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dontcarehowlongittakes · 3 months

Text

— yearns though my heart, i watch you from afar.

synopsis. being the hardworking individual you were, earning a job at the local bookstore had you looking forward to it like it was the sunshine one craved on a misty winter morning.

or maybe it was the fact that you were addicted to books.

or maybe the fact that this one guy with weird bangs comes for weekly visits.

genres/themes. suguru geto x reader, fluff, pure fluff, non-sorcerer!au, bookstore worker!reader, heavy, heavy pining (both from reader and suguru), cameo of satoru, shoko, kento and haibara!, (tw!) suguru smokes, reader has had a problematic past (not specified), reader is an implied thriller fan.

yoi’s notes. *incoherent mumbling through tears* why can’t my brain just shut down for a moment,

word count. 5.2k ( ~ 5.3 lol, help this wasn’t supposed to be this long)

∘⁠˚⁠˳⁠° even if my heart stops beating

he’s here again.

a part of you mentally cursed yourself for not paying attention to the booklists you were supposed to be reviewing because obviously you were too busy waiting for him to arrive, while another part celebrated that at least he had arrived.

strange guy, he was— never once in your life had you thought that you’d think of someone else other than yourself and your never-ending books, but here you were— life proving you wrong once again.

although, you weren’t exactly complaining, were you?

slender hands of his skimmed over the book covers, concentrated dark eyes like an abyss of mystery— the faint sunlight casting them in such an ethereal glow that made them seem like rich pools of honey. his silky black hair was kept loose down his shoulders today, you noticed— save for the messy bun he had made with the upper half.

like hell were you complaining.

nimble fingers of yours fidgeted with the now crumpled sheet— and you let out a hiss, only just realising that you had crushed the poor paper that contained your to-do list for the day.

sorry, to-do list.

but hey, it’s not like destroying your to-do list had rendered you completely jobless— now you could watch the one whom you secretly admired in peace.

reason? your list got so crumpled up that you couldn’t even read it, duh.

and who was the one who crumpled it?

. . .

ah, maybe let’s not think about the list anymore.

where were you again? ah, yes, back to being your admiring self. the thriller book you’d always had since a high schooler by your side— you gave it a little tap of confirmation, speaking to it in a language only you and the book seemed to understand.

those eyes of yours fixed upon the man— could he even be called a man, at this point?— he was simply so . . . other-worldly that you often found yourself mentioning him to your co-workers, just to make sure that he was real and not just a figment of your imagination.

you still remembered the looks on their faces— small frowns embedded on their expression as they eyed you suspiciously, until your manager snapped at you all to start working already (“college kids these days,” he had muttered under his breath) but— did you mind?

not one bit, if he was involved.

his slow, sauntering footsteps made the wooden floor hum a soft clack— and you strangely found yourself listening to it, as if immersed in a melody only he was singing to you— a melody which only you could hear, and no one else.

your gaze lingered on the way his dark strands looked, especially those curiously styled bangs of his— wondering how it could look so soft and silky as the gentle sunlight painted it a shimmering brown— how, somehow, you had never wanted anything in this whole damn world other than running your fingers through those alluring locks. humming to yourself, you took occasional sips from the water bottle you had brought along— only to notice that it had long got over, and yet, here you were, still holding it to your lips like a complete idiot— eyes peering over the lid at a certain someone.

but, somehow, you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

not one bit.

didn’t care if you looked like some lovesick fool right now— hey, at least he was the cause.

and you’d gladly be any fool in this whole damn universe if it comes to him.

you tilted your head, catching a glimpse of how his hand went back to scratch the back of his neck— a thoughtful expression on his face, and oh how your heart did a little flip when you saw that little, focused frown of his— making you almost drop the bottle, but you weren’t a complete idiot.

or were you?

“. . hey,” a small, annoyed voice says, snapping you out of your trance as you jerk your head downwards, to find a boy who looked no older than seven stare up at you with a scowl on his little face. “i’ve been callin’ you for five times, y’know.”

okay, maybe you were an idiot.

“oh,” you blinked, before letting out a sheepish chuckle, “sorry, lil’ guy. what can i help you with?”

“sorry yourself, miss girl who stares creepily at guys,” he said, making your eyes widen in an almost comically surprised way— okay, you were seriously doubting whether this kid was seven or not— “i wan’ this.”

the boy’s tiny hand placed a magazine on the table, the smooth cover sliding across the wooden surface.

you raised a brow, eyes narrowing whilst you read the oh so interesting title— ‘Girls’ You Can’t Get, So You Can Stare At Them Instead’— and regretting your life decisions as you flipped just one page— only to be met with some very . . not-so-family-friendly pictures of women.

swallowing a lump in your throat, your gaze flickered back to the menace— boy— in question; a small, flickering smile on your face.

“that’d be, uh,” you hastily flipped over to the back cover of the magazine, checking the price, “two hundred and ninety eight yen.”

handing him the receipt and the change after he had paid, you noticed how the kid immediately held onto it in an overly possessive grip, eyeing you warily, as if you were gonna snatch it out of his grip.

as he turned to walk out, you couldn’t help but blurt out the question you’d been pondering over since the past few minutes.

“hey— kid,” your voice said awkwardly, and he stopped in his tracks, raising a brow whilst looking at you over his shoulder, “how . . old are you?”

he let out a small ‘tsk’, rolling his eyes— a scowl settling over his features again.

“five.”

you could only stare as he stepped out of the store, mouth slightly parted in disbelief and surprise— eyes wide. five? and here you were, thinking that lil’ shit was seven.

you made sure to set a reminder to talk to your manager about stacking those— magazines— strictly in the adult section.

squinting your eyes at the place from where the kid must’ve taken that book, an audible gasp escaped you when your gaze landed on the sign-post just beside the shelves.

kid’s section.

and whilst you sat there on your chair, rethinking every single life decision you’ve ever made, a certain someone chuckled to themselves— the sound small and barely audible— filling the air for only a few seconds, yet lingering on for eternity.

｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+ even if the world stops shaking

suguru had always been a patient, patient man.

some would say that was nature all along— the polite child he’d been, smooth voice so full of charm that he everyone was drawn to him and his beautiful, beautiful self— like a moth finding a source of light for the first time, a found serendipity that made him treasured by everyone he knew.

his head tilted upwards to gaze at the pink-tinged sky— dark pupils lingering on a moment too long at a peculiar shaped cloud as his white-haired friend’s voice filled the air, going on and on like a tuneless hum— hey, that looked a bit like satoru’s glasses, didn’t it?

“have any left?” suguru’s smooth voice muttered— and although satoru’s loud rambles drowned his words— a cigarette was placed into his hands by shoko, who gave him a knowing look.

good ol’ shoko.

“heyy, are you guys even listenin’ to me?” satoru’s whine earned him a light shove on the shoulder from suguru, who couldn’t help but let out an amused chuckle.

“took you long enough to figure out that we weren’t,” shoko’s voice took a sarcastic turn whilst she twirled the cigarette between her fingers idly, bored eyes staring at the male.

“i was listening, senpai!” eyes lighting up with sparkles, haibara gazed at his upperclassmen in childlike awe; looking very much like an excited puppy— but then again, when was he not cheerful and excited?— suguru couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped him yet again.

good ol’ haibara, suguru thought.

“uh huh? what was i saying then?” satoru grumbled, a pout on his boyishly hansome face whilst he crossed his arms— still a bit put off by the fact that his friends weren’t really paying attention to him.

“you were saying somethin’ about— the . . . the sea cucumber you found the other day when you went at the beach?” haibara stammered, an almost pitiful frown embedded on his face as he tried to remember what exactly satoru had been talking about— which of course earned a laugh from shoko and suguru.

“sea shells,” said a quiet voice, holding a tinge of irritability to it— and all of their heads jerked towards the direction of kento— who they thought hadn’t even acknowledged their very existence whilst being immersed in his book, let alone listen to satoru’s little chatters— before erupting into fits of laughter.

“oh, man,” satoru held onto his aching stomach, pretty blue orbs already reduced to tears— even he, though the one speaking, knew that kento usually paid as much attention to him as a person generally would to a roadside rock— but then again, they wouldn’t have been friends for so long if it had been as simple as that.

“kento, you really were listenin’, huh?” haibara slapped his hand on his shoulder, positively beaming— and oh how kento’s ears burned red in embarrassment.

“shut up,” he mumbled— shrugging the male’s hand off his shoulder as he busied himself with his book again, almost painfully obvious in the way he was avoiding either of their gazes.

good ol’ kento, suguru thought.

“mhmm, you’re right, my dearest kenny,” satoru cooed, slinging an arm around the younger male’s shoulder, positively relishing in the way he earned himself an irritated sigh from oh so grumpy kento— a bark of laughter escaping him as he ruffled his hair.

the sound was so youthful— filling the air like a harmonious tune, rough though it came off as— yet producing such a soothing effect because of the sheer joy it carried, a joy which was pure, a joy which was real.

good ol’ satoru, suguru thought.

“ooh, you might wanna be careful with the hair,” shoko snickered, puffing out a cloud of smoke— her laugh mirroring satoru’s.

“i’m making it look a bit more presentable, mind you,” satoru retorted, sarcasm oozing from his words as yet another laugh escaped him— suguru shook his head, heaving a light-hearted sigh; oh god, not one day passed without someone commenting on poor kento’s hairstyle— not that he was entirely sorry for him, as he took part in it quite as much.

and as his eyes watched kento furiously struggling to get out of satoru’s vice-like arm lock, a strange feeling emerged in his heart— a feeling he couldn’t quite place his finger upon.

longing.

for what, though? suguru couldn’t help but ponder, the cigarette resting lazily between his lips— completely unaware of the fact that it was still unlit— his friends were right here.

sure, they were. but something wasn’t there as well. something that made his head spin in such a dizzyingly sweet manner that he wanted it to never, ever stop.

something.

and where was this something?

he paused. slender fingers reaching up to slowly remove the cigarette from his lips— exhaling air, expecting to see a puff of smoke— dark eyes widening the moment he saw nothing.

the cigarette was still unlit.

still unlit.

and suddenly, he knew where it was. this something.

standing up gingerly, suguru brushed some dirt off his jeans, slinging his bag over his shoulder— heads turning to look at him, his friends’ curious eyes peering into his own.

suguru was a patient, patient man. a man who’d learnt to share his comforts— a man who’d been accustomed to comforting people just by his mere presence—

but strangely enough— for once in his life— he didn’t want to share.

this something of his.

“where’re you goin’, suguru?” satoru asked, his grip on kento’s face loosening— and kento taking the chance to immediately distance himself from satoru by at least five feet— “oh, don’t tell me.” —those mystifying, cerulean eyes of eyes threatened to roll to the back of his head— “you’re going to that crappy bookstore again.”

raising a brow, it was now suguru’s turn to roll his eyes.

“indeed, i am going to that crappy bookstore, satoru,” he tittered, a small, amused smirk on his face, “i have to buy this book i looked up yesterday—”

“since when were you the one to read so many books?” shoko narrowed her eyes— and, for the first time in his life, suguru didn’t want to be questioned— didn’t want to be the found serendipity, just— a quiet getaway.

to his something.

“senpai’s very smart, though!” haibara beamed, lips spreading into a wide grin. “i once saw him—”

“shut up for a while, haibara,” shoko retorted— which earned a small ‘sorry, senpai’ from the younger male— “and you, suguru. what’s up with you these days, huh? you keep disappearing on weekends. and— and you have this strange sorta look— like you wanna be somewhere. what’s goin’ on?”

suguru almost wanted to let out a gentle laugh at how those brown eyes of shoko were filled with suspicion— and underneath all that façade, concern; drowning in honey pools full of questions.

and for once, he didn’t want to answer those questions.

for once, he just wanted to go away.

to his something.

“no reason,” suguru said, his back now facing them, hand raised in a goodbye— which haibara eagerly returned with an overly enthusiastic wave of his, even though the ravenette couldn’t see him— “i’ll be back in a few.”

he felt their gazes on him. pointing, but not piercing.

and oh how he was thankful for that.

hands in his pockets, suguru’s gaze lingered on the cracks between the footwalk, noticing how the little flowers managed to bloom, though being surrounded by a world of concrete. but hey, the sun was to keep them company, wasn’t it?

slender fingers of his fidgeted with the unlit cigarette in his pocket— as he reminded himself back again where he was going— feet abruptly stopping as he realised that he was here already.

suguru’s hands pushed open the door, as he passed by the ‘smoking is strictly prohibited’ sign pasted on the glass— the gentle tinkle of the bells announcing his presence as he walked his way towards the non-fiction section. his usual stop.

and from the corner of his eye, he gazed at your sleeping figure at the desk— a small chuckle escaping him— a glint of pure adoration in his eyes.

why?

of course, he knew. but he daren’t say that, even to himself.

he was back.

to his something.

you.

your eyes shut and your hair slightly obscuring your face, suguru relished in the peaceful expression on your face. quiet, like a deer— resting in a open foliage— in a small patch of tender grass it found, upon which sunlight hit so softly that the poor animal couldn’t help it. innocent, like it didn’t know that it could be get pounced upon by the tiger— just like you slept on your job, blissfully unaware that the tiger— your manager— could come into the shop anytime.

good ol’ you, suguru thought.

∘⁠˚⁠˳⁠° pretty boy, you did this to me, boy

fixing your gaze upon the ceiling, a sigh escaped you— almost inaudible, as if you were afraid of disturbing an unknown presence.

yet, you knew you were alone.

and yet, strangely enough— it didn’t bother you, like it usually did. at least to most people.

it wasn’t as if your thoughts were all sunshine and daisies either, hell no— far from that, in fact. but hey, at least you weren’t drowning in your thoughts like you did before.

you had grown, hadn’t you?

maybe that little, nagging voice said otherwise— 'grown? you've deteriorated even more from before, you idiot,' it snickered, the little scoff that left it resonating through your entire soul, like a haunting siren’s call— yet another voice— a quiet but steady one— seemed to soothe your mind.

‘she’s healing. don’t you forget that,’ it said— its presence so welcoming that you might as well regard it as the sailor who had saved you from the grasp of that malevolent little siren. it’s voice didn’t resonate, didn’t linger on in your thoughts, as that one had— yet it had a more lasting effect.

you were healing.

you’ve grown.

one of your hands, which had been resting at the back of your head, reached out to stretch in front of your eyes— which had long grown accustomed to the dim moonlight peeking through the window of your room— as if you were trying to shield yourself from some sort of light. you simply stared at it; gaze fixated on your spread out fingers, eyes flickering towards the veins running along your hand now and then, like some forbidden sort of creeper living inside your body.

except that this creeper was the reason you were living.

crap, you’ve missing out on your biology lectures a bit too much haven’t you?

and as your gaze lingered onto your skin you couldn’t help but ponder— did you really know the back of your hand well enough to live upto the expectations of people actually deciding to pose a proverb based on it— did you know the back of your hand like the back of your hand?

it was a silly thought, but then again, no one— except you— was here, in the confines of your room.

no one to chide you, except you.

eh, you might as well do it— you’ve called yourself much worse things than ‘silly’ in the past, anyway.

flipping over your position to rest on your stomach instead, you laid your hands onto your pillow; stray strands of your tousled hair falling over your eyes— but you didn’t tuck them behind your ear, not now— you had a very important examination to do.

at least, it was important to you, anyway.

your fingers stretched out on the soft fabric of your pillow— and oh how gently did you treat them, like a fragile test subject which could crumble away at the slightest bit of mishandling— eyes gazing at the various lines running across your skin.

and strangely enough, each one told you a story.

not stories just anyone could understand— just you, of course, because you were the one who’d know the back of your hand well, after all.

your gaze travelled across the sharp ridges and falls of your knuckles, noting how the tender skin between them stretched as you folded your hands into a fist— eyes filled with an unexplainable awe that you yourself couldn’t describe.

this was how it felt like knowing something.

knowing, not in a crude way— like going on a quest for an unsure treasure, like getting information— no, it was knowing.

it was a pleasant feeling.

and as you stared at the back of your hand, a strange longing spread throughout your chest— a longing which you failed to understand, yet knew where it came from almost a second later.

of course.

to discover, to know— the thought whispered such encouraging little wants that you found yourself yearning for more— for more to discover, for more to know.

who, though?

. . .

maybe you knew the answer to that already.

and suddenly, you were sitting up on the mattress, fingers fumbling in a frenzied fashion to get out of your duvet— your feet taking quick steps towards the study desk placed just aside your bed, hands grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper that you managed to catch sight of at the corner of your eye.

a hasty stroke here, and a line there. you might have wanted to give the edge a bit of a softer tone, but you quickly dismissed the thought when you tried it out— impatiently rubbing away the unwanted addition.

your heart was pounding, so loud that you could hear it— as if it had suddenly lurched up to your throat— slightly ragged breaths escaping your parted lips; but you were not to stop anytime soon.

it didn’t take you long.

knees wobbling slightly due to the unexpected tension you had launched upon yourself earlier, you flopped back down on the bed— holding up the piece of paper up to your face just like you had held up your hand earlier— and you stared.

it wasn’t perfect, you knew— but oh how it made a faint red tinge to your cheeks appear— the sweet blush spreading across your face.

you’d been careful with his eyes— how they’d crease ever so slightly when he had that focused frown plastered on his face, how his bangs obscured the vision of his left eye a bit— how his lips pursed in a thoughtful manner whilst he decided which book to pick.

and before you knew, a smile had spread across your lips— one that you didn’t initiate, but rather your heart.

you longed for something, and here you had it right here— as if shielding you from some unknown light whilst you held it up to your face— and oh how your heart did a little dance.

a dance of longing.

longing to know this something of yours.

him.

｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+ baby girl, look where we made it, girl

damn, he’d really outdone himself today.

first, dealing with satoru’s dramatic ass when he kept insisting on singing some cringey romantic songs to piss kento off— when he obviously wasn’t opposed to the idea— but then again, the song that his best friend had chosen had made bile come up to his throat, so he had very (not) respectfully declined the offer.

that was a big achievement itself, but here he was— having an umbrella clasped in his hands when he always was without one, most of the times.

it wasn’t that he forgot— nature had a strange relationship with him, somehow, always wanting him to get drenched in the little pelts of water it showered upon him— all the while sending everyone but him some sort of signal that it was going to rain.

changed, have you, nature?

suguru watched as his boots stepped over the little temporary ponds that the rain had created in the busy streets— occasionally, someone would run past him in search of a dry place— reminding himself of him, when nature had some sort of grudge against him.

his feet slowed down, eyes gazing up at the gray skies whilst tilting back his umbrella to a distance enough to keep himself dry— silently pondering over the endless horizon of nothingness, all the while raindrops pelted against his walking shelter— bouncing against the black fabric with an almost repetitive synchronization; like some sort of message that they were trying to whisper to him, some sort of thing that only he was supposed to know.

eyes turning back to the path ahead, he resumed his walk— picking up his pace, about to turn towards the left to head to his apartment when—

suguru paused, his breath catching in his throat.

you.

you looked beautiful in the rain.

though being drenched from head to toe, stray strands of your hair sticking to your face as you took hurried footsteps across the street with that exasperated look on your face— suguru thought you looked like the most breathtaking thing in the world, like something he was meant to stare at for eternity.

his gaze lingered on your figure as you walked fast enough to not let yourself slip— simply entranced by the way you moved— even though your movements were a bit jittery.

and oh how his heart clenched at the realisation.

you were shivering.

cold, you were— and here he was, unable to do anything but simply watch you from afar. here he was, warm in his overcoat and dry in under his umbrella— whilst your body trembled in the rain.

it wasn't fair, suguru thought.

you shouldn’t be there— shaking under the mocking, heavy raindrops that the sky hurled towards you, as your feet deseperately carried you to a dry place— no, you should be right here, with him; in his arms, all the while he shielded you from the rain and provided you with his warmth—

suguru paused, forced to tear his focus away from his thoughts as he watched your figure abruptly stop next to a small box on the ground.

his eyes narrowed— what were you thinking? you shouldn’t be out here, what if you got sick?—

the male’s breath catched in his throat.

you were crouching down infront of the box, a hesitant expression on your face— which made his heart clench— it was almost as if you were making a difficult choice, one that tore your heart apart.

yet, you did it anyway.

suguru’s eyes widened as you took out a book from your bag— the very same book you had with you at all times, one that he believed was your source of comfort— and pried it open, parting it in half— before you placed it upside down, over something in the drenched box.

your little smile as you walked away was something suguru would never forget in his entire life.

his eyes watched your retreating figure as if caught in a daze— he hadn’t even noticed how tight his grip had become on the handle of his umbrella, hadn’t noticed how he had been holding his breath.

though suguru did not know much about you, he knew that— that book mattered to you.

it had mattered to you so damn much.

watching you from the corner of his eye as his fingers had skimmed over the various covers of the non-fiction books arranged on the mahogany bookshelves, he had seen how you always had that book with you— like a companion, like a constant being that stayed with you no matter what— suguru had watched it being a part of yourself.

and yet, you had left that part of yourself today.

for what?

and before he knew it, he was walking— taking long strides over to the box, expression hardened and demanding— he simply had to know—

oh.

a small meow escaped the little kitten as it stared curiously up at suguru, sheltered underneath the hard cover of your book.

oh.

for this.

and as suguru walked back to his apartment, the raindrops soaking him through, he couldn’t help the little grin on his face— the image of his umbrella over the box while it kept your book and the lil’ feline dry playing on and on into his mind like a broken melody.

a melody he would never get tired of hearing.

so this was the message nature was trying to tell him?

that he’d always get drenched in every rain, even if he did bring an umbrella with him.

suguru shook his head, sighing to himself.

good one, nature.

｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+∘⁠˚⁠˳⁠° I'm taking this moment, ooh, with me, nah Wherever I'm going I'm happy you're coming, ooh, with me With me, yeah

you were distracted.

you knew that.

even when he walked in, the gentle tinkling of the bell filling the air; your head was down in your arms— a blank expression on your face, as you simply breathed.

or tried to focus on your breathing.

but there was just this constant lump in your throat that restricted you from doing so— this very lump that made you feel as if you were drowning, as if you were suffocating in your own turmoil of thoughts—

you missed it.

your book.

oh, how you missed it— so much that your heart hurt whenever you thought about it.

but you also knew that it would have been reduced to a soggy, barely readable mess now— probably taken away by a pick-up garbage truck, gone; just like that.

just like how you had given that kitten a temporary shield from the rain. just like that.

hey, at least that was the little silver thread— if not lining— on the this cloud that weighed over your head like a constant, haunting ghost; making your heart feel a bit lighter, if not lifting your spirits entirely.

if you had been your usual admiring self today, you would’ve noticed how he had gone to the thriller, not non-fiction section of the bookstore— how his fingers hadn’t lingered onto the book covers thoughtfully, how he had a knowing, not contemplative expression on his face— how he had picked out a book and came back without staying for a bit and browsing through some other ones. as he usually did.

strange how things work when you decide to let go of yourself for a while.

a sudden tap on the counter made you jump— and oh your heart did a little flip; your eyes meeting his dark pools, how you wanted to drown into them— how you wanted to just get lost in them and, gladly, never be found again.

you stared at him, and he stared back— neither of you saying anything for a while.

an unspoken connection between you two coursed through your minds— and both of you were sure that the other could feel it too— how could you not, when it was so painfully obvious in the way your eyes glimmered and his dark gaze softened as he watched you?

. . .

“good afternoon,” he said, and you thought you’d fall if not for your chair beneath you as you stood, knees wobbling slightly— you could listen to that voice of his everyday, and you still wouldn’t get enough— “may i buy this book?”

your gaze flickered down to the book in question, and your eyes widened ever so slightly— breath catching in your throat.

it was another copy of the same book you had left some days ago.

swallowing that lump in your throat, you raised your head tentatively to meet his eyes, a small, hesitant smile grazing your lips—

“y-yeah, uh..” you stammered, and almost immediately regretted it, cheeks burning oh so red in embarrassment, “that’d be . . three hundred and ninety nine yen.”

“alright,” he said in that dizzying voice of his, and you quickly looked back at the book to not let it affect you.

you tried not look, tried not to pay attention to how his hands slid the coin so gently onto the counter— as if he was afraid you’d crumble away if he was a bit too harsh— tried not to notice the small, almost fond smile that tugged at the corner of his lips as he gazed at you, not the book.

you tried not to see, but then again, how could you not when he was involved?

your fingers trembled ever so slightly as you returned the change, hands putting the book in a bag in an almost mechanical manner— but as you raised your head to hand him the book— he wasn’t there.

gone.

your eyes widened, mouth opening to call out to him— but you paused, catching sight of a little note on the counter you hadn’t noticed before.

‘i thought i’d explore another genre other than non-fiction.

tell me about it when you finish reading, won’t you?

suguru geto.’

and oh how you fell to your chair, slumping back as a stupidly wide grin made way to your face— how your cheeks flushed red, and how your fingers trembled as you held onto that note— how a hushed, little laugh escaped your lips in such a tender, genuine manner that it seemed as if you were being embraced by a soothing spirit.

but did you care?

not one bit, if he was involved.

and as suguru walked back to his apartment, he gazed up at the sky— a small smile plastered on his face, hands shoved in his pockets as he felt the breeze caress his face in a gentle, reassuring manner— as it was proud of him.

and so he was, too.

proud of himself and his little something.

you.

☆ @dontcarehowlongittakes on tumblr. do not copy or post any of my works without my permission.

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nerdieforpedro · 5 months

Text

Her smile was worth it

Pero Tovar (modern AU) x plus size female reader (La jefa)

Word Count: 1882

Warnings: DARK FIC, mobs and their enforcers, mentions of general violence and graphic violence, mentions and descriptions of torture, descriptions of injuries, solving problems Tovar style, comfort food and tea

Summary: Pero Tovar only has a few people he chooses to interact with willingly. The bookstore owner is one of them. Someone made a very stupid mistake, Tovar will handle it and still have his tea.

Notes: This was written for @iamasaddie ‘s writing challenge 2.0. My color was Mob Enforcer and the prompt was “Hurt/Comfort” and “Who did this to you?” We're longer than a Drabble again, we dribbled quite a bit. Such is Nerdie.

I may have leaned too hard into the ‘hurt portion’ but we’ll see. 👀

Main Masterlist/ Pero Tovar Masterlist/ Writing Challenges

The only good thing about doing collections, was that most of the time, Pero wasn’t using violence. Just intimidation. The shopkeepers knew why he was here and knew the amount they needed to pay to The Family. It’s been the same amount for the past six months, in was raised temporarily for some needed repairs on the club the Valentino family owned. The actual story was that a few of the younger members had been ordered to torture a few members of a rival family and went overboard. The walls, floors and everything needed to be scrubbed.

Tovar’s been with the Valentino family for fifteen years and as one of their premier enforcers for the last seven working his way up from errand boy. His height and broad frame discourage crossing him, and even if someone is dumb enough to do so, they find themselves bloodied, battered and with at least one thing broken.

Today’s last stop for collections was planned and one that Pero normally did by himself. The bookstore owner also functions as the town’s librarian since the town doesn’t have one. It’s a smaller town and to get to a library you must drive two towns over. She normally offers him tea and some type of baked goodies. He wouldn’t admit it, but he’s grown to have a slight sweet tooth. Maybe. Really, he could care less about the sweets, he usually chats up the owner and barrows books. Considering he is collecting money from her, he felt he should pay but she always said no. He got the sense it wasn’t out of fear, she liked knowing his thoughts on different books. At first, he didn’t like the idea of discussing them. The enforcer wasn’t sure if he could really talk about different themes, symbols, characters and the like he often heard people talk about when discussing these books.

La jefa (the boss) as he often greeted her didn’t judge him on his answers or lack of them. He’d talk the best he could about what he read, even if he didn’t understand it all. She listens and sips her tea, then asks him questions to draw more answers out of him. It fustrated him at first. But he grew to enjoy the bi-weekly sit downs with her.

The chime of the bell goes off as he opens the door. The sun is at Pero’s back as he enters the bookstore. He comes early in the afternoon around two. She’s not at the counter, though the shop is listed as open. Calling out for her, she doesn’t answer, and he sucks his teeth. It isn’t like her at all. There’s no tea out either. There are no books that appear out of place and making his way behind the counter, nothing appears to be wrong with the register.

The enforcer goes into the back of the shop, he only knew where the bathroom was back here. He was looking for anything that resembled an office, as he walked down the hallway, there was a sniffle. As he kept going, they got louder. Taking a breath while he stood in front of a door that was slightly ajar, he tried to prepare himself. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe she got a papercut or was reading a sad book or something. Tovar instantly knew none of those were the case when he opened the door.

Sitting behind the desk, her shoulders were slumped, and her hands were covering her face. He saw the scabs on the back of her hands, defensive marks. “Jefa dejame ver. (Boss, let me have a look).” Her sniffles stop for a moment as she shakes her head, turning her body away from him in the swivel chair. His eyes widen at the mark on her neck he spies it when she turns, it looks like it could be from a palm. Moving to her side, Pero places a hand on her shoulder, “I need to see cariño (sweetheart) or just give me a name. Who did this to you?” She finally drops her hands, but she turns her face away.

“I don’t want you to see. The envelope is on the desk Pero. Please.” It is on the table, and he’ll put it in his jacket shortly - it is why he came here in the first place, but he can’t just leave like this. On top of her being one of a small number of people who he wants to be around, it could get around that the protection money the shops pay isn’t worth a damn because you could get beat in your own shop, and nothing will happen to whoever did it.

“Then tell me a name.” It’s sterner this time, but he’s released her shoulder and instead picked up her hand, his thumb tracing the scabs on her knuckles. She’d tried to fight back at least. She’s biting her lips when she finally looks at him, most of the discoloration is on the left side of her face though there’s a cut on her chin and one on her bottom lip. A large bruise is on her chest across her right clavicle, partly covered by her shirt. Pero’s able to keep his face motionless. “Por favor cariño (please sweetheart).” He doesn’t recognize the name she says, but he kisses her forehead and wraps an arm around her. “Gracias (thank you). I’ll be back princesa (princess).”

Pero puts the envelope in his jacket pocket and heads out of the office. “Close the shop now and have the tea ready when I come back. Between eight and nine tonight.” He’s going to be quick about dropping the money off and he’s texted one of his associates with the name she gave. Within fifteen minutes, Pero has a picture to go with the name and a location. Marcello talks way too much, but he’s the best Tovar knows at tracking people.

Pero finds this man himself and tells Marcello to tell the higher ups that he needs to demonstrate a lesson in messaging with the family. He’ll need the basement and he’ll keep the clean up to a minimum. It’s not that there wouldn’t be blood. There might be too much blood so the powers at be approve the basement use but ask that Marcello and a second enforcer be there so that the man isn’t killed. There’s only murder when necessary and it wasn’t they viewed in this case. Pero sucked his teeth for the second time today but would make sure the man in question lives. Just not with all functioning limbs.

After the submission of the money and subsequent torture was complete, the man’s body was bandaged by one of their doctors on the payroll and dropped off at his home, during a time they knew his family would be home with the message, “The Valentino family suffers no fools.” Pero carved it into his back to emphasize the point. He was still alive but would not be the same. Not after, as Tovar saw it, he’s violated one of his favorite places.

La jefa has long closed her shop and made herself dinner. Now that she thought about it, she’s never made Pero any of her food, just cookies, brownies and the like. Since he said he was coming back, she would make extra. The worst that would happen would be that he would say he didn't want any. It also dawned on her that she has not made a book recommendation today. She should pick one out before he comes, straightening out her mint green dress. Turning off the stove, she went downstairs to look for a book and saw Pero standing at the door ready to knock. It was a quarter after eight, he was glad he’d taken the extra time to shower. He didn’t want to be late, but he didn’t want to be dirty either.

“Ah! Mi princesa del librios es bonita (My Princess of books is pretty). You have our tea ready tonight?” His question follows the chime of the bell above the door as she unlocks it and lets him in. She then locks it again and nods.

“I have tea and I made some extra for dinner. I didn’t pick out a book for you yet.” She seems a bit brighter than this afternoon but still trying to make sure she was facing him with her right side. Pero takes her left hand and tugs it a little, not hard, just enough so she faces him fully.

“Hermosa (gorgeous) you don’t have a bad side. Don’t worry about the book. I haven’t finished with the other one yet. I want my tea and I want to see what you made for dinner.” The corners of her mouth curve and finally she smiles, squeezing his hand and leading him up the stairs. Pero watches her walk up and into her living area. It’s cozy as it has books scattered about as well.

“I don’t know if you like stew, but I made that and heated up some rolls. There’s butter too. I have water, apple juice, coke, and some rum.” The last option surprised him as he didn’t picture her drinking at all. Maybe she had a glass or two when she sat up here before bed. She poured herself a glass of water as Pero pointed to her glass and held up an empty bowel on the table. She filled both and they sat down across from each other. “I hope you enjoy Pero.”

“I don’t doubt that I will cariño.” The food went quickly as they ate, and she asked what other kind of foods he liked. Pero felt he might be getting greedy. Perhaps he’s been gluttonous of her attention each time he comes here. She gives it so willingly.

Tonight’s tea is mint like her dress which makes Tovar chuckle as he takes up half of her loveseat sitting down. She takes up the other and they sip tea, speaking of past books they’ve read and things he may want to read.

Even if he got an urgent call, he’ll ignore it because he’s having his tea. Pero Tovar doesn’t feel like an enforcer or a conduit for violence. He just has an arm around one of his favorite people as she places her head on his shoulder. The tough pads of his fingers touch the injured side of her face while he tells her that it’s been taken care of. He won’t tell her details. Tovar figures she can put it together. If he can just have moments like these where he’s just a man with someone he cares for, Pero can use that to sleep. He prays she can rest without crying or being scared.

The loveseat has his feet hanging off outside of the blanket he found on the back of it. So far, he hasn’t heard her sniffle again. Pero carried her to bed after she fell asleep in his arms. The faint scent of mint mingling with the earthy smell of the books lulls him to sleep. He had blood on his hands again today, but it was fine. It was for her sake, and she hasn’t cried again.

It was worth it.

#pedro pascal characters #fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pero tovar #iamasaddie game #iamasaddie writing challenge 2.0 #hurt/comfort #dark fic #trigger warning for violence #pero tovar x reader #mob enforcer #modern pero tovar #writing challenge 2.0

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themerlinlibrary · 7 months

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Favourites Friday (Feb 2024) – Self-Rec Round: Pining

TML Favourites Friday round-up! February 2024 round 4 (SRR)

What is Favourites Friday? – The Basics

a different theme is announced on Friday each week; FF recs must match the theme of the week

only one FF rec per person per week/theme

FF recs must be unique within that week/theme; no double-posting the same fic for one theme!

no self-recs during regular rounds

only self-recs during self-rec rounds (last Friday of each month)

Theme for this self-rec round: Pining!

