#CAFÉ CUBE
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#421 冬季限定メニュー「ホワイトチョコのパンナコッタ」
CAFÉ CUBE では所蔵作品とコラボした季節限定のメニューをご用意しております。
冬季限定の「ホワイトチョコのパンナコッタセット」は鈴木其一《雪中竹梅小禽図》の銀世界をイメージしたデザートプレート。濃厚なくちどけのパンナコッタを甘酸っぱいストロベリーソースとあわせてどうぞ！
切り取ってしおりとしてもご利用いただける、オリジナルポストカード付きです。
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Keep On Rolling - MV1
Chapter Eight
Summary: Lando's best friend having feelings for anyone on the grid? Impossible, right? She worked with them, sharing her friendship with the grid with the world via the FormulaY/N youtube channel.
After film a video including... spicy water (alcohol), everything changes between her and a certain world champion. Good thing she hasn't had a crush on him since his F1 debut, right?
Right?
1.8K words
Series Masterlist
It was the final race before summer break, Spa. It had been a full two months since she'd last spoken to Max. A few days before she'd attempted to text him, but to no avail. Left on read every time.
Y/N couldn't begin to describe how much it hurt. Worst of all, she couldn't tell anybody about it. She couldn't tell Lando, not since he'd disappeared out of her hotel room at Silverstone.
Ever since her Formula One youtube career had begun, Y/N hadn't felt alone. Not until now. She'd never felt this alone in her life. This was the first time in over ten years, that Lando hadn't been there by her side.
This was maybe the first time she didn't have several videos planned for the race weekend. Well, she did, but those videos involved Lando, and they weren't exactly the best of friends at the minute.
Y/N didn't know if she could walk around the paddock without Lando backing her every step of the way. Sure she was friends with all of the drivers. But Lando was her best friend; Y/N didn't know who he was without him.
There was only one thing Y/N felt like she could do without Lando there. She called up Charles.
It had become somewhat tradition for Y/N and Charles to go to a café every time they did something just the two of them. Charles met her down in the lobby of her hotel. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she approached and they left the hotel together.
"What's up today?" Asked the Monegasque.
Y/N sucked in a deep breath as they walked through the streets of Belgium, searching for a café. "Everything," she answered.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Not with Charles. Not when he was so close to one of the causes of her problems. But she no longer had Lando to talk to, so she turned to Charles.
When they found a café, they took a seat in a cushioned booth in the darkest corner of the building. A waitress came over and took their orders. As soon as the waitress was gone, Charles turned to Y/N. "That's it, talk."
So, Y/N talked. She told Charles everything. About her feelings for Max, about how he suddenly disappeared. She told him about her sort-of fight with Lando and how things were weird between them. She told him how lonely she felt without him.
That was the thing. As much as Max was affecting Y/N, Lando was the biggest thing upsetting Y/N. She missed him so, so much. She hadn't gone a day without talking to him since she was eleven years old.
"Wow," Charles said as soon as Y/N was done speaking. "That was..."
A lot, Y/N knew. She looked up at him, waiting, hoping, praying he'd continue talking. And Charles did. "Well, I don't know what is happening with Max, but you need to just talk to Lando. He won't be able to stop himself from telling you eventually."
It was true, Lando was terrible at keeping secrets. It wasn't on purpose; he didn't do it with malicious intent. Lando was never one of those people that would be red faced, fists clenched not to spill the beans. No, Lando was one of those people who would accidentally let things slip and feel bad about it later.
Like on Y/N's thirteenth birthday. Her parents had planned out a surprise party for her and had invited all of her friends, Lando included. But Lando couldn't make it, not with karting. As he and Y/N walked home from school, he began apologising for not being able to attend a party Y/N didn't know about.
Surprise ruined.
Charles cleared his throat. "You haven't uploaded a new video in forever," he said, stirring a cube of sugar into his coffee.
"I know," Y/N said through a sigh. "I'm taking my summer break early."
Every summer break Y/N toured around with the drivers she was closest with, vlogging their adventures. This year, Daniel had invited her to Texas, and then she and Lando were off to a villa in Temerife with Carlos and his girlfriend. To finish the summer break up Y/N was joining Charles on his yacht.
"You need to sort things out with Lando before your holiday, you know?"
"Yes, Charles, I know," muttered Y/N as she sipped her coffee. "What do I do about Max?"
Charles really didn't know. He knew Max, they'd grown up together. Max's relationships were always a topic they didn't breech. He knew how Y/N felt about Max, the slight crush she admitted to having months ago.
"All you can do is wait," Charles answered somewhat solemnly.
Y/N let out a huff through her nose. She hadn't really touched the Internet since Lando had stormed off, choosing instead to stay away. She didn't know that twitter was going crazy with her lack of videos.
But it wasn't just a lack of videos. It was a lack of any kind of content. Videos, tweets, Instagram posts. You name it and Y/N wasn't doing it. "Better let the masses know I'm alive," she mumbled and snapped a picture of their coffees.
formulay/n
Liked by carlossainz55, charles_leclerc, danielricciardo, and 55,683 others
formulay/n: therapy sesh ☕️☕️
Going to the cafe this time didn't have such dire consequences. There were a few comments about her and Charles being a thing, but not enough that Y/N had to acknowledge them. Most of the comments just so happened to be about her uploads, or lack there of.
Y/N and Charles stayed in the cafe only a little while longer, just chatting. If she and Lando couldn't make up, he'd invited her to Monaco or wherever he ended up over summer break.
Quadrant wasn't something Y/N had ever really been involved in. Sure, she'd been in a few videos here and there as Landos special guest, and she'd consider Max a great friend, but Quadrant was a different.
She didn't game, didn't kart, and was too busy with her own content. The last video she'd been in was when she and all the other YouTubers had done Mario Kart in real life (she was team Luigi).
The extent of hers and Max's (Fewtrell's) conversations were sending each other memes via Instagram. They really actually texted each other, let alone talk.
So, when Max (Fewtrell's) face appeared on her screen as she walked back to the hotel, Y/N was shocked, to say the least. She slid her finger across the bottom of her screen and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Ew, what do you want?" She said into the phone. Because, for some reason, this was the kind of relationship they had and it was how British people answered the phone.
"Ew, I want to invite you along for the next Quadrant video."
"Ew, what are you doing in the video?"
"That's for us to know," Max answered, finally dropping the 'ew's. "But, you haven't been in a Quadrant video in fucking ages and people love you."
Y/N thought about it. She loved being in Quadrant videos, loved the fun atmosphere they created. She loved the fun things they did together for their videos. Through Quadrant, Y/N had met some of the youtubers she'd idolised as she grew up. Her favourite Quadrant moment was when she'd met the Side Men. That really was a special day.
"I'll talk to Lando and then I'll get back to you," she answered him finally. They said their goodbyes and hung up and Y/N stepped into her hotel.
There, in the lobby, was the man she wanted. The man who was ignoring her. Max (Verstappen) waited by the elevators. Y/N wasn't quite sure what to do. She hung back until the elevator doors opened and Max walked in.
He turned around then, and saw Y/N walk towards him. His expression was blank as she walked into the elevator. After months, this was going to be her best chance to speak to him.
But Max wasn't ready to speak to her.
Just before the elevator doors slid shut, he strode out, instead taking the stairs.
"Max, wait!" Called Y/N as she went to chase after him. But the elevator doors had already closed and she was moving, the elevator taking her up to the fifth floor.
Y/N's fist slammed into the mirror. "Fuck!" She shouted in the still silence of the elevator.
The doors opened and Y/N stepped out. She couldn't think about Max right now, not when she had Lando to worry about. Grabbing her phone, she dialled his number and pressed it to her ear.
"Are you still mad at me?" Lando asked in way of hello.
"Which room are you in?"
Lando gave her the room number and Y/N hung up. She didn't bother to get back into the elevator and took the stairs instead, taking them two at a time. Lando's hotel room was a whole floor above her own. She marched down the corridor, arms swinging, her stride full of purpose.
When she was at his door, Y/N knocked, loud and fast. Lando pulled open in door in a matter of seconds, letting her in.
Y/N sat on his bed. "We need to talk," she said, dropping her cold exterior. "For the last few month I've been keeping something from you," she confessed.
Sitting on the bed beside her, Lando stared, waiting for her to continue.
"We've been best friends since your karting days. Because of that I've made other friends, too. Like Carlos and Danny and Charles. And... Max. This year, I've gotten really close to Max in particular. I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I've got a little bit of a crush on Max Verstappen. Which now feels like shit because Max has been icing me out for the few months"
"Oh."
Yes, that was all Lando said. Yes, it pissed Y/N off. "Oh, come on Lan. That's all you have to say?"
But Lando, a man who is usually rather tan, had gone pale. His best friend had a crush and he'd told that crush to leave her alone.
"What do we do about it?" Asked Lando.
"First, you tell me why you were acting so weird in Silverstone. And then you tell me what the next Quadrant video is going to be. And then we do something about it."
Taglist (Open): @sticksdoesart @eviethetheatrefreak @eugene-emt-roe @glai1023-blog @mqcherie @itsjustkhaos @chonkybonky @arian-directioner @lazybot @lpab @princessria127 @fangirl125reader @honethatty12 @larastark3107 @urfavouritef1girly @cassiopeiia24 @callsign-scully @lexiecamposv @dl-yum @savagecelery @laneyspaulding19 @formulas-bitch @teenwolf01 @gayfrog29 @fictionalcomforts @avg-golden-retriever @pxppeypianotme @ruleroftheuniverse @ferrarisbitch @ashy-kit @dark-night-sky-99 @sadg3
#max verstappen#max verstappen imagine#max verstappen x reader#max verstappen smut#max verstappen x reader smut#max verstappen fluff#max verstappen x you#keep on rolling#f1#f1 imagine#f1 x reader#formula one#formula one imagine#formula one x reader#formula 1#formula 1 imagine#formula 1 x reader#mv1#mv1 imagine#mv 1 x reader#mv1 smut
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Has your partner ever been so incredibly cringy that you forget to be mad?
Starring: Nakahara Chuuya
The café's door swings open, letting Chuuya stumbling in, panting. You hear him plops in front of you.
"Been waiting for a while, huh?" he tries to catch his breath.
Yeah, like, 45 minutes.
"You won't believe what Dazai did this time. I mean, he's nuts!"
"Mmhm," you're swirling your drink with a straw. The ice cubes in your glass seems more interesting now.
Shit. Chuuya curses to himself. Definitely not the best thing to say, not after he showed up late for their rare date. The gears inside his brain grinding slow, looking for the right words.
"Okay, I know I'm a bit late..," "Oh, no! It's PERFECTLY FINE! So, what about DAZAI?? What he DID this time??"
You smile brightly, finally all eyes on him. An invisible heavy chain wraps him tight under your burning stare. You're mad, MAD.
He gulps down. God, bro, please please please send me a tidal wave of water to flood this place and sweep me away with it. No? Okay.
Stay steady, Chuuya. You got this. Breathe.
"N-never seen that sweater before. Is that new?"
You mentally roll your eyes hard.
"No, Chuuya. Bought this months ago. But you know, we barely meet, right? So, yeah, it's your first time seeing me wearing this."
"Oh." He continues despite your sharp tone, "I-I guess... It's also gonna be my first time tearing it."
What?
He-WHAT?
Chuuya looks satisfied to see you startle, like he's just successfully sweep your feet away with words. While that's not the case.
"Yes, baby?" this tacky boyfriend of yours is trying to look all cool, slowly tapping one finger to the table. That's it. That's it. You hold your laugh so hard that you think one of your ribs has broken. The corner of your lips twitching but your brain says no.
He's stiffen at his seat as you open your mouth.
"Listen, Chuuya," you pause, "I want 4 days trip to this one resort and you gotta FULLY PAY for EVERYTHING"
You know your anger has trembled down, the same time the heavy chain around him loosen. He mentally sees the sky open.
"I give you 2 weeks from now," you grab your purse and walk away. "And pay for this iced coffee, too."
"Yes, babe! Of course! Let's go somewhere, talk about the trip!"
He follows you hastily like a lost little chick, knowing well he's forgiven. A dumb smile appears on his face.
Well, who knows I have a knack for flirting?
#chuuya nakahara#nakaharachuuya#bungou stray dogs#bungou sd#bsd chuuya#bungou stray dogs chuuya#chuuya x reader
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Cooking For Humans
Nepeltor loved cooking.
As an esquinine, she was drawn to the more pleasant hobbies in life, both for her own happiness and other people's, more so than the average being. She found great joy in being able to provide a service to others that caused such a positive emotional surge. As a strong natural psychic, she had the ability to 'sip' at strong emotions and enjoy them as a one would a drink.
For the unshielded, she was exposed to all emotions, but it was the greater ones, or those felt more strongly that she recognised above the usual din.
Anger, frustration, disgust, or hatred were the ones she avoided where she could, instead deliberately seeking out positive ones instead.
A favoured pass time was lingering near spaceport greeting lounges where long lost partners, families or friends would meet again, rush into one another's arms and embrace with an outpouring of love, joy and relief. It was like standing just off from a planet's coast, until the water reached her shoulders. The ebb and flow of the water would rock her back and forth. Likewise, the relief of seeing one that you had missed was enough for her to physically waver, stood in the middle of the expansive room.
That was until she happened to be in the same café as a human when they got their meal. The creature was one of the new additions, and seemingly was mentally grumbling that they had not eaten anything other than nutrient cubes for a while. Nepeltor grimaced herself, she'd lived off nutrient cubes once; tasteless, boring and a chore to eat. No wonder the human relished the middling quality meal as if it was fine dining.
The esquinine telepath had met no other race in the cosmos that seemed to have such a reaction to their meal.
Even before they started on their plate, the anticipation bled into her readily. When the first bite was taken, she was glad she was seated as the sheer, unadulterated, euphoria that washed over her and hit like a tidal wave. Each bite blinded her like no other. Not even the ursidains could match the depths of the emotion's the human was feeling at this second.
It was the very next day, Nepeltor applied for her culinary licence.
Just short of a year later, she applied for a location for a new food stall on the station. Directly next to the new arrivals exit.
She didn't need much, in the end just space for 5 or so mid-sized creatures... 'humans' she hoped. They were rare, but she noticed a steady appearance of one or two as they made their way across. This station must have been one of the secretive layovers for the valuable species.
Her stall was barely more than a hot plate and space for her ingredients behind the counter, with a bench in front and an eating shelf for the customers.
Perhaps it would be frowned upon to have stolen an idea from the human. Perhaps they would have agreed to give their permission if she had asked, but in the end, Nepeltor made a new meal that was a human specialty in the hope it would lure the new species in with tastes of their former home. 'Noodles', chives, meat and an egg. Throw in some other bits and bats before serving with a smile.
It was several weeks before the first human appeared. By then she was fully invested in her work and had been forced to plan a handful of other stalls opening, manned by hires. The human 'noodles' were a hit, a brand new taste sensation in a galaxy that had tried 'everything' already.
The esquinine at this point wasn't thinking that a human would arrive, instead focusing on her work of slicing vegetables ready for the next fresh pot. She had served the two newcomers as she had anyone else, with barely a thought thanks to the rush.
"God I'm starving!"
"I know, can't get a good meal anywhere here, did that guy genuinely suggest we eat rocks?"
The first voice replied but was muffled as he slurped a heaping of noodles into his mouth.
"At least this place has normal foo-" His dramatic halt gave pause for the other human, before the one that had taken a bite 'mm'd in pleasure as he immediately began eating with gusto.
Nepeltor however, was rocked out of her zen 'flow' state of working and knew instantly that she had done well. From a gnawing hunger radiating from the other side of the counter, like a grenade exploding right in front of her face; a mixture of desire, greed, pleasure and even love bloomed in front of her until she stumbled and had to lean against her counter just to stop her knees from buckling.
What was interesting was that over time, one by one, each human ended up emitting the same few handfuls of emotions, which was an experience every time and not only did they love her food, there was a hint that they had associated her with her food and she herself was the target of their outpouring of positive emotions. It was directed at her, rather than just passive.
In the end she became famous amongst humans traveling that route.
She had the opportunity to expand, become an administrator, be rich and never have to work again with her stalls setting up shop everywhere, but she would lose access to be there when they took that first bite with ecstasy. Not to mention, if she expanded too much, she would be less likely to see the humans if they weren't forced to come see her and her stall specifically.
#conservationverse#cuddleverse#human#haso#hfy#humans are space orcs#furry#human x furry#esquinine#horse
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Strawberry Mint Lemonade [Getou Suguru | Gojo Satoru]
Content: Meet-Cute, Indirect Kiss, Gojo Satoru Being Gojo Satoru, Getou Suguru Being Getou Suguru, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Kisses, Café AU, No Curses, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Crying, Unrequited Love, Not Actually Unrequited Love, POV Second Person, Suggestive Themes
Pronouns: None
Note: THIS IS MY 200TH WORK ON AO3 AAAAAAAAAA (Also UTC because it's 2500+ words)
Header: @/nikki101pistar on Twitter
Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!
This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.
Your favorite drink was a simple strawberry mint lemonade. Not too sweet, not too sour. It was made the same way every single time which made sense since you'd had been coming to this hole-in-the-wall café for about three years now. Every employee, new and old knew your name and order, so when the familiar drink was placed in the completed section on the counter, you didn't look twice at it and immediately took a sip.
"What the fuck is this shit?" It was as if your straw was made of sugarcane, the strawberry and lemon pieces were formed from sugar cubes and the liquid itself was pure syrup.
"Ew...what is this?" Someone from beside you, whined.
Looking over, you found an incredibly tall man with stark white hair and—oh, you couldn't see his eye color behind the dark, round shades. You were about to turn around and talk to an employee about this...horror from hell, but your eyes drifted to the drink in his large hand.
