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yslkook · 3 years

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TiO (8)

mind of mine masterlist

summary: jungkook is a man of mystery and you take him on a date.

pairing: “badboy” jk x “shy/reserved” oc

warnings: cursing, alc, excessive use of pet names, a shitty relationship, unprotected sex (pls use protection, these two are being foolish) , some choking, grinding, making out, oral

word count: ~6.3k

a/n: if you want to be tagged, send an ask plz. would love to hear your thoughts. a big thank you to @cutechim for creating the texts for me lmao<33

***

Jungkook remains tight-lipped about what it was he had done over the weekend, when he had gone with Jin and Mina to a tattoo convention a few hours away. They had ended up staying the night there, and while Jungkook wanted to ask you to come with him, he wondered if it was too soon to ask. After all, you were both still enjoying each other’s company at your own sweet pace.

Eventually his little secret gets put on the back burner for the rest of the week. You were supposed to get bubble tea with him on Tuesday, but unfortunately a last minute work issue with your client and your application came up. You’d ended up working late, your eyes screaming in fatigue and went straight to bed that evening. He had understood, of course he did.

On Thursday, he was supposed to grab lunch with you at a cafe that he thought you might like, but this time it was him who had a conflict. His older sister had showed up to the tattoo parlor without any prior notice. She does this every so often, when things aren’t going well with her on again, off again shitty “boyfriend”.

Jungkook had sighed, cancelling on lunch with you to spend time with Jooyeon and comfort her with fried chicken and ice cream. You had sent an understanding thumbs up and a promise to call him later and end up having lunch with your work wife, Kira instead.

Kira who doesn’t fail to point out the glow in your cheeks and your general aura, even though it’s been nearly a week and a half since you saw Jungkook last. You roll your eyes and ignore the flames in your cheeks (and her laughter), and change the subject to your work projects. She tells you about some of the coding issues and compliance issues she’s been having with her software, and you tell her about the hours you’ve been pouring into your application for your client.

It doesn’t bother you that Jungkook hadn’t asked if you wanted to meet his sister. After all, he’d told you bits and pieces about her and her relationship. And in the last few weeks, your relationship has blossomed so beautifully. There was no reason to rush, you think. You’ll meet her hopefully under better circumstances for her.

Jungkook spends most of the evening with Jooyeon, letting her cry herself to sleep in his bed. His sister hardly ever cries like this, with sobs full of pain and hurt because of another man. But it’s been happening too much lately, too many fights and too much of Joo losing herself. It makes Jungkook see red more often than not. He knows what you’d say- that she needs him more than anything else and to not be so impulsive.

He makes sure Joo eats a warm meal before she falls asleep and he shoots you a text:

Jungkook: baby

You: hi

You: everything ok?

Jungkook: no, joo’s bf is a fkin asshole

Jungkook: she’s sleeping

Jungkook: miss u

You: im sorry baby :( can i call you?

He jumps at the chance, the sound of your voice and sight of your pretty face on video call instantly calming him. Jungkook is sure to wear a beanie to hide his surprise for you (but you don’t question it. After all, you’ve seen him in beanies plenty of times before and it’s dim in the apartment.) He moves to the couch, asking softly for you to tell him about your day. You recount every single detail from memory, shifting under your covers to tell him about how you had nearly stumbled down the stairs in front of your manager’s manager because you had missed a step.

It pulls a soft laugh from him.

“Jungkook,” You say quietly, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t even know what to say,” Jungkook sighs, “She’s just… Byung-woo and her have had this on and off thing for years now. He won’t commit to her and she just refuses to see him for what he is. Like, when it’s good, it’s really good. But when it’s bad, it’s awful. I wish she’d fucking see it for herself. I don’t know what to do anymore, baby.”

“Oh, baby,” You murmur, wishing you could hug him, “All you can do is be there for her but be honest with her. She’ll come around soon, hopefully. It’s hard to see past a shitty person sometimes, when all you want is for them to love you.”

“I hope so, too,” Jungkook says, “She’d love you, you know?”

“Who wouldn’t?”

“Don’t get a big head,” Jungkook chuckles, “Maybe you can meet her someday. Under better circumstances, I mean.”

“Really? You want me to meet your older sister?” You ask softly, feeling a little flustered, “That’s serious.”

“I told you, baby,” Jungkook soothes, “I’m serious about you.”

“Yeah. Seriously crazy about me,” You giggle to yourself. You know if Jungkook was with you, he’d flick your forehead.

“It’s true,” He murmurs, “Maybe I can see you this weekend?”

“Yeah, you still have to show me what you did over the weekend! Take care of Jooyeon first,” You reply, “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll drop stuff off, just tell me.”

“I will,” Jungkook promises, “Sleep well, I miss you.”

“Sleep well. I miss you.”

***

Jooyeon ends up leaving on Saturday morning after a lecture from Jungkook and with determined resolve in her eyes. You jump at the chance to take him out tonight, knowing how stressed he’s been the last few days.

You: be ready at 6:30 tn, im taking u out. and dress slutty

Jungkook doesn’t know how to interpret your text when he reads it. He considers asking Mina and Mei what this means, but ultimately leaves it alone. Replying to your message with a quick thumbs up, he busies himself with getting ready to see you (and surprising you, finally after a full week of wanting to show you what he had done.)

Once you parallel park your car (which takes far too long than you’d like to admit), you grab the small bouquet of purple roses that you had gotten for Jungkook and text him saying that you’ll be up in a few minutes.

Taehyung had caught you struggling to parallel park, and had told Jungkook with a snicker. Which earned him a punch to the arm.

There wasn’t a particular reason that you had chosen to get purple roses for him, other than the fact that they reminded you of him. You hope he likes them.

Jungkook hears a soft knock at the door, and can already envision you behind it. He hopes you like his surprise, the one he’s been teasing you for a week about. You had given no hints of what you would be wearing- you had only sent him one selfie that didn’t give much of a hint into your outfit. He has no doubt that you’ll look gorgeous, but still.

Maybe Jungkook’s nerves shouldn’t be this intense, but he can’t help it. He swings the front door open, only to be greeted by you swaying on your feet with your hands held behind your back. His heart throbs when you pull your hands apart and present him with a beautiful bouquet of purple roses.

How ironic.

“Hello,” You say with a small smile, suddenly feeling a little shy and gasping when your eyes land on his hair, “Wow. You weren’t kidding…”

His hair is tied back into a ponytail, but it’s unmistakably elegant and so violet. Two neat pieces of his newly dyed hair fall into his face effortlessly, but then your gaze reaches the piercing on his left eyebrow. Your lips remain parted in surprise and without thinking, you reach up to touch his hair. It’s still soft, as it always is.

“Come in, baby,” Jungkook says, taking the roses from you, “You must really like me, huh? Got me flowers and everything?”

“Shut up,” You mutter, cheeks heating up, “Don’t get a big head.”

Jungkook only grins wolfishly at you and winks at you, eyes unashamedly glued to your ass. You roll your eyes, and swat his shoulder as you watch him put the rose in a vase and place it in the center of the dining table.

This isn’t the first time you’ve been in his shared apartment (that he lives with Taehyung and Jimin in) but you somehow feel shy in his presence again, as if it was the first time. The first time you had been here with him had been the first time you had spent the night at his apartment several weeks ago, after a night out with your friends.

You let your gaze wander, curious eyes settling on the subtle matching of the furniture and the cleanliness of the apartment. There’s not a stray speck of dust in sight, but maybe you’re distracting yourself from addressing the pretty purple of his hair. Your mouth is dry, and you’re probably drooling a little. You wonder if Jungkook prepared for this, the same way you did (in that you had washed your car, cleaned every inch of it and gotten a new car freshener).

A faint scent of fresh laundry and lavender sits in the spaces of his home. It calms you and gives you the boost to turn your eyes to him.

“Thanks for the roses, baby,” Jungkook says, giving you a smile and starry eyes. He pulls you into his arms, your back against the counter. “Surprise. Do you like it?”

“Uh,” You mumble, brain deciding to short-circuit with the way he looks at you. His smile turns into a smirk, deciding to further render you speechless by pressing himself closer to you and cradling your neck. He’s careful not to touch your face. He doesn’t want to mess your makeup up terribly, at least not yet.

“I know you like my hair. Your face says it all, baby,” Jungkook continues and ducks his head for a quick kiss, “You’re pretty.” He does quite like this dress, light blue and dotted in small flowers with thin straps. His eyes are instantly drawn to the drawstring at the center of your chest and he quells the urge to pull at it.

Jungkook’s mouth waters when he sees the side split of the dress but you want more from him immediately, but he pulls away to your chagrin. Even with the simple kiss, the burgundy color of your lipstick stains his plump bottom lip.

You shiver. It appears that he tried to take your words via text to heart- to dress slutty. He’s wearing a loose animal print button up, with the top three buttons undone. It gives you a delectable view of his pecs, his collarbones and a hint of the tattoo on his right side. As if you weren’t already weak in the knees for him as it was, he wears a black coat and tight, leather pants.

Jungkook pulls it off, like he pulls everything off and the purple hair blends seamlessly with his look. Tonight, he’d opted for two silver hoops in each ear and a thin silver necklace to match.

Your knees are weak, they’ve been weak since you had seen him in this offensive outfit and his hair, his new piercing that was clearly an attack on your entire existence.

The purple hair. The piercing. He’ll be the death of you tonight, you know it. Your legs are wobbly, panties already probably a little wet just from seeing him and from a few of his kisses. But you can’t help it. Without thinking, you press your lips to his, drawing your tongue into his mouth eagerly. You are so hungry, so eager to devour him and drink up anything that he offers you. Jungkook tugs you closer to him lightly by your waist but-

“Seriously? Right in front of my dinner?” Comes an amused voice from behind Jungkook and you nearly screech at the familiar sound of Jimin’s voice.

“I- I didn’t-You-” You stammer, feeling your face heat up to a degree that it’s definitely never heated up to before. You hide behind Jungkook to fix your surely wrecked lipstick. You’re certain his own lips are probably comically smudged with your lipstick as well. “Sorry Jimin, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know, we’ll leave-”

Jungkook only rolls his eyes at Jimin’s wide smirk and knowing eyes. He hears you scolding Jungkook for not telling him that anyone was home, to which he promptly responds “well, you didn’t ask!”

Despite the very natural and easy flow of conversation between you and Jungkook in your car, you still feel overheated and jumpy, your fingers incessantly tapping on the steering wheel. It’s not Jungkook, it’s you and your own nerves. It’s not the first time you’ve gone out to dinner with him and it’s certainly not the first time you’ve had him in your car. If Jungkook notices, he says nothing.

“Where are we going, baby?” Jungkook asks, looking at you. You don’t meet his eyes, choosing instead to focus on the road despite being at a red light.

“Umm, that place you mentioned the other day. The one we talked about trying together,” You say softly. Jungkook can only wonder why you’re a little quiet, but he thinks he knows. You slip into your head so easily and he doesn’t mind gently tugging you out of your thought cloud and into reality with him.

“Can you help me park,” You mumble sheepishly, “I get nervous parking in such tight spaces.”

“Yeah, pull over here before it’s impossible to,” Jungkook murmurs. You nod and do so, hopping out of the driver’s seat to switch places with him. But before you can get in the passenger’s seat, Jungkook grips your wrist loosely. You look at him curiously, with wide eyes and he drops a kiss to your lips, swallowing your surprise.

“You’re so pretty,” Jungkook murmurs, “So fucking pretty, baby. I love this dress on you.” You preen at his praise, leaning forward for another kiss with a shy smile. He subtly squeezes your left tit before letting his hand travel downward.

“You look really good, Jungkook,” You murmur before he kisses you, “I-I really, really like it. A lot.”

He gently caresses your thigh from under your dress, the heat of his hand shooting straight up your core. Jungkook slips his tongue into your mouth quickly, coaxing your endearing nervousness away. As if you both aren’t pulled over to the side of the street where cars are passing you by (and surely wondering why you both were making out like this in public).

“Are we gonna be those people who have a roadside quickie,” You laugh, gently pushing his shoulder when you pull away.

“Roadside quickie? Get your mind out of the gutter,” Jungkook says but his lips twist into a wicked smirk, “But hey, if you wanna give me road head, I’m not going to complain about it-”

“Ha, you would be so lucky,” You scoff, feeling your nerves beginning to ease out of you, “C’mon, our reservation is soon. And then we can talk about road head.”

Dinner goes perfectly and after a glass of wine you feel those inexplicable nerves wash away. What did you have to be nervous for anyway? It was Jungkook- Jungkook who you’ve known for years. Your friend before any of this. He asks you about work, how your application is going-

“Your client sounds pretty demanding,” Jungkook muses, “You keeping up with it okay?”

“Yeah, but I’m not even an application engineer so I’m just learning as I go. My true roots are data and data science but I get to see all of it. Which is cool. But also time consuming, like the other evening, I had to read up on the compliance regulations. But my favorite thing is creating modeling and programs for this app, it’s really cool because it’s healthcare specific. So I’m learning about that sector as well, it’s mostly python but we’ve been doing testing with different healthcare providers in the area and they’re all responding really well to it-” You’re rambling, you know it, but your passion for your career knows no bounds and Jungkook makes no move to stop you. He only smiles at you, eyes crinkling and nose scrunching, gesturing for you to continue.

It’s funny. Not even a few months ago, you would have cut yourself off from your own rambling. In an attempt to convince yourself that the other person didn’t need to hear about it. Maybe that was Sora’s subconscious influence on you. Today, you don’t think twice about it, glowing and shimmering under the dim, blue lights of the restaurant as you tell Jungkook more about your job.

He makes your heart race and he’s sitting right in front of you. Your chin is in your hands as you listen to the pretty words slipping out of his lips. He’s so dreamy, and you struggle to not let your gaze stray from his eyes and linger on his exposed tattoos and chest. You don’t even know where to look, deciding to settle on the way his newly purple locks fall to his forehead just perfectly.

“What do you wanna eat for dessert?” You murmur, looking at the menu and cautiously allowing your foot to brush against his.

In hindsight, you should’ve seen it coming-

“You,” Jungkook says easily, as if he’s talking about the weather.

“Corny,” You roll your eyes, but nudge his foot again. You end up deciding on sharing a slice of decadent, chocolate mousse cake. Which Jungkook ends up finishing off when you satisfy your sweet tooth after a few big bites.

He leans over without a second thought, thumbing away stray cream from the corner of your mouth. Your tongue darts out to lick the tip of his thumb and he looks at you with wide eyes before grinning roguishly.

“Wanna get outta here, baby?”

“Should I take you home, Jungkook?” You ask, finding the courage somewhere in the remnants of the glass of wine currently evaporating from your system to take his hand in your lap once you’re both settled in your car.

“Do you want to take me home?” Jungkook asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“I have some wine I think you’d like at my place. I just got it,” You say a little breathlessly, “And I have to inspect something, I might need your help.” Jungkook laughs, a little derisively and you pout.

“You don’t have to bribe me with wine, baby. You know I would’ve been down regardless,” Jungkook says, squeezing your hand, “What do you need to inspect? Do you have a leak or something?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a leak alright,” You say under your breath, thinking about the growing wetness in your panties, “My man just showed up here with purple hair and an eyebrow piercing, looking like a damn model after one whole week. I have to inspect him.”

“Oh, is that so? In that case, I would love to be your lab rat. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t seen the inside of your bedroom before-”

“Who said you’d get that far?”

“I already did, baby. Did you forget?” Jungkook’s smirk widens, eyes sparkling with mischief. He gently cups your face, thumb on your chin and hovers just over your lips. You think he’s about to kiss you, so you close your eyes in anticipation of his lips on yours.

But it never comes. Instead, his breath fans over your cheeks and he lets out a low laugh. “I sure didn’t forget, and I know you didn’t either.”

You roll your eyes and swat his hand away, ignoring (but letting out a smile) when he chuckles. You decide to hold his hand for as much of the drive back home you can.

Jungkook’s hands are on your hips even as you’re fumbling with the keys to your front door. He’s a distraction, his warm heat plastered against your back and the simple act of opening your damn door feels like too much of a chore. When Jungkook’s lips glaze over the back of your neck, his fingers roaming your waist, it’s difficult for you to focus.

So Jungkook scoffs and turns the key for you. “Can’t open the door, baby?” Jungkook taunts and you level him with a glare.

“It’s not my fault you can’t keep your hands to yourself in front of my door!”

“You like it,” Jungkook says, shutting the door behind him and hugging you as you try to walk away from him to wash up. You escape his grip with a giggle and lock yourself in your bathroom, while Jungkook waits with a disgruntled pout.

When you come out, you head into the kitchen to pour out two glasses of wine and bring some snacks out. You’re not particularly hungry, though you wouldn’t mind eating and you’re sure Jungkook wouldn’t mind either.

Your train of thought is of course interrupted by the man himself and he wraps his arms around you from behind, pushing you into the counter. One might say that Jungkook is being clingy, but you know this is how he shows his affections. Through physical touch more than anything else. And you quite like it, you like the reassurance of his body close to yours. It’s what you’ve always wanted and never known that you needed.

“Missed you,” He breathes into your hair. Even if he’s been with you for the last few hours… You understand him. It feels like you’re both making up for lost time. For time that you could’ve spent together, rather than apart.

“Me too,” You murmur, “Can you take this to the couch, honey? I’ll bring the glasses and the wine.”

Jungkook hums and kisses your temple, squeezing your ass before heeding your soft demand. You sit next to him, thighs touching, and pour out a glass for both of you to enjoy. You lean against his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his bicep and turn the television on. But neither of you are really paying attention.

“Hey,” Jungkook murmurs, “I had a good time tonight, baby.”

“Don’t I know it,” You say smugly, “It’s not everyday a pretty girl takes you out for din-” He cuts your words off by pulling you into his lap, somehow not spilling even a single drop of wine in the movement. You would’ve killed him if even a hint of a wine stain appeared on your velvet couch.

You press your hand into his shoulder, the hint of his tattoo and the glint of his piercing catching your eye. You swirl your glass of wine with your other hand. “What a precarious position to be in,” You say dryly, even grinding your hips into his playfully. He gives you a look, and stills your movements with one hand on your waist. Jungkook sets his glass on the coffee table behind you and cradles your neck, pulling you down for a sharp kiss. It’s almost desperate and needy, nothing like his kisses from before.

You slip your tongue into his honeyed mouth, tasting seeds of his desperation with your tongue. But then, you remember your wine glass and pull away from his lips with a lewd smack to reach behind you and place it on the coffee table as well.

“So pretty,” Jungkook moans, pushing the straps of your dress to the side and dotting your shoulders in wine-stained kisses, “Pretty girl, my pretty baby-”

You tilt his cheek towards you for a kiss, whining into his mouth at his praise. It shoots down your spine in a delicious hum and his hands roaming the expanse of your back makes you feel warm and powerful.

The way your hips move in time with his, the way you fit into the crevices of his thighs and his chest- he just wants to give you everything. He wants to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Jungkook will give you everything, if you let him.

“And what about you?” You rasp with swollen lips and wild eyes when you finally pull away. You press your fingers into the exposed, inky part of his chest, where his shirt is unbuttoned for your eyes. “You look so fucking good all the time, but-but I told you to dress slutty and you did this for me, huh? You did this for me, bunny?”

Jungkook’s cock jumps in his tight pants and his throat goes dry. Your eyes are devious, filled with mischief and sin and he gives himself to you fully and wholly.

“Yeah,” Jungkook nods eagerly, “Yeah, I wanted to look nice for you, baby.”

“A-and your hair,” You mumble, feeling a little lovesick, “I love it, I love it, I love it-I just wanna- wanna make you feel good. Can I do that, bunny? Make you feel good?”

Jungkook nods with wide, doe eyes, wondering how the tables were turned so quickly.

“Take me to my bedroom,” You demand softly. The glasses of wine and snacks on the tray are left forgotten as Jungkook easily scoops you up in his arms. Even with your lips soft and slow against his neck, he somehow makes it to your bed.

It’s definitely not the first time you’ve had Jungkook in your bed (or that you’ve been in his bed). It’s not the first time you’ve peeled his shirt off meticulously and licked your way down his chest, to unbutton his tight pants. It’s not the first time he’s seen you on your knees on your bed (to alleviate the strain on your knees if you were on the floor).

By now, the shock of your impatience has worn off. Jungkook frequently reminds you to slow down, that you both have nowhere to be except with each other.

It looks like his pants are glued to his legs, and while you can appreciate the visual, you want to appreciate the real thing. You groan in frustration and Jungkook does the work for you, pushing the offending fabric away and breathing a sigh of relief. You crawl closer to him, nails featherlight against his taut thighs.

He’s golden, his body taut and spilling with swirls of color in the divots of his muscles. Your mouth waters.

But Jungkook moves your hands away when you start inching closer, wanting to palm his cock. He joins you on the bed, pushing your back to the bed and hiking the skirt of your dress up to your hips. His hands are tight and warm and welcome on your hips, a flare of desire shooting down your spine and straight to your pussy. You buck your hips up towards him with a pout but he only squeezes.

“What did I tell you,” Jungkook murmurs, swatting your thigh lightly.

“You’ll have to remind me,” You breathe.

“Told you to slow down, baby,” Jungkook says, letting his fingers trail up your thighs and slip under your panties. His hand is warm in contrast to the rings on his fingers. They do little to cool your skin, though. “Impatient girl.”

“You say that like a bad thing-”

“And you talk so fucking much,” Jungkook drawls, hovering over you and dropping his weight on top of you, nudging your cheek to kiss you. You reach upwards to thread your hands through his hair but he’s quick, so much quicker than you. Jungkook pins your wrists with just one hand, and the mere action, the mere display of strength has you sighing and your pussy fluttering.

“Lift your hips,” Jungkook says thickly, and you do so immediately. It’s easy for him to pull your black lace panties off to the side. But before he does so he gives you a small smile of approval, knowing that you wore them specifically for him to see.

“I really do love this dress, baby,” He says, “Makes your tits and your ass look amazing.”

“Take it off, then. And see the goods up close,” You say, wiggling against his grip.

“I will,” Jungkook says lazily, “Don’t you worry your pretty head about it.” Without a single warning, he lifts you up easily into his lap. Your bare pussy brushes against his bare cock deliciously, your hips moving of their own accord. He stills you again, and carefully unzips your dress and pulls it off of you. His fingers on you are soft but firm, leaving your head spinning and hazy.

You haven’t even had his cock yet, and you’re about ready to combust. Jungkook pushes you on the bed, your tits bouncing with the force of your back hitting the mattress and hovers over you. You pull at his hair a little impatiently and he groans, the sound reverberating across the walls only to ring in your head. You want to hear it again, and again and again.

“Jungkook,” You whine, “Please, bunny, do something. Look at me, look at my pussy, come clean me up-”

“So needy,” Jungkook murmurs and ignores you in favor of kissing your tits, rubbing your nipples with his fingers, “‘M needy for you too, baby.”

“You’re so hard, so big,” You babble, “Please, want your cock, baby.”

Impatient. Jungkook kisses your chest, your belly, your hips and makes you cum on his tongue twice (while you tear up and cry a little bit, gripping his purple locks fiercely and holding onto his shoulder) before letting you stroke his cock. You’re about to push him on his back to blow him with determined eyes, but he stops you.

It appears he’s impatient too, and he wants to see you cream his cock before cumming all over your tits (which has become his favorite place to).

“Jungkook,” You breathe sharply, “There, baby, right there-” You cut yourself off with a groan, stilling your hips and pushing his face into your chest. Jungkook’s groans are muffled against your tits, but you feel the wetness of his lips and the warmth of his tongue over your nipples.

“Shit,” You mumble, “Feels so good-”

“So pretty, baby,” Jungkook coos, pulling away from your tits to look up at you with lust in his eyes, “I’m yours, all yours-”

You groan, bouncing on his cock even harder as a flare of possessiveness flashes across your belly. “Move back,” You say softly, “Lay down. I’m gonna ride you so good, baby.”

Jungkook barely has a chance to catch his breath before your nails are on his chest, trying to hold yourself steady as you push yourself down onto his cock, pulling a deep moan of your name from his lips. His hands are tight on your hips, watching with wide eyes- he doesn’t know where to look, what to do.

He squeezes when one of your hands drifts over his and rests on top of his hand.

“I’m yours, I’m yours,” Jungkook mumbles, “Whatever you want baby, I’m yours-”

“You talk so much,” You say hoarsely, with a wicked smile, “It’s cute.” Your free hand floats upward, resting loosely at the base of his neck. His chain is cold against his heated skin but all he can focus on is the glide of your hand over his neck.

His cock twitches inside you and your smile widens. “Is this okay?” You whisper, “This okay, bunny?”

“Harder,” Jungkook groans, “Fuck, harder, baby.”

“Like this?” You ask innocently, closing your hand around the sensitive spots of his neck. His pretty eyes flutter as he nods, a quiet moan slipping out into the air.

“You’re pretty like this,” You say softly, “Shit, you’re pretty like this…”

He lets out a choked laugh at that. You lean forward, pressing your lips to his hastily. Jungkook thrusts upward, hips meeting your ass but your hand doesn’t leave his neck. Not just yet. You breathe into his mouth, allowing him to swallow your soft whimpers.

You wet your lips with a loud smack and cradle his cheek gently. Jungkook is mesmerized by the heat in your eyes, smoldering and burning through his skin. You let your fingers glide over your clit, gathering wetness and before Jungkook can ask what you're doing-

“Open,” You mumble hoarsely, “Open, bunny.”

Pushing a finger past his chapped lips, you gasp at the sight of him below you with your fingers in his mouth.

You could cum just from watching him. His tongue swirls over your finger before sucking lightly with a pretty flush covering his cheeks. Your eyes widen, another gasp brushing over his cheeks.

“Fuck,” You mumble dreamily, “You’re so good, bunny.”

Your body is burning, jaw slack and the feeling of Jungkook’s bare cock inside of you almost too much to handle. It was wildly irresponsible- he wasn’t wearing a condom and you weren’t on birth control, and it was a conversation for later. But you can’t think, not when it feels this good, not when you’ve had a taste of his cock in this way. Besides, he always pulls out just in time. But still, you both should know better.

“Oh, Jungkook,” You whine, “‘m close, I’m so fucking close, make me cum, bunny-”

“Baby,” Jungkook rasps, “My pretty baby looks so good on my cock like this. My smart, kind, b-beautiful girl, my angel-”

Tears prick your eyes- it’s easy for you to become overwhelmed like this. You tug your hands away and thread your fingers through his, dipping your head for a kiss.

“You like that, angel? You like being mine?” Jungkook murmurs, slowing your hips so he can take over. But he knows you’re close.

“Only yours,” You mumble. Jungkook pulls you into his chest swiftly and flips you so that you’re on your back. He places your legs over his shoulders and brackets your head with his forearms, his necklace just above your nose and his hair tickling your face. But you're mesmerized by the determination and adoration in his eyes.

“Jungkook,” You murmur brokenly, “O-oh, y-yeah, baby, there, mmmf-” You squeeze his biceps with a gasp, watching his face closely. Pushing his hair behind his ears, you cradle his cheek and pull him down for a sweet, long kiss.

His fingers dance across your thighs and rub your clit in slow circles and murmuring soft words of praise in your ear. You’re vaguely aware that your body erupts in a tidal wave of flames, warming you from inside out. You don’t hear anything except for your cries of his name, you don’t see anything but him through your blurry eyes.

“Baby,” Jungkook says through clenched teeth, “O-open your mouth, baby. Fuck, baby, this pussy- I’m gonna cum, baby, fuck-”

You open your mouth with hooded eyes and your tongue lolling out and Jungkook pulls out of you abruptly with a series of curses. He’s not fast enough to get all of his cum in your mouth, some of it landing on your cheek. You swallow his cum with a dopey smile and open your arms for him to bury his face in your tits.

“Fuck, baby,” Jungkook says breathlessly, rolling off of you and pulling you into his side, “This pussy’s gonna be the death of me. Where’d you learn to ride dick like that, huh?”

“I’ll never tell,” You mumble, “Gimme a kiss.”

And so he does, tasting himself on your lips. He kisses you nice and slow, just how you both like after a night like this. Eventually he cleans you up and you do the same for him.

Under the covers with only the shared warmth between your sheets to keep you company, you rest your head on Jungkook’s bicep and look up at him. Your fingers continue tracing patterns on his chest, tracing the swirls and curves of ink as they appear.

Jungkook dips his head to nudge your nose and you softly laugh as his hair falls into your face. “What are you thinking about, baby?” He murmurs, lazily draping an arm over you. By now, you’ve realized that Jungkook is possibly the most vulnerable with you in moments like this. When you’re both bare and basking in a post-sex haze.

That’s not to say that he’s not vulnerable at other times. But it’s just different like this.

You take his hand and thread your fingers through his. His fingers are bare, as you had taken his rings off and they’re currently sitting in your jewelry dish on your dresser.

“We just,” You murmur, “We spent so long being apart. When we should’ve been together. All because I…”

“Stop,” Jungkook says firmly but gently, “Don’t do that. You’re where you’re supposed to be. We’re where we’re supposed to be.”

“But we wasted so much time not being together because of me,” You mumble forlornly, feeling your throat getting a little dry, “Because I listened to Sora and didn’t-”

“Oh, baby,” Jungkook says, pulling you in for a hug and a forehead kiss, “That’s not true at all. We’re together now, and we both had some growing to do. That’s what matters.”

“Okay,” You reply in a strained voice. You don’t quite sound like you believe him, and Jungkook makes a mental note of that. “Do you feel like… we have lost time to make up for?”

“Do you feel like that?” Jungkook counters, making your heart skip a beat, “Because I don’t. I know it’s hard, baby, but you can’t beat yourself up for that. It’s in the past, baby. Forgive yourself. There’s nothing to race against, it’s just me and you.”

“I’ll try,” You say a little meekly. Jungkook nods and pulls you in for a soft kiss, one that has your toes curling and your belly flipping. He shifts so that you’re tucked into his side, surrounded by him and his hands on your skin. He kisses you until your previous thoughts don’t feel so loud in your head, he whispers to you and pulls sweet laughs from your throat until you can detach from the strange cloud that had suddenly appeared.

He’s your safe place.

*********

MoM TAGS: @tiemeuptogoldenchains @boymeetsparadise @jungkooksseuphoria @kaepjjangiya @drumsofheaven @ppeachyttae @tae-bebe @yiyi4657 @mygscafe @beeeetsandskzreads @maichiverse @hordanhearsawhooo @anonymous2505 @dreadity @mysugarkoo @ULTRAANONYMOUSEY @moonchild1 @fan-ati--c

TAGS: @kookdbean @codeinebelle

#Jungkook x reader #Jungkook smut #Jeon jungkook x reader #Jeon jungkook smut #Jungkook x you #Jeon jungkook x you #Jungkook fluff

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badapricot · 3 years

Text

Lovely Writer: Count 29, 30, & 31

These are the chapter summaries for the last three chapters of Lovely Writer which should cover the entirety of Episode 12. Keep in mind that my Thai is elementary and they’re diverging from the book canon so we might just see a version of these events and not every single thing.

Count 29

Gene moves out of Nubsib’s condo and back into his own.

They decide that they shouldn’t be seen going in and out of each other’s condos (because they’re known to the public).

Gene feels like bad emotions are bubbling up inside him the more he thinks about the day prior, and how he made Nubsib angry enough to yell at him.

