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tranquil-turbulence · 2 years

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SasuSaku Month ‘22 Day 21

Day 20 | Day 22

Day 21 Prompt: Overrated

-Youtuber AU-

"Hey, check it out," Tenten said one day as she scrolled through social media. Turning the phone, she showed the younger girl her screen. "That Shuriken guy spiked in subscribers again."

Sakura paused mid-sip of her drink, eyes following her friend's thumb as she scrolled down.

"Cool," was all she said before going back to gulping down her water bottle.

"I'll say." She huffed a laugh. "He really knows his stuff. Thanks to his videos, I found like two new topics for my report on medieval weaponry."

She didn't pay much attention when the brunette started to ramble. It'd been like this for the past two weeks, and she was beyond caring about whatever some guy on the internet had to say about kunai knives from 600 AD.

She'd checked out his videos before, but weaponry wasn't a sphere of interest and his bland, no-frills way of speaking completely lost her not even a minute in the first video recommended.

She hummed here and there, giving non-committal "Wow"s and "No way"s, if only to humor her friend. Tenten was the only person she knew in her martial arts class, and it would suck to lose her favorite sparring partner.

"--and yeah," Tenten was finishing, brushing her bangs out of her face as she put her phone away and got into position to stretch. "You should check him out sometime. He hits on some pretty interesting topics."

"I'll... think about it," she said carefully, setting the bottle down. "To be honest, I got a video of his in my recommended once and I was so bored I couldn't even watch half of it."

"Whoa, seriously?" The brunette actually looked surprised, slowly lifting her right leg into the air and holding position. "I'd never peg you for that type. You're practically a human supercomputer - since when does something uncommon bore you?"

"Just not into weapons, I guess," Sakura mumbled, helping her into the next position.

Nearby, one of the other students shot them an annoyed glance. One of the more experienced among them, Sasuke was quiet and methodical. Sakura had never beaten him in a spar, practice or otherwise.

Something about him was annoying, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She held her legs in place for several seconds before letting go, and Tenten slowly rolled backwards until she was sitting on her knees.

"Well," the older woman grunted, getting up from the ground. "How's your studies going? Aren't you at midterms?"

"Almost at midterms," corrected Sakura with a heavy sigh. "I've still got a whole chapter left to take notes on. Then I've gotta start studying for real. I'm gonna die."

Tenten let out a sympathetic noise and patted her back. "If anyone can do it, you can do it. You aced the MCAT, after all."

"Yeah, well," she huffed, adjusting her ponytail. "Knowledge is half the battle."

Sasuke half-listened in, half-focused on his katas. The conversation from the beginning had been so dull he'd almost tuned them out, but then their senpai had mentioned his YouTube channel and his attention was turned.

Something warm filled his chest when Tenten mentioned liking his videos. He knew his content wasn't for everyone but it felt different hearing someone else talk about his work in such a positive light.

"Look, Sakura," Tenten was saying, pulling her in. "You sure you don't wanna watch Top Ten Worst Medieval Weapons By Design? It's literally his best video."

"Tenten," the pinkette's voice was flat, "no offense, but I honestly think he's overrated. His videos aren't that good."

Ouch.

Overrated? Not that good?

Yeah, well, his mind retorted, and he narrowed his eyes as he turned away, I'd like to see you do better. He'd been making videos since middle school; who was she to call him overrated? He only had a million subscribers; relatively small considering how long he'd been active.

"Sakura!" Tenten gasped sharply. "Sacrilege!"

"Sorry I don't like hearing someone drone on and on about a boring topic for sixteen minutes."

Double ouch.

It was hard keeping his cool and resisting the urge to whirl around and tell her to mind her own business if she hated them that much. Instead he took a deep breath through and out of his nose and shifted into his next kata.

How did she know what quality was? She probably didn't even make videos of her own.

"But you literally made a whole trilogy about passing the MCAT!"

Oh.

Eyes narrowed, Sasuke ventured a peek at the two older students. Sakura's face was pinched in annoyance and Tenten's eyes were wide as she raised her arms in exasperation.

"That's solid, helpful information that people deserve to know," she said coolly. "Besides, I'm not looking for fame. All I did was make a step-by-step process that I wish I'd had when I was studying to get into medical school."

Pulling out his phone, he began typing. Now he was curious.

The first result was "So, You Wanna Get Into Medical School", parts one through three.

The thumbnail was the same pink-haired girl with an unimpressed look on her face, gesturing towards a whiteboard labeled "MCAT: Dos and Don'ts".

"Ugh, whatever," he heard her sigh. "Thanks for sparring with me today. I need to get home and study."

"Good luck on your exams," Tenten replied quietly. There was a hint of bitterness in her tone. "If anyone can do it, you can."

He popped in a wireless earbud and began watching the first video as the two parted ways. He glanced up when he felt her walk by, air brushing by his shoulder with the short pink hair gathering about her shoulders.

"So," her voice greeted his ears as he turned his attention back to the video, "you decided to get into medical school." The Sakura in the video paused before continuing, "Let me tell you right now: this will either be the biggest mistake of your life, or the best thing you've ever thought of."

She wasn't as animated as he assumed she would be - her intro was short and to-the-point, and her voice naturally dipped and rose as she began to explain the topic in length. She certainly wasn't boring to listen to, as he'd spitefully thought; to his irritation, he actually enjoyed the video.

"Oh," Tenten's voice piped up, and he turned to see her with a lopsided smile on her face. "I didn't know you watched Sakura's videos."

He shrugged, pausing the video. "Never had a reason to," he murmured. His voice was quiet enough that she apparently didn’t recognize it, because she kept talking.

"Well, I'll be the first to say she really knows what she's talking about." The brunette gave a short laugh as she hoisted her bag over her shoulder. "Hell, she makes me think I can retry the MCAT myself. I've probably watched this about twenty times."

Humming, he turned his attention back to the video, barely acknowledging her pat on his shoulder.

As annoying as it was to have someone trash his work... he wouldn't stoop to her level. He'd have to watch every video before he made his judgement.

#sasusaku month 2022 #sasusaku #youtuber au #modern au

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naraven · 8 months

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to move or not to move

another one. sorry its 3 am i pushed this one in about 2 hours im going straight to bed

wc // 600

tw // should be none

“It seems that all nation will experience a housing crisis, no matter how well the economy might seem.”

Joachim muses to themselves. After sending back a very, very polite email back to Nahida explaining that they would be taking on another simple and easy commission, she sent back an exasperated letter saying it was fine and that they didn’t have to sound too much like a child trying to convince their parents to stay up.

Whatever. Should an Archon act like their mother, they will treat her as such.

But while that was all happening, Joachim had found this new commission right up their alley. Getting to explore a whole new island besides the main city and the opera house? The home of many Melusines, a whole new species that they could never get the chance to talk to outside of Fontaine? The skeleton inside the whole island???

So many mysteries to unpack, but alas, that was completely unrelated to the commission at hand. Joachim, while skimming through the daily Steambird one morning, started reading one particular commission in particular that caught their eye.

“A housing crisis, and a new place to settle down in?”

It seemed that it was Joachim’s time to shine.

And so, they took a small ship south to the island that covered the dragon’s body of Elynas. Certainly the best place to build a small place to live was on a remote island native to a race of Melusines.

Joachim made sure to pack a pen and paper to take note of what places were appropriate for a small house to be built. Map in hand and a pen in another, they set out to see what the dragon’s body had in store for them.

Best to choose somewhere northeast to make sure you aren’t too far away from society. The entrance to the Melusine village is somewhat close by. If that displeases you, somewhere down near the south would be smarter. However, do keep in mind that it might be more difficult to access any other human resources from that point. The edges are all sandy beaches. If you like or dislike sand, the best place is for you to decide.

Buying a house in this remote place is practically impossible. I recommend finding someone to model and build a small house for you. Your cats would also gain lots of enrichment form simply exploring their new large backyard, from the rocky hills and ponds of water.

Their report went on and on, having to flip their paper over to list even more pros and cons. Joachim wandered around and around the island, as if lost in the mystifying aura of the place. They went on for as long a possible, which apparently was a days long expedition without rest.

“Here’s my report. I recommend choosing a place somewhere Beryl Region. I’ve listed out all the pros and cons I could. On the back simply details it in a more summary type way.”

They had the report over as one of the commissioners cats rub against their legs. It gently bonks their head on their shins, purring.

As they lean in to pet the cat. The commissioner finally starts speaking, “Wow. This is… Amazing! I’ll definitely read over this. Thank you so much!”

Joachim stops petting the cat as it flops onto their shoes. They let it rest there for the time being.

