#I could have put so much more Eve in the playlist. believe it or not but this was me showing restraint. lmao | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

latetaektalk · 2 years

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love to hate you | jjk [vi]

“when obnoxiously rich and spoiled frat boy jeon jungkook comes up to you one day and asks you to fake date him for money, you definitely should have said no. because before you knew it, you were going on insta dates with him and having lunch with his equally obnoxiously rich and spoiled friends.”

— genre: sexual themes, angst, fluff, fratboy! AU, fake dating! AU, college! AU, rich kid! AU, enemies to lovers! AU

— pairing: jungkook x female reader

— word count: 15.513

— warnings: swearing/cursing, alcohol consumption

— playlist: to be added

— a/n: im not one hundred percent sure abt this chapter but i also dont wanna keep you guys waiting any longer, so here it is!! once again thank you to lira @koocycle for reading this! ily!! and once again, this is inspired by To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han!

Jimin would say your worst trait was how judgemental you were. You would say your worst trait was how hopeful you were.

Because Jungkook was right.

Behind all of that cynicism and snark and eye-rolling, there was very much a part of you that was as hopeful as a child on Christmas Eve, believing and thinking of Santa as you fell asleep, excited to wake up in the morning for the presents under the trees.

You knew that kissing and sleeping with Jungkook was far from smart. You knew even as you did it, when you leaned over and grabbed him by his collar.

But you had done it. Because the truth was, you couldn’t help it.

Because kissing and sleeping with Jungkook meant you could forget. More importantly, it meant you could pretend. For that bit of time, you could pretend that he and you were something you were definitely not. It meant you could let that hope grow in you, that hope that maybe, somehow, all of this could miraculously turn out fine, that Jungkook and you weren't the bad decision you thought it was.

It was nice.

It was nice to pretend, even if just for a short moment, that you had found someone who saw the not so perfect and not so great and not so picture-perfect parts of you and still chose to stay, someone who cared for you even if you told them your deepest fears and let them in on the shameful and pitiful pieces of you.

This was stupid, you realised. Putting all of that faith and hope into Jungkook. You should be more careful. Because you knew just how deceiving and cheating hope was, how having hope in someone was like loading the gun, giving it to them, and closing your eyes, waiting to see whether or not they would deliver the final blow. It was like playing Russian roulette. One wrong move and you would be done for.

Hope could kill.

And when you awoke to the ruffling and quiet cursing, your heart knew instantly, sinking in your chest. You hadn’t even opened your eyes. The shot rang loud in your ears. It hurt, but not nearly as much as it did when you finally looked and saw him.

His naked back was turned to you, tattoos running up his right arm and wrapping around his shoulder. He was sitting on the edge of your bed, leaning over to pick up his shirt. And as you watched him slip into it, you knew.

Jungkook was leaving.

He still hadn’t noticed he had awoken you, and you wanted it to stay that way. Because your eyes were starting to hurt and you knew it wasn’t the lack of sleep.

But before you could close your eyes and pretend to be fast asleep, he turned and looked at you, his eyes meeting yours. You couldn’t decipher the look, but it was enough to make you freeze, a lump forming in your throat that knotted it tight.

“Cabbage.”

His voice was raspy with sleep, and you hated that your first instinct was to tease him for it.

“Hey.” It came out slow. “You’re up.”

He smiled a small smile, the kind of smile that could make you melt. But you resisted, your hands tightening into fists at your side.

You wished you had put on clothes, feeling so goddamn naked and exposed in every way possible right now. Even with the blanket tightly wrapped around you, you thought he could see through you, see into you. And you didn’t want him to see you anymore. So when you straightened up, thankful you were anything but neat, some old clothes just in reach, you made sure your back was facing him.

“I was just gonna-” He pointed towards the door, and a part of you died inside. You wished he wouldn’t speak, wished he would just spare you of this conversation and just leave without a word.

You cringed at how small your voice was, on the verge of breaking, when you spoke. You hoped he couldn’t hear, hoped your shirt muffled the shakiness as you pulled it over your head. “Yeah, just go.”

You couldn’t look at him when you said it, gaze staying averted, vision beginning to swim. If you had just turned to him though, you would have seen the confusion crossing his features, brows furrowing together.

“What?”

Swallowing the knot in your throat was futile, but you tried anyway. It was getting hard to breathe with it lodged in there. You grabbed an old pair of sweatpants.

“I- weren’t you about—” The words wouldn’t quite leave you. You had to pull them out of you, force them to form. “—to go?” You swallowed, praying finality was swinging with your voice as you continued. “So go.”

You were desperate to sound cold and distant. Because you couldn’t let him know just how much this was affecting you, what kind of unimaginable power he held over you, power you never knew you had given to him until now when your voice was quivering and your eyes burning with tears. You wished you would be stronger, better at this, in control of your emotions just a little bit more.

You got up without another word, tucking a strand behind your ear as you pretended to clean up, grabbing the pieces of your costume and tossing them into the laundry bin before moving over to the two water bottles you had left on your cough, tracing the evidence of last night and throwing them all away. As if you could erase it all like that, like he and you hadn’t happened.

“Cabbage, do you-” There was a pause. You had your back to him. “Do you think I’m leaving?”

“Are you not?” The response came quicker this time, a little more stable too. You grabbed the cookies from the floor, not quite bringing it over your heart to toss them out. So you just put them on the coffee table, hiding them in the mess.

“Weren’t you just about to get dressed and dip?” There was an edge to your words, as sharp as a knife, ready to plunge and end it all. “Go before I woke up?”

You looked over your shoulder, thinking you would find something in Jungkook’s eyes that would confirm all of the fears you had and the assumptions you were making of him right this moment, that would satisfy something in you and make it easy for you to write him off. But when you saw the look on his face, the confusion and perplexity, you stilled.

“Y/N,” and you loathed how your heart rumbled in your ribcage when he said your name, “I’m not leaving.”

Jungkook stood up and took a step in your direction. But when you backed away, he stopped, face twisting as if he had just physically run against a wall full force, knocking out on it.

“Unless you want me to, of course.”

You could hear the disappointment in his voice, and all you could do was stare at him.

“But I’m not leaving. I just-” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, voice growing quieter when he spoke again. “I was just gonna go out and surprise you with the cookies I promised you. Remember when I stepped on the-” He stopped, sighing. “I just thought I could sneak out without you noticing and then come back and-”

You hated him.

You hated him so much because his words could do things to you they shouldn’t be able to, tear down any attempt of a defence you had built up to bits and pieces, make you relinquish all of the power over your mind, your heart, yourself. You hated him so much because he could make you load the gun and hand it over to him without him even asking for it.

You hated Jungkook so much because in reality, you didn’t hate him at all.

You crossed the distance faster than he could realise it, your arms wrapping around him so tight, he thought you wanted to suffocate him. You knocked the air straight out of his lungs.

“Cabbage-” He didn’t continue, sensing the shift in the atmosphere. He didn’t understand, but he knew to stay silent. Jungkook hugged you back.

Goosebumps graced his skin, and you held onto him even tighter, eyes screwed shut. His muscles tensed under your touch, and you would have made some stupid comment if you weren’t feeling as much as you were right now. His heart was beating under yours, every beat loud and clear, his chest rising and falling with each breath. He was warm and comfortable. You knew you could fall asleep in his arms.

You found it again, that same sense of peace from last night.

You found it again in his arms.

He wasn’t leaving.

It hadn’t been foolish to have hoped, and for that, you couldn’t even begin to put it into words just how much that meant to you.

“Thank you,” you mumbled into his skin, and Jungkook hugged you tighter. He wasn’t sure what exactly you were thanking him for, so he just kissed the top of your head, mumbling for you not to think about it.

But you did think about it.

You thought about it every night.

Thought about what it might just mean, him staying. Thought about if maybe, just maybe, somehow his words, the three words he oh so liked to tell you, were true.

When you pulled away, gaze finding his, features soft and tender, you pressing your lips to his was the last thing Jungkook expected you to do. The kiss was slow and calm. It was delicate. The opposite of what you had shared last night. There was no rush at all, no need to prove anything to anyone, no desperation or fear that this might just be over in a second.

He put his hands on your waist, pulling you close to him and leaning into you, chasing your lips. You smiled, quieting the part of your brain that told you that you shouldn’t be doing this, that you should be talking about the fact that he and you had slept together and were kissing now when you were merely supposed to be fake dating one another, supposed to keep this professional and solely business.

When you parted, your breathing heavy and your mind clouded, and you looked at Jungkook, you felt something between your ribs. It was weak, but you had an inkling it was about to grow stronger, and soon enough, all-consuming. There was no stopping it. You were in the middle of falling, going down the deep end. You just had to wait to see if by the end, the landing would be graceful or bone-crushing; wait to see if by the end, you were wrong and the gun was going to go off.

“I-”

You should explain, you were aware. But you couldn’t, the words breaking in your mouth. And when Jungkook whispered, “I know.”, your inability to speak, it was fine, a mutual understanding established.

You were giving him nothing, at most scraps and pieces. But for now, it was enough.

You pulled him closer and buried your face in the crook of his neck. Closing your eyes, you hoped Jungkook knew what you were trying so desperately but pathetically failing at saying. (Not that you knew what you wanted to say anyway.)

And for a while it was quiet.

“I think,” he began, whispering, “we might have broken a rule, cabbage.”

“Did we?” you mumbled and pulled away to look at him.

He nodded, feigning a frown, as if worried about the consequences that might follow from this rule break. “We did. Rule three.”

“Remind me again which one that is-”

And when Jungkook wrapped a hand around your neck and tilted your head upwards, you knew. But it was too late. He pressed his lips to yours. You almost started laughing. He was an idiot. An idiot you enjoyed kissing a bit too much.

When you parted, he was grinning.

“Right, that one.” You cleared your throat, a poor attempt of yours to gain some composure and to calm your thumping heart. “I remember now. Thanks for that... reminder.”

Your words came out breathless and short.

“Always happy to refresh your mind,” Jungkook smirked. “What do we do now?”

You feigned contemplation, letting out a long sigh and puckering your forehead. “Well,” you began, “technically, I didn’t break any rules.”

He raised a brow, and you took that as a sign to continue, a proud smile forming on your lips.

