#yes I have another theory but listen!! I am pushing my everyone gets a happy ending agenda I knowđ
what if baji is actually shinichiroâs trigger and not sanzu?? the desire to save mikey, baji always being present for the accidents, the hallucination when he starts seeing shin instead of takemichi when heâs dying.. this could also be how shinichiro is still alive/trapped in another time line?? because baji was there so if he were the trigger and he shook his hand when he was about to die it couldâve worked like how it did for takemichi and naoto????
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arguments.
A/n: happy Tuesday everyone! I hope your day is going alright. my week so far has surprisingly been great! letâs hope it stays that way :) anyways, enjoy everyone and stay safe!
Summary: arguments with their s/o.
Parings: Xiao/Reader, Zhongli/Reader, Albedo/Reader (all gn)
Warnings: arguments, fluff, angst
Word count:Â 1.3k
Requested by @fernackermanâ
â
Xiao
if you and Xiao get into an argument, you best believe itâs over something seriousÂ
they arenât full-fledged screaming matches tho, he doesnât wanna waste his energy on that
argument examples: boundaries, personal space, etc.Â
he finds his personal space very important
he simply doesnât engage petty arguments
why? because theyâre a waste of time and energy
he can be difficult to deal with, let's be real
heâs blunt, though respectful, but he speaks his mind a lot, most of the time it just happens that way
so if you happen to argue, which surprisingly happens quite a bit because of his bluntness, youâre in for it
heâs not cruel, heâs not mean either, heâs just very, very blunt and DOES NOT CARE
heâs bold let's just say that
I feel like he doesnât like overly clingy people, so if you happen to be clinging to him like a lost puppy, sorry, heâs going to be irritated and an argument will happen
he enjoys personal space and if youâre hanging all over him, he hates it so much
and trust me, he has a sassy retort for everything
âQuit clinging to me, itâs annoying.â Xiao snapped, pushing you away from him.Â
âIâm barely clinging, youâre just bitter.â You huffed in annoyance.Â
âYeah, because youâre hanging off of me like a lost dog. Get off.â
donât ask him stupid questions either, especially if you already know the answer to them and are trying to be funny, tease or get a rise out of him
he may seem like a fun sponge shh
do you have questions concerning his past? donât ask... most likely if he hasnât told you yet, thereâs a good reason for it (he might one day)
so pls pls donât do this, heâll get all defensive and show you his wrath
âStop asking so many questions, why do you need to know everything?â
âYouâre annoying, I donât know why I even put up with you...â
of course he doesnât mean it, he's just upset and feels his privacy is being invaded
rule number one, donât ask about his past if he hasnât shown interest in speaking about it
donât worry though, after arguments, despite his pride, he ALWAYS apologizes
he doesnât want to lose you
youâre the one great thing in his life, he canât lose you
heâll apologize and give you a kith on your cheek muah
fight me I know despite being touch starved, his preferred love language is physical
Zhongli
yâall donât argue, simple as that
so arguments usually donât happen tbh
thank goodness
Zhongli is incredibly forgiving and the least argumentative of the three boys
the arguments are never serious (okay not never, but you get what I mean)
theyâre usually playful, peaceful, zero malice behind words
âZhongli, did you drink all the milk and not replace it?â
âSo what if I did, dear.â
âI was going to use that to make a cake you brat!â
âMe a brat? Youâre acting very bratty right now, dear.â
itâs arguments like these that are entirely playful and donât leave you both angry at one another or botheredÂ
he doesnât like arguing, with anybody!
he likes to keep the peace with his s/o
on the rare, rare, RARE occasion that thereâs an argument it usually about your wellbeing
âI told you Iâm fine! Archons, leave me alone, Zhongli.â
âYouâre bleeding! I am trying to help you. Stop being childish.â
âMe childish? You worry about silly things.â
âThis is not silly! I donât want to see you hurt!â
he really, really cares and wants to protect you, so thatâs going to be the root of the arguments
you putting yourself in danger really angers him, humans arenât expendable in his eyes, youâre not expendableÂ
LISTEN TO HIM
please stop putting yourself in danger Y/n, or else youâre going to face an angry Archon
but even during arguments, heâs not mean at all
the point of the arguments arenât to belittle you or make you hate him, no
theyâre to make you realize that heâs worried about you
a wake-up call, I should say
his intentions are cruel or malicious, you just need to realize that heâs worried about you and thatâll fix everything
it doesnât take Zhongli a long time to apologize, especially if youâre visibly upset
heâs apologizing immediately
right after the argument, heâs practically bowing at your feet, asking for forgiveness
he really does not want to hurt your feelings, he loves you so much
just listen to him when he has concerns and everything will be goodÂ
Albedo
okay, you two donât argue a lot, simply because Albedo is not a hostile or angry guy
heâs so gentle pls (how many times do I have to say we gotta protecc him?!?)Â
he has no reason to argue with you, none at all
but arguing is normal, a healthy part of relationships he says, despite the obvious
the arguments happen when heâs usually stressed, other than that they donât happen
so, you only argue if you touch something of his that he doesnât want you to OR question his thinking and try to persuade him into believing a theory of your own
one, his lab is a complete mess, so yeah the thought is nice when you attempt to clean it yourself and the first few times he accepts it
a clean space is better than working in a messy and shrewd one
but if you constantly keep misplacing things and cleaning the area to the point where he canât find or reach something, heâs going to be mad
âIâm not mad, but it really bothers me when you misplace my stuff.â
âYou sound mad...And Iâm sorry, I was just helping.â
âWell donât.â
ummmm... just say youâre mad sir lmao
his anger is a different type of anger... he can be very passive-aggressive during arguments
he doesnât want to make a big deal, but heâs going to show and let you know somehow that heâs bothered
two, donât try to persuade his thinking or tell him his findings are incorrect/not valid
he despises this so much
nothing in the world is set in stone, science doesnât have rules, unless it relates to equations
heâs not a puppet so donât try to make him believe in what you doÂ
he may agree, but if he doesnât donât force it, he wonât like the idea of feeling like youâre trying to box him into a single thought
pls donât do this, even if you mean well, donât
and trust me when I say this, he prefers a s/o who questions his findingsÂ
he WANTS you to be engaged with what he does, or else this will never work
so he enjoys that you question his findings and bring a better understanding to the table, possible other equations and even broaden his thinking
but he hates when you try to tell belittle his thinking/research and state you know something better than he does
that may be the case, but donât lmao
of course youâd never do it on purpose, Archons no
âI really donât think this is correct.â You said.
âThere are no limitations to my research.â
âYes but-â
âYou sound like a know-it-all, did you forget Iâve studied this for years?â
yeah, end of the day, donât touch his stuff, donât try to be a puppet master or control him
but even then, you two donât argue unless heâs very, very stressed
he works the hardest to apologize
he hates the idea of going to bed beside one another, and there being âbad bloodâ
heâs going to do whatever it takes to show his sincerity when he apologizes
because although this is not an excuse, his snappiness is majority of the time due to stress and that will be the only time he lets anger control his thinkingÂ
2.23.21, rayofsunas
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Outer Banks season 2 Official Trailer shot-by-shot rundown
A comprehensive post where IÂ scream about analyze the entire trailer frame by frame for clues, theories, and plot. Just my own opinions and general tin foil-hatting
These are screenshots from Netflixâs trailer for Outer Banks season 2. I do not claim or own any of these.
note: this post is tagged as a long post if you wish to avoid having to scroll until your thumbs break.
âMy old man used to tell me, âitâs best to never say youâve hit rock bottomâ.â
(Putting all of these shots together since theyâre scenes we already know but-) Holy shit, okay letâs just....start off like this I guess, damn.
â'Trust meâ, he said...â
Kiara looking back and forth between the boys like this really just feeds the headcanon I have that her form of grief this season is going to be her trying to hold it together for their sakes (and eventually just snapping).
JJ just looks fucking furious someone give these kids a hug? IÂ already know this scene is going to ruin me.
âYou can always go...â
JJ back working at the hotel. He looks literally so angry again in this scene I could see him self destructing at work and losing his job? (Please do not be isolating yourself you beautiful son of a bitch even though I know youâre going to).
Pope in the Twinkie (costuming wise they all are in warmer looking clothes for some of the shots, so just confirming itâs a little bit into the school year when this all takes place).
âLowerâ
Big John was real big into pep talks, I see. (seriously can you imagine Big John having this conversation with like 8 year old John B after he fucking dropped his ice cream cone or some shit I shouldnât be laughing).
Iâm just-
These poor kids, I wanna know how the police all the way down in the Bahamaâs knew about them?
Their calves....
âRUN!â
Are going to be so fucking jacked by the end of this season I stg.
Fuck you.
âThe gold from the Royal Merchant....itâs here.â
For a while, I had thought that maybe they didnât even make it to the Bahamaâs at the front of the season and ended there (because everyone had been filming in there). But I guess theyâre going to be making two trips.
If I were a bird from this POV Iâd shit right on that house no questions asked.
oooooh ho hokay. Just so weâre clear. Ward Cameron not only get away with murder and about two dozen other felonies, but-
âHalf a billion.â
HE STILL FINDS THE GOLD IN THE CRAIN HOUSE AND GETS TO KEEP IT?
Not the polo with the snap back, I just know this man has a playlist called Sad Boi Hours that is just Juice WRLDâs top 5 songs on Spotify and he tells his friends they wouldnât know the underground artists he listens to.
Sh, you have lost screaming privileges. Go inside and take a nap maybe.
âJohn B, we are fugitives in a foreign country.â
So, previously, I was talking about how I was confused how they would still be trying to find him is everyone thought he was dead, but here the wanted poster clearly says âpresumed lost at seaâ. I think that will be interesting to see how the Pogues all interpret that.Â
Especially because they already had a memorial for John B and everything, I wonder if there will be any part of the Pogues holding out hope that they both could still be out there OUCH.
Iâm going to circle back to this, but it looks like John B and Sarah are going to get separated for a little while in this man hunt, I could see my idiot himbo son trying to sacrifice himself so Sarah can get away but in reality just....stranding her.
âPromise me you wonât do anything stupid?â
Oh, sweetie....
âWell, Sarah Cameron, I do stupid things all the time without realizing it.â
The volume of his self awareness is astronomical. sir, that is your whole character summed up in your own words.
GOD, ITâS ME AGAIN. PLEASE LET THEM LEAN INTO COMPLETE HIMBO JOHN B THIS SEASON IâLL DO ANYTHING-
nyyooooOOOOOOOOOOOOM-
âHold on!â
The complete abject terror I would feel having John Booker Routledge driving get-away and then saying the words âHold onâ while reaching fro the gear shift? The english language fails me.Â
Sarah, bestie, Iâm so sorry.
I just wanna know-
what the plan or objective was in this situation. What was the reason for being this dramatic.
Rest in piss, bozo <3
âWardâs still out there...â
Okay, same conversation they were having as before. I wonder what makes them decide they need to get back to the OBX for this tho.
âI can clear my name. This can all be over in one shot.â
It looks like Topper watching this but way more concerningly, correct me if Iâm wrong but this 100% looks like....John B gets caught. And the DEATH PENALTY?! He did have a mug shot for the fliers in s1 and the one above but he was never brought in? Plus he just looks super dirty and dishevled in this one so I-
Jail break anyone?
I also still want to know if theyâre going to go with a Topper redemption arc this season. like, does he know more than he should just from being around Rafe and his big fat mouth? Is he going to help out the Pogues even if itâs just for Sarah?
This shot just suddenly made me really sad. The thought of this all started because Big John left one last thing for his son to find, his literal lifeâs work. And when it all started, it was just a fun adventure John B and his best friends were going on together and having fun with. Then it all got dragged to absolute shit and turned into what it did, including the remaining 3 Pogues thinking that this treasure hunt took their two best friends away from them. And itâs nothing like Big John intended it to be.
Why my eyes wet?
Now weâre edging into what I was talking about earlier with John B and Sarah getting separated.
âIf you think there is anything I wouldnât do...â
Once again, John B is no where to be found. Also, just in case yâall didnât already know or forgot Ward is an actual psychopath.
I believe this one of the new character, played by Jontavious Johnson (Stubbs). Based on the voice over it lowkey sounds like theyâre implying Ward maybe hired Stubbs and Cleo to find and bring Sarah back. My theory would be I bet they do go to retrieve her, but she somehow convinces them that it would be more beneficial for them in the end to be on the Pogueâs side instead.
Miss Girl you gotta be keeping your head on a SWIVEL. Especially when youâre a FUGITIVE of the LAW-
â...you havenât been paying attention.â
My guy, who are you clarifying this for?
Itâs what you deserve for monologuing.
in all seriousness, the idea of them coming to face to face with Ward in Nassau after thinking they finally escaped him is genuinely terrifying.
âSARAH!â
It kind of looks like theyâre either hiding their faces or covering their noses? I donât know maybe it was from some tactic to get away from Ward.
What did I literally jsut say about yelling privileges, you unhinged mother fucker?
âIâm calling the shots now. Iâm driving.â
The following progression of scenes made me actually snort-
âI canât drive stick.â
PLEASE THE FINGER GUNS LAUNCHED ME INTO ORBIT I LOVE THEM, YOUR HONOR.
Alright, so now it looks like weâre in Charleston. This is the same scene with Heywardâs truck that got leaked from BTS (read: JJ and Kie shoulder touch).
One of the main things that stuck out to me in the following scenes which, you will see, is it lowkey looks like Pope is kind of heading up this part of the operation, or even going in alone? The following clips are just very Pope focused.Â
I donât know what it means, itâs just an observation.
âJohn B was not the only one that Ward double-crossed.â
LIMBRY-
Bro, we have been hearing about this woman for literal months and I just have....so many questions?Â
Who the hell is she? How is she connected to Ward? Why is she in South Carolina instead of the OBX? How do the Pogues even learn about her and how to track her down? How is she meant to âhelpâ them? GAH I JUST WANNA KNOOOW. I already know I donât trust her though and no I will not be offering up supporting evidence.
Sir, that is my son please unhand him.
âI think you know what I want.â
.......no? But feel....free to explain yourself?
The print on the paper is the same one thatâs on the ceiling tiles in the following scene. Obviously, with a key on it that most likely goes to the place a few shots from now.
Hell yeah, son, letâs get SLEUTHING.
âThe treasure belongs to the Pogues.â
DAMN STRAIGHT.
Bestieâs Iâm not going to lie, I stared at this frame for a solid 10 minuets and I have no idea what it says on there Iâm sorry. Someone in the comments is welcome to enlighten us.
âWe gotta find it first.â
I canât tell if thatâs just dirt or if he hurt his head? But he look GOOD right now for one thing. For another, same outfit as the one in the Twinkie from the beginning of the trailer.
Look at her. LooK AT HER! LOOK! AT! HER! I MISSED HER SO MUCH even in that damn smiley face top that continues to haunt my waking hours she is in it so much and it stresses me out for literally no good reason Iâm sorry-
I could literally cry right now and I think that speaks volumes to how little we actually see him genuinely happy. Have I mentioned how much I love that red hat?
Also, probably not that important, but this is not from the same scene as the shots of Pope and Kiara were. This is from the next one-
âWoogity-woogity?â
âGive me some woogity, baby!â
Yeah, this pushed me over the fucking edge, the way that theyâre actually happy and laughing? The fact that they kept woogity-woogity and made it A Thing? Yes.
I am, however, going to be intentionally ignoring what appears to be the very intentional stagingof having such an obvious space between where Kiara and Pope are sitting adn where JJ sits, even including the level theyâre sitting on because I donât have the emotional capacity to face those implications right now. Thank you for your time.
Yes yeeeeEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!
GIVE ME ALL OF THE SCENES OF THEM ACTUALLY GETTING TO BE TEENAGERS AND JUST BREATHE AND LAUGH AND HAVE A GOOD TIME AND NOT BE RUNNING FOR THEIR FUCKING LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!
before Rafe comes in and literally starts shooting because they canât breathe for more than 7 seconds but weâll....get to that.
They refer to Sarah as a Pogue this season or I burn Netflix to the ground. Your move, Jonas.
50 bucks says John B is driving the Twinkie again for the first time since being back.
I deadass think the Pogues JUST got Sarah and John B back and theyâre just having the time of their life. Kie was in her smiley face outfit when Pope was in this one a few clips ago, and I still hold to the belief that that one still they released of JJ and Kie hopping over a fence is the Pogue reunion so-
Ward? I have no idea what heâs looking at behind the wall paper and Iâll be so honest I donât care my eyes are only seeing Pogue content right now.
âThis is a map of the whole island.â
This fit, when will John B learn how to operate buttons, stay tuned for season 5. Also my previous theory of this being their reunion outfits and stuff because Pope is in the back in the same jacket as before.
The plot thickens and so has JJâs hair, Rudy drop the shampoo brand.
Please, dear God, tell me theyâre back in the sex church. For @jiaaraa sake.
Kiara, your Madison is showing.
Okay, I really did try but all I can make out is Something to the tomb begin something something.
Youâre welcome.
I am no expert but I do not believe boats operate on land.
John B looks like he is in the same outfit here that is in his mug shot we saw on the TV screen so I have a sneaking suspicion this is where he gets caught.Â
âJohn B is back-â
Once again with the damn sexual tension thatâs always between Barry and Rafe in every scene they do are we about to kiss right now?
â-itâs him or me.â
First of all, no.
Second of all, Iâm just....so very confused about this time line this season. It kind of looks like Ward and Rafe follow and find Sarah and John B in Nassau (unless those scenes by the truck were actually back in the OBX). So did they....go to Nassau, then just come right back when they did? Iâm just confused.
Put that thing back where it came from or so help me.
Literally when will you stop at this point I am begging you.Â
This looks like the same scene the Pogues were, ya know, literally just having a good time at so fuck me, I guess.
Yeah, no, itâs going to be a no from me, Iâm just going to pretend like Iâm not seeing this and moving on.
I have simply no idea what is going on here or who that is on the bike but maybe JJ? Maybe Luke even? I think thatâs JJâs bike.Â
The sewer scene. The SEWER SCENE-
For months sicne that tiktok leaked this damn scene has been genuinely all I could think about. So (obviously) it seems like theyâre sending Kie down into the sewer to go do seomthing and things go horribly, horribly wrong.Â
If you havenât seen the tiktok, essentially all it was was JJ and Pope screaming and trying to lift up the man hole cover while Kie is begging for them to hurry from inside. Iâm cheating a little bit as this isnât a shot from the trailer but this picture was posted and itâs from the same scene.
Iâll just....leave this here. Back to the trailer shots.
Nice. Also, same shirt as mugshot.
Hey, um, what?Â
Kiaraâs car, sheâs driving, I canât tell whoâs in the back seat or the front.
Holy God what is going on and how can I as an audience member put a stop to it?
So, same scene as we will see and was in the teaser but, for some reason, theyâre all jumping off of a giant ass boat into the little life raft where it looks like JJ gets hurt later but donât you worry weâre getting to that.
JJ AND KIARA WITH THE POGUE HANDSHAKE JJ AND KIARA WITH THE POGUE HANDSHAKE THEY BOTH LOOK SO DAMN GOOD AND THEIR LITTLE SMILES SPARE ME-
Cleo đĽľ
Iâm so excited to see her arc and what it brings this season you guys have no idea.
Please for the love of God be about to get Ward Cameronâs ass like he deserves literally punt him into jail right from Tanny Hill.
Sarah at My Drutherâs with what looks like a bloody bandage on her side? Same outfit sheâs wearing when theyâre running from the police on the beach and she has the bandage there too so. Interesting.Â
Topper hugging who Iâm pretty sure is Sarah, being a general douche because heâs clearly looking at John B like đÂ
Clips like these serve to remind me just how many of my worldly posessions I would gladly give up to be able to punch Topper Thorton in the throat one time.Â
I think this is Cleo jumping off the boat with Pope after John B and Sarah.Â
Absolutely busting a lung at Popeâs form in this one.
John B and Sarah waiting in the life raft, still Cleo and Pope coming after them. The obvious next question is where are JJ and Kiara. The scene Iâm sure you all have been waiting for is coming up and clearly takes place in the life raft as well.
So, I really think JJ and Kie get left for last, something horrible happens as theyâre trying to jump (my head instantly goes to JJ maybe like pushing Kie out of the way and getting hit on the head instead or even just some accident).Â
And, oh my GOD a scene of him falling off the boat after it happens and Kiara diving in after him immediately, having to desperatly try to stop him from sinkingand get to the life raft holy shit-
Girl CATCH HIM?????
Because why wouldnât this be Rafeâs fault. Part of me wonders if this isnât related to JJ being hurt.
I am going to try and unpack this as calmly as possible because behind my computer screen I am vibrating at a frequency that could shatter glass but respectfully.
WHAT IN THE FUCK IS TIAUEWFHLAILA
Okay, so scene wise, JJâs hit his head somehow (probably while he was jumping with Kiara) it looks like and now theyâre back on the raft.Â
In my opinion, this is either:
A) JJ is in really, really bad condition after getting hurt in the jump and theyâre not sure heâs going to make it. So this is a âPlease stay with me, stay awake, please donât dieâ hug OR
B) They very narrowly just avoided a deadly situation (my first thought is JJ hits his head while jumping, passes out in the water, maybe almost drowns but Kie and the others get him onto the life raft in time) and this is more of a âOh my God, youâre okay, youâre safe now, weâre okayâ hug.Â
I honestly lean more to the second one based on the little bit of Sarahâs face we saw in the background. To me, it almost looked like she was smiling thru tears, which, fits way more with the second option than the first.Â
Anyways. Moving on before I burst a lung again.
(also, before anyone comes at me, no, Iâm not happy JJ is hurt, obviously. Â
(Once again, arrest outfits). You can still see the bandage but it looks like Sarahâs limping now too so...good Lord give the girl a break maybe?
Everything in this trailer just went to shit so fast I think I have whip lash, can we go back to the Pogues hanging out and being happy now pkease I liked those scenes.
âI get it. You guys are scared.â
âNo.â
Sheâs cute but, uh, hello sewer scene outfits. Seems like them planning to do whatever the hell they were going to do in the sewers but the boys are starting to get cold feet as maybe they should but hind sight is 20/20 I suppose.
âItâs kind of cute.â
âIâm not scared.â
âYou shouldâve just led with that.â
I will never be able to express how much I adore Pogue banter and general dumbassery and I have a feeling this season will not be lacking in either department
I high key donât think these two are actually going to be there for this scene to go down but Iâll let it slide this time because-
They do be kinda cute.
It both feels like Iâve been waiting for this damn show for 3 years and also like I just watched season 1 last month explain that to me.Â
Either way holy shit. I missed this dumb show and these dumb kids so much it physcially hurts and WE GET THEM BACK IN T-MINUS 16 DAYS.
Also. Where The Hell Is Wheezie Cameron And When Will She Have The Rights She Deserves.
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can't help falling in love|t.h.
summary: when words can't speak enough, songs will do
pairing: tom holland Ă reader
words: 2k
a/n: well I think we all fell in love with this Tom right? I mean who wouldn't??? Wish more of that content cause I'm a sucker for him..
"Over yours tonight?"
"Yes. Bring your guitar too."
"We're about to have fun tonight."
"As we always do!"
And when it was just the two of you, you always had a great time. The chemistry that had been developed between you and Tom was indescribable and everyone seemed jealous of what you have created. It was amazing how much two people can connect, two different souls in such a little period.
You loved your little secret "rendezvous" as you liked to call them. He'd come to your place, or you'd go to his, sip wine and talk for hours and hours about everything. From how the world was created, to how your nail broke, or the way some theories of very famous scientists may be wrong, or how his brothers crashed his car without him knowing, even analyze the way social media work, or begging him to show you videos of the set for his upcoming film. Maybe you'd complain about how early you have to wake up the next day and he'd make fun of you before he realizes that he's going to wake up as early as you. And you'd beg him to stay, or the opposite.Â
And after that, you'd grab your guitars and play until you fall asleep on the couch.
He looked so handsome concentrated on not losing any chord, not ruin the melody. His brown eyes focusing on the strings, his fingers following the sound in his mind, his body relaxed, and his ears longing for your voice.
How he adored listening to your angelic voice. He couldn't explain the way his heart melted with the sweet sound of yours, his stomach filling with butterflies, his mind following the heart on this chaotic, exciting, endless road. He didn't know if he was in love or not. It was confusing inside his head. He never knew what falling in love means, the symptoms are different from one person to another. But he was only looking forward to the time he'd have to spend with you, the feeling of enthusiasm getting stronger as the day went by. He knew that you were the only one that could bring the peace he searched for, it was you that brought those feelings that he wanted to see for himself. He admitted once that he wished you'd be more than just his close friend to himself. Yet, the fear of losing you was massive and your presence in his life was more important than his feelings. So the only way was to push them to the side.
You knocked on his doorbell and fixed your guitar on your shoulder while waiting for the door to open. You looked down at your shoes noticing how dirty they got but as you were about to somehow clean them with your hand, you heard the door open and your eyes met his.
"Hi," you said cheerfully leaving the guitar to your side and wrapping your hands around his shoulder. His familiar scent came to your nose, your eyes closing for a moment enjoying his smell, but also the sensation of his arms tightening around your waist.
"Hey, beautiful" he mumbled softly and let go of you. "How are you?" he asked grabbing your guitar and closing the door behind you.Â
"Now that I am here I'm so much better" you confessed. "Oh, you didn't wait for me to help"Â you complained seeing that everything was already prepared for you.
"Why would I need help?" he asked.
"Because...I am your friend and you don't have to do all of these for me"
"But what happens if I want to do all of these for you?"
You stared back at him without any answer to his question. You tried to read his face, understand if he was joking or not. If he was playing with your feelings or if he was just completely clueless. His puppy eyes nearly convincing your heart that everything was true, your mind shouting to not believe this. It was a battle happening right in front of you, however, you stood still and did nothing.
"I'm pretty sure you do not so stop saying things you don't mean and let's go drink"
____________________
"But she fell in love with him Tom. She was happier than ever. She was willing to be there for him for the rest of her life, she stood by his side through everything, his madness, his anger, his sadness, his happiness-"
"He was suffering y/n-"
"If he loved her enough-"
"Do you know how is it feel to be stuck on a chair and not move even a single finger? No matter how big your love is for someone, sometimes you're losing the fight" Tom sipped his last drop of wine and looked back at you.
"If we were in this position, would you die just like him? Even if you loved me more than anything?" you questioned.
"I seriously have no idea y/n"
"I'd live for you Tom" normally you wouldn't admit this, the wine gave you the courage though to do so. "If I was William in that stupid chair, I would want to live with you for the rest of eternity" you glanced at him meaning every word you just said. Your love for him was like no other and for sure knew that you were more than willing to move every mountain to be with him forever.
"Stop saying things you don't mean y/n" he copied your words and grabbed your guitar from the floor, unsure if he should play it cool or say something more.
"You are not romantic babe" you played it off resting your hand on the couch and placing your head at the top of it while waiting for Tom to tune the guitar. "Also I was thinking of something today while I was working"
"You were thinking again?" he asked sarcastically.
"You piece of...give me that" you laughed and took the guitar in your hands."So, as I was saying, I was thinking that maybe today you should sing with me"
"Are you drunk?" Tom asked you disagreeing already with the idea you had in mind.
"What?"
"You know that I can't sing and even if it wasn't for that I would never sing with you"
"Why?" it felt kinda offending hearing those words as you didn't know why he felt that way.
"You have the voice of an angel y/n. I'm never gonna sing with you 'cause you'll hear how bad I sound and we don't want this trust me" he pulled his guitar close to him and smiled in your direction.
"I heard you singing before and you sound incredible so cut the excuses and follow me okay?" you didn't wait for any of his complaints. You started playing the song you imagined singing with him all day. The first reason being the fact that it was an easy song to play and sing. The second reason was the lyrics of it.
"Wise men say
Only fools rush in.." you began singing.
"Come on Tom..but I can't help falling in love with you" you continued hearing only whispers.
"Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin... I can't hear you
If I can't help falling in love with you"
Tom gained some courage and started singing louder. He didn't want to be unable to hear you, it was the thing his heart desired. But your expression, your eyes wide open begging him to join you. He could resist to them ever.
And the lyrics.
"Like a river flows
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be.."
You both stared at each other as you kept going. It felt more than just a song, more than just a famous melody. Those were words that none of you had the strength to say, not even dared to try. The fear of loss, the shyness of the last minute. You were saying to yourself that his teasing was just for fun, nothing more. Tom was doing the same. It wasn't complicated at all, but both your minds trapped in this maze, wouldn't detect the way out that was right in front of your eyes.
"Take my hand,Â
Take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you..
For I can't help falling in love with you"Â
You bit your lip and positioned the guitar to your legs keeping eye contact with him. The silence in the room was comforting, calming. It definitely could say more than words.
Fuck it.
"I wish I could kiss you right now" Tom whispered under his breath, loud enough for you to listen. It was shocking. You blinked quite a few times doubtfully, assured that this was only a prank. But he was there looking at you, waiting for a reply. You were confused and he saw it too. His palms started sweating and his heartbeat increased in the blink of an eye. The voice inside him would stop yelling 'you screwed it' and his feeling got hurt quickly. He was ready to listen to you making fun of him, the plan that would break his heart in two. But your silence was currently the only thing he didn't want to. He searched for any signal on your face, even your body language but you were standing still as time had stopped.
"Then do it"Â
He didn't hesitate for long. He was dreaming after all. Because this wasn't the reality he lived for sure.Â
Fireworks, fireworks, fireworks.
He swore he heard them. The moment his lips captured yours he could hear those fireworks in his heart and ears. Bells were ringing and angels singing. Damn, I'm kissing one of them he thought. His right hand touched your neck deepening the kiss he was yearning for. Your lips in sync warm against his skin. His tongue over yours exploring your taste. Your perfume fueling his nose and brain, the butterflies dancing in their music now.Â
It was magical. The goosebumps all over your skin making it even more real. Heart about to explode, all of the happiness hitting throughout your body. It was happening and still, it seemed like a fantasy. You slowly touched his chest and moved upwards to his shoulders making sure that you were really touching him and not any of your pillows. The sensation of his lips in yours was so much better than your imagination. Perfectly made for kissing you and only you.
You broke the kiss and the brightest smile he ever saw was on your lips. The lips HE was kissing.
"Y/n you have no idea how bad I wanted this to happen" he touched your forehead and with his thumb started to draw small circles. A tear rolled from your eye and dropped to his hand.
"Why did it take you so long?" you asked and closed your eyes feeling his breath hitting the skin of your face and hands.
"Baby don't cry. Please" he murmured.
"I'm just happy you know. It's no longer a fantasy or a dream. It's real" you admitted with your shaky breaths making your work hard. But you couldn't care less at that moment.
"I was afraid of losing you y/n. What if you didn't feel the same way? How was I supposed to know?"
"You wouldn't lose me okay? I'm feeling the same way Tom" you carefully brought your fingers at the top of his lips and touched them as you dreamed to. "I'm yours. I'll always be yours."
**the movie mentioned was me before you
**the song they were singing was can't help falling in love by Elvis Presley
Thank you for readingâ¤
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Classified & Confidential || kth (Part 1)
âĽPairing: detective!taehyung/reader
âĽSummary: Itâs been years since your close friend passed away, case going cold due to lack of evidence. You never once believed the story the police gave you, since they classified it under an âunfortunate accident.â Now that there are telltale signs of something similar at play regarding someone else you hold dear, you decide to take things into your own hands. You hire world renowned private detective, Kim Taehyung. And he goes above and beyond everything you expected.