“Don’t mention it. If you have any more questions, you can ask for Joachim at the front office of Hotel Debord.”

“Thanks so much again! Hear that, kids? We’re going to go see Elynas!”

Joachim waves goodbye at the commissioner and her cats, meowing by the windows. This seems like the perfect topic for their next letter to Nahida.

#astronetwrk #astro ebg #so tired #time to eep gn everynyan

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encantowishes · 2 years

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So the reason this blog is called Encanto Wishes.

I was watching the movie for like the seventh time and got to wondering what it is about this movie that makes me love it so much. And the thought that popped into my head was: "It makes me wish I had a family."

And I sat with that thought for several seconds before I remembered ...

I do have a family.

I live 600 miles away from them, have done for close to two decades. Not because there was a rift, just because circumstances put me in a different state from where they live. During this time, I've seen them in person once or sometimes twice a year. I realized not far into this situation that I was putting a lot more effort into keeping in touch with them than they were in keeping touch with me. Which, you know, doesn't really motivate you to keep putting in the effort, right?

So I legitimately forgot for a moment that I have a family.

Guess I don't need to take any "Which Encanto Character Are You?" quizzes.

"Fit in," I think he's trying to say? Which, also relatable. I too have weird hobbies and a weird personality. Heck, I even used to keep rats.

Wow! Didn't mean to be such a bummer. But this explains why this movie resonates so much with me. I find something to relate to in every character. I may have wound up a Bruno, but I started out an Isabela. Not in the looks department, but as the "golden child" everyone expected great things from. When those expectations didn't pan out, I foundered.

On a much more positive note, Encanto has inspired me to start writing again. I've torn through 17k words across three different fics in the last month. You don't know how much this means to me, as someone who has loved writing literally since I learned how to use a pencil, and who used to write daily in my youth only to have the well dry up in early adulthood. I'm pretty giddy at how much I love these pieces I'm writing; hopefully I will have them before your eyes soon.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

#encanto #let's talk about bruno #sorry for being depressing #it's me amrys

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green-socks · 2 years

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v hot v-neck

Pairing: Frankie Morales x gn!reader

Summary: Frankie doesn't like shopping, but you really like looking at him trying on clothes, which makes it's more bearable for him too

Words: 600

Warnings: Reader is quite horny, but lbr who wouldn't be.

Notes: This silly drabble has been sitting in my folder for many moons, and today's wip game reminded me that maybe I could just post it to clear it out. So here it is! Nothing revolutionary, just let the horny out for a silly moment with Frankie, bc apparently he's my default boyfriend for these sort of drabbles.

MASTERLIST

You’re out shopping for new clothes for Frankie. He doesn’t like it at all, but he seriously needs new clothes – his t-shirts have holes in them, his sweaters don’t really fit, the Henley has a permanent stain, his shoes and jeans are all worn out... There’s no need to go on, as Frankie had said when you had been making this argument. So, begrudgingly he allows you to drag him to a few stores.

He found some good t-shirts easily enough, and a new jacket and a pair of shoes. Now you’re at the fitting rooms where he’s trying on a few pairs of jeans and a couple of sweaters.

Frankie steps out of the fitting room to show you a pair of dark jeans.

“Frankie, those look amazing!”

“You think so?” He bites his lip self-consciously. “I had to get a bigger size than before... And I need to get a new belt, too,” he mumbles, grimacing slightly.

“I think you look great, baby. Plus your butt looks really good,” you wink at him, and he ducks his head with a smile. “Now show me the black sweater!”

He pulls the curtain back in front of him and changes into a thin black sweater you had picked up.

When the curtained opens again and he steps out, your breath actually catches in your throat a little. How this man manages to make something so simple look so damn good is a mystery, but you’re grateful for it nonetheless.

“Wow.. Frankie, that looks.. really good,” you say breathlessly while looking at him up and down.

“Really?” He looked at your reaction a bit incredulously. “You don’t think it looks too.. tight?” he asked, looking at his tummy from the side mirror.

“Nuh uh.” You gave him a hungry look and bit your lip. “It just makes your shoulders look very broad. And that V-neck suits you. Your neck is very sexy.”

Frankie’s blushing now. “C’mon baby, my neck is sexy? …You really like it that much?” he laughs at the faces you're making.

“Oh yes. In fact, I feel a strong need to get down on my knees for you right here right now,” you answer, parting your mouth and sticking your tongue out to really get the message across.

“How are we doing over here?” the shop assistant comes to ask cheerfully at that moment, making you cringe and giggle at your own lewdness, and Frankie’s blush gets even worse.

“Fine, thanks. I think I like these,” Frankie says, gesturing his outfit.

“Oh, absolutely! Those jeans look amazing on you, the fit looks really good,” the assistant flirts, eyeing Frankie in a similar fashion to what you had done just before she arrived. His crotch area sure does look delicious, partly in thanks to your teasing comment only thirty seconds ago.

The shop assistant brings him a few other things in different colors to try on and flirts with him all the while. You know it’s a sales tactic, even if she might mean it too, but you are sitting right there. You roll your eyes but smile amusedly all the same, having fun watching Frankie squirm a little, not knowing what to do with all the compliments.

Frankie ends up getting two of those jeans and sweaters, reasoning that once you find something good you might as well just have several of those, and you find yourself agreeing.

You’re already thinking of the ways you can show him what his good looks do to you when you get home, since Frankie refuses any fitting room shenanigans, saying you would surely get caught. Which is probably true, but still. Sometimes it is very difficult to have such a hot partner, you muse, smirking to yourself, but it’s definitely worth it.

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

tagsies: @writeforfandoms @starlightmornings @marvelousmermaid @littlemisspascal @niki-xie @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @deadhumourist @igotmajordaddyissues

#frankie morales x reader #frankie morales x gn!reader #frankie morales x you #triple frontier fanfiction #i accidentally wrote something

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missmeinyourbones · 2 years

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omg congrats on 600!! i'd like to request "it’s been occurring to me i’d like to hang out with you for my whole life" with connie pls! thank youu <3

“IT’S BEEN OCCURRING TO ME, I’D LIKE TO HANG OUT WITH YOU FOR MY WHOLE LIFE” (C. SPRINGER)

part of L’s RED (TV) EVENT!

“Why are you making that weird face?”

You’re pulled from your thoughts as you look over to your boyfriend, who sits criss-crossed on the couch, looking very pleased with himself.

“Weird face?” you indulge him. Truthfully, you’d been thinking about him. However, your stubbornness refuses to give him such satisfaction so easily.

“Yeah, like, you’re really thinkin’ hard about something,” Connie teases. “You look constipated.”

You glare at him, an attempt to hide the smile forming across your lips. “I’m having a revelation.”

“Oh yeah?” he perks up at the sudden change in conversation, “Enlighten me.”

Before he’d rudely interrupted your daydream, you’d been thinking of him. The two of you together, more specifically; where you started, what you’ve become. It was a beautiful thing to think about, how much you’d grown with Connie always in your corner, rooting for you. He’d been there through the good, the bad, the ugly, the really really ugly, and yet he’d stayed. The connection the two of you had was special, so deeply engrained in your DNA that you don’t even think you could rid of it if you tried.

You wanted to be with him for the rest of your days, whatever they looked like. You didn’t know where the future would take you, but you hoped that wherever you went, he’d be there.

Noticing that you’d trailed off in your own little dream world again, Connie waves a hand in front of your face. When did he get up from the couch?

You look up at him, “It’s been occurring to me, I’d like to hang out with you for my whole life.”

“No fucking way,” his tongue swipes the side of his cheek he straightens his posture, “Are you proposing to me right now?”

You push him, slightly knocking him over. If it wasn't for the chair you were sitting on (which he had desperately grabbed to keep his balance), he’d be face first on the floor right now. You laugh at the mental image.

“No, you idiot.” He admires you with a goofy grin. He starts laughing, because you are laughing. You correct yourself, “I mean- it’s not a hard no, just, not right now.”

He brings his hand to his chest, feigning hurt and shock as he turns on his dramatics, “Wow, way to toy with a man’s emotions, baby.”

You attempt to scoot your chair away, but he clings onto it, dragging it even closer to him than before. He stares at you, challenging you to continue.

“What I’m trying to say is, I want you around me,” you decide on, fiddling with your fingers delicately. “For a long time, as long as it’s keeps making sense like this.”

He inches closer to your face, lips hovering over yours, “Aw, you think we make sense?”

He earns another light shove from his comment, throwing his head back in laughter at your flustered expression. He gives in, pecking your lips three times before kissing you properly.

