at you with a smile as he playfully ruffled through your hair. The smile on his quickly curled up into a grin though, “And then I’ll fuck your brains out in the new dress.”

[fantasia-monogram]

As the clock strikes midnight: epilogue

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / epilogue:

♥️ Taeyang x reader (nonbinary, female anatomy); mentions of other SF9 members

♥️ Suggestive (~1k words); mentions of sex and light BDSM, some boy x boy innuendos.

♥️ Aftermath of the happenings of the previous night. Did you really think I would leave you without a proper ending?

♥️ Disclaimer: this is just for fun! I’m not claiming that’s how they are in real life, it’s just my imagination doing whatever it wants. Read at your own discretion.

That morning, you needed some extra adjustments in order to get by at work. Like a huge cup of coffee with four shots of espresso. Or earbuds with your favorite upbeat playlist on to keep your head from falling onto the desk. Or a fluffy cushion that usually supported your lower back whenever you worked overtime, now propping your butt, because your parts were too sore for you to sit comfortably.

You hoped the day would go smoothly, without any unwanted surprises.

It's not like you regretted the way you spent last night, but maybe, just maybe you should have opted for regular snuggling instead of cockwarming after… how many, again…? Three. After three times Taeyang fucked you lovingly and thoroughly.

And that's not all: despite everything that happened barely hours ago, you two woke up horny enough to get each other off during the morning shower. You gave Taeyang a quick handjob, after which he obediently kneeled and gave you the best oral of your life that momentarily helped you forget just how sore you were.

Focus, focus. Something suspicious caught your eye.

Peeking through the glass wall separating your department’s space from the corridor, you saw Jaeyoon near the main floor entrance. Looking just as fine as if he got full eight hours of wholesome sleep, he was talking to none other than Quality Department leader Kim Inseong. Something was off, though - it’s fine that they were laughing, probably at some silly trivia from the party, but the leader seemed flustered, waving his hands and shaking his head vigorously through a fit of giggles. Jaeyoon was more collected, yet his head leaning to the side and flirtatious sway of his silhouette made you just slightly alert.

Wait a minute, Inseong just… did a goddamn spin? And landed his back on the wall, ending up lowkey caged by Jaeyoon? What was going on?

You didn’t get to know, because the door opened and Kim Seokwoo, your closest coworker from the Compliance Department - although closest here meant having your desks next to each other and the fact Seokwoo was basically your assistant at this point - walked in with a small package in his hand. Tall, gorgeous bastard had the luxury to start work at 10 - something he really didn't need, considering he left the party first. Jaeyoon and Inseong jumped away from each other, only to mirror Seokwoo’s polite bow. 

To your dismay, Seokwoo went straight to your desk instead of his own. You put on your best tired smile, taking off the earbuds. 

"Hope you're not sick after the party!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. The package he held landed on your desk. You curiously opened it, only to reveal a miniature cake from a fancy bakery nearby. 

"Oh, my, Seokwoo, you really didn't have to," you giggled, amazed by the mirror glaze in pastel shades imitating a holographic effect, with speckles of edible glitter sparkling on top. 

"Happy birthday, Supervisor!" Seokwoo patted your shoulder. "Anyway, I know everyone is pretty much dead after last night, but there are some reports they want us to go through before the HR meeting." 

"HR…?" you furrowed your eyebrows. That was unusual. 

"Oh, right. Internal recruitment thing in Customer Service. They need our opinion on candidates, since we work with them on our processes, too."

That didn't explain anything, so, still confused, you followed Seokwoo's instructions and opened a shared folder on your computer. A row of files titled after full names of the candidates appeared on screen.

Your eyes went wide at one of the files: Yoo Taeyang. 

As if you manifested him, the boy in question entered the open space of Compliance Department and directed his steps towards your desk. You felt like everything was happening in slow motion: you stared at him shamelessly, forgetting about Seokwoo's presence. How could you not stare, anyway? Taeyang looked absolutely perfect. Not a single hair out of place. Lean, model-like silhouette, elegant strides, graceful long fingers holding a manila folder. Black T-shirt deliciously spanning across his chest. Yes, your cheeks started burning out of sudden. Yes, you might have felt yourself getting wet all over again. 

Yes, you might have been a little obsessed. 

Taeyang, serious as usual, stopped a couple steps away.

"Mind if I borrow three minutes of your time?" he asked in a neutral tone, pointing towards the social room. 

You nodded absentmindedly without taking your eyes off him. Seokwoo could wait. You still had plenty of time to review these reports. 

Taeyang led you to a secluded spot in the kitchen area. There was no one else in the social room at this hour anyway, so you wondered why he needed so much privacy, knowing he would never go for displays of affection at the workplace anyway. 

"Listen… Listen, you're not gonna believe this," Taeyang started, exasperated.

He left the folder on a table next to you, only to put his hands on your shoulders. 

"Customer Service leader just resigned. I applied for the position." 

You gasped, genuinely shocked. 

"Oh my God, Taeyangie! That's great news!" You tried to express your joy with a hushed tone. 

Now everything made sense: the reports for HR and Taeyang's file. Leader's resignation would probably be officially announced later in the day, but the members of her department were informed first thing in the morning. Customer Service obviously couldn't stay too long without supervision, hence rushed recruitment. 

"Even if I don't get the position, I'm gonna get noticed and maybe even promoted, who knows," Taeyang said, excited about the whole situation. 

"You know I'm not gonna go easy on you when they ask me for opinion, right?" you made sure, looking into his eyes. 

He surprised you with a brief hug. 

"Please don't." He followed his words with a tender kiss to your cheek. "I'm qualified enough to do well on my own." 

You melted into the embrace. All of your earlier worries about this relationship, such as the age gap and possible interference with your careers, dissipated right there on the spot: he was mature and determined enough to be a perfect match for you.

Gliding your hands through the expanse of his back, you made him lean down a little. 

"Can't wait to call you leader while I keep you writhing under me, baby," you whispered into his ear. 

(the end)

[starlightrows]

Something Sweet

Chapter 2 - Scoops and Scones

← Previous - Next →

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Modern!Paz Vizsla x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: None!

Summary: You are welcomed with open arms into the group Paz told you about, and feelings start to bloom as the spring turns to summer!

On Tuesday you make sure to wear something kind of cute that you can wear to meet everyone after work. You want to make a good first impression, but also not be overdressed. You’re excited and a little nervous all day, the steady stream of customers keeps you busy. Springtime is a great time of year for business because lots of people have birthdays and anniversaries, lots of weddings too!

Just after 7 pm the door to the shop opens, and the bell above the door chimes. Paz steps in and marvels at how you have the shop decorated.

“Did you do all of this yourself?” he asks

“Yeah!” you reply, delighted in his interest “I love a good project, and I’ve been planning how I wanted this to look my whole life”

“Well it looks incredible, you did a great job!” he says

You blush a little and smile “Thank you”

You finish closing out the register for the day, make sure all of the lights in the back room are turned out and the heating is turned down before stepping out with Paz and locking up. He walks beside you, leading you a ways down the street towards the bar his friend Boba owns. Paz pushes open the door for you, and you see a group of people laughing and chatting sitting at a big round table.

Everyone looks up from the conversation and enthusiastically welcomes you and Paz in. They all stand up coming to introduce themselves and shake your hand. Of course you’ve already met Din. Boba owns the bar and hosts these Tuesday night hang outs, he’s a slightly older man with a bald head and a firm handshake but he’s quite welcoming. His business partner Fennec, a pretty woman with sharp features and a kind smile. Cara, who owns the boxing studio on the opposite side of the street. And Peli, a short firecracker of a woman with curly brown hair, owns the auto parts and maintenance shop around the corner.

They already have a place set for you at their table and start filling you in on all of the goings on in this city and their little group. Boba gets you a beer, and insists friends don’t pay. They tell you about the locals who come around to their various businesses, events happening at the clubs and bars a little further into the downtown area, they recommend restaurants you have to try, and ask you all kinds of questions. Where you’re from? What brought you out here? How did you get into botanicals? You answer their questions, laugh with them, talk with them and have a great time.

Then the conversation takes a bit of a turn… “That guy came back?” Cara says with an annoyed tone. The group groans, and hums with disapproval.

“What guy?” you ask, not wanting to pry if it’s a sensitive topic but she also said it in front of everyone so you figured it would be a fair question.

“Gideon” Cara spits

“He’s a high and mighty investor with a silver spoon in his ass that’s been bothering everyone that works on this street and next couple blocks,” Fennec explained “He’s trying to convince everyone that lives and works around here that we should sell out our businesses to him,”

“Why?” you ask indignantly

“He’s got this idea of turning the whole downtown area into a high end shopping and restaurant district,” Paz says “Which would be fine if this was a really big city with people that could afford to go to places like that every weekend. But this isn’t that type of city, and not the right kind of community for that,”

“Hmm” you sip your beer “sounds to me like he wants to change the city itself. Push out the locals and turn this into a major city” you say

“That’s exactly what he wants” Boba comments “that and to make tons of money”

“But he hasn’t been able to convince a single business owner around here to budge” Peli tells you “All of us are here because we want to be here. We worked hard to get to where we are and maintain our businesses. We’re not about to sell out to a sleaze like him”

“He wasn’t happy when the people I inherited by storefront from sold to me instead of him” Paz admits “and he’s probably pissed you got yours on the open market before him”

“So that means he’ll probably come around at some point and try to talk me into selling” you conclude

“Probably” Paz says darkly. He doesn’t like the idea of Gideon hanging around your shop… talking to you… trying to intimidate or manipulate you into selling out your shop to him.

“Don’t worry you guys” you assure the group “I worked too long, and too hard to hand over my dream to an asshole like that”

“Atta girl!” Cara claps your back and the group gives you a cheer of approval.

The conversation turns back to casual chatter. The group splits up so some people can play a couple rounds of pool and others can still sit and chat. You have an amazing time, it’s been so long since you actually got to hang out and have fun. You could see yourself coming to these group hang outs every week and becoming close with everyone in the group.

Eventually the night does come to an end. Din has to get home to his son and his girlfriend. Paz needs to get home and go to bed so he can be up early to get the bread in the ovens in time so they’ll be ready for customers in the morning. And you need to be getting home as well, there’s a big delivery arriving tomorrow morning and you need to be at the shop earlier than usual to receive.

You bid everyone goodnight and promise them that you’ll be back next week to hang out again. Paz walks with you out to your car.

“Thanks for inviting me out tonight” you say

“Told you, you’d fit right in!” he grins

“Mind if I come by tomorrow morning for one of those amazing breakfast sandwiches?” you ask him, as you reach your car “I’ll bring you a cup of coffee”

“It’s a deal!” he says smiling at you

There is something in the air… you don’t want to leave… he’s so kind and so attractive… but no, you steal yourself and get into your car. Pulling out of the parking lot with a gentle wave. Paz felt it too… damn he wanted to kiss you. But he literally just met you a few days ago… no matter… he’d see you in the morning.

———

The next few weeks go by, spring turns into summer. You continue hanging out with the group on Tuesday nights, they teach you to play some card games you’ve never heard of and you try fun and interesting cocktails Fennec invents. No matter what you always land up laughing and having a wonderful time. Paz has been teaching you to shoot pool, and walks with you every week to join the group. Your little crush on him is growing, and people are starting to notice.

“You like him,” Cara points out. You’re sitting at the table with all of the girls playing cards while the guys are shooting pool.

“Who?” You try to sound nonchalant

“Paz” Fennec chimes in

“He’s my friend!” You try to defend yourself

“Yeah,” Peli says “but you like him”

“Okay…. so maybe I’m attracted to him, so what? He’s my friend and he brought me into the group, I don’t wanna mess that up” you explain

“He likes you too” Cara says, placing down her cards and effectively winning the round. Everyone around the table groans and slides over game chips to Cara.

Over at the pool table the guys are having a somewhat similar conversation.

“Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, pal” Din says while lining up his shot.

“What?” Paz looks over to Boba thinking their friend was actually sick. Boba is eyeing him with a quirked brow and a smirk.

“Lovesick” Boba shakes his head while Din takes his shot “incurable and terminal… damn shame”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Paz moves around the table to get a better view of the ball placements

“You” Din says with a laugh “swooning over Miss Flowers over there”

Paz gets distracted and completely misses his shot. His head whips around to look at you. Giggling and talking with the others. He looks back to his friends, and shakes his head.

Paz stands back up and rubs the back on his neck, Din’s not wrong, he’s got it bad for you. “You think she’d go for a guy like me?” Paz asked them

Boba and Din rolled their eyes, “You’ve lost your touch Vizsla” Din says “she hangs on your every word. Yes she would go for you”

Still at the end of the night Paz walks you to your car, just like always, and says goodnight without asking you to hang out one on one.

Another week or two passes just the same as always. Hanging out on Tuesday’s, stopping into the bakery to pick up some bread every now and then, seeing each other in passing with a smile and wave.

One Tuesday evening Paz is hanging out in your shop while you close, like usual when both of your phones ting with the sound of a text message. It’s Boba saying he had to close the bar for the night and he wouldn’t be able to host the group tonight. Apparently it’s not an emergency or anything, he just had to leave town to go “take care of something”

“Well that’s ominous” you joke

“Boba’s an odd guy” Paz laughs “he’s got a history, but he changes the story every time you ask him”

You shake your head and laugh, agreeing that Boba quite the character. “Well… I haven’t had a free Tuesday night in months” you joke

“Well since I know you’re free right now” Paz says, working up a bit of courage “wanna go get ice cream or something?”

“Oooh yes!” You say excitedly “Have you been to that place that makes the fancy rolled ice creams down on 10th?”

God he’s so relieved you said yes…. “Yeah, it’s really good”

The two of you chat and laugh as you walk from your storefront down a couple blocks to reach the ice cream place. You both order fun and pretty rolled ice creams and sit at one of the outdoor tables, enjoying the warm evening and each other’s company.

“See now that I’ve got everything up and running, I really want to start trying to make pastries to sell at the shop” he tells you

“Have you tried anything yet?” You ask

“Well I tried making chocolate croissants from scratch but apparently they are ridiculously hard to get right” he laughs “so I’m looking for simpler things to start with”

You laugh with him, and agree chocolate croissants are deceptively difficult to make correctly. “What about scones?” You ask

“Scone? Like those British cookies?” He asks

“Well sort of, they’re more like blank canvas bread” you explain “because the base is so simple and basic you can jazz them up anyway you want. Sweet, savory, fruity, chocolate… I even like doing meat and cheese scones”

“That’s actually not a bad idea” Paz says thoughtfully “You got any good recipes I can steal to work off of?”

“I do actually. Old family secret” you say mischievously “but lucky for you, the old family is not here to curse me for leaking the secret” He laughs and shakes his head.

“I could teach you sometime” you offer, having a moment of bravery “I mean, they’re not difficult to make or anything, but I… uh… I thought it could be fun”

“No no” he says quickly “that would be great if you could teach me. Are you free this weekend?”

Your cheeks heat up a bit and you smile “Yeah, I’m free this weekend”

“Come over on Saturday evening?” He asks “I’ll cook you dinner as a thank you?”

“Yeah, that'd be great”

———

Saturday can’t come soon enough… you flip back and forth in your head between this being a “real date” or not… you thought about texting the girls but decided against it.

On Saturday you wear something cute but comfortable, something you don’t mind getting dirty from baking but presentable in case this actually is a date. You pick up a nice bottle of wine on the way over to his apartment.

At the door he greets you with a hug and thanks you for the wine, welcoming you inside. His apartment is nice, well decorated and clean. Better most men’s apartments you’ve seen in your day. It looks like he’s got his shit together.

“Dinner is almost done,” he says. You look around to see that he doesn’t exactly have a dining table, the space isn’t quite set up for it. But he does have a peninsula that functions as a dining table. It’s already laid out with plates and cutlery, with a small sweet smelling candle in the middle.

“A baker and a chef” you laugh as both of you start in on the beautiful chicken parmesan he made.

“I wasn’t always” he says with bit of a bashful smile “Just a few years ago I was exclusively a boxed Mac n cheese and canned peas for dinner kinda guy”

“That’s a pretty drastic change, what prompted that?” you ask, enjoying your dinner just as much as the conversation.

“Moving out here actually,” he says “I used to live back east in the big city… had a shoe box of an apartment with no real kitchen and a dead end job… not a lot of motivation to cook. Coming out here, changed my life for the better”

You sip your wine and listen, as he describes what it was like living in the city and commuting for six hours every day, and his life changing trip out here to visit Din.

“It was actually my dream to move here when I was a kid” you tell him “I’m from a tiny little town way up north, and everyone used to talk about this place like it was the big city ya know”

“So what prompted your big move here?” He asks

“Well I’ve been saving up to open my shop for years, and working really hard to make this dream come true… but I woke up one morning and felt it in my bones that I needed to search the property website again…. and I am so glad I listened to my gut because I got my storefront pretty much the minute it got posted”

“Man.. luck was really on your side that day huh?” He finished his plate, and sips his wine

“Oh yeah, count my lucky stars every day!”

Paz wipes his mouth on his napkin, seeing you’re just about finished eating as well, and begins clearing the table. You help him wash up, despite his protests.

“Come on chef, if we’re gonna make scones we have to have a clean work station right?”

He agrees and the two of you get the workspace all cleaned up, just to mess it all up again with flour and butter and toppings!

They don’t actually take that long to bake, but you’re both a little flour dusted while you teach him to make a simple glaze for the citrus orange flavored batch.

When the scones come out of the oven the sweet batches get glazed or sugared, and the savory batches just need to cool. You ask to use his restroom to freshen up a bit so you wouldn’t get flour or butter on his nice couch, while you wait for the scones to cool to do a taste test.

To your delight, his bathroom is clean. And not just… cleaned up like there’s no clutter on the counter. Actual hand soap that’s appears to be regularly used, a liner in the trash can, more than just a five in one shampoo/body wash in the shower, and the mirror is clean! Either Paz deep cleaned in anticipation for your… not exactly a date?.... or he has his shit together… or, more likely both!

You spend the rest of the evening laughing, talking, sampling the scones, writing down flavor ideas together, and yeah definitely flirting. Somehow you get on the topic of music.

“Oh yeah, the city does free concerts in the park on Friday nights” he tells you “you bring a fold up chair and some snacks, and get to listen to free live music!”

“That sounds so fun! This city really knows how to do community events!” You put down your pen, having just finished writing down an idea.

“It’s amazing, you would love it” he says “would you want to go? With me?”

Your heart skips a beat “Yeah” you say softly with a smile “Yeah, that sounds like fun”

Featured Recipe: Simple Scones

Tag List: @gallowsjoker @simping-for-clones @mxndoscyarika @hayley-the-comet @blackmarketmummy

[soyunaagente]

Dating Amado Carrillo Fuentes includes

Here we go again lol.

I had one too many martinis earlier so how this turned out is anyone’s guess. 

I hope you enjoy!

Remember- my ask box is always open for requests/ thoughts/ opinions- anything! 

Amado is one of the chillest men out there- he just doesn’t get stressed. Everything washes over him. SO he’s definitely a fun one to be around. 

The relationship is very easy- there’s mutual trust between both of you.

Everything is spontaneous. Feel like the beach? He’s already gearing up one of the planes to go. Fancy dinner? He’s making the reservation. He just loves spontaneity.

Speaking of dinner he loves intimate dinner dates, just the two of you- away from the world. 

He has a bad sweet tooth so dinner is just generally centered around dessert. Mainly different types of pastries and chocolate. 

When he has the time he loves to cook for you-you’re not allowed to tell anyone this btw- he makes the most aMaZiNg breakfasts & dinners. He always buys dessert. 

He loves it when you watch him cook. It makes him feel like he’s doing something special for you. 

He also AdOrEs the beach. Long walks, hand in hand, letting the water wash up against your ankles. (He also loves for picking you up and just dunking you into an oncoming wave- but you didn’t hear that from me)

  He’s like Miguel in the sense he likes to get you gifts but not just for the sake of it, he likes to get you something that you’ll cherish. Like a bunch of your favourite flowers when you’re a little down, or you’re favourite take-out just because.

Also can we discuss the talking shit sessions with Amado. 

Just- he comes in all grumpy from something that went down that day. You both sit on the couch with coffee just talking shit about whoever was involved.

We all know it’s true.

He loves a slow dance in the evenings.  Just his hand in yours, head on his chest. Moving to the slow tempo of the music.  

Honestly he just talks shit for the sake of it half the time. 

We all know Amado is so whipped that most of Mexico roasts him for it but he doesn’t care, he knows it’s true

Amado also never has you left alone. When he’s not with you he only puts someone who has their balls in a vice grips to protect you. That poor fucker knows if AnYtHiNg happens to you then he can kill having kids goodbye. 

Especially after the deal with Pacho & what happened to Gueros family. You’re in a different city with guards that have had everything they hold dear threatened. 

Ergo when you’re there he needs to hear your voice at least once a day. To make sure you’re okay and so he can relax for one second. 

He also not-so-secretly loves PDA. Giving your ass a lil squeeze, your hand on his back. He just- he melts. 

He also loves having your arm linked through his when you go for a walk. 

When there’s a party you know he has his hand on your’s the entire time. ‘La Renia de Juarez’ you’ve been dubbed for the evening.

Not that you're complaining.

He always helps to pick out what you’re wearing for the occasion- and he always gets it right. You’re unsure of HOW but again not complaining, 

He never lets you see the price tag either. ‘Eres más importante’.  He always tells you. 

Amado always asks your opinion on decisions. Whether it be business or otherwise. He wants you to know that you guys are a team. 

Whether you’re at the business meeting or not he always needs your input before deciding what he’s going to do. 

Your opinion is more important than anyone else’s, including his own most of the time.

Going back to the sweet tooth, he LOVES it when you either bake for him, or you go to his favourite bakery for whatever he fancies. 

One of the reasons he’s so chill is he is constantly snacking to take his mind off of whatever is going on. 

Another reason he’s so chill, and you are SWORN to secrecy on this is at night he rests his head on your chest and just listens to your heart beat. The rhythm always helps him forget whatever went down that day. 

He loves to be babied but I never said that. 

He also has an engagement ring custom made- you heard me- 

I’m talking about pretty much straight away. Again he’s not one for big grand gestures so the first time you see it is at an intimate setting. Probably a plane knowing this pendejo. 

Amado’s a sarcastic pendejo- he loves it when you bite back at him. 

He playfully insults you

Only to be met with ‘Besa mi culo cabrón’ 

It kills him but he adores it.

Your pet names for each other are totally ridiculous. 

Just from an inside joke that only the two of you get. It leaves everyone confused and the both of you in stitches laughing.  

Amado also melts when you play with his hair. 

He just melts when you both are chilling on the couch or wherever and you absentmindedly run your fingers through his hair. 

His favourite thing in the world to do is watch TV and movies with you. It totally de-stresses him. Makes him forget the world he lives in

You both just making comments at the television for the duration 

Ese malparido no sabe  mierda’ for example. 

Usually ends up with y’all in tears crying- the type where you cant breath from laughing so hard. 

Call me crazy but I also see Amado buying you a pet for your birthday. 

I don’t see him as one for being crazy about having kids but a pet on the other hand. 

It’s literally the BeSt thing ever. He even lets it go in the plane too, wherever you go the new addition goes too. 

You even get it a little black trousers to match Amado. (he pretends to be annoyed but we all know that he isn’t) 

The relationship is just easy- there’s no fuss just pure adoration 

Just a fun loving couple until the end bby

[rjhpandapaws]

Canon hankcon, "birthday" for the prompt, and that's all I'm giving you lmao. Whose birthday? Party or no acknowledgement? Homemade cake with haphazard candles or storebought fancy pants cake? How many birthday kisses from Sumo? I dunno you tell me.

//:3

It wasn’t any particular news that Hank didn’t enjoy his birthday much anymore. It might have been the grief but he had a hard time remembering a time before Cole when he did. It was old news to everyone it seemed except Connor who was waiting by his desk the morning of with a box in his hands. “Connor, what is that?” He asked as he moved to sit at his desk. “It’s a birthday present Hank.” Connor set the small box on his desk, “Isn’t it a human custom to celebrate them?” Hank bit off the annoyed sigh and reminded himself that Connor didn’t know better, “Most people do. When you’re young making it another year is kind of a big deal, but when you get to my age its just a reminder of how many opportunities you’ve missed.” Connor fell onto red for a moment and Hank regretted his words, “Do you want me to take it back?” His LED flickered as he did something in that head of his. “No.” Hank shook his head, “I appreciate it Connor, it was just a surprise. I’m not used to people caring after I spent years asking them not to.” Connor narrowed his eyes as he moved to sit as his desk, “I know now, so it won’t happen again.” This time Hank sighed, “Connor, its okay, I promise.” Connor still didn’t believe him from the looks of it, and Hank hated that he was right. He knew Connor meant well, but they were dancing around an unknown something and every time Connor would do something like this it reminded Hank that the android could do so much better. When he finally climbed out of his own head Hank noticed Connor had gotten to work. His LED was yellow which meant he was thinking about something too, but Hank didn’t have the nerve to ask. He looked down at the small precisely wrapped box and what it was that Connor had decided was worth getting him.