Curling. For Camelot! by ravenwilds T, 6.8k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, Winter Olympics AU

Carefully Planned Coincidences by elirwen E, 1.1k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, Sharing a Bed

You’ll Find the Real Thing Instead by SubmissivelyWritten E, 30k, Multiple pairings Modern AU, Wedding Planning, RomCom

Separate Harmonies from Chords by thesongistheriver E, 12k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, College/Uni AU

All Things Loved and Lovesick by horsecrazy E, 90k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, Vets AU

Win Me (Over) by lavender_spice M, 10k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, Bachelor Auction

Forgetting to Remember (You) by Excited_Insomniac T, 11k, Merlin/Arthur Canon Divergence, Memory loss

Pinned Down by kiraniafterdark (kirani) E, 313, Merlin/Arthur Hook-up

Arthur, Sincerely by MerlinLikeTheBird M, 48k, Merlin/Arthur Canon Divergence, Didn’t know they were dating

and you held me tightly ('til the morning) by Imagined M, 16k, Merlin/Arthur Canon Era, Arranged Marriage

[Fic & Podfic] So Close to Reaching that Famous Happy End by robinfaipods (Robin_Fai), TrebleMaker07 G, 5.4k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, Co-workers

An Accidental Union by acciomerlin T, 8.3k, Merlin/Arthur Canon Era, Domestic fluff

everywhere and at all times by fabledfrog G, 549, Gen; Merlin & Arthur Canon Era

Lavender & Ink by sleepygecko T, 5.2k, Gwen/Lancelot Modern AU, Bookstore

A masterlist of all round-ups can be found here.

If you want to make sure you never miss a FF rec, or would like to participate and share your own favourites; join us on the Discord TheMerlinLibrary! Happy reading!

About the FF round-up lists:

Recs are listed in the order they were posted on the Discord; the order does not imply any sort of ranking.

The pairing given in this list is the main pairing of each respective fic – please read the tags for any possible minor or side-pairings, as well as any potential warnings or triggers.

Pairings and Eras are given as tagged in each respective fic. (?) signifies that the tags were unclear and I do not know enough about the fic to fill the gaps.

Round-ups are compiled on the weekend of the week after the respective theme of the post (when the new theme has already been anounced), to avoid omitting potentially belated FF recs.

The weekly round-up is not a guarantee! I'm running this alone, so it can only be posted for weeks when I have enough time on my hands to compile a list. If you'd like to help out, feel free to contact me on Tumblr ( @zaharya ) or Discord. Thank you to @ravenwilds for helping me out with this round-up, and to Chel for writing a whole-ass bot to make it easier!

#the merlin library #tml #merlin discord #favourites friday #fic recs #favorite #ff #recs #self-rec #merlin #pining

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tarlosmonthlyprompts · 2 years

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Month: October 1 - October 31

Hello and welcome to our first ever monthly prompt! I hope you're as excited as I am for this! I did reuse some prompts from my weekly blog because I thought they would do well as longer fics.

Theme of the month: Fall because of course! It's such a great time to have a fall themed month and the possibilities are endless!

Prompt #1: Scenario: There is a mix-up with paperwork and TK is fired for a brief period of time. With time on his hands as Captain Vega works to figure out what happened and how to reinstate TK, TK convinces Carlos to take a week off work (everyone knows that he has many PTO days saved up) and go on a small vacation.

Prompt #2: An AU where Carlos is an author and TK owns a small, whole-in-the-wall bookstore. Wanting to get his book store some more attention (before it fails and he has to close it) he reaches out to best selling author Carlos Reyes to ask him to do a book signing for his newest book at his store. To his surprise, Carlos says yes.

Prompt #3: TK and Carlos decide that they want to be more adventurous in their sex life so they start to try out different kinks and things in the bedroom. How does it go? What works? What doesn't?

Prompt #4: TK and Carlos decide on a Fall Wedding.

The work has to be Tarlos centric but can include other characters.

All work must be properly rated and have appropriate warnings.

Accepted works: fic's, moldboards, fanart, gifs

Please no content that contains incest or glorification of topics such as sexual assault / rape / suicide etc. (These topics may be written about seeing as Tarlos are first responders but please refrain from glorifying these acts.)

All works need to be posted by the end of the month, a masterlist will be posted the following Monday.

Tag the blog and I'm tracking the tag #tarlosmonthlyprompts

#tarlosmonthlyprompts #tarlossource #tarlos prompts #tarlos #tk strand x carlos reyes #tk strand #carlos reyes #911 lone star #911 ls #tarlos fanfiction #tarlos fanfic

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i-am-baechu · 3 years

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Title: The Way To Me | ♞ | | ♚ | | ♛ |

Paring: Kim Taehyung x reader (Part one)

Genre: Journalist Au, strangers to lovers au, office love au, secret notes au, and Dash and Lily au

Summary: Y/N hates Christmas. Every year it’s the same thing, everyone is too happy or too drunk to have a conversation with or your parents act fake in front of everyone. She finds out her ex is in town and she wants to celebrate Christmas with her but she doesn’t feel the same way and she knows she’ll never voice it to her. Working at Dream Weekly, Y/N has to make Christmas issues and as she does so, she drinks her Irish coffee to get through her day. It’s not until someone starts to leave notes on her desk every morning and she starts to get curious on who it is. Will this mysterious person give her cheer this Christmas or just make her even more annoyed at the holidays?

Warnings: Emotional abuse from a parent, depression, seasonal depression, talks of being bi, homophobia, sexual suggestive content, alcohol consumption, manipulation and toxic relationship

Part Two Final part

Author’s note: Taehyung birthday special! The two theme songs of the story is The Way To Me by Joy and Underneath The Tree by Kelly Clarkson

“Happy Holidays!”

Y/N gave the cashier a tight smile and nodded her head at this, “Happy Holidays.”

She grabbed her bag of snacks and alcohol off of the counter and headed out with a frown on her face. It was barely December first and everyone was already in the Christmas spirit, something that annoyed her. You see, Y/N L/N hated Christmas and the fake happiness that was plastered on every store to get you to buy something. Ever since she was little she hated Christmas. She barely celebrated Christmas but she only put her tree up because her roommate and best friend, Christopher, begged her to put it up every year. In the city of Seoul all around you are Christmas lights and people humming Christmas tunes to themselves. It also didn’t help that her ex-girlfriend messaged her that she was returning for a short time and wanted to see her. Y/N couldn’t say no to her, she never could say no to anyone for that matter.

She walked down the street and she squinted her eyes at a small Christmas market. She remembers Christopher messaged her about it and how afterwards he went to get japchae with their other friend, Doyeon. She decided to go down the market to pick up an ornament for the tree to make it seem like she was excited for the holidays to Christopher but she knew he saw right through her.

She took one step in and regretted her decision. Everyone around was cheerful and smiling as if they saw the greatest thing on earth but it was only a golden star ornament. She gave small smiles to the people who accidentally bumped into her but other than that she had a straight face. She was about to walk up to one booth when someone knocked her down to the floor.

“Hey, what the-”

“I’m so sorry.”

Before she could respond the mystery man picked up the scarfs and mittens that he dropped and walked away quickly. Y/N rolled her eyes and got up slowly from the ground with everyone's eyes on her, making her more annoyed. She wiped the dirt off of her bottom and turned around to see the man giving a group of singers the scarfs and mittens. She let a small smile appear when she saw the kind action and turned around to leave the market before something else happened to her.

As she walked down the street her phone started buzzing and she took it out to check. She rolled her eyes when she saw the text, Are you coming over for Christmas this year? Dad wants to know.

She let out a small chuckle and shook her head, If Dad asks then you should know the answer. I’ll text you later.

She put her phone back in her pocket and continued walking down the street avoiding everyone. She continued walking until she was at the bus stop waiting for the next ride. She looked across the street to see the three story bookstore across the street. Bound To Read was the store's name and she saw how busy it was. She had to come back tomorrow to see what they had. She entered the bus with a soft smile at the driver and put in her headphones as she played her favorite podcast. She looked outside and watched the snow fall slowly and the crowds of people rushing on the streets for their Christmas presents. She already got her gifts in the beginning of November so she didn’t have to worry about the people or even the loud chatter. She pulled down the cord and got off of the bus saying thank you to the driver. She took out her keys and entered the apartment complex.

“Good Afternoon, Y/N!”

“Good Afternoon, Yoongi! Keep warm, it's only going to get colder.”

“You too as well.”

Y/N gave him one final wave and headed into the elevator heading up to her floor. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the elevator walls to let out a deep sigh. When she opened her eyes she glared at the santa sticker on the ceiling, Who can even reach that? When the doors opened she quickly walked out and entered the hallway where every door had Christmas decorations including her own but she likes hers specially because Christopher designed it. She unlocked her door and she walked into a fight.

“You're going to tell me that the dress she wore with that wig was stunning.”

Naomi stared at Christopher who looked back at the television, “I thought the dress was fine and the wig looked great on her, Naomi.”

Naomi opened her mouth to say something but her eyes landed on Y/N, “Ah, Y/N you here with the alcohol, finally.”

“There were a lot of people there today because of a Christmas pop up thing.”

She walked into her kitchen setting down the bags as Christopher and Naomi entered the kitchen right behind her. Christopher Cladwell has been Y/N’s friend since middle school and she was the first person who he came out to. Christopher was bullied throughout middle school because of his skin color and Y/N defended him from everyone. Christopher had a rich deep skin with neutral undertones, something that was unusual in Korea. He was also a drag queen making him stand out even more to people but the same could be said for Naomi Velour. Naomi was also bullied but not as much as Christopher. She had tan skin with cool undertones so she was oversexualized by many when she was in school but her safe space was Christopher and Y/N.

Naomi took the alcohol and opened it with her bottle cap as Y/N stared at her with wide eyes, “How did you do that?”

“I told you I was waiting.”

She tilted her head as Naomi took a sip but it was taken out of her hand by Christopher, “Didn’t even ask if Y/N wanted a glass.”

Y/N let out a small chuckle and took out a lemon tea, “Christopher, they didn’t have your mint tea. I got your second favorite tea, I hope that's okay.”

“Ohh, it's fine. Thank you.”

Y/N went to the cabinet and took out two wine glasses and smacked Naomi to get her off of the kitchen counter, “Now, what were you watching that started the argument?”

“We were watching Drag Race UK.”

Y/N took a sip and widened her eyes, “You watched the new episode without me!”

“No love, we watched the episode before it. Christopher didn’t finish the episode because his ass fell asleep.”

“I was at a gig the night before, sorry I needed sleep.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and headed towards the living room, “Let’s watch the episode and then the new one before you guys kill each other.”

“I would never kill anyone, mama look at the material.”

Y/N turned around to look at Naomi who was spinning in a small circle showing off her body Christopher scoffed at her, “For a dead body...”

“Sit down!”

Y/N ran to her bus after the late morning she had. She drank too much last night with Naomi and now she was regretting it. On top of that, Wendy (her ex-girlfriend) texted her that she was arriving on the tenth, which was sooner than expected and asked if she could stay until Christmas. She said yes to her because she knew she had no family in Seoul and she didn’t want her to be left alone. Christopher yelled at her for saying yes but she didn’t know what to do. She told Christopher if she says no, then she would still see Wendy because she was friends with him and Naomi. Spending the holidays with your ex is for sure a movie out there in the world.

She stood in the bus as she pushed some hair that became loose from running and she caught her breath as the vehicle moved. She popped in her headphones and started to listen to her podcast as she tried to gain motivation for the day because she knew once walked in Dream Weekly it would be over for her. The CEO of Dream Weekly (bless his heart) was Lee Minho. Minho hired Y/N after she graduated college and that was five years ago since then Minho has taken her under his wing. His opinions mattered to her and vice versa but every holiday season, he went all out. The entrance to the office is filled with Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa decorations and it didn’t stop there. The elevators were also changed for the holiday seasons with a variety of holiday music playing. The inclusiveness was nice but she hated it.

She got off the bus and saw her building decorated with lights and garlands making her question how someone could get it up there so high. She walked in and waved at the front desk and saw the intern Chaeryeong, “Ah, good morning Chaeryeong”

Chaeryeong's eyes widened at the voice and stood up to bow at Y/N, “Go-good morning, Y/N- unnie.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and walked towards her desk, “I told you to stop calling me that and just call me by my name. I like your red hair, it suits you well.”

Chaeryeong smiled down and grabbed a strand of hair to look at it, “Thank you…my sister thought it would look good on me.”

“And she was right. I’ll see you at lunch, bye-bye.”

She waved goodbye and ran towards the elevator to catch it. She entered and gave one final look at Chaeryeong to give her a small wave. The doors closed and the last thing she saw was Chaeryeong’s smile at her. As soon as the doors closed, the song jingle bell started playing causing Y/N to let out a deep sigh of annoyance. When the doors opened she ignored Santa's workshop sign and entered her office being welcomed by the calm cool color scheme. She set down her bag on the floor next to her desk and logged in to her computer. Her eyes went down the email list and saw the amount of holiday pages she had to get done for this month.

Before she opened another document, her phone started ringing, “Hello?”

“Ah, Y/N. You were kinda late today.”

“Sorry, Minho. The bus was running late today.”

“You have a driver's license, just buy a car.”

“But taking the bus is fun...anyways, do you need anything from me?”

“Oh yeah. I need you to get the Christmas recipes page done by this week. I have the other departments doing the other pages but the recipe page is important because it's the vocal point and I know you're the only one that can get it done.”

“Yeah, I was actually looking at it right now. So the deadline is Friday at what time?”

“Before noon and the latest one. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, of course, sir. I’ll get it started now.”

“Thank you, Y/N.”

She put the phone back and leaned back in her chair with annoyance. The recipe page is the most decorated page in the issue and it takes the longest to do. Last year it went to Samatha but since she left, all her projects went to Y/N. It was a lot of work for one person but at least she’ll get overtime this week. Every month, she would get more projects that made her cry at home with Naomi holding her tight because of the stress she had. Minho knew nothing and that's how she was going to keep it.

The clicks of her keyboard and mouse filled her office as she continued to sip her Irish coffee. The colors red and white filled her eyes as hours continued to pass. She’s been working for so long that she almost missed her lunch break and Minho would call her if she missed another break that month. She walked towards the lunch room and saw Chaeryeong eating her noodles, “Hellooo, you.”

“Hi...I haven’t heard anything from you all day. Have you been busy?”

Y/N sat in the chair next to her and let out a deep sigh as she rubbed her eyes, “Yeah, I’m doing the recipe page this year.”

“Ohhhh...that explains. How's it going?”

She took out her fried chicken with her spicy sauce and her orange soda, “So far there's only one recipe on the page. This year they want six recipes on the page instead of four because people wanted more. I’m trying to figure out the color theme and the theme in general. Thank god I have Irish coffee.”

“When is it due?”

“Friday at noon.”

Chaeryeong raised her eyebrow and put her chopsticks down, “That only gives you four days to do it though. Did you ask Mr. Lee for more time?”

“No, I think I can get it done. I wish I got it last week but I can’t really do much now.”

“Don’t get too stressed.”

“I’m sure this month is going to be busy for me no matter what I do.”

When the two finished their lunches and said their goodbyes, Y/N held her head low as she walked back. Y/N slowly went back to her office dreading the moment she sat down in her chair. She was stuck in her daze until she noticed a paper on her door making her raise her eyebrow. She took the small notebook page that was written in black ink and started to read...

Do you dare play the Christmas game?

I don’t know you and I know, you don’t know me but I’ve left some clues so you can find me. If you don’t want to do it then throw this away but if you want to play then keep reading...

She looked up and started to look around her in the hallway to see it was empty. She opened her door and sat in her chair to continue to read with curiosity,

Oh, you’ve decided to play the game. That’s exciting, well for me I don’t know for you. On the eighth floor there's a white pot with bright red roses as soon as you enter. If you want to play then you have to find the notes on the stems of the flowers to decipher where to put your note. I can’t wait for your note.

Y/N raised her eyebrow and nodded her head at the note, They obviously work here...but who would leave this on my door? Everyone knows me here...

She looked at her computer and saw the recipe page staring at her, yelling at her to do it but her eye kept drifting to the note. She got up from her chair and headed towards the elevator in a rush, something inside her was telling her to go now. Maybe it was her running away from her work but she knew that she had to figure this out. Someone gave her a dare and she would be damned if she didn’t do it. She went to the said floor and realized it was the photography floor, a floor she's barely been to in her years of working there. She saw the white pot and tilted her head at it to see the notes on the steams like the note said it would. She looked around with caution and took the pot of flowers and headed back to the elevator. I probably look crazy. She rushed to her office and closed the door with her blinds around her office closed. She sat the pot on the floor and she did the same. She took a towel from her cabinet and laid it out for the wet flowers. She took out the flowers carefully and saw the notes in the middle of the stems. She took each note off and saw there was a number in the corner of it. She rearranged the notes to see the message and let out a small laugh when she saw the message knowing where it is,

Time goes by on me

But you can also change me for your pleasure

Beep, Beep with the chairs all around

I am red with embarrassment because someone opened me up

I wonder, what am I?

If you figure it out, write down what you think about the shimmery lights all through the city and the soft music through the streets. The way people are always talking when they go to shops makes me so happy. Make sure you write down your own dare.

She raised her eyebrow and took a notebook out of her bag as she started to write down her answer,

Shimmery lights should give a person warmth and wonder. The same goes with music but during this month the warmth and wonder I should have is gone. I wish the smiles I see everyday can be on mine, I envy those who are happy during this cold month.

I dare you...to go to the Han river and sit with complete silence at 18:00. No shimmery lights and no music, just your thoughts and you can’t listen to your own music. After twenty minutes, there’s going to be a person sitting at the bench with a bright red jacket that has stripes. Go to her and say blue lemonade on a Sunday. She will give you another note where you have to figure out the next drop zone. Since it seems you work at Dream Weekly, let's keep all the drop zones there to make things easier.

Sometimes silence is the loudest when you're by yourself.

She folded her note and headed towards the lunch room looking around once again as if she would get in trouble. She walked towards the break room and saw it was empty. She lifted up the microwave and tapped the note under it. She patted the top of the microwave and took a bottle of water from the fridge. She walked back and realized she had to make another note for Naomi to give to the person. She walked back in her office and decided to do it tonight to focus on the recipe page but her mind kept drifting back to the unknown person.

“So, you want me to get a note from a stranger and then give them a note?”

Y/N bit her lip and took a sip of her wine as she nodded her head slowly, “When you say it like that...”

Naomi paused the movie and turned her whole body towards her, “I mean it's kind of romantic? Can I see the note for the next drop off zone? I want to see if I can figure it out.”

“Sure.”