“I’m kidding, baby. I want forever with you, too,” he grins as he pulls away, playing with your left hand’s ring finger. He thinks a diamond would suit it nicely.

“M’not ashamed to say it. I’m in it for the long run. You’re stuck with me.”

NOTE: I SCREAMED LIKE A BANSHEE WHEN I SAW THIS REQUEST. i always always ALWAYS think of connie when listening to stay stay stay, so you really read my mind w this request anon. i hope u enjoy babie :D

#connie springer #connie x reader #connie springer x reader #connie fluff #connie springer fluff #connie fic #connie springer fic #connie springer blurb #connie blurb #connie springer drabble #connie drabble #L's RED (TV) event!

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galactic-magick · 3 years

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Wrong Place Wrong Time: Barry Allen/The Flash x Reader

Request: Shy! Reader has a v bad habit of finding hiding spots in bad parts of town to read, so they're often in like, the background whenever some bad goes down. Until they're not (sick? Kidnapped? Your choice) Ofc, if anyone would notice them, it'd probably be Barry, and being a curious lil bab, goes to find out what happened to them.

Summary: You have a bad habit of settling down to read in dangerous places, and The Flash comes to save you.

Words: 600+

Warnings: kidnapping, bad guys have weapons (don’t use them though)

Author’s Notes: Feeding the Barry stans again haha, hope y’all like!

Taglist: @deniedmysign @candid-confetti

You’ve never been afraid of strange and unfamiliar places, as long as they’re quiet and you’re alone.

Sometimes the public was too overwhelming, and all you want is a spot to read where no one else will go, and usually that means spots in the bad parts of town. Dark alleys, abandoned parks and buildings, the like. You don’t consider them bad yourself necessarily, you hate to judge a neighborhood based on how much crime happens there, but you’d be lying if you said you’ve never gotten caught up in something dangerous.

You’ve never gotten hurt though. You seem to have a mysterious rescuer who always comes to your aid, a hero dressed in red and running through bolts of lightning. You know nothing about him, but you’re thankful he’s always looking out for you when you’re not looking out for yourself.

You try to never settle in the same spot twice, hoping that’ll keep any “bad guys” off your trail. But still, that never guarantees your safety, and today your bad habit stabs you in the back.

Almost literally.

You don’t even process what’s happening until it’s too late. Before you know it, you’ve been kidnapped and knocked out, and you wake up in a strange warehouse with several people with large guns, aiming them at you.

“What do you know about the ‘red streak’?” one demands.

“What are you talking about?” you mumble.

“The one that’s always saving you. Clearly you mean something to him,”

“Oh…” you swallow. “I…I don’t actually know him. He’s just doing his job as a hero,”

“LIAR!” one screams. “He’s sabotaged too many of our plans, he needs to die!”

Suddenly something crashes through the wall, and the group moves their weapons toward it.

It’s none other than your fast savior himself, and he unarms everyone and carries you far away from the building.

“Out of all the things I’ve saved you from, this is by far the worst,” he laughs. “Are you okay? What did they want from you?”

“They thought I’d have information about you, since we so often end up in the same places,” you say, taking deep breaths to calm yourself down. “Of course I don’t know anything, but they didn’t believe me,”

“I’m so sorry,” he shakes his head. “But you really gotta stop hanging around here so often, I’m scared that one day I won’t be fast enough to save you,”

“I know,” you nod. “I just…I need to get away from people sometimes, and I can’t seem to find a quiet place that isn’t dangerous,”

“I know a place,” he smiles.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of my secret superhero base, in the middle of nowhere and no one comes there except me. Well, actually occasionally other superheroes show up too, but ya know,”

“Are you serious? You trust me enough to know where that is?”

“I mean, I probably shouldn’t, secret identity and all that, but…” he shrugs. “We’ll figure something out. I don’t mind keeping the suit on while you’re hanging around, especially if it means you’re safe,”

“Wow,”

“Do you want to see it?”

You nod enthusiastically, and he runs you out to a small building, unlocking the door and inviting you inside. There’s a stand for his suit, and a few screens keeping track of who knows what.

“You can sit in that chair to read, if you want. It’s my second favorite, so I don’t mind,”

You smile and settle down, “Thank you,”

“You’re welcome,” he says. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay,”

He zips away, probably to check to make sure the villains are gone.

You never imagined you’d ever be somewhere like this, but you’re grateful to this hero, and maybe this opportunity will allow you to learn more about him.

#barry allen x reader #the flash x reader #justice league x reader #justice league imagine #zack snyder’s justice league #zsjl #barry allen #the flash #flashing gif

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sevlgi · 3 years

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aphrodisiac

requested: no

group: twice

pairing: mina x fem!reader

genre: fluff, extremely mild and short angst

contents: witch!mina, love potions, college!au

warnings: none

synopsis: You’re broke and desperate, so you don’t think twice before taking a love potion that’ll make you fall in love with a mysteriously perfect girl. But maybe you should.

a/n: hehe i like the idea of this!! i’m just not sure how well i executed it 🤔 happy valentines day, my loves ❤

word count: 6.0k

While everyone knew that working the 9-12 weekday shift at the campus bookstore was the worst job you could possibly get, you didn’t feel quite as exhilarated to have been laid off as you should have.

As the one who had suffered at the hand of old Mrs. Lee for almost the entire duration of your time on campus, you knew the torture better than most. So it was an understatement to say that you were exhilarated to be free of ironing book pages out and restocking the shelves at Mrs. Lee’s whims, that you were practically beaming when you got the email.

But on the other hand, it wasn’t like you had much money to spare, or like you had the ability to find another job in the crowded university. When you felt your wallet in your back pocket, completely empty save for a couple crinkled receipts, the grin faded from your face; after all, it would be even harder to survive without the aid of your measly salary.

So as you pinched together a couple quarters to buy yourself a consolatory iced chocolate, you found that being let go from the shittiest job in the world didn’t feel as triumphant as you had expected. Not when you were, once again, scouring the papers stabled to the lightposts around the campus for anything that offered a quick paycheck.

Well, almost anything.

“I will not.”

“Why?” Lisa was close to whining, though the pout that she directed fully at you did her no favors. “You said you needed to get paid.”

You sighed, “I said i needed to get paid, not launched in the air like a damn cannonball.”

Lisa scowled and tapped her fingers on her face, her hands still cupping her chin as she attempted to convince you. “Come on, the dance team’s willing to pay. It costs less to pay you than to get a dummy, so--”

“That’s not helping to convince me,” you warned. As desperate as you were, and as much as you liked Lisa and her fellow dancers, you definitely didn’t trust them not to launch you in the air and break your neck. “Are you sure that you don’t know about any other job offers? Anything that won’t murder me?”

She considered it, chewing on her bottom lip. You could feel other students eyeing where you sat, one of the only seats in the incredibly tiny boba shop, but you refused to budge until Lisa gave you an answer. “Oh! There is one I can think of, actually. You know the bio lab?”

“Yeah.” You watched her suspiciously, arms crossed. “I’ve been there a couple times. Why?”

“Well, it isn’t a normal bio lab,” Lisa mumbled, leaning in as if what she was about to tell you was the greatest secret in the world. “A lot of them are witches, you know.”

It wasn’t like you didn’t believe in witches, or the supernatural-- both had been proven to be true eons ago, and almost half of the students attending your university weren’t completely human. But you were still a little skeptical that the pretty and equally brilliant girls who ran the campus’s bio lab were... “Witches? Are you sure?”

“Why would I be lying?” Lisa rolled her eyes. “I’m friends with a couple of them, and I know that they’re doing an... experiment of sorts, and they need--”

“Lab rats,” you finished for the dancer. In all rationality, being a lab rat for a couple of young witches with access to a high-tech lab was probably worse than getting launched up in the air by a dance team, but when Lisa slid a flyer over and your eyes widened at the offered money, you instantly stood. “Take me.”

Lisa pouted but stood anyway, taking the flyer back to squint at the tiny scribbled building number. “I can’t believe you trust Mina more than you trust me.”

“Mina? Is that the name of the ‘witch’ I’m selling myself to?” you asked, slightly sarcastic but also slightly curious. At the dancer’s nod, you exhaled lightly and shoved your seat in just to watch the next people scramble for it, and hummed on your way out, “Then let’s meet this Mina.”

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that your entire school was close to dilapidated, but something about the bio lab was almost creepy as you approached it. Lisa had long since set off for the dance room (something about Seulgi breaking Ten’s ankle, she claimed), so you hesitated in front of the cloudy glass door alone. But the thought of the $600 dollars scrawled onto the flyer scrunched in your fist prompted you to push the doors open and step into the lab.