He opened the box as quietly as he could, he didn’t want to pull Connor out of his focus, the brunette hated that. The last thing he expected was concert tickets, they were rested on top of a neatly folded t-shirt. The tickets were for a holographic performance by Frank Sinatra. He set them aside and took out the t-shirt and found it was a signed Knight of The Black Death shirt, it was from one of their older tours and had only been up for bid. He didn’t know how Connor had found it or how much he had paid for it but he knew neither of them had been cheap. “Connor.” He said firmly. Connor came back to himself and tilted his head in question, “You know birthday gifts are supposed to be simple right?” “Yes.” Connor responded, “But they are also supposed to be something you enjoy, and I figured that this would have been better than simple. Jazz is something I know you enjoy, I would have done Knights of The Black Death but they aren’t currently touring.” “So you bought two tickets to one of the best jazz clubs in Detroit and won a bit on an auction only shirt.” Hank remarked. “Yes, I figured you could take a friend with you.” Connor continued, “I figured you would have more fun that way, the shirt took a while to get, but that’s the perk of not needing sleep.” Hank bit back a groan and found himself smiling nonetheless. He didn’t deserve this kind of effort and certainly not from Connor. Not to mention that Connor had seemed to greatly over estimate the number of friends he had. Other than Connor and possibly Jeff he really didn’t know who would want join him. According to the date on the tickets he had until that evening to decide.

He tucked the tickets back into the box and did what he could to focus on his work. His mind kept tracking back to how much thought Connor had put into this, some stupid day of the year to commemorate the mistake that was his life. That Connor had found their friendship for lack of a better word worth burning a few paychecks on. It baffled him. On some level he understood that not many people viewed him in the same light he viewed himself, but the fact that Connor of all people saw him as worth this much effort never failed to knock him off kilter. The day was thankfully slow, his head wasn’t in the right place for case work as it was, he wouldn’t have been able to handle a live one. He was pulled back to attention when Connor began to pack up his things for the day. Hank still needed to talk to him about the jazz club. God, how long had it been since he had asked someone on a date? Could this really even be considered a date if Connor was the one that bought the tickets? “Your vitals say you are distressed Hank. Is there something I can do to help?” Connor was standing with his blazer over his arm, it was a charcoal grey number he had picked out to replace the branded one. “Ah no. I was just thinking too much.” He said, here went nothing he supposed, “Would you like to go with me tonight? To the jazz club?” He didn’t miss the small smile that flashed across Connor’s features before he replied, “I would love too.” Hank nodded as relief crashed over him, “Think you could be ready by eight thirty?” “Of course.” Connor agreed, “I’ll see you then Hank.” He gave a polite wave before he turned to leave. Hank was grinning at his monitor like a damn fool.

He got home with just around two hours to get ready and realized he had nothing to wear that would hold a candle to how Connor would probably wind up looking. He dressed sharply despite being a plain clothes detective so it was certain he would be dressed to the nines for this too. He dug through his closet like a damn teenager looking for something that would fit and look nice. He needed to shower as well but that could wait until after he found something to wear that would be presentable. He decided on black jeans at the very least because he couldn’t be paid to wear slacks even for a maybe date. Then it was on to looking for a shirt which took longer than he would have liked. He eventually settled for a dark teal button down that he didn’t remember ever buying but was thankful to have nonetheless. The shower came next since he did have time, and after that it was just a matter of getting himself to look presentable. He shaved figuring it was time the beard went anyway and then tied his hair back in a half ponytail to keep it out of his face. He debated his glasses for a long moment before he put them on, he technically needed them all the time but he only used them at home to give his eyes a break. Satisfied with the way he looked, he fed Sumo, grabbed his leather jacket, and headed for the car. If he was lucky he would only be a little late to pick up Connor. Hank was not in anyway ready for the way Connor was dressed. He had changed his hair to loose curls and an undercut. He was in a maroon button down under a grey suit vest with black slacks. He was absent of a tie and the first couple buttons of the shirt were undone, and he looked nervous. When he saw Hank his LED rolled yellow and blinked a few times and Hank could have sworn it was red for one of them, but just as quick as it happened it was back to blue. His smile was back in place as he walked to the car.

“You clean up nicely Hank.” Connor said with what Hank was going to take a as a friendly smile because if he looked too much into how Connor had looked at him he was going to combust, “The glasses are a nice touch.” Hank let out a dry laugh, “Only you would find not being able to see attractive.” Connor let out a sound that was distinctly inhuman but still very clearly flustered, “I didn’t- that’s not- its-” He sighed, “That’s not to say that I don’t find you attractive normally.” There was a long stretch of silence after that then Connor seemed to realize what he had said and his LED strobed red. The car was alight with his very clear distress, “Could we maybe pretend that I didn’t just say that.” Hank chuckled lightly, “Of course. It will be just like it never happened.” Of course Hank planned to keep the memory for himself. It confirmed that he hadn’t been imagining whatever this unspoken thing was between them. It was unfortunate that it seemed that for now it would stay unspoken. At least he knew glasses at the very least were the key to getting under Connor’s skin. Maybe he could wear them to the station every once in a while. “For what it’s worth Con, you clean up pretty nice as well.” Hank remarked earning another smile from Connor. “I was worried I might be over dressed.” Connor admitted, “I’ve never been to one of these places before so I wasn’t sure what the dress code was.” Hank shook his head as he pulled into the parking lot, “You look just fine, I promise. If anything, I might be a little underdressed.”

“I think you look nice.” Connor said almost under his breath. Hank didn’t know if it was meant for him to hear, but he responded anyway, “Thanks.” He doesn’t get anymore response than Connor’s index finger cutting into his line of sight, “There’s a parking space four spaces up and to the left.” Hank hummed his acknowledgement and pulled into the space once they got to it. He checked to be sure he had the tickets and then got out. Connor followed suit. They were close enough to bump shoulders as they walked to the doors and Hank couldn’t stop the smile on his lips even if he had been paid. It might not have been a date officially, but that didn’t stop it from feeling like it. There was just something in the air that made it feel that way. After they were admitted Connor took his hand and lead him to a corner table with a clear view of the stage. They were early, there was still about twenty minutes before the opening act so the good tables were almost full. Like the parking space Hank chalked it up to Connor’s keen observation, he always was a few steps ahead of Hank it seemed. “Is this alright?” Connor asked his voice was void of its usual confidence. “Its perfect Connor.” Hank reassured, “There’s nothing to be worried about.” “You seemed upset with this idea earlier.” Connor said without looking at him. He was turned in a way that Hank couldn’t see his LED, “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” “Hey.” Hank said sharply which caused Connor to look at him and like Hank had suspected his LED was on red, “I was just surprised. Its been... quite a while since someone had put that much thought into a gift. I love it Connor, and if I’m honest I’m still trying to convince myself that this all is real.”

Connor’s LED flickered and Hank knew he was being scanned. Under any other circumstance he would have found it frustrating but he got the feeling Connor was just as out of his depth as Hank was. He needed to know that Hank was being honest and Hank could give him that much. He apparently found what he was looking for because he smiled. “Then I suppose its a good thing I did.” Connor said after a moment, “Someone has to remind you that you matter.” Hank let out a dry laugh, “Damn Connor, usually you buy a man a drink before you get to the sweet talking.” It was a deflection and a poor one at that if the way Connor narrowed his eyes was anything to go by, “Hank.” “Right, no self deprecating comments.” Hank grumbled, “Do they even have android friendly drinks here. I probably should have thought about that sooner.” “They do, don’t worry.” Connor informed, “But even then, tonight isn’t about me.” Hank’s response was cut off by Connor narrowing his eyes once again, “How about we order a couple of drinks before the show starts.” Connor smiled, “That sounds nice.” Hank took his jacket off and rested it on the table to mark it as taken. Connor stood as well and they headed to the bar together. They were bumping shoulders again and Hank was tempted to take his hand again, but he didn’t. When Connor had taken his hand it was so they wouldn’t get separated by the crowd had settled down for the most part in anticipation for the show. Connor stepped up to the bar to order, “Could we get an Old Fashioned and a Thirium Sunset please?”

Hank wasn’t nearly as surprised that Connor knew what he liked to drink as he was at the fact that he had ordered an alcoholic drink for himself, or at least the android equivalent. The bartender seemed surprised as well but got to work on both drinks. “I didn’t know you drank.” Hank found himself saying. “I don’t usually.” Connor admitted, “But its not very gentlemanly to let your date drink alone.” Hank blue screened at that, he was relatively certain Connor meant it as a turn of phrase but he still hung on the word. Connor was smiling, he seemed glad to catch Hank off guard. The night after that passed in a haze of good music and better and conversation. Hank still had to drive so he stopped after two drinks, but the more Connor had the closer he moved and by the end of the night Connor’s usual perception of personal space was little more than a myth. Hank found he didn’t mind. When it came time to leave Connor’s balance was off so Hank put on of his arms over his shoulder and half packed Connor out of the jazz club. Connor tried his best to walk so it wasn’t as much dragging him as he thought it would be. “You have like, really pretty eyes.” Connor said out of the blue when they were nearly to the car, “They are very expressive.” Hank laughed, “Thank you Con.” He found himself wondering if androids could suffer from hangovers but he found himself sympathetic just in case. He got Connor in the car and belted in which wasn’t all that much of a feat, it seemed the cold air had helped him recover some. He was quiet on the way home, and if it weren’t for the fact that his eyes were roaming around the car Hank would have believed him to be in stasis.

“I think I’m back to normal now.” Connor said as Hank pulled into his complex, “Sorry about that.” Hank just chuckled, “Everyone gets that way when they find a drink they like. On top of that I’m pretty sure its your first time drinking. Getting like that is basically a right of passage.” “I could have at least picked a day other than your birthday to get like this.” Connor sighed as he looked down. Hank found a place to park and reached out to ruffle Connor’s hair, “It was nice to see you let loose for once. Tonight was nice.” Connor smiled, “I’m glad then.” If Hank were to be asked about this, he planned to blame it on his drinks, even if he and Connor both knew it was a lie. It was an out both of them could take if they decided this was a mistake, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from leaning in. The kiss he gave Connor was chaste and not much more than a brush of lips. The one Connor chased it with was the exact opposite and Hank found himself breathless when Connor pulled away. “I’ll see you tomorrow Lieutenant.” He said with a wink as he got out, “Happy Birthday.” Hank watched him walk into the building still waiting for his brain to come back online. Of all the ways he expected tonight to end, this was not one of them. Happy Birthday indeed.

@irrelevantbutfabulous

(Prompt from this list)

[honey-dewey]

Lightning in a Bottle

Pairing: Trans Fem! Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels/GN! Reader

Word Count: 2,484 

Warnings: swearing, homophobia/transphobia, needles, hurt/comfort.

Permanent Taglist: @phoenixhalliwell @star-wars-hell​

It is week three of pride month! This is the third set of prompts that came from @flightlessangelwings and @autumnleaves1991-blog​ Pride writing prompts! I’ve never written Trans Jack before, and while I would typically headcanon him as trans masc, I thought this would be fun instead. 

Prompts: Glitter and/or “I’ll always be by your side”

You sighed, settled at Jack’s vanity as you organized her makeup. She was a menace when it came to organization, and more often than not, you were the one lining her lipsticks up in front of the mirror and putting the eyeliner pens back in their cup. After two years, you’d think she’d get the hang of this, but you’d be wrong. Even when she was away, like she was now, she couldn’t bother to put anything where it went before she left. You put her brushes back in their proper place in a drawer, absently checking your phone for the time or a text. Jack was due home any minute now, and even though she hadn’t been away for long, her absence had affected you. 

The front door creaked open, and you perked up, turning in the vanity chair so you could pay attention to the sounds coming from downstairs. 

“Hey babe!” Jack’s voice filtered up the stairs, and you smiled, hearing her take her boots off downstairs. “I’m home!” 

Standing, you abandoned the mini project you’d been working on in favor of walking to the top of the stairs to watch Jack shimmy out of her coat and hang her hat up on top of the coat rack. She was a picture of beauty, her back to you as she loosened the top buttons of her shirt and rolled her sleeves up. Turning, she caught sight of you, her face pulling into a wide smile. “There’s my baby!” She said, running up the stairs until she was on the landing. “Come kiss me. I missed you.” 

You ran down the steps, crashing into Jack and wrapping her in a hug. She’d been gone for two days, out on a mission for work. It was only two days, but you’d been grouchier than usual for those two days, and all you wanted was Jack cuddles. “I missed you too baby.” 

Jack scooped you up, carrying you to the bedroom and plopping you down on the bed. As you laughed, Jack pulled her skirt and petticoat off, leaving her in shorts and her button up. You smiled, gesturing her close. Jack didn’t argue, crawling across the bed so she could rest her head on your chest. It took a minute to find the best spot that wouldn’t send any of your limbs to sleep, but when you did find it, you knew Jack wouldn’t be getting up for anything. 

“Did you have fun?” You asked, gently tugging Jack’s hair ties out and undoing her two braids. “Where’d they send you? Wasn’t it Montana again?” 

“It was,” Jack said, eyes closed as you combed through her curls with your fingers. “Still as beautiful as ever. I’m gonna take you for our honeymoon.” 

You chuckled, blinking slowly. “If we ever get married,” you finished. 

“We will,” Jack promised, reaching up and trapping one of your hands in hers. “We absolutely will.” 

Almost an hour passed while you and Jack cuddled, both of you nearly falling asleep until you remembered something. “Ah fuck,” you grumbled, untangling your limbs from Jack’s. “I have to run to the grocery store. I forgot to do it yesterday. I was so hectic with this work thing, and then you called to tell me you were coming home, and it completely slipped my mind.” As you rambled, you pulled on a neater shirt, looking around for your shoes. 

“Can I come?” Jack asked, rolling over and sitting up. 

“When am I ever going to say no to that?” You pointed out, picking up Jack’s skirt and tossing it at her. “But you should probably cover your ass.” 

Jack laughed, leaving her skirt on the bed in favor of scooping up a pair of shorts. She loosely tucked her shirt into her pants, piling her hair up into a claw clip and watching as you finally found your shoes. “Big trip or small trip?” She asked, tossing you a pair of socks. 

“Medium trip,” you said. “I don’t need a ton, mostly just stuff for dinner and the odd thing or two. So we can go to Sam’s.” 

Sam’s market was a tiny mom and pop grocery store that hadn’t changed in decades, but you adored it. It was a ten minute drive, and you and Jack were there in no time. 

“Fucking love this place,” Jack said happily, reaching out to pet Claire, one of the resident cows. “Reminds me of my dad’s ranch.” 

You nodded, grabbing a basket and entering the store. Jack followed, immediately detouring to the pharmacy. You stayed nearby, half listening as Jack picked up her estrogen and made her way back to you. 

“I hate those things,” Jack said, putting her prescription bag in your basket beside a bag of dried apple slices. “They’re super gross.” 

You smiled. “You don’t have to eat them,” you said, linking your arm with Jack’s. “But I like them.” 

The trip around the store was quick, and in no time, you were up at the counter. Sam, the owner, grinned when you two came up. “Haven’t seen you two in a while,” he said. “How’s work?” 

“Good,” Jack said. “Just got back from a business trip, actually. It’s why I’m late on my prescription.” 

“Ah,” Sam said, pulling the bag out of the basket. “Jen was wondering why you hadn’t picked it up yet. It’s all still working out for you?” 

Jack nodded, opening her mouth to say something before a loud snort came from behind her. She turned, and so did you. Behind you was a young man with his arms crossed, looking between the two of you with a grin. “Did I interrupt?” He said in a thick southern drawl. “I’m sorry.” 

“No,” Jack said, drawing herself up to her full height and raising an eyebrow. “Do you have something to say?” 

The man shook his head. “Not to you, you freak.” 

Jack blinked, stepping back a tiny bit. She’d been passing consistently ever since her hair got long and she started to hit what she called second puberty, and it was rare anyone was able to tell right off the bat that she wasn’t a biological woman. You stepped in front of her, shielding her from the man. “You leave my girlfriend alone.” 

“That ain’t a girl,” the man jeered. “That’s a man in a skirt.” 

Your jaw clenched, and you were two seconds from punching the man square in the jaw when Sam stepped in. 

“Here are your purchases,” he said, handing you a bag. “And you,” he turned to the man. “Need to leave if you’re going to be harassing my loyal customers like that.” 

Jack gripped your hand as you quietly pulled her towards the truck. She was dead silent as you put your bag in the backseat and slumped over the steering wheel. “You okay?” You asked softly, not wanting to startle Jack. 

She shook her head, wiping away tears with the back of her hand. “I just wanna go home,” she said thickly, voice wavering. 

It took all of your willpower not to pull over when Jack’s crying didn’t stop, and when you were finally home, you immediately closed the distance between you and Jack, holding her tight against you. She collapsed into your arms, burying her face in your shoulder and sobbing. You rubbed her back, silently curing the man in the store. 

“Jack?” You said, still holding Jack close. “You know I love you, right? No matter what.” 

“But-“ 

“No.” You pulled away, putting your hands on Jack’s shoulders and making her look at you. “No! I love you, no ifs, ands, or buts. I will always be by your side Jack. I don’t care who you are or what you look like. I love you for you.” 

Jack bowed her head, face hidden by her hair. “You’re sure?” She asked, voice so small you almost didn’t hear her. 

“I’m sure,” you said. “C’mon, let’s go inside. It’s more comfortable than the bench seat of your old ass truck.” 

Jack stood, following you into the house. She trudged up the stairs, still holding your hand as she went. When you dropped the grocery bag by the bedroom door and tugged Jack inside, she didn’t protest, only looked at you, slightly confused. 

“I was going to wait until your birthday, because I know Statesman insists on that huge birthday gala for you,” you said, sitting Jack in her vanity. “But I think you should have this now.”

Jack watched you enter your closet, growing more confused by the second. “What is it?” 

“Close your eyes,” you said, grabbing a hangar. “It’s a surprise!” 

When you peeked out of the closet, Jack had her hands over her eyes, waiting patiently. You hung the hangar on the back of the closet door, smoothing out the garment and moving to stand behind Jack. You took her wrists gently in your hands, smiling. “Ready?” 

“As I’ll ever be,” Jack said, leaning back against your chest. 

You pulled Jack’s hands off her eyes. She gasped almost immediately, seeing the intricate and gorgeous dress hanging in front of her. 

“Happy early birthday,” you said. “I had Ginger help me with things like measurements, but it’s 100% custom made. I figured since you didn’t have a dress for your birthday party, I could get you one. What do you think?” 

Jack was speechless, turning around to hug you. “I love it,” she said, voice tight with emotion. “It’s perfect.” 

You smiled, kissing Jack’s cheek. “Every woman should have a fancy evening dress that makes her feel like royalty. Wanna try it on?” 

Jack was incredibly eager to put the dress on. You ushered her into the bathroom, carrying the dress and handing it to her as she ducked behind a privacy divider. 

“Oh my god!” You heard her say after you heard the zipper pulling shut. “It fits perfectly!” 

“Do you want shoes?” You asked, still not peeking around the divider. 

Jack was quiet for a minute. “Yeah. Those white ones.” 

You knew exactly what she was talking about and grabbed the aforementioned white shoes. Handing them to Jack, you waited while she finished getting dressed, barely managing to contain your patience. When you finally heard her heels on the tile, you looked up, fully breathless as Jack stepped out from behind the divider. 

She was gorgeous. The dress hugged her in all the right places, conforming to the curve of her waist and the slope of her hips as if it were a second skin. The heart shaped neckline and thin straps showed off what you and Ginger had both agreed was a very professional amount of skin, but still enough to make Jack feel sexy. The top of the dress was beaded with shimmering beads, each one catching the light and making Jack seem positively radiant. Even with minimal makeup and her hair haphazardly tossed up, she was the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen. 

“Oh Jack,” you said, standing in front of her. “I don’t- I can’t. You look. I don’t even have the words to say how beautiful you are.” 

Jack smiled, swishing the dress. “I love it,” she said softly. “Thank you. I feel like a princess.” 

“You look like a queen,” you breathed, putting your hands on Jack’s sides. “God above you look stunning.” 

You two stood there for a while, just holding each other, until Jack pulled away to take the dress off. You watched her go, silently gathering her pyjamas, knowing she’d want them. When you were done, you headed out of the bedroom, intent on putting away the groceries that had been left out in your eagerness to show Jack her dress. 

Jack came trailing down the stairs after ten minutes, wearing her Hello Kitty pyjama pants and an old Statesman distillery shirt that was a size too big. You kissed her and handed her a bag of apples as she entered the kitchen. “Put these away please?”

“Sure thing,” Jack said, moving around you to put the apples in the fruit bowl. “Can you grab my medicine?” 

You reached around Jack and grabbed her estrogen bottle and a syringe. She hopped up on the counter, tugging up one of her pant legs to give you easier access to her thigh. After having been shot multiple times, often fatally, needles were something Jack didn’t even blink at. Giving Jack her estrogen had been something you’d had to work up to in the first year, but now you could do it with ease. 

“Ready?” You asked, holding up the syringe. “Three, two,” you pushed the syringe into Jack’s leg. “One!” 

Jack made a face at you as you disposed of the syringe and pressed a Disney princess bandaid to the tiny puncture wound. “Your bedside manor is horrible. Could’ve at least waited until you said one to stick me.” 

You laughed. “You say that every time!” You said, taking Jack’s hands and helping her off the counter. “Bake Off or Friends?” 

“Can we watch Friends?” Jack asked eagerly, following you to the couch and grabbing the TV remote. “I’m in the mood to laugh.” 

“We can watch Friends,” you said, snuggling up next to Jack. “I’ll never say no to Friends.” 

While Jack cued up the show, you fell against her shoulder, already feeling sleepy. In a few hours, you’d have to get up and make dinner, and Jack probably had a report to write on her mission, but for now, it was completely calm in the house.

At some point during the second episode you watched, you must’ve fallen asleep, because one minute, you were sleepily watching Friends, and the next, you were opening your eyes to Jack holding two bowls of her famous cowboy mac-and-cheese. You sat upright, accepting the bowl with a small pout. “I was gonna make dinner.” 

“But you didn’t,” Jack pointed out, sitting beside you and taking a bite. “I swear, this gets better and better the more I make it.” 

“Don’t tell Tequila,” you said. “He would kill a man for this bowl of food.” 

Jack laughed. “He would,” she agreed. “Did you have a good day today?” 

“My girlfriend came home,” you said sweetly. “Of course I had a good day. What about you?” 

“Hm,” Jack hummed, pretending to think. “Well, I got to see my beautiful partner again, so that was good. But then a raging asshole yelled at me, and that was bad. But the dress made up for it, so all in all, a good day.” 

You smiled, leaning against Jack and gesturing to the TV. “I’m glad you had a good day. More Friends to finish it off?” 

“You know me so well,” Jack said happily, taking the remote again. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” you said, turning your attention mostly to the TV. “No matter what.”

[anxiouslyfred]

Secret Surprise Hell

Summary: Virgil would have thought his soulmate taking the time to plan a surprise party in so much secret he knew a lot of the details before anyone his soulmate knew in person sweet, except now he hates knowing the details and having to keep the person it’s for from finding out early.

/\/\

Knowing the secrets of someone you've never even met was a very very bizarre thing. Nobody quite knew what to make of the soulmate connection and everyone had very strong views about secrets, whether it was that they should keep everything hidden or reveal all constantly, but either way, they were deliberate over how they treated secrets.

Virgil wasn't sure if he liked keeping so many secrets, but when the world left him certain people would vilify him for everything, from the clothes he wore to the things he enjoyed not matching the popular ones, it just felt safer to keep them secret.

Occasionally he'd make a friend and try trusting them with some of who he is, and now even that felt like stealing the knowledge of his accidental secrets away from his soulmate. After all a secret shared by 2 people isn't really a secret at all when they know each other in person.