“Technically, only you,” you dug your finger into his chest for emphasis, “couldn’t kiss me. So technically, only you broke a rule.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes at you. “You’re such a smartass-”

“So technically, I could kiss you.”

You could pinpoint the exact moment your words clicked with him, something changing in his eyes.

“In that case,” he leaned into you, his lips ghosting over yours, “please kiss me again, cabbage. And please,” he was pleading, tightening his grip around your waist, “never stop.”

Your heart skipped a beat.

“You know,” your voice was a low whisper, and Jungkook listened to your every word, soaking up every syllable, “rules are meant to be broken, right?”

He stilled for a second, eyes turning hazy. The next thing you felt was his lips on yours, his hands gripping you tight and pulling you closer to him.

There was a sense of urgency in the way Jungkook moved his lips against yours, almost as if he feared you would change your mind any second. You smiled into the kiss. The thought that this insecurity might just be swirling around in his head, it was funny to you. Because you wouldn’t. You would never change your mind, you knew that now.

And even as you were sure that you were sealing your doom with this kiss, that the landing was going to be bone-crushing because there was no possibility of this ending gracefully, the cocking of the gun ringing in your ears, you pulled Jungkook closer to you.

You hoped you were wrong.

“I’m gonna give you,” you checked the time, “ten minutes to change. If you take any longer, I’m gonna get breakfast without you.”

Jungkook gasped, keys still in the ignition. “You can’t do that!”

“Then go,” you prompted, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

He practically stumbled out of the car, throwing the door shut behind him with a loud bang. You smiled to yourself as you watched him run around the car, quiet curses slipping past his lips. But when he walked around and opened your car door, you frowned.

“What-”

You were cut off by him, his hand wrapping around the back of your neck and pulling you forward, crashing his mouth on yours. And as he kissed you, you felt the grin on his lips, growing bigger and bigger. An idiot.

“Sorry, I felt like it,” Jungkook told you when you pulled away and stared at him, both confused and breathless.

“Nine minutes,” you said, voice a bit shaky. You hoped he didn’t notice, and if he did, he didn’t make note of it, thankfully.

“A minute hasn’t passed!”

“Yes, it has.”

“In what world-”

“Eight minutes.”

“What?” he sputtered, a mix of disbelief and confusion crossing his features. It made you grin and giggle. “You just said nine minutes!”

There was something so delightful about teasing Jungkook. You couldn’t stop. “And now I’m saying you’ve only got eight left- actually, seven.” Your grin grew. His face crumbled. “You better get going, Jeon. Time’s ticking-”

Jungkook raised a brow when you didn’t finish your sentence, realising that your gaze had shifted to something behind him. And when he turned around and saw a beaming Jisoo standing behind him, he was quick to straighten up and take a step back, as if you weren’t publicly dating.

“Hey,” she began and judging from that grin and everything about her, she had most likely heard some of your conversation and definitely seen your kiss. You cringed, feeling your cheeks warm.

“Hi,” Jungkook coughed, clearing his throat, awkwardly folding his arms in front of his chest.

“I saw you guys pulling up from the kitchen window,” she told you, pointing behind her. “I’m not interrupting-”

“Why are you here, Ji?” you asked, a bit harsher than intended. You couldn’t help it though, especially not when you thought about how much she was going to tease you later on.

“Hi, nice to see you too, Y/N,” Jisoo grinned, tilting her head. You rolled your eyes at her.

“We stayed for the night,” she explained. “Joon and the others offered us to crash here.”

“Joon and the others?” You raised a brow. “What are you? Friends?”

And when Jisoo nodded, you stilled. “Yeah.”

You blinked at her, taking a moment to process it all. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, they’re all cool, so why not?” She looked at you, shrugging. Like becoming friends with them was no big deal at all, not realising that Jungkook’s and your so-called relationship was going to end in a matter of time and this was all going to fall apart.

Your thoughts had to have reflected on your face because Jisoo quirked a brow. “What? Aren’t you happy about your friends getting along with your boyfriend’s?”

“What? No, of course, I am!” you quickly supplied, tucking a strand behind your ear. “I just- I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

Jisoo narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything-

“Hey!”

It was Seokjin, standing in the doorway, an apron tied around his waist. “Are they joining us?”

And Jisoo only seemed to remember now why she had come out in the first place, touching her forehead like how could she forget?

“Right, you guys want to join us for breakfast? We are just about to eat.”

You stilled, a part of you wanting to tell Jisoo that you were only stopping because Jungkook had to change and you were going to head out after that. But there was also another part of you, a bigger one actually, that kind of liked the idea of having breakfast with the others, remembering how easy conversation had been with them last night (before it all went to shit, obviously). And there might also be another part of you that felt bad that you had cut the party short and that wanted his friends to like you. It was tiny though, miniature. Actually nonexistent.

“Oh, thanks, but we were just gonna-”

“Yeah, sure-”

Jungkook and you spoke at the same time. You looked at each other. He frowned, and you pressed your lips together. Jisoo looked between you.

“Okay, well, gonna give you guys a minute,” she said, already backing away.

“We don’t need-”

“Thanks, we will be right-”

You spoke at the same time again. You stopped and looked at each other once more. Jisoo bit her lip to stop her grin from growing too big, finding this entire situation more than amusing.

“Just come in,” she glanced at Jungkook, “or don’t. Whatever you guys want. You’re more than welcome to join us,” she looked at Jungkook again, “or not.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and jogged towards the house, stopping to inform Seokjin, who was still standing at the doorway, his hands on his hip. When he looked in your direction, a smile growing on his face as he listened to Jisoo talk, you cringed and averted your gaze.

Jungkook immediately turned to you once you were on your own, a frown on his face.

“You know you don’t gotta have breakfast with them, right?” he told you, assuming incorrectly your words had been solely out of obligation, not realising that you might just want to try to befriend his friends.

“I know but-”

He quirked a brow, and you could feel his gaze on your face. You couldn’t meet it, tucking a strand behind your ear.

“But?”

Clearing your throat, you started again, “Let’s just… have breakfast with them.”

“What?”

“Let’s just have breakfast with them,” you repeated, firmer this time.

“Cabbage, you really don’t have to. They won’t be mad-”

“I know. That’s not why I’m saying that,” you said, shifting in your seat and looking at the house behind him.

Dozens and dozens of red solo cups were littering the lawn, the cobwebs that covered the windows last night had either fallen off or were on the verge to, and the chains of lights along the house were now turned off, broken probably. The dozens of pumpkins that had lined the front door had reduced to two single sad ones, one of them looking like they had been stepped on. And on top of that, you were pretty sure people had thrown up on the lawn, spotting a distant pile of what looked like someone’s dinner. To say the house looked less than inviting wouldn’t even begin to put it into words. But still, when you turned to Jungkook again, your answer hadn’t changed.

“I’m really hungry, so let’s just stay here and eat with the others,” you lied- well, actually, it wasn’t a complete lie. You were hungry, but it was definitely not the entire truth either.

Before Jungkook could say anything else, you unbuckled the seat belt and jumped out of the car, throwing the door shut. Still somewhat hesitant, he locked the car, but when you grabbed his hand, he stumbled after you.

“You’re really sure about this?” he asked you once you stepped onto the lawn. You stopped, looking at him.

“Yeah.”

And you meant that, unlike last night when you could feel your heart beating in your throat and the anxiety webbing your chest tight. Because something just told you that you were going to end up having fun like last night, even if it might be awkward in the beginning. This was going to be fine. You didn’t know where you got that feeling from, but it was there. It might just be linked to the hand you were holding, knowing that you could count on it always being there for you to grab onto.

And your confidence had to have reflected on your face, the corners of Jungkook’s eyes crinkled up, his lips pulling up into a huge smile. “Okay, let’s go now.”

The excitement was evident in his voice. It made you smile.

The floor was sticky with alcohol and covered with red solo cups like the lawn when you walked in. You cringed when you saw one guy slumped on the couch, fast asleep. His neck was going to hurt like hell. It was unbearable inside here, the air stifling and wet. People hadn’t just been throwing up outside. It was probably why your friends were all in the backyard, sitting in a circle, right at the exact same spot where you had left them, the ones that had the luxury of living here and owning a wardrobe had changed, donning their baggiest and most comfortable clothing.

“Oh!” Jimin exclaimed when he spotted you from afar, his lips splitting into the biggest grin. “You guys made it!” It turned to a smirk as he looked at Jungkook from head to toe. “Still in your costume, huh?”

Chaeyoung was quick to shove his shoulder, hissing at him, but you couldn’t catch what she said. Not that you could focus on her words anyway, the feeling of the tips of your ears burning up taking up all of your brain space.

You were going to murder Jimin.

“God, couldn’t you have at least changed? We get it, you’re a couple,” Taehyung mumbled, mouth stuffed with eggs and bacon, hunched over his plate.

“You’re so jealous, Tae. It’s embarrassing. Why do I have to change, huh?” Jungkook laughed, holding onto your hand tighter. “Don’t worry, one day you’ll find your Katara too-”

Taehyung interrupted him with a loud scoff. “Please, no, thank you. I’m a happy single man.”

“Sure, you are.” Jungkook rolled his eyes before turning to you, lowering his voice. “I do have to change, so I’m gonna-”

You nodded, understanding. Your face was still burning. “Yeah, uh, just go.”

“Be right back,” he told the others, giving your hand one more squeeze, as if to assure you again, before letting go, a smile on his face as he walked away.

“Sit,” Namjoon said, showing you the two chairs they had saved for you, the exact same seats you had sat in last night too. You did as he said, and just like last night as well, Jennie asked you what you would like to drink. In a matter of minutes, you were holding a warm cup of tea in one hand and a plate with a piece of freshly buttered toast, some scrambled eggs and a handful of strips of bacon in the other.

“You know what I just realised?” Yoongi hummed, his cup of coffee hovering in front of his lips, eyes on you. You froze. He still had smudges of makeup on his cheeks. “Kook and Y/N are exactly like Jin and Mina used to be.”

You stared at Yoongi, eyes unblinking because you weren’t sure if that was meant to be a good thing or not, still fearing that he might just not like you after the comment you had made about his music.