There was already a decent amount of people buzzing around inside; you recognized quite a few of them and nearly laughed at the amount of students willing to possibly be poisoned. But you took the nearest empty seat as someone appeared at the front of the room.

“Wow, this is a great turnout.”

The crowd chuckled lightly, and your eyes nearly bugged out at the sight of the girl standing at the front with papers in her hands. Honestly, she was the kind of girl that you imagined people wrote love songs about-- absolutely perfect without having to really do anything, elegant and soft in a way that still stood out. She smiled slightly and waved, eyes darting around the room. “Hi. I’m Mina, I’m part of the coven that sent out the flyers.”

You joined in the chorus of greetings, but your eyes stayed fixed on Mina at the front of the room. You could see several other girls lurking around in the shadows, probably the other members, though they kept beckoning Mina to speak on her own. “Um, I’ll just... explain the project to you,” she chuckled nervously, darting over to the computer.

Once a slide was displayed on the wall, she rushed back to the front and explained, “Being a potions-focused coven and also biology majors, we wanted to conduct an experiment. A love potion, or an aphrodisiac in scientific terms.”

Murmurs arose around you, and even your eyebrows scrunched together; as far as you knew, aphrodisiacs weren’t real, and if they were, they were probably illegal. In response, Mina raised her hands and her voice slightly to call out, “Hey, hey. It’s an experiment. We were originally planning to accept all of you, but... I think it’ll be hard to conduct an experiment with 50 people, so please fill out the form we pass out.”

And like that, Mina joined the rest of her friends in passing out the clipboards. You didn’t watch them, only scanned the lab for any signs that you were about to die, so when you were tapped on the shoulder, you almost fell off your stool. It was Mina herself, a slight pink tinting her pale skin as she held out one of the forms to you. “Uh. Thanks.” You accepted it with a bow of your head, staring down at the paper. It looked legitimate, with areas for your age, your height--

“What’s your name?”

In your haste to read over the paper, you hadn’t noticed that Mina hadn’t left. When you looked back up, you could feel heat burning at the tops of your ears, and you answered, “Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N, though you’ll read it on my application.”

“Oh. Of course. Thanks for coming, Y/N,” Mina mumbled, bowing before moving on to someone else. You noted that she didn’t ask for the name of anyone else, but you passed it off and turned back to the form. Since when did becoming a coven’s lab rat require your blood type, anyway?

After nearly a week, you had almost given up on being accepted into the experiment. But just 5 days after turning your form in, you got the text.

Unknown number [4:57] Is this Y/N Y/L/N? My name is Mina, we met at the bio lab last week. I’m texting to tell you that you got accepted into the program; we’re meeting at the lab again at 9:00 tonight to discuss the experiment further.

You [5:00] yeah, it’s me. i’ll be there.

It wasn’t like what you wore to the meeting mattered; all you were doing was being briefed on exactly what was about to happen to you. But all through your classes of the day, through your futile studying, you couldn’t keep your mind off the experiment that you had somehow been accepted into, and whether it was a good idea to go at all.

Suffice to say, you went.

“Y/N?” the girl at the entrance of the lab asked. You recognized her from the week before-- dark hair, bunny-toothed smile. “You are Y/N, right?”

“Yeah,” you answered, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing,” she smiled. “We’re just taking roll, making sure everyone’s here. Take a seat inside, if you will.”

You obliged, nodding awkwardly before brushing past her. To your relief, the lab was nowhere as packed as it had been the week before, 7 people including yourself seated on the stools as the girls fiddled with test tubes in the back. One pair of eyes in particular lingered on you, before Mina was pulled back to talk, but your cheeks warmed nonetheless.

“Okay, everyone!” someone else announced, clapping her hands together. “My name’s Jihyo, I’m the head of the coven. This is Nayeon” -- the bunny-toothed girl from earlier waved-- “and Mina. We’ll be explaining the experiment to you today.”

She pulled the projector down and Nayeon stepped up, flashing a grin at all of you. “Basically, we made an aphrodisiac. And to test it, we’ll have all of you do the exact same things with the exact same person-- Mina.”

Mina stepped forward this time, and you couldn’t help smiling at the shy smile that tugged at her lips. “To keep conditions equal, you’ll all be going on the exact same 2 dates with me,” she explained. “I’ll take notes on how you act around me, and we’ll test how you feel about me at the very end. Any questions?”

The room was basically silent and honestly, you couldn’t see a downside to it either. Take a potion once and go on dates with a pretty girl, then get observed like a hamster on its wheel so you could get paid? A million times better than your old job. “Great,” Jihyo nodded. “Then, we’ll get started. If Y/N could be the first one? You’ll just go into a room with Mina to get interviewed and take your first dose.”

“Don’t die,” someone called out as you passed, and you flashed a glare despite not knowing who it was. Nayeon giggled as she opened the door for you and closed it behind you, leaving you in what you assumed to be a supply closet. Romantic.

“Hi,” Mina greeted softly, already seated across the table. “I’ll just ask you a series of questions, if that’s okay.”

“Go for it.”

“Rate how attracted you are to me on a scale from 1 to 10.”

Your jaw dropped immediately; for the first question, it was awfully invasive, especially when Mina voiced it with such a straight face. But you straightened your spine and answered stiffly, “9.”

It should’ve been 10, but you weren’t trying to look like a literal creep; Mina only hummed and marked a circle on her form, moving on to ask, “Are you considering dating anyone else at the moment?”

“No.”

And in that manner, the questions passed decently quickly, with Mina asking them as flatly as possible and you answering them with the exact same tone. As soon as she set the clipboard aside, though, she returned to her original sweet state. “I’ll just have you swallow this now, if that’s okay.”

The test tube was cold to the touch when you uncapped it, and the liquid inside was suspiciously clear. But you barely gave it a passing glance before downing it like a shot, asking with narrowed eyes, “Is it supposed to taste like nothing?”

“Well, we figured that not everyone would like to taste tequila once a week with none of the good effects,” Mina chuckled and placed the empty test tube in its place.

“How fast will I see results?” you questioned as you stood. “Like, am I gonna wake up in a cold sweat tonight because I can’t handle how much I suddenly love you?”

The girl shook her head, though it was a bit hesitant. “I don’t believe so. It should only become more prominent once you see me more often. Which reminds me, I’ll text you about our first date as soon as I can. Thank you for participating, Y/N.”

You snatched your jacket up and stumbled your way out of the room as quickly as you could, hoping no one was looking as you closed the door behind you with a quivering pulse.

Despite the witch’s words, you were sure that the potion was already taking effect. Why else would your heart start to throb terribly as you looked at her smile?

mina [8:16] Hello Y/N! I was wondering if you had class today?

Mouth full of cheap cup ramen noodles, you stared at your phone screen. If Mina was asking you about your schedule, she had to have something planned (for the experiment, of course. You weren’t delusional). And you weren’t sure if you were mentally ready to see her shy smile again.

But when the thought of the $600 dollar check popped into your head, you reached for your phone and started to type again.

You [8:19] hey, mina. i don’t have class, actually, is this something about the experiment?

mina [8:20] Yes! If possible, please meet me at the front of the school, we’ll be visiting the food trucks at the beach. I’ll pay!

Your stomach growled at the thought of the renowned food trucks at the beach by your university, and you typed out a hasty agreement before stuffing your phone into your bag and setting off for your apartment. There was no way you were enjoying such an opportunity for good food (and perfect company) in a slightly ramen-stained hoodie.

Thankfully, Mina didn’t seem to mind you being late when you approached her. “Hi, Y/N,” she smiled and hitched her bag higher up her shoulder. “I’m glad to see you.”

“Hi,” you breathed. Well, at least you tried to-- you could barely remember how to function when faced with Mina in a slightly cropped red top, her hair tied up in a little ponytail. But you followed her down the street well enough, towards where you vaguely remembered a fleet of various food trucks to be. “So, have you already conducted this part of the experiment with everyone else?”

Mina shook her head and answered, “No, you’re the first. You took the dose first, so you’ll be a bit like the guinea pig within guinea pigs.”

You snickered at that, nearly tripping over one of the raised cracks in the ground. Sure, the way down the hill to the beach wasn’t the safest one ever, but at least it was convenient for conducting test dates. “The lab rat. You know, this doesn’t seem remotely like a scientific experiment.”

“What do you mean?” the other girl asked, eyes on yours.

Coughing, you looked away from her gaze, though you could feel her still staring at the back of your head. “I mean... it’s not exactly normal for 7 people to drink a potion that tastes like nothing, then go on dates with a pretty girl and treat that as testing.”

“You think I’m pretty?”