âĽGenre: strangers to lovers (kinda slow burn), detective au, mystery, angst, eventual smut, fluff
âĽRating: 18+
âĽWords: ~7.1k
âĽContent Warnings: detective/mystery au, (tw: mentions of death, brief mention of suicide in relation to a criminal case, implied foul play, stalking behavior, non-graphic detailing of a crime scene), slight forensic talk, mentions of nervousness and anxiety, some cursing, mentions of cops/police, unhelpful law enforcement (like theyâre kinda terrible with the whole solving this case thing), feelings of unease and tension, we get bestie hoseok, tae is kinda extra but for good reason, no suggestiveness/smut in this chapter but itâs still 18+ due to it involving some of the aforementioned warnings
A/N:Â This will be a multi-part series that explores some darker themes, and each part will have appropriate content warnings listed; please read at your own risk. This part touches on backstory and introduces the characters, things will start getting a little more intense in the following chapters. I donât have any kind of specific update schedule but ideally Iâd like to get updates out every few weeks at the latest! I hope you look forward to this, and if you wanna be added to a taglist, please let me know~
Thank you @dntaewithluvââââ for your constant motivation and support (and for always beta-reading for me, even when we scream at each other about our ideas); hopefully I do Tae justice for you! I love you lots â¤ď¸
taglist: @inlovewiththemoonn @mwitsmejkâ @bangtanhome
âąââââââââ ⏠⏠⏠âââââââââ°
5 Years Ago
The night sky was dark, blanketed by stars as it emitted a peaceful aura. There was no way to bask in the calmness of the night, however, with all the hustle and bustle that surrounded you outside of the apartment complex.
Crime scene tape marked off the area, and many onlookers had gathered to try and get a glimpse of what happened. You were one yourself, but you werenât there out of sheer curiosity.
Your breathing was ragged, staggered, as you tried to hold yourself together and observed the scene in front of you unfold.
Police wouldnât let you beyond the tape, despite knowing the person currently covered by the white tarp.
Minutes prior, one of the cops had been politely trying to hold you back as you thrashed around, mind muddled by the vision of your best friendâs face before the tarp concealed it.
âIâm sorry, we canât let anyone unauthorized come past this tape, please stay where you are.â
âYou donât understand, thatâs my best friend, please let me through, please-â
You couldnât control the volume of your screams, prompting a few of the other bystanders to try and calm you down seeing as you were very clearly distraught.
An unknown amount of time passed before the thickest part of the crowd decided theyâd had enough excitement for one night, retiring to their own homes. You stayed planted in your spot, prepared to not move until you got more of an explanation for what was going on.
Youâd resigned yourself to the fact that if someone wanted you to leave, theyâd have to do it by force, but you eventually complied after two cops convinced you to come down to the station and issue a statement, given your relation to the victim.
They didnât grill you hard, which was something you appreciated at the time, since you were really in no state to handle a grueling interrogation. You knew you could be marked down as a potential suspect, but everything from their investigation pointed to them believing it had either been an accident or a possible suicide attempt, the latter of which would almost entirely exclude your involvement.
Over the next few weeks, you cooperated with the investigation and helped them with whatever leads you could provide; you were determined that foul play was involved, because you knew your best friend better than anyone, and the story the cops were feeding you wasnât adding up.
The theory as you knew it was this: she jumped from her apartment window, which was up a significant amount of stories, more than enough to kill a person. A potential suicide note was found at the scene on the nightstand by her bed, typed on a sheet of paper, so handwriting analysis wasnât an option. The apartment was undisturbed aside from the window having been open.
It almost seemed like a cut-and-dried case, aside from one other small factor: unknown DNA from a hair follicle was found in the apartment alongside the victimâs own.
This didnât surprise youâŚat first. You knew Ky had been perusing multiple dating apps and would often invite people over to her place after successful dates. But as far as you also knew, Ky hadnât recently been on any dates, so there wasnât a clear reason for that DNA to show up.
Ky had told you in the weeks leading up to her death that she was afraid someone had been following her around, and it unsettled her so much so that she deleted all the dating apps on her phone until she felt safe again.
Sadly, that day never came, and this fact alone caused the nagging suspicion of foul play to burrow itself even deeper into your subconscious.
Since the DNA was unknown, tracing it would be no easy task, but that didnât stop you. Anything you could do to shed light on what had actually occurred, you were going to do it, plain and simple.
Which is why when the police decided to close the file on the case and label it as an âunfortunate accident,â you were floored.
You begged them to keep focusing on leads when there really werenât any, offering to aid in any way you could because there was no way that there wasnât something missing.
Their response?
âGo home, Y/N, thereâs nothing else you can do.â
You left the station that day only after you had caused somewhat of a scene, arguing back and forth with one of the lead detectives until you were âcarefully escortedâ outside. Enraged, you banged your hand against the glass of the door before you slid down the wall beside it, hugging your knees as you tried to compose yourself.
You werenât sitting that way for long before you felt a gentle tug on your sleeve. You looked up reluctantly and were met with one of the softest pairs of eyes youâd ever seen.
The stranger offered you a kind smile, one that made your heart ache in the aftermath of everything youâd endured the last several weeks. Youâd been tackling this situation all on your own, with barely any help from mutual friends or Kyâs family since sheâd been estranged from them.
But now, this man stooped down in front of you and smiling at you like everything would be alrightâŚ
It almost made you want to believe it.
âHi, I uh, couldnât help but overhear about your situation,â he finally spoke up, sounding somewhat bashful. He had bright red hair that peeked out under a cap he wore, and he was sporting a rainbow colored sweater.
A tinge of embarrassment fluttered through you. âOh. Sorry you had to witness that.â
So this random stranger heard you telling off the police by yelling at them in broad daylight. Way to make a first impression.
To your surprise, he simply shook his head, smile widening. âNo, donât be sorry! I was, uh â happy to be able to listen.â
You quirked an eyebrow. âOkâŚmay I ask why?â
âWell,â there was that bashful tone again, hand flying to the back of his neck as he looked to the side, âIâd been coming up here for a while, hoping to hear something regarding this case specifically. Usually when I stop by, there isnât much going on and itâs not like I can just walk in and ask for classified information-â
He stopped speaking immediately once you held up your hand. You didnât want to be rude, but you were thoroughly confused.
âIs there a reason why youâre eavesdropping for information about this case?â
He nodded eagerly. âSure is! See, Iâm working as a crime reporter, and-â
You scoffed as you pushed yourself to a standing position. âUnbelievable.â
Without sparing another glance to the gentleman, you shouldered past him, earlier hopeful mood soured by the fact that he was just another person looking for a scoop about Kyâs demise.
He was quick to follow, almost jumping down the steps to catch up to you.
âHey, wait! Please.â
The way he begged pulled at your heartstrings because of how genuine he sounded, and for reasons beyond you, you turned around to face him and decided to hear him out.
You crossed your arms as he sighed with relief.
âThank you. Ok, to start with, Iâm a crime reporter, but Iâm not trying to report on this case as everyone knows it.â
Another eyebrow raise from you. âWhat do you mean?â
The man smiled shyly, brushing away the red hair in his eyes. âI want to bring the injustice of the system to the publicâs attention.â
That got your attention. âYou do?â
âYes. And I think your story could help with that.â
âMy story?â
He nodded again, this time more eager than the last. âYouâre pretty adamant that what happened to your friend was no accident, am I correct?â
Any mention of Ky caused the dull pain in your chest to come back, but at least this time, she wasnât being mentioned in a gruesome or negative light.
âYeah, I really donât think it was an accident. But no one believes me.â You looked down at your shoes, scuffling one against the pavement.
You only looked up again when you felt the strangerâs hand on your shoulder.
âI believe you.â
All of the breath was knocked out of you.
âYouâŚyou believe me?â
The smile he gave you this time was bright and sincere as he dropped his hand by his side. âI do. Iâve been following everything posted online or in the newspaper about this case, and some of it just really does not seem plausible. And then after hearing you today, it made so much sense as to why.â
It still bothered you a bit that you were loud enough in the station to be heard outside, but that worry was now being overshadowed by the possibility of having someone else who could stand by you on your conviction.
âItâŚreally means a lot to me that you would even consider my side of things. Truthfully, I think the police only tolerated me this long due to protocol.â You wrapped your arms around yourself.
The red-haired man grimaced at your remark. âYeah, no kidding. For as long as Iâve been in this line of work, I donât think Iâve ever seen them take things as seriously as they should.â
âHow long have you been doing this?â
âAbout a year. But trust me, Iâve seen a lot during that time.â His determined expression might have made you giggle under other circumstances because it clashed so much with the rest of his soft demeanor.
âI donât doubt it.â You walked over to the nearby bench seated a few feet away and the stranger followed hesitantly, only sitting beside you when you didnât give him any indication his presence was unwanted.
The both of you turned toward each other slightly before you spoke up again.
âSo, how can I help you with what youâre wanting to do?â
He seemed pleased that you were on board, eyes shining. âFor starters, do you think I could interview you? Iâd have to ask some sensitive questions, but I feel like I could have a better understanding of the case that wayâŚonly if youâre comfortable, though.â
You swallowed as you thought it over. Your participation in the numerous interrogations during the investigation had now proved to lead nowhere, but maybe this time the outcome would be different.
âSure, I donât mind. Iâll tell you whatever you want to know, to the best of my ability.â
The stranger beamed, looking happy enough to nearly jump out of the bench, despite the current subject matter. âGreat!â
His cheerful nature was a little infectious, you had to admit, because you already started to feel a little lighter in his presence. A hand appeared in your line of vision.
âMy name is Hoseok, by the way. We havenât been properly introduced yet so that would be the next best step, I think.â
You did giggle this time at his action. âNice to meet you, Hoseok. Iâm Y/N.â You took his hand into your own to give it a small but firm shake.
âItâs my pleasure, Y/N. Now,â he regarded you with that same soft look he had in his eyes when you first saw him at the station, âwhat do you say we discuss some logistics over lunch? My treat, of course, since youâre agreeing to help me.â
For the first time in ages, the smile that graced your face was wholeheartedly genuine. âSounds good.â
Thus, the beginning of a beautiful, long-lasting friendship bloomed that day outside of the one place youâd begun to loathe more than anything else. Over the next few years, Hoseok stood by your side in more ways than you could count, and he was now someone you considered to be one of the best friends youâd ever had.
One of the only best friends youâd ever had.
What you never expected was to be seated with Hoseok at the same diner that started your initial conversation about Kyâs case 5 years later, discussing something much too similar for your liking.
âąââââââââ ⏠⏠⏠âââââââââ°
Present Day
You sipped from your coffee mug, enjoying the warm beverage as you waited at the diner. The weather had been less than ideal, with rain pouring all day long and displaying little signs of stopping.
But Hoseok had been adamant about the two of you meeting up after your voicemail you left the previous night.
As you were thinking about your close friend, you heard the bell above the diner door ring, signaling his arrival. He spotted you across the room and quickly rushed over to your table, leaving rain droplets in his wake.
Hoseok shrugged out of his soaked jacket and tossed in into the booth seat beside him as he shook his head to â hopefully â rid himself of the water trying to slide down his face.
âHey,â he finally breathed out once he was settled. His usual wild red hair was darker now thanks to the rain, stern expression plastered onto his face.
âHey.â You responded meekly, attempting to give him a weak smile. Your stomach was churning with unease at the conversation you were about to have.
Hoseok took a deep breath before he folded his hands together and rested his elbows on the table. The coffee youâd ordered for him had been pushed to the side, momentarily forgotten.
He lowered his voice. âAre you sure the pattern of behavior is the same?â
You nodded slowly, going over all the details again in your mind. âIâm positive. The only difference is Yuri waited longer to tell me that she thinks sheâs being followed than Ky did.â
Ky. Not a day went by where you didnât think about her, seeing her smiling face when you would close your eyes at night and try to drift off to sleep.
Slumber came much easier these days than it did those first few months, but every now and then the same nightmare would plague you about the night you saw her on the sidewalk.
You shook your head to shrug the thoughts away. Now wasnât the time.
âShit,â Hoseok finally responded. âThat doesnât seem like good news for us.â
âMy thoughts exactly. Who knows how long this has been going on. And sheâs been receiving the same kind of âgiftsâ Ky would get, too. Random text messages, voicemails from unknown numbersâŚshe tries to brush it off, but I know this scares Yuri.â
âShe doesnât recognize whoâs speaking in the voicemails?â
You shook your head solemnly. âNo, theyâre using some sort of voice modifier.â
Hoseok cursed again, this time under his breath. âWell, what do you want to do?â
You gulped. Truthfully, you didnât know the answer yourself. On the one hand, everything currently happening to your friend mimicked what happened to Ky, almost exactly. But on the other hand, Yuri made it known time and time again that she thought you were too paranoid for your own good sometimes.
So, you were at a loss.
Yuri and you were close, in a sense. Youâd been friends for the last 4 years, working at the same company after graduating from college and even getting transferred to a new one in the same division so as to not be separated. Outside of Hoseok, you considered her your dearest friend.
But at the same time, you knew that Yuri had those she held very dear in her own life that were there before you, and youâd never try to overstep.
StillâŚthe events surrounding Yuri were too specific to be coincidental in your opinion, and if the hunch you had right now was correct, you needed to do something.
You wouldnât â you couldnât â let another person die. Not if there was some way for you to prevent it.
Something you didnât do with Ky, and that would haunt you for the rest of your life-
Hoseok pulled you out of your thoughts by calling your name, frowning deeply once your gaze focused on him again.
âIâŚI donât know. I feel like if I push too hard on this, Iâll also push Yuri away, and I donât want that.â You worried at your bottom lip, your most infamous nervous habit.
âBe that as it may, this doesnât seem like something you should ignore either. Whatâs worse: pushing her away but potentially saving her life, or not saying anything and she ends up in danger?â
A heavy sigh wracked through your body.
Your silence was enough for Hoseok to continue with his own line of thinking. âWell, we could consider going to the police-â
âAbsolutely not,â you answered fiercely, with more emotion than youâd displayed the entire conversation, ânot after how they handled everything with Ky and how they treated you.â
You and Hoseok had made a name for yourself throughout the town as âPublic Enemies 1 and 2â with the local police department. You, due to your persistent insistence that they were wrong in their deduction about Ky, and Hoseok because of the article he published that shamed their name.
The article was the first â and last â one that he published under the company that had hired him to be a reporter, seeing as the police department had enough sway to get him fired afterwards. He wasnât able to find another reporting job anywhere within the town or those surrounding it.
There also werenât any remaining records of the article anywhere online or in paper publication, but as a âfuck youâ to the department, Hoseok had a copy of it printed and hanging up on his wall for anyone and everyone to see. You had always admired how he handled the situation with grace even though it made your blood boil every time you thought about it.
Even so, some good had come from the whole ordeal. After failing to find another reporter job, Hoseok had made a somewhat notable career as a crime novel author, popular among locals because of how he came to be a novelist, and eventually rising to fame due to his own amazing writing skills.
He enjoyed his career and had a happy life, but that didnât mean you had to forgive and forget the shitty events that happened to get him to that point.
Hoseok nodded in understanding. âOk, so no police. Does that mean we try to tackle this whole thing by ourselves?â
âNeither of us have any legit experience with this kind of stuff, so thatâs out of the question, too.â
Hoseok tapped his chin as he pondered another idea. The way his eyes lit up as it came to him made your lips curve upward.
âWhat if we go to someone who isnât involved with the police but does have experience with that?â
ââŚnot sure Iâm following you.â
Hoseok huffed in an endearing way. âHave you ever heard of a private detective?â
The word âdetectiveâ made you wince, considering your last encounter with one evolved into a screaming matchâŚbut it was also how you met Hoseok, so thereâs a silver lining for everything.
âIâm not familiar with a private detective, but Iâm open to listening to your idea.â
He grinned. âPerfect. Ok, so in my research for my latest novel, I actually ended up looking into some real-life private detectives.â
âAnd what did you find?â Your own curiosity was definitely piqued now, as it always was when Hoseok would talk about something so passionately.
âThereâs one whoâs basically world renowned, like heâs really fucking good. And his office isnât too far from here, itâs basically in the next town over.â
You took another sip from your coffee, swirling the now lukewarm liquid around in your mouth as you contemplated.
âWhat else do you know about him?â
Hoseokâs shoulders slumped slightly at that. âNot much. The only information I have on him is his name and how you can contact him. From what Iâve read, he seems to be pretty selective with clients.â
âNo idea what he looks like?â
Hoseok shook his head. âNone. There werenât pictures or anything like that, Iâm not even sure how old he is.â
You hummed as you pictured this mystery man in your head, automatically defaulting to envisioning an older man, maybe in his 50s with already graying hair. A wise old soul who had seen so much in his long years of investigation work.
âNot like all that really matters, I guess. Do you think I should reach out to him?â
Hoseok nodded around his coffee cup before he tilted his head back to take a large sip. âThatâs our best shot right now. And if it doesnât work out, at least you tried.â
Such a simple statement but it made your stomach twist at the memory of Ky and how you werenât able to save her because you didnât know how. âRight.â
Hoseok pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through what looked like Google search results. When he found what he was looking for, he texted you the information.
âKim Taehyung?â You said the name aloud, making sure you got the correct info.
âYup, thatâs him. If you do decide to contact him, let me know how it goes, ok? Iâm already worried as is about you delving into something like this again.â
You patted his hand. âI know, Hobi. Donât worry. Iâll be careful, and Iâll keep you updated as much as possible.â
He smiled brighter than the sunshine. âThatâs all I can ask for, bub.â
âąââââââââ ⏠⏠⏠âââââââââ°
You paced around your apartment, staring at the text that Hoseok had sent you earlier. The rest of your time with him at the diner had been calm and helped to quell your nerves, but now that you were alone again, you were riddled with anxiety.
You had typed in this Kim Taehyungâs number into your phone, ready to call him and just get it over with. The worst he could do is decline your ask for help, but you wouldnât know unless you tried.
After a few more minutes of useless pacing, you finally hit âsendâ and raised the receiver to your ear.
You were met with an answering machine almost immediately, wondering if maybe you typed it in wrong until you heard âyou have reached the number for Kim Taehyung.â The name had been uttered by a human voice, one that was deep and took you off guard.
You had barely enough time to ponder over the voice before you heard the tell-tale âbeepâ signaling for you to start your message.
âOh! Um, hello, Mr. Kim. This is Y/N- well my name is Y/N. I was referred to you by a friend of mine who said you may can help me with a situation Iâm having. ThereâsâŚsome suspicious behavior involving someone dear to me and Iâm afraid they could be in danger, but Iâm not sure who to turn to. I-If youâd like to give me a call back, you can reach me at this numberâŚâ
You finished your voicemail with your contact information before thanking him and wishing him a goodnight. Once you pulled away your phone, you checked the time.
10:36 PM. No wonder you got his answering machine.
The anxiety that had settled down while you were leaving your message started to come back, so to combat that you made the decision to go ahead and get ready for bed. There wasnât anything else you could do right now, anyway.
You texted Yuri just to wish her a goodnight, and when you received a response almost immediately, you breathed out a sigh of relief. At least she was alright and that was one less thing to worry about for now.
You didnât dream that night â which was a blessing in its own right â as you thought about the deep timbre of the voice from the answering machine. Youâd only heard it briefly, but it left enough of an impact, that was for sure.
âąââââââââ ⏠⏠⏠âââââââââ°
You awoke around 8 AM, your typical time no matter what day it was. It was the weekend, so you could get more sleep if you wanted, but a quick check of your phone had you sitting upright at a record speed.
[Unknown] 6:28 AM: I got your voicemail. If you want to discuss your case, meet me at this address.
Your heart thumped faster as you re-read the words over again. The following message had an address attached, and when you opened it, you noticed how it was for the neighboring town.
With all of the context clues, and taking into account everything Hoseok told you yesterday, you figured that it was Mr. Kim who had texted you. Obviously it would be from an unknown number, and he wouldnât give out any explicit personal details to lead back to him; thatâs just how he did things, as Hobi had mentioned.
And if he contacted you back, that meant he was interested in helping you!
WellâŚhe was interested in hearing you out, at least. Still, you wouldnât pass up on this opportunity. You quickly crafted a response before you started to make yourself presentable.
[y/n] 8:03 AM: Thank you! When should I meet you?
You had just finished brushing your teeth when you heard your phone chime again.
[Unknown] 8:06 AM: Whenever is best for you. Iâll be here all day and donât have any other clients lined up.
You clutched your phone to your chest. This was really happening.
Once you were done getting ready to head out, it was just past 9 AM. You called Hobi to let him know what you were doing, and his excitement was tangible even through the phone. He urged you to keep him posted about all the details, which you assured him that of course you would.
The drive to the address youâd been given didnât take too long, maybe around 20 minutes or so. What surprised you when you arrived, though, was the outward appearance of the building.
It looked abandoned, for lack of a better term, and you checked the text message 3 more times to make sure this is where you were supposed to be.
[y/n] 9:28 AM: Iâm hereâŚbut Iâm not sure if this is the correct place?
There was an eerie feeling settling in your stomach as you waited for a response. Maybe this had been some sort of trick? Had someone set you up?
The sound of a deadbolt clicking grabbed your attention, and the door a few feet in front of you opened up to display an older woman. At first, she seemed a bit disgruntled at having an unexpected guest, but before you could apologize for intruding, her gruff expression was replaced with a warm smile.
âI take it youâre Y/N?â
You gulped and nodded, placing your phone back into your jacket pocket.
âFollow me.â
She turned on her heel to walk back into the building, not bothering to wait and see if you would obey. You quickly scurried after her, only stopping once you were a foot or so behind.
You walked through about 3 or 4 different hallways, trying to remember the directions youâd taken but failing miserably. There wasnât much to this buildingâŚyou saw what appeared to be a few offices here and there but otherwise, not much else.
âHere we are,â the woman croaked, gesturing with her arm to a much nicer looking door that had gold lettering on the window.
The etchings were bold, and it was very evident where you were as you read the words:
KIM TAEHYUNG
Private Detective
The older woman rapped on the door 3 times with her knuckles before she walked off. You were standing there, dumbfounded, until you heard a voice softly telling you to come inside.
The doorknob clicked easily under your hand, and as you entered the room, you were in awe of how different everything looked.
The office was tidy and, dare you say, extravagant compared to what surrounded it outside of this room. There were two brown leather couches that had a decent sized coffee table seated in between them; further into the office, you saw the same type of leather chairs, one in front of and one behind a large wooden desk. You also spotted a few plants that looked to be well taken care of, one sitting in a windowsill and the other on a small table next to some black filing cabinets.
Whoever had designed this room clearly had a knack for matching furniture together, because it all meshed well and you appreciated the sleek look to everything.
Your eyes ended their scan as you looked over to the far wall, almost letting out a gasp when you noticed the figure across the room whose back was turned to you.
When you softly shut the door, the other person in the room turned around. It took you a second to start thinking properly again, because he was not at all how you pictured he would be.
For starters, he looked much younger than you thought originally, closer to your own age, which you thought was admirable considering his high status as a detective. He had brown hair parted down the middle that was slightly wavy, with bangs covering his forehead. He had very handsome facial features as well, some of the most handsome youâd ever seen, if you were being honest with yourself.
He was wearing dark jeans and a shirt with black and white print that was hidden underneath a black leather jacket. Everything about this man seemed to scream fashionable and it was throwing you for a loop. You werenât trying to stereotype him based on your own experience with detectives in the past, but he was justâŚso not what you expected him to be.
You were wondering again if this might be a prank, until he finally spoke up and acknowledged your presence.
âY/N, is it?â
You nodded dumbly, scrambling to walk across the office as he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. He sat down in his own once you were close enough, and you shrugged out of your jacket before following suit.
There was a moment of silence between the two of you, but it wasnât uncomfortable. If anything, you felt small under his scrutinizing gaze. He was leaning on one elbow, chin resting in his palm as he stared at you with intensity.
He spoke suddenly, almost making you flinch with surprise.
âSo, you mentioned a friend of yours might be in danger?â
You nodded, not sure what to say or if you should say anything.
âDoes this friend know youâve come to a private detective about their situation?â
You opened your mouth, closed it, and opened it again. âWellâŚno.â
The man nodded, more to himself than you, it looked like. âAlright. Thatâs not an issue, just have to cover all the basics first.â
âWhat do the basics entail?â
He seemed amused by your interest as you took the initiative to ask questions now.
His fingertips drummed along the desk, a rhythmic sound that you found to be oddly soothing.
âIt entails me finding out as much about your case as Iâm willing to before I decide whether or not itâs something I can assist you with.â
He started twirling a pen with his unoccupied fingers, clearly waiting for you to speak first again before he continued.
âWhat do you want to know?â
âAnything you feel is pertinent to tell me.â
You sighed. âWell, to start with, I think my friend is being followed by someone-â
âProof?â
You frowned. âIâm sorry, what?â
âDo you have proof? Does this friend have pictures or a video of them being followed, or is it just a feeling?â
âTo my knowledgeâŚno. Itâs more that they sense it than have actually seen it.â
âAnd you want me to find out if this is happening or not?â
âUmâŚyes?â
It was his turn to sigh this time. âYou donât sound very confident in your answer, Y/N.â
His tone rubbed you the wrong way. âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â
âWhat it means,â he broke off to look away from the pen to your face again, âis that I need to know what it is you want from me before I can agree to help you.â
You were catching onto his game now. He wanted you to very specifically lay it all out for him, instead of leaving him to figure it out by grasping at straws.
âWell, Mr. Kim-â
âTaehyung.â
âSorry?â
âTaehyung. You can call me that, if you want. Iâm not super big on formalities for myself.â
You chewed the inside of your cheek. Why was his presence so overwhelming?
âWith all due respect, Mr. Kim, Iâve never done this before. All I know is something isnât right, and I donât trust the police to offer assistance in the way I need.â
You swore you saw something flash in his eyes.
âWhy donât you trust the police?â
You crossed your arms and leaned more into the chair. âThe last time I worked with them, it didnât end well.â
âYouâve worked on the force?â He almost sounded impressed.
âNo, sorry, poor choice of wording. I tried to help them with a case before.â
âAh,â his eyes narrowed as he busied himself with the pen again. âWere you a suspect, or?â
âI was close to the victim,â you said softly, almost a whisper.
For a moment, his expression softened. âIâm so sorry.â
You shrugged, inhaling a shaky breath as you looked at your lap. âItâs fine. JustâŚthereâs your answer. I donât want to work with them again, so I came to you.â
âIf Iâm able to take your case, Iâll make sure you donât regret that decision.â
His tone had you picking your eyes back up. You noticed a fire within his own, one that made you feel like he meant every single word heâd just said to you.
âThank you.â
He carded a hand through his hair, the action drawing your attention to the silver watch that adorned his wrist.
âCan I askâŚcould you tell me about the case you were involved with?â
A slow nod from you. âIf itâll help, I can do that.â
He motioned for you to continue. As you started telling him the details, you noticed as his eyes widened. At one point, he politely interrupted you.
âSorry, just â I remember that case. You were involved with that?â
âYes.â You were twisting your hands together in your lap. âKy was my best friend.â
âAnd the police just let the case go cold, without considering all traces of evidence?â
âI begged them not to, but there wasnât much I could do. They made that known several times,â you trailed off. You thought you heard some semblance of a growl coming from the detective.
âI always knew something was weird about thatâŚevery report they published made no sense, and none of the pieces of evidence seemed to corroborate their theories.â His hushed tone suggested he may have been talking more to himself, but you didnât question it.
âThere were signs of suspicious behavior leading up to her death that they never considered, and any time I tried to bring it up, I was shut down immediately.â
âAre these âsignsâ something youâre noticing now, with your other friend?â
âYes, exactly.â
Taehyung hummed. âI see. You want to inspect this before it gets out of hand, so you came to me because the police are a lost cause.â
You nodded feebly, voice softer than ever when you spoke again. âI donât want to see another person die.â
âYou wonât.â
His answer startled you, even if it was as quiet as your own. Your eyes met briefly before he started looking anywhere but your face.
Another hush befell the room, and this one seemed more awkward than the last, considering Taehyung cleared his throat before he rifled through one of his desk drawers.
âBefore you tell me anything else, I need you to look over something first.â
âSure, whatever I need to do, Iâll do it.â
A crooked smile tugged at Taehyungâs lips. âYou know, youâre a lot more obedient than most of my other clients.â
YouâŚwerenât sure how to take that.
âI am?â
âYeah. Most of the time they come in with demands and donât like to listen when I push back on something. Itâs part of the reason why Iâve gotten choosier about who I decide to do business with these last few years. But you,â he fished out a piece of paper from the drawer, âare proving much easier to work with. I appreciate that.â
âOh. Thank you.â
He chuckled, the sound low. âYouâre also way more polite than most people I encounter.â
You smiled at him for the first time. âIâm grateful youâre taking the time to hear me out.â
His eyes lingered on yours for just a second before shifting down.
âFirst and foremost,â Taehyung slid a piece of paper across the wooden desk that separated the two of you, âif we agree to do business, youâll need to sign this contract. It lists my stipulations and services I can provide.â
You picked up the paper, not quite sure what to expect.
âTake your time to read over all of it carefully, just so everything is clear on both our ends.â He leaned back in his chair, the sound of squeaking leather breaking your concentration for a moment.
You scanned through every line, all of the contract terms seeming straight-forward and easy to agree to-
-but the last line caught your attention.
âCould you explain this last part, please?â
Taehyung leaned over to look at which line you were pointing to before he let out a soft chuckle. âAh, that. My #1 most important rule. Never get involved with clientsâ personal lives.â
âBut donât you have to sometimes?â
âFor work, yes. But this is more referring to what happens outside of that. Things can getâŚmessy.â
âYou talk like thatâs happened before.â
Taehyung smirked but offered nothing more to that specific conversation.
âSo, are we in business?â
You didnât have to ponder long before you signed the contract with a flourish. When you passed it back across the desk, Taehyung smiled.
âPerfect,â he stood up to shake your hand, âIâll be in touch with you shortly, once Iâve reviewed your case.â
You returned the shake. âThank you, Mr. Kim.â
He squeezed your hand once before letting it go.
âThe pleasure is all mine.â
You waited to see if there was anything else he might need from you, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. He leaned down and sifted through his drawer once more, this time pulling out a Manila file folder.
âI use these to get the typical information needed for me to start my research. It just asks for clientâs name and contact info, as well as a summary about what youâre wanting from me and other names of those involved. In this instance, it would be your friend. You can give me as little or as much info as you think I need.â
He handed the folder to you, and upon opening it up, you saw everything he had just mentioned to you on a sheet of paper stapled to the inside.
âIâd prefer you fill it out now so you can leave it with me, but of course I canât force you to do anything.â
His tone suggested he was teasing, but you were quick to sit on one of the couches and begin filling out the paper. It didnât take you very long, and when you were done, you noticed he was sitting on the opposite couch, elbows resting on his knees with his hands folded.
âFinished?â
You nodded as you slid the file across the coffee table, his pen placed on top. He accepted both and smiled at you.
âAlright, if thatâs all you want to discuss, youâre free to go. As I mentioned before, Iâll be in touch with you after Iâve looked over everything and have some sort of plan on how to proceed. And of course, all of this information is strictly classified. You read that in the contract, but I always reiterate it anyway, due to some problems Iâve had in the past.â
âOf course.â You agreed with no hesitation. Honestly, you couldnât fathom just how much heâs had to endure in his line of work, how many times heâs probably had to change locations and phone numbers.
Hell, Kim Taehyung may not even be his real name, and youâd never know.
âAny questions for me?â
You mumbled some form of ânoâ as you shook your head. Taehyung walked over to the door to open it for you, and you certainly werenât expecting the same woman from before to be out in the hallway, but there she was.
âMs. Choi will show you out since this place is a bit of a maze,â his tone was light, a sheer contrast to the mood that had settled over the two of you from when you stepped into his office. âDonât forget: Iâll contact you.â
âYes, sir.â You couldnât help the authoritative term as it slipped past your lips, and you walked through the door before you could see the look on his face. You thought you might have heard some sort of laugh from Ms. Choi as she escorted you back to the front, but your imagination liked to play tricks on you sometimes.
Besides, Taehyung said he wasnât one for formalities, so it didnât really matter that much, did it? He had to be older than you anywayâŚright?
You spent the entire walk through the building trying to justify in your head what had just happened, and Ms. Choi gave you a soft smile as she held the door open for you to leave.
When you settled back in your car, you gripped the steering wheel and took a deep breath, leaning your head back as you shut your eyes.
You still couldnât quite believe that the last 30 minutes or so had happened. Taehyung had proven to be quite different than what you anticipated, but he was truthfully better than you could have hoped.
He seemed driven and motivated about his line of work, and the way he reassured you when you had your doubts-
-it made you feelâŚsafe. Like this was a step in the right direction after all.
As you called Hobi to fill him in on everything during your drive home, you started to believe that maybe, just maybe, things would turn out alright.
