#what if you and your dog were both treated bad and then as you grew your dog evolved as well to become strong just because it loved you

[2manyflannels]

What’s wild is that Type: Null (at the time) was the only one of its kind so the fact that it COULD evolve was a concept Gladion did not know about. Was Type: Null a Pokémon created to evolve? Because the Aether Foundation created Type: Null to “fight” Ultra Beasts. Or did Gladion love and care for this Pokémon so much (and of course type: null loved and cared for him just as strong) that it broke free if not only it’s mask but also it’s genetics. It genetically grew stronger with Gladion to protect/continue to fight with him. I can only imagine Gladion’s surprise! The Dex even says

“Although its name was Type: Null at first, the boy who evolved it into this form gave it the name by which it is now known.” (-Moon Dex Entry)

[dmitriene]

𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗡 𝗚𝗙 𝗣𝗧 𝟭.

❝𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧❞ 𝘣𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘹 𝘨𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 ❝𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦❞ 𝘗𝘜𝘙𝘌 𝘍𝘓𝘜𝘍𝘍, 𝘕𝘚𝘍𝘞, 𝘚𝘔𝘜𝘛, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯, 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘥𝘳𝘺𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘫𝘰𝘣, 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵

 ✎ 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴. 𝘢𝘰3. ˑ༄

simon is extremely careful because you both know that he has a heavy soldier’s hand and he is a man who grew up as a soldier, capable of turning into a living killing machine and, in principle, a meat grinder, but not next to you, no.

he treats you like a jewel, many people want to protect what is closest to them, especially if they consider it more fragile than them, and the same applies to you, you don’t have to be a completely defenseless porcelain doll — just being an ordinary civilian, unlike simon, is enough, and he already wants to act around you like a loyal dog around something fragile.

in your relationship with him, the detail that you were a virgin was revealed extremely quickly, when, in a stream of hot kisses and wet traces along the neck to the collarbones, his hands slid to your crotch and you somehow squeaked in fear, slightly pushing his hands away, making him mentally worry — «did i do something wrong? she doesn't want that? am i hurried things up?»

one glance at the dark brown abyss of his eyes is enough to understand that he is immersed in a stream of thoughts from which it would be nice to get him out before he plunges deeper than necessary, your hands carefully touch his cheeks, warm from the blush and recent kisses, stroking his cheekbones and pressing your nose to his to convince him with a gentle whisper — «hey, si.. it's alright, i'm fine, you did nothing wrong okay? i just didn't — didn't had anything like that before»

light eyelashes flutter like a fan when he looks at you and his gaze widens in surprise, brown eyes become as if cat like round when he sharply releases a sigh that he didn’t know he was holding, gently placing his slightly rough palms on top of yours, nervously licking the line of slightly thin lips and nodding with relief, kissing the button of your nose like a child, smiling and muttering hoarsely, gradually moving away from the previously heated atmosphere — «yeah.. yeah, sorry love, got it, we're not in a hurry, step by step, gonna — gonna take my time with my precious girl»

and his word was restrained, you moved forward in small steps while he explored the world of intimacy as if anew, but now with you — no rush, promiscuous connections and unknown surroundings, only his charming girlfriend, who in the end turned out to be quite enthusiastic, otherwise how to explain how it all came to this.

it seems to him that you begged him about this for weeks, just like you, because after that situation when he found out about your inexperience, he seemed to begin to be afraid, and when small kisses turned into quite hot and with a lot of saliva, hands reaching out to pull his belt, he removed them and continued to kiss you, allowing you to feel the bulge in his pants pressing into you and which you wanted to feel in every possible way, but you were like a child from whom all the sweet things were taken away.

most often, all such sessions, be it on the couch while watching a movie or in the bedroom before bed, when a couple of innocent kisses before bed turned into a practical desire to devour each other — they became just dry humping, strong fingers squeezed your hips and slowly moved them along his legs, causing your panties, already soaked to the limit, to stick to your folds while you whined and whimpered every now and then, clinging to his shoulders and begging for more — «pl-llease, mph, s-si.. want you.. want you inside so bad..»

he controlled himself well even when he heard your charming whines, and it seemed to you that he was deliberately mocking you, because he only whispered backhandedly — «no, love, gonna take more time than that, need you to be patient, yea?» kissing the top of your head and deliberately jerking his leg, making you wiggle your clothed pussy against his knee and shudder in an instant, numb orgasm, digging your nails into his shoulders and practically scratching them through the fabric of his shirt, moaning and mewling unintelligibly while he literally felt how your cunt clenches and unclenches around nothing, gushing into the cotton of your panties and the thin fabric of your shorts.

your patience was rewarded, to the extreme, one way or another you moved a little further, finding yourself between his legs with his wide dick lying exactly on your tongue, while saliva flowed down your chin, maybe you were the initiator of what was happening, crawling between his legs while he watched TV, his muscular legs spread wide apart, allowing you to gaze at the imprint of his girthy cock in his gray sweatpants, fidgeting with your cheek against the inside of his thigh just like a cat, looking at him absolutely innocently and batting your eyelashes, and how can he refuse when you look so adorable, so needy?

you don’t remember how long you’ve been sitting between his legs, the texture of the carpet uncomfortably rubs against your knees, even if it’s soft, while you with half lidded eyes studyly lick his big shaft, humming and emitting vibrations when he gently helps you with his hand, placing it on the back of your head and gently helping you move, while your tongue circled around the tip, picking up pearls of the precum on your tongue, slowly releasing him from your mouth to gently kiss the head, causing simon to growl and twitch as you slowly began to swallow him back, moaning and squirming on the carpet, looking for a friction for your throbbing pussy, causing him to stroke your forehead with his thumb and mumble deeply — «good girl, fuck — just keep it nice and warm here, yeah? gonna teach you how to.. how to do it properly, sweetheart»

he is so gentle and careful, he is in no hurry and asks you to pat his arm or leg, looking where you can reach, if something goes wrong — but you are so eager to do him good that you allow him to push your throat onto his throbbing dick even through the strange tingling sensation around your lips, running your tongue along his bulging veins as he continues to pump you slowly along his cock, which jumps up and rubs against the roof of your mouth, making you practically purr, allowing him to push deeper into the tightness of your throat.

but suddenly you close your eyes and your face contrasts with pain, your nails cling to his leg, causing him to pull you back in concern, instantly noticing the cut in the corner of your lip, which is why he immediately hides his still erect member in his boxers and sweatpants, hastily, gently squeezing your cheeks while your eyes gradually become wet from an uncomfortable burning sensation — «fuckin' hell, i told you to .. — shit, sweetheart, m'so sorry, had to notice first, i'm sorry»

you shake your head, additionally feeling that your jaw is aching, you don’t want him to feel like he’s to blame, so you gently kiss him on the cheek, looking at him guiltily and pursing your lip, purring hoarsely — «noo, it's my fault, you told me to tap you.. just.. wanted you to feel good, si»

he waves his head, stroking your hair and kissing you along the entire perimeter of your face, sensually and surprisingly airily, picking you up on his lap and adjusting his bulge, noticing how your gaze slowly slides between his legs, to which he hides your face in his neck, chuckling and continuing to kiss you tenderly, his fingers tracing circles and stripes along your spine, making you giggle at his words — «another time, lovie, you had enough for today, yep? best fucking girl in the world, wanna take care of me so much» ‹𝟹

one way or another, simon was really very worried, otherwise how to explain the fact that he practically did not let you out of his arms, did not allow anything more than small pecks on your cheeks or nose, and constantly sat you down on his muscular thighs to smear the corner of your lip with ointment, stroking your cheek extremely tenderly, watching you pout charmingly due to the fact that your training is delayed, and apparently for a long time, but can you really blame him for worrying about you, his precious girl?

taglist: @roseglazedlens, @scar-crossedlvrs, @daydreamrot, @valsthearecs, @kennedyswhore-old dm me if you want to be tagged in my works or open my taglist

[blingblong55]

Somebody to you-Simon "Ghost" Riley

Based on a request: Hear me out … 141 gets a medic. Ghost gets injured BAD, and considering his shitty childhood (if ykyk) he's lowkey scared because he likely never saw a GP. He's always dealt with the injuries on his own. Also the medic's nickname for him is 'the grim reaper' lol ---- GN!Reader, medic!reader, platonic!relationship, trauma!medic ---- A/N: for me "Grim" is the name used for all my GN, M and F Readers, which is why instead of Ghost saying "Grim reaper" he just says "Grim"...just to clarify

Ghost was always the one to treat his minor injuries when alone, and if it was something serious he would let a doctor help him. When 141 became a known group amongst base's Price was advised to get a medic, one that would know their medical history, know how to treat them and know how to deal with the lieutenant himself. Laswell recommended you, a young medic with expertise in trauma medicine.

The first time you met with the task force, you were told to run the medical centre on base. Price, Gaz and Soap were fine but Ghost sustained a gunshot wound to his abdomen and it seemed critical. "Get the doc, Price," Ghost said through gritted teeth. After one long run to Ghost room and an hour-long trying to get the bullet and close the one later, he shook your hand. He didn't want to be medicated but to Price's recommendation, he accepted morphine.

As the assigned medic to the team, you became close to them, except Ghost, who gave you tough love. Tough love in the definition of Ghost that is.

At around two in the morning, you walk to his room, checking his vitals and ensuring he is comfortable. "Doc-"

"Grim reaper, that's my call sign," you smile and he nods.

"What a shite name for a medic," a low chuckle escaped his lips. "I'll call you Grim," he continues. You nod, "So, how are ya feeling, Ghost?"

"Shit. what else would I feel?"

"Discomfort, pain, embarrassment-"

"I don't ever feel embarrassed."

"I heard Ghost never gets any major injuries, I'd say this day should be the first in your books and mine."

He shakes his head, "Y'ain't a good doc if you shit talk your patients, Grim."

"Who says I shit talk my patients?"

After months that turned into three years of working with 141, Ghost grew closer to you. If he went on a mission that had to be far from base, you went along with him to the closest base possible. "Get the doc," became an everyday sentence. No longer did he hide his minor injuries. One scratch, he called you. "Seriously, for this little thing?" you'd ask and he would nod. "What if it gets infected? Hm? Will you not care if your favourite lieutenant gets an infected injury and can't work? I mean, what a shit friend you are mate." He was like an annoying brother.

You did do your hair that morning? He would ruffle it, make it messy and then make you do push-ups for not wearing your uniform properly. One loose strand from your hair and he would shake his head. "Y'my favourite, Grim but that hair gets you in trouble." "Mate, you just messed it up!" "Now now, don't lie, no need for lies 'ere," a muted laugh as he noticed your annoyed look.

Watching him train was torture for both of you. "How was that?" Ghost would ask about his aim and you would shake your head. "You could've done better, y'er shit at this." If he messes with your job, why can't you mess with his? "Then shoot the damn thing yourself!" "Now now, no need to pout, Ghosty-" "Grim," he warns and you laugh.

You were brutally honest with him, something others didn't dare do with him. This was all because you knew him under that mask. In the field, you knew Ghost and on base, you knew Simon.

There was one time a close call, he lost so much blood and everyone was telling him he would be okay. One look at you and you sigh. "You die, I'll tell 'em about your secret favourite movie genre," you whisper in his ear and he smiles. "Then find this bloody bullet."

Time and time again, everyone saw him as the guard dog to the sweet medic and vice versa. You and him were a pair of idiots when late at night he would smoke with you, and tell the worst of jokes.

It was nice, to be somebody to someone. The best friend to a medic with a scary name like 'Grim Reaper'. He wouldn't complain. Ghost and the Grim Reaper, fighting enemies and injuries. He was somebody to you and at the end of the day when his body ached, it was all worth it.

Tags:

@warenai @bringinsexybackk69 @liyanahelena @valdemarismynonbinarylove @maybemerlina @joyfulmarvelofavengers @emilymariehall @dakaraissoisso @somehopeatlast @yellow-devil18 @persephone-kore-law @iruzias @frazie99 @juneonhoth @tiredmetalenthusiast @jinxxangel13 @enarien @luvecarson @willowaftxn83-87 @katz-chow @saoirse06 @strawberrychita @sae1kie @queen-ilmaree @llelannie @avidreadee123 @talooolaaloolla @skelletonwitch @bittermajesties @Nyx_Flower @honestlyhiswife @ikohniik @who-can-appease-me @ghostwifeyy

Join my TagList

[mayasaurusss]

pls pls pls more warewolf lottie i beg🙏

Slice of life: werewolf Lottie headcanons

Warnings: fluff, crack fic treated seriously, one sexy hint, not very long and not proofread (did this pretty quickly) and probably bad grammar sometimes.

At first, she hides from you, too preoccupied with looking like a monster, but as time passes and you show her compassion and understanding, she starts to open up to you more.

Lottie gets angry whenever you try to hang out with her during full moon, but she makes it up to you by taking you out as soon as she can.

Not all the times that there's a full moon Lottie becomes a werewolf: the transformation seems to occur only when she's in immense distress and under the influence of the moon. Most times she remains her normal self but she becomes grumpy. God forbid if the full moon coincides with her period...

One night, as you were hanging out togheter in the forest -one of the last few places Lottie feels comfortable in- you spot a beautiful purple flower growing on the side of the path. Lottie grews interested as soon as you point her to it. When you get closer and Lottie reaches to the flower, a red hue starts to spread on her fingertips. From then on, Lottie was always very careful around wolfsbane.

Music bothers her now: something that she loved very dearly once has become annoying. If you hum a song it's fine but the problems come around whenever you play loud music, or, even worse, when your noisy neighbors party through the night.

Once, Lottie and you were having a sleepover. The neighbors had decided to loudly interrupt your dreams with their awful music, waking both you and Lottie up. It lasted for 20 minutes before Lottie furiously stomped down the hallway. After 2 minutes, you heard the music and voices stop. Lottie walked back in your appartment with their smashed stereo in her hands.

Music does bother her, but loud noises don't stop her from trying to howl with the dogs at night. Whenever she's in her wolf form, be it at her house, yours or at the forest, if she hears dogs howl, she'll join them. She wouldn't dare to tell you, but she feels the need to howl even when she hears them in her human form. But she wouldn't ever do something like that, her pride is too precious to her. If you ever saw her do something like that, you would be a tease, and she knows it.

Lottie is smart, and she knows for a fact that she can use her newfound wolf form to get away with all she wants. Killed a rabbit? It's not her fault, she's not in control! Ate one too much leftovers? It's not her fault, she's just too hungry! Made a 'nest' with your clothes and now they're covered in fur? She was just so cold, and your clothes are so comfy!

Lottie has a hard time coming to college now. It's not that the sun hurts her in any way, she just feels too uncomfortable to be walking down the hallways. It almost feels like she doesn't belong here anymore. So, she continues to follow the lessons, but she's not as present on campus as she was once. She mostly hangs out at night, gazing at the moon. Sometimes sadness overcames her when she remebers that she won't be able to look at the full moon in her human form, ever again.

When she does feel like begin alone though, she volountarily steps out in the night and allows her emotions to take hold of her, to make her a monster once again. She will run to the forest and gaze at the moon in it's full form with longing.

Lottie has never been too fond of chocolate, but she does enjoy it from time to time. One night, as she was eating some chocolate, there was a full moon. As it reached it's peak, Lottie started to feel very, very uncomfortable. Her stomach gurgled and before she could understand what was happening, she threw up all she had eaten. As she came to know in the hours after, dogs really shouldn't eat chocolate...

As the years go by, Lottie's werewolf form gets slightly skinnier and the fur looses it's colours; but remains fulffier as ever.

The pull of the hunt beckons her, so sometimes, you won't find Lottie in the bed with you. She will disappears fror days and return at night, her mouth caked with blood.

She grew more calm as time went on. Now, during full moon, the symptoms of lycantropy have lessened, thankfully; but has gained an almost scary libido...

She will spend hours researching ancient lycantropy studies to better understand how it works and if there's somebody like her somewhere.

Her favorite activities are gazing at the nightsky and watching horror movies with you, which, are usually about werewolves. She has remained a tease, and often insists on watching those kinds of movies; almost as if she wants to see how you'd react near her. Whenever the werewolf kills somebody though, her eyes would get watery and she'd take and kiss your hand, whispering "You know I'd never do that... right?".

Something you have noticed ever since the first transformation, is that Lottie's body has become stronger. There's almost not one trace of fat in her muscles, despite the amout of meat she'd eat during full moons.

When you see her laying on your shared bed, reading with those -nerdy- glasses of her on, you almost want to jump her right there, but foreplay is important.

Life with Lottie ever since the change has been interesting to say the least.

You smile contentendly as you lie in the arms of your lover, with the moon's rays glowing dimly on you.

[lxstfathier]

Cachorrita

Los Vaqueros x Reader

Headcanons

Summary: you got caught in the middle of the narco violence, losing everything. Thankfully, the vaqueros rescued you and decided to adopt you… as a pet.

Warnings: murder/trauma mentions, pet play, collaring, poly relationship (?), slight smut.

A/N: i can’t stop thinking about Ale and Rudy, they’re both so cute and boyfriend shaped and i love them very much 💗 so i got this silly idea in the middle of the night and decided to write it, don’t ask me what the hell is this, just enjoy it. And please remember that english is not my first language. Hope y’all like it :)

♡ Your parents were killed by el sin nombre, and you were kidnapped for a few days with the intention of human trafficking. Luckily, you were rescued by los vaqueros before you ended up being trafficked for real.

♡ It was nice to be free again, but everything you had ever know didn’t exist anymore. Not even your home. You had nowhere to go, and such a naive little girl like you would be an easy target in Las Almas… again. That’s why the vaqueros offered you to stay with them, in their base.