“That’s what you got from my whole spiel?” you sighed in disbelief, turning to look at Mina. She laughed, gums showing slightly and her eyes twinkling, and you were forced to turn to the front yet again. “Whatever. Which trucks are we raiding first?”

And as it turned out, Mina was... generous. You were tempted to ask how she was going to keep herself from going broke if she bought that much food for everyone, but watching her bring yet another load of snacks over to where you sat on the wall, you weren’t sure if she cared too much. “Hey. Are you gonna pay for every date?”

“Hm?” She looked up from her Americano and considered the question. “Well, yes? I mean, we planned for the second date next week to be the fair, and I wouldn’t want any college student to have to pay for those overpriced tickets.”

“Aren’t you a college student?”

Mina hummed lightly and dug into her ice cream, sucking thoughtfully on the spoon. “Well, my parents are... well off? I’d like to put it that way, at least. And I think that when I can, I’ll use that to make others happy. Or to further our coven’s experiments.”

“Rich family,” you observed. “Cool.” To be honest, you didn’t really care about how much money anyone’s family made, but it was nice to have all that food paid for. After all, the sheer amount of things Mina bought could’ve covered several months worth of the finest ramen that the restaurants around campus could’ve offered. “Then why’d you end up going to college here with us normal people?”

She raised an eyebrow jokingly and gathered her knees to her chest. “Am I not a normal person anymore?” When you opened your mouth, slightly sheepishly, she giggled and waved a hand, answering, “I ended up choosing this college because my best friends came here. We’re all Japanese, and Sana wanted to come to Korea, so Momo and I just came along for the ride.”

“Ah.” You turned to watch the sky, the sun melting golden into the surface of the waves just a couple dozen feet away. You understood why it was called golden hour as you watched bright yellow rays flicker in Mina’s eyes and glow in her hair, and you had to resist the urge to pull out a camera and capture the feeling of a first date, as much of an experiment as it was. “Makes sense. Then-- how’d you find your coven? I don’t remember a Momo or a Sana.”

“Our coven is a bit... unconventional,” Mina nodded. “It’s just me, Nayeon, and Jihyo. You know that most covens form as children, and they train together, but we only met in college. See, none of us had our own coven, so it was natural that we came together. Momo and Sana aren’t witches, or we should’ve been together.”

You nodded in silence, prompting her to go on. And she did, a soft smile pressing her lips against her teeth as she thought about the girls eh seemed to consider her friends, or her family. “And, well, none of the three of us have had great luck finding someone to love. Or, to love us,” Mina added as an afterthought. “A love potion was just the first thing we fixated on.”

“Finding someone to love you?” you repeated, hand pressed up against your cheek. “I don’t mean that I don’t believe you, but it’s kind of hard to imagine that it’s difficult to find someone to love you. You’re pretty great, Mina.”

She laughed, “I’m glad you think so. But there’s a reason why we chose me as the one to test the potion with.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

Mina looked you right in the eyes, a kind of softness swirling in the brown of her own eyes, and responded equally quietly, “We chose me because we thought I was the hardest to fall in love with.”

“Bullshit,” you responded instantly, heat rising to your ears immediately after. But thankfully, the Japanese girl only looked endeared, and you continued, “I mean, I don’t know if this is just the potion talking, but you’re awesome. I... I think I’d like you even if I wasn’t part of this damn experiment.”

She blushed, the hue of her cheeks matching the pink clouds in the sky. “Well, I think you’re exaggerating on that. But it’s not them, I just volunteered myself. I think people just misunderstand me, you know? It’s hard to find the right person for you when you don’t let people see you. And-- I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. On a first date, too.”

“Hey.” When she looked away from you, you reached over to squeeze her hand. Mina didn’t look back up to you, but you knew she was listening from the way she chewed at her bottom lip. “It’s okay. I know what you’re saying. And I can’t say I know you yet, but I can say I wouldn’t mind knowing you. I’d like it, even.”

Mina laughed, barely loud enough for you to hear, and squeezed your hand. “Thank you, Y/N. I think we should finish our food before it gets cold.”

“Oh, yeah.” You let go to reach for one of the many desserts displayed in front of you, barely fazed by the topic change. “Wouldn’t want your parents’ money to go to waste.”

“Please let that go,” she whined.

“Not a chance,” you winked in response, laughing at her pout. “Not. A. Chance.”

“Lili, I think I’m done for.”

“Like, literally?” Lisa asked mindlessly, receiving a light hit on the head in response. “Ow, what was that for?”

You whined, “This isn’t funny. I can feel myself falling, and there’s no cushion underneath me for me to fall onto.”

The dancer rolled her eyes and reached for her milk tea. “Okay, Miss Overdramatic. You know falling doesn’t work like that, no one’s kicking you off a cliff. Especially not Myoui Mina.”

“I’m not being kicked off, I’m sliding.” You made the motions with your hand, a despondent expression on your face as you scowled, “I’m slipping through a puddle of aphrodisiac, that’s what, and Mina poured it at my feet.”

“Okay, enough with the metaphors, I’m not an English major,” Lisa sighed. She tossed a chip at your face, as if being smeared with salt and oil would wake you up from your Mina-induced trance. “You’ve gone on one date with her and spoken to her approximately twice, I think you aren’t falling just yet.”

“Did you forget the part where I’m drugged to fall in love with her?” you deadpanned.

Lisa paused at that. “Okay, I did forget that. Then what? There’s an explanation as to why you’re feeling this way, and there’s a way to get rid of it. Once you get your paycheck, you just stay away from Mina, should be easy enough, since you never met her before this. And you wait for the potion to wear off.”

“Does it wear off?” you groaned into your hands.

“Did you never ask?” Lisa asked in disbelief. “Wow, Y/N, ever heard of fine print?”

You smacked her with your rolled-up notes yet again. “Shut up. But I have a date with her tomorrow, and I don’t know what to do. I’m feeling like this because of the potion, sure, but I’m still feeling like this! And Mina has 6 other people vying for her now, all under the same effect as me. And it feels... bad.”

“Eloquent,” your friend sighed. “Then I have the perfect solution for you. Don’t go on the second date.”

“I need the money,” you shook your head. “Gimme another one.”

Lisa considered it, sucked on her straw as she did, until she shook her head. “I got nothing. All I can tell you is to enjoy it while it lasts, then just... wait. And if it doesn’t wear off, Jisoo unnie’s studying law.”

As horrible as her suggestions were, you could admit that you felt the slightest bit more assured. In the worst case scenario, you could sue Mina for winning your heart, and in the best, the somehow blissful stabs at your heart would be alleviated soon enough.

As it turned out, you got a chauffer to the fair. Not an actual one, of course-- it was just Jeongyeon, introduced as one of Mina’s friends who could actually drive.

You really weren’t intending to talk to her at first. She was quiet, too, didn’t even turn on the radio once she started driving, but when something that Mina said crossed your mind, you had to speak up. “Hey, Jeongyeon. Can I ask you something? About Mina?”

“Shoot,” she answered simply, keeping her eyes on the road.

“Do you think Mina’s hard to fall in love with?”

Jeongyeon glanced at you at that, her expression slightly quizzical. “What do you mean?”

“She said something yesterday,” you explained. “Mina said that they chose her for the experiment because they thought she was the hardest to fell in love with. She said-- something about being misunderstood?”

The older girl nodded in understanding at that and blew her hair out of her face. After a short pause, she sighed, “I think that’s more of what she thinks than the rest of us. Mina... she thinks she’s unapproachable, you know. She doesn’t open up easily, so I’m surprised she told you that at all. But... she’s been hurt several times, and a lot of people think she’s mean or something similarly stupid just because she’s quiet. That’s all.”

“Oh.” You wet your lips and looked forward to the road, where you could see the fair’s Ferris Wheel already in the distance. “I see.”

And that was that. The two of you fell back into silence, and as comfortable as it was, it only gave you more time to think about what you wanted to say.

Maybe you could see why they would choose the girl who thought of herself as unapproachable and quiet to be the test, but they also didn’t seem to think about the obvious warm color to Mina that she presented. She was quiet, sure, but she was sweet, kind... there was plenty to fall in love with, and even if there wasn’t magic coursing through your system, you thought that you could’ve fallen in love with her anyway.

After bidding goodbye to Jeongyeon at the entrance, you found Mina waiting for you by the fair entrance. “Y/N!” she called out, though her voice still wasn’t loud. You could’ve spotted her anywhere anyway, and made your way over. “You’re a bit early.”

“You were earlier,” you smiled. “So. Are we ready to go in?”