Gene’s condo is a mess but he’s too tired and lazy to move.

He hears someone knocking on the door and goes to open it. It’s Tum.

Gene feels awkward because he doesn’t want to see anyone and Tum is Nubsib’s manager, but he can’t deny that it feels good to see a friendly face.

Tum is worried about Gene’s condition. He forces Gene to take medicine and tells him to take that medicine with rice every meal.

Gene asks why Tum is there when he has work and Tum says that there’s an event at a department store and there’s a red carpet fashion show. He was sent to invite Gene.

Tum tells Gene that he doesn’t agree with what his sister did and Gene tells him that it’s normal and he understands. Tum says that still, he shouldn’t have stood by and allowed it because Gene is his friend.

Tum asks if Gene and Nubsib are okay and Gene says he doesn’t know. Gene says he doesn’t know if Nubsib wants to talk with him. Tum assures Gene that Nubsib loves him very much and he did everything to get close to him including being cast in his series and moving in next door. Talking might be frustrating, but not talking to Nubsib is even more frustrating.

Tum says he wants Gene to talk to Nubsib but if he won’t then Tum will take care of him. He offers to take Gene out for lunch and to pay. But Tum says he needs to take care of something first so Gene will have to wait for him at the event he mentioned, alone.

Gene says he isn’t allowed to be in Nubsib’s vicinity without a good excuse (like Tum’s presence) and Tum says it’s fine as long as he sticks with others. Gene is the writer and the TV station invited them in that capacity.

Gene says he’ll go to to event because he wants to apologize to Nubsib.

Tum tells him he’ll leave to buy the food and come back to pick him up. For now, Gene should shower.

Gene thanks Tum for being his friend and Tum says you’re welcome. Gene realizes that Tum is the first person to make him smile in days.

Gene showers and dresses and then goes on Twitter. He sees tweets about how SibGene was just a rumour and clips of SibAey doing fanservice. It doesn’t bother him as much anymore, knowing that Aey really likes him.

Tum arrives with food and they eat lunch. Tum then drives them to the event.

Gene is set on apologizing to Nubsib for not consulting him about their breakup.

Gene is so out of it, he accidentally walks onto the red carpet and hits his head. Tum keeps him walking straight and makes them take a selfie together so they can post it online and prove that they were together (and Gene wasn’t with Nubsib).

Gene waits backstage and is very nervous about what he’ll finally say to Sib. So nervous that he doesn’t notice Aey is next to him until he grabs his face.

Aey asks if Gene is okay because he hasn’t been answering his LINEs. He asks if Gene is fighting with Nubsib and if he wants to talk to him, and Gene confirms that he is there to talk to Nubsib.

Aey tells Gene that he told him to just break up with Nubsib and date him instead. When he sees Gene’s expression he says that he’s joking. But he admits that he did ask Nubsib about Gene at university and his reaction was so scary, he hasn’t dared to ask again. He said that Nubsib’s recent cold aura is known on their campus.

Gene gets even more worried because that means Nubsib is still angry at him, and to that extent.

Aey tells Gene that him and Nubsib were recently offered a lot of couple contracts and even a movie project deal but Nubsib turned them all down because he’s looking for a new contract. Aey turned them down too. When Gene looks worried about it (because those jobs are high paying) Aey admits that he turned them down because he didn’t want to sell couple moments either.

Aey and Gene are interrupted by the staff so Aey can go on stage.

Gene waits twenty minutes and Nubsib doesn’t appear, so he’s ready to leave. But then he sees him.

I thought that he would smile like usual when he saw me. Instead, I saw his dark brows furrow.

"Khun Gene."

I was too late to respond because of his reaction. So I just kept quiet. "Uh ..."

"Why did you come?"

The words I had prepared to speak stopped abruptly. "I ..."

Nubsib took another step. But probably because I stood in his way, he turned around. He pulled the black curtains completely shut. The coldness I felt the day he told me to move my things back into the room made my heart feel like a big hammer had smashed it. My body was numb and my eyes were blurry.

I was helpless. But I was afraid it would be like the last time again, so I spoke.

"I came to talk to you."

"To talk?"

"…"

“There are a lot of journalists and even other staff members here. Khun Gene should have known this.” Nubsib swept his gaze around the backstage. In the end, he spoke in a calm voice. "Khun Gene, I’ll follow. There are other models at this event, so let’s go back first. "

"…"

Seeing this kind of expression, my hands and feet felt numb.

This was something I didn’t want to see.

Sib, angry at me?

He seemed annoyed and like he blamed me for coming here. But from his words, I couldn't deny it was true.

My mouth closed tightly. My feet stepped back. I had to try my best not to show the face that matched my mind, only nodding lightly while trembling. "Okay."

"If you want to talk, then let’s talk in my room."

"...yeah, I understand."

I bowed my head. My ears were ringing with a sound that couldn’t be heard as I turned and left. I hoped to hear Nubsib’s voice calling for me, and holding me back. But I took almost ten steps and I heard nothing.

My feet moved faster.

Forget calling. I felt so unstable, I couldn’t even call a taxi back to my room.

Count 30 (Nubsib POV)

Nubsib didn’t expect to meet Gene backstage.

When he saw the staff looking at them with interest he purposefully smoothed out his expression.

He knew he was being selfish in the past, for not considering how he was causing trouble for Gene. He doesn’t want to cause more trouble for them by having new rumours about them.

After Gene leaves, Nubsib calls Tum and asks him, “Did you bring Khun Gene here?”

Tum says Gene came with him and Nubsib again asks why? He only told Tum to check on Gene, not bring him to work.

Nubsib goes to change into his normal clothes and meets Tum outside the venue.

Tum asks if he’s going to talk to Gene and Nubsib asks him if he thinks it’s a bad idea. Tum says it should be fine since they’re alone but he asks if Nubsib is still mad at Gene. Nubsib says he isn’t.

At first, he was angry and hurt because it felt like Gene cared more about other people over their relationship. But after, he understood Gene was worried about him and other’s jobs. Nubsib understands, but he wants Gene to understand that Gene is more important than any work, and Nubsib doesn’t care about work that much. That’s why he’s been negotiating a new contract.

Tum asks about it and Nubsib says he’s going to tell Gene about the new contract immediately.

Nubsib speeds back to the condo and rushes upstairs to see Gene.

I walked down the hall, and turned the corner where I spotted a familiar figure in the same clothes, leaning against the wall next to my door.

At that moment, my feet stopped.

He was still in the same outfit he wore at the event an hour ago. His small head was bowed low. He was breathing in and out slowly, and the sound was quiet, but I could hear it.

The sound of my shoes hitting the ground was the only other noise heard.

The loneliness radiating off of him made me feel lonely too.

I walked closer and stood in front of him. "Why are you standing ..."

"..."

Enlarged eyes. At that moment, it was like everything stopped as soon as Gene looked up.

The words that I was going to say suddenly changed.

"Why are you crying?"

"I..."

Like he had just realized while looking up at me, his eyes widened even more. At first, I only saw a pair of red eyes. But when we met each other's eyes, it seemed like he couldn’t even stand. "You told me to come back here? I...have something to talk to you about. Right here, right? "

Something in my chest tightened.

I didn’t answer his question. I didn’t know what my face was showing. But I was in so much pain, I had to clench my fists.

"Why are you crying?"

“...”

At first I didn't see the tears. But when I asked this question, Gene really started to cry.

His head shook slowly. My hand lifted without me thinking.

I couldn’t bear to see it. I pulled him in to hold him tightly.

"Gene, stop crying."

"..."

Even if I couldn’t hear much, his body shook with the stress of trying to contain all of his emotions. That was worse than Gene just crying. It was the first time that I felt like I couldn’t control my expression. My voice trembled when I spoke. "Stop crying ..."

I didn't think I would come back and see Gene standing in front of my room crying, red cheeks and eyes full of tears. It made me feel even more angry. Not angry with Gene, but angry with myself.

"You want to break up with me for real, right? When you said we had to just break up...”

My eyebrows furrowed tightly. I quickly said, "There's no way. How could I break up with Gene?"

"You told me to come back to sleep in my own room." He cried and softly shuddered, trying to mute his voice, and I felt more sorry than I’d ever been for anything. "You act like you don’t even want to see my face. You're angry that I said that to you, right? Or after our conversation, you decided that it was better if we break up.”

I hugged the person in front of me tightly. I moved my hand to the back of his head to press his tear-stained cheek against my cheek, and closed my eyes. “No way. I would never break up with Gene. "

"..."

"No matter what happens, I’d never leave you."

"..."

"I love Gene this much. How could I stop?” My arms loosened slightly when I felt that my words made Gene gradually calm down. I used both hands to hold his soft cheeks, pulling him up to look and meet my eyes. "So stop crying first."

His eyes were wet and his nose was red. I moved my hand to wipe away his little tears.

Right now, this was the thing I didn’t want to see the most.

"I'm so sorry," said Gene repeatedly.

"No, I was at fault or doing that. I was wrong."

"..."

I shook my head and kept eye contact with Gene’s round eyes, not hiding my face, even though I knew how I looked bad. Too bad. I usually wouldn’t want to show this face to my lover, but now, I didn’t mind at all.

Gene looked at me. But when I moved forward and hugged him tightly, he buried his face in my neck. The tiny circumference of his waist made my chest feel even more constricted.

I brought Gene into my condo, turned on the hot water, washed my face, and then washed his face, while Gene clung to me like the previous bad feeling hadn’t disappeared. When I saw how upset he was, I wanted to take all of those feelings and move them to myself instead.

My thumb moved slowly, brushing over his red eyelids.

Seeing Gene’s expression, I couldn't help but demand. "Don't cry again."

"Well, when I thought you were angry and annoyed, I couldn’t help but cry," he mumbled.

I knew that Gene was already crying over heartbreak. It's not that men couldn’t cry. I’d seen Gene cry while watching TV. Or cry when adjusting his mood while writing a sad scene in a novel. But Gene crying because of me set every nerve in my chest on fire.

I didn’t want him to cry because of me ever again.

Gene asks if Nubsib is angry with him. Nubsib admits he was at first because he didn’t want Gene to feel bad while thinking of others over himself.

Gene quickly starts listing excuses and Nubsib says it’s fine because Gene was right, Nubsib was being selfish. But if he has to choose between making fans feel bad and making his lover feel bad, he’ll be selfish every time.

“Our love story is selfish, Gene, and that’s okay. Don’t worry. I never intended to renew the contract.”

Nubsib tells Gene that he agreed to two big projects without a romantic partner in exchange for reducing the amount of time on his contract.

Nubsib says that they just need to be responsible for the remaining time on his contract. They don’t have to breakup. He asks Gene what he wants to do and Gene admits that he doesn’t want to break up with Nubsib.

Nubsib apologizes for making Gene cry.

Gene hugs Nubsib and apologizes too, because he didn’t listen to Nubsib or consult with him.

They go to sleep. When Nubsib wakes up Gene is sweating and delirious because he hasn’t been eating or sleeping correctly.

Nubsib wipes him down and tries to feed him as he best he can.

Gene never gets sick like this and it makes Nubsib’s chest tight. He feels like this is his fault.

He spoons Gene while he sleeps and wants him to get better. He’d rather see Gene’s cute cheeks cursing at him, than red and ill like this.

Nubsib keeps watch all night, and calls a nurse to inject Gene and treat him.

Tum comes over to discuss the new contract and Nubsib tells him to soften his voice and not make any unnecessary noise.

Nubsib is annoyed and wants to leave the entire time and when Tum is finally done he says, “Okay, you can go take care of your wife now.”

Nubsib gets porridge and goes into Gene’s room. He’s awake now and sitting up. He looks cute and soft, and much more awake.

Now that he’s more conscious, Gene tries to eat by himself but Nubsib won’t let him. Gene wants to bathe himself, but Nubsib says he’ll wipe Gene himself.

Gene says, “But you haven’t even slept?” and Nubsib says, “If Khun Gene isn’t okay, I can’t sleep.”

Nubsib undresses Gene and bathes him. Gene is still embarrassed and Nubsib asks, “Why? I’ve seen it all, and often.”

Gene admits that he’s glad he has Nubsib there to take care of him.

Nubsib wants to keep this moment frozen in time.

Count 31

It’s late so Gene tells Nubsib he has to leave.

He gets his laptop and tries to go but Nubsib grabs his hand and begs Gene to stay. Gene has gone back to his condo four nights in a row (to avoid fans seeing him leave Nubsib’s condo in the morning) but Nubsib wants to hold and squeeze Gene just for one night.

Gene says Nubsib knows they can’t and Nubsib says fine, then he’ll call a construction worker to come and destroy the wall between their condos. Gene can’t tell if he’s joking until he laughs.

Then he says that he’s being serious because he can’t deal with this anymore. Gene is shocked until Nubsib says, “Gene do you realize I’m messing with you?”

Gene kisses Nubsib and runs back to his condo before he can do anymore.

Gene admits to himself that he did indulge the first few nights when he was sick. He played up his illness more so he could stay in Nubsib’s room longer than necessary. But now he doesn’t want to be weak. He has to endure the rest of the contract and be good.

Gene didn’t even realize he was that distraught over their separation until he cried in front of Nubsib. He remembers Nubsib’s upset expression, and he knows that it’s equally hard for both of them.

Gene receives LINE messages from Tum who asks him if he’s going to the last event of the series. Gene wants to show he’s a good sport so he says yes.

Gene received a LINE from Nubsib telling him: Don’t just message people on LINE. Go to sleep. He wonders how Nubsib even knew.

Gene wakes up and dresses before going to the event at the university.

He sees Nubsib but can’t approach him because of the public setting, so he sits with Tum.

Aey comes up to Gene and asks if he’s watched the series yet and if he thinks Aey is cute. He tries to touch Gene’s cheeks but Nubsib interrupts and tells Aey to sit next to him instead of bothering Gene.

Gene sits with Tum and watches them wrap up their work until it’s the end of the day and all that’s left is the closing party. Gene goes to the bathroom and fixes his hair with some hair gel.

"You’re dressing up like this?”

Listening to his fierce voice, I raised my eyebrows, confused.

"Why? Is my hair so ugly?"

"Not ugly. But it’s like you’re trying to provoke somebody."

I almost choked on my saliva. “No, I’m just going to a party so I have to look good. I want my pictures to be cool. "

"Just looking good at home is enough."

"If I just look good at home, who will see it?"

"I’m jealous."

"..." My hand stopped, my gaze immediately looking at Nubsib.

Nubsib asks if Gene has time to do him too. Gene says Nubsib looks good enough but he does his hair and wipes him down with cold water as best he can in the bathroom.

Nubsib says Gene can’t pass because he looks too cute and Gene says he’s the only one that would think such a thing.

Tum is waiting for them outside once they finish getting ready.

He drives them to the restaurant where the party is. Gene tells Nubsib that he can drink since his exams are done and Nubsib tells Gene that Gene shouldn’t drink, or Nubsib won’t sleep tonight.

Gene is confused about what he means until Nubsib reminds him of what he did to him last time.

They’re forced to sit separately because Gene is a writer and Nubsib is an actor. The whole team is there, sitting at four long tables with a stage at the front of the restaurant where a big TV is mounted and showing their show.

Gene gets jealous when he sees a woman taking a selfie with Nubsib cheek to cheek, and Tum reminds him to stop looking at him in public.

Tum takes them back to their condo, but when Gene goes into his unit Nubsib slips inside. He asks Gene if he’s jealous, and Gene denies it. Nubsib says that if Gene is jealous of others, then he’s happy.

Gene begrudgingly admits that he is jealous and Nubsib laughs. He says that when the series is over he’ll take a thousand selfies with Gene.

Gene hates that he can’t help how he feels. Today was a big milestone for Nubsib, and he wanted to celebrate with him by taking a lot of selfies together, but he couldn’t.

Nubsib says that in the mean time, they can take pictures that people won’t see.

He pulls Gene closer for a selfie, but surprises him by kissing him deeply and with tongue. Nubsib keeps the camera in focus the entire time, which embarrasses Gene.

Nubsib pushes Gene to lie down and says that this is just right, if Gene is going to dress like that.

#lovely writer #lovely writer the series #lovely writer spoilers #gene x nubsib #text

105 notes · View notes

brockadoodles · 4 years

Text

surprises - n. mackinnon

AN: I completely forgot about this fic until @sportmodepetey asked me about writing for Nate and I remembered that I had!! So here is this, I promise it’s all fluff and softness and not my usual angst. I’m gonna tag @hockeyboysiguess too because she might yell at me for waking her up again with another fic. Also I think I promised an anon I would repost this forever ago and then I forgot sooo.. If you come back anon, here ya go!

Word Count: 5148

Warnings: Babies!!!

Your hands shook as you delicately picked up the test in your hands. Holding one end between your fingers, you glanced at your reflection in the bathroom mirror. Your eyes looked heavy, filled with worry and your hair was disheveled from how anxiously you had been running your hands through it the last three minutes.

If you had to guess, you would assume that most people your age would be scared of a positive pregnancy test, but you were feeling the opposite. Your heart was racing and you had an uneasy feeling in your stomach, trying to work up the courage to see the result.

Lately, Nathan would look at the results for you. He said it was his way of protecting you from the feeling of disappointment, a sentiment you appreciated, even if every result was still negative. They all had been negative for the last year and a half, why would the next one be any different?

No one prepared you for what it would be like to have trouble getting pregnant, it was never a thought that crossed your mind. When you and Nate got married, the idea of children wasn’t even on the radar. You were both young, he was in the prime of his career, it just didn’t make any sense to start trying at 25. Now that you both were 30, and it was becoming clear just how difficult it was, you were starting to regret not trying sooner.

It was hard not to feel like you were failing your husband, but your body just wasn’t cooperating. It wasn’t for the lack of trying, the two of you had sex all the time. You tracked your ovulation schedule, tried every superstitious trick, and yet each time that familiar wave of disappointment hit you as you’d see Nate’s face falter when looking at the pregnancy test. It was especially frustrating because doctors told you that everything was normal, and sometimes it just takes time to conceive naturally.

Nate never did anything to make you feel inadequate, he was always supportive of you. Holding you while you cried, reassuring you that you were always good enough, no matter what happened. But most importantly, he never lost faith in you, he constantly reminded you that growing a human is hard work, and maybe your body is just taking extra time to prepare. He was always so calm, genuinely believing that it would happen for the two of you when it was meant to happen. That’s why he tried as often as he could to bear the burden of looking at the test for you. If he could take away any sadness you were feeling, he would.

But today, Nate wasn’t here. The Avalanche were on a week-long road trip in New York and he wasn’t due back for a couple of more days. You bit your lip, diverting your eyes away from the mirror and back down towards the white plastic stick resting in your right hand. You didn’t tell Nate, feeling like it wasn’t worth getting his hopes up only to let him down once again.

Your own hopes were high this time, something in your body just felt different. You had symptoms that you hadn’t experienced yet the other times you thought you were pregnant. You took a deep breath and finally shifted your gaze down to the test, eyeing it carefully.

Your stomach dropped seeing the word “pregnant” in the little results window of the test. You rubbed your eyes quickly and looked again, thinking maybe you were projecting your hopes and that your eyes were deceiving you. When you saw the same result, you quickly ripped open another test and went over to the toilet.

Those second three minutes were probably the most nerve wracking of your entire life. You had never had a positive pregnancy result, and after how long you had been trying it was hard to believe that it wasn’t some sort of fluke or false positive.

When the three minutes were up, you hastily grabbed the test, wasting no time to look at the result. When you read the word pregnant again, you looked back up at your reflection in the mirror. Your eyes were glassy with fresh tears, but you looked happier than you had been a few minutes prior. You took a slight step back from the sink, placing the test onto the marble countertop and placed a hand gently on your lower stomach, slowly rubbing your fingers across your skin.

It took every bit of willpower that you had to not spill the secret to Nate when he came home that week, but you knew that with how long you had both been waiting, that you wanted to confirm with the doctor before giving him the news. The many months of disappointment had caused you to guard your heart, and you couldn’t fathom sharing the news with Nate only to have it ripped apart from the both of you if it ended up not being true.

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

A few nights later, you were tossing and turning, finding yourself unable to sleep. You looked over at Nate, unable to sleep. His back was facing you and his breaths were deep. His flight had gotten in late, him not getting back home until around 2:30am. When he leaned in to kiss your forehead softly before slipping into bed, you had been asleep. But when he wrapped his arm around you and rested his large hand on your stomach you woke up, suddenly worried that maybe he knew you were pregnant.

This was a ridiculous thought to have, Nate didn’t even know you had taken tests while he was gone, and he always pulled you close at night, but you couldn’t help but feel your anxiety levels rise.

“I know something’s bothering you.” You jumped at the sound of his voice, groggy and full of sleep. Before you spoke back, Nate turned himself to face you before running his hand over his face and up through his hair to wake himself up a bit. It was 5:47am but because it was still winter, the sky was pitch black outside.

“M’fine, baby, go back to sleep.” You tried to reason, reaching your hand up to rub his cheek, fingers gliding softly over the stubble that had grown in on his face. Nate relaxed into your touch and leaned down to press a slow kiss to your forehead before resting his head in the crook of your neck.

He peppered light kisses on your neck, humming out,

“Did something happen this week?”

“No.” You lied, using your hand to tilt his head back up, bringing your lips to his.

“Just missed you.” You added, deepening the kiss. It wasn’t a complete lie, you did miss him and now that he was home kissing you, you couldn’t help but press yourself closer into him, needing to feel his touch.

Soft moans filled the room as lazily dipped in and out of you. You felt your anxieties slipping away as each moment passed. What started as a means to distract Nate also became a release for you, and you fell back asleep feeling safe and content in his arms.

You woke up a few hours later to the smell of freshly brewed coffee filling the bedroom. You sat up and pulled your hair into a messy low bun before you leaned over the edge of the bed, slowly pulling yourself out of the covers and getting up. You stood up and pulled Nate’s shirt down over your body from where it had risen up earlier that morning. You subconsciously ran a hand over your abdomen, smiling to yourself before heading out the bedroom door and into the kitchen where Nate was sitting at the island, coffee cup in hand.

“Morning.” You said, coming up behind him and pressing a kiss to the back of his shoulder. You leaned around him to grab an apple from the fruit basket and took a bite into it. Nate turned his body slightly toward you, pulling you slightly so that you were facing him, standing between his legs.

“How was the trip?” You asked, smiling softly at him. His fingers pressed into your sides, pulling up the shirt that was draped over your body as he rubbed small, comforting circles into your hips.

“You watched all of the games.” He smirked up at you before pressing his lips to yours in a kiss.

“Mhm, yeah but I still like to know how your trip was.” You hummed out in between soft kisses. Nate tried to pull you closer and deepen the kiss but you felt your stomach lurch. The taste of coffee on his lips made you feel nauseous all of a sudden. You felt bile rising in your throat, threatening to come out and ruin the tender moment between you and your husband.

You pulled away quickly and Nate furrowed his brow at your sudden need to separate yourself from his touch.

“You alright?” He spoke.

“I, uh, I think my period just came.” You stumbled out, averting your eyes from his as you ran into your shared bathroom. You quickly turned on the shower to drown out the sounds of emptying your stomach. Once you felt a bit better, you stood up, flushing the toilet and washing your hands. You brushed your teeth and made a mental note to make a doctor’s appointment for as quickly as possible to 100% confirm your pregnancy. You still felt a bit nauseous, but a part of you was relieved to be feeling sick, as it was another sign that the home tests had been right. You didn’t want to keep the news from Nate for too long, just long enough to plan a special way to let him know he was going to be a dad.

-----------

You sat in the driver’s seat of your car, holding the small ultrasound photo in your hands. The doctor had confirmed what you felt to be true, you were 13 weeks pregnant. Your doctor gave you a list of prenatal vitamins to pick up on your way home. The Avalanche had a big home game that night and you were eager to be there, not only to cheer on Nate but because you knew just how you wanted to tell him.

You stood next to Aleks, glancing down at her and Nikita’s daughter Sophie. She was wearing a small Avalanche jersey, Zadorav printed in white on the back. Your heart swelled at the sight, knowing that someday soon, your own child will be wearing their own little MacKinnon jersey.

“Do you think you can get Z to help me with something? He has to keep it a secret though.” You asked Aleks, taking a sip out of your water bottle. She eyed you suspiciously, looking from you to your drink. You felt nervous under her stare, knowing that she was technically going to be the first person you told the good news to.

“You’re pregnant.” She smirked, saying it bluntly. You choked a bit on your water before looking up at her in surprise. You quickly looked down to your stomach, which was covered with a loose fitting top. Your “wag” jacket that matched the other girls around you came out to cover the sides of your hips. There was no way she could have known based on your appearance, you weren’t far enough along for there to be signs.

“You’re drinking water, you never drink that here.” She smiled. You bit your lip, cursing yourself for having a strict pregame ritual of drinking a beer during warmups. You nodded at her, not wanting to say it outloud as Nate came skating up to where the two of you were standing. Your eyes focused on your husband, who was now balancing a puck on the end of his stick. He tossed it over the glass to you, winking at you as you caught it, a tradition he started after the first game he invited you back when you had just started dating.

You looked around, spotting a young boy who looked to be around 7 or 8, dressed head to toe in Avs gear standing just a few seats over from you. You leaned over and tapped his shoulder, smiling at him and offering the puck. Nate’s tradition was to give you a puck and yours was to pay it forward and give it to a fan in the crowd. More often than not you chose to give it to a kid, knowing just how much it probably meant to them to receive something from a player that they looked up to.

The little boy eagerly nodded at you and took the puck from your hands before turning toward who you assumed to be his dad.

“Wow, what do you say to the nice woman, bud?” The man said, smiling at you in thanks.

“Thank you!” the boy exclaimed, wrapping his small arms around your leg in a quick hug before looking up at you.

“You’re welcome.” You smiled, looking toward his father to get permission to hug the child back. He nodded at you, and you wrapped your arms quickly around the young boy. Nate watched the exchange from the blue line, passing a puck back and forth with Gabe. He couldn’t help but sigh in sadness. He wanted a baby so badly, and while he understood that it would happen when it was meant to, he always felt a touch of worry when he thought too hard about the what ifs. The moment passed as quickly as it came and he focussed his thoughts solely on the game ahead of him.

“So what do you need Z to do?” Your attention turned back to Aleks.

“Well I haven’t told Nate yet, I was hoping Z and the boys could help me.” You said, leaning in a bit closer to her so that the people around you couldn’t hear you. The last thing you needed was for the news to end up all over Twitter. Granted, Nate didn’t use Twitter but still.

Just as you mentioned him, Nikita came skating up to where the three of you were standing. He tapped the glass quickly in front of his daughter, before waving quickly at all of you and skating away. If there was anyone that would help, it would be him. He was so in love with his children, but also wild enough to want to participate in what you had planned.

A few days later you found yourself on a group FaceTime call with some of Nate’s teammates, laughing as they loudly spoke over each other about the plan you had come up with. You knew that you had to incorporate his teammates and hockey into the reveal, being as his team was one of the most important aspects of his life. You knew that he couldn’t wait to someday share that with his kids, bringing them to games and teaching them how to skate.

After JT and Tyson argued over whether Nate was going to cry or not, Gabe cut them off and grabbed your attention.

“Do you know what you’re having yet?” You looked at Gabe curiously, almost instantly thinking of a new task that the boys could all help you with.

“Actually I want you guys to tell us.” You spoke into the screen. This grabbed everyone’s attention.

“What can we do?” Tyson beamed at you.

“Well I have this envelope the doctor gave me, I was going to just open it with Nate but maybe you guys could come up with something to share the news with us.”

“Like a party?” Nikita jumped in. You would have felt nervous about it, but Z had done this before and you knew he wouldn’t do anything too crazy.

“Yes, you can throw a party if you want.” You smiled back at him.

--------

Nate turned his car on, blasting the heat. It was early, he was tired, and the last thing he wanted to be doing was heading to the rink for an obscenely early morning skate. Gabe had mentioned that everyone needed to be at the rink by 7 that morning, some sort of last minute meeting before practice. He was annoyed but he knew better than to question his captain. He reached down to shift the car into gear when he noticed a note taped to the gear shift. He recognized your handwriting immediately, smiling to himself as he picked the small piece of paper up.

Good morning my love, Snow is still falling, but warm things are coming. If you’re wondering what the next note consists of, When you get to the rink, check your right glove.

Nate reread the note a few times, unsure of what it meant. He quickly set it onto the passenger seat, reminding himself to look inside his gloves when he got to the arena like it said.

When Nate pulled into the parking garage he immediately felt confused. So far, his car was the only one he could see. He glanced at the clock on his phone before double checking that Gabe’s message actually said 7am. It was 6:45am and no one else was there. He was normally a bit early, but never the first one to practice. He shook his head, getting out of the car and grabbing the remainder of his gear from the trunk. Maybe everyone was as tired as he was and just was running a bit behind, he thought as he walked into the practice facility.

Nate took his time changing and putting on his padding, figuring that there was no reason to rush if he was the only one there so far. The note from the car completely slipped his mind. It wasn’t until he grabbed his gloves that he remembered to check inside for something. He felt around the inside of the glove before pulling out another small piece of paper with your handwriting on it.

Congrats, you found clue number two. Although it’s probably not clear what you have to do. You’re probably wondering why everyone is late, Forget about them and head to the place where we sat on our first date.

Nate read the note once more before setting it in his stall and heading out toward the rink. He smiled at the memory of your first date. By all standards, it should have been a disaster. Looking back he isn’t quite sure how he managed to get a second date out of it. He had planned brunch for the two of you, wanting to take you to a little whole in the wall cafe in downtown Denver. Instead, the coaches decided that after their last three losses, they needed an extra conditioning practice. Rather than cancel on you, he asked if you wanted to come watch practice and have lunch afterwards. Much to his surprise you said yes.

He had a terrible practice that day, and he thought for sure that his negative attitude toward his teammates would prevent you from ever wanting to see him again. Instead, after practice, the two of you sat in the stands for two hours just talking about anything and everything while some junior hockey team practiced in the background. You didn’t even express annoyance when some of the players came up to him to say hello after their practice, instead you smiled and listened as he interacted with the younger players.

He left the locker room and headed over to the bench where the two of you sat all of those years ago, he knew exactly where it was that you were sitting. Remembering the dark green sweater you had worn that day, and the scarf you had around your neck to keep warm while he practiced.

When he walked up toward the bench he saw another small note taped to it. He picked it up and opened it.

Welcome to clue number three, This one marks you being halfway done, but I’m just starting the fun. If you search through the practice pucks, you just might find the next one.

Nate was beginning to wonder what this whole scavenger hunt was leading to. You were not the type of person to be able to keep secrets when it came to surprises. If anyone was going to spill about a surprise, it would be you. You always said that you just got too excited to share whatever it was with whoever the person was that you couldn’t be trusted to keep any exciting secrets. He was curious as to how you managed to pull off some sort of prize for him.

Nate set his sticks and gloves down on the players bench and walked into the equipment area to grab the bag of practice pucks. He dumped the bag out and the pucks started sliding haphazardly across the ice. He knew it would be faster than trying to dig through the bag.

His eyes scanned the pucks, looking for a few moments before spotting one with paper sticking out underneath it. He stepped out onto the ice and skated over to where the puck was. He leaned down to pick it up, carefully taking the note off of the puck before skating back over to the boards to lean against them while reading the new clue.