His soulmate however didn't seem to keep any particularly identifying secrets. The secrets that would appear in Virgil's mind were random, about places they went occasionally, or praises for someone called Roman. Why those things needed to be kept secret, he couldn't know without meeting his soulmate, but he kept note of them in a journal. At least nothing seemed likely to make him get his soulmate arrested over a secret.

There's been news reports over the years about soulmates getting each other arrested, or testifying against each other without actually meeting. It damaged both parties in that soulmate connection as people saw betraying the secrets of your soulmate with utmost scorn, no matter how reprehensible the acts they'd carried out were. Virgil dreaded the chance he could be in that situation, but whomever his soulmate was didn't seem likely to do that.

Currently they were planning a surprise birthday party actually. Virgil had been surprised that came to him as a secret since usually parties like that needed multiple people to plan and it had remained secret for long enough that he knew when the decorations would be brought and that his soulmate was getting them from a department store in the same chain he worked at. It could even be the same one given there had never been a clue over where his soulmate lived.

Virgil hadn't learnt much beyond that they'd come with their brother since that meant sharing the plans with someone else, but he was going to keep an eye out, especially in case anyone in blue or called Patton mentioned wanting birthday decorations. He knew that sometimes people planning surprise parties forgot to let their friends know they were remembered while planning it all. Blue had been mentioned way too much while Remus was planning the party entirely in secret so Virgil could only believe Patton liked the colour a lot.

By the time the day to get party decorations came around he'd grown more and more curious over if there was a way to plan a meet up, make secret arrangements just with himself to go somewhere specific enough his soulmate could meet him there. It was a futile dream and one Virgil couldn't imagine doing. He hated being around public spaces alone, and then the added anxiety of hoping his soulmate might actually try to turn up? It would never happen, but then again he was kind of doing the return with his reaction to this party.

“Come Onnnnnn! If we're going to get this party set up we need to get decorations and get home!” An obnoxiously loud whine brought Virgil out of his thoughts as a pair of twins came into the store. Really it was a guy in what seemed to be a see through green and black ice skating costume and combat boots was dragging someone identical to him but far more reasonably dressed into the store, already looking around to decide the direction they'd head in.

“Welcome to the store, how can I help you today?” Virgil recited, long since trained into greeting people, even if they clearly didn't need to.

The ice skater outfit twin glanced at him for a second. “If you have pinatas I need to know where and if I can beat them up before buying them!” He decided, completely seriously after a second.

“Or perhaps you could direct us to party decorations. My brother has decided to throw a surprise party for one of my friends.” The other interjected, straightening his jacket now the pull on his wrist was released.

“Someone Had Too and you, for all your bluster of being a courteous knight wouldn't even bring up his birthday at all, despite the hints he kept dropping about wanting to do something!”

Virgil interrupted with a quick cough, not wanting an argument to break out. “You want the back shelves, that corner and pinatas are like an aisle away from the decorations. That classes as a party game instead.” He directed, arm pointing through the small clothing section near the front of the store.

“We've got decorations to get and things to beat up then. See ya!” The ice skater uniform was once again dragging his twin away, already talking about the various other things the world said it was good to beat up against things it was bad to.

Once they were out of sight Virgil returned to thinking and just watching the doors, half wondering if the pair could have been connected or possibly even his soulmate and whomever they'd chosen to go shopping with. He could imagine ice skater in combat boots keeping some of the weird secrets he'd received over the years.

“Um, Hey, are there any party decorations in here?” A rather down trodden man had come in while Virgil was thinking. He was in a blue collared top, and had his arms wrapped around him trying to hug himself.

Slowly Virgil nodded, “Sure, but are you okay? You don't look much like you want a party currently.” He wouldn't normally ask a customer this, but even without the thoughts in his head that this could be Patton, he just thought the guy needed a friendly face.

“Friends all forgot my birthday, I guess I'll do something myself. Perhaps if I get a party set up and invite them over this evening I can have a small celebration or something?” The puppy dog eyes though the guys glasses were fatal, and Virgil definitely hoped this was Patton, or at least this guys friends were doing the same thing as his soulmate.

None of that could be said though, so Virgil dragged a hand though his hair. “That's rough, Buddy. Come on, I've finished my time as greeter and should check the shelves anyway. I'll show you where the cakes are and help carry any decorations you pick out once we get there.”

“You don't have to do that, Kiddo. Thank you, though. I'm Patton.” The thanks had Virgil shaking his head, but the name had him freezing. This was his soulmate's friend, or given the weird twins from earlier, his soulmate's brother's friend and definitely had a surprise party planned for him already. How the hell was Virgil going to not only keep him from spending too much on decorations, as well as away from the brothers, while still managing to meet his soulmate?

Either way he definitely was sticking with Patton now. “No, I insist. Come on, I know the nicer cakes we have in stock. What type of cakes do you like? Chocolate, plain with jam, decorated to look like character or animals? We've got something for everyone here.”

“Animals. I love puppies and kittens so if they're on anything I'll probably pick that. Some of my friends have allergies so I can't get a cake with nuts on it.” Patton was already seeming happier with his help, but paused for a moment. “If you're gonna be helping me so much Kiddo, can you tell me your name? These glasses aren't good for reading name tags quickly.”

“I'm Virgil, and now I can't decide if I should show you the latest tray of cupcakes we've started getting or one chocolate sponge I've been tempted to get a few times.” This was far more customer service filtering than Virgil usually did, but he could play sweetness and light for a while.

They were looking at the cupcakes when the twin in a red coat called over. “Hey, Patton, fancy seeing you here.”

Virgil narrowed his eyes to the end of the aisle he'd come from before turning around. With how loud the call was it screamed of distraction technique and if the ice skater dude was around Virgil was going to either give him a piece of his mind or make sure it was passed on to Patton's friends. “If this is one of your friends I should probably get back to stocking shelves before someone challenges what I've been doing.” He offered, seeing Patton glancing towards him.

“Gosh Kiddo, I hope I won't have gotten you in trouble.” Patton had those puppy dog eyes again.

“Nah, I'm pretty sure I've got a good excuse if they try anyway. We pride ourselves on customer service.” Virgil dismissed it, already heading out the aisle. “Hope you have a good birthday.”

Sure enough when he got to the aisle with birthday cakes on there was the dude in his ice skating costume. Virgil immediately marched over, more irritated he'd been caught in this entire thing than happy at the chance to meet his soulmate now.

“Next time you decide to keep a birthday party a secret go to some other bloody store. I did not need to have to distract Patton all because you and that idiot with you left him feeling abandoned on his birthday!” He got immediate attention on him, even with the completely bewildered gaze. “Also is your brother Roman, and that why you constantly have secrets thinking something he's made is good? Cause right now if Patton is his friend primarily I've got half a mind to go and yell at him. Your party for him better be good!”

The ice skater guy burst out laughing then, “Honey, I've imagined meeting my soulmate a million ways but never thought it would be telling me off in a supermarket! You're coming to this party now and I'll make sure you can corner Roman to yell at him too! Especially if I can watch with popcorn. Can you tell Jay and Lolo off at the same time? They've all said I'm making a big deal out of nothing trying to set up a surprise party for Patton, but he's done so many parties for all of us.”

“I'll add them to the list. Have they at least got birthday presents for him?” Virgil shrugged, not quite sure what to do with the sudden invitation, but it wasn't like he was doing anything that evening.

“If they didn't earlier they definitely will by now. I got my morning-star out to threaten them with when Logan tried claiming the fuss made of birthday's was excessive.” Remus agreed, already nodding before pouting. “Hang on, you've known me all of two seconds and have somehow decided to care about both Patton and me in that time? Why the hell is your biggest secret that you're lonely?”

Virgil was not here to get called out for his own issues. “Anger for being dragged into surprise party planning does not count as caring.”

“Yeah and Roman's artwork is as worthless as he claims when the shading goes slightly wrong. Pull the other one. You've latched on quickly.” Remus cut through any blustering arguments Virgil might have tried to say.

“Loud places or crowded places are way too stressful to talk to people in. Hell even here I stick to the tills whenever there's holidays coming up to avoid the crowds. Doesn't exactly help me make friends and any I had have long since vanished cause they liked them.” He shrugged, reaching for the cake Patton had almost gone for before deciding it would be too big for the amount of friends he thought might come over at short notice.

“Cake got, now for chocolate gateau so I can shove it in someone's face!” Remus bounced off, tugging Virgil along with him. “Also, since we're soulmate's I better be getting your number and address so I can turn up out of the blue randomly.”

Virgil snorted. “So you're going to stalk me under the pretence of getting to know me?”

“You know it, MarketKing, you know it!” Remus really was looking through the refrigerated aisles for gateaus, but still turned to leer momentarily at him.

“Just call me Virge, or Virgil. What's your name anyway? I kinda forgot about that since I already knew what you're doing.” He wasn't going to point out the chilled desserts were on the end of an aisle nearer the frozen foods. On the chance an employee figured out who their soulmate was while working they were allowed a margin of unproductive work time.

“Remus, although Duke or Dukey works too. It's fun to have Roman scream those nicknames after I've pranked him. Half the time he gets so embarrassed it's like a second part of the prank.” Remus cheerfully offered.

Whatever this surprise party was going to be, Virgil was definitely interested in where getting to know his soulmate would end up.

[btssmutficslovingfan01]

Friendly Encounters- Chapter One

𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎: A friend challenges you to go out of your comfort zone and talk to one of the cute boys at the café. However, after attempting to flirt with one of them, they reveal that they are in a relationship with each other. It’s fine, though, because you’re all friends now!

𝒢𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒: Romance

𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: Fluff

𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈: Domestic Yoonmin, fluff, Jimin is literally too good for this world, barista boys, swearing, mild language, lots of character development, realistic insecurities, Jungkook makes a bad decision.

𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈: 6k+

𝒫𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔(𝓈): Jimin x Yoongi x Reader

Masterlist

Author Note: This story is available on my archiveofourown as well so go check it out!

⇤Prev | Next⇥

                             ______________________________

“Do it.” Your friend pushes you towards the incredibly adorable busboy as he passes by your table.

“No, it’s stupid.”

“Y/N, I dared you. Now you have to do it.” You roll your eyes.

“That’s not even how dares work.” You lay back in your chair, eyes drifting over to the two handsome men who now stand talking at the cash register.

“Okay, fine, if you can’t have a conversation, at least get his number! I’ll go for that cute barista over there with the sleepy eyes.” How can eyes be sleepy? You shrug as she confidently strides to the counter to order another drink. Jasmine has always been the type of girl to tell people what she’s feeling in the heat of the moment. You had no idea where she got her confidence from, it just happened one fine summer day in sixth grade. 

You’ve been best friends ever since you moved into the house across the street, along with Jaehyun and Jungkook. They are the non-identical twins that go to your school and the four of you were a group all through middle school. Things changed after highschool, Jae started hanging out with the wrong crowd and he moved out after saving up some drug money. 

Jungkook, on the other hand, is still a sweetheart, protecting you and Jasmine as if you were his sisters. Sometimes you wonder how you even became friends with this meth-head of a girl, but then you realize you’re the same, you both are crackheads and that’s why you’re best friends. You sometimes doubt your friendship when she tries to push you out of your comfort zone. You hate opening up to people, and Jasmine knows it. 

Yet, she still tries pushing you towards trying new things and being more extroverted. Your mind is already buzzing with a million different ways this can go wrong, but you’re surprised when the waiter approaches you with a smile on his face. I wonder if he’s truly happy or putting on a fake smile for the customers. You think to yourself. Sometimes you like to look at people and try putting together a life story for them. It helps your creative juices flow, as an amateur writer. 

“Can I get you anything else?” He asks with a refreshingly soft voice for a man. You’re a bit taken aback by his melodic tone, and how freaking adorable he sounds with his Korean accent. You can’t tell what dialect it is, because his English flows very well.

“Actually…” You look over at Jasmine, who gives you a thumbs up as she sips her Pink Drink. “Can I have your number?” The man’s eyes widen momentarily and his gaze flickers up to the barista at the counter.

“Oh...Miss I’m very flattered but...see that man over there?” You turn around and face the barista who is busy on his phone at the moment.

“The sleepy-eyed one?” You ask, knowing full well where this is going.

“Yeah, him. Um, that’s my boyfriend.” Your smile falters for a moment but you feel a sudden sense of relief. You were afraid he would actually flirt back and possibly be a douchebag but he is exactly what you hoped he would be. A decent person who won’t cheat on his partner.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Your reaction makes him raise his eyebrows. Normally girls would sigh or be sad that he’s taken/gay, but you’re the first one who’s ever reacted like that. “I mean, sorry. My friend just forced me to ask for your number because she wants me to make friends and step out of my comfort zone, and now I’m...sorry just nevermind.” You trail off, cutting off your pointless rambling as the busboy wipes your table slightly.

“Hm, you’re interesting. You know what, just for that attempt, I am going to give you my number.” He winks at you, sliding you a piece of paper. Did he always have that paper with him? You laugh as he walks away and Jasmine bolts back to your table, excited to hear the juicy details.

“You did it!” She screeches, making half of the people whip their heads around to stare at you. You blush and sink in your seat when you see the adorable busboy speaking to his boyfriend. Just when you’re about to tell Jasmine what happened, you see the sleepy-eyed man look at you with a glare. You bite your teeth and suck in your cheeks as Jasmine starts talking about her encounter. 

“Too bad, though. The sleepy dude just waved me away saying he already has a boyfriend.” She folds her arms. You stretch your legs, yawning a bit as you listen to your friend. “What? Am I boring you? Anyways, tell me what happened with the cute blue haired dude!” You giggle to yourself as your friend expected something more out of the interaction.

“Jasmine, he’s gay. And they’re-” You gesture to the two men talking behind the counter. “Together.” Jasmine sighs. You simply shake your head, flipping your hair to one side.

“Well, I guess my luck with men hasn’t changed. But at least they’re cute.” You giggle as your best friend sighs dramatically and then you move onto discussing other topics, like school. 

Just as you’re about to exit the café, you realize that you didn’t ask the cute busboy for his name. During the whole five minutes that you talked to him, you didn’t even introduce yourself?! Great job, Y/N. You turn around, reaching for the piece of paper in your pocket to find that he indeed did write his name down for you. Jimin. What a beautiful name for a beautiful boy. 

As you climb into the jeep that Jasmine’s parents bought for her 16th birthday, her phone rings, and she turns to you, puffing out her chest. You wiggle your eyebrows at her and then you both laugh after the awkward moment.

“It’s Jungkook.” She throws her phone at you, switching back to her “serious” persona.

“Whoa, what happened between you two for you to act this way?” You give Jasmine the stink eye as she caves under your pressure. She’s acting weird—weirder than usual. 

“Nothing, just...ugh.” She clicks her seatbelt in and starts backing out of the parking lot. 

“Jasmine, if you don’t tell me I’m gonna jump out the window. And we both know I’m not bluffing because I’m actually really short and this window is huge.” Her eyes widen in panic and her hands start shaking on the steering wheel.

“You see…..um ....Jungkook and I may or may not have gone all the way after a deep conversation about relationships.” I gawk at her, unable to process her words. 

Sure JK is a flirt, but he never would’ve moved past touching, seeing how he’s practically scared of girls. There was even a point in your middle school lives where Jasmine believed he was gay and started calling him her “gbf.” Yeah, that wasn’t greatly received by your homophobic class of 2020.

“Bitch, you did not.” You slap the dashboard, shaking your head in disbelief. You can see guilt written all over her face but what’s worse is the fact that you had a crush on him for the longest time and she had no clue about it. 

It’s not her fault, but sex can change a lot of things for different people. And you know despite whatever bullshit Jasmine tells you about it being a ‘one-time thing no feelings involved’ type deal, you know things are going to change between you, Jasmine, and Jungkook. 

You don’t know how anyone will react, since you’ve never been in this situation before. You just know that your best friend, without even knowing it, broke your heart in two. Including Jungkook’s, who is probably crying by himself at the moment.

Your silence is enough to shut her up, as she stops talking mid-sentence and plays an EXO song on her phone, hooked up to the lavish quality stereo system which is connected to her fancy Jeep Wrangler, the vibrations sending shivers down your spine but you assume that’s from your gut, twisting in disgust planning for revenge with Jasmine. She has no regard for feelings when it comes to sex, and you’re more worried about your other best friend at the moment.

“Drop me off at JK’s place.” Your command makes her flinch, and then her eyes widen when she digests what you said.

“You aren’t going to tell him that I told you, are you?” 

“Of course I’m gonna talk to him about it! While you’re over here thinking about how to end your friendship, that boy is probably breaking down in tears right now, or worse, binge eating and watching soapy K-dramas all alone!” 

You slam her car door shut, stepping out with your red converse basking in the sunlight. It’s so bright out today, a little bit chilly but otherwise nice. Too bad Jungkook’s having a rainy day. You knock on his door, and his brother opens the door.

“Hey baby. Wanna join me and my buddie-”

“Yeah, nice to see you too Jaehyun, is Jungkook home?” You ask, pushing past him and his stoner pals on the couch.

“He’s upstairs.” There’s not much that needs to be said when you walk into his room.

As expected, he’s lying in his bed, blankets wrapped around his entire body, forming a cocoon of some sort as he distracts himself from the real world, again. It’s like every breakup ever, as you have seen him do all sorts of crazy shit while being heartbroken. He’s dated so many people, but none of them were his close friends. This time, it’s different, and you can tell he’s hurting more.

“Did you see Jasmine?” Is the first thing he asks when he sees you.

“I was with her earlier and she told me some stuff happened between you guys. And now I’m here for you. Tell me what you need.” Jungkook slowly rises, and you can see his hair standing straight up from the static, and his normally bright eyes are colored red from crying, his cheeks are red and puffy, and he looks exhausted. Drained, in fact.

“I made a mistake. I started kissing her first, it was like the time after my breakup with Madi-” He cuts himself off. You shiver, beginning to remember his touch. You hadn’t slept with him, not in a sexual context, anyway. He only kissed you, and his hands slid down the small of your back, tracing circles with his thumbs. You can feel the strange sensation creeping up on you, and then it hits you like a wave. 

Jungkook is no longer the little boy that you once knew. He’s a grown man, and he can take care of you if you let him. But, you’re not that type of person. You would never take advantage of him, especially when he’s so vulnerable. “I promised myself I wouldn’t let it get in the way of our friendship, but after that night I knew we could never be just friends.” You take his clammy hands in your soft ones, kissing his fingers gently as tears threaten to spill from his eyes again.

“It’s okay, let it out.” You spend a good chunk of your time cuddling with him, and for a moment you imagine what life would be like if you actually started dating, but alas, he is too in love with your best friend. That’s how life is for you, you’ll always be a side character in a love story, and when it comes to love, guys always pick Jasmine. Guys talk to you because they see that you are friends with Jasmine. Girls invite you to sleepovers to ask you what you know about Jasmine, and worst of all, she stole multiple crushes from under your nose. But they were never truly yours to begin with. 

After arriving at your house after a long day spent consoling Jungkook, youlop down on your bed, scrolling through some texts. 

                   ༻• The Next Day, at Your Local Highschool •༺

“Jungkookie, are you feeling any better?” You make your way to your best friend but then you overhear him speaking to some people.

“Oh yeah, she was the best in bed, don’t let her tough smart-girl act fool you, she was amazing, so submissive for me.” You hoped they were talking about someone else, but when you stick your head past the lockers, checking for a split second, you see that it was none other than your sensitive friend who was speaking to a group of younger males.

“Wow, you’re so cool, Hyung. I thought Y/N was the hardest girl to pin down.” Wait, what?! You resist the urge to storm out, eavesdropping a bit longer to see if you misheard things.

“Yeah boys, she came to me while I was playing Overwatch in my room and then she offered. Just straight up asked if I could fuck her.” You slam your fist against a locker and then you clench your teeth, about to confront him when the bell rings. 

It’s 5th period. You don’t have a class because you have a release period. You instinctively check your phone, making sure you didn’t miss any important texts or calls before running out. You don’t know who to trust, or who to go to, as you lost your two best friends within the span of less than 24 hours. People suck.

Then you get a text, as you park your car in front of the coffee shop.

You don’t text back, hoping to surprise him. You forgot to ask him about his work hours but you assumed he worked part-time everyday or something. As you walk up to the counter, you see him standing there, with a bright smile on his lips and crescent-shaped eyes.

“Ah, what a surprise! Hello, valued customer.” His playful attitude is enough to light up your day. 

“Hey Jimin. Sorry for dropping in but I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go, c-can we talk?” You stutter, not realizing you were slurring your words together. Jimin nods, obviously worried about his new friend.

“What happened yesterday?” He takes you to the back of the café, an area where there are less people and you have more privacy. 

“You know the friend that was here with me yesterday?” He nods, allowing you to grip his hand and squeeze it for comfort. He’s a really kind person, letting you open up to him without judgement. “She slept with another good friend of mine and ghosted him. And yesterday I went to his house and we talked about it and he cried on my shoulder, but today…” 

You feel tears threatening to spill from your eyes. “...He was talking about what a good lay I was, lying about sleeping with me to a group of underclassmen.” 

Your breathing is uneven as Jimin stares directly at you, keeping his gaze strictly on you. You feel naked, exposed, and vulnerable. But his reassuring smile makes you feel a little bit better. Just a little bit.

“Hey, break’s over, get out there.” You see the same man from yesterday, the guy who Jimin claimed was his boyfriend. He looks like the polar opposite of your mellow friend, with a darker aura radiating from him. 

You feel like a deer under a lion’s gaze, as he closes in on you, backing you into your corner, making you feel even more vulnerable than before.

You only hoped he wouldn’t try to chase you away, as yesterday he gave you a very uncouth glare, displaying his annoyance with your friendship with Jimin.

You hope with time he will be able to accept you and possibly become a friend of yours as well, but for now, you can only run with your tail tucked between your legs. Just as you’d been running away from your so-called best friends in school. 

You were even considering running to Jaehyun and trying one of his edibles, since he had offered a generous amount of times; it would only be courteous of you to finally accept and try it, as you’d been hearing “don’t try it, don’t try it,” your whole life. 

You don’t care anymore, and hopefully under Jimin’s wing you will be able to learn about true friendship. 

“Aren’t you the girl who asked for Jimin’s number yesterday?” His surprisingly solemn tone catches you off guard, as his eyes tell another story. Maybe that’s just the way he is, physically a very intimidating person but on the inside he might be a fluffy kitten! Okay, maybe not a total kitten, but still squishy. Why else would Jimin date him? He has to be a decent person, unlike all the people you called your friends.

“I am, thanks for noticing. Is there anything you wanted to tell me?” You try to sound as non-threatening as possible, holding your breath, waiting for an answer. You hoped Yoongi didn’t see you as a boyfriend-stealer, nor a generally annoying person.

“No, just wanted to ask you if you need anything else, an iced coffee, some tea...pink lemonade?” His lame attempt at cheering you up makes you crack a smile after a while. 

“Maybe some water? I’m a little bit thirsty.” 

“Coming right up,” After filling up a glass with water, he slides into the seat across from you, whipping out his phone and humming a tune of a familiar song you recognized from the radio. “I’m on break. This time of the day, things get a bit slow.” You nod in understanding, respectfully keeping your legs crossed and your arms folded in your lap, not wanting to show any sign of weakness.

“What song are you listening to?” You ask, hoping to make some small talk.

“Uncomfortable by Chase Atlantic. It’s my go-to after a stressful day.” You shift in your seat when you hear that name. You absolutely adore that band, and the lead singer’s vocals are absolutely heavenly. You could go on for hours, but you don’t want him to know that yet.

“Oh, that’s...cool I guess.” You try not to jump

up and down in joy as that’s a lesser known band and not very many people know about them.

“Do you know this song?” He leans forward, sliding you his phone and showing you the cover of an old album, one you recognize to be “Don’t Try This,” and the song is GREENGREENGREEN. Their song titles are a bit questionable, but they are true works of art, so you can let it pass.

“I suppose I’ve heard it once or twice…” You trail off, watching how the curve of his smooth lips turn upwards, and carefully, you watch how he mouths the words.

“All I see is green yuh

Moving on your seat yuh yuh yuh

All I see is green, All I see is green, All I see is green.” You smirk, slowly singing the next part.

“It's green where the grass grows

Let the cash flow

You can keep your head high, keep that ass low,” You laugh, the man across from you grinning at how weirdly you sang the lyrics.