“Absolutely.” Mina linked her arm in yours slightly hesitantly and surprised the both of you, but you took it in stride and swung your arm slightly to bring a smile to her face. “I’ll get our tickets, you get in line.”

“I can pay for myself,” you protested, but she waved you off. “...Okay then.”

The fair was loud, a bit too loud to hear Mina’s voice if she talked normally, so you found yourself leaning in every time she spoke. You really didn’t mind it either, feeling her words tickle your ears-- maybe it was closer than you should’ve been comfortable with, but there was a certain adrenaline pumping in your blood that you weren’t really used to. So you continued on, fed cotton candy to her despite her blush, shared a soda, won a teddy bear for her. Nothing that should’ve made your heart beat as fast as it did.

Nonetheless, time ticked by all too quickly, whirling past in a gust of quiet laughter and honestly terrible jokes. The sun set yet again, the streaks of pink and purple across powder blue oddly similar to the first date you had gone on. Mina checked her watch and frowned, “I think we only have time for one more ride before Jeongyeon comes to pick us up. What do you think?”

You barely had to ponder it before you pointed at the tall, neon-lit Ferris wheel with a smile. “Classic date ride, of course.”

“Classic,” Mina laughed in agreement. She let you tug her towards it and stood in line with you with no complaint, digging a selfie stick out from her bag. “Should we take some pictures up there? It’d be a waste of a beautiful view if we don’t.”

You shrugged, “Of course. Might as well have some pictures to remember our last date by, right?”

Mina looked caught between saying something and staying silent, but she settled with a quiet, “Sure” before starting to set her phone up. Your hand in the crook of her elbow, you tugged her forward when it was necessary, keeping your eyes away from her red-tinted lips as much as you could.

Soon enough, wind was blowing your hair off your face and the cart of the ride was creaking slightly under your weight as someone started the wheel. “Whoa,” Mina laughed breathlessly and peered over the edge. “It’s really high up.”

“And we’re only starting,” you agreed, tugging her back by the wrist. “Don’t fall over, I don’t want to get off this ride with a murder charge on my hands.”

“Hm.” Mina reached over to set the selfie stick on the seat opposite the one the two of you shared, shoving you to get you to match her smile. “Come on, 1, 2, 3.”

With every click of her phone camera, you felt yourself coming closer to her, until you could feel the rise and fall of her chest beside you. You were almost at the top of the ride in barely a couple minutes, the soft sunlight almost blinding you. As you waited for the next camera click, you felt Mina’s hand creep up your arm, up, up, until her slightly cold fingers rested on your neck.

And then she tilted your head, fit her nose right next to yours like it belonged there, and slotted your lips together. You couldn’t think, much less fight whatever force pushed you up against her. You kissed back as best as you could with your senses battling within you, until you realized that the camera shutter had gone off at least ten times.

Mina couldn’t meet your eyes when you did pull back, and she reached over to fiddle with the camera. “Was that a part of the experiment too?” you questioned, your voice raspy.

“Maybe,” she answered, and your heart sank. But she looked up with a smile, her eyes just as confused as you felt. “And maybe not.”

“Oh. Okay,” you said dumbly, then reached over for her hand. There was nothing left to say, anyway, nothing that the slight swell to your lips didn’t already say for you, nothing that wasn’t conveyed when you leaned over to kiss her again.

The idea of allowing a love potion to work its wonders on you was like allowing yourself to be tossed into a trap. But instead of a cold, rough, and terrible trap that you would actively try to escape, you found the trap to be warm, cozy, a place that you wanted to stay-- and a place you knew that you would eventually be ejected from by force.

Once you were in the trap, though, there was no way you could pull yourself back out, especially when you didn’t really want to escape at all. You stayed up for all the nights leading up to the last time you would talk with the bio lab, just thinking about what you would do if everything that had passed by in the last couple weeks was just a figment of an aphrodisiac-induced haze. After all that time, you still didn’t quite know.

But Mina texted you often enough to pull you from that stupor. Thankfully, it wasn’t like one of those stories or dramas, where the main leads somehow fought after their first kiss-- maybe that would’ve been easier than being pulled in deeper. Instead, the two of you talked every day, even if it was only for a little while, and Mina was only worsening whatever situation you couldn’t seem to get out of.

And eventually, the day came where you’d be paid, a day that you had been looking forward to, until you began to dread it.

“Well, doesn’t someone look like a newlywed,” Nayeon greeted at the entrance with a smile, though she didn’t seem to be mocking you. “Come on in, Y/N, we’ll get you started right away.”

The closet was the exact same as it had been the first time that you stepped inside for the interview, but Mina’s smile was much more warm. “Hi, Y/N. How’re you feeling?”

“Good. Fine.” You cleared your throat and attempted to peer at her clipboard. “Questions for me?”

“Yes,” Mina nodded, flipping the pages over. “Are you ready to get started, then? On a scale from one to ten, how attracted are you to me?”

“Ten,” you answered without hesitation this time, and your smile only grew when Mina flushed.

“Okay. Are you considering dating anyone other than me right now?”

“No.” You shook your head, but gulped slightly and leaned back when Mina leaned forward to observe you.

“What about me?”

You paused, blinked, though Mina didn’t seem like she was going to move until you answered, “Yes. I would date you, absolutely.”

She flicked through the pages listlessly before setting them aside and turning back to you. Somehow, Mina looked like she was about to drop a bomb on you, her lips quivering as she calculated the right words. “I... Y/N, I have to tell you something. About the experiment.”

“I’m not going to die, am I?”

Your shitty attempt at humor did manage to prompt a smile from Mina, but she remained serious. “Not that. But- do you understand control groups? In experiments?”

“Um. I think so?” you answered, racking your brain for whatever limited knowledge of science remained with you. “It’s the normal group, right? The one that isn’t experimented on.”

“Yes, just about,” Mina nodded. She reached for your hands and clasped them within hers, eyes pleading for you to understand something that you hadn’t heard yet. “Y/N, you were the control. I... we had to make sure that it was the potion working, and not me, and you- we used you for that. You were never given any potion.”

“I...” you stammered out. Every instinct in you was screaming out to pull away from Mina’s grasp, to question every aspect of your existence that had led up to you being tricked into loving her. Somehow, everything being real only made it feel more fake, even though you now knew that what you had felt was completely you. “I don’t understand.”

Mina said softly, “You fell in love with me, or at least liked me, on your own. You didn’t work as a control group because the same thing happened to you as it did to the others, even though you never took the aphrodisiac.”

“So,” you faltered, “all seven of us fell for you. I’m just the sucker who’s in it for real, huh?”

“I was willing to sacrifice my own feelings for the experiment,” Mina clarified, shaking her head. “I knew I would fall for one of you, but I didn’t think that you, as the control, would be the one who I fell for. And who fell for me.”

Silence fell over the two of you, though you remained there, hands clasped together and eyes meeting with a clarity that speech could never capture. But you tried anyway. “Okay.”

“Just okay?” Mina questioned.

You smiled weakly as a response, “Yeah. Um... how about we go on another date to talk? After you finish interrogating everyone else?”

Mina let go of your hands and let you stand up, but you could feel her smiling at your back as you closed the closet door behind you. Like a repetition of when you thought that you’d be induced into loving her, your heart beat in your throat as you leaned against the wood.

But when you knew it was real, when you knew that it wasn’t magic seizing you by the hand and pulling you into the unknown, you smiled. Because it felt... right.

#twice #twice x reader #mina x reader #mina imagines #mina scenarios #twice imagines #twice scenarios #twice reactions #twice mina #mina #mina myoui #myoui mina

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scuttling · 3 years

Text

Newbie

Fandom: Criminal Minds Pairing: Aaron Hotchner/Latina OFC Sophie Cortes Word Count: 3,786 Tags: SFW, Pre-relationship, Self-confidence issues, Canon-typical violence Summary: On Sophie’s first day at the BAU, she gets nervous. On Sophie’s second day at the BAU, they get a case. Collection: Sophie Cortes timeline, 0-6 Months at the BAU (See Masterlist for reading order) Link to A03 or read below! On Sophie’s first day at the BAU, she’s a little bit nervous—change your outfit three times, run your Keurig with no cup underneath, hair up? hair down? hair up? nervous—so she takes a deep, steadying breath before pushing open the glass double doors that lead to the bullpen.

She took cues about attire from other people she saw the day of her interview, so today she is wearing a simple black and white dress with pumps and gold jewelry, and she feels she fits in, but she gets more than a few curious looks when she enters.

Her instructions are to report to Agent Hotchner’s office first thing, but she is stopped on her way there by a tall, handsome, impeccably dressed man with a frankly gorgeous smile. He’s Black, with a shaved head and a great voice, and suddenly she doesn’t mind the interference.