♡ You accepted immediately. They saved your life, and you would trust them with it.

♡ At first, it was weird to live among military men. Seeing them always with a serious look on their faces and yelling orders was quite scary, but soon you got used to it. You got along with everyone, and they all treated you in the nicest way possible, so it wasn’t as bad as you thought.

♡ They even gave you your own little room!

♡ Once you started to get more comfortable, you gained the confidence to get out of your room more often, exploring the base and helping around with the daily tasks, learning the basic things. And it wasn’t long until you grew closer to Alejandro and Rodolfo, following them around any time you could.

♡ Alejandro thinks of you as one of those stray dogs that Rudy used to bring into the base (in a cute way), that’s why they started calling you “Cachorrita”.

♡ You love the nickname, but you loved it even more when they actually started treating you as a puppy, making sure that you’re always happy and taken care of.

♡ One day, they surprise you with a pretty collar. It’s made from the softest and most finest leather, in your favorite color, and it also has a cute heart-shaped tag that says “Cachorrita” and “Propiedad de Los Vaqueros” in the back. Such a sweet gift. It made you teary. You hugged every single one of them as a thank you and then Alejandro put it around your neck <3

♡ It doesn’t matter if they’re all at the base, or just a few soldiers, you always go out to spend time with them. You keep them company, listen to anything they have to say, comfort them, or just snuggle on their lap while they play with your hair. They say often that you’re way better than a therapy dog, but you don’t really think so.

♡ One time you decided it would be a great idea to cook something for them, so you prepared chilaquiles con carne, and they all went insane, saying that it was delicious, better than the bland military food they were used to eat daily. So now you cook for them almost every day, remembering the recipes your mother taught you.

♡ Even though they all agreed to collar you, only Alejandro is allowed to put a leash on you. He doesn’t do it often, just when he has to do a lot of paperwork in his office, taking you with him to keep you at his feet for hours. “Good girl” he says petting your head while you rest your chin on his thigh. “Keep being obedient and i’ll give you a treat when i’m done”. If he gets stressed, he might use that pretty little mouth of yours.

♡ They won’t hesitate to spoil you. You want new clothes? Stuffed animals? Jewelry? The newest iphone? don’t even worry about it, Ale and Rudy will be buying it all for you.

♡ When they go away on missions, they always text you whenever they can, making sure that you’re fine without them. Rudy always gives you one of his credit cards, telling you to use it if you need something. But you have never used it, you have everything you need at the base.

♡ When they come back, the first thing you hear is Alejandro yelling “Dónde está nuestra cachorrita?”, and you’ll come out of your room as fast as you can, running to them to hug them tight, glad that they’re all safe and sound.

♡ Sometimes, when Alejandro or Rodolfo get horny (which is often), they come to you, and you spread your legs for them, happy to please them however they want. Rudy fucks you sweet and slow. Alejandro fucks you fast and rough. But you like it more when they both fuck you at the same time.

♡ When you get your period, they all treat you as if you were dying, giving you everything you want and need. Alejandro makes sure you have pain pills and a hot water bottle to put on your tummy, and Rudy goes to the store to get more pads and your favorite snacks.

♡ When you wake up in the middle of the night because of your constant nightmares, you sneak into Rudy’s room, getting in the bed with him and cuddling up in his chest. “Qué pasa, cachorrita? you got nightmares again?” he asks, half awake, and when you whisper a “si” he just holds you closer, hearing his heart beat until you fall asleep.

♡ They teach you how to use a gun, just in case. But you really hate it. Those things are heavy and loud and scary.

♡ Speaking of things you hate, you also don’t like going outside due to your trauma. But Alejandro and Rudy insist on taking you out at least once a week, going to the local market for some groceries, and you hold Ale’s hand as if your life depended on it, way too scared to let him go. But, if you behave well, they buy you ice cream on the way back.

♡ You’re not a brat, but sometimes you accidentally do something they don’t like. They’re the military after all, highly disciplined men, and you aren’t used to that. If you do something slightly disrespectful or don’t listen to orders, it will result on Rudy or Ale yanking you by the collar, planting a firm smack on your ass. “Don’t do that again, entendido?”.

♡ You love stealing Ale’s military jackets. They’re comfy, oversized and smell like him. But you didn’t expected him to get you your own jacket, embroidered with “cachorrita” on the front and a bright pink armband that says “emotional support”. And you love it, of course, but that doesn’t stop you from stealing his jackets again.

♡ You have an oral fixation, and Rudy thrives off it, letting you bite his arms, lick his neck or have a really messy and heated up kissing session (if he’s not busy). Sometimes he even lets you suck his fingers, but be careful with that one cuz he might want to give you something bigger to suck on.

♡ If any of Los Vaqueros gets hurt on a mission or training, you will take care of them just like they do with you, not leaving their side until they feel better. You can’t stand seeing any of your -new found- family in pain, makes you feel sad :(

♡ When your birthday comes, Alejandro and Rodolfo enter your room early at morning, singing las mañanitas and giving you the gift they got for you. It’s exciting, so you quickly open the box, eager to see what’s inside. Gasping when you finally admire the pretty set of fluffy ears, tail plug, and thigh high socks with paw print, all in your favorite color. “Why don’t you try it on for us, cachorrita?” Alejandro suggests, and you’re more than happy to do so, already feeling a tingle between your legs.

♡ You’re on birth control, obviously, but Rudy and Ale are already thinking about getting you off those stupid pills…

[ohimsummer]

GOJO, EREN + your favs

—fem!reader, your fav x reader, flirting?, suggestive, teeny tiny mentions of fucking lol, use of 'good girl', one(1) use of princess, modern! au, reader is so down bad they look stupid

wc 1.2k

"Good girl."

It comes out of his mouth as a light chuckle, a slight tease at you for doing something he asked (with little complaint, anyway). Just a simple joke with a smug grin to match because that's just what he liked to do — poke and prod at your patience until you grew too tired of his antics to bicker with him.

Your lips part ever so slightly in a state of shock, maybe a little embarrassment at having gave such a reaction to the statement at all. It's such a miniscule response, one that only lasts a split second and is barely noticeable. Unless you're him, who's always gazing over every detail of your face. Because you were cute, yes, but also so he could catch even a flicker of expression that may come across you.

So he notices. He takes note in the way you react to the name and, though he says nothing (and you're not entirely sure if he could even tell the words had an effect on you yet), he locks and loads the info away in his brain. For him, it's new ammo to break you down.

Things change ever so slightly over the next few weeks. You can't tell if your feelings for him have devolved into pure hatred or skyrocketed to an intense yearning for his attention, both the result of making you weak in the knees for his praise. Every 'good girl' he utters in your direction leaves you dizzy. As the days pass, the phrase goes from leaving a light tingle in your tummy to igniting a fiery-hot ache between your legs. You want to shut him up, but you can't decide if it's with your fists or your thighs. And if you he’d have the mercy to give you a break, forget it. There was no avoiding him. You don't know why you tried to start leaving before he did, you should've known he'd catch onto that tactic immediately.

"Y/N!", he calls out to you as you're halfway to your car. Your feet cement themselves to the ground. Where did he even come from? You didn't catch sight of him anywhere. Your mind illogically says that he was probably hiding, but maybe if you weren't so focused on getting the hell out of there that you would have noticed him standing besides the entrance.

"Wait there for me, princess.” Your brain, bent to his will, doesn't even consider 'why?' let alone think to argue against the command. All that echoes in the familiar voice is his past praise of you.

He strides over towards where you still stand on the concrete, head high and looking down at your shorter stature. You always nagged him about looking down on you like that, like he was that much better than you even if he didn't mean to come off that way. You hate it even more so now that the look makes your thighs squeeze a little tighter together. He's since noticed, of course, because you're just that easy to read, which is why he keeps doing it.

Breathing out a sigh and ignoring the strain of your heart, you take hold of the waver in your voice and ask,"What do you want with me now?"

Your false confidence might as well be glass the way he looks straight through it. "Goin' to a party some time tonight. Be ready when I pull up, okay?"

He doesn't consider giving you the option to deny his request, because in his mind this wasn't optional. Not to mention that now he's treating you like some fancy doll, dragging you to a party you know nothing about and likely (definitely) intending to show you off like his trained little puppy. A dog lapping at his feet, keen to do what he asks just to hear two words of praise from him.

His fingers pinch your cheeks and a low laugh slips from his mouth when you scrunch up your nose. "Oh, and make sure you wear that cute skirt I like."

You already know which one he's talking about. The one you wore a few months ago that had him eyefucking you the entire night. But you wanna be difficult; you have to snatch your authority back somehow, plus there's no harm in having a little fun. "I think you'll have to be a little bit more specific."

The look on his face doesn't change, but you can see something far less than innocent form in his eyes."The denim one with the gold buttons?" The one I almost fucked you in, he wants to add. "Wear that one."

He walks away and you go home. It takes a while to quell the feeling in your stomach, some sensation between excitement and anxiety. Remnants of it are still floating around your tummy as you look over your outfit in the mirror: a cute baby tee with a nostalgic pink design, your favorite denim skirt, and some white tennis shoes, topped off with some matching accessories and glittery lip gloss.

You find yourself glancing out the window every few minutes once you're finally all dolled up. It's only a 10 minute wait, but it feels like hours have passed when you finally spot his sleek, upscaled car rolling up at the end of your driveway. A bated breath leaks out and you feel relieved because, truthfully, you thought he'd forgotten about you. Thinking about the possibility made your stomach turn, and you come to the conclusion that you really don't care how desperate for his attention you are at this point, as long as you have it.

If the enthusiasm didn't show on your face, it absolutely did in the way you hurriedly skip out to his car, eager to show your outfit off to him. His eyes skirt obviously up and down your body as you relax into the leather seats, and you swear he leaves a trail of heat wherever his gaze lands. His stare finally halts on the taut, pink fabric hugging your thighs. A low hum sounds from his throat. One of approval, but also laced with something unknown.

He reaches over to play with the hem, fingers brushing over your bare skin."You're wearing the perfume I like, too." He says it like he just knows you're trying to grab his attention. In an "Of course you'd wear it." kind of way.

Heat spreads quickly across your cheeks, and your lips poke out in a cute little pout. Maybe you were hoping he wouldn't outright expose how apparently obvious you're being. "I am?"

"You know you are." A low chuckle follows the statement. You must think he's stupid. "I told you it was."

You give a low, pondering hum. A familiar ache forms in your core when you remember how he pulled you into him that night, whispering against your skin about how good the sweet fragrance smelled. "I guess you did."

He pinches your thigh in response, smirking before smoothing over the area with his thumb. You stare at his hand lingering on your bare thigh, very sure that he could hear the thudding of your heart against your chest. He turns back to face forward, foot easing off the brake to ease the car ahead.

"Good girl."

[sunelia]

GOJO X READER: LOVERS

pairings: gojo satoru x gn!reader

cw: does not follow the jjk plot - gender neutral reader - established relationship - fluff - characters are both college students - might be suggestive at the end

synopsis: moments and habits you share with your lover.

word count: 1.9k

Gojo and you have a bit of a cat-and-dog dynamic. You like making fun of one another, sharing inside jokes, and even being childish together. You two are very strong-willed and have very intense personalities. You got to know him through a few mutual friends during high school. You didn't seem to enjoy each other's company at the time, or so you thought. Your conversations were solely based on teasing and challenging yourselves with dumb, imaginary quests. You didn't realized how much you liked being teased by this tall, beautiful, silver-haired man until graduation came to burst your bubble. When you did graduate and entered your university campus, you couldn't believe who was behind you, requiring you to hurry up while picking up your dorm keys. You both lost it as your eyes crossed his, lamenting to the universe why on earth you had to run into him again when you were just starting to stop thinking about him. As time passed, after bumping into him several times, you eventually grew closer over shared classes, study sessions, lunches, parties, and common interests. Laughter replaced bad jokes, silly pats on the back were exchanged for cuddles, and these glares were replaced by a tender and soft gaze. Since then, you two developed a close and sincere bond where communication and affection went hand in hand.

Movie night

You decided to meet up later after class to watch a movie to get the weekend off to a good start. After washing up, you packed a bag with extra clothes and headed to Gojo's dorm. You texted him, "I'm on my way, salt or sweet popcorn?"

He replied, "mmmh… sweet like you!" you chuckled. Man could graduate with a bachelor's degree in pick-up lines if he wanted to. 

You arrive in front of his dorm at around 8pm and knock on his door. He opens and stands in front of it, greeting you with a large smile, his arm leading you inside.

“Welcome my dear, if you'd like to make yourself at home".

You scoffed. "What a gentleman!"

You place your bag in a corner as Gojo wraps his arms around your waist and rests his head in the crook of your neck.

He kisses your cheek — “I missed you, how was your day?"

"It was actually fun, we did some prototyping during my web design class. I'm glad the day's over though." You turn around and wrap your arms around him. You lay a gentle kiss on his nose and pat his torso.

"Are you hungry?" you ask

"I've already ordered some takeout, your favorite. I wanted to surprise you.“ He's such a caring man.

"Argh, i love you so much for that you know?"

"I know you can't get enough of me!" he laughs.

His phone rings "Oh, it's our food, make yourself comfortable, get changed, you know the drill.” he says, putting on his slippers in a hurry.

You take this opportunity to change into your pajamas and make some space on the little table in front of his bed. You hear the doorbell ring and see a proud Gojo handing you your meal. You settle down on the floor after he puts the food on the table. You began to eat in a cozy environment and decide together which film you'd like to see.

"Are you down for a comedy, an animated movie, sci-fi?" Gojo asks you while he turns on the TV.

"You know how indecisive i am, Gojo, it can take me an hour to choose. But i'd say i'm leaning more for an animated movie."

He searches the animation category and comes across a few results.

You decide to get up and clean the table while heating the popcorn in the microwave.

Gojo was sitting down, focused with his messy hair covering the tiny frown on his face while his arm was resting on his raised knee.

He turns his head in your direction "Is Big Hero 6 good for you?"

You nod and grab the hot and caramelized treat

"I love this movie, great idea!" you sit back down all excited on the cushions and move closer to him.

He started the movie while you hand him the bowl. The film goes well, you laugh, cry and enjoy the moment. In the meantime, Gojo has been able to cup you in his arms while you lie half stretched out between his legs. He takes the opportunity to stroke your hair, which relaxes you even more. Before he knew it, you were already asleep. He began to hear your tiny snores and couldn't help but giggle, "My dummy..."

He turns off the TV, pushes aside anything he might trip over, and gently wakes you up.

He hates to disturb your sleep, but he can't let you lay uncomfortably on the floor. Gojo undoes the bed to buy a little time, then tries to wake you.

“y/n, wake up so i can get us on the bed".

You were deep in your sleep, almost half-unconscious. The only answer you could give him was a compilation of half chewed words and grunts. You eventually got up thanks to him supporting you. He carried you carefully onto the bed and covered you before settling down. You unconsciously pulled him towards you so that his head rests on your chest. He blushes and hugs you tenderly as he falls asleep.

When he’s not feeling well

Everything was going smoothely. You had just finished your last class of the day and was heading out to the library to study with Gojo and some of your friends. You were soon joined by them, but couldn't see your boyfriend.

One of them asks, "Is Gojo coming?"

You replied, picking up your phone, "I'll text him, let's go in anyways." All you had to do was wait and sit inside with the others after the message was sent.

You concluded, "I'm sure his teacher held up his class for a few more minutes."

——

There was still no sign of Gojo after twenty minutes. You apologized to the group and decided to quickly leave the library to call him. It wasn't typical of him to not at least text you. You tried to call him, still no response. You sensed something was off, and you knew in your heart that you needed to make sure he was okay. You returned to the library, gathered your things, and apologized once again to the group, telling them you had an emergency. You speed walk towards the building where Gojo had his last class. When you got there, you saw one of his classmates standing outside and you asked her if she had seen him.

"He unfortunately missed today's class". she says You thanked her as you were already walking away. You knew his two “get away” spots when he felt the need to take a break were his dorm or the small park close to the local coffee shop he liked.

You chose to head to the coffee shop first since it wasn't that far. You slid between the students, holding the totebag that was menacing to fall of your shoulders. You arrived in front of the park and looked the surroundings carefully. No signs of his presence. His room was the only location that remained. Before leaving, you bought him his favorite strawberry frappé.

You reach his dorm after what felt like a marathon. You catch a break and knock on his door.

He was indeed inside, lying numb on his bed, his phone on the table. He heard you and is aware that you are standing outside. After a while, he opens his door in pajamas, his eyes swollen and red. You could tell that he really wasn't feeling well.

"Hey!" You softly cupped his face "Tell me what's wrong."

"I feel like I'm messing up everything. I've failed an important test, i've got into an argument with my best friend, and i feel like a total failure." he whines

"Take this," you say as you hand him the strawberry frappé, "a little sugar boost will do you some good." He took a few sips, and kisses your forehead.

"Secondly," you take him to bed and lay him down with you.

"Despite the weight of your worries, you must solve them one by one. You've failed your test, it sucks and you feel like you did all of that for nothing. It will take a little time for you to cool off, but you can always make up for it by asking your teacher extra graded work or to retake the test."

He looks at the ceiling, sighs loudly, and grips your hands tightly.

You proceed — "Now for Geto's case, you know that you'll be able to make it up to him, you just have to talk to him frankly. Honesty comes first, especially with him."

He gives you a weak laugh, "Especially with him yes, you're right."

You both lay there hands interwined until you turn around to face his side profile.

"It's normal not to feel good, you're human. It's okay to fail, to be sad, angry and even disappointed. Never say you're not enough again because you're worth it. Come talk to me or someone you trust if you ever feel like you are carrying too much weight. You must let it all out."

He gave you a hug as he suddenly lifted you onto his chest.