“Don’t worry,” Seokjin assured you with a grin, knowing exactly what you were thinking. He was still donning the apron. “It’s a good thing. Mina and I are still dating. Means he sees you guys lasting.”

You opened your mouth but closed it again. You didn’t know how to respond. And how could you? Jungkook and you were, unlike Seokjin and Mina, the opposite of real. You two were going to break up in a matter of a couple weeks. Yoongi was dead wrong.

“Didn’t you used to say that you and Mina were annoying as fuck?” Taehyung asked, turning to the older and puckering his forehead. Namjoon bumped his knee with Taehyung’s, giving him a look. But the younger one just stared back, oh so innocent. Hoseok choked on his drink.

“What? Yoongi?”

Yoongi sat up in his seat, preparing to respond and defend himself, but you didn’t hear it. Instead, you flinched, Jimin suddenly plopping into the empty seat next to you, his arm around you. You didn’t have to look at him to know there was a smirk plastered on his lips. Jisoo appeared next to you as well, having quietly asked Jennie to switch seats with her. The same look adorned her face.

“So,” Jimin started, and you already hated it, wishing Jungkook would come back and tell Jimin to get out of his seat. But he was still gone. Why was it taking him this long to change? “How’s it going with Kook?”

You didn’t meet his gaze, tucking a strand behind your ear. You cleared your throat. “Like always. Why are you asking?”

“You wanna talk about the kiss last night?” Jisoo hummed, and you cringed. Why did they have to ambush you?

“Oh, right! The kiss!” Jimin exclaimed, far too loud and excited. You contorted your face both in embarrassment and in pain, rubbing your ear because you were sure you had just burst an eardrum.

“That was certainly something,” Taehyung chimed in, a grin on his face, turning away from Yoongi and Seokjin, who were arguing now because of him. You wished he wouldn’t butt into this conversation too. It was already bad enough. “Hollywood’s calling, love. That one was for the books.”

“Silver screens. You mean for the silver screens,” Jisoo corrected.

“Right, sorry.” Taehyung held up his hands and feigned remorse. “I obviously meant for the silver screens-”

“What’s with you and Jennie, huh?” you tried, raising a brow at Jisoo, but she simply laughed into your face.

“You’re not changing the topic, Y/N,” she told you with a grin. “It’s going well though. Thanks for asking.”

And when you saw the look on her face as she turned to Jennie, wrapped up in a conversation with Hoseok, you genuinely felt happy for her. It didn’t last long though.

“Anyway, Kook and you,” she clapped her hands together, “when’s the wedding?”

You rolled your eyes. “When’s yours with Jennie?”

“January 15th,” Jisoo shot back without even a second of hesitation, and you hated her for it. “When’s yours now?”

Deciding this was futile, you turned your focus back on the plate in your hand. You shoved a forkful of eggs into your mouth, frowning when you saw that shit-eating grin on Taehyung’s face. Why did you have to sit across from him again?

“You better credit me, Y/N,” Jimin said, and you frowned. “You know, for getting Kook and you together.”

You blinked at him a handful of times. “You didn’t though.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you not meet your boyfriend because I called you to pick me up? Was it not that night when you started talking?” He looked too smug for his own good. “If I don’t get at least a mention in the wedding speech-”

“Right, Jimin, I’m definitely gonna talk about how you got so shitfaced, I had to take an Uber in the middle of the night to pick you up and how your drunken ass then claimed to be a part of the goddamn sidewalk for so long, my uber drove away. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to make a mention of that,” you said, certain you had won this now, but Jimin’s grin only grew bigger and smugger.

“So you are getting married to Kook, huh?”

You cursed Jimin and his selective hearing, your head throbbing at this point. When you met Taehyung’s gaze, the corners of your mouth downturned even more. Luckily for you though, the moment was cut short.

“Does anyone want anything? I’m going back inside,” Seokjin announced, and you were quick to raise your hand even though your plate was still half-full. Because of certain people, you hadn’t had the chance to touch much of it.

“Yes, I’m going with you.” Before Jimin or Jisoo could tell you to stay seated, you stood up and placed your plate and mug on the chair. Without sparing them a single glance, you walked away, Seokjin following you.

“Jimin and Jisoo giving you a hard time?” he asked you once you were in the kitchen, and you frowned, asking yourself how he had made breakfast in this mess.

“When are they not?” you mumbled, stacking up the red solo cups, beginning the cleaning process.

He smiled. “Well, what are friends for if not to annoy the shit out of you, am I right?”

You nodded and laughed before cringing when you touched something wet and sticky. Seokjin handed you a kitchen towel.

“You don’t gotta do that, you know? We’re just gonna clean up once everybody is up,” he told you, taking a peek into the adjacent living room in which a handful of guys were passed out in, either on the couch or in the corner of the room. You waved him off, continuing to gather the cups.

“It’s fine.” You looked around. “Where is the-”

He took the stack of cups from you, the garbage under the sink, obviously.

“I’m happy to help,” you mumbled, grabbing new cups again. He joined you, the actual reason for why he wanted to go into the kitchen forgotten about. “Plus, I feel like I owe you guys at least this much.”

Seokjin stopped at your words, raising a brow.

“What do you mean?”

You couldn’t meet his gaze.

“I mean after last night-” You shook your head, looking away. You could feel his eyes on you, digging into your face. “I don’t know. I’m just sorry for ruining the party.”

Clearing your throat, you grabbed the new stack of cups and moved over to the sink, tossing it into the garbage.

“Y/N,” Seokjin began, and it was the way he said your name that made you look back at him, “you know that you didn’t ruin the party, right? And that you also don’t have to feel bad or responsible for anything?”

You disagreed.

“Us ending the party early was a decision we made on our own. You bear no responsibility for that whatsoever.”

He stared at you, gaze unwavering. It was weird. If anyone had told you a few weeks ago, you would be standing in the Beta Tau Sigma kitchen after their annual Halloween party cleaning up and having a serious talk with Kim Seokjin, you would have told them they were crazy. Funny how quickly things could change.

“I just- I just think I made a bigger deal out of it than it-”

“You didn’t though, Y/N,” Seokjin cut in, and you felt like a child getting lectured. “Jimin explained to us how you know Jae and what happened between you, and honestly, you could have thrown a drink into his face and cursed at him and none of us would have thought you made a big deal out of it. If anything, we’re surprised you reacted as calm about it as you did. Especially because he brought Gayeon too.”

You pressed your lips together. “Is she…”

You couldn’t finish his sentence, but Seokjin nodded.

It was quiet for a while.

“Please don’t feel bad, Y/N,” he told you, breaking the silence. “You’ve had every right to react the way you did. No one is mad at you for it, and you didn’t ruin the party either. If anything, I did for bringing Jae-”

“What? No!” You frowned. “You couldn’t have known!”

Seokjin smiled. “Well, then no one is responsible for last night.” He tilted his head to the side. “Can we agree on that?”

You were impressed by how quickly he had unwrapped all of the guilt and quenched it. It made you smile.

“Yeah, fine. Let’s agree on that.”

And with that, Seokjin was grinning. “Amazing.”

You mirrored him. Your smile grew when you returned and saw Jungkook in his seat, Jimin and Jisoo sitting on their own. He was donning a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. His outfit was as simple and basic as it got, and still, you thought he looked beautiful. Jungkook was so pretty to the point it hurt.

“You good?” he asked you when you slipped into the seat next to him, confused by the smile on your face. You locked eyes with Seokjin before nodding and taking his hand into yours. His eyes grew big.

“Yeah.”

You squeezed his hand and looked around yourself. There was something so nice about seeing your friends bond with Jungkook’s. It made your heart swell in your chest, friendships being formed right in front of your eyes. You expertly ignored the question of what was going to happen once you broke up, deciding that, just like the question of why you had kissed and slept with Jungkook and why your heart always beat and thumped a bit harder than usual when you saw him now, the answer wasn’t important.

“I’m good.”

Jungkook smiled at you, pressing a kiss to your temple. You grinned back at him. And as you struck up a conversation with Jennie, asking her what she was majoring in, you failed to notice the look Jungkook and Taehyung shared.

You were sitting in the living room, talking to Namjoon about the new book you had just read, waiting for Jungkook to finish getting ready when Hoseok and Taehyung strolled in together, the two having surprisingly become gym buddies over the last two weeks.

“Love, what are you doing here?” Taehyung asked, almost accusatory. “Don’t you have a date with Zuko?”

“You’ve been taught what a greeting is, right?” you shot back, smiling when he rolled his eyes at you.

“He’s changing,” Namjoon supplied when you wouldn’t, and Hoseok gave you a look. You shrugged. Taehyung and you were still not playing nice with each other, all of your words having bite and snark rubbed in between them.

“Where are you guys going?” Hoseok asked, putting down his gym bag and sitting down next to you.

“Dinner.”

He frowned. “Didn’t you have dinner together two days ago?”

You quirked a brow. “And?”

Hoseok was quick to raise his hands, as if to show you he meant no ill. “I’m just saying. I wasn’t-”

You shook your head, a grin pulling on your lips as Hoseok rolled his eyes at you. Taehyung plopped down on the couch too, sighing heavily.

“You guys have been hanging out a lot these days,” he noted. “We barely see Kook anymore.”

He was definitely accusing you right now. You arched a brow, as if to tell him you were ready to bite back.

“Sad you’re not seeing him anymore?”

“Of course,” he shot back, staring you down. This was a challenge. Who gives in first? Definitely not you. “Don’t you think you’re hogging his time?”

“Tae,” Namjoon grunted before you could answer, levelling him a glare.

“What? Don’t you agree with me, Joon? When was the last time you had a Netflix marathon with him?”

“They’re young and in love. Let them be-”

You saw him first, the rest of Namjoon’s sentence not registering with you at all, the challenge with Taehyung completely forgotten about. You had lost, but you didn’t care at all.

If you had thought that the bouquet of roses he gave to you when you started dating was huge, then, well, this one was ginormous.

“Jeon,” you began before stopping again, voice thin.

He grinned, stepping out, casually holding the bouquet like it wasn’t half his size.

“Uh, what the fuck?” Taehyung blurted out, saying exactly what you were thinking.

Hoseok looked at you, but your gaze was zeroed in on Jungkook. You got up slowly, meeting him halfway, still stunned.