âąââââââââ ⏠⏠⏠âââââââââ°
âĽPart 2
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4 times peter loved you and 1 time he said it
warnings: angst, swearing, and flash being a dickwad (love him tho)
a/n: i wasnât sure if i would ever finish this bc i started in march? and gave up but i really like the concept so i made myself get back into it and AHH iâm really happy with how it turned out! fingers crossed yâall like too ahaha. also this is unrelated but send me requests!
-
to say you and peter were each otherâs missing halves would be an absolute understatement. there wasnât a secret you didnât share, an inside joke you didnât have, a text or call left unanswered, or a second you werenât on the otherâs mind.
it had been like that since your first day of freshman year. you took the seat next to peter in first period spanish, and the rest was history.
peter knew you better than you knew yourself. as cheesy as it sounded, it was true. he could guess what you were going to order at a restaurant before you picked up the menu. if you had a bad day, heâd come over to your place with tissues and hugs, without you having to ask. he knew all the little things.
you? you were a peter parker encyclopedia. you watched all his favorite movies so he could rant to you about them, and youâd actually understand what he was saying. whenever he felt overwhelmed by his chaotic life, you found a way to calm him.
you two were soulmates in best friend form.
best friends, nothing more.
⥠1.
you had an arm around peterâs neck as you picked at some fruit on his lunch tray. his head was resting comfortably against your cheek, whole body leaning on you. impromtu cuddle sessions werenât unusual for the two of you. they worked in both of your favors. peter was your own personal heater, and you were just really comfortable to nap on, in his opinion.
âare you gonna eat all my grapes? i was looking forward to those,â peter whined, taking one out of your hand. âare you gonna keep using me as a pillow?â you challenged. he responded by moving his head to your shoulder and chewing. âthen, yes. i am gonna eat all your grapes.â
âyou know what two people who share food are?â ned chimed in from across the cafeteria table. already knowing what he was implying, you sighed. âwhat, ned?â he cupped his hand over his mouth like he was about to spill the worldâs biggest secret. âa couple.â
it wouldnât be a regular day without ned trying to play matchmaker for you and peter. the idea made peter scoff. âleave us alone, man. that doesnât even make sense.â âyes it does!â ned nudged mj for backup. she only raised her hands in defense. it was always a hard pass from her on getting involved in these types of things, unless she found a reason to.
âreally? how?â you grabbed peterâs milk and took a sip just for the hell of it. he chuckled at that, forgetting he was supposed to be annoyed with you. a bit of milk dripped down your chin in the process. âoops,â you grimaced at yourself and licked it away.
something about the whole thing made peterâs heart clench. it was so... you were so... cute. cute was definitely the word he was looking for. wait, what? that was new. peter had always thought you were pretty and all, but heâd never found himself endeared like this over such a little thing you did. or had he? no. nope. it was nedâs stupid theory messing with him. that was all.
ây/n, dude, everyone knows itâs a thing. like, why else would someone give up their whole lunch? itâs flirting,â ned interrupted peterâs sudden thoughts about your cuteness. the smug look on his face made you want to throw the tray at him.
before you even joined their friend group, ned was on a mission to set the two of you up. peter described you to him and mj as âthe actual sweetest girl ever. she makes me laugh a lot. you guys gotta meet her.â mj obviously âtskedâ at him, but a light bulb went off in nedâs head. peter was crushing. he just didnât know it yet.
part of how you and peter got so close was that ned and mj used to back out of group plans. youâd end up hanging out alone most of the time. of course, it was nedâs idea. a successful idea, yes, but neither of you understood the obsession. apparently it was a guy in the chairâs duty to be a good wingman, and you should leave it to him. whatever that meant.
âif i remember correctly, you and your mom went halfsies on a piece of cake at your birthday party last year. what are you trying to tell us, leeds?â mj asked with a smirk. you and peter looked at each other and burst into laughter, nedâs mouth hanging open. the girl could really get someone when she wanted to.
âshut up, you guys! thatâs different!â âso is y/n stealing my food and you calling it sharing,â peter made a point of saying more to you than ned. despite his words, he pushed the tray over to you. it was basically yours, anyway.
you thanked him with a pat on his cheek and popped more grapes into your mouth. in that moment, peter decided heâd get you all the grapes in the world if he could. jeez, he seriously needed to reel it in.
ned was only going to keep going now. âsee that? peterâs such a sweet boyfriend. isnât he, y/n?â he cooed and clasped his hands under his chin. you didnât have the chance to change the topic before flash appeared at your table. heâd probably overheard your conversation. âpenis parker is somebodyâs boyfriend? good one.â
feeling peter tense up next to you, you put a hand on his shoulder to let him know you were there. youâd been in too many of these situations. the way flash talked to peter pissed you off in ways you didnât think were possible. he was fine with everybody else, so why did he choose to pick on him? peter was the least deserving person of having to put up with it from anyone.
âjust ignore him, okay? heâll get bored and leave. works every time,â you reminded peter. too uneasy to say anything, he reached back and put his hand on top of yours. he tried to focus on how nice your touch felt instead of the fact that he was about to be humiliated by flash yet again.
âpeter could totally get a girlfriend! he has, like, tons of girls after him,â ned attempted to back peter up, pleased with himself. groaning, peter put his head down on the table. he couldnât bare to watch his friend destroy what was left of his social life. âyouâre really pushing this now. stop talking,â mj warned in a whisper yell to ned. that didnât stop flash from hearing her.
âsheâs right. even parker agrees! look at him,â he snickered at peterâs embarrassed state. youâd had more than enough of him at that point. screw the silence. it wasnât going to cut it for this one. while wingman ned was still making up stories, you tapped peterâs shoulder to find out how he was doing. his head remained down.
âyou okay? want me to say something?â âiâm used to it, and no. i donât wanna make you deal with him.â peter hated putting his issues on other people, but you couldnât stand another second of listening to the things flash was saying. you cut into an argument between him and ned about peterâs body count. like his was any higher.
âfuck off, flash!â he stopped in the middle of his sentence. âhuh?â âi said fuck off. anyone would be so lucky to date peter. youâre probably salty at him all the time because itâll never be you,â you finally snapped. his tough guy persona faltered for a few seconds at your words, ned and mj taking the opportunity to high five you for telling him off.
peter was glad his head was still down because his cheeks were pinker than heâd like to admit. did you really mean that? would you be lucky to date him, too?
âwhat are you, president of the parker protection squad? or are you two a thing?â flash quickly recovered. there he went trying to get the last word in. the embarrassment for peter if you denied it was exactly what he wanted, but you werenât letting him have it.
âask me again some other time.â you plastered on a shit-eating grin and waved goodbye. unsatisfied with your answer, flash huffed his way back to his own table. after he was gone, peter looked up at you with something youâd never seen before twinkling in his eyes.
âthank you, y/n. you really didnât have to say all of that.â âoh, no. donât thank me. iâd do it for you anytime. i am president of the parker protection squad, after all.â your fake smile turned into a genuine one for him. peter couldnât help but mirror it.
his was heart doing that thing again. he guessed it was because he loved you so much, but this love felt different somehow. it wasnât the friend kind of love heâd had for you all those years.
it was the kind of love he saw in the rom coms you made him watch when you got to pick for movie night. cupidâs love was the official name for it. when he put two and two together, the realization smacked him straight in the face. ned was right.
peter was starting to fall in love with you, and there was no way he could stop.
⥠2.
peter was a workaholic. patrolaholic to be exact, especially when he had a reason. heâd sometimes find himself in a cycle of getting home late and going out early for days on end. heâd gotten used to the sleep deprivation. his grumbling stomach from missing meals wasnât too big of a deal either. not when he had a city to save.
it was also a good distraction from everything else going on in his life. man, did he need a distraction. after peter came to terms with the fact that he loved loved his best friend, he narrowed it down to two options; telling you about his feelings or taking them to his grave. since the city was so busy, he was thankful he could throw himself into patrolling and not decide just yet.
may would usually only allow peter to patrol on weekends. school existed, and he had to take breaks. peter really wanted to help out more, so he proposed an idea that could potentially let him up it to the full seven days. he had to make it home in one piece every night for a trial week. that would prove to may he could handle it.
ignoring his black eye on tuesday and limp on thursday, it worked out. peter was positive he could finish off the week just fine. may didnât have the same optimism. she decided that so much as a scratch on friday and it was strike three. friday came, and peter had impressively managed to end the day, like he thought, just fine.
he did one last swing around the neighborhood he was in, then started heading back to queens to gloat to may. on his way, he remembered he had to text you goodnight. he was bound by a pinky swear to you that he would do it every time he finished patrolling.
peter being spider-man was something you figured out only a few months after he got his powers. he technically exposed himself, and you pieced everything together. it all happened when spider-man offered to walk you home from school one day.
the way he rubbed the back of his neck while asking was a nervous habit that was oddly familiar, and urged you to say yes. you also thought it was strange how even though he didnât ask for your address, he somehow knew where he was taking you. then again, he was spider-man. it was his job to know new york city and the people living in it.
you came to the conclusion you were making things up until he was about to leave. he walked you to the door of your apartment building and said, âstay safe, squirt.â nobody called you that besides peter. he came up with it because he had recently grown a few inches taller and could finally give you hell for being the short one.
needless to say, peter didnât take off like he was intending to. he realized his slip up as soon as the nickname came out of his mouth. you brought him upstairs and had a long afternoon of questioning, explanations, and making promises.
peter typed out a message telling you he was fine and to go to sleep. as he was about to hit send, he swung too low and smacked his head right into a traffic light. that was what he got for texting while swinging. he could imagine mj giving him one of her famous safety lectures already, but that wasnât first on his list of worries. he had a throbbing head and mayâs third strike to deal with.
crap, may couldnât know about this. sheâd ban him from patrolling probably forever. going home was out of the question, but peter was in desperate need of an ice pack. there was already a bump forming from where the light hit him. his next choice would be to go to happy, only he couldnât do that because heâd tell may.
peterâs hands worked faster than his brain, and he started swinging over to your apartment. the overthinking began soon after. nobody wants to deal with a surprise appearance from their possibly concussed friend at 2 a.m. besides, what would he say? heâd barely seen you all week. it wasnât fair to you, but it was too late to turn back.
peter landed on the sidewalk with an âoofâ and crawled up the wall of your building. when he reached your window, he knocked in the same rhythm that he always did. no answer. he knocked louder. no answer again.
seeing as he had no other option, peter had to let himself in. he pushed on your window to see if it was unlocked. thank god it slid up then, but he made a mental note to remind you about keeping it locked another time. he climbed through the window with as little noise as possible so your family wouldnât hear.
after navigating in the dark, peter pulled off his mask by the side of your bed. he instantly melted at the sight of you. your face was squished into your pillow, hair sprawled everywhere. youâd must have fallen asleep waiting for his text because you were holding your phone. peter was sure heâd never seen something so adorable.
he let himself stand there and watch the peaceful rise and fall of your chest. the bump on his head was no longer a priority. peter was utterly and completely entranced with you. god, why was he acting like this? oh, right. he was secretly in love with you.
before peter could help himself, he brushed some hair that had fallen into your eyes away with his fingers. you squirmed in your sleep, peter pulling his hand back. he was such an idiot sometimes. your eyes fluttered open and landed on him.
âpeter? âs that you?â you squinted to see in the darkness of your room. he moved closer. your legs dangled over the bed as you slowly sat up. âyeah, itâs me. sorry to wake you.â he went to scratch his head out of nerves, but stopped when he remembered it really freaking hurt right there.
ââs okay. i was hoping youâd come over soon. missed you all week.â you frowned at the red and blue clad boy in front of you. except for school, you hadnât seen peter the past few days. âlots of crime to fight lately?â âmissed you more, and yeah. been kicking lots of asses.â the awkwardness peter was imaging faded away when he plopped down next to you on your bed.
âhowâs your eye doing? and the limp?â you turned his head towards you by his chin. he exhaled in relief. âgetting better, i think. now that weâre talking about injuries...â the sleepiness was knocked out of you. you all but leapt to your feet and turned on the lamp by your bed. peter had a feeling youâd slightly freak.
âweâve been making small talk and youâre hurt? what happened, peter?â âi-i sort of, um, i was texting you and swung into a traffic light.â âoh my god, where?â he pointed at his forehead with a weak smile. surely enough, there was a big bump. you gasped. âplease donât be mad at me.â âiâm not mad at you. just feel bad it was kinda my fault. do you think you have a concussion?â
you werenât sure what to do beyond the mostly useless first aid videos they played in gym class. being an avenger, peter had had his share of experience with wounds. whenever he came to you hurt, he talked you through how to help him. the most youâd ever dealt with was a few particularly deep cuts. this was not the same.
âiâm not sure. you could try that finger thing?â he suggested. you crouched down in front of him. âgood idea. letâs do that.â as you waved your index finger back and forth and peterâs eyes followed it seemingly well, his mind was elsewhere. he was thinking about crawling into bed with you and sleeping in your arms.
âwell, you passed or whatever they say. iâm pretty sure you donât have a concussion. youâll heal fast because of... you know.â you stood up and mimicked the way he shoots his webs. peter chuckled quietly. your thumb ran lightly over his bump, making him wince. âhow bad does it feel?â âon a scale from one to ten itâs, like, a five and a half.â
although not what you wanted to hear, it was manageable. you hoped so, at least. âiâm gonna go get some stuff. change into comfortable clothes.â âyes, doctor y/n.â peter saluted you. you were happy to see he still felt up to joking around. biting your lip to hold back a smile, you made your way to the kitchen.
peter searched through the spare clothes heâd left here over the years. there were so many, you had to give him a drawer. he changed into pajama pants and a t-shirt, then sat back down criss cross on your bed.
you came in shortly after with a water bottle, two advil, and an ice pack wrapped in a towel. âi was kidding about the whole doctor thing, you know.â âtoo bad.â you handed him the advil and water. âtake these. theyâll help until your magic healing powers kick in.â peter took the pills while you pressed the ice pack to his bump. he took it from you when he was finished.
âis that any better?â âmuch better. iâm all good. i should probably go soon.â he mumbled, not meaning it but also not wanting to overstay his welcome. youâd already done so much for him. you stopped him from getting up by putting a hand on his chest.
âwhat? you already changed, and iâm not sending you home to get killed by may. just stay.â âare you sure? i donât wanna bother you anymore. it was annoying for me to come here so late in the first place.â
a frown set on your face. âpeter, donât you remember my promise?â there was a beat of silence while he thought about it. âthat youâd help out with spidey stuff?â âhowever and whenever i can. i donât know what made you think differently just now, but nothingâs gonna change that. doesnât matter if itâs the middle of the night or early in the morning. iâm always here.â
only you could reassure him just like that. peter was really lucky to have you. really, really lucky.
âright. youâre right. sorry for... whatever that was.â âyou apologize too much.â you poked his chest to punctuate your statement and switched the light off. âsorry for that, too,â he teased, wanting a reaction from you. âpeter benjamin parker, just get in the bed.â âyes, maâam.â that was enough before you changed your mind and threw him out.
you rolled to lay on the other side of peter. still pressing the ice pack to his head, he laid down next to you. it didnât take long for both of you to be settled under the covers. âtry not to bang into the wall or something,â you joked and pulled your comforter up to your chin.
peter puffed some air out of his cheeks, tugging more of it back. âyou canât be mean and hog the blanket.â âitâs my bed, so i actually can. iâll hog everything.â
to prove your point, you moved over to peter until there was no room between you. both of you knew it was an excuse to cuddle. he wasnât mad about it at all. peter opened an arm for you. you curled into his side, letting him hold you close. his whole body relaxed as you hugged him against you. âgoodnight, spidey.â ânight, squirt.â
⥠3.
âwhat does that cloud look like to you?â you pointed up at the sky. peterâs eyes darted around as he tried to find exactly which one you were talking about. there were a lot of them, in his defense. you made a big circle with your finger around the cloud in question.
âthe really curvy one. right there.â âkinda looks like a tiger. can we keep walking now?â peter tugged your arm linked in his in an attempt to move you from the spot youâd randomly stopped in. he made a whiny noise when you didnât budge.
âi think it looks more like a horse, and no. why are you in such a rush?â furrowing your brows at him, you tightened your grip on his arm. âbecause some people donât like cloud watching, grandma.â âi only asked you about one! iâm just... trying to get the most out of today.â
with college around the corner, you and peter both had a lot to do and a little bit of time to get it done. your only hangouts had become some shared extracurriculars and weekly study group with your other friends. trying to binge watch your shows together on facetime hadnât been easy, for one thing. you fumbled to keep your phone up more than you payed attention.
on a more serious note, being apart sucked majorly. it was going to be this times a million when you would inevitably have to split up in a few months. thinking about it for too long usually made you cry.
peter was struggling in other ways. his more than a friend feelings for you were only getting stronger. having all that love and not being able to give it to you was hurting like hell, and he had to just pack everything up and act normal during the rare moments you were together. you were both going through it.
this was the first sunday in what felt like forever that you and peter were both free. you decided that the nice weather called for a meetup at central park. so, there you were, arm in arm on your afternoon stroll.
âdonât say it like that, y/n. youâre making me sad.â peter let out a breath as you rested your head on his shoulder. âthat was the point.â you started walking again, peter following next to you. he kicked at pebbles while you smiled up at him. that made him smile at his feet. you were getting really good at making him flustered.
âso, did you finish that pre calc packet?â peter asked to distract himself. you lifted your head off his shoulder with a groan. âpeter, weâre not talking about school for once. letâs talk about literally anything else.â âlike what?â you were about to make a suggestion, but something caught your attention.
you raced over to a swingset, dragging peter along with you before he could realize where you were taking him. you stopped in front of it and threw your hands up to present it to him. he let out a breathy laugh. âwhen was the last time you went on one of these?â you asked, taking peterâs arm again. peter shook his head. âway too long ago.â
with a smile, you walked him over and took a seat on one of the swings. peter sat on the one next to you. you spun around in a circle to see how much you could twist the chains, peter laughing. ây/n, what are you doing?â âhaving fun. you should try it sometime.â he backed up to get himself started and grabbed his own chains. âi do have fun. itâs just not in the ways you think.â
you untwisted yourself to watch peter. âso, how?â âwell,â he started going higher, âi like learning about stuff, even the things we have to in school.â âeverybody knows that. thatâs the first thing i thought of.â you did know everything possible about him.
everything except his new feelings for you, but this wasnât the time for him to blurt that out. he was still figuring out when or if he should.
âguess iâm not gonna say i like movies, either.â âsinging?â you were swinging next to him, turning it into an unspoken competiton for who could get the highest. peter slowed down a bit since heâd had a head start. âi suck. the only person whoâs allowed to hear me is you.â
âitâs possible to suck at something and still enjoy it.â the breeze blew your hair around, peter seeing it from the corner of his eye. heâd always loved how carefree you were around him. it rubbed off.
âremind me to force you to do karaoke one day.â âyouâre so annoying.â that motivated you to kick off harder on the ground. peter huffed and tried to catch up to you. âdonât be mean to your only source of fun.â if that wasnât true, he wouldâve came up with a comeback.
the only time peter remembered to relax was when he was with you. it was usually because you reminded him. he skidded to a stop on the swing and looked up at you.
âwhyâd you let me win? was that too mean?â you looked over your shoulder. ânah, i just got tired.â âoh. we can do something else now. catch me?â âsure,â peter chuckled and got off the swing. he stood in front of you on the grass and waited for you to get lower. you clenched your teeth into a nervous smile.
âready?â âready.â swinging towards him, you jumped off and expected to land in his arms. you ended up completely on top of him instead.
the wind was knocked out of both of you, but peter had it worse because he broke your fall. your hands were on his shoulders and one of his was around your lower back. neither of you realized the position you were in. you were too busy trying to breathe again.
âgod, that hurt.â âmy bad,â peter mumbled. in any other circumstance, he wouldnât be complaining about this. âi shouldâve warned you or something,â you dismissed him.
you were still hovering over peter, your lips dangerously close to his. he couldâve sworn they almost touched. that was when you got off of him. he only forced out a laugh. nothing ever went his way. you offered him a hand, oblivious to his inner conflict. peter took it and pulled himself up, falling into step next to you as you headed to another path.
that couldâve been a chance to make some sort of move, and he blew it.
⥠4.
it hadnât been easy for peter to move on from that day. his mind kept replaying the split second you almost kissed on an endless loop, and all he could do was come up with what he shouldâve done in the moment.
things were getting to a point where he had no clue how to act around you. being your friend was hard, but becoming your boyfriend would be that much harder. his stupid feelings put him in an awkward place, and he was afraid you were starting to realize. he couldnât lose you altogether.
you asked peter to meet you for coffee after school. it was this small place in between your apartments youâd both been to once before. they had really good cookies and an overall cozy feeling you liked. peter wasnât sure what this was all about.
were you going to confront him? did ned say something? maybe it was a mistake to confide in his most gossipy friend about how he felt.
with a headache from stress and a heavy backpack hanging off his shoulders, peter walked into the cafĂŠ. he spotted you at a table near the window. youâd already taken the liberty of ordering, two drinks and a chocolate chip cookie waiting there. you looked up from your phone when peter pulled a chair out.
âhi.â you gave him a small smile and put your phone down. âi already got everything.â peter shrugged off his backpack with a grin. he sat down facing you. âthanks. sorry iâm kinda late. i had to stop at my locker.â you usually met him there. come to think of it, why hadnât you today? you pushed peterâs drink over to him. âyouâre fine. i came here early to get us a table, anyway.â phew.
peter bent the straw to his iced macchiato and took a sip. it made him feel grown up, casually drinking coffee with you over a boring conversation. adult life mustâve sucked. âso, how was the rest of your day?â he asked to fill the silence. you only had two classes without him after lunch, so that was a dumb question. heâd never had so much trouble talking to you.
âeh. betty fell asleep on me during this cold war documentary we had to watch.â âdidnât she say american history is her favorite?â you broke off a piece of the cookie with a laugh. ânot after that. what about your day?â the light from the window was shining directly on you, blocking out everything else from peterâs view. he wanted to tell you how beautiful you were so bad, but that would be creepy.
you took a bite of your cookie and raised an eyebrow. he was staring. âuh, nothing interesting. iâm gonna patrol a little bit later.â peter sipped his drink again. you clicked your tongue and let out a breath. âthatâs all you do these days.â he knew you were catching on to how off heâd been. what was he supposed to say? it wouldâve helped if heâd prepared a few excuses.
âjust trying to help out while iâm still here.â that was a half truth. âyeah, but you should still take some time for yourself.â you ripped open your straw wrapper and blew it at peter. he caught it just before it hit his face. rolling your eyes, you put the straw into your drink. âi hate your reflexes sometimes.â he shrugged one of his shoulders casually. âjealousy is a disease.â
neither of you said anything for a few minutes. you stared out the window while peter finished the rest of the cookie. he could tell something was on your mind. whenever you were deep in your thoughts, you sort of zoned out like this.
he was too nervous to ask you what was wrong because of the conversation you just had. it sounded like you had already considered he was being distant before today. his feelings aside, he needed to reassure you. that was more important.
ây/n?â you turned your head to look at him. âyeah?â peterâs gaze shifted from you to his thumbs twiddling in his lap. âi know weâve both been really... busy lately, but iâm still here. donât forget that.â a hint of a smile played on your lips. you wouldâve hugged him if you could reach. âthank you, peter. i kinda needed to hear that.â he nudged your leg under the table. âof course. hey, you wanna come with me tonight?â
a couple of hours later, you were in peterâs arms on a rooftop that was much higher up than it looked. he insisted on taking you for a swing so you could get the full experience. heâd been trying to get you to do this for the longest time, so he wondered what made you agree today. you wanted to find out what was so enjoyable about it.
âi trust you, but youâre not gonna drop me, right?â your legs were around his waist, and he had one hand supporting you by your back. that wasnât terrifying at all. you grabbed peterâs shoulders, the idea of it making you nervous. he wrapped his arm tighter around you.
âoh my god, no. i can always web you back up.â âpeter! thatâs not funny.â even behind the mask, you could tell he was smirking. âyouâre always safe with me, squirt. donât worry.â you brought your arms up to loop around his neck.
âi feel better now.â âgood. iâm gonna jump when we get to the edge, okay?â your whole body stiffened up. peter could sense it. as excited as he was to share this with you, he didnât want to make you feel pressured. âor we donât have to do it.â his voice was quiet. you tried to relax in his hold. âiâm just gonna close my eyes. i think thatâll help.â âweâre about to find out.â
peter started walking towards the edge of the building with you holding on even tighter to him, your eyes squeezed shut. he kept finding himself in situations where he was close to you in the ways heâd been wishing for, but never for the same reasons. it was bittersweet.
he bit down on his lip and aimed his free hand at a building. you squealed when he leaned back. âiâm jumping now,â he prepared you, and before you could respond, you were in the air. you hid your face in peterâs chest the second you felt yourself pretty much flying.
âwhat the fuck, you like this?â you had to yell so he could hear you. peter shot another web to keep swinging. âitâs really not that bad! try looking up!â he shouted back, clearly amused.
grip tightening around his neck, you slowly pulled your face away from him. he kept you close as he swung. you somehow convinced yourself you werenât going to die by looking at something besides peter. your eyes landed on the sky behind his head.
the sun was almost completely set, deep pink and orange merging together against the glowing lights of the city. you were finally understanding why he liked this so much. it was beautiful.
peter peeked at you for a second to check on you. he swore his heart was going to explode out of his chest. the look of adoration on your face, it was even better than the view. it was the view. the little moments where peter got to see you this way made him realize how in love with you he really was.
âthis is... wow. i get it now,â you laughed in disbelief, watching as the city whirled past you. peter smiled so big it hurt. âpretty awesome, huh?â one of your hands slid back down to his shoulder. âtake me with you more often.â
⥠5.
peter licked his lips out of habit as he held the door open for may, who was following behind him with a look of pride. he was about to graduate high school. the ceremony was being held in a really nice stadium-like place. trying to find it added minutes on to the parker tradition of being late to everything important.
peter wasnât as concerned with his tardiness as he was with finding you.
while he tossed and turned in bed the night before, he went over his whole school year in his head. that meant little things and big things. he was starting to drift off until he remembered a conversation with ned a few weeks back. they decided on a deadline for peter to tell you about his feelings, and it was before graduation.
they chose it because if peter got rejected, heâd be over it by the time college started. that was the goal.
it wasnât that peter had changed his mind. it was that he completely forgot. he didnât have a solid plan for what he should do. these things needed to be decided way in advance. he ended up pulling something together last minute because it was you. plus, this extra pressure gave him the push to go through with it. somewhere between steps seven and eight, he passed out.
may rushed him to get ready because heâd slept past his alarm. the whole morning was a mess, and he had at most fifteen minutes to confess his love to you by the time he got there.
âyou should go make sure youâre marked here. iâll see you after. love you.â may pressed a kiss to his cheek and half-jogged to the auditorium for a seat. he squeezed her arm and headed off to check in. your whole grade was already lined up along the walls for what looked like miles. the deal was to tell you before graduation. he still had about ten minutes.
peter walked past hundreds of students with his heartbeat thumping in his ears. everyone was in alphabetical order, so it didnât take too long to find you. relief washed over you when you saw peter. you were worried he wouldnât show up at all. his cap was in his hand, hair getting tangled from running his fingers through it. he looked at you with pleading eyes.
âfinally, iâve been trying to call you all morning. where were you?â your tone was dripping with concern. âi overslept. thereâs something i gotta tell you, y/n.â he gulped. you smiled in a way that was kind of pitying. âweâre about to start going inside. i- you have to wait, pete. go get lined up.â
this wasnât how it was going to end. not again.
he looked around to see who was watching, then he grabbed your wrist. âpeter, what are you-â âjust come with me really quick.â despite yourself, you let him lead you down the hallway. you dodged a couple of teachers having a conversation and went into a bathroom that was vacant by some chance. he let go of you after the door shut. you stood behind it while he walked over to a sink.
it was making you anxious to not be out there. you could be late. peter was the same way when it came to school, so you knew this had to be pretty serious. you gave up the battle with yourself and made your way over to him. he was looking at himself in the mirror, trying to get a stray curl back in place.
âlet me help.â you stood next to him. he turned to face you, that same look of urgency still in his eyes. you used two fingers to brush through his hair. there was so much gel that it was wet enough to mess with. you smiled a bit and took your hand out of his hair. his hand was gripping the sink.
âyou look good, pete. you smell good, too.â âso do you.â his voice was lower than usual. you flattened out the material of your blue gown. âthanks. so, talk to me. whatâs up?â
the question was so simple, but way too many answers were running through peterâs brain. he wasnât even sure heâd have enough time to explain everything now. this was why he needed a written out and carefully crafted plan.
but, like he said to himself last night, this was you. his best friend in the entire world and any other that might exist. the person whoâs been there for his most embarrassing moments, and whoâs been responsible for some of his best ones. if he couldnât finally say the three words heâd said to you so many times before, what was the point?
his fingers drummed a steady rhythm while he mustered up the last remaining bit of courage in him. you watched him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. âjust, um...â he was stalling. he pulled his hand off the sink. âi... love you.â peter only glanced at you for a second, too afraid to see your reaction. âi love you, too. is everything okay?â his heart sank. you thought he meant it in the friend way.
that was what he got for being so terrible with words.
âno, y/n. not like that.â he blurted. you were lost. peter pressed his back against the wall and sat down. confused and equally worried, you sat next to him on the floor. âthen what do you mean? youâre scaring me.â he checked the watch may made him wear to see how much time was left before graduation. four minutes. he really shouldâve woken up on time.
âwe have to get back in line soon. i donât wanna miss-â âi love you, y/n. iâm in love with you.â a weight that had been on peterâs chest for months was lifted just by saying it. you squinted your eyes at him, but said nothing.
âiâve been trying to tell you for a while, and itâs okay if you donât feel the same. i just had to say it.â âfuck, are you serious?â you sounded what peter could only describe as disappointed. yeah, it was unrequited. here came a summer of crying. âi was gonna tell you first.â
peterâs breath hitched in his throat, and he swore you could hear it. he was so sleep deprived that it felt like he was hallucinating. you shook your head as heat came to your cheeks.
âhow long have you...â peter trailed off, an eye crinkling smile interrupting him. âthat day we went for coffee. something clicked, so i thought for a while and figured it out. i think iâve loved you for a really long time.â
you inched closer to peter, just barely resting your head on his shoulder. for once, you felt like the shy one. he put his hand on top of yours. his thumb traced over each of your fingers. âiâd ask you out, but you know. we donât really have time.â
âpeter, it wonât take that long.â you giggled. he squeezed your hand in his. âhm. y/n, would you wanna go out with me after this?â you thought about teasing him for it, but he was right. you had to go. that was the friend still in you. âiâd love to go out with you, peter.â
with that, you both jumped to your feet and ran out of the bathroom. you were still holding hands, and a few classmates made faces when you rushed past them to get to your spots. you exchanged one last smile with peter before lining up.
the person in front of you said everybody was looking for you two. honestly, you didnât care all that much. you were too excited for your date later. peter already knew heâd be checking his watch throughout the whole ceremony.
it was a best friend and soulmate thing.
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Beautiful Liar
âHe cares about you.â
Loki taking this in tried his best, as he usually does when it comes to people who care about him, not to think about it. People who care about him usually end up getting hurt. Whether it be by him, something, or someone else. Lying to people and never allowing them to get truly close made things easier. Or so he had always managed to convince himself. However he couldnât ignore the extreme loss and anguish he had felt when he thought Mobius had died nor the extreme joy and relief he felt when he realised he was alive. Still Loki tried his best to ignore all these things.
âItâs cold.â Was all he managed to say. Like me he thought at the very back of his mind.
âMmhmm.â Came Sylvieâs reply.
Loki conjured up himself a blanket. Something that felt and seemed real in order to mask the feelings he felt that were too real.
âI could conjure one for you, if you like.â He kindly and intentionally offered. Knowing that Sylvie probably handles her emotions in a similar way.
âTell you what, you could conjure me a new outfit. You have no idea how uncomfortable something like this is.â She said.
Ah a witty joke that carefully avoided help and receiving care.
How like a Loki.
Loki chuckled softly at the madness of it all. Why couldnât he ever just let himself be loved?
âSo... Mobius...â
Oh God here we go. Thought Loki.