Sorry you had to make that mess, but I promise it’ll be for the best. Don't forget to put the pucks away and then head back to where you always begin game day.

Nate slowly gathered his mess on the ice, stacking the pucks up then sliding them into the bags, before stepping off the ice and heading back toward the dressing room.

When Nate got back to his stall he was confused to see a small gift bag sitting on top of the bench. He looked quickly around the locker room to see if any of the other guys had shown up. It was definitely past time that Gabe said everyone had to be here, yet even Gabe himself hadn’t yet arrived for practice. He picked up the small grey bag and sat down on the bench.

He slowly pulled out the white and gold tissue paper that was stuffed in the top of the bag, setting it down next to him. He reached his hand down into the bag, instantly feeling something extremely soft on his fingers. He lifted the item out and furrowed his brows in confusion at it. He was holding a small stuffed animal version of Bernie, the Avalanche team mascot. He figured maybe the bag was meant for another teammate who had kids.

As Nate was putting the mini Bernie back in the bag, he noticed the back of Bernie’s jersey was different. Instead of “Bernie” printed in white, it said “MacKinnon” and just underneath the name was 29. He knew there must be another clue somewhere and he began to look around his stall for any piece of paper that might have come from you.

He spotted something next to his name plaque, and sure enough it was another folded up note from you.

Now that you’ve revealed all I had to hide, pack up your gear and head where you park your ride.

Nate shook his head, but obliged by what the note said, packing his gear back up quickly so that he could head back to what he hoped was the reveal of whatever grand scheme you were planning.

About 20 minutes later, he walked out to the parking garage and saw you leaning up against his car. You beamed up at him, pulling yourself away from the car and walking toward him.

There were butterflies in your stomach, not only were you about to share with your husband the news, you also were able to share that you knew the sex of the baby.

“Not that I didn’t love this little adventure, but what’s going on?”

“Well, Nate, I think you have to read your last clue.” You smiled, reaching into your back pocket and handing him the envelope. This was it, you thought. Nate was going to know in a matter of seconds, and you could barely contain the smile on your face.

Nate set his equipment bag down next to the car and then gently took the envelope out of your hand. You watched in suspense as he carefully opened it, pulling out the note and sonogram inside.

“Read it outloud.” You encouraged, giving him another wide smile.

“Congratulations the riddles are coming to an end, just know that you’ll have a lot of messages to send. Enjoy the next few months of us on standby, because baby MacKinnon will be making their debut this July.” Nate’s voice cracked at the end of the clue, he slid the small paper over and looked at the ultrasound now in his hand. His eyes welled up with tears and he quickly looked back up at you.

“You’re pregnant?” He spoke quietly, unsure of if this was all real or some horrible joke you were in on with the team. He didn’t think you would mess around with something this serious, but he also couldn’t believe what he was looking at.

Your eyes were also glossing over with tears, feeling an unprecedented amount of joy. You nodded quickly at your husband, taking another step towards him.

“You’re really pregnant?” He asked again, this time with more conviction.

“Yes, Nate. We’re having a baby.” You cried happily, wiping a couple of tears that had begun to cascade down your own cheeks. Nate wasted no time grabbing you and pulling you into a hug.

“I can’t believe this, we’re really having a baby?” He asked one more time, pulling the two of you apart just enough to press one hand flush against your stomach. You nodded in response and leaned up to kiss him.

“Wait there’s another surprise.” You smiled, pecking him on the lips one more time before gesturing to his car.

“I’m not sure anything can top this one.” He replied, quickly looking around for your car before adding,

“Wait how did you get here?”

“Aleks dropped me off, I wanted to be able to drive home with you.” You answered nonchalantly, making a move to open up the passenger side of the car.

The ride home was quiet, Nate drove carefully, with one hand rubbing softly against your thigh. You watched the snow covered buildings pass by you as he continued down the route back to your home.

You were nervous as he pulled onto the street that you lived on, immediately recognizing some of the cars parked sporadically near the house. Nate looked around as he slowly pulled into the driveway.

“Why does it look like the team decided to have practice at the house?” He smirked at you, knowing there obviously was something going on.

“I don’t know, let’s go find out.” You teased, knowing fully why they were all there. You didn’t know what their plan was, but you did hand over your keys that morning to Aleks after she dropped you off, heading back to help the boys with the surprise.

When you walked into your house, you couldn’t believe all of the work the team had managed to pull off in the short amount of time that you’d been gone. There were pastel streamers and balloons draped carefully around the living and dining room. The dining table had an arrangement of fruits and breakfast type pastries for everyone. And out back you could see a set up of a goal covered in white balloons. You jokingly wondered which one of them logged onto Pinterest to get all of these ideas.

Nate looked around in awe. He felt like he was in a dream, one that he was desperate to not wake up from. The two of you had been trying for so long that he hadn’t really allowed himself to think of what it would feel like to have it happen. Having his team there to take part in the celebrations was an added bonus.

“Nate dogg, come outside you need to shoot some pucks.” Gabe slapped a hand on your husband’s back, nodding toward the net that was set up out back.

“Wait, do you know what we’re having?” He quickly turned to you, setting his cup of coffee down on the table near where you were standing. You shook your head slightly, motioning toward the rest of his teammates that were all starting to head out to the backyard.

“No, this is all them.” You smiled, grabbing his hand and leading him outside.

Nate stepped up toward the goal, grabbing his stick from EJ, who was dressed up in the most embarrassing outfit anyone could have imagined. He stood tall, wearing a bonnet over his head and what appeared to be a giant diaper costume that you’d probably find in the clearance section at a Halloween store because it was so ugly.

“Oh my god, what are you wearing?” Nate shook his head at his teammate.

“I lost a bet to Graves.” He rolled his eyes, glancing over at Ryan and shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter, shoot the damn puck.” He added, pushing Nate slightly toward the goal.

Nate fired back a shot, instantly breaking a couple of balloons, silver confetti flying everywhere. He realized quickly that he needed to start shooting to pop all of the balloons, shaking his head at his teammates' knock off best shooter competition idea.

When the puck went flying into the last balloon, pink and purple confetti started flying everywhere. Nate felt like he was moving in slow motion, dropping the stick and running to grab you. He could hear the cheers from everyone around him but all that mattered was you.

He picked you up, twirling you around quickly before gently setting you down. You reached your hand up to wipe the tears from under his eyes, smiling widely knowing that you were having a baby girl. You always knew Nate wanted a girl, believing he would be the best “girl dad” so you knew this moment was extra special for him.

The two of you stood close for a few moments, ignoring the commotion happening around you and savouring the moment.

“You owe me $50, I told you he would cry.” Tyson argued with JT

“I single tear doesn’t count, idiot.” JT shot back.

You laughed at the two boys, leaning your head into Nate’s chest and looking at the scene around you. It may have taken a long time to get here, but you couldn’t be more excited for the family you were creating, knowing that your baby girl was going to be loved by so many.

#bye i love that gif #nathan mackinnon #nathan mackinnon x reader #nathan mackinnon imagine #nathan mackinnon fic #avs imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fic

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kimoralov3 · 3 years

Text

Best Friend's Brother

Requested By: Anonymous

Word Count: 2055

Pairing: Sam Wilson x fem!black!reader

Warnings: Swearing like a lot of it

(Y/N)'s POV

"AJ, Cass, help me bring these sheets and stuff to the extra bedroom upstairs." Sarah said as she poked her head in the kitchen.

"Why are you setting up the extra bedroom room?" I asked as I munch on a slice of cornbread.

"Sam is coming back home and he's bringing a friend." Sarah explained as pointed the boys in the direction of the linen closet.

"Wait, Sam's coming back?" I asked as I looked up at her.

"Yeah. (Y/N), I told you this like a week ago. Do you not remember?" Sarah asked, a hint of a smirk playing at her lips as she walked over to me.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I must've forgotten. What time is he getting here?" I asked as I sat up straight.

"Sometime later today. He said that he was gonna stop by the docks to check on the boats before he got here though. You should meet him there."

"Why exactly should I do that?"

Sarah gave me a look that said 'I ain't stupid' before answering me. "Don't play dumb, (Y/N). I remember how much you used to talk about how you liked him, and how you wished you could just gain the courage to ask him out. And judging by how you reacted just now, I'm guessing that those feelings haven't disappeared just yet."

"I hate how smart you can be sometimes." I huffed out as I rested my head on the counter. Sarah chuckled before patting me on the back.

"You should tell him. You can't keep stuff like this bottled up forever."

"But what if he rejects me? I couldn't bear the embarrassment." I mumbled as I turned to rest my cheek flat against the counter.

"Well then you accept it and move on. But I highly doubt that you'll get rejected." Sarah said as she went to go help the boys.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked as I leaned my head up.

"You'll find out eventually!" Sarah yelled from upstairs. I groaned, rubbing my face before going home.

----

Sam's POV

"So you have a sister?" Bucky asked as he looked at me.

"Yeah, why?" I asked as I looked at him suspiciously. Bucky just gave me a smirk and shrugged. "Oh no, I know that look. Keep that cyborg arm of yours away from my sister."

"I make no promises, Sam. Anybody else that I should know before we get there?"

"Well, yeah there's Sarah's best friend, (Y/N). Haven't seen her in a while, though." I rambled as I pulled up to the docks.

"So you have a crush on your sister's best friend? Pretty sure there's some type of rule against that." Bucky said as we got out the car.

"Woah now, who said anything about me having a crush on (Y/N)?" I asked as I got my tool box from the trunk.

"The way you talk about her suggests that you do. You saying that you don't?" Bucky asked as he followed me onto the boat. I shook my head, making my way towards the engine.

"You're seeing shit man. That's my little sister's best friend, why would I wanna be with her?"

"She could probably walk in here right now and you'd start grinning like the Cheshire Cat." Bucky said as he handed me a screwdriver.

"Are you gonna help me fix the boat or are you just gonna stand there and talk about what you think is going on in my love life?"

----

(Y/N)'s POV

Today's the day I guess. I thought as I hopped into my car. I texted Sarah that I was on my way and started the engine. During my drive, I let my thoughts run. Does he still look the same? Does he even remember me? Probably not. Whenever I saw him coming I'd run the other way. He probably thinks I'm a weirdo, and doesn't see me beyond his sister's best friend.

I shouldn't even be worrying about this. I sighed, stopping the car in front of the Wilson's house. I took a moment to compose myself before grabbing my phone and getting out of the car. I grabbed the pot of greens out the passenger seat and walked up the porch, knocking on the door. The door opened to reveal Sam standing there in a black turtleneck. Well fuck me.

"Hey (Y/N), it's good to see you!" Sam said as he pulled me into a hug. He smelled like a fresh baked batch of snickerdoodles, with extra sugar and cinnamon. I could get used to this. I gave him a smile once he pulled away.

"It's good to see you too, Sam! Man, you've gotten taller." I joked as I looked up at him.

"That, and you've always been on the shorter side. Here, let me take that for you." He said as he reached for the pot of greens. I said a small thank you and followed him into the house. "Sarah, (Y/N) is here!" He yelled up the stairs.

Sarah came into the kitchen, followed by a tall buff guy in a navy blue long sleeved shirt. "What's with everyone wearing long sleeves today? Y'all are aware that we're in Louisiana during the middle of the summer, right?" I said as I pointed between the two of them.

"Just got back from the mountains, still a little cold. The name's Bucky, by the way. It's nice to meet you." He introduced himself as he held his hand out for me to shake. I did and smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm (Y/N). So, how long are you staying?"

"Just a few days, I gotta get back to New York." He explained as he leaned against the counter.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay. I gotta take the boys to the library to work on a school project, but I'll see y'all later." I waved goodbye, taking one more glance at Sam - maybe for a bit too long - before helping the boys into my car.

----

Sam's POV

I watched as (Y/N) left with the boys. Damn it, I should've said something. "So that's (Y/N)? I see why you like her, Sam." Bucky said once the door was shut and locked.

"Damn Sam, even Bucky can tell you're head over heels for her. You been gushing about her to everyone you come across?" Sarah said as she chopped up some vegetables.

"So y'all both ganging up on me now? That's cold."

"Nah, what's cold is you holding onto your feelings for almost 20 years now. Even after I told you at prom that she had feelings for you." Sarah said as she waved the knife around.

"First of all, stop swinging that knife around before you poke somebody eye out. Second of all, how was I supposed to know that you were telling the truth? Especially when she gets with some guy the next week?"

"So you believed that she really liked Michael after how much she used to trash talk him?"

"I don't know Sam, you seem to be the idiot in this situation. Although I'm sure that's a role you're used to fulfilling." Bucky said as he stole a carrot.

"First of all fuck you," I said as I pointed at Bucky. "And second of all, yeah maybe I was an idiot for not realizing that they were a fishy couple, but what's the point in saying something now? Like you said it's been years, and I highly doubt that she still has feelings for me. So we should just drop it. Alright?" I looked between the two of them. Sarah was looking at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world while Bucky just seemed amused by the whole situation.

"Sam, did you not see the way she was looking at you? She might as well have ran across the room and kissed you right then and there." Sarah explained as she turned her full attention towards me.

"Y'all are seeing shit. Can we just drop it? Please?" They both agreed to leave it alone, moving on to their own things. There's no way she could still have feelings for me. Right? Yeah, that's crazy.

----

C'mon, how can you get lost getting to the docks that are only 10 minutes away. I checked my watch again, groaning in frustration. Bucky said that he'd be here at 2:30, but it was nearing 3:15 and I was growing impatient. "Bucky Barnes, I'm gonna beat your ass the next time I see you." I mumbled as I looked around the docks.

"Sam?" Someone called from behind me. I turned around to see (Y/N) walking towards me.

"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?"

"Sarah texted me and said that she wanted me to help her with something. Are you down here to fix the boat?"

"Yeah. Bucky is supposed to be helping me, but he's almost an hour late."

"Sarah told me that he was watching the boys while we were working here." (Y/N) said as she looked at me. That's weird, why would they tell us to meet here if - oh God. "They told us to meet here because they want us to talk to each other. Dammit Sarah."

"Talk to each other? About what?"

----

(Y/N)'s POV

"About what?" Sam asked. If Sarah would've told me what she was planning I'd be a bit more prepared for this situation. Or run away. Yeah, I'd probably run away.

"About us, I guess."

"What about us?" He seemed to be confused, and that was honestly making it worse. How am I supposed to tell my best friend's brother that I've been in love with him since we were in high school? I sat down on a bench for a moment before speaking up.

"Look, I'm just gonna be honest with you," I started out. He nodded, signaling for me to continue and crossed his arms. His muscles just keep getting bigger and bigger. "I like you. I've liked you since we were in high school. Honestly, I'm not sure if this counts as just a crush anymore because I'm probably in love with you. I understand if you don't feel the same way, but Sarah keeps telling me that I should tell you. So I'm doing that now."

It was silent for a moment before Sam let out a chuckle. Then another, and another until he was full on laughing. Was me liking him that funny? "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at myself. Man, can't believe Sarah and Bucky were right."

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused here. Right about what?"

"About me being an idiot for not realizing that you like me back." Sam said as he sat beside me. It took me a moment to process what he was saying.

"Wait, you like me too?" I asked softly. Sam smiled, giving me a nod.

"Yeah, I do. Like a lot." Sam wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.

"Wow, we're such idiots. We liked each other this whole time, but we were too stubborn to admit it." I giggled out.

"And we only admitted it to each other because Sarah and Bucky made us. Don't know how I feel about that."

"Well, let's just be glad. Then we can go beat their asses for tricking us."

----

"Where are the boys?" Sam asked as we walked inside the house.

"They went to go play with Ms. Sherlly's grandkids. What's going on here?" Sarah asked as she motioned at me and Sam's joint hands.

"We told each other about our feelings. Y'all ain't have to trick us into going to the docks to get us to confess though." I said as I looked between Sarah and Bucky.

"Well you two obviously weren't going to get to it yourselves. So we took matters into our own hands." Bucky said as he sipped on a beer.

"We're gonna get y'all back for this. Just wait." Sam said.

"I'm shaking in my boots." Sarah said as she patted Sam on the shoulder.

"Y'all gonna start treating me with some respect. I'm Captain America now." We all looked at Sam for a second before we busted out laughing.

#sam wilson x reader #sam wilson #sam wilson x y/n #sam wilson x female reader #sam wilson x black!reader #marvel x reader #x reader imagines #marvel #mcu #tfatws #the falcon #the falcon and the winter soldier #the falcon and winter soldier #lokis-reindeer-games

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ziamhaze · 3 years

Text

My Future in Fic

Yeah, so, the 100k fic that I’ve been working on for the past six months? The one that was going to be uploaded to AO3 last week? Yeah, it’s accidentally getting published...

Where do I start?

I suppose with a massive thank you to anyone who’s clicked on any of my fics over these past two years. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. I never ever thought about writing as a career. I’ve never written anything prior to my Harry Potter AU Compartment 451. I didn’t even take an English class in undergrad or grad school. I genuinely just had an idea for a fic I wanted to read and since no one had written it, I had to do so myself. Since then, I’ve written every single day for 2 years. I left my job in the entertainment industry, got accepted to one of the best creative writing programs in the world on a scholarship, and now one of my stories is being considered at Harper Collins. Yes, the Harper Collins. It’s the longest shot in the world, but for legal reasons I was not allowed to upload the fic version on any website prior to submission. Even if they don’t pick it up, I’ve been advised to continue to shop it around to agents.

What I can do, however, is share the premise.

If you’ve been following my tumblr and watching my tags - I SEE YOU ALL OUT THERE - then you’ll know that this fic was meant to have Zayn with his signature undercut hairstyle and one more little thing...

Someone sent me an ask a while back about what this fic was supposed to be about. I believe I said something about it being an adaptation fic, but not from a film/tv show/other piece of literature, from a song. This next fic was meant to be an adaptation of the song Younger by Ruel. Later on, it also took shape with the help of Remember by Liam and a few others that you can find here.

The miniature summary is as follows:

When his father suddenly passes, twenty-nine-year-old Liam Payne is brought back to the Sydney suburbs where he grew up. He doesn’t plan on seeing his childhood best friend, Zayn Malik, at the burial service. They haven’t spoken since going from brothers to strangers one fateful day fifteen years prior. But Zayn puts an end to this when he approaches Liam after the burial, offering his condolences and asking if Liam can help his archaeological research team with photographing their newest project. The unexpected closeness forces each man to wade through uneasy emotions. For Liam, a mixture of grief, lost identity, and confusion over why he’s willing to interact with the one person he swore he’d never forgive. And for Zayn, a tidal wave of anxiety that comes from finally facing a part of himself he’s always chosen to deny. When We Were Younger is a story heavily rooted in blurred identities and exploring what loss can look like in two different scenarios: death and friendship.

For obvious reasons, their names will be changed. Liam, to Hutton. Zayn, to Cairo (his ethnicity will also be changed to Egyptian). As you can see, it was meant to be my big ‘enemies to lovers’ fic. Technically, it’s ‘best friends to enemies to lovers’, but you know.

Right, so what does this mean for me going forward?

I still have so much inspiration when it comes to writing Zayn and Liam as characters. I don’t plan on putting a complete stop to writing them, but with my career taking this large of a turn, I do have to prioritise my time. That said, as of now, I can’t afford to write long-form fic any longer.

Soon, I’ll be starting a PhD program where I’ll be writing another full-length novel for mass publication. For fun, here’s a little insight on the two ideas that I’ll be pitching:

1. Underground boxer (loosely based off Liam) falls in love with arms gang leader (loosely based off Zayn). Throughout their love story, the latter has to outrun the psychological trauma his father (the leader of Zayn’s rival gang) still throws his way.

2. Cold War AU. Paris, circa 1950/51. Ambassador’s son (loosely based off Liam) befriends new student (loosely based off Zayn) at the international school. Paris is a ticking time bomb; war is about to break out at literally any second. The two clearly have feelings for each other, but can’t act on them because homosexuality in the 1950s...yikes. When war does break out, the two are separated, and as Liam’s character goes out to find Zayn’s, he learns a secret of his that changes everything.

Whichever I don’t write for the PhD will be the novel I write following it.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue to write (and edit) like crazy. Ever since I randomly wrote C451, there hasn't been a day that’s gone by where I haven't written something. It may have only been a paragraph or two, but never zero. This is how you get better. This is the equivalent of going out and shooting free throws for 30 minutes a day. You have to put in the work in order to get better. I'm very lucky that I'm incredibly self-disciplined and I've been able to crank out as many stories as I have over the past 2 years.

That said, I’ll be writing shorter little oneshots. I have several ideas that I’ve been sitting on, but haven’t ever thought to write because I HATE writing short stories. Little ideas that don't have huge plotline/climax potential, but that I want to just see on paper, I'll probably end up writing. If I had to guess, I'd say they'll come out to around 10-15k. Also, sequels? Prequels? Haha, you never know...

I’ve also got a series called “Sleep Drabbles” that are, yes, you guessed it, a series of drabbles based around one theme: sleep. I also have a few scenes that I want to write which are based on ziam’s kids, not actually ziam themselves. If there’s enough demand for that, I can upload those too, but they’re quite niche, so I don’t think the general fandom would be very interested.

As far as frequency for all of this, I have no idea. I’ve always done things at my own pace and written stories that I want to write, for myself. That won’t ever change, so I don’t want to commit to one drabble a week or one short-length fic per month. It takes me weeks (months for this last fic) to research and interview the necessary people to get character arcs correct/believable. I love that part of writing, and so if I have a little story that I want to write that may only be 10k but takes me ages to put together how I want, then so be it. I will always be around to answer asks/messages and please, continue to tag me in your writing tag posts! But please, no prompts.

So, that’s my future with fic.

Again, I cannot say thank you enough to every single one of you. Every single thing that people tag me in (@malik-payne , @zqua1d , @zentiment , @liamisthesun , @redyellowberry I’m looking at you), I appreciate and love! The recommendation lists that people have put me on, THANK YOU! It’s wild to think that I used to look to rec lists for years and now I’m on them. @ziamfanfiction THANK YOU for always having my back with exposure! @paynefulperiods , my beloved beta reader, THANK YOU for always encouraging me and putting up with shit first drafts. @march-z5 , THANK YOU for always being on call for ideas and listening to me bang my head against the wall at 4 am.

Now, might fuck around and make a fake picspam for the fic that never was...

Also, all of the behind scenes pages for each of my fics are now public, so feel free to check those out here.

I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making this journey possible. I know people say that a lot when they gain a following of any sort, but I truly truly mean it. You have to have talent in order to be an author, but you also have to have people who want to read your stuff. Proof of concept is a real thing.

So thank you a million times over.

Speak soon my friends.

#ziamhaze #my writing #ziam #ziam fanfic #ziam fanfiction #not sure what to tag this #also gonna be reblogging for a while bc I know people are going to be curious about where the next fic is and won't have seen this

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bruh--wtf · 4 years

Text

Trust Issues

Masterlist

Part 2

Previous Next

Stiles Stilinksi x Reader

Later, at home, you hear a knock on your brother's window while he's at work and go into his room. You see Stiles and raise an eyebrow as you open the window. "Can you come with me?" He asks. You freeze.

"What?"

"Can you come to my house, like now?"

"You have my number, Stiles," you say.

"Would you have agreed?" You clench your jaw and shake your head.

"No," you say.

He smirks. "Exactly. Now come on," he says. You close the window and he hits it as you grab your jacket and go downstairs.

"Stiles!" You yell. He turns to you and smiles as he climbs down.

"Alright, now come on," he says, grabbing your arm and pulling you to his prized jeep. You sigh and sit next to him.

"What's this about?" You ask. "Scott isn't even here, so-"

"Just shut up," he says. You look at the boy surprised.

Stiles drives to his house and when you try to get out he locks the door.

"My dad's home," he says. You nod.

"Okay? And?" He turns to look at you.

"Well, he might assume something because I've never actually had a girl over. Well not in a long time," he says.

"I've been here before, Stiles," you say. He nods.

"Yeah, but with Scott," he says. You sigh and sit back.

"So do you want me to wait here, or...?"

"No! No. Ugh, fine, come on," he says, unlocking the door and letting you out. You get out of the car and go up to the house. Sheriff Stilinksi was at the door ready to yell at Stiles when you walk in first.

He freezes and looks at Stiles. "Uh, Y/N, what are you doing here?"

"I have no idea," you say honestly. He gives his son a confused look. Stiles sighs and grabs your wrist.

"Y/N and I have a project together. We need to work on it," he says to his dad. His dad nods and waves the two of you off. Stiles pulls you to his room and you laugh a little.

"Okay, what is going on?" You ask. He barely looks at you and you look around his room. It was more organized than you thought it would be. Granted, you hadn't been in the room in years. You sit on the boy's bed as he brings his laptop over to you. He sits with his back to the headboard and you sit beside him.

You sat close to him to look at the laptop. You look up at him as soon as you see what's on it.

"You can't be serious," you say. He sighs and points at the screen.

"Just hold on, it makes sense." You press your lips together, and put your head on the boy's shoulder to read what was on the screen.

The more and more he explained his theory the more it made sense.

"Were you kidding earlier? When you said Friday is a full moon?" You ask. He shakes his head. "Well, what's gonna happen to Scott?" He presses his lips together and shakes his head.

"I don't really know. But I'm gonna help him," he says, looking at his laptop again, probably looking something up. You just studied the boy for probably to long. He looked at you again, looking over your face.

You quickly shift your head to look at the laptop again, curling up, closer to the boy. He looked at you for a moment.

"Are you cold?" He asks. You give him a small smile.

"I'm fine," you say, holding onto his arm. He nods and the two of you continue researching. "Stiles?" It'd been at least an hour.

He hums in response.

"Were you talking about me this morning?" You ask. He looks at you.

"What?"

"I mean, I heard you and Scott say something before you know he pulled me over," you tell him. He shifts a little.

"Oh, uh, yeah." You look up at the boy to see him uncomfortably avoiding looking at you.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine," you say. No. No it isn't fine. Stiles was talking about you and you want to know why.

Wait. Stiles and Scott. It wasn't just Stiles. Well, from Scott's reaction, it kind of was jist Stiles.

"Um, no, I was just you know, saying how crazy the body thing was. And well, that's the craziest thing to happen since you were born." You hit the boy's chest.

"I'm not crazy," you say. He chuckles.

"I disagree," he says. You roll your eyes. "But in a good way," he adds. He smirks at you and a small smile plays at your lips. You hold onto his arm a little tighter, looking back at the screen. "Crazy... and the best thing to happen to this town." Your gaze snaps back up to him. He looked a little nervous about your reaction. You studied the boy for a second.

"You really think that?" You find yourself asking in a whisper tone. He nods.

"Yeah. I do," he says. You press your lips together. What do you say to that? And why did it give you butterflies in your stomach hearing it from Stiles? That scared you. You just stared at him for a minute before turning your head back down.

"Thanks," you mumble, trying to hide your blush. And the small smile creeping on your lips.

Eventually it gets late and you grow tired. You shift a little, laying down a little more, still holding onto Stiles arm. He looks at you and then the time.

"I can bring you home if you want," he tells you. You chuckle and look at the time to see how late it is. 12:30. You shake your head, turning a little more towards the boy.

"I've gone to parties with Lydia, Stiles. I'm fine," you say jokingly. He studies you for a moment before continuing. It doesn't take long for you to fall asleep though.

Stiles looks down at her, realizing something and sees Y/N asleep on his arm. He lets out a breath, looking down at his laptop. He carefully closes the laptop, not wanting to wake Y/N up. He moves it.

Then, he pulls his arm away from Y/N slowly. She adjusts and snuggles up to the boy's chest. He was a bit unsure if he should wake her up or not.

"You're going to be the death of me," he whispers. He carefully shifts to be laying down and she buries her face further into his chest. He wraps his arms around her, and reaches up to turn his light out.

The next day, you wake up in Stiles' arms. You shift a little, confused. Stiles was heavily asleep, and still had an arm around you. You look around a little and your eyes land on your phone.

You grab it, and see that it was a little past seven. You quickly sit up.

"Shit," you say, putting your phone down.

You shake Stiles a little, and the boy rolls over, groaning. You sigh pushing the boy back over.

"Stiles, we're going to be late. And I need to go home and change. Stiles!" He waves you off and you huff. You climb over the boy and pull him out of the bed. He groans as he lands on the floor.

"Really?!"

"We're going to be late! Get dressed!" You say. He gives you a confused look and grabs your phone, checking the time as he hands it to you.

You walk out into the hallway and hear shuffling.

A few minutes later Stiles stumbles out with new jeans on and a half buttoned flannel.

You follow him out to his car and youu stop by your house. You change and grab your backpack.

When you get to school Stiles immediately runs up to Scott.

But Jackson stops you.

"What's up with your brother?" Jackson asks.

You raise an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Scott can't play for shit. Him, and his little friend, are losers. So what happened?" You knew your brother and Stiles weren't popular. Or good at Lacrosse up until yesterday. But Jackson being the one to point it out ticked you off.

You slap the boy.

"Just because Scott's a better player than you, doesn't mean you get to be an asshole. Don't talk about my brother or his friends like that again, you hear me?" Jackson scoffs and smirks at you, taking a step closer to you.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll do a hell of alot worse than slap you," you snap. You push past the boy, going towards your first class.

Later, in the hall, you see Jackson and Scott.

"My mom does all the grocery shopping," Scott says. Jackson had him pinned against the wall. You march up to them. You push Jackson back, glaring at him.

"What did I say about talking to my brother?" You say. He smirks.

"You said talking about your brother, nothing about talking to him," he says. You glare at him. "You know he's on steroids, right? Imagine what coach will think."

You punch Jackson. He puts a hand to his nose and you see a bit of blood start to drip down.

"You don't know shit, Jackson. You're a complete idiot. And if you actually like Lydia, you're not going to say anything," you say. He glares at you, knowing if you said anything to Lydia she'd talk to him.

He glares at Scott. "Y/N won't be around all the time, McCall," he says. You scoff and push him.

"You're all talk," you say. He glares at the two of you and walks off.

You find out Scott is going to the party with Allison and nearly scream at him.

You were happy a girl finally liked your brother, but yeah. No.

Friday night you go to the party.

You were sitting there, watching your brother have fun, avoiding looking at Lydia and Jackson practically having sex infront of everyone, and being by yourself. When you see Derek. You walk up to him.

"What the hell do you want from my brother?" You ask. He smirks at you.

"Our brother now," he says. You scoff and shake your head.

"No. He is my brother. You don't know him. And I don't know why you did what you did, but I know that I'm more scared of a puppy than I am of you," you say. His eyes turn a sort of yellow shade and your eyes widen.

"Are you sure about that?" He asks. You swallow.

"Positive. Is that like an anger thing? Should I be looking forward to seeing Scott doing that when I piss him off from now on?" He grabs your wrist and you try your best not to wince.

"You'll see. I only want the best for Scott. He needs me. He however, doesn't need you or your little boyfriend," he says.

"I don't know who your talking about, because I'm single. But Scott does need me. And I'm going to be right there when he realizes it," you say. He smirks.

"You'll see," he says. He lets go of you and you look down at your wrist to see that it's red.

"If this bruises I'll find you and punch you," you tell him. He chuckles.

"You'll be fun," he says. You raise an eyebrow at him, but he just walks somewhere else in the party.

To say running between your house, Allison's house to make sure she's alive, and looking for Scott all night in the woods in detail is alot. But you get the gist.