You eyed your own drink, frowning at the name written on the side.
Satoru
You looked at the man again. "Are you Satoru?"
He nodded, then said your name. "I'm assuming that's you?"
You sighed, shoving his drink toward him. "Thank god—hand me my drink. I can't drink pure sugar."
"Awww, come on! It isn't that bad! " He pouted as he switched drinks.
You took a long swig of yours before you replied. "It was like drinking the three states of matter. Solid, Liquid and Gaseous Sugar."
"How would it even be gaseous?"
"The air from the straw."
He laughed loudly, startling the other customers.
You flushed, grabbing him by the elbow. "Come on, let's sit and talk."
The Goliath of a man let you drag him to a secluded corner, where the two of you talked each other's ears off. However, despite ordering another drink of your own, you noticed that he still hadn't touched his own.
"You gonna let the ice water down the sugar?" You grinned, "Was I right about it tasting like shit?"
He balked at you. "No way!"
You nodded toward the drink, "Then drink it."
He looked at you, the drink, you again then finally swiped the drink off the table, guzzling it down in mere seconds.
"There! Are you satisfied?" His head was swiveled to the side, tucked into that weird high collared jacket of his, but you swore the tips of his ears were flushed red.
"How are you alive?" You asked in slight awe.
That got him to look at you again, all smiles too. "Must be my impeccable genes."
You raised a brow. "You a citizen of the Candy Kingdom or something? Built like Candy Wife?"
He just smiled at you. "I have no idea about what you're talking about."
The two of you chatted for longer than expect, leaving just an hour before closing.
"Maybe I'll see you around?"
"Maybe so."
And he did, the two of you ending up seeing each other at least once a week for a few months. And of course, you learned a lot about Satoru during that time.
You learned that he had a very unhealthy obsession with sweets. That, despite the goofy look that he basically always had plastered on his face, he was quite intelligent. Oh, and that he had really bright blue eyes (like limpid tears) and the reason why he wore shades was because his eyes were really sensitive and without them, he was prone to awful migraines.
You also were beginning to develop a bit of a crush on him, but you were sure someone has beautiful as him had to already be taken. So, you decided to stuff the feelings in the deepest part of your heart.
And today you learned—
That he was bringing someone else with him today.
The person Satoru brought with him was a stark contrast to him (except in clothing—they both wore dark-colored clothing). He was maybe only a few inches shorter than him with long dark hair that was in an up-down style with a bit of hair draping the left side of his face. You watched that as Satoru pointed at you, the man's eyes slid to you and his lips turned upward. Then Satoru headed toward the counter while the man made his way to you.
He called your name and you raised a brow.
He chuckled. "Satoru told me your name." He slid into the seat across from you, "My name is Suguru. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
You leaned back in your chair, a bit uncomfortable with his familiarity with you. "Oh? Has Satoru talked about me that much."
Suguru leaned in closer, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his intertwined finger. "Oh, you have no idea."
Before you could question him further on the subject, Satoru placed their drinks on the table, alongside a few sweets.
"Seems like the two of you are getting along." He said with a hum as he pulled a chair over to complete your little group.
"Yeah, sure—Satoru, what exactly have you been telling Suguru here about me?"
His brows shot up to his hairline as his head swiveled to Suguru. "What did you say?"
Suguru just smiled. "I haven't said too much." The unspoken yet at the end of that sentence was very loud.
You sighed, nudging Satoru's foot. "So, you gonna properly introduce me or am I supposed to keep thinking of your friend here as a creep?"
"Oh, uh, yeah," He placed a hand on top of Suguru's, "This is my boyfriend, Suguru. We've been together for a few years now, and been best friends for longer."
Your heart dropped into your stomach, and you felt your lips dip downward. You quickly covered your mouth with your hand, raising a brow. "Oh? We've been talking for so long, and you just now tell me about your significant other? I thought we were closer than that, Satoru."
You knew you didn't play that off well, you knew that Satoru knew that what he had said hurt you.
And Suguru?
Suguru just smiled.
Despite the rocky first meeting and sudden revelation, you, Satoru and Suguru continued meeting (after you had bullied Satoru into inviting Suguru again).
Slowly yet surely, you learned more about Suguru and their relationship. Suguru was the one who did the majority of the cooking (while Satoru baked to quell his late night sweet cravings). He was really sweet and caring despite the shit eating grin that was etched on his face. He also was a pretty big flirt.
Which...was very unsettling to you. Since it seemed like he was very open to doing it in front of Satoru, who didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest.
"You look very beautiful today."
"Oh, um, thank you..."
"I especially like the lip color you've chosen today."
You balked at him, face becoming warm as you looked between him and Satoru.
Satoru continued to sip on his drink and scroll through his phone.
And Suguru—
Just fucking smiled.
And later that night, you knew you were screwed.
You were in love with both Satoru and Suguru.
So, you did what you did with your feelings for Satoru and shoved your feelings for Suguru down alongside his. Instead of running away from them and saving your heart, you hurt yourself even more Getting closer and closer to them to the point where you had visited each others homes and you've met each others other friends (Shoko and Nanami were your favorites among them).
Today you were over at Satoru and Suguru's very nice house (another thing you learned about Satoru is that the was stupidly rich). You were simply lounging around, not over for any specific reason, just to be in their presence, when Satoru suddenly stood up from his relaxed position on the couch.
"I need donuts." And without another word, he snatched his keys off the kitchen island and was out the door before either you and Suguru could utter a word.
Now, you had been alone with Suguru before—plenty of times, when Satoru had suddenly broke off from the two of you to take a closer look at things (see: recklessly spend money). But that was usually when you were out in public, where you could go and run to Satoru if you needed.
You'd never been alone with him like this—trapped within four walls.
And of fucking course, he did what he always did and—
"Why are you always smiling like that?" The question came out rougher than you intended, but your nerves were very quickly becoming frayed.
"Smiling like what?" He asked, tilting his head.
"Like you know everything—I don't know." You crossed your arms with a huff.
"You mean like how I know that you like Satoru and I." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
Your arms grew slack, hands falling into your lap.
He nodded to himself, "Another tell-tale reaction. This is good…"
"How is this good?" You snapped at him. "I'm in love with the two of you, who are already in a committed relationships."
He had the audacity to look surprised for a moment before his smile widened. "You love us? That's even better."
"How can you—" You sniffled, feeling the hot tears quickly race down your cheeks. "I have been selfishly spending time with the two of you. Despite how I feel, and knowing that I should just stop associating with you. I've instead decided to intruding on your relationship, just so that I can experience the tiniest fantasy of something that will never be." You were somehow able to make through your entire confession before you broke down, curling in on yourself.
You heard Suguru sigh then a bit of shuffling before the couch dipped and you were pulled into his warm embrace, which made you cry harder.
"I'm sorry for pushing you, Darling." His whispered above your head. "I should have been more upfront."
You shoved him back, looking up into his brown eyes. "Been more upfront with knowing good and well about my fucking inner turmoil."
"No," His hands slipped into yours." I should have just told you that Satoru and I feel the same way."
Your heart stopped.
There was no way that that was true. There was no way that Satoru and Suguru both felt the same way about you—and even if they did there was no way that you could choose one over the other, and you definitely wouldn't want to be the reason why they broke up either.
"Please." His voice was strained, "Just give me one chance to show you."
"I don't want to do anything behind—"
"And we won't. I'll wait until he comes back and then I'll ask for permission to kiss you. In front of him."
You sighed deeply, finally resigning yourself to your fucked up fate.
You leaned into him, "If this all goes to shit—I'll hate you forever."
"If it does go to shit, I'll accept your rightful infinite hatred."
The two of you were quite as you waited for Satoru to return. You were too exhausted to speak. Suguru was fine with that, perfectly content with rubbing circles onto your hands to help soothe you.
And then the front door was unlocked, and your anxiety spiked.
But Suguru wasn't going to go back on his word.
"Can I kiss you now?" Suguru asked the moment Satoru stepped into the room.
Your eyes were wide, frantically looking between the two of them, while your lips opened and closed like a fish.
Suguru placed a hand on your cheek, guiding you back to him.
He said your name, soft and sweet. "Can I kiss you?"
"Yes." You said it so quietly that you weren't sure that he heard you, but he very quickly assured you otherwise as his lips met yours.
Right in front of your close friend—his boyfriend, Satoru.
It was as soft as a rose petal, acutely aware of your fragile state.
"Yes—finally!" Satoru slammed the box of donuts on the kitchen counter then rushed over, reaching out for you.
Suguru intercepted him. "You need to ask first, Satoru."
He nodded furiously at his partner before turning to you, blue eyes bright. "Can I kiss you? Please?"
You blinked at him a few time before nodding. Satoru wasted no time and grabbed your cheeks, pulling you forward to meet him half way.
While Suguru's was soft, Satoru's was rough and rushed. Like he couldn't get enough of you now that he had you.
It didn't last long though became Suguru was quick to yank him off you.
"Slow down, Satoru." He flicked his forehand, shaking his head at his pout (your eyes kept finding his lips—they were red and shiny). "All this is new and we haven't even been given an answer yet."
"We just kissed? Isn't that enough of an answer?" Satoru asked Suguru who just gestured to you. Those blue spotlights turned on you. "Isn't it?"
"I mean—" You bit your lip. "I haven't actually said yes or no yet, but..."
"But...?"
You pursed your lips as you glared at the two of them. "...you both better not make me regret this down the line."
Suguru smiled, and despite it being the same know-it-all smile, you felt completely and utter secured by it. "We promise, Darling."
"What? You've already got pet names? No fair!" He paused. "Wait, what exactly did the two of you do while I was gone...?"
Your favorite drink was a simple strawberry mint lemonade. Not too sweet, not too sour. It was made the same way every single time, which made sense since you'd had been coming to this hole-in-the-wall café for about six years now. Every employee, new and old, knew your name and order, so when the familiar drink was placed in the completed section on the counter, you didn't look twice at it and immediately took a sip.
"Oh, what the fuck—Satoru, take your shit ass drink." You shoved the drink into his waiting hand, taking your own and immediately taking a plate cleansing sip.
Suguru chuckled. "I'm surprised that after all these years, the two of you are still getting your drinks mixed up."
"Who is we?" Satoru pointed at you, "This is the one who takes a sip without looking at the name on the side of the cup."
"That wouldn't matter if you didn't drink straight sugar—and then have the damn audacity to eat sweets with it." You eyed him, "Is your body okay?"
He smirked. "Oh, you know my body is absolutely perfect, but I'm sure we can—" Suguru flicked him in the cheek.
"Not in public."
Satoru balked at his audacity (and you to a lesser extent). "Says the one who literally—"
You lightly kicked his shin and hissed, "Not in public!"
"I can't believe my two partners are bullying me like this." He slumped in his seat. "I can't believe I have to deal with this for the rest of my life."
You shrugged, snatching one of his sweets. "You're the one who decided to put a ring on it."
"Now you're stuck with us forever." Suguru nodded in agreement.
Satoru watched the two of you fondly, a wide smile stretched across his lips.
"Yeah, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
I've finally done it.
For my 200th work, I finally gave you all the Sugu/Sato/Reader fluff you all deserved.
IT'S ALSO MY FIRST ONE-SHOT THAT'S OVER 2500 WORDS????
I really popped off for y'all (wipes away a tear).
Now time for me to binge the anime and get back to our regular scheduled programming of Tear Jerking Angst.
Please be excited :)
Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist
#alie ficlets#jujutsu kaisen x reader#jjk x reader#sugosato x reader#satosugu x reader#getou suguru x reader#gojo satoru x reader
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The Batfam as genuine orders I’ve taken at Starbucks
Dick: Venti matcha cremé frap with 6 pumps hazelnut, 6 pumps peppermint, 6 pumps classic, 8 splendas, 3 pumps toffeenut. (Idk how this woman drinks her drink… but if anyone would order it, Dick would)
Tim: Venti nitro cold brew with 3 shots (This one we can’t legally sell, but my coworker orders it for himself anyways)
Bruce: Grande café mocha with nonfat milk, no whip, and only 0.5 pumps of mocha (AKA- What was the point of ordering a mocha if you’re gonna take every key component away??)
Steph: Venti pink drink with 10 pumps of classic, sub coconut milk for heavy whipping cream, and 3 scoops of vanilla bean powder (It tastes like a strawberry milkshake but if the milkshake was drowning in sugar. Pretty good tho ngl)
Jason: Venti cold brew with one ice cube only. (If you give this man more than one cube he WILL complain)
Duke: Grande café americano with 5 shots, 2 pumps of toffeenut, and a splash of almond milk (It has a strong and bold flavor, but the drink isn’t TOO insane… but what are you doing with all five of those shots?)
Cass: Grande iced chai latte with 18 pumps of chai, no milk. (It’s just our chai concentrate- which is really strong- with ice.)
Damian: Grande iced mocha with whole milk and no whip (It’s basically a Big Kid choccy milk)
Alfred: Venti cappuccino, EXTRA dry. (He literally just wants foam on top of the shots. We have to steam 4-5 separate batches of milk to scoop only the foam off for this man, and if the drink is too heavy, he hands it right back.)
#batfam headcanons#batfam#dick grayson#cassandra cain#duke thomas#tim drake#jason todd#damian wayne#bruce wayne#stephanie brown#batfamily#batman#dc#alfred pennyworth
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Hear me out 💀
Miguel o'hara pinning over reader and sometimes calling them "Mi sol" or other pet names in Spanish thinking they don't understand.
However reader does understand them and finds it adorable.
So one day reader starts speaking Spanish to Miguel and he is like "You know Spanish?" And then realizes that they understood all the affectionate names he gave them 😭
Unknown Connection.
A Miguel O’hara fluff fic ♡
Warnings: N/A? fluff... I love... Fluff... Reader has no distinct role (Aka I didn’t know if you wanted a spider reader or a civilian reader, nonnie) Spanish Speaking G/N Reader!!!
A/N: NONNIE NONNIE NONNIE I LOVE YOU... you’re perfect, never change, this is my favorite ask and it will remain my favorite ask, thank you nonnie
Summary: Nonnie summed it up, mwah thank you nonnie
You two have always been close bound, even if Miguel would rather have his organs removed than admit it, however, he never really thought about why?
Perhaps it was because you were never scared of his angry spanish.
It was basically your dad telling you to shut up.
So?
Because he didn’t know you spoke spanish, our querido Miguelito* began coming up with little nicknames.
“Mí cielo*, how do you want your coffee?”
“Not that way, you hear me, Estrellita*?”
Or the occasional, “Ya, Ya, it’s time to go, Mí vida*.”
However, nothing could possibly prepare him for the knowledge that you knew what he was saying, what it meant, and that basically you had become his little sweetheart.
Again, not that he would ever admit it.
One morning, after staying in his room at the spider society, he was still drowsy, and probably couldn’t flip the switch to his english again.
“Venga, coño. ¿Me traes un café, dulzura? Con leche, 7 cubos de azúcar, me lo mezclas bién, ¿sí? Gracias solecito*.”
So you can imagine how you came back with his coffee, as he wanted it, just fine.
At first, it didn’t register in his brain, but after a short while of his work starting, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The drowsiness was gone, the memories were back...
And you understood him perfectly.
Slamming the door wide open, he arrived, usually well mannered hair, some loose strands came flying down, as he puffed.
“¿Y tú? ¡¿Cuándo chingados me ibas a decir qué hablabas español?!*”
You, of course, just gave him a slight giggle, smiling at him coyly, but not so much. His expression was priceless.
“Yo creí qué yá sabías...*”
“¡Pues no! ¡No sabía!*”
Giggling as you smiled at him, and he stormed off to his office... Yeah, you definitely knew about all those nicknames, and he was foolish for not noticing the little spark in your eyes when he called you them.
...
That beautiful little spark.
Su pequeño destello... *
The worst part? It made his crush on you ten times bigger. And of course, Lyla thought it was so fucking funny... Despite now how he would live embarrassed for calling you all those little names without even having dated.
Oh well.
He might as well change that.
Translations:
My Dear
Little Star
My Everything
Fucking Hell. (But cooler) Can you bring me a coffee, sweetie? With milk, 7 cubes of sugar, can you stir it well for me? Thank you, Little Sun.
And you?! When were you going to tell me you spoke Spanish too?!
I thought you knew...
Well no! I didn’t know!
His Little Spark...
#atsv miguel#miguel o'hara#miguel spiderman#miguel spiderverse#miguel x reader#miguel o'hara fluff#i love him#so much#nonnie i am still in love#with this request
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The Envelope (Part 2) (NSFW)
Dazai x Reader
1261 words
Cold morning. A tentative blue threaded with pale clouds. Mist had gathered in the corners of the windows. The double doors remained closed for now; you still had time to unload the gleaming cups and saucers from the dishwasher. Your manager - Uzumaki’s renowned, veteran barista - passed by the counter. His mouth was pulled to the side as though he was suppressing an uncomfortable smile.
“I, ah… think someone is trying to call you.”
With a wave of his hand he gestured to the lit smartphone which lay, singing idly to itself, nestled between a tray of glasses and the petty cash tin. A leaden weight had settled in the pit of your stomach. You didn’t need to check to know who it was.
As you continued stacking the cups within a wall-mounted cupboard the phone’s melody ceased, only to be followed by the sound of a chime. One insistent ping followed another; a flurry of notifications without pause. With a pained sigh, you retrieved your phone. Refusing to scroll back and read the long reel of previous messages, your eyes settled on the most recent.
Not that I want you to rush back of course! It’s only a small fire after all.
There came the rapid tap of your thumbs in reply.
I told you this morning that I’m not coming back until after my shift.
Dropping the device down with a thud, you continued to put cups, glasses and cutlery away, all the while ignoring the series of shrill sounds which rang impatiently from your phone.