You and Yoongi continue listening to Chase Atlantic songs together late into the evening hours. It’s around seven in the evening and the air is cool and humid.

“You have amazing taste in music, I’ve never met anyone else who listens to Chase Atlantic with such passion! Jimin’s an Alec Benjamin person but I always tell him they have similar music styles…” He trails off suddenly, worrying you with the pace of his cutoff. “Listen, I had a lot of fun talking to you. And at first I really didn’t get why Jimin wanted to get to know you better but now I see what he saw. You’re cool, Y/N.” You’re more surprised he remembered your name.

“Thanks Yoongi.” You share a moment of silence, just smiling at each other as Jimin makes his way back to your table.

“It’s time for me to clock out, we’re closing soon.” He slides into the seat across from you, next to Yoongi, and you watch as Yoongi expertly sneaks his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder, and you feel small fireworks bursting in your heart. It’s not a weird feeling of jealousy, per say, but rather you feel mellow. You like seeing them together. You like this. 

“Feels like just yesterday I walked in here and you gave me black coffee instead of an iced vanilla mocha because you were distracted by my sexiness.” Jimin girlishly flips his hair, and the three of you share a laugh before the lights start flickering. 

“What’s going on?”

“Looks like there’s something wrong with the power. Jin!!! Did you mess with the electrical again?!” Yoongi runs back inside the kitchen, making sure everything is fine.

“We’re good, just a minor fix,” you hear the voice of another man from inside. You and Jimin exchange worried looks as the lights stay on for a total of 1.032342352 seconds and then they just turn off completely.

“Dammit, stupid thunderstorm outside caused a power outage through town.” You heard Yoongi cursing from the kitchen before he opened the door and stumbled outside back to you.

“Well, when are the lights gonna come back on?” You ask, clutching onto the table as you sink back on the wooden surface.

“News reports say power lines are under service and will be back in function in an hour.” Jimin shows you the article, making you shiver from the thought of spending the night at the café. You most probably won’t have to do that, since your car is right outside and you can just drive home. But do you really want to face your neighbors after a really tough day of school? No. Your bets are that they will probably try to infiltrate your home, failing are trying to “make it up to you.” You’ve lost any trust you had in them before, Jungkook and Jasmine really screwed up this time.

“It’s cold, isn’t it?” Jimin sounds steady, but you can faintly see the outline of his striped shirt and how his muscles contract as he shivers right in front of you. You admire him for putting up the dauntless act, but it doesn’t help as the sound of his teeth clashing give it all away.

“Here, take my jacket. I’m not that cold.” You offer him your coat and he hesitantly slips it over his shoulders. He doesn’t wear it, afraid of stretching out the expensive material and risking threat or wearing it out. 

“Thanks.” 

“Hey guys, can you come in here please? We need help with the door.” You and Jimin carefully make your way to the pantry, which is at a door at the end of the kitchen. You’d never been inside one in a restaurant, but you assumed it was the same as your school. The kitchen was the darkest room, but thanks to the dim lighting from Jimin’s phone, you safely arrived at the end of the path.

“What are you doing now?” You see a second man, taller than Yoongi and Jimin combined, holding a large box.

“We’re just taking this inside. This stuff is smelly, so we make sure they stay sealed in the pantry until we need them,” The older man has a charming smile, and you can already tell he is a gentleman. He looks a little bit older than you, but you can tell by his mannerisms that he’s a bit older. “And hi, I’m Jin.” He introduces himself, winking at you as he walks past, with Yoongi rolling his eyes at the lame flirting attempt. You thought it was cute.

“Coming through! Move over babe.” Yoongi warns Jimin, who holds the door open while you watch over his shoulder, making sure he doesn’t fall back. Not that you will be of any help.

“Oh crap, I think I forgot something in the kitchen!” You and Jimin make your way into the pantry, shrugging at the way Jin quickly left his post.

“So...what’s exactly in the box?” Your curiosity seems to know no limits as you keep asking questions, over and over again. Yoongi and Jimin, however, find it amusing.

“Vinaigrette. All the same type, same brand.” Yoongi dusts his hands and walks back to the closed door, wrapping his fingers around the cool metal knob before turning it….to find that it doesn’t open. 

“What’s wrong, hyung?” Jimin asks, wrapping your jacket around him more tightly. You sigh at his adorable pout. But of course, you try to ignore their moment, focusing on your phone instead. Your battery is at 8% already, and you need to save as much power as you can. However, you also need to distract yourself.

“It won’t open.” You stand up. You’ve hated small spaces since you were a little girl and you refuse to get stuck in a food pantry with two insanely attractive men. What if you run out of oxygen? It’s not them, it’s you.

“Whoa, are you okay?” Yoongi notices your mini panic attack, as you pant heavily, now looking for some sort of opening to crawl through. You need to escape.

“I need to get out!” You shudder as the dim lighting of your phone suddenly disappears. Your phone just died. What the fuck are you going to do now?!

“We’re fine, we just need to call Jin,” Yoongi knocks on the door, and you all stay quiet to hear any feedback. What you didn’t know was that Jin had gone out to run errands and he wouldn’t be back until much later.

“Let me text him.” Luckily, Jimin’s phone has enough power to send one text. Jin replies quickly, telling Jimin that he’ll be back in half an hour, maybe even later because of the horrible weather.

“Looks like we’ll be stuck here for awhile.” Yoongi sits down on the floor first, making himself comfortable between two flour bags. You and Jimin make yourselves comfortable on the floor, shrugging as you snuggle into some things but the lights are off so you have no idea where you’re sitting. Your eyes are adjusted to the darkness, so you can see the faint outlines in the pitch darkness. 

Then you think of all the things that happened today. How you overheard Jungkook telling people lies, and how heartlessly Jasmine let go of him (even though he partially deserved it), and all of the lies and betrayal. Jasmine has cheated on a lot of her past boyfriends, but for some reason you thought she would treat Jungkook differently. And Jungkook just cares about fitting in. You wish you could forget it all and go back to being friends, but you are just so, so sad. They broke your heart. You don’t know if you can trust anyone else ever again. You silently sob, hoping they wouldn’t notice.

But your stupid sniffles give you away. 

“Are you..crying?” Jimin asks after a long silence.

“No…” You wipe your tears and turn to his voice.

“Tell us what’s wrong.” Yoongi’s warmth creates an almost suffocating feeling in the air as your breathing falters and you feel very disconnected from your environment. You can’t even tell if your eyes are open or not because of how long you’ve been trapped. It’s driving you mad. The only thing keeping you sane are the two men sitting in front of you...or behind you. You can’t tell anymore.

“I just want my friends back. And I want to believe that everything will be alright but lately...everything’s been horrible! Life just keeps throwing one obstacle after another and I just want to believe that everything will be okay but it isn’t! My best friend slept with my other best friend and now everything’s weird between the three of us, and my other friend decided to tell everyone that we’re screwing. I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING! Everything is spiraling out of control and I can’t do shit,” You breathe heavily and silence follows, as the boys allow you to catch your breath, not inputting anything just yet. “Thanks for letting me rant. I just needed to let that out, I guess.” You bite your bottom lip, and you can smell the anticipation in the air as the boys wait for their turn to speak.

Oh wow, now you’ve robbed them of their words. Aren’t you the best friend ever.

“Can I say something?” Jimin waits for a moment before dictating his thoughts, “It sounds like you were just thrown into a random mess that had nothing to do with you directly.” He says, earning a cough from Yoongi. Luckily, the sleepy-eyed man is kind enough to cough in his sleeve (ugh corona) and he says, “I agree with Jimin. And that guy sounds like a bitch boy. I’m pretty sure he’s one of those coconut headed e-boy wannabes. Or just a plain fuckboy.” You scrunch your nose. “Jungkook isn’t like that.” 

“Oh, with a name like that he’s bound to have a talent. Maybe he dances really well? Lemme guess, he’s a really good singer but is as shy as a goat.” You didn’t know goats were shy. Yoongi seems knowledgeable, so you don’t question him.

“He’s a good singer, alright, but he wants to be a progamer when he graduates.” You reveal it to them, all of a sudden going off on a tangent about your childhood crush and best friend.

“It sounds like you guys are close,” Jimin whispers in a hushed voice, so quietly that you almost miss him. “And from what I can tell, he’s insecure and wants people to think he’s cool. So he used you, as stupid as it was, I think he’s worth fighting for.” You feel a sudden lightness in your chest, like you just confessed something you felt guilty about. It’s as if he’s in your head, and he understands exactly what you’re going through.

“Jimin and I actually got together because of a misunderstanding in the first place, if he hadn’t fought for us, who knows where he might’ve ended up?” You can’t see what Jimin does exactly, but you assume that his face is scrunched up into a cute cringe of sorts, anything that man does is adorable.

“My parents would’ve forced me to become a pastor. They aren’t exactly the most open-minded people...coming out to them was the hardest thing I ever did. And luckily, Yoongi was with me all through the process after they disowned me and threw me out of the house. I guess I lost my biological family but I ended up with something even better.” You feel your lips turn upward, the first feeling you’ve experienced since sadness. You feel hopeful, and happy that the two men can freely be together without judgement from those around them. 

You feel slightly jealous as well, since their relationship worked out and yours with Jungkook are in shambles. Maybe it’s not too late to fix this, but seeing as he hadn’t even sent you as much as a “Good morning” text, you decided it was better to leave him alone for now. The darkness is not only making you blind; it’s making you unempathetic. You do feel a bit of fear though, as the sense of not knowing what else might be in here with you is overwhelming and you literally want to curl into a ball and cry. “Your breathing is heavy again...are you okay?” Yoongi’s voice soothes you as you slowly recover from the mini-panic attack. You don’t know if you can take it anymore.

“Sorry, I’m just a little claustrophobic.” You hear some shifting as Yoongi makes himself more comfortable.

“Oh shit, I forgot about Jin,” Jimin pulls out his phone, as it vibrates with a text. Your vision is blurry, but you can see his face with the help of the dim light from his device. “Jin said he’s running late in traffic. We might be stuck for a little longer.” You snap, reaching for the closest thing to you, standing up on your two wobbly legs.

“I can’t do this! I’m going crazy, I need to get out! Anything...away….can’t breathe!” You start taking deep breaths, slightly embarrassed at showing the two boys you barely know your weak side. Of course, they are absolute sweethearts about it.

“Honja jjujeo anja

Saenggag man keojyeoga

Eonjebuteo neon nal apeuge haessdeonga

Neo jochado moreujanha,” He slowly makes his way behind you, snaking his arms around your shoulders in a very intimate manner.

“Neodo apeujanha 'cause you’re mine

I just want to blow your mind

Ireohge neon tto meoleojyeo man ganeunde,” You close your eyes and sink into his embrace, swaying in a movement that could only be described as heaven. His voice is heaven. 

“I want you to be your light, baby

You should be your light

Deoneun apeuji anhge

Nega useul su issge

I want you to be your night, baby

You could be your night

Ibami neoege soljighal su issge…” He trails off, leaving you feeling speechless from listening to his honey-like voice. The song is also new, something you’ve never heard. You clap, astounded by his vocals.

“That was amazing!!! Thank you so much for doing that.” You can almost picture the cute blush on his cheeks as you praise him, but you aren’t going to let him know that.

“No problem.” As you both share a moment, Yoongi finds a supposed way out.

“Look, there’s a duct back here. Should one of us go through and see if they can let the others out?” You and Jimin share a look of suspicion but you volunteer anyways. 

“I guess I’ll do it. Seems logical.” You get to your hands and feet, and Jimin gives you his phone, tenderly. There’s a gentleness in his eyes and through the blinding light of the flashlight on his phone, you could see his pupils dilate slightly. For a moment, it’s just you and him, as the rest of the world fades to black. You snap out of your daze when Yoongi coughs into his arm again, and you prepare to crawl into a dusty duct that’s been closed for decades.

You eventually find an exit, and you’re surprised at how long Jimin’s battery life was. It was only at 49%, despite him using his phone for half the time you were together. He must’ve charged it to the full 100%. You find a screw loose on another duct, opening it with ease and slipping into the kitchen. And then when you shine your flashlight, you realize your location. 

You quickly run to the locked door and find that opening it from the outside is a piece of cake. The two men are thankful, but they still complain about the power. Jimin texts Jin that all of you got out, and he just tells you to go home.

The time is about 9:41, 2 hours later than you’d hoped to go home. Nonetheless, you had fun spilling your heart to these two wonderful men. You’ve never felt so close with a pair of strangers, but you can tell these two will become an important part of your life very soon.

                                     ༻• At your House •༺

“Where were you?” Your mother yells as you walk through the door, and you put your bag on the floor, flopping face down on the couch.

“I was at a café but then there was a power outage and I got stuck in a food pantry.” You nonchalantly tilt your head upwards at your mom, as her look of anger changes into one of worry.

“How did you get out?” She asks, bringing you a cheese sandwich. You plug in your phone upside down, but it’s okay because you can see the logo pop up after a minute.

“I crawled through a duct. It was fun but dusty. Oh, sorry for not texting you. My phone died.” She raises an eyebrow.

“Y/N...is there something you’re not telling me?” You fold your arms, whining like a baby. “Was there someone else with you?” You nod, not wanting to tell your mom in detail. “Okay, I’m not gonna ask any more questions. But earlier Jungkook came by, he wanted to talk to you in person. After he left, Jasmine dropped by an hour ago, saying she wanted to see you too. Did something happen between the three of you?” You sigh, turning right-side up on the couch, resting your head on your mother’s shoulder.

“Mom, can I please just go to bed? I don’t feel so good.” Instead of pestering you to tell her, she complies with your wishes, leaving you alone to go into the kitchen.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I started renting the top floor of our house to two nice young men. They’ll stay with us, and we can get money.” You raise your eyebrows at her, not believing her fully. Your mom was never the type of person to do that. You had suggested it in the past, but she had never fully gone through with plans before. Especially big ones.

“And why did you agree to it?”

“Because they are so charming, Y/N, when I put the ad up, they immediately responded, saying that they’d do all the housework and help cook, and take care of the house as if it was theirs, even though they are paying to stay in one room.” You grab your backpack and make your way upstairs. After finishing your nighttime routine, you tuck yourself in and retire for the night.

You wake up with the sudden urge to pee. So, you run to the bathroom only to find a very unexpected sight. The same man with the crescent shaped eyes when he smiles is standing in your bathroom, brushing his teeth.

“J-Jimin?” He turns his head, looking at you with wide eyes.

“Y/N? What are you doing here?” 

“I live here!”

“Me too!” Dear God, what has your mother done?

[timetoresurface]

take you home / JJH

idol!au Jaehyun x Y/N 4k meet cute scenario where you travel solo, and you meet a handsome boy in a random bar // no warnings

optional second part (here) where Y/N reflects on her relationship with Jaehyun.

What was supposed to be a romantic getaway with your so-called soulmate, ended up in a solo soul-searching trip. You had booked an early birthday present for your ex-boyfriend, not knowing he would actually break up with you before you could even tell him you had planned a spectacular gift. Through all your heartbreak  and tears you had forgotten you had a trip on your agenda, but luckily you had your phone to remind you of everything painful. 

“Do you want me to go with you?” “You shouldn’t go. It will only remind you of him.” “You were finally getting over him.” “Just cancel the trip.”

Are a few of the things your friends had said when you told them you were going solo. The past months had indeed been bad, but you were finally leaving it all in the past. This trip could be the start of something new. This fresh start resulted in you helping out in an unknown bar without getting paid. The owner promised you free drinks the moment it would be less busy, but you were already three hours in cleaning tables without an end in sight.

“Y/N can you please check if that table needs more drinks?” The owner of the small establishment pleaded while his hands were trying to fix the cash register. You simply nodded your head and made your way over to the table with rowdy boys. You could tell they didn’t go out much by how they couldn’t take their liquor. 

“Can I get you anything?” You asked them politely while eying their empty drinks. You would rather have them leave so you could finally get your promised free drinks, but they weren’t bad customers.

“Another round please.” A skinny dark haired boy said. You could tell he was a little bit tipsy by his eyes drooping a little bit. Usually, you would find these kind of lightweight people annoying, but this boy made it look charming. 

“Mark, are you sure?” Your eyes moved away from the boy named Mark to the owner of the concerned voice. He seemed to be the only one not even near being tipsy, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t having any fun. He was looking at his friend with adoration in his eyes, and you couldn’t help but mirror his expression. 

“I actually don’t know what you were drinking. I’m guessing beer?” You asked them innocently while eying their empty beer glasses. The only sober guy at the table laughed while making eye contact with you. He simply nodded his head, but the simple movement stirred something awake in you. Describing him as handsome would be an understatement because he was much more than that. His eyes twinkled in excitement, and his mouth was beautifully formed into a heartwarming smile that could even melt icecaps. His face seemed to be perfectly sculpted by the Gods, and you couldn’t help but to roam your eyes over his almost perfect features. 

“We were drinking Guinness, but I think we should go for something a little less strong.” He smiled, ignoring the fact that you had been not so secretly staring at him. You quickly composed yourself and counted the people around the table. 

“I can work with that.” You simply told them before getting their drinks. You had only been here for a couple of hours, but you knew where everything was and how to work around the confused boss. Not that he was your boss because you technically didn’t work here, but you really wanted your free drinks. 

You had been sitting here alone at the bar with a glass of wine when suddenly a lot of people stormed inside. The owner of the bar hadn’t anticipated a busy Wednesday night and was short on staff. You had heard him calling some people that worked here, but no one was free tonight. Blame it on the glass of wine, or blame it on your loneliness, but you immediately offered to help. 

“Hey, can I ask you something?” You were pouring the beer into the correct glasses when someone interrupted your flow. It was the same guy you had been staring at not even five minutes ago. 

“Of course. How can I help you?” You smiled at him while closing the tab.

“I can’t seem to find the toilet, do you know where it is?” He asked you innocently, and you almost couldn’t contain yourself to squeal out loud by his adorableness. 

“What if I told you I didn’t know where the toilet was?” You asked him teasingly, but you weren’t lying. You actually didn’t know where the toilet was. 

“I would probably pee my pants.” He confessed with a nervous laugh.

“Well, I actually don’t know where the toilet is, but I suspect down the stairs.” You told him earnestly while pointing at the direction of the stairs. He followed your movement, and noticed the toilet sign. You heard him sigh in relief, and it was the most beautiful sound you had ever heard.

“Thank you so much.” He said before making his way down the stairs. 

“It was no problem.” You told him, but he was already out of earshot. You softly smiled at yourself while pouring the remaining drinks before bringing them over to their table.

“I don’t think I can handle more beer.” The boy named Mark, who had ordered more drinks, said. 

“You don’t have to drink beer.” You told him while putting his drink hesitantly before him. 

“But you already poured it so beautifully. It would be a waste and a disgrace to your work.” His shoulders dropped in despair while he admired the glass of beer. 

“I can also make a neat iced tea. You should see me pouring that straight out of the bottle. That would be a waste and disgrace to my work if you didn’t drink it.” You told him seriously. You hadn’t expected him to burst out laughing. You hadn’t expected his laugh to be so contagious, but when the other guy returned everyone at the table was a laughing mess. 

“What happened?”

“Jaehyun, she’s so funny.” Mark slurred his words while gesturing toward you. Your cheeks flushed at the unexpected comment and unwanted attention that suddenly came by his remark. 

“Iced tea?” You asked Mark after a couple of seconds of awkwardness, and he simply nodded his head. You smiled at him while taking away his glass of beer. You heard Mark explaining to the boy named Jaehyun what had happened when he was gone while you were making your way over to the bar again. You took a sip from the unwanted beer before getting a glass for Mark’s iced tea. You actually didn’t lie, this bar does pour cheap bottles of an unknown brand iced tea in fancy glasses. You completed the drink with a slice of lemon before presenting it to Mark.

“Wow!” Was the only thing Mark said when you gave him his drink. “I’m in awe by the perfect ratio of bottled iced tea and lemon. This is a masterpiece.” He completed his train of thoughts before he burst out in laughter. Again, you hadn’t anticipated his reaction, and you had forgotten how contagious his laughter was. The only difference was that you could hear the low laugh of Jaehyun mixed with the others, but his stood out. His laughter could work as a siren call, and you would willingly follow it to the end of the world. 

“I’m glad you enjoy my work.” You said when everyone calmed down a little bit.

“You’re doing a good job.” Mark stated before drinking a large sip of his not so personalized drink. 

“Thank you.” You told them before returning to your spot at the bar. The owner of the bar had finally finished making the register, and you could feel the air of calmness in the bar. Most people seemed to have disappeared to another spot. It was just you, the owner and the rowdy boys. 

“Y/N! Thank you so much for helping. You can have free drinks tonight and tomorrow night.” He told you with a tired smile. 

“It was no problem. I’m happy to help.” You told him, mirroring his expression. You had only worked for a couple of hours, but it was so intense it had drained all the energy out of you. 

“Are you sure you’re not looking for a job?” He asked you.

“I don’t actually live here: otherwise, I would have accepted.” You told him softly while patting his shoulder. You took off your apron before sitting in your spot at the bar.

“It’s a shame.” He said while removing your apron from the bar.

“Can I get a glass of wine?” You asked him nicely.

“You know where it is.” He told you while gesturing toward the fridge filled with wine. He made his way over to you and seated himself next to you. 

“Can I get you anything?” You asked him while you were pouring yourself a glass of wine. You actually didn’t mind because you could take the more expensive one without having to pay for it.

“Red wine. The good one.” He seemed to have had the same idea. Well, it is his bar.

“Coming right up.”

—

The next day you woke up in your hotel room feeling a tiny bit dizzy. Maybe you felt that way because of the free wine you had consumed the other night. Or perhaps it was because you had cried yourself to sleep. You had been fine all day because you had kept yourself busy, but the moment you entered your tiny room, it all came crashing down. 

You were indeed alone in a foreign city while staying in a romantic bed and breakfast thing where only couples go for a honeymoon or whatever. Anyone would cry in that situation, or that’s what you tell yourself. You didn’t cry because you missed him. You cried because you missed having someone in your life to share your thoughts with. 

But, today is a new day, and a new day means not dwelling on the past. A new day means obsessing over the handsome guy from last night. After they finished their drinks, he was the one who came up to pay. He spoke to you first, but the owner quickly told him you actually didn’t work there. He seemed surprised by that information, and your temporary boss explained the situation to him.

“So, you’re like a real-life hero?” He had said to you while your boss was trying to get the paying machine to work.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before.” You told Jaehyun with a soft blush noticeable on your cheeks.

“I said you were a gift from the Gods. That’s kind of the same.” Your boss deadpanned, making you roll your eyes while Jaehyun laughed at the scene before him. 

That guy seemed to laugh a lot, and you hoped he would never stop because his smile had healed you in some ways. It had made your heart’s doors open to just a crack. He had given you hope that men were still beautiful, and the world was still peaceful. You noticed you were still thinking about him while you were roaming the streets. You wondered if he was still in this city, and if so, where would he be? Would he also be exploring with a camera in hand trying to capture the movement in silence? So many questions, and so little answers.

You were quietly taking a picture of a bridge from the side of the river when you noticed some loud screams and laughs. They reminded you of the boys from last night, so you automatically turned your head toward the noise. There were a lot of people and some cameras focused on a handful of handsome men dancing to a song you had never heard before. The song suited their cool-guy outfits, and it made you smile. There were also a lot of girls screaming on the sidelines for their favourite boy. It reminded you of the time when you went to a One Direction concert with your friends. Oh, being young, naive and obsessed with boybands. What a wonderful time in a young girl’s life. 

You moved closer to the commotion and immediately recognized Mark at the centre of the group. He looked in perfect shape, and you were glad he had accepted your iced tea. You had a feeling he wouldn’t be standing there if he had taken the second beer. You gravitated to the side behind all the screaming girls. You gently seated yourself at the side of the river while keeping your eyes focused on the dancing boys. You didn’t recognize the language they were singing in, but it didn’t bother you at all. 

Finally, you spotted Jaehyun. The boy who had been in your thoughts ever since you had briefly met him last night. You didn’t think he could be even more handsome in broad daylight, but he brightly outshone the sun in his leather jacket. You zoned out watching Jaehyun move effortlessly to the beat, you hadn’t noticed when the music had stopped. They were now saying their goodbyes and thanking their fans for showing up on such short notice. 