After school you see Scott talking to Allison and smiles, which is a good sigh.

You feel a hand on your wrist and you get pulled into a corner.

"Oh my God, Stiles! I'm going to kill you!" You say, hitting the boy's chest. He chuckles and shakes his head.

"Last night was... crazy," he says. You nod in agreement. Then you realize who is against the wall. And you realize that he has his hands on your hips still. And you realize the way he's looking at you.

You smirk at the boy. You lean up and kiss his cheek. He looks down at you in shock.

"I'll see you later, Stiles."

You start walking towards Lydia's car, seeing as she usually was the one to drive you to and from school.

Once you get in the car, you look over at your brother who looked like a deer at headlights looking at Allison's car.

#stiles stilinksi x reader #stiles stilinksi imagine #stiles stilinski #stiles fanfiction #stiles #stiles x you #teen wolf stiles #stiles and lydia #scott mccall #melisa mccall #lydia martin #teen wolf #fanfic

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petri808 · 4 years

Text

I3+Bakudeku mutual pining idiots Actor AU @miss-lorali request. I’m an idiot cause my idea is gonna be waaaay longer then I was aiming for lol.

“Okay,” the hiring director motioned for the pair to move closer. “Mr. Midoriya, remember you’re a scientist and Bakugou’s character is here to take you to safety. But you don’t understand why just yet. So, if you are ready, please begin the reading.”

Katsuki gesturing wildly, “pack it up quick nerd, we gotta get out of here before DAV gets here!”

Izuku pretending to complete a file download. He slammed his fist on the imaginary desk. “I can’t make the computer move faster! I don’t even understand what the hell is going on!”

Katsuki, “you’re science experiments aren’t important, we—”

Izuku straightened out, walked over and placed a finger on the larger man’s chest, running it slowly down from his collarbone to his pecs, while lowering his tone and narrowing his eyes. “Oh,” his brow raised, “and what would a grunt like you know about science?”

Katsuki slapped his hand away in annoyance, though a light flush arose on his tinged cheeks. “F-Fuck off!” He gritted back. “Just hurry the fuck up!”

“Yeah, yeah...” Izuku went back to the imaginary desk and pretended to type something. “30 seconds, fast enough for you? Probably like your bedroom speed,” he mumbled the last portion.

“What?!”

“And cut!” The hiring director yelled. “That was perfect!! Midoriya you’re hired!”

“Oh hell no!” Katsuki screamed at the director. “He added lines at the end! How is that okay?!”

“Because,” the woman countered. “It was still perfectly in character, and you know very well that the Director allows actors to ad lib if it fits the scene.”

Katsuki crossed his arms, “I refuse to work with him.”

“You’ve already signed the contract,” her brow perked up, “and may I remind you of the penalty if you quit now?”

“Find someone else!”

“No. The chemistry between you two came through perfectly on camera. It’s done. He’s it. End of discussion.” The woman then ignored the raging blonde and turned to Izuku. “I’ll let your agent know so we can sign the contracts, and I’ll have the full script sent to their office by end of day along with the filming schedule. You did a great job today holding your own and not getting lost next to Bakugou. I’m glad to have you on board with this project.”

“Thank you so much, Ms. Ashido. I was quite excited when I heard about the project and look forward to being part of the team.”

“Kiss ass,” Katsuki sneered. “You’re in. No need for simpering.”

But Izuku played it cool. He wasn’t about to play into the leads temper tantrum. “You might be top as an action star, but I have my own credit successes. So, stop treating me like the hired help, or I’ll make you scream in another way.”

Katsuki’s eyes flashed wide and mouth hung agape. It’s been a long time since anyone’s stood up to him and this smaller, green-haired, freckle-faced mouse just grew a set of balls to rival his own. “H-how dare you?!”

“I dare,” Izuku grinned brightly. “See ya later Kacchan!” He waved as he walked away.

Ms. Ashido giggled. “Oooo, this is gonna be so good! I must say I’d chalked him up as iffy, but he really proved me wrong.”

“Little shit is already giving me a nickname? Who the fuck does he think he is?!”

“Your new co-star.” She patted his chest twice and walked away with a smirk.

“Fuck!” What did he just get himself into?!

That afternoon, Katsuki left the studio in a total huff. And to think, he’d gone in excited to be working with Izuku Midoriya. Their movie credits ran in different circles, but he knew exactly who the man was. Izuku was from all he’d seen a great actor, and the perfect person to play his opposite. The guy looked like a handsome office worker, lean but built well, smaller then himself, and would fit snuggly against his chest in a romantic scene. In fact, it was after one of Izuku’s very first movies as a lead that a crush bloomed for the man. He had expected a quieter guy, but oh, boy! Had he been blindsided! And if that didn’t just turn him on even more!

Hence the dilemma he now found himself in. He’d have to act side by side with a man he was extremely attracted to, but only pretended to be. Katsuki was certain that Izuku’s attitude during the read was the same as his— pretending. Because that’s how you sell a movie. If the audience buys into what you’re selling, box office sales will go up. It’s not supposed to be real emotions. Heaven help him this just might kill him!

At home, he read through the script again noting the section that would be his hardest to overcome. The love scenes. No full nudity, not even close, but there is a section near the end where in a moment of pent up emotions, and the exhilarating rush of emotions, they end up lip-locked. Granted, the more realistic it is, the better, but Katsuki felt the nerves kicking in just thinking about it. He could only pray that in the real moment, and energies are heightened, he simply runs on instinct and acting prowess.

‘Come on, dumbass! It’s not your first kiss scene!’ Katsuki growled to himself in the safety of his own home. “Stupid!” He was making himself all flustered like some virginal teenager about to kiss his first crush! Fuck that! He wasn’t about to show Izuku any weakness! The last thing he wanted was for the man to figure out he was really just an overgrown pining fool behind a mask of anger. He didn’t even know which way the man swung because Izuku kept his life private, very private. A miracle in their world of paparazzi. It meant two things, Izuku really was good at hiding, or simply wasn’t seeing anyone for them to catch. Either way, Katsuki couldn’t figure out what he desperately wanted to know. Did he have a chance?

A month later, Katsuki and Izuku found themselves on location in Europe where most of the scenes would be filmed. The premise of the movie is of a top-tier scientist in the field of chemicals played by Izuku, who is to be kidnapped. But because MI6 caught wind of the plan, they sent in one of their agents played by Katsuki to get Izuku to safety. They barely make it out of the lab in time and now they’re on the run, being hunted by a group called the DAV who want Izuku to create chemical weapons for them. Katsuki needed to somehow get Izuku safely from his home in France, back to England where the MI6 brass waited to secret him into permanent hiding.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Izuku screamed and yanked Katsuki to halt. The moment they stop moving, he collapsed onto his knees, clutching his chest trying to catch his breath from all the running. “W-what is going on?!”

“Look,” Katsuki tried to yank the man back to his feet, but Izuku slumped and played a dead weight. “Damn it, we gotta get out of here before someone sees us!”

“No! I-I can’t keep running like this! I’m not exactly athletic! Now, tell me what the hell is going on!”

Katsuki growled and ignored Izuku’s pleas. He grabbed him instead and dead lifted him up, hoisting the man onto his shoulder in a fireman carry. Izuku bucked, but Katsuki literally slapped his ass to behave. “Just shut up for now,” he snapped and took off running down the alleyway. “I’ll explain everything when I get us somewhere safe!”

“If I’m the victim, shouldn’t you be nicer to me?!” Izuku retorted.

“I’ll be nicer if you stop causing me a headache!”

As soon as they exit the alley, Katsuki quickly surveyed his options. The bad guys blew up his car, so he needed transportation. He saw a man exiting a vehicle and rushed over, pulling a gun on them.

“Gimme the keys,” he aimed at the man’s head, to which they immediately complied. “Now scram!”

Katsuki put Izuku back on his feet. “Get in!”

“Where are we go—”

“Just get in the fucking car!”

Once Izuku is inside the passenger side, Katsuki got into the drivers and hightailed it out of there, heading towards the outskirts of town.

“Trailing car... And cut! Perfect!” The director called out. “Thirty minute break to reset for the next scene.”

“Kacchan, wanna get some lunch with me?” Izuku asked as they stepped out of the car.

“No,” Katsuki replied and quickly walked away, leaving his co-actor standing there with a sad, pouting look on his face.

‘Don’t turn around!’ He screamed at himself. Just co-workers, he reminded. Don’t get too close to that cute... freckled... “Fuck!” Katsuki screamed the moment he slammed his trailer door behind him and fell back against it. ‘Why’d I slap his ass!’ He groaned and ran a hand down his face. It wasn’t in the script and apparently the director didn’t mind it. ‘You did it cause you wanted to...’ his conscience chimed back. “Fuck you.” That’s not true...

A few minutes later there was a knock at his door. “Go away!” Katsuki snapped, he didn’t want to be bothered. Then a second knock, and a shuffling sound. “Go the fuc—” He whipped the door open to find no one standing there. “What the?” That’s when his looked down and saw a wrapped sandwich and a piece of paper tucked under it. Katsuki picked it up and closed door, opening up the sandwich to eat it. He was hungry, just didn’t want to take Izuku up on his offer. As he ate he opened the note:

I just wanna be friends :) that was a taxing scene, so you must be hungry. See you back on set. -I

It had been Izuku.

“Tch.” Katsuki bit down on the sandwich. ‘Didn’t have the balls to stick around though.’ But despite his grumping, he couldn’t help the light blush filtering onto his cheeks and warmth filling his body. Izuku was just too damn nice.

Filming an action movie was a lot more taxing then the consumers might realize. Thankfully, stunt doubles did the hardest scenes for the pair, but close ups and cardio elements were all them, and to see Izuku keeping up with him left Katsuki pleasantly surprised. Too pleasant. Moments in close confines, of him holding or dragging the man around left his libido in agony by end of day only to be relieved by a hand it didn’t want. Almost four months of agony had left Katsuki’s mind a buzz, trapped in a cycle of false realities and wishful thinking.

It was the last day of filming, and the scene Katsuki had dreaded had finally arrived. So much so, that he’d convinced the producer to hold off on filming it till the very end despite it taking place two-thirds of the way through the movie itself. Screw it, they can edit and splice it in. For a lot of actors, the intimately romantic parts were the hardest to accomplish, because conveying such raw emotions and making it believably real for the audience took great finesse.

They were holed up for the night in a small run down inn Katsuki managed to find after crossing the French border into Belgium. They were both exhausted, Izuku’s character more so, unused to such physical demands. DAV always managed to catch up to them within a day or two, so it left them little time to breathe, and Izuku was at his breaking point.

The smaller male pounded on Katsuki’s chest while tears streamed down his face. “I can’t keep doing this! Why can’t they just leave me alone?!”

Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s flailing arms gently to stop him. “I don’t know why.” He pulled the man towards the bed to sit down, taking a place beside him as he did his best to console. “But I promise I’ll keep you safe. We’ll get to safety soon and it will all be over with.”

Izuku sobbed harder, burying his face in Katsuki’s shoulder. His fingers gripped tightly to the man’s torn shirt. “You can’t promise me that,” he mumbled. “I’ve caused you so much trouble, maybe it’s best if I gave myself up to them.”

Katsuki pushed the man back and forced Izuku to look up at him. “Don’t you do that! Don’t you dare! You think I’m gonna just let them take you?!” His voice cracked as he channeled real emotions of the fear of losing this man. “You... I’m not letting them take you away from me Hitomu!”

Izuku looked up when he heard the pain behind Katsuki’s words to find tears pooling and clouded ruby red eyes. He held the man’s gaze for several seconds, staring, lip quivering. “I don’t want to leave you either, Takeo.” Izuku’s fingers slowly uncurl, smoothing out and lowering to Katsuki’s firm abdomen where it came to rest just above the waistline and pressed in firmly. “I feel safe with you.”

Katsuki’s breathing slowed as his eyes widened. Shit! He’s not ready for this scene! He thought he was, oh how he wanted to just rush in and steal Izuku’s lips! But his mind froze as glistening emerald eyes held it hostage. What was his lines? Are there any lines? Fuck! He couldn’t think straight!

“Cut!” The director yelled. “Bakugou, what’s the problem? You hold the gaze for a second then kiss him. Do you need a break?”

This was the first time since making it big that Katsuki’s messed up a scene like this. He took a moment to snap out of his trance, then yelled back. “No! Let’s just get this over with.”

“Alright. Places people, let’s take it from the last line Midoriya. Action!”

Izuku repeated the last line, “I feel safe with you,” adding a deeper grip to the waist band of Katsuki’s pants.

Katsuki’s eyes lower, half-lidded as he reached out and caressed Izuku’s face gently, cupping the man’s cheek before leaning in and landing a solid kiss. His mind was barely holding it together to keep his actions gentle.

Izuku reacted accordingly, once again his fingers gripping to the fabric of Katsuki’s clothes as the kiss was deepened considerably.

Katsuki’s hand trailed up and behind, tangling into his co-actors green curls. He let go of any control and lost himself in their embrace, in the feel of Izuku’s supple lips against his own. In that moment, they were no longer filming a movie scene, but transported into the blonde’s fantasy, of so much more that he’d love to do this man’s body. His eyes rolled back and fluttered as Izuku trailed heated kisses down to the nape of his neck, pressing firm nibbles and light mewling whines.

“Kacchan...” Izuku huskily whispered too low for the microphone to pick up.

But Katsuki heard it loud and clear, and he responded with a rumbling groan that went straight to his groin. Izuku had used his nickname... Not the characters name! His nickname! And damn did it sound sweet to his ears! Katsuki’s too far gone and doesn’t stop the decent, even as the smaller male applied pressure, allowing Izuku to guide them deeper onto the bed. Hands followed curves and groped flesh as they moved under the confines of shirts in the makings of a sex scene. Izuku truly felt wonderful against him, moving in time with his movements like a perfect dance. It was only once on his back, with their bodies semi-entwined, that the director finally yelled cut, and Katsuki’s fantasy came to a screeching halt.

“Brilliant work guys!” The director congratulated his two stars as they made their way off the bed. “I think we can call it a wrap!”

Applause rang out on the set as everyone was high-fiving or shaking hands, patting the two men on the back and adding to the job well done message. Izuku was blushed and beaming, but Katsuki still flustered from the scene, ignored the jovial repartee and beelined it to his trailer for some privacy. It was a miracle no one noticed the slight pitch in his pants, because now he was fucking horny! If the director hadn’t stopped them, who knows how far things would have gone. The sound of Izuku’s voice whispering his name continued to repeat in Katsuki’s mind like a siren, but he couldn’t give into it.

“This was just acting!” Katsuki screamed in the safety of his trailer as he punched the wall as hard as he could. It’s a fantasy! A goddamn fantasy world! And it’s over! “Stop thinking about him!” At that moment, there’s a knock on his trailer door followed by his name being called out.

“Kacchan? What was that loud bang?”

Fuck! It was Izuku again!

“Kacchan?” More determined pounding on the doror. “Kacchan, c-can we talk, please, I need to talk to you.”

“I’m fine, go away!”

“I’m not going away, we need to talk about what just happened!”

Katsuki growled and slammed the door wide open, ignoring the throb of his hand. “No, we don’t! It was just a scene Izuku!” But after shouting his piece-of-mind, he’s taken slightly aback at the teary-eyed man who looked like he was on the verge of crying.

“It wasn’t just a scene for me, Kacchan.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Katsuki questioned, though again his whispered nickname sprang back to the forefront. Had Izuku said it on purpose?!

“Did you feel nothing between us?” Izuku’s lip quivered as he spoke. “Was the passion that came out on set just acting?” His voice cracked. “If you say yes, I-I’ll leave you alone. It’s just— I took this job because... I like you, Kacchan. I’ve liked you for a long time and thought maybe... but— that’s okay, just forget it,” he turned to walk away unwilling to take the rejection face-forward. “Thank you for the opportunity to work with you.”

Katsuki stood in his spot completely stunned by the confession. But the further Izuku moved away from his trailer, he quickly realized he was about to lose the very thing he’d come to desire. He raced after the man and grabbed him by the shoulder, spinning him around, and slammed his lips into the stunned Izuku. It was filled with an even more heightened passion then before, now that there was no audience watching them. He nibbled at the man’s bottom lip, eliciting a groan, while Izuku’s hands grabbed desperately onto his shirt, holding tight.

“Fucking nerd,” Katsuki mumbled with a smile while threading his fingers through Izuku’s hair. “How could I not want you too after you’d riled me up since the day we met.”

Izuku blushed in embarrassment. “S-sorry for coming on so strong. I just got in my head that I needed to look cool and not a pining mess. I really wanted to work with you.”

“Tch, I guess I can’t really talk, because I acted like an asshole, so I didn’t look like a pining idiot.” Katsuki laughed. “Guess we’re both pining idiots.” He kissed Izuku again and lowered his voice to a sultry tone. “Wanna finish what we started?”

Izuku giggled as his hands tugged at the man’s waistband. “Most definitely.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silly Bonus: from a chat with a friend lol

As they start to walk back towards Katsuki’s trailer, Izuku takes hold of the man’s hand. But now that the adrenaline had worn off, Katsuki immediately flinched from the pain. Izuku stopped and lifted it up for inspection, seeing the slight swell of the man’s knuckles and drying blood. “Oh my goodness, Kacchan was that noise from you punching the wall?”

“What? No!” He pulled his hand back and hid it behind his back.

“You’re bleeding, we should get the medics.”

“I’m fine, it’s fine, it’s just ketchup.”

“Ketchup?” Izuku’s brow raised. “Really?”

“Really.”

Izuku:

#bakudeku #bkdk #katsudeku #ktdk #bakudeku au #actor au #katsuki bakugou #izuku midoriya #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #bakudeku fan fic #bakugou x midoriya #bakudeku fan fiction #bnha #katsuki x izuku #I’ll be cleaning this up for ao3 later #when I think of a title lol

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osakaso5 · 3 years

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Iori Izumi RabbiTube Rabbit TV Part 1: Spending Time With Iori

Part 2 | Part 3

Staff: …Now, on to the RabbiTube project.

Staff: Our plan is to introduce the videos by featuring clips on NEXT Re:vale!

Staff: We’d really appreciate it if you could show a side of yourselves that people don’t usually get to see on TV. It’s a pleasure to be working with you!

Momo: We’ve got high hopes for you guys!

Yuki: Feel free to fully expose yourselves to the public.

Mitsuki Izumi: Ahaha, please be gentle with us! Looks like I’m gonna have to do a RabbiTube study marathon..!

Gaku Yaotome: By the way, Tenn, I saw you watching RabbiTube videos the other day. Do you know any good ones?

Tenn Kujo: …I was just watching cat videos.

Gaku Yaotome: Cats, huh. That’s not gonna help us learn anything.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: …I think they might help! You could learn ways to entertain and soothe people…

Gaku Yaotome: Ryu, not all of us are gonna be able to do that…

Yuki: …I’m liking the idea of Kitty Gaku.

Tenn Kujo: …Pfft…

Gaku Yaotome: Tenn, why’re you laughing!?

Riku Nanase: Kitties..! So could it be like a video of Iori going into a cat café?

Iori Izumi: Why do I have to go to a cat café!?

Yamato Nikaido: I’m not too excited about making videos like that, either…

Tamaki Yotsuba: I wanna do a pudding tasting!

Sogo Osaka: …Personally, I’d like to rank my top 100 spices from all around the world…

Nagi Rokuya: And I shall hold a Cocona watch party!

Mitsuki Izumi: You guys aren’t bringing anything new to the table!

Iori Izumi: …Actually, I suppose animal videos do have their appeal, despite how banal they are…

Riku Nanase: Did you say something, Iori?

Iori Izumi: No, nothing.

Momo: Ahaha! Great, you’re already brainstorming ideas!

Momo: You’ve all got the right idea! We wanna see you act natural for your RabbiTubes!

Yuki: Let’s have a fun year doing this.

IDOLiSH7 & TRIGGER: Yessir!

- - - -

Riku Nanase: We’re going to be RabbiTubers for our birthday project this year..!

Sogo Osaka: All the group chats up until now were fun, so it’s kind of a shame that we won’t be doing one this year.

Mitsuki Izumi: …Fair enough. It’ll be awesome to make videos for our fans, but I wish we could have our own celebrations too!

Yamato Nikaido: It’s become kind of a tradition by now.

Nagi Rokuya: …We do not work together as much as we used to. Though I understand that it is difficult to match all our schedules…

Tamaki Yotsuba: Do we not get to eat Mikki’s cakes this year?

Mitsuki Izumi: The cakes are the one thing we’re gonna make for sure! Right, Iori!?

Iori Izumi: Yes. I’ll help, too.

Riku Nanase: Hmm… Celebrations…

Riku Nanase: Ah! Why don’t we all go somewhere together for our birthdays?

Riku Nanase: I guess we probably can’t all go… But we can get our manager to arrange it so at least some of us can hang out!

Mitsuki Izumi: Going out, huh… That does sound like a nice change of pace from all the group RabbitChats!

Yamato Nikaido: It’s a shame that we won’t all be able to go, but getting to choose a spot does make it feel more special. …You should take me to a beer brewery, by the way.

Mitsuki Izumi: Sounds like you’ve already got one in mind!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Let’s take lots of pics and videos for the guys who can’t go. We can send them over RabbitChat.

Nagi Rokuya: OH! A wonderful idea. It will make us all feel as if we are there.

Iori Izumi: I’m sure uploading them to Rabitter would make many people happy, as well.

Sogo Osaka: That sounds fun..! Let’s ask our manager about it tomorrow.

Riku Nanase: Yep! …Looks like we’re going to have pretty fun birthdays again!

- - - -

Mitsuki & Riku: Strawberry picking!

Iori Izumi: ........

Iori Izumi: ...Er, Nii-san, Nanase-san.

Mitsuki Izumi: What's up, Iori? Want some condensed milk?

Riku Nanase: You'll need to eat quickly, since we've only got 30 minutes here!

Iori Izumi: No, I...

Iori Izumi: I just wanted to know why we're here to pick strawberries in the first place.

Riku Nanase: Do you not like it here..?

Iori Izumi: That's not what I'm trying to say.

Mitsuki Izumi: Remember that conversation we had about doing smaller group outings for all our birthdays?

Mitsuki Izumi: It just so happened that the two of us were free today, so we decided we'd take you strawberry picking!

Mitsuki Izumi: Isn't that right, Manager?

Tsumugi Takanashi: That's right! It would've been too difficult to free everyone's schedules for the day...

Tsumugi Takanashi: And we were lucky to find a strawberry farm not too far from the city!

Riku Nanase: It's January, right? And what rhymes with January? Strawberry!

Iori Izumi: THAT's why you brought me here!? You can't be serious!

Mitsuki Izumi: Ahaha! Well, he's not wrong about the rhyming part!

Iori Izumi: ...I feel like I would've been better off not knowing all this...

Iori Izumi: But, since we're already here, I suppose I'll make the most of it.

Riku Nanase: Great! Time to stuff ourselves full of delicious strawberries!

Tsumugi Takanashi: I'll be over here, taking pictures of you!

Mitsuki Izumi: Thanks a bunch!

Riku Nanase: Let's get picking!

- - - -

Iori Izumi: ...Nanase-san. Are you sure you'll be able to eat all of that?

Riku Nanase: Of course I can! I'm a man!

Mitsuki Izumi: Iori, they said we could take our harvest home. Wanna grab a little extra for Mom and Dad?

Iori Izumi: Yes. I'm sure Mom would like that.

Iori Izumi: And... we should get some for the rest of IDOLiSH7, as well.

Mitsuki Izumi: Oh, right!

Riku Nanase: Tamaki was so jealous he couldn't come. He made sure to tell us that we HAD to bring him souvenirs!

Iori Izumi: I don't see what there is to be jealous about, but we should probably grant his request.

Mitsuki Izumi: ...Look, guys! Don't you think this strawberry's shaped kinda like Kinako!?

Riku Nanase: Wow, it is! This part looks like her ears!

Iori Izumi: To think that we'd find such a unique strawberry here...

Mitsuki Izumi: You can't find anything like this one at the store, that's for sure. ...I almost don't even want to eat it!

Tsumugi Takanashi: We should take it back home! I'll take some pictures of it, for good measure!

Iori Izumi: Right. Our president definitely needs to see this one.

Riku Nanase: ...Okay, so whoever finds the strawberry with the funniest shape wins!

Iori Izumi: Huh!? Since when was this a competition..!?

Mitsuki Izumi: That does sound like a ton of fun, though! And the Kinako one doesn't count!

Riku Nanase: Heh heh heh. I'm going to win, just you see!

Iori Izumi: ...Good grief... I won't take this lightly, either. It is my birthday, after all.

Riku Nanase: Well said, Iori! Okay, ready... get set... go!

- - - -

Riku Nanase: Time to show our results!

Mitsuki & Riku: Yaaay!

Tsumugi Takanashi: Well then, Mitsuki-san. Let's see yours first!

Mitsuki Izumi: Sure thing! Take a look at... this! A star-shaped strawberry!

Riku Nanase: Wow, it's almost like a live starfish!

Iori Izumi: It's... very impressive. You can clearly make out the star shape.

Mitsuki Izumi: Heh. I know, right? It stood out among the rest so much, you'd think it was actually shining.

Iori Izumi: That sounds like something Rokuya-san might say in reference to his anime blind boxes.

Tsumugi Takanashi: We might already have our winner..! Riku-san, you're next!

Riku Nanase: Okay! Mine is, um... Ta-dah! It's shaped like the number one!

Mitsuki Izumi: The number one?

Riku Nanase: Yeah! Since January is the first month, and Iori's name has the symbol for 'one', too...

Iori Izumi: I-I suppose I see a resemblance...

Riku Nanase: Right!?

Mitsuki Izumi: Uh, well, I guess a really long strawberry's still pretty interesting!

Riku Nanase: Why does it feel like you're both only saying that to make me feel better!?

Tsumugi Takanashi: I think it looks adorable..! Iori-san, you're the last contestant left!

Iori Izumi: Right.

Iori Izumi: Mine is shaped like King Pudding.

Riku Nanase: Whaaat!?

Mitsuki Izumi: Holy crap, the stem even looks like his crown!

Riku Nanase: You're right! And these are his arms and legs...

Mitsuki Izumi: How do you even have a talent for this sort of thing, Iori?

Iori Izumi: It is my birthday, you know.

Riku Nanase: What does that have to do with anything!?

Mitsuki Izumi: Well, Manager..!? Who won!?

Tsumugi Takanashi: ...I have no choice but to declare all three of you as winners!

Riku, Iori, & Mitsuki: Oooh..!

Riku Nanase: ...Ahaha. Looks like we didn't get to eat any strawberries, after all!

Iori Izumi: We can take some back to the dorm and eat them with the others.

Mitsuki Izumi: Iori, did you have fun today?

Iori Izumi: ...Of course. Thank you for bringing me here.

Iori Izumi: We should come here again. All of us.

Riku Nanase: Yep! Totally!

Tsumugi Takanashi: Let me take one more picture of you all with your findings!

Tsumugi Takanashi: Say cheese..!

End of Part 1.

#idolish7 #iori izumi #rabbitube #translation #i7 #rabbit tv

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perksofhs · 4 years

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‘So... the weather?’

This is a little AU piece that was requested! The prompt: Hey could you do a one shot where harry and famous reader are in a talk show and he has a crush on her. Maybe he accidentally hurts her while playing a game and he feels awful about it orrr maybe the host put a video where harry says that the reader is his crush and he gets nervous and embarrassed.

Promoting a movie was all but glamourous. It was a constant string of 14 hour days, 5am wake up calls and repetitive questions about working with this person or that person with very little time spent discussing the actual plot of the film. The savior of press tours was any interview where you werent alone, whether it was a joint interview with cast mates or a full couch talk show.

You’d been on the Late Late Show once in the past and you had to be honest, it was so much fun. Your first appearance included a 7 minute long musical medley involving fifteen quick changes and you very nearly faceplanting the floor.

By this point you were sitting in the dressing room, your hair being tugged one way or another by David your hairdresser, with your make up artist Cam working his magic on your noticabley exhausted face. “Who am I on with tonight Maggie?” you ask your manager, realising no one had actually told you. Maggie looked up from her laptop, a smirk on her lips. “James told me not to tell you so you’ll have to wait!” she said smugly. You rolled your eyes, “Of course he said that, that man has to stop trying to set me up”. James was a good friend, the two of you having met a number of times through industry parties award shows. He’d always try and find the mosyty eligible bachelor in the room and push you towards them just to shit you. Suffice to say none of them worked out.

Once your hair and makeup were done and you were dressed in a cute but entirely impractical and kind of uncortable outfit, a crew member came to get you and walk you down to the stage. “Ok so once we get to the stage, you’ll hear James announce your name, walk down the steps through the audience, wave or high five whatever you feel like. Then greet James and take a seat, then he’ll then announce the next guest”. You nodded along politely, already knowing the drill. “By chance, do you know who the other guest is?” you say shooting Maggie a smug look. “Yeah its Harry Styles” with that your heart skipped a beat, you’d always found him attractive and incredibly charming which is something you had stupidly mentioned to James once or twice. “That bastard” you say under your breath, you didnt have much time to think about it though because not even 30 seconds later you rounded a corner and there he was.

He was a gorgeous as ever, wearing what you could only assume with a gucci knitted jumper with a delicate lacy collared shirt beneath it, his signature pearls hanging perfectly around his neck, and a pair of cream flared pants. The outfit was quintessentially Harry. He was chatting to another random crew member who seemed to be giving him the same speech. You could hear James wrapping up whatever he was talking about, you were too distracted to follow it, you couldnt look away from the man 8 feet away from you. “You good?” Maggie says, pulls you from your bewildered state, Maggie’s words also caught the attention of Harry who finally looked in your direction.

Harry’s eyes landed on you and unbeknownst to you he was just as taken by the sight of you. Realising his gaze was lingering, Harry snapped himself out of it “Hey i’m Harry, nice to meet you” he said, taking a few steps towards you, his hand awkwardly out for a hand shake, something Harry was already kicking himself for doing. You took his ring clad hand in yours briefly “Hey I’m-” before you could finish you could hear James announce your name, you let out a laugh “that’s my queue”. It was probably a good thing that James has inadvertently introduced you, who knows whether you could have actually remebered your own name in that moment.

You descend the stairs, meeting James at the bottom with a friendly hug before taking your place on the couch. “Can you also put your hands together for the incredible Harry Styles!” James proclaims, the audience erupting once more, you watch Harry interact with the audience effortlessly as he makes his way down the stairs, having a bromance moment with James before he plops down next to you, sitting closer than you had expected him to. “So have you guys met before?” James says, knowing full well the answer is “No we haven’t, we met briefly backstage” Harry says. He couldnt stop thinking about how awkward he’d made the initial encounter but he couldnt help it.

Throughout the interview it was all too clear that sparks were flying bewteen the two of you. Harry had talked about his new music, you’d talked about your new film, an anecdote or two thrown in from the both of you. all was going smoothly until about 15 minutes in when James began to look very smug. “Now Harry, I know you two hadn’t met before but from what I hear you have quite the crush huh?” Harry’s cheek went bright red knowing exactly what was about to happen. You on the other hand had zero idea what was going on. “And how would you know that James?” Harry says trying to pretend he has no clue what James was referring to. “Funny you should ask my friend, this clip might just answer that for you!”