“Sounds like someone wants to talk to you,” the café owner observed, unlatching the double doors and releasing a flood of warm light into the long room. Rather than answer, you pretended to search for something in the dishwasher’s cutlery basket.
“Perhaps you ought to answer him?”
“What makes you think it’s a him?” you countered, looking up at just the wrong moment. The café manager’s smile was all-knowing. He was a people watcher; an inadvertent gatherer of secrets. He had held his position with quiet pride for many years, unobtrusively pouring coffee as the lives of his customers played out around him.
Lifting a small bag of sugar cubes, you began to refill the ceramic containers on the tables.
“...in any case, if you don’t answer, he might come up here.”
Hesitating, sugar tongs still in hand, you managed a derisive snort. It did not take long for your false bravado to cower upon itself. Thinking better of it, you stalked back to the counter to seize your phone.
I won’t be back til 6. Grab a shower or a coffee or some fresh bandages if you have indeed set fire to yourself - whatever you need, but don’t wait for me to get back. Spare key in the teapot.
The device had hardly touched the surface when its screen glowed in response.
Good to know there’s another spare. I took the key you hid in the sconce. Think I’ll hang onto it ;)
You do that. Think I’ll have the locks changed.
Ah! You’re driving me insane! <3
“Miss?”
“Coming!” you called, relieved by the distraction. A steady queue of customers had formed from the cash register, snaking out into the hallway beyond. Stifling a yawn, you poured coffee into paper cups, adding a dash of milk here; a shot of syrup there. Plastic lids were fastened on in succession. You stretched your arms and arched your aching back. Names were penned on cardboard. The morning rush was always this busy, only to be followed by… silence. There was the respite after the madness. The calm before the storm. Only a visit from your rather irregular regulars could break up the monotony now. The Armed Detectives from the fourth floor, with their wild antics and raucous laughter… You ground your teeth. Not that you were thinking about him though. Not that you were, even now, considering checking your phone for his messages. Too often you had witnessed those poor souls who fell for his superficial charms. They would weep, helpless, struggling to comprehend the reason for his sudden absence. How ignorant they were, never knowing he had already moved on to his next person of interest…
Even as you stood, reasoning so calmly with yourself, your hand was inciting a mutiny against your mind and body. You reached for your phone again.
Ditch work. Tell the boss you have a headache and need to stay in bed ;)
I think he might see through that brilliant scheme?
Cruel mistress! Don’t make me beg :(
This is on you. I’m not making you do anything.
Three little dots danced, taunting, as he crafted his reply. You set the device to one side each time the café owner strode past. It was more than your job’s worth to be caught sending messages to one of your regular customers.
As the manager stooped to clear one of the tables, your phone buzzed irritably.
Don’t pretend. And for the record, I hate being made to wait.
Wait for what exactly? You smiled; it wasn’t like you to behave so coyly but, somehow, his persistence had reeled you in like a spider’s silk.
Seriously? Don’t forget that I’d been trapped behind bars for WEEKS. You know I couldn’t stop thinking about you in there. I thought last night was all I needed but holy fuck, I already miss your pussy…
The weight in your stomach shifted. Something sparked, like flint on stone.
It’s 9:28 am! We’ve only just opened.
Well what time does your pussy open? Cause I’m
Heat flooded your cheeks. You felt your pulse beating in your throat; blood roared thunderously in your ears. You looked up - another poorly-timed gesture - to witness Ranpo glance away thoughtfully, his finger tapping his chin. The detective who saw through everything.
You dropped your phone with a clatter.
“I thought the temperature was mild today,” he observed dryly, such was his way of small talk. “Is it hot in here?”
“Yes,” you answered automatically, placing your phone face down before you could read the rest of Dazai’s message. Given the brief glimpse of the words hard scream beg and gag you could only assume it contained some tangible threats. You dusted down your black skirt self-consciously and reached to tighten the fastening in your hair, remembering that you had been forced to wear it loose today. Only its dark curtain, as it swung about the white frill of your collar, could hide the blemishes he had left upon your skin the night before. Incriminating marks which had branded you as his.
“Sorry, I uh- Let me pass you a menu-”
“Sweet curry,” Ranpo declared without pause. “And, not that it’s any of my business, but Dazai thrives on dysfunction. Nothing bores him more than having his own schemes go smoothly. I wouldn’t be so quick to give him the replies he wants.”
You gaped in astonishment. “That’s not- that’s-”
“One doesn’t need ultra deduction to read it in your distracted demeanour; the way you’re repeatedly picking your phone up, cursing to yourself… we’ve seen it all before. It’s the Dazai effect. Not to mention the circles under your eyes, your constant yawning…”
“Plus those hickeys speak for themselves.” Yosano had appeared behind him. “Pour us both a coffee - you look like you need it.”
Ruefully brushing your hair down against your neck, you turned away, poured out two cups and grabbed a blue Ramune from the fridge. What had ever made you think that sleeping with Osamu Dazai would have gone unnoticed by a group of professional detectives?
Part 1 (tw)
#part 2!#dazai osamu#dazai x reader#dazai x you#dazai x y/n#dazai x fem!reader#text replies#bungou stray dogs#bsd#n.sfw#my writing
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six days of us
six days of a love story. from its beginning to its end.
⋆
pairing // kim taerae x fem! reader; other characters mentioned are hanbin and kim chaehyun on the readers side, and junhyeon and matthew on taerae’s!
genre // fluff & angst; university student! au; he fell first, she fell harder-ish; it’s based on six selected day6 songs!
word count // 14.5 k
tw // not too sure, insecurities in one’s own feelings but if there are any more lmk!
playlist // here (i recommend listening in order but i can't really tell you what to do so! have fun!)
author’s note // i‘m back!! so sorry it took so long but i genuinely loved writing this! it was so much fun, i tried to keep it kind of realistic but it’s been a while since my last relationship so i’m not too sure i succeeded lol! anyways i hope you enjoy reading and that it was worth the wait!
!!! reminder !!! everything i write about on here is entirely fictional and in no way am i saying this is how the people mentioned would act in real life! it’s all just pretend! ♡
How come when the skies turn grey, heavy clouds like curtains keeping out the light, we forget the vivid of the blue, the warmth of sun? How come when the winter months set in and the trees stand bare, we forget the rustle of the leaves as the summer wind hums the tune to July? How come when a person enters our lives, we cannot imagine our life not knowing them? But how come, once the same person leaves, everything reminds us of them, like a ghost coming back to haunt us, to remind us of what could have been?
1. hi hello
The smell of coffee, polite smiles, and the morning rush. It was usually around May when you noticed that the hot chocolates turned into iced americanos. An established tradition for your co-workers and you, was to buy the drink for the first customer who ordered it iced. A welcome to summer, a deed to make someone smile. Of course, the lot of you usually ended up giving out more than one free drink, not only because of miscommunications, but mostly because it seemed like the right thing to do. Thus, you and the other employees were more grateful than ever that your boss was as lenient as he was, usually laughing it off, and popping an ice cube in his steaming hot cappuccino as a gesture. Nevertheless, he was sure to give a stern warning (or a friendly reminder, as he liked to call them) to not give out any more free iced drinks once the first week of May had passed. You usually just smiled at your phone as the yearly text made all of your phones whistle in unison.
The first Friday of May was here and with it you had hoped a comfortably busy day at work. The weather was embracing the light mood of the university students running around near campus, and you were convinced more than one of them would crave an iced beverage of some sort.
You had been cleaning the espresso machine, making sure everything was bound to run smoothly for your next order, when the serenity of the afternoon made itself known to you: No customers were queuing for their orders, the inside-tables of the small coffee shop were empty, the ones outside just as unoccupied, which was due to the unexpectedly harsh sun, who warmed the cement for the first time, radiating it back towards the already heating air. It was to be expected, the parasols were still packed away in the storage room in the back of the shop. Sighing you rested your head on top your hands looking through the opened front as the quiet outside world was conquered by the sunrays of early May. You could feel the cool of the counter spread onto the palms of your hands, as the dooming boredom of your uneventful work afternoon towered over you.
Very quiet, you thought.
Too quiet, you complained silently.
And it was unusual that nobody was here. In the two years you had worked at the café, the only times nobody had come in was in the midst of summer, and even then, there had usually been at least one person at a time. So, this was very odd. If Chaehyun had been here, she would have told you to not question God’s gift of a minute of peace and quiet. However, this wasn’t a minute, it had been minutes. Plural. On top of everything you enjoyed working as a barista, even if it was stressful at times, at least there was always something to do. Well, apparently almost always.
At the beginning of your shift, your boss had asked you if you would be fine alone for a few hours today, you had agreed reluctantly, as it could have very well gone wrong, but now you were glad that you had not insisted on anyone else coming in. You knew Hanbin was busy with dance practice, and that Chaehyun had been excited all week for a date she was going on today. Having one of them come in unexpectedly and then do nothing all afternoon, would have been not only a waste of their time but also of your boss’ money. So, you supposed, it was fitting for this particular Friday to be slowest day ever. Even though it meant boredom for you. Oh my god, this was going to be a long afternoon.
Time was passing three times as slow as it usually did. In the past 15 minutes you had been sure three times, that it was time you started the closing duties, only to realize that merely a handful of minutes had passed. You had grown so impatient with today, that you considered turning the time forwards, so that you could close early ‘on accident’ and go home. Of course, as an amazing employee you would never do anything like this ever, but it sure crossed your head once or twice (or three times actually). Sighing at the clock once more, you retreated back to your position with your head resting on the counter as you wait for the seconds to creep by.
Immersed by the ticking of the time and so busy tapping the rhythm of the melody stuck in your head that you didn’t notice someone approaching the shop, until the bell announced his entry.
“Hi,” a rather low voice greeted as you scrambled into your usual upright position behind the counter.
“Hello!” You smiled at the young man in front of you. He must have been around your age, maybe a little bit older, but that was judging by his voice. His appearance was sweet and youthful, his smile bright, his hair a little messy, but just the right amount. Charming. He was the kind of boy that would star in a Taylor Swift music video. Classic friends-to-lovers. You had to suppress a small giggle at the thought of it.
In the moments between his greeting, your greeting and the Taylor Swift fantasies, your brain still found the time to wonder what his order would be (it worked fast like that). Maybe something classic like an iced americano? Or something unexpected like a strawberry latte? You had been so bored, alone the thought of making a drink excited you beyond reason.
“What can I get you today?” you asked with a practiced, but this time more genuine than not, smile on your face.
“Oh,” He looked a little lost, you noticed only now, fidgeting with his hands in front of him, “I was just going to ask whether or not it was okay for me to set up for busking in front of the café?” He turned around, pointing to the small open area in front of the unoccupied seats.
It was a nice spot for busking, the shade from the trees making it cool enough to perform in the summertime as well. Your eyes darted to the guitar bag slung across his shoulder, lips caught between his teeth as he expectantly waited for your answer.
“Oh. So, you don’t want a drink, huh?” You really tried to suppress the disappointment, but judging from the look on his face, you weren’t doing a good job. Well at least you would soon have some sort of entertainment. And who knows, maybe he was so good, he’d bring in some customers.
“Do I have to buy a drink to be allowed to busk?” His eyebrows shot up, his expression changing from sweet to curious.
“What? Oh, no that’s okay. You can go ahead.” You smiled at him, nodding to the small square in front of the café.
He smiled slightly, determined to satisfy your need to prepare a drink for him, “Actually, I could use a little bit of a refreshment.”
Matching his expression, your face now showcased a bright smile as you handed him the menu. You weren’t sure if he could tell how grateful you were to finally be able to do something other than stand around and check the time, but you tried to show it to him by whipping back and forth slightly, stealing glances at him as he decided. You waited patiently as he studied the menu, tongue poking out between his teeth. He was cute, in a clueless kind of way.
Some time passed, but nothing compared to the amount you had been standing around until your saviour in the form of a busker came into the café.
Finally, he lifted his head, adjusted his guitar, slung over his shoulder, and cleared his throat, “Actually, could I maybe get a bottle of water?”
You were about to cry. A whole menu full of drinks ranging from coffees to mochas to fruit teas and smoothies, and this man wants a bottle of water? You were sure he could see the disappointment written on your face once again as he looked up from the small piece of paper in his hands.
A somewhat apologetic smile rested on his lips; he knew what he did.
“Water?” you asked again, just to be sure. Just so that you didn’t misunderstand and accidentally got the man a water instead of the strawberry matcha latte he just ordered.
“Uhm… I-Is that not possible?” A nervous smile was present on his features. On any other day, you probably would have noticed that the boy in front of you was quite literally a nervous wreck; Not only would he be busking in a new area for the first time, but his friends had also convinced him to go ask the cute barista if it was okay to play in front of her café, although he knew it was more than okay and even encouraged by the owner. Still, he did it out of curtsey, and not to finally have a reason to talk to the girl. He had had several pep-talks from his friends, as well as his mother (although she didn’t know what the peptalking was for), just to stumble over his word when ordering a water? Taerae, you really can do better.
“Water is free.” That interrupted his mental face palm as you smiled politely and pointed to the jug to your right. It was filled with fresh orange and lemon slices as well as mint to give the water a little something. Usually, the taste of the fruit would not be that strong as it would get refilled and emptied quite quickly, but today it had been standing around for a while, so you were sure it would actually taste a bit like the citrus and herbs floating inside of it. You supposed the boy would be in for a treat.
“That’s nice.” That’s nice?
“Do you need a cup for it to take it outside?” As you were speaking, you already turned around, grabbing one of the paper cups and a pen ready to write his name on it. You realized it was unnecessary to do this for a mere cup of water, but in all honesty, you were just as intrigued by the man in front of you, as you had been disappointed by the lack of creative drink-ordering; You wanted to know the name of the man that gave you hope just to take it all away from you again.
“What’s your name?” you smiled innocently, already setting the pen down to write as you looked at the man through your lashes.
“Oh. Uhm Taerae.”
You chuckled, “Okay, Oh-Uhm-Taerae,” you handed him the cup, “Enjoy your water!” you winked at him, smiling as he filled it up.
Taerae was a blushing mess. How was he supposed to perform in front of the café now? And also, why would he have ordered water? Of all things, he could have ordered, he asked for water. Wow. For a moment Taerae wondered if it was more embarrassing to play in front of here now, or to just leave and never set foot into this part of the city ever again.
Taking a sip of his water he set down his guitar and finally let out a dramatic sigh, he didn’t realize needed to leave his body right this second. There was not much to his busking set up, just him and his guitar, a stool, and a small speaker. Taerae used to have a booklet with all of his favourite songs, but he knew them by heart now, so no need to hide behind the notes. Matthew always said he would hide his face behind the pages, and when he first performed without it there had been twice as many people, not because he was better, but because people could see his smile. Taerae wasn’t so sure that that was the reason.
Today he seemingly would be playing for an audience of two. Himself and you. You who had been watching his ever move during his set up, as you were wiping down the already clean tables. If he hadn’t been so nervous, he would probably say this was his favourite way to meet new people. In fact, he had met almost all of his best friends through music; be it busking or the choir at his high school, or even just bonding over their favourite artists, music had always brought people into Taerae’s life. So Junhyeon’s theory to just go and ask if it was okay to play in front of the café as to finally talk to you, should have been fool proof. Count on Taerae to mess it up though. He debated whether or not he should text the group chat and ask for some moral support and customers for the café, but ultimately decided against getting teased to death by his favourite tormentors.
The sun was getting lower and lower as Taerae procrastinated starting to play. He could feel as the anticipation radiated off of you. You had settled back behind the counter, still watching him as he pretend to tune his guitar for the nth time. Taerae couldn’t hold eye contact with you for longer than an accidental moment, if had been able to, he would have seen the amused smile on your face as you sipped on a glass of water yourself. Taerae had his ‘Oh-Uhm-Taerae’ titled cup sat on the ground beside him. He had blushed even more when he had realized how you had teased him and was sure you’d get along great with Junhyeon once he introduced the two of you. If he got to ever introduce to his friends.
He was sure by now you could tell he was stalling, so with one last look around the area, and one last sip of his wonderful water, he strummed his guitar.
*
Music attracted people like honey did flies. Over the years you learned that whenever busking was held in front of the café, the customers would float through the doors, order drinks, and relax to the live music. But as the first notes of Taerae’s singing reached your ears, you wished that nobody would come to distract you from his voice. For the first time today, you wanted nothing but be left alone with the boy and listen, maybe sway through the small room a bit. But sure enough, the first song wasn’t even over, the sun hadn’t even retreated further towards the horizon, its light still bright and strong, not yet soft, and golden, when the first couple came strolling by, and after a short moment of weighing their options, the woman sat down outside, her attention undivided on Taerae, as the man came inside to order their drinks. You sighed softly as your focus on Taerae shifted to the coffee machine, it sound muffling his voice as you grinded coffee ground after coffee ground. Out of the corner of your eye, you could already see the next person enter the shop, still half looking at the performer outside. Now, it would be busier than usual, you were sure. You smiled softly, be careful what you wish for.
*
Taerae was happy he could bring you some business. He was also happy that your very distracting eyes didn’t linger on him quite as intensely as they did during his first song. It had been a successful busking for him even after his first struggles. The sky had eventually turned darker and darker, and the air had gone crisp with the last goodbyes of what once was winter. With more and more people leaving it was time for him as well to wrap up. At one point there had been so many people, it was almost impossible for Taerae to see the front of the store, making it difficult for him to confirm that you were still watching, paying attention to him. The awkward interaction out of his mind, he was happy to catch you look at him during any free moment of your now busy work afternoon/evening.
*
When Taerae started to pack up, the café was already closed. He hadn’t seen you leave, but there had been so many people around, he easily could have missed you. Besides, there was always a chance of a back entrance or something of the like. On the one hand, it was nice that he now could relax and not worry about embarrassing himself again in front of you, on the other he really wanted to know what you thought of his songs; Whether or not you liked them, if it was okay if he came back and played again, if he could take you out to dinner. The usual after busking questions really.