âand his um... theory about-â
âRight right!â Interrupted Loki who was not entirely sure whether or not he felt relieved that they were discussing their nexus event instead of Mobiusâ genuine care for him or not. âAbout our nexus event.â
âTotal rubbish, right?â
Loki immediately feeling his heart sink, immediately ignoring it sinking, and immediately responding said, âAbsolutely. Of course! I mean...â
Sylvie knowing Loki, as she was actually him to some extent, picked up on this and quickly stated, âI donât mean that it wasnât you know a nice moment.â
âNo it was great. It was really nice it-it-it was great.â Loki faltered. Realising that the very thing he wished to avoid thinking or talking about he was now having to think and talk about. The very thing he tried to ignore from Mobius. Someone genuinely caring for him and he genuinely caring for someone else.
âIt just... sounds like another TVA lie.â Said Sylvie. Often feeling that lies were all she knew. Both from herself and from others.
âA hundred percent! I mean t-totally...â Lie. Just like what youâre doing to yourself right now. Just like what youâre doing to her right now. Just like what you do to him. Just like you always bloody do. âyeah....â
He glanced at Sylvie knowing just how much, just how intimately, she lies too.
âI donât know how to do this.â She admitted. Not a lie.
âI donât even know what weâre doing.â He admitted. The truth.
She smiled at him knowingly. âI donât have friends.â Knowing he does the same as her. Knowing he too never allows anyone to get close. âI donât have... anyone.â
âWell...â that nagging thought he always pushed aside was at its loudest. Open up. Be honest. Tell her everything. How lonely you truly are. How youâre terrified of being alone yet somehow manage to push away every single person whoâs every cared about you. He killed it with a lie. Like heâs done thousands of times. Every time. âThere are more important things right?â
âRight? Yeah! L-like bringing down the TVA!â She can lie to herself too. Obviously.
âI mean saving the universe when you think about it.â
âWell thereâs no need to be dramatic but, yeah, kind of.â
A few moments of silence passed between the two. Loki knew Sylvie was shivering. Knew just how much she was shivering. How unbearably cold and lonely she was too. Unable to stand it any longer he decided to actually act on his genuine care for her. For himself. He made the blanket grow bigger so that Sylvie wouldnât be cold.
He wondered if she knew why he did this. Just how symbolic it truly was and then with a smile he suddenly realised that of course she did.
âItâs not very snuggly.â She said.
He let forth an amused and exhausted laugh âOkay.â
âIs it a tablecloth?â
âNo. Itâs a blanket!â
She looked him in the eye. Fully knowing why he did what he just did and just how difficult it is for them, how difficult it always is for a Loki, to love and be loved.
âThank you.â
ďżź
Tried of always lying. Tried of always being lonely. Tried of always being Loki. He said âMy pleasure.â He meant it.
âHow do I know that in the final moments you wonât betray me?â Sylvie asked. Tried as well.
âListen, Sylvie, I...â Loki sighed deeply. All the thoughts that he hid for years. All the feelings he ignored. Everything about himself he constantly lied to himself about. He let it all out with a simple action. Telling the truth. âI betrayed everyone who ever loved me. I betrayed my father, my brother...â Mobius his mind told him but he wouldnât admit it. âMy home. I know what I did. And I know why I did it. And thatâs not who I am anymore... okay? I wonât let you down.â And this time, for once, he actually believed himself.
âYou sure?â She asked.
Loki nodded.
âCause if we make it,â She continued. âAnd the TVA is gone, there might be a timeline for you to rule.â
Ah yes, ruling, an easy way to secure a false sense of control. To control other people alongside your feelings. To control and manipulate others as easily as you control and manipulate yourself. What fun.
âAh. And then Iâd finally be happy.â Loki said sarcastically.
Sylvie sighed. Back to lying I see she thought for a moment.
âWhat about you?â Loki asked. âWhat will you do when this is all over?â
Sylvie who lived her whole life according to one purpose simply replied, âI donât know.â
âI donât know either.â Loki responded. The less he lied the more he realised he could tell the truth. The more he could be honest with himself. The more he could let himself care and be cared for. âMaybe... maybe we could figure it out... together.â
She stared at him not fully convinced but not unconvinced either. âMaybe.â
And maybe Loki could really figure it out one day. How he truly felt about Mobius. How he truly felt about Sylvie. How he truly felt about himself.
How he truly felt about being loved. How he truly felt about his own love for others. Maybe. Maybe one day he will stop lying. Just maybe.
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Inside âThe Pactâ
Hello! For those of you that followed along with The Pact, I received a few questions and requests to get an inside look. Iâll link the post here that explains a bit more about what this is gonna be about.Â
Weâre gonna break this down into sections: first will be answering your questions about The Pact & the characters. Then Iâll show you guys a little about my notes & decision making process (which is very obscure because I just tend to keep a hypothetical tab open in my brain most of the time lol) as well as some pictures of my ideas!!Â
Thanks for requesting such a fun thing to do now that this series is over. Itâs been fun to look back!
Q. What song did the boys dedicate to y/n?
A. âHerâ || This is a sad song, but I felt like it fit so well with how the boys had to hide a part of themselves (their feelings) away for the sake of the pact!
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Q. Did the boys get mad/how did the boys react to Jungkookâs kiss?
A. Jungkook was a little shocked, and felt extremely guilty on the drive back home. He wasnât sure if he could stand to tell his hyungs, but he also knew he couldnât lie to them. Naturally, the second he walked in the house and everyone saw his face, they knew. It was just quiet, everybody was a little hesitant to say anything/bring it up because they were all upset. Only Jimin has heard all of the details of JKâs kiss, whereas the others are simply aware that he kissed her and thatâs that.
Namjoon was the most upset, although he didnât say anything. He just sat there on the couch and did the jaw-clenching thing he always does. Yoongi just tried to change the subject and ask about other aspects of the date. Taehyung was actually pretty pissed, especially because heâd been so good about refraining from kissing you even when youâd asked for it. Hobi had a chat with him later that night and calmed him down. Jin wasnât angry so much as he was worried that he missed his shot & couldnât stop replaying his date in his head.
--
Q. Who fell for y/n last?
A. Namjoon. Heâd had a little crush, and thatâs why he was willing to go along with the pact. But it hit a point less than a year ago when he fell hard and fast. (you called him in the middle of the night when he was on tour and he realized that your sleepy voice is possibly the most beautiful thing heâs ever heard) The boys noticed and as a result teased him endlessly about it, because he doesnât quite know how to navigate his feelings.Â
--
Q. Who did the boys bet on? (We already know that Jimin bet on Yoongi and won lol)
A. Namjoon bet on JK, Tae bet on Hobi, Hobi bet on JK, Jin bet on JK, and Yoongi bet on Jin, and JK bet on Namjoon (because we all know JK would pick Namjoon lol)
--
Q. Didnât y/n ever date other guys? How did the boys react?
A. hahaha ok I actually would have such a fun time writing this Yes, she dated around a bit. For the first year of the pact, she had an on again, off again bf. It wasnât very serious, and she always made that clear to the boys. They still hated the dude. After they broke up, she only went on a few dates here and there. Didnât really seriously date. (except for that one time she went on vacation and had a fling, but everyone has decided to forget that) They just smiled and supported her, although Tae was always very clear that he didnât like any of the guys she dated.Â
--
Q. In Namjoonâs date, who was the 1950â˛s author mentioned?
A. Agatha Christie, the queen.Â
--
Q. How did y/n meet Jimin? (he was the one that introduced her to the rest of the group)
A. She was a PR intern for Lee Hyun. Jimin and Lee Hyun are close, and they crossed paths fairly often until Jimin decided to invite her to hang out.Â
--
Q. What is y/n studying in school?
A. Public Relations (which will honestly come in handy with her new relationship lol)
--
Q. Where was Jin in the last chapter when y/n came to the studio?
A. Agh how could you ask me this and bring back all that pain?! Jin was at his brotherâs restaurant for some much needed R&R. He ended up staying the night with him, not wanting to go home just yet and have to face his decision.
--
Q. Who would you personally choose to end up with and why?
A. KIM SEOKJIN. Date #5 was basically for me lol. Like, unapologetically wrote that for myself. Not just because heâs my bias, but because I personally felt like I could picture myself chilling on that couch watching Dateline with him. And it was beautiful. 𤧠Also, while Jin can be loud and goofy, heâs an introvert. Iâm an extravert with introverted tendencies, so I just feel like his date would have been the most comfortable for me.
--
CREATING THE PACT - AN INSIDE LOOK AT MY NOTES
First thingâs first, I have an on-going page in my notes on my phone which is FILLED with ideas & half-formed thoughts. Before I began writing The Pact (or even Spooked, for that matter), this happened:
So you can see that I had no idea what I was doing lol, but I thought that it would be cool. Mainly I wanted an excuse to write OT7 and display all the members in a sweet light. Also, we see that not all of these actually made it into the series. (Tae w/ the family)
BUT THEN, âSPOOKEDâ HAPPENED, AND A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY POPPED UPÂ
ngl, I cracked up when I looked back at my notes and saw this.Â
âSweet Gloria what am I doing to myselfâ đđ this was when I was pushing âLost & Foundâ out and planning for Taehyungâs series (which is why so much is blocked out on my notes, because itâs riddled with spoilers lol) so I literally had no idea why I was jumping into another project as I was already super busy. Thatâs why I scheduled it for just Saturdayâs! (and also why I sometimes posted super late at night lol)
As you can see, Seokjinnieâs date was literally always on my mind. From the very beginning. Which is odd, considering the fact that he didnât end up being endgame. wow itâs like heâs my bias or something
Occasionally Iâd take breaks from hw and work on getting to know how the boys were with y/n. Quotes and poetry serve as a great source of inspiration, and I assigned a quote to each member. (notice the little stars by Jin, Yoongiâs and JKâs names lol, they were my top three as Iâm sure youâve noticed by now)
There were a couple of things that I didnât think of adding until I was reading through your theories and got an idea of what you needed to push the series in the right decision. i.e. bringing Gina back to explain that she closed the door in Spooked.Â
I have a whiteboard in my room that I use to map out what I need to do that week for whatever series Iâm working on (as well as jot down ideas for new series, which I why this photo doesnât show the whole board haha)Â
So hereâs a peek at my thought process for writing about how the pact was formed. Sorry if you canât read it haha
NOW, the last few questions you guys had:
Q. Did you ever change your mind while writing the pact?
A. Yes! I actually originally intended for Hobi to have written the note. It fit very well with how angry he was at first and how worried he was during the date. But by the time I'd gotten to Jinâs date I kinda knew that he wouldnât be that petty but Jin would haha
I also planned on Yoongi kissing y/n on their date. It was supposed to be on a rooftop somewhere, which we know didnât happen. In fact, I didnât really intend for their date to be so disastrous until I was coming closer to having to write it. I think I was a mess, so the date was a mess lol
I had no idea what I was doing for Taeâs date until I wrote it, all I knew was that there had to be a museum. The rest I just made up as I wrote and hoped that it made sense. (also, for some reason I hated the museum portion of the date. Idk why, but it just felt so stark to me. still donât like it lol)
Q. When did you know how it was going to end?Â
A. Thatâs a....difficult question lol. Honestly, I thought of just doing an audio recording and uploading it because it I didnât really know how to put it into words, but then I realized that most people probably wouldnât wanna listen to that lol. So here we are.Â
I had the ending scene in mind before The Pact even became a thing. I knew I had a series that I wanted to end with baking cookies. (weird, I know.) It didnât exactly go how I planned, but I remember having the thought while writing Spooked (when I thought I was just writing a one shot) that it would be nice for y/n to be with Yoongi. I just instantly felt like they had a connection, when he was the first one she went toward. From then on out, I always kinda kept Yoongi in the background.Â
I had a crisis about halfway through (right before Jinâs date) when there were a bunch of people rooting for Tae, because he hadnât even been on my radar. But then Jinâs date went much better than I thought it was going to/received better, so I think that got me back on track.Â
But from the beginning, Yoongi was #1. (I wrote this in the back of my Careerâs notebook lol) when I was trying to figure out for myself who wrote the pact.Â
So yeah! There you have it! Just an FYI, I had to physically restrain myself from throwing caution to the wind and making Jin endgame. Especially when so many of you were on board. :( However, the survey helped because Yoongi was the majority of votes (closely followed by Jin & JK) and that showed me that we were still on the right track!Â
Ngl, my brain stopped working around Wednesday of last week, so writing the finale took FOREVER because nothing would compute. But Iâm so happy you guys enjoyed it and reached out to me about it! This really is like a part-time job most days, and I really felt like this series paid off.Â
Hopefully I covered everything! To end, here's the most satisfying part of every project for me:
Thanks guys!
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The Commodification of c!Tubbo
This essay is unnecessary but I think about it too much so here you go
At this point, yâall are probably sick and tired of me rambling about c!Tubbo, as this is about all my original posts are. But, I feel as though this is an important aspect of his character that is either swept under the rug or never given any second glance.
Whether intentionally or not, Tubbo has been constantly commodified by allies and enemies alike (donât even get me started on the fandom, thatâs for a whole other post). Like, throughout the entire story of the Dream SMP, Tubbo has been looked down upon as a yes man, sidekick, or extension of another character who is incapable of making decisions for himself, which is such a degrading thing to experience for so long and explains why his character values himself so little.
This is a long one, heads up!
 I want to break up this dehumanization and commodification into three categories:
Tubbo is either a pawn (something to be used), a trophy(something to be owned), or a scapegoat(something to be blamed) to others.
Tubbo Seen as a Pawn:
Wilbur loved Tubbo, but his treatment of him during the Pogtopia arc was definitely sad to see. (Note: Wilbur was spiraling and his mental health was in shambles. He couldnât help his paranoia and he deserved way better than the ending he got, but that doesnât absolve the effects of his actions on others). First he took Tubbo on as a spy, a very dangerous role that landed him dead, but throughout Tubboâs service Wilbur saw him as an obedient pawn, while not a loyal one. A pawn ready to turn to whatever authority figure commanded him best. His remarks about Tubbo being a yes man back this up, and the way he warns Tommy that Tubbo will betray them erases all of Tubboâs identity and reduces it to that of a spy (again, this is born of Wilburs paranoia, this isnât his fault).
Dream made it very clear that he regarded Tubbo as lesser than a toy, so obedient and trusting that he wasnât worth keeping alive because he was so boring to him. The whole speech about Tubbo being worthless wasnât even directed at him despite him being right there. Dream only addressed Tommy as if he was the one whose opinion on Tubbos fate mattered.
Jack Manifold literally used Tubboâs trust to attempt to kill Tommy, saying that he was a sweet guy but way too gullible. No better way to treat someone as a pawn to further ones own agenda than by literally using them. (Him talking about how heâd be there to comfort Tubbo after the assisted murder of his best friend still mildly disturbs me).
Quackity managed to talk Tubbo into going through with the Butcher Army, using Tubboâs power to further Quackityâs agenda (which, by Quackityâs own admission, did not revolve around the protection of Lâmanburg.) Quackity didnât care that Tubbo was against violence, and pushed his concerns to the side in favor of his own ideas and kept comparing Tubbo to Schlatt whenever he acted in a way he disagreed with.
Speaking of, THE CONSTANT DISREGARD OF HIS DECISIONS AS PRESIDENT. His Cabinet never listened to him and lowkey every stream they had together was a bit frustrating to me (Iâm also a sensitive bitch). They didnât respect him in any way and undermined his authority UNTIL THEY NEEDED HIM TO SAVE EVERYONEâS LIFE. (Elaborated on in Scapegoat Category).
Technically, as much as I am a Tommy apologist, Tommyâs constant insistence that the Disc War needed to involve Tubbo kind of fits under this category. As much as Tubbo was happy to help, his involvement wasnât really necessary, but Tommy needed someone to help him. This involvement nearly resulted in his willing death.
The only reason Dream even wanted to kill Tubbo, on top of perceiving him as useless, was to hurt Tommy and give him something of a âhero origin storyâ like Batman and his parents or Spider-Man and Uncle Ben. So, literally by Dreamâs definition, he wanted to fridge Tubbo.
We could refer to Wilbur assigning Tubbo to presidency as Wilbur using him to make the explosion of Lâmanburg hurt more, but that feels like a stretch to me.
This may be a stretch, but after Tubbo is executed and Tommy starts getting mad at Technoblade, Wilbur eggs Tommy on by saying âThink of what he did to Tubbo,â while Tubbo is literally right there. His emotions on the event doesnât matter to Wilbur, only how it impacted Tommy.
Tubbo Seen as a Prize/Trophy
The constant referral of Tubbo as something to be owned by someone, like during Wilburs speech of âheâs your Tubbo!â, is a bit off putting though I donât think itâs meant to be malicious. Very rarely is the sentiment reversed, seen when Ghostbur gave Tubbo the Your Tommy compass, furthering the idea that Tubbo is an object, something to be sought after and secured with little opportunity for him to own something himself. Itâs always âTommyâs Tubboâ. Also when Schlatt gloated about having âhis very own Tubboâ.
Tommy shows more possessive behaviors when dealing with the discovery of Ranboo and Tubboâs marriage, asking about permission and insisting that Ranboo stole Tubbo from him. Iâm sure this is subconscious, I know Tommy values Tubbo as a person but he still reduces Tubbo to an object to guard because he treasures his friend.
Another more vague example would be the fact that Schlatt exiled Wilbur and Tommy, but kept Tubbo as his right hand man even though it was clear he was on POG2020âs side. It was a way to insult Tommy, a way for Schlatt to add salt to the wound by keeping his best friend.
The Dream Team captured Tubbo very early into the Revolution, keeping him in a hole and holding him for ransom (this could be played off for laughs, I just remembered it). They also burned down his base, unrelated really but I remember it.
We could also count the way that Dream kept threatening to kill Tubbo if Tommy didnât return the disc, but this feels like a mixture of pawn and prize, while still dehumanizing as it compares his value to that of music discs.
Yes, I am going to take c!Tommy joking about killing Michael to get Tubbo and Ranboo to break up so he can get Tubbo back seriously. The way he glared at Michael while holding an axe was just for the stream to see, if it was a joke I feel like he would have said it out loud. Even if it is a joke, laughing about taking something Tubbo loves away just to ruin his relationships is a bit yikes and frames Tubbo as something to be won back. You can ignore this if you didnât see that moment as canon, but there are plenty of signs pointing to this being in character. (Also to be noted, Tubbo didnât want to show Michael to Tommy, so Tommy ignored him and asked Ranboo instead, who immediately showed Tommy to Michael despite Tubboâs clear worries)
Tubbo seen as a Scapegoat
His cabinet flip flopped back and forth on the decision to exile Tommy every five seconds. Whenever they spoke with Tubbo, they were all âYouâre right! Weâre going to listen to you! We have to do whatâs right!â and then they hear a half baked plan and completely switch up on what they already agreed to do. (This happened twice. One at the sit down meeting where Tommy revealed Spirit and the cabinet joined Tommy in his mocking, only to blame him for how the meeting ended. Twice at the exile). So when Tubbo had to follow the original plan to, you know, make sure their country wasnât put under lock and key until every citizen was eventually killed, his cabinet acted so shocked and betrayed and he was Schlatt and a dictator. Itâs very true that he went against their plan (THAT THEY MADE FIVE MINUTES BEFOREHAND AFTER HAVING ALREADY AGREED TO THE FIRST PLAN FOR DAYS), but the way they treated him afterwards, as if he was a vile person for keeping his country safe, heavily impacted Tubboâs mental state for a long time after. What Iâm saying is Tubbo was set up to be the villain in that scenario, accidentally by his allies, and purposefully by Dream.
Tubbo was blamed for the destruction of Lâmanburg by Dream and a few others (also himself)
TUBBO IS CONSTANTLY BLAMED FOR THE BUTCHER ARMY ARC DESPITE IT BEING COMPLETELY THOUGHT OF AND LEAD BY QUACKITY (This is predominately fandom based).
The full blame for Tommyâs exile has rested on Tubbo (I will never forget Tommy calling him a monster), despite the fact he was manipulated and backed into a corner by Dream. Even when everyone has come to understand that Tommy was manipulated by Dream, the same doesnât go for Tubbo and heâs hit with âimagine exiling your best friendâ jokes many times.
Wilbur puts the decision of blowing people up at the festival on Tubboâs shoulders, absolving him of the blame.
Schlatt made Tubbo tear down the Lâmanburg walls and the important signs so he could have to deal with the blame (though Quackity took the fall for this).
This is more theory based, but I fully believe Wilbur made Tubbo president right in front of Techno to egg him on to attack Lâmanburg. Since Tubbo would be the president, he would take the full brunt of Technoâs wrath (and he and Tommy did), and the destruction fell onto him.
So! With my text evidence we can see a recurring pattern in the way that Tubbo has been used by many people over the history of the server without much regard for his feelings. There are very few times when people besides Tommy ask how Tubbo feels about a situation, leaving him to his dark thoughts without anybody caring. Even during the Final Disc War, when Tubbo was literally moments from death, nobody asks how he is. Nobody (except Quackity once) checks up on him, and he builds up his community by himself. Until Ranboo came along, and I am not overexaggerating this, nobody was with Tubbo to support him. He had no support system and nobody cared. They just assume that he is always fine and if he wasnât, it isnât their place to intervene. Tubbo is just not respected, feared, or acknowledged unless he has someone by his side, or unless heâs doing something bad in which case heâs unhinged and evil and sure to have a villain arc.
This is just something to find interesting:
The only few characters Tubbo is actively involved with that hasnât looked down on him as a sidekick or an object has been Foolish, Puffy, Ranboo and Technoblade. You could make an argument of how Technoblade referring to him as âgovernmentâ could be dehumanizing but I donât think Iâve actually seen him do that in character? I could be wrong though. Really, Technoblade takes him seriously, but way more seriously than c!Tubbo warrants. Like, heâs looking for a tyrant to beat up and Tubbo is literally just a guy with a lot of issues struggling to keep a handle on his cabinet, which I find funny. But, jokes aside, Technoblade saw Tubbo as a legitimate threat during his presidency and is respectfully cautious of him and his nukes presently, which is surprising to me. Ranboo adores Tubbo and all of his chaos that people are unaware of because they donât get to know him well enough. Puffy just wants the best for all the kids of the server and knows how to be respectful of their feelings, and Foolish is respectful of Tubbo, if a bit annoyed and intimidated by him.
The point of this essay is just to show that there is a pattern to these things. This is how Tubbo is treated, this is why Tubbo is prepared to die for whatever because because he doesnât feel heâs worth anything while alive, and this is why itâs frustrating to see characters call him a follower, pawn, or yes man. And hereâs the thing: I DONT KNOW WHY THEY TREAT HIM LIKE THIS??? Why him? I canât really find out why this started to happen.
To sum some things up, no I donât think every character who treats him poorly is completely evil. Again, some of this seems to be subconscious, some of this could be argued to be OOC, I just wanted to bring this pattern to light.
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Sapere Aude - Part 11
Book: The Royal Heir
Pairing: King Liam Rys x Queen Riley Brooks
All characters belong to Pixelberry.
Catch Up Here
Series Description: I developed a theory of what I think will happen in TRH Book 4, and I was encouraged by some very lovely people to turn my theory into a fic, so here it is. Basically, Riley is recruited to join the Via Imperii, this series will follow her as she joins them to try and bring them down from the inside, and all of the drama and bombshells she learns along the way. Sapere Aude is Latin for âdare to knowâ it seemed like an appropriate title.
Rating: PG-13 Adult language, discussions of death, conspiracy, blackmail, and other adult themes.
Warning: The Royal Heir Book 3 Spoilers all over the place.
Disclaimer: I have no current affiliation with any other Via Imperii themed stories. Any claims that I have pre-read anything are false.
Word Count: 2,909
A/N:Â First of all, I have a couple of new readers (hi, thank you, I love you) if this is your first Sapere Aude, stop here, go back, and start from the beginning. This series has a lot of bombs and surprises, so none of this is going to make sense, and itâs going to make it less exciting if you arenât reading from the beginning.Â
Sorry, another long wait for a chapter. I got stuck, and distracted, and like a million other things. The Choices Insider email last week kind of lit a fire under me. When I started writing this (in December) the plan was to have it finished before the last book came out, so I have like a month to get through this. Iâm going full out on getting this completed now, I will be working on nothing but this until it is done, and am hoping to finish it in time for the next book to come out so that PB has plenty of time to steal my ideas.Â
This chapter took a while for me to work through, but @jessiembruno was amazing and helped me every step of the way, and got like a million rambling text messages from me once the idea dam finally broke. And then pre-reading and leaving me some amazing love notes, and super helpful suggestions. She also kept encouraging me, and pushing me to work on it when my mind would wander into new ideas, or thoughts on some other random WIP that I started throwing together. I love you, and I am so grateful for this friendship that goes way beyond any of this. By the way, you are an AMAZING writer, and I will continue to shout it from the mountain tops as long as I live.Â
As always with this series, I need to thank @txemrn for pre-reading. I was having SUCH a miserable day and feeling so shitty about myself (for non-fandom reasons), and your reactions to this chapter made me laugh out loud for the first time in what felt like forever. I appreciate you so much my dear friend.Â
And of course, thank you @twinkleallnight for my beautiful series moodboard.Â
Tags: Listed below, you know the drill.Â
Liam exited the bedroom and walked toward the sitting area. He paused at the end of the hallway to observe his wife and his daughter sitting on the couch. Riley had her blouse in hand, sewing on the button Olivia sent her for her undercover mission. She was showing Eleanor how to sew, talking her through every stitch. The princess was watching and listening intently, taking in every word her mother said.Â
He leaned his right shoulder against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest as he admired his family. He didnât understand how it was possible to fall even more in love every time he looked at them. All he wanted in this world was their happiness and safety, and now here he was, sending his wife straight to the enemy.Â
âHi Daddy!â The angelic voice of his daughter pulled him from his thoughts.Â
âHi Princess. Are you being a good helper for mommy?â He lifted Eleanor off the couch and sat in her seat, placing her on his lap.Â
âBest helper a girl could ask for.â Riley held her hand out, palm up, and Eleanor gave her a high five.Â
Liam enjoyed the company of his family for a few more moments, before placing a kiss on his daughterâs cheek. âAlright Eleanor, why donât you go play in your room for a little while? Mommy and daddy have to talk about grown up things.â
âYes, daddy. Will you come play after?âÂ
âOf course, I believe I am owed a tea party.â He gave her a hug before setting her down and watching her run to her room. When she was gone, he turned his attention back to Riley. âHow are you feeling, love?â
Riley cut the lingering thread from the button and placed her blouse on the table in front of them before responding. âI mean, obviously Iâm nervous, but Iâm optimistic that Iâll come back with something we can use. How are you feeling?â
He sighed and pulled her close to him, kissing the top of her head as it landed on his chest. âRiley, I love how much you worry about me, but let me worry about you right now. Let me be your support system. Tell me truly, how are you feeling?â
âIâm...Iâm terrified.â She pulled back and looked him in the eyes, tears beginning to pool in her own. âIâm trying so hard to be strong, to put on a brave face, but this is fucking terrifying. We donât know how deep it goes, we know some of the people that are involved, but how do we know that thatâs everyone?â
âYouâre right, there are a lot of unknowns, and thatâs scary.â He cupped her face in his hands, wiping a falling tear with his thumb. âBut I truly believe that we are going to end this. That you are going to end this. Donât forget, you are the Champion of The Realm.â
âYeah, but Iâm sleeping with the guy who makes those decisions, he may have been a little biased.â She shrugged, half joking.Â
Liam removed his hands, his expression becoming more serious. âRiley, thatâs not funny. You have earned every single thing you have received since you arrived in this country, our country. I donât ever want you to believe that my feelings for you overrule my judgement when it comes to your abilities. You are the strongest person I have ever met. If anyone can do this, itâs you.â
âIF anyone can do this. What if nobody can?â
âThen we will face the fallout together. Like we always do, like we always will. We are the King and Queen of Cordonia, Liam and Riley Rys. We are a force to be reckoned with.â He raised an eyebrow as he parroted back her reassuring words from a few nights before.Â
She smirked at him. âHey, no fair, you canât use my own words to prove your point like that.âÂ
âYes I can, old negotiation tactic.â He winked at her and stood from the couch reaching for her hand. âCome on, we still have the whole day ahead of us. Letâs go have a tea party with our daughter, then Iâm taking my girls out for dinner.â
****
Two days later, Riley was sitting in the back of an SUV heading toward the Fierro Estate. She was doing her best to quell her nerves, but she couldnât help her hands from fidgeting in her lap.Â
âYou seem on edge, maâam. Is everything ok?â The sound of Maraâs voice cut through the silence, startling Riley.Â
âOh...yeah, Iâm fine Mara. Iâm just not really sure what to expect from this meeting. Last time I went to one of these events, I found out my mother in law wasnât actually dead. I donât know if I could handle another surprise like that.â
Mara chuckled at her concern. âDonât worry your majesty, this is a simple strategy meeting followed by a dinner. You have met all of the members, so there will be no surprise guests this time around.â
Riley nodded and turned her head, watching the scenery pass by as they continued to their destination. Her mind was racing thinking about what this meeting would have in store. She practiced taking pictures with the pen, and activating the recorder she had sewn into her shirt. As they got closer to the estate, she felt her heart rate speed up, and the knot in her stomach tighten.
When they arrived, Riley was ushered into the grand room, which had been set up with a large table. The other members were standing around in small groups chatting until it was time for the meeting to begin. Riley fidgeted with the pen, twirling it in her fingers before lifting it to her face and tapping it against her chin and clicking it several times. She hoped it came off as a nervous habit, providing cover for the fact that she was actually taking pictures around the room.Â
She gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin at the feeling of a hand gently being placed on her shoulder. She whipped around to see Eleanor smiling softly at her. âRiley dear, Iâm so sorry. I didnât mean to startle you.â
âOh, Eleanor. Hello.â Riley held her hand to her chest, trying to get her heart rate back to normal. âItâs ok, Iâm just a little nervous. Not really sure what to expect from this meeting.â
âDonât worry, I promise itâs just regular business, nothing earth shattering. Come on, itâs time to get this started, and youâre sitting next to me.â Eleanor wrapped her arm around Riley and led her to the table. The other guests took this as their cue to follow, as the meeting was about to get underway. As Riley sat, she adjusted her skirt and blouse, using the opportunity to activate the microphone embedded in her button.Â
As the chapter president, Eleanor kicked off the meeting by greeting their newest member, Queen Riley, and explaining that she was there to help push their initiatives though with the King. Riley clenched her fist ever so slightly, a trick she used when she was trying to keep her expression neutral. They continued on, reviewing the minutes of the last meeting, it all seemed to be pretty mundane, things that wouldn't even necessarily cross hers or Liamâs desk.Â
Then they opened up the floor to new business, and Neville stood to address the room. âI would like to revisit the Auvernal alliance.â
Riley was able to maintain her stoic expression, but her body tensed at the mention of Auvernal. She and Liam had made it perfectly clear that there would be no alliance. âI donât believe there is anything to revisit there.â She chimed in. âKing Liam and I determined that the alliance would not be beneficial for Cordonia.â
âActually, I believe you determined the alliance would not be beneficial to you and your husband.â Neville rebutted, crossing his arms over his chest. âYou didnât want to marry off your daughter, you didnât bother thinking of what the alliance could bring to our country.â
âAre you questioning the decisions of your monarchs? I urge you to remember your station, Lord Neville.â Riley raised an eyebrow and stood a bit taller.Â
Neville scoffed at her threat. âAnd I urge you to remember that you may have slept your way to the top in Cordonia, but the Via Imperii is bigger than the monarchy, and in this society, I outrank you.â
âWell, if being the Queen doesnât matter in this room, then there is nothing stopping me from coming over there and beating your a...â
âOk ok ok, letâs all calm down here.â Eleanor grabbed Rileyâs arm, stopping her from charging at Neville. âLetâs all sit down and have a rational conversation, weighing out the pros and cons of an alliance.â Riley and Neville both sat down and exchanged narrow glances. âNow Neville, since you have brought this proposal to the group, you will go first. Please explain to us your thought process on revisiting the alliance.â
Neville nodded and smirked at Riley. âIt is clear that combining the financial security of Cordonia with the military strength of Auvernal would make us an unstoppable force. Besides, we need the extra protection given our countryâs recent history.â He glared at Riley once again.