Your eyes darted to the nearest screen as the clip rolled, it was an interview from the press tour of the movie Harry had been in last year. The interviewer had asked the cast who they’d love to work with on future projects and to your surprise, Harry’s pick was you. The interviewer then asked why you were his choice, Harry’s response was “she’s just so talented, every time I watch her in something I’m just profoundly captivated. Her on screen presence is incredible.” One of his castmates laughed, playfully poking Harry in the shoulder adding "If it wasn’t already obvious he’s got quite the crush! He made us watch like 4 of her films during our set downtime” before the clip ended.

Harry dramtically buried his head in his hands out of sheer embarrassment as the audience let out a series of ‘oooohs’ and whistles and James burst out laughing. You let out an laugh as you awkwardly fiddled with your fingers, not entirely sure what you were menat to say or do in that moment. "Well then Harold, go on, ask her out. Nows your chance!” James goaded. Harry was utterly mortified but wasnt the least bit surprised. “So... the weather?” the audience laughed at Harry’s miserable attempt at changing the subject. “Alright alright i’l drop it but you can’t say I didnt try! Just remember this moment when you get married ok?” James said, throwing his hands up in defeat as he got in one last playful jab.

The rest of the interview went awkwardly by, although you were a little distracted. Did he really have a crush on you? How could he have a crush on you? You’re the one who had the crush on him, surely he didn’t feel the same? James wrapped up the interview and once the cameras had cut both you and Harry made your way backstage.

“Well that was sufficiently awkward and I apologise for how uncomfortable I’m sure that made you. I’m honestly gonna fucking kill James for that” Harry said, you could only giggle in response. “He has no idea what’s coming the next time we catch up. In all fairness, despite how uncomfortable that whole ordeal was, it was lovely to meet you” the two of you smiled at each other. “It was lovely meeting you too Harry, no need to apologise, I bloody knew he was up to something. anyway, I have to head back to my dressing room, I’ll see you around” you say before starting to walk away. You only make it a few steps before Harry stops you “Hey wait! What are you doing this afternoon? This was my last interview for the day and I was gonna head from here to get some food. Wanna come along?” You pause for a moment to think about what the rest your day looked like before smiling back at him “Well, I had planned to go home and eat some left over chinese in front of a film... but I like your idea better. Swing by my dressing room on your way out?” Harry could conseal his happiness with your response, a giddy grin now plastered on his face “It’s a date, but we have to make a deal that neither of us tell James ok? You know how smug he’d be. Deal?” Harry said with a wink, reaching his hand out to seal the deal. You laughed as you shook his hand once more, this time a little less awkard than the first encounter. “My lips are sealed. Now you better not take too long, I’m starving!” you say as you walk away with a smirk and as they say, the rest was history.

Hey lovelies, I hope you enjoyed this one! And I hope the anon who requested it thinks I did an ok job! I havent done many request pieces. Also I know its not super long but I still think its pretty adorable. Requests are open, just shoot me a message and I’ll see what I can do! xx

#imagine harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry fic #harry styles fic #harry styles imagine #harry styles #one direction #harry fluff #harry smut #harry imagine #imagine harry #harry oneshot #harry styles onseshot

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zet-sway · 3 years

Text

@the-wip-project day 35:

I don't know what today's question is but I gotta write a wall of text about what happened last night because holy shit

I was on the verge of falling asleep and, like I usually do, I decided to hunt for some spicy fanfics to read on my phone. I found one.

All my posts are long but this one is real fucking long. CW for touching on dub-con and injury mentioned in the type of context it probably shouldn't be.

It's time for me to admit that not only am I a oneshot writer, I'm also a oneshot reader. I am drawn to short fanfics. If I click on a chaptered fic, it's (usually) because it's rated E for smut and I'll go in with every intention of skimming it for the spicy bits. I'm not proud of this. I've avoided saying this for years because I don't want to disappoint people who work hard on their very long and well thought out chaptered stories. I have a short attention span, and I know what I want.

But anyway, last night I clicked on a fic with 5 chapters and some amount of words, around 30k? Long, by my standards, but I was tired and I just wanted something to read while I dozed off.

This particular fic hooked me in, though. I still skimmed it, but the writing was so unique in a way that made me writhe with writer's envy and admiration. Whoever wrote this had their own language - nothing borrowed - their own vision.

I guess I should tell the good people who read my posts (ya'll, seriously, thank you) that the fic in topic is called Fault Lines by Recidiva on AO3. I would link to it but uhhhh I may be using my work PC for "extracurricular purposes" right this moment ^^; so maybe when I get home I'll remember to add it.

I skimmed it - like I said above - for the spicy parts. It generally follows the plot of Bioware's canon. Thane begins as possessive and manipulative, likely uncomfortably close to dub-con for a lot of people. He kisses her and knows full well that his kiss will make her willing but intoxicated, and how he will use that to fulfil himself. But as the story progresses, he falls in love. Their relationship is what I'll call "edgy." Both of them are renegades. There's a scene where they get down in the shuttle after a fight and they're both still injured and it borders on downright unrealistic but fuck it, it's fanfic and I bought it. However their relationship develops a certain heart-wrenching tenderness. She asks him what Siha means over and over again, and eventually tells him she thinks "bitch" when he says it. But in that moment they have a playful banter, he knows full well she's probably already looked it up on the extranet, and they fall into bed together. The smut is mind-boggling.

By the time it gets to Shepard's arrest, he's taken up a place on Earth and visits her, breaks into her house arrest. There's a scene where they see each other for the first time in a while, she tells him how much she's missed his mouth and how it's not right how bad she wants him, and wants him bad enough to smother him with affection. She says something to the effect of "if you're looking to die, I'd volunteer to be the cause," implying that her lust is powerful enough to endanger his life. And it was at this moment I realized I fucked up.

It's established that I live in my own headcanon and I'm not burdened with considering the end of Thane's life as part of my fics. And the suspension of disbelief was such that I forgot he doesn't make it. So at this moment in the fic, chapter 4 out of 5, I realized "Oh shit this isn't going to have a happy ending." I skipped to the end right away, I wanted to confirm my fears.

In their final exchange, she asks him to lie to her - something that's repeated in other chapters of the story. I forget what he says, I was reading desperately, but he asks her in return to tell him something true. She kisses him and tells him she loves him, and he breathes his last breath with the lingering tingle of their kiss to carry him to the other side.

I was so entrenched in the depth of their relationship up to that point. The level of fathomless love the author conveyed, unlike anything I've ever managed to write before, but more realistic to my own understanding of love as I've experienced it. Not because they're renegades, but just the selflessness with which they feel, communicate, banter, and make love.

When I read that last paragraph, something inside me broke. That sounds dramatic but that's honestly how I would describe it. It felt like waking up from a night terror, when you bolt up in bed from a dream so bad you immediately get up even if it's 4am because nothing feels real and you're so terrified you have to get up and do something - literally anything to take your mind off it, to ease you back into reality. I put my phone down and stared into the darkness of my bedroom and told myself "it's just a fanfic, no need to get upset." And then I started to cry and I didn't stop for 30 minutes.

My husband was downstairs watching Bohemian Rhapsody and I went down there and wrapped myself around him so tight and cried. Bless this man, from the bottom of my heart - bless him - for his unfathomable kindness. I felt like a fucking fool because I was crying over fanfiction but he paused his movie and just listened while I tried to articulate how it wasn't exactly about the character death, or the characters at all, it was just the writing and how it wormed into my brain so convincingly. I felt the loss like it was my own loss. I am terrified of losing my husband. So many feelings coalesced and I realized one day I may be in that situation, kissing the man I love goodbye for the last time, never to hold him again. I'm at work right now and I'm tearing up because it's so hard.

I tip my hat to the author, but I genuinely wished I hadn't read that fanfic. And isn't it kind of funny after that grandstand I took yesterday about not wanting to write the pain of loss and grief, that I ended up reading it instead and probably fucking myself up just as badly, if not worse, than if I had tried to write it myself?

It gets worse, too. Because it got me thinking about my own writing, and how I could never hope to achieve what that author did. So I sat there crying out my painfeelings while simultaneously feeling like a shit writer and like nothing I put out matters. I got up from the couch, sat down at my PC and picked up where I left off in the Omega DLC in ME3 because video games are great for taking the mind off things. It didn't exactly help with the intensity I'd hoped for, but I managed to fall asleep, by 3am.

Fast forward to this morning. I dragged my sorry ass out of bed 4 hours later and drove to work. By some fucking miracle, no one is here right now except our field director. And I'm stewing in how this one fic really fucked me up bad, reconsidering everything. I feel like I've been put in my place.

So what changed?

Yesterday I posted about how I'm struggling to write a plotline. I know what happens, but I'm not interested in the little bits that tie it together. I want to write the romance. I think there's a way to write the plot and the romance at the same time, but it's damn hard.

I started doing this because I wanted to grow my skills as a writer, and I knew it might be more than I could chew. I'm at that moment now where I'm about ready to give up.

Even if I felt like a shit writer last night (and still kinda do this morning), I know that the stuff I've put out has value. We can't all write these epically tragic smut-romance-renegades-to-lovers tales, we'd all be sad all the damn time. There's a time and a place and - I would argue - even a need for lighterhearted fic out there. There are really no rules. I'm confident in what I know how to do.

But the plot. Fuck it, man. I think maybe I'm trying too hard to be something I'm not. I'm trying really hard to write like other people. I may have mentioned before that I saw a post about how many artists spend their time pining for the skills of others, thinking "wow, when I can draw like that, I'll have made it as an artist." That same post cautioned against this, basically saying you already have your own unique style, it's just harder to see through the lens of your own eyeballs. It's fine to challenge yourself but try to acknowledge what you do that sets you apart already. I feel like I have that something - maybe not to the extent that I wish, but I have something.

So what's the point of the plot? Why do I need to tell my readers how I cured Keprals? I'm asking myself important questions here. I like to think I've come up with ideas that no one else has, but as I said above, I don't read a lot of chaptered fics. I very well may have come to the same ideas as other writers and I'm not even aware of it. I don't know if my ideas are unique but I still arrived at them all by myself.

The challenge here - the thing I'm struggling so much with - is how to put them together with the same elegance of my fellow writers. I'm looking at you, shrios fam (yeah I'm calling you that, yall know who you are). I know I can write words, but it's like I have a bunch of pieces from completely different jigsaw puzzles and I'm struggling to make a new picture out of them. I struggle with the transitions between them.

The point here is I have to find my own way. And I have to stop taking myself so seriously. In fact this level of "seriousness" is one of the things that got me into so much angst over World of Warcraft over the last two years. At least I know how to recognize it.

I have to find my own way. I have my own things that are worth sharing. The author I read last night had a language all their own, and I have a language all my own too. Their wordplay was actually more choppy than I would ever write. I've talked before about how I'm scared of starting too many sentences with pronouns, how I maybe write too many run-on sentences, whatever. This author did that with reckless abandon. It worked for them. So if they can make that shit work, I can make my own shit work.

I have to find my own way.

My most current WIP is Thane and Shepard's first time. I've been working on it pretty nonchalantly because I hadn't intended to publish it until I built up to it. It takes place further into my timeline, and it would probably ruin the point of a slow burn if I put it out there now. There are some really memorably moments in this WIP, and there are other moments that need to be smoothed over as well. I never knew what I'd really imagined for their first time but I think I've mostly developed something that's unique in its own right, and I think will be fun for people to read.

I'm just so fucking torn over what to do with it. I feel guilty for working on it. I should be writing "other shit" leading up to it but I don't fucking want to. I actually wrote probably 2-3k words this weekend, which is a pretty staggering amount by my standards. Some of it was for this smutty WIP and some was for something I just threw together, Thane observing Shepard on Horizon and the emotional toll it takes on her. He's seeing her humanity. I don't know if it's worth it to continue but I wrote a lot of it and the words are more precise than usual for a draft, I don't know. I have so much fucking insecurity. Fuck dude. I want to write this longfic, but I don't want to write it. I want to skim to the spicy bits like I always do.

I am wracked with insecurity, of my own making. I know what I can do but I feel compelled to see this idea through. Somehow I have to find my own way.

TLDR I feel like if I don't publish something soon I'm going to burst and I don't even know what the fuck to work on first and fjslfjsojoiejrj

I would be really down for, like, a bunch of hugs and a bowl of ice cream shared over memes and fanservice.

#this post is EXTREMELY fucking long send help #ITT: i read something that probably changed my brain chemistry for a few hours and it's painful #zet vs 100days #i'm just glad to get this off my chest good lord #anyway if people want to send me links to their favorite shrios fluff i would welcome it

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laurenairay · 4 years

Text

Take a Chance - D. Hamilton

Word Count: 12.7k

Summary: Ashley Miller is a Sunday-morning regular at her local coffee shop. Dougie Hamilton is the associate art curator who catches her eye.

Warnings: coffee shop au, some bad language, a lot of cute fluff, anxiety

A/N: This is my @hockeynetwork winter gift exchange fic for @huttons! I had a lot of fun researching & creating this fic gift, and I tried to incorporate all of the preferences you stated and that we discussed. This is very self-indulgent too, definitely the longest thing I’ve written on here, and I’m not going to go into the very niche research rabbit holes I fell down! Bringing this OC to life made me so happy, and I had a blast incorporating the coffee shop au element. I hope you enjoy this! 💚

Also tagging @danglesnipecelly, @texanstarslove and @itsbadgerbadgermushroom because they all listened to me stress while writing hah.

“Large latte for Ashley!”

Ashley Miller looked up from her laptop, smiling at her favourite barista at the counter. She got up from her table, leaving her laptop and scone briefly as she collected her drink, before heading back to her seat. Sunday mornings were the same every week – arrive at Storm Surge coffee shop when they opened at 7am, park herself at a table in the back corner, and consume a steady flow of coffee as she worked. Sure, her work might vary – teaching Medieval History at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill meant her lesson topics were all over the spectrum – but she just found that everything from writing notes for her classes that week to marking essays at the end of the semester became easier if she had the thrum of the coffee shop around her.

That, and she knew she’d just spend her entire weekend burrowed in her house if she didn’t get out.

Having moved to Raleigh 6 years ago to undertake her PhD, Ashley had accepted a teaching job at the very same university she’d studied at when she’d completed her studies a year ago, and she hadn’t looked back since. There was just something about Raleigh that she had fallen in love with, only a 30 minute drive away from her workplace, something that had spoken to her very soul, and actually being able to pass on knowledge about the subject that she was so passionate about made her so incredibly happy. Sure, her parents had never understood her love for 11th to 13th century European history (nor anyone else from her small town in South Dakota) but Ashley had never cared about that – New York had given her the opportunity to grow as a person during her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, but Raleigh had given her the opportunity to thrive.

And she would forever be grateful for that.

Sundays though…Sundays were something she cherished. This independent coffee shop had been a blessing when she’d found it early on in her PhD research, and they had never complained about her taking up a table for essentially the whole day (and she did pay for each of the many coffees she consumed). Baristas and bakers had come and gone over the past 6 years, but there were a couple that had stuck around recently - and a year ago when she officially became ‘Dr Ashley Miller’, her favourite barista Andrei had even given her a piece of chocolate cake on the house to celebrate. Storm Surge coffee shop was a home away from home.

Of course, there was another reason that Sunday coffee shop time was one of her favourite things in her week…

Tall Cute Guy.

He was a regular every Sunday morning, and had been for the past year - three Sundays a month he would order a mocha and an americano to go, but one Sunday a month he would come in an hour earlier and order just an americano, and drink it in the shop instead while reading an old paperback book. Every single time, like clockwork.

Okay, yes, that sounded a little stalkerish. But he was so cute. Ashley pretty much always had her earphones in playing music so she had never caught his name, but his blonde curls, pretty blue eyes and warm smile had caught her eye straight away. And he was so tall, she couldn’t have missed him if she’d tried. She’d never spoken to him, never even said hi in passing, but occasionally she would link eyes with him and he would smile at her. And that smile was enough to send her heart fluttering. Ridiculous really, but it brought her a little joy.

What was the harm in smiling back at a cute guy every now and again, right?

Dougie Hamilton walked into the North Carolina Museum of Art with a smile on his face. To be honest, it could’ve been for a multitude of reasons. His career was finally heading upwards, having moved museums to become Associate Curator of European Art a couple of years ago, and he loved his work. He had recently renovated his kitchen, which was now looking pretty sleek and awesome, if he did say so himself. His colleagues had genuinely become some of his closest friends, and he had a standing monthly poker night with several of them. But his smile today wasn’t because of any of that.

No, his smile today was because it was Sunday morning, and he’d just picked up his regular coffee order for him and his boss.

Speaking of…

“So, did you finally talk to your coffee shop crush, or did you just awkwardly stare at her like a weirdo again?”

“Oh fuck off,” Dougie grumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up in a fierce blush as his boss Jordie’s words.

It was far too early for this – he’d only just walked into their shared office for fuck’s sake! Jordie just hooted laughter at his embarrassment as he took his mocha from Dougie, making Dougie groan. “One day you’re going to have to talk to her, man. It’s just getting sad now,” Jordie teased.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t we have a museum to open?” Dougie scowled.

Jordie just beamed even more, wiggling his eyebrows as he left their office. Dougie groaned again, running his hands through is unruly hair before he sighed. Coffee shop crush. Hah. Jordie wasn’t wrong though. Not really. His crush…Mystery Laptop Woman…was one of the reasons he always volunteered to pick the two of them up coffee before the museum opened up on a Sunday morning. Jordie had come along with him only once to pick up their coffee, about 6 months ago, and ever since then he hadn’t let Dougie’s shy smile at her go. Of course, Dougie barely knew anything about her – only that she was always in early on a Sunday, always completely consumed by her work, and she had such a super cute concentration face, whatever it is that she worked on. He could never quite tell – sometimes she had a book or two with her, sometimes it was a stack of papers – but he knew for sure that she appeared to mainline coffee like a pro. Probably some kind of teacher?

He’d certainly never had a teacher that beautiful, that was for sure.

Her long dark hair was always down and always a little messy, like she ran her hands through it often (which she did, he’d noticed). Her warm hazel eyes were hidden behind tortoiseshell glasses, and her lips were always coloured in varying shades of dark pink and red. He’d only seen her standing a couple of times, but he’d caught enough of a glimpse of her long legs to have some very inappropriate thoughts. She just looked so kind, so friendly…and so beautiful. Dougie had never been able to catch her name though – she’d always had a full coffee or at least half a coffee left whenever he was in the shop, so he couldn’t even find out sneakily that way. But whoever she was, whatever she did, when he occasionally got lucky enough for her to look at him, her smile made his entire body light up like a fireworks show. It was a bit pathetic really, how much just a smile from her made his entire day, but he was a year into it now and he wasn’t going to stop that for anything. He had a great career, some great friends, and a pretty great life, even if he was tragically single.

What was the harm in smiling at a beautiful woman whenever he got the chance, right?

“Alright, we’ve nearly run out of time now, but just one final thing I want you to think about for Monday’s love in the middle ages class,”

On cue, her students groaned, making Ashley grin.

“Hey, I’m giving you a head’s up here – I could just let you walk into our general lecture blind?” she shrugged, teasing.

That got her a few laughs at least. She’d take that.

“Okay, so we know through our focus on the Medieval Expansion of Europe that one of the biggest tales about Eleanor of Aquitaine in the latter half of the 1100s was of her role in the courts of love. What I want you all to look into is whether these courts of love have the possibility of being a real thing, or whether they feed into the chivalric notions of her contemporaries and were fabricated from the courtly love dynamics of knights and maidens. Just to give us some talking points, okay?”

Her students murmured their agreement, with most of them writing down a reminder. That would have to be good enough for her. At least this way, hopefully someone would discuss the talking points with her in class – she’d found out the hard way last year that there was nothing worse for a university professor than completely uninterested students. She needed something to feed off.

“Alright then, class dismissed. Have a great weekend everyone!”

Ashley moved to her laptop, switching off the projected powerpoint presentation as her students filed out of the classroom, but jumped in shock slightly as she noticed the head of her department sitting in the back corner. How long had he been there?! What was he doing there in the first place? She just hoped her smile didn’t look as nervous as she felt, as he walked up to the front of the room.

Rod Brind’Amour was a legend in the History department for a good reason. His knowledge of military history pre-1800s was unmatched by anyone, but it was his research on the first and second crusades that had inspired Ashley through much of her PhD. Sure, he wasn’t her direct supervisor, but their work interlinked enough that she’d spent many office hours with him debating the second crusade with fervour. For such a big man, he was such a nerd, and he’d made her feel so welcome as soon as he offered her the teaching position at the end of her PhD, with the promise that she would be able to continue her research to inspire future minds. She had been so moved by his words that she hadn’t hesitated to accept the job. How could she not, when someone of his calibre believed in her?

One year in, she wasn’t regretting it at all

“Very smart, setting up some talking points for Monday’s class. I’m so glad I volunteered you to run this year’s Love in the Middle Ages lectures. You’re much better at them than I was,” Rod mused.

Ashley snorted, rolling her eyes playfully. Oh thank god. It’s true that this seminar was one part of the large mandatory Medieval and Early Modern Studies course…but it suited her perfectly.

“That’s because my research focuses on Medieval Queens and the exchange of power they brought to their marriage countries, whereas yours is the effect of each of the crusades through military history. Bleurgh,” she snickered, “Linking today’s Medieval Expansion of Europe class with the generic Love in the Middle Ages lectures on Mondays is just easy,”

“Speak for yourself,” Rod laughed, “give me military tactics any day,”

Ashley just grinned. Some things never changed. “Was there anything you wanted in particular?” she asked, packing up her laptop into its case.

“Just wanted to check in with you, in general,” Rod shrugged, sitting down on the edge of her desk.

Ashley couldn’t help but smile at the thoughtfulness. “I’m doing okay yeah, thanks. Last year’s first semester was more of a struggle for sure, but I don’t have that transition from PhD student and TA to full teaching this time round. I’ve definitely settled in quicker – and this batch of freshman feel a lot more engaged already,”

“That’s good! It definitely shows that you’re handling things well,” Rod nodded, smiling back at her, “But I meant in your life outside of the university too,”

Ashley frowned. What? “What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

Rod laughed softly at her expression. “I know last year you were trying to find your stride, but this year you’ve already got it, so I’m just checking that you’ve got things balanced outside of work too. It’s far too easy to make teaching your entire life – and I don’t want you to burn out,” Rod explained. “I value you here too much for that,”

Ashley’s heart melted a little at his concern, but she just shook his head. “I may not have much going on for me outside of work, but I do get out. I spend my Sundays in a local coffee shop,” she admitted.

Her mind briefly flashed to Tall Cute Guy, but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind before she started blushing. So not appropriate for work.

Rod frowned slightly, but nodded. “At least you’re getting out of the house. Just promise me you’ll work on finding time for yourself too?”

“I promise,” Ashley nodded, “I intend to be here for a long time, so I definitely don’t want to burn out,”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it,” Rod grinned, “I’d better get going – see you at the faculty meeting later?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Ashley grimaced.

Rod just laughed at her disgruntled face, lifting his hand in a wave as he left the room. As she packed the rest of her belongings, Ashley couldn’t help but to think over Rod’s words. Was she in danger of a burn-out? Surely not, so early on in her career? Maybe she did need more of a balance in her life…but how?

Another Sunday, another early morning. Sure, Ashley could give herself a lie in every now and again, but that would mean not being able to relax on her Sunday evening, to not have the chance to unwind and reset before the working week starts up again on Monday morning. Spending all weekend in her little 2 bed house wouldn’t do her any good, even as comforting as she’d made it.

Besides, Storm Surge coffee shop was such a part of her routine now, that it would feel wrong to not go in at her usual time. Seeing Andrei the morning barista, Marty the supervisor and Jaccob the baker (who occasionally popped his head out) always made her happy – and as Rod said only a couple of days ago, she needed to make sure she actually kept a balance in her life.

So, as always, just after 7am, Ashley walked through the coffee shop door. She’d skipped eating any breakfast this morning, intent on getting one of the shop’s amazing scones fresh out of the oven, and as soon as she spotted her favourite blueberry-lemon scones in the display, something in her chest settled. Yes, this was exactly why she came every week. This feeling of home.

“Good morning Ashley! Your usual latte?”

Ashley smiled at Andrei, nodding. “Yes please. And one of the blueberry-lemon scones!”

Andrei smiled even wider, if that was possible, and immediate set about inputting her order into the cash register. It was then that she noticed something new on Andrei’s nametag. A pink sparkly kitten sticky. Huh. That was new.

“Nice sticker,” she teased.

“Very sparkly, no? Marty gave it to me,” Andre nodded.

“Oh, Marty did huh?” Ashley grinned.

Interestingly, Andrei blushed. She knew she hadn’t been imagining things. The poor Russian guy just blushed harder, spluttering incoherently, until Ashley took pity on him. It wasn’t like she could be mean to Andrei – he was just too adorable.

“I think the sticker is really cute, Andrei. It was sweet of Marty to give it to you,” Ashley said with a fond smile.

“Thank you! I will tell Marty you like it,” Andrei beamed.

Bless him.

Andrei handed her a scone on a plate, allowing her to go to her usual table in the back corner, setting up her laptop while she waited for her coffee to be ready. She heard a door out the back open, and Andrei quickly slipped away, making her smile.

“AHHHHHHHHHH MR SVECHNIKOV!”

Marty. Ashley just giggled, shaking her head before putting her earphones in for her background music. Yeah, this coffee shop definitely felt like home.

She quickly got lost in writing her lecture notes, going off on tangents that she knew she’d have to rein in later when she edited. It was a full hour before she even looked away from her screen, only to see the shop busy and bustling, every single table full. What the hell? She looked over to see both Andrei and Marty working the counter, only confirming her suspicions that they really had gotten busy while she was lost in her thoughts. Wow. Full at 8am was a new one for sure. Maybe a convention of some kind?

And it was then that she saw Tall Cute Guy walk in. Today he was wearing a pretty blue sweater, bring out the beautiful blue in his eyes, making her smile on instinct. So cute. But then she noticed him being given just the one coffee…he was planning on drinking in, and there were no tables? No!

It made her heart clench to watch him looking around the coffee shop, becoming more and more disheartened…until he noticed her. Maybe, could she, yes. Ashley bit her bottom lip but tilted her head towards the empty chair at her table, earning the biggest smile. She actually did it. She actually offered him the chair at her table. Shit. Her heart started beating faster as he walked over, and she took her earphones out as he came to a stop next to her seat, looming over her.

“I, uh…do you mind if I sit with you?” he asked softly.

Huh. Such a gentle voice on such a big man. Yeah she could totally handle this.

“Please, go ahead,” Ashley nodding, smiling as she waved her hand to indicate, “it’s so busy in here today,”

Oh no. Was that too forward, acknowledging that they’re both regulars?

“Definitely busier than usual, eh?” he mused, “I’ll try not to disturb your work, I’ll only be here for about an hour,”

Ashley laughed, but shook her head. She was just glad he hadn’t been weirded-out by her acknowledgement. That would’ve been so awkward. Her stomach was filled with enough butterflies as it was. “You won’t disturb me, I promise. Sit as long as you like,”

He smiled widely at her, pulling out the chair opposite and sitting down, Ashley just quickly shuffling her papers out of the way for him. He nodded his thanks at her, pulling a paperback book out of his satchel. Then he cleared his throat, so she looked up at him curiously.

“I’m Dougie, by the way,” he said, almost a little shy.

Dougie. That was a nice name. Oh, wow, she finally knew his name! Ashley couldn’t help but smile at him. “I’m Ashley,”

He smiled back at her. “It’s nice to meet you properly,” he said happily.

Ashley just laughed, nodding as she blushed lightly. To have him acknowledge their smiling-from-a-distance definitely sparked something inside of her. Nice to finally meet him indeed.

They sat in comfortable silence, Ashley typing up her tangent notes so far for the morning, and she couldn’t help the feeling of contentment that sat in her chest. The cute guy she’d been smiling at for a year was sitting at her table with her…and it wasn’t awkward at all. In fact, it was really quite nice. And he’d introduced himself!

No, cool it, keep calm Ashley. No-one got anywhere by acting like a giddy schoolgirl. Play it cool.

That promised hour flew by far too quickly. Every now and again she would glance up and find his eyes on her. Every now and again she would glance up only for him to look up and catching her looking. Every time she would blush. Every time he would send her a wonderful smile. But all too soon her table companion was standing up and putting his book in his bag.

“Um…”

Ashley looked up from her work at him, a smile naturally spreading across her face at his nervous expression. Why was he nervous?

“Yes, Dougie?” she said softly, smiling at a little more at finally getting to say his name.

Dougie. Dougie. Dougie.

“I’ll see you soon?” he said, almost hopefully.

“I’ll be here,” she nodded.

Oh god. Well that was stupid. Of course she’d be here. Why couldn’t she just act smoothly for once in her life?

But then Dougie smiled, such a happy little smile that it made her breath catch in her throat.

“Until next time then,” Dougie murmured, “Bye, Ashley,”

“Bye,” she breathed, watching him walk way.

Well, that could’ve been worse. What a Sunday.

Things felt different after that fateful Sunday. Dougie (she knew his name!) hadn’t sat down with her again, or even sat in the shop again yet, but now…now he always made a point of waving at her, waiting until she had waved back to smile. Those waves sent her into even more of a tizzy, a light blush always on her cheeks, and she couldn’t help but cherish them. Maybe it was a bit pathetic, but he was so handsome and he noticed her. It didn’t hurt to pretend it was more than friendly acknowledgement, right? A girl could dream at least.

It was only Wednesday today, but that meant only one thing. Her weekly phone call with her mom. Knowing Susan Miller, Ashley could picture exactly what her mom was doing. Her phone would be propped up on speakerphone while she pottered around the kitchen, finishing off making dinner while also planning what desserts to bake at the weekend. Her mom led a simple life, a retired teacher herself (although she’d taught at the local elementary school rather than ever leaving town), but it was a happy life. And it was these phone calls that were the only thing that made Ashley miss home.

Nothing was the same as a hug from her mom with a slice of homemade apple pie. But those were the sacrifices she made for her love of Medieval History. They never stayed on the for more than half an hour, but it was just enough to fill Ashley’s heart, at least for a little while.

“And I swear, if he doesn’t stop leaving those nasty cigar butts on the front porch, I’m going to whoop some sense into him!”

“You’ve been saying this for over 20 years mom – I don’t think dad is going to change at this point,” Ashley mused, rolling her eyes fondly.

Her dad had been set in his ways for as long as she could remember. Nothing was going to change that, not even a little nagging from the love of his life.

“Yes, well, he could at least clean up after himself,”

Her parents really were ridiculous human beings – but they loved each other, and that was all that mattered. Even if her dad didn’t clean up his cigar butts.

“You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you weren’t complaining about his cigar butts,” Ashley grinned. “Maybe threaten not to make that corned beef hash he likes. That might help,”

The laughter that flowed down the phone made her smile even more. Fuck she missed hearing her mom’s laugh in person.

“Oh I miss you sweetpea. Are you sure you’re okay down there by yourself?”

“Yes mom, you know I love my work and my life down here,” Ashley said, sighing softly.

Here we go again.

“I just worry about you rattling around in that old house by yourself!”

Rude. It wasn’t that old.

“I promise I’m fine!” Ashley insisted.

Her mom stayed silent, making Ashley bite her lip to stop herself getting frustrated. Her mom would come out with it eventually…

“I worry about you being lonely, that’s all. You’re such an introvert, you always have been,”

And there it was.