Zipping up his guitar, Taerae got ready to leave. He could still feel the guitar strings giving way and embedding themselves under his fingertips, that’s how he knew it had been a good session. It was quiet now that he had stopped playing, no spectators left but the first cicadas welcoming the night-time. Taerae would have just left if it hadn’t been for jingle of keys followed by a soft “Wait a moment” that caught his attention.
He turned and sure enough there you were, bag slung over your shoulder, hair tied out of your face, revealing a smile and gleaming eyes.
“Hi,” you smiled.
“Hello,” Taerae reciprocated.
You handed him the takeaway cup you were carrying, adorned with a neat ‘Oh-Uhm-Taerae’. You smiled as he raised his eyebrows at the nickname, his own heart swelling at your chuckle.
“It’s tea,” You explained, “I figured you could use some after singing all afternoon.”
He nodded, bringing the beverage to his lips. The stark contrast of the cool May night and the heat of the tea made him realize how his body had cooled down, “Thank you. It’s nice.” There he goes again with his nice. He rolled his eyes at himself.
“Well, that’s good! I can make more than water, you know?” you smiled, “Anyways, thank you for today, you brought in more customers than any other busker has thus far. In the name of my boss and his business, I wanted to invite you back to play again. Preferably Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays in the afternoons. That’s when I work.”
Taerae should have acted cool and said something like, I’ll see if I can make it, or I will if my schedule allows it, but instead he just laughed and nodded ‘okay’. He didn’t trust his own voice right now; it would probably give away his excitement.
“Good,” You smiled satisfied, “Then I’ll see Tuesday, Oh-Uhm-Taerae.” You turned to walk away.
“Just Taerae is fine!” He was not going to have his crush call him Oh-Uhm-Taerae.
If he had been any smarter, he would have just said ‘Taerae’. In fact, if he had been smarter, he would have not stuttered saying his name in the first place. But Taerae was Taerae, and you were you.
So, turning around, but not stopping your walking backwards, you smile mischievously, “Alright then, Just-Taerae, see you Tuesday!” you could see his mouth opening and closing in retaliation, but before he could say anything more, with a slightly louder voice you said, “I’m just Y/N, by the way.”
Taerae watched as you waked away, smiling to himself, sipping on his tea, skipping on the way home. He had now been officially introduced to ‘Just-Y/N.’
2. i like you
Another Thursday, another busking event for Taerae in front of the café. It had become somewhat of a tradition for him to play at least once a week when you were working. After each time you’d come out with a cup of tea, which had evolved to iced as May progressed into June and with that spring into summer, and the chill of the nights was more welcomed as a contrast to the hot daytime. Sometimes the two of you didn’t talk much, or hang out, be it due to university or other plans, but most of the time you’d spend the better part of the night walking around, trying new food spots, or just talking and hanging out in front of the café, munching on the left-over pastries of the day. Either way, Taerae was glad to see you at least once a week, and thus the two of you went from strangers to close friends.
This Thursday in particular you had something planned, as you had let him know beforehand. Taerae was excited, a little bit nervous even, it was unusual for you to plan something, normally having Taerae decide what the two of you would eat and do. He was very good at reading people, and he’d usually figure something out that fit with both of your moods.
But not today apparently, today you had decided, and Taerae had no idea what it was so, yes, he was a tad bit nervous.
The daylight stretched until well after 8 p.m. and with the café closing at 7.30 p.m., Taerae made sure to get his guitar and busking stuff home before you were done finishing up at the café. He had been so careful with planning his schedule, that he now arrived back at the square a little early, you were still working, getting drinks to customers, preparing the last slices of cake in the soft pink take-away boxes, smiling at children, laughing at unfunny jokes customers made. He was in awe of you. How could a person be so dedicated to their part-time job? And it was not only at work that you were diligent, more than once had Taerae spent and afternoon studying with you in either your or his universities’ library. The focus you were able to uphold was something Taerae was almost jealous of. He was jealous of you because you still could concentrate, even if he was around, something he struggled with whenever you were in sight. He had also been jealous of whatever you were focusing on. What in the world could be so important for you to focus on, when he was right there next to you. When he was your… friend?
It frustrated Taerae to no end that he did not have the same effect on you, as you had on him.
Sure enough, after another few minutes of waiting the familiar jingle of keys rushed Taerae out of his head, back down to earth. Back down to real you, not head you. He liked both versions equally, so he wasn’t complaining.
You grinned at him as you made your way towards the boy, “Hi.”
“Hello,” he greeted with suspicion. The expression on your face was foreign, but it really couldn’t mean anything good for Taerae, as it reminded him too much of Junhyeon’s scheming face, you were scheming. In Taerae’s head there were only two options; Either you were planning some intricate prank with his friend, or you were planning something sweet, far from a prank, and Taerae would spontaneously confess in a waterfall of words and your newfound, yet very precious friendship, would suffer from it.
“Why do you look so anxious?” there was a somewhat nervous smile on your lips, eyebrows scrunched up in worry as you handed Taerae his post-performance-beverage.
Taerae shook his head, “I’m not. I just don’t want to get murdered by you. So, before we go, I just wanted to remind you that my voice is a gift to the world, and if you are planning on un-aliving me today, that you’d be taking it away from the whole world and everybody would be mad at you.”
You looked at him, a half scoff, half laugh escaping your lips.
“I’m serious, Y/N. I’m sharing my location with Junhyeon this entire evening.” Taerae crossed his arms in front of his chest, awaiting your reassurance that in fact you were not going to kill him.
“What makes you think Junhyeon isn’t in on the plan?” you smirked, while Taerae’s expression fell.
This joking manner was one of the only times Taerae could look at you without his heart combusting or his eyes diverting as soon as they met yours. And while you were laughing at your very lame retaliation, he had time to take you in. It was beyond Taerae how someone could make him so nervous yet so at peace at the same time.
“Come on now, Taerae” you smiled leading the way towards the metro station, “have a little faith in me, yea?”
If only you knew the amount of faith he had in you. So, of course, Taerae followed.
*
Laughing and joking the two of you discussed all the songs Taerae played today. Thus far he had not played your request, which, like every time after a performance, you let him know by complaining excessively.
The station way bustling with people going home from work, students finding their way to their after-school-studies, and people like you; Looking for activities to end the day on a relaxing note. Out of instinct Taerae placed his hand on your lower back, guiding you through the sea of people towards the train as you were rambling on about this week’s songs and the lack of your favourites (although any song sung by Taerae was your favourite, but not that he needed to know that just yet).
Whenever you and him were together, you had noticed that you forgot the rest of the world existed. Not necessarily in the way, how everything else goes blurry and your focus was solely on him, but rather that real life just slows down a little bit. Whenever you were with Taerae, everything else just seemed less important, far away.
He, however, seemed always grounded. Even when you were excitedly babbling on, Taerae simultaneously smiled and made sure you weren’t in anybody’s way, yet still matched your energy and made sure to react to you. You never understood how he could be so focused on the rest of the world as well. It was especially frustrating because you could either focus on him entirely, or not at all; for you with Taerae it was an all or nothing situation.
*
The train was more or less ripping at its seams when you got on. You always wondered how so many people could fit in such a confined space and not get squashed. You had hoped that due to the nice weather and the rather late hour, it would have been a little emptier, but no, clearly nothing beats the AC of a subway. The hopes of a seat after a long afternoon of work had been abandoned a long time ago, as you got pushed closer and closer towards Taerae.
In all honesty, the boy was panicking. He didn’t know where to put his hands, what to hold onto as to prevent the both of you from falling at each halt the train took. His only hope was for the crowds to thin once the next big transfer point arrived. But until then? He wasn’t sure how to keep standing upright and breathe properly, with you this close.
“Y/N?” Taerae whispered barely audible.
“Hm?” You looked up at him, waiting for him to continue.
But just as Taerae started to speak, you saw the man behind him stand up from his seat. In an effort to not notice how close Taerae had been, you had heard him grumbling to himself how packed the train was and that he could get off at the next station and walk the rest home, but that had been three stops ago. Now that he was actually getting up, you had to act fast. The man pushed past you and in a swift motion you pushed Taerae against the seat, making him sit down with a thump.
You smiled at him triumphantly as his big eyes looked back at you. The man getting up and you pushing Taerae had happened so swiftly that, Taerae hadn’t noticed he had grabbed a hold of your hand as to not lose balance. And you hadn’t either, smiling happily to yourself as you stood in front of Taerae, shielding him from the masses.
Taerae however, would not have you stand when you had been the one working almost all day. He pulled you towards him, getting up at the same time. To spectators it might’ve looked like a twirl, a spontaneous dance on the subway. Well, as a result, you were now sitting and Taerae was leaning over you, satisfied with the change of position.
For a moment there had been a smug grin on his face, but it was soon wiped away by a blush, as he noticed a group of students squealing next to you, whispering to each other and giggling. You too had looked away from Taerae in an attempt to hide your flushed cheeks. But Taerae noticed. And he smiled.
*
From this moment on, the train ride seemed to go on forever. The crowd thinned as your stop approached and soon only a handful of people were in your compartment. Taerae had sat down beside you, taking one of the high-school girls’ seat once they got up and left, but only after they had made sure Taerae did in fact sit down next to you and not anybody else. It was kind of sweet. Still, you couldn’t look any of them in the eye as they got off the train.
Finally, your stop arrived and in a swift motion you got up. Taerae was excited too, he still didn’t know where exactly you were going, but now he at least knew the broad area; The stop was a little towards the edge of the city, where parks and playgrounds dominated the cemented roads. It was a nice change of scenery, and Taerae welcomed it.
Coming up above ground, he noticed how quickly the sun had set, the sky only showing remnants of the bright day at its horizon. You had stopped a few paces in front of him, finding it hard to regain orientation somewhere you hadn’t been in such a long time.
“Where to first?” Taerae asked, curious as to where you could be going this late. You had let him know beforehand that there would not be a grand meal today, and that he should eat something in between busking and your… date?
“The convenience store.” You explained, once you saw the small corner store you used to visit as a kid, “To get ice cream, naturally.”
So, the two of you made your way towards the store and after a few minutes of weighing options and discussing preferences, Taerae and you had decided on green-tea ice cream, and a caramel flavoured one.
“Okay, ice cream secured,” you smiled at Taerae exiting the shop, “Now, Mr. Kim, I shall show you one of my favourite places of all time.”
“What an honour.” He smiled as he tagged along, catching up with you as you started in the direction of a small park.
It had been a little later than you had anticipated, making it a little harder for you to find the exact spot you were looking for. The trees were practically pitch black, and although there were a few lanterns lighting the way, they were too little and too far apart to actually help a great deal. The gravel crunched beneath your shoes as you snacked on the ice cream and made your way further into the green.
“There it is!”
As soon as the small wooden pavilion was in sight you tugged on Taerae’s sleeve to hurry. He had to admit, he wasn’t sure why you were this excited about a wooden structure in a park, at the other end of the city. He thought it was adorable, nonetheless. Coming up the small hill he saw that the pavilion overviewed a small pond, where this time strategically placed light illuminated the water surface.
“Nice, is it not?” you teased, smiling up at the boy. Reacting to things with a quick ‘Nice’ had become an inside joke between the two of you, well for you mostly; It was fun for you, but Taerae usually just rolled his eyes.
“It is.” He confirmed, “But why exactly are we here? I mean don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore being squeezed together on a train for more than half an hour and then sitting in a park. I’m just wondering.”
“Careful, Taerae,” you narrowed your eyes at him, “I could still murder you and dump your body in the pond.”
He laughed., “No but seriously, what is this place?”
“I’m not sure. I just stumbled upon it one day during my first week of uni. It was strangely familiar and when I talked to my parents about it, they said we used to come here when I was a kid,” you shrugged, “It’s nothing super special but I just wanted to show you.”
Taerae smiled at you, and you smiled back. It was one of these quiet moments you shared. Your friendship thus far had been filled with laughter and music and teasing, but every once in a while, a quiet moment like this made it special. Until someone decided to break the quiet, of course.
“You should have told me; I would have brought my guitar. Properly serenated you.” He pouted.
“No more serenating, I’m growing sick of your voice Taerae, for real.” You mocked, laughing.
This only made Taerae pout more, pushing your shoulder slightly.
The sound of your laugh faded, and Taerae observed a shift in your manner. The look you gave him in that moment sent a shiver down his spine and for a moment he wondered whether or not you had been actually joking about murdering him or not. You looked so unsure and serious, Taerae had never seen you this way.
In your life, not many days had gone your way. You weren’t sure if there were going to be a lot in the future that would. But you really needed today to go your way. Needless to say, you were worried. Of course, there had been another reason you had brought Taerae here; It wasn’t simply because you wanted to show him one of your favourite places, it was a reason as well, but not the only one. But now that you had to put your plan into action, you worried. You had been scared of your body reacting this way just before this moment. Your throat had dried up and your hands were slightly shaking and your heart, oh dear, your heart was going as fast as ever. Maybe you should just cancel the original plan and just, come up with a plan B? Was this a good idea? Did you really need to do this now?
If anything, the troublesome journey here had only confirmed your plans for today. So yes, you really had to get it off your chest, you quite literally couldn’t keep it in anymore. From the moment you saw Taerae today, to you grabbing his hand and not letting go (as if that was on accident), from the highschoolers, and everyone else on the train, as well as in your co-workers and friends, seeing what was right in front of your eyes. You just really had to tell Taerae.
“Hey, actually, there’s another reason I brought you here,” you forced a reassuring smile onto your lips, as to not worry Taerae.
You were terribly failing at not worrying Taerae; As his mind raced through all his possible wrong doings so that he could predict what horrible thing you were going to say, he kept quiet and anxiously waited for you to continue.
“Well, I wanted to bring you here because, I mainly associate this place with incredibly happy memories and I just wanted that to be a good omen, I guess.” You were stalling. You knew that. Taerae probably knew that.
But Taerae also felt relief. It can’t be anything horrendous when you want this place to be a canvas for good memories right? No, right?
Taerae didn’t say anything. He watched your every move as you turned towards the dark that spread across the small body of water. He heard you let out a deep sigh.
This might go incredibly wrong. It might go amazingly right. Either way, you had to say it.
“Taerae,” you started finally turning to the boy, “There’s no going back after I say this, but just know that it’s okay if you don’t feel the same, I just need to tell you, okay?”
A small smile spread across his face. Oh my god. He knew where this was going. He definitely wanted it to go there. He nodded for you to continue. In the moments between his motion and you starting to speak he thought about how he had failed as a musician. He sang love songs as a passion, he had been singing them as a hobby for years, he studied music at university, he was pouring out his heart to anyone who would listen, confessing to you every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday afternoon through the one language he knew, the one language that felt safe to him. Yet, here you were, about to confess to the boy who had been singing to you for weeks-
“I like you. As more than a friend.” You offered him a nervous, crooked smile. The words leaving you lips much faster than you had anticipated.
“That’s such a relief.” He answered.
“Huh?” You looked almost scared, the blood draining from your face. Was this his way of rejecting you? No, he didn’t look apologetic at all, no pity in his eyes.
“That means all the love songs I’ve been performing have not been in vain.” He smiled taking a step towards you, brushing a stray strand of hair behind your ear, “I like you, Y/N. And I’ve been trying to hold it in, so you can’t even begin to imagine how happy I am that I can finally tell you.”
If it were possible for human eyes to form themselves into hearts, yours would have changed by now. Whatever this man triggered within you, made your heart overflow with feelings, “Thank god.” You answered, making both him and you laugh.
In your nerves and relief and happiness, you hadn’t realized how impossibly close he was by now, even closer than he had been on the subway. You could feel his breath on your face and the warmth of his hand on your cheek. One last smile spread across Taerae’s lips before he finally leaned in to connect your lips to his. You met him in the last millimetres, eager to finally kiss.
It wasn’t perfect by normal standards; The two of you laughed and smiled into each other. You were a little awkward with your limbs, and a little too out of breath to be still considered sexy. Still, it was perfect because it was just the two of you. It was perfect because it was Taerae. It was perfect because it was you. It was perfect because you liked him, and he liked you.
The night was calm and cool when you and Taerae first shared a kiss. The sun had set, and the stars were watching, as your friendship bloomed into love.
3. when you love someone
Summer had been long and lovely, and now Autumn was just around the corner; it was so close, you wouldn’t be surprised if all the leaves had changed colour once you got off this never-ending shift. Taerae’s eyes followed your body as it moved from table to table with full drinks and plates with pastries and then back to the counter with empty dishes and new orders. The memory of the quiet café on the day the two of you first met, was a picture unimaginable, as the small interior was now buzzing with customers. To think you had wished for more customers on that fateful afternoon, when now you hoped the swarm of people would just evaporate in front of your eyes. To describe this time of the year as hectic would be an understatement; Just before university started up again, the café turned into a spot for last goodbyes between parents and now young adults, as well as spot for catching up after the long summer months for friends, who had come to return to their studies.
Taerae had been waiting for quite some time, he was lucky enough to had spot a free table, right when he arrived to pick you up. He had also been lucky since he didn’t actually have to queue for his drink; Taerae, just like all the other significant others of the employees, got the boyfriend/girlfriend treatment; Their drink of choice waiting for them as soon as they entered. By now, you were sure he had finished his drink, even though you hadn’t finished work. You were supposed to get off half an hour ago, but with the floods of people coming through your doors, you couldn’t bring yourself to leave Chaehyun and Hanbin alone, feeling the responsibility as the longest and most experienced worker, as well as the burden of being a good friend heavy on your shoulders.