“Why?” you whispered, and he grinned.

“Happy one month, cabbage,” Jungkook told you, and you clasped your hands in front of your mouth. You had completely forgotten. Shit.

Red carnations stared right back at you, beautiful and perfect in every sense, right at their peak blooming. Baby’s breath filled out the bouquet, contrasting the deep rich red with its white petals. You didn’t even want to think about how much they must have cost, especially now that you were in the middle of autumn, the weather getting colder by the second. It was starting to feel like winter actually. Not to mention, the size of the bouquet. It had to have been a fortune. It hurt your heart to know he spent this much money on you.

(And when you came across the meaning of red carnations and baby’s breath a few weeks later, your heart broke in your chest into bits and pieces, losing your mind in the process of it all.

New Love.

Faith.)

“Jeon,” you began again but failed one more time. He was grinning at you, unbothered that you had clearly not known that it was your one month anniversary and had nothing for him. Your face scrunched up together. God, you were the worst.

“It’s fine,” he told you, knowing what you were thinking, and you shook your head. It was not.

“I’m-”

“Jesus…”

You turned. It was Taehyung, of course. Namjoon sent him a glare, and Hoseok tried and failed to hide his snicker. Noticing that everybody was looking at him, he explained himself, “It’s only been a month. Don't act like you have been dating for ten years.”

Jungkook took it with humour, shrugging. “Sorry that I know what being romantic means.”

Taehyung was quick to scoff. “That’s not romantic. That’s gross.”

Sensing this was going to go on and on unless you put an end to it, you placed your hand on Jungkook’s chest. He looked at you.

“Let’s just go,” you told him, and his features softened.

“Okay, yeah, let’s just go,” he repeated, nodding. Waving to the others, he bid them farewell, and you did the same. Even Taehyung grumbled a goodbye in your direction, not without adding once more how gross you were though.

“I’m sorry,” you immediately said the moment you were in the car, the bouquet of flowers still clasped close to your chest. “I’m really so sorry, Jeon. I-”

“It’s fine, cabbage,” Jungkook told you, a laugh spilling from him, clearly more amused than offended about this. You couldn’t laugh with him, the guilt growing in your chest and knotting your throat shut. “Don’t worry.”

You did though. You were worried. Because you didn’t want him to believe that you didn’t care. You did. You just had the worst memory possible. It was a shitty excuse, but it was the truth.

“Also,” he continued before you could voice any of your thoughts, turning around and grabbing something from the back and handing it over to you, “that’s your actual gift.”

You looked down.

Cookies.

Your gaze lifted back up to him, eyes soft and heart beating too fast. “Jeon.”

“I still owe you from last time. You know, when you caught me-”

“Sneaking out? Yeah, I remember,” you mumbled, looking at the cookies. Seo’s Bakery. How many times had he made the trip across the city just for you now? “I remember, Jeon.”

He stared at you.

“I know you don’t really like flowers, but it just felt wrong to just give you cookies,” he told you, and you wondered if your heart was ever going to stop beating like that, if you were ever going to move on from this.

Your eyes lifted to Jungkook.

There was so much you were feeling in this moment right now, but above all, you felt so much love. You felt it deep within you, it was paralysing and terrifying. You never knew you could feel this loved before.

Not knowing what else to do, you leaned over, pressing your lips to his, wishing and hoping and praying that he knew, that somehow, you could share with him how you were feeling this way.

Your hand around the back of his neck was firm, holding him there. You needed him to know. When you pulled away, out of breath, you cringed at the sound of the wrapping paper wrinkling. The flowers had gotten a bit squished during the kiss. You tried fixing them, but it was futile. Oh well, sacrifices had to be made.

“Someone is thankful,” Jungkook grinned, and even though you wanted to roll your eyes at him and tell him to shut it, you didn’t, pulling out a cookie instead and handing it to him.

“Here.” He stared at you. “I know it’s not much, but-”

“You’re sharing your cookie with me?” Jungkook gasped, his mouth splitting into a grin. “Seriously?”

“You don’t gotta be ironic about-”

“What? No, I’m not!” He grabbed the cookie. “I’m serious! Thank you, cabbage.”

And as you looked at him, his smile too big for the fact that you had merely offered to share a cookie with him, you knew you had to make it up to him somehow.

You always craved something sweet after dinner.

That was what you told him at least. The reality was that, and you hated to admit that, you wanted to stretch out the night just a little bit longer. You didn’t want to go home just yet. Dinner with Jungkook wasn’t enough. You needed more because once you were alone, the question of what you were doing, spending so much time with him when you were only merely fake dating, loomed over you. And you couldn’t bear the thought of the answer.

So here you were, sitting on a park bench, bowls of ice cream in both of your hands. Admittedly, it wasn’t a great idea. You should have probably picked another desert, with it being the middle of November and all. You were already freezing, even more so now. But well, here you were, shovelling heaps of ice cream into your mouths.

“On a scale of bordering on public indecency to influencer annoying, how cheesy do you want me to make this post?”

You looked over to him, quirking a brow, spoon still in your mouth, the ice cream dissolving on your tongue.

“What would it be for? Our one month?” He nodded, and you pressed your lips into a thin line, thinking about how everybody was going to see it, Narae included.

“Make it influencer annoying.”

Jungkook nodded again, quickly typing up a caption. “Good?”

You squinted when he showed you his phone. He had chosen a picture of the bouquet, captioning it with “one month with the most beautiful, amazing, kindest, funniest, and smartest person ive ever met. im truly the luckiest person. i love you cabbage”.

“Wait, give me,” you mumbled, taking the phone out of his hand and adding one more sentence.

“‘love is actually real people’,” Jungkook read out, laughter spilling from his throat. “You know, I might just have not exaggerated when I said you’re the funniest person.”

You grinned, but still, the post wasn’t perfect. “It’s not cheesy enough,” you told him before stretching out your hand. “Can I-?”

Jungkook handed you his phone wordlessly, watching you with furrowed brows as you clicked out of Instagram and opened his camera app. You were lucky the park was well lit and you were sitting right underneath a street light because as you held up the phone, the camera flipped inwards, the lightning was just enough. He was quick to catch up, moving closer to you, a smile on his lips. But when you shook your head and let your arm fall, his frown returned. It melted away though when you looked at him and pressed your lips to his cheek, the shutter going off several times.

You never thought you would be voluntarily taking pictures with Jungkook, even less pictures in which you were kissing his cheek. But things had changed drastically over the last couple of weeks. And you became more and more aware of it.

By the end, you had made a completely new post, one that consisted of several pictures from your camera roll and his; the first picture was the one you had just taken now, the next one a picture he had snapped of you when you were at the pumpkin patch, your brows pinched together as you looked for the perfect pumpkin, the next one was one you had grabbed when you were in philosophy class last week and he was on the verge of dozing off, his head resting on your shoulder, and the last one was a selfie he had taken when you were in Seo’s Bakery, half of his face was cut off to get you on the picture, you hovering in front of the glass display, unaware of what he was doing, but the goofy smile on his lips was evident.

And as Jungkook hit post, you wished you had Instagram. You wished you could dedicate an entire post to him too.

“You know,” you mumbled, long after you had finished your ice cream. You were just sitting on the bench now, your head leaned against his shoulder. He hummed, prompting you to continue.

“If today’s our one month—” He hummed again. “—we would break up right around Christmas.”

Jungkook stilled, and you turned to him.

“Oh.” He blinked a couple of times. “I hadn’t even realised.”

“Me neither,” you admitted quietly, letting your words sit in the air. It was a sad thought, breaking up during the holidays. There was truly nothing worse, right?

“I mean it’s in the contract-”

“Do you wanna maybe extend-”

You stilled, mortification setting in with you. You lowered your head, feeling stupid and deeply embarrassed.

“What?”

You cringed, quick to back away, shooting up like you had been bitten by a spider.

“N-nothing. It’s nothing,” you stammered, clearing your throat and waving your hand in front of your face as if a cloud of embarrassment was hovering in front of you and you could shoo it away like that. He was staring at you, you could feel it. It made this moment so much more painful. You wished he wouldn’t.

“Were you about to suggest to date-”

“No!” you quickly cut in, and backed off some more, the proximity too much for you to handle. You grabbed the empty ice cream bowls. “I’m gonna throw-”

Jungkook held you back by your arm, pulling you back down when you tried standing up, forcing you to turn to him. Your eyes were wide when you looked at him.

“Cabbage, were you about to suggest that we should date longer?”

You blinked at him. You couldn’t read his face. What were you supposed to say? Because yes, you absolutely fucking were. But now you were regretting it with every fiber of your being. He was going to mock you, tell you how stupid you were for thinking he would date you even longer than necessary. Did I need to remind you that this was all just a bet?, you could already hear him say it.

“We aren’t dating,” you blurted out, voice thin and shaky, heart beating in your throat as you spoke. You were latching onto the most pointless detail. “We are fake dating.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he sighed, “were you about to suggest that we should fake date longer?”

You didn’t like the way Jungkook overemphasised ‘fake’. It was like he thought the clarification was unnecessary when it was very much the opposite. This was all fake, you had to remember that. Definitely, fake, all of it. This was for show, even today. And that was good. It was good that it was all fake and not real. You were happy with that. You couldn’t delude yourself into the opposite.

“I don’t know,” you looked down, “I don’t know. I-”

Jungkook smiled. In fact, he smiled so much, his eyes scrunched up into half-moons, his nose wrinkling too. He had to bite his tongue to stop the laugh from spilling out, knowing very well what kind of reaction it would elicit out of you.

“Okay, cabbage, listen,” he bit his lip to stop the smile from growing too big, “I don’t know what you were suggesting, but if you’re willing to break the contract,” he paused, placing his hand on yours, “we could date a little longer.”

You lifted your gaze, trying to gauge if Jungkook was being serious or mocking you. But you found no traces of the latter.

“I only suggested it,” you scrunched your nose, picking a piece of lint off your pants, “because Jimin would be devastated if we ‘broke up’ right before Christmas.”

“Right, yeah,” he hummed, the grin evident in his voice. “Me too obviously.”

And for some reason, Jungkook admitting that made your heart clench in your chest and your throat grow tight. For some reason, you wished he hadn’t said that. For some reason, there was a part of you that wanted him to tell you he made that suggestion for a very different reason.