"That feels good, thank you so much, can you please stay with me?"

After care

Gojo had made the decision to invite you to his hometown so that you two could spend some romantic time together as the last three days of spring break approached. Even though you could occasionally cross paths at university, it was essential that you two stay together for a longer period. You had planned a lovely evening with a dinner date and a late night walk. You spent the rest of your evening at Gojo's house, and it's safe to say that you two needed to reconnect.

A warm atmosphere started to surround you both as the gentle touches on your thigh or on his broad shoulders grew more and more insistent. Finally, a languid kiss confirmed how you both felt. So you spent a delightful late night sharing that moment of intimacy you'd missed so much. Sweet and tender words exchanged in whispers and even delicate praises. The night's soft light cast a comforting glow over you as the moment came to an end. While silently panting, you embrace one another. Gojo loved looking after you after such a significant moment. He loved touching your belly, your waist or your face, and you enjoyed snuggling up to him, playing with his hair or lying on his chest.

Following that, Gojo felt it was essential to help you clean yourself, hence why he grabbed the first shirt he saw to give it to you, guided you into the bathroom while the water began to run. He took great care of you, assisting you in washing your hair by giving it a massage. He was aware that despite how frequently you shared such intimate moments, you preferred for him to turn around while you washed your entire body. He then cleaned himself after that and was the first to exit the shower. You blushed at the sight of your partner with that towel wrapped around his waist.

Once you were clean and dry, you changed into some comfortable clothes and went back to bed to finish the rest of the night by either sleeping in the classic big and small spoon formation or talking.

line divider Sea pink by benkeibear

sunelia.

[covetedbrother]

most days i’m like “yeah i’m pretty over my ‘sam is me i’m him we are the same and he’s also my bbg my son and my dad’ phase” and then i see one (1) bad take about him and i genuinely get murderous and i’m like “ah. nevermind”

what the fuck has he ever done????

(insane samgirl ramblings under the cut bc i’m losing my fucking mind)

if you’re mad at sam for starting the apocalypse: you’re telling me that if you were dealing with the effects of dying, watching your brother die, addiction, and actively being manipulated by your DEALER and also genuinely operating under the belief that that killing a demon would be a good thing, that you wouldn’t have killed that demon?

this bothers me especially bc sam broke seal 66. because he thought it would prevent the apocalypse. dean broke the first seal. because he tortured ppl in hell!!!!!

leaving for college: imagine getting mad at an 18 year old for leaving to go to stanford on a full ride scholarship. he did that in a “household” where he never lived in the same place for more than 6 months. ever. and his only family members thought it was emasculating to do well in school.

“choosing ruby over dean”: hey. hey. look at me. imagine the person you love most in the world. that you have a toxic codependent relationship with to the point of literally getting murderous if you are separated by more than a room without your choice. you’ve known each other for forever. you’ve killed for him. he’s your brother. you have spent a full year trying to figure out how to save his life. now imagine watching him die knowing he did it to save you. and you can’t get him back. now you are actively suicidal and someone comes along and acts almost just like him and offers you this thing that gives you the power to kill the things that killed him. this person says that you have the power to stop a horrible thing from happening. you believe her. and then your brother comes back from the dead and he’s. different. he doesn’t trust you anymore. and the person who gave you power tells you that it’s because he’s being lied to and manipulated to start the tragedy you are bent on preventing. so you’re hurt and scared and trying to save the world so, just this once, you choose to work with someone other than him.

the shit that happened in s8: again. same scenario as above but now you’ve both killed and died for each other multiple times. you’ve endured over centuries of torture by the devil himself and have just started recovering from the hallucinations that you had of the literal devil torturing you and telling you that you can never feel happy bc this is just another way of torturing you. making you feel happy for a moment only to bring you back and hurt you. then your brother disappears into a pile of black goo in front of you. you have no idea how or why. you do months of research and come up with exactly nothing. life without him isn’t worth living. you’re about to drive your car off a bridge. the car you grew up with him in, the one you both engraved your initials into when you were 8 and 10. with the legos shoved into the vents that you’ve never been able to take out. you’re not paying attention so you hit a dog. shit. he doesn’t deserve to die. not like you. you take him to the vet. his medical bills need to be covered by someone. it can only be you. the vet there treats you like you deserve to live, to be loved. you fall for her. you move in together and adopt the dog you hit. maybe,,,, just maybe,,, you can be happy.

and then your brother comes back. and he’s best friends with a vampire… the vampire’s name sounds like yours.

and your brother is mad at you. then your girlfriend discovers the husband she thought was dead is alive. your brother wanted you to break up with her anyways. you’d do anything for him. always. he doesn’t forgive you. it’s what you deserve.

you take on the trials of hell to try and do something right. it’s actively killing you. every day you wake up and cough lungfuls of blood into the sink. it’s fine. these trials will probably kill you, but it’ll be ok. you’re finally doing something right. the final trial requires you to confess your greatest sins in a church. you spend hours there, and the biggest sin you confess is disobeying your brother. you confess the times you’ve let him down. you’re clean now. you’re ready to die, ready to stop any demon from ever coming to earth again. and your brother calls you an idiot and stops you because he doesn’t want to watch you die. but by now, your body is going to die with or without completing the trials. your brother coerces you into being possessed without your knowledge for a year in order to keep you alive. the thing possessing you kills your friend. your brother blames you for it. it’s fine. he cares. you know he does. he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t care.

it never. ends. THERE ARE FIFTEEN FUCKING SEASONS OF THIS SHIT

ARE YOU MAD AT HIM FOR TRYING TO GET DEAN TO NOT BE AN ALCOHOLIC? TO EAT BETTER?

MAYBE YOU’RE MAD AT HIM FOR THINKING THAT THE PERSON WHO MADE FUN OF YOU FOR DOING WELL IN SCHOOL WOULDNT KNOW WHO VONNEGUT IS?

FOR NOT FALLING TO HIS KNEES AND WORSHIPPING DEAN EVERY TIME HE ENTERS THE ROOM?

are you mad at him for forgiving his father?

maybe you’re mad because dean had bad things happen to him that didn’t happen to sam.

are you mad at the man who got into stanford on a full ride scholarship and was about to get into law school before he dropped out for thinking of himself as smart?

i think they’re mad at him bc he’s not a perfect brother who gives into dean’s codependent tendencies 100% of the time. dean has a codependent personality, and sam has a rebellious streak of independence a mile wide. his rebellion just looked like choosing school over hunting, or studying over weapon training, or reading over sparring. not that he didn’t also do those things, he just also did other things.

[zodiacs-web]

You write for Chainsawman? If so, may I ask for a platonic Kishibe and reader as his trainee? Maybe reader-chan sees him as a father figure perhaps?

Father

𖥔 Kishibe x Gn!Reader

𖥔 Synopsis: Kishibe and his trainee

𖥔 What's in the web: Platonic, hurt/comfort, mentions of alcohol, OoC Kishibe (?), barley edited

Part II

The first day you both met, he was sitting hunched over on a bench, tears stung your eyes as you watch him take a swig of his drink. You were at a park, not far from the building you just left. You were only a teenager when you met, his dull eyes staring back at your bloodshot ones.

"You look horrible," He said. "Were you sent here like that?"

Stifling a laugh as you looked away, not knowing why you found that so funny but nonetheless you found it funny. You were so young and innocent looking besides the eyes yet she told you to join the organization and Kishibe had to take care of you whether he liked it or not.

"Let me ask you a few questions." He patted the seat next to him. "But sit first."

You hesitantly moved near him, holding your breath as you neared closer, step after step. Finally sitting next to him after what felt like years, he let out a sigh once his mind started racing of what made them send you to him.

"Are you sure you want to join? I mean risking your life just to kill a devil."

"..."

"Or did she make you join?"

You glanced over at him, his face telling that he got it right. He sighs as he can already see Makima's smile in his mind, her morality ceasing with every step she takes. The youngest she took in was Denji so making her feel bad about you was not an option, nor was it ever an option.

He felt like he was supposed to make her feel that way but seeing her past behavior signaled red flags. He placed his hands on his knees and lifting himself from his spot, motioning you to follow him.

"Where are we going?" You asked, bare feet kicking up the dirt.

"To go eat." He responded.

"Oh."

He watched as you shove a hamburger down your throat, hunger stinging you for the past few days. It kind of reminded him of a dog eating anything even if it was poison, a dog who follows those who even show the slightest of kindness.

He wouldn't treat you that way, he would treat you like a human, not a dog who's only purpose is to die. Not like Makima who sought you as one. He doesn't want to be like her.

Your relationship grew as time went on he'd barely pay attention to you, eyeing the scars yet never saying anything. Seeing your eyes grow dull like his and he couldn't stand a teen like you growing up in an environment like this one. So he changed his method, he'd talk to you after your mission, asking what happened and what you wanted to do afterwards.

You'd give him weird looks but decided to just follow. After a while this became a standard thing you two had done, to keep your mind away from the growing pain. When you were on a mission, his hands shook with fear that'd you'd be dead. But you only returned with scars on your body and a smile that told him that you wanted to share the entire experience.

He never smiled, but he was still happy you were alive even as he watched shoved food down your throat.

"Hey! Can I call you dad?" You teased as you held a bottle of alcohol, a red ribbon tied around it, in your hand.

"I'd rather not." He scoffed as he took the bottle out of your hands. "We've only known each other for a few months, wait a few years then comeback."

"Oh? So you're not against the idea of being called dad."

"I'd rather marry a pretty lady and have her child call me dad than you."

You pouted as you took back the bottle and started walking away.

"You'll get arrested if you hold that bottle out so open. You're not of age."

"Let them take me."

He scoffed once more as he stood up to follow you.

"You're annoying."

[eremikas-bby]

꧁Living With the Fauna and Flora With Your Beloved꧂

"𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓰𝓸 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝔂, 𝓘 𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓮𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾. 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓼𝓾𝓷𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓸𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓯𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓪 𝓻𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀"

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀●∘◦❀◦∘●˚ ༘

Overview: Headcanons on a cottagecore life with Mikasa Ackerman Theme: Fluff, modern au, rural living, Fem! Reader A/N: This is inspired from one of the many times I shifted realities with her. This is my first time posting my writing and I’m sure I still have a long way to go so pls bear with me 🥲 Looking forward to some feedback, hihi <3

𝔹𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪:

ꕤ You used to live in the hustle and bustle of the city. Though it was fun, joyful, and lively, it was also etched with selfishness, chaos, and worldliness.

ꕤ The two of you grew up together, admiring each other from the start. She was with you and you were with her. Your hearts are knit together like a puzzle, attached to the hip, always inseparable.

ꕤ You were able to view the majestic city lights, walk in enormous buildings, listen to the jolly chittering and chattering of the crowd. You witnessed pleasure and happiness… 

Deep inside, your heart still willed for home. 

ꕤ Once you were both stable, you wanted to pursue one of your dreams of finding a place with peace, safety, and comfort. Just like how you feel with each other.

ꕤ You traveled west, to find a peaceful place. One that you can handle, sustain, admire, and protect.

ꕤ You spent months, traveling day and night to find this rural place, to build a cottage, and stay with her.

It wasn’t too flashy and elegant, it was what you just needed.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡✿˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡

ℝ𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖:

ꕤ She would lie on your chest/ vise versa but most of the time she would wake up first just to adore you 🥺 

ꕤ I’d say she’s a very light sleeper and she usually observes her surroundings and it became subconscious for her to wake up before you.

(There’s just the instinct inside her to protect her babyy <3)

ꕤ She would stroke your hair, adoring how the newly-risen sun shines on your skin. She glances at your body, glad to have found you and to be loved by you. In her thoughts, I’m sure she is down bad frrrrr (And I failed to mention, the sweet nothing she would whisper into your skin 😏)

(and damn, it’s 7am but her heart flutters at the thought of how adorable you look, vulnerable and fragile in her arms !) This takes like 30 minutes cuz idk she just loves you that much

ꕤ She will give you tiny li’l pecks when she thinks that it’s time to get out of bed, kissing you all over your face, greeting you a “Hunny, wake up now! Time for another day~”

You will be all grumpy at first but once you finally adjust your eyes to her, you’re a simp as well. And it gives you the sudden boost of serotonin to get out of bed 🤣

ꕤ Soon enough, you both are gonna feed the animals together. Likely, you guys would have a few chickens, ducks (on a river. yall just randomly give em some), 4 cats, 1 protector dog, 2 big doggos that act like a cat (they're vv lazy), and 2 horses. Mikasa would let them roam around for a while after their meal 

ꕤ Around mid-morning, you finish eating with her and she heads off to the woods to hunt some food and fill in on the supplies. To bargain, you will plant some trees and some plants nearby with whatever seed you have around.

ꕤ Upon waiting for her arrival, you would usually cook her favorite dessert, either cinnamon buns, strawberry cookies/ croissants, apple pie, a cake, etc. 

In your spare time, you'll sew/ crochet/ knit, do a bit of laundry, and/ or read a chapter or two.

ꕤ She arrives, ofc she'll anticipate a li’l kiss on the cheek as she enjoys her treat.

ꕤ On golden hour, I could see that as the perfect time for strawberry picking. You both would sometimes have mini picnics there. And go on a mini swing y'all have built in.

ꕤ As you both head back to the cottage, you sit by the waterfalls nearby. Sometimes, you would fetch some water but at times, you'll just be enjoying it, splishing and splashing.

ꕤ Come evening, you will be cooking but now with her. You give the animals some of their food and tidy up their areas.

ꕤ You clean up yourselves, preparing for bed. And you both doze off to sleep, after having a small pillow talk about how the day was.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡✿˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡

𝕆𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 ℝ𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤:

ꕤ Sometimes, you wake up before sunrise just to walk around and explore. 

ꕤ As seen from when you both woke up, she’s very protective. I’m sure that she would literally argue with you over the smallest things, like slicing too near to the knife, going near a thorny bush, running off to a deeper end of the woods before her, and touching random things you’re fascinated with.

ꕤ You named some of your animals rooted from the things that connect you (e.g. a fav character yall share, ship name you previously had off each other, fav food)

ꕤ She dedicates a flower/plant she encounters to you.

ꕤ She may act all tough and stern when she’s serious but she has a soft spot for u

ꕤ She brings you to hunt sometimes, but she’s extra scared and anxious when her hands are full

ꕤ If you do stay home, one thing that she also likes doing is kissing your nape when you’re doing something as she arrives.

ꕤ She oddly likes to sniff you sometimes… But hey, she likes your pheromones !

ꕤ You guys have matching Polaroid cameras and you would sneak pics of each other when given the chance. (And you have 3 albums of them)

ꕤ Overall, it warms her heart to see how happy you are. She appreciates your infatuation with nature.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Creds to the icon, the legend, and the kween, @nightfall-kachiniko for the idea and encouragement.

Anygays, bye. Have a great day :D

================================================

[jinkoh]

(don't) wait up on me

wooseok x reader

summary: moving in with your childhood friend/former crush doesn't seem like a good idea but you were just so bad at saying no...

tags: childhood friends, roommates, mutual pining, slow burn, jealousy (y/n is dating someone else in between), severe case of idiots to lovers, hurt/comfort, gn reader (but wears make up/jewlery), reader is a year older, somewhat alternating pov, SFW; warnings: alcohol consumption

word count: ~13k

a/n: back with some ptg after a long time~ so i started writing this fic in september 2022 and uuuh i wasn't sure i would ever complete it but it would have been such a waste to abandon this when it already had over 10k. i wont lie this story is definitely a little messy but somehow i'm still attached, maybe just bc it's been with me for so long. either way i hope you enjoy. &go listen to navy blue or sth~

Masterlist

You'd known Wooseok since you were in first grade, when his family moved in next to yours. He was a year younger than you and so incredibly adorable. The two of you immediately grew close. Neither of you had any actual siblings but Wooseok really felt like a younger brother to you.

He followed you around so much, you probably spent more time together than apart.

Your parents were just as close and it wasn’t uncommon for both families to have dinner together. His mom clearly adored you, treating you as if you were her child as well. Their flat felt like a second home to you.

You went to the same schools too (you teased him about it, saying things like "aw, can't believe you followed me to middle school and now you're following me to high school too" without meaning anything by it, the way the tips of his ears grew red going unnoticed).

He hit a growth spurt sometime around high school, towering over most of his classmates and absolutely towering over you. Maybe things started to feel a little different to you, but you decided to ignore it. You had to ignore it in order to keep the friendship you had intact.

Even though you'd both hit puberty and all that stuff, he still didn't cut it down on the physical contact, throwing himself onto you like a giant dog that doesn't realize how big he is. The way it made your heart race felt all kinds of wrong. He was supposed to be like a brother to you!

After high school you moved away to study. You purposely chose a university a little further off, in order to put some distance between the two of you and get over this. (If Wooseok found himself tearing up a bit after sending you off he didn't let on.)

Wooseok and you had never texted much and suddenly starting with it now would have been awkward. So, aside from the one or the other "how have you been" or "look what i saw the other day" you were barely in touch, spare for the few weekends you visited home.

You found yourself missing him, but it also made you feel relieved when it gave the desired effect: You started thinking about him less, and even when you saw him the weird feelings from before had subsided.

When the time came for Wooseok to apply to universities as well, he applied to yours as well (just because it has a very good reputation for his subject of course!)

He didn't tell you, feeling kinda awkward about suddenly texting you with info like that. But when the acceptance letter came in he felt like it was too late to tell you. What was he supposed to say? By the way, I applied to your university and will go there next semester?

He didn't have to tell you though, because his mom already did it in his place.

After your move, she would send you food from time to time and the well mannered kid you were, you’d always call to give her your thanks.