Not only that, but also your boss had spontaneously decided to go on vacation a week ago and had left you in charge. Although it had felt good to be entrusted with this responsibility, you had not anticipated the amount of work it would mean. You had worked almost every day, having to postpone meetups and get-togethers with not only friends and family, but with your boyfriend as well. The two of you had barely seen each other this week, and thus you wanted nothing more than to leave with Taerae and curl up on his couch just as you had planned, but apparently your customers had a different idea: Whenever you made your way over to his table, somebody asked for some special drink that only you knew how to make. Or the cash register decided to spontaneously combust. It was almost comical.
Every now and again yours and Taerae’s eyes met, and you mouthed an ‘I’m sorry’, to which he just shook his head, telling you it was okay.
In all frankness, Taerae didn’t mind waiting for you at the café.
He loved watching you. It was all the interaction he had with you for the longest time before he finally asked to busk in front of the café. He loved watching you so much that if he had to put down his three favourite things in the entire world, it would be making music, kissing you and watching you while you went on about your tasks.
There had always been something magical in the way Taerae perceived you; He had gotten to know you so well over the past three months you’ve dated, that he felt even if he was simply looking at you, he was experiencing something special, a unique feature to your relationship.
So, it was okay. He really didn’t mind waiting for you.
What he did mind though, was how stressed you seemed; How you always did everything for everyone, more than what they’d ask for, just in case they needed that little extra; How you clearly didn’t see when there was too much on your plate, and still space on someone else’s. Taerae knew that you tended to do everything by yourself, and didn’t want to worry anyone, but Taerae was worried about you. He wanted to be your resting place, to be helpful in some way.
So, when you had finally found a spare minute to come to his side, Taerae couldn’t wait to be of some comfort, to help make you feel a little better.
“Hi,” smiled softly at the man.
Instinctively Taerae’s hand snuck around your waist, pulling you closer for maximum body contact. You smiled as the familiar warmth spread inside your chest, making you instantly ease up a bit, feeling more at home on this busy day.
“Hello,” he greeted, smiling up at you.
You just smiled at each other for a moment, tanking up on some well needed calm and support, which only your boyfriend could offer. Soon enough however, your gaze was stolen away by a couple that had just joined the queue.
You sighed, “I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave before closing.”
“That’s okay. I’ll wait, I don’t mind. We can go to my apartment after.” Taerae hoped you would agree, but he knew it was unlikely.
Your eyes were fixed on the clouds outside darkening the sky, making it seem later than it was, “Hm… Maybe you should go now before it rains. I’ll come right after locking up.” You smiled at him, cocking your head to the side. A cute habit of yours, Taerae noted, but he could still see the tiredness in your eyes.
Pulling his eyes away from you towards the looming downpour, he was almost convinced. He hesitated because he just wanted to make sure you were okay and would get home as soon as possible as well.
“Okay. But make sure to hurry once you’re done, okay? And don’t get rained on.” Taerae said while slipping on his denim jacket.
You nodded confirming his words and promising to get home as soon as possible, “The rain will be done once I’m off, I promise.” You smiled.
“Okay, weather fairy, I’ll see you at home.”
He planted a kiss on your cheek and got ready to leave, the next occupant of the table already making his way towards the empty space.
*
It had in fact not stopped raining by the time you had cleaned the espresso machine and wiped down most of the tables. Hanbin and Chaehyun had left a few minutes ago, running towards the subway station, in the spare moments the rain had eased up a bit, leaving you to lock up alone. Now the rain was back to its full power, slamming onto the pavement, windows, cars, and soon you as well. You were afraid the small umbrella you found in the back of the locker room would not do much to keep you dry and warm on the short walk to Taerae’s apartment, but it had to be better than nothing.
The storm was just about to regain its entire might when you left the safety of your workplace. Turning the keys, you felt the cold wind hit your exhausted legs, sending shivers up your whole body, and sending more than a few leaves on their journey towards the ground prematurely. You cursed at yourself for thinking that late-summer-thunderstorms carried the warmth, that mid-summer-ones did. Struggling to keep the umbrella upright, you wrapped the bright blue zip-up sweater you had stolen from Taerae’s closet closer over your body. If there had been any more wind, you were sure would have been blown away.
In fact, you had been so busy trying to not take off, you barely noticed a figure hurrying in your direction.
An out of breath Taerae appeared in the far distance, his silhouette not only blurred by the rain, but also the impressive velocity of his figure running towards you. In Taerae’s hand you could make out another one of his hoodies and a definitely more sturdy-looking umbrella, more than big enough to fit the two of you.
His cheeks and nose were red, even more so due to the red fabric of the umbrella, but mainly because of the unexpected cool temperatures. Taerae hadn’t been home long when he had decided to come and get you once the café closed. A decision he now noted as more than smart, having witnessed you almost fly away like Mary Poppins.
He couldn’t help the smile as he pulled you towards himself, underneath the little shelter his umbrella offered “So, this is where my favourite sweatshirt has gone to.” He pointed towards the fabric currently keeping your body just a degree away from a shiver.
Unfortunately, you had been right about your umbrella being bad at its job, the sweatshirt now thoroughly soaked, “Sorry,” You smiled innocently, “But hey, at least it’s clean now.”
Taerae shook his head, granting you refuge and additional warmth underneath his arm as he wrapped it around your body, pulling you as close as he could, “You could have texted you know?” he whispered in your ear, barely audible over the rain continuously slamming onto the thin fabric above the two of you.
“I thought my equipment would suffice,” you confessed, although you knew your umbrella would have been unlikely to hold up to this kind of weather, “I’m sorry you had to come out to rescue me.”
“It’s what I’m here for, no? Serenating and rescuing.” Taerae smiled, his hair curling itself back to its natural state, “University student and professional busker by day, personal saviour and superhero of Y/N by night.”
You chuckled; he really was your hero.
*
Finally inside and in dry clothes, you let yourself fall onto Taerae’s couch. As soon as your body touched the soft fabric, the sleepiness started to set in. Between the bustle of work and the adventure of running through the rain with Taerae, your body had gone from low battery to out of it completely. The only thing missing right now was your boyfriend, who was making instant noodles and a cup of tea for the both of you, insisting that you had made enough beverages today to last a lifetime, and you couldn’t agree more.
The day had been so long, and just an hour ago you had wished for nothing more than for time to pass by more quickly, but now that you had actually had time to spend with Taerae, you willed the clock to slow down for a bit.
Now in the warmth of Taerae’s apartment, you didn’t mind the weather at all; The rain was still going, tapping onto the windows nonstop, and flooding the streets outside without doubt, but what did it matter to you now that you were able to rest with your favourite person in the entire world.
Speak of the devil; Taerae set down the bowl of instant noodles in front of, followed shortly by a glass of water and a cup tea.
“That looks so good, I could kiss you right now.” You smiled looking at food in front of you.
“Do it then.” Taerae turned his head towards you, expectantly waiting on the kiss you had promised.
You placed a quick peck onto the smiling boy and then started to slurp down your meal. It had been some time since Taerae had seen you so happy. It had been some time since Taerae had seen you, period. Not counting the café this afternoon, of course, but it really had been a while since the two of you had hung out alone like this. And Taerae would be lying if he said he hadn’t missed you. Just like you would be lying if you said you hadn’t been stressed out of your mind this past week. Just like you would be lying if you said you weren’t tired right now. Just like you would be lying if you said you hadn’t missed Taerae too.
“It was a really hard day today, huh?” Taerae’s voice was laced with worry, and it made you anxious. You didn’t want to worry him, there really wasn’t anything for him to worry about, he was helping as much as he could without worrying.
“It was okay,” you answered, a little too quiet for Taerae’s liking, “I’m just glad I won’t be in charge anymore next week.”
While Taerae believed that the majority of what you said was true, he wouldn’t have you downplaying your feelings like that. He sighed, “You don’t have to pretend with me, Y/N, you know? I’m here to help. I want to know when you’re stressed or feel bad or hurt.”
In the past few months that you and Taerae had been dating, it was made obvious on more than one occasion that your boyfriend’s love language was acts of service. Be it to drive you to your favourite bookstore, or to get you some medicine when you were sick. Taerae loved to just do things for you.
You smiled at your sweet boyfriend, your heart overflowing once again, “I know, it’s just… I can do this on my own. I don’t want to worry you.” You nodded to yourself, feeling a little exposed.
“I get that, but the thing is, you don’t have to,” Taerae took your hand in his, “That’s what it’s like when you love someone; I want to share the hurt and the burden and the stress. I want to do it for you, and I want you to do it for me,” his smile was faint, his eyebrows scrunched up slightly, “I’d rather worry with you, than worry for you.”
You weren’t sure what you had done to deserve someone like Taerae. Smiling you leaned into his side, resting your head into the crook of his neck, “Alright, I’m sorry.”
He kissed the top of your head as a response, triggering the warm and fuzzy feeling once again.
“Hey,” you whispered against his body, “I love you.”
Taerae hugged you tighter, engulfing you in all his warmth; the rain so loud against the window, the wind so strong, the building howled its tune, his words so soft they warmed you up from inside, “And I love you.”
4. so let’s love
Being in love was harder than you could have ever imagined. It was also simply more than what you could have ever thought it would be. It was more difficult, more intense, more complicated. But the more you felt it, the deeper, the stronger your feelings got for Taerae the more aware you got of your need for him.
Everything Taerae felt with you was new to him as well. In the past, Taerae had never had a problem figuring out how he felt, and he surely didn’t have any problems expressing his emotions. For Taerae, music had always been the easiest, most natural way to communicate. It was what brought him the most precious things in life: a purpose and you. But lately, it was difficult for him to encompass his love for you through actions or music. And he had a feeling he would struggle his entire life to put this into words.
*
The leaves had long turned brown, the weather had long switched from sunshine to frost, and Taerae had once more found his way home from a long day of classes, and an even longer week of not seeing you. Lately, he had felt something shift between the two of you, and he felt difficulty to raise the issue, to talk it out. He even felt difficulty to play it out, to sing it out, to just let his frustrations flow.
Of course, Taerae knew that couples fought. He knew it was normal for lovers to throw hurtful things at each other’s heads from time to time. He could list more than 10 songs that captured this exact feeling of defeat, when one hurts the person, they love the most. It was his hyperawareness of this fact, that made it all the more difficult to ignore the fact that you just did not fight.
It was not like the two of you would not have reason for conflict, but it always seemed like whenever the two of you were close to fighting, you shut down. Your passiveness got a hold of you, and you logged out of Taerae’s life until you were ready to forget about the reason you would have fought anyway. Whether or not you reflected and decided it wasn’t as big as a deal as it seemed at first, or if you just ignored the hurt, Taerae didn’t know.
What he did know however was, that this could not be healthy. Neither for you, nor for him. He refused to lose the love of his life over something such as the lack of fighting. All Taerae wanted was to love you. He wanted all that there is to a relationship, the love, the fights, the forgiving. He didn’t need perfect; he didn’t want perfect.
He was sure of his feelings for you, he had been for the longest time. Maybe he did love you more than you did him, but that didn’t even matter to Taerae. He was just worried, he’d lose you. He was so confident in his own love, he became insecure of yours.
So, on this day, on his way home from university, on his way to you, he thought about how maybe, he just wasn’t worth enough for you to fight with him. Maybe it wasn’t that you didn’t like to fight, maybe it was that he just wasn’t worth fighting with. And for the first time, these kinds of Taerae’s feelings made sense.
*
From the beginning of your relationship, you had been determined to give Taerae your whole heart. You wanted nothing more than to love the sweet boy to your heart’s full capacity. And the more you got to know him, the more your heart’s ability to do so grew. And with that your fear of losing him.
In your entire life, you had not really fought with anybody, ever. Of course, there had been disagreements and discussions, but most of the time you hadn’t deemed the topics worth fighting over. You had also had relationships before, none as serious as the one with Taerae, and they mostly ended amicably. Definitely nothing like any Olivia Rodrigo song. You intended to keep the number of break-ups you had had the same, although you knew realistically, the number of fights had to go up at some point, but thus far even disagreements with Taerae hadn’t proven annoying enough to fight over. All you wanted to do is love him.
You didn’t want to fight with him, or to worry him, or to hurt him. You just wanted to love Taerae.
So, on the day the temperatures had dropped as well as all the leaves, and Taerae used the spare keys you had given him to let himself into your apartment, to cook together, the last thing you had expected was to fight.
One look, out of the window and you saw the blanket of grey and white that threatened (or promised) to spill the first snow of the season. You had been waiting for Taerae to come home for some time now and had been working on some university assignments until the all too familiar jingle of keys announced his arrival. The first thing you heard right after the sound of the soft thump Taerae’s guitar case made when he set it down, was a sigh. And only then did you realize just how stressful the past month had been for the both of you. You and Taerae were both drowning in assignments and projects and that meant you spent the majority of your time in the library, as he did in the studio. It had been hard for you with work and university to find time to just be together, especially with a lot occupying both of your minds.
Communicating had never been your forte and you found it even harder to discuss your worries when the time you had together was so scarce. Taerae had been good at voicing his feelings and telling you when he was stressed but in the past days, he seemed a little closed off as well, so this sigh seemed to be a giveaway.
Still, worries aside a soft smile rested on your lips as he entered the kitchen, the table currently occupied by books and sheets of paper, your own little chaos ruling over the space.
“Looks intense,” Taerae chuckled as he made his way to you.
“It’s even worse than this looks in here,” you motioned with your finger to your head as you closed your laptop shut, standing up to hug your boyfriend hello.
Taerae kissed your cheek, taking in your scent. He noticed the hints of coffee scent in your hair, an indicator that you had worked the morning shift. He didn’t know you had worked today. You used to share your work schedule with him at the beginning of the week. Taerae knew you weren’t obligated to share your schedule with him, he wasn’t possessive like that, but just stopping to do so, irked him in some kind of way.
“You okay?” you asked as Taerae was staring off into space, and you grabbed a bottle of water.
“Yeah,” one look at you and he knew you didn’t believe a single word he just said, “it’s just the usual. Creative pressure and such.”
You cocked your head, the way you always did when processing things, thinking of what to say, “You sure that’s the only reason? You kind of seem a little off the past few days.”
He knew you didn’t mean it like an accusation. He knew that doing this, fighting, on grounds of you asking if there was anything else wrong was ridiculous. But Taerae also supposed it was as good a reason as any. Still, he didn’t mean the words to come out quite as harsh as they did.
“Yeah? You mean like how you don’t even tell me when you work these days anymore? Or what assignments you’re working on? Who you’re working on them with?”
One look and Taerae realized you were clearly taken aback by what he had said. Or how he had said it.
“I’m- I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had to approve my schedule. I don’t mean to keep it secret Taerae, but I’m not talking about schedules or shifts, or even university. Something’s clearly bothering you.” Your brows were scrunched up and arms crossed.
Taerae scoffed silently, “Why…” he tried to gather the words in his head, to make them seem a little less ridiculous than they were, “Why won’t you fight with me?”
“Huh?” now you were taken aback. “Why won’t I fight with you? Maybe because there’s nothing to fight about?”
“Oh, come on, Y/N. I know you get annoyed when I stay in the studio for too long and don’t text you when I know you’re waiting for dinner plans or something. And I - I get annoyed when you just brush things off, but you always apologize even if there’s nothing to apologize for. Sometimes– Sometimes I just want to be annoyed with you and you should be annoyed with me as well for being annoyed.”
You frowned, what he said was true, even if you weren’t sure he was making sense 100%. In any case, these things just seemed inconsequential. Whenever stuff like that occurred you had been more worried than annoyed, sad maybe, but definitely not mad.
“What do you mean? I just don’t think these things are worth fighting over.”
Taerae closed his eyes, in the way he did when he couldn’t get the right chord combination, in the way he did to coordinate his thoughts, in the way he did just before letting go of a frustrated breath.
“See? This is what I mean. I just- It just feels like that to you I’m not worth fighting with.”
Now there was hurt on your face. Taerae didn’t mean to twist your words but it just, that is what it sounded like to him. This is what it felt like to him.
“I- That’s not what I said at all, Taerae,” Your tone had also changed. It was more straight forward, more matter-of-factly. Yet your eyes seemed desperate to just clarify this situation, so, you searched in his for some sort of doubt of his last statement, “You know that that’s not true, right?”
“I don’t know! It seems like it if I’m being honest,” his voice was just below a shout. Although it definitely didn’t seem angry, it was just as desperate as the look in your eyes. He tried to understand you, the way you tried to understand him, “It feels like whatever I do, whether it’s good or bad it doesn’t matter.”
“What? Of course, it matters. Taerae, you matter, so much!” You tried to hold the eye contact, but your emotions seemed to overflow, making it impossible to think and talk, but you tried anyways, “I am sorry, and don’t get me wrong, this is not me not wanting to fight right now, I’m just trying to understand- to make you understand; Never has anything you did not affected me. Be it negative or positive. I know we’ve talked about it but- you know I’m still learning, right? I just- I don’t want my feelings to be a bother to you. I don’t want me to be a reason for you to not do something. I just- I simply want to be a support for you. I don’t want you to have to worry about me and my feelings too, because I just- I so confidently want you. I just want to love you, Taerae.”
He looked at you, and you looked at him as you continued.
“Never did I mean to hurt you by not fighting with you. If you want to fight then okay, let’s fight. Let’s scream at each other and hurt each other, but I just- I just want to be able to love you through it all.”
You didn’t realize you had started to cry. And Taerae hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to see you cry. So, all he did was pull you close and engulf you in a hug.
“Okay. I’m sorry, too.” He was afraid of letting you go, as the thoughts raced through his head, as he tried to turn back time. He cursed himself for not realizing how much it sucked to fight. How much it sucked to hurt the person you love the most. “Okay, let’s love, okay?”