She stood up from her couch and walked towards her purse as she showed off the folded paper to her. She took the note from her and opened it with a raised eyebrow,

I’m so high up but so hidden too

I can see the city and green all around me

It's cold but at times it can be warm

The many plants around me give me sanctuary

But the small tables give me rest

I wonder what I am?

If you figure it out, please tell me what your thoughts were when you were alone. Thoughts that come when you're alone are the thoughts that you can’t say with others around you. Make sure you write down your dare.

Naomi looked up at her with a confused look, “Is it the ledge of a roof?”

“Close. There’s a break room on the top floor that shows off the city and many don’t know that it's there because of how high up it is.”

“Ohhh, mystery and a view. I’ll do it but can I ask for their name?”

Y/N looked up thinking and shook her head, “That ruins the suspense doesn’t it?”

“I guess but I'll tell you if they're hot or not.”

“Thank you Naomi for doing this. I’m going to tell Christopher when he comes back from his gig.”

Naomi watched her take another sip and let out a sigh, “Are you doing this because Wendy is coming or are you doing this because you're curious?”

“If I’m being honest, I think it's both. I've never done anything exciting like this before. This could be new for me, you know.”

“Just be careful. You never know who this person is.”

Just then the door opened and Christopher came through taking off his wig yawning, “Girl, the gays tonight were loud. There was also a bachelorette party so, the amount of times my hair was pulled.”

Y/N got up and handed Christopher his tea that she bought. He snatched the tea and gulped half of the drink, “Thirsty?”

“For some reason, this club didn’t have water. My spit was drinking water.”

Y/N frowned at this and took his bag out of his hand and headed towards his bedroom, “They need to start giving you water, it’s not fair to you.”

“Especially since it's the same manger-”

“SAY THEIR NAMES!”

Y/N rolled her eyes at Naomi and gave Christopher a sympathetic look, “I’m sure everything will turn out.”

“Y/N, playing this game with this stranger at work.”

Y/N turned towards Naomi and glared at her as Christopher raised his eyebrow, “Is that code for sucking dick?”

“Oh my god, no. It’s just a scavenger hunt...”

“Hopefully you get dick or pussy.”

“Amen.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and headed towards her bedroom waving to them both, “That’s my cue. Goodnight.”

“Y/N wait! We need to talk about Wendy.”

She stopped in her tracks and let out a deep sigh as she turned around, “What about her?”

“Me and Naomi are worried that you will let her back into your life again.”

She crossed her arms as she shook her head, “Now why would you think that?”

“Cause you always do that, Y/N. When it comes to her especially, you never say no.”

“Naomi, do you agree with that?”

Naomi's eyes widened at the sudden attention from the two and took another sip of her wine before she nodded her head, “Y/N, you always let her come back in your life. We just want you to be happy and even though she gives you happiness it's because she's changing you for herself.”

“I thought you guys liked Wendy?”

Christopher sighed and placed his bag on the coffee table, “We like her as a person but not when she's with you. She thinks she's making things easier for you but in reality she's the one that says things for you or makes decisions. Last year you went to America because she bought you a ticket to visit her and you couldn’t say no because you felt bad if you said no. We just want you to be careful because you have gotten a little bit and we don’t want to see those changes go away.”

Y/N nodded her head as she looked away from the eyes that were staring at her, “I’ll try my best... I’m going to bed now, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Y/N we love you. Remember that.”

She nodded her head and went to her bedroom. She leaned against her door as she stared at the ceiling with a blank expression. What is she going to do?

The days slowly turned into a week and she heard nothing from the mystery person. She felt like an idiot to think that someone would take the same risk that she did with this so-called “Christmas game”. For some reason this mystery person had a hold on her, she was so interested in the person. Everyday she would ask Naomi about if anyone went up to her when she had her walks but nothing until yesterday.

“Y/N, this man that's giving you these notes, holy shit is he hot. I’ll play the game with him if you don’t.”

She walked into her office with a little jump in her step and sat in her seat in a better mood than she had the whole week. She checked her emails and saw that Hoseok emailed her and she knew she wasn’t going to be happy with the message,

Hello,

Y/N, Mr. Lee said the colors red and green have become too much with the new issue and I agree. We should use white or light blue for these pages but I want to hear your ideas.

Thank you,

J. Hoseok

She sighed and took a big sip of her Irish coffee before responding back,

Hello,

Hoseok, I think the colors white and light blue would be perfect for the pages.

Thank you,

L/N. Y/N

She went back to her rough drafts and realized she had to completely re-do them. She was upset because she was ready to send them and she knew the colors white and light blue won’t tie in with the other pages. It took her two days to make these pages and now she has to re-do it. She leaned forward and hit her forehead on her desk. She didn’t want to email Hoseok back about the colors because if her superior thought it was the right choice then why would she go against it.

She got up from her desk and opened a new photoshop document to get the work done. She even ignored the many texts that were making her phone buzz in order to get one page done. The clicks from her keyboard and mouse became the music in her office again, making her more annoyed with the sound. She missed her break and decided to take a later break, it wasn’t until she got a text from Minho telling her to go on a break.

She took out her lunch box and headed to the top floor in a rush to look for the note. Saying her small hellos to the other workers as she headed towards the break room where it was hidden behind a wall. She walked outside to have the cold air hit her face and she set her lunch on the small tables. She went towards the edge and her eyes widened when she saw the folded paper. Her lips turned into a wide grin as she leaned forward to grab the note and unfolded it,

If I’m being honest, this was the first time I was alone. This whole week I’ve been busy with my work, so I'm sorry that this note was late. I even left my dog home with my roommates to be alone. It sounds like you don’t like Christmas and that's a shame because I love Christmas. My mother loved the holiday and after she passed away it became my favorite.

The weather is cold and all I could do is think about my mother. Whenever it was cold she would wrap me up in her hand knitted blankets and we sat by the fire. She would read me books or we would watch tv shows. You’re right silence is loud and I see that now. I’m going to assume you like being alone too then, maybe I can change that for you.

I dare you to go to the Christmas market at five on the ninth. Walk around the market and look at the handmade ornaments, each ornament has a story. Pick your favorite and buy it. On that ornament, write or make a wish and place it on the tree in the center. Do all this before six because there's something special I want you to see. Stand in the front and when the countdown happens, I want you to look around you and write down what you see but also how you feel. Because what I see is pure happiness. I’ll see you there!

On the second floor, there's a tall plant near the bathrooms. Place the note under it for me and I can’t wait to see your dare!! (I can’t think of a riddle sorry :P)

“The Christmas market...fuck.”

She put the note in her pocket and sat down in the chair with an annoyed look. She took her phone out and clicked to facetime Christopher.

“Hey, what happened? You look like you're going to kill someone.”

“The person wants me to go to the Christmas market...”

“Oh, can I come? I want to get more Christmas decorations for the house.”

“For what?”

“Geez, I don’t know girl. Maybe because your ex is coming on Friday.”

“Oh shit, I fucking forgot. Oh my god...I should check my messages more.”

“Yeah cause she called me. She's so nice, I fucking hate it.”

“That’s Wendy for you. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Alright girl, I’m going to be late tonight. I have a fitting for this dress. Bye!”

“Bye.”

She leaned against her chair as she ran her hand through her hair in frantic matter. How could she forget about Wendy? She has to clean the living room, clean the guest room and have to get more groceries since she’ll be there. She took out her phone and looked at the messages Wendy sent her.

I can’t wait to see you this Friday! :)

I have a gift for you :)

She let out a groan and put her phone back in her pocket. She took out her lunch and stared at the city with a frown. She has to figure out what to wear for the Christmas market in case she sees the man but she wouldn’t even know if it was him or not. On top of that, She has to figure out what she's going to do with Wendy.

The snow slowly fell on the top of her beret as she stared at the Christmas market with a frown. Before she could let out a sigh, Christopher wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Don’t look too happy now. You look cute though.”

She looked down at her outfit with a shy smile and looked back at Christopher who was matching her. A white turtleneck sweater that had glitter within the fabric, a few necklaces that Christopher stole from his gig, and simple black jeans with her black boots,“I feel like it’s too casual…”

“He doesn’t know what you look like and if it was ugly I would’ve told you to change.”

“True.”

They walked through the entrance and she started to look around the crowded area with a scowl. Christopher let her go when saw what he was looking for, “Listen, I'll be over there and you do what you have to do. Can you smile bitch, damn?”

Christopher walked away and she sighed at what he said. She walked up to the different booths of ornaments and she started looking around. She saw parents with their kids as they showed them the different ornaments and she saw the innocence in their eyes, something she was jealous of. One scene stuck out to her though, a father picking up his daughter as she hugged him tight around his neck. The laughs echoed in her ears and a sad smile appeared on face but she decided to look away because bad memories come to mind.

She continued to look at the numerous ornaments until her eyes landed on one. The ornament was a simple angel holding a glass red heart with a glass blob around it. She gently picked it up as she smiled at the fragile blob. She gave it to the cashier and held the ornament very carefully as she walked through the groups of people. She looked up at the tree with a small smile, she closed her eyes as she put the ornament on the tree, I wish to be happy and to meet you mystery person...

She placed the ornament and walked away looking around the tree to see all the different ornaments staring right back at her. She looked down at her phone to see it was three minutes before six and she took a step back. She stared up at the tree as she took out a small journal and pen to get ready to write whatever came to mind. A group of people started to make their way to the front of the tree but Y/N stood right in the center of the tree. A countdown started to happen as she continued to stare at the tree with a raised eyebrow but what happened next made her eyes go wide.

The lights on the tree turned on but in a gradual fashion slowly from the bottom up. The lights weren’t those colorful lights you saw on people's houses but a soft white light that shined against her face. Her mouth dropped slightly as the star on top of the tree shined the brightest making it look like a lighthouse in her eyes. She turned her head and looked around to see the crowd's reaction, making her cheeks hurt from smiling. The same father was holding the daughter as she let out small giggles at the sight and he kissed her cheek. Right behind him was an older couple that kissed with the lights shining on their faces.

She looked back at the journal and started writing,

You're right. All I see is pure happiness, especially on the kids' faces. Seeing them so happy, I have to admit that jealousy runs through my body. Since you shared about your parents, I think it's my turn to talk. Before I start, I’m so sorry about your mother. Ever since I was a kid my father would ruin Christmas. Every time I would look forward to it, he would ruin it. The amount of times that he has threatened to leave my brother and I because of a fight with my mom or just being mad in general.

She looked back up and saw little kids running around the tree with snowballs in hand. She smiled at some kids who were making snow angels while their parents watched with hot cocoa in their hands. It was truly the essence of Christmas, something she missed in her life. She looked back down and continued to writing,

Parents don’t like hearing that their actions make you feel bad. It was one Christmas and I think I was ten or eleven but age doesn’t matter. He went through my room when my school called the house concern for me because of a poem I wrote. He found my journal and read it. He yelled at me that day because I wrote I liked this girl in my class and that was the problem. The slurs he threw at me calling me a faggot, a worthless gay and so many more hurt. My brother and mother tried to defend me but nothing could stop him. He canceled Christmas that year because of me and ever since then, I hated Christmas.

Now that I’m older, I always tried to like Christmas but it's so hard when I’m reminded of him. He has gotten better over the years but I don’t want to be a part of it. He's always had my brother or mother send me messages, he's not blocked, why can’t he send me anything? After all these years, I learned who I am and how I love both males and females. It felt freeing to finally accept who I am.

I used to love Christmas so much. I would have lights all over my room and ugly sweaters ready for me to wear. But slowly I’m starting to feel that excitement because of you...whoever you are. I dare you to go to this drag show that my best friend is doing at the Flamingo on Saturday, the 18th. I want you to experience something that sets me free, warning it does get loud. You’ll see the girl at the park there because she works there too! Bring your friends or go by yourself, I just want you to see what makes me so happy just like how I saw the lights and I thought of you...

My name is Y/N...that's all you get.

She reread what she wrote and ripped it out of her notebook with a smile. She folded the paper and put it in her pocket when she felt an arm around her shoulder.

“I have six bags of Christmas shit and I need help.”

“Christopher, remember when we discuss your spending habits.”

“Bitch it's Christmas, it doesn’t fucking matter. Let's go!”

She rolled her eyes and took one last glimpse of the tree with a smile. She got out of Christopher’s hold and started walking next to him when she accidentally bumped into someone, “Oh, i’m so sorry.”

She looked up and saw a handsome man with fluffy brown hair who gave her a boxy smile, he seemed familiar but she ignored it, “It’s alright. Be careful, the floors are icy tonight.”

“I’ll keep that in mind...Oh, be careful it's going to be cold tonight.”

He gave her a smile and walked away as she watched him leave with a curious look on her face. She saw him walk up to a group of guys and she recognized two of them, Yoongi and Hoseok. She tilted her head at the scene before her but was met with him looking back at her with the same polite smile. Her eyes widened and she gave him a small bow walking away in embarrassment. Christopher raised his eyes with his arms crossed as he witnessed the whole scene, “Girl, you have to step up your pussy game.”

“Shut up and choke.”

Before she exited the market, she looked behind her to see the man who she bumped into was looking back at her. She looked up and saw some snow started to fall and she put her hand out to catch some snow. Unaware the man gave her a soft look as one of his friends hit his shoulder to get his attention.

The next day, Wendy arrived but this time Y/N felt nothing. Usually when she saw Wendy, she would feel this wanting feeling but now she didn’t. She greeted her like an old friend instead of an old lover who was in love with them. Christopher barely talked to her because he felt very hostile talking to his best friend’s ex but Naomi pretended nothing was wrong.

Yesterday

Y/N was walking back and forth in the living room rubbing her hands in a nervous manner as Christopher and Naomi watched her. In exactly ten minutes, Wendy would be making her appearance. She changed the living room into a light blue theme because it was Wendy’s favorite color. All over the room were Christopher’s decorations and Naomi’s candles to make the room smell like cranberries. Christopher rolled his eyes and got up from the couch and stood in front of Y/N to stop her from moving, “You need to chill. I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to be honest.”

“Okay...?”

“Do you still love Wendy?”

Y/N’s eyes widened at this and shook her head, “I don’t love her, I-I...I don’t know how to explain it.”

Naomi got up and took a sip of beer before she spoke, “I think you care about her opinion because she's done so much for you. Right?”

“Right...Ever since I started this note game thing, I've been happier? I don’t know but even though I don’t know what he looks like I want to know everything about him. The way he talks on paper just makes this spark appear within me a sense of familiarity.”

Christopher looked at Naomi with a smile, “I’ve noticed that you’ve been playing Christmas music, that's good to see again.”

“Whoever he is, he's making me like Christmas again.”

Before anything could be said there was a knock on the door making them all turn towards the door. Y/N took a deep breath and went towards the door slowly. Christopher rubbed her shoulder as she looked up at him with a small smile and she opened the door.

Wendy stood there with a wide grin as Y/N gulped in nervousness. Wendy looked the same from the last time Y/N saw her. She had short hair that was always styled in a messy manner, she had her signature leather jacket with her white turtleneck that had a golden chain on top and her black heeled boots. Wendy looked at the three of them and waved gently, “Hey guys, happy holidays.”

Naomi nodded her head and returned the smile, “Happy holidays! Come in, it's cold in the hallway, come on now.”

Christopher and Y/N moved out the way as she entered the apartment with her suitcase and bowed at them. She looked around the room with wide eyes, “Wow this place looks like a winter wonderland. Christopher, I bet you did this.”

“Actually, Y/N helped with the color choices. I just set things down.”

Wendy's eyes widened at this and turned towards Y/N, “You did this? I have never seen you put Christmas decorations out before. That’s unlike you.”

“Well, Y/N has changed. You know what people do.”

Wendy nodded her head at the sudden harsh tone as she looked around the room. Y/N turned towards Christopher and gave him a small glare as he shrugged his shoulders, “Oh, Wendy let me show your room.”

Y/N walked forward and Wendy followed right behind her. She opened the door for her and Wendy smiled at the tan room. She set her suitcase on the bed and turned towards Y/N, “Remember when we stayed at this hotel and it had the same color. It was such a fun time.”

“Yeah I remember but they had this god awful floral pattern on the wall. I’ll be making dinner, I’ll let you know when it's ready.”

“Alright.”

Y/N walked out the room as fast as she could as she saw Christopher staring at the door with a blank expression. Y/N walked up to him and smacked his arm, “Don’t be so hostile.”

“She acts like she knows you but that's the past you. It annoys me.”

“She probably didn’t mean it in a rude way...I’m going to make dinner now and please try to get along.”

“Fine.”

The two turned around to see Wendy holding a small box with a smile towards Y/N, “Here’s the gift I was talking about.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Y/N took the box and opened it to see a new rose gold fork set staring back at her. She looked up at Y/N with her hands clapping in excitement, “You always complain that you don’t have enough forks so, I saw this and thought of you.”

“Ah, I love it.”

Christopher looked down at the forks with a raised eyebrow. He went into the kitchen and took out a pie from the fridge. He grabbed a fork from the cabinet and handed it to her, “Want to try this pie?”

“Oh, of course. I love pie.”

“Yeah, Y/N bought these forks when we first moved in and we’ve had them since.”

Y/N sighs as she closes her eyes from the scene in front of her and realizes that this night was going to be a long one for her. The whole night was filled with Christopher giving backhanded compliments to Wendy and Naomi changing the subject. Y/N couldn’t really do anything because she felt insulted by how Wendy was talking to her.

That night as she was getting ready for bed, she went on her phone and started to go through the employee list at Dream Weekly. Specifically the photograph department. It was the one department that she wasn’t so close with but as she went through the pictures her eyes landed on a man who she saw at the Christmas market and around work. She saw a few times but all the times she saw him her heart would flutter but she ignore because it was just a stupid office crush.