âWhat the hell is that supposed to mean?â Riley huffed.Â
âLook at the instability we have faced in recent years. Our crown prince abdicated, his successor, our current king, broke off a perfectly suitable engagement to marry a foreign commoner who was marred in scandal.â
âHe released a statement that cleared that whole thing up. The scandal is irrelevant.â She could feel her cheeks heating up.
âDo you really think people stopped talking about it? You canât really believe that it wonât be a part of your legacy as our Queen.âÂ
Riley slouched down in her seat. She knew she should remain composed, but bringing up the Tariq scandal hit a nerve that she didnât know still existed. One of her biggest concerns in continuing her relationship with Liam, and accepting his proposal, was that his success as King would be overshadowed by the scandal she had faced. She had thought that after all these years, it would have been forgotten, but Neville bringing it up just brought everything back up and made her realize it would be something that was attached to her name forever.Â
âBesides the personal problems our royal family has faced, there have been multiple attempts to overthrow them just within our own country. Sons of Earth, Duke Godfrey, Barthelemy Beaumont, just to name a few. Other countries are seeing this, and it wonât be long before they try to come for us as well.â Neville continued.Â
âWhile I donât agree with his delivery, Lord Neville does make some valid points.â Emmeline interjected, the rest of the room began murmuring in agreement. Riley couldnât hide her shocked expression as she felt tears start to build up in her eyes. She blinked them away, she was not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing their queen cry.Â
Eleanor took back control of the room before turning to Riley. âRiley, would you like to counter? You and Liam worked directly with Auvernal during the marriage alliance talks, you clearly have some insight that we may not be privy to.â
Riley took a deep breath to get her emotions under control before standing to address the room. âAside from the fact that Bradshaw and Isabella are deplorable people with hell spawn children, the main reason that we decided an alliance was not in the best interest of Cordonia, was because it was clear that their interest was not an alliance, but a hostile takeover of our country.â
âPerhaps we would prosper under their rule. I havenât heard of any coup attempts in Auvernal, it seems to me like theyâre doing something right.â Neville spoke up.Â
âSo thatâs it then? You all think Bradshaw and Isabella would do a better job as your king and queen, so Iâm just supposed to convince Liam to relinquish the throne?â Riley threw her hands up in frustration and stepped away from the table.Â
âYour majesty, weâre not making the final decision right here, right now, we just want to remain open to the idea and explore some options.â Emmeline tried to talk Riley down. âPerhaps you and King Liam could take a meeting with them, a friendly lunch maybe, just to open the lines of communication.â
âThis is ridiculous. I canât believe you all expect me to agree with this!â Riley was now pacing the room, overcome with a nervous energy.
Eleanor stood and lifted a hand to quiet the room. âAlright, thatâs enough. I think weâve gotten as far as weâre going to get with this conversation tonight. Dinner is being set out in the dining hall. I suggest we adjourn for the day. Letâs all compose ourselves and think about all sides of this conversation. We will pick up the conversation at the next meeting.â
As the members started filing out of the room, Eleanor approached Riley and gently placed her hand on her arm to keep her still. âAre you alright Riley?âÂ
Riley shrugged Eleanorâs hand off of her, anger clear on her face. âOf course Iâm not alright. I basically just had a room full of my subjects telling me that my husband and I are doing a shitty job, and they think those monsters are better suited to look out for their best interests. Of course Iâm not fucking alright!â Riley moves in closer, lowering her voice but not losing any of the anger in her tone. âI thought you were here doing this to protect Liam. Do you really think that this is protecting him? Handing his kingdom over to Auvernal?!â
âRiley, I always have Liamâs best interests at heart, I promise you that. Why donât you head home, take a couple of days to relax and take everything in. I will set up a meeting for you and I later this week to talk about everything and work out a game plan.â
âFine, I canât stay here anymore anyway. And I definitely donât have an appetite for dinner.â Riley walked out of the room, looking for Mara so that they could get back to the palace. She stepped into the dining area and saw Mara standing in the far corner talking to Neville. She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath before approaching the pair. âMara, we will not be staying for dinner. We are returning to the palace immediately. I want to be home to put my daughter to bed.â She wasnât going to give Neville the satisfaction of knowing she was leaving because of what he started.Â
âOf course, your majesty.â Mara nodded and exited with Riley.Â
The ride home was silent. In all the years that Mara had worked for Riley, she had never seen her this upset. She wasnât entirely sure how to handle it, or what would be considered overstepping her duties, so she decided to stay quiet and let Riley speak, if she wanted to. She didnât.Â
They arrived at the palace and walked together to the royal quarters. As Riley placed her hand on the doorknob to enter, Mara cleared her throat to get her attention. âYour majesty, I know this was a difficult evening for you, but I do feel I need to remind you that discretion is key in the Via Imperii. His majesty cannot know what happened tonight. You will need to lock those feelings away for the time being.â
Riley pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. She knew she was going to fall into Liam's arms and cry the second she saw him, and then she would tell him everything, but she couldnât let Mara know that. âLiam and I will be staying in for the rest of the night. You are dismissed for the evening.â Riley walked into her quarters and shut the door before Mara had a chance to respond.Â
As soon as she closed the door, she leaned back against it and dropped her head into her hands. Liam came walking into the room, the smile that appeared on his face when he heard the front door open quickly faded as he took in the sight of his wife sobbing at the front door. âRiley?â She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face as she tried to catch her breath. He rushed over to her and pulled her close, she buried her head in his chest as he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head trying unsuccessfully to soothe her. âShhhh, itâs alright love, Iâm right here, Iâve got you. Tell me what happened.â
Riley could barely speak, but she slowly tried to explain everything that had happened that night. Liam walked her to the couch as she spoke, she needed to sit, anything to help her relax and calm down. He stared at her in disbelief as he listened to his wife tearfully recap her evening.Â
On the other side of the door, Mara pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, selecting one of the contacts and bringing the phone to her ear. âMy lord, you were right. We will need to put your plan in motion.â
Permatag:
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Sapere Aude:
@burnsoslow @busywoman @gardeningourmet @ofpixelsandscribbles
Liam x Riley:
@jared2612
Liam:
@amandablink @yourmajesty09
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Late Late with Harry Styles
A/N: Hello! I have been inactive for a while. I think I am going to split this into two parts depending on what I want to write. Hope you like this chapter. I used Olivia Rodrigoâs deja vu lyrics in this chapter. I am almost at the end of the first album, which means the Shawn Mendes chapter is coming to a close for a while. I think it is time for her to focus on the relationship with Sebastian and the trauma with Tristan.Â
Hello again! It has been a while, and I hope you missed me. I know I missed every one of my readers.
So much has happened that I need to catch everyone up. In October, (Y/n) comes out with her new boyfriend, Sebastian Stan. There has been controversy due to their age difference, but who cares? I mean, if in her position, I would date him too. He is hot for his age and acted in Marvel movies. He has amazing eyes and hair that I want to know if soft.
No Shawn. And I mean at all. When asked, he did not comment and moved on to the next question. Harsh. Is there trouble in paradise between the two friends? If so, when did this start? I have a theory but must wait till next time; loves.
Then in November, Shawn Mendes and girlfriend Camila Cabello sang Senorita at the AMA's, where (Y/n) would perform as well. During the couple's performance, the camera was on (Y/n) face, which seemed a little grim. It is a good thing her man was next to her, dancing along to the beat. I wish I had someone.
She would perform, and Shawn was under the magnifying glass next. A lot is written across his face, and we can't wait to dig deeper into next time. (Y/n)'s performance consists of her songs that were already released and added her new single, Starving. Wonder who the muse is?
(Y/n) has a lot of projects coming up that will lead to her being busy. What to expect? She will appear in a Netflix original series, The Umbrella Academy, season two; not much is known about her character. She is also resuming her role in Stranger Things. However, we do know she is not in this season of American Horror Story. Hopefully, next season if she has the time. Also, she was in The Devil All the Time. Starring with Tom Holand, Robert Patterson, and current boo, Sebastian Stan (rumor where they met). She also hinted at a full album realize in the coming days.
I am excited and can not wait! I hope the album comes out before Christmas. There are rumors the album will be about Sebastian, while there are rumors it is about her dearest friend, Shawn Mendes. Wonder what Shawn will think about the album. Get it? Oh, well, Shawn Mendes is also dropping his album soon called Wonder. So much is happening in December, and I am ready for it. I do have questions on what (Y/N) will do for Christmas? She has not been close to her family or Shawn. Will this be the first Christmas for Sebastian and (Y/N) to celebrate as a couple?
Time will tell.
XOXO
Dawnn S.
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It was December now. Shawn was becoming more intimate with Camila and becoming open about the relationship. He seemed happy. Was he? A part of him was okay, but there was a part of him sad. He still hasn't contacted his best friend (Y/N). He never went five days without any contact, and this is something new that he did not like. He always told her everything because of their strong bond, but he ruined things.
She has been busy writing and producing new music. Shawn knew because he would get recommendations to watch new videos of her songs on YouTube. Shawn wanted to deny that he did not listen to every song, trying to decode any messages. He would deny that he spent countless sleepless nights watching her videos, trying to see if she was affected by their loss as he felt. She also was a part of numerous movies and TV shows that haunted Shawn. He would make sure to go to the theaters alone, without being seen to get a glimpse of her.
Shawn forgot how busy she likes to keep herself. She would starve herself due to not having time, but he would always bring her food. Shawn would take her out for her to have fun and relax. Shawn could see how much she was working due to the various works and the album she is about to release. Her mind was always thinking whether an idea for a song or a Christmas gift for someone. Shawn fiddles with his phone, debating on if he should call her.
"Hello?" Her voice said, having a calming effect on Shawn. He felt this made him stronger to speak up. He realizes he wanted to reach out before he lost the courage.
"(Nickname)?" He asked, hesitantly, thinking she would hang upon him. He silently prayed she would talk to him and not hang up.
"Shawny, good to hear from you. " She admitted, glancing at her boyfriend, smiling brightly at him. Sebastian shoots her a look, curious about the fact she answered. Sebastian smirks, moving closer to her, placing a hand on her knee.
"How have you been?" He asked, really enjoying hearing her voice. He missed smelling the scent of pumpkin spice and cinnamon when he hugged her.
" I've been well...you?" (Y/N) asked, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend, knowing he is up to something. She is trying to pay attention to the phone call, trying to hide how much she missed hearing Shawn's voice. Â
" G-good," he stuttered out, blushing at how lame he must have sounded. Shawn felt like an idiot. He should be apologizing to her, but all he could say is," I miss you," breathless, waiting for her response.
Silence.
He started to panic, thinking he made a mistake in telling her. He starts to run a hand through his hair. Shawn bites his lower lip nervously as his eyes shift around the room. Silently, he was glad that he was alone and did not have to worry about being embarrassed in front of his friends.
" I miss you too, Shawny," she finally replied, hating how weak she gave in to her feelings. Her boyfriend moves his hand higher up her thigh, fingers moving closer to her panties. She closes her eyes, knowing she should stop Sebastian, but loved how crazy he makes her; yearning for him to touch her, she spreads her legs. She silently thanked that she picked a skirt to wear as she bites back a moan when he teases her with his finger.
There is so much she has to tell Shawn. Tell him how much she loves him. How much he broke her heart when she found out he was dating Camila Cabello. However, nothing comes out as she lets out a soft gasp, watching Sebastian getting on his knees, pulling down her panties. She could only watch the smirk on his face as he lifts her skirt, seeing how wet she became from his touch.
" I would like that very much," Shawn replied happily, not having a clue about what is happening on the other side. Shawn felt like he was on his way to get his best friend back. Shawn couldn't believe how simple it was for him to talk to her. Yeah, he still had feelings for her, but that didn't matter. He was with Camila, and that is who he loves.
(Y/N)'s eyes shut as she tilts her head back, enjoying the sensation of Sebastian's tongue not being able to hide her moans anymore; she says a rush goodbye to Shawn, a promise to call him another time before hanging up. Quickly, she pushes Sebastian off her, grabbing his arm and leading him to the bedroom.
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(Y/N) lets out a snicker, reading the text messages between Sebastian and her. He loved to tease her about her crush on Harry Styles and the fact she told him if she had the chance, she would get with Harry. Sebastian was surprised to find out he was not her celeb crush, but he did become close. She did not count Shawn as a celeb crush because he liked him before he got famous. She thought he was the one for her, and they would get married when they were 20. However, things did not turn out as planned, and she is `moving on. Currently, she is in the blue room, watching from the screen as it plays the show.
"Hi, mate. I am just by your place, and I was wondering if you could help me get to work," Harry says on the phone, "great, thanks." Hanging up the phone, James appears, smiling and saying, "hey."
Harry starts to drive as the two converse with each other.
"How are you feeling about hosting?"
"It will be fine," Harry said, smiling as he nods his head. He then asks for advice, listening to every single word James says, finding it amusing. After faking laughing practice and clothing advice, Harry turns on the radio. Watermelon Sugar comes on, they both begin to sing to the song, jamming out as drive.
Harry's phone begins to ring, which makes them stop for a moment. Harry picks up the phone, "ello?" James shoots a confused look at Harry, wondering who is on the phone. "Yeah, I am close near you. I would not mind, yes. No worries, love," Harry said before hanging up. He turns to James, "I need to make a quick stop."
The next thing James can see is (Y/N) outside, with multiple shopping bags, smiling apologetically. "No way!" James exclaimed, not having to know the two had this planned for the segment. The two men get out of the car, grabbing some of the bags and placing them in the trunk.
"Sorry about this. I was Christmas shopping, but my car broke down. I did not need my manager to know I left the studio to shop. I also knew Harry was going to the studio soon, and it was fate that he was close."
The three make their way into the car as the car drives off towards the studio. "I thought you were busy?" James said in a questioning tone, not understanding what is going on.
" I was, but I knew I just had to appear. I just made sure to finish getting everything ready for the album to drop in a couple of days."
Harry looks in the review mirror, meeting (Y/N)'s eyes, "should we listen to music?" Laughing, (Y/N) nods her head, watching Harry turns on the radio once again, the sound of Starving. The three sing-alongs, jamming to the song before there is a new song that comes on. James and Harry stay silent, not knowing the words to the song. (Y/N) smiles, hearing her newest song that dropped out a few hours ago.
Car rides to Malibu
Strawberry ice cream, one spoon for two
And trading jackets
Laughing 'bout how small it looks on you (Ah-ha-ha-ha)
Watching reruns of Glee
Beinâ annoying, singing in harmony
I bet she's braggin' to all her friends, saying youâre so unique (Hm)
(Y/n) sings, stoping to let the pre-chorus play, feeling proud she is almost done with her album. She can move on to the next chapter of her life soon and begin to forget about Shawn.
So when you gonna tell her that we did that too?
She thinks it's special, but it's all re-used
That was our place, I found it first
I made the jokes you tell to her when she's with you
(Y/N) resumes singing, feeling she is giving a major hint on who the album is about. She initially did not want to drop the song because of the hints of heartbreak and the concept of him moving on. There are already people trying to connect each song to her friendship with Shawn.
Do you get dĂŠjĂ vu when she's with you?
Do you get dĂŠjĂ vu, hmm? (Ha)
Do you get dĂŠjĂ vu, huh?
Do you call her, almost say my name?
'Cause let's be honest, we kinda do sound the same
Another actress
I hate to think that I was just your type
And I bet that she knows Billy Joel
'Cause you played her "Uptown Girl"
Youâre singing it together
Now I bet you even tell her how you love her
In between the chorus and the verse
(Y/N) stops, as she only wanted to perform a snippet of the new song. James raises his hands, not believing what happened. "Is that a new song of yours?" He asked, turning to look at (Y/N), not stopping from smiling. (Y/N) nods, a flush on her cheeks as she ducks down a little. "Yes, I want people to hear more of my new songs. My album is dropping tomorrow, and it seems like a good time. I need to move on with my life, and releasing my music is the change I need." The next thing the three know is that they arrived at the studio.
(Need to let me know if you want to be tagged.)
@hxneybee-uwu
@shawn-youth
@sspidermanss
@turtoixâ
@unpredictabledinosaur
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you have any nico headcanons where heâs ftm trans but then realizes heâs also nonbinary (he/they/she)? just struggling with gender identity lately ig.
Alright, anon, I hope these help you some, my gender has been rather ~~~ lately, if that makes any sense... I would also like to remind everyone to bind safely and if you need resources on how to safely bind without a binder feel free to reach out to me:
Nico always just knew he was a boy, dresses were a no-go, couldn't stand to wear anything that wasn't undeniably boys clothes
In the beginning Maria thought maybe it was just a texture problem, but when Nico was three she came home to see him cutting all of his hair off she knew it was deeper
This is why they ended up moving to America eventually, Maria decided that if they started over then Nico would be able to be himself
Bianca named him on the way over, she liked the name because they were "winning" by leaving Italy
Nothing really signifigant happens in regards to Nico and his gender through this point, he is able to play freely with other boys, and he goes to school with them and such
The same in the Lotus Hotel, nothing signifigant
When he and Bianca go to Westover Nico is kind of scared the whole time, because he is worried about being "caught", changing for afterschool soccer games and having communal shower spaces at the school is difficult for him to feel comfortable
He usually tries to shower late at night or early in the morning when nobody is around, and that works out okay for him
His chest starts developing around this point and he freaks out, he has no clue how to hide it or how to deal with the new stress
He ends up trying to find Bianca one day, and they do all sorts of crazy stuff to see if they can help, eventually they figure out how to use a piece of cloth they sew together
When Nico ends up at camp alone without Bianca, there's the problem once again of communal showers and they're rarely ever empty
This is how he befriends the Stolls
At some point the pair of them notice Nico is weirdly panicky about the bathrooms so they go stand outside and keep people out when Nico's in there... It's honestly how they perfect their pranking techniques
When Nico runs away from camp upset, just the day before his binder had quit fitting and he had been upset by that because he had to make a binder again
Although his sister dying pushed all other thoughts out of his head, the emotions from previous events were still leftover
This is why he buys his jacket TM, because the layers help hide his chest more and the weight is comfortable
At some point during the Labrynth he ends up binding with ace bandages (AN: Don't do this)
He also starts his period at some time around this point and kind of freaks out "oh no" and it's not entirely that his period bothers him, but more so that he just doesn't know how he's supposed to hide it
He also realizes at some point around here that he likes Percy, which makes him feel odd and more freaked out
He's struggling because "boys are supposed to like girls" and also he's struggling because if most boys oon't have periods and he does... why doesn't his bother him?
Despite Nico himself being trans, he doesn't have the vocabulary to describe anything he's going through, and he doesn't know there's other trans people, or even queer people of any sort
So he sort of begins to question "am I really a boy?" but there's so much going on in the world and he's got so much to do, so he can't really devote much time to thinking about it
Everything continues about canonically until he's in the jar after Tartarus
During a fight with a monster or something he was knocked over, and combine this with the fact that Nico was binding with ace bandages, he definitly breaks a rib
Which makes breathing with little air a lot harder
Eventually he's saved and through ambrosia and nectar Nico manages to heal his ribs a little
He isn't able to bind that whole time though, so he does his best to keep away from The Seven
After Cupid outs him to Jason, Jason asks a few days later if he wants to talk about it, at first Nico is like "no go away I don't like you don't talk to me"
But eventually he opens up to Jason, because Jason was like "I'm sorry you had to do that I promise I wonât tell anyone and if you want to talk we can talk"
Anyhow eventually Nico kind of just breaks down and he's like "I don't know if I'm a boy or a girl? I think I used to be a girl, but now I am a boy and I don't really remember how it happenedâ or something similar
It takes Jason a moment but eventually heâs like âOh youâre trans?â
And Nico;s like âheh? Whatâs that?
And so him and Jason talk, but Jason is only kind of well versed in this topic, so he only covers âbasicâ MtF and FtM transition because he doesnât really know enough about other genders to feel comfortable explaining it
And Nicoâs like âthereâs people? Out there?? Like me??â and heâs just Happy Nico â˘
Nico is like âand there are people like me who like boys?â
And Jason is like âYeah totally!â but internally heâs like (I think so??)
Anyhow Nico feels a little better, but he doesnât feel perfect, heâs still struggling a little bit internally to recognize that thereâs other people like him and heâs not wrong for being him
Anyhow, Jason doesnât know enough about this stuff to know binders exist, Jason just has a little bit of secondhand information from tv shows and from being from California⌠He promises heâll look into various things more when heâs back at camp or has decent access to internet
On Nicoâs quest with Reyna and Hedge he obvious evaporates Bryce, and Reyna and Hedge find out
They find out heâs gay as in canon, but they realize heâs trans when caking him in mud
Hedge just goes into dad mode about the situation and is like âsonâ, âsportâ, âkiddoâ, âmy male childâ etc
Reyna knows a little more about trans stuff than Jason, but sheâs kind of in the same âehhh Iâm not really sure of a few thingsâ boat, but sheâs supportive and sheâs like âI will beat anyone who gives you a dirty look up so fastâ
Eventually they get to camp, and all that happens
Three days in the infirmary happens, and basically Nico has to tell Will for medical reasons that heâs trans because Nico needs stitches or something
Anyhow Will is like âOh yeah cool me too, can you take your binder off now?â
And Nico is like âheh???â
Anyhow Will finds out Nico is binding with ace bandages and heâs like âno, donât do thatâ and then he goes and finds a proper binder in Nicoâs size which he gives to him after his stay is up
When they befriend one another they have a short conversation about gender and Will is discussing like gender theory 101 type stuff, and heâs like âwait why dont you know this- oh yeah youâre from the thirties- wait do you even know what nonbinary means??â
And Nico is just staring at Will like he has three heads for the whole conversation
So Will teaches Nico about gender and pronouns, and gender presentation vs gender identity, etc
And so Nico goes âwait so there are people like me who are also gay?â
And Will is like âI like boys and girls and everything in between so yeahâ
And the whole enby thing doesnât really stick with Nico at that point heâs just like âhmm interesting, so testosterone?â
Itâs just not his biggest concern, heâs just happy to know there are in fact others like him, and no heâs not crazy for not being dysphoric over his period, and thatâs normal too
And heâs just like âoh so thatâs top dysphoria?â
And Will is like âyeah :/â
âOh :/â
âMhmm :/â
Anyhow they become like good friends and they start dating sort of on accident, like theyâre too close to just argue theyâre friends anymore, and at some point Will just shows Nico how to give him a T shot and itâs like chill, theyâre chill
Anyhow one day someone is kind of confused by Nicoâs gender so they use the word âtheyâ and it makes Nico really happy for some reason, so he goes back to Will and heâs like âtell me about this whole nobinary thing again?â
And Will is like âyes absolutelyâ
And Nico goes âI think I might be nonbinary can we try new pronouns?â
And so they go through all sorts of new pronouns, and Nico decides he still likes he/him but he also likes they/them and xer/xem⌠They likes she/her too but Nico finds it too uncomfortable sometimes because it reminds him of dysphoria
Nico decides xyr uncomfortable with using she/her but they like using female gendered terms so he does that
(Listen, I know Will saying âthis is my boyfriendâ was a big moment but Will calling Nico his âwifeâ is 10/10)
Nicoâs friends are all super supportive and they do their best to learn more about gender and such things in order to better support and care for Nico
They all use different pronouns for xem and some people alternate pronouns too, but Nico knows that takes more practice
But itâs just like good and positive in Nicoâs life
And he begins to play with fashion a lot and xe finds out xyr love of skirts with tights and combat boots because itâs 10/10 the best fashion
Nico also loves their big jackets and they just looks so comfy all the time everyone is like âI want to be himâ and Nico grows their hair out long again, and gets his ears pierced and xeâs just a nonbinary fashion icon
They are just so cool once they figure out gender more and Nicoâs just happy to play around with xyr gender and he just enjoys it
Will doesnât play around with gender so much, heâs 100% a binary trans guy but T helped make him comfortable enough in his femininity to wear skirts a little bit on the occasion (Will in a cat maid dress 10/10), but heels and skinny jeans for some reason are still big dysphoria triggers for him so he does have some limits on what heâll wear
Will gets top surgery when heâs like 17 because Naomi is an extremely supportive parent
So thatâs how Nico meets Willâs mom and sheâs like âitâs so nice to finally meet you!â and Naomi just immediately falls in love with xem and Will is like âI know theyâre amazingâ
And Nico is just really supportive and they sort of role reverse and Nico plays nurse while Will recovers from top surgery and they has to like brush his teeth and stuff
The experience (despite the fact that Will had an easier recovery) assures Nico in how much he wants top surgery, and heâs sad heâll have to wait another year until heâs 18 to get it done
Anyhow Hades finds out and agrees to sign the wavers, so once Will is healed up enough to wear he can put his own clothes on and stuff, Nico decides to go through with xyrs own top surgery then too
Reyna comes to help Will take care of Nico, and Jason does too
Originally Will was supposed to help more with Nicoâs care but he wasnât able to do as much as he thought so they had to phone their friends
Eventually they both heal up really well and theyâre happy to be done with that
Nico spends time debating testosterone, while Will spends time debating lower surgery
During this time Nico starts art school and Will starts medical school
Meeting more nonbinary people makes Nico feel at home and he determines that xe doesnât want to go on testosterone but itâs still a maybe in the future
Will however decides he does want lower surgery, so Will and Lou Ellen decide to get lower surgery together as friends so they can share in the pain (Lou Ellen is a trans woman as far as Iâm concerned this is canon)
Nico takes some time off to do school from home so he can help the two of them, and Naomi comes to live with them as well for a bit
Will and Nico both finish school eventually and they decide to adopt trans kids to help them out more
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy all of that anon! I'm all ideaed (idea-ed??) out and so I hope this is at least similar to what you were looking for, and this is helpful with your dysphoria somewhat <3
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White Tulips - a JunJin fanfic 2/3
Full Story:Â Part 1, Part 3
Hello Everyone! I hope you are all happy and healthy. Part 2 of my Junjin fanfic is finally up. Thank you so much to the beautiful and wonderful people who liked my fanfic. I am so sorry I have not been responding to your lovely comments. I had exams so I was really busy but I will get to them now. It took me a long time to post this next part because I wanted to finish both Part 2 and 3. Iâll be posting the other part too once Iâve proofread everything
As always, this chapter is dedicated to the Shooters GC (which I havenât checked in so long, Iâm so sorry)Â đ đ
Please do be warned, this does get a little dark. But it will pay off in Part 3, I promise.
Pairing: Kang Sujin x Han Seojun
Romantic Trope: Haters to friends to lovers
Word Count:Â 13.5k
Rating: T
TRIGGER WARNING: Some of the themes in this story are a little dark, specifically in section iii. Please be warned. Iâve added a summary for section iii in section iv so you can skip it if needed.
PART 2
i.
They both spoke at the same time.
âYa Kang SujinâŚâ
âYa Han SeojunâŚâ
âWhat the hell happened?â
Seojun had been in a strange state of mind all day. First it was waking up in the enemyâs bed, but that part he had completely blocked out. Then it was the massive hangover, the effects of which he was still reeling from. On top of that he had received a scolding for being late to practice, which caused him to be late to his commercial shoot, which caused him to be late for his recording session which was when he had been informed about his scandal.
Seojun normally didnât care for rumors that spread about him. He relied on his performance to speak for itself; the people online with their uninformed opinions didnât matter.
âBut why did it have to be her?!â He had groaned when he first read the articles. But then he asked himself seriously, âWhy did it have to be her?â
It all seemed too convenient. Additionally, she had been the one to drag him for drinks and then back to her apartment.
Was this another one of her schemes? What would she gain from doing this? Maybe it was because he was on to her and could see the truth about her and now she wanted him gone. Yes, it must have been that. Or was it not? Was his theory too farfetched? Maybe he was being too harsh. Maybe he was misunderstanding the situation.
Seojun felt conflicted. On the one hand, it would have been so easy to just blame Sujin and keep on hating her like he wanted to. On the other hand, he could hear Suho in his head, warning him about being too judgmental. Seojun normally trusted his instincts with everything but this time his own instincts were confused. Should be giving Sujin the benefit of the doubt?Â
Seojun knew that if he needed answers, he would need to go to the source.
âWhat the hell happened?â They both asked each other at the same time but neither had the answer.
âHow the hell would I know? It was your apartment.â
âThe pictures were obviously taken by someone was obsessed with you.â Sujin fumed.
âAre you saying this is my fault?â
âThen are you saying itâs mine?â
âIâm not the one who took us out drinking then brought me back home to her apartment!â
âIâm not the one with the crazy saesangs!â
âMy fans are not crazy! They are way better than arrogant women with a princess complex like you!â
âDonât call me princess.â Sujin said dangerously.
âOr what? Youâll get me drunk and back at your apartment again?â
âAh shut up, you man-child!â Sujin hung up and Seojun flung his phone across the room where it bounced onto the couch. He was seething.
âAish!â Seojun kicked the air.
âDid you talk to Sujin?â Heekyungâs calm voice startled Seojun.
âWhat? Oh, Noona.â Seojun gulped.
âHow was she? Was she okay?â
âUmmâŚâ Seojun blinked
âShe must have been shaken. Facing something like this can be very upsetting.â
Seojunâs shoulders deflated. âUh, yeahâŚâ He hadnât considered that.
âDid she agree to give a statement to help clear up this mess?â
Oh right, I was supposed to ask herâŚ
Heekyung continued, âI do have good news. Weâve found the person who took the photographs. So he wonât be sharing them with anyone else.â
âYou have?â
âYes. It was unfortunate. A photographer happened to be there, just as you were leaving. He actually recognized you from your voice. Talk about having bad luck.â
Seojun frowned. So, it wasnât Sujin.
âSo will Sujin do it? We just need a simple statement. She can release a post on her socials and weâll take care of the media articles.â
Seojun rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. âUm, I donât think sheâll agree.â . Especially not after the blaming match that just happened. âCanât we just clarify things on our end? Not get her involved?â
Heekyung smiled with a twinkle in her eye, âOh I get it. You donât want her to feel burdened.â
Seojun could tell what she was implying. âAh-nee! Its not that at all!â His voice was pitched a little too high.
Heekyung laughed, âIâve been at this for longer than you, Seojun-ah. You can be straight with me.â
âItâs not like that! I donât care about Kang Sujin at all!â
But Heekyung wasnât listening. âJust be careful. Your career has just started. You canât afford scandals like these. People will turn against you in an instant, you know?â
Seojun swallowed. He knew all too well how people could turn against him in an instant, like the way thy did with Seyeon. But he wanted to believe that he would be able to face them.
âDonât worry. Iâll be careful.â
Heekyung nodded. âGood. Now Iâll go tell our PR team to release a statement about you and Sujin being just friends.â Seojun nodded gratefully. âI think the fact that you went to school together will help. Hopefully people will buy it when you tell them nothing happened between you two.â Heekyung winked as she walked away.
âItâs not like that!â Seojun called after her.
ii.
The situation subsided as quickly as it had risen. Move Entertainment published their official statement about how it was all a misunderstanding. That Seojun had only been visiting his friend from high school and the fact that the friend was also a mutual with rising online beauty guru Lim Jukyung helped establish the connection. Seojun had been glad that Jukyung had taken those selfies with Sujin with Seojun in the background otherwise people might have just taken the statement as an excuse.
What annoyed Seojun about the whole situation was not his reputation or the online speculation but how everyone else kept teasing him about it. This was made especially worse when they were all gathered around for drinks, including his own squad, Chorong and Co., who were eyeing Sujin with a mixture of adorationâthat made them stare at her, and fearâthat kept them from talking to her.
âOoh, Han Seojun you better not drink too much or youâll end up in Sujinâs apartment again.â Taehoon teased. Seojun gave him the death glare while Sujin made a disgusted face. Everyone else laughed.
âGuys! Donât be mean.â Jukyungâs voice went unheard among the collective chatter.
âHan Seojun, I can see youâve been keeping a very close eye on Kang Sujin.â Chorong whispered in his ear. Seojun elbowed his ribs.
âPay up, Sujin didnât kill him.â Suho asked from Suah.
âYou guys had a bet?â Sujin asked icily. Seojun almost admired the scathing look Sujin gave Suho as she eyed the money being exchanged.
Suhoâs and Suahâs hands froze right when they were exchanging the bills.