So, when the first snow began to fall, as it covered the rooftops and bare trees like sugar did pancakes, and a peacefulness settled after the first fight, you and Taerae decided to love each other, but also fight with each other, and cry and laugh with each other, and hurt and forgive each other. The both of you just prayed that you wouldn’t lose each other.
5. i loved you
An unexpectedly cold spring night put you in an incredibly uncomfortable position.
One would think that at the end of April the temperatures would somewhat rise above 10 degrees, but to your disappointment, they had even dropped below zero. You didn’t know what had come over the city to still be as freezing as it was, but you couldn’t help but think it was your heart that had conjured up the unexpected mid-spring-ice-age.
The temperature wasn’t the only thing that made it difficult for you to get out of bed. It was also a simple lack of anything warm in your life. So, on the morning of this especially chilly spring day, you rummaged through your closet to find one of your warmest sweaters, to try and keep your body from going into hypothermia on your way to your opening shift at the café. Trying to distract you from the shivering even inside your apartment, you thought about the workday ahead, and what spices you would throw into your free morning coffee, when your hand grazed over what felt like your warmest, snuggest sweater. Satisfied with the choice, you grabbed onto the thick fabric and pulled it out, but not without a few other items falling out of your closet in the process.
Cursing at your own messiness, you at first didn’t notice that the sweater you had pulled out, was in fact, not one of your own. You had even been so distracted by the mess that was now on your bedroom floor, that you pulled the sweater over your still with sleepiness marked head, and diligently threw the stray items into the closet, shutting the door before they could fall out once again.
Only when you caught a glimpse of your own reflection, did you realize what you had just slipped onto your body. Comforted by the familiarity of the striped sweater, but startled by the memories it brought back. The scent of its owner still hung heavy in its fibre. You stopped to look at yourself in such a familiar, yet strange item of clothing.
If anyone had told you two months ago that it’d feel strange to wear Taerae’s hoodie in April you would have thought it would have been because of the warm weather, and not because Taerae had broken up with you just a couple of weeks before.
The fabric felt now heavy on your shoulders, and you sensed an all too familiar weight drop a little heavier onto your chest. You had done your best to go back to the life you had known before, but in the past two weeks you had been semi successful in achieving that: More than once had your co-workers caught you staring off into space, your gaze unintentionally fixed upon any busker in front of the café, your eyes even fixated on the spot when nobody was playing. With a gentle tap to your shoulder, Hanbin had brought you back to your task of making espresso shots, a routine that felt almost too easy to get distracted from.
You were well aware that you had had a life before Taerae. You just didn’t know you would have one after Taerae. In all honesty, you had hoped you wouldn’t have.
The most tragic part was, Taerae just hadn’t given you the closure one would need after getting broken up with by the love of their lives. He hadn’t really given you any explanation at all. Nothing more than a lot off bullshit, and a just-because. It was easy for most people in your life to go from loving to hating him, but even with the lack of sympathy for your situation, you found it difficult.
You had tried to hate him, you had tried to resent him even, but nothing had proven effective enough to erase your love for him. Taerae had been engraved into your bones. And now he expected you to just move on?
*
In hindsight, you should have seen it coming. At least that’s what you told yourself, that’s what you told your friends who were asking why the two of you broke up. Coming up with more than absurd reason of why you should have known, when in reality you simply couldn’t have. Because even in hindsight, you never could have seen it coming.
So, on the evening of, when Taerae had told you things weren’t working for him anymore, his face straight and not showing any emotion, not showing his signature smile, or even a tear; On the evening of, when you had begged Taerae to just tell you what you had to change, what it was you had done wrong and that you would fix them, if only he’d stay; On the evening of, when even after you had cried and shouted, he just took his guitar case and left; On the evening of the break up, you hadn’t gotten an answer. And neither had you in the two weeks since.
In fact, you had not seen Taerae at all. Or heard from him, not even through friends or social media. You wondered if he was okay, if he really was as unbothered as he had seemed, even though it was unnatural for him to act the way he did. You had always deemed Taerae a gentle person, but the way he ended things, was just so unlike him. So, he had to be not okay as well, right?
The lack of answers made you do something you had never had to do before, which was speculate and wonder. Taerae had always worn his heart on his sleeve and expressed himself so diligently most of the time, if not through words, surely, he would have done so through music. So, speculating about how he must feel now, was something you had never had to do. But now you caught yourself wondering all the time. You wondered how many things he thought about before the thought of you popped into his head. You speculated what the songs he was composing these days sounded like. Were they about you?
Either way, there was no hiding from him. Not for you, not just yet.
His presence, the imprint he had left on you followed you everywhere you went. The grocery store, the library, the café. Everywhere the memories of Taerae loomed over you. You wanted to forget him, so much to the point you had seriously considered hypnosis, if that was thing. It was like you could not, not consider him. He was so engraved in your brain; he was so engraved in your everything. You weren’t sure how to erase him from your everything, you weren’t sur how to erase him from anything. You weren’t sure you actually wanted to.
Still, the hurt you had felt the first few days was overwhelming, you couldn’t eat or sleep or do anything much other than run on autopilot. It had become so bad, that some of the regular customers noticed. It was almost like all life had been sucked out of you, and in a sense it had been; A possible future life had been taken from you. A future you had hoped for ever since you had met Taerae. A future you now grieved.
So, now looking at yourself in the mirror, the striped sweater hanging from your body, keeping it warm, felt like a glimpse of what if. A glimpse of Taerae. A glimpse of the person you had been when you were with him. A person you could have been, but never would.
For a second you wondered again, Taerae well established in your mind. But in the end, it didn’t matter. There was no use wondering and retracing everything you did during the last few days of your relationship. There was no use, because you did everything you said you would: You had loved Taerae, you loved him still, with your heart’s full capacity. Over the months you had fought and made up and hurt each other and forgiven the hurt. But now none of it mattered, so you might as well try and forget, instead of dwell and grieve.
So, with a swift motion you stripped the sweater off your body, exposing yourself once more to cold of the spring morning that had even seeped through the walls of your apartment. The frost making itself known in the form of icy crystals on your window. You didn’t look for another sweater, you wanted to feel the cold.
You weren’t sure what you had done wrong. But still, you knew more than you didn’t. You knew there was nothing you could do. You knew you would hurt for some time still. You knew you would see Taerae in buskers, guitars, and iced tea. You knew you would hear him in Hi-Hellos and the jingle of keys. You knew you loved him, and you knew it’d be a long time before you stopped.
So, for now you’d try to forget.
6. you were beautiful
There was a hum in the air, a melody that made its way through the busy streets of the city. The warm weather had finally decided to stay, and it stuck to the cement like chewing gum, barely cooling down overnight.
Taerae had kept himself busy over the past month, not really wanting to slow down, but with graduation coming up, also not really being able to do so. For him there had barely been any time to just stroll around, or go to cafes with his friends, or to simply just think; These days Taerae still didn’t really knew how to function normally, how to function like he did before you. Of course, he still had to perform, write, and produce music for university, but he rarely went out to busk or did these things for joy like he used to. It was something outsiders could have never noticed; How Taerae did everything but nothing at the same time. Only the people close to him, could tell something was up. They knew of the break-up of course, but they could only guess why exactly it happened in the first place.
In any case, it was evident that Taerae had closed himself off. He didn’t really talk to any of his friends about it, and neither did his songs show any reflection of what he felt. They hadn’t become bad, they were just cliché. Some of his professors even pointed out the shift in his lyrical style. But there was nothing Taerae could do; he was both too busy and exhausted to deal with his feelings.
Walking around in the area by his apartment was one of the only times Taerae consciously searched for some down time, to sort out at least some of his thoughts. Of course, he was cautious not to stray too close to your workplace, more for his own sake than yours. As of now, Taerae wasn’t sure how his heart would react if he was to come face to face with you unexpectedly. Ever since he had decided to break it off with you, he had barely fathomed to hold a single thought about you. He simply couldn’t conjure up enough courage to deal with his own heart break. So, up until now, pushing everything away would have had to do the trick.
He wasn’t sure what exactly had ticked off his thought process to recall the day of the professor-student conversation. Maybe it was the undeniable sense of Deja-vu he felt when he spotted a young busker, surrounded by only a small group of people, who were all listening carefully to the boy’s song. Maybe it was the girl listening, who from the back looked exactly like the one he loved. It could have been either of these two or another altogether, but in any case, Taerae knew, that maybe it was time to face this inevitable heart ache, even if just for the duration of this walk.
*
At the beginning of each semester, music and music production majors are required to sit down with one of their supervising professors, to discuss projects for the upcoming term. Most of these conversations were easy going, and the projects subject to change, but the conversation at the start of the second semester senior year was one equally feared and anticipated.
The senior project for music and music production majors was basically the making of an entire album, with full creative freedom. Taerae had been more than excited to get started on it, in fact, he had been so eager that the songs for his album were ready for recording as soon as his supervising professor approved of them.
So, yes, Taerae was a tad bit nervous entering the professor’s office. But he was generally well-liked and so were his songs, so he was sure this meeting would go over smoothly, and he would have to do nothing more than to put in a reservation to one of the student recording studios and was good to go.
And that was the case, partly.
Everything was going well; the professor praised his compositions and skills as a lyricist. The way he had described Taerae as someone to get across any type of feeling, made Taerae’s chest swell with pride. It wasn’t until the last few minutes of the meeting, when Taerae was supposed to thank the professor in front of him and get straight to work, that everything was pushed out of his rightful trajectory.
Taerae was about to get up out of the chair he had been sitting in somewhat tensely, when the professor said something, that in hindsight, put as many things into perspective as it pushed out of it. At least for Taerae.
“This girl must be quite the experience for you as a song writer.”
“Excuse me?” Taerae had said then, distraught, and genuinely confused.
The professor had then proceeded to explain how certain people, certain experiences, determined the colours of the artists in any art form. And that you, were certainly one of these experiences that would influence Taerae a great deal, even once the next experience would come into his life.
Looking back now, Taerae wasn’t sure why he had taken what his professor said so to heart. He definitely didn’t think of you as an experience. He didn’t think of you as something temporary at all. He didn’t think that there was any more evolving for him to be done, Taerae would have been good writing songs about you for the rest of his life.
But was this how the world perceived you? As an experience? Did he, through his songs somehow reduce you to something less than what you were, something temporary, something to live through and then move on?
From this point on Taerae couldn’t help but spiral in his self-doubt. Doubt for his love for you, and doubt for his skill of song writing. Thinking back on statements his friends had made, like how they would also write songs as good as Taerae’s if they had a Y/N in their lives, only confirmed his insecurities in his own love for you. Taerae somehow had gotten way into his head about it.
In Taerae’s mind it wasn’t fair to you. It wasn’t fair to make you an experience in his life. It wasn’t fair, when all you did was give, when you read his every thought and tried so hard to be better and learned with the mistakes you made, learned to love Taerae even more.
Taerae remembered that you had said you wanted nothing more than to love Taerae for the rest of your life, that he was your person. And all Taerae had done was make you an experience.
*
Lost in thought, a sigh heavy on his lips, Taerae hadn’t noticed the young woman listening to the busker turn around. She hadn’t yet looked at him, instead she was gushing about the music to the friend who had just joined her. Had the other joined the young woman any earlier, Taerae would have known in an instant that it was in fact you: the pink hair of your best friend and co-worker a dead giveaway. The two of you a duo Taerae found difficulty in separating, even during the days of you dating.
Chaehyun was whispering something in your ear, which made you laugh a little louder than you had anticipated, a hand coming to cover your mouth as you snickered in slight embarrassment. More than once had Taerae witnessed an interaction similar to this one, and looking at you now, made his heart ache with longing.
But he understood that that was something he wouldn’t be able to see again. He knew that he couldn’t really love you the way you deserved to be loved, so he wouldn’t try.
In the past, Taerae had always felt he was good at expressing himself. You had always promised him to get better at things, to learn the love Taerae needed. Without missing a day, you had told him you loved him. Sometimes first thing in the morning, sometimes it was the last thing he heard when he fell asleep. You had always thought of Taerae first, he had been the most important thing in your life, and Taerae had been well aware of this fact, you had told him more than once. Yet you still didn’t put pressure on the young man, you waited patiently on him in every sense. Maybe Taerae hadn’t been so good at expressing his feelings, maybe you had been the one very aware of your own feelings along.
Watching you from afar, he wondered if you thought of him as much as he did of you. He wondered if everything the two of you had been, was something of the past to you, or if everything, if he, was still present in your life, if he still was something you had to consider, even if it was just to avoid him successfully.
*
The warm wind grazed over you, as it did Taerae, sending your hair flying in its direction. Your head turned towards the young man standing more than a few metres away from you, gaze fixed upon you. It took you some time to remember to not stretch out your arm and wave at him in greeting. It took you even longer to remember not to make your way towards the boy to greet him with a soft kiss on the cheek.
It also took some time for Taerae to not expect any of this from happening; looking at you now, you were a stranger he still loved.
But looking at him now, you realized he was a stranger you once loved. And thus, a small smile made its way onto your face as you turned away, interlocking your arms with your friend, and walking off into the direction of your workplace.
*
To Taerae it had always been interesting how people forgot, once it was over, once it was done. But Taerae would never forget what it was like to love you. He would never forget what it was like to be loved by you. How it was beautiful, how you were beautiful. Taerae would aways remember, he could simply never forget. Maybe someday, he would be fortunate enough to remind you again.
yay!! you made it to the end!! i hope that you were able to enjoy it despite the somewhat sad ending!! thank you again for reading and i’d love to hear your thoughts on it!! love youuuu
this piece was written by @yourstruleejn so please don’t post on any other platforms or translate into any other languages! thank u !!!
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requested by anonymous
lee jeonghyeon - cube nerd
synopsis: your boyfriend genius lee shows you how to master the arts of the rubiks cube 📌📚
word count: 500 roughly
warnings: nothing really, just fluff 😴
Cube nerd
waking up next to an empty space on your bed, you noticed that jeonghyeon was no where to be seen.
you automatically dialled his number and he answered in a whisper.
“hyeonie, where are you ? when did you leave ?”
as you spoke in a croaky voice, jeonghyeon giggles softly and whispers to you.
“i’m at a café studying. meet me at our usual spot, cutie”
jeonghyeon hangs up and you feel your heart churning as his voice makes you weak. getting excited, you quickly get ready and wear something presentable-yet comfortable, not forgetting to bring your laptop and notebooks.
you head over to the café that was minutes from you and jeonghyeon’s shared apartment. since it was exam season, studying at the café was the new ordeal.
opening the door, the sweet aroma of coffee made you feel at ease.
“psst here! come here!” jeonghyeon squeals quietly.
you walk towards him and he motions you to sit next to him, placing your books and heavy ass bag on the floor.
as you began to open your books, the loud sound of plastic clanging distracted you.
‘not again’, you thought to yourself.
jeonghyeon was an absolute sweetheart, but the only downside was he brought his cube to your study dates every single time! instead of studying, jeonghyeon would be quietly solving his cubes, making the loudest noise ever when he solved it before the timer went off.
“YESSSSSS!” jeonghyeon threw the solved cube in the air and showed that he only spent 13 seconds trying to solve it.
“i’ll teach you how to solve this cube, follow my steps”
jeonghyeon grabbed you and placed the cube in between your hands.
“twist the right part to the left- you’re doing it wrong 😑 “
“ugh!”
“don’t give up yet, cranky.” he kissed you lightly on the forehead, rubbing his hands on your thigh.
you had given up, but then jeonghyeons warm hands were placed on top of yours. he guided you and you finally completed the cube.
“YAYYYYYY!” you screamed internally, but it accidentally came out of your mouth.
oops…..
jeonghyeon bursted out laughing, mocking you in a soft manner.
he cupped your face with his big hands, hovering his mouth over yours. jeonghyeon gave you a kiss with his soft lips, sending you over the moon.
“well done, princess. i’m proud of you” 💓
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weekly update
New year, new update! With another fruitful year for 4t2 enthusiasts now gone, we hope 2024 will be even better and brings even more fun new items for our dear game (which turns 20 this September!) 💚 We wish all the best to all of our wonderful cc creators and players - as always, onwards and upwards! ✨
— Base Game
Café Immodéré and Joe Jockey conversions by @jacky93sims have been added.
— Expansion Packs
High School Years
A Facetnating Shade, Beat Seat Pro, Canopy of Light - Short, Dashing Deco Desk, Gently Used Textbooks, Hobby Holders, Lux Corner Cubby, Luxury Dining on the Go, Makin' Make-Up Magic, New Aged Cubed Wall Display, and more conversions by Ladysimplayer8 have been added.
— Stuff Packs
Romantic Garden
Artisanal Lattice, Climbing Rose Lattice, Dining Alfresco, Don't Look at Me Monkey Bars, Fountain of Gluteus Maximus, Perennials for Millennials, The Folly of Lady Chloris, The Wellspring of Felis Leo, Triumphal Arch of Gluteus Maximus, Whispering Wishing Well, and Windowed Climbing Rose Lattice conversions by Ladysimplayer8 have been added.
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#400 春限定「さくらデザートセット」
細見美術館 開館 25 周年を記念し、CAFÉ CUBE では作品とコラボした季節限定のスイーツメニューをご用意しております。
春限定の「さくらデザートセット」は酒井抱一《桜に小禽図》をイメージした華やかなデザ ートプレート。桜フレーバーのアイスクリームに瑠璃色の小鳥をイメージしたジュレがア クセントになった、爽やかな味わいをお愉しみください。
切り取ってしおりとしてもご利用いただける、オリジナルポストカード付きです！
夏は神坂雪佳《金魚玉図》をモチーフにしたフロートドリンクが登場予定です。お楽しみ に!