In one of these calls—you wanted to thank her for the kimchi she’d sent—she told you about Wooseok being accepted to your university and looking for a place to live now.

The information caught you off guard. Of course, you hadn’t talked as much these days, but you still wondered why he didn’t tell you himself. You would have been so proud of him for getting accepted, especially since your university had a good reputation in the field he wanted to study. So why?

Still a little under shock, you barely paid attention when his mom continued on, about how she’d feel so much more at ease if she knew that Wooseok wouldn’t be by himself in the big town and how your mom had also told her that your lease was running out soon.

When a random, affirmative “mhm” of yours was met with excitement and relief at the other end of the line you knew you’d gotten yourself into something stupid.

“Really, y/n, I’m so glad that the two of you will live together. Of course, we’ll help you look for a flat.”

You didn’t quite share her excitement, but you also couldn’t back out now, not when she always treated you so well. And it wasn’t as though you were uncomfortable with Wooseok. You’d long gotten over whatever those odd feelings were!

Wooseok also wasn’t the fondest of his mom's administrations. She had practically painted him to be some lost helpless country bumpkin who wouldn’t survive a day in the city by himself. And that was the last thing he wanted you to think about him.

He'd always hated being a year younger than you, because he felt as if it caused him to miss out on so much. Not only had he never had the chance to be in the same classes with you; he also felt as if you didn’t take him seriously. Neither you nor your friends ever considered him cool. No, he was always just the cute "brother" that you took care of.

So yes, his mom doing this bothered him. But at the same time it was only thanks to her that he got to live with you now. And how could he ever hate that?

Seeing you everyday didn't really help the crush he had on you. The domesticity of it all was painful to bear; the way you looked all cute and sleepy when you got your morning coffee or how you rested your head against his shoulder as if it was nothing, while the two of you were huddled together on your tiny couch.

You got closer again too, of course you were, you were literally living together.

And even though he loved it to be close to you again, it also made him realize how truly impossible it seemed for you to see him as anything more than a friend or little brother.

It also felt as if you were drawing some kind of line between the two of you. You knew his friends and they sometimes hung out at the flat. At this point they were your friends too and when Hyunggu or whoever was hosting a party it was a given that Wooseok could bring you along.

But you never really let him spend time with your friends nor did you invite them over. It made him feel left out.

(You, of course, had a reason for that—but how would he know that?)

One evening when you got up from the couch, leaving the movie night behind in favor of getting ready to go out with your friends, he felt himself getting upset, a little jealous. Why couldn't you just stay home with him? Or your friends could come over instead? He didn't say that though. Instead he just watched you scurry around with a pout. When you retrieved something from the couch table, something inside of him snapped and he latched onto your wrist.

You chuckled the way one would laugh at the cute actions of a child and tried to shake him off, telling him you really had to get ready.

But instead of letting you go he just moved to wrap his arms around your waist.

"Can't you just stay home today?" he asked, still pouting but not looking up at you.

You felt your breathing catch and your heart skip a beat but quickly shook the feeling off. Chuckling again, you peeled his arms off and told him to stop being a baby.

He mumbled a barely audible "I'm not being a baby,” but you didn’t pay it any mind. Instead, you finished getting ready, grabbed your keys and made your way to the front door.

“Don’t wait up on me,” you shouted from the hallway, before letting the door fall shut behind you. 

The sentiment of his touch still lingered, leaving a tingly feeling in its wake. You knew this was bad, really bad.It was as if all the progress, the moving on, that you’d worked so hard on had gone down the drain in a split second, just because of a mere touch.

You leaned against the closed door for a moment, taking a few steadying breaths before reaching for your phone to text your best friend Claire. Sadly, your hand came up empty. You’d left your phone on the table.

But you didn’t want to go back inside, you couldn’t. So you decided to just leave, hurrying to make it on time to your meeting place with Claire.

She noticed right away that something was up with you, immediately asking if something had finally happened between you and Wooseok.

See, that’s the problem with oversharing: Even when you think they will never meet the person in question since he literally lives in a different town, you could never be entirely sure. And then you’re stuck with a best friend who knows that you used to crush on your now-roommate and teases you about it relentlessly.

When she wiggled her eyebrows at you knowingly, it was reconfirmed once more that not letting her meet him for more than a split second was the right choice. You loved Claire with all your heart, but you couldn’t trust her to keep her mouth shut.

She eventually let the topic go though, after you insisted that nothing had happened, and you made your way to the party she’d been invited to. It was her lawyer boyfriend’s crowd. Most people there seemed to be a little older than you, 4 to 5 years maybe, and so put together that you felt out of place in your worn out sneakers.

You sat in some corner nursing your drink when a guy came up to sit next to you asking if you were doing okay. He was handsome with his slicked back hair and the rolled up sleeves of his white dress shirt.

He wanted to know what's wrong and because he was so sweet and because you were already getting tipsy, you actually told him about what was preying on your mind. He listened to you calmly, letting you get it all out. Then he smiled softly. “Maybe you just needed a bit of a distraction?”

You didn't sleep with him that night. You could have, it was clear from the way he looked at you. But you hadn’t wanted to and he hadn’t pressured you either.

Instead you just talked for a really long time at the party and he walked you back to the station afterwards. You talked so much and walked so slowly that you missed your bus, so he offered to call you a cab. You declined, but he insisted.

Before the cab arrived he asked if he could have your number.

An apologetic smile crossed your face. “I actually forgot my phone.”

“Ah I see, guess I'm being rejected.” He chuckled defeatedly.

“No, I promise it’s not an excuse. I really did forget my phone. My friend scolded me about it too.”

He considered you for a moment, his gaze wandering from one eye to the other before he nodded slowly.

“Mhm, then, how about this-” He started cramming out a pen and a piece of paper from his bag, scribbling something down before he handed it to you. “I’ll just give you my number, and if you feel like it you text me. And if you don’t, you don’t. Okay?”

You nodded. “Okay.”

The cab arrived and he paid before opening the door for you and saying goodbye with a kiss to your cheek.

It was probably around 3 or 4 am when you unlocked the door to your apartment. You tried to be quiet, tiptoeing through the living room to get to your room, when you noticed soft breathing noises. Wooseok was curled up on the sofa, that was way too small for his height, sleeping soundly.

You walked over and pulled a blanket over him, shaking your head with a fond smile. "I told you not to wait up on me,” you whispered barely audibly, more to yourself than to him.

He blinked his eyes open and looked at you through the dark, his hand latching onto yours.

"You forgot your phone.” His voice was thick with sleep. “I was worried.”

You swallowed around the lump that was building in your throat and pulled your hand away.

"If you're awake now you should go to sleep in your bed.”

He made some grumpy noise instead of a proper reply and you just disappeared to your room.

When you were laying in bed, you still saw his sleepy eyes in front of you, looking at you through the darkness with drowsy affection.

It drove you crazy.

You tiptoed out of bed and got the little piece of paper out of your jeans pocket, before you slipped back under your blankets.

And then you texted the guy.

You met up with him a few times after that and he absolutely pampered you. He was always so sweet, inviting you to dinner or a coffee and seeing you home afterwards.

Wooseok caught on eventually, watching you with eagle eyes when you put on perfume or wore shoes that he knew you saved for important occasions. You didn't have to say you were going on dates for him to know and when he eventually asked about it you admitted to meeting someone.

It stung when he heard you say it but he couldn't stop his curiosity. So he asked more about him, his name and what he was doing and how old he was.

He immediately regretted asking. Knowing that he was older and a lawyer just made his insecurities worse. Curiosity killed the cat has never rang so true.

Why did it have to be someone older than you? Why did it have to be someone with a proper job and money while he was just some broke student?That guy would treat you to fancy dinners, while Wooseok was the pathetic roommate for whom you had to cover the rent when his money was getting tight. It haunted him but he couldn't say anything about it. What right did he have?

You started spending less time at the flat and more time with the lawyer guy.

It was good to have a distraction, you told yourself (even if it didn't really work at all. even if you were still thinking about Wooseok all the time, the way he looked at you, the way his hand felt wrapped around your wrist).

Aside from your uncooperative heart, the dates were going well. It had felt a little one sided at first, you only sharing your worries and him not sharing any of his. But as you spent more time together he also started to confide in you about stress from work. He told you about his family too, his older sister, his mom and all these things.

"Maybe you can meet them sometime" he said one afternoon and it sounded casual but when you met his eyes you felt a heavy meaning behind it.

You just smiled and nodded, saying you'd love to but feeling a little unsettled about it. Maybe it wasn't fair to meet him when you were clearly having feelings for someone else.

He noticed your sudden change in mood though and reassuringly took your hand in his.

"No pressure, dear. I'm not trying to force you into anything, okay?"

He was always like that, showing you how interested he was in you but still giving you time and space.

Eventually, he asked you if you wanted to make it official and date him. You hesitated, not sure if it was okay to say yes, but he smiled softly and told you that he didn’t mind if you didn't feel that way about him yet or that you were still hung up on your childhood friend. You could just try, right?

So you found yourself saying yes.

Dating him was nice. He still treated you well, taking you out for dinner or buying presents for you (even though you kept insisting he didn't need to). You started spending most of your weekends at his place and it almost felt as if you were living someone else's life.

His flat was big and clean and fancy. There weren't any dirty dishes on the counter (that Wooseok didn't do again), because your boyfriend had a dishwasher that took care of it. His couch too looked expensive and was actually big enough for two people to sit on comfortably. (Nothing like the small ratty couch in your flat, that barely fit Wooseok on it by himself, leaving the two of you to always huddle together in order not to fall off.)

Everything in your boyfriend's flat was better from an objective point of view. But it didn't feel much like a home.

You were at his place again that weekend, sitting together on his couch and watching TV.

After glancing at the time and realizing it was already afternoon you untangled yourself from him in order to head back.

"You don't have to go home though. You can just stay."

You shook your head. “I can’t, I have to prepare for my classes.”

“Can’t you do it from here?”

“I don’t have my things here.”

“Why not?”

"Huh?" You looked at him in confusion.

"I mean. Why don't you have some of your things here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're here every weekend anyway. Why not leave some stuff here?"

You just stared at him, not knowing how to reply. It never occurred to you to do that. Somehow you'd always felt like a guest in his home. Clearly it hadn't been his intention to make you feel that way but you did and it didn’t seem appropriate for a guest to leave things around.

"Or you know," he continued "you could also just move in. I have enough space."

You hadn’t known what to say before, but now you were completely at a loss of words. You just stared at him in disbelief. Eventually, he smiled and leaned in to you, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear before he got up from the couch.

"Just think about it, hm?"

You nodded and then he helped you gather your clothes and drove you back.

When you reached home Wooseok was  sitting in the living room. He barely acknowledged you walking in. Things had been like this between the two of you for a while now; a little awkward, a little cold. You hated it but maybe that’s what was necessary in order to get over him?

You sighed and went to the kitchen, being welcomed by a stash of dishes in the sink. It struck a nerve with you, but you didn’t want to pick a fight, so you just sighed again. After getting yourself a glass of water you disappeared into your room to prepare for classes. But somehow you couldn’t stop thinking about what your boyfriend had said. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea?

When you got out of your room later that evening with your laptop under your arm Wooseok was sitting there again (or still?). You squeezed yourself onto the couch next to him, but instead of scooting over he just got up to leave without even saying a single word.

It made you angry. Why was he treating you like this? You glared after him but when he didn't turn around you snapped. 

"Are you being serious right now?!"

He turned around then, looking annoyed. "What?"

"Are you seriously going to ignore me like this? You haven't seen me all weekend and this is what I come home to?!"

You were angry but mostly you were hurt by his behavior.

Wooseok just shrugged. "If it bothers you then don't come home I guess. You're at his flat all the time anyway, why do you even bother?"

That stung. That really really stung.

You didn't want to have tears welling up in your eyes but you couldn't help it.

"Maybe I should! He asked me to move in with him, and I might just say yes!"

You shut your laptop angrily to get back to your room. When you walked past him Wooseok was looking at you with big eyes.

"...are you really?"

You avoided his gaze. "Maybe. What's it to you?"

With that you disappeared to your room, slamming the door behind you.

After the fight you texted your boyfriend if you could stay with him for a bit. So, the next day after classes he used his break to pick you up before driving back to work. Left alone in the flat you felt a little lost. You'd never been there by yourself and somehow you were worried about touching or dirtying or using anything. What if something broke? You supposed though, that this feeling would go away if you stayed a little longer. You sat down on his couch to do your university work and then ordered food because you didn't dare to use his kitchen.

You stayed like this with him for a few days, him often working late but always making sure to call you in his lunch break. It was sweet, really.

One evening, when he came home a little earlier than usual, he caught you sitting on the couch, the pizza carton from your dinner still on the couch table. He looked at it kinda funnily and you immediately apologized for not throwing it out yet.

But he just shook his head with a smile. "Y/n, have you been ordering pizza for dinner every day this week?"

"...maybe."

He laughed softly before he leaned in to kiss you on the cheek. “You know I have a kitchen right? You're allowed to use it."

You chuckled awkwardly.  “I'll keep that in mind."

And yet, the next day, you found yourself eating pizza again.

As the end of the week approached, you realized you hadn't packed for staying a long time. Of course, you could hypothetically wash at his place but it was another thing you didn't feel comfortable doing and somehow the prospect of him handling your dirty laundry felt even worse. So, it was time to stop at home to pick up some fresh clothes …or to go home for good.

The two of you were cuddling on Thursday night, when you told him and he was mumbling into your neck that he could just drive you on the weekend. But you insisted on going by yourself. You felt it was better not to let him run into Wooseok right now but you didn't tell him that.

When you unlocked the door at home on Friday it was so quiet you assumed you were alone. You went to the kitchen to fetch your favorite tea. But as soon as you walked in, you stilled for a moment. It was squeaky clean, no dishes anywhere, nor any crumbs.

Still caught up in your surprise you didn't notice that Wooseok had walked up to the kitchen.

"You're back," he said, standing in the door frame with big surprised eyes.

Seeing him again after a few days made your chest feel warm. None of the anger of the last time you'd seen him was left, you were just glad to have him around. You looked at him for a moment before you shrugged.

"This is still my home too, you know."

"I thought… maybe you wouldn't come back anymore."

You raised the package of tea in some sort of wave. "I'm just picking up a few things."

Wooseoks face fell. "Oh."

“Yeah.” 

The air between you turned tense again, so you tried to escape the situation by slipping past him into the living room to gather some things. Wooseok silently trailed behind you like a lost puppy, as you went from room to room to put this and that into your bag. When you went over to your bed to pack your pillow, Wooseok was watching you from the door frame.

"Can't you just... stay?"

You already wanted to decline but when you looked up and your eyes met his, your heart sank. He looked so sad. You just couldn't say no to him

You put your pillow back down before you slowly nodded. "Maybe just for a bit."

The two of you made some makeshift dinner in the kitchen together and even though it was a bit of an interesting combination it tasted like heaven after days of pizza only. The rest of the evening was spent huddled together on the couch. It felt familiar and comfortable and like home. Only now you realized how much you'd missed this over the past week. 

You completely forgot that you were supposed to go back to your boyfriend, only getting reminded when your phone vibrated on the table later that night, a message popping up on the screen.

where are you?

Wooseok must have seen it too from the way he quickly averted his eyes when you glanced over at him. He was trying really hard to look anywhere but your phone screen, when you picked it up to reply. 

sorry I’ll stay home after all

Then you set your phone aside again, resting your head against Wooseok’s shoulder and focusing back on the movie.

After a while he cleared his throat.

"Don't you have to like... go back to your boyfriend or something?" It sounded timid.

"Not today."

You thought you saw a little smile tug at the corners of his lips but you didn't comment on it.

It was the first weekend in a while that you were spending at the flat with Wooseok. It really felt as if you'd never fought in the first place and you could almost trick yourself into thinking the awkwardness hadn't happened either.

But then from time to time there were small moments where you felt as if he was tiptoeing around you, like the way his hand sometimes halted before touching you and then pulled away, or how he looked at you as if you could just disappear any second.

On Monday you had to go back to your boyfriend’s place since you'd left your laptop (and other things) at his and you could only last so long without them.

Somehow you felt caught between the chairs. You knew your boyfriend would want you to stick around. But you’d only just made up with Wooseok and you didn’t want to leave him alone again. You couldn’t.

You went to his flat when you knew he was at work, messaging him that you'd pick up your things. He didn't seem happy about it but he didn't try to stop you either. What he did try though, was telling you to wait until the evening so he could drive you home. But you felt as if in the end, instead of driving you home he'd probably convince you to stay after all so you declined.

You met up with him later that week for dinner. He picked you up with a flower bouquet in his hand. Even now after you’d been dating for a while, he was still showering you in small gifts and tokens. It honestly felt a little too much, as if he was trying to buy your affection, but you tried to be grateful, since convincing him to stop hadn’t worked.

While the two of you were sitting at your table, waiting for the food to come, he asked you if you'd thought about moving in together.

“I’m not trying to pressure you,” he assured. “I just want to know what you’re thinking.”

You slowly moved your head from side to side. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve only just patched things up with Wooseok, I don’t want to risk this…”

Your boyfriend nodded but there was worry in his eyes.

"I know you don't want to hurt him. But you can't always put him first, dear. Maybe a little distance would be for the best. You need to stop waiting for something that won’t happen."

His words made you swallow. Was that really what it was? Were you waiting? And did it really have no chance of happening? 

You switched topics after that, talking about this and that, from work and university to your upcoming birthday. He asked if you’d be okay to spend your birthday evening with him since it conveniently fell onto a Saturday. Somehow you considered for a moment, racking your brains for potential reasons to decline, before ultimately saying yes when you came up empty.