âNo?â Suho said weakly.
âKang Su, I bet on you okay?â Suah defended.
âAh is that so? Well then youâre off the hook.â
Suah relaxed while Suho blinked forty times, sweating. âKang Sujin. It was just a joke okay?â
Sujin just put her hand forward and Suho silently put the money in her hands.
âWah, just 5 dollars? Iâm worth 5 million you know.â
âSure you are. And Iâm the King of England.â Seojun said under his breath. Kang Sujin and her princess complex.
âWhat was that?â Sujin put her hand to her ear, âIâm sorry. I couldnât hear you over the apology you owe me.â
âWhat apology? I owe you nothing.â Seojun retorted, fully aware that he had actually come to this gathering to apologize to Sujin about the scandal and how he had behaved over the phone. That plan had since been abandoned.Â
For some reason, he could not spit out the three words âI am sorryâ to Kang Sujin. No matter how much he wanted to. There was just something about her that irritated him to the point of misbehavior.
Sujin clicked her tongue at Seojun but said nothing. Instead, reaching into her bag, she pulled out a notebook and a pen.
âHere, sign this.â She ordered, pushing the notebook and pen in his face.
âWhat is it?â
For Kang Sujin, the biggest issue from the scandal had not been the online noteriety and not even the teasing, but the fact that everyone in her office now knew that she was friends with an idol and had demanded that she get them his autographs.
âIts for my friends at work.â
âYou have friends?â Seojun said with mock surprise.
âYou know I was just as shocked to learn that you have actual fans. I always thought Suho was the one buying all your albums.â Sujin said.
âOf course I have fans! I am super popular you know!â Seojun defended, pulling the lapels of his jacket with pride.
âYes Iâm sure youâre veeeery popular.â Sujinâs words dripped with sarcasm. Seojunâs pride deflated like a balloon. âJust sign. And write something nice too.â She ordered. Seojun quietly picked up the notebook, not because he was nice but because he felt he owed her this much.
âYou know my autographs are worth a lot of money, right?â
Sujin made a face. âJust sign the damn thing so that the girls at work stop harassing me about you.â
Seojun smiled as he signed. His fans were awesome. âHow many?â He asked.
âSeven.â
He signed seven pages, each with a personalized note.
âBe nice to my fans at work.â
âIâm always nice.â
âSure you are.â Seojun replied skeptically. He handed Sujin the notebook. âI better not find you selling these online.â He warned.
âIâd rather starve than live off of your autographs.â Sujin bit back.
âOkay, okay! No more fighting!â Jukyung pointed between the two. âLets all enjoy our drinks in peace.â She looked pointedly at Sujin who pointed her chin at Seojun with a âhe-started-itâ scowl.
âHan Seo, is it okay for you to meet us in public like this?â Suah asked. They werenât in the usual private dining area that they frequented when it was just the core group of friends. They were out where everyone could see.
âWe can always hang out at our place, if you want.â Suho offered. Seojun quickly shook his head. Seeing Suho and Jukyung together outside was one thing. Seeing how they lived together was quite another. Knowing they lived together was painful enough. He didnât want even more fuel for his imagination.
âIts no trouble at all.â He put on a smile for Suho who seemed satisfied. But, to his surprise, he found Kang Sujin giving him a strange look. She chuckled to herself but said nothing.
As they all said their goodbyes, Seojun went out the back so that he could leave in privacy. He planned on taking the long route today. A bike ride would help him clear his mind.
âHan Seojun, wait up!â
He stopped just as he was about to put his helmet on. He was surprised to find Sujin there.Â
âWhat? Need more autographs?â He asked, cockily smiling.
Sujin made a sickened expression. âNot at all. I just⌠I had something to say.â She hesitated.
âWell say it.â
She cleared her throat. âIt was neither of our faults. The scandal. It wasnât that it was my building or your fans. It was someone shitty who didnât respect our privacy. Thatâs⌠thatâs all I wanted to say.â
Sujin waited for his response. Seojun could feel his face burning. He should have been the one to say all this to her, and yet here she was apologizing to him instead.
âIâmsorryforwhathappened.â He said too quickly and too quietly.
âWhat?â
âNothing!â Seojun shoved his helmet on to hide his embarrassed face.Â
âDrive safe.â Sujin said.
âYeah, whatever.â He rode away.
Kang Sujin was just glad she was able to spit out the words she had been meaning to say all night long. It had been weighing on her ever since they had spoken on the phone. She had promised herself a long time ago that she would try to be a nicer person and for the most part she had accomplished that. But that Han Seojun just had a way of bringing her old self back to the surface. And that bothered her.
It doesnât matter, she told herself. She would learn how to get along with Han Seojun. It was only a matter of practice. And besides, it wasnât as if she had to be overtly obvious about it. She just had to tolerate him.
For Jukyung. Itâs for Jukyung. She would want us to get along, she lied to herself. The truth was, that Kang Sujin believed that she didnât have a choice.
Everyone loved Han Seojun, even her best friends who had never paid much attention to him back in high school. It was all because Sujin had been absent for so long. She had missed a huge part of everyoneâs lives while Han Seojun had been there for all of it.
Sujin wondered whether, if it came to choosing between her and Seojun, they would choose her. A part of her believed they wouldnât.
She had made such a mess of things before and left things unresolved for too long. She was certain that things would never go back to the way they had been, not fully anyway. There would always be a part of them that wouldnât trust her. And there would always be a part of her that would be heavy with guilt. Â
âAh-nee-ya.â She reassured herself. âI donât need to worry about this.â
She was glad that the whole matter of being mistaken as Han Seojunâs girlfriend had been settled. She laughed at the very idea.
âMe and Han Seojun dating. Ah, how funny.â
Sujin had heard of horror stories about how such scandals ruined peopleâs lives and got them shunned by society. Thank fully, none of that had happened. Her precious peace was safe again.
Sujin could see her future now; a life where she worked hard at her non-profit, where she shared dinners and lunches with her friends and laughed about the old days, where she wasnât told she wasnât good enough, where she did what she wanted instead of being forced to do what her father wanted. Yes, Kang Sujin could see her like aheadâa life where she was finally happy.
iii.
At first Sujin thought she was being paranoid. But her co-workers seemed to be acting stand-offish with her, with some outright avoiding her. They werenât replying to her as enthusiastically they used to and were having hushed conversations that immediately stopped when she approached them. They even made plans for lunch without including her.
âIs something wrong?â Sujin asked one of them.
âNot at all. Shall we get to work?â It sounded more like a snub than reassurance.
Sujin also felt the hairs on her neck rise from time to time, as if she could feel someone watching her. But when she turned around, everyone would look away.
Convincing herself that it was all in her head, Sujin ignored it and went on with her work.
But then it happened again at the convenience store. She heard her name being said in whispers behind her. When she turned, she found a couple of teenagers quickly putting away their phone. Despite the anxiety bubbling in her stomach, Sujin dismissed the incident and went home.
Normally after a long day at work, Sujin would throw her phone away, have dinner while watching TV, shower and go to sleep. But today had been strange and she was feeling out of sorts. She needed a distraction to help her calm down.
So, after a shower, she settled back on her couch with her dinner and her phone. Jukyung normally posted a new make-up tutorial by this day of the week. Sujin loved watching her transform herself from an ordinary looking girl to a stunning beauty, while explaining each step.
To Kang Sujin, Jukyung was an artist who used her face as a canvas. Sujin herself had learned a lot just from watching Jukyung. She was excited about what she would learn today.
Sujin dismissed the dozens of Instagram notifications on her phone. Suah was always tagging her and messaging her about some post or the other. Sujin would get to them later. As Sujin searched for Jukyungâs channel, her Instagram notifications kept dinging. She put it on mute and played the video.
This time, Jukyung was giving a tutorial on American style makeup and how it was different from Korean style. Sujin grinned all the way through the video as Jukyung talked through her tutorial. Sujin scrolled through the comments as she watched.
My beauty Queen! I love you!
I tried your winged liner look and was able to finally do it for myself. Thank you.
I use the exact same foundation but it doesnât work for my skin. But looks great on you. <3
You didnât mention the eyeliner you used here. Can you please add it in the description?
This is why I have trust issues. She looks like a completely different person. This is fraud.
Sujin frowned at the last comment. âShe looks beautiful either way.â She said angrily aloud as she typed it in, punching the buttons as if she could punch the commentor. Sujin scrolled further.
Who else came here after reading the Soompi article?
This comment had a lot of likes and comments. Maybe Jukyung was getting famous enough to be reported by entertainment websites now. Sujin smiled proudly.
Lim Jukyung, yours is the best makeup channel here!
Saranghae unnie
I was so sad to learn that you were bullied as a kid. So glad that youâve found success now.
Sujin swallowed thickly. It would always bother her to know that she had once exploited Jukyungâs past bullying for her own gain. The fact that she had once contributed to her bullying would always fuel Sujinâs self hatred. She was just glad that Jukyung had moved on from her past and had become confident in herself. And more so, had found a community online that adored her.
As Sujin scrolled down some more, she noticed that most of the comments were talking about how Jukyung was a survivor of bullying.
âMwo-yaâŚâ
Wow, I had no idea this girl was so brave. Bravo!!!
Iâm a survivor of bullying too. Its nice to know Iâm not alone.
I bet her bully is watching this now and regretting what they did.
I donât watch makeup tutorials. Came here cuz of the bullying scandal. But stayed cuz she is so good.
The last comment made Sujin stop. âBullying scandal?â
Sujin went to Naver and searched for scandals involving Lim Jukyung. The first few links were Jukyungâs most popular videos but beneath that were a slew of articles from slanderous gossip sites.
Girl from Han Seojun Scandal Turns Out to be a Bully
Online Star Lim Jukyung Gets Involved in Han Seojun Scandal
Han Seojunâs Alleged Girlfriend was a Bully in High School
âWhat?!â Sujin stood up on her feet in shock. With shaking hands, she went through the articles one by one. Somehow, someone had uncovered the post from her high school community page that had revealed what she had done to Jukyung. Except they had gotten their facts mixed up and had reported that Sujin had been the one to bully Lim Jukyung about her looks.
That girl is so despicable.
Han Seojun is hanging out with a girl like her? I canât believe it. I actually used to like him.
I bet this girl seduced Oppa. Donât dislike him!
I am so glad theyâre not actually dating.
Her face is so evil. And sheâs uglier than Lim Jukyung!
I bet Han Seojun was fooled by her. She feels like the type who uses her looks to manipulate men.
People like her should kill themselves.
Guys! I found her Inssa!
It really is her! This is authentic!
The room began to close in on Sujin. She immediately opened Instagram where her account was flooded with comments and direct messages from people either telling her to kill herself or threatening to kill her.
Her heart was beating so fast it felt like she would throw it up. She was equal parts shaken and angry. So many people were after her but she hated that these people felt they had a right to treat her this way.
Sujin opened up the messages on Instagram and began firing back to her haters, starting with the most recent messages.
Get off of my account before I report you.
No thanks, Iâm not going to kill myself.
Threatening me will only get you sued.
You donât have to follow me if you donât like me.
âThese assholes think they can bully me online? Well, theyâve got another thing coming.â Sujin growled through clenched teeth as she typed away with all her anger.
I did not bully her!
I made a mistake!
I apologized!
People immediately started responding.
Youâre not even going to admit your mistake?
OMG! I canât believe you actually replied!
Are you honestly defending what you did?
You canât talk like that to me! Iâm going to tell everyone youâre a total b****
How can you be so audacious after you bullied someone? Just kill yourself.
Do us all a favor and kill yourself.
Kill yourself.
KILL YOURSELF.
Sujin screamed in frustration and threw her phone away. It smashed into the wall and landed with a sickening thud. Her hands suddenly felt clammy. Clammy and sticky and sweaty and dirty, dirty, dirty. So dirty that they smelled.
She ran into the bathroom and furiously scrubbed her hands clean. Once, twice, three times. No matter how many times she washed or how hard she scrubbed, the dirty stench of the hate she had just received wouldnât wash off.
Her hands became all red and felt raw and exposed. But she kept on washing till she ran out of soap. She fell to the floor, suddenly weak and exhausted. The cool tiles felt nice and it was then that she noticed how hot she felt.
Calm down. I have to calm down. She breathed in, then out. In, then out. She could hear her heart in her ears. Pounding and pounding. The walls were closing in. The messages on her Instagram suddenly had voices that shouted in her mind.
Kill yourself, kill yourself, kill yourself.
A ringing broke through it all. First Sujin thought it was in her head but no, it was from the living room.
Her cellphone. Lim Jukyung was calling.
How could she face Jukyung? What would she say to her? Wouldnât Jukyung say the same as everyone else?
Sujin cut the call. Notifications from Instagram were still coming in. She deactivated her account and deleted the app.
Lim Jukyungâs name lit up her phone again.
She turned it off and flopped down on her sofa, head pounding.
Her fragile little hope for a good life was now shattered completely. She could hear her father now. Hear him yell at her that she was useless, that she was pathetic, that she was stupid and inferior. Unable to beat even Lee Suho.
Kill yourself.
Her father had never told her this, but he might as well have. Even now it was his voice saying it over and over in her mind. It was his angry stare she felt on her back.
How would she face people now? People would hate her now that they knew what she had done. And her co-workersâŚ. Of course they knew. Thatâs why everyone had been acting so strange.
This all felt so cruel and unfair. She had been so good these past couple of years. She didnât want all of it to just be taken away like this.
But didnât you do the same thing to Jukyung? Her fatherâs voice taunted. She was a good person too, wasnât she? Youâre nothing but a piece of trash.
I bet you think that you destroyed Lim Jukyung, Seojunâs voice said, but youâve only destroyed yourself.
iv.
SUMMARY of iii: Because of the Han Seojun scandal, people find out about the community post that revealed what Sujin had done to Jukyung and people online start thinking that Sujin bullied Jukyung. They harrass her and it becomes a scandal of its own.
It was chaos at Move Entertainment.
âWhat the hell happened?! You told me you settled this!â The director threw a magazine in Heekyungâs face. Seojun saw this through the glass door and barged in.
âIs that how you treat your employees?â He demanded angrily.
âGet out. Get. Him. Out! Get him out of this company for good measure!â
Heekyung pushed Seojun out before he could do anything else, dragging him as far away as possible. âDonât be an idiot. You canât just barge in like that.â
âBut heâs being an asshole. Should I just stand around and let you take it?â
âThis is the adult world Han Seojun. Actions have consequences here.â Heekyung said reasonably. âAnd youâre the reason heâs so mad. A bullying scandal is serious. Weâve even publicly acknowledged that you and Sujin are friends. This doesnât reflect well on you.â
âThe articles are lying. Sujin didnât bully Jukyung in high school. She justââ
âI know exactly what she did. You think I donât know about what happened to my own sister?â For a brief moment, Heekyungâs professional demeanor slipped into anger. But she recovered quickly. âIt infuriates me that my sisterâs past is being brought up like this. But I have a job to do and I need you to cooperate with me. Okay?â
Seojun exhaled. âWhat are we going to do?â
âNothing. The situation will sort itself out. You will need to keep a low profile, however.â
Seojun exhaled. âNoona, we need to set the record straight. Sujin isââ
âSujin isnât represented by Move, you are. None of us here can do anything about what is happening to her.â
Seojun clenched his jaw. âHave you seen what is being said about her?â
Heekyung looked away. âIts not like I enjoy saying this. Iâm only telling you what I was told when I made the same request. Sheâs not represented by us. Sheâs not our concern.â
âWas Seyeon not your concern either?â
Heekyung had nothing to say to that. âI have to go back in. You stay here, arachi? Donât do anything rash andâŚâ she yanked Seojunâs phone from his hand.
âAh!â Seojun tried to get it but Heekyung had the phone out of reach.
âIâm keeping this for now.â She said and left.
Seojun exclaimed in frustration, running his hands through his hair. Despite the animosity he had towards Kang Sujin, this kind of exposure to such vitriol online didnât sit well with him. Kang Sujin deserved a lot of things, but she didnât deserve this.
He knew Sujin was tough. But this kind of incident would make anyone crumble. He just hoped she didnât do anything stupid.
v.
âSujin-ah. Can you explain your side of things?â
Of course her office had heard about everything. Apparently her past misdeeds were a trending topic online. Her supervisor had called her in as soon as Sujin had shown up.
âCan you tell me what happened?â Her supervisor asked.
Sujin inhaled, âWhen I was in high school, I fell in love with a boy. But he had a girlfriend⌠she was a friend of mine. I got jealous⌠and petty. I published an unflattering video of her on our schoolâs online community. She had been bullied in her previous school because of her looks. So the video was especially traumatizing to her. I was responsible for what happened in Saebom High, but I wasnât involved in anything that happened before that.â
Sujin looked at her hands, still red and raw, âI have made up with her since then. Iâve apologized. Weâre both friends now. And Iâm not a teenager anymore.â
Something stung Sujinâs hand. Water droplets? No, tears. She hadnât noticed when she had started crying. But she kept her face straight even when the tears didnât stop. She looked at her supervisor.
âI am ashamed of what I did. If I could take it all back⌠you have no idea what I would do to take it all back.â Sujin furiously wiped away her tears. She hated crying in front of anyone. âI love working here. I really do.â
Even as she was saying the words, she knew what was coming. Of course her company wouldnât keep her on. Even non-profits couldnât afford bad reputations and the fact that Move Entertainment had worked with her company for a lot of benefits hadnât escaped her notice either.
âSujin-ah.â Her co-worker said, peeking from the cubicle wall as Sujin packed up her things.
âWhat?â
âI never thanked you. For getting me Han Seojunâs signature.â The woman said meekly.
Sujin gave a small smile. âYouâre welcome.â
The woman handed her a bunch of sticky notes. âThese are goodbyes from everyone. We know youâre not getting a farewell party so we thought you should have our thoughts with you.â
Sujin looked down at the brightly colored notes that contained encouraging messages from some of her co-workers. Her dismissal had been so swift that she hadnât even been given the chance to say anything.
âIf its worth anything⌠I donât believe any of it.â
Sujin smiled gratefully this time. âThanks, Chulhee-yah. I appreciate it.â
vi.
Sujin was both grateful and surprised by how much her friends had reached out. Apparently they had showed up to her place multiple times to see if she was okay, given that she was not answering any of her calls. Sadly, Sujin had not been there to receive them. She had gone to her auntâs place to get away from everything.
That had not proved to be a good idea.
âHave. You. Lost. Your. Mind!!â Each word was punctuated with a smack from a slipper. Her mother, the once elegant and graceful Mrs. Kang, chased her daughter around in the most inelegant and ungraceful manner. Mrs. Kangâs sister tried to save Sujin by stepping in between but Mrs. Kang still managed to get a few whacks in.
âHow could you let a boy stay over at your place?!â
âOmma! Thatâs what you choose to focus on?!â
âYes! How could you have disgraced your family this way? And not just any boy, an idol? What the hell were you doing with an idol? Come here.â
This was one fight Sujin would never win. Her mother was not a force of reason when she was this angry. And it took a lot for her to get this angry.
Sujin didnât mind these smacks. They came from a place of love and worry. Eventually her mother calmed down enough to address the other issue with Sujin. She took her daughter in her arms and wailed.
âHow could those people be so mean to my daughter?â
âOmma, I canât breathe.â Her mother smushed Sujin to herself.
âMy poor girl. My poor baby girl.â
In the end, Sujin was glad she had come back to her auntâs place. It gave her the break she had needed. Away from all of the noise of her online haters, Sujin found she could finally breathe. She found great comfort in her motherâs arms and her auntâs assurances her that everything would be fine.
However, the dread of returning to her normal life still loomed over her head. Sujin felt her throat close up every time she imagined going back to her apartment. Would the people point and laugh at her on the street? Would she be able to live a normal life from now on?
It was strange how deeply all of this had affected her. Even now, as Sujin walked from the grocery store to her auntâs house, she felt the paranoia that people were talking about her, pointing and laughing, even though they werenât.Â
âSujin-ah.â
And now it felt like they were actually calling out to her.
âKang Su!â
Sujin turned in surprise, ready to fight whoever had called her. âWho is it?â
âWho do you think? Itâs Jukyungie! â A human mass known as Lim Jukyung ran towards Kang Sujin with arms wide open. The girls hugged each other tightly, Jukyung grinning with her gummy smile while Sujin stood, mouth open in shock.
Not far behind, were Suah and Taehoon.
âYa Kang Su, at least answer your phone! Do you know how worried I was?â Suah scolded.
Sujin laughed, almost tearing up. She couldnât believe this was happening. She had feared that her friends would turn away and curse at her after she had avoided them. But here they were, all gathered just for her.
âHowâd you find me?â She asked the three. They all turned to Suho who stood there smiling.
âHey Sujin. Have you been well?â
Of course, Suho knew where her aunt lived.
âWhat well? You all know what happened.â Sujin replied, not bothering to pretend that she was fine.
âYa! What have you done to your hands.â Jukyung held up Sujinâs scabby hands with worry.
âItâll heal.â Sujin smiled. Maybe it was the massive hug she had received, or the fact that her friends had traveled so far away to meet her, but suddenly, Sujin felt relieved. It was as if the entire situation was trivial and that she could see light at the end of the tunnel.
âOf course we know what happened.â Suho replied.
âAnd we know exactly how to fix it.â Jukyung grinned wider.
vii.
On the screen, in front of a ring light she had set up at her home, Lim Jukyung stood with a gummy smile and a warm welcome.
âAhn-nyong-se-yo everyone. This is Lim Jukyung here with a new make up tutorial for all of my beautiful viewers. Uh, today I have a new kind of tutorial for you all. But before we begin, there is something that I think has been on all of our minds that needs to be addressed.â
Jukyung motioned to someone standing behind the camera to come forward. Kang Sujin entered the frame awkwardly, not knowing where exactly to look. The way Jukyung had set up her studio for this live event was to have the camera, the mirror with the ring light and her laptop screen facing her so that she could do her make up while also reading the comments. And while Jukyung was used to having all of this equipment focused on her, Sujin was not.
âIntroduce yourself.â Jukyung said softly, nudging Sujin with her elbow.
âAh, yes.â Sujin cleared her throat. âAhn-nyong-se-yo everyone. Iâm Kang Sujin.â She waved robotically while staring in the camera like a deer caught in the headlights.
Jukyung couldnât help but laugh. âYa, Kang Su, are you afraid of the camera?â
âAh-neeeee, itâs just so unnatural.â Sujin quickly countered.
âDonât worry, the camera doesnât bite.â Jukyung put an arm around her friendâs waist. âOkay everyone now that my friend Kang Sujin is here we can talk about the recentââ
âLim Ju, maybe we shouldnât do this.â Sujin interrupted anxiously.
âHuh? But itâs already live.â Jukyung pointed at the camera.
âWhat?â Sujin on in panic.
Jukyung continued, âSo everyone, as you all may have heard, Sujin and I went to the same high school together. However, before that I attended another high school where I was bullied for my looks. Sujin and I did not know each other back then and she had nothing to do with that part of my life so the allegations that she bullied me are completely false. That was another person and that person is no longer in my life.â
Sujin cut in, âHowever, it is true that I revealed Jukyungâs past to our school and posted an unflattering video of her online.â
Jukyung nodded, looking serious. âI wonât lie and say it was easy for me to have that happen. But⌠both of us have changed since then. We have grown up and grown past that time.â
The girls took each otherâs hands in solidarity.
Jukyung continued, âIâm not the girl I used to be. Neither is Sujin. And while she did do something wrong⌠Iâve forgiven her. I would rather remember the good times we sharedâŚâ The time that Sujin caught that pervert, the time she helped rescue Jukyung from those kidnappers, the time she helped hide Jukyungâs bare face at the school trip. âThere are things that I wish I had done differently too. I wish had been more confident in myself and honest about who I really was. I wish I had stood up for myself earlier. But the past is the past, and I would rather focus on the present.â
âEveryone, I am grateful for all of the love and support you showed to me. I know bullying isnât something you get over easily and I saw a lot of you comment about the bullying that you suffered. I am grateful you shared your stories with me. I hope we can take this opportunity to help each other heal rather than put someone down.â Jukyung looked at Sujin. âNow you.â
Sujin recited nervously, âAh. Ahn-nyong-se-yo everyone. Iâm Kang Sujin.â
Jukyung giggled. âWeâve done that already.â
âOh, yes. Um⌠I uhâŚâ Sujin took a pause to collect herself. âLet me be the first to say that Iâm not a nice personââ
âYah!â Jukyung protested but Sujin carried on.
âBut Iâm also not the girl who posted that video about her best friend, not anymore. At that time⌠I was foolish. I let my personal problems cloud my judgement and I took my frustration and anger out on Lim Jukyung. I have regretted doing that every single day since it happened. I am sorry. I understand everyoneâs anger towards me. I would be angry too if I heard this about someone else. However, I hope that you all will be able to forgive me, as Jukyung has.â
Sujin ended her speech with an apologetic bow. Jukyung bowed with her. The girls then shared a tearful hug. From the back, Sujin saw Suho give her a thumbs up. Sujin sent him a smile back. The girls parted, wiping their tears.
âOkay! Now that thatâs out of the way, we can get on to the real reason why you are on here.â Jukyung clasped her hands together. âSujin will be assisting me today.â
âAh, yes.â
âSo Kang Su, shall we bring out our model today?â Jukyung asked her with a mischievous gleam in her eye.
The girls nodded conspiratorially before turning to Suho who looked on, confused.
âWhat? Why are you looking at me like that?â
viii.
âWhat is it? What are you laughing at?â Chorong asked Seojun as he leaned over his shoulder. They were at Chorongâs place where the boys were goofing off, playing video games and lounging about.
Seojun didnât hear Chorongâs inquiry through his ear buds and kept on shaking with silent laughter.
âHey, nobody said anything about me being in the video.â Suho was protesting on Seojunâs phone. Seojun turned up the volume to hear Suhoâs annoyed grumbling more clearly. Of course, Seojun was going to make fun of Suho about this afterwards.Â
âJust sit down, Lee Su, before I get mad.â Sujin commanded.
âThat attitude of yours has never worked on me,â Suho replied coolly.
âCome on, Suho-ya. I do your makeup all the time donât I? Itâll be fine. I promise.â Of course, when Jukyung said this, Suho melted like butter on a hot pan. Sujin rolled her eyes but it was clear that it wasnât out of spite.
âOkay everyone! Letâs begin with the base and then weâll work our way up! I am going to keep this look as natural as possible so that its not modifying anything but merely enhancing his features.â Jukyung pushed Suhoâs bangs out of his forehead with a giant pink bow shaped clip. Seojun was quick to get a screen shot of it.
âWhat are Lee Suho and Kang Sujin doing on Jukyungâs channel?â Chorong asked in Seojunâs ear, shocking him. Seojun almost screamed in fear. He pushed away Chorongâs face to watch the video in peace.
In the live video, Jukyung was explaining the differences of applying make up on a guyâs face, versus a girlâs face.
âSujin-ah. Why donât you read some of the comments while Iâm buffing in his foundation? You have to buff it in for a long time to make it appear natural.â Jukyung told her audience.
Sujin moved towards the camera, blocking Jukyung a little as she read off of her laptop. Her unfiltered face was front and center for the world to see. At this position it looked unflattering, which made Seojun chuckle even more.
Sujin read the comments in a robotic monotone, âJukyung Unnie, I donât usually watch make up tutorials. But after today Iâm your number one fan.â
âMwo-ya, this girl has no camera sense.â Seojun said to himself.
âThank you! Iâm your fan too,â Jukyung replied brightly.
âYour looks are always so classy and stylish.â
âThank you! Iâm glad you liked them. Let me know if there are any other looks youâd like to see.â
âWill you do a tutorial on how to wear red lipstick properly?â
âIâm actually planning on doing that soon!â
âLim Jukyung, you are so beautiful. Marry me please!â
Suho got up to see the screen, âWho asked that?â
âSit down!â Jukyung pulled him back as he grumbled. âSorry,â Jukyung said to the camera, âbut Iâm taken.â
âAre you and Kang Sujin really friends now?â Sujin turned to Jukyung and all Seojun could see was her shiny black hair on screen.
âDangyunhaji! In fact, if I wasnât dating Suho, Kang Sujin would be my boyfriend.â
Seojun scoffed, âAs if. It would have been me.â
On the live, Sujin laughed, âIs that so? We can still be together though. Have an affair behind Suhoâs back.â
âSure.â Jukyung said casually.
âYah!â Suho protested.
Both girls giggled.
Suho looked miffed, âKang Sujin, youâre blocking the view.â He said peevishly.
âOh sorry. Iâll move.â Sujin circled around the couple to stand behind Jukyung and read the comments over her shoulder.
Jukyung read something on the screen and pointed it to Sujin, âRead that one.â
Sujin hesitantly read, âKang Sujin, Iâm sorry for judging you.â She looked up, âItâs okay. I can be harsh in my judgements too. The key is to try to learn from your past.â Sujin smiled at the camera before turning back to the screen.
âKang Sujin, youâre pretty.â Sujin recited in her monotone voice. âYes. I know.â She said without looking up.
âShe is also super smart!â Jukyung gushed. âShe was one of the top students in class.â
âCould never beat me though.â Suho said smugly, still sore about the affair comment. Both girls turned to Suho and stared. His mouth became small. âSorry.â
Jukyung went back to explaining her tutorial, slowly performing each step as Suho patiently sat. She made his eyes look bigger and applied a natural lip tint to finish off.
Both girls couldnât help but gawk at how good Suho look by the end. Jukyung removed the pink blow clip from his hair in a daze.
âHow do I look?â He asked Jukyung.
âToo good, Lee Suho.â Sujin clapped. âToo good.â
Jukyung blushed but couldnât articulate her thoughts. She stuttered, âUh-ah! Letâs look at the c-c-comments again!â
Suho grinned.
âLim Jukyung, you were amazing as always!â Sujin read aloud.
âThank you.â Jukyung bowed.
âWatch the latest and best movies for free atââ
âSujin thatâs just spam.â
âOh. Right.â Sujin continued, âLee Suho looks prettier than the both of you.â
The girlsâ face fell flat. Suho just looked innocently at the camera. The girls cleared their throats.
âAh thatâs all the time we have!â
âAh, yes! Time to move on!â
The two pushed Suho out of the frame together.
âI can still be on camera if youââ
âNo, I think the people have seen enough of you.â Sujin said while smiling widely at the camera.
Jukyung went wide eyed when she looked into her computer screen. âYa! This live got 3.3 thousand comments!â
âDaebak. Good job Lim Ju!â The girls grinned, but then Sujin squinted her eyes disapprovingly at something on the screen. âLim Jukyung, you look so ugly without makeup? Ya, who wrote this comment? User name KimChee23? Why donât you show yourself to me and then we can see whoâs really ugly?â
âSujin-ah. Itâs just a comment.â Jukyung tried to calm her.
âComments matter too! Otherwise people wouldnât be writing them! Ya KimChee23 where do you live?â
Seojun laughed out loud as he saw Jukyung try to calm Sujin down on screen.
âSo, is everything all settled now?â Chorong asked Seojun.
âI think, yes. Just look at all the comments praising Sujin.â
He was right, the comments section was flooded with statements of Sujin being a brave person for apologizing and changing her bad behavior.Â
âGreat.â Chorong shook his friendâs shoulders. âNow you donât have to be so troubled about Lim Jukyung.â
âLim Jukyung? Why would I be troubled about her?â
Chorong was confused. He had not known about the scandal. The matter Chorong had been referring to was Seojunâs theory that Kang was apparently still after Lee Suho.
âI mean... havenât you been in a bad mood all week because of her?â
âWhy bother asking Chorong?â One of the boys said, âYou know the answer to all of Seojunâs heartaches is Lim Jukyung.â
Seojun didnât bother responding. He returned to his phone screen where Jukyung and Kang Sujin were wrapping up the live, waving at the camera with wide smiles. Suho was trying to get back in the frame and Sujin kept pushing his out of it.
âOoh. Look at how Han Seojun is smiling.â
âSomething good must have happened.â
âSee! Heâs always thinking of Lim Jukyung.â
âNo Iâm not!â Seojun protested. Quietly, he admitted. âI wasnât thinking of Lim Jukyung.â
ix.