“Hi, I’m Derek Morgan. You’re Sophia Cortes, right? Hotch mentioned you were starting today.” She smiles warmly.

“Yes, pleasure to meet you. You can call me Sophie,” she says, reaching out a hand for a shake. “Agent Hotchner told me you’re from Chicago, and so am I. Please say you aren’t a White Sox fan.” His smile becomes even brighter, if possible. She might be halfway in love with him already.

“God, no. If you want to watch good baseball, it’s the Cubs all the way.” She laughs lightly, happy to have a little rapport with a new colleague so soon.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I’m glad there’s a little more color in the office now,” he jokes, and she understands where he’s coming from completely. It’s bad enough to be the only woman in the room, sometimes, but when she’s also the only person of color, she feels… inadequate, somehow. Like she has to work twice as hard to be seen, even though she literally stands out among her peers.

A blonde woman with a fair complexion and pretty, almost doll-like facial features steps up behind him, and he looks over, introduces her.

“Sophie Cortes, this is Jennifer Jareau, our Communications Director.”

“Everyone calls me JJ,” she says with a smile and a handshake.

“Nice to meet you. If you’re the Communications Director, you’ve got the toughest job in the unit, then.” JJ looks surprised, then nods her head.

“Absolutely, but don’t tell them that. They’d never believe you,” she says with a playful shove of Derek’s shoulder. “Don’t let being a profiler go to your head like this guy.”

“Who, me? I’m as down to earth as the next devastatingly handsome guy.”

“Yeah, right,” a voice says from her right, and Sophie turns to see a woman approaching them with pale skin and dark hair, bangs, a kind smile. “We love you and all, but you’re a little cocky.”

“Is it being cocky when I’m that good, though?” he asks with a wink, and Sophie already feels more at ease just hearing them talk with each other. She can get acclimated to anything when the environment is right. “This is my partner, Emily Prentiss. Prentiss, this is Sophie Cortes. The new newbie.” She sets down her bag, heads over to shake hands.

“Nice to meet you, Sophie. Love the dress.” Sophie thanks her for the compliment. “I appreciate you taking the newbie title from me; fair warning, you’ll probably be here for five years before they stop calling you that.”

“Ah, I’ve been called worse, I’ll take it.” She glances around their workspace, looks up to Derek. “Is my partner here? Dr. Reid, right?”

“Oh, he texted, said his train is running late,” JJ explains. “He’s really excited to meet you, though, so don’t mind if he’s a little… overwhelming, when he does get here.”

“You’ll fall in love with the kid, everyone does,” Derek explains, and it makes her heart feel warm. This is definitely a team she wants to be a part of. “But he can be intense.”

“I appreciate the heads up.” Before she can say any more, Agent Hotchner descends the stairs, heads toward them.

“Good morning. I can see the team has taken the liberty of introducing themselves.”

“Hello again, Agent Hotchner.” Sophie shakes his hand, and he smiles softly.

“Hotch, please. You can put your things in that desk and I’ll give you a tour, if you’d like.”

“Sure, sounds great.” The team shares a brief look, but she doesn’t know them well enough to comment, just stows her belongings and follows the unit chief. “The team was very welcoming. They seem really tight knit,” she comments as they leave the bullpen, and he looks at her, nods.

“When you spend as much time together as we do, traveling as we do, it’s inevitable. Was it not that way in Intelligence?”

“You couldn’t get those people to sit down to dinner together, let alone tease one another. They’d probably bite each other’s heads off.” They worked well together, but in private the environment could be pretty toxic. She knows Unit Chief Roberts wouldn’t have put up with it if the team didn’t get such good results.

“I can see how this environment might seem a little strange, then,” he says, opening the door for her. They take the elevator.

“Strange, but good. It reminds me of when I was a cop, and I’ve missed that kind of camaraderie.”

“Well I’m glad you felt welcomed. We really are happy to have you.” They approach a closed door which he raps on lightly; the woman who answers has a bright smile and an even brighter outfit, lime green and navy blue, with matching accessories, including green glasses. She makes Sophie feel very… plain.

“Oh, hi!” the woman says, and her grin gets bigger. “Wow, you’re beautiful.” Sophie laughs, a little taken aback, and Hotch sighs lightly like he’s used to the odd behavior. It’s all very endearing.

“This is Penelope Garcia, our technical analyst. Garcia, this is Sophia Cortes, our new profiler.” She reaches out a hand.

“It’s nice to meet you. You can call me Sophie, or Cortes, whichever you prefer. And you’re beautiful, too. I love your style.”

“Thank you; I can tell we’re going to be fast friends. You’ll have me on speed dial,” she says, walking to her desk and jotting something down on a pink Post-It. “If you need something researched, narrowed down, blown up, compared, etc, I’m your girl.” She hands her the note—her direct line—and smiles. “I’m sure you have much more to see, but don’t be a stranger!”

Something tells Sophie she won’t be.

He shows her all around the office—copiers, the breakroom, supply closets, restrooms—and they end up in the briefing room, the last two to walk in.

“You remember Gideon,” Hotch says, and the man nods a greeting. Still as personable as ever, she thinks. “And this is your partner, Dr. Spencer Reid.” She’s not surprised by his age—she read some articles about him once she had his name, knows they call him ‘boy genius’ quite literally—but she is a little thrown by his nervous smile, his dark eyes, his untidy flop of brown hair. Derek wasn’t kidding when he called him kid; he looks like he belongs at an after school chess club meeting, or something.

He’s adorable. Like a puppy. She immediately wants to keep him. She smiles wide.

“Sophia Cortes, but you can call me Sophie, if you like.” He stands, and they shake hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’ve heard all about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. I hear you’re from Chicago. Did you know Chicago is home to 2,716,450 residents living in over 100 neighborhoods?” She smiles wider.

“Yeah, with 600 parks, 500 playgrounds, 29 beaches, and 26 miles of open lakefront. It’s beautiful. Have you been?”

“We worked a case there, once. I didn’t get to see any parks or beaches.” He makes a frowning kind of face and she laughs softly, takes the seat Hotch offers her.

“Well you’re young, there’s time.”

“Now that we’re all caught up on introductions, we can get started,” Hotch states, and Sophie’s first morning meeting begins.

It’s a little boring, as far as first days go, but she doesn’t mind. She has access to her computer, gets it set up the way she wants, finds out from the team where all the best places are nearby for coffee or drinks or lunch. She meets with the section chief for introductions, goes over some policies with Hotch—who, she was right, is definitely funnier and more thoughtful than he must let on. He probably feels like he has to act a certain way, because he’s the boss, but she likes pulling the human out of him, makes it a personal mission going forward to make him smile.

He’s too handsome not to smile. On Sophie’s second day at the BAU, they get a case.

“I usually like to let new profilers get acclimated to the team before going into the field,” Hotch tells her as they board the plane, “but it didn’t make sense to keep you in Quantico. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“Of course. That’s why I’m here, I want to help.” She stows her bag overhead. “I’ll observe, give my input when I have it, follow everyone’s lead.”

“Sounds good. You know you can come to any of us if you have questions.”

“I know. Thank you.”

They do a deeper debrief on the plane—three women have been murdered, all in their mid 30’s, athletic and blonde, last seen dropping their children off at school—and Sophie is tasked with going to the most recent crime scene with Hotch and Prentiss.

“What can you tell about him so far?” Hotch asks her while the detective on the case speaks with Prentiss about some details of the scene. She glances around the room, takes it all in.

“Well, there’s blood everywhere. Serious overkill each time. He either knew the victims, or has a deep-seated hatred for a woman they remind him of; my money is on is the latter.” She looks through the kitchen, at the bloody footprints that lead to the back door. “Tracked blood all through the house, left the back door open. He’s disorganized. He may have seen them at the school and planned to follow them home, but he didn’t do any pre-surveillance on them. Something about these women triggers him and he acts within the hour.”

“Would you call it a crime of passion, then?” She looks over, curious, then realizes he’s testing her.

“No. A crime of passion indicates some level of culpability by the victim. Provocation. These women are just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong face.” He nods, satisfied with her answer.

“So how do we think he’s finding the victims?”

“He could have a child under his care who goes to that school, or he could live near the school, work there. He could work the night shift somewhere else and pass the school on his way home. I think it’s too early to narrow that down.”

“Any idea what weapon he used?”

“We would have to really examine the cast off to be certain, but my guess would be… a hammer, or some other small, blunt tool. This wasn’t done by a baseball bat or a shovel or something larger. We can also get an estimated height and weight of the unsub if we chart the area void of blood here,” she adds, pointing to a bare spot on the wall with blood droplets above and around it. “I’m guessing we’ll send the photos to Garcia for analysis.”