After dinner, the two of you strolled through town for a bit. Most shops were already closed but you stopped here and there to gaze in through the lit up store windows. At a jeweler, your gaze got stuck on a necklace in the display. Your boyfriend noticed and smiled.

"You like that one, huh?"

"Yeah. actually—no that will probably sound childish."

Your boyfriend bumped you in the side "No, tell me."

"Actually that necklace is from an older collection. It came out years ago and I fell in love at first sight when I saw it back then."

"Oh, like what happened when I first saw you?" He grinned and you rolled your eyes before turning back to the necklace.

"I actually made a promise to myself back then. That I would buy it with my first proper paycheck."

"That's cute,” he said and it somehow made you feel childish after all. It made sense though, the price of the necklace was probably just peanuts to him with his well paying lawyer job. You shook your head and dragged him to move on. "Let’s go."

When your birthday rolled around you were woken up by a timid knock on your door. You groaned in reply and Wooseok shuffled in, a glass with chocolate milk in his hand. It was a small tradition from when you were kids to have chocolate milk with colorful sugar sprinkles on birthdays. The last time you’d done this was probably when you were around 7th grade, so him reviving this tradition now that you were living together warmed your heart.

He set it onto your night stand with a small smile. “Happy birthday, y/n.”

You sat up in bed to take a sip from it. "Thank you.”

“You have a little—” Wooseok chuckled, gesturing at his lips. “Yeah, you got it,” he continued as your tongue darted out to get rid of the milk stuck on your upper lip.

Then you realized the slightly burned smell wafting into your room.

"Uhm, Wooseok, do you have something on the stove?"

His eyes grew wide and he rushed out of the room with a panicked “Oh, no, the pancakes!”

When you came to the kitchen a little later, it was an utter mess. Wooseok was scurrying around trying to plate some slightly burned pancakes with cinnamon and maple syrup. As soon as he noticed your presence, he started pouting.

"You weren't supposed to come in," he complained, his eyes wandering to the little tray he'd started to prepare with a glass of orange juice and the plate of pancakes on it.

Seeing the effort he’d put into this (even if it didn’t go perfectly well) gave you a fuzzy feeling in your stomach. 

"Sorry," You said with an apologetic smile, feeling sorry for destroying the surprise. "But this way we can eat together?"

He was still pouting but reluctantly agreed and the two of you sat at the table to have breakfast. He told you about what he'd come up with for your birthday, giving you a bunch of options to choose from. It included stuff like watching your favorite movie, going to the zoo, taking a walk, playing laser tag, etc.

It was cute how he'd thought about what to do for your birthday but still gave you room to choose yourself. Honestly speaking, you wanted to do everything on his list.

Sadly, since you'd promised to have an early dinner with your boyfriend, that fell flat. He'd managed to reserve a table at a really fancy restaurant that had a sheer endless waiting list. So, since you’d taken your time with breakfast and would have to get ready before dinner there wasn't really that much time to do many things from the list.

You didn't dare to look up at Wooseok when you told him.

"Oh," he replied. "But, uhm, do you still want to do something before that though?"

“I’d love that.” A relieved smile washed over his face at your words.

The two of you decided to get some coffee from your favorite café and then just strolled through the park close to your college. Two geese were waddling around on the grass, loudly quacking at each other.

"Don't they kinda sound like old ladies having an argument?" You giggled.

Wooseok joined in on your laughter. "Marianne," he quacked. "Did you really bring your divorced son to church on sunday?!"

You bursted into laughter, almost spitting out the sip of coffee in your mouth.

"Listen, Karen," You chimed in, your voice funny too. "The lord forgives all."

The two of you fooled around like that for a while, Wooseok making you laugh to the point where tears formed in your eyes. You couldn't remember the last time you'd had this much fun. While your boyfriend was a sweetheart, he wasn't one to joke around that much.

After a while your eyes fell onto a clock in the park making your eyes grow wide. It was way later than anticipated and you really had to get going now in order to get ready. You didn't want to admit it but you would have much rather spend your time with Wooseok than to go to that fancy dinner. But the table was already booked and you'd promised to go. So, the two of you went home, you got ready and then waited for your boyfriend to pick you up.

The restaurant was really nice but it once again gave you that feeling of living someone else's life instead of your own. That feeling had been exciting at first, but it was slowly starting to shift to something slightly uncomfortable. Maybe you liked your own life better, burned pancakes and all.

It was just an evening though! And your boyfriend had gone all out to make this possible!

The tiny meals with their fancy names didn't mean anything to you and maybe pizza would have done the job but you smiled and nodded when asked if it was tasty. You shared a dessert, some fancy flan with liquor in it. It was a little too bitter for you but you didn't want to say. You already felt like a child between all these chic people, you didn't want to out yourself as someone with a childlike palate on top of it.

"I hope you enjoyed dinner?" your boyfriend asked with the sweetest smile

You smiled and nodded, opening your mouth when he held out a spoon full of dessert for you.

"You really didn't have to do all this though," You said after you swallowed.

"But i wanted to"

"Thank you."

"Now are you ready for your present?"

You looked at him in confusion. You thought this dinner itself was already the present. What more was going to come?

He took out a small box from his jacket and slid it over to you.

"What is this?" Your hands felt oddly sweaty. It obviously wasn't a ring – the box was long and flat – but it still looked expensive.

"Open it.”

The moment your eyes fell onto the shiny necklace inside, you started feeling sick to your stomach.

It was pretty, of course it was. Because this was your necklace. The necklace you'd wanted to buy yourself.

You didn't know what to say and just stared at it.

"Are you happy?"

You felt like crying.

No, you weren't happy at all but you also couldn't really say that after receiving an expensive gift, right?

"Uh- it's unexpected," You pressed out.

"I knew how much you wanted this."

"...Yeah"

"You were giving me a hint when you told me that story weren’t you?"

Your head shot up and you stared at him in confusion. "What?"

“I thought you were trying to tell me to get it for you, since you can't afford it.”

“No,” You whispered, your voice shaking. "I meant it when I said I wanted to get it for myself.”

"Ah, I see. But now you can just save up for something else instead." He looked caught off guard at first but quickly smiled again. “Shall we slowly get going?"

You nodded, still feeling sick. You closed the box again and stuffed it into your bag while your boyfriend paid. When you left he reached out for one of your hands but you put them into your pockets, pretending not to notice.

"You're coming home with me, right?"

You knew it had been implied in the plans to go back to his place and spend the night together. But right now you just wanted to go home.

Why did you always have to go to his place anyway? Of course, he didn't have a roommate and it was a bigger place and all that. But from time to time it would have been nice if he'd at least offered to come visit you instead of always assuming that you'd to come over…

When you didn't reply he softly nudged you in the side.

"Where are you with your head, love?"

"Ah," you looked at him before averting your eyes again. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." His hand pushed back a strand of your hair that had fallen into your forehead. "By the way, where is the necklace? Should I put it on for you?"

"I'm already wearing my scarf now." You chuckled in an attempt to make it come out more lighthearted, but it just sounded awkward. "Maybe later."

"We can just take the scarf off and put it back on?" He suggested, his hand already moving to remove it.

You stopped him by holding onto the soft fabric.

"Maybe later," You repeated with a little more force this time

"Okay."

"Yeah."

"So, should we go home?" He asked and it somehow irked you how naturally he referred to his place as home, as if it was yours too.

"I think I want to go back to my place tonight, I'm kinda tired."

He frowned. "What's up with you?"

"I just—It was just a lot today."

"Is it about the necklace?"

You didn't reply.

"Does it bother you that I got it for you?"

"I just," you pressed out, your voice feeling choked up "It was something i wanted to get for myself..."

He sighed. "Don't be so upset, dear. It was a simple miscommunication. You can just buy a different necklace or spend your money on other things.”

He  didn't seem to get your point at all.

"I don't want to spend my money on other things."

"Are you really angry at me for buying you a necklace you wanted?!"

You shrugged, fighting against the tears welling up in your eyes.

"I didn't just want the necklace. I wanted to buy it."

"Fine," he said, sounding annoyed. You couldn't remember hearing his voice like this before. "If it bothers you so much we can just bring it back and you can choose a different one. And then someday if you have the money you can buy this one for yourself.”

"It won't be the same anymore. If I buy it now it won't feel the same.”

"So what do you want me to do then?"

"I don't know. I just wanna go home."

“Okay. I'll drive you.”

You shook your head. “No, not today.”

"C'mon just let me drive you. I'll feel unsettled to let you go by yourself at this time of day."

"I'm okay. Really. So please..."

"Fine." He turned to go to his car that one of the restaurant’s workers had already driven up again.

"Wait," you followed a few steps behind.

He turned back at you with a smug smile, ready to open his car door for you. But instead he was met with the little jewelry box that you held out to him.

He sighed. "You really don't want to keep it?"

"I can't."

You watched him as he drove off and the second he was gone you crouched down on the pavement, sobbing.

You were hurt and frustrated. Of course, your boyfriend hadn't meant any harm, but it felt as if he didn't understand you at all. Him gifting you this necklace almost felt as if he was looking down on you, telling you that you wouldn't ever be able to afford it yourself anyway. Maybe you were being overly petty about this, but you wished he had at least said sorry instead of only justifying himself or trying to convince you it wasn't something to be hurt about. He'd tainted this for you and even if you'd buy this necklace for yourself someday it would always have a bitter after taste.

You cried and sobbed your heart out, ignoring the odd looks you got from people passing by. You didn't feel like getting up and walking to the station, nor did you want to sit in the tram looking like this. But you couldn't call a cab, because your boyfriend was right, you were just some dumb little girl without money.

This was probably the worst birthday you’d ever had, you thought. But then you remembered the way it started, and the memory of it managed to put a small smile on your lips.

You took out your phone and opened Wooseok’s chat.

can you pick me up? you texted, your finger hovering over the button for a while before pressing send. 

It took like two seconds before Wooseok replied and asked for your location. You sent it to him and then stuffed your phone back into your pocket, hugging your legs to your chest and waiting for him to arrive. Your cheeks felt weird from all the crying and your nose was running and you were cold and you just hoped he’d be there soon.

It probably took him around 15 minutes and you had no idea how he’d managed to do that. He came to a halt with his bicycle when he spotted you, getting off the saddle and pushing it towards you. There was worry in his eyes and his breath came out in puffs and you'd never been this glad to see someone before.

Wooseok didn't ask any questions. Instead, he just parked his bike and crouched down in front of you. He got out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped away your tears and helped you blow your nose. You should have probably felt terrible about it, having someone younger than you take care of you like that, but you just let it happen.

He helped you up and told you to hold on tight when you got onto the back of his bicycle. You wrapped your arms around his waist and leaned your head against his back. The warmth of his body felt soothing and comforting and you just let him take you home in silence.

As soon as you arrived, he absolutely babied you, making  tea and wrapping you into a cozy blanket as you huddled together on the couch.

He still didn't ask what happened and you were grateful for it, not really ready to talk about it and also unsure if maybe you'd overreacted after all and the whole fight was ridiculous.

Wooseok put on your comfort movie on the TV and you rested your head against his shoulder, feeling your eyes fall shut not even a third into the movie. 

When you woke up the next day, you found yourself tugged to bed without any memory of getting there. You were still drowsy and sleepy and not aware of your surroundings or anything, really.

Checking your phone for the time, you noticed that your boyfriend had left you a message asking if you got home safely. Seeing it made the memories of the evening return. You recalled the overly fancy dinner and most of all you recalled his oh so thoughtful gift. 

Tears immediately welled up in your eyes again and you hated it. It made you feel pathetic and as though you were making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe you really were being overdramatic, making it bigger than it was.

But it felt as if he destroyed something really important to you. It hurt.

What hurt even more was that he clearly didn't understand your problem at all. To him it was just some necklace,  he couldn't see the value behind it. He couldn't see that it was more than a necklace to you. It was a symbol of making it, of achieving something by yourself.  It stood for independence. And he took that all away from you, by buying you the one thing you didn’t want anyone else to get for you.

You set your phone aside without opening his message and buried yourself under your blanket again, unwilling to face the day yet.

It was Sunday, so with no classes to  attend you were free to do just that. For a while you drifted in and out of sleep, finding yourself sobbing into your pillow in between.

All of this made you feel so wrong.

It wasn't just the necklace. The necklace somehow triggered something bigger; it made you question your whole relationship with him. It made you question why you always felt like someone else when you were with him. As if you were a little kid trying on your mom's high heels.

And you were tired of it. You wanted your own shoes back.

After a while—you must have slipped back to sleep yet again—you heard soft knocking against your door. When you groaned in reply, the door opened a crack and Wooseok stuck his head in.

"Y/n?" he asked softly before slipping into the room and closing the door behind him, a steaming cup in his hand.

You hid your face behind the blanket, convinced that you must be looking like pure horror from all the crying. Heck, now that you thought of it you couldn't remember taking off your make up yesterday so you probably had terrible panda eyes. Probably already did by the time Wooseok picked you up yesterday. 

It was quiet for a moment, before you heard the hesitant shuffling of steps coming closer.

"I made you tea."

You didn't reply nor did you come out from under the blanket.

"Uh, I'll just–uh–put this here," he mumbled and you heard him set the cup onto your night stand.

It got quiet again and you thought he'd leave but then you felt the mattress dip as he sat down on the edge of it. He sat there for a while not really saying anything. You didn't move either.

"Are you okay?" he eventually tried again.

"I'm okay," you replied but your voice came out croaky and thin.

"Won't you come out?"

You shook your head.

"Why not?"

"I'm a mess"

"C'mon, y/n, i saw you after your wisdom tooth removal when you were drooling all over yourself. What could be worse than that?"

He had a point there. This was Wooseok after all, he already saw your most shameful sides anyway. Hesitantly, you pulled down the blanket revealing your puffy face.

Wooseok smiled at you softly. “See? I've totally encountered worse."

Now you had to giggle too and it somehow made tears roll down your cheeks again. 

Wooseok's eyes grew wide and he panicked, lifting his hands to do something, anything, against the tears but not really knowing what. Watching flail so helplessly made you giggle more which in turn made you cry more too. You wiped at the corners of your eyes still smiling as you mumbled a quiet "You're an idiot."

He shrugged. “Takes one to know one."

You just rolled your eyes at him and it got quiet again.

"Tea?" Wooseok asked after a while.

You nodded before sitting up in your bed, leaning against the headboard. He reached out to you, as if he was trying to help you sit (even though you clearly didn't need the help) before he moved his attention to the tea instead, passing the cup to you. You took it in both hands, blowing on it a few times before taking a careful sip.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

You didn't look up at him and stared at the steam of your cup instead. "I don't know."

"You don't have to"

"It's probably stupid anyway."

"If it makes you cry like that it isn't stupid."

You swallowed, feeling tears well up yet again at his words. For fucks sake why couldn't you just stop crying already?!

You shrugged. “We went out for dinner."

"Okay," he replied patiently.

"He bought me jewelry."

"Mhm."

"A necklace."

"Okay."

"...It was my necklace," you finally supplied, convinced that Wooseok wouldn't even remember and that you'd have to explain more.

But the moment you said it his eyes widened in surprise "The first paycheck necklace?"

Somehow it moved you that he remembered it.

You nodded slowly.

"And did he uh... did he know?"

"...Yeah."

Wooseok frowned at you. "Then why would he buy it?!"

Relief washed over you when he asked that, making you feel less like an overdramatic nuisance and more as if your frustration about this was actually valid

"He meant well," you mumbled.

"You don't have to defend him."

"He thought i really wanted it," you defended him anyway.

"But you didn't just want it. You wanted to buy it yourself and he knew that."

You nodded. "Yeah."

He nodded too, realizing that maybe his words weren't the most comforting.

"I'm sorry that happened, y/n"

"Thank you."

"...so what will you do?"

"About him? I don't know..."

Wooseok hadn't meant him, he'd meant the necklace. But when you seemed so unsure about being with your boyfriend a small part of him felt hopeful, almost glad.

He immediately shushed that part though. You were having a horrible time and there was nothing he hated more than seeing you unhappy. This wasn't the time to hope for anything.

"Do you- uh," he interrupted himself, not sure what to do with himself. "Can I do anything for you?"

"Turn back time maybe?"  A shallow laugh escaped your lips.

"You know I would," he said. And he meant it. If he could, he would turn back time to before you even met that guy. "But is there anything a little less impossible?"

Honestly, all you wanted right now were comfort cuddles, but you didn't know if you could ask for that. You stared at the tips of your fingers that were wrapped tightly around the tea cup.

"Maybe we could watch a movie?"

He smiled fondly and nodded.

"Wanna move to the living room then?"

You hesitated. "No."

"Oh." he blushed and looked away from you. "Okay. I'll uh get my laptop then..."

He got up again to leave, but before reaching the door he turned back around to you

"What about food?"

You shrugged.

"I'll get you something."

"...Thank you"

After a while, he came back, carrying way too many things at once as he maneuvered himself into the room. He had his laptop under his arm, a package of waffles in one hand, a small bowl with cut up apples in the other and it seemed like he had something in the pocket of his hoodie too.

You had to chuckle when you saw him coming in

"Do you need help?"

"Mostly I need you to scoot over a bit."

You obliged and he carefully set the food on your nightstand while you pulled out the laptop from underneath his arm.

He halted for a moment before he sat down next to you, slipping under the blanket that you held up for him.

Whatever was in his pocket was making a rustling plastic noise as he sat down.

"Ah, right," he mumbled, pulling out the package of cleansing tissues you usually kept in the bathroom and handing it over to you.

"You know, in case you want to..." He vaguely gestured at his face.

"That bad, huh.” You grabbed the package from his hand with a chuckle.

"It's fine."

You wiped your face, all the smeared left over makeup coming off, while he set up his laptop.