The faint smell of gunpowder lingered in the air.

“What does it say, Ji? What exactly does it say?”

“Well, like I’ve said before,” Jisoo wildly gestured around with the instruction manual, “it says to put the thingy into that long thingy and then just stick it together until it clicks and turn it 360 degrees-”

“360 degrees? That’s a whole turn, Ji!”

“I know! You’re supposed to screw it in!”

“Then why didn’t you say that?”

“I said to turn it 360-”

“Break!” you yelled, throwing the screwdriver to the side, sick of listening to Jisoo and Chaeyoung yell at each other. And just as the two were about to argue with you, you put up your hand. “No, no, no, we’re taking a break. I know you guys wanna finish this, but clearly,” you pointed at the ‘progress’ you had made so far, “it’s not going very well. We’re taking a break.”

And that was how you ended up scavenging Chaeyoung’s snack cabinet, the three of you plopping down on her couch once the treasures were secured, your limbs and muscles aching from all of the work. Why did you think setting up a desk and a dresser on the same day was a good idea? It was a miracle you managed to finish the desk at all.

“How’s it going with Jennie?” Chaeyoung asked, shoving a handful of chips into her mouth, her hands similarly greasy like her hair. It had been a long day. You weren’t finishing the dresser, you were certain of that much.

Jisoo smiled at Jennie’s mention. Chaeyoung and you shared a look. “Good. It’s going really well.”

“Yeah?” you teased, raising a brow. “Have you guys been texting?”

She nodded, her smile breaking into a grin. “Yeah, maybe.”

You laughed when Jisoo looked away, face flushed.

“You think you two could actually be something?” Chaeyoung asked, and you zeroed in on Jisoo, not wanting to miss her reaction. Her cheeks reddened even more.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe.”

Chaeyoung and you exchanged another glance. Jisoo picked up on it, knowing very well what that meant. So she cleared her throat and pointed at Chaeyoung. “Well, what, uh, about Seok and you?”

It was comical how quickly Chaeyoung’s face fell, the smile wiped off her lips, replaced by the same look of embarrassment Jisoo was still wearing. “What? Seok and I? T-there’s nothing-”

“Oh, please,” you groaned, rolling your eyes. “How much longer are we gonna pretend like you two don’t obviously and very clearly like each other?”

Chaeyoung gasped, exasperated by this insinuation that there was something between Hoseok and her because we are just friends!. Jisoo and you were losing patience.

“Yeah, like dude, I saw you two getting close during the Halloween party,” Jisoo laughed, and you never knew what mortification looked like until now. “You literally showed up in a couple’s costume. And don’t even try that entire ‘Oh, I didn’t know what to dress up as and oh, no, I just happened to have a Gryffindor costume that made me coincidentally look a lot like Ginny and oh, no, Hoseok happened to be Harry Potter’ bullshit.”

“Even Jeon noticed it,” you added. “And that was after meeting you guys once.”

“Look! Even Y/N’s stupid boyfriend noticed it,” Jisoo said, and you threw a piece of chocolate at her. She dodged it though, plopping it into her mouth with a big grin. “Actually, Joon asked me about you guys.”

“Yoongi and Jin asked me recently too,” you said, remembering the conversation you had with them a few days ago. “Actually, they just-”

“I don’t wanna talk about this,” Chaeyoung hissed, looking just about ready for the universe to swallow her up whole.

Jisoo and you looked at each other before cracking up.

You were sipping on your second wine glass of the night, washing down the greasy pizza with it when Chaeyoung gasped next to you.

“You said you’d delete that picture, Ji!”

Jisoo unabashedly laughed into Chaeyoung’s face, holding out her phone. “Well, guess who lied?”

You rolled your eyes and patted Chaeyoung on the back. “It’s not that bad.”

“It’s me shitfaced and I’m sleeping on the bathroom floor!” she hissed, staring at you like you were to blame for the picture. (And well, you had been the one that had grabbed Jisoo’s phone and taken it, but that was beside the point. You weren’t bringing it up again, Jisoo was.)

“No worse than any of Jimin’s drunk pictures,” you assured her, but it didn’t offer much consolation, her pout staying on her face.

“Look, everyone gets shitfaced sometimes. No shame in that. Look!” Jisoo showed her a picture of Hoseok and Jimin who were both lying on the floor, drunk out of their minds and laughing about something you were sure was nowhere as funny as they made it out to be. “Or wait, I’ve got one of Y/N too.”

But when Jisoo swiped to the next picture, it didn’t show you, but your friend group, huddled together at some club, all of you at a different level of drunk. Jimin was the worst, eyes completely blown out. You had goofy grins on your lips. Hoseok had his arm wrapped around Chaeyoung’s upper waist, her hand on the small of his back. Jisoo and you both noticed it instantly, sharing a look. But Chaeyoung pretended not to see. Before you could call her out on it though, you saw how tight you were holding onto Jisoo in the picture, your knuckles white, and you cringed.

“I’ve never seen that picture before,” Chaeyoung said, eyes still glued to the screen.

“When was that?” you asked, not recalling taking, or even posing, for this picture.

Jisoo tapped the screen, the date and time of the picture appearing. “Oh, wow, that was recent. Just two months ago. On the fifth.”

“Oh, wasn’t that the club Jimin took us to?” Chaeyoung asked, sipping on her beer.

“Dude, I barely remember anything from that night,” Jisoo laughed, taking a bite from her pizza and putting away her phone.

“Well, I only remember getting abandoned by you guys and locking myself in the bathroom,” you said, scrunching your nose, still feeling petty over that entire night.

“Isn’t that when you met bathroom guy?” Chaeyoung asked, shoving the last piece of crust into her mouth. You rolled your eyes at his mention. It was getting old.

“Not to be overly like Jimin right now, but do you guys ever think we’re gonna solve that mystery? Of bathroom guy?” Her wine swooshed from side to side in her wine glass, almost spilling over. Chaeyoung took it from Jisoo, fearing, just like you, she was about to spill it all. “Or you think he’s gonna land in the X-Files?”

“You do know that the show solves paranormal cases, right?”

Jisoo looked at you.

“Sure, I do.” Chaeyoung snorted. Jisoo sounded so unconvincing, it was comical. “Don’t you think it’s paranormal that you of all people trusted a stranger and had a serious, genuine talk with them?”

You gasped and shoved at her shoulder.

“What? Am I wrong?”

“You’re mean,” you told her, shoving her shoulder once more when she rolled her eyes at you.

Jungkook came to pick you up an hour later, showing up at Chaeyoung’s place in a coat you had never seen. It was old, he told you at the door.

“Ah, Jeon!” Jisoo grumbled, appearing behind you while you were still tying your boots. “Did you have to come this early? We were just enjoying ourselves!”

“She texted me to come pick her up,” Jungkook said, holding up his hand and looking at you, as if to shift all of the blame on you. Jisoo turned to you.

You shrugged. “I’m tired.”

She squinted her eyes at you, scoffing. “You just don’t want to talk about bathroom guy.” She leaned down, face right in front of yours, and you could smell the wine on her breath. She levelled you with a look, gaze digging into yours. “You seriously never saw his face?”

“That’s the fifth time you’re asking me this question now,” you said, rolling your eyes and backing away. “Also, what happened to not wanting to be overly like Jimin?”

“Well, maybe it’s not so wrong to be overly like Jimin. I mean what’s wrong with being curious?” she shot back, and you laughed, rising to your feet and dusting off your butt.

“Nothing.” You grabbed your coat and slipped into it, wrapping your scarf around your neck. “There’s something very wrong about being annoying though.”

She gasped.

“Just get over it, Ji,” Chaeyoung said, having listened on the conversation the entire time. “We’ll never find out who he is.”

And at that, Jisoo pouted, her cheeks rosy red from all of the wine. You gave Chaeyoung a look, and she knew. Good luck with a drunk Jisoo! She sighed, and you almost laughed, feeling just the tiniest bit of guilt for leaving her to deal with Jisoo on her own. But then you remembered how she had done the same a couple of weeks ago to you, just with the difference it had been Hoseok picking her up.

“Anyway—” you turned to Jungkook, who had been silently standing there the entire time, doe-eyed and clearly confused. You smiled. “—it’s time to go.”

You grabbed his hand, the two of you bidding your friends goodbye before walking out, the harsh and frigid wind greeting you once you were outside. You shuddered and pulled your coat tighter around you, glad for the scarf you had with you.

“Aren’t you cold?” you asked as you walked towards his car. Jungkook shrugged, digging the keys out of his pocket.

“I don’t get cold easily.”

You wrinkled your nose, not all that happy with his answer. “You should dress warmer.”

He smiled, grabbing the door for you and gesturing for you to jump in. You did, happy when he shut the door and effectively also the cold.

“Thanks for picking me up, by the way.”

“Of course,” Jungkook smiled, giving you a half-smirk while clicking the seat belt into place. “Can’t let my girlfriend go home alone at this time of-”

“Fake girlfriend,” you corrected, pulling the seat belt across your chest.

He paused, and you glanced in his direction then.

“Well, look at all of the things I do for you and you’re just my fake girlfriend. Could you imagine what things I’d do for you if we were actually dating?” Jungkook hummed, and you froze.

What?

“I-”

You opened and closed your mouth several times, your mind wiped blank. You didn’t snap back until Jungkook started laughing. Your cheeks flushed hot, irritation quickly mixing with the embarrassment you were feeling.

“I hate you,” you hissed as the car sputtered to life underneath you.

“Sure you do,” he grinned as he pulled out. You rolled your eyes in response, biting your tongue. You weren’t in the mood for that now.

You lapsed into silence, and for a while, it stayed that way until Jungkook poked you in the ribs. You flinched, shoving his hand aside.

“Jeon-”

“Can I ask you something?”

You groaned dramatically. “Do you have to?”

He was already looking at you when you turned to him, the two of you conveniently sitting at a red light. You blinked, confused by the look on his face. It was serious, a complete switch from a minute ago. There was something in his eyes, but you couldn’t pinpoint it. You shifted in your seat, confused and almost fearful of what he was going to ask you. It was rare for him to be this serious. And almost automatically you assumed it had to be something bad.