Somehow your eyes locked with Jaehyun’s, and a big smile formed on his face when he noticed you looking at him. It was the second time he had caught you staring at him, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. He enthusiastically waved to you, and some fans thought it was directed to them, but you and Jaehyun knew it was meant for you. You softly waved back at him before retreating back to the other side of the busy street, leaving Jaehyun behind. 

You strolled through the city with one thing on your mind: how can someone be so good-looking? It seemed a bit unfair to you that one person could hold the earth’s beauty with just a smile. It’s only fair that he is in a famous boyband so that many people can drown in his grace. The pictures you took that day were taken with a different mentality of the city. It somehow didn’t seem so dull anymore. You noticed the colours and wondered if the world had always been so bright. 

Eventually, you found your way back to the bar that had promised you free drinks. You hoped the owner would still recognize you and would keep his promise. Also, it would be nice to have someone to talk to after spending the day by yourself. The moment you entered you felt like you were being watched, but you tried to ignore the feeling. It was probably because you had spent the day alone, and people could smell the loneliness on you. 

“Hi!” You said while seating yourself at the bar. He immediately recognized you and presented a glass of white wine in front of you.

“I was wondering when you would show up. I thought you were going to ditch this bottle of wine.” The owner said while gesturing to one of the more expensive bottles. 

“I will never leave a good bottle of chardonnay alone.” You told him seriously, which made him laugh a little bit. 

“I have some boxes to bring up, can you maybe see if that table in the corner needs anything?” He asked you with pleading eyes, and you agreed. Happy to be doing something useful.

“I got your back.” You told him while getting off your seat, ready to help the poor man out. The table he had mentioned was just one guy softly scrolling through his phone. He seemed to be getting a lot of messages and calls, but he ignored them all. 

“Can I get you anything to drink?” You asked the man. He turned around and your eyes locked with the one guy who had occupied your mind the whole day. 

“We have to stop running into each other like this.” Jaehyun smiled, giving you the same look of adoration he had given his friend the day before. 

“I think you want to run into me like this.” You laughed, but you were quickly interrupted by the owner of the bar. He carried two glasses of wine and some snacks. 

“It’s on the house.” He simply said before leaving you alone with Jaehyun. You had barely spoken two sentences with the guy where one of them was him asking where the toilet was. You were more strangers than anything. Blame it on the lack of social contact you had today. Maybe you could simply blame it on yourself because you couldn’t stay focused for more than five minutes when he was near. 

“You can sit with me?” Jaehyun asked you insecure, and somehow he broke the awkward vibes you were giving off. He seemed to do that a lot around you, breaking some of the defence mechanisms you had built around yourself. 

“I’m Y/N.” You introduced yourself while taking a seat opposite him. He seemed pleased by your actions and leaned a bit forward. His eyes searching for yours before he spoke.

“I’m Jaehyun. It’s nice to put a name to the beautiful face.” He said with a prominent smile on his face, which only made you blush. 

“I could say the same.” You said before taking a sip of your wine. He mirrored your actions, both of you not knowing what to do or say in a situation like this. It felt like the first time you had met someone new, and all social etiquette vanished from your brain.

“I’m sorry for being awkward,” Jaehyun stated, avoiding your eyes while doing so. 

“I think it is adorable, and I’m also glad I’m not the only awkward one sitting at this table.” You told him, and he quickly locked his eyes with yours. The newfound confidence changed his body language. He had popped his elbows on the table to support his head so he could entirely focus on you, and only you. His phone was lighting up in silence, but he simply ignored everything. 

“Are you from here?” He asked you while he rested his head on his hands. His long eyelashes being the only thing you could stare at. 

“No, are you?” You answered and asked him. Usually, you loved talking the other person’s ears off, but with Jaehyun, you wanted to know more about him. What was the driving force in Jaehyun’s story? What was his favourite colour? You want to know it all.

“No, I’m actually from Korea. Are you here alone?” He asked you, and you could tell he was a little bit worried by the frown on his face. You wanted him to laugh that low laugh of his again.

“This is my ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ trip.” You softly explained to him with a smile on your face. It had been a long time since you had smiled so much because of one person.

“The Julia Roberts movie?” He asked you interested, engrossed by your thoughts. 

“That one.” You confirmed before taking a large sip from your glass. Once again he mirrored your actions, which made you smile and feel warm on the inside.

“Are you going through a divorce?” He laughed, and you quickly shook your head. You couldn’t believe he actually knew what you were talking about. Usually people never understood your references.

“Worse, I’m going through heartbreak because of a fuck-boy. Why are you here, though? I bey your story is more interesting.”

“I hardly doubt that. Did you pay attention this afternoon?” He asked you, and you quickly nodded your head.

“You’re in a boyband?” You asked him softly while looking around. You didn’t want anyone to hear your conversation, afraid a wild fangirl could appear. You had seen their fans for a couple of minutes, and it was enough for you to be scared. You had been a fangirl yourself in your teenage years, you knew what they were capable of. 

“Exactly. That’s why I’m here because we have a concert tomorrow.” He explained to you, grabbing your attention again. 

“Shouldn’t you be practising?” You asked him softly. Why would he be here drinking wine, when he has a concert tomorrow? It couldn’t be because of you, right?

“I actually should, but I really wanted to go back to this bar for some strange and unknown reason.” He rested his hands on his lap while looking down. Was he getting shy now?

“What if I hadn’t shown up tonight?” You boldly asked him. If tonight was the only night you had with him, you wanted to make it count. You wanted to remember the spark in Jaehyun’s eyes that made butterflies explode in your stomach. You wanted to remember the way his laugh could melt your icy heart.

“I don’t know. I just knew I could find you here.” He confessed softly, and you couldn’t help but look lovingly at him. He just had that aura around him. You just can’t help but love Jaehyun. He shouldn’t waste a moment without that smile of his that could cure any disease.

“So you admit you were looking for me?” You asked him teasingly, and his ears turned a little bit red by your accusation. 

“I never said I wasn’t. I thought my intentions were pretty clear from the start.” He tried to recover, but the redness spread over his cheeks.

“And what are your intentions?” 

“I actually don’t know. I just wanted to get to know your name.” He confessed to you again, which made your heart stop for just a second. A moment passed when you were both simply staring into each other’s eyes as if you were paused in a cliché romantic comedy. 

“Well, you learned my name.” You finally broke the silence.

“I’m not yet satisfied if I’m honest.” He told you softly, making you blush in return.

“You can be honest with me.” You simply told him, trying to fight the static atmosphere. A strange feeling washed over you while staring at him, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It was the feeling of the promise of a memorable moment with Jaehyun. 

“Can you be honest with me?” He asked you softly, not wanting to break the tension. You simply nodded your head at his question. Anticipation and adrenaline taking over your body. Not wanting to cross the line where the mystery would fade, but also craving to know where this conversation would take you.

“Do you want to get some ice-cream with me?” He asked you, his voice low it could make panties drop in a second, but the intention so innocent it made you question your sanity. You were craving something to cool you off, caused by the man sitting opposite you. What’s the point in rushing before it begins?

[skzsauce01]

The Trials and Tribulations of Birthday Presents

Synopsis: Chan’s birthday is only three hours away, and you, his loving girlfriend, still don’t have a gift for him. Modern magic AU because it’s October.

Warning: one instance of calling and driving flying (please don’t do this!)

Word Count: 2.9k

Pairing: fem!reader x Bang Chan

What does one find in a magic shop?

Fat wax candles, decks of tarot cards, and antique spellbooks, just to name a few. If the shop is particularly well stocked, there may be rare potion ingredients like bottled lightning and threads of moonlight.

Despite all the fascinating things available, the very magic shop you work at has nothing for your particular dilemma: a suitable gift for your beloved. In other words, there are only three hours left before your boyfriend’s birthday, and you still have no idea what to get him.

“What do I do, what do I do?” you mutter to yourself.

The minute hand of giant clock face mounted to the oak paneling wall ticks, reminding you that time is of the essence and something you have naught of. If only you knew a time wizard; then you could allow yourself to panic and avoid the problem for a few hours longer.

The black cat perched at the register counter beside you flicks his tail, making the pages flutter. “We do have an aisle dedicated to gifts, you know.”

“There’s nothing good there!” you wail.

Glass candle holders and generic happiness potions don’t scream “I cherish you and the day of your birth greatly!” Though the specialty potions shop across town could probably make you one that literally screams that…

You bat the absurd idea and the cat’s tail away, making it hiss at you as a result. “Isn’t your shift over, Minho? It’s past nine.”

“Oh!” He shifts back into human form and cheerfully hops off the counter, making the floorboards creak. “Lucky me. Good night then.”

“No, wait! Help me! I’m sorry I was mean!” you pathetically call after him. “Minho!”

He turns around and starts heading back to the register. When he sees how relieved you look, he heads for the door again. “Good luck!”

You do your best impression of a banshee in an attempt to stop him, but he doesn’t flinch. “Give some advice at least! Please!”

“Be spontaneous,” he says as he opens the door. “Stop being so practical and get Chan something fun.”

The door swings shut, and Black Cat Minho waves a paw at you before darting down the street. The store goes quiet, and you stand by the counter with your head in your hands.

“But I don’t know how…”

One of your finer attributes is being practical. Plenty of people, namely all your friends who have received presents from you, even say that you are overly practical. It’s not necessarily a bad thing; it just means that they get new brewing stands and gift cards to the local plant nursery for birthdays rather than plushies and balloons.

But Chan’s has to be different and special, which means you have to be reckless and spontaneous and everything you are not.

While you pace around the store, looking for something you would never even consider buying, Changbin steps out of a nearby shadowy corner. He mumbles a hello and brushes his jacket sleeve, no doubt to rid himself of any pieces of darkness from his journey.

“Hey, Changbin,” you brightly greet, walking closer to him with your hands behind your back.

He gives you a strange look at your sudden chipperness and tries to get away. Unfortunately for him, he chose to arrive in a corner, and you easily trap him in.

“How was shadow travelling? Great? That’s great. Anyway, do you think Chan would like this?” You hold up a mesh bag full of stuffed mice, taxidermied ones and plushie ones included.

“What is he even going to do with those? Can I go now?”

You let him pass. “So, it’s perfect then!” Merrily, you take the bag with you to the register and start applying your employee discount code.

Changbin, who has not started working, hovers around. “Wait, is this what you’re getting him for his birthday?”

You stop pressing buttons and fearfully look at him. “Why are you saying it like that?”

You can always count on Changbin on being blunt with you, but it still stings when he answers. “He’ll like it because you gave it to him, but he doesn’t need dead mice. He works with summonings, and what demon likes already dead mice?“

“I’m trying a new approach,” you indignantly say. “No practical presents.”

“Okay, but he doesn’t want dead mice either.”

He makes a fair point. You cancel the purchase and leave the bag on the counter.

“What did you get him?” you ask. You mournfully scan the inventory pages, and the words feel like they’re taunting you. “Crystal ball? Gilded owl cage? Velvet-lined coffin?”

He laughs at your guesses and shows you a picture on his phone. An image of a koala plushie holding a vial of something shimmery stares back at you.

“Is that… dust bunny dust?” you say, pinching the screen to zoom in. “But you can literally find that under your bed.”

“When we were fifteen, he said— never mind, it’s an inside joke.” He tucks his phone back into his pocket and picks up the stuffed mice to put back on the shelf. “Why don’t you get him flowers and chocolate?”

“But that’s so… pedestrian. And more of an anniversary thing.” You sigh and wave him off. “I’ll let you get to work now.”

However, since the shop is quite empty in the late hours — who wants to go shopping when all the best things happen at night — Changbin soon returns by your side to help you solve your issue. You scroll through old text messages between you and Chan to find something noteworthy. You’re starting to reconsider Changbin’s earlier suggestion.

“What if I get him a birthday cake and flowers?” you try after finding a link to a boutique bakery from the town across the river. “But a really special cake and really special flowers.”

“Isn’t that too ‘pedestrian?’” he jokes. At your defeated expression, he pats your shoulder reassuringly. “I think he’ll like it. It’s a little bit practical as well.”

You suppose Changbin is still little miffed by the lint roller and darkness duster you gave him for his birthday.

“Is anything still open though?” You do a search for the local bakeries and flower shops, but as expected, most are already closed. On the bright side, you do know a florist who may not be too appalled if you knock on his door at this hour. “Do you think Jeongin will mind if I barge in for flowers?”

“Yes.”

As for the cake, a simple grocery store cake won’t do. The 24-hour grocery store, luckily, lives up to its name and is still open, which means you can make your own. “And do you think I can make a cake before midnight?”

“No.”

“I will switch those two answers around.” You grab your broomstick from the stand and are ready to leave when you remember that you are still supposed to be working. “Oh wait.”

Changbin shakes his head and nudges you to go ahead. “I can handle it.”

“I can’t just leave early! I’ll get fired!” You nervously drum your fingers on the countertop. You need a new plan, stat. “How about no cake? Agh! But just flowers is… agh!”

He laughs — how dare he! — at your panic. “Jihyo will understand. You’re also the only one who doesn’t fight when you get the witching hour shift.”

Your boss is quite nice and understanding, especially about things regarding relationships. After all, she was an apprentice for a witch specializing in love potions before she decided to open the shop. You hurriedly run for the door as the giant, looming clock ticks again.

“Thanks and good night!” you call over your shoulder to Changbin, who wishes you luck in return.

With some difficulty, you light the lantern dangling at the front of your broomstick. It’s dangerous of you, but you dial Jeongin’s phone number while flying to the grocery store and hope he picks up. If there were actual traffic laws for flying, you are certain you are breaking all of them. The dial tone is cut off, and Jeongin barely gets out a hello before you interrupt.

“I need flowers!” you shout over the rush of the wind. The neon sign of the store slowly blinks, and you nosedive down, scattering a cloud of vampire bats as you descend, almost dropping your phone in the process. “For Chan! So the best ones you have!”

“What kind of flowers?” You hear the sound of water from his end, so he must be tending to his night plants.

“Did you not hear me?” You grab a shopping cart, throw your broomstick in, and haphazardly snatch cake ingredients off the shelves. “The best ones you have! Also, can I borrow your kitchen?”

“That’s not what I— never mind. Sure, you can use my kitchen.”

“Thank you!” you chirp as you grab the last carton of milk. “See you soon.”

You hear Jeongin mumble a goodbye and hang up. Your cart is filled, and you’re certain that you have everything you need to make Chan the most magical birthday cake of his life. Self-checkout is fortunately devoid of customers, so you scan all the products as quickly as you can. Your broomstick is back-heavy as you head to Jeongin’s with your heavy bag of ingredients.

The giant upstairs window of his house is wide open, curtains pulled back, and you fly right through, landing on the kitchen floor with a heavy thump. Jeongin doesn’t even look away from his activity at the sink.

“Hello,” you say a little breathlessly. You take your bag and lean your mode of transport against the wall. “Sorry for coming on such short notice.”

“You couldn’t celebrate his birthday later in the day?” he asks. He’s snipping stems. “I’ve got plants to take care of and harvest.”

You find a large enough cauldron in one of his cabinets and start adding in butter and sugar. “I know, I’m sorry. I couldn’t think of anything to get him, so cake and flowers was a last-minute thing. I’ll buy gift cards here instead of the nursery for birthday presents next time.”

Jeongin seems happy with your response, and he breaks out the extra fancy ribbon he usually saves for expensive orders. With the exception of you mumbling cooking spells and him shuffling flowers around, it’s mostly quiet. After fifteen minutes, you slide the cake pan into the oven and pray the recipe you followed works. You anxiously stare at the clock, the incessant tick tock growing louder with each second. You’re not going to have enough time to frost the cake and make it look pretty at this rate.

While you make the buttercream frosting, you ask Jeongin, “What kind of flowers are you using?”

“The best ones I have,” he replies. You don’t need to see it to know he has a crescent moon smirk on his face. “The real answer is roses, lavender, and jasmine.”

Minho’s reminder of being spontaneous and not practical echoes in your ears. “Those are very practical choices,” you slowly say.

“Isn’t that what you want?”

“I’m trying a new approach. But it looks very pretty!” you add, admiring the colors. “He’ll need the lavender for stress anyway.”

He chuckles, and you sigh at your one-track mind.

When the clock strikes eleven, you’re officially in full panic mode. The bouquet is complete and resting in a glass jar of water. Jeongin, who for some reason trusts you to be alone in his home, leaves you while he attends to his plants. The cake — the stupid, still warm, ‘cannot be frosted unless you want the entire thing to look like an old wax candle’ cake — is sitting on the counter, and you whisper cooling spells that do not seem to be working.

It does smell lovely though, so at least the recipe worked.

After fifteen minutes of waiting and reciting cleaning spells, you start applying the first assembling the cake and icing it. You’re scraping the excess off when your phone rings. You mindlessly swipe across the screen with your knuckle, smearing a tiny bit of buttercream across the surface.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Hey, it’s Chan! Are you still coming over tonight? I just wanted to check since I know you’ve got work.”

You squeak and quickly push his almost-finished present aside, afraid he will discover the surprise even though he can’t see you. “Hey!” you say as nonchalantly as possible. He doesn’t know, you repeat to yourself. “Yes, I’ll be there.”

���Alright. I can’t wait.”

You hear him smiling, and a colony of bats flutter in your stomach out of anticipation and nervousness. “I’ve gotta get back. I’ll see you later. And happy early birthday.”

“Thanks, love. See you in a bit. Love you!”

“Love you too.”

He hangs up, and you quickly swing back into the thick of things, piping the birthday message in cursive across the top,and decorating the sides with the same sprinkles as inside the cake. It looks, let’s be honest here, terrible, and you decide to use magic to make it look better. It feels like cheating, but what’s the point of being a witch if you can’t use your powers for good?

Jeongin comes back inside and gives an appreciative “Ooh!” when he sees your creation. “That looks really nice.”

“Thanks, I used magic.”

He becomes less impressed. You make a face at him while you carefully put Chan’s cake into a cardboard box, which you stole from Jeongin’s supply cabinet. A cheerful alarm sounds, and your phone screen reads, “11:55 PM - Chan’s Birthday!”

Time is of the essence, and you possess none. You rush about, putting the box into the bag and letting it hang from the back of your broomstick like you did with the ingredients. There are still remnants of your decorating on the counter, so you hastily say a cleaning spell and hope it doesn’t go haywire.

Jeongin is a warlock; he can handle it.

The bouquet you hold with one hand, while your other one steers your broomstick. Your friendly but not useful friend watches you in amusement, and you bid him good night as you launch out of the window.

“Good night!” he yells, his voice ringing through the air. “Tell him ‘happy birthday’ for me!”

“Tell him yourself!” you shout back.

A few petals scatter into the wind, and you force yourself to slow down. You are flying, you should have adequate time, you cannot mess this up. Chan’s house isn’t too far away by broom, and you watch as the ETA on your GPS ticks down.

Destination in two minutes.

Destination in one minute.

Arrived at destination.

11:59 PM.

With a sigh of relief, you land and gather your gifts in your arms. Before you can even knock on the door with your foot, it opens. Chan, a grin on his face, stands on the other side of the threshold.

“Happy birthday!” you greet. You present him with his presents. “Happy birthday to the best person alive — you!”

He hugs you, gifts and all. “Thank you,” he says, his breath tickling your ear.

“Anything for you.”

Oh, how true that statement is.

After you nestle your broomstick in the rack outside, Chan leads you into the living room, and you place the box on the coffee table, which is surprisingly devoid of his usual clutter. The bouquet he takes from you and studies it.

“Lavender for stress, roses for… rosehip tea? And what are the white ones?” he asks.

“Jasmine, and I guess for tea as well. If one of your demons likes jasmine, you can use it in a summoning too.” You poke at his cheek, right where his dimple is. “Open the box.”

“Is it a cake? It smells sweet.”

He lifts the top of the box. He laughs, shuts it back close, and looks at you with lively eyes. “You made this, didn’t you? Your magic is all over it.”

“Do you like it?”

“Of course I do. It looks amazing!” He pulls you closer and rubs his nose against yours. “Was it hard to bake?”

A fifty times sped up video of the hours before play inside your head. “It was hard to decide what to get you,” you decide after a moment. “I wanted to do something different than what I usually do.”

“No basket of common summoning items this year?” he teases.

“You said it was useful last month!” A flash of worry passes through you. “Would you rather have received that instead? Oh my. By the moon and stars, I can’t believe that the one time—”

Your forthcoming rambling is cut off when he puts his lips on yours. It’s sweet, slow, gentle, and out of nowhere. “Hm?” you squeak out once you lean away, too shocked to actually say, “What was that for?”

“I love whatever you get me,” he assures.

“No.” Kiss on your left cheek.

“Matter.” Right cheek.

“What.” Left corner of your mouth.

“It.” Right corner.

“Is.” One sloppy smooch on your lips.

He peppers you with more kisses, and you giggle at his messy attempts. “Even taxidermied mice?”

“Yes,” he replies, seemingly serious. “Decent sacrifice material for small things and good for gag gifts.” He softly chuckles. “I would rather have cake and flowers though. Much more pleasant.”

You mimic his big smile from earlier. “Happy birthday, Chan.”

~ ad.gray

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 37 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Things looked up for Violet as she finally settled into the new normal of working in design.

This Chapter: One of New York’s most illustrious editors-in-chief turns 40--in style.

***

Shit.

It had been an absolute hell week, Courtney being run ragged all day, everyday. She’d missed more meals than not, barely slept, had gotten used to only using the bathroom when Fame was occupied.

It was really the first time that she and Miss Fame had to interact directly for more than a few words, and if Courtney thought she was high-maintenance before, she had no idea how weird it would get.

On Tuesday, Courtney had been torn a new one for ringing the doorbell when she had dropped off a package at Fame’s house, Fame looking at her like she was absolute vermin.

How was Courtney supposed to have known that it was a deathsin not to just let herself into her boss’ house, Fame explaining to her like she was a retarded toddler that she valued her family life and private time too much to be interrupted, not at all catching the irony of the fact that she was imposing on Courtney’s private time by forcing her to come to her house at 10 pm.

And now, a casual text from Adore that she’d be there around 7:30 reminded her about Bianca’s party and she was absolutely panicking. She had less than an hour to make herself presentable with literally nothing to wear.

She’d meant to ask Ivy about a dress, days ago, and then again yesterday when she was arranging the delivery of Miss Fame’s present to the Marie Claire offices, but it had slipped her mind amongst all the other things she had to remember.  

She jumped up and raced into Raja’s suite, a cramp in her side, relieved to find the redhead still at her desk.

“Courtney? Are you okay?” Ivy rose from her seat, a concerned look on her face, ever the empath.

“I just...I forgot…” Courtney tried to catch her breath.

“Okay, take a breath. Whatever it is, it’s fixable. I promise.”

Courtney gulped. “I forgot that I’m supposed to go to this party tonight at the Guggenheim and it’s super fancy and my ride will be here in 40 minutes and I don’t have anything to wear and I don’t even know what the dress code means and I was just wondering if I could borrow something and I promise I’ll have it cleaned and returned by Monday but-”

“Courtney, breathe. Okay?” Ivy took her hand, inhaling deeply and then blowing out dramatically.

Had this job really killed so many of her brain cells that she needed assistance breathing now? Regardless, Courtney followed Ivy’s lead, taking a few deep breaths to slow her racing heart.

“Now,” Ivy began. “What does the dress code say?”

“Creative black tie?”

“Ah. Okay. Follow me.”

Courtney nearly cried with gratitude as Ivy led her into the wardrobe closet.

“Luckily, you’re a sample size, so this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge,” Ivy said. “It’s Bianca Del Rio’s party, right?”

“Yeah,” Courtney said, watching her paw expertly through the racks.

“Are you going for anything in particular?”

“I guess I wanna look…” Courtney racked her brain, unsure of what to say, when the word, “older” slipped from her lips.

Ivy paused, clearly not expecting that answer, and gave Courtney a curious look before nodding.

“I can work with that. Now, Bianca likes bold colors and dramatic silhouettes with clean lines, so I think something like this…” Ivy pulled a stunning, beaded blue cocktail dress out off the rack. “This will look good on you.”

Ivy was truly a gift from god. Not only did they find a dress that fit perfectly (they settled on a short, fire-engine red silk number with a plunging neckline), along with shoes, accessories, and a glamorous faux-fur wrap, but she even stayed to help Courtney with her hair and makeup, giving her a chic updo and dramatic winged liner.

“Ivy, honestly, if you ever need anything. Someone to cover your desk...a kidney...whatever...you know who to ask.”