"So, what do you want to watch?" 

"Something corny and romantic."

He scrunched up his face but didn't reject the idea. Instead he googled romantic movies and put on one that he'd heard of before.

In hindsight though, it probably hadn’t been the best choice.

You were munching on a waffle that Wooseok had passed to you as the first scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's rolled over the screen, Audrey Hepburn longingly staring at the bracelets behind the display window.

Wooseok noticed his mistake immediately but it was already too late. When he glanced over at you, big elephant tears were running down your cheeks again, dripping onto the waffle you were eating.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know— should I put on something else?"

You shook your head, still munching on the tear drained waffle.

"I gave it back to him," you mumbled between bites, your eyes still focused on the laptop screen where the movie continued.

"That's good."

"I really wanted to buy it."

"You could still buy it?"

You shook your head again before resting it against Wooseok's shoulder. You felt him tense up for a moment at the sudden proximity.

"It wouldn't be the same."

"... Yeah. I know."

For a while it was silent except for the sound of the movie running, but then Wooseok softly raised his voice again.

"We'll find something new." He scooted down on your bed a bit so he could rest his head against yours.

"We'll find something new that you can gift yourself. And then we won't tell anyone about it so no one can beat you to buying it because no one will know."

"You will know."

"Yeah. But I'd never buy it for you."

"Pinky promise?" You held out your hand in front of him and he intertwined your finger with his

"Pinky promise."

You knew you couldn’t just ghost your boyfriend forever, he didn’t deserve that. So after holing up at home with Wooseok the rest of the weekend, you decided to face the music on Monday. 

You wrote him a message, telling him you got home well and if he was okay to meet up with you one of these days. The two of you decided on Tuesday. He asked if he should pick you up after classes and take you back to his place but you declined, asking for a walk in the park instead.

Frankly speaking, you weren’t sure how the conversation would go. You weren’t sure what consequences would be drawn for the two of you. But whether you’d break up or not you had the urge to meet in a neutral place. Somehow throughout this relationship, you’d always intruded in his places. Starting with the party where you met, a party of his friends where you’d barely belonged, and continuing from there: His home, his car, his favorite restaurants, the cafés he recommended—you were always his guest. But this time, you needed to be on equal footing.

“Are you going to… break up with him?” Wooseok asked hesitantly between spoons of ice cream, when you told him about it on Monday evening.

“I don’t know,” you replied truthfully, before dipping your spoon into the shared family pack that was sitting on the couch table.

He nodded. “Just do what feels right.”

“I’ll try.” 

“Should we leave some of the ice cream in case you need it tomorrow?”

You looked at the box thoughtfully before taking another spoonful. “Nah, I don’t have that kind of self-restraint.”

“Thank god.”

“You know,” you mindlessly started again. “I wish I could have felt at home with him the way I do with you.”

Wooseok looked at you with an unsatisfied frown. "Why? Is it not enough when it's me you feel at home with? Isn’t one home enough?"

You giggled. “No, I think you’re right. It’s enough, as long as I have you.”

You weren’t sure what you’d had expected, but somehow everything felt off and different when you met your boyfriend on Tuesday. It was as if a single weekend had made strangers out of you. 

From the moment your eyes met each other on your campus, the two of you were stiff. You didn’t know how to greet him. Were you supposed to kiss and hug? That’s what you usually did but today you didn’t want to.

Seemingly, your boyfriend had similar struggles because he just awkwardly raised his hand in a wave.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” you replied.

You stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say before he nodded in the direction of the park. “Should we go?”

“Yeah…”

The weird silence returned as you set foot into the park and continued for quite a while afterwards. You could hear the geese quacking in the distance and you would have said something about it if the one walking with you had been Wooseok. But it wasn't.

“So,” he said eventually. “You didn’t just meet me to take a walk in silence right?”

“No.”

“Well, then talk.”

“I just… I felt really hurt about the present to be honest,” you carefully started.

He scoffed. “Yeah, I noticed.”

You immediately regretted bringing it up. Maybe you were being stupid for making such a fuss after all.

But then Wooseok’s words rang in your head again giving you a little confidence. If it makes you cry like that it isn't stupid.

You took a deep breath.

“I told you that I wanted to buy this necklace for myself and what it meant to me. So when you just bought it for me, it felt as if you didn’t listen to me.”

“I already told you it was a misunderstanding. Usually when your date brings up jewelry it’s because they want it. So I just assumed—is it really something to be so dramatic about?”

You frowned. “I’m allowed to feel hurt about this.”

“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way.” 

He didn’t actually roll his eyes but his expression and the tone in his voice made you feel like he did. It was obvious that he didn’t feel sorry at all. And what kind of apology was that anyway? I’m sorry you feel that way? Shouldn’t it be I’m sorry I made you feel that way? But maybe you were being nit-picky.

When you didn’t reply he sighed. “So what now?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Are we seriously breaking up because of a mere necklace?”

“I wasn’t–'' You interrupted yourself. What were you going to say? That you weren’t going to break up with him? Were you really not? 

You shook your head defeatedly. “It’s more than that. But that you can’t see that and that it’s still just a mere necklace to you is part of the problem.”

“Well, if I can’t see it then explain it to me!” The way he raised his voice made you flinch, but you tried your best to stay composed and not let any insecurity show on your face.

Still, your voice quivered when you spoke up. “I just—I feel so small when I’m with you.”

“Small? That’s ridiculous.”

“I’m not saying it’s your fault. But when we’re together I feel small and pathetic. I just do. And I don’t want to feel that way anymore.”

He laughed. “Is this about him? Is he finally returning your feelings now?”

“What?! No! This is about me.”

“Sure, whatever. You can come pick up your things while I’m at work then.”

“I don’t have any things left at your place.”

“Right,” he sneered. “Even better then.”

He turned to walk away, just like that, leaving you standing in the park. You felt yourself choke up. How did things turn out this way? He’d been so sweet all this time, treating you so well. How could everything go down the drain like this? He’d always seemed so mature to you, so why was it you couldn’t talk things out with him?

The geese were closer now, waddling over the green lawn. They were quiet, no conversations of stuck up church ladies to be heard. Not that it made a difference.

With heavy steps you made your way home, bursting out in tears as soon as the door closed behind you. You knew that Wooseok was still at a lecture at this time, so nothing stopped you from crouching down on the floor and sobbing into your knees until no more tears were coming out. Then you trudged over to the couch and buried yourself under pillows and blankets.

Your mind briefly wandered to the ice cream and you were regretting now that you hadn’t saved any for today. 

You must have fallen asleep at some point, because when you woke up, Wooseok was crouching down in front of the couch, looking at you with a worried frown.

“You okay?” He asked, even though you so obviously weren’t.

You shook your head, it was no use keeping up fronts with him anyway.

“Ice cream?”

“We ate it all yesterday.”

A winning smile tugged at his lips. “I bought a new one on my way home.”

“You’re the best. I really love you.”

You hadn’t meant to say that. Or maybe you had, but you clearly hadn’t meant anything by it. Friends say that sometimes, right?

Yet, you noticed the way Wooseok’s ears turned red as he stood up. He cleared his throat. “I’ll get us some spoons.”

“Thanks,” you croaked, desperately trying to play it cool. You’d only just broken up with your boyfriend today, it clearly wasn’t the right time for whatever this was.

He came back with the ice cream and the spoons, motioning for you to scoot over so he could sit next to you. Huddled together on the couch, you put on some movie and watched in silence, eating ice cream until you felt sick. Wooseok didn’t pressure you to tell him what happened, but you knew if you wanted to talk about it, he’d listen to you.

You didn’t feel like talking about it though, not yet. For now you just wanted to sit on the couch together, enjoying the familiarity of it all. 

Eventually you felt yourself getting tired, your eyes unable to focus on the screen anymore, so you excused yourself to go to bed. As soon as you were lying in bed though, you were wide awake again, the argument with your boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—playing on repeat in your restless mind. You kept tossing and turning, unable to calm your thoughts. 

It wasn’t necessarily that you regretted the break-up; how could you stay in a relationship that made you feel like you didn’t belong? But it hurt nonetheless. Despite everything you’d liked being with him. It hurt that it ended like this and it hurt that it ended at all.

Tears were welling up in your eyes again and you sobbed into your pillow, trying to muffle the sounds. You’d lost count of how often you’d cried over the past few days.

When you dragged out of your room around noon the next day, you found a very surprised Wooseok in the kitchen.

“Y/n? Don’t you have classes?”

You shrugged, before plopping down at the small kitchen table. “I‘m skipping.”

Wooseok frowned, worry written all over his face. But he didn’t comment on it further.

“Coffee?” He lifted the can, shaking it lightly. 

When you nodded he got your favorite mug from the cupboard and poured you some, just the way he knew you liked it. You briefly wondered if your ex would have known how you drink your coffee.

Wooseok put the steaming mug onto the table in front of you before he sat down as well.

“You look tired,” he mumbled after a while. “Were you able to sleep?”

You shrugged again, not really knowing what to tell him. You’d barely gotten rest but it also felt too much to admit to that fact. “It’s fine.”

He didn’t seem satisfied at all but he didn’t press further.

“I have classes later, do you want me to bring something on the way back?” A small encouraging grin appeared on his lips. “More ice cream?”

Despite feeling miserable, the question got a little chuckle out of you. “I never thought I would say this but I think I’ve had enough ice cream for a while.”

“Alright, anything else? Or uhm—,” he halted, clearly contemplating if it was okay to address this or not before he continued. “Do you need me to pick anything up from his place?”

“No, I don’t have anything left there. Thank you though.”

He nodded. “It’s no problem.”

“Wooseok?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

Wooseok chuckled. “You already said that?”

“No, I mean—thank you for being there for me.”

His eyes looked at you so fondly, it almost made your heart ache a little bit. 

“Of course I am there for you. I—,” he halted. “I’m your friend.”

Somehow the break up was taking a real toll on you. Even though you hadn’t been dating for long, you felt incredibly lonely and there were all kinds of other feelings too that you didn’t want to address. It was a terrible thing to say, but despite the relationship in hindsight not being the best for either of you, you’d been grateful for the distraction it had provided. Now that it was over, you were alone again. Alone in your bed, alone with your thoughts, alone with your stupid feelings for someone you shouldn’t be having feelings for at all.

Your emotional tumult kept you tossing and turning night after night, leaving you tired and exhausted in the mornings.

Wooseok had noticed; you were convinced he had. He kept looking at you with worried eyes, clearly unsure if he should say anything or not. But what was he supposed to say anyway? It’s not like he could solve this.

Struggling to fall asleep yet another night, you eventually peeled yourself out of bed and made your way to the kitchen. Maybe drinking a cup of herbal tea could help you find some rest. You sat down at the table sipping on your tea when you heard a door open and Wooseok’s shuffled steps shortly after that as he followed the source of light to the kitchen.

He eyed you with a drowsy frown. “Why are you awake?”

You shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. Did I wake you up?”

He ignored your question, the furrows between his eyebrows deepening even more. “You haven’t been sleeping these days, have you?”

You averted your gaze, almost feeling as if he was scolding you. “I’ve just been overthinking a lot.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Wooseok took a seat across from you. “Maybe I could have helped you?”

“How?” You huffed a laugh. “By staying awake as well?”

“I wouldn’t have minded.” 

Judging by Wooseok’s pout, you’d sounded a bit too sarcastic. You blamed it on your lack of sleep but you still felt guilty. You tried your best to soften up a little, giving him your best attempt at a smile when you replied.

“At least one of us should get some decent sleep though.”

“Still,” he shrugged. “We could have come up with a solution together.”

“For example?”

“We could watch a movie until you feel sleepy,” he mumbled, and then even quieter, “or you could sleep in my room…”

“Huh?”

“Just—! Just because it’s easier to sleep when you’re not alone.”

Of course it wasn’t a good idea to agree to this. But recalling how lonely you’d felt in your bed you couldn’t help but think that he had a point. 

“Maybe,” you said reluctantly, your voice barely a whisper. “Maybe we could try that?”

Despite being the one who suggested it, Wooseok seemed completely caught off guard, looking at you with wide, round eyes. He visibly swallowed.

“Seriously?”

“I mean, only if it doesn’t bother you.” You didn’t dare to meet his gaze. “But I guess it was a joke—”

“No,” he interrupted. “It wasn’t a joke.”

Just like that, you found yourself awkwardly standing in Wooseok’s door frame a little later, your pillow and blanket slung over your arm. Wooseok sat on the edge of his mattress, his pillow and blanket shoved to one side to make space for you. You’d been to his room a zillion times before, but it felt so different now, so much more intimate.

“You can come in, you know.”

“Right.” Your whole body felt tense as you stepped inside, closing the door behind you. This was a terrible idea indeed.

You let your pillow and blanket fall onto the mattress before crawling into bed, trying to take up as little space as possible. It was weird, really, because you’d never been this careful around him. You were touching all the time, when you squeezed past him in the kitchen or when the two of you huddled together on the couch. Yet, now just the thought of accidentally touching him made your heart race.

Once you’d settled in, he laid down as well, looking stiff as a board.

“I’ll turn the light off,” he commented, already reaching out for the switch of his bedside lamp.

“Right,” you replied once more.

For a moment you just laid in his bed, side by side staring into the darkness. You didn’t turn around to look at him, but you knew he wasn’t asleep. He seemed tense, and you had a feeling he wanted to say something, but it took ages until he finally spoke up. His voice was barely audible, something that didn’t happen often when it came to Wooseok. Still, you heard him just fine.

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Sure.”

“Did you—Do you love him?”

“I—,” you started, instinctively wanting to tell him that yes, you did, you do. But you stopped yourself in favor of being honest. What was the use of lying about this, especially now that it was over anyway? 

“No. But I thought maybe I could.”

“Is that why you dated him? Because you wanted to fall in love with him?”

“Is that so wrong?”

“No, it’s just—I don’t get it. Shouldn’t it come naturally?”

When you turned to look at him, his gaze was already on you, his eyes big and round in the halflight of the room. 

“You can’t force yourself to fall in love. You can’t force yourself to fall out of love either.”

For a moment you felt unsettled. Did he catch you? Did he realize your feelings? Unsure what to make of it, you just stared at him through the darkness without replying.

“I’m just saying—,” he added, breaking eye contact. “You don’t have to try so hard.”

You swallowed, your mouth feeling dry. “Yeah,” you whispered. “Thank you.”

He didn't say anything after that and eventually his breathing got slow and even. You couldn't sleep though. His words kept you awake, filling you with a longing for things to be easy, natural, as he'd said. 

"I did it for you too, you know," you almost unconsciously mumbled into the silence, well aware that Wooseok was already sleeping.

Except he wasn’t.

"What do you mean?"

Your eyes widened at the sound of gis raspy voice and you instinctively sat up, ready to escape. "No," you quickly pressed out, "nothing. Maybe I should—"

Before you could say anything about going back to your own room, you felt Wooseok's hand on your own. He wasn't holding onto you and you could have easily pulled away, but it felt warm and comforting covering your own.

"What do you mean?" he asked again.

You let a beat pass by, unsure if you should be honest with them. As though he sensed your indecisiveness, Wooseok gave your hand a little squeeze. 

"What did you do for me?" His voice was so soft, you could barely hear it.

"Dating," you whispered. "Dating him."

You thought you saw him frown. "How could that have been for me?"

You felt a lump in your throat that made it hard to speak. But you'd already been this honest, maybe it was for the best to just lay it all out in the open.

"To get over you," you pressed out.

It was silent. You felt his gaze on you but you didn't dare to look at him. The mattress dipped a little as he sat up too, his hand still on yours. "Why?"

"Because I—," you started but Wooseok wasn’t done yet.

"Why did you think you had to get over me?" He almost sounded sad, and then he definitely did when he tentatively added: "Did it work?"

When you finally turned to look at him, there was desperation in his eyes but maybe also just the tiniest bit of hope.

"No," you admitted. "Not at all."

He let out a sigh you thought was relief as he let his head drop onto your shoulder, just to look up a second later with big black eyes. "Don't try again."

You felt your heart stop at the implication of his words. 

"Why would you try that, when all I wanted all this time was for you to see me?" He still didn’t avert his eyes and neither did you.

"I did," you leaned into him, resting your forehead against his. "I do,” you added.

He tilted his chin up, the tiniest bit, making the tip of his nose touch yours. You saw the way his gaze dropped to your lips and you felt his breath on your skin. You swallowed, your whole body thrumming with nerves. Your eyes searched his for something, and even though you weren’t sure what it was exactly, you thought you found it. You leaned in to kiss him in the same moment that he did, your teeth clashing for a brief moment. You chuckled and he chuckled too, and then you leaned in again, no teeth this time, just lips and love and butterflies.

You didn't remember how or when you'd fallen asleep. You didn't think you'd been wrapped up in Wooseok's long limbs then as you were now, but you couldn't be too sure. It took you a second to realize where you were and who it was that was koala-hugging you, and then another second to remember yesterday's conversations. You glanced over at his peacefully sleeping face at your side, not a trace of the desperation there that you'd seen at night. It hadn’t been a mere dream, right?

You tried to peel yourself out of his grasp, but Wooseok wouldn't let you go, making a whiny noise in complaint. Defeated, you let yourself relax back into the pillow, soaking up his warmth until he woke up.

You thought he'd be flustered once he'd wake up, and maybe he was, but he still didn't let go, instead nuzzling closer and hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

"That tickles," you said with a giggle. The little sorry he mumbled into your skin tickled even more.

You felt giddy, your stomach filled with butterflies at this display of affection, but at the same time there was a sense of insecurity. What did it all mean exactly? Of course you knew what you wanted it to mean, but was Wooseok on the same plate?

“Wooseok?”