“What is it?” You quirked a brow. “You’re scaring me-”

“It’s nothing bad,” Jungkook quickly assured you, realising how his wording had made it sound. “It’s just-”

And when he wouldn’t continue, you narrowed your eyes. “Just ask.”

An entire eternity seemed to pass between yours and his words.

“Do you—” he shifted his gaze back on the street when the light turned green, the sentence coming out as slow as the traffic was moving. It was dark and had been raining all day. “—really not know who bathroom guy is?”

You blinked at him a handful of times before bursting out into laughter.

“God, Jeon!” you exclaimed, shaking your head, unsure of whether or not you wanted to roll your eyes at him or shove at his shoulder. “That’s your question?”

“W-what?” he sputtered as if you were being absurd right now and not him. “It’s a legitimate question!”

“How?” you laughed, still shaking your head. “You really got me there for a second, you know?”

“I said it was nothing bad,” he said, and you decided in the end to just roll your eyes at him. He was driving after all. “Well,” he glanced at you, “do you?”

“Jeon,” you began, a smile on your lips because god, this was stupid, “I wasn’t kidding when I told Ji, I had never seen his face.”

“Okay, but you said… you guys bonded in a way?” Jungkook scratched the back of his head, his face twisted in something you couldn’t figure out. “I just- have you tried finding out who he is?”

And with that, you knew he wasn’t going to let go of this. Just like Jisoo hadn’t for the entire night. You couldn’t quite blame him for being curious though. After all, you had lied to him about bathroom guy’s identity and never bothered to elaborate on it.

You sighed and looked out the window.

“Well, I did.”

Jungkook turned to you, something flickering across his features. But you missed it, eyes not meeting.

“You did?”

You tugged on your sweater when you spoke again, admitting this beyond embarrassing for you.

“I went to another party a week later. I thought- I thought I was gonna meet him there again.” And when Jungkook wouldn’t say anything, you knew he thought your attempt was stupid. “He told me his friends drag him to parties a lot, alright?” you explained. “I just- I didn’t have anything else to go off on since you know, I didn’t even know what he looked-”

You paused. Because right in that moment, it dawned on you how dumb your attempt had been. Even if he had been at the party, you didn’t know what he looked like. How were you supposed to know who he was? You hadn’t realised until now. Before you had been just so desperate to find him, you had never-

“That’s so—” You expected Jungkook to mock you, laugh even, tease you for being so goddamn whipped for a guy you didn’t know the name of nor had ever seen, a guy that still classified as a stranger, you actually went to a party to look for him. “—cute.”

You looked at him. You thought it was anything but cute. It was embarrassing, stupid, dumb.

You scoffed and shook your head. “You mean embarrassing-”

“No, I mean cute,” Jungkook said, looking at you. “It’s cute that you tried for him.” He paused. “It’s cute that you thought he was worth all of the trouble.”

And even though you clearly and very obviously did try for bathroom guy and put in a lot of effort to find him again that one time, Jungkook suggesting that was absolutely ridiculous to you. It was mortifying. You going out of your way to make an effort and for who? A guy? You scoffed and shook your head. Denial came fast.

“What?” you laughed, definitely too agitated and irritated for your own good. Jungkook bit the side of his cheek, a smile growing on his lips. “That isn’t me. I would never-”

“Okay, yeah, you definitely didn’t,” he grinned, rolling his eyes. You wondered if he was trying at all to sound sincere, or if he really just wanted to rub it into your face how stupid you had acted for a guy.

“God, shut up,” you mumbled, burying your face in your hands. You pressed the heels of your hands into your eyes when you heard him chuckling. He let you wallow in your thoughts, and you were grateful until he broke the silence again.

“Just out of sheer curiousity though,” you already knew you weren’t going to like his question, scrunching your nose, “and definitely not because I wanna know how he got you so whipped for him with just one conversation that made you go to another party looking for him,” you rolled your eyes, “what did you guys talk about?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Why not?” he hummed, grinning when he saw that glower on your face. “Just tell me, cabbage.”

You didn’t want to, and you probably shouldn’t either. The chance of him bringing it up relentlessly to tease you was too high. But something in you caved. You couldn’t say what it was, but you did think it might have something to do with the way he was grinning at you and the pet name and the fact that your heart hadn’t been solely you for a while now.

When you spoke again, you didn’t look at him. “To be fair, I don’t remember much,” you mumbled. “I had a couple shots.”

“Tell me what you remember then,” Jungkook said, shifting in his seat. “I’ll take anything.”

You were too far in trying to recall everything to register his words properly, your brows pinched together. You rummaged around in your brain for the memory, sifting through the events of the last two months to get to it. It was a bit blurry, the alcohol clouding your mind.

[You - 00:28 AM] : where the fuck are oyu guys???

[You - 00:28 AM] : im fckiing murderin your stupid ugly negligiant asses

[You - 00:28 AM] : you guys better pick up nw

And when you listened to the call ring out, beeping meeting you on the other line, none of your friends picking up the group call, you were more than tempted to throw your phone against the wall. But when you remembered that for one, you were in a shitty bathroom stall and there was no way your phone was touching any of the surfaces, and for another, none of them were worth breaking your phone over, you decided to leave them a voice message.

“Asswipes,” you barked into the receiver, your brain too cloudy to realise you were being a tad too loud and your voice was echoing on the walls, “you guys are dead, you hear me? You better run when you see me!”

With a huff, you hung up. As satisfying as it was to yell at them, that feeling dissolved quickly, overshadowed by frustration. Because that voice message changed nothing about your situation. And when you heard that snickering from the neighbouring stall, your situation worsened by another degree.

If you hadn’t already been in such a shitty mood and all of that liquid courage raging within you with nowhere to go, you probably would have just walked out and saved face, dismissed them, and gone looking for one of your friends. The emphasis was on if.

Because you were in a shitty mood and did have all of that liquid courage with nowhere to go, so you took that snicker as a personal insult, raising a brow and turning to the wall like it had wronged you.

“Did you just laugh at me?”

It was quiet then.

(Well, as quiet as it got in a club bathroom.)

You heard someone clearing their throat, the sound of shoes squeaking against the tiles echoing on the walls.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.”

You blinked a few times, your brain short circuited.

That was just a man’s voice.

“You’re a dude?”

A few seconds ticked past.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Oh.”

The surprise was evident in your voice. Your brows pinched together as you tried to remember if you had gone into the man’s bathroom. But no, you hadn’t. You had run into another girl at the door. This was definitely the women’s bathroom.

“Why are you here?” you asked, suspicion lacing your voice.

“What? A guy can’t pee?”

“Are you peeing right now?” you exclaimed, alarmed that you were participating in something you didn’t want to be. “Dude-”

“I- what? No! I’m talking to you, am I not?” he hissed, exasperated, and if he hadn’t sounded as upset as he did, you wouldn’t have believed him.

You hummed, scrunching your nose. “You better not be peeing.”

Another snort from the other side.

You rolled your eyes, deciding your conversation with that stranger was done now. You had other things to focus on, namely if one of your friends had answered. And when you checked your phone and saw no notifications aside from CandyCrush informing you of their ongoing sale that you shouldn’t miss for your life!!, you were tempted to call them up again and curse at them. But with the knowledge that someone was right next door, you resisted the urge.

You sighed and put your phone away. You weren’t even disappointed. You didn’t think they had responded, your gut telling you that you weren’t going to hear from your friends for a while. And with that knowledge—even though you definitely shouldn’t because it was gross and you were in a goddamn club bathroom and you didn’t even want to think about what people had done in here—you slid down the wall and sat down.

God, you were miserable.

And he only added to your misery, like salt to a wound.

“Did you just sit down on the floor?”

There was disgust and judgment in his voice.

“Dude, shut up, you’re in the women’s bathroom,” you bit back, taking everything definitely a little too personal. Alcohol could make you sensitive.

“Wait,” his shoes squeaked against the tiles again, and you could almost picture the look of horror on his face, well, actually no, you couldn’t because you were talking to a wall right now- anyway. “Is this the women’s bathroom?”

You snorted, glad to know you weren’t the only one unsure. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Oh, shit,” he cursed quietly on the other side, and you almost couldn’t hear it. “I hadn’t-”

You snorted again, the panic evident in his voice. “So you’re not a creep.”

“You think I’m a creep?”

“Well, not anymore. A creep doesn’t react like that,” you told him. “You’re good.”

“Well, that’s… assuring.”

You laughed, shaking your head. You blinked a couple of times, your vision blurry and fuzzy. Through the crack under the wall, you could see his shoes, well, actually boots- combat boots to be exact. They looked like the kind your angsty teenage self would have loved. (Not that you would have ever gone out with them if you had had a pair, too scared to wear them out because they just drew too much attention and you had gotten too comfortable with your Reebok sneakers. Still, you would have died to get your hands on a pair.)

They were exactly what you had wanted then, and still secretly do actually; black, chunky, ankle high, a thick sole and heel, matching big laces, and intricate detailing. You probably would have complimented him on them, told him how pretty they were, especially paired with the black jeans he was wearing, if your brain hadn’t latched onto the fact that this dumbass was also, in fact, sitting. Just like you.

“You’re sitting,” you stated, a smudge of upset colouring your voice. “You’re sitting too!”

“What?”

You scoffed. “You don’t get to judge me for sitting if you’re sitting too!”

“I’m sad, alright? I get to sit-”

“Dude, we’ve both chosen to lock ourselves in a bathroom stall. Obviously, we’re sad,” you laughed, shaking your head at his poor defence.

“Fine, so I judged you.” You could hear him rolling his eyes at you. “But I do have my reasons for being here.”

You raised your brows. “Do you now?”

“You sound very judgemental too for someone who’s in the same situation as me,” he argued, and you scrunched your nose, disliking it that he was pointing it out to you. You were aware already.

“Well, I’ve got my reasons too.”

“Do you now?” he parrotted and you wished you could kick him for it. What a creative insult. “What’s your great reason for being here?”

You let your head fall back, eyes falling shut. “My friends dipped on me. Left me to fend on my own.”

“Is that why you were threatening murder?”

You clicked your tongue. “Eavesdropping is rude, you know?”

“You were practically yelling.”