“How could I be lonely mom? I have great colleagues that I talk with. And I’m around students all day and I interact all the time with them! And the baristas at my coffee shop know me by name and we chat too,” Ashley listed.

“The baristas don’t count, Ash,”

Poor Andrei. He definitely counted. Ashley couldn’t help but giggle at the sigh in her mom’s voice though. “Okay maybe not, but there is a guy that I’ve talked to,”

“Ooh a guy?”

Oh no. Oh what had she done? She had to nip this in the bud now.

“No, mom, not like that, just a friendly face to wave at,” Ashley insisted.

Dougie’s shy smiles filled her mind, but she shook her head. Now was not the time.

“Oh boo, you should work on changing that,”

Hah. If only.

“You’re impossible, mom,” Ashley sighed fondly.

“I love you too darling,”

Today he was going to do it. Today Dougie was going to get to Storm Surge coffee shop a little early, get his americano to drink in…and hopefully sit with Ashley again. Ever since that amazing Sunday morning where she offered him a seat at her table (she offered him!), he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. He could kick himself for not being able to do more than wave at her the past three Sundays, but even just the few smiles he seen in passing since have blown him away. Especially with that cute little blush she always had when she waved back at him.

But today he was coming in an hour before he had to get to work, just to have that chance to sit with her and talk with her. Was it a little desperate? Sure. But Dougie never claimed to be anything other than desperate to get to know the beautiful woman he’d only ever seen in passing until now. His schedule didn’t usually allow him the chance – every Sunday the North Carolina Museum of Art opened from 10-5, and he usually got there just after 9 with coffee for him and Jordie, but every fourth Sunday Jordie came in a little later, so Dougie took the time to sit in and read a little before heading into work…and it was the fourth Sunday today. He could only hope that all the nerves and butterflies would be worth it.

Oh fuck, what if she wasn’t even there?

No, she would be. She always was. Enough stalling.

Still…

Dougie walked into Storm Surge with a little ball of nervous anxiety in his chest, praying that Ashley wouldn’t stray from her routine, until he looked over into the back corner…and there she was. He waited until Ashley looked up at him to wave at her, earning a sweet smile and a wave back. Wow, her blush really was so sweet.

“Dougie! You must be drinking in today, yes?”

He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Andrei’s voice, quickly nodding. “Yeah just the usual americano, thanks,”

“You got it,” Andrei nodded, beaming at him.

Dougie quickly paid and moved to the end of the counter to wait for his coffee. The shop was only half-full at this time in the morning, unlike last month, so he didn’t have the excuse of busy tables. Maybe…he could just walk up to her, right? He could take that chance, right? Yeah, he could do this.

“Here you go!” Andrei said cheerfully.

“Thanks,” Dougie murmured.

The barista gave him a strange look at his distracted tone, and Dougie knew that Andrei was watching as he walked over to Ashley’s table…but here goes nothing. He could totally do this. He was an adult. He paid his taxes on time and everything. He could definitely ask a pretty woman if he could sit with her again.

“Hey, Ashley,”

She looked up from her laptop with a bright smile, making his breath catch in his throat.

“Dougie! Hi!” she said happily.

She remembered his name! Wow. No, focus.

“Do you, um…do you mind if I sit with you again?” Dougie asked.

Oh god, why couldn’t he just sound cool for once in his life? Why did he always have to be the least smooth version of himself that he could possibly be?

Ashley took one look around at all the empty tables and blushed even more, before she bit her lip and nodded. “Sure, go for it,”

That was a good sign, right?

Dougie sat down with a nervous smile, putting his coffee gently on the table.

“So, um, how have you been?”

Ashley looked surprised (oh god, was she only being polite before?) before that melted into a pleased look. Okay, he could work with that.

“I’ve been pretty good thanks, yeah. I’m just revising the list of essay topics that I’m giving my students on Monday, so not too much work to do today thankfully,” she said, “How about you?”

“I’ve been alright yeah. Work has been a little nuts with the new exhibition at the museum but it’s all come together really well!” Dougie said, beaming. What? Could a man not be excited about artwork? “what do you teach?”

Ashley smiled shyly, looking a little hesitant again. Dougie couldn’t help but frown a little. Had people made her feel awkward about her work before? That wasn’t okay! “I’m a Medieval History professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My general focus is on the power of Medieval queens, but I teach everything from the expansion of medieval Europe to love in the middle ages, as well as on the general medieval and early modern history modules. I did my undergraduate and masters degrees at NYU, but I moved down here for the PhD opportunity. It’s now my second full year teaching and I just…I love it so much,”

A PhD?! Holy shit, that’s impressive. Wow. Just…wow. How could she be any more perfect?

“That’s incredible!” was all that Dougie could say.

“You don’t have to pretend, I know having a PhD isn’t exactly the coolest thing in the world, especially in medieval history,” Ashley mused.

Well it was definitely pretty fucking cool to him, no matter what other people had ever said to her. “I’m definitely not pretending, I promise. Medieval history is fascinating,” he insisted.

Ashley pursed her lips like she didn’t believe him, making Dougie laugh.

“I’m serious! I may not have a PhD but my masters thesis was a specialism in Rembrandt’s work. I’m a total art history nerd – 14th-17th century in particular,” Dougie explained.

Come on, let the nerdiness pay off for once…

Her face immediately lightened, her mouth forming into a surprised ‘o’, making him laugh again. At least, he hoped it was a good surprise?

“One of the classes I’ll be teaching next semester is Italian Renaissance and European History to 1650,” she murmured.

Holy shit. What a match up.

“Told you I wasn’t pretending to be interested,” Dougie grinned, “I’d definitely love to learn more about that class when you start it,”

Ashley blushed again, but her nervous smile had shifted into a full beaming smile, and his heart could only just about take it. Then she froze slightly, blinking, as if she’d forgotten something. What?

“Sorry, did you say museum earlier?” Ashley said suddenly, “like, you work at a museum?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m an associate curator at the North Carolina Museum of Art,” Dougie nodded.

He did his best not to puff out his chest in pride. He’d worked damned hard on his career and he was proud of it.

“I just…wow, I wouldn’t have expected it,”

Dougie laughed, raising an eyebrow at her sheepish smile.

“A guy who looks like you, like such an athlete’s build…oh god, sorry, that’s so rude of me,” she groaned, burying her face in her hands.

But Dougie just laughed, shaking his head. “Believe me, it’s far from the first time I’ve heard that,”

And never with such appreciation of his body either…

Look, he knew how the world perceived him on first glance. Tall, muscled guy, blonde hair and blue eyes, probably an all-american jock right? How he loved proving them wrong.

“Still doesn’t make it okay,” Ashley winced, “so I’m sorry,”

“Apology accepted,” Dougie mused, “I love my work, so it’s fun surprising people. Especially people with similar interests,”

Ashley bit her lip again but nodded and smiled, tilting her head to show she was listening. Wow, he could definitely get used to her looking at him with this much interest.

“Like I said, I’m an associate curator at the North Carolina Museum of Art. I’m actually Canadian, but I finished my masters degree in Boston and went straight into working at the MFA, but after working on a brief project in Calgary, I realised I wanted to work more in my specialist interests, y’know? So I applied for a role at the Museum of Art here, and became the associate curator of European Art. It’s…it’s everything I could’ve wished for, when I was studying,”

Dougie took a sip of his coffee while Ashley processed that flood of information, hoping he hadn’t come across too strong. People really did tend to zone out when he talked about his work…but hopefully because she also had an interest in European history and art, she wouldn’t be put off?

“I can definitely relate to following and achieving my passions for a niche subject,” Ashley grinned, “and I love that you love it so much. It’s rare, to find someone who gets such genuine joy out of their work. Even though work can sometimes be super stressful,”

“Stressful, but worth it. Especially when a new exhibition comes together so well,” Dougie agreed.

“Oh?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dougie licked his bottom lip, trying not to look too nervous. This exhibition is such a big deal, and it had been such a lot of work. He could get a little excited about it now, right?

“Yeah, I’ve been working solidly for the past few months on the new exhibition – it’s opening next weekend. It’s a collection of Italian Renaissance Art,” Dougie said, a little hesitant.

Hesitant…because maybe that was a bit flashy? Did it sound like he was bragging? He really hoped not – not just because he was so proud of his work but he genuinely did want to excite Ashley…

“Oh no way! Really?” Ashley gasped.

Dougie bit his lips to control his grin. Oh thank fuck. Finally, someone he could actually impress with his love of art history. “Yeah, last quarter the museum acquired over 30 paintings from the 14th century from various collectors and this will be the first time they’ve all been together in the same room,”

“I bet they’ll be so beautiful all together after so long,” Ashley said, her voice a little wistful.

Wistful? He could fix that. Maybe. Yes, this was the perfect opportunity…

“Maybe we could…I know this might feel a little soon, but I’m…

Dougie trailed off with a frustrated groan, making Ashley giggle. For once, just once, let him be smooth! He took a deep breath, before trying again.

“Would you like to come to the exhibition opening with me?” he asked softly.

Ashley’s jaw dropped slightly, but she quickly nodded, making Dougie’s heartbeat kick up a notch. “Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got a plus one as the associate curator, and there’s no-one else I could imagine going with. I think you’d love it,” Dougie explained, “and I’d love to show you the artwork,”

Was that too desperate?

“I’d…wow, I’d love to go with you,” Ashley said, her expression shy but pleased.

Shy but pleased. He could work with that.

“Great, it’s a date!”

Oh God. Dougie could only freeze…but then Ashley smiled. Huh, maybe not so cringey?

“A date huh? I’d love that too,” Ashley said shyly.

Oh thank fuck. Ashley just giggled at Dougie’s blush.

“Give me your number and I’ll text you the details?” Dougie suggested, trying to salvage at least a little bit of his dignity.

As Ashley took his phone from him and entered her phone number, Dougie could only sit in shocked silence. He’d done it. He’d actually asked her on a date. On a date where he could impress her with a topic they both loved so much. All he had to do now was not fuck it up.

That wouldn’t be so hard, right?

Ashley had been in a little bit of a daze when Dougie had left for work. He’d asked her on a date. On a date! And they’d exchanged numbers, Dougie having sent her a little smiley face so she had his number in return. She was just thankful that there wasn’t much work for her to do that day – there was no way she wouldn’t been able to focus otherwise.

And then throughout the week, they’d started exchanging cute little messages. Just sweet little things, like how was your day? and look how cute this dog is and I had the loudest school tour group come through the museum today and which of these texts is going to give me the worst teacher rating? – it was all silly and sweet and fun, and Ashley couldn’t remember the last time that the potential of a relationship had excited her so much.

There was just something about Dougie that made her heart beat a little faster every time she thought of him. It was bad enough when he would smile at her in passing in Storm Surge…but now, with every little text, she felt herself smiling even more than she could’ve imagined, like a giddy little schoolgirl with a first crush.

Because at the moment, it really was just a crush. They hadn’t gone out on their first date yet – in reality, they’d only sat together twice, with one of those times essentially being the exchange of their names. They’d only had one conversation in person. And the texts were so sweet and lovely…but they were just texts. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself and get her hopes up, you know? God knows that had happened enough times.

She couldn’t help but hope that finally, she had met someone with real potential. Dougie made it easy to hope.

Ashley supposed that their first date would be the real test of whether she’d just built up all the excitement of Tall Cute Guy in that coffee shop fantasy in her head, or whether he was the real deal. Their conversation in person on Sunday had been such a good start, but fuck please make him the real deal.

Was it really that much to ask?

Finally Friday rolled around and she was finished with work for the week. Well, mostly. Ashley had just come out of a bi-monthly faculty meeting and just had to check some emails before she could go home for the weekend (and to shave her legs because she found the cutest dress for her date on Saturday) – but as she got to her office, she noticed that Rod had stopped in the doorway, waving to some of their colleagues as they strolled past. Hmm.

“So…you’re looking incredibly chipper for someone who just got out of a tedious faculty meeting,” Rod teased, leaning against her doorframe.

Ashley just laughed, rolling her eyes fondly as she sat at her desk. “I don’t know why you complain so much – you’re the one who runs them,”

“Not through choice, I promise that,” Rod mused, shaking his head, “But you are looking extra cheerful today. Just feeling a little nosy, I guess,”

Ashley bit her bottom lip, hesitating. Should she tell him about her date? It’s not like Rod was a gossip…and it’s not like she had a whole host of friends to tell…

“I may or may not have a date tomorrow night,” Ashley eventually admitted.

His eyes immediately lit up. Oh God.

“Ooh a date, exciting!” Rod gasped dramatically, fanning himself like a southern belle.

“Oh my god, shut up,” Ashley giggled. That could’ve gone worse – but his excitement definitely lit up the butterflies in her stomach all over again.

Rod just laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m just glad you’re giving someone a chance to sweep you off your feet,” he teased, “Who is he and where is he taking you?”

“He’s a guy I met in that coffee shop I go to on a Sunday, and he’s taking me to the new Italian Renaissance exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art,” she explained.

And she couldn’t wait.

“A cultured guy or a try hard?” he smirked.

“A cultured guy,” Ashley giggled, rolling her eyes, “he’s actually the associate curator who worked on setting up the exhibition,”

“Don’t we all love a man who knows his history, even if it is art,” Rod grinned, winking dramatically, earning another giggle, “Let me know how the exhibition is - I know my wife would love to go if it’s any good,”

“I’ll give you a full review on Monday,” Ashley agreed, nodding.

“And a full review of your date,” Rod grinned.

“Okay, out, out. I need to finish these emails before I leave,” Ashley laughed.

“I’m going, I’m going,” Rod mused, “If you need anything, even an escape clause tomorrow night, send me a text, okay?”

Her heart softened a little at his kind gesture, and she found herself nodding. “I don’t think it’ll come to that, but thank you, I appreciate it,”

“Any time,” Rod nodded.

Ashley bit her bottom lip to hide her grin as he shut the door behind him on the way out, and the butterflies in her stomach were still there. Saturday night couldn’t come soon enough.

Tonight was the night. Ashley only had a few minutes left before her uber arrived to pick her up to take her to the museum, and she couldn’t resist having a final glance in the mirror by her front door. She’d had a little panic over what the hell the dress code would be for a gallery opening, but after Dougie confirmed it wasn’t black tie, just formal dress, Ashley had consulted with some of her college friends (who were buzzing about the fact that she was actually going on a date), and decided that a midi cocktail dress was the way to go.

And she’d found the perfect one.

The dress she’d picked out in a local boutique was a beautiful forest green colour, complimenting her dark hair and hazel eyes perfectly. It fell to the middle of her shins, as her friends had recommended, and had thick shoulders straps, no sleeves but a neckline with a deep enough v that it should a little cleavage (classy cleavage of course, very sophisticated in her opinion). Her favourite part though was the Marilyn Monroe-esque twirl to the skirt – something she’d tested out several times already – and she just felt glamorous in it. She’d straightened her usually-messy hair and put on a little make-up too, to match the effort she was making with the dress. To be honest, Ashley felt beautiful, and she honestly couldn’t wait to see Dougie’s reaction. It was a hell of a lot different to her usual Sunday Storm Surge outfits, that’s for sure.

Soon enough, her uber was pulling up outside of the Museum of Art, and she thanked the driver as she got out. Thankfully, Dougie was already waiting at the top of the steps for her, and the smile that he sent her way made her breath catch in her throat. Ashley took the time to check him out as she walked up towards him, and she felt those butterflies start up again. He was wearing a gorgeous navy blue suit with a white shirt and grey tie, bringing out the colour of his eyes beautifully, and the stunned expression on his face as he looked at her made her blush a little. That was a good reaction, right?

“Wow. You look…amazing,” Dougie murmured, looking her up and down with awe.

Definitely a good reaction.

“You look really good too,” she grinned.

Dougie grinned back at her, before offering her his arm. “Shall we?”

Ashley fought not to squeal as she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. What a smooth move. “Lead the way,”

Dougie walked her inside, picking up a glass of champagne each after they dropped their jackets off. Then they were off. The two of them wandered around through the exhibition, Dougie guiding her and giving her the most indepth information she could’ve possibly hoped for. She’d never had such a personal tour like this, and he was so shy yet so knowledgeable that she couldn’t help but to drink up every word. This was what she had hoped for out of tonight, that passion coming through Dougie, and she was receiving it tenfold.

“This one is one of my favourites. Batoni’s The Triumph of Venice. There’s just so much going on, and I swear I notice something different every time I look at it,”

Ashley looked at the painting, taking in the many figures, the details, the colours, and couldn’t help but smile. It truly was a masterpiece.

“Oil on canvas? Maybe…early 1700s?” she guessed.

“Fuck that’s hot,” Dougie breathed.

He immediately flushed bright red, making Ashley giggle. Good to know that her vague art history knowledge was paying off. And that she could make him react like that…

“I love all the finessed detail in this one. Especially on the carriage – it’s exquisite,” Ashley murmured, looking back at it.

“Isn’t it?” Dougie grinned.

Ashley squeezed his arm gently, smiling up at him, earning a happy smile back. He was so clearly in his element, and she was loving every second. The way his entire face lit up when he talked about art…there was something just so beautiful in that. Those beautiful blue eyes were even more alive than ever, that spark of passion adding such a gorgeous element, and she really wanted to see more of it. That was a good sign, right? That she was already imagining more.

They moved on to the next painting, and Ashley’s breath caught in her throat. Wow.

“And this…this is the star of the collection. Giotto’s Peruzzi Altarpiece, the only complete altarpiece by the artist outside of Italy,”

Her jaw dropped a little. That was a big deal. “The only one?”

“The only one,” Dougie nodded.

“Holy shit,” Ashley mumbled, eyes wide.

Dougie grinned at her. “My sentiments exactly,”

“All of that gold. So much gold. And the details in their faces. Holy shit,” Ashley murmured.

“One of my favourite frescos, and I get to see it every day,” Dougie sighed happily.

“Well count me as jealous,” Ashley teased, nudging him with her shoulder.

Dougie just smiled shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. He was just so cute.

“Would you, um…would you like a new drink?”

“Sure, another couldn’t hurt,” she nodded.

It’s not like she drank champagne that often after all. And it was a special occasion…

They stayed in the museum for another hour, looking over some of the art again as well as mingling with Dougie’s colleagues (including a mostly silent guy Dougie introduced as ‘Foegs’, who gave Dougie a double thumbs up when he thought she wasn’t looking, and a very enthusiastic big blonde man named Jordie, who she learned was Dougie’s boss – which, wow). Their conversation just flowed, and the doubts that she’d had earlier were easily shoved to the back of her mind.

She’d never thought it would feel so natural spending the evening arm-in-arm with a guy, but Dougie had just blown her away.

All too soon, it was time to leave the museum though, and while Dougie got their jackets, Ashley opened her phone to request an uber. 5 minutes away. Perfect.

“I had a really great time tonight,” Dougie murmured, when they were waiting outside.

His own uber was only a couple of minutes behind hers.

“Me too,” Ashley admitted, smiling up at him, “Thank you for inviting me,”

“There’s no-one else I would’ve wanted to take. I just glad you enjoyed it,” Dougie smiled back.

“I enjoyed spending time with you. The exhibition was just a bonus,” she said softly, looking up at him through her lashes.

Holy shit she just flirted. Blatantly flirted. Too much?

But then Dougie blushed a little, before a small smirk spread across his lips. “Yeah?”

Ashley just bit her lip, nodding. Dougie’s blue eyes flashed a little darker, sending a hot jolt running through her body. Oh wow. Just like that huh. But then her phone buzzed, the uber car pulling up to the curb, breaking her out of her thoughts just before they started to spiral.

Calm down Ashley, it’s only the first date!

She waved at the uber driver to signal that she’d seen him before turning back to Dougie. “See you tomorrow?” Ashley asked hopefully.

“Yeah, I’ll be starting work a little later on the one off, as it was the exhibition opening tonight,” Dougie nodded, “I’ll be there,”

Ashley grinned at him, before leaning up and pressing a kiss to his cheek, laughing softly as his jaw dropped.

“Bye, Dougie,” she said softly, walking over to the car.

“Bye,” she heard him murmur, just as she closed the door.

“Hot date?” the uber driver teased.

“The hottest,” she grinned back.

That earned her a laugh, and she couldn’t help but smile as the driver pulled away from the curb. Ashley glanced out of the window, only to see that Dougie hadn’t moved at all – other than his fingers brushing over where she’d kissed his cheek, a hopeless smile on his face.

What a first date indeed.

To: Ashley

From: Rod

So how did the date go?

To: Rod

From: Ashley

The exhibition was incredible. You need to take your wife, for real.

To: Ashley

From: Rod

I actually meant the guy but sure…

To: Rod

From: Ashley

He was a perfect gentleman and…amazing.

You’ll get your full gossip on Monday.

To: Ashley

From: Rod

Boo fine.

I’m glad you had a good time though!

See you on Monday

“I had a really great time tonight,”

“Me too,”

“I had a really great time tonight,”

“Me too,”

“I had a really great time tonight,”

“Me too,”

Wasn’t the saying that if things seemed too good to be true, then they probably were not?

Ashley had gone to bed feeling over the moon, elated, bubbling with excitement. But when she’d woken up, it was like a dark cloud had settled over her, a heavy rock of anxiety sitting on her chest. Everything had gone so well last night. So well. Too well? This wasn’t the first time that she’d gotten her hopes up only to have things fall apart around her – and her hopes had skyrocketed last night. All she felt was like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it made her feel sick.

That niggling negativity had swum around her brain over and over again, and she hadn’t been able to shut it off – not when she showered, not when she got dressed, and not when she sat on the sofa debating whether or not to actually turn up at the coffee shop.

Was this really what things had come down to? Tempted to break her solid routine, the exact routine she’d had every week, just because a guy made her nervous? Was he really that important? Was she really that much of a coward?

She sat on the sofa so long that she passed the time she would normally leave. Hell, she passed the time she would normally be sitting down at her usual table. Oh god she couldn’t take this. It was too much. Her legs bounced nervously as she pulled up the message thread she had with him, typing out a message to cancel…

…and then she deleted it.

Fuck that shit. No matter how anxious this whole dating thing made her feel, nothing was worth this. She couldn’t just not show up, that wasn’t right. That wasn’t her. Fuck this. As quickly as she could, Ashley grabbed her laptop and her handbag, driving as fast as she could to Storm Surge.

When she parked her car, she noticed that she had a few texts from Dougie. Oh god.

To: Ashley

From: Dougie

Hey, I’m coming a little earlier than usual today!

To: Ashley

From: Dougie

Are you running late?

To: Ashley

From: Dougie

Are you coming?

Oh god. Ashley winced, practically running to the shop, immediately spotting Dougie at her usual table in the back. The sheer relief on his face made her wince again. Fuck. His expression dimmed at little, but she quickly ordered her usual latte from Andrei, who looked an interesting mix of confused and concerned, but she headed over to Dougie without hesitating.

“Hey, um, sorry I’m late,” she murmured, setting her coffee and her laptop down on the table.

Dougie frowned at her briefly, clearly taking in whatever the hell her face was showing.

“Is everything okay?” he asked softly.

Ashley bit her bottom lip, hesitating. Might as well tell him the truth, right?

“I, uh, I was second-guessing everything?”

“Second-guessing?” Dougie asked, frowning harder.

Ashley just sighed. “Yeah, um, it’s dumb. I just…it all seems too good to be true? I woke up feeling like I’d gotten my hopes up and…fuck, I’m sorry. I just feel stupid now,”

Looking up at Dougie’s sad face immediately made her regret telling the truth, but it was too late now. Fuck. Why did she have to ruin everything? The fact that he was staying silent just made everything worse. Should she just go?

“What do you want to do now then?” Dougie eventually asked “or do you not know?”

Ashley swallowed heavily, looking down at her hands briefly. Hah. The million dollar question. “I know that I like you?” she offered.

Dougie huffed a laugh. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to get mad if you don’t want to go on another date,” Dougie said with a sad smile.

Oh god that was worse. He should never sound that disheartened – it wasn’t right. And it was all her fault.

“Would you even want to go on a date with me again when I’m this much of an anxious mess?” Ashley sighed.

After last night, this really wasn’t where she’d seen her day going. Self-sabotage was a bitch. But it was her own damn fault. It always was. But then Dougie reached his hand forward, fingers brushing over hers lightly to get her attention, making her blush as he smiled a bit more genuinely.

“Yeah, I would like to,” he nodded, “I had a really great time yesterday night, and I still want more,”

Oh, so maybe she hadn’t ruined everything then. What? Well shit, she was grabbing this second chance with both hands.

“I had a great time too,” Ashley admitted, blushing a little bit more, “even with this stupid anxiety,”

“Good. That’s…that’s really good,” Dougie laughed, “well, not the anxiety part, but I’m going to prove to you that this isn’t just getting your hopes up,”

“I’d like that,” she murmured.

Dougie smiled at her, a truly genuine happiness, making her breath catch in her throat. Fuck she didn’t deserve this. But there was no way she was going to let herself ruin this, not now.

“Maybe we could just talk for a couple of hours before I have to go into work? Have some coffee, a couple of those delicious blueberry-lemon scones, and just see where things go?” Dougie suggested.

Ashley nodded, the tight ball in her chest immediately loosening. God, he was such a nice guy. “I’d definitely like to get to know you more,” she agreed.

“Scones are on me then,” Dougie grinned.

Hope. A second chance. Bring it on.

When Dougie eventually walked into work, his shared office had more people in it that he cared for. Well, okay, that was a little mean. But right now was not the best time for the combination of Jordie and Foegs as well as Sebastian and Teuvo, especially not when all four of them had met Ashley last night. Not when they were all so intense. Not while things were still so tentative.

“So, how did it go?” Jordie asked excitedly, “it looked like the two of you were having fun!”

And here we go.

“Well last night, at the exhibition, went really well, but…”

Jordie and Foegs frowned as he trailed off, Sebastian and Teuvo just looked confused. Dougie sighed and sat down heavily at his desk.

“She was really hesitant this morning. Like, so full of anxiety that she almost didn’t show up for coffee,” he admitted, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck awkwardly.

“What do you mean?” Jordie asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

“She thinks it’s too good to be true?” Dougie winced.

Foegs looked a little stunned, Jordie’s jaw dropping. But then Sebastian jumped to his feet from where he was sitting on Jordie’s desk.

“Well then you’ll just have to sweep her off her feet!” Sebastian said firmly.

Really? Dougie sent him an unimpressed look, but Sebastian’s pout stayed serious as Teuvo giggled.

“As much as I hate to say it, Sepe has a point,” Foegs shrugged, making Sebastian stick out his tongue at him, “the two of you looked like you’d really hit it off when we were all talking, and the fact that Ashley did meet you this morning means a little anxiety shouldn’t stand in the way,”

“Take her on another date. Wine and dine, man. It’s a classic for a reason,” Jordie added, nodding seriously.

Well shit, if Jordie was being serious then maybe it would work.

“Thanks guys,” Dougie murmured, smiling softly.

“Anything to land you the woman of your many dreams,” Jordie beamed.

Dougie just blushed. Sebastian wriggled his eyebrows, Teuvo just punching him on the arm. It was almost a nice moment.

He waited until Foegs, Sebastian and Teuvo had left to start working before he pulled his phone out, biting his bottom lip as he thought of what to say.

To: Ashley

From: Dougie

Hey, I’m glad I saw you today.

I hope you’re still doing okay.

How do you feel about getting dinner with me?

Dougie jiggled his leg nervously as he logged into his computer, waiting with baited breath for any reply.

And then eventually, his phone buzzed. Ashley. Thank god.

To: Dougie

From: Ashley

I’m alright thanks. That scone definitely helped ;)

I would love to get dinner with you.

Dougie couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. Good. This was good. They exchanged a few more messages, eventually figuring out that because of his next few late nights with the exhibition and her essays she had to mark, neither of them were really free until next Saturday. A whole week away again. Fuck. No, this was going to work. Dougie knew it was worth it – and if she needed him to text a lot over the next few days to remind her that he was all in, that he wasn’t just going to disappoint her like those other guys, then he absolutely would.

Wine and dine next Saturday. He could absolutely do this.

“Hey, what was the name of that place you took your wife out for date night a couple of weeks back?” Dougie asked, looking up at his boss.

Jordie’s face lit up. “Oh man, it was so good…”

As Dougie promised himself, they kept texting throughout the week. He told her fun stories from visitors to the exhibition. She told him silly comments her students made that she couldn’t respond to without laughing in class. He told her all about his time in Boston. She told him all about her time in New York. He sent her a picture of the cutest trio of dogs his neighbours adopted. She sent him a picture of a sunset that took her breath away. Things were…good. He was just glad that Ashley seemed as enthusiastic as she was before their first date.

All he could hope was that he was proving to her that he was different. That he was serious about giving their budding relationship a shot. He hadn’t bonded with someone as quickly as this, as deeply as this, ever – so he wanted to see where it went. The unknown with Ashley genuinely excited him, and he wanted her to feel the same excitement.

He could only try to be good enough to deserve her.

By the time Saturday rolled around, Dougie was a nervous wreck. He’d left work exactly on time for once, Jordie giving him a thump on the shoulder and Foegs a thumbs up (he mostly ignored Sebastian and Teuvo’s shimmies), racing home to change into a nice sweater and his favourite pair of smart jeans. Casual but like he cared about making an impression. That was what he was aiming for.

And then Ashley arrived 10 minutes early, just after he’d arrived himself, looking nervous but happy in the prettiest baby blue tea-dress he’d ever seen, with her hair curled and wearing a pretty pink lipstick. Wow.

“You look beautiful,” he blurted.

Oh god. Mr Smooth, again.

Ashley just blushed, smiling up at him. “Thank you. I love your sweater,”

Dougie blushed in return. What a pair they made.

“After you,” he said, opening the restaurant door for her.

As much as her anxiety had worried him, he was so glad he didn’t give up – she was absolutely worth it. They were lead to their table, Dougie being a bit extra and pulling out Ashley’s chair for her, but the giggle he got in return was what he was aiming for. Wine and dine. Sweep her off her feet. That’s all that he wanted to do, and if it was working then he wasn’t going to stop now.

“I was thinking we could split a bottle of wine tonight, if you want?” Dougie offered.

“Yeah that sounds good to me,” Ashley nodded, “Maybe a white wine?”

That was more than okay with him. Red wine made him a little…over the top? He definitely talked too much when he had red wine, he knew that much, and he wanted to save at least a little dignity tonight. Hopefully, at least.

The wine was ordered, and by the time they each had a cold glass of sauvignon blanc, Ashley looked as relaxed as Dougie felt. He could only hope the rest of this night turned out the same way.

“So did I tell you what one of Rod’s students said to him yesterday?”

Dougie grinned, shaking his head. “No you didn’t!”

Ashley grinned back. “Well…”

They talked for hours, sharing stories about their jobs, their interests, their families, not stopping when any of their three courses came, not hesitating even once. Nothing was awkward in the slightest – their conversation just flowed like they’d known each other for years, and Dougie’s heart was just so happy. This was everything he’d wanted for so long, someone he could truly been 100% himself with, and he couldn’t believe that she seemed as into him as he was into her.

How was this possible, after only two dates?

Time flew by so fast, too fast, and they did eventually have to leave their table, even as much as Dougie didn’t want the night to end. He just felt utterly consumed by her, completely and utterly lost in her very being, and he didn’t want this feeling to stop for anything.