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baby blurb: i want to forget | tom holland
pairing/AU: university AU - modern prince!tom holland x female!reader
summary: tom sooths your nerves before a presentation.
warnings: swearing
word count: 949
a/n: this is a little baby blurb pre-epilogue. it takes place between chapter two and three. i’m posting the last blurb post-epilogue soon, but it think this little blurb will be nice as a little palate cleanser before the end! i hope this is okay?
series masterlist
“Maybe you shouldn’t finish the rest of your coffee” Tom chuckled, leaning forward to grab the plastic cup in front of you. The ice cubes rustled in his hand as he moved away from you.
The campus café was quiet. It was early afternoon, and most of the usual clientele were in class. Tucked away at the table in the corner, side by side on the bench, sat you and Tom. In front of you, you had your laptop opened to this week’s presentation. You’d finished it a couple of days ago, you just hadn’t practised yet.
Your mouth fell open in mock shock, “What do you mean?”. You leaned towards him; on a mission to save your coffee from its handsome kidnapper.
Your hand landed on his bicep, keeping yourself steady while the other chased after him. Tom’s face scrunched up in a giggly smile at your rescue attempt. A smile that grew into a grin as he raised his hand, holding your cup even higher in the air.
“Nah-ah, darling” he laughed, “You’ve had enough”.
Your body fell. Face pulled up in a disappointing pout, “You’re mean!”.
He laughed again, “You’re all jittery– you’ve had, what? Three iced coffees today?” he asked.
You narrowed your eyes at him, “Only two…” you mumbled, “And I’m not jittery– I’m just nervous”.
“About the presentation?” he put your coffee down on the table, on his side of the table, furthest away from you.
“Yeah,” you sighed, “last time I swear to god I thought I was gonna be sick AND poop my pants at the same time up there!”.
“What are you talking about? You did so well last time! I couldn’t tell you were nervous at all” he said softly.
Inside, you felt yourself turn to mush. It tended to happen more often lately. He’d look at you a certain way, his brown eyes exposing only his kindness, and you’d forget what you were saying. Or he’d touch you, in a friendly way of course, and you’d feel the warmth of him spreading like a lovesick disease through your body. You felt yourself lingering a little longer with each hug he greeted you with, wanting to savour it. The goodbyes tasting more and more bitter on your tongue.
But all of this – your feelings – you pushed down.
He’s a fucking prince. He’s royalty. You needed to kill the saccharine feelings you had for him. You can’t fall in love with him. But god is it hard to resist, when Tom does nothing but say all the right things, at the right time.
You shook your head, “I felt like my voice was shaking the whole time– like the words were stuck in my throat”.
“What nooo, darling!” his hand landed on your shoulder in comfort, his thumb rubbing soothing circles over the knit of your sweater.
“There’s just so many people watching you up there, you know? And so much to remember… And you’re just so good at it too– I feel like I’m dragging us down” you confessed.
His eyebrows met in the middle in a furrow. “Darling!” his grip tightened around your shoulder, “What are you talking about? You’re not dragging us down at all!”.
“I just…” you trailed off, eyes falling to your hands in your lap.
“What?” he said it so softly it was almost a whisper.
“You’re a natural at public speaking. I’m actually in awe at you– you make it seem so easy. And I just wish I could be as calm and confident as you”.
His grip tightened around your shoulder, forcing you to look at him – to meet his eyes. Brown kind eyes. Big and moony. In your tummy the knotted cord of nerves, untied into a swarm of butterflies. They fluttered chaotically, conspiring for a prisonbreak.
“You won’t be this nervous before every presentation, darling! Every time it will get a little bit easier. I’m not a natural at all– I’ve just had a lot of practice. Each presentation we’ll have is just practice” he shrugged, “I’m sure that soon you’ll wonder what you were even nervous about in the first place” he smiled, a smile that went straight to your heart where it burned a little brighter.
“You sure?” you said sceptically.
His hand on your shoulder moved a little further up your body. His warm touch grazing over the naked skin of your neck. Instinctively, you held your breath. Your heart boomed in your chest, and in your ears – so loudly you were afraid he could hear it.
“I’m sure” he uttered, voice low. His eyes dropped to his hand. Lips pressed tightly into a line. He circled his pinky against your skin, making goosebumps travel up your spine.
You couldn’t take your eyes off his face. His wild eyebrow. The curve of his nose. The angle of his jawbone. The air between you felt heavy. His eyes flickered from his hand to your eyes, and it was like the time stopped.
You could kiss him.
You realised you wanted to.
With a blink, the moment was gone. Something flashed before his eyes. Guilt? Regret? Shame? The earth started turning again, and he retracted his hand. Sheepishly, he turned away from you, wrapping his other hand around his wrist. Like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. He cleared his throat. Chasing the moment away.
“I mean,” he started, fingers turning around his wrist, “Soon you’ll be so good at speaking in front of a crowd that you’ll be the professor”.
You tried to breathe out a chuckle, but it came out like a nervous huff instead, “Let us not get carried away”.
In more ways than one.
previous: two | next: three
tags (tagging the i want to forget taglist and a few other people that have shown interest after it was finished): @justapurrcat, @lnmp89, @petrspideyparker, @hollandweather, @userholland, @imawhoreforu, @onepieceya, @sparklingsin, @annathesillyfriend, @mayal0pez, @transparentpsychicempathkid, @fic-rewind, @spideysmb, @the-unknown-fan-girl, @mannien, @moonlightdotmp3, @padlockedhearts, @moniffazictress11, @all4koo, @angelayse, @svechnibrock, @melodichaeuxx-lacritquexx, @xxtomspideyxx, @i83andrew, @clockblobber, @fangirlinggalore, @luciwritesstuff, @spideysimpossiblegirl, @lol-just-kidding002, @allywthsr, @captainsbestgal, @readheadwriter, @parkersdahlia, @cosmicryuz, @tomxxxhollandxxx, @the-not-so-silent-back-up, @rebloggingtheficsilove, @peterdarlingg, @obsessedprincess, @alltoowelltom, @hey-im-bored504, @storybookholland, @sadisticsongbird, @prettyjendeukie, @marsbars09, @mixedfandxms
#tom holland#tom holland x reader#tom holland x you#tom holland x y/n#tom holland fanfiction#tom holland fanfic#tom holland blurb#prince!tom holland#royal au#uni au#college au#tom holland fic#tom holland fluff#tom holland angst#tom holland smut#peter parker#peter parker x reader#peter parker fanfiction
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GN!Kylar x GN!Reader - Welcome to Cafe Cuties!
1.7k words. You are in the world of Cafe Cuties (LoL) where you work as a waitress. Kylar is a regular. Fluff.
Although the Reader wears a dress, the writing is pretty gender neutral. Recommended songs can be found at the bottom. I reccomend listening to one of them while reading the chapter!
A comfortable job. That’s how you would describe your job at Café Cuties.
The customers were nice and respectful, coming to the place to enjoy various magic tricks, all the while enjoying something sweet and tasty to eat.
Cream and yellow walls decorated the interior, with delicate marble flooring. Comfortable chairs, cheerful, vibrant flowers. A big, glass ceiling that let light shine through, seeping into the local establishment. Popular among both young and old – and anywhere in-between – it’s no wonder that the eatery was staffed full most of the time.
You shifted in your green maid dress, a white, frilly apron was draped over your form. With an emerald ribbon hairclip to match your outfit, you strutted to your customer, taking in their order. A cheerful smile – as always – was on your face as you wrote down whatever your customer wanted.
Shortly after, you turned on your kitten heels, walking in the direction of your own small helper. Teacub, was their name. A small, magic-filled bear, which gladly helped you serve your customers.
“A strawberry shortcake and our special matcha tea latte, Teacub. Care to bring the cake?” you gestured with your hands, smile stretching wider as you saw your cute little helper move about, before nimbly moving on their feet, small sparkles following after their form.
You wasted no time, placing a porcelain pitcher on your tray, along with some matcha powder, ice cubes and milk. As you finished getting your tray ready and started to walk in the direction of your client, Teacub wobbled behind you, a small plate with the strawberry shortcake above their head, levitating above them with the help of your magic.
Your heels clicked against the marble floor as you neared a familiar mop of black hair. Their back was turned towards you. They seemed to be busy with a phone game. You leaned towards them, your vanilla perfume hitting their senses as you placed the tray before them, giving them your signature smile. Kylar’s chest felt like it might burst open any second now. They could almost feel the warmth radiating off of your body.
With a snap of your wrist, the water from the pitcher escaped and the matcha powder swiftly fell into the bone china cup. The water twirled around your arm, steam escaping the hot liquid as you continued on with your performance. The water descended gradually into the cup, familiar glittering sparkles following after the liquid. You placed your free hand behind your back. As you finished pouring in the water, you used the same hand to whisk the tea with your magic.
Finally, you used the hand behind your back to move the honey into the cup, making small gestures with your pointing finger, conducting the direction of where the honey went. Adding the usual amount, you whished the tea again, before quickly adding the ice cubes and as a finishing touch, frothed milk. You made sure to make a drawing of a cute teddy bear. Teacub gently placed the cake at Kylar’s side.
“Your order is ready, Master! I hope you’ll have a pleasurable experience. If you need anything, just ring the bell, and I’ll come right away, Master!”
Kylar’s cheeks flushed red as you finished your speech. You bowed your head and turned around, getting ready to tend to your other customers, Teacub following after you.
The time passed, but Kylar stayed fast in their place, even when the cake has been eaten and the matcha tea latte has been drank until the cup remained empty. You obviously noticed. It was hard not to. After all, they looked at you often, a dazed expression on their face, a small blush coloring their cheeks as they played with their hands idly. Each time you met their gaze, they would look away to the side, an inaudible gasp leaving them as they pretended to do something else in embarrassment.
Cute. That’s all you could say.
You were no amateur when it came to love. You had to be blind to not notice the crush they had on you.
Luckily, it gave you more chances to tease them, often playfully being closer to them than you should. Sending them more smiles than you could count, maybe even adding an extra pastry from time to time. Especially with strawberries, since they seemed to be their favorite.
It kept you wondering about how long you had to wait before they would make their move. With how they were still today, you could take a guess that you didn’t have to wait much longer.
They always stuttered whenever you said something to them, but today, all they did was nod their head. Face more red than usual, easier to embarrass as you came up to ask if you could clean up after them, since the closing time was nearing.
As you were about to grab the cup and place it on your tray, Kylar’s grabbed your wrist, using an amount of strength you didn’t expect from someone so petite and delicate looking. You tilted your head, hair swaying to the side along with the ribbon you wore, casting them a curious glance.
“Yes, Master?” you asked, sending them the softest and most encouraging smile you could muster, patiently waiting for them to say anything as lots of “Um...”s and “Uh...” s were almost coughed out with how nervous they were.
“D-Do you want to go out, s-some time?”
There it was. A simple question. Luckily, you didn’t have to think long about your answer. Otherwise, you were sure Kylar would burst into tears if you took too long, with how stressful they were. You swore you could see a small bead of sweat forming on top of their left temple. Their eyes moved almost frantically from left to right, anywhere but your eyes.
“Of course! Would you like to walk me home after work, Master?”
Kylar’s heart fluttered and they let go of your wrist, nodding their head eagerly, ruffling up their hair as a result.
Feeling particularly bold, you brought your hand to their hair, gently patting them in place and smoothing them out. They leaned into your touch instantly, no hesitation on their part. Their earlier tensed posture has relaxed again. Cute. Adorable.
You continued for a few more seconds, before bringing your hand back to your side, a content smile on your face. A small giggle left your lips and the corners of your eyes wrinkled slightly as a result. You were like an angel. A pure-hearted, kind and gracious angel in the eyes of Kylar.
“I’ll be back in 20 minutes. Is that okay, Master? Then we can walk home, Master.”
As soon as Kylar nodded again, this time more calmly, you finished up your work enthusiastically, eager to finish at least 5 minutes early so you could spend more time with Kylar. It didn’t take much longer until you changed into your usual clothes and exited the café, where Kylar was already waiting for you in front of the entrance.
You brought their smaller hand into yours, giving it a squeeze and startling them, a squeak audible in the air. They looked you directly into your eyes, before calming down at the realization that it was just you, a blush appearing on their cheeks again.
How sweet.
“Ready?”
You didn’t wait for an answer, instead you walked ahead, Kylar trailing behind you slowly, taking in your appearance under the moonlight that shone on both of you. You looked to pretty. So beautiful. Ethereal. The wind picked up and they could smell your perfume again. It didn’t take long before they completely melted, head empty, being in heaven just from being around you.
Although there wasn’t much conversation, you didn’t mind much. It was a comfortable silence. Their hand was warm, with an occasional twitch here and there. You guessed they were still nervous. You slowed down your steps so they would have an easier time walking with you. Soon, both of your steps were synced together.
“Thanks for walking me home. I hope to see you tomorrow, Ky~” the teasing tone of your voice made it obvious you weren’t done yet. It made them nervous. They didn’t know what you have planned, but they were quite keen on knowing what it was.
You pressed a soft kiss on their cheek, sending them straight to heaven. They looked at you with wide eyes, surprised and happy, before bringing you into a tight hug. Another giggle left your lips as you pet them on their head again, gushing at how cute and bashful they were being, which only made them hide in the crook of your neck even more.
Their locks tickled at your neck, making your giggles turn into laughter. You tried your best to push them away gently, wanting the tickling to stop. But between laughter and gasps, it was hard to do. They continued to press themselves harder into you, not finally realizing that they were tickling you with their hair by mistake. Still, they didn’t let go.
Instead, they nuzzled into you as aggressively as possible, which only brought out more of the sweet melody they wanted to hear. They will make sure to remember that sound forever.
When you were really out of breath, they finally stopped and pulled back, a shy grin on their lips as they looked at you with such lovestruck eyes it made you melt on the spot, instantly making you gush again at how cute they were being. Compliments left your mouth automatically, which only made them more bashful, still having that lovestruck expression on their face.
“I’ll see you tomorrow!” with a last kiss on the cheek, you opened the door and went inside, getting ready to unwind after a day of work.
Meanwhile, Kylar was holding their cheek, far away in their imagination, not registering yet that you already went inside. They could already see a future with you, visions of a wedding already forming before their eyes. Motivated, they decided that they’ll make you the happiest spouse in the whole world, at any cost possible.
.
.
.
#dol kylar#dol#dol x reader#kylar dol#kylar the loner#kylar x reader#dol kylar x reader#loving's writing#kylar degrees of lewdity#degrees of lewdity kylar#kylar#Spotify
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iced matcha latte - sjh
part 2 of the coffee mini-series // prompt 70 of the 100 kisses list, an accidental kiss that confuses you both, but only a moment passes before you crash your lips back against each other’s
pairing. coworker!junghwan x fem!reader
synopsis. Neither you nor Junghwan have said anything since he confessed to liking you at the end of January. You like the way things are slowly progressing, and anyways, you both know that the other likes you - or at least, that's what you think. Even though he's staying quiet about it, Junghwan might not be as reassured in your feelings for him as you think.
genre. spring au, coffee shop au, just lots of fluff, they go on a date and are in love basically, also noona!reader
word count. 4.5k
a/n. hello lovelies sorry i took a thousand years to upload this second part but hope you guys like it <33 @zreamy cried beta reading so hopefully that means it's good 😣 as always lmk ur thoughts!! will try not to take three months to write the next parts next time lol
spring.
Flowers in bloom. A slight rise in temperatures. That weird in-between season where winter fruit isn’t good anymore but summer fruit isn’t quite ripe yet. Going to school or work when the sun’s already up, and heading back home before it’s gone down. The first rays of bright, warm sun making everyone shed their winter coats and wear lighter jackets instead. Turning down the heating a few notches. Maybe even having a picnic outside.
Where you lived, these were all signs that spring had arrived. They were all punctuated by a general sense of relief that the harsh coldness of winter was over and of anticipation for the even warmer days of summer. But for you and everyone else that worked at the café, as well as your regulars, spring made itself known through yet another sign.
“Six separate people have ordered iced matcha lattes. Six. We opened two hours ago.”
This was how your manager had greeted you as you came in for your shift, a look of worn-out exasperation on his face that you chuckled at. Yeonjun had turned his dislike of iced drinks not only into a personality trait of his but into a feature of the café as well - from early October to late March, no iced drink may be sold in his shop. Every spring, he acted like pouring hot drinks over ice cubes was costing him his life, even though those drinks made up most of the profit of the café during the spring and summer months. People particularly loved your iced matcha lattes.
“It’s a nice drink, Yeonjun. Refreshing,” you shrug, heading to the back to drop your stuff there and put your apron on.
Yeonjun’s still sulking when you come back out. “Milk shouldn’t be consumed with ice,” he almost hisses. You’re thankful for the customer that comes in then and unknowingly puts a stop to this conversation that you’ve had a thousand times before.
You give them an apologetic smile when Yeonjun lets out an audible groan upon hearing their order - an iced matcha latte.
What can he do? It’s spring, after all.
“Y/N, it’s been two months since the guy told you he likes you. How much longer are you gonna make him wait?”
If your manager complains about iced drinks every chance he gets, this is how Jayoon decides to fill the silence as soon as there are no customers during the shifts you share.
“Have you been counting the days, or something?” you say, trying to get her off the subject. You have to fight back a smile, though - the simple mention of Junghwan makes your heart skip a beat.
She’s right, though. It has been two months since Junghwan’s quick confession as he got on the bus, and neither of you have really mentioned it since. But the air between the two of you has changed - if before, you forced yourself to think of him as a friend because you didn’t think he saw you as anything other than that, now, you let all the eye contact and every discreet touch linger and let yourself bask in them.
With the way you react to every little thing he does, you don’t think there’s any way Junghwan doesn’t know you like him back. You’re not even doing it on purpose, you just can’t help but laugh at all of his jokes, funny or not, ruffle his hair (which is very, very soft) when he does something cute (which is often), or keep casting glances his way when you work a shift together.