“Good to know.” Ivy laughed, checking her makeup one more time, adding a little more glimmering highlighter to her cheekbones, and then proclaiming, “Alright, I think you’re done.”

“Thank you so much,” Courtney said again, pulling out her phone. She hadn’t heard from Adore in awhile, and wondered if she was stuck in traffic or something. She seriously hoped that she hadn’t rushed like crazy, inconveniencing Ivy and nearly giving herself an ulcer worrying, just to sit around waiting for an hour.

COURTNEY: ETA?

ADORE: Soon, I think. I’m on my way to Pearl’s, then we’ll pick you up. Do you want a gyro?

COURTNEY: I’M A VEGAN

ADORE: Oh yeah. Gross. I’ll text you when we’re close.

***

“Bianca! Darling!” Fame reached out her arms to pull Bianca in for a tight embrace.  “Happy Birthday!”

She and Patrick had just arrived at the stunning event space a few minutes earlier, and were immediately whisked off to a VIP area with a private bar, where Raja and Raven were already relaxing on sofas, Sutan and Violet standing at the bar chatting with Detox and Jujubee.

It was perfect, removed enough from the chaos of the dance floor, but with a perfect view over the railing. And the speed with which Bianca had arrived to greet her told her that she’s given special instructions for the staff to alert her to Fame’s presence--exactly the kind of preferential treatment that Fame expected.

“Thanks, blondie,” Bianca grinned, “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Fame smiled widely, fluttering her lashes. “So do you. I love this dress!”

“Yeah, your tits look great!” Raja chimed in.

Bianca was wearing a sinfully tight black bandage dress, the neckline showing off her breasts and glowing skin, the hem just above her knees, her legs one of Bianca’s best assets.

“You can barely see that you’re turning 40.” Fame grinned, which earned her a pinch from Bianca, the other still keeping her in her arms.

“Shush.”

“Please,” Fame squeezed Bianca’s forearm, “So, tell me the truth, do you like the ring?”

Bianca held up her hand, where it glittered on her index finger.

Yesterday, Fame had had Bianca’s birthday present delivered to her office at the exact time of her birth, 3:57 pm. Fame knew Bianca liked her statement pieces, so she had custom ordered a cocktail ring, but not just any cocktail ring. Instead of the usual single band, a stone in the middle, Fame had gone for a three part twist in gold, sparkling garnets adorning it.

“It’s perfect, I love it,” Bianca said.

“Wonderful!” Fame clasped her hands together. “You’re impossible to shop for.”

“No I’m not! I love stuff,” Bianca countered. “Plus, you know...I’ll never say no to a present that’s unavailable in stores…”

She grinned wickedly, dimples deep, hand drifting down to Fame’s ass. Fame swatted it away with a scolding look.

“Really, Bianca.”

“What, it’s my birthday!” Bianca said. “You gotta give me something.”

“Fine, a tiny something,” Fame laughed, leaning in and giving her a sweet kiss on the lips, then following up with a light smack to her cheek.

“That’s not where I like being spanked,” Bianca said.

“Oh my god, you’re impossible!” Fame exclaimed, breaking away and stepping over to the bar while Bianca laughed gleefully behind her. “Now come on, tell me about your presents.”

***

“And a drink for the lady.” Sutan smiled as he handed Violet a glass, his date taking it with a sweet smile and a thank you, Sutan putting his arm back around her waist as they walked around.

He had picked Violet up at her apartment, his heart almost skipping a beat as she had pushed the double doors open and walked down the steps, her dress of the night absolutely stunning, the back open and taunting with it’s promise of bare impossibly soft skin.

“So,” Sutan rubbed his thumb up and down, gently caressing Violet’s back, “are you having fun?”

Sutan was happy that she was there, enjoyed spending time with her, but as he got to know her more and more, he slowly realized how little she actually enjoyed big crowds.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Sutan bit his lip, hiding a smile at Violet’s quick but short reply.

***

Alaska giggled delightedly, letting Jinkx twirl her on the dance floor. If you’d told Alaska a few years ago that she’d have a friend who she could have this much fun with sober, she’d have laughed in your face. But, even though Jinkx didn’t mind it, Alaska really didn’t enjoy drinking around her. So when they were together, Alaska felt like it was the least she could do to hold off on the booze. What she did enjoy was being with her, sober or not, looking into her sparkling brown eyes as they tripped all over their feet.

“For a Broadway star, you’re really uncoordinated,” Alaska laughed, and Jinkx pretended to be offended, then giggled.

“It’s hard to be mad when you call me a Broadway star.”

“Well, you are!” Alaska said, wrapping her arms around Jinkx’s neck and gazing at her happily. She loved these moments, just the two of them having the time of their lives, dancing and laughing and ignoring every other person in the room. They always had fun, but tonight, Jinkx seemed to have an extra bounce in her step, radiating a kind of joy, and it made Alaska feel so grateful to be around her.

“Thanks Lasky...you’re the best.”

They whirled and stumbled around the dance floor some more, until they were both breathless and needed a break.

“What are we feeling like tonight? Ginger ale? Cranberry and soda?” Alaska asked.

“You choose,” Jinkx said, clinging to her arm.

Alaska ordered a couple of drinks for them and then turned back to Jinkx, who was looking at her with the cutest little dreamy half-smile. She couldn’t help the tingling rush that went down her spine as she lowered her eyes and asked, “So...what’s going on with you tonight?”

“What do you mean?” Jinkx asked, eyes widening innocently.

“I mean...you’re just very...I don’t know...” A smile tugged at Alaska’s lips. “...twinkly tonight.”

“Well...I wasn’t gonna say anything because...it’s kind of silly, but,” she lowered her voice, eyes shining. “I ran into her again. Ivy.”

Alaska felt her whole chest deflate, forcing a smile as Jinkx continued.

“At Zabar’s! It’s like the universe is just conspiring to help us get together, you know?” Jinkx giggled happily.

A lump rose in Alaska’s throat and she nodded, using all her willpower to keep the smile painted across her face. “Oh, wow. That’s...that’s cool. Did you talk?”

“Yes. You’d be so proud of me, I even got her number!”

“Wow. Awesome!” Alaska felt like she was going to throw up, shifting her gaze to the bartender, grateful for the distraction as he slid two ginger ales across the bar. She couldn’t help wishing that half the glass was Jack Daniels. She handed one of them to Jinkx and took her own. It tasted just dust.

“Yeah, but she was still a bit formal, you know? I think I need to see her in a more relaxed setting. Do you think she likes opera? Maybe I can ask her to Madame Butterfly?” Jinkx chattered, away, oblivious to Alaska’s shift in mood.

“You really think the Met is a relaxed setting?”

Jinkx threw back her head and laughed, squeezing Alaska’s arm. “Omigod, you’re right. I’m such a dingbat. What would I do without you, Lasky?”

“I don’t know…” Alaska stirred her drink.

“What do you think she likes?”

“Uh, I’m really not sure,” Alaska said. And it was true. She knew that Ivy was sweet, and professional, and did her job with a kind of calm efficiency. But she didn’t know her very well on a personal level, their professional paths rarely crossing directly.

“Hmm, maybe you can ask around? If that wouldn’t be too weird?” Jinkx looked so hopeful and earnest that Alaska couldn’t help but smile for real in spite of herself, immediately agreeing to help her on this quest to capture Ivy’s heart.

“Of course. I’ll ask around.”

Jinkx sighed happily, leaning on Alaska’s shoulder, eyes falling closed for a moment. “You really are my favorite person, Lask.”

“Back atcha, Jinxky.”

***

Adore walked into Bianca’s party, feeling like a million bucks. Everyone that was anyone and even some who were nothing were there, and Adore knew she looked better than all of them with her purple hair, her pouty red lips, her short black leather dress, fishnets, and best of all… Pearl, the sexiest fucking goddess she’d ever seen in her life at her side.

She hung on Pearl’s arm, enjoying the jealous looks she got; knowing that everyone at the party wanted to be in her place. She even got a nasty look from some models, who were clearly all in love with her girl, but Adore didn’t care.

Pearl was here with her and only her. Pearl glanced at her every few seconds with a smug grin on her face, like the cat that just ate the canary. Well, if the canary was Adore’s pussy. Which would mean the cat was… Well whatever, Adore wasn’t an English scholar. She was in love.

The only thing that sucked was that Courtney looked so fucking miserable. They’d been a little late picking her up, due to getting, well, sidetracked for a while at Pearl’s, and then stopping for food. She thought that Courtney would be a bit more understanding, but she’d barely spoken two words in the car, even Pearl picking up on her obvious anger.

And now, even though she was at the coolest party in Manhattan, she didn’t look happy at all. Adore caught her eye, offering a hopeful smile, but received only a resigned nod in return. She reached out to touch her hand.

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look?” Adore asked, hoping that a compliment and a charming grin would be enough to lighten her mood.

“You think?” Courtney asked, adjusting one of her straps nervously. “I don’t look out of place?”

“Bitch, you put all these other girls to shame,” Adore promised, and was rewarded, finally, with a pleased smile from Courtney.

“Thanks.”

“Pearl!”

Adore looked over at the group of giggling socialites who were approaching them, only slightly annoyed when they swept her girlfriend up. She pouted as Pearl dropped her hand, but smiled again when she doubled back to whisper into her ear, “I’m gonna try and squeeze some gossip out of these hoes, and then I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Okay, but don’t be too long!” Adore pulled her in, branding her cheek with a dark red kiss before taking Courtney’s arm and sauntering away, pleased with herself. She scanned the party, looking for her sister and finally spotting her holding court near the bar. She cupped her hands over her mouth to shout through the crowd. “Bianca! Happy birthday, you ancient whore!”

*

Bianca turned towards her sister’s voice, barking out, “You’re late!”

“Whaddaya mean, we’re right on time for a grand entrance!” Adore countered, laughing.

“Well-” Bianca stopped, completely losing her train of thought when her eyes landed on Courtney. She was wearing a short red dress, the first time Bianca has seen her in a color other than pastels, and she looked absolutely fucking stunning--legs a mile long, one blonde curl falling into her eyes. Damn.

“You look cute, B. Very boobalicious,” Adore said, giving her a hug. “Not bad for an old lady.”

“Yeah, thank you,” Bianca said, eyes still locked on Courtney. “Hi, Courtney.”

“Hi. Happy birthday,” Courtney said, giving her a sweet smile. “Sorry we’re late.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Bianca told her. “But here, uh...this’ll help you catch up.”

She took a couple of the signature drinks from a passing tray and handed them over. Adore immediately began to suck hers down, but Courtney hesitated.

“Um, what’s in this?”

“Courtney’s afraid of tequila. It makes her messy, right bae?” Adore bumped her hip.

“Something like that.”

“It’s called a Madras. Vodka, orange juice and cranberry. No tequila, but it will fuck you up. Be warned,” Bianca said with a wink.

“Well...cheers,” Courtney said, giving an adorable little laugh.

“Cheers.” Bianca took a sip of her own drink, then leaned in closer. “You look amazing, by the way.”

“Yeah?” Courtney’s eyes shone, her fingers twirling that stray lock of hair.

“Yeah.” Bianca tried unsuccessfully to wipe the stupid grin off her face, and instead broke the tension with, “I’m shocked that someone who’s friends with my sister has such good taste.”

“Hey!” Adore exclaimed.

“Don’t be too impressed. It’s a loaner,” Courtney replied drily, causing Bianca to throw back her head and laugh.

“Fair enough.” She downed the rest of her drink, waving off a couple of acquaintances who were trying to get her attention.

“Be right back,” Adore said, scampering away towards Pearl, of course jumping the second the blonde so much as crooked a little finger.

Courtney reached out for her, but she was already gone. She sighed slightly, looking a little bit dejected, and Bianca cleared her throat.

“So listen, I heard through the grapevine that you’re looking for a way to avoid your, uh, Galactica employers while you’re here?”

Courtney looked up, startled. She seemed shocked that Bianca was still talking to her, and she stammered uncomfortably. “Oh. Yeah, no, I just-”

“Listen, it’s understandable, you wanna have a good time. Can’t do that while your boss is breathing down your neck, right?” Bianca flashed her dimples.

“Well...yeah,” Courtney admitted, laughing a little.

Bianca stepped closer, slipping an arm around her shoulders and lowering her voice conspiratorially. “Fame and Raja are well contained, don’t worry. I made a VIP section since those two need a velvet rope to feel like they’re having a good time.”

Courtney giggled. “Like a rich person playpen?”

“It’s a prison of their own making,” Bianca affirmed,  giving her a wink. “Trust me, they’re looking down on everyone the way they prefer, and they ain’t leaving.”

“Well...thank you.” Courtney bit her lip. It was hard to tell in this light, but it looked like a slight blush had crept into her cheeks, and Bianca found herself even more enamored.

“Anytime.”

A second later, she felt someone tap on her arm: one of the Marie-Claire board members, who she sadly couldn’t ignore.

“Sorry, I have go...do hostess shit,” Bianca said, regret flooding her chest, and Courtney nodded.

“Of course.”

She turned towards the middle-aged man and his young wife, saying her cursory hellos and giving air kisses, making small talk with them both. As soon as she could manage, though, she spared a glance back at Courtney.

The plan, from the moment Adore told her that Courtney was coming, had been to seduce this smoking hot friend of her sister’s. And she figured that the “rough break-up” that Adore’d reported would make it a sure thing. An easy and fun little fling--a birthday present to herself.

But now, something about the wistful, faraway expression on her delicate face as she smoothed down her skirt made her look vulnerable, in a way that gave Bianca pause. As stunning as she was--and fuck, she was an absolute knock-out--it didn’t make Bianca want to seduce her. Instead, it made her want to protect her. Ugh, why did her fucking conscience have rear its ugly head tonight, on her birthday of all nights?

“Thank you so much. Be sure to check out the raw bar!” she said, finally escaping and ready to head back to Courtney--but Adore beat her to it.

She watched as her sister came bounding up, Pearl in tow, and grabbed Courtney’s hands to pull her onto the dance floor.

Well, good. She should have a good time. Lord knows, anyone who worked for Fame deserved to blow off some steam. Bianca snatched another drink from a passing tray, trying to redirect her attention to the Welsh model who’d been giving her bedroom eyes all night.

***

Violet was having a surprisingly good time, taking small sips of her champagne. She had hurried home from work, almost ready when Sutan had texted that he was downstairs, the smile on Sutan’s face when he had seen her dress almost, almost, almost worth it’s price tag.

She had never been to an event of this size without having to worry if catering ran out of ice, or if she’d need to get taxis for whoever got way too drunk. It was nice to just stand by Sutan’s side, nice to be allowed to just be, without having to entertain or constantly think about everything that could go wrong.

“Ah, yes, of course.” Sutan smiled, his thumb rubbing up and down the small of Violet’s back. He was talking to one of the models from Elite, Violet vaguely recognizing her from some of the headshots she had presented to Fame for the fall collection. “I’ll be sure to tell Marcel about that.”

“Excuse me,” Violet turned, her eyes falling on a man with a camera, the card around his neck instantly telling her that he was from OK! magazine. “I was wondering if I could take a few pictures?”

“Oh,” Violet didn’t know what to do, her stomach instantly tightening.

“Sure,” Sutan grinned, turning towards the camera. “Right girls?”

“I-” Violet didn’t want to be in the picture, didn’t want someone she didn’t know documenting where she was, didn’t want to risk it ending up online. “I don’t-”

“Oh of course,” Sutan took her glass, handing it off to someone. “There we go.”

“Sutan”

“Come here,” Sutan put an arm around the model, posing both of them.

“Please-” Violet could feel Sutan’s hand on her hip, holding her tight, keeping her trapped, her throat closing up.

“Should we smile?”

“No,” The photographer looked out from behind his camera, “just be natural.”

Violet pushed away, forcing Sutan to let her go as the camera went off. She didn’t hear Sutan say her name, a quick flicker of a question on his face, didn’t see him smile apologetically to the photographer and pose with the model, didn’t notice any of it as she made her way outside, escaping the only thing she could think of.

***

Juju strolled through the crowd with Raven. She appreciated the whole VIP setup as much as anyone, but this was a massive party, and they’d decided to come spend a little time where the action was, maybe dance a bit -at least as much as her poor pregnant body would allow. They were stopped by a group of models, Raven proudly showing off her engagement ring and letting the other girls fawn all over her.

Juju put up with the schmoozing for a couple of minutes--after all, those girls were potential clients, until she spotted Bianca nearby and politely excused herself from the group, knowing that Raven would be perfectly content with her little fan club.

Bianca was chatting up some sweet young thing (typical), and Juju couldn’t resist messing with her a little. She wrapped her arms around Bianca’s waist from behind, asking in a low, husky voice, “Tell me I’m your favorite, Daddy.”

It was a joke between the two of them, something that had started years ago when Juju and Detox were first dating. They’d shown up at brunch one morning in the middle of a heated argument about whether it was appropriate for her to call him “Daddy” during sex--ironically, only a few months before she got preganant with their first child. It wasn’t a kink thing, exactly, it was just that she thought it was funny, and especially so when she saw his freaked out reaction. The group agreed that right or wrong, if it bothered him then she probably shouldn’t say it. But Bianca, ever the good sport, had pulled the smaller woman into her lap and declared that if she really needed to call someone Daddy, she was ‘willing to take one for the team.’

Juju accompanied her breathy greeting by biting gently on Bianca’s ear, adding, “Pwease?”

Bianca burst out laughing, pulling her close and introducing her to a very confused looking girl. “Tayce, you must know my friend Juju Sanderson. The brilliant hairstylist who owns Jujubee’s downtown?”

“Oh, yeah! It’s an honor!” Tayce said, her brown eyes lighting up as a dazzling smile spread across her face. “I’ve been trying to get an appointment with you, but you’re booked up for months!”

Juju had to bite back her laugh when she heard Tayce speak--Bianca always was a sucker for an accent.

“Well, play your luck with Daddy here, and you might jump the queue,” Juju said with a wink.

“Among other benefits,” Bianca cackled. “You know you’re the only one who I’d let get away with that Daddy shit, right?”

“Yes, thank you. You’re a lot more fun than my husband.”

“In so many ways,” Bianca said, turning to Tayce and giving her a playful smirk.

***

Violet took a deep breath, letting it out through her teeth as she could finally feel her heart slow down, though the knot in her stomach wasn’t going away.

She knew she couldn’t help it, but it was impossible not to feel an inkling of shame travel up her spine, the feeling that she was being ridiculous impossible to push down.

Sutan hadn’t meant anything by it, taking photos a part of his life, being in the public eye something that simply came natural for him.

Violet took a last breath, pushing away from the wall she had been leaning against to go back to the party, hoping that Sutan hadn’t noticed how strange she was acting.

It wasn’t that Violet liked acting this way, that she wanted to feel the panic rising in her body whenever she saw a camera in a stranger's hand, but she couldn’t help it.

She was an adult now, she had her own life, her own money and even her own job and her own apartment, but it was hard not to hide, impossible not to react to the instinctive fear that welled up in her at the risk of being found.

Violet walked back inside, the noise and the amount of people feeling so much more overwhelming when she wasn’t at Sutan’s side. She made her way through the crowd, easily spotting both Fame and Pearl, avoiding both of them.

She was starting to think Sutan had left, Raja nowhere to be found either, when she saw him sitting at a table, surrounded by models. He was laughing loudly, his arm around one of the girls, several of the models’ phones taking pictures of everything that was happening.

Violet’s stomach did a flip, the panic from earlier rushing through her body. She couldn’t go over there, couldn’t be a part of that part of Sutan’s world, so instead, Violet did what she always did.

Turned around, and walked away.

***

[Raja?] Sutan put a hand on Raja’s hip, turning her around. Sutan had been sitting with a group of models, doing shots and having fun right up until one of them had touched his legs under the table, and he had abandoned ship instantly.

[Have you seen Violet?]

He hadn’t seen her in over an hour, and while Sutan was more than sure that Violet could take care of herself, he had started to worry.

[Sutan!] Raja grinned, stepping into his space, looping her arms around his neck. [Hello brother dear.]

[Hello.] Sutan smiled, once again reminded of how much he truly loved Raja. She was tipsy, her eyes swimming slightly, which was probably why she hadn’t responded to his question. [Have you seen Violet?]

[Violet?] Raja tilted her head, her hand fiddling with the hairs at the nape of his neck. [No?]

[Shit.] Sutan bit his lip, his hands resting on Raja’s hips.

[Maybe she just left?] Raja smiled, running her fingers through his hair. [There’s no need to worry.]

[Maybe...]

[She can handle herself.]

[Mmmh.] Sutan knew that Raja was probably right, but it still felt weird that VIolet hadn’t said goodbye, and if he was honest, he was disappointed that they wouldn’t be going home together at the end of the night. [I’ll send her a text.]

Sutan was just about to reach into his pocket, was just about to get his phone out, when he saw a photographer to his left, just outside the VIP section. The paparazzi always loved to get photos of him and Raja together, and while he was sure Raja hadn’t noticed, he made sure to twist her slightly to the left, getting her good side as he smiled at the camera.

***

“Every guy here is drooling over you, bae,” Adore giggled, spinning Courtney on the dance floor before accepting another drink from Pearl.

“Not just the guys,” Pearl added with a wink.

Courtney laughed. In spite of her hesitation in tagging along, she’d been having a pretty good time. The attention was fun, of course, but Courtney’d barely noticed the alleged guys drooling over her. She couldn’t help thinking about the way she’d felt when Bianca put that arm around her, the way her brown eyes had sparkled in the dim light. The way goosebumps prickled her skin as Bianca’s fingers grazed her shoulder.

Her gaze kept being pulled in Bianca’s direction. Eyes drifting over her enticing curves in that tight dress. And occasionally, to her absolute thrill, Bianca would be looking back at her. Every time their eyes met, her stomach flipped around like crazy.

It was silly, she knew that. She knew that Bianca was only being nice to her because she was Adore’s friend. A nice kid. That it didn’t mean anything deep. This was, after all, a woman who dated supermodels and Oscar winners. Like the gorgeous girl by her side most of the evening, who had a face that Courtney instantly recognized from last month’s British Vogue cover.

Still.

The reality of the situation didn’t stop her from pretending, even just to herself, even just for the night, that maybe there was something there, that warranted all these confusing feelings swirling around inside her like a tornado.

And later, when they were saying goodbye, she allowed herself to enjoy the way Bianca’s palm pressed to the small of her back. She even let her lips linger for a few moments on Bianca’s warm cheek, kissing her goodnight.

***

SUTAN: Did you leave?

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: The party is still going.

SUTAN: Did you get home safe?

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: I can’t find you.

[MISSED CALL]

SUTAN: Violet??

VIOLET: I’m fine.

[lifeofroos]

part 39: And who’s idea would this be...

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In this chapter, Nico has a family dinner with Hades, Persephone and Will. The rest can be found on AO3, FanFiction.net and in tumblr tags like Dionysus, Nico di angelo, hurt/comfort etc. 

This might be crazy: Chapter 39: Kids’ champagne ‘If I say that this will go wrong somehow, it will be cliché.’ Will pushed his fork a teeny tiny bit to the right, so that it was laying ever so slightly staighter. 

‘You just said it.’

‘Well, isn’t that just stupid?’ 

I chuckled. ‘We can’t say how it will go until it happened.’ 

‘Yeah.’ Will looked around the rich salon. Our table only occupied a very small part of it. There were mirrors on the walls and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It was way more fancy than anything most people would ever see in their lifetime. ‘Do you know how Dionysus found this place?’

‘He is Dionysus.’

‘Right.’ Will looked at his watch. ‘Eh…’

‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were nervous.’

‘Well, maybe I am. Now, how late would they be arriving aga…’

The doors opened. A butler came in, followed by Hades and Persephone.

They both peered around the room. ‘Hm. It’s not too shabby, for mortals,’ Persephone tutted before folding her arms before her chest. 

Hades turned his gaze towards her. ‘Hey, you said you wanted to come. You can leave again if…’

‘I am staying! I said it was not too shabby!’ She did not wait for her husband to lead her further into the salon. She went on herself. 

She looked at Will and me. ‘Aren’t you sitting down?’

‘Eh, yeah. I mean, of course, ma’am.’ Will pulled my chair back. I quietly sat down while he moved onto the chair next to me. Hades made haste to sit down next to Persephone, who sat down across from me.  

For a few seconds, there was awkward silence. It seemed weird to stare at Persephone, so I looked at my cutlery instead, while I wondered whos idea this was again (Because I seriously forgot). 