“That’s right. I agree with your assessment,” he begins, but she senses hesitation.

“But?” He looks over at her, thoughtful.

“We’re missing something.”

“We are, or I am?” she asks for clarification, and he smiles just slightly.

“We are.” She takes that as a good sign, walks another loop around the room for something they would have overlooked, and she brightens when she thinks she’s discovered it.

“Her purse is still here, cash, credit cards. Her jewelry was still on her body when she was found. But does it look to you like something’s missing from the entryway table?” She points to it, and it’s very ordinary: a calendar, a bowl for change, hooks for keys, a couple of photographs—with a notable blank space in the middle. “Maybe a photo?”

“We should ask the husband if he knows what was there. Good work,” he tells her, and he heads off in the direction of the husband; she follows close behind.

Back at the precinct, the team fills each other in on what they’ve learned.

“So our unsub killed each of these women with a ball-peen hammer, striking 8-10 times. Blood spatter analysis puts him at about 5’11”, 6’0” tall, around 275 pounds. The photo taken from the third victim’s house was of the victim and her 7-year-old son Josh; similar photos were taken from the other two homes—photos of mother and son.” Prentiss tacks copies of the three missing photos to the board.

“Sounds like maybe the woman they remind him of is his mother,” Reid states.

“That’s what we’re going with. We’re still not sure how he finds his victims, though,” Prentiss mentions, and Sophie takes a breath, hesitates.

“Do you have something?” Morgan asks and she shrugs, unsure.

“Maybe? One of the theories we threw out there was that he works overnight and drives past the school on his way home from work, when the kids are being dropped off. If he killed them with a ball-peen hammer, maybe we should look for machine shops in the area with overnight shifts? Those are typically used in metalworking, not construction.” She feels like all eyes are on her, and it makes her nervous. “That could be completely irrelevant, it’s just a thought.”

“It’s a good thought; I’ll have Garcia pull us a list, we can split up and pass around the description, see if our guy is a metal worker. Good call, newbie.” Morgan leaves to take the call, and JJ leans over with a smile.

“Don’t second guess yourself. You’re doing great so far. Theories are important, even if they’re wrong.” Sophie returns the expression, nods.

“Thanks. I’ve just gotta get used to the collaborative environment; haven’t been in one of those in a while.”

“You’d never know it. You’re fitting right in.” She takes it as a compliment, is happy to be of some use to the investigation and not just getting in the way.

The rest of the day is pretty quiet; they test out a few other possible theories, deliver the profile to the late shift, plan to hit the school early in the morning to look for potential suspects and to pass around the description to see if anyone meets it who works there, or lives nearby.

She goes to the school with Reid and JJ, speaks to teachers, janitorial staff, but none of them know a man like the one they’re looking for. She meets up with the others, who were speaking to parents, after about an hour of questioning, but they also come up blank.

“We’ve still got your machine shop theory,” Reid says as they drive back to the precinct. “The others should be done with those soon, so there’s still a chance we can find this guy today.” JJ’s phone rings, and she answers on the car bluetooth.

“JJ, there’s been another attack,” Prentiss says. “1419 5th Street—you guys are closer. Can you head over?”

“We’re on the way,” JJ answers, turning right, and Reid looks thoughtful.

“An attack? She’s not dead?”

“No. Not yet, at least. She’s being rushed to the hospital; her husband was home, caught the attacker in the middle of it all.”

“Did he get a good look at the unsub?” JJ asks.

“He’s with a sketch artist now. Hotch wants you to circulate the sketch ASAP; we think we may have a hit at one of the metal shops, if you can send it to me, too.”

“You got it.” She ends the call, looks at Sophie through the rearview mirror. “Drinks are on you tonight, newbie,” she says playfully, and Sophie can’t help but laugh. She had been so intimidated by the thought of joining the BAU, and she’s glad to see she’s useful, can actually help make a difference. It’s a feeling she won’t forget for a while.

Later that night, when they plan to try to catch the unsub before he leaves for work, she deflates, a little.

Hotch, Morgan, Prentiss, and Reid are going to breach the unsub’s house while JJ covers the front door and Sophie covers the back. She had assumed she would get to be part of the team going in, with her tactical background, and immediately thinks the worst, that they’re happy to have her brain, but that her body is a hindrance. Too short, too weak… it’s how she’s been treated her whole life, and she hates to think that she’s being dismissed here so soon for the same reasons. She tries not to let it show, but she dwells on it, a little, lets it get her down even though she knows she shouldn’t.

She snaps out of it when there’s movement on the back porch, a hulking, shadowy figure in the darkness.

“I’ve got him coming out of the back,” she whispers into her comms, and she draws her gun and points it at the unsub. “Stop, FBI!” The guy turns to face her—he fits the sketch to a tee, a real mountain of a man as the blood spatter analysis suggested—takes one good look, and goes running in the other direction.

Alright, so, he’s clearly not impressed. She can work with that.

“He’s running, I’m in pursuit.” She holsters her weapon and her boots pound the grass as she books it his way. The good thing about being so much smaller than him is that she’s much faster, catches up to him fairly easily, and again, she shouts for him to stop, which, of course, he doesn’t.

Her first thought is that she’s got to get this guy on the ground no matter what—this isn’t a shoplifter or something, he’s wanted for murdering three women and attempting to murder a fourth, so a little force is okay if necessary, and judging by his build, it’s going to be necessary.

Her second thought is, if I can’t catch him, I don’t deserve to be here. And that’s the one that makes the decision for her.

She leaps onto his back, grabs fistfuls of his shirt, and shakes him forward, backward, forward again, trying to throw off his balance. When he starts to wobble, she slides down his back, hooking a leg around one of his and driving her knee into the bend of his; he goes down, face first, and she reaches behind her for her cuffs, slaps them on his wrists before he has a chance to turn or stand. “Jason Farber, you’re under arrest for three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.”

“Attempted murder?” he asks, turning his face so he can speak more easily. He seems pretty calm for a runner, maybe just resigned to his fate, and she leans over so she can see him better. He’s breathing fine, uninjured, and just looks pissed. “You mean that overbearing bitch isn’t dead?”

“Yep, sorry to be the one to tell you, Jason, but she’s alive and kicking.” She continues to read him his rights, and is just pulling him to his feet when Morgan and Hotch skid to a stop behind her; if they look surprised… who is she kidding? They look surprised as fuck.

“Damn, Cortes. This guy’s like three of you,” Morgan marvels as she walks him back toward the cars so he can be tossed into the back of a black and white. “Did you make him an offer he couldn’t refuse?” She scoffs at that, and even the unsub snorts in amusement.

“She tackled me. Wasn’t counting on that.”

“I don’t think anybody was,” she admits, getting him into a cop car and shutting the door. She joins the rest of the team, gets a high-five from JJ.

“Hey, score one for the ladies. We never get to do any tackling.”

“She did better than I would have,” Reid admits without shame, and she laughs.

“It’s all in the legs. I lift chains at the gym.” He gives her a look like he’s got no idea what she’s talking about, which almost makes her laugh again. “You do pull-ups, but with chains around your legs.” She demonstrates, squatting and gesturing to her legs like she’s wrapping something around them.

“Okay, you’re the real deal, newbie,” Morgan says when she stands up fully. “Remind me not to run from you unless I want a face full of dirt.” The group breaks apart after that, but Hotch lingers, gives her a meaningful look when she makes eye contact.

“I bet that felt good.” She leans against the side of the SUV, feels a deep conversation coming on.

“It did. I’m stronger than I look, and sometimes it’s fun to be underestimated, but other times it gets really annoying.”

“I can imagine,” he says, nodding, and he mimics her posture. “I just want to make sure you know you don’t have anything to prove. I hired you for a reason.”

“I know. But I don’t like being a one-trick pony, and I’m definitely not waiting around for one of you guys when an unsub is on the move.”

“And I wouldn't expect you to. As for the ‘one-trick pony’ thing, that’s not how I see you at all. You’re extremely well-rounded, and that’s why I wanted you.” His eyes are kind, but penetrating, and she dips her head, nods.

“And that’s why I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“After what you’ve shown me the last two days, I don’t think that’s possible, but I want you to know you can come to me when something’s bothering you. That’s why I’m here.”

“I know. I won’t forget it,” she assures, and he stands fully, cocks an eyebrow in her direction.

“I heard drinks are on you tonight,” he says with a straight face, and she laughs lightly.

“I guess we better get going before they run up the tab, then.”

They walk in companionable silence back to the SUV.

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