You opened your mouth, but closed it again soon after. You couldn’t think of any kind of response, no clever retort sitting on your tongue. It made you scrunch your nose. You had just lost.

“Why are you here now?” you asked, changing the topic, and when he laughed, you knew he was very aware of what you were doing now.

“No comeback, huh?” he teased, and you could practically see the way he was raising his brow and grinning like an idiot. You pressed your mouth into a thin line.

“Just tell me why you’re here. I told you why. It’s your turn,” you said, hating that you couldn’t think of anything to say except this.

“You sure you wanna know?” he asked, and you frowned.

“Just tell me.”

“So,” he began, pausing for drama, “it might be my…”

You raised a brow when he didn’t continue, waiting and waiting for him to finish his sentence. “Yes?”

“It might be my… birthday.”

He made it sound more like a question than a statement. You blinked once, twice, three times.

“Oh.” Your brain was wiped blank for a second before you realized that hadn’t been the appropriate response. “Wait, shit, happy birthday then.”

There was a quiet chuckle. “Thank you.”

Your face quickly morphed into a frown though when you realised just how weird it actually was for him, the birthday person, to be sitting with you here on the bathroom floor while a whole party, a party for him, was going on right next door. And as if he could read your mind, he spoke up.

“I don’t like parties.” He paused. “I’m only here because my friends forced me to go. They always do that.”

You nodded. “I’m guessing they are huge party goers?”

“They live for it,” he chuckled, and you could practically hear him shaking his head. “If there’s a party and someone is dancing on the table, it’s one of my friends. I’m the guy sitting in the corner, trying to hide behind my drink.”

You laughed. You knew exactly what he was talking about in a way. Jimin and Hoseok sometimes got… wild too. Jisoo as well. If there was good music and cheap booze, nothing could stop those three. More times than not, Chaeyoung and you had to run around and collect them and chain them to yourselves like literal children on the loose.

“So I’m not gonna find you locked in the women’s bathroom. Noted-”

“Can you stop?” he whined, sighing. “You’re making it sound like I deliberately walked into the women’s bathroom.”

“Didn’t you?”

“I’m no creep!”

And when you saw him shift under the gap, almost like he wanted to physically defend himself from your accusations, you laughed. You placed your hand in front of your mouth, trying to muffle the sound, but it was futile. He tried scoffing, but it quickly morphed into a laugh. Your laughter infecting him.

“I also have another reason,” he mumbled, and you raised your brow, biting your lip to stop your grin from coming through too much in your voice.

“Do you?”

“My ex is here,” he shot back, and you stilled. That was a great reason to lock yourself in the bathroom.

“Oh.”

“Well, actually she isn’t my ex,” he sighed, and just from that, you knew their relationship was complicated. “We never officially dated. We just hooked up for a while, but, well, she’s been throwing herself at me lately and trying to-”

You snorted, “Oh, no! Someone is trying to date you! Poor you!”

He didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Literally, shut up.”

It was the way he said it, the pout so evident in his voice. You cracked up.

“You’re really mean. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“I was just kidding,” you grinned, waiting for a beat before going on. “I’m sorry your ex is throwing herself at you.”

And you genuinely meant that. Your sympathy wasn’t made up, and he could hear that, you thought so at least.

“Also, it’s not even like that.” You stayed silent, letting him talk. “She… doesn’t even want to actually date me. She’s just mad I ended things with her. It’s literally been like two years.”

You raised your brows. Two years, and he still had to deal with her. Damn.

“Exes suck. I’m sorry.”

He laughed. “They fucking do.”

You thought of your own ex, Jaehwa. You couldn’t imagine seeing him again after all this time. You highly doubted you could handle it, his image bringing back all of the bad memories. You would definitely lock yourself in the bathroom too if you saw him, bolt at his sight for sure. Shuddering, you scrubbed him out of your mind.

“God, I don’t know what to do,” he mumbled, and the frustration was evident in his voice. You hummed, not quite knowing what to say.

“You know what you should do?” you started, speaking only to not sit in silence. You should have stayed silent. “You should date another girl to get her off your back.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Wow, thanks,” he began, and you thought he was being genuine, not hearing the irony in his voice. “That’s such a good idea! I’m definitely gonna do that now!”

It didn’t click with you until a few seconds later, his words ringing in your mind.

“Hey! I- You-”

You deflated. You didn’t know what to say. Because, well, he wasn’t wrong. It was a horrible idea. Dating someone just for the sole reason to get an ex off your back? That was awfully cruel. But still, your advice was meant well!

“You can’t even defend yourself,” he laughed, and you scowled, scrunching your nose.

“Shut up. I was trying to be helpful,” you hissed. “Plus I’m kinda tipsy, so it’s not like I’m thinking straight.”

“That’s no excuse,” he laughed, and you rolled your eyes, scrunching your face. “Also, I want a serious relationship. I don’t wanna do any of that messing around for shits and giggles anymore.”

You raised a brow. “Someone’s desperate for a relationship, huh?”

And rather than be offended, he laughed. It made you smile, the sound of his laughter. It was beautiful.

“Yeah, I think so. Probably.” He paused. “I think I just wanna find someone to connect with. Someone that likes me for… me.”

You opened your mouth before closing it again, not expecting such a serious and genuine answer from him. It was weird how your conversation toed the line between you just insulting each other and actually being honest and open the entire time. There really was no in between.

“You should date me then. I’m a great girlfriend,” you joked, expecting him to laugh with you. But when he wouldn’t respond, you froze. “I was just-”

“What’s your name?”

“What?”

“I don’t know your name.”

You stilled, blinking several times.

He didn’t know your name, and you didn’t know his name. You hadn’t introduced yourselves this entire time. You hadn’t even noticed.

“Oh, shit,” you blurted out, a smile forming on your lips. “Fuck, we really haven’t-”

You couldn’t finish your sentence, shaking your head at yourself.

“Well, tell me now,” he urged, and you could hear the grin on his lips. “What’s your name? If you want to date, I gotta know your name first.”

You rolled your eyes. “I was just joking, you know?”

And when he gasped loudly, you could kick him again. God, the drama. “You were joking? I was just about to propose to you!”

You snorted. “You don’t even know my name-”

“Which is why you should tell me,” he quipped back, and you hated the grin that spread on your lips. He was stupid. “How else are we gonna date slash get married-”

“Let’s just not do names.”

That shut him up for a second, your suggestion clearly throwing him off. But he was quick to jump in and go along with it.

“Right, yeah, I’m just gonna date you and just never know your name,” he laughed. “I’m just gonna call you some stupid nickname the entire time.”

You thought about it, shrugging. “Sounds good to me. Let’s date and not know each other’s name. Where’s the fun in dating when you know my name?”

There was a beat of silence before you heard him cracking up on the other side, and you knew he was going to play along with you.

“Right, yeah, you’re right. Names are totally overrated these days.“

“See, this is why I’m dating you,” you said. “Because you just get it.”

“Of course, I do. I can read your mind, babe,” he smiled, and you cringed, shuddering at the pet name. But before you could tell him not to call you that, he went on, “So, no names.”

“No names,” you confirmed. “Also, no faces.”

“Right yes, no faces,” he quickly agreed with you. “Because obviously, knowing how the person looks like you’re dating that’s just unnecessary. I mean if it’s meant to be I’ll find you either way, right?”

“Exactly,” you hummed. “If you don’t find me among the millions of people, can you even call it love?”

There was a stupid grin on your lips, and you were sure there was one on his too.

You never imagined it, but sitting on the dirty and sticky (you refused to think about this too much) bathroom floor, literally locked away from the party, talking to a stranger whose shoes were the only thing you could see and whose name nor face you knew, it was fun.

“I’m guessing no numbers either, right?” he asked, breaking the silence. And even with his voice much lower, you could still hear the smile on his face.

“Obviously not-”

The sound of the door opening interrupted you. You looked up. It wasn’t yours. It was the one outside.

“Hey, Y/N?”

Chaeyoung.

You froze. And even though there was a wall between you, you could feel his gaze on you right now. You sighed, your head hanging low. As much as you didn’t want to respond, you knew you had to. So much for no names.

“... yeah?” you called back, slowly getting up.

This had to end at one point, you knew. You had just thought it wouldn’t be just now, not right when you were getting along so well. You wished Chaeyoung hadn’t said your name, or come in at all.

“Are you- did you lock yourself in the bathroom?”

You rolled your eyes, dusting yourself off before opening the door. Chaeyoung stared at you, and you waved her off. Because there was definitely a part of you that was, well, pissed off at her. But you knew you couldn’t be mad at her. So you swallowed that frustration, exhaling it in a long sigh.

“You guys dipped. What was I supposed to do?”

Chaeyoung frowned. “Uh, text us? Call? Use your mobile device that you own to-”

“I did,” you interrupted, glaring at her because you weren’t stupid. You were just introverted and loathed attention. But your gaze softened once you looked in the mirror, eyes travelling to the stall next to yours. He wasn’t coming out- obviously, he wasn’t. He was in a women’s bathroom.

Chaeyoung followed your gaze. “What are you looking at? Also, who were you just talking to-”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You must be drunk,” you quickly told her, shaking your head. “Do you know where the others are?”

“Uh—” She was still confused, glancing between the door and you, convinced that she had heard your voice when she had come in. But when you raised a brow, she snapped out of it. “—right, yeah, I know. I was supposed to get you actually. Jimin has been looking for you.”

You hummed and nodded, staying silent for a moment. It was weird. There was a genuine part of you that was sad about the development of this. You would have liked to continue the conversation with him, maybe get to a point where you would realise how stupid it was of you that you weren’t exchanging any information. But in your tipsy state and with Chaeyoung staring at you, awaiting your response, you failed to realise just how much you were going to regret this,

“Okay, let’s go then.”

(It wasn’t until the morning that it hit you that yes, you would like to know who he was. He who could make you laugh so much, who made sitting on the bathroom floor not seem as pathetic and sad as it was.

You would have liked to know who he was that could make dating sound so strangely appealing and fun.)

“He seems nice,” Jungkook hummed once you finished talking. You nodded, gaze stuck in the distance, your features soft from all of the remembering. You had never enjoyed talking to a stranger more than that night two months ago.