“Hm?” He lifted his head to look at you. His eyes were sleepy and his black hair tousled.

“What now?”

He frowned in confusion. “Breakfast, I guess?”

“No, I mean—what do we do now? About us.”

“So, no breakfast?” He asked and you gave him a little roll of your eyes.

“I’m being serious, you know.”

“I’m also serious,” he replied, and then in a little whisper added, “About us, about you.”

“So we’re doing this, huh? Dating, I mean.”

“Yeah.”

You felt your chest tighten. “We’re not going to mess this up, right?”

He pulled you closer, nuzzling back into your neck. “No. We’re not. We’ll be okay.”

 You smiled and closed your eyes as you relaxed into his arms. “Okay.”

“Where are you going?” Wooseok asked, wrapping his arms around you from behind and resting his chin on top of your head, watching through the mirror as you fixed your makeup. 

“Meeting with Claire and them,” you said. You hesitated for a moment before adding, “you can come along, if you want.”

You saw surprise flash through his eyes. After all, you’d never asked him to come along before. But you’d figured now that he already knew about your feelings for him, there wasn’t really any reason to keep him away from your friends anymore. 

“Hm,” he hummed as if he was contemplating. “Not today, I’m in a couch mood.”

You chuckled. “Another time then.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

“I’ll be late, though.”

“I’ll wait.” 

Memories of the way he’d fallen asleep on the couch last time, worried since you’d forgotten your phone, crossed your mind, and you wondered if you’d find him just the same way tonight. Except, this time you wouldn’t have someone else’s number in your pocket and you wouldn't shake off his hand if he reached out to you.

Masterlist

[mask-of-prime]

VG: No Laughing Matter

Patrols ended rather early for the past few days. No unrest, no having to fight anyone. It was pathetic. Suspicious, come to think of it.

Shabaha had a hunch that the silence would lead up to something, something that would erupt. She didn't understand why Vitani couldn't see it. In fact, she didn't understand why Vitani wouldn't regard her at all, lately.

Ever since patrols became vacant and slow, Vitani's been making use of her off-time by spending it with Tiifu. She even socialized with Sauti, the wild dog under her and Tiifu's temporary guardianship.

The lovey-dovey stuff and all the other changes to Vitani's personality made Shabaha sick. She made sure she finally let Vitani know that, one day.

The exchange of grievances exploded into a nasty fight. In speaking to Vitani's face over the constant distaste she'd held for a long time, Shabaha risked pushing her friendship with Vitani even further apart.

Shabaha didn't want to believe the irony. She didn't want to believe that she was being rude. Tiifu's corruption made Vitani think Shabaha was being rude. Tiifu made Vitani soft.

Though... she still felt bad. She didn't want to believe it, but it wasn't a lie.

Maybe she was needlessly sabotaging Vitani and Tiifu's relationship, like Vitani had told her.

Shabaha hated watching Vitani turn the other way, heading to the Ponya. It felt like Vitani would be turned away from her like that forever.

Maybe she deserved it... As Shabaha's eyes filled with water, she felt a cackle erupt, she clamped her mouth shut with a paw before heading the other way.

____

Vitani spent her evening with Tiifu feeling listless and inattentive. She couldn't identify the feeling to either be disbelief with Shabaha, or regret for driving her away.

Tiifu picked up on this, aware of the disagreement between the pair of friends.

“Did you ever think that maybe Shabaha wishes you could treat her like you treat me? You treat me really different from the Guard.”

“They can handle the rough talk. We grew up that way.”

"But for how long?" Tiifu's voice grew firm, "Vitani, if the Guard doesn't have support, who knows if everyone will stay together."

"What is this, therapy?"

Vitani's ears swung back. Oof.

"Wow..." Tiifu sneered, utterly impressed.

“What I meant wa --"

Tiifu stepped closer, "You know, it's the constant jumping to conclusions that's really divided up your Guard. Now you're doing it to me. Is this what makes a fair leader?"

"How would you know what a --"

"First you make assumptions about Tazama, now Shabaha. You don't think maybe your Guard needs to be heard out, first?"

Vitani continued to sputter until it came to a halt. The only form of leadership she knew was 'swing first and ask questions later', to be unforgiving and presumptuous. She had lasting problems from that exact leadership from her mother.

Maybe with the next generation, things had to change...  ____

It was dawn, a while before patrol would start.

Vitani could hardly sleep. Awakening early, she spent her time formulizing how she would go about addressing her fight with Shabaha. She dreaded -- yet very much expected -- things to get physical. They were both scrappy by nature, and sparred often.

Blinded by deep thought, Vitani didn't notice another lioness standing her way. She bumped into her.

It was Shabaha, uncharacteristically awake just as early as Vitani. Normally, the Bravest would sleep in and have to be forcefully woken up every morning.

Looks like this would have to be handled now. No better time.

Vitani's eyes met with Shabaha's. They were quite red from restlessness, and... an emotion she never showed. Today was going to be shocking.

"Shabaha. I --"

Her eyes then made their way down Shabaha's body. She noticed new scratches along the Bravest's forelegs and head. The Fiercest closed her eyes briefly. She knew too well what happened.

Resisting the urge to find a reason to be mad at Shabaha, she instead paced herself. She had to start slow and gently, practicing the suggestion Tiifu had made.

"I just want to know, are you jealous of what Tiifu and I have?"

“No. No, I’m not jealous.” Shabaha sighed, “I was never jealous. I’m happy for you guys, actually. It’s just…”

Suddenly, Shabaha began to chuckle. Vitani was disturbed.

“Everyone's always changing in front of me!” she cackled, “Like? That's how I know they're gonna leave. Happens every time!“

The Bravest’s voice cracked from laughter to choking up as she realized the weight of what she said.

Vitani shook her head, incredulous.

“What do you mean everyone leaves -- W-Why are you laughing?”

Shabaha snickered, “‘Cause it’s not a big deal, okay? I’m fine!”

“You just drop some of the most off-putting stuff and you brush it off as a joke. I’m finally starting to get sick of it. You gotta take this ser --”

“WELL, MAYBE I DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT!”

Vitani was disturbed, to say the least. She had to wonder how many times Shabaha's characteristic laughter meant she was truly in turmoil. She had to attempt support if she wanted to resolve this.

"Why don't you want to think about it?" the leader inquired, "You can tell me, now. You don't have to be afraid to let anyone know. We don't have room for dishonesty in the Guard's friendship. It'll break us apart if we keep lying to each other."

Shabaha sighed in agitation, "I just... didn't wanna bring anyone down or make 'em feel bad for me. I just... push it to the back of my brain whenever it comes back up."

"What are you pushing back? If I know the Bravest lion in the pride, I know she'd want to conquer the most frightening challenges, like she always has."

Shabaha sighed in deep thought. She couldn't keep building this big lie anymore. The mask had to come off. For bravery.

"Okay... The reason I've been such a jerk about you and Tiifu is, that... I'm scared you'll leave me. We've been best friends for years, I don't want you to change forever and forget me. I've always been afraid of everybody leaving me. I never wanted anyone to know I was afraid, though, or else I'd be rejected. Been this way my whole life..."

...

In the dry, barren hills far from the Outlands lived a lioness and her cub.

This lioness was rather unusual, for she spent most of her life alone. She was ousted by family and by other prides for her selfishness and mental instability. Not truly caring about her life, she'd gotten into lot of trouble that had gotten her to where she was, such as antagonistic behavior, promiscuity, and abuse of intoxicating substances.

One day, she ended up bearing a cub. She gave it a chance to change her life. She gave it milk, she kept it close by, and she groomed it time to time, yet she still found herself unstable as she pushed her child away at times, and even yelled at her to 'be quiet'. Her child didn't realize this was abnormal, as the lioness was the only other creature in her life, beside a few dangerous critters the cub would pick from the ground.

Speaking of danger, the cub always found herself in a predicament without her mother noticing. Her mother would be turned away or absent, preoccupied with herself either way. It's this normalization of danger and not having anyone to stop her, save her, and tell her 'no', that led the cub to grow up to be who she was now.

The lioness, while distant and spacey most of the time, eventually grew ever agitated and annoyed with this cub. The runt would talk her head off and try to climb on her, and no matter what stunt she pulled, she turned out fine.

The little roach just wouldn't die...

...

"Then, one dry, hot day in the badlands, I earned my name..."

...

The lioness basked under the scorching sun. She didn't have a plan. Was she to find shelter? Water? Die? Who cared? She didn't care. "Hey, Mom! I held another scorpion yesterday! It only stung me a little bit, though. Oh! Also --" Like she has done many times, the older lioness abruptly got up before the cub could climb atop of her and play. The young cub, thinking her mother to be playing, continued to follow her. "Hey, Mom! Guess what I did today, though! I picked the legs off of another spider. Different one from last time, it was kinda --" The cub felt herself being shoved back by her mother's hind foot. She looked up. The older lioness seemed to be staring off elsewhere. Maybe Mom was looking which way to go... The cub continued to blabber on. In a desperate attempt to escape the noise and attention, the lioness trekked through the calm, algae-filled river. The cub was still beside her, but at least the water was cool and refreshing. A pair of membranes blinked away at the bright green algae, revealing a disturbed pair of eyes belonging to a Western crocodile. A low growl became a bellow as the beast emerged from the river. "You looking for some trouble, ladies?" he said, "You'd better have a good reason to wake us from our slumber!" The two lionesses frantically clambered out of the river and onto a nearby rock. The mother lioness knew that awakened crocodiles meant no more sleep, and only food to get through the dry season. The lioness looked down at the cub. She grinned big. This was the happiest Mom looked, the cub thought. She must've found the way out! Suddenly, the cub was lifted by her ankle, dangling over the river full of chomping teeth. For once, the cub felt genuinely terrified.

...

"My mom called me this word meaning 'target'. Because, before I knew it, I became one for the crocs..."

...

As the newly-named Shabaha slipped through the jaws of the hungry float, she lost sight of her mother in the middle of the calamity. The cub eventually escaped, just pulling herself unto dry land. Her fur was stained green as she was completely soaked. Shaken. Realizing she'd escaped, though, pride filled Shabaha as she called to her mother to report she faced a new challenge. However, as she looked around, her mother was nowhere to be found. Her smile fell. Pretty soon, her heart pounded out of her chest as panic set in. Hours passed as she continued to search the area for her mother. Waves of patience and panic filled her throughout that time. She let it sink in: Mom was gone, and she wasn't coming back.

The cub suddenly began to sob sharply as she grabbed her head. She doubled over into a meltdown from an influx of emotions she couldn't identify, pounding and scratching at her head. She loudly bawled into the air and the sky, all alone. She couldn't understand why she was angry with herself, but it felt like her fault. She shouldn't have been scared of the crocodiles. Her cowardice is why Mom was gone. Shabaha never frowned again. From this day, forward, she was all smiles, no matter what drove her mad. Laughter erupted from the cub as she rocked herself out of much-deprived comfort. A laugh that would get her into much trouble in the inhospitable Outlands over the years. ...

More uncontrollable, maddened cackling in present day ensued, until it slowed to sobs.

"I spent a day -- maybe two, just wandering alone through the badlands, hoping maybe, just maybe my mom could just pop out from out of nowhere, changing her mind." Shabaha sniffed, "But, then Kasi and Imara and Tazama found me, one day, all off to find a prosperous land they were all planning to seek refuge in because their homes were in ruins."

"...and you all came to the Outlands." Vitani finished, remembering the day she met her future Lion Guard.

"Yeah, we were off on our projectory to the Pridelands, heh. Then your mom told us the Pridelands were a no-go till your bro would take over."

Vitani gave a short, courteous smile that soon fell. Zira's big, convoluted lie was a lot to think about, she deliberately pushed it aside to let Shabaha finish.

"But, yeah... your mom saw so much in me. An instant replacement for that empty part of me my mom left. Your mom became a role model for me as soon as she let us in and gave us a place in the pride..."

... The group of preteens who would eventually become known today as Vitani's Lion Guard introduced themselves as soon as Zira cared to know what their names were. She was pleased to have such young, teachable recruits. After assigning roles to the others, a certain plucky young lioness was next. "And what's your name?" the striped lioness inquired, staring the cub down. "Sh-Shabaha!" the cub awkwardly, yet enthusiastically beamed. Zira suddenly grinned, "Let's challenge the meaning of that name, shall we?" Over the years, Shabaha would be employed in tasks no other animal in the Outlands could face. She was the one they called when it came to relentlessly chasing down even the most difficult of targets, aiming accurately for the killing blow. She was the bravest animal in the Outlands, and the one of the most feared because of it. ...

Shabaha's face fell from pride to sorrow.

"But, then, Zira didn't last long either, and when that happened, everything changed again. Everyone's relationships changed, we were meeting so many new animals, a bunch of Outsiders left to find themselves after that unification ceremony, and... I almost left too."

"I remember that."

"Yup. I almost never became your Bravest. Though... I'm not sure if you still do have one. Not now, now that I told you all of this."

"Shabaha," Vitani's voice became firm, "there's nothing braver than facing something you've been pushing away your whole life. I've never been more certain of choosing you as my Bravest until just now."

"You... You don't think it takes away from -- Like, it doesn't change anything about me?"

"Being honest with yourself is an improvement, if anything." Vitani smiled warmly, "I think we both learned that, actually."

"Feels good, and scary, I think. It was a good thing to do, but I'm still afraid it'll change how everyone treats me."

"It might." Vitani confirmed bluntly, "But, we're all changing. For the better, actually."

Shabaha noticed this, too. Not only could she see changes within herself by reliving the very days that made her who she was, but she saw Vitani change, too. It wasn't easy, but she could see it was better to grow than to keep rehashing the past.

Tiifu ended up being right, in a way. Vitani did need to spread this attitude to her Guard. ____

Later that evening, Vitani decided to borrow the pride's time for an important announcement:

"...We are no longer under my mother's leadership. Things will be different from me. Changes being that I will listen to your needs, instead of pushing you harder. I love my mother dearly, but keeping everyone together is what matters. It's been a goal from the very establishment of our Lion Guard that I wanted to make things better with the Pridelanders, I want us to grow from our mother's departure from the Circle of Life."

The Guard smiled, especially Imara, Kasi, and Tazama, who had always felt Zira's old ways were wrong. They were proud to see Vitani grow.

"My leadership before made for a dysfunctional environment between my Guard, and I wrecked our reputation with the herds. I will practice patience for the needs of others," Vitani glanced towards Shabaha, "and the option to be discreet in consideration of other animals' privacy. I want the Guard to follow my example under my leadership, and grow from the past."

Shabaha didn't show it much, but she felt warm and fuzzy inside. She never knew how nice it felt to be heard and respected until now.

Meanwhile, Simba and Kovu smiled at Vitani's promise to grow better than the generation before, having taken the philosophy to heart long ago.

"I'm just really making sure you can trust us." Vitani's voice shook, truly anxious.

"We do, honey." Nala confirmed, "You've been working really hard."

"As we've told you before, you're not alone in your mistakes." Simba added, "When I became king, I had trouble with the herds' trust, myself."

Vitani smiled shyly, relieved the older adults weren't displeased with her, as she normally expected.

The lions ended the announcement with a supportive, rallying roar.

Vitani's decree could not come at a more dire time. The current Lion Guard needed compassion now more than ever to prove to the herds that they were not what Ngurumo twisted them to be.

There was no longer a need to fight fire with fire -- at least... not too much fire, knowing Vitani's unique powers. ____

((Author's Notes: I'll be honest, outside of a brief fear of my family members not making it back from traveling somewhere and imagining them dying alone far away from home stemming from events where a lot of pets I had/knew died around that time, I've never really dealt with abandonment issues beyond that. Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria, an emotional dysregulation condition that often accompanies ADHD, however, has many overlaps with abandonment issues as they are both socially and emotionally-oriented, and checking many boxes for RSD was actually the ultimate way I realized I likely have ADHD. Basically I kinda plugged my adverse RSD experiences permanently affecting my life into Shabaha's abandonment/rejection issues as best as I could. So... if anything seems innaccurate about the way I wrote about abandonment issues in a character because I used what might possibly be too different of an issue, I apologize.

I headcanon Shabaha to have the hyperactive form of ADHD (whereas I likely have the inattentive form). She acts on impulse with little to no foresight, such as saying hurtful things without thinking about how they would affect someone, spontaneous vocalizations (funny noises or inappropriate laughter), a tendency to fidget, subjecting herself to outrageous stunts, people-pleasing tendencies (in her case: hiding her sadness with humor), and emotional dysregulation when it comes to rejection and/or abandonment. Her hyperactive ADHD is exacerbated by childhood neglect from her mentally-unstable mother. The particular child neglect Shabaha faced as a cub was complete emotional and physical disconnect from her mother, so Shabaha grew up without anyone telling her "no" when it came to danger, normalizing otherwise adverse experiences for her, and a dark way that she earned her spot as the Bravest. Her neglect continued in the Outlands in a way, giving her no healthy place to maturely express emotion.

Shabaha's actually my favorite Lion Guard member to write about, and is the one I had the most headcanons for. I apologize if I gave anyone a bad impression of her in earlier literature, her constant scoffing and belittling Vitani led up to this. This is not an excuse for her behavior, but rather an explanation. She is not a villain at all, but was definitely a recurring conflict until now.

Relevance and themes to Pride Month: While not explicitly explored here, I headcanon Shabaha as Aromantic/Pansexual (funnily the opposite of Kasi's Panromantic/Asexuality). She has no interest in intimacy but will try different experiences with different people. Because Shabaha's not a very critical thinker and struggles with empathy, she unfairly and irrationally projects her Aromantic experiences onto Vitani. As for her Pansexuality... well... my stories are PG-13 the oldest so her sexual experiences are not gonna be exhibited onscreen lol. Also, while a homosexual couple's relationship is being challenged in this story, it's not out of homophobia, but out of Shabaha's jealously, unstable relationships, and fear of change.