“Kim Taehyung…”

After her shift, she ran outside to the front and went towards the secret garden to find the note. She made sure no one saw her because she didn’t want to seem crazy. She ran and ran until she was at the end of the property. There was a small greenhouse that Minho put in for his mother and it was only known by a few people. She walked through the greenhouse and saw the purple rose box. She smiled and looked around the box to see a small note on the side,

I looked like an idiot because I had a journal in the club but ignoring that, it was fun. Naomi recognized me and called me the hot mystery boy. I laughed at what she said and then I saw the drag queens coming to the stage. I’m going to be honest, it was the first time I saw drag queens this close. Seeing them dance on the stage made me smile because they looked like they were having so much fun. Naomi showed me your friend Christopher, he was so nice and even bought me a drink. I wasn’t expecting that.

I’m sorry to hear about your father and his actions. Maybe you should forgive him to set yourself free. Don’t let a person have so much control in your life because you deserve happiness and control on your own accord. Christmas is almost here and I was wondering if on Christmas eve, we meet at the Christmas market in front of the tree, I mean if you want...

Speaking of the Christmas Market, I saw you there and I kinda figured it was you because you were the only person in the front with a notebook. When you said your name, I immediately went to Hoseok to confirm if it was truly you. At the market, he said he was surprised to see you there and he said your name. That's where I connected the dots.

Yes, I work in the same company as you but I’m just a stranger to you. I remember when I first saw you last year, I know you won’t remember but I do. I had stacks of papers in my hands and I accidentally dropped them. You ran up to help me and bandaged my paper cut that day. After that day, I saw you around but I never knew your name and I’m glad I know it now.

It took me forever to find this greenhouse, your riddle saying everything was green didn’t help especially with the grass and bushes.

I can’t wait to see you next weekend...

- Taehyung

She looked up and a wide grin came forward on her face. Seeing his name confirmed her suspicion and she felt her stomach flutter at the thought of him. She knew no matter what, she had to go on the twenty-fourth. She put the note in her pocket and ran off to catch her bus. She put headphones on and started to listen to Christmas music with a wide grin on her face. She nodded her head to the joyous beat and walked out of the bus with a grin.

When she walked into her apartment her face dropped when she saw Wendy talking to someone she didn’t want to see at all at the moment, “Dad?”

Her father turned around and she was met with the same face that called her all those slurs with a smile on his face. Wendy stood up and gave her smile, “Ah, Y/N, you're finally home. Your brother texted me about your dad wanting to see you and I invited him over.”

Y/N didn’t say anything but nodded her head at this. Her father stood up and smiled at him, “I invited you and Wendy to dinner with your mother. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow night, Y/N.”

“Yea-yeah me too..”

She opened the door and watched her father leave as she had sucked in a breath. He gave her one last smile and he was gone. She closed the door and turned around to glare at Wendy, “Why was he here?”

“I thought it would be good for you to see your dad.”

“You didn’t even ask me...you just made the decision for me...”

Wendy shook her head and walked towards Y/N grabbing her hands gently, “I just want the best for you and I thought it would be good to just have dinner with them. When was the last time you saw your mom?”

“I saw my mom last week and I text her everyday, Wendy. Why would you make this decision without me? Especially with my father.”

Wendy bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders lightly, “I just think it would be good for you...”

Y//N took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she clenched her fists at her hip. She then remembers what Tae said in the note, Maybe you should forgive him to set yourself free. Don’t let a person have so much control in your life because you deserve happiness and control on your own accord. She nodded her head and looked at Wendy with a frown, “Wendy, I’ll go to this dinner but I’m upset with you right now. I’m going out for a bit.”

“Why are you upset with me?”

Y/N shook her head and turned around, “I’ll tell you later but for now I need to go. I’ll be back later and Naomi will be home shortly to keep you company.”

Before Wendy could say anything to her, she walked out. She walked down the empty hallway with her hands in her pockets as the joy she once had was now gone. She had to go see Christopher to tell him what Wendy did and what she has to do now. Christopher was right, Wendy did make decisions for her without even asking her feelings on it or anything. She was angry at her but also at herself. How could she let Wendy do this to her for the two years they were dating? Why did she only notice it now?

She kept walking down the street until she saw the Flamingo with its neon pink sign and the pastel blue building. She opened the door and walked right in ignoring all the people in the club to go into the back. She opened the dressing room to see Christopher applying dark red lipstick as he looked up.

“Y/N?”

Y/N didn’t say anything and ran straight into him with small tears coming down. Christopher was in shock at the sudden emotion but quickly shook it off to hug her back tightly, “Y/N, what happened?”

“Wendy-she...She called my dad-”

“SHE WHAT!?”

“Please don’t yell, I just need someone to talk to right now.”

Christopher sighed and nodded his head, “Let’s go sit...I need to know what happened.”

She nodded her head and Christopher grabbed her hand walking through the dressing room to the sitting area. They sat down as Y/N wiped her tears off her face and Christopher took off his afro to listen to her.

“What happened?”

“Johnny texted Wendy about having dinner with dad and she invited him over to the apartment. I haven’t seen him for ten years and he was just sitting there with a smile but I only saw him when he was yelling at me. Tae the stranger in the note, he told me something...Maybe you should forgive him to set yourself free. Don’t let a person have so much control in your life because you deserve happiness and control on your own accord.”

Christopher nodded his head at this and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, “That's good advice, honestly it's solid advice. Do you want to do it?”

“I get to see my brother and mom...”

“Do you want me to be honest with you?”

She nodded her head at him as he licked his lips before he opened his mouth, “I get why you stopped talking to your dad. Anyone would get it but you're cutting off two people that love you so much because of one person. No one is saying what he did was right but what's wrong is losing two people who love you and I know you love them more.”

Her eyes widened at the words and looked away as a small tear dropped from her eye, “Your right.”

“No shit but are you really going?”

“Yeah...Maybe going to this will give me confidence to see the stranger next week.”

“Ohhh, you're going to see him?”

“I think I know who he is...I hope I'm right because if I’m not then I’m going to be embarrassed. There's this guy who I’ve seen around the office and he's always with Hoseok but I never talked to him because I’m shy...”

Christopher smiled at this and rubbed her shoulder, “I’m happy for you. Honestly, you deserve it after Wendy. I just want you to be happy.”

She gave him a real smile and nodded her head, “I’ve always seen him talking with Namjoon, the editor.”

“Ah, thanks cause I don’t remember shit about the people who work there.”

“Yeah, I know. What am I going to do with Wendy”

Christopher sighed and leaned back on the love seat as he stared at the wall with a blank expression, “Maybe set boundaries?”

“With Wendy or my dad?”

“Both but the easier person for you would be Wendy.”

She felt her phone buzzed and took it out to see it was Wendy calling. She rolled her eyes and put the phone back in her pocket, “You know she had the nerve to ask me why I was upset.”

“She probably thought she was helping you.”

“She kept saying it would be good for me..did she do that when we were together?”

“Girl, yes. All the time. She even tried it with me and I went no. You were probably too in love with her or happy that you were socializing with others for once to notice.”

She clicked her tongue and leaned back in the seat as she stared at the ceiling, “Damn…”

“But you got the note guy now.”

“I really want to know him-”

“OH YES RIGHT THERE!!”

Y/N stared at the bathroom with a disgusted look and shook her head, “I don’t miss that.”

“That’s why I'm late going home sometimes.”

“Christopher, I don’t want to hear that.”

The restaurant was loud with families eating away and the workers going through the many tables. Y/N looked at the table across from them with envy as she watched the dad laughing with his daughter. She looked back at her table to see her mother taking a bite of her food as her father continued to have a conversation with Wendy. She would rather have Christopher or Naomi with her right now but she was stuck with Wendy. Since the beginning of the dinner, Wendy was carrying out the conversations with her dad and while she did appreciate it, she wanted to have a conversation with him. After talking with Christopher, she realized she needed to have a conversation to forgive him but so far she hasn’t gotten the opportunity.

She took another sip of her wine as she slouched down in her seat watching Wendy talk her dad's ear off. She was annoyed but she couldn’t show it especially since her mother was already showing signs of sadness. She watched her mother glance at her and opened her mouth to say something but she stopped herself. Y/N bit her lip and she put her wine back down. She closed her eyes to gain some confidence and she opened them up, “So, Mom how's the holiday shopping? You were telling me last week that you weren’t done yet. Did you finish it?”

Her mother was shocked at the sudden conversation but let a smile shine through and dropped her fork, “Oh, love. It's been great but busy. How's Dream Weekly?”

“Same as always busy. I’m basically the second in command for the magazine but I like to focus more on the construction of the pages. All month I’ve been making Christmas pages.”

The mother and daughter continued their conversations as she felt the occasional glances from her father but she continued to ignore it. Wendy smiled at her and grabbed her hand under the table causing Y/N to tense up a bit. She gently moved her hand away from Wendy’s hand and continued to talk but it wasn’t until her father looked at her, “So, you still live with Christopher.”

She slowly turned her head to look at her dad with a blank expression and her mind went blank. She opened her mouth to answer but Wendy beat her to it, “She lives with Christopher and Naomi still. After all these years.”

Y/N smile tightened as she nodded her head making her father look at Wendy instead of her. She got up from the table and excused herself to go to the bathroom. She walked away in a hurry as she made sure her phone was in her pocket. She walked into a stall and took her phone out as she dialed Naomi.

“Girl, aren’t you supposed to be at dinner?”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m trying to talk to my dad but so far, Wendy is the only person that can talk to him. It did make me feel at ease at the beginning but now I’m annoyed.”

“You need to tell her this or beat her to it. It seems like she's doing this because she knows you're uncomfortable with your dad. Beat her to it.”

“Yeah...It’s annoying but I get why she's doing it.”

“Y/N, you're being too nice. Anyways, I’m going to be late tonight.”

“Oh, why?”

“I’m going on a date with Yoongi.”

“You're finally going out with him. That only took you two months of fucking to figure it out.”

“He’s the only person that I’ve felt like this with and yes, his dick game is great. Bye.”

“Bye.”

She put her phone back in her pocket as she flushed the toilet out of nervousness and walked out. She washed her hands and put water on face as she stared at herself in the mirror. She nodded her head and grabbed the paper towel to dry herself. She walked outside with her back straighter and more confident, she knew what she had to do.

She sat back in her seat and gave her mother another smile. She looked at her dad with a little smile, “I still live with Christopher, we’re actually looking for another place to live in right now but so far nothing.”

Her dad's eyes widened and gave her a soft smile, “I’m glad to hear that.”

She looked to her side to see Wendy's eyes were also widened but replaced it with a wide grin. The rest of the dinner was filled with small conversations between the family and Wendy but most of all her father was talking to her. She didn’t truly forgive him but for now to keep the peace with her mother and brother, she can fake it.

After saying their goodbyes, Wendy walked next to her as she reached out to grab her hand but Y/N put her hand in her pocket. Wendy frowned at the action and put her hands in her pocket as she walked next to her, “That was a good dinner.”

“Yeah, it was.”

Wendy bit her lip at the short answers and sighed, “Are you mad at me?”

Y/N stopped walking and turned towards her, “Yes the dinner was good but you made the decision without me there. Even though you thought it would be good for me, I don’t appreciate you making decisions without talking to me.”

“I was just trying to help.”

“I get that but there should be a conversation because it's my life you're trying to fix.”

Wendy’s eyebrow furrowed at this and shook her head, “I’m not trying to fix you. Is this what Christopher said?”

“No one said it but me. You always make decisions for me and even though the decisions will benefit me, you never talked to me about them. I just went along with it because I loved you but now I see it.”

“You loved me? You don’t love me anymore?”

Y/N sighed and turned her back on her, “I love you as a friend now...I like someone else now. I’m sorry Wendy...”

Wendy bit her lip and nodded her head as small tears started to fill her eyes, “Why did you let me stay with you then?”

“Because I knew you had no one else here and I didn’t want you to be alone for Christmas...”

“Actually, my parents have a house in the country now. I just wanted to see you.”

Y/N turned around to see Wendy looking down at her feet, “Wendy, I...I think it would be best if you went to your parents house.”

“Yeah...I think that would be better.”

Wendy walked past her and hit her shoulder as Y/N stood there with her lips in a tight line. She sighed and decided to go to the one place that only recently gave her joy. Small pieces of snow became one with her skin but she ignored the coldness as she continued her way. She entered the Christmas market with a smile when she saw the Christmas tree. She put her hands in her pocket as she stared up at the bright Christmas tree and saw her ornament hanging in the front.

“Y/N, HURRY UP!”

She rolled her eyes as she twirled in front of her mirror to get one last look of herself. She had on a dark green velvet maxi dress with a white sweater underneath it and her black trench coat. Her hair was pinned out of her face as her teardrop diamond earrings captured her eyes. She flattened out her skirt that had her thermal pantyhose and walked outside to see Naomi and Christopher waiting in the living room with their arms crossed. Christopher looked Y/N up and down with a smile on his face, “You look great.”

Naomi ran up to her and hugged her tightly as she picked her up, “You look so hot!”

“Really?”

“Yes, girl...I’m excited for you. You deserve it.”

“What happens if he's not there?”

“Then he's an idiot.”

She nodded her head and walked towards the door with deep breath. She looked back at them and gave them a small wave as they returned it. She walked towards the elevator and listened to the melody of silent night. She walked into the front but before she could walk out she walked towards Yoongi.

“Yoongi...Your friends with Taehyung...Will he be at the Christmas Market?”

Yoongi's eyes widened and he started coughing from choking on his spite, “I’m not supposed to say anything to you...”

“Yoongi, I need to know.”

He saw the desperate look and he bit his lip, “Fine I’ll tell you. You have nothing to worry about...He's going to be there.”

She nodded her head at this and gave him a small smile, “Merry Christmas eve...”

“Merry Christmas eve and Y/N!”

“Yeah?”

“You have nothing to worry about, okay. Trust me.”

She looked down at her shoes and nodded her head, “I trust you...”

She walked outside and let the snowfall be her comfort blanket as she walked down her bus stop. She put her headphones in and she started to listen to her podcast to relax her nerves. When the bus stopped she rubbed her hands as she got off. She walked down the street to see the Christmas market shining bright in her eyes. She took a deep breath and entered the market to see only a few booths open for Christmas eve. She walked in front of the Christmas tree as she looked down at her feet. She looked around and saw nothing so far. She looked at her phone and saw it had only been ten minutes, she put her phone back in her pocket.

“Y/N?”

She turned around to see the handsome man that she ran into at the market and the same man she had a crush on in the office, “Taehyung?”

#bts namjoon #bts seokjin #bts yoongi #bts hosoek #bts jimin #bts taehyung #bts jungkook #bts taehyung x reader #taehyung fluff #taehyung imagine #Bts #bts reactions #bts scenarios #bts fanfic #bts imagines

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911fandomweekly · 2 years

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Hello, 9-1-1 Fandom!

Welcome to this week’s edition of the 9-1-1 Fandom Weekly, where we update you on all of the events going on in the fandom this week!

This Week in 9-1-1 ◈ September 19th

🔹 Tarlos Weekly Prompts @tarlosweeklyprompts This week’s prompts are: → Prompt #1: An AU where Carlos is an author and TK owns a small, whole-in-the-wall bookstore. Wanting to get his book store some more attention (before it fails and he has to close it) he reaches out to best selling author Carlos Reyes to ask him to do a book signing for his newest book at his store. To his surprise, Carlos says yes. → Prompt #2: (The following paragraph must be used in the fic) TK wipes the sweat from his brow as he looks around the field and listens. He’s sure he heard something, a voice, but with how long he had been working out in the field it could have just been his imagination. He turns back to his work and is ready to push the thought from his mind when he hears it again. This time louder and more close. “Help!” → Prompt #3: An Au in which Carlos is an escort and TK hires him for the night. Submissions are due by 5pm ET Saturday, September 24th.

🔹 The 118 Weekly @the118discord September’s theme is tropes. This week’s prompt is Huddling for Warmth or Stripping from Overheating. Submissions are always ongoing/welcome.

🔸 9-1-1 Reverse Bang @911reversebang 9-1-1 Reverse Bang posting has begun! Check out the blog to see posts as they’re reblogged.

COMING SOON (starting within a month)

🔹 Tarlos Week 2022 @tarlos-week-2022 September 26 - October 2

🔹 Chimney Week 2022 @chimneyweek October 17 - 23

🚨9-1-1 Season 6 Premieres Tonight!! 6x01: Let the Games Begin🚨

If anything is missing from this list, please let us know!

You can also check out our blog for a comprehensive archive of Past Events, as well as all of the Upcoming Events that we know about.

Have a great week!

#911 fandom weekly #911 on fox #911 lone star #911 events #911 fandom #911

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mischief-marauders · 4 years

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Post Hogwarts Full House au where Lily is killed in the war and James is left to take care of Harry by himself. But wait? He can’t be alone. He has his Marauders. Since Sirius is the heir of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Black, they all move into Grimmauld Place. James, Remus, and Sirius all take care of Harry. They’re tired of magic, so they vow not to tell Harry about magic until he turns 11. James plays professional quidditch but tells Harry it’s soccer. Sirius works as a bar tender and Remus works at a book store. They all attend university. James is pursuing a degree in medicine. He’s doing it for Lily who wanted to become a healer. Remus is majoring in English and literature. Sirius is majoring in psychology. James has quidditch early in the morning then class so Sirius stays with Harry in the mornings because he works late nights at the bar. When James comes back, he watches Harry until night where Remus comes back and will watch him if James has a quidditch match. It’s easier for Remus to adjust since his mom was a muggle but magic was as easy for James and Sirius has breathing. Chaos and mischief ensue including

Sirius uses his psychology at the bar he works to help people and sometimes play match maker

James wants to give up and move back to the wizarding world because it’s hard to balance being a 21 year old father along with school and quidditch.