Han Seojun had arrived at Kang Sujinâs building an hour ago, but for the life of him he could not muster the courage to go up to her apartment.
âI have no reason to see her. So, why should I?â He argued with himself. He paced back and forth, going up the entrance and then going back again, unable to enter.
In his hands, Han Seojun held a beautiful arrangement of white tulips and yellow roses. White tulips as an apology and yellow roses as an offering of friendship. It was his way of apologizing for being a jerk.
After hearing everything she had said on the live event, Seojun had no doubt that Kang Sujin wasnât who he thought she was. Certainly, if Jukyung and even Suho could trust her, then he could at least give her the benefit of the doubt.Â
It had felt like a good idea at the time to try to make amends with flowers. But now that he was actually here, at her home, he felt stupid.
What would Kang Sujin say when he showed up at her place? Would she laugh at him and tell him to go to hell? Would she be offended that he just showed up, unannounced? The uncertainly of it all made him anxious.
As he went back down the steps to the building entrance for the thousandth time, Seojun bumped into a lady.
âOh maâam. Iâm so sorry!â
The woman had been carrying tote bags with plastic containers of food in them. The bags had fallen to the ground but luckily, the containers and the food inside them were unharmed, just a little shaken.
Seojun looked at the woman with an apologetic face. She appeared to be a very dignified lady, as old as his mother. Her hair was up in a chic bun and she wore well fitted, albeit a little worn out, clothes. Her brows were crinkled in disapproval. But upon seeing Seojun, her face softened.
âAre you okay, maâam?â Seojun asked and his humble words spoken in that rich baritone subsided the womanâs irritation further to the point where she smiled.
âOmo, how can someone be so handsome?â
Seojun beamed. Elders had always loved him. âAh, thank you.â He responded shyly. âLet me help you carry these.â He took the heavy bags from her, putting the flowers under his arm, careful not to smush them.
âOh no. I donât want to bother.â
âItâs no bother at all, maâam. I insist.â He didnât let the woman say another word, walking past her into the building. The woman smiled and followed.
âAre you going to visit your girlfriend?â The woman asked, eyeing the flowers.
âA friend. A friend who is a girl.â
âIs that what the youngsters are calling it these days?â
âAh-nee-heyo. Itâs not like that.â
The woman just smiled knowingly. âIâm going to visit a special girl too. My daughter lives in this building.â
They entered the elevator. Seojun asked which floor the woman wanted to go to. âOh, Iâm going to the same floor. Maybe my friend knows your daughter.â
âIâm sure she does. My daughter is a wonderful girl.â
When the lady walked in the same direction as Sujinâs apartment, Seojun said, âOh. My friend lives this way too. What a coincidence. They might live right next to each other.â
âThen you should come over with your friend. I will cook for you.â
And when the woman stood in front of Sujinâs apartment, Seojun said, âOh, this is my friendâs apartment. Are they roommates?â
âYoung man, is your friendâs name Kang Sujin?â
âYes, maâam. How did you know?â Seojun asked, surprised.
The lady patted Seojunâs face, âAt least you have good looks.â She punched in Sujinâs passcode and went in. Han Seojun stood outside for a full minute before he connected the dots. And then his eyes went wide.
âSujin isnât home yet. Why donât you wait inside?â Mrs. Kang called out.
âIâm so sorry Mrs. Kang. I didnât recognize you.â Seojun entered, placing the bags on Sujinâs counter.
âItâs okay, Son. Youâve known Sujin long?â
âI went to Sujinâs school. I knew her through Lee Suho.â He had only seen Sujinâs mother a couple of times at school. But never up close. She had seemed so stuck up like Sujin at the time; with her fur coats and expensive jewelry. Now she seemed like just another lady. Her appearance seemed to have humbled after the divorce.
âOh Suho! Lovely child. How is he these days? Sujin doesnât tell me anything.â
âHeâs good maâam.â
Mrs. Kang started lining the containers on the counter. It seemed like too much food for one person.
âSujinnie never eats properly. She always scolds me for worrying but what can I do? She never takes care of herself.â
Indeed, when Mrs. Kang opened Sujinâs fridge, it was empty save a few water bottles and expired milk that Mrs. Kang threw away.
âAnd look at you! All skin and bones! It is unfashionable to be healthy these days?â
It was a complaint he had heard from his mother as well. But Seojun had to maintain a lean figure for his job, as he was about to explain to Mrs. Kang.
âMaâam I actually have to diet becaââ
âI wonât hear it! Sit. I will get you something to eat. Iâve brought more than enough.â Mrs. Kang commanded. Seojun could see where Sujin got her tough exterior from.
âI donât want to be a botherâŚâ
âNonesense! Itâs no bother at all. Especially not for,â she eyed the bouquet Seojun had placed on the counter, âSujinâs friend.â
Seojun wanted to protest Mrs. Kangâs assumptions but figured that denying it would only reinforce the idea. He would let Sujin clear up the matter.
âWell if youâre going to cook Mrs. Kang, you might as well let me help.â Seojun often cooked with his mother and was used to being in the kitchen so his culinary prowess impressed Mrs. Kang greatly.
âYour mother must be so proud of you.â Seojun grinned at the compliment. He decided that he liked Mrs. Kang.
Likewise, Mrs. Kang decided that she liked Seojun. She put the flowers he had brought in a vase and brought it to the table. As they cooked, she went on and on about Sujin and her many accomplishments. The woman was very proud of her daughter.
Seojun listened diligently as Mrs. Kang explained how much she was worried about Sujin. The non-profit sector didnât exactly offer a lucrative career. Not as much being a doctor would have.
âI remember how much she had wanted to be a doctor as a child. Omma, I want to heal everyone, she would tell me. But when her father started pushing her and pushing her⌠suddenly it was all about ranking number 1, not helping people and her heart just wasnât in it anymore.â Mrs. Kang lamented. She gave Seojun a considering look. âHas she told you⌠about her father?â
About the divorce? âYes. I know.â
Mrs. Kang looked at him tenderly, âYou must really be close to my daughter then. Sheâs a very private girl.â
Seojun didnât understand why the woman as acting like it was some secret. Everyone knew about Mr. and Mrs. Kangâs separation.
The woman stared into the distance. âIf I look back, I can only blame myself. I should have stopped it the first day her father started hitting her. But I was blind. I believed that it would all stop if she got good grades and got into a good university. My husband was always a tough man, but had never been like that to me, you see. I didnât realize what he was doing to Sujin till it was too late.â
Seojun froze. He felt he had been told something he wasnât supposed to know.
âAnd then, she started taking her anger out on other people⌠it might have been late, but I finally put my foot down. Iâm glad my girl is in a better place now.â
Mrs. Kang looked down in remorse. Seojun found it hard to keep looking at her. He suddenly recalled what Sujin had said in Jukyungâs video.
I was foolish. I let my personal problems cloud my judgement and I took my frustration and anger out on Lim Jukyung.Â
Ah, crap. Seojun thought.
âMy daughter is a sensitive girl, despite how strong she appears. I just want to know that she is with people who will care for her, and not hurt her.â Mrs. Kang looked at Seojun meaningfully. He swallowed.
âShe is Mrs. Kang. You donât have to worry.â
The woman pressed his hands gratefully. âYou must have heard⌠about what Sujin was involved in recently.â
Seojun was sure he was going to die today. His heart felt like guilt had wrapped its sharp claws around it and was squeezing tightly.
âAh. Yes.â
âDonât believe any of it! My Sujinnie isnât that kind of girlâ
âAh. Yes.â
âShe did go a little astray in school, but what kid doesnât go through a phase like that? Show me a teenager who has never made a mistake!â
âYouâre absolutely right maâam.â Was all Seojun could say.
âIf only I could get my hands on that Han Seojun.â Seojun felt his heart stop. It was then that he realized that he never really introduced himself to Mrs. Kang. âHow dare that no good idol take advantage of my daughter? Ah-nee, what kind of a person stays over a girlâs place like that? And doesnât even help when she gets into trouble because of him?â
Seojun could see his funeral now, his mother crying for him as his friends lined up to regret their loss.
Guys⌠take care. Please check on my mother for me.
The door chimed as Sujin entered. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed Han Seojun and her mother sitting at a table full of food, waiting for her.
âAh, Omma why have you come all this way again? Do you really like tiring yourself out so much?â Sujin scolded as she hurriedly put on her indoor slippers.
âIs that any way to greet your mother?â Mrs. Kang scolded back.
Sujin was undeterred. âYou know I can always come and visit you and Auntie. Why do you have to come here? And look at all this food! How is this okay for one person? It always goes bad and then I have to throw it out.â
âIt goes bad because you donât eat enough, bad girl! You see what I have to deal with?â Mrs. Kang turned to Seojun who had gone white.
âYa Han Seojun, what are you doing here?â Sujin asked him.
There was a second of silence where no one spoke. A pin drop could be heard.
âHan Seojun?â Mrs. Kang looked at Seojun. On stage, with makeup on, Seojun looked different. Here, in person, it was difficult to recognize him. But now that his name had been spoken, Mrs. Kang could see the young man whose face had been plastered all over the articles concerning Sujin.
âYou⌠youâre the Han Seojun from the scandal?â
Sujin quickly caught on. âSeojun. Run.â
And then all hell exploded, or rather, one Mrs. Kang. Sujin jumped in her motherâs path as the woman got up with a slipper in her hand. Han Seojun lept off his chair and bowed furiously.
âI am so sorry Mrs. Kang. I am so sorry for all the trouble caused!â
Sujin desperately tried to block her motherâs blows but Mrs. Kang was a formidable woman. She smacked Han Seojun with her slipper.
âDo. You. Have. Any idea. What. Problems. You. Caused!â She punctuated each word with a smack. Seojun, for his part, did not run but rather took it like a man. He was just glad she was beating him with a slipper and not a heel.
âRun! Why arenât you running?â Sujin asked him as she tried to grab her motherâs wrists.
âAre you protecting him? After everything that happened?â
âIâm really sorry Mrs. Kang.â Seojun said.
âSorry? What good will an apology do? Will an apology undo the pain youâve caused?â Her words sounded eerily familiar.
âAh Omma, stop hitting him! He didnât do anything. It was my fault. It was all my idea.â
Mrs. Kang stopped. âWhat?â
And thus, it became Kang Sujinâs turn to be given the mom-smack down.
âAh Omma WAEEEE??â
âIt was your idea to bring him home?!â
âOmma youâve already beaten me about that!â
âI havenât beaten you enough.â
âMrs. Kang please! We were both drunk. Sujin had no choice but toââ
âWhat?â Mrs. Kang went ballistic.
Sujin glared at Seojun, âHan Seojun do you actually want us both to die?â
âYOU WERE DRUNK?!â
âOmma it wasnât like that!â
âMrs. Kang it really wasnât.â Seojun chimed in.
âIf it wasnât then why is he bringing you flowers? Why is he showing up at your place?â
Sujin looked at the tulips and roses on her table. White tulips, a flower of regret. And yellow roses, flowers of friendship. Sujin knew exactly what they meant. She wondered if Han Seojun knew too or if he just got really lucky with his choices.
It was a while before Mrs. Kang calmed down. Seojun felt thoroughly sore. Both he and Sujin sat on the floor with guilty expressions on their faces, looking like school children being punished.
âGet out. I donât want to see the likes of your around my daughter ever again.â
âOmma.â
Seojun bowed his head to the ground. âI am really sorry Mrs. Kang. Iâm really sorry for all of the trouble that Iâve caused. I assure you I will never let anything like that happen again.â
Mrs. Kang crossed her arms and looked away.
âOmma. Neither of us had any idea that something like this would happen. Its not Seojunâs fault. And besides, he got into trouble too.â Sujin nudged him with her elbow.
âYes, maâam. I was almost kicked out of my company.â Which wasnât exactly true but Seojun didnât mind fibbing a little.
âYou should have been!â Mrs. Kang fumed but then softened when she saw Seojunâs best puppy dog face. Han Seojun was always good with ladies, especially ones that were mad at him.
He inched closer to Mrs. Kang. âMrs. Kang. Iâm really regretful about what Sujin faced.â He took her hands in his. Sujin watched in astonishment as Han Seojun turned her motherâs boiling anger to a low simmer. âBut I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure that this never happens again.â
Mrs. Kang cleared her throat.
âAnd look, the food we both prepared has gotten all cold. Wouldnât it be better if we all eat and talk calmly?â
Sujin scoffed, not only at the blatant pandering but at the fact that it was working. Mrs. Kangâs anger all but disappeared. It came to a point that as they all ate, she began taking his side.
âHow could you risk an idolâs reputation like that?â She asked Sujin who could only roll her eyes.
âOmma, how can you say that?â
âI mean, now that I think about it, it isnât Seojunâs fault that his fans came after you.â
âUgh, I canât believe this.â Sujin scowled.
As dumb as Han Seojun had appeared, Sujin had to admit this was pretty shrewd. It made her wonder what else she had misjudged him on. He even got himself invited by Mrs. Kang to come by again for dinner.
âYour mom is incredible.â Seojun told Sujin as they walked to the convenience store. Mrs. Hand had sent them out for some ice-cream since she had brought nothing for dessert.
âSheâs changed a lot after the divorce. Sheâs more herself now.â
They walked slowly, enjoying the night air and the silence. Oddly enough the quiet didnât feel awkward or strange. Neither of them felt any pressure to speak. They got papico, the ice-cream that came in squishy bottles, and sat by on the benches outside.
âKang Sujin,â Seojun began, âabout what happened⌠are you⌠You know when I, um⌠I guess what Iâm trying to say isâŚâ
Sujin laughed, a clear gurgle of joy that made Seojun feel strange in his stomach. âMwo-ya? Has the great Han Seojun been rendered speechless?â She laughed some more and Seojun didnât stop her. âRelax Han Seojun. Iâm fine.â
Seojun looked at his feet. âI⌠wasnât happy with what happened to do⌠with the articles and how everybody was talking about you.â
âGwenchana. Itâs over now. I mean I had to make another Instagram account but all in all, its not as bad now. Besides,â she tilted her chin, âdo you think a bunch of cowards who hide behind usernames are enough to take me down? Iâm Kang Sujin, remember? Badass of Saebom High.â
âI thought I was the badass of Saebom high.â Seojun raised a brow.
âYou were the gangster.â Sujin grinned, eating her ice-cream.
âIâm glad youâre tough. You donât let these things bother you.â
âIâd be lying if I said it didnât bother me. People telling me that Iâm the worst and I should die wasnât exactly easy.â She said grimly. âBut you know what upset me the most?â
âWhat?â
âThat I couldnât beat those cowards up for saying what they did.â Sujin got up and punched the air. âIf I could just get my hands on those twerps then I would teach them a lesson or two.â She punched the air.
The fire in Sujinâs eyes was so comical that Seojun burst out laughing.
âDonât laugh! Hajima! Iâm not joking.â
âKang Sujin, were you always such a fighter?â
âYup!â Sujin stated simply. She sat back besides Seojun, closer this time. And he noticed. âWhat about you?â She asked. âHow are you doing?â
Seojun leaned back leisurely, âEh, Iâm fine. I donât worry about public perception anyway. The people who matter will know me. Everyone else is just noise.â
âI bet your fans would leave you in a second.â Sujin teased.
âDonât diss my fans. Theyâre all cool and awesome.â
âWhat, all two of them? Do they also happen to be named Jukyung and Suho?â
âYouâre forgetting Chorong.â
The two giggled.
âDid your co-workers ask for more autographs?â
âNope. Got fired before they could.â
âWhat?â Seojun stood up. Sujin relayed how her company had let her go after details about her past misconduct were released online.
âHow could they just fire you? Isnât that illegal?â
âCalm down. Itâs normal for that to happen.â
âHow can you be so calm?â
âWould you rather I get angry? Thereâs no point in doing that. I wonât get that job back.â
Seojun pressed his lips together in a tight line and sat back down.
âIâm surprised that youâre actually defending me.â Sujin sounded impressed.
âI mean⌠its wrong. Even if you and I donât get along, whatâs wrong is wrong.â
Sujin chuckled. She looked at the time on her phone. âI should get back. How are you getting home?â
âI brought my bike.â
âYour company lets you ride motorbikes?â
âNope.â Seojun grinned.
âAâight. Good night, Han Seojun. Stay safe.â Sujin walked back in the direction of the apartment. Feeling light and happy. While her online image hadnât completely recovered, her relationship with Han Seojun had. She might not have to simply tolerate his presence now. They might genuinely get along.
âKang Sujin!â Han Seojun called out to her, the woman who he thought was vile and destructive. The person that turned wasnât that woman. It was the little girl who had looked to her father with love but only got his abuse in return.
âIâm sorry I misjudged you.â Seojun told the little girl.
The girl smiled. âIâm sorry I misjudged you too.â
x.
It was unfamiliar territory, getting along with Kang Sujin. More for the group than Han Seojun and Kang Sujin. They all looked at the pair in wonder and shock when Sujin asked Seojun to pass the soy sauce and he obliged. It shocked them further when Sujin laughed when Seojun bragged about being recognized at a department store and being asked for pictures.
âHey, you feeling okay?â Jukyung asked Sujin quietly.
âYeah, why?â Sujin replied.
âNothing. Just asking.â
âHey, whatâs up with you?â Suho asked Seojun privately.
âWhat?â
âYouâre acting all weird around Kang Sujin.â
âWeird how?â
âYouâre being nice.â
âAm I not supposed to be?â
âOkay! Whoâs going to go first?â Taehoon asked the room, interrupting Suho and Seojunâs conversation.Â
They were at Suhoâs apartment where he had a karaoke machine set up. Seojun had finally relented to visiting their place and it was just as painful as he had thought it would be. It was a mishmash to Jukyungâs bright and lively style with Suhoâs dark and moody one.
The posters of rock bands and Junji Itouâs mangas were something both of them shared. It was fascinating how the two of the most caring people in Seojunâs life were into such dark things. Seojun saw Sujin eye one of the horror comic book posters suspiciously, as if the monster drawn in them could come out any second.
Chorong sang first, sharing a duet with his girlfriend. Then Taehoon and Suah went next. Duets seemed to be the theme of the night. Jukyung and Suho went next.
âAlright? Who else?â
Sujin was the only girl left.
âWell Iâm not going up there.â She said when everyone looked at her. She eyed the other boys, all of whom were terrified of her. Even they could still hear Kang Sujin saying Ya Han Seojun, are you a gangster?!
âJukyung-ah. Sing with me.â Sujin grabbed Jukyungâs hand and led her up before she could say anything.
âIâm singing too!â Suah joined.
Seojun went next. His was a solo and he clearly was the best performer. His rich baritone singing in a soft melody made everyone pay attention.
âIsnât it nice to have an idol as a friend?â Suah asked. âIts like having a private concert.â Jukyung and Sujin nodded in agreement.
Everyone swayed their heads to the beat, except for Kang Sujin who was noticing the lyrics Han Seojun was singing.
I want to give you all of my days
I want to tell you all these feelings of mine
The sleepless blue winds
Brightly light up this night
He was singing about Lim Jukyung. Sujin looked over to her friend, who was looking longingly in Suhoâs eyes. The two were entranced with each other, not noticing Han Seojun who stood just a couple of feet away, pouring his heart out.
After all the fun had been wrapped up, Seojun and Sujin had been the only two to stay back. Sujin had helped Jukyung clean up while Suho went to throw out the trash.
As Sujin cleaned the dishes, Seojun sat in the living room, looking at all of the pictures Jukyung and Suho had hung up. He could see how Suho and Jukyung would sit on the very couch he was on and watch TV together or lie around reading books.
He tried to replay those images, with himself there with Jukyung instead of Suho but he couldnât. He couldnât lie to himself about who she belonged to.
âYou know, Han Seojun, I just realized something.â Sujin called from the kitchen.
âWhat?â
âYou have two hands.â
Seojun looked at her like she had lost her mind. âWow, Kang Sherlock. Your powers of deduction amaze me.â
âSo, since you have those two hands, and youâre a gentleman, why not help me out over here? I assume you would feel bad that Iâm the only one doing any actual cleaning.â
âYou assume incorrectly. I have no issues with you doing all the cleaning.â Seojun turned back to the TV and was promptly hit in the head with a dish rag.
âOops.â Sujin said flatly.
Seojun got up, dish rag in hand. Wordlessly, he took out the dishes from the washer and lined them up in the cabinets.
âArenât you ever afraid that Jukyung will be uncomfortable about you singing love songs to her?â Sujin asked in a low voice.
âWhat do you mean?â
âThat song you sang. My heart is full of you, Iâm starting to take after you?â
Seojun eyed her. âShe wonât know.â
âI did.â
âYeah but, youâre you and Jukyungâs Jukyung.â
âSo?â
âSoâŚâ Seojun leaned closer, âyou ranked number two in class for a reason.â
âSujin-ah! I told you I would take care of everything.â Jukyung appeared from her bedroom.
âDonât worry about it. Han Seojun helped.â Sujin assured.
The pair said their goodbyes to the couple and exited together. Han Seojun said nothing when he started walking his own way, while Kang Sujin turned to wave at him but was unseen. He was too lost in his own broken heart to notice anyone or anything.
She simply sighed, took it as just a Han Seojun thing and started walking in the other direction.
xi.
âI still canât get used to this.â Suah said, waving a spoon between Han Seojun and Kang Sujin. The two sat opposite each other and were eating their food peacefully.
It was this peace that bothered Suah.
âI mean, how can you two just get along?â
âWeâre adults Choi Su. We can learn how to get along.â Sujin stated.
Suho spluttered in laughter. âI thought you said that Seojun was a giant baby with no manners?â
Seojun gave Sujin a scathing look. Sujin went pink, âI never said that! You take that back!â
âItâs still strange.â Suah leaned closer. âWhat happened? Have you guys settled your differences?â
âHan Seojun got Sujin flowers.â Suho said cheekily.
âYah!â Seojun protested. But it was in vain, the deed was done, and everyone oohed and aahed at this news.
âDid you really get her flowers?â
âWait, when did this happen?â
âDoes that mean that Seojun apologized first?â
âWhat kind of flowers?â
Seojun looked at Suho with the rage of a thousand suns. Suho just grinned back.
âArenât flowers romantic?â
âYa! There was nothing romantic about it. All I got her were yellow roses and white tulips.â Seojun defended.
âOoooOoooh. Roooses. Roses are totally romantic.â Taehoon teased.
âThey were yellow. Yellow roses are for friendship!â
âSo, are you two friends?â Jukyung asked and everyone looked at Seojun and Sujin.
âMeh.â They both shrugged at the same time.
âOmo! Look at how in sync they are!â
âWe are not.â They both said in sync.
Seojun had to admit, their group gatherings were much more comfortable now that he and Sujin had cleared the air between them. He enjoyed discovering how Sujin was less the ice princess he had thought her to be and more a regular girl. She also turned out to be much cooler than he had expected.
She had been the only one to see his discomfort when Jukyung and Suho suggested they all go on an overnight trip with them. Going to see their apartment; the very proof that Lim Jukyung and Lee Suho ate and sleptâOh God, donât think about them sleepingâtogether was painful enough. Seojun didnât need to see them canoodling for an entire weekend.
âWhat about it guys? Shall we go?â Jukyung looked around as everyone nodded excitedly, including Sujin.
But then her eyeâs met Seojunâs. He said nothing but he didnât need to.
âLim Ju, itâll be difficult for me to join. I just lost my job, remember? An overnight trip is...â Seojun knew Sujin was just making up an excuse.
âOh, oh right. Sorry Kang Su-ya. I totally forgot. Something else then!â
The group moved on to discussing other options. Seojun sent Sujin a grateful look. She acted nonchalant, as if she had not just overturned everyoneâs plans for him.
âThanks. For what you did back in there.â He told her as they were all leaving.
âForget about it.â She waved a hand in dismissal.
The next time the group gathered at a fancier restaurant than usual. A suggestion by Suho who had offered to pay for the food tonight.
âThis place is so beautiful.â Suah commented looking around the interior.
âAre we celebrating something?â Sujin asked. âThis doesnât seem like a regular get-together.â
Sujin had only asked for the sake of asking. But something about the way Suho looked at her told Seojun that she was on to something.
âWell,â Jukyung held up her hand, âwe do have something to announce.â
And announce she did. The big fat diamond resting on her ring finger had a lot to say. And suddenly everyone erupted with joy. The girls took Jukyung in their arms, squealing and crying with joy. The boys surrounded Suho, patting him on the back, congratulating him.
All except Seojun, who just sat there in a daze. Sujin happened to look over and see him, frozen in his seat. Sujin wasnât alone in her observation. Taehoon also noticed but missed the implication.
âLook! Han Seojun is actually so shocked heâ"
Sujin made it look like an accident, her bumping into the table and sending a glass down on the floor, shattering into a million pieces. The sound shook Seojun out of his daze and also distracted everyone from realizing Seojunâs inner turmoil.
âOh shit.â Sujin said looking down.
âHey, be careful.â Jukyung said.
âYou okay?â Suho asked Jukyung, taking her arm.
âExcuse me, can we get someone to clean this up?â Taehoon asked the waiter.
The fuss over the broken glass gave Seojun enough time to recover. He then congratulated Suho with a massive hug.
âYou both deserve each other. I mean it.â He told Suho and he meant it.
Maintaining a fake smile over dinner was easy. Everyone else was so chatty that Seojunâs and Sujinâs relative silence went unnoticed. Suah pestered Jukyung for details: âHow did it happen?â, âWhen?â, âWhy didnât you call me immediately?â. Taehoon made jokes about marriage being the end of romance to which Suah started an argument with him and then it became about settling matters between the two.
Sujin didnât remember much of what happened after that, the rest of the night was a blur. She just hoped that she had maintained enough dignity to not appear as bitter as she actually felt.
Even though they all parted very late in the night, Sujin couldnât go directly home. She needed something to ease the pain. So naturally, she went to the nearest tent bar she could find. The place seemed to be overcrowded, with people waiting outside for others to leave. Sujin managed to sneak in and grab a table.
She downed half of a soju bottle in one go but then couldnât muster the energy to drink further. Her side dishes went untouched. All Sujin could do was stare and wonder if there was any way to just take her heart out of her chest and throw it away. Because there seemed to be no relief from this pain she was feeling.
She banged her head on the table. âAh wae? Why canât I just move on?â She asked herself in frustration.
âUgh, why the hell are you here?â That irritated tone and deep voice could only belong to one person. And indeed, when Sujin looked up she saw Han Seojun a few tables over looking at her in disdain.
âWae? You have a claim on this place?â Sujin raised a critical brow.
âAnd what if I do?â
âThen give me everything for free. Since weâre friends who get along.â
âNo. Friends pay double.â
âHow stingy.â Sujin took another shot of soju.
The man running the tent bar came over. âWhy donât you two share a table since you know each other? I have customers waiting to be seated.â
âNo way, Iâm not sitting with her.â Seojun grumbled.
âAha! I knew it! Being all nice to me was just an act.â
The owner ignored Sujin, âHow can two youngsters be so rude? Get up! Iâm moving you over there.â
This was how Han Seojun came to drink with Kang Sujin for the second time. They both looked at each other with scowling faces.
âWhat happened, Kang Sujin? You were acting all happy for the lucky couple.â Seojun taunted. He seemed a little tipsy but so was Sujin.
âOf course, Iâm happy. Iâm so, so happy.â She said wistfully.
Seojun scoffed. âIs that why you were whining about not being able to move on? I thought you said you didnât like Lee Suho anymore.â
Sujin narrowed her eyes. âI donât. And even if I allegedly did, at least I held it all in. You were clearly about to run away with Jukyung before I saved you.â
âSaved me? Puh-lease.â
âWhy? Do you think that glass fell on its own?â
Seojun gave her a sideways look before taking another shot.
âYou gonna eat that?â He pointed a chin to her plate.
âNah, have it.â
They sat in silence for a moment. A comfortable silence where neither felt compelled to say anything.
Sujin shook Seojun when she suddenly smacked her glass down on the table. âIâm over Lee Suho.â She declared. âIâm over Lee Suho⌠butâŚâ
âJust because youâre over him, doesnât mean you stopped loving him.â Seojun said what she was thinking.
She looked at him, her pain evident on her face. In that moment, he let himself be vulnerable too. Â
âIsnât it funny? Out of everyone I know, youâre the only one who gets⌠this.â Sujin said.
Seojun chuckled. âExactly. Who woulda thought? Kang Sujin and Han Seojun having something in common.â
âYou know itâs gonna hurt even worse from now on, right? Weâre the closest to those two. That means weâll be involved in everything.â
Seojun rubbed his faced. âI canât think about that right now. Or I really will die.â
Sujin understood what he meant. âYou know what I want?â
âWhat?â
âI want Suho to never find out that I still like him.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âI mean, I canât help that I feel this way right? You canât stop yourself from feeling what you feel. But⌠I wanna keep my dignity. I wanna still be cool and⌠not be seen as some pathetic loser whoâs still after her best friendâs boyfriend.â
Seojun took a shot, nodding.
Sujin leaned forward. âThatâs why, I suggest we help each other out.â
Seojun gave her a look. âHow so?â
âWell, if we see the other being too transparent, then we stop them, or at least take the attention away so that the other can collect themselves.â
âLike the broken glass today?â
âLike the broken glass today. And if itâs getting too painful, then we can just talk about it.â
Seojun laughed. âKang Sujin, offering therapy. Thatâs rich.â
âNot therapy. Friendship. It helps if you talk about stuff like this.â Sujin insisted.
Seojun gave her a considering look. âWhatâs in it for me? These seem like things you want to do.â
âYouâll be able to attend Jukyungâs wedding without feeling like youâre dying on the inside.â
âThereâs no guarantee that will happen.â
âYouâre right, there isnât. But at least thatâs what itâll look like. Think about it Han Seojun. Do you want Jukyung to always see you as the friend who is in love with her? Or do you want her to see you as a cool friend who she can comfortably rely on, without wondering if sheâs hurting his feelings.â
Seojun thought about it. It felt like a bad idea. But there was a part of Han Seojun that was tired of his own attachment to Lim Jukyung. If it meant that it would help him move on, then he was willing to try anything
âAlright, Kang Sujin.â He raised his glass. Sujin clinked hers with his. âLetâs try this.â
I am bad at making memes but I do it any way
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Raising Harry Potter with Remus Lupin
What if Remus Lupin raised HarryÂ
This is a OC x Remus Lupin, Alex Lupin was James potterâs twin sister. Remus and Alex have Clara who is two year older than Harry.
I hate JK rolling but i love Harry potter.
I hope you like this!!Â
Also this is 3100 words! this is the most words I have written for a story
Chapter one
Chapter three
~chapter two~
âHarry! Sit down, Clara please stop running around!â I watched as my eleven-year-old Clara and nine-year-old Harry as they of excitedly waiting for the post because Clara realized that she now she's eleven she will be getting her acceptance letter to Hogwarts soon or that what we all hoped.
Clara ran up to me I could see the excitement on her face as her dark brown curly hair bounced like her fathers and dark brown eyes shined with happiness. As Harry settled down, I gave Harry his book so he could get his schoolwork done, Remus and I thought that he would be safer if we home-schooled him like we do with Clara. âbut mama, my acceptance letter from Hogwarts will be here soon! I canât calm down, I soon will be able to go to the school where you and dad met and where you and dad fell in love like Uncle James and aunty Lily did, I hope I meet someone like that at Hogwarts!â
I hear a deep chuckle from my husband at he looks up from his book âI hope not, you are too young to be thinking about falling in loveâ he said with a tired voice, when I looked up to him, I frowned at his exhausted expression as I shake my head at his overprotective nature to his daughter.
âDonât listen to your father Clara, Iâm sure you will meet your other half, like I did with your fatherâ we heard what sounds like an owl outside the window and she squealed so loud and run straight to the door of our small little cottage.
After a few minutes Clara came run back inside with the mail in her hands, âMama! Dad! It here, it here, it here!â as Clara ran into the living room, running straight up to Remus to show him with a giant smile.
âSo, it is my dearâ Remus grabbed from Clara to see the booklist and started to read it out loud âUniform: Three Sets of Plain work robes (Black), One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear, One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar), One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings) and Please note that all student's clothes should carry nametags at all timesâ Remus stop for a second âBooks: The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk, A History of Magic by Bathinda Bagshot, Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and  The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimbleâ He stopped again, I know what he thinking, â Other Equipment: one Wand, one Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2), one set of glass or crystal phials, one telescope, one set of brass scales, Students may also bring an Owl OR a Cat OR a Toad and parents are reminded that first years are not allowed their own broomsticksâ.