I took a deep breath. ‘So… I can’t take credit, or blame, for picking the place. That was Dionysus' job.’

Persephone stared at her plate. ‘Yes.’ She bit her lip. ‘I, er, didn’t mean anything with what I said.’ 

‘Eh, it’s okay.’

‘Lady and gentlemen?’

We all gasped when the waiter began to talk. It made him take a step back. ‘Oh, excuse me…’

‘No, no, It’s okay,’ I quickly said. The waiter nodded, a little unsure.

‘Do you want to see the menu?’

Persephone rolled her eyes. ‘Of course not. Just surprise us!’

The poor server looked afraid. ‘Eh…’ 

Persephone began to blush. ‘Eh… Isn’t that a good idea?’ She looked at the rest of us.  

Honestly? Sounded kind of fun. ‘I mean, I would be down,’ I said. I looked at Will. He shrugged. 

‘That’s alright, I guess.’ 

The server noted something down. ‘Sir?’ He looked at Hades. 

‘Fine.’ 

‘Lady, Gentlemen... one surprise dinner coming right up.’

The waiter turned around, a little dazed, but he pulled himself together in a matter of seconds. The customer was always right and all that. 

Persephone seemed self-conscious about both of her mistakes. She turned to me and Will. ‘So, eh... how did you two meet?’ 

I looked at Will. ‘Well, we were both at camp for quite a long time before we began seeing each other the way we see each other now. The first time we talked was just after the Giants were defeated.’

Hades raised his eyebrows. ‘Interesting.’

Will stared at his plate. ‘It gets better. Or worse, that depends on how you see it. The first thing I ever said to Nico was that I had just helped with the delivery of a Satyr baby.’

Persephone put a hand over her mouth. ‘Oh, those are… very interesting.’

Will looked up. ‘Your majesty, you don’t mean you’ve got a similar experience, do you?’

‘I do, sadly enough… eh, I mean, it is not sad, obviously, but...’

Hades scraped his throat. ‘Eh, lovely that you two… have something in common, but maybe not the best subject at the dinner table.’

Will got a little red. Persephone shrugged. ‘Who knows.’

Hades nervously pulled a thread out of his napkin. ‘Eh… you two were talking about how you met.’ 

I nodded. ‘Yes. So, after our lovely first meeting, we witnessed the two camps defeating the earth mother and finally uniting. In the weeks afterwards Will and I began to hang out more and more, until we unofficially were a thing.’

Will nodded, with a wide grin this time. ‘It became official after they threw us into the lake. Tradiation. It began with Percy and Annabeth.’

Hades stared at his plate. ‘Strange traditions you got…’

Now I raised my eyebrows. We have strange traditions? Dude, you come from ancient Greece. 

Before I could say something snarky, our food arrived. They brought us everything at once, including desserts. Perhaps Dionysus had told them there was some urgency to getting the food to our table when he made the reservation. 

A few waiters opened up bottles of champagne, which I noticed was childrens’ champagne on further inspection. Well, okay, understandable.

When the servers left, Persephone put her elbows on the table and looked at everything we got. ‘What do we have?’  She already seemed less cold when she had spoken to Will, but now she was clearly excited. I looked at my dad. He was looking at her with a little smile. 

A lot. There were different types of fish, meat and fowl, at least five different soups and salads, baked potatoes, so many sauces I was too lazy to count them, and I hadn’t even looked at the desserts yet. 

‘Much,’ Persephone answered her own question. Carefully, she selected a few tiny meats and took a bit of each salad. 

The rest of us began to move as well. Hades got the same things Persephone had, I got a lot of baked potato wedges because they just taste so damn good and Will chose a bit of everything that did not come out of the ocean. 

Slowly, I dipped a potato wedge into the first sauce. While I took a bite, I noticed Persephone was staring at me. ‘And?’

‘Eh…’ too much pressure, lady. ‘It’s a little spicy.’ 

Persephone reached out her hand, before stopping and picking up her fork. She put a bit of chicken on it, dipped it into the sauce and thoughtfully took a bite. ‘Hmm. There is quite a bit of pepper in there. It could have used something sweet to balance it out.’ 

Will gave her a bit of a weird look, dad acted like this was just another day at the dinner table with Persephone and I picked up a new potato wedge to dip into the second sauce. 

When she saw that I was using my hands to eat, Persephone left her cutlery by her plate as well. She picked up a new piece of chicken. 

We both tasted. Hades and Will looked on. ‘And?’

‘Hmm…’

‘I think the first one tasted better,’ I muttered.

Persephone shrugged. ‘Perhaps, but I also think it is difficult to compare the two. We didn’t get any names for the sauces, right?’

‘Sadly not.’

Will shoved his knife and fork aside. ‘Can I…’ he stole two baked potato wedges from my plate and dipped them each into a sauce. 

‘I think the second one is better? It is slightly lighter.’ 

I shrugged. ‘Really?’ I was already reaching for more potatoes.

Hades sighed. ‘Alright. So I got three of them now.’ 

‘Three people who enjoy their food?’ Persephone shot him a sarcastic look. 

He sighed. ‘Let's just continue our meal.’ 

When we were on our seventh sauce (I did eat some salad in between, of course. Like at least a whole bite), Wills’ eyes lit up. ‘Hey! This sauce is made with sunaloe!’

I gave him a weird look. ‘Gesundheit?’

‘No, Nico, it is a magical herb.’ He took a piece of fried chicken and dipped it into the sauce. ‘It’s delicious.’ Oh, so now we were at the stadium where we talked with our mouths full. 

Persephone smiled widely. ‘You tasted it too?’

‘Yes!’

‘You know, I created that herb, together with Apollo. It was meant as a birthday present for… I don’t remember, but it was meant as a gift.’ 

‘Really?’ 

Within no time, they were having a deep conversation about sauce and plants. I ate a few more potato wedges. 

Hades made eye contact with me. Come, he said without a word. A little confused, I got up, with my glass of childrens’ champagne in my hand. 

‘Solace, Seph, excuse us for a moment.’ 

They looked up for a split second, before continuing their conversation. 

Hades took me to a separate compound, seperated from the salon by a curtain. ‘What is it?’ I asked. 

‘Yes, well, I saw that Persephone and your boyfriend were busy. So I thought that maybe now was a good time to ask you something.’

‘And that is?’ We better be back in time for desert. 

‘Dionysus  told me you have been having nightmares and that it worried him. Can you tell me about it as well?’ 

‘Yes, I think I can.’ You picked a weird moment to ask, though. ‘So, usually, I am either in darkness or in Tartarus and there are voices that tell me to come find them. They are very loud and plead me to come, or else. There are people with masks of some sort. They’ve got horns, snakes coiled around their shoulders and red eyes. They don’t say anything though, they just vaguely smile at me if they look at me at all. ’

I took a sip of my alcohol-free champagne, which had gone lukewarm. ‘Nico, do you see any other faces?’ 

Is it that important? I honestly already feel like a maniac now that I am telling you all this. ‘Not really. Although the face is not… it does not always look the same. Sometimes its horns are longer, or it doesn’t have them. It doesn’t have the same hair colour every time either.’

‘That’s… tell me: Has Dionysus already told you what he thought it was?’

‘Well, no. I noticed that he has a hunch, but he hasn’t told me what that hunch is yet. Maybe, if he told you I am having these dreams, he wants your opinion on the matter as well.’

‘Uh-hu. That might be.’ He had a hunch too, I could see it. ‘I think I would rather discuss it as well, before I tell you what I am thinking. Is that alright? Am I doing it the right way?’ 

I felt a little out of control, but I snickered. ‘Yes, dad, that is alright and I think you are doing good. Thanks for telling me.’ Now I know you and Dionysus will be talking about me. Do I mind that? I mean, I can trust Dionysus and I have grown to trust my dad, I think. And technically, only good could come out of it. Still, it felt a little off. But I wouldn’t hold them back. 

‘That’s… yes.’ He nodded, with a small smile. ‘Eh…’ He to the curtain. ‘And what do you think of this so far?’

‘I must say, I had some concerns about having a family dinner, but it seems to go alright, at least up until now. We all love the sauce, except for Persephone, who seems to adore the sauce

‘Well… yeah. Persephone likes to eat. It’s cute.’ 

That was both sweet and a bit disgusting. ‘Why don’t we go back?’ Before all the deserts have melted, you know? 

‘Eh… yes.’ He pushed the curtains aside. Persephone and Will were still talking. I wondered if they missed us at all. 

I chose a big bowl of Chocolate mousse and sat down. While we finished our meal and talked, I noticed Hades thoughtfully looked at me a few times. I wondered what it was that both he and Dionysus were thinking about. 

A/N: Persephone likes to eat. That is partly a headcanon and partly something R.R. Confirmed. 

This was going to be two chapters initially, but the second one was very short upon writing and I decided to… put ‘em together. Better a lot at once than some teeny tiny bits sprawled throughout, in this case.

I think I used the phrase ‘the customer is always right’ correctly. It does not mean you can be rude to servers or not pay, but it does mean that if you want something weird that they can give you, they should. You want sugar and yoghurt with your fries? Welp, alright. 

Not to brag or anything but in the Netherlands we have HEMA Jip & Janneke childrens’ champagne.  None of you know what that is and that is why I am superior. 

[asexual-hugger]

*Allison is walking to her dorm through the Penderghast quad when someone calls out behind her*

Beckett: Allison! Wait up!

*She stops when she sees her boyfriend, Beckett Harrington, racing to catch up with her. He’s breathless and flushed*

Allison: No worries. I was just going back to my dorm. What’s up?

Beckett: Well, a lot, actually. My parents host this big party every year, and, well, it’s my birthday party tonight, and I wanted to invite you as my plus-one. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to announce our relationship publicly to my family.

Allison: Wait, what? Not that I don’t want to meet your family; I do, really. It’s just...are you sure you’re ready for that? We’ve barely started dating.

Beckett: I’m very sure. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. *his cheeks turn red* I love you, Allison McQueen. More than anyone I’ve ever met. I want to announce it openly. I want my parents to meet the amazing, beautiful, intelligent woman who caught my eye freshman year and never strayed from it. I want them to KNOW you, Allison, the way I do. You’re my girlfriend. Will you come to my birthday party? It would mean the world to me.

Allison: Of course I’ll come! Miss my boyfriend’s birthday? Not for anything! I just didn’t think you were ready.

Beckett: I might not have been, at first, but the more I see you, the more confident I feel. I need to do this, Allison. Since we became official at Penderghast, it’s now time we become official for my family. I want to announce it at the party. My parents are very traditional when it comes to parties. They go all out, and I mean literally all out. Most of their guests are elite top-of-the-line socialites, and having you there with me will make it ten times more tolerable. I don’t think I could take schmoozing with high society for hours on end without wanting to puke.

Allison: Well, then, consider me your high-society-schmoozing escape plan of a girlfriend. I’ll rescue you from any big bad socialites that try to chat you up. No fancy schmancy girls are gonna be kissing MY man. Although I’m afraid I don’t have anything fancy enough to wear in my closet. I’ve never been to a high society event before.

Beckett: That’s actually why I was hoping to run into you. I told Katrina that I wanted to invite you as my date, and she was extremely excited. She can’t wait to see you. I have an outfit custom-ordered that is just your size, if you’d like to wear it.

Allison: Why, Beckett Harrington; did you actually get me a dress???

Beckett: *flushes again and clears his throat nervously* Actually, it was both me and Katrina. She and I went shopping in Penn Square yesterday and I saw this dress in the window of the clothing store. I think it would really bring out your Sun-Att side. You’ll literally shine in it.

Allison: A Sun-Att dress that’ll turn heads at a classy rich people birthday party? I’m totally sold. Where is it? *Beckett pulls out a garment bag from behind his back and hands it to her, and she unzips it to find a shimmering gold dress inside, along with a matching mask with sparkling beads and sequins*

Beckett: I instantly thought of you when I pointed it out to Katrina. We both agree that this is the equivalent to satin sunlight, and can only see you wearing it.

Allison: There’s a mask here. Am I going in secret identity mode?

Beckett: I forgot to tell you; it’s a masquerade ball. Only my parents would think of something so top-notch. They want what’s best for their number one student at Penderghast University. *he tries to keep his voice level, but Allison can see the irritation in his eyes* To be honest, they’ve always gone out of their way every year to give me and Katrina these huge, elaborate birthday parties. I never wanted any of it, but talking back to my dad was like talking to a wall. The Harrington family is not easily swayed. When they make up their minds, they’re made up.

Allison: So I have to make sure I impress them. I’ll try to make sure my newly-found magick doesn’t get out of control. Maybe the mask WILL help with the secret identity.

Beckett: *taking her hands and squeezing them gently* Allison, no matter what, you’ll always be impressive. Don’t worry too much about that. I’ll do the talking. You just have to be yourself. Be that bright, gorgeous Sun-Att I fell for last year. If you wear the dress we got you, everything will speak for itself. I’m impressed by you. Katrina’s impressed by you. Our parents HAVE to be impressed with that fact in play. *gazes into her eyes with desire* Now go try on the dress. We have a party to attend.

Allison: Okay, okay. I’m going, I’m going. *laughs and kisses him softly, walking back to her dorm*

Beckett: I’ll come by and get you at 7. I’ll be wearing a suit with a black and gold mask.

*Allison waves and heads inside*

*An hour before Beckett is supposed to pick her up, Allison strolls into the common room with the gold dress and mask on, and her friends instantly go into stunned silence as they stop what they’re doing to stare at her*

Allison: Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just getting ready for my date.

Shreya: Did you just say ‘date?’ *she jumps off the couch and makes a beeline for Allison* I figured that was why you looked so radiant. Allison, you’re practically glowing!

Zeph: I agree. That’s a great look on you, Allison. Who’s the lucky guy?

Allison: Seriously? Beckett’s parents are hosting a big huge masquerade ball for his birthday tonight, and he invited me as his plus-one. Katrina’s going to be there, and Beckett’s going to make an official announcement that we’re boyfriend and girlfriend.

Shreya: *clapping her hands excitedly* Oh, my god, girl, you’ve GOT to give me the deets! My Instattuned followers are going to LOVE the gossip! I was wondering why you were wearing a mask. Here; let me take a picture before Beckett shows up to snatch you away! *Allison makes several poses as Shreya clicks her compact* Yassss, girl! SLAY!

Griffin: So wait. Beckett’s parents are hosting a birthday party for him? With masks and fancy clothes? Sounds big.

Zeph: Yeah. The Harrington name does have a reputation in the Attuned community. I’ve heard rumors that their family has connections with some very powerful and wealthy people in our world, but I never believed them to be true. If you ask me, getting tangled in with high society usually doesn’t end well, especially for the lower class.

Atlas: Lower class my ass. Allison’s a SUN-ATT. She’s got magick attuned with all the elements. If anyone can outsmart a bunch of stuffy rich kids, it’s my ever-loving ass-kicking twin sister. *she slings an arm over Allison’s shoulders and grins* You got this, sis. If Harrington or any of his socialite cronies give you trouble, you call on us and we’ll be there. Knights don’t go down without a fight!

Zeph: Hell, yeah! We’ll be your backup, Allison. Not to mention your recently-evolved familiar, Tim! I’m sure he’s just waiting to turn up the heat!

Allison: Awww, thanks, guys. You’re all the best friends a girl could ask for. It’s not true friendship unless it’s the power of Knights!

Griffin: Knights rock!

*A half-hour later, there’s a knock at the door*

Shreya: Sounds like someone’s DATE is here! I’ll get it! *she rushes to the door before Allison can say anything* Well, well, look at YOU all dressed up! You’re looking FINE! Hey, McQueen! There’s a suavely-dressed masked man at the door asking for you!

Allison: I’m coming! *she holds up the end of her dress as she walks, and through her mask she can just make out Beckett, wearing his classy blue suit and the black and gold mask he’d mentioned* Whoa! My boyfriend is turning up the HEAT!

Beckett: *staring with amazement at her, his jaw dropping* Allison! You look...I mean...you...wow. You look...breathtaking!

Allison: Has my outward appearance stolen all the air from your lungs, Mr. Harrington? You usually have a lot more to say. *smirking*

Beckett: *flushing and coughing nervously* Yes. Usually. Under normal circumstances. But seeing you, in that dress, I can’t even speak in complete sentences! *flustered* You’ve put a spell on me, Allison, and it’s not from your magick.

Allison: So I’ve reduced the great Beckett Harrington to stunned silence and scattered words. Consider me impressed. And by the way, the dress fits perfectly. I don’t know how you and Katrina managed.

Beckett: Well. Shall we then? *holds out his arm to her and she takes it willingly*

Zeph: Hey, Beckett! Make sure she has the time of her life and don’t let any snobby rich people take advantage of her! We want all the details when you two get back! We’re not letting our friends get taken down!

Beckett: I already know that, Zephyr. My intention was to take care of her the entire time. It’s my birthday, and my parents are going to meet my girlfriend. Believe me; if ANYONE says or does anything to her, I’ll be there.

*The trip to the party happens so quickly that Allison doesn’t have a chance to ask questions. Before she knows it, she’s stumbling back on to solid ground after hanging on to Beckett tightly*

Allison: What just happened? Did you use ward magick?

Beckett: *catches her quickly before she falls* It was a simple act of teleportation. I’m sorry it couldn’t be smoother; I’m afraid I’m rather rusty at conjuring the spell. It’s been awhile. Are you all right? *looks concerned*

Allison: I’m fine. Just a bit wobbly. My air-legs haven’t settled yet. *she looks around in awe at all the well-dressed people walking into the equally-awe-inspiring venue* This is your birthday party? It looks more like a royal ball. With the masquerade theme, of course.

Beckett: As I said before, my parents go all out for our parties. They want to make sure we get the best of the best. Our family name has huge importance out here. *he laces his fingers with hers and gazes at her adoringly, and she squeezes his hand* Ready?

Allison: As I’ll ever be. Let’s meet the fam.

*Classical music is playing inside, and important-looking Attuned are milling about. Even in the dress and mask, Allison starts to feel out of place. She scans the room with a nervous look. Beckett seems to sense her discomfort and grasps her hand tighter to silently remind her that he’s right there with her*

Woman: Ah! Beckett! Darling, you made it! Come on over and say hello to our friends! *a woman who can only be Mrs. Harrington takes Beckett’s arm and practically pulls him across the floor, not even acknowledging Allison*

Beckett: Mom! A warning would be nice...!?

Mrs. Harrington: Come on, birthday boy! You must meet the Meyer family! They just offered your father an excellent deal!

Beckett: Mom! I’m here with someone! *he manages to look apologetically back at Allison as he’s dragged away, and Allison loses the rest of the conversation*

Allison: I’ll just wait here. *she slowly moves away from the crowd along the back wall, observing the guests in their finest, masks disguising their faces. Her magick stirs within her, sending out uneasy auras around the room. Even with the coverings over their eyes, Allison gets bad vibes from many of the attendees, almost as if their cold gazes are judging her* I guess it’s good I wore this dress. At least I don’t feel like a complete standout. But why did Beckett’s mom totally ignore me? It’s like I didn’t even exist.

*She moves closer to where Beckett is standing with his mother, and even with a mask on, she can recognize Katrina, the older Harrington sibling and her current professor at Penderghast. The two are talking with an older gentleman, an unrecognizable red headed girl, and another man who is suspected to be Mr. Harrington*

Mr. Harrington: That is definitely a great offer, Milton. I’ll keep in touch. Have you met my son, Beckett? He’s the guest of honor tonight.

Mystery Man: Ah, yes, the young Harrington Junior. I hear it’s your birthday. How do you do?

Allison: [How do you do? Just when I thought this party couldn’t be any fancier; the formalities are too much!] *she can see that Beckett is fidgeting, clearly looking very uncomfortable*

Beckett: Yes, how do you do? It’s a pleasure to meet you. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s someone I need to get back to.

Mrs. Harrington: Beckett, don’t be rude.

Beckett: I’m not... *Katrina quickly hisses at him*

Katrina: Is Allison here?

Beckett: Yes, she is. I brought her in and Mom completely ignored her! You should see her. She looks stunning in the dress we picked out. *his eyes start roving the room, looking around for her, and Katrina also appears to take notice* I left her standing near the entrance, alone. That’s why I need to get back to her.

Katrina: I can’t wait for your announcement! So you two are officially an item now?

Beckett: We are. I’ve been thinking about how to approach this, and I figured that my birthday party was the perfect place to break the news. I only hope Mom and Dad can see her the way I do.

Katrina: She has obviously changed you for the better, Bean. I’ve never seen you this happy like ever.

Beckett: She makes me happy. She has this effect on me; I don’t know exactly what it is, but whenever I’m in her presence, I just want to stare at her all day. Besides, she’s an amazing kisser.

Katrina: You two are adorable together. I’m secretly hoping that one day she’ll be my sister-in-law.

Mr. Harrington: What are you two discussing here?

Katrina: Oh, nothing. Just Beckett’s upcoming announcement. *she winks at her brother and he blushes*

Mr. Harrington: Oh, really? Well. I can’t wait to hear what my boy has to say. This is your night to shine, son.

Beckett: Yeah. No pressure, right? *Mr. Harrington glances over at his friend Milton, who gives him an affirming nod*

Mrs. Harrington: Everyone, may I have your attention, please? *her voice suddenly projects across the room, clearly a conjured spell, and the conversation dies down as all eyes center on her. She grips Beckett’s shoulder and pulls him close* Since this is my son Beckett’s birthday, we wish to thank all of you for being here to celebrate with us tonight!

Allison: Woohoo! Happy birthday, Beckett!

Mrs. Harrington: The guest of honor will take the floor momentarily to give his birthday speech, but first, his father and I have a special surprise. *excited murmurs break out, and Mrs. Harrington turns to the family* Miss Meyer, would you come over here?

*The unknown red headed girl steps over to Mrs. Harrington’s other side and looks out at the crowd*

Beckett: Mom? What’s going on? *he stares at his mother with utter confusion, and then his eyes fall on the girl*

Mrs. Harrington: *her hand not leaving his shoulder* For his birthday this year, we have decided to give Beckett an extra special gift, and it’s one that cannot be wrapped up in any magickal paper. On behalf of our family and by special permission from Milton Meyer of the Meyer-Freed fortune, we present Miss Ashley Meyer...Beckett’s new fiancée!

*For a second, there’s silence, and then the whole room breaks out in applause and cheers. The noise is so loud that it practically drowns out the gasps of horror and shock from the three people reeling from the news*

Beckett: What?!

Allison: What?!

Katrina: What?!

*Mrs. Harrington has just dropped an unexpected bombshell! Beckett’s birthday party has just become his engagement party...to a girl he doesn’t even know! What will this mean for his upcoming announcement...and Allison and Beckett’s relationship? Keep playing to find out!*

[spencer-reids-veins]

Would You Be So Kind? Barista!Reader x Season 5 Spencer Reid

synopsis: you’re one of the baristas at the coffee that Spencer likes to frequent, fluff ensues

word count: 2.8k

warnings: none, just a whole lotta fluff!

You moved quickly behind the counter of the coffee shop you had worked at for nearly 5 years, fixing drinks as if you were in a daze, muscle memory had helped you move efficiently as you worked through the morning line that always formed on Saturdays. You heard the bell at the front of the shop ring as a familiar face entered, a tall lanky man with swoopy brown hair smiled at you as the two of you made eye contact. ‘I’ll cover this one, wait by the pickup station.’ You mouthed at him. He nodded smiling at you and returned with a quick ‘thank you’.

You set to work fixing his usual order, an espresso and a chocolate chip muffin. You smile remembering back to the first time he came into the shop, almost three years ago.

-Flashback-

You were working the register that day, not something you particularly liked but since it was a slow day for customers, you didn’t have to do much. You had actually started to doze off into a daydream until you were abruptly interrupted by the bell at the entrance ringing, signalling that someone had entered.

A tall man with short slicked back brown hair and horn rimmed glasses , dressed in a sweater vest and a brown suit jacket that almost matched his hair walked up to the counter. He seemed nervous, it must have been his first time in the shop. 

You smiled at him “what can I get for you today handsome?” you asked him, the words coming out without anything thinking. Your eyes widened slightly in embarrassment as you realized what you had said. “I’m sor-” You said but he cut you off “It’s ok, just not used to people calling me that.” The man responded, nervously adjusting his glasses. “I um-uh, my name’s Spencer.” He added quickly as he fidgeted with his hands.

“What can I get for you today then Spencer?” You asked him winking. “Um just an espresso and uh..” He trailed off peering into the case of baked goods next to the register. “And a chocolate chip muffin as well please.” 