The whole point of moving to the muggle world was to keep Harry as Harry instead of “the boy who lived”

They keep their wands locked up in the attic which Harry finds at 7 years old and they finally tell him

Remus works at the bookstore and finds that he has a secret admirer come in weekly to talk to him

Sirius visits him at work and gets so jealous that his magic flares and he sets several books on fire accidentally

James teaches Harry weekly lessons and tells him bedtime stories about a magical land with hippogriffs and dragons and a magical castle with wizards and werewolves

And if we’re feeling extra spicy, death eaters are still after Harry. So from time to time there’s a “monster of the week” theme with death eaters stalking and trying to snatch Harry. James, Remus, and Sirius have to fight without Harry finding out.

Think Full House meets Charmed

They each have storylines and fights but at the end of the day, they make it work for Harry’s good. To Harry, Dad, Uncle Padfoot, and Uncle Moony are his heroes.

#sirius black #james potter #remus lupin #marauders au #Marauders #marauders era

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vgriffindor · 4 years

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aMusketeer Fanfic Master Post

Calling all Musketeers! We’re all in need of a serious dose of our favourites, amirite? I’ve seen a few queries floating around lately asking for some great Muskie fanfic recommendations. I thought I’d do 20 weekly posts, each with a different theme, and ask for your help! There are a ton of great Muskie fics out there, let’s help each other discover them.

How this works: For each theme, please give me your TOP recommendation. It can be a one-shot or multiple chapters, complete or still a WIP, your own or some one else’s, just shout about that one fic that fits the theme and you want people to READ! Reblog to spread the word, with your recommendation and tag me @vgriffindor, or DM your recommendation so that I can post it! I’ll keep each theme as a pinned post up/keep adding to it for the entire week.

Week #2: AUs

It sure is fun to place these four in a different world, and see how they react! Whether it’s the quiet heaven of a bookstore, the flirty, caffeinated vibes of a coffee shop, the perfume of a flower shop, the hard-bitten reality of a detective bureau, or just about anything else you can think of, the boys seem to handle whatever universe we throw at them with their trademark personalities and humour intact.

Midsomer Musketeers by Suzie_Shooter: Exactly what you think and want this to be, when you combine the Musketeers and Midsomer Murders.

Fraternité et Égalité by BazinMousqueton: Clever, funny, sexy and gorgeously written modern AU in an architectural firm’s office. Slash, but not explicit, almost everyone is bi, and the whole thing is perfection.

(Below is all due to the hard work and enthusiastic response from @animanightmate! Thank you, you are awesome!)

E: yeah, you got me by cherryfeather - modern au graduation party oone-shot with a game of spin the bottle that gets angsty with forthcoming farewells and then very fulfilling indeed.

T: Chapter 10 of the collection of unrelated shorts (very short) His Smile Me Draws, His Frown Drives Me Away by akathecentimetre is entitled In Goodly Colors Gloriously Arrayed and is a modern au where the lads are working for the Sûreté in Paris (though it’s never confirmed precisely as what) and it’s basically a series of three (the original Inseparables) character studies as they get used to being Responsible Adults. No filth... well, apart from Aramis’s feet...

G: Fancy is a very short modern au short by AnathemaDevice about the cats owned by (or owning) the various season three characters. Includes one of the most beautiful word-sketches of Sylvie I’ve yet read.

E: Mis Adventures by Doom Canary is an utterly filthy, modern British police au short featuring a trans male character that blew my mind in the best ways. If there’s a plot, I blinked and missed it.

T: born like a vapor by mellyflori is - and I can’t believe I’m typing this - a modern au where two of the Four are genies (yep, you read that correctly). It is utterly, unforgettably gorgeous, and just works. Angsty and charming, and has one of the most elegant solutions I’ve seen for “what happens with Constance?” The world-building is done so well it’s almost seamless, and I’m weak for that kind of thing.

T: Brand New Start is a short modern office au by potentiality_26 from Constance’s perspective and is melancholy, sweet, and vivid. OT3 but nothing graphic.

E: One in Ten Thousand by breathtaken is a novel-length modern soul bonds au that, as usual with her, subverts the trope and delves deep into the psyche of an intensely depressed Athos who was in no way prepared to meet his soulmate. It’s hard going at times, but utterly beautiful and very hot.

M: my heart upon my sleeve by cherryfeather is a novel-length modern Shakespearean actors au and I avoided it for ages because the synopsis was written in a deliberately tabloid style and I assumed the whole thing was like that. It is not - it is the most elegant, eloquent, literally tear-tugging bit of angst and mutual pining I’ve ever encountered, and takes in: hurt/comfort, Only One Bed, and friends-to-lovers tropes along the way. Basically, if they were a character in the first two seasons of the original, she finds a place for them in this gorgeous work.

E: The Humbling River (author unknown) is the only A/B/O fic that I will ever recommend, ever. This short is canon era, but I guess it still counts as au? I fell into it accidentally, but it was written so well that I didn’t care about the premise.

E: Une histoire de bleu by ceeturnalia is long. A 100k word modern day au where the lads are security specialists for a private firm in Paris. It is vividly stark and lushly compassionate in one go, and also explores a developing D/s relationship in great detail, so if that’s not your bag, that’s the main core of the story. And it’s handled so well that I have zero hesitation in recommending it, even though that in itself is not really my thing. It’s just so very, very good and, even at that length, still manages to be very tightly written.

M: Death in Waiting by Suzie_shooter is your actual 1920s country house murder mystery with all our favs (seasons 1 and 2 anyway) in a short-novel-length interbellum piece of Upstairs-Downstairs only of course there’s lots of forbidden sex all over the place, and a genuinely gasp-inducing (at least in me) set of reveals.

M: Still Waters by evilmaniclaugh is a modern office au with a twist. It’s porn with a plot (and a great deal of angst), and is startlingly hilarious in places (for good reasons, I promise).

M: Gentlemen of the Road by Suzie_shooter is a highwayman au set, from my vague enough understanding of the descriptions, about 100 years or so after the canon era. As usual for S_s, it’s Athos/Porthos pairing, from the perspective of Porthos, and I keep coming back to it, for the humour, the story, and the sex. Bonus points for Ninon and Rochefort showing up, and our brief glimpses of d’Artagnan being an utter little shit.

M: Mise en place by breathtaken is a short series featuring season 3 characters as chefs. And it’s stunningly beautiful, intimately told from a conflicted Constance’s perspective (something I’m utterly weak for) and I want there to be more because dammit - food and polyamory and found family and so many of my favourite things and I wish she was going to write more and aaaaah. Anyway, everyone is bi and kinky and I am so there for that...

I have so many of these, but I’m going to leave it here while I retain any shred of sanity or dignity, and finish by telling you about my own only (so far) modern au, entitled Summoned (rated M), set in modern-day Cambridge, UK, complete with references to Brexit and climate change, and a detailed depiction of the Fitzwilliam Museum. The MacGuffin is a museum anti-heist. Or is it reincarnation? Or music? Or synaesthesia? WHO KNOWS?! Anyway, it’s 75k+ words of conversations, misunderstandings, music, musings, museum architecture, poetry, stolen kisses, awkward flirting, and confusing flashbacks. There is one extended explicit sex scene and the rest is more along the lines of innuendo and a great deal of heated kissing. And I wrote it in about fives weeks and am rather proud of it, actually.

#musketumblr #bbc musketeers #the musketeers #fan fic requests #fan fic #fan fiction #alternate universe

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ohholyfanfics · 4 years

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Weekly Prompt: College AU Weeks 2 & 3

Hello my loves, I am so sorry for this week long break. After a few events I need to take so time off for my mental health, so in order to make up for last weeks missed list. I will be doing a double week list, which includes all of what was suppose to be last weeks prompts as well. You all know the drill and hope you guys enjoy this months College Au theme.

Week 2 Prompts:

You were sitting behind me in the lecture hall at 8 am and I was looking up pictures of cute puppies and I heard you go: ‘aww’

A group of us agreed to go stargazing in the field in the center of the campus but wow, it’s cold wanna cuddle.

Somehow we always end up sitting next to each other during weekly gatherings to watch (show of your choice) in our dorms really good tv room.

“Wait so you’re saying you still live in a college town even though you graduated two years ago?”

We’re in the same orientation group and we may never see each other again but I still want to do this.

“I literally only joined because the person handing out the fliers was cute, what the fuck do we even do here?”

“You just hit me with your bike, but you’re cute so I’ll forgive you.”

“I have the keys to the chem building and you need a place to smoke.”

“I was randomly assigned a college roommate and their best friend is really hot.”

Stuck at a party with your friends and the only interesting thing is the cute guy playing beer pong.

First time staying over their flat, and flatmates stare like crazy.

He walks her back to her dorm/flat every night and she knows he like her, but beats around the bush. She won't go inside tonight until he tells her.

You came over for ‘study help’ and my roommate came back home five minutes after we were done fucking, and now you got roped into a conversation about her dogs and it’s really fucking awkward and uncomfortable

Week 3 Prompts:

“I have a term paper due tomorrow and yours is the only 24 hour cafe with internet.”

He works nights and you have an 8am class, so you always end up running into each other at the campus coffee shop.

“it’s the first week of the semester, what reason could you possibly have for being at the library right now?”

“I was really drunk and you walked me safely back to my dorm, so um here? thanks.”

Staying over your boyfriends flat and waking up in the middle of the night to have sex while his roommate is asleep, and they yell “stop fucking Jesus Christ.’ right when you’re about to finish

Running into each other at the bookstore and tried to get the last copy for a text book

Made out at an anonymous kissing booth

our mutual friend runs a youtube channel for our college and we keep ending up on the screen together as guest stars, oh and the viewers ship us together

We always end up eating alone at the school cafeteria at the same time, so I’m a bit shocked you asked to join me today.

“I’m not sure how you got my number but I don’t think you meant to tell me that you had another dream about doing your big presentation naked.”

my new roommate drags me out to this off-campus party and then immediately abandons me for the person they’ve been flirting with in class, but you ask if I want to be your partner in beer pong

you see me on campus reading your favourite book and accidentally spoil the ending for me so whenever I see you, I glare at you

we always sit at the same cubbies in the library and one day you pass me a note to tell me you like my outfit today so now whenever we sit beside each other to study, we pass notes back and forth like we’re still in high school but I still don’t know your name

we’re both running late for class and rush into the elevator when it breaks down between floors and why would our professors believe this is why we missed our presentations?

#ohholyfanfics #weekly prompts #tom holland imagine #sam holland imagine #harry holland imagine #Harrison osterfield imagine #Peter Parker imagine #joshua basset imagine #Shawn Mendes imagine #niall horan imagine #harry styles imagine #new hope club imagine #the vamps imagine

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hmshermitcraft · 1 year

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Weekly Theme : Bookstore AU

Premise : Tango finally finds the confidence to give the bookstore employee he really likes his number.

—

Tango had gotten into the habit of reading more, much to Team ZIS delight. He’s even going to the bookstore with the employee he has a crush on on his own! If only he could actually get to fess up sooner or later. They’re tired of his pining, it’s been three months!

“Any recommendations?”

“Hm. ‘Fire and Silk’? ‘The Wall and The Flower’? ‘Ace of Hearts’, a favorite of Grian’s. Erm, ‘Five’s Not Much Of A Crowd’, ‘The Canary and The Coal Mine’, ‘Dream Boat’ Etho said he likes this one——“

“What was that-?”

“Etho likes ‘Dream Boat’, actually Joel does too—“

“No, the book you said before that one.”

“Oh! ‘The Canary and The Coal Mine’. A tragic romance. Title’s more or less a metaphor, but Timothy is often called a canary, Waltz says if Timothy is the canary, he’s his coal mine. Cute, but also dark at times.”

“I think I’ll read that one. How much?”

“6 diamonds, jewel or—“

Tango shoved ten diamonds and a piece of paper into Jimmy’s hand. “Keep the change.” Tango bolted out of the store.

“Ehm, I— okay.”

A cyan haired man came up to the counter. “Well isn’t he a gem, that Tango.” He placed his book onto the counter for Jimmy to scan.

“Yeah.” He pushed the book towards Scott again,

he put in the payment.

“He’s cute too.” Scott mentioned.

“Yeah.” Jimmy replied absentmindedly,

Pearl chortled beside Jimmy. “Wow~ couldn’t have guess you liked Tango” she teased.

“WHAT ARE YOU TWO ON ABOUT— HE HAS THREE BOYFRIENDS—“

“They’re in an open relationship. Impulse is dating Bdubs, by extension Beef, Doc and Etho, Zed is dating Beef, and the other three by technicality, Skizz is dating Etho, same story. And Ren, so by extension Martyn and I.” Scott mentioned off handedly. Jimmy’s cheeks painted pink.

“Speakin’ of, what’s that paper he gave you?” Pearl asked curiously. Jimmy opened the note.

“Hey, if you want to go to Scar’s cookie shop for a date, text me…” Jimmy read along, now red as a poppy. “It has his number.”

“Welcome to the polycule!” Scott congratulated enthusiastically.

~🎨 anon <3

Jimmy won't lie and say he understands all the intricacies of Tango's relationship. Scott even sits him down and gives him a pep talk (which includes a list of useful information Jimmy immediately forgets and loses.) Jimmy will need to send him a gift basket at some point.

But, he doesn't need to understand all of that to love Tango. And Tango is cute! He's passionate about things, and always really nice to Jimmy... Jimmy could see himself adopting some cute animals with him. He thinks that's a good way to see a relationship. Plus, inviting him to a cookie shop on their first date? It's like Tango knows him already!

That doesn't stop him painfully staring at his for ages, too afraid to hit the send button. In the end, Pearl steals it from his hands and presses it for him. What would he do without her?

Probably be very lonely and single.

#hermitshipping #trafficshipping #ask #jimmy tag #tango tag #scott tag #pearl tag #solidango #solidaritek #🎨 anon #mod 🎀#weekly theme: bookstore au

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peakysource · 4 years

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Peaky Fanfic Digest - Nov. 6

Each week your mod team will be collecting fanfic that has been posted throughout the week on ao3 and tumblr and providing a digest for easy reference. Fic will be split up by categories, and the categories will change weekly depending on the characters/pairings posted. If you’d like your content included in the digest, be sure to tag it “peakysource” or @ mention this blog. This is especially important if you only post to tumblr as we cannot possibly comb through all the tags in search of fic. Similarly, if you’d like your work removed from this list, just message the mod team.

Please be sure to read the tags before starting a fic. The mod team has not included warnings or summaries for the sake of brevity.

Happy reading!

==========

gen

all soul’s night by deadendtracks

broke the record, found the gold by deadendtracks

tommy/alfie

happy halloween by mobile_mom

loyalty by honeywhatever

calm water by mirrorelm

you wrote me a letter, alfie (it was everything i never said to you) by the_ocean_weekender

mourn the years before I got carried away by irritatedcat

already a big boy by valkrist

third time's a charm by cyanide_dreams

honey, that's how it sleeps by excelsior10

breathe again by when_tommy_met_alfie

tommy/freddie

songbird by thanks_google

tommy/lizzie

pregnancy craving by cocoshameless

don't flinch or bleed in public by watchmyfavessuffer

to children ardent for some desperate glory by greenmagnolia

tommy/grace

i don't give em an inch, i give em both fists by killajokejosie

tommy/barney

birds of a feather by valkrist

multi-ship collections

messages in bottles by hisangelthursday

crossover

dark horse by littleberd (harry potter; tommy/newt)

BONUS RECS

Every few weeks, the mod team will post a few bonus fics based around a chosen theme. Themes can range from character-centric fic, certain relationships, particular tropes, etc. These fics won’t be ones featured in the weekly post, but things posted previously.

This week’s theme: Out-of-Universe AUs (examples: coffeeshop AUs, Sci-Fi AUs, etc.)

that's not my name by magnetism_bind (coffeeshop; tommy/alfie)

alfie's café by halesemissary and zainclaw (coffeeshop; tommy/alfie)

a year in the life by vamillepudding (bookstore; tommy/alfie)

follow you under the bridge, and over the crosswise streets by fiveaces (1950s/1960s; ada/jessie)

roof is on fire by peccadilloes (modern; michael/isaiah)

insurresine, dua capo by ashling (sci-fi; tommy/esme)

with her hair down by ashling (coffeeshop; tatiana/esme)

just friends by orphan_account (modern; tommy/alfie)

fight by mintjam (modern; tommy/alfie)

#peaky blinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders fic #bonus rec weekly digest #weekly digest

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themerlinlibrary · 9 months

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Favourites Friday (Dec 2023) – Holiday Fic

TML Favourites Friday round-up! December 2023 round 4

What is Favourites Friday? – The Basics

a different theme is announced on Friday each week; FF recs must match the theme of the week

only one FF rec per person per week/theme

FF recs must be unique within that week/theme; no double-posting the same fic for one theme!

no self-recs during regular rounds

only self-recs during self-rec rounds (last Friday of each month)

Theme for week 4: Holiday Fic!

Take a Load Off by bad_peppermint G, 6k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, New Year’s Eve

Tell the World We Finally Got it Alright by ingberry E, 32k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, Christmas in Ealdor

Maybe this Christmas by Leandra E, 48k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU

Snow Queen by mssdare E, 4k, Merlin/Morgana Modern AU

As Long As We Have We by lady_ragnell T, 17.5k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, Bookstore

Hallmark Boyfriends by MuseofWriting E, 5k, Merlin/Arthur Modern Era

No Matter How Far Away You Roam by lady_ragnell E, 21k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU

Love In A Cold Chalet by Clea2011 T, 19k, Merlin/Arthur Modern AU

oh what fun it is by platonic_boner G, 1.8k, Gwaine/Merlin/Arthur Modern AU

Trust Me, I’m a Doctor by bluevalentine69 E, 6.1k Merlin/Arthur Modern AU, Doctors

A masterlist of all round-ups can be found here (oldest to newest) or here (newest to oldest).

If you want to make sure you never miss a FF rec, or would like to participate and share your own favourites; join us on the Discord TheMerlinLibrary! Happy reading!

About the FF round-up lists:

Recs are listed in the order they were posted on the Discord; the order does not imply any sort of ranking.