You like that he’s not pressuring you to give him an answer. Of course, you want to date him, and you have no intention of leading him on, but you just want to cherish those heart-fluttering, innocent moments before things get more serious. You like how it all feels new, how his good morning and good night texts still surprise you twice a day and how your heart still skips a beat when he beams at you. Although, you have a feeling that even if you do get used to it, you won’t get bored of it.
Jayoon rolls her eyes impatiently at you. “Whether I have or not is not the issue here,” she says in a way that makes you think she has. “I have to admit I just don’t really get it. You know he likes you. You like him. He probably knows you like him. Why don’t you guys just date already?”
The volume of her voice increases as she speaks, garnering amused looks from customers in the café, and her frustration at someone else’s love life gets a chuckle out of you too. “You know that two of our regulars have straight up asked me if you guys were together? That means that plenty other people have thought the same, just didn’t ask.”
This fact makes your cheeks heat up. Were you and Junghwan really being that obvious? You couldn’t tell Jayoon that you’d also been asked about Junghwan by regulars that had noticed your recent chumminess - she’d only use it as another argument against you.
“I like the way things are right now, Yoon. It’s nice. We text everyday and hang out or study together when we’re not on the same shift. We’re just… progressing from colleagues to friends, if you will. That takes time,” you explain with a sigh. A customer comes in, and because they’re paying more attention to their phone than to you, Jayoon continues grilling you as you prepare their oat latte.
“But you like each other!” she whisper-yells. “Why can’t you progress from colleagues directly into boyfriend and girlfriend? You already act like it anyway. The guy walks you home, texts you cute shit, and I saw those heart-shaped cookies you gave him for his birthday. How come I never got heart-shaped cookies? Or any shape cookies, for that matter?”
You ignore your friend for a short moment as the customer pays for their drink. When they’ve walked away, you turn to her with another sigh and feign a concerned expression. “Is that what this is about, Yoon? Do you want me to make you cookies?”
“Of course I do, but I’m not letting you change the subject.”
“I swear this is at least the fifth time we’ve had this conversation. I’m telling you, it’ll happen naturally. I don’t want to force anything.”
“But aren’t you scared your spark will fizzle out?” she asks with a pout.
You think for a second. Every time you see Junghwan, your feelings for him grow. He manages to make you feel all giddy inside but wipe all your worries away at once. So, no, you don’t think your spark will fizzle out - you think it will grow slowly but steadily until it becomes warm and welcoming like a fireplace fire, the kind you want to bundle up in front of and feel the flames of on your face during cold winter nights.
As the pleasant thought crosses your mind, Junghwan enters the café, big brown eyes finding you immediately and lips coming up in that boyish grin of his you love so much. You return his smile, then look back at Jayoon. “No, I’m not,” you reply, smiling at her too. She shrugs, and you hope this was the last time she branched the topic.
You turn back to Junghwan as he crosses his arms over the counter, bending down on his forearms so that he’s the one looking up at you. The two of you probably look like idiots, smiling at each other like you’ve just shared amazing news, when all you’re happy about is simply seeing the other. “Your usual?” you ask, and he nods.
You get to work on his latte - two shots of espresso and one pump of vanilla syrup - then ask him what he’s doing here, since he’s not working today.
“I didn’t want to go to the library to study. I’m so tired, I’m probably just going to stare at my computer screen for a couple hours then call it a day. Being around people who are hell-bent on getting their essays done will just stress me out,” he explains with a sigh.
You chuckle. “Yeah, I get that. Students working to make a deadline are some of the scariest people I’ve ever seen. You don’t need that kind of bad energy.”
As you start on your latte art (he likes it when you make a bear, so you’ve perfected your bear-shaped milk foam drawing over the past weeks), another smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “Plus, I wanted to see you.”
Junghwan always says things like this, and yet, it manages to make your brain stop working every single time. Your hand freezes and the hot milk continues pouring into the cup, effectively ruining the bear’s face.
Jayoon’s loud groan snaps you out of your daze. She then says something about not needing your kind of bad energy and heads to the back storage. You laugh at your friend’s dramatic antics, but when you lock eyes with Junghwan, you grow shy again, finding sudden interest in the marble countertop. You vaguely notice Junghwan’s smile only getting bigger at your reaction.
“You look really pretty today, noona,” he says, voice dropping in volume so that only you can hear him. You purse your lips together, making it obvious that you’re trying to suppress a smile, but you can’t help letting out a small giggle at the compliment anyway.
“Go study,” you say, handing him his drink then shooing him off with a smile and a tilt of your head. Three teenage girls have come in, and you don’t want Junghwan’s presence messing with your concentration. They look like the type who won’t say anything even if you completely mess up their order, but you’d still rather get it right.
“Yes, ma’am,” Junghwan replies, standing up straight and picking up his drink. Your eyes follow his movements, and you’d be lying if you said his height and the inches he has over you didn’t make your heart flutter.
It’s a slow afternoon, and Jayoon takes over for you once you’re done with the girls’ drinks (two vanilla fraps and one iced matcha latte - Yeonjun would throw a fit if he was there), so that you can go sit with Junghwan until the usual five p.m. rush. He complains that you’re distracting him, but even when you stop talking and busy yourself with your phone, he’s the one who breaks the silence or tries to get your attention again. You feign exasperation but he’s too adorable for you to pretend for long - all it takes is a smile from him and you simply melt.
“Noona?” he calls out suddenly after ten minutes of studying. You look up and hum, waiting for him to go on. His smile makes its way back to his lips before he speaks again, and you mirror it almost unconsciously. “Do you wanna do something together when your shift is over?”
Your grin widens, and you rest your forearms on the table, leaning in closer to him in a conspiratory-like manner. “What do you have in mind?” you whisper.
He imitates your position, and even though the sudden proximity takes you aback, you try not to let it show on your face. The way his smile turns into a slight smirk when he notices your eyes quickly darting to his lips doesn’t help you in the slightest. “Get take-out somewhere and eat at a park? The weather’s nice enough.”
Your face lights up even more at the idea. “Sound good?” Junghwan asks, seemingly relieved at your excitement.
“Sounds perfect,” you reply with a giggle, leaning in close enough to bump your forehead against his before sitting back in your seat. The small action takes the both of you by surprise, but if Junghwan’s growing blush is anything to go by, it’s a good kind of surprise.
Then, Jayoon calls you for help, so you send Junghwan an apologetic smile, to which he responds with an understanding nod of his head. For the better part of an hour, the constant stream of customers keeps you occupied, but the last quiet minutes until the end of your shift seem to drag on and on. As soon as the clock strikes six p.m., you hurry to the backroom and take off your apron, looking at yourself in the mirror to fix your hair before coming back out.
Usually, you’d stay an extra hour to keep Jayoon company and help her close the store. For once, you’re glad that your friend is such a fervent supporter of your and Junghwan’s relationship, so she lets you go easily - actually, she’d been telling you to just go for the past ten minutes.
Junghwan is already waiting for you outside when you leave the café. The sunlight of the late afternoon turns his dark eyes a golden color and reflects against his hair. You make sure to commit the sight of him like this, beaming as he holds out his hand for you to take, to memory. You gladly take his hand, heart swelling at the feeling of your fingers interlacing for the first time, and yet so naturally. He leads the way and tells you about the different spots you can pick up food at. You decide on a fried chicken place nearby that’s only a two-minute walk away from a nice park. Both of your stomachs are growling, so something you can eat quickly is the best.
Ever the gentleman, Junghwan insists on paying for your food. Once at the park, you find one of the last unoccupied patches of sunny grass and set camp there. Junghwan lays a blanket down, and with a small blush, admits to having thought of this before getting to the café. “I was just hoping you’d say yes.”
You tease him for about a minute, until his bright red face and the hunger in your stomach make you relent. You both dig in, letting out satisfied hums at the crunchiness of the chicken. He seems to go for all the pieces with bones, and although you like those too, the sight of him happily eating them is enough for you to gladly accept all the boneless ones.
Usually, people are quiet when they eat, and start talking afterwards; but for some reason, you and Junghwan are the opposite. You talk so much as you eat that it takes you over an hour to finish your food, and by the time you’re done, the sun has started making its slow descent in the sky.
These are your favorite moments with him - laughing as you share silly childhood stories and tell each other about the many stupid things your friends have done, or getting to know the other better as you listen to what’s been weighing on their mind lately. You just love hearing his voice and talking to him, no matter the topic. You also like pretending to be mad at him when he steals some of your fries, even though he has a lot of his left - if you pout hard enough, he’ll feed you to make up for his theft.
Either a food coma hits the both of you at the same time, or you’ve both decided to admire the sunset peacefully, but a comfortable silence falls over you.
His legs had been stretched out in front of him, upper body resting on his palms, but after some time, he decides to lie down completely, hands coming up behind his head in a makeshift pillow. You stay in your cross-legged position and try not to pay him too much attention, but the thought of snuggling up to him and using his body warmth to protect yourself from the growing cold is pervasive in your head. For a minute, you’re so caught up in the idea of being close to him, of being able to touch his hair and bury your head in the crook of his neck, that when he touches your hand, you jump back in surprise. This makes him laugh, but you feel too much like you’ve been caught red-handed to smile too - you barely even register as he intertwines your hands together and brings them to his chest, right atop his heart.
“What were you thinking about?” he asks. As if intent on betraying your thoughts, your eyes swipe over his upper body before you can stop them. You look away, hoping he doesn’t notice the flustered look on your face, the slight crease of your eyebrows.
“Nothing,” you huff in reply.
“Are you sure?” he insists, giving your hand a slight tug, and another one when you don’t react. “Wanna know what I’m thinking about then?”
When you look back at him, a playful smile is dancing on his lips. “What?” you ask, trying to keep a disinterested tone, even though you’re hoping he’ll have the same thing on his mind as you.
His smile widens. “Come here,” he whispers, releasing your hand to reach out to you. A sort of relief washes over your body as you let yourself lie down against him, head resting on his bicep and hand circling his middle. He’s kept one of his hands under his head to hold it up, but the other one rests on your shoulder, fingers sometimes trailing up and down your arm. You hope that he assumes the shivers that rake through your body aren’t due to his actions but to the chilliness in the early evening air.
Indeed, after some time, he sits up for a second to get his jacket out of his bag. “You must be cold,” he says with what sounds like genuine worry in his voice as he places the denim over your body like a blanket before returning to his lying position. He brings you closer to him, and your head shifts from resting on his arm to his shoulder. You just need to turn your head to brush your nose against his neck and breathe in the warm scent of his skin. Instead, you lift your head slightly to admire his face in the orange glow of the last minutes of sunset.
His eyes are closed and he has a peaceful smile on his lips. You’re suddenly overcome with affection for him - all you can think is that you want to keep seeing his smile, and you want to keep being the reason behind it, for as long as possible. You’re also grateful for all the moments spent together, for all the times he’s made you laugh or done something in the hopes it’ll make you happy, for his patience and his understanding.
You’re not thinking much, more letting your body do what it’s been longing to do when you bend down to press your lips against his cheek.
“You know-”
Whatever he was about to say is stopped by your lips against his, and you both lean back immediately with wide eyes. You’re not crazy, right? You had been aiming for his cheek, but the gods of bad (or perfect) timing had decided he should turn his head to look at you and speak just at that moment.
After the initial shock has subsided, you both burst into giggles. Even though embarrassment makes heat rise to your cheeks, you’re glad that Junghwan doesn’t seem to mind the incident, just lightly pinches your shoulder and continues laughing. You bury your head in his shoulder to hide your face from him.
“Well, that wasn’t how I was expecting our first kiss to go, but I’ll take it, too.”
The playfulness in his tone tugs at something in you, and your insides twist at the thought of him thinking of kissing you, much like you had over the past couple of months. You force your shyness away and look back up at him, a similar smile to his playing on your lips.
“Oh yeah? How did you think it would go?”
His eyebrows raise at your uncharacteristic forwardness, but you can tell that he likes it. His eyes drift down to your lips and stay there as he speaks, and his voice is so low, you almost don’t hear it. It makes you feel like it’s really just you and Junghwan in the whole park. “Should I just show you?”
“I think you should,” you reply, voice just as low as his.
So he does. He lifts his head to find your lips with his, on purpose, this time. The kiss is slow and tentative as you focus on finding your rhythm together, but it’s perfect. It makes you feel all fuzzy at the edges, makes you feel like your fingers are filled with electricity. As your lips move against each other, settling into a nice, comfortable pace, you can’t help but smile. Now more than ever, you’re glad the two of you hadn’t rushed into anything, because every single moment that has led up to this has been worth it and makes this moment even better. Your noses bump into each other, and you’re not sure where to place your hands, and you’re both so nervous you sometimes have to stop to let some giggles out, but you wouldn’t have it any other way.
Everything is just right. The last warm sun rays and the slight breeze picking up, the soft blanket underneath you, the chatter in the park, the boy who has stopped kissing you only to leave quick pecks all over your cheeks, nose and forehead as he hugs you close to him. He finds your lips once more, pecks them once, then a second time before kissing you properly again. You’re not in his head, but it’s like he’d tried to control himself when you started kissing, but now the nerves and excitement and giddiness have caught up to him and he can’t help but shower you with affection. You remember your hands and bring them up under his head so that you can rake your fingers through the soft locks of his hair. That seems to calm him down instantly - he hums against your lips and you fall back into your previous, slower rhythm. You can’t help but laugh at this, pulling away slightly to look at him. His eyes are filled with adoration, and his expression is nothing but bliss.
You peck his lips one last time before laying back down next to him to take a breather. He whines at the loss of your warmth and presses a kiss to your forehead, then to the top of your head, nuzzling his face against your hair. After a few quiet moments, you remember he’d try to say something before your happy accident, so you ask him about it.
“Oh, that…” he starts, but says nothing more. You look back up at him, even more curious now.
“That?” you echo. His eyes dart all over your face as if trying to commit every millimeter of it to memory and a smile grows on his face.
“Yeah… I was gonna ask if you, um, if you remembered what I said that day at the bus stop.”
How could you have forgotten? “You mean, as you got into the bus and gave me zero time to say anything in return?”
His cheeks flush slightly but he keeps on grinning. “Yeah, that. I didn’t wanna say anything, but you also haven’t mentioned it, so I was getting a bit worried…”
Even though he’s smiling, his words alarm you. Had Jayoon been right? Maybe, all along, you were sure you were being clear, but Junghwan had no idea what you were thinking.
“I’m sorry, Hwan. I was sure I was making it obvious.”
“Making what obvious?”
How did he not know? “That I like you, too.”
His eyes light up at your words. He shoots up, almost knocking his head against yours in the process, but is too excited to notice it. You sit up too, his jacket falling off of your shoulders as you do. He looks at you like a kid whose parents just told him they were going to Disneyland. “You do?!”
You giggle, pushing away some hair that had fallen in his eyes. “Of course I do.”
He pulls into a hug so tight, you can barely breathe. This boy really needs to learn to assess his own strength. “This is the best day of my life,” he says, making you laugh again. You wrap your arms around your middle, bunching up some of the fabric of his t-shirt in your hands.
“Did you really not know?” you ask.
“Well, I thought you might. Or at least, I really hoped so. But I wasn’t a hundred percent sure…”
“I’m sorry,” you repeat, but he stops you quickly.
“Don’t be.”
“But I am.” You pull back to look at him but keep your hands where they are. “I just… I really liked the way things were going.” You’d never been in a serious relationship before, never found someone that you really wanted to take that step further with. But now that you had that someone, you realized you had no idea how to take things from here.
His smile softens. “Nothing has to change. I like the way things are going, too.” He takes a breath here, as if trying to steady himself before saying what he wants to say next. “I just want to be able to call you my girlfriend at the same time.”
It takes you a second to process his words, but when you do, you smile so hard, your cheeks start to hurt. Was it that easy this entire time? Just say, hey, let’s be boyfriend and girlfriend now, and everything could go on as it had been before?
“Your girlfriend?” you echo, half to make sure and half to tease him.
He nods fervently. “Mh-hm.”
You press a chaste peck to his lips. When you pull back, he’s kept his eyes closed, as if savoring the moment. “I’d love that, Hwan.”
He opens his eyes as his smile gets impossibly wider, and engulfs you in a tight hug once more. He holds your face in his hands as he kisses your cheek, then the top of your head. You think you hear him mumble “my girl” against your hair, but the sound of your giggles is louder than his muffled voice.
The two of you stay at the park until almost everyone has left, chased away by the cold, chatting and holding onto each other for warmth. As always, Junghwan walks you home, but this time, he doesn’t let you walk through your door before getting one last kiss or two. You only break away when the upstairs neighbor has to awkwardly clear his throat to be let through.
Junghwan texts you not even a minute after you’ve exchanged goodbyes to thank you for the amazing afternoon. You reply immediately, and the two of you text the night away, until your phone screen starts to hurt your eyes in the darkness of your room and you really need to start sleeping.
Tomorrow, you’re doing the closing shift together - you already know that it’ll feel like an eternity, waiting most of the day until you see him again. But you know you will, and that’s all that matters. So you fall asleep with your phone on your heart and a smile on your face.
permanent taglist: @zreamy @sunghoonmybeloved @lalalalawon @sd211 @w3bqrl @raikea10 @wntrnghts @moonlighthoon @4imhry @rikisly @loves0ft @iamliacamila @theboingsuckerasseater9000 (ask to be removed/added!)
series taglist: @ineedsomezzz
treasure taglist: @mosviqu
© asahicore on Tumblr, 2023. please do not repost, translate, or plagiarize my works. feedback and reblogs always appreciated!
#treasure x reader#treasure fluff#treasure scenarios#yg treasure#treasure imagines#so junghwan#junghwan x reader#junghwan fluff#junghwan scenarios#junghwan imagines
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