Remus put the letter down âhow are we going to pay for all this?â.
âI can get into my Gringotts vault, Remus we will be fineâ I looked over to him, I know how he feels when he canât provide for his family financially.
âYeah, dad donât worryâ Clara said, âbecause I am going to HOGWARTS!!â
âAnd in two years harry well be going to Hogwarts tooâ.
Harry looked so excite that he will also go to Hogwarts like Remus and I did, like how Lily and James did. I couldnât help but smile at Clara and Harry, my children and I will kill to protect them.
Remus looked back to the letter and sighed âSo? Can we go get everything now!?â Clara asked with a hint of excitement in her voice, my smile grow a little bit at her words, Remus looked over to me looking for an answer, I shook my head.
âSorry dear not to today, we will have to waitâ.
âBut why?â
âBecause you still have a couple of months before school so we shouldnât rushâ.
âBut why? If we get it all now than we wonât have to worry so muchâ.
âNot this week but how about next week, sounds good?â I asked my eleven-year-old.
âBut why?â
âBecause the full moon is tomorrow and the shopping would be very draining for your father, not to mention that your father would want to be there when you get your wand and the other school supplies, right Remus?â Remus nodded his head at me.
âYour mother is right we have plenty of time, so we don't need to worry about it until next weekâ.
âAww okay, but only because dad is hurtingâ Remus and I shared a look as Clara sat down next to Harry, Remus let out a little laugh.
âIf it makes you feel better you pick and help me make dinner tonightâ Claraâs face lit up at my words.
  A week has past, Clara and Harry are both jumping with joy as we walk down diagon alley. âOkay, you two some rulesâ the children looked up to me as we stopped ârule one no wandering off on your own, we need to be able to see you especially you Harry because of how famous you are in our world, we canât have someone stealing youâ Harry nodded, grabbing my hand ârule two we are only getting school supplies nothing else. Anything else Remus?â I looked up to him, Clara grabbing Remusâs hand.
âJust when we get to Gringotts, you need to be careful. Just stay near us and you two will be fineâ he said with a smile âokay, shall we get going then we've got a lot to getâ and with that we were off to Gringotts.
 When we entered Gringotts Harry and Clara looked amaze at the things around them, Remus and I never really let them out of the house often for many reasons. Because of how paranoid we had become, or I had become because of the war, I was scared that everyone was out for my children and Remus was worried about Fenrir greyback so was I, but we were always worried and terrified that Fenrir would get to Clara to get back at Remus.
âWowâ Clara and Harry let out in amazement at we walked up to the front desk.
The goblin at the front desk peered down at us from his tall desk âI would like to open my family vaultâ I said in a clear and kind of demanding tone, you could hear the iciness to my voice as I spoke âthe Potter vaultâ I held out my key to the vault. Clara and Harry flinched at the tone of my voice because Iâve never spoke that way in front of them.
âRight away Mrs lupinâ and we were walking to the carts to get to the vault.
âHarry this the vault your parents left you, of course you have to share with me because I'm your aunt and the fact that you were underage but don't worry most of the money in this vault is yoursâ as we speed off to the vault as Remus and I grabbed the kids, so they donât fall off the cart, we stopped with a jolt.
âHere we are Mrs lupinâ as we got off the cart the goblin used the key to open the vault, once opened I pulled out a small bag and quickly grabbed enough that could get us Clara's school supplies, but before leaving I grab a Silver-Sickle and when over the goblin to give to them, as they closed the vault.
After that we were out into diagon alley, âwhere to first?â Remus asked with a tired smile.
âI want to get my wand!â Â Clara excitedly shouted at us as her and Harry jumped up and down. I held out my right hand for Harry to grab, Remus held his left hand for Clara to grab and Remus grabbed me left hand.
I smiled up at him âalright then to Ollivandersâ as we set off to get Clara her wand.
As we walked hand in hand down diagon alley, Harry and Clara looked around in an amazement at the different shops, when we stopped out the front of Ollivanders Clara was jumping with widest smile on her face, Harry also look happy but also sad that he has to wait another two years before it his turn.
Remus let go of my hand and opened to door for me and Harry. Harry went first then me, then Clara and Remus was last one in, Letting to door close behind him âOllivander?!â I yelled out for the man. He came running out at my voice.
âIs it you Miss Potter? And Mr lupin? What a surpriseâ he called out as he walked up to the front desk.
I let put a laugh âitâs Mrs Lupin and Mr Lupin now, itâs been that way for years now. But we are here for our daughter Clara, she is starting at Hogwarts this yearâ I said to the old man in a nicer tone then at Gringotts.
Ollivander looked in an amazement at my daughter âoh I remember when you and Remus got your wands for the first time, 10Âź", Cypress, Unicorn hair for Remus and Willow, dragon heartstring, 12 ž" for you Alex, am I right?â I nodded to the man.
âYes, you are rightâ Remus said with a laugh as he push Clara in front of him gently âgo on Claraâ Clara walked up to the desk, Ollivander has already pulled out wands from the stack of wands that wrapped all around the shop.
Clara when though twelve wands before getting a Unicorn hair, Spruce wood, 10Âź" wand I paid for the wand and we were off to get the rest of Claraâs school supplies.
We had gotten just about everything except fora pet for her to bring to Hogwarts with her. We were walking up diagon alley when Clara stopped in front of a store that held owls and cats, my eyes followed her gaze and landed on this beautiful pitch black like the night Sky owl âmum can I-â Â I cut her off by grabbing her hand and pulling her into the shop and quickly going up to the front desk.
âhow much is it for that owlâ I pointed at the owl telling a woman at the front desk, Clara looked extremely excited when I when she heard me say that Remus looked very confused from outside with Harry also looking confused, the woman at the front desk saw mine and my daughter's excitement tell me the price and I quickly headed over the money. Not long after that Clara and I were walking out with the owl cage in hand smiling brightly at my husband and my son, Remus slowly shook his head at us but also had a smile on his face.
âWhat are you going to call him?â Harry asked looking at the owl in bewilderment.
âMidnightâ.
 âCLARA! Where are you?â I yelled out for Clara, she came running down the stairs her hair is a mess her shirt was inside out and back the front, Remus in kitchen making some tea looking as peaceful as ever well I was freaking out inside because my daughter was finally going to Hogwarts. Harry was sitting down on table finishing his breakfast, Clara had already finished an hour before. We still had about two hours before we had to get to Kings Cross station to get on to platform nine and three quarters âOh my Merlin Clara turn around so I can fix your hair. Your shirt is inside out and back the frontâ she took off her shirt and quickly put it the right way around before turning around so I could fix her dark brown curly hair. I pulled it in ponytail.
âMy dear calm down-â Remus tried to get out but was quickly cut off by me and Clara.
âHow can I do that?!â Clara and I said together, all Remus did was have a small little laugh at that.
âWe have two hours; it is enough time stop worrying so muchâ again Remus tried to calm us down. Clara run off muttering something about she needed to make sure she had everything, well I calmly walked over to my husband and just flopped in his arms he started to rub my back and gave me small little kisses on the top of my head I let out a large sigh âitâs all right to be worried but you're only stressing out yourself and Claraâ I sigh again knowing that he is right, I lift my head up so my chin was resting on his chest, Remus lean down and give me a kiss on the lips. Just a small peck but I could feel so much love behind it. I gave him a week smiled as he moves his head away, he continued to rub my back knowing that that will calm me down just a little âhave some tea my loveâ.
I move from his arms, I grabbed myself some tea that he had just made and walked to sit at the table with Harry. Remus also came and sat across from me from the table with his own cup of tea and we sat there in silence while we waited for Clara to come back.
We waited as we heard a lot of banging and crashing and then her screaming down to us that she was fine and not to worry and a few curses slipped here in there I looked at Remus in worry as an hour had passed, he reached over the table and gently grabbed my hand something that he did when I was feeling anxious. Harry also grab my other hand as he also tried to comfort me, 10 minutes later Clara came crashing down the stairs with her trunk with everything that she needs in there as well as midnight cage in hand she sat them down as she walked and sat at the table with us looking out of as I know she rushed down the stairs.
Remus was the first one to stand up from the table, clapped his hands together âit should take us roughly about 30 minutes to get Kings Cross station so we might as well leave now. Would leave a little bit time when we get to the platformâ I nodded my head, standing up with Clara and Harry following my lead as I grabbed midnight cage and Remus grab the Claraâs trunk and we were out the door heading out ways to king cross station.
 As we got to King cross station, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by how many muggles for around. Me and Remus have been living in isolation for about 11 12 years. So, it felt strange to be around all the muggles, then I heard a familiar voice and I saw a familiar pair of redheads ânow remind me again what platform?â the voiced asked.
âNine and three quarters mom, you would think with three of your sons going to school you would know the platform by nowâ a boyâs voice answers. I quickly look in the direction of the voices and then grabbed Clara's arm and Remus is arm and pulled them both, Remus quickly grabbed Harry pulling him with him as I pulled them towards the redheaded family.
âMolly!â I yelled out to the small redheaded woman, at the sound of my voice Molly quickly turned around as soon as she saw my face, she quickly ran over to me and gave me the biggest hug.
âAlex dear! Oh, my, how are you?â Molly asked as she pulled away and noticed Remus behind me with Clara and Harry âRemus! Itâs so good to see you bothâ.
âhow about we continue this discussion on the platform?â I asked.
âOh, yes right letâs goâ Molly said excitedly as we quickly push past all the muggles around us, Molly grabbed hold of my arm I quickly let go of Clara and Molly had pulled me through the wall and onto the platform. Molly and I moved out of the way of the wall as Clara and a redhead boy, who looked around Claraâs age.
âMama!â Clara quickly let go of the boy's hand and went over to me âthat was so cool, but I felt little uneasy to go through by myself, so George here went through with meâ.
I looked back at the boy as Remus, Harry and rest of the Weasleys came through the wall, âthank you George, that was very nice of youâ I said to the now blushing boy.
He started nervously scratching the back of his neck âis no problem reallyâ he said walking to his twin. Remus and Harry walked up to us.
âI see that you were kidnapped by Mollyâ Remus said with a grin I lightly smacked him on the arm.
âMolly this is Clara mine and Remusâs daughter, itâs her first year at Hogwarts. And Harry my nephew who I consider my sonâ.
âItâs Fred and Georgeâs first year tooâ again Molly looked very excited to hear that news.
we were closer to the train, me and Remus asked if Clara she wanted help her with her trunk onto the train, but the Twins quickly swooped in and told us that they were able help. We said our goodbyes me and Remus kissed Clara on the forehead in the cheek hugged her so tightly. As we let her go onto the train she goes to sit in a compartment with the Twins. She waves at the window as the train leaves.
We waited for the train to be out of sight before turning to Molly and Arthur who had little Ginny and little Ron with them Molly made Remus and I promised it will have to go over to her place and have a cup of tea with her someday soon. I quickly looked back to where the train was as we walk through the wall again, I couldn't help but wish for my daughter to be safe.
 When Remus, Harry and I finally got back home there was a letter waiting for us from Hogwarts a letter handwritten by Albus Dumbledore asking about a new teaching position teaching third years an up first aid. Asking for me to fill the position.
@missmulti
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As You Wish- (A Knight! Bucky x Servant! Reader) Pt.1
  A Winterâs Night on a full moon beckoned the kingdom as the regal princess made her way to the main hall, her servant and hand-maiden, Y/N, trailing behind her. There was to be a war of great violence to befall the kingdom and The King needed his daughters support.
   âWhy do I have to come? I donât even have full control over the kingdom and yet.. Father insists I attend.â The Young Princess groaned, her skin tight, blue gown flowing against the linoleum flooring.
Elegant.
 âYour Father insists, your highness, but I will be there with you if you so need anything at all.âÂ
 The Princess smiled as she stopped in front of the main hallâs doors, turning to look at Y/N. Her gaze was soft as lilies on a sunny afternoon, like the smell of orange peels and lemon.
 âThank you.. I am glad I have you by my side, even as a servant and hand-maiden, you have been an amazing friend and an amazing companion..â
Y/N, smiling even with a dirty face covered in soot, curtseyed, her semi-clean dress in her hands.
âThank you, Your Highness.. Let me get the door for you..â
Y/N, quickly but methodically, went up to the door and pushed it open, the door creaking and alerting The King of his daughters arrival. Y/N held the door open and The Princess walked in, taking a seat at the large table.
âA War Table?â, Y/N thought, then closing the large door and taking her place next to The Princess.
âToday, we speak on our plans of war. The Three Kingdoms have started war and our allies need our help. However, many of my associates have told me to lay down my sword and leave it be. I do not want to break the oath I made years ago so I am to make plans of war. I need opinions and thoughts of best interest.â
Y/N examined everyone seated among the table, seeing their mannerisms and ways of carrying themselves.Â
Natasha Of The âZucan Empireâ, was a mighty knight and the right hand of The King, Ser Steve of âVawethâ, The Lead Knights of the battalion, his gaze was menacing but soft in an odd way. But, a strange knight caught Y/Nâs eyes, his stature was tight and rigid and his face was hidden behind a metal helmet, the only visible feature being his nose, eyes, and a bit of his mouth. His eyes carried great pain, an intense and great pain that had caught the servant by the throat.Â
But, she never expected to have him lock eyes with her. His eyes now giving her a feeling, almost of a thunderous storm in the great mountains, the smell of pine and metal and a intense feeling of safeness.Â
Their eyes stayed locked only for a bit until The King called upon him to speak.
âBased on the battlefield in which the troops will be placed, I say we put our weaker in the front and our stronger in the back. The opposing wonât expect it, and we can hit them ten times harder than they may hit us.â His voice came out deep and gravelly, but smooth, his words articulate and well spoken.
âHis name is âThe White Wolfâ, he is said to be the greatest knight in all the four kingdoms and he serves under my dad..â The Princess whispered to Y/N, Y/Nâs eyes widening a bit at the odd name.
âHe is known for slaying the dragon that had consumed our lands, I think the dragon was called, âHydraâ?â
Y/N nodded, looking back up at the table as they continued to speak.
âWhite Wolf, I need you to get recruitments for the knights guard, I need the strong and I need the weak, any man or woman will work. Natasha, you will set up our camping for the knights, and manage the rations. Steve, I will be needing you to stay with me until we have our battalion, I am afraid that a assasination attempt may come now that the other kingdoms know that I am joining the fight..â
They all nodded and the meeting was closed, The King coming towards his daughter and hugging her, âIâm glad you came, Daughter. I was afraid Y/N may have to tear you from your chambers.â
She laughed, âWell, you need as much support as you can get father..âÂ
Y/N however wasnât listening, her gaze on the knight with the wolf pelts draped over his shoulders, and iron armor clad over his entire self. He was sharpening his blade with a tool, eyes trained on Y/N, she quickly adverted her gaze as The King now turned to her.
âYou may talk to our knights, Y/N. You are the best servant weâve had in this castle, you deserve to have a social life.â He chuckled.
She nodded, and bowed before walking over to âThe White Wolfâ, âYou sure do like to stare, donât you?â
She was taken aback by his words, rubbing her dirtied hands nervously together, âI do not stare, I simply analyze people based on how they behave, you are my object of interest..â
âMm.â He grumbled, âAnd, Whyâs that?â
âYou are far more mysterious than anyone I have ever seen in this castle, and I have been working here since I was six years old..â
His gaze raised up to her, his eyes piercing through her.Â
âIâd say, you mind your business before you get hurt, girl.â He got up and sheathed his blade, stomping his way out of the room.
âWell, you sure are a charmer, hm?âÂ
Natasha had made her way up to her and smiled, reaching a hand out to shake.
âNames Natasha but you can call me âNatâ for short.â The two shook hands, Natashaâs leather glove feeling foreign on Y/N hand.
âIs he always so.. brooding?â
âYeah, comes with the title and such. Once youâre known for being ruthless, you have to stay ruthless. Say, do you want to go on a walk? The whole battle talk gets me tired.â
With a giggle, Y/N led the mighty female knight to the gardenâs, the roses and leaves overgrown over the archway.Â
âSo, you have been serving the kingdom since you were, SIX? How does one even serve at that age?â
âWell, my mother served under the queen and my father was a servant, once I was born, my parents knew Iâd grow into a strong lady but a servant non the less. A month after my birth, the queen had given birth to the princess and died after, leaving the king to care for his child, but, once I was of age to care for myself and care for another, I was to be her handmaiden. And.. here we are.â
Natasha was frankly shocked, how could a girl of such beauty be a handmaiden? She should be out living life, being happy and in love, but she was cooped up in this castle, doomed to an eternity of taking care of someone who isnât herself.
âI always wanted to be a knight though..â
That piqued her interest.
âI grew up watching the knights go out to fight and I always, always wanted to fight too.â
âYou still can.â
âWhat..?â
Natasha sat down on the garden bench and beckoned the girl to sit, ready to explain.
âI could.. train you.. to be strong, skilled, a true warrior. You are weak now but after even a month of training with me, youâd be ready for battle.â
Y/N listened intently, weighing the consequences of being a warrior, to abandon her post as a servant and handmaiden to fight a war. Would her father and mother approve, would they pat her back and tell her to go for it?Â
âIâd need the king and princesses permis-â
âIâll do it.â She interrupted.Â
âYouâll..?â
âIâll fight, Iâll train, and Iâll become strong, as long as you help me.â
Natashaâs once serious face melted into a smirk, now wrapping her arm around Y/N.
âWell, Letâs go talk to them.â
âYou want to take her under your wing to be a knight?â
âYes, I feel she is capable of becoming great-â
I sat outside of the doors, listening to them talk about me becoming a knight, my eyes trained on the wall as I zoned out into my thoughts, until a tall figure loomed over me, the wolf pelts familiar as I looked up and locked eyes with him.Â
âCome with me.â
âWhy?â I protested.
âJust come on, girl. I donât have all day..â
I got up, watching him as he made his way towards the ball room, I followed intently, curious of his reasoning for finding me. His boots clanged against the ground as he opened the door and went inside of the ball room, I cautiously followed.
He set his sword to the ground carefully, eyes trained on me as I entered.
âWhat are you doing?â
âTesting out a theory...â
He slid the helmet off and let it fall to the ground, then turning to me. And, my my, his eyes, his lips, his nose, the crinkle of skin just above his brows, all came together almost in a masterpiece, a crescendo. The seemingly bad feelings previously about him had flown away like the birds outside the ball room windows, the light perfectly cascading over his face, I knew then and there, he was beautiful.
âPut the armor on.â
â...What?â
He plucked the armor off of his body and pushed it towards me, face straight and devoid of any particular emotion.
âOkay..â
I began to put each piece of armor on, my body slumping slowly but surely due to the weight until all pieces were on and I looked up at him, noting the widened eyes and semi-slacked mouth.
âYou...You are her.â
âW-Who...?â
âAthelesia The Fierce..â
âAthelesia was a woman of many traits, she was determined, strong, fearless, and not to mention bold. She had been seen as a savior to many villages, even before the kings arose to power. She protected them, helped them, served them, as a noble person may do. Her fighting skills too were even more powerful then then strongest men of the lands, however, as she was becoming more known, the men we know as the kings today had her killed. It took thirty men to keep her down and in her last breath, she made a promise, that sheâd have a descendant that would hold her power, her essence, and her aura. That they would arise one day and slay the poisoned kings to restore true peace to the lands once again. The armor I wear is the one she made back in her time, it was gifted to me but now I know who it truly belongs to...â
Y/N soaked up all the information but still couldnât grasp how she was to be the greatest warrior of all time. Sheâs never touched a sword or even fought anyone in her life. She just wanted to be a regular knight, not one of some prophecy.Â
He brought the sword in itâs sheath to Y/N, placing it in her hands.
âThis was her sword, use it, and train to fulfill the prophecy.â
âHow do you know that I-â
âThe pendant you wear.â
Y/N looked down at the silver pendant, turning the ruby over to see a name carved into the crystal.
âAthelesiaâ
âI- What..â
His hand wrapped around her wrist, his eyes looking deep into hers as he spoke five words that would change her fate forever.
âYou are Y/N The Fierce.â
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The Nights Iâm Left Alone - part 2
Summary: Y/N notices Colby not feeling at his best and challenges him to Mario Kart to talk about his feelings
PART ONE
Requested: yes for a part 2 lol
Warnings: swearing, discussion of mental health
Word Count: 2,509
Authorâs Note: OKAY HI! Iâm back, sorry for being SOO dramatic about whatever was going on. The part was heavily inspired by the song This Side of Paradise by Coyote Theory. It is an amazing song and you guys should totally listen to it!! Anyway, one of my old friends and I would do this whole challenge each other thingy. So I thought it would be a fun idea to write, so I hope you guys like it!! also I may do a part three but itâs probably not likely... This is my Gif!!
It was another day where the friend group was hanging out together. It was mid-day, the weather seemed to be almost unbearably hot. Most of the group was swimming in the pool, while Colby was laying on a lounger chair tanning. Y/N leaned her body against her hands as she continued to kick her legs slowly back and forth in the pool. Every so often her gaze would shift towards the shirtless boy on the other end of the lawn. âIs he alright?â she asked nodding towards Colbyâs direction.
He wasnât doing anything different than he always does. Except today, he didnât even try to hang out with the group. Normally he swims around and at least talks to everyone before he leaves the group to tan. Instead he walked out, only showing a weak smile as he laid down on his lounger. It was odd to say the least.
Tara shifted her gaze towards him and shrugged her shoulders, âHe seems fine,â she mumbled as she turned her attention back towards Xepher who was swimming in the pool. Y/N glanced towards the girls briefly as she brushed a few pieces of hair away from her face. She pressed her lips together as she stared towards him with her eyebrows knitted together.
They werenât close, they were friends, but they wouldnât choose to talk to each other if they didnât have to. Their friendship was mostly based on being friends with the same people. Even though they werenât close, she saw right through the front he had.
She sighed as she pulled her legs from the water and stood up from the edge of the pool. She saw Sam and Jake walking from the house carrying red solo cups. She smiled weakly towards them as she continued walking to Colby. She stopped beside him, blocking out the sun from above.
His eyes shot open, seeing Y/N, he let out a breath he didnât know he was holding. He pulled out his earbuds saying, âYouâre blocking my sun,â he ran his fingers through his sweaty hair.
âItâs like a thousand degrees,â she laughed lightly, âWhat are you doing?â he forced out a laugh as he sat up slightly.
âI-uh,â he stuttered, âI wanted a tan,â he said blankly. He wiped his hand across his forehead, cringing at the sweat.
âHow about you join the rest of us by the pool?â she asked cautiously. He thought about the question. It wasnât a serious question at all. But as his gaze shifted towards Sam walking towards Katrina. He watched as he slowly wrapped his arms around her.
A sigh left his lips as he lowered his head, âIâm actually going to cool off in the theatre room,â he said dryly. He stood up quickly from the lounger chair and took a hold of his phone from under the chair.
âWell,â she drew out the word as she took small steps following him, âIâm coming with you,â she forced a smile as she continued walking behind him. He shook his head, muttering a few words she couldnât make out. â-and weâre playing Mario Kart,â she took quicker steps after him.
He walked towards the kitchen quickly taking a water bottle from the fridge, motioning if she wanted one. She nodded her head as he tossed her the bottle. She caught it gracefully. âSo, uh,â he furrowed his eyebrows as he walked towards her slowly, âDid Sam put you up to this or something?â he questioned genuinely, taking a sip of water. Not that he was complaining, he loved her company. Even if their alone time was always rare. Her eyes widened slightly as her lips curled upward.
âNo,â she chuckled, âI-uh-noticed youâve been acting off. I just wanted to see if youâre okay-â she trailed off as she tapped her fingers against the bottle, while rocking slightly back and forth. He nodded quickly while pressing his lips together, he slowly began to walk towards the theatre room.
âIâm fine,â he let out while his eyes widened as his mouth fell open, âIâm fine-I mean thank you for asking, but like Iâm fine,â he rambled as he turned on the lights for the theatre room. He turned around and began walking backwards slowly facing her. His eyes trailed her body briefly, admiring how her body looked in the swimsuit she was wearing. She squinted her eyes as she slowly crossed her arms over her chest, completely oblivious to the way he was looking at her.
âSay âIâm fineâ one more time and Iâll believe you,â she said sarcastically as she watched him turn on the Switch, taking a hold of the controllers. He laughed dryly as he walked over to her, handing her one of the controllers. His fingers brushed her hand lightly. She sat down onto the red couch, Colby quickly sat down beside her starting up Mario Kart.
âSeriously, Iâm fine,â he commented, side eyeing her. She shifted her gaze towards him, a small laugh left her lips as she met his eye. He licked his lips as he fought off a smile. She rolled her eyes as her attention drifted towards the large screen.
They sat in silence while they picked out the map they were going to play on and the characters they were going to play. Colby picked Yoshi while Y/N picked Toad.
She shifted her body lightly, facing him, he did the same. As they met each other's eyes, she stuttered her words, âOkay uh-â she let out a small breathy laugh, âHereâs the deal, If I win you have to tell me why you're sad and if you win Iâll tell you why Iâm sad.â she offered. His smile faltered as he heard the last part.
âAlright, letâs go.â he clenched his jaw as he slowly looked back towards the screen. He started the game and he took an early lead. He suddenly felt determined to win, he wanted to hear how she was feeling. He wanted to help her feel better, he didnât want anyone to feel sad. It was a dramatic game, lots of yelling between each other.
At the last stretch on the last lap, Colby landed himself with a blue shell and Y/N was able to sneak past him and take the win. She cheered dramatically as she boasted about it, while he groaned. She set the controller down beside her as she looked towards him. Colby pouted as he tried to stop laughing. âOkay, talk to me,â she spoke softly. He let a long dramatic sigh.
âItâs going to sound ridiculous when I say it-â he spoke as he ran his fingers through his hair nervously.
âIâm sure itâs not, Colbs,â she offered as she brushed a few pieces of hair away from her face. He smiled softly as he looked away from her.
He avoided her gaze as he continued to talk, âI like being single, I like the lifestyle and I enjoy the whole not being tied down but I loved being in a relationship. I loved having someone you know?â he met her eye briefly, noticing how she hasnât looked away from him.
She nodded as he continued, âBut I forgot what all of that felt like to just always have someone to just be there,â he huffed, âI mean being in a friend group with everyone dating each other, it just made me realize how alone it feels sometimes,â she pushed her bottom lip out into a small pout as she continued to listen. His eyes widened as he sat back slightly, âOh god-was that too much? Sorry,â he laughed nervously.
âOh no-no, I just didnât know you ever felt like that, you always seem so happy,â she spoke quickly.
âI mean, I am happy but I wish I could be happier,â he pressed his lips together as he squinted his eyes slightly, âAnd I wonder if, like, a girlfriend would help that,â he laughed, feeling ridiculous. âIt sounds dumb.â
âIt doesnât sound dumb at all. I feel the same way,â she said, he lifted his gaze towards her furrowing his eyebrows.
âIs that why you said you were sad?â he whispered, his voice broke slightly. He didnât like to hear his friends sad. She laughed slightly.
âYou have to win the next game to get that information,â she smiled a tight lip smile. His eyes widened as his mouth fell open, he laughed as he shook his head.
âDamn, I just poured my heart out to you and I canât even hear your side of it,â he spoke dramatically as he started the next map. âI guess I better win then,â he teased as he shifted his gaze towards the screen. She giggled as he started the game.
âI guess you better win,â she mumbled teasingly as the game began. It was a quick game, Colby picked the smallest map to have a better chance at winning.
He sat up straighter as he leaned forward thinking it would help him focus better. He bit his bottom lip as he leaned his body with every turn on the screen, hoping itâll help him win. She was in first place for most of the race.
âOh come on, how are you so fucking good at this game,â he groaned as he got hit with another red shell, she giggled softly as she glanced towards Colby. She admired how focused he was, he truely wanted to know how she was feeling.
She wouldnât admit it, but she let him win. She groaned dramatically as she leaned her head back against the couch. Colby stood up from the couch and began to jump up and down excitedly. âWhy are you acting like you beat me on rainbow road or something, it was the easiest map,â she said through laughter as she watched him begin to dance.
âBecause Iâve never beat you before,â he hummed as he fell down onto the couch, âAnd now you get to pour your heart out to me,â he teased as he smiled widely. She rolled her eyes playfully as she avoided his eye. She kept her gaze towards her lap, she stared at her hands. Her smile slowly faded as her thoughts clouded with her recent thoughts. His own smile fell as he watched herâs fall. âTell me whatâs going on,â he mumbled.
She sighed, âI miss Logan, I mean I donât miss him, but I miss the feeling I had when I was with him. I guess Iâm just tired of being alone and missing what our relationship was like. Obviously Iâm not alone, I have the group, you know,â she motioned slightly towards Colby. He nodded slightly. âEven though we hang out all the time, at the same time Iâm never excited to come over anymore.â she continued to avoid his gaze, worried to see what his expression was like. âAnâ-And I think itâs because, like you said, being surrounded by couples just makes the feeling feel worse?â she said in a questioning tone. A small laugh left her lips as she shook her head.
âYeah, I completely get it. I miss that feeling too,â he whispered, feeling himself suddenly blush. She finally shifted her gaze towards him, meeting his eye briefly, they were soft and comforting. â-and trust me, I donât get too excited for the hangouts either. Just makes me sad,â he laughed dryly.
âMe too,â she shifted her body towards him, giving him her full attention, âItâs like we get it youâre a couple and youâre all mushy gushy and happy,â she spoke sarcastically, he chuckled.
âExactly,â he responded cheekily.
âExactly!â she sighed. They sat in silence for a while as they avoided eye contact with each other. She was shocked to find out Colby was feeling like this. He was the bachelor of the group, he was the center of attention from random girls at parties. She dindât realize he didnât fully enjoy that type of attention.
âHave you tried looking for someone that would want that same stuff as you?â she questioned, meeting his eye. Colby thought about the question for a little longer than he thought he shouldâve. He shook his head. âOkay, well, maybe I know someone who would be interested in that. Tell me what you want in a relationship,â her voice suddenly became cheerful.
âAre you trying to play matchmaker with me?â he teased, his mouth dropped slightly. She opened her mouth quickly before she shut it again.
âMaybe a little,â she mumbled, pressing her lips together and she looked away shyly. âI just think that maybe if I can try to set you up with someone, then maybe you wonât be so sad,â she explained, her voice got quieter as she spoke. A small pout formed to her lips as she stared at her fidgeting hands. He pursed his lips forward as his cheeks began to flush red, he saw the pout on her lips and the corner of his lips turned upwards slightly. She really cared for him, so much more than he realized.
âOkay,â he whined dramatically, âI want to be friends first, I think thatâs important. I never liked random first date shit. But I think the number one thing that I want in a relationship is someone who can joke with me and then like be all romantic in the next second. Like we can kind of bully each other and then we can just be all cuddly the next. Also they have to get along with my friends, they canât hate my friends because thatâll be a mess,â he chuckled lightly.
âI think I just want someone who isnât afraid to flirt with me even after weâve been dating for a while, I think that keeps things fun you know,â he smirked. âOh, and a girl who is in it for the long haul. You know, like marriage and stuff like that. I guess thatâs the bare minimum but-yeah.â As the words left his lips he slowly moved his body towards her.
He stared towards her expectantly, the more the words left his lips the more her smile formed to her lips. âThatâs really sweet Colby,â she whispered, her heart began to race unexpectedly.
âYou think so?â he asked, she nodded. âOkay because I thought it was cheesy,â
âOh it was cheesy, but it was cute,â
âYeah?â he squinted his eyes slightly as he leaned his head back slightly. She nodded again. âI guess Iâm a cheesy guy,â he leaned his body towards her even more, enough for her to notice him coming closer this time.
âI guess you are,â she whispered as she found herself leaning towards him.
She didnât realize what was going on when suddenly their bodies jumped away from each other as the door behind them was aggressively pushed open. They look towards the door to see Tara and Katrina standing in the doorway. Tara sighed dramatically, âOh my god we were looking for you guys for forever,â she groaned.
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