The pairing given in this list is the main pairing of each respective fic – please read the tags for any possible minor or side-pairings, as well as any potential warnings or triggers.

Pairings and Eras are given as tagged in each respective fic. (?) signifies that the tags were unclear and I do not know enough about the fic to fill the gaps.

Round-ups are compiled on the weekend of the week after the respective theme of the post (when the new theme has already been anounced), to avoid omitting potentially belated FF recs.

The weekly round-up is not a guarantee! I'm running this alone, so it can only be posted for weeks when I have enough time on my hands to compile a list. If you'd like to help out, feel free to contact me on Tumblr ( @zaharya ) or Discord. Thanks to @ravenwilds for helping out with this round-up!

#the merlin library #tml #favourites friday #ff #merlin #merlin discord #favorite #recs #fic recs #holidays #holiday fic

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i-am-baechu · 3 years

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Title: The Way To Me | ♞ | | ♚ | | ♛ |

Paring: Kim Taehyung x reader (Part two)

Genre: Journalist Au, strangers to lovers au, office love au, secret notes au, and Dash and Lily au

Warnings: Death of a parent

Part one Final part

Author’s note: Taehyung birthday special! The two theme songs of the story is The Way To Me by Joy and Underneath The Tree by Kelly Clarkson. There’s also hints within this story to my upcoming one shots!

“I’m late.”

Taehyung ran out of his apartment as he put his arm through his jacket and tried not to fall down on the icy sidewalk. It was December first which means the start of Christmas throughout the streets and the Christmas market was open starting today. It was his favorite time of year, everyone was happy and was buying gifts for their loved ones. How could anyone hate it? He entered the bus and gave the driver a wide grin as he went to his usual spot. He put on his headphones and let the Christmas music flow through him.

Today was the day that the local church choir was singing at the opening of the market, like they do every year. This year, Taehyung promised he would bring them mittens and scarves because this year was colder than last year. He was supposed to get a ride from his roommates, Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook but something came up at their work and they had to leave or at least that's what they told him. Even though Taehyung had his driver's license and his own car, it was rare to see him driving by himself. Actually, it was rare to see him by himself in general. Ever since he was child, he always made sure he was surrounded by people regardless of where he was or what he was doing.

Being on the bus was lonesome for him but he knew in twenty minutes he would be surrounded by people so he pushed that thought aside. He looked outside and saw the many lamps on the sidewalks decorated with lights and garland making a smile appear on his face. The stores all around him had small paintings of Santa Claus or Christmas trees making the kids clap their hands at them. When he got off the bus, he saw his friend's bookstore with the door wide open and a constant flow of people coming in and out.

He walked through the door and saw Kim Seokjin putting some books away unaware of his friend's presence. It wasn’t until Taehyung shook his shoulders to scare him, making him almost drop the books, “YAH! You're lucky I didn’t drop these books or I would’ve made you pay for the damage!”

“Damage? They're just books?”

Jin glared at him and put the two books away as he let out a sigh, “Why are you here?”

“Oh, I just wanted to visit you before I watch the church sing at the opening.”

“I forgot about that. Are you alone? I thought Jimin and Jungkook were supposed to come with you.”

“They were but something came out at work.”

“Ah, so you're by yourself. How was the bus ride?”

Taehyung shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the bookcase, “It was okay...same as always. I’ll come by when the singing is done.”

“Alright have fun!”

Taehyung waved goodbye and walked outside the store in a rush when he saw the time on his phone. He rushed through the crowds of people and entered the Christmas market with wide eyes at the decoration. Last year the booths were just booths with nothing on them but this year it seemed like they went all out. Each booth had garland and lights all around it even the food booths had decorations on them. He shook his head and started rushing towards the tree until he accidentally knocked someone on the ground, making him drop all the scarves and mittens in his bag.

“Hey, what the-”

“I’m so sorry.”

He quickly picked up the scarves and mittens and rushed away from the scene. Not noticing the eyes on them nor the small voices. He saw the choir make their way in front of the tree and when they saw Taehyung they gave him a small smile.

“Ah, Taehyung...I was worried that you would come.”

Taehyung bowed and took out a purple scarf, “I wouldn’t miss it in the world, Mrs. Spencer.”

She gave him a small smile as Taehyung carefully wrapped the fabric around her neck. He stopped when he felt eyes on his back and turned around to see that no one was there. He raised his eyebrow at this and shook his head. He continued to pass out the scarves and mitts until all the choir had them.

He stepped back and gave them a wide grin as he watched them get into formation. The soft voices echoed through the markert and he looked around to see everyone smiling. Five songs later, Taehyung felt like it was the right time to leave and go back to Jin. He gave them one final bow and walked away in the cold.

He took off his jacket when he entered the book store and his smile only got wider when he saw all his friends at one of the tables at the corner, “You said you had work!!”

“Sorry hyung, I got a notification from the security system that someone broke into the tattoo parlor but it was just a false alarm.”

“Ah, that's good.”

Taehyung smiled at him and pulled out a chair to sit next to Namjoon who was reading a book and Yoongi who was on his phone with his eyebrows furrowed. He tilted his head at this and poked his head, “Is everything alright?”

Yoongi sighed and put his phone in his pocket and crossed his arms over his chest, “Naomi is being difficult again.”

“Isn’t that normal?”

Yoongi rolled his eyes at Hoseok and took a sip of his coffee, “I should be used to her but I guess she always surprises me.”

“What did she do this time?”

“We had a date tonight but her friend needed her or something. I didn’t really finish the text, I stopped when it said ``oh sorry.”

Jimin bit his lip and gave him a worried look, “Are you okay?”

Yoongi let out a puff of air as he gripped his coffee tighter, “I should’ve expected this, it's the third time she's done this. If its not for sex then it doesn’t matter to her.”

“Hyung, I’m sure there's a reason...”

“Yeah, whatever...How was the singing, Taehyung?”

Taehyung's eyes widened at the sudden attention and he let out a small cough, “Oh, It was good, Mrs. Spencer was there.”

“Really? I thought she had hip surgery?”

“That’s what I thought but she was there.”

The group continued their conversation and even had Jin jump in but it changed when Hoseok looked at Taehyung with a small smirk, “Have you talked to your crush yet?”

Taehyung choked on his spit as Jimin gave him a mischievous look, “Oh, that's right you were supposed to do that today. Did you?”

“All because I said I want to talk to her doesn’t mean I will...I just want to...shut up and leave me alone.”

“Oh, have you figured out your Christmas game thing yet?”

Taehyung shook his head and pouted, “I’ve done it to every floor already. I don’t think I’m going to do it this year.”

Hoseok's eyes widened and a mischievous glint appeared but the only one that saw it was Jimin causing his eyebrow to raise, “You haven’t done it to the second in command.”

“EHH!? Are you crazy!? Why would I do that to them? I want my job!”

Hoseok rolled his eyes at him and crossed his arms, “She’s not bad, just an alcoholic...but she's perfect for you though. She hates Christmas.”

Taehyung looked at him with a suspicious look, “You know her, there’s a catch.”

“No, catch. You should try to make her like Christmas again is all...”

“Fine...for Christmas. What's her room number?”

“80114, since it's the start of December she’s probably going to be late.”

“Why is that?”

Hoseok took a sip of his water and let out a small laugh, “She’s probably going to have a hangover. I told you she hates Christmas.”

Taehyung woke up early the next day and walked down the stairs to see Jungkook cooking in the kitchen and Jimin watching tv in the living room. He let out a yawn and sat next to Jimin on the couch, “Why are you watching Double Trouble?”

“I need to know if he ever finds her and what happens when he does.”

“You're kinda attached to this show, is that a good thing for you?”

“I just feel a connection to the main guy, I don’t know. Anyways, Jungkook is making breakfast.”

Taehyung nodded his head and patted his shoulder as he headed to the kitchen. He leaned against the cabinets as he watched Jungkook place the rice down on the last plate, “Do you need help?”

“Nah, I’m almost done. Aren’t you up early? You usually leave when we’re gone and go to Namjoon-hyung’s apartment, what's the difference today?”

Taehyung took a small bite of food and let out a puff of air as the food was still hot, “I’m going to put the note on the door and I don’t want to get caught.”

“Oh yeah. Are you excited?”

“Yeah but at the same time, Hoseok said she hates Christmas. That’s such a sad thought.”

“She probably has her reasons just like how you have your reasons to like Christmas. Breakfast is done!”

Taehyung took his bowl of rice and headed towards the living room to see Jimin still invested in the drama. He rolled his eyes and smacked his shoulder lightly, “Go get food before you die from starvation.”

“Shut up.”

The roommates ate their breakfast together in the living room discussing what they were doing that day. Taehyung explains that since it's Christmas, he's going to be extra busy with taking pictures for the new issues coming out that month. Taehyung has been working at Dream Weekly for almost two years now and so far he's enjoyed his time there. Thanks to Hoseok and Namjoon, Taehyung was able to get the job faster. They both decided it would be best if he worked in the photography department and he's been there since.

The Christmas game was a game that his mother made when she was younger. She would leave notes around her hometown for anyone to do. She started doing it when she noticed the lack of Christmas spirit one year and ever since she did it until she moved away with his father. That’s actually how she met his father by playing the game. His mother told him about the game and when she passed away, he decided to keep the game alive. He also hoped that he would meet his partner through the game but so far, nothing.

After breakfast, Taehyung changed into his work clothes and headed to work with them. The car ride was filled with laughter and random conversations. He waved them goodbye as he walked in with a wide smile on his face.

“Good morning Chaeryeong! Did you get your white chocolate mocha?”

Chaeryeong rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, “I had gingerbread mocha this time. Taehyung, you didn’t call auntie and she's mad.”

Taehyung bit his lip and gave his cousin a cheeky smile, “I forgot, sorry. I’ll do it tonight.”

“You better, she was upset not hearing from you.”

“I’ll make it up, don't worry.”

“Taehyung! Don’t forget about dinner tonight or I’ll push you down the stairs!”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

He waved her goodbye and entered the elevator smiling at the Christmas decoration. He sat on the floor level and listened to the soft melody playing. He walked through the door and smiled at the people walking past him. He looked at the door with a nervous look and took a deep breath as he put the note on the door. He tilted his head and shook his head at the placement. He picked up the note and put the note lower. He nodded his head and put his hands in his pocket as he walked away.

His phone started ringing and he picked it up without a care, didn’t even bother to look at the caller ID, “Hello?”

“Did you put the note on the door?”

Taehyung entered the elevator again as he pushed the phone up with his shoulder as he put his floor number, “Yeah, I did. There’s not a lot of people on that level, are there?”

“Only a couple. I know Namjoon goes up there for meetings but other than that I don’t know who works up there with her.”

“You keep saying her, who is she?”

“I need you to edit these pictures for the new issues, I need one of them by the end of the day but the rest by the end of the week. Thank you~♡!

Before Taehyung could say anything the line went dead causing him to stare at his phone with an annoyed look but he quickly wiped it away. He put his phone back in his pocket as the elevator door opened to his floor. He walked and saw Hoseok leaning against the wall with his coffee in his hand. He took a sip and waved at him with a wide grin, “Did you really hang up because you knew I was coming?”

“Yeah, I thought that was obvious.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes and walked past him as Hoseok followed him, “Did you see your crush?”

Taehyung stopped in his tracks letting Hoseok walk past him with a smirk when he saw how flustered he was, “Why would yo-you ask that!?”

Hoseok shrugged his shoulders and turned around to walk, “I just wanted to know...” So that means she is late...

“You can’t keep teasing me!”

“I can because I’m your boss ~♡”

Taehyung's eye twitched at Hoseok’s cute smile and walked past him to go to his office, “Make sure you get that photo done please! Minho needs it.”

“Yeah...”

He opened his office and looked around the small space that had plants and random art pieces within it. He looked at the picture where everyone in the office took a group picture for his first day, his eyes landed on a certain person and let a smile appear on his face. He shook his head and headed to his desk to do some work and not get distracted by her smile.

Hoseok watched Taehyung enter his office and rolled his eyes. He took his phone out and dialed someone’s number.

“Yo, did he figure out who it is?”

“Of course he didn’t. He doesn’t pay attention to the obvious details but I knew she would be late today. You would think he would know his crush's office or her name.”

“It's Taehyung, he’s either outgoing or shy. Plus it's his crush, give him a break.”

“I mean it's just Y/N...”

After the busy day, Taehyung and Hoseok drove to Jin’s bookstore to hang out with everyone again. Even though Yoongi wouldn’t admit it, he needed the hangouts just as much as Taehyung needed them. Entering the bookstore to see everyone at the usual table made Taehyung smile at everyone. He sat next to Yoongi slumped in his chair and saw bags under his eyes with two energy drinks around him.

“Are you okay?”

Yoongi sighed and sat up in his chair, “Naomi came over to talk and now I’m just tired from the emotions.”

“Was it a good talk?”

He shrugged his shoulders and siped his drink, “It was good, I guess. We fucked and she actually stayed this time. She wants to try a relationship but she's scared.”

“That’s good. You wanted a relationship with her for a long time, I’m happy for you.”

Yoongi smiled at this as he leaned back in his chair, “I’m happy but we’ll see what happens.”

Taehyung nodded his head and turned towards Jin who had his eyes closed leaning back in his own chair, “Hyung, how was your day?”

Jin let out an annoyed scoff as he opened his eyes, “I had a customer today that knocked down some vintage books and broke some things.”

“Oh, no. What did you do?”

“I told her she's going to work until it's paid off. Those poor books were ruined and the antiques I had...”

“I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Jin nodded his head and took a sip of his tea, “Did you put your note on the door?”

Before Taehyung could answer Hoseok let out a loud laugh, “Of course he did. He’s curious about the person because I know them.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes and leaned in his chair looking away from their teasing gazes, “I-I just want to know...Nothing more.”

“Don’t worry, she's pretty.”

“I don’t care about looks, I just want to know her because you keep talking about her. How do you know her?”

“Emails and meetings, Namjoon knows her too.”

Taehyung's eyes widened and pointed at Hoseok with an angry look, “You guys set me up!”

Hoseok gave him a teasing smile and winked at him, “I wouldn’t say'' set up” but started an excited game for you. Now you just have to finish it. Don’t worry, you’ll like the ending to it.”

“What does that mean?”

“Just shut up and play the game.”

“What do you mean you don’t like the filter?”

Hoseok rolled his eyes at Taehyung’s whining but Taehyung was annoyed that he wasn’t told why the filter wasn’t good for the picture. It's been a week since the first assignment and now he was on the second but Minho or Hoseok wanted to change the color scheme of the pages causing Taehyung to redo everything he had done. He didn’t have a problem but what he did have a problem with was not knowing why it didn’t look right after redoing it.

“Minho wanted it to be brighter instead. He said it's Christmas so the pictures should be brighter and happier.”

“That doesn’t help me...but alright.”

Hoseok patted his shoulders and gave him a sad look, “You always figure it out, I know you. Don’t get discouraged!”

Taehyung nodded his head and pouted as he stomped his foot, “Don’t be so nice to me...I’m supposed to be mad.”

“Just make sure you email me before you send it to Minho, okay.”

“Fine...”

Taehyung walked away and went to his office when he saw the time. It was lunch time, which means he gets to find the note in the break room. He set the flash drive on his desk and headed towards the break room. He had his hands in his pocket as he bowed to the many workers that walked past him and some blushed at his appearance but he didn’t notice. He walked into the room and looked around to see no one there. In excitement, he walked straight to the red microwave in the corner. He gently lifted the machine and saw the note. His smile widened and he gently removed the note from the machine and unfolded it with excitement.

Sometimes silence is the loudest when you're by yourself.

I’m so high up but so hidden too

I can see the city and green all around me

It's cold but at times it can be warm

The many plants around me give me sanctuary

But the small tables give me rest

I wonder what I am?

He furrowed his eyebrows at the riddle but the one thing that he noticed was the dislike of the Christmas lights. He knew the person hated Christmas but who would hate Christmas lights? The Christmas market was beautiful with the lights shining and all the kids running around. He frowned at this but he re-read the dare with anxiety in the back of his head. Being alone was something he hated. Ever since his mother passed away, driving alone or just being alone was out of the question for him. At least the Han river was pretty for pictures.

He put the note in pocket as he walked back to his office, confused. The riddle didn’t make sense to him. Where the hell did this place have plants, small tables, and the view of the city? The only break room was on the third floor but maybe there was another one that he didn’t know. To be fair, he's only been here for two years (that's his excuse for not knowing). He decided to visit Namjoon and ask him about this break room since he knows the building better than Hoseok. Namjoon was on the same floor as him but his job was different from his. Namjoon was one of the higher ups and one of the main editors for the magazine, which means he was barely hanging out with them.

He walked down the long hall and knocked on the last door in the hall. He heard a soft come in and he opened the door to see Namjoon sitting at his messy desk. Papers were everywhere and he saw the amount of energy drinks in his trash making him worry for his health. Namjoon pushed up his glasses and looked up to see Taehyung.

“Taehyung? Is everything okay?”

He gently closed the door and nodded his head, “Yeah but I need help with something. It has to do with the Christmas game.”

Namjoon raised his eyebrow and nodded his head, “Okay? I’ll try my best. What do you need help with?”

He took the note out and handed it to him, “The riddle, I have no idea where this is.”

Namjoon took the note and with his eyebrows furrowed as he nodded his head, “Ah, I know where this is.”

“See I knew you would know. Can you tell me where it is?”

“It’s on the top floor behind the wall. A Lot of people don’t know it's there so, don’t feel bad for not knowing.”

He nodded his head and took the note as Namjoon gave him a small smile, “Hoseok told me you think we set you up.”

Taehyung pouted and nodded his head, “He said you know her too...Can you give me any hints?”

Namjoon smirked and nodded his head, “Sure. You know her but you don’t really know her.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Figure it out.”