It probably didn’t help that they’d split three bottles of wine though.

It wasn’t enough to make either of them sloppy drunk, not with the delicious food they’d eaten, but Ashley was definitely a bit more giggly than usual, and he was definitely smiling like an idiot.

“I wish your uber wasn’t on its way,” Dougie sighed, when they were outside.

“I’m actually not a far walk from here, so I was just going to walk home?”

At this time of night? Absolutely not! Ashley saw the look of indignation of his face and burst into laughter, making him blush (again). What? He wasn’t wrong for being worried about her getting home safely.

“You could always walk me home?” she suggested.

Oh. Oh. Oh yeah okay, he could do that.

“Yeah, definitely,” Dougie nodded quickly.

Dougie’s heart started beating a little faster as she looped her arm through his, and it was all he could do not to smile at her too helplessly. How did she manage to affect him like this? He’d never fallen so head over heels so quickly. And she seemed completely oblivious to how gone he was for her – in the most innocent of ways.

They walked slowly, leaning on each perhaps a little more than they would without the wine, but it just meant that they had more time for talking. Dougie was blissfully happy to let Ashley rant about the indignity of the black myth surrounding Eleanor of Aquitaine, taking in everything that she was trying to teach him. He loved how much she loved her medieval history, just like he loved his art. It was quirky and different and so unique to her. And honestly, he could picture them doing this together for years, discussing their passions and their love for their careers and…

“Okay this is me,” Ashley announced, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Dougie looked up at the old two-storey home with a smile. So this was her home. Pretty.

“That wasn’t so bad a walk,” Dougie grinned.

“I feel bad now though, making you get further away for your own journey,” Ashley frowned.

But Dougie shook his head. “It’s fine really. I’m sure there are plenty of ubers still running around here,”

“Well…”

Ashley trailed off, biting her lip, making Dougie smile. What was on her mind?

“You can stay, if you want?” Ashley said, a shy smile on her face.

Oh fuck. Stay? Ashley saw the shock on his face, before she blushed furiously, quickly shaking her head.

“I have a spare bedroom! I swear I didn’t mean it like that,” she groaned, covering her face with her hands.

Dougie couldn’t help but laugh, tugging her hands away gently. Not that he was opposed to…sharing a bed with her, but that wasn’t the vibe of tonight. Tonight was for building them up, getting them to a more comfortable level. And fuck did it feel good tonight.

Waking up to see her first thing in the morning would only be icing on the cake.

“I would love to stay, as long as you don’t mind,” he said softly, brushing his hand against hers.

Ashley inhaled sharply but nodded, wordlessly reaching in her handbag for her keys. They stayed silent as they walked into the house, Dougie barely moving a foot away from her as she showed him the kitchen, the bathroom and then the spare bedroom. He could do a proper tour in the morning, he knew that. He was just a little stunned that he was even still with her, to be honest.

“So here’s some basketball shorts that my cousin left last time he visited. I don’t have a shirt big enough for you though,” she apologised, handing him a soft bundle.

Dougie just shook his head, smiling. “This is more than enough. I usually sleep shirtless anyway,”

Ashley’s lips parted a little in surprise, her eyes glazing over slightly, making Dougie grin as she shook her head as if to clear it. Good to know he had that effect on her.

“There are spare toothbrushes under the sink from when I last when to the dentist’s office, so help yourself to whatever one?” she offered.

Dougie just nodded, squeezing her hand as he walked into the bathroom. He willed himself to retain at least a little bit of chill as he got changed, quickly washing his face and cleaning his teeth with one of the toothbrushes she’d offered. This was all still a little bit surreal, being honest. But he was going to seize this with both hands – this was a chance he was never going to get again if he fucked up.

Ashley couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off him as they swapped places in the bathroom, and Dougie tried not to grin as he flexed his abs a little, making her blush. He could have a little fun, right? Especially since he knew the boundaries he needed to stay behind, he wasn’t dumb.

By the time he’d put his phone on charge and folded his clothes onto a chair for tomorrow, and then headed back out into the corridor, Ashley was back, dressed in a cute little pair of shorts and a giant t-shirt. Oh wow, he could definitely imagine her wearing his t-shirt to bed one day. No, not the time!

“Hey,”

Ashley’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he couldn’t help but smile down at her.

“Hey,” he murmured.

“See you in the morning?” she said hopefully.

Like fuck he was going to leave. “Bright and early,” he nodded.

But when she didn’t go anywhere, her hand moving to rest on his bare arm, Dougie couldn’t stop himself from stepping towards her. Fuck. She inhaled sharply, but didn’t push him away, and that was all he needed.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked lowly.

Ashley’s lips parted in a soft gasp, but she nodded. “Yeah, please,”

Dougie raised a hand to cup her face, giving her one last out, but as she raised up on her tiptoes he didn’t hesitate any further. He leant his head down, and pressed his lips to hers softly, barely able to stop the moan that wanted to tear from his throat. Holy shit. Ashley clutched at his biceps, leaning up into the kiss even more, making Dougie’s head spin as he kissed her softly, slowly, over and over again. This was so not what he expected from tonight, or even hoped for, but fuck did it fill his body with butterflies. Holy shit, kissing her was everything. Eventually, he brushed his tongue against hers gently, before pulling away, knowing there was a stupid smile on his face.

“Wow,” he breathed.

“Wow,” she nodded, laughing softly, “That’s one hell of a goodnight,”

Dougie laughed softly too, pecking her lips in a soft kiss one last time before stepping away. She leaned against the wall, looking a little stunned, making him grin as he walked into her spare bedroom. If he didn’t walk away, he knew he would do something stupid to break them out of this perfect little sweet bubble, and that wasn’t what he wanted. Not tonight.

Tonight had been perfect.

Ashley woke up slowly, a little groggy, feeling like she was forgetting something. Then she heard the bathroom door opening, and everything came flooding back to her. Dougie was here. He’d stayed over after their date last night. They’d kissed. Holy shit. Holy shit. She took a deep breath to calm herself, fingers rising to her lips without a second thought, and it was all she could do to smile.

Dougie had kissed her. And it was everything.

She squealed softly into her pillow, feeling stupidly giddy, before quickly picking out a cute jumper and her comfiest skinny jeans to wear. She could hear him moving in the spare bedroom, so she quickly darted into the bathroom, washing and then brushing her teeth, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face at the sight of the toothbrush that Dougie used resting in the holder. There was just something about it that felt right.

She took a deep breath, running her hands down her sweater to smooth it, before she headed out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. It didn’t take long for Dougie to join her, and he accepted the glass of juice that she passed him with a smile.

“Good morning,” he murmured.

“Good morning,” she said softly back.

Dougie seemed to hesitate slightly, before his face became determined. She didn’t have time to ask him what was wrong before he leant down and pressed his lips to hers in a firm kiss. Ashley whimpered softly into his mouth, earning a soft noise back, and it was all she could do to clutch at his sweater. Holy shit. This was just as incredible and sweet as she remembered from last night. Wow. Dougie cupped her face with his free hand, thumb brushing over her cheekbone as he slowed the kiss down to a few gentle pecks, before he pulled away with a smile. Ashley just smiled back up at him, a little overwhelmed in the best way. Wow.

“Coffee shop?” he said.

“Yeah, if that’s alright,” she nodded.

He understood her routines. And he didn’t care that she wanted to stick to them. How could she not appreciate that?

Dougie just nodded in response, smiling as he sat down at her kitchen table, taking a sip of the juice she’d given him. “I wouldn’t mind changing out of last night’s clothes though. Not really my vibe,” he teased.

Ashley giggled, understanding perfectly. It wasn’t her vibe either.

“I could drive you over to yours, to get a change of clothes, and then we could head to Storm Surge together?” she suggested.

“Yeah? You want to walk in together like that?” Dougie asked, a little hopeful.

Holy shit, that would be one hell of a declaration. But…

“Yeah, I want that,” she nodded.

The grin that spread across Dougie’s face made the butterflies in her stomach worth it.

“Let me just put on some mascara and lipstick, and we can go?”

“Sure, whatever you want,” Dougie smiled.

Now that was a dangerous thought.

All too soon, Ashley was parked down the street from the coffee shop. She took a deep breath, Dougie sending her an encouraging smile, before she steeled herself and got out of the car. This was nervewracking. Storm Surge was her home away from home, her safe space, her comfort, and now she was completely changing the status quo. But as Dougie walked to her side, smiling down at her with such hope in his eyes, she knew it was worth it. He was worth it.

“Ready?” Dougie asked, holding out his hand.

Holy shit. Bring it on.

Ashley smiled up at him, taking his hand in hers, embracing the butterflies that came with the warmth of his grasp. They walked to the coffee shop together, Dougie squeezing her hand gently as she opened the door and walked through.

“Ashley! And…Dougie?”

Andrei’s gasp made her blush, Dougie just laughing. Then Andrei’s face broke into a huge grin, and he spun around.

“Marty! It’s happened! It’s finally happened!” Andrei yelled into the back of the shop.

What the hell?

A door slammed open in the back, and then Marty came barrelling out. He took one look at them holding hands before punching his fist in the air.

“LET’S GOOOO!”

Ashley flinched at Marty’s loud voice, but couldn’t help but giggle when he bounded over to Andrei, swinging an arm over his shoulders.

“Finally! Do you know how long we’ve been rooting for you two?” Marty beamed.

Oh god. Ashley blushed furiously, as did Dougie, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Was I that obvious?” Ashley asked shyly.

“Both of you were. It was so frustrating but so sweet,” Marty shrugged, Andrei nodding enthusiastically in agreement. “We just hoped you guys would take a chance,”

Take a chance. Hah. That’s definitely a good way to describe it. And he was so worth taking a chance on. Dougie smiled fondly down at her, before pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

“Well I’d say our second date went pretty well,” Dougie said softly, squeezing her hand.

Ashley smiled back, nudging him with her shoulder, earning coos from Marty and Andrei.

“Okay, you two are giving me cavities,” Marty said cheerfully, not even slightly annoyed, “Coffee and anything you want to eat, on the house. I need to tell Slavs – he’s going to be thrilled!”

Ashley just giggled, leaning into Dougie’s body as she looked over the cakes and pastries on display. Being with Dougie, this fledgling relationship, was scary – but it was also so exciting. She couldn’t wait to see what happened next. This was the start of something amazing, she just knew it.

#my writing #winter gift exchange #hockeynetwork #dougie hamilton #dougie hamilton fic #coffee shop au #yes i do have a medieval history masters how can you tell?#mildly self indulgent and super fluffy & cute #the research holes i fell down were unbelievable - and yes all the courses and all the job titles are all real things #dougie hamilton x oc #dougie hamilton imagine #dougie hamilton fanfiction #hockey writing #hockey fic #hockey fanfiction #nhl writing #nhl fic #nhl fanfiction

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bellylivesthepoguelife · 4 years

Text

Overwhelmed. John B x Sarah

Request: Hi! How about a college related drabble? Sarah is super overwhelmed with exams coming up and calls John B starting to panic. He comes to see her and plans a whole night to distract her and comfort her 🥰

Word Count: 1.7K

A/N: I know that I didn’t QUITE follow the whole request on this, but it was getting a bit long, so I hope that makes up for it! I wrote this after I wrote the 500 words of pure angst for these two, so I apologize if it’s a little too angsty. Also, I’m still trying to get comfortable writing the comedic/banter parts of a lot of the pogues relationships. (I’m just not naturally witty so I really have to try!) Anyways, I hope you like it! Please let me know what you think!

Heroes and Villains of the Middle Ages was not a class that Sarah Cameron would have ever taken for fun. But when it satisfied one of her General Education requirements, it's not like she really had much of a choice in the matter. The fact that the professor was about as fascinating as the girls from high school that messaged her saying she'd be a "perfect fit" for joining their pyramid marketing business didn't help. So having to write an essay on 4 chapters of her "textbook" (each chapter ranging anywhere between 30-50+ pages long) was grating her brain, as she legitimately has zero desire to complete it.

An hour into her attempt to read the assigned chapters had her overwhelmed. She couldn't even pretend to find the content interesting, she had no clue how she was going to write a 1,000 word essay on it, and to put the icing on the cake: this was one of four that needed to be completed in the next two weeks as part of her final exam. Exasperated at the thought, she throws the book half way across the room as she finished the second chapter. Making it halfway through warrants a break, right?

She scrolls through instagram to allow her brain to run on auto-pilot for awhile. She scrolls past a photo JJ posted 43 minutes ago, of him, John B, and Kie hanging out at the Chateau. JJ snapped the photo, Kie leaning into him, laughing, while John B is in the background making a "you-caught-me-doing-something-I-shouldn't-have" face, no doubt saying something resulting in the laughs from the other two.

The picture makes her smile. Not just because it's of her friends, but also because between John B and JJ, they'll do just about anything to make their friends laugh. It causes her heart to flutter, and she decides to call him to further distract herself.

It doesn't take long for him to pick up, but it's not John B who answers the phone, it's JJ. "Hey Princess! How's college treatin' ya?!"

"Busy, boring, and yet still somehow not captivating enough to keep me from missing you."

"Oh, so you do miss me."

She rolled her eyes, "of course I do JJ."

"Not as much as you miss JB though, I'm sure." There's a pause, but before she can respond he's rushing out the words: "Oh, speaking of! Okay, Here's John B, I'll talk to you later, love you bye!"

She can tell John B is pulling the phone away from him by the decrescendo of his voice as he gets farther from the microphone. However, the sound of her boyfriends voice filling the speaker at her ear makes her smile even more.

"Hey Val." He greets, and she can tell he's smiling.

"Vlad. I must say it is nice to know that JJ misses me. Even though he won't admit it in as many words."

"Yeah, I think it's safe to say we all do."

"Is Kie still there?"

"Nah, she has to work tomorrow so she went home about 20 minutes ago. How did you know she was over?"

"I saw the picture JJ posted on instagram."

"Ahhh, yeah, that would explain it." She heard him walking around, saying goodnight to JJ before closing what she assumed was the door to his bedroom.

"Did y'all have fun?"

"We did- JJ what the hell, I just told you goodnight." He must have opened the door to John B's room.

Sarah could hear JJ say, "yeah but I didn't say goodnight to Princess! Night Princess!" He calls louder, making sure she can hear him.

"Goodnight JJ!" She calls back, knowing she was more than likely on speaker phone.

"Night Birdshit!" is the last thing she hears before she hears the door slam.

John B is back on the phone in an instant. "I swear, I might actually kill him tonight."

She laughs at their antics, and a bittersweet feeling settles in her chest as she realizes just how much she misses her friends.

"So," John B starts again, "How's your homework coming?"

Sarah scoffs. "Don't remind me."

"That bad?"

"It's just this class is so boring!" He's heard her rant about it a million times, but he lets her do it again. "I mean, it's a 400 level class. And I understand those are the more difficult ones, but--fuck--this is hard, and it's not even interesting in the slightest!"

"Which makes it only about a million times worse."

"It does!" She agrees, thankful that he's empathetic to her suffering. "And I have my Chemistry final next week, and my English 102 research paper due the week after. Nevermind the final project for my Geology, and Quantitative Reasoning class that I've only just started on--" She's ranting, and she knows it.

"Woah. Easy there, Val." He chuckles despite her. "You'll work yourself up."

"I am worked up!" The more she talks, the more overwhelmed she gets, and soon she realizes she's pacing her small room. "I just want to come home." The confession almost stuns her as she's catapoulted into a sea of homesickness, and even the knowledge that she'll be home for the summer in two weeks time doesn't even begin to calm the waves.

"You'll be home in a couple weeks, babe. Just 2 more, and then you're mine for the summer."

She knows he's trying to change her perspective, but she's not in the mood tonight. She's sad, and wants the space to allow herself to be sad. A half-hearted "yeah" is all she manages.

"Hey," John B doesn't miss the dejected tone of her voice, realizing how upset she truly is. "It's gonna be alright, Val. 2 more weeks is a piece of cake after the past seven months."

They'd seen each other since she started college, of course, but even then, the last time they were together was when she came home for Wheezie's lacrosse game 5 weeks ago. And after spending almost every day of last summer together, the distance began to do it's damage. Not on their relationship, no, their relationship was still so, so good. It was just on nights like tonight, when she was so overwhelmed that no matter what she thought of, it only made the drowning feeling three times worse.

She feels her throat tighten and before it even registers that she's getting emotional, she feels the gentle pricks behind her eyes indicating it won't be long and she'll be crying. "It's just really hard right now." She confesses, annoyed with how her voice is full of emotion, which is going to cause John B to go into his protective, "I'll-be-your-hero-and-fix-everything" mode.

And sure as shit, his tone becomes softer, and he's building her up. "I know it is, Sarah, but you're doing so well. I know this has been an adjustment for you, and for us, and it hasn't been easy, but you've been doing so well. You're killing it at college, and you only have these last two weeks, these last exams and projects and then you're home for the summer."

She nods, knowing that he's speaking truth, but still feeling discouraged. "It's just, everything's happening at once right now, and I'm just so overwhelmed, and there's just so much pressure riding on these last projects, and--I just want you."

"What do you mean?" She can tell he's laughing at her rambling confession.

"I mean I just want you. I miss you, John B." Great, that broke the dam, and now she's really crying. "I miss hugging you, and kissing you, and just being next to you. Because at least when I was home and busy, we were still together. Now I have to do all of this by myself, and I just feel so alone, and I just want to come home." She didn't intend to share all of these subconscious thoughts and feelings when she called him on the phone. She had initially just called for a distraction, and to see how JJ and Kie were doing. But sometimes the breakdowns come when you least expect them.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" The question is not how she expected him to respond.

She sniffs, thinking through what her Saturday plans were. "I'm- going to finish this essay, probably work on my projects, and study?" She phrases it like a question, even though she's answering his. After hearing silence for a little too long, she adds, "Why?"

"I'm on my way."

"What?" If she wasn't expecting him to ask what she was doing tomorrow, she REALLY doesn't expect him to say he's coming to see her at 10pm on a Friday.

"What do you mean you're on your way."

"I'm coming to see you." He answers as if it's the simplest thing in the world. She can hear his smile as he talks, probably patting himself on the back for being the hopeless romantic, her knight in shining armor, coming to distract her from her scholarly obligations.

"John B, you don't have to do that." Of course, she wants him to. But it's a ways to drive, and she knows his van isn't cheap to fill with gas.

"Shut up Val." He laughs. "I'm going to spend the weekend with you. But on one condition." He thinks, and then doubles back. "Okay, two conditions."

She rolls her eyes, always thinking there's no way she can be more in love with this man, and then he does stuff like this to prove her wrong. "And what are your conditions?"

"One. You have to write your essay. And I'm going to help you study. You don't just get a 'get out of jail free' card just because your man is coming to see you." He gets her to laugh with that one.

"My man?"

"Yes. That is what I am, isn't it? Your man?"

"Sure. And what's the second condition?"

"You have to buy me my own bag of Skinny Pop." Her eyes automatically roll for probably the 15th time tonight. "Okay, agreed. I will go to the store, and buy you your own bag of Skinny Pop."

"And you can't have any of it." He ammends.

"Alright, fine. And I won't have any of it." She grudgingly agrees.

"Deal."

"That settles it then! I'm on my way!"

"Drive safe, loser."

"I love you, Sarah."

She smiles to herself. "I love you too, John B."

"I'm serious though, don't eat my Skinny Pop before I get there."

#jarah b #john b x sarah writings #john b x sarah #obx writings #sarah cameron #john b routledge #jarah b requests #writing requests #obx requests #outer banks writing #college sarah cameron #long distance jarah b

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fluffi · 4 years

Text

my little dirt ball. | hueningkai

pairing: hueningkai x reader

genre: fluff, friends to lovers!au, hauntedhouse!au

word count: 9k

author’s note: wow...my first published fic and its 9k words...i don’t really know what to think of this, but I hope everyone likes it!

warnings: vague descriptions of things in haunted houses, y/n being an oblivious idiot

others: this is part of a halloween group collab. You can see everyone else’s works here! this also is in correlation to an upcoming yeonjun fic i have planned (see bonus)!

special thanks: @/spookybias for literally taking 30 min of her time to help me get the entire fic in order and @/yeonjuncore as inspiration for the correlation fic thingy (see her hueningkai and soobin halloween fic).

October 31, 2020 | 6.38am

You were unable to fall asleep. Tossing, turning, and sitting up ever so often in a sweaty mess. You would walk over to the thermostat, turn it down, only for you to wake up shivering. Then the cycle would repeat, so you never ended up actually sleeping.

While squirming in bed, you heard loud thumps emitting from your bedside window. What the heck? It wasn’t raining, you were sure of it, since you couldn’t hear water leaking in your bathroom. Just then, your phone rang. You groggily sat up and pressed the green answer button, without bothering to look at the caller ID.

“Wake up, loser. Did you forget that it’s October 31? Halloween?”

Right. That was what I forgot. You were so busy doing projects and finishing assignments in school that you forgot your yearly tradition with your Halloween-enthusiast best friend, Kai. He was probably very annoyed at your lack of attendance, but you were tired. Maybe the tradition could wait till next year.

You groaned. “Sorry, sorry. I know we’re supposed to meet at the park like we do every year, at 6am. But Dude, I’m so tired. Can we postpone this meetup? I have 3 more English projects that I have to finish, and I can’t seem to fall asleep tonight.”

“Perfect! Since you can’t sleep, we’re meeting. Dress up and sneak out, like last year, and every other year before that. You don’t have to walk to the park. I’m outside your house right now, throwing these really nice pebbles at your window. By the way, these pebbles are nice. They’re like, really freaking shiny. Where’d your mom get them fro-“

You accidentally ended the call, cutting him off. To be fair, you weren’t expecting him to blabber about stupid walmart pebbles for such a long time.

Sometimes you wondered why you were friends with Kai, and then you remembered that it was because you liked him. A lot. You liked him way too much. Kai was always stuck in your brain. Every thought you had when you were alone was about him, and almost every thought you had when you were with him, well, you couldn’t even think straight when you were around Kai. But he didn’t need to know that. He was just that popular cute boy, living his best life surrounded by drop-dead gorgeous girls who would do just about anything to be with him. They were ten times prettier than you, surely he wouldn’t settle for a girl like Y/N L/N.

You pulled yourself out of your pity puddle when you remembered that Kai was waiting for you outside. The boy you were probably in love with, who might break your window if you don’t hurry up and meet him right now. You swear, if you hear the tapping of rocks at your window one more time...

You sat up, opened your window, and screamed, “Kai Kamal Huening, I swear, if you do not stop right now, I will drag your as-“

7.02am

“Hey, random question. Why does this tradition have to be exactly the same every year? Why does it matter if I meet you at 6am? What if I meet you at 6.10am? In that case, will you stop being friends with me?” You teased, trudging alongside Kai on a rugged concrete path.

Kai sighed, tilting his head to look at you with his beautiful, brown eyes. “It matters because it takes 15 minutes to walk from your neighborhood’s park to Mr. Roger’s pumpkin patch, and he opens at 6.20am exactly, every single Halloween. If you get to the park at 6.10am, we’ll reach his pumpkin patch at 6.30am. By then, all the competitive mothers who want their child to have the best pumpkin will have taken all the round, orange, hard-enough-to-carve-but-not-so-hard-that-carving-becomes-a-chore kind of pumpkins, and we’ll be stuck with the oblong shaped, ugly pumpkins.”

“Then why aren’t we running? At this rate, we will only get rotten mushy pumpkins.”

“We aren’t running because you have tiny legs and we won’t make it that far before you get tired. I don’t want you to get hurt, shortie.” Kai teased, sticking out his tongue while leaning over you in an attempt to intimidate you.

At this point, he was only a few inches away from you, and the both of you were so close that you could peck his lips. As much as you wanted to, you resisted the urge to lean closer towards him and instead laughed nervously as he smiled at you. This action only made your heart beat faster. It didn’t help that he just said that he cared about you, and despite the statement being so lighthearted, it warmed your heart to know that he prioritized your well-being over pumpkins.

Your heart was thumping faster and faster, and you were turning into an embarrassed mess. Cheeks hot and red, eyes darting everywhere. Come to think of it, that plant behind Kai looks interesting, how come you’ve never seen it before?

The awkward tension was getting quite unbearable at this point, and you couldn’t take it anymore. “I-uh...we…um….uh...race you to the pumpkin patch! Yeah..uh..let's go!” You nervously muttered, trying to sound confident. You immediately ran opposite the direction of where the both of you were supposed to go.

“Y/N! The pumpkin patch is this way!” Kai confusedly shouted. “You’ve been to the pumpkin patch multiple times! Where are you even going?”

You were getting out of breath, but you would only stop running once you were out of Kai’s sight. “Uh...I’ll take the longer route! Yeah...I’ll meet you there...uh...don’t follow me!” You turned around and started running backwards, so you could see if Kai would start following you.

“Y/N! Stop running, wait! No! Look behind you!”

The last thing you saw was Kai’s figure running towards you before your head hit the ground with a loud thud.

7.46am

“Ugh, what do you want? Why did you wake me up? And why is Y/N sleeping in your arms?”

Kai was at Beomgyu’s house, holding your unconscious self bridal-style in his arms. You had tripped over a brick ledge all because your idiotic self was too panicked with the thought of kai finding out that you liked him.

Kai sighed, “Look hyung, I’m sorry if this is a huge hassle, or that I may be disturbing your 8-hour beauty sleep, but Y/N fell down, and she isn’t asleep. I think she got knocked out.”

Beomgyu started frantically waving his hands and shouting incoherently. “Oh my gosh, are you serious? If she’s knocked out, we have to go to the hospital! We have to call 911! What if she doesn’t wake up?? Kai, why did you bring her here, this isn’t my problem! Oh my goodness, I’m not even kidding, wh-“

While Beomgyu was going full-on emergency mode, you had regained your senses and was starting to stir. Maybe it was because Beomgyu’s panicking actions had woken you up, or that you had a sixth sense blaring huge warning signs all across your brain because you were in Kai’s arms. Wait, you were in Kai’s arms?

You slowly fluttered your eyes open to see Kai looking confusedly at a screaming Beomgyu, who seemed so sure that you would never wake up. As you laid in the Kai’s arms, you gazed at his ethereal features. Brown eyes with gorgeous golden specks in them, wavy brown hair, his cute little boopable nose, he was a literal angel who looked perfect from every angle. Just then, said angel looked down at you.

“Beomgyu-hyung! She’s awake! Her eyes are open! Why is she smiling? Hi Y/N, good morning, why are you smiling? Her cheeks are really red too, she looks like she’s drunk! HAHA! Y/N, Y/N?”

It took you a few minutes to register that Kai was talking to you, and that he was indeed, calling your name. By the time you tried opening your mouth to respond, gross-man-Beomgyu was already looking over at you with utter disgust and relief clouding his face.

“Oh, good. I thought she was going to die. Okay, now just in case idiot Y/N stumbles and falls again, she should rest here. You guys can leave when she feels better. Ugh, the things I do for you guys. Sacrificing my 8-hour beauty sleep, my privacy, and most importantly, my lovely couch, that disgusting Y/N is going to lay on.”

You once again came back from Kai Dreamland when you realized that Beomgyu had just insulted you. About to rebut, you remembered that you were still in Kai’s arms and that he was starting to carry you to the couch. Feeling the heat that was rising up your cheeks, you immediately tried squirming out of Kai’s arms.

You tried lifting your legs off his left arm and grabbing on his right one for support. “Uh, Kai, actually, I feel better already. I can walk myself to the couch, yeah, thanks.”

Kai stifled a laugh and bemusedly stared at you. “Y/N, you just fell down and knocked yourself out. The couch isn’t too far, if I can carry you to Beomgyu’s house then I can surely carry you to the living hall.”

“No, um, I’m good. I’m independent!” As you fumbled out of Kai’s grasp and began attempting to get to the couch, you thought to yourself. Y/N, how stupid. Who uses ‘I’m independent’ as an excuse? Way to blow it in front of your 10-year-crush.

Meanwhile, Beomgyu, who had been grabbing water, immediately put the cup down and ran towards you, who was struggling to even walk in a straight line. Grabbing your arms and dragging you to the couch, he tutted. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Y/N, you really be walking like a drunk man at 4am. Why did Kai stop carrying you? He shouldn’t have put you down, for goodness sake, you nearly knocked down my mom’s sacred glass vase with your swinging beanstalk arms!”

Kai lifted both of his hands in defense. “I didn’t put her down. I insisted on carrying her all the way to the couch but she flailed around in my arms and said she could walk just fine. I’m starting to think that she might have an actual brain injury.”

You, being perfectly fine and functioning decently with your 3 brain cells, had only gotten dizzy from the sudden shift of laying down to standing up. You had laid down on the couch and was starting to drift off to sleep. The last thing you heard was Kai and Beomgyu giggling about something related to brains, but you were too tired to ask them about that inside joke.

8.40 am

“So...have you told her?”

Beomgyu and Kai were sitting on the floor in the living hall, with you fast asleep on the couch behind them. There were cards messily sprawled across the floor, and 2 cup noodles on a chair placed in front of them.

Kai sighed. He discreetly held up his uno cards in front of his face to block the reddening that was beginning to form on the apples of his cheeks.

“Told who what?”

“Oh, stop acting so oblivious. Ya know, have you told Y/N that you like her?”

Kai felt his cheeks heat up even more and he embarrassingly smacked Beomgyu’s arm. “Hyung, are you dumb? Y/N’s right behind us. She probably just heard you say that. Plus, did you forget about the very special Halloween plan happening in like, 10 hours?” He quickly turned around to see if you were actually asleep and not just getting some shut-eye. You were definitely deep into your slumber, hair all messed up and your body spread across the couch in an very uncomfortable looking position. However, to Kai, you looked extremely cute. He couldn’t resist the urge to smile ear to ear. Kai wanted to boop your nose right then and there, and was fighting hard to resist this temptation in fears of waking you up. He removed his baby blue hoodie and gently placed it on your sleeping figure, doing his best to not wake you up.

Beomgyu, who was looking disgustedly at Kai’s chival gesture and his beaming face, made a heart with his hands between the both of you. “Wow, you are whipped for Y/N. Anyways, she’s clearly asleep. She looks like a pig! And it wouldn’t matter if she heard me say that you have a crush on her. She clearly likes you too.”

Kai scowled at Beomgyu’s insult, and sat back down. “First of all, do not say that Y/N looks like a pig, she’s gorgeous and way prettier than you. Secondly, no! She definitely doesn’t like me that way! She probably thinks my Halloween obsession is weird, and I’m probably not the type of guy she likes. She likes ‘hot’ dudes.” Kai gagged when he said that statement.“She probably likes Yeonjun or something, they would be cute together.”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes and declared. “Have you seen the way she looks at you? Her eyes sparkle and she awes at you like you're the only thing that matters on this planet! Heck, you probably are the only thing that matters to her on this planet.” Beomgyu sighed, rolling his eyes. “You two are so oblivious.”

“Let’s divert the topic, this is making me flustered and I don’t like it.” Kai said, as he picked a draw 8 card from the fan of uno cards that was still covering his burning red cheeks. “I was initially planning to just skip you, but because you brought this topic up, draw 8.”

Beomgyu innocently smiled, then put down a draw 4 card. He looked back up at Kai, stuck his tongue out, and then cheekily laughed at the fuming boy.