But anyways, while it may no longer be June, it's still Pride Month in my heart lol. Interestingly, July is Disability Pride Month, celebrating those living with disabilities and advocating for a more accommodating societal infrastructure. I presume it also covers neurodivergence and learning disabilities, if so, Shabaha's ADHD being explored here is fitting.))

[evita-shelby]

Through the window

Part ii to 'Nights on the January'

For @runnning-outof-time who asked if y/n says yes

Gif by @theshelbysgifs

“It won’t be easy.” Your mother had warned when she sighed and gave Thomas her blessing.

“I know.” you had said knowing exactly what you were signing up for.

Your father had served in South African War, for as long as you remember he was never well.

Your parents’ marriage had suffered as had you and your brothers. The man who left when you were eight and came back when you were ten was as different as night is to day.

You were not stupid, you knew this was different, that this time you wouldn’t be the little girl who grew up with a father with shellshock.

No, this time you would be the woman married to him, but unlike your mother, you know how the ropes.

“It’s bad luck to see me before the wedding, Tommy.” you say even if you are giggling and smiling like a teenage girl.

“Don’t believe in superstitions like that love.” he said greeting you with a kiss as she climbed into your bedroom window.

He used to do that before the war began when he was seventeen and you were sixteen and both of you knew that first night that there would never be anyone else.

Now twelve years later, those promises made when they were young and stupid became real, as real as the ring on your finger.

“No, just the one about not expressing enough sympathy to the ill. God, you treat Ada like a queen these days.” you tease.

“If I don’t, I will get myself sick with whatever she has.” he defends his actions with one of those rare smiles of his. “Can’t marry you tomorrow if I'm sick as a dog, love.”

“If you say so.” you concede and add coyly, “Are there any other traditions I should know about before we tie the knot tomorrow?”

“Aye, I’m stealing you tomorrow.” he answered and for a moment you wonder if he’s kidding.

“You're joking, right?” you ask hoping it is.

He says nothing.

[machiavellli]

I don't know why, but I never took you for liking men in beards ( personally I like them clean shaved, but to each their own <3<3<3)!

I wish you both the best!!! 💕

Could you please give us some cute anecdotes between you two ( we don't even know each other, but I really think you're both cute together, I remember reading the post in which you talk about him and it's so cute!) ?

I just wish to have a good caring loyal romantic boyfriend and find the one! 😭😭😭 I've been single all my life.

oh well, this was unexpected but at the same time really sweet, so thank you so much anon🫶

gonna write under the cut, ‘cause I don’t want to annoy everyone (that’s also the reason why I don’t talk about him too much here)

a lot to unpack, let’s go by the order of your ask

1. The beard thing

I have to say that I used to be of the same opinion, even because when we first got together he was a BABYYYYY (we were 16 jk) and he had no beard, no hair chest, no nothing lol. But as we grew up he obviously grow into his features and if at first I was not really intrigued by it, I have to say that it does looks so nice on him (I will never admit it tho, cause I complained about it at first). Also, even if he would shave it completely, I don’t think he would be able to reach again that level of smoothness again lol. He is quite hairy in general, so it is what is, but I don’t complain, since now I definitely prefer the beard.

2.

idk if you are referring to that post where I answered the question if I believed in true love (in that case, wow you know the LORE).

But anyway…some anecdotes mhh

he is like very smart. bro could learn literally anything and I’m glad that he sticks to the scientific/economic side of academia or he would also steal my thing lol. He is smart in an “academia term”, like, again, when it comes to learning, understanding complex concepts he is the best at it. but when it comes to the most simple stuff he becomes silly😭😭

he is so slow when he has to do certain tasks, like cooking, choosing clothes,… Or like one time, he studied computer engineering for a year before switching major btw, so he knows it all about computer, programming, software, whatever, but I discovered that he had no idea that you could select multiple pictures when deleting them in your camera roll. LIKE I KNOW IS NOT THAT SERIOUS, but it was so silly. bro could program a tracker from scratch in 30 minutes and it would take him more for deleting 50 pictures.

he is like very passionate about me. I’m his favourite person or thing to do in general and it’s not my impression, he tells me. when you ask him “what do you want to do?” he will always say “stay with you”.

brotha is clingy af. like I did know that his love language was physical touch, but he could pass an enter it’s hugging me and it would still no be enough.

he once told me that the goal of his life was to make me happy and to make me free from work, so that I can write and do the things I’m most passionate about, without having to worry about anything. THE GOAL OF HIS LIFE. apparently he also told this goal to his father.

actually very interested in philosophy, he knows more than me, he said that he would never peruse a career with it, but it’s an important hobby of his.

now. I’m not a bad person. But when I say that he has no red flag expect the fact that he is with me, I mean it. Like he gives so much and I don’t feel like I ever give enough in return, just because he is unmatchable (also mind you, this is from my pov, he would absolutely say that this isn’t true)

tells his friends how they should treat their gf and calls them out if they do bullshit.

Very kind soul.

Very silly man. Sometimes I hate how much I can’t. stop. laughing. when I am around him. Just because he doesn’t the most out of pockets jokes, but just when he is around me

Cat coded. He loves dogs, but if he was an animal he would be a cat. There has been not one time where he would lay down and ask me to scratch his back or hair.

Brotha got the most beautiful curls on this planet earth and no it’s not an exaggeration. His hair are curly, but it’s like this perfect “boccolo” form.

I said in the past and I’ll said it again, he looks like he belongs in ancient Rome. That nose. Beautiful.

He is definitely the one that suffer distance the most, when I am away on holiday he used to get so sad if I didn’t call him everyday.

He definitely would like to do me surprise, but has no clue on how to organise them. He is romantic but would like to do more, but he is like how????????? Again, struggle with simple things.

He hates his brown eyes, but to me they are the cutest, they look gold in the sunshine :,)

I am more of a nerd than him, I’m the one who drags him to anything that has to do with Star Trek, Star Wars, marvel,…and people are always a bit surprised by that

He lets me tap for hours!!!!!!!!! Because he loves to hear about my interests and he smiles while I do it😭

He is a shy dancer (not like I know how to dance too, but with a glass of wine I really start to not care)

But the only thing he is shy with me personally is speaking in English. Because my accent “scares him”. BROTHA. So if I start to talk in English he will answer “baguette”. I’m not kidding.

Very entrepreneurial type of person. He did a lot and does a lot.

Doesn’t really have a favourite artist, but his top artist on Spotify is Chopin. But he used to like a lot Elton John

He works on fixation, this month we have the ✨rubric cube✨ (he wasn’t to do it in less than a minute) and ✨biking✨

You will never know what to gift to him, because he will always answer he wants “you”🙄

He is loyal and so am I. One time a girl tried to approach him by talking about philosophy and i told him that she was flirting probably, he apologised (even if he did nothing wrong, brotha was only talking about Schopenhauer and had no idea of the girl’s intentions) and blocked her on the spot without me saying a word.

Very passionate about health in general, his and the people close to him. Fan of eating well and exercising.

my mom calls him “Saint” because he has to deal with me. I have to say, I don’t always behave so well (YALL IM TRYING), like when he was doing the major I previously mention, he would return from uni on Fridays at 22:00, so the first thing he would do was taking the car and coming to my house. A couple of time, I didn’t even reached the door to say hello, I was to tired, but he never got mad.

He never gets mad in general. He is just a little sad when I cancel plans, I’m the only one between the two that cancels (I swear I’m good too, BUT I DONT STAND A CHANCE IN COMPARISON)

Bought me many plushies, ‘cause he knows I love them.

Will say to me multiple times in a day “you are beautiful” just beacuse I smiled

Only person in the world that told me I look better without glasses. Usually people tell me I look like an alien-

Makes fun of me for not having a driver license, but he would take me anywhere with his car if I asked.

we write each other a letter every three months, beacuse I just love everything about this too much. He always says that he loves me, really, but on a letter we all get deeper.

we are from the same year, but I am 5 months older

he really would do anything for me and I don’t think it’s beacuse we are young, or because we have been together only for 4 years (even if I would say it’s a big number at my age), but because his family was the once to teach him how to love unconditionally (yall they are all so beautiful together😭).

he gives, gives and gives and would never ask back

My blanket man<33 even if during summer it’s insufferable

When we swim together I can just hang on him and he will drag us around LOL

We call each other other “amore” (love) or “tesoro” (treasure)

Never pressed me into doing anything, not once, at it should be, but I sometimes look at my friends relationships and it’s not always like this sadly.

My strength. If I am studying those days it’s just because he is giving me the strength to do it. I’ve been studying in his room and I can’t only really concentrate when someone is around, so he has been helping me endlessly lately. And I know it means so much to him, because I know how much he would rather talk or hold me instead of watching me studying.

We are both a tad old on the inside, we are very chill, not really social, the type of people that wouldn’t talk at a function.

Anyway, I feel like I’ve been over sharing tooooo much, but who doesn’t love a question about something they are passionate about? Hehehe

There are good men out here, I have the proof, you just gotta keep your standards high :))

I was lucky that I got introduced to him through a friend (@/indac0) and after a month we got together. I love the idea of growing with, many people, even adults (ew) told me that I should go out and “experience” instead of staying in my very healthy relationship. But I would rather have grown with someone kind and learned what love is, than trying situationships that I know what would take me to anything. And I believe that this road it’s actually the only one that makes you understand what you like and the only one that won’t make your time feel wasted, because you already know that you are going nowhere with flings and that you will have lost time anywhere. Why not try something serious? Why not try to become a unique piece of puzzle with someone?

This is personally how I view this.

I wish you all the luck with love anon and thanks again for your kind words💖🫶🌷✨

[sugutoad]

matchup trade for @nicosavior456 ! 

GAME OF THRONES

Your Significant Other 

I ship you with Sansa Stark — Queen of Winterfell. You mentioned before that you prefer women who lean on the side of being more feminine and awkward with a little mix of shyness and I think that sums up Sansa quite well. It is a pair that brings out the best in one another, clinging to one another when the world tears everything apart. Her quiet naive personality fits perfectly with your more rational and just one. I feel like she needs someone who can really treat her well because of her past experience with men. And I wholly believe that you are perfectly suited for that.

HEAD CANONS

Sansa knew you as a child and she never really liked you at first. You and your cousin randomly appeared in her life and her father treated the two of you sometimes better than her? She loathed that. But eventually romance as you grew older and more mature

Sometimes after a busy day, all she wants is to lay down in your arms — forever safe and sound. 

The two of you have the stupidest arguments, but it ends with the both of you giggling like little kids. It would be small things such as ‘What’s better: Cats or Dogs?’ Or ‘What should we eat tonight?’. Sometimes, it just feels good to let go of all your responsibilities and be yourself with someone you love and trust. 

Great Houses

We Do Not Sow

You belong in House Greyjoy. I’ll be honest, I was really reluctant on choosing this house at first since I couldn’t find one that suited you well, but after a quick game of cancellation, House Greyjoy was victorious. Since you come from a middle-class family, I tried to stay away from the high houses such as Baratheon, Targaryen, Stark, Martell, Tyrell and Stark. That left me with Greyjoy, Arynn and Tully. But Arynn and Tully never settled in my heart. You see, I imagine that you would fit so well into the Greyjoy family with Theon and his sister. 

HEAD CANONS

Theon and you were both taken hostage by the Stark family after the rebellion of your family. Originally, they were going to take you but some thought you weren’t worth much. Theon’s father was willing to offer his son too alongside his nephew. Thus, you both arrived at Winterfell at such a young age and expected horrors such as torture…. but, they treated you like sons

You were the son of Ara Greyjoy, the ‘beloved’ and youngest sister of Balon Greyjoy. Unfortunately, she passed away a few weeks after giving birth and Balon raises you as his own son. Well, at least with the same treatment he gave Theon

You and Theon are literally brothers. Always teasing one another and horse riding, talking about some pretty girl he laid his eyes on recently. Theon’s capture devastated you the most and you did everything in your power to get him back, but he never did. Yara claimed her brother was dead but you didn’t give up on him even though you were so close

Your Best Friend

Your best friend is Robb Stark — King of the North and the Young Wolf. The two of you actually make such a good pair. Both of you are just, rational and pragmatic, but also a bit reckless. While he wants to go hunting, you would want to stay home. Some wonder how the two of you became friends. The truth is that you both were willing to sacrifice your own needs multiple times.

HEAD CANONS

A part of you was alway envious of Robb. He was the perfect child for his parents and heir to one of the greatest kingdoms. He could ride horses better than you, run better than you and get more girls than you. But you could never hate him, no matter how much you tried

He would be so supportive of you and Sansa if he was alive. If he were to choose anyone for his sister, he would trust you the most above all. He knows you won’t hurt her and treat like the lady she is

Before everything went wrong, the two of you would lay wide awake and shit-talk the King, the Lannisters and literally everything. After a long day, it just feels good to let out every bad thing you thought that would get you in trouble, but you two trust one another

Rivalry

I think you would not get along with the Kingslayer — Jaime Lannister. I feel like it would first originate from what you heard of him. Perfect Jaime who is the heir of the Lannister house. And since you both grew up in houses that didn’t like one another, you both didn’t like one another either. Once you discovered he was the one who pushed Bran off the tower and hurt Ned Stark at King’s landing, this hate for him increased even more. He might have had a character arc, but to you, he is still a cocky bastard who hurt your family. Though, this hate slowly decreases and the years go on, a part of you will never settle right with him.

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2024- Day 27- Giant

Big Mama

Another continuation from last year. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Thank you so much to the amazing @borealwrites for their Monster March 2024 Prompt List!

Monster March 2024- Day 27- Giant

Hemi and Pix- Big Mama

Hemi watched as his pups- now practically fully grown dire wolves seemed to greet Pix differently and if anything, treat her with more care and were even more defensive about her and would not leave her side for anything. They had met back up in Clayton and Kisska was still at the manor, checking on Duchess McClayton and her little Duke as well as her new pregnancy she had come down with since. Embry was practically tickled to be cooking for two crews. And Yasa was too as the two were happy to build one huge fire, surrounded by bricks to make something of a proper oven while Embry was happy to place sheets of metal over the bricks so that they could put pots on the metal as he was happy to keep feeding the flames coals from a separate fire. They all would be eating great tonight because they had chipped in on buying a steer. 

Pix, seemed pleased to be reunited with them, and after setting up camp was content to sit by the fire in her camp chair, her falcons in a nearby tree, the dogs’ heads in her lap, receiving pets. 

“What’s wrong?” Pix asked Hemi as she noted he was simply standing, and staring his own camp chair in his hands, but otherwise hadn’t moved as he watched his wolves behave with her.

“Nothing is wrong Pixie, just happy to be back with you.” He deflected before he set his chair down to sit down right next to her and rest as he mentally worked out what to say and how to say it before her falcons flew back, although they were happy to hop to his own shoulders. 

“Well hello there parakeets.” He offered as he turned his head and then offered them scritches and pets as the falcons practically did become big parakeets to him as Pix snorted a laugh. 

“I can hear your wheels turning from here.” Pix offered once they fell into a companionable silence after that.

“I don’t want to embarrass you by saying anything now in front of others. It’s nothing bad, it’s nothing terribly urgent. Everything is ok.” He murmured in a surprisingly soft and soothing tone. 

“We can talk about it tonight before we go to bed.” He suggested.  

“Is your mom ok? Your dad? Your sisters and your other brothers?” Pix asked. 

“Yup, they’re all fine. I’m sure they’d love to meet you if you wanted to meet them.” Hemi reassured her. 

“Actually I would like to meet them when we get closer to them.” Pix offered. 

“We will definitely do that then.” He grinned happily. 

“How is your family doing?” He felt compelled to ask. 

“They’re fine. They were really impressed with you.” She offered with a pleased grin. 

“I’m happy that they like me and won’t be giving you any trouble, at least over me.” He offered as Pix' expression grew a bit worried over how pleasant he was.

“Hey, I want to show you a new tattoo I got.” Pix urged as she reached out to hold his hand before she tugged on it to get him up to follow her before she pulled them into his cart that he had turned into a little home away from home where both of them could be together and be alone. 

“Ok, what’s going on?” Pix asked. 

“The only times you’re this soft and sweet is when I’m hurt and injured.” Pix urged as Hemi took a deep breath and knew it was best to be plain, honest and to the point.

“Hemtar and Sador indicated that you’re pregnant.” Hemi informed her. 

“Oh. Oh! Ok, this makes more sense.” Pix practically giggled as her worry instantly dissipated as her whole body relaxed.

“Well, that would explain…everything.” Pix nodded as she steadied herself on his arm.

“So what do you want and need from me?” Hemi asked as he took her hand into his own.

“Other than introducing me to your family? Keep doing what you’ve been doing. You already take care of me and mine. And Kisska was hoping that with us staying together for the next several weeks would hopefully turn into several months and our two crews become one. Especially if the others are banging and hooking up, I can’t imagine that I’m the only one that either is or will be expecting. Is there anything you want or need from me?” Pix asked him. 

“I just didn’t know if you wanted the pregnancy or not. And I was just trying to prepare myself for if you didn’t want it.” Hemi confessed. 

“Oh, Babe, I do. I’ve been hoping for this actually. Why do you think I was so adamant that you’d meet my family?” She grinned as she scooted closer to him. 

“Well, in that case, come here Big Mama.” He rumbled as he pulled her flush with himself and kissed her like he had missed her something awful.

"Ooh, Big Mama, I like that." She cooed as she fell into the bed with him, eager to get themselves undressed and rejoined as soon as possible.