It was cold. Taehyung loves winter but he hates the cold the month brings. He told Jungkook and Jimin that he had to go to the Han river alone and they were surprised that he was actually going to do it. He even took it the extra mile telling them to watch Yeontan. He was bundled up and he kept looking over his shoulder paranoid because he was by himself and he wasn’t used to it. He put his hands in his pocket as he watched an old couple cuddle by the river making him smile. Even though the note said Sunday, he had to go to dinner with his father and he had to miss it. Now being Monday, he hoped to see the person there but if he didn’t then the game would be over. Something he doesn’t want to happen.

He walked towards a secluded area and sat on the bench looking outwards to the water. The moon shined against the water and the sky had no clouds making the moon look bigger. He has to sit alone with his thoughts for twenty minutes, how can anyone do that? He focused on the small ripples in the water and let a small smile appear on his face. He remembered when he was younger, his mother used to bring him to the small rivers around his childhood home. His mother tried to teach him how to skip rocks but he never figured it out. The more time he stared at the water, the more he thought of his late mother. He took out a notebook and started writing the next note,

Taehyung let out a small laugh when he remembered his mother making Christmas cookies with him and she burned the batch. He remembered the laugh she did and how she smeared frosting on his nose. It was a cherished memory that made Christmas seem more beautiful to him, which is why it's important to show everyone the beauty of Christmas.

On the second floor, there's a tall plant near the bathrooms. Place the note under it for me and I can’t wait to see your dare!! (I can’t think of a riddle sorry :P)

He smiled at the note and folded the small piece of paper as he continued to stare at the river. He took out his phone and took a picture of the moonlight against the river, he sent the picture to the group chat with his friends and stood up stretching. He started walking down the path when he saw a person sitting with a bright red striped trench coat sitting on the bench looking at the river. He raised his eyebrow and he walked towards her with caution before muttering the words, “Blue lemonade?”

The person looked up and it was revealed to be a woman with dark red lipstick, “Fucking finally. I’ve been coming to the river for a week and haven't seen your ass.”

Taehyung raised his eyebrow at her and wasn't sure how to respond, “Oh-oh, I’m sorry...”

She looked him up and down and smirked, “Wow you're hot, what a lucky lady my friend is.”

“You know her?”

“Wouldn’t it be weird if I didn’t know, My name is Naomi.”

Taehyung's eyes widened and pointed at the girl with his mouth wide open, “Your Yoongi’s girl!”

Naomi stood up with her arms crossed with shock as she stared at him, “You know my Yoongi?”

“Aww, you called him your Yoongi. I'll tell him you said that.”

She glared at him and turned her back towards him, clearly flustered at the thought of Yoongi hearing her say “Don’t...Anyways do you have your note?”

“Oh yeah, it's in my pocket. Here you go.”

She turned around and took the note from him with a small smile on her face, “You know...I haven’t seen her like this before. She's actually looking forward to the notes or whatever you guys are doing. Thank you.”

“I heard she hated Christmas...”

“Yeah, she hates Christmas but maybe with the help of you she can start liking it again.”

He let a smile appear on his face as he scratched the back of his neck in a nervous manner, “I’m not doing anything...Do you want to get tea or hot cocoa?”

“Oh, that sounds good. I also have questions about Yoongi.”

“I meant have answers?”

The two walked towards a random cafe and sat near the back as they waited for their drinks. Naomi took her phone out and placed it on the table as she gave him a nervous glance, “Does Yoongi talk about me?”

“Yeah, he talks about you all the time. All good things, by the way.”

She nodded her head and let out a sigh, “I feel like an asshole now.”

Taehyung tilted his head with confusion in his eyes, “Why?”

“This whole time I thought he was interested in me like that. That’s why I kept pushing him away until a week ago when he admitted he liked me. I wanted to say the same thing but I just couldn’t push myself to do it because how could he like me?”

“The way he talks about you Naomi is pure love. He talks about your hair cuts you get, the Menudo you always have at your place and other small details. Yoongi is really hard to read but when he loves you or cares for you, he tries his best to show it. With small touches or random check-ins to make sure you're okay. I’m sure he's done that with you.”

Naomi rolled her eyes and nodded her head, “He does it all the time...I guess I was just pushing him away because of my own fears.”

“Don’t feel bad, it's just the lack of communication on both ends. Now you have to communicate those feelings or problems with him.”

“Wow, you're a good listener. She’s so lucky...”

“Can you tell me her name?”

“No. You can figure it out, I’m sure you're smart enough. I hope”

Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the woman in front of him with her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips, “Are you insulting or complimenting me?”

“Yes.”

The Christmas market was Taehyung’s favorite place to go during this season, especially with his friends. His mother used to make ornaments for the tree every year, it didn’t matter if the tree was already covered with ornaments already, she always wanted more. In the span of the week, Taehyung helped some of the booths to make some of the ornaments. His favorite ornament that he made was a simple angel that was holding a glass red heart and it was surrounded around the glass blob. When he was making it, he thought of his mother as the angel, the red heart was himself and the blob was his father. He would’ve kept it but Jimin yelled at him saying they have enough Christmas decorations in their house. He begged all his friends to go to the market with him, especially with the chance of seeing his mystery lady.

He entered the market with Jimin and Yoongi by his side and the rest behind him. He wrapped his arm around Jimin as he let out an excited sigh, “Isn’t it great?”

“Taehyung, it snowed an hour ago and it's going to snow again soon. It's cold, we should be inside Jin’s bookstore or even at home.”

“It’s Christmas, we need to experience the lighting of the tree and all the ornaments!! We do it every year.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes and put his hands in his pocket, “We could’ve done it next week when it's warmer.”

“But the Christmas tree with snow, it's a winter story!”

“Ya! Stop yelling in my ears.”

“Taehyung, after this we are going to the bookstore. It’s too cold.”

He nodded his head at Jin as he removed himself from Jimin as he ran off towards the booth at the end as his friends watched him leave. Taehyung smiled at the cashier who returned the smile, “Hello Taehyung.”

“Hello, Karina. Any sales on the ornaments yet?”

“Oppa, we just opened. You should know the hours, you're the one that set it up with my mom.”

Taehyung gave her a dumbfounded look and scratched the back of his head, “I forgot...”

“You did it yesterday.”

“Yesterday was in the past. It’s hard remembering anything these days.”

“You're just old.”

He rolled his eyes and waved goodbye as he saw his friends by the heat lamp that was next to the food stands. He saw Jungkook taking a corn dog from the stand and he knew what he had to do. He ran next to Jungkook and took the corn dog out of his hand to bite. Jungkook glared at him and turned towards Jin with a frown, “Hyung, he took my corn dog!”

“Buy another one then.”

Jungkook pouted and he started hitting Jin’s shoulder as the rest ignored them, knowing Jin would give in to him. Taehyung looked down at his watch and left the group again to get closer to the tree. He stood on the lamp post with excitement when he saw more people moving towards the tree. The countdown started to happen and he watched all the kids jump with excitement as their parents looked down at them lovingly. The whole area had the feeling of home for Taehyung.

He watched the soft white light appear on the tree and he saw the star shine the brightest. He looked back down at the crowd and his eyes landed on a woman in the front who was looking at the tree like it was the first time she's ever seen one. He couldn’t get a good look of her face but he watched her take out a small notebook and his eyes widened. He jumped down from the lamp and ran towards his friends in a rush. He started tapping Yoongi’s shoulder causing him to look at him with an annoyed look, “What?”

“I saw her in the front! Just like I told her! Shes here-”

“Tae, chill. You're talking too fast, now what?”

Taehyung took a deep breath and turned around to look back at the tree, “Shes here.”

“How do you know it's her?”

“She had a notebook towards the front. That’s what I told her to do, what do I do?”

Yoongi grabbed his shoulder to stop him from running towards the tree again or doing anything stupid, “Go get some water and then come back with a plan. A logical plan.”

Taehyung nodded his head and went back to the food stands to pour himself a glass of water. He had two cups of water and when he felt calm enough, he walked away with his hands in his pocket thinking of the girl in the front. It wasn’t until someone bumped into him causing him to lose his footing for a moment, “Oh, i’m so sorry.”

He looked down and his eyes widened at the person in front of him. Except it wasn’t just any stranger in front of him, it was his office crush. Even though he’s had a crush on her since that day, he still didn't know her name and none of his friends wanted to tell him her name. He quickly snapped out of his daydream to give her a smile, “It’s alright. Be careful, the floors are icy tonight.”

He watched her give him a shy smile and he heard his heart beat faster from the small action,“I’ll keep that in mind...Oh, be careful it's going to be cold tonight.”

He gave her a smile and walked away trying to regain his breathing. He walked back with Hoseok giving him a raised eyebrow, “Are you alright?”

“Oh-oh I’m fine don’t worry.”

He looked back at her and their eyes met again making a smile appear on his face again. He watched her get embarrassed and bowed at him causing him to let out a small chuckle. He watched her walking away with her friend but before she could exit the market, she looked back at him again. Before either of them could smile, she looked up to see the snow falling slowly and she tried catching some. His eyes softened at the action but then he felt a hit on his shoulder. He turned to see it was Jimin with an annoyed look, “Did you hear anything we just said?”

“No, sorry, what did you say?”

“We were saying we should go to Jin’s place and play games to end the night.”

“Oh that sounds fun, Hoseok I have a question and I need you to be honest.”

Hoseok looked at him with a shocked look at the serious tone but nodded his head, “Yeah?”

“Is the second in command, is that my crush?”

Hoseok clapped his hands and nodded his head, “Wow, good job! It only took you two years to figure it out but now you have to figure out her name.”

Taehyung stopped listening when he started to remember the first day he met her and how she stole his heart from that moment.

It was Taehyung's first day at Dream Weekly and he was already running late. Hoseok gave him the address but he never gave him the floor for the photography depermanet. He was running around each level to see if it was the level he was searching for. On one of the levels he rushed out as soon as the door opened and he accidentally knocked into the person who was waiting for the elevator.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. Oh, let me help you pick these up.”

She started picking up the papers he had for the meeting he had with Hoseok but he ignored the papers and his eyes looked at her. She was pretty, no pretty was an understatement. She gave him a soft smile and went to grab the paper out of her hands and his finger accidentally touched hers. He stared at her as he felt his face turn red and he bowed his head at her, “Thank you for helping.”

She let out a small laugh as she stood up. She put her hand out for him and he looked up at her, “No, problem. I like helping. Be careful next time, bye, bye.”

“I can’t believe we're at the Flamingo. You promised that we would watch Double Trouble.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes and stood in line with his black trench coat wrapped around him tightly on this cold night. It was a week after the Christmas Market and he finally learned the mystery lady’s name. Y/N. He liked the name, it was really pretty to him. In the note it said,

I dare you to go to this drag show that my best friend is doing at the Flamingo on Saturday, the 18th. I want you to experience something that sets me free, warning it does get loud. You’ll see the girl at the park there because she works there too! Bring your friends or go by yourself, I just want you to see what makes me so happy just like how I saw the lights and I thought of you...

Taehyung had to beg Jimin to come with him to the club that night because all he wanted to do was watch his drama. Taehyung didn’t feel comfortable going to a club by himself, especially one he's never been to. He was excited because this was his first drag show and he didn’t know what to expect. They slowly made their way through the line until they were inside.

The inside looked like a regular bar but the only difference was the bright pink neon lights around the bar. They both headed towards the bar to order their drinks when he saw a familiar face.

“Naomi?”

Naomi turned around and smirked behind the bar counter, “Ah, lover boy. Y/N told me to keep an eye out for you and who's your friend?”

“Oh, Jimin, this is Naomi.”

Jimin looked her up and down and then back at Taehyung, “Naomi? Like Yoongi’s Naomi?”

“Si, you know I’m right here and you can ask me that question.”

He gave her an apologetic look and nodded his head, “Sorry...”

She rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, “Anyways, what do you want to drink?”

Taehyung shook his head at her as Jimin grabbed the drink menu, “Oh, I don’t drink.”

“Really? You're in a club though.”

“Can I just get water?”

She nodded her head and looked at Jimin waiting for his answer, “I want a beer. That's it.”

“Alright, thanks for making my job easy.”

She walked away and Jimin watched her leave. He turned back at Taehyung with his eyes widened, “I can’t believe that's Naomi.”

“Why?”

“She's hot. I didn’t think Yoongi would be with someone that hot.”

“I’m going to tell him you said that.”

Jimin rolled his eyes and looked at the stage with curiosity, “So, what's happening tonight?”

“Y/N said it was a drag show tonight and her best friend is in it.”

“Ohhh, that's cool.”

Taehyung nodded his head and he turned around to see Naomi dropping his water off. He said his small thanks to her and took a sip of water out of nervousness. He doesn’t like loud settings like this; it always made him feel like his brain was on hyper drive. He watched the lights dim down and jumped when a loud voice went through the club, “LADIES, GENTLEMEN, AND ALL NON BINARY WELCOME! TODAY WE HAVE BOB GIVING WHAT THE CHILDREN ASKED FOR!”

The stage was lit with lights and all of sudden the curtains moved to the side and he saw a tall drag queen on the stage. They had brown dreads that went all the way to their butt and a red dress that was made to look like Santa's outfit. They looked at the audience and clapped their hands and a remix version of Last Christmas started playing. He watched with wide eyes as the queen was dancing across the stage and doing high kicks. A big smile escaped when he watched them take off the wig to reveal a black bob and tore the dress off of him revealing a dark red lingerie set.

When the song ended, Taehyung stood up from the bar and started clapping for the performance that brought him joy in that moment. From behind him, Naomi smiled and leaned forward, “That’s Christopher by the way.”

“Really!? He's so cool!”

Naomi rolled her eyes as she handed another glass of water towards him, “Don’t say that to him please, his ego is already breaking the roof.”

Taehyung let out a small chuckle, “That was so cool and exciting. Is that how drag shows are?”

“Not all of them but most of them are like that.”

“Naomi! Give me water.”

Taehyung turned around at the sudden voice and saw Christopher with his hands on his waist waiting for the glass. Naomi rolled her eyes and leaned forward, “A please would be nice.”

“Please bitch.”

Jimin let out a chuckle and took a sip of his beer, “That was a good high kick.”

“You should see me with both legs up then.”

Jimin’s face turned red as he started choking on his beer and Taehyung patted his back, “Christopher that was so cool!”

“Not my government name. Naomi, water!”

“Coming up you shit.”

Christopher took the glass of water and chugged it down as he looked at Taehyung with a raised eyebrow, “How do you know my name? Did this bitch tell you?”

“Oh, no...Y/N told me to watch your performance.”

Christopher’s eyes widened at this and wrapped his arm around his shoulder and brought him in, “Ah, you're the note boy. Naomi was right, you are hot.”

“Thank you?”

“No, I should be saying thank you. One, I get to look at you and two you made Y/N happy this month. That's all I ever wanted for her.”

Christopher let him go and patted his back as he turned around to walk away but before he could Taehyung grabbed his arm, “At first I just wanted to spread Christmas spirit but the more she put in the notes the more I wanted to know her. I want to know Y/N...”

Christopher let a soft smile appear and nodded his head, “I guess she made the right decision to play the game then. Anyways, I have to be hoe on stage and I'll be back later. Bye, bye.”

Taehyung watched him leave with a smile on his face as he turned back to see Naomi staring at him, “Is that true?”

“Yeah...was that too sudden to say?”

“No, it's cute. Awww, this is like a story.”

Jimin rolled his eyes and put his empty beer bottle on the counter, “Cheesy and all...”

Taehyung took out a notebook and started writing away,

It took me forever to find this greenhouse, your riddle saying everything was green didn’t help especially with the grass and bushes.

I can’t wait to see you next weekend...

- Taehyung

Taehyung looked at himself in the mirror and nodded his head at his outfit. It's Christmas eve and it was the day that he finally got to see Y/N. Face to face and he felt nervous but at the same time he’s excited to see her. He walked out in the living room to see Jimin and Jungkook playing Mario Kart, he let out a small cough and they both looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah?”

Taehyung sighed and looked down at his outfit, “Do I look okay?”

“You always dress well, why are you asking now hyung?”

Jimin let out a small chuckle and stood up from the couch, “It’s because he's going on a date.”

“IT’S NOT A DATE!”

“Yell at me like that again and you can walk there.”

Taehyung pouted and shook his head, “Fine...I’m sorry. Do I look good though?”

“Yes, now let's go. I heard there’s traffic today which isn’t a shocker but it's still annoying.”

“Sir yes sir.”

They both waved goodbye to Jungkook and headed off to the Christmas market. Jimin was right, there was traffic everywhere. Taehyung looked down at the time and he let his leg bounce out of nerves. Jimin glanced at him and turned down the music in the car, “Are you alright?”

“I gave her time and I’m scared that if I don’t get there fast enough, she's going to leave.”

“I’m sure she won’t leave. Well then again, it depends how late.”

Taehyung sighed and slumped in the chair, “Why would you say that? Now I’m more nervous that I won't make it.”

“Have some faith in me. I’ll try my best, lover boy.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes and turned his head towards the window. So far, the car barely moved and he only had a few minutes before he's late. He turned towards Jimin and took out some money, “Buy some gas, I’ll see you at home.”

“What? WAIT TAEHYUNG!”

Taehyung opened the car door and let the small breeze slapped his face. He ran towards the sidewalk where he knew it was safe and started running as fast as he could. Any normal person would walk slowly because of the icy sidewalks but it didn’t matter to him. He ran and ran until he saw the entrance of the market in the distance. He looked down at his watch to see he was ten minutes late and he was scared to see no one there. He ran into the market and saw a figure in front of the tree looking around, hoping it was her.

“Y/N?”

Just then the figure turned around and there stood his crush staring at him with wide eyes in the nice green velvet dress that took his breath away, “Taehyung?”

#bts namjoon #bts jungkook #bts seokjin #bts taehyung #bts yoongi #bts jimin #bts reactions #bts scenarios #bts x reader #bts imagines #bts hosoek #Bts #taehyung fluff #taehyung imagine #bts taehyung x reader #bts fanfic

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