As you rang up his order you smiled at him “That’ll be $7.48.” You told Spencer laughing softly as he fumbled pulling out his wallet and counted out the change. 

“Thank you very much, I’ll have that ready for you in just a minute.” You told him smiling as you put the money in the register.

-that flashback over, cue more recent one-

After almost two years of seeing Spencer come into the coffee shop and order the same thing, an espresso and a chocolate chip muffin, you had become accustomed to seeing Spencer almost every day. However, suddenly that stopped.

It had been almost two weeks and there had been no sign of him, you had asked your coworkers that had been in when you weren’t working if they had seen him, but none of them could recall Spencer coming into the shop. 

You were starting to worry, worry about this strange man that you had only talked to about what kind of coffee he wanted, hell, you didn’t even know his last name. 

Part of you wanted to dive into the internet to see if you could find any information on him in the hopes of seeing if you could figure the reasoning for his absence.

You were in the middle of making some fancy nonfat oat milk drink when the entrance bell rang, you looked up out of habit hoping it would be Spencer but instead it was muscular dark skinned man. Definitely not Spencer. You sighed to yourself slightly disappointed, not even fully understanding why you were upset, it’s not like you and Spencer were friends, the only time you saw each other was at the coffee shop.

You finished up the order then went to the register to help the man that had entered. “What can I get you today sir?” You asked him, putting on your customer service smile.

“Um, an espresso and shit give me a minute I don’t want to mess up his order.” The man responded, pulling out his phone and quickly dialled a phone number. “Hey baby girl, do you remember what kind of muffin Reid wanted? I can’t remember if he said blueberry or chocolate chip.” He said into the phone. Suddenly the wheels in your brain started to turn and you began to connect the dots.

“Ok thanks princess.” The man said as he hung up and turned his attention back to you. “A-” “Chocolate chip muffin?” You asked him quickly, accidentally cutting him off.

He gave you a surprised look. “Yeah, how did you know?” He asked quizzically. “Just a guess.” you responded as you shrugged slightly. “Is this for a guy named Spencer by any chance?” You asked him hopefully. 

The man looked even more surprised when you asked him that. “Yeah.. how did you guess?” He asked, trying to study your face.

“He came in here like every day, is there something wrong? I haven’t seen him in a while.” You told him, your voice laced with worry.

“He’s um, currently in the hospital, we had an incident at work.” He told you, not sharing many details. 

“I’m Derek by the way, Derek Morgan.” He told you. You introduced yourself and gave him his change letting him know that he could wait off to the side for the order.

Derek’s words get replaying in your mind. ‘He’s in the hospital’ those words filled you with more worry than you liked to admit.

After you finished making the order, you grabbed an extra muffin and put it in the bag with the other one with a few napkins, you knew that hospital food wasn’t exactly five star. You wrote out a quick note on another napkin and slipped it into the bag. ‘Spencer, I hope you’re doing alright. Enjoy the extra muffin, hope to see you soon - Y/N :)’

-Flashback over-

You looked at the clock and realized that you were almost done with your shift, you decided that today would be the day you would actually try to talk to Spencer about something other than coffee. You quickly scribbled out a note to put with Spencer’s muffin. ‘I get off work in like 15 minutes, would you want to go to a bookstore with me? I need to pick up some books and I could use the company- Y/N’ you slipped the note into the bag and set it on the counter for Spencer, hoping he’d open the bag before he left the shop.

You had hardly noticed that 15 minutes had passed by, you quickly slipped out from behind the counter and took off your apron. 

You finished packing up your things and looked around to see if Spencer was still there. You sighed, slightly disappointed when you didn’t see him inside the shop. As you headed out of the coffee shop, you heard someone call your name behind you. 

You turned and saw Spencer running towards you, his hair messy from the cool autumn breeze, you noticed that in one hand he was holding a crumpled napkin, your note. The sight made you smile as he stopped in front of you. “I’m sorry I didn’t see your note right away. I had to do a quick work call and I didn’t see it until after that.” He said, beginning to ramble which made you laugh quietly. “It’s fine, I’m just glad we were able to talk about something other than coffee for once.” You told him, smiling as the two of you started to walk together towards the bookstore that was a few blocks down.

“Did you know that coffee was originally a very religious drink? It originated in Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan and many Muslim people used it to celebrate Ramadan, they believed that the prophet Muhammed brought humanity coffee as a substitute for wine since Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol.” Spencer told you, his hands moving with his words as the two of you walked.

“I did not.” you responded putting your hand in front of Spencer to stop him from walking directly into traffic. “But did you know that getting hit by a car isn’t the ideal way to spend the first time hanging out with someone?” You told him, only half joking. Your comment made him laugh softly. “Thanks” he mumbled, slightly embarrassed “I get distracted sometimes when I get excited.” He added, his face tinged pink from a mix of embarrassment and the cold.

“Don’t worry about it.” You told him grabbing his hand to pull him across the street after the walk signal lit up.

Spencer seemed surprised at the contact but didn’t say anything as you both made it across the street and to the local bookstore. You didn’t even realize that you were still holding onto Spencer’s hand as you led him inside and over to the fantasy section first.

Once you stopped at one of the shelves, you realized that you were still holding onto Spencer’s hand and quickly let go, embarrassed by your action. You quickly scanned the shelves until you found the book you were looking for. “Bingo.” you said taking it off of the shelf. “Goldman huh?” Spencer asked you, looking at the cover and cracking a smile. “Do you have an issue with S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love Spencer Reid?” You responded as you raised an eyebrow at him. “No none at all, I actually really enjoyed it, I remember reading it when I was six, my dad gave me a copy for my birthday.” He said quickly, trying to backtrack in case he had said something wrong.

“I was just kidding, don't worry.” You told Spencer with a smile as you started walking over to the poetry section, he followed close behind you. “So, romance novels and poetry huh? You don’t really strike me as the cheesy story type.” Spencer mused as you squatted down to grab a copy of A Scattering by Christopher Reid, you laughed quietly to yourself realizing he and Spencer had the same last name. “And what type of book lover do I strike you as Spencer?” you responded with a smirk, interested to hear his response. 

“Well, I would guess more realistic fiction or even science fiction. Many of those types of books can be used as a form of escapism from our daily boring lives. Seeing as you work at a coffee shop and you don’t really seem like a super adventurous person, I’d make the conclusion that you find your adventures in books rather than in real life.” Spencer told you. Your heart dropped slightly as you heard what he said. “Wait you think I’m boring?” You asked him, suddenly upset.

“What? N-no Y/N, I was just saying that people tend to use books as their way to escape-” 

“From their boring lives yeah I heard that.” You interrupted him crossly. “So you think that I have a boring life, is that it Spencer? Is that what you concluded about me and what kinds of books I like to read?” You said as you narrowed your eyes at him, waiting for him to respond.

“I am so sorry if you thought that’s what I meant, it didn’t come out the way I meant it to. I don’t think you’re boring at all, very far from that in fact. You just don’t really exhibit many adventurous traits, you seem like you would find more interest in reading about other people’s adventures as opposed to taking part in them yourself. I’m the same way, books are about the only way I can lose myself and take a break from reality.” Spencer said quickly, trying to undo that damage he had done without thinking.

The tension in your chest started to disappear as he apologized. “I’m sorry, I lashed out at you, I’m not great at the whole socializing thing.” You told him, now embarrassed about yelling at Spencer. 

“Don’t worry about it, I need to work on thinking before speaking. At least, that’s what my friend Derek tells me.” He said waving you off. 

For the next 15 minutes, you and Spencer just wandered throughout the bookstore aimlessly. You watched as Spencer examined each book he took off  the shelves, his fingers following the lines as his eyes darted across the page. ‘Just ask him already stupid.’ you thought to yourself, suddenly you decided to just take the plunge and break the silence. “Hey um Spencer, can I ask you a question?” You asked him. Your words cause his head to raise. “I mean, you just asked me one, but sure, what is it?” He asked you. 

You took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now, do you want to get dinner or something together sometime?” You asked him, bracing yourself for the worst. “And you can obviously say no if you don’t want to, I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to.” You quickly added. 

“Like a date?” were the only three words he said in response.

“Yeah- i mean no! I mean, it doesn’t have to be if you don’t it to be, but if you don’t want to I completely understand and-” Your nervous ramble was cut off a pair of lips on your mouth, Spencer’s lips.

The two of you froze in that position for what seemed like an eternity until you pulled away instinctively.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” Spencer said quickly, his face turning red. “I just-” You cut him off by moving in to kiss him again. Spencer was surprised but moved his hands to cup the sides of your face, pulling you in closer. 

When you both finally pulled away. Spencer’s face was bright red and he looked down at his hands, embarrassed. “I’ve uh, wanted to do that for a while now.”  He mumbled, now embarrassed

“I have too.” You admitted, your face equally as red.

“So um, do you want to have that dinner date tonight?” He asked you 

“Who said it was going to be a date?” You asked him, raising an eyebrow.

“I-I just thought that,” He said quickly

“I’m just kidding Spencer, a dinner date tonight sounds absolutely perfect.” You told him, smiling which made his body relax. “You really need to stop taking things so seriously Spencer.” You told him, poking his nose gently which made him laugh softly. “I get that you’re a scary FBI agent doctor thing but sometimes you just have to be carefree and in the moment.” You added teasingly, kissing his cheek gently. 

“Wait how did you know I work for the FBI?” Spencer questioned with a confused look on his face. “Google.” was your only response as you kept walking through the store. “You’re kinda popular apparently. With all of your essays and articles and such.” You told him, stopping at a shelf to browse the selection of science fiction. “Wait you’ve read my essays?” Spencer asked you, surprised that you took an interest in his work. “Yeah a few of them, I really enjoyed the one you wrote about how events in childhood can rapidly evolve into behavioral changes into adulthood.” You responded mindlessly as you kept looking at the shelves. 

“Y-you did?” Spencer asked you with a bashful smile, his cheeks turning slightly pink. “Yes Agent Reid that’s what I said.” You told him rolling your eyes slightly. 

“It’s Doctor.” He mumbled under his breath slightly, an action out of habit. You turned around hearing his words and looked at him “oh I know that too, it’s just fun seeing you all flustered and embarrassed. You’re so adorable.” You said with a smile and a wink. “And if you play your cards right tonight, maybe I’ll be calling you something other than Doctor or Agent.” You added winking again and giggling quietly as Spencer lost the ability for words, his face bright red. “I um..” Spencer trailed off, not knowing quite what to say.

You quickly realized that might’ve been a little too blunt and began to get embarrassed yourself. “I’m sorry if that made this whole thing weird, I’m not used to how this type of thing works.” You confessed, your face quickly turned a bright red shade which made Spencer laugh and lean in to whisper in your ear. “Well you’ll definitely get used to it tonight.” He said in a voice almost like a purr that sent a shiver down your spine. His words made you turn towards him quickly. “What are you trying to say Doctor Reid? Are you insinuating that you’re going to fuck me tonight?” You responded, raising an eyebrow at him. You had expected him to get flustered again but Spencer did quite the opposite. “Maybe.” He told you with a smirk, causing your face to turn bright red. 

“Come on.” You told him, regaining your composure as you grabbed his hand. “Let’s blow this pop stand.” You said, pulling him towards the register to pay for your books.

A/N: asdfjh this is my first ever time transferring stories from another site and also the first time i’ve really ever used tumblr so i apologize if anything is amiss!-M

[nearlymanaged]

5. Dreaming of Hogsmeade

During the couple of days leading up to Hogsmeade Saturday, James, Remus, and Peter had been talking about Sirius’ birthday whenever he wasn’t around to overhear them. They had decided to throw him a huge surprise party in the Gryffindor common room since he was turning seventeen and they knew that there was no better gift that they could give him than a whole bunch of people celebrating his existence. 

They had put up a charmed poster on the notice board, letting other Gryffindors know about it (if Sirius ever looked at it, it appeared to be a Wizard Card Collectors' Club poster; Remus had also added ‘anyone who tries to talk to Sirius about this SURPRISE party will instantly break out in most painful boils’, which was completely untrue, only because he couldn’t find a jinx like that).

The three boys had been planning on smuggling in some Fire Whiskey and butterbeer, which they were going to pick up in Hogsmeade. So far, it was looking like Peter would be in charge of that, since he was going to spend the day apart from the rest of them anyway, so James had given him his invisibility cloak to hide the contraband from Filch. 

James and Peter, who had just climbed in through the portrait hole after their last lesson that Friday, joined Remus and Sirius in front of the fire. “Nice weather, eh?” James nodded his head towards the tall, narrow windows being mercilessly lashed by the rainstorm. 

“Better put an Impervius charm on that impeccable mess of a hairdo tomorrow,” Remus quipped lazily. 

“So about that,” James started loudly and nonchalantly. “I can’t go, I have detention.”

“What? Since when?” Remus gaped at him while Sirius murmured ‘nice’ with an approving bob of his head. 

“Prongs here tried to jinx Snivellus in the middle of Potions today,” Peter answered and Sirius gave him another ‘niceee’.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Remus rolled his eyes. 

“It’s not my fault Snape always has to poke his annoying nose into other people’s business!”

“What, did he overhear one of your ludicrous attempts at asking Lily out?” Remus drawled, straight-faced, and Sirius barked out a laugh before catching James’ eye and pretending to cough immediately. “Why did you even keep Potions this year? Not like you really need it?”

“But Evans, obviously,” Sirius explained cheerfully. “The rather more mind boggling question here is why Wormtail still has Potions?”

“Better than history of magic,” the boy shrugged. 

“Fair enough.”

“Speaking of Potions, you mind picking up some newt spleens for me? I used all of the ones I had to mess up Snape’s potion last week.”

“Sure. Well I guess it’s just the three of us then,” Sirius looked at Peter and Remus.

“No! I’m meeting Lydia Rooks at Three Broomsticks, remember?”

“Oh that’s right, how very sweet. We can go chaperone them, Remus.”

“I’d really rather you didn’t,” Peter whined with a definite note of panic rising in his voice. “For once, just let me live.” 

“And go get a drink at Hog’s Head instead? Fat chance,” snarled Sirius. “I don’t much fancy running into half of my extended family.”

“How am I supposed to have more confidence with you two sniggering behind my back!?”

“We don’t snigger!” Sirius exclaimed, apparently shocked by this accusation.

“You can go to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop!”

“Madam Puddifoot's? That place is always packed to the brim with lovey dovey couples. Matter of fact, why aren’t you and Lydia going there?” Remus raised his eyebrows at his friend. 

“We’re not a lovey dovey couple...yet...”

“Nor Sirius and I,” Remus laughed out.

James could have sworn he heard Sirius mumble something that sounded a lot like ‘yet’, ever so quietly. 

“Please don’t ruin this for me,” Peter looked from one of the boys to the other. 

“Fine,” Remus sighed. “Maybe it will stop raining and we won’t have to be cooped up in there, listening to the smacking and slurping of people sucking each other’s faces.”

“You’re acting like it’s the end of the world,” Sirius momentarily scrunched his eyebrows with an ever present smile playing on his lips. “Cheer up, Moony! We’re going to have a splendid time!” He grabbed Remus’ hand with both of his and clumsily interlaced their fingers, now grinning at him. 

Neither him, nor Remus noticed their two friends exchange looks. 

* * *

“Look, that’s new!” Sirius pointed at the front of a pub a little ways down the road; he knew every square inch of Hogsmeade like the back of his hand, but he’d never seen this place. “Let’s check it out, shall we?”

“I’ve heard about this place. That’s where all the couples go,” Moony said vaguely and led the way.

It was indeed a pub but the inside of it looked eerily a lot like Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. They found themselves a booth with a little table by the window, where they had a surprisingly good view of the main street of the village bathed in sunlight.

Sirius didn’t even notice a waiter approach them but within moments, there were two bottles of butterbeer on their table. “Sirius…” Moony’s breath caught.

“Yes?”

“I…” Remus paused again and rested both of his forearms on the table, almost as if reaching for him. “I wanted to tell you something…”

“Do I have food in my teeth?”

“What? No… I’m glad that James and Peter couldn’t come with us.”

“Oh?” Sirius felt his heart speed up. “How come?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Moony smiled at him, jumping up, and switched seats so that now, instead of sitting across the table from Sirius, they were side by side.

“I’m afraid I’ll need you to elaborate a bit more on this,” Sirius smirked.

“I like you, Sirius. Do I really have to spell it out?” Moony rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance, all while inching closer and closer.

“Fuck, Moony, I thought you’d never say it…” Sirius’ hand found Remus’ waist and pulled him even closer. He could smell him, sweet like chocolate; feel his breath on his own lips. There was just another inch left between them and Sirius pulled Moony into a kiss, unable to resist anymore. Just then, some loud, nondescript noise made him pull away and blink...into his pillow?

Sirius was in his four-poster bed, hugging his pillow. Someone had drawn his curtains open, which was probably the source of that loud noise. He blinked a few times until the two shapes moving in front of him came into focus - it was James and Peter.

“Why’d’you have to wake me?” Sirius grumbled groggily. “It was almost the best part of the dream…”

“What did you dream about?” Asked the subject of the dream himself, walking out of the bathroom, brushing his teeth.

For the briefest of moments, sleep still clinging to Sirius’ brain, he wanted to just come out and say it. “I was at a Queen concert…” He said instead, gazing at Remus with a giddy smile.

“Ugh, why did you wake him, Prongs?” Moony glared at James.

“Because I can’t find any fake blood capsules and I have detention in ten minutes!”

“I like your jumper,” Sirius tugged on Remus’ green sleeve on his way to the bathroom. “Is it new?”

“Is anything I own, really?” Moony asked with a resigned smirk. “I bought it at a charity shop this summer.”

“Well, regardless, I like it.”

“I’ll know where it went when it goes missing from my trunk,” Remus said, referring to Sirius’ tendency to borrow his friends’ clothes without asking.

“Nah, I like it on you,” Black cast a hungry look at Remus through the open door.

Still relishing the memory of his dream, Sirius was in no need for improving his mood. But he grinned to himself even wider, remembering that it was going to be just him and Moony going to Hogsmeade together in a little bit. Not that he expected the dream to come true, but...what better way to spend a whole day? In fact, he had to admit, he was enjoying all this pining in a weird way. He didn’t even care that the weather was absolutely dreadful.

* * *

It was raining cats and dogs the whole way to the village, and by the time Remus and Sirius reached Honeydukes, they were completely drenched. Somehow, the charm they’d put on themselves, that was supposed to protect them against the pelt of icy drops, wore off halfway there. Remus took his time examining all the different flavoured and shaped chocolates, carefully weighing his options between tried and tested, and brand new ones. As usual, the shop was filled with Hogwarts students, some of whom were girls that, despite all the magical sweets surrounding them, only had eyes for Sirius (and now a couple of boys too, since the news of Sirius sexuality had spread throughout the school within hours).

Remus was trying to not pay too much attention to it; he had been doing that for over a year and there was no reason to change his tactics now. But, he noticed pretty soon, Sirius kept telling his flirty admirers that he needed to go help his friend, only to silently follow Lupin around as he worked his way through shelves and stacks of chocolate. Very dog-like, Remus thought to himself with a small smile. But then he wondered if Sirius’ behaviour was linked to him running away from home. It seemed like that made sense - he had a lot going on in his life, maybe that’s why he’d slowed down with the flirting and the snogging since they’ve been back at Hogwarts. Sirius didn’t talk much about it at all, acting as though everything was fine, but Remus wondered if his friend was okay every now and then. 

After Honeydukes, they went to Zonko’s, where they spent another half hour, again surrounded by Hogwarts students. The last stop before they could hide out of the damp cold somewhere and hopefully wait for the rain to stop was J. Pippin’s Potions.

A little bell rang above the door as they walked in, causing the only customer in the shop to turn around.

“Snivellus,” Sirius nodded his head and Snape mumbled something in return that most definitely wasn’t a compliment. “What was that?” Sirius’ body leaned forward, either about to walk over to Snape or hex him, but Remus grabbed his forearm warningly. He was the first one to admit that he did a terrible job at stepping in and putting a stop to things like that, like any other prefects would have done. But it wasn’t for lack of understanding that he should have. And it was certainly easier to practice when it was just one of his troublemaker friends.

“Come on, we’re not on school grounds,” Sirius whined like a child asking for another scoop of ice cream.

“All the same, this git is not worth our time or energy.”

“Better listen to your boyfriend, Black.” Snape sneered, noticing Remus’ movement. “Nasty-tempered monsters, these werewolves.”

This time, Remus distinctly felt Sirius plunge his hand into his wand pocket and squeezed his arm again, a little rougher this time. “Bog off, Snape,” Lupin scoffed at him, but all he could think about is that he had just referred to him as Sirius’ boyfriend. He felt embarrassed for thinking about it, what with the given context, and yet, he couldn’t help it.

“Is that what your parents said to you?” Snape was looking at Sirius again, evidently overcome by some sort of feelings of unfounded courage.

“Didn’t you hear what my werewolf boyfriend said? Bog off, Snivellus.”

“I’m just curious. I mean, that has to sting. When your own family can’t stand your ugly face so much, they kick you out before you’re even of age.”

“Shut the fuck up, Snivellus.” Remus enunciated calmly; before he knew it, he was standing right in front of Snape, the tip of his wand no more than an inch away from his greasy nose. And yet, his mind was dragging behind, stuck in the moment when Sirius referred to him as his boyfriend. Of course, contextually, it did not mean anything, but just hearing him say it made Moony giddy.

Before Snape could make up his mind about whether he really was willing to test his luck, the shopkeeper reappeared from the back room. “Oi! What in the name of Merlin is going on here?!”

“Just friendly banter,” Remus gave him a polite smile, putting his wand away. 

Snape paid for his stuff and scrambled out of the shop faster than you could say Quidditch. Sirius and Remus got James’ supplies and, as soon as they stepped out into the pouring rain, decided it was time for Madam Puddifoot’s. All the while, once the ‘boyfriend’ induced daze wore off, Remus was thinking about Sirius’ predicament with his family. He knew that Sirius’ parents were rotten people, and Sirius had openly rejoiced about never having to go back to their home ever again at least ten times in the few letters they had exchanged over the summer. But Remus knew better than to assume that it was as simple as that.

Once they were out of the rain, sitting at a table, hot drinks in hand (black coffee in Sirius’ and green tea in Remus’), Moony decided that this was as good a time as any to check in on his friend. “Padfoot, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” 

At these words, Sirius perked up with an alarmed look rearranging his face. “You have? About what?”

“Well, I know that you say you’re fine - and I am happy for you, I am - but I also know that given the choice, you’d rather be on speaking terms with your brother…” Remus trailed off, allowing Sirius to pick up where he left off.

“Oh. That. Yeah…”

“We haven’t really talked about it, and I guess I just want to make sure that you know that I’m here for you.”

“I know, Moony. You’re not wrong, I would choose to not have Regulus change direction whenever he sees me in the hallways. But it’s always been an uphill battle. He takes pride in being his parents' son and getting tangled in all that Dark shit,” Sirius scrunched his nose, as if smelling something foul right under it. “They’re all like bowtruckles on doxy eggs, they’re a family. And, to be honest, Mr. and Mrs. Potters’ house feels a hundred times more like a home to me than that dreadful place ever did. I’m not just saying it, I am happy...er. Happier.” Sirius flashed him an eerily dog-like grin and Remus nodded.

“Good.”

“Have you got any other inquiries or is this the end of the interview?”

“Just one: why are you such an obnoxious prick?” Remus rolled his eyes with an involuntary smile.

“Don’t act like you don’t love my obnoxious prickness.”

“That wasn’t the question. Regardless, whenever you’re feeling less happy...er, you don’t have to sulk by yourself. It’s very unbecoming.”

“Thanks, Moony.” Sirius grinned, an unbridled smile on his face. “So do they have any food here? I could eat a hippogriff!”

It never did stop raining and eventually, the two Marauders decided to head back to the castle. Given the weather, it was no surprise that more and more people were filing into the shop, so before Remus could lead the way out, he stopped by the door to let a little old lady walk inside first. A dirty white poodle, just as old as its owner, by the looks of it, was trailing behind her very slowly, swaying slightly. Unable to resist a mixture between pity and kinship, Remus bent down to give the dog a scratch behind its ear, and then finally dove out into the rain.

“You never pet me when I’m a dog.”

Remus raised an eyebrow at Sirius’ odd statement. “You never pet me when I’m a werewolf.”

“Kinky.”