Kai’s cheeks were glowing red again, but this time, it was for an entire different reason.

October 31 2020 | 8.10am -> October 31 2009 | 9.33am

While the boy you were in love with and the boy you wanted to punch into a different dimension were talking about you, you were deep inside Kai Dreamland.

Almost every night, you dreamed about dating him. Being able to feed each other food, holding each other’s hands, cuddling, and being able to do ‘justcouplethings” with him. This dream, however, was very different.

Unbeknownst to you, a past flashback was about to happen, and it would make you finally realize why you liked Kai so much.

You were looking at your very young self in third person, who was wearing a weird wire contraption shaped like a sphere. Draped on top of the contraption was a dirty brown blanket, and stuck on top of it were what were supposed to be sprinkles and icing sugar. The sprinkles and icing sugar were made of horribly cut colored paper, and they looked like they were on the brink of dropping off because of the faulty glue gun job that was barely keeping the whole costume together. You had your purple Dora backpack in your right hand and your left hand was lifted up, about to knock on a wooden birch door with the placard “Class 1C” right in the center of the door.

Oh, no. Oh, no no. Present Y/N knew what was coming. You hated this moment so, so, much, because you knew what was behind that innocent-looking door. Out of all things, did I really have to dream about the most humiliating moment of my life?

Young Y/N finally knocked with all her strength on the wooden door, and a young adult wearing a witch hat that did not match her professional blazer and work skirt opened the door.

“Hello, dear! You must be Y/N L/N, our new student! I see you that you must’ve got the memo to dress up. I love your costume. My name is Ms. Kim. Do come inside!” Ms. Kim flashed an exaggerated smile, and gestured for you to come in.

Your younger self was very oblivious to the fact that Ms. Kim did not like your costume one bit just based on her fake smile and the giggle she tried to hide. Nonetheless, you confidently strutted in the decorated classroom, unaware that your sprinkles and iced sugar pieces were starting to fall off, leaving a trail of cut colored paper from the door to where you now stood, which was in the center of the classroom.

A few classmates had already started to snicker, proudly pointing their stubby fingers at the trail of papers, and the brown sphere you were wearing, then bursting into immature giggles. However, you continued to lift your head up high.

“Class, class, settle down. We have a new student. Y/N, do introduce yourself.” Ms. Kim announced. The high-pitched laughter echoing from the audience died down.

“Hello, class of 1C! My name is Y/N L/N, and I am proud to be here today! I will do my best in this class!” You beamed, and the class burst into booming laughter. Chaos erupted, making the giggling just now nothing compared to this event.

Paper balls and pencils were thrown, and the monstrous classmates could no longer keep their childish giggling to themselves.

“She looks like a dirt ball! She looks like a dirt ball!” A loud shout emitted from the back of the class, and soon, everyone else caught on.

“Dirt ball! Dirt ball! Y/N is a dirt ball!” The class hooted, enjoying this Halloween party way more than they should.

Ms. Kim sighed, and looked down at your fragile figure who was on the verge of tears. “Class, if you do not quiet down and respect Y/N, we will cancel this party. All of you can go back to doing your addition and subtraction.”

Immediately, the mean teasing and laughter died down, and you shuffled your way to your assigned seat, leaving a trail of more cut colored paper. Once you put your backpack behind your seat and sat down, you put your head in your arms, not bothering to look at the wavy-haired boy leaning his head on his elbow, smiling innocently at you. Noticing your sad self, he immediately placed it upon himself to cheer you up.

“Hello, you’re Y/N, right? I’m Kai. I really love your costume! Is it a cake pop?”

Kai really did love your costume. He liked the fact that anyone could tell that you had worked so hard to make it. Compared to his target-bought jellyfish costume, it was a piece of majestic art.

You immediately sat up, all signs of sadness gone. You were happy and satisfied that at least one person knew what your costume was. The hard work you spent gluing on the paper and the hard work your mother spent looking for a wire contraction that would fit you had finally been paid off.

“Yes! It’s a cake pop. I love your jellyfish costume too!” You smiled, revealing one of your missing front teeth.

“Nah, my costume isn’t as good as yours. I'm sorry if the class was so mean to you, I think your outfit looked great. In fact, my mom is having a small Halloween gathering this week, would you want to come? There will be lots of food, and I got my dad to build…”

At this exact moment, your past self realized that you liked this boy. You didn’t care if you married him, or if you just stayed friends, you wanted to be with him through thick and thin. For your present self, this just proved that you loved him more than he would ever know.

October 31 2020 | 10.35am

“...ding, ding, ding, ding…”

Ughhhh. What is going on with my phone?

“...ding, ding, ding!”

As soon as the ringing from your phone stopped, you immediately dozed back to sleep.

“Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding…”

“ARGHHH! Kai, can you please help me check my phone! It's ringing like it's a bomb about to detonate!”

No response.

“Kai? Gyu?”

As you worriedly stood up and glanced around bemusedly, the baby blue hoodie that Kai had carefully draped onto you slid off, and dropped at your feet. You noticed it and picked up the familiar looking sweater.

You suddenly realized that this hoodie belonged to the one and only Kai Kamal Huening, and your heart started pounding when you came to terms with the fact that he had just draped one of his favorite hoodies onto you. You scrunched the sweater up in your hands, and wore it over your graphic pumpkin shirt (which was your “costume”). It smelled exactly like Kai, and with the faint scent of his maple autumn leaf perfume (that he only used in October) wavering in the air, you felt like you were in Kai Heaven.

However, the annoying dings in the background didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, so you finally addressed the noise by grabbing your phone from your bag on the dining table.

You groaned as your phone screen lit up with an incoming call from Yeonjun.

“Hi, Yeonjun. I don’t think I can come.”

“What, why?” Yeonjun dragged, the ‘y’, sounding like a whining baby. “We’re doing a haunted house. All the cool kids are gonna be there. Are you not a cool kid?”

‘Well, number one, I'm not going cause haunted houses are scary. Number two, I’m not cool Jun, you know that. Number three, Kai and I were supposed to do our yearly tradition, but I fell down this morning. I think we’re going to continue it afterwards, and I don’t think Kai likes parties that much. Speaking of Kai, do you know where him and Beomgyu are? I’m in Gyu’s house by myself right now, and when I woke up they weren’t there anymore, are they with you?”

Yeonjun coughed from the other end of the line and seemed to hesitate before replying. “No, I don’t know where Kai and Beomgyu are. But I think Kai wants to come to the party, he said he would, Y/Nieeeee, please come, it’ll be fun.”

You were about to reconsider your choice and dial Kai asking if he wanted to come, when you heard an oddly familiar high pitched dolphin laughter occurring from the other end of the line, followed by a loud shout of glee.

“Wait, Yeonjun. Isn’t that Kai? Is he with you?”

“No. Kai isn’t with me. I don’t know where he is. I really don’t. I think I saw him yesterday? Uh…”

Yeonjun muted the call and left your curious self waiting on the line.

“Okay, I’m back, sorry, technical problems. But yeah, don’t know where Kai is. Totally don’t know.”

“Yeonjun, I can tell when you’re lying.”

Yeonjun sighed from the other end of the line.

“I’m coming over.” You said, as you ended the call, furious and confused as to why he lied to you about such a trivial matter. At least Kai is safe, you thought to yourself, as you grabbed your bag roughly. You were about to stalk out of the house, when you remembered that you were still wearing Kai’s baby blue hoodie that looked extremely over-sized on you. You considered wearing it to Yeonjun’s house, then decided against the decision in fear that Kai might get the wrong idea.

As best friends, the both of you didn’t exchange much skinship or share many things, so this was your first time wearing Kai’s hoodie. You didn’t want him to find out that you like him, and was planning to keep your sacred secret for as long as you could.

After taking off Kai’s sweater, you folded it into a little bundle and shoved it in your bag, just in case he might want it back at Yeonjun’s house. Finally, you walked out of your house, still curious and disappointed as to why a close friend would lie to you about such a small issue.

11.13am

Instead of going to Yeonjun’s huge house, you were now seated across an anxious, fidgeting Kai, in Magic Island, a homely cafe that the both of you would go every halloween for their special rainbow halloween-themed cupcakes. Kai had requested the both of you to meet at this cafe instead of Yeonjun’s house for who knows what, but surprisingly, you didn’t question his rushed and breathless statement when he called you as you were walking out. In the call, he anxiously explained that he would explain in the cafe, and begged you to not go to Yeonjun’s house. Even though this statement only made you more curious as to what they could and were doing there, you reluctantly obliged and began walking in the opposite direction to Magic Island.

And right now, you were seated on a very comfortable sofa with a witch cushion behind you and a pumpkin-themed cover draped over your seat. Around you, there were assorted forms of Halloween decorations ranging from black and orange themed hanging tinsels to the cafe’s signature baby witch statue that took its place at the shop’s entrance.

There was an awkward silence beginning to form between the both of you, so after glancing at everything else but Kai, you finally tried staring him down as sternly as you could, trying to show that you wanted an explanation.

“Kai, why would Yeonjun lie to me about such a trivial matter? What are you guys hiding from me?”

“No, you don’t understa-“

“I thought friends were supposed to be truthful to each other. Am I not trustworthy? I don’t remember doing anything that broke your trust.” It was getting harder and harder to control the words spouting out of your mouth at this point. You were curious and disappointed, and he had been acting shady recently. Kai has never left you alone so randomly, and to your knowledge, none of your other close friends have ever lied to you about his whereabouts.

“Look, wait! Don’t interrupt me! I can see your eyes getting unnaturally huge, and you only do that when you’re about to interrupt someone. Here, let me cut to the chase, I, uh, we, Beomgyu and I, we were at Yeonjun’s house to help him prepare for the party.”

He is a horrible liar, you thought to yourself. Nevertheless, you let him continue to see what else he could spur up.

“We uh, we went to, his house because he needed help preparing, and you know, Yeonjun’s house is huge, so like, obviously, one person couldn’t just decorate the place himself, plus, we’re helping him for the haunted house too, so uh, we-“

“Kai, you're still not answering my question. If it was nothing, why did Yeonjun lie to me about your whereabouts?” You rebutted, impatient and wanting the answer to your question quickly.

“Fine, fine. I’ll tell you. I really can’t keep it anymore. Y/N, the reason why I’ve been acting so shady, was because I was planning a-”

“SURPRISE!” A loud chorused shout echoed from the entrance of the cafe. As you turned back, you saw Yeonjun, Beomgyu, and Taehyun strutting in. Yeonjun was holding a few helium balloons with the words “Happy Birthday” and “Merry Christmas” printed on them in jazzy handwriting, and Taehyun was beside him lighting up candles on a cheap walmart chocolate cake that probably tasted like garbage. Beomgyu was trailing behind the two boys with a cheesy smile and jazz hands. Turning back, you glanced at a bemused and shocked Kai, who, seeing that you were staring at him suspiciously, covered his previous expression with a shy giggle and a smile equally as fake as Beomgyu’s.

Taehyun put down the lit up cake on the candy corn colored table and Yeonjun handed you the Target-bought balloons.

“Yeonjun lied about where Kai and I were because he didn’t want to spoil this surprise, right, Yeonjun?” Beomgyu said while maintaining his ear-to-ear smile.

Yeonjun glanced back at Beomgyu, who was still smiling but now with his eyes wide open and blinking rapidly as if he was trying to send morse code. Yeonjun responded with a small smirk and looked back at you. “Yes, we spent the morning at my house buying these things and preparing it for you. It was Kai’s idea, wasn’t it?” Yeonjun winked at Kai and finger gunned him. Wow, Jun, way to be cringey, you thought to yourself.

If this “surprise” were for any other sane person, they would’ve obviously realized that it was some last-minute pull together and would immediately called them out on it. But you, being head-over heels for Kai, felt touched that he had planned a surprise for you (and only you) and completely ignored all the screaming signs that it wasn’t an actual surprise, and then it wasn’t just a surprise for you, but for him too. Nonetheless, Taehyun’s idea of this cover-up was working perfectly and had completely erased all your previous suspicions of what Kai had been doing before.

However, your oblivious self was curious about only one thing. “Hmm, I have to ask about something.”

The four boys started breaking out in cold sweat, but Taehyun kept his cool, and managed to ignore the panic boiling inside. He calmly asked, “What are you curious about?”

“I would like to know why the balloons Yeonjun gave me say ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Merry Christmas’ on them, it is certainly not my birthday today and Christmas is in two months.”

In order to break the awkward tension rising up in the room, Beomgyu finally spoke up. “Oh, uh, a-about t-that-”

“It doesn’t matter!” Kai clapped his hands loudly and stood up, “this surprise was made for you to be happy anyway! Do whatever you want with it!” After boldly exclaiming this statement, he turned around and mouthed a word of thanks at his three friends, before turning back to you. You were busy sucking helium from the balloons and did not see the interaction that just went down.

“Kai, can you hear it? I sound like a chipmunk!” You innocently smiled at him and sucked even more air out from the deflating “Merry Christmas” balloon.

Kai felt his heart start beating just a little faster, and he laughed quietly, before walking over to join you in your little helium endeavor.

The three boys saw this as an opportunity to step out, and waved goodbye to a giggling Kai and his future girlfriend. After leaving the cafe, they burst into a fit of laughs and fake gags.

“Nice idea Taehyun, they’re a cute bunch, aren’t they?” Yeonjun giggled as he fist-bumped a Taehyun who was fake gagging.

“Wait till Y/N sees what we have planned for her later, then maybe she won’t act so ‘cute’ anymore.” Taehyun said, laughing as he stared once more through the window of Magic Island at Kai (attempting to) impersonate a gorilla and you in a heap of laughter.

‘Race you to the house! Losers!” Beomgyu teased as the three of them started sprinting back to Yeonjun’s house, where the real party would begin.

5.34pm

You were standing in front of Yeonjun’s house, no, house wasn’t the right word to describe it, it was a huge, tall, extravagant, white mansion. Said white mansion was now decorated with a wide assortment of Halloween decorations that ranged from fake graveyards that were stuck into the soil, live-sized skeletons, realistic looking decapitated heads, and a huge amount of gruesome plastic bones scattered on the entrance of the house. The roof of the mansion had orange lights and actual fire burning, probably to make the illusion of something scary, but you couldn’t point out what that seemed to be.

After the questionable event that occurred in Magic Island Cafe, the both of you decided to continue with the tradition: doing everything on the list from baking ghost cookies, watching Halloween movies together, carving pumpkins (even if they were super mushy this year), and last of all, trying out costumes.

Usually, the both of you would go to the small homely costume store that opened on the other end of town and try out the wackiest costumes, knowing that the both of you weren’t going to wear them out anytime soon. However, today was different. You were now about to face the tons of popular kids at your school, and you were dressed in an orange pumpkin costume and an idiotic pumpkin hat. To be frank, you looked like a cutie, and Kai knew it. He had made you wear this outfit to the party, and he matched with you by wearing the same pumpkin costume, the only difference being that his was black. Obviously, Kai wanted the both of you to match so that you guys could look like a couple, and so everyone would know that you were his. Your oblivious self however, did not comprehend the true intentions of his actions, and could only think about how cute Kai looked in his round black pumpkin costume.

As the both of you admired the scary decorations adorning the entrance of the mansion, and the menacing fire burning on the top, you turned to Kai and smirked. “Wow, Yeonjun and his team really went all out this year, huh?”

“Yeah...I didn’t think it would be this great…” Kai said with his mouth agape, still busy staring at the entire mansion from top to bottom. Honestly, he wasn’t expecting Yeonjun to put in this much time and effort into his little idea, but he was appreciative of his hyung and hoped that everything would go as planned.

Just then, the two enormous doors to the inside of the mansion opened, and someone in wearing a red sweater motioned for the two of you to come inside.

“Kai! I haven’t seen you for so long! Come inside!”

That girl was gorgeous. The epitome of all popular girls.

Kai smiled softly and ran up to her, giving her a warm hug while still wearing his pumpkin costume. At this sight, a tinge of jealousy sparked within you, but you did your best to hide it. Kai and this girl would be cute together, you thought to yourself. Two popular kids, one pretty, one handsome, it's no wonder i'm no match for Kai.

You walked up the steps afterwards and gave her a small nod as a greeting. She stayed at the entrance to greet other guests, but she kept eyeing you for some weird reason.

As you stepped in with Kai, you suddenly stopped in your tracks. Letting him trail in front of you, you awed at your surroundings. Oh my gosh. Even though you had been friends with Yeonjun since middle school, this was your first time visiting his house and you were shocked to say the least. Bright orange and grey fairy lights were placed on the extremely high ceiling of the house, and there was green slime hanging around the huge glass chandelier. The living hall was almost as big as your school cafeteria, with a long glass table at the corner filled with halloween themed snacks. There was a cauldron, an actual cauldron, with gory fruit punch, eyeball cake pops, spider pancakes, and so much more. Any halloween-themed food you named was probably on the table, and if it wasn’t, it could be whipped up within an hour by the private chef on hand.

Just then, Yeonjun came up to you. “So, how is it?”

Trying to hide your amusement and shock unlike Kai, who was hyperventilating over all the decorations and prancing around like a kid with too much candy, you merely responded. “It's okay, I guess.”

“Its okay, IT'S OKAY? Do you know how many days it took for us to make this for you-”

“HEY Y/N! Long time no see!” A hand was placed on Yeonjun’s shoulder, and he was shoved aside abruptly. Replacing him was Soobin.

“Omg! Soobin! It's been a long time. How’s it going?” You squealed, as you embraced the lanky boy.

You hadn’t realized that Kai was missing because you were too busy catching up with Soobin, and your oblivious self didn’t realize the lack of people in Yeonjun’s obnoxious living hall to realize that this was not a normal party.

7.07pm

“Alright, next participants! Kai and Y/N!” The staff at the front-desk of Haunted Matchmakers called out.

The both of you exchanged questioning looks at each other as you felt multiple pairs of eyes drawn to the both of your figures.

“Why were we the only ones that he called out?” You whispered to Kai, not expecting an answer.

“Probably because together, we’re special.” Kai turned his head and winked at you cutely.

Thank goodness the two of you were still in the dark waiting room, so he was unable to see your burning cheeks.

Little did you know, Kai’s cheeks were just as fiery as yours, if not hotter.

“Alright, you ready?” The waiting room assistant asked cheekily, as he shifted his gaze between the both of you, and gestured for the two of you to enter the menacing rusty entrance.

“Yes!” Kai shouted, and pumped his fist into the air.

You, on the other hand, was a scaredy-cat, and without thinking twice, you grasped onto Kai’s hand tightly, and shifted so close to him that both of your shoulders overlapped each other.

Kai could feel your nervousness, and he was nervous too, but for an entire different reason. After you grabbed his hand, his heart started hammering in his chest and his hands started becoming clammy.

Not wanting to waste his time, Kai screamed in glee and nodded at the assistant, who pushed open the rusty wooden door. He was about to walk in while still holding your hand, when he realized that you weren’t budging.

Kai was afraid that you were going to back out of the haunted house, and as he glanced back, he was met with a teary-eyed you, shivering and trying to wipe your stubborn tears with the sleeve of your pumpkin costume.

“Hey, Y/N, what's wrong?” Kai immediately crouched in front of you so that the both of you are at eye level. land you sniffle even more.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey. Y/N. I know you’re scared, but it’s alright. I’ll be with you every step of the way, okay?” Kai coaxed, running his thumb over your intertwined hands.

You looked up at Kai with your watery eyes, and nodded ever so slightly. Kai swore his heart could’ve melted right there and then.

Just then, you realized that there were people lining up behind you. The people, who, surprisingly, were patiently waiting as you and Kai shared your cheesy moment. Realizing that you were being an inconvenience for their halloween experience, you straightened up, fixed your fallen hair, and nodded at Kai as firmly as you possibly could.

With the rusty door ajar, the both of you confidently stepped inside. Your hand was engulfed in Kai’s, and as long as you were with him, the both of you would be able to get through anything together.

7.34pm

Take deep breaths. In, out, in out. Hee, hoo, hee, hoo. Y/N, you can do this. They’re just humans dressed in manufactured plastic, with a face full of over-the-top makeup. Remember what you said before, just now? When you’re with Kai, you can get through anythi-

“AHHHHHHHH!”

Your thoughts were interrupted by yet another piercing dolphin scream from the two of you after being jump-scared by the long-haired lady with a bad case of smallpox.

You had initially thought that Kai was the brave one here, but now that the both of you were finally experiencing the actual haunted house, you couldn’t decide who was more of the scaredy-cat.

Kai had already known about this plan and played the biggest part in the creation of Haunted Matchmakers. However, he was still scared because...well….it was you he was going to surprise...and, he’s still a baby at heart.

“Kai, I don’t think I can do this. I wanna go back to the entrance.” Your shaky voice shook him out of his thoughts.

“No, no, it's okay! We just finished the third room! We’re almost there! There’s only one more room left.”

“Wait...how do you know the amount of rooms this haunted house has?” Finally, your oblivious self had started to pick up on Kai’s many mishaps.

“Well, I, uh, I, I asked the admin staff when you went to the bathroom!” Kai exclaimed.

Suddenly, you realized that it was quiet. Too quiet. The eeriness was scaring you. There was no more haunted house music, no jump-scares, nobody else with the both of you.

You shakily clung onto Kai, hooking both of your arms between one of his and pressing your cheek into his neck.

“Kai, it doesn’t feel right. This place doesn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean? Of course it doesn’t feel right, we’re in a haunted house!”

“No...I mean, like, it doesn’t even feel like a haunted house anymore, it feels like something is…” You trailed off on your speech as you spotted a small Polaroid of a selfie of you and Kai taken many moons ago at Soobin’s birthday party.

When you were too busy stuck in your place as you tried processing what a picture of the both of you was doing on the wall of a haunted house, Kai had disappeared. He was there for a second, and suddenly, your arms were clinging onto nothing but air.

“Kai? Kai? Kai?! Don’t scare me like this! You know I hate jump-scares! You promised me that you would be with me every step of the way! Kai, stop playing around! This isn’t funny anymore!” Tears were threatening to fall out of your eyes, and you started rapidly blinking and looking back and forth to see if Kai would be hiding behind a statue or corner just to scare you.

But no, he wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere.

Back in the control room, Kai frantically paced back and forth as Yeonjun stared through the screen at you, who was crouched down and silently sobbing. The sniffles you tried to hide echoed through the corridor, and Yeonjun knew that doing nothing wasn’t going to help.

Grabbing the walkie-talkie from the girl with the red sweater, who was sitting next to him looking at other screens on an armchair while mindlessly fiddling with said walkie-talkie in her hands, he turned the knob to channel 5 and spoke into it rapidly.

“Haeun, plan B. Get back inside to corridor 2, where Y/N is, and lead her to the beginning of the trail. This surprise won’t work if Y/N doesn’t start moving.”

7.42pm

You were sitting down on the ground, head in your arms, sobbing aimlessly as you thought to yourself. What kind of sick joke is this? Why isn’t anyone coming to scare me? Where did Kai go, why did he just leave with no explanation? Shouldn't someone come now to tell me to stand up and move on so that they can keep the line going?

Speak of the devil, you felt a light pat on the shoulder. Thinking that it was staff, you looked up to be met with a gory, bloody, devil mask. Squealing and screaming, you started running away, pushing off the hands that landed on your shoulders. Suddenly, said mask was removed, and you were met with a very familiar face. Haeun? Lee Haeun?

Lee Haeun was a close friend you met outside of school in a theme park when you were by yourself. She wasn’t close to anyone here, and she was one of the last people you expected to show up here.

“Hey, Y/N! Surprise, surprise, I'm here! Sorry for scaring you, I forgot to remove my mask!’”

“Lee Haeun...what are you doing here? Wha-”

“I’ll explain later, for now, just keep moving forward. Promise you, there’ll be no jumpscares, no nothing. Just lots of love.” She winked at you, and she had pushed you forward without you noticing, so now you were standing in front of a closed door that had a purple letter stuck onto it.

“Open it,” Haeun gestured, and pat your back twice before leaving.

“What…?” Nonetheless, you listened to her, and grabbed the folded purple letter, carefully unfolding it to reveal Kai’s handwriting:

Dear sweet Y/N,

Hi, this is Kai. I have a feeling that you’re going to be really shocked and surprised right now. ‘What? This is a haunted house, why is a letter here? Also, where is Kai? I'm gonna slap that son of a…’, anyways, yes, I know that’s what you’re thinking right now, but trust me, it’ll all make sense as soon as you walk through this door. If you thought that I disappeared into thin air, don’t worry. I’m in a control room, and I can see you right now.

Upon reading this sentence, you looked around frantically and spotted a small camera with a red blinking light. You cheekily waved at it before looking back at the letter.

About this whole event...well...firstly, if you couldn’t tell already, this haunted house isn’t real. We set it up, yes, Y/N, and if you’re here reading this, that means everything is going to plan. I knew your oblivious self wouldn’t find out ehehe! However, I couldn’t have done this large-scale event myself, you see, I only have four close friends: Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, and Taehyun, and all of them helped me out on this large-scale project. No, Y/N, I didn’t forget about you (I can practically read your thoughts right now!). You see Y/N, we’re not friends, you’re not my best friend, you’re my..ne. You’re myne. You’re mine. Ugh, I’m going to shut up now. Open the door and see for yourself, beautiful Y/N.

Lots, and lots, and lots of love,

Kai ;)

You were appalled and bashful to say the least. Wait, this can’t be? This isn’t, this isn’t what I think it is. No way. He also just called me beautiful. Me, beautiful?

For your information, Y/N, you are beautiful. You’re gorgeous, more gorgeous than that girl in red, or whatever.

You carefully folded the letter and put it in the pocket of your costume, and nervously pushed open the door to reveal...Soobin.

Oh, Soobin. What’s he doing here?

Soobin was mischievously smiling at you, while gesturing with his hands to literally everything else besides him.

Only when you stopped open-mouthed gaping at the boy, you looked around and realized the wallpaper was...interesting. There were zillions of pictures of you and Kai, all from when you met, to just 3 days ago, glued to all 4 sides of the room, covering basically every spot of the wall until you couldn't even tell the color of the room itself. Cute little pumpkin fairy lights were hung, giving the room a warm orange glow. Soft and calming Halloween decorations and statues were situated around, and you spotted the same little witch statue as the one in the entrance of Magic Island Cafe. Wow, Kai, has really been focusing on his symbolism lessons in english class.

You walked every inch of the room, and you realized that all of the pictures on the left were when the both of you first met, and as they continued on to the right, the pictures taken became more and more recent, and at the end of the room were pictures of the both of you just this year.

Soobin snapped you out of your little room tour when he walked to the side of a brown cauldron, grimaced at it, and turned back to you with a plastic smile.

“Uh, stick your hand in it.”

You tilted your head in confusion as you went over to where he was and looked over the eerie looking cauldron. It was glowing, and was neon green. You were half expecting something to pop out to scare you. You turned back to Soobin.

“No.”

“Come, on! It's part of the process, ya know? To get things rolling.”

‘What, that's not a valid reason for me to stick my hand into something so gross. What am I gonna get out of it?”

Soobin smirked. “You'll get Kai’s love.”

As you felt a blush tinting the apple of your cheeks, you immediately stuck your hand into what you thought was liquid. It was definitely not green-colored water, it was green-colored Jello. You felt a hard plate, and was about to remove your hand from the gruesome, slimy solid, when Soobin wrapped his fingers around your arm and gestured for you to lift whatever you had grabbed.

What you pulled up was not a plate, it was a picture frame. Inside said picture frame was a photo of a memory you wanted to forget forever. It was a picture of you and Kai, you in your hideous cake pop costume and Kai in his cute colorful jellyfish costume. The picture was taken by the both of your moms after the first day of school. Your mother, seeing that you had only made one friend, wanted to cherish the sacred moment. In said photo, both of your arms were slung over each other and your heads were leaning against each other. Kai had a crooked smile on his face, and you were happy as you could ever be.

On the frame were 4 words written in Kai’s writing with a sharpie. Said four words were enough to make you tear up.

“My Little Dirt Ball.”

Soobin, noticing your entranced state, tapped your shoulder.

“Flip to the back of the frame.”

Behind the picture frame was a sticky note attached. You plucked it off the back and squinted your eyes to read the small print.

Hey Y/N, I know you hate that picture, but it's my favorite, because the picture was taken on the day I met you. To continue our journey together, pull the back frame open, and insert the key inside to the orange door. Thank you, Y/N. Like I said earlier, we’ll get through this together, and I’ll see you on the other side.

Impatient to see Kai, you quickly, but carefully, pulled open the back frame, revealing a golden key. After grabbing the key and firmly wrapping your palm around it, you ran to the orange door and with shaky hands, inserted the key and twisted it. The door immediately swung open.

Behind the ajar door was a nervous Kai, still blessed with the same crooked smile as all those years ago. He was still rocking the same black pumpkin costume, and you were too mesmerized by his beauty to notice everyone else around him.

Soobin entered after you, and guided you to be right iinfront of Kai. You were now right in front of him, looking at his eyes, his gorgeous eyes, his presence, just, being with Kai. You couldn’t believe it. Your crush for almost a decade just confessed to you, in the most extra way possible. You loved it.

You looked up to see a huge banner that read: Y/N L/N, will you be myne?Around Kai was all your friends, all from different places:. Yeonjun and the gang, joined by Soobin, Haeun and your girls’ clique, the emo dude that you’re really chill with, the list goes on and on.

A beautiful voice broke you out from dreamland, to enter into yet another one.

“Y/N, will you be mine?”

You looked back at the boy you loved, and ran forward, practically throwing yourself onto him. You smashed your lips onto his, not caring that all of your friends were watching.

Kai was shocked at your sudden bold action, but quickly pulled himself together and kissed you back.

If you could describe the best feeling in the world, it was this. Fireworks erupted in your head, and all you could think about was those soft, plump lips and the boy who owned them. Kai put his arm around your waist, and the other behind your head, and you wrapped your arms around his neck.

You were doing it. You really were. You were kissing Kai Kamal Huening. In front of everyone, and you didn’t care.

It’s childish, one could say, to see two people dressed in child-like costumes practically making out with each other. However, in your opinion, that was what your love was. It was extra, childish, weird, and unlike any other typical highschooler’s romantic relationship. You wouldn’t change it for anything else.

BONUS

After the extremely extra confession took place successfully, the real Halloween party could finally commence. After all, Yeonjun hadn’t decorated his place for nothing. There was now an assortment of alcohol displayed everywhere, and suddenly the huge living hall didn’t seem so big anymore, as there were people from all over the town invited and it was getting quite cramped. Yeonjun, however, didn’t fail to notice the two of you at a small carpeted corner, just chatting. You had changed out of your pumpkin costume, and was now wearing Kai’s baby blue hoodie. Both of your hands were intertwined in his and they were being swung back and forth as you giggled about an inside joke that no one else would ever understand.

As Yeonjun quietly observed the two new lovebirds, a red object appeared in his peripheral vision. Looking down, he sighed in content. Her again.

“Yeonjun! Success, right? I knew we could do it!” She was crouching down, cutely looking at him in his eyes. She took his hand and smashed it against hers trying to imitate a high 5, while giving him a gleaming, enthusiastic smile. Yeonjun lifted the corners of his lips slightly, and squeezed her into a tight hug, earning a shocked gasp from her as she put her arms around his neck.

Choi Yeonjun better start planning out his confession soon.

click here to return this book back to the library.

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