“He does,” you mumbled, letting your thoughts wander.

“Do you regret it? Not asking for his name, I mean. Or, you know, his number.” Jungkook asked, fiddling with his keys. You had pulled up to your building halfway through your story and now you were just sitting in the car. If you had just looked at him, you would have noted the way he was avoiding your gaze. But you missed it, too busy thinking about his question.

It took you a moment to come up with an answer.

“I think part of me does and part of me doesn't.” You were speaking slowly, quietly. “It depends on the day. I did regret it the morning after, but- I don’t think I do anymore really. I think what made it so great is that element of mystery, you know? There was something exciting about not knowing who he is.” You shrugged. “Or maybe I’m just telling myself that, so I don’t feel bad. Who knows?”

Jungkook hummed, his mouth opening before closing again. There were words on his tongue. He couldn’t bring himself to say them. Not that there was time for him to find the courage anyway because you clapped your hands together, effectively ending the conversation.

“Anyway, the past is the past. Doesn’t matter anymore. I can’t change anything anyway, or meet him somehow even if I wanted to,” you said, shrugging, thinking for a moment.

“It’s getting late.” You unclipped the seat belt. “So I really should get going. Thanks for picking me up again.”

For a second, Jungkook had this weird look on his face, something swimming in his eyes. But when you opened the car door, he snapped out of it, nodding, his lips pressing into a line.

“Right, yeah, it’s late,” he mumbled, the stars dotting the night sky, the moon hanging high above. You jumped out and turned towards him, standing there. In the moonlight, he could precisely see the slope of your nose and cheeks and that little mole on your nose that had appeared one day when you were thirteen and that acne scar that was still left over from your period last month.

And as he eyed you, getting lost in you, you seized the chance to do the same. He was perfect, you realised, so much so it hurt. Everything from that scar on his cheek you had only recently noticed and heard the story of to those goddamn doe eyes of his that he always looked at you with, so big you thought you could see the world and the universe in them. It was all perfect.

But your gaze wandered further—and you didn’t know why because you never could quite take your eyes off his face—until you reached his shoes.

Black leather ankle boots.

No laces.

No thick soles or heels.

No intricate detailing.

And for some reason, your heart sank in your chest.

For some reason, your stupid brain had thought that Jungkook might be-

“Goodnight, cabbage,” he whispered and you snapped your gaze back to him, a smile quickly finding your lips. You looked at him, blinking several times.

He was definitely not him.

Jungkook definitely wasn’t bathroom guy.

There was nothing tying you to him, no fate or destiny. There was nothing grand about Jungkook and you. All of this was nothing more than the making of a stupid bet he was hellbent on winning and money you desperately needed. This was going to end soon enough. He and you were never going to turn into anything, you were sure. It was fun; going out for dinner, kissing, holding hands, sleeping with one another. But that was all your “relationship” was. Fun. There was nothing else to, even if your heart might be beating faster and harder whenever you were around him.

You looked at him, a small smile on your lips.

“Goodnight, Jeon.”

You felt for the string of the parachute.

→ thanks for reading !! if you have any thoughts, id love to hear it!

#jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #bts fluff #bts angst #jungkook x reader #bts x reader #jungkook scenarios #bts scenarios #jungkook fanfic #ficscafe #52hertz

738 notes · View notes

dr4kenlvr · 3 years

Text

dating chifuyu matsuno

pairing: chifuyu matsuno x gn!reader

genre: fluff

request: omg dating chifuyu pls<3

shout out to chifuyu, gotta be one of the bestest boys in tokyo revengers!!

being chifuyu's partner has got to be one of the best things someone could accomplish in their life LMAO

chifuyu firmly believes that a relationship should contain mutual trust and love, and he is so incredibly happy that he's found someone who cares for him as much as he does them

(remember when he was bitching about not being able to spend time on christmas eve looking for a partner??? YEAH THAT)

when you first start dating i feel like he'd really want you to meet his friends, just cause that way you can get to know them and you could all hang out together

it'd be easier for him too since baji's ass is always around him, and he doesn't want to neglect anybody

he'd fall in love even more with you when he sees that you get along nicely with them all

it makes his heart so full to see his friends and partner hanging out, that sometimes his ass is left behind

"yo chifuyu, y/n is more fun to hang out with than you!" - smiley, probably

chifuyu: :o

often, chifuyu likes to take you all over the city when you're free

he'd offer to take you out whenever you're free to spend extra time with you!

your family find him incredibly sweet and trustworthy as well, so he has no problem winning over their hearts <3

he promises them that he'll return you back at a reasonable time and safely!

around the city, he'll take you to get some food, buy your favourite drinks, and maybe even feed the ducks at the nearby pond

he just loves seeing the smile light up your face when you're having fun, it honestly makes his entire day

one place he really likes to go is the book store where he can look for and buy new manga with you, he'll offer to pay for your books too if you want any

now, since he's apart of toman, he completely acknowledges the dangers that come with being a gang member

he'll put his whole effort into making sure that you are safe

if you insist you can handle yourself (he finds that super attractive btw), he'll ease up a little but is still on your ass with "be careful" or "call or text me if you need me okay!!"

he is ALWAYS talking about you to takemitchi (he finds it really cute tbh)

"takemitchi look look! they're so cute" - chifuyu when you post a new photo online

he's a total fanboy of your shit too, if you like to play an instrument or you like to collect figurines, whatever it is!

chifuyu is ON HIS SHIT to support you !! chifuyu number one y/n supporter !!!

his friends find it funny too, they sometimes ask about you and how you're doing, and chifuyu has all the latest updates

smiley and pah tease him relentlessly, don't matter if you're around or not

he gets pretty blushy but is rather flaunt about having a partner

chifuyu's got this habit of drumming his fingers on your thigh or hand whenever you sit with him

if you're on his lap, he'll rest his hands on your legs and just- pat pat pat

just random patterns, or to a beat of a song that's stuck in his head

if it makes you uncomfortable or annoyed at all, he'll stop for sure, he's not one to push you into anything you wouldn't want to do

you guys like to share music with one another too! so if you recommend him an artist, he'll def check them out and vis versa!

you two have a shared playlist where you just compile a bunch of your favourite songs together and listen <3

yup i 11/10 recommend everyone a chifuyu matsuno

#chifuyu x reader #chifuyu x reader fluff #chifuyu headcanons #chifuyu headcanons fluff #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers x reader fluff #tokyo revengers fluff #tokyo revengers headcanons #tokyo revengers headcanons fluff #chifuyu matsuno #chifuyu #tokyo revengers #chifuyu matsuno x reader #chifuyu matsuno x reader fluff #chifuyu matsuno headcanons #request

818 notes · View notes

broadstbroskis · 3 years

Text

thanksgiving | jeff skinner

a/n: it’s here!!! this is like 4k that i threw together in like a week after i took it as a personal challenge from @blueskrugs after i asked why we don’t write more thanksgiving fics. a huge shoutout to her and @danglesnipecelly, for inspiration and cheering me on for this, as well as literally anyone else who’s cheered me on to finish thing, you’re all the real mvps and i love you all 💚

-----

Jeff shrugs, and from across the table filled with pizza, beer, and a bunch of other things that are most definitely not on his approved list of foods, you stare at him.

“I dunno. I don’t really have plans, I guess? Probably just sit at home, relax a little?” He says. Your jaw drops. He has...he has what now? “You're going to your parent’s right?” You nod slowly, still stuck on the fact that he’s going to sit at home and do nothing on Thanksgiving, the best of all holidays. Not spend the day with some teammates, not make a quick trip to his family, nothing. “That’ll be fun!” Jeff grins, dimples popping. “What are you-”

“You’re doing nothing?” You get out finally, the words coming back to you.

Jeff’s smile falters, but only slightly, and he nods. “Yeah? I mean, there’s no practice, no games. I’ll just…” He trails off for a second and then shrugs. “Rest.”

“You’re not going to go, like, visit your parents? They’re right across the border!”

“It’s a Thursday.” Jeff says patiently and you abruptly remember that his Canadian-ness is the whole point of this conversation.

“Thanksgiving is the best holiday! You can’t sit at home alone on it; I forbid it!” Jeff’s smile grows again as he laughs and you try and fight your own grin as you shove at his shoulders, to no avail. “Come home with me!”

“What?” He laughs again, but this time, it’s more like disbelief.

But the idea is already growing in your mind. “Come home with me! You know my parents love you, they won’t mind at all!”

“I can’t just invite myself to your Thanksgiving!” Jeff protests.

You wave him off. “You’re not, I’m inviting you! Come on, we’d love to have you!” He still looks hesitant, so you add, “Our Thanksgiving is huge anyway; one extra mouth to feed isn’t going to put anyone out, Jeff.”

“Alright.” He caves, and you grin, pulling your phone close to you to text your mom and let her know. “But ask your mom, okay? Like, really ask her, don’t just, like, tell her I’m coming.”

“Too late!” You say cheerfully, showing him the text you’d sent in your family group chat, telling them you were bringing Jeff with you next week. Your mom’s already responded with a string of happy face emojis and your younger sister with a How I Met Your Mother gif about Canadian Thanksgiving. “Be prepared for a lot of Canada jokes!”

“Is that supposed to be different than any other time I see your family?’ Jeff deadpans, but you’re pretty sure he looks like, at least 50% more relaxed, so you count this as a win and ignore him completely, already mentally planning for the best holiday of the year.

-----

The drive back home to your parents takes about an hour longer than you’d like, stuck in the same godawful traffic as everyone else trying to leave Buffalo on Wednesday so that they can get back home in time to go out that night.

When Jeff finally pulls his car up in front of your childhood home, you can already see that it’s bustling with activity, getting ready for tomorrow. Most of your siblings have already arrived- only your older brother, with his wife and daughters will come in tomorrow, with the rest of your family- but your younger brother and sister have already come home, a fact that’s even more evident when you and Jeff walk in the front door and immediately trip over three pairs of sneakers.

“Liam!” You cry, grabbing onto Jeff so you don’t fall. “Motherfucker, move your shoes!”

Your brother pops his head out of the living room, AirPods in his ears. “I’m on a call!” And just as you're marveling at the fact that your brother is a real person with a real job taking real work calls, said real person with a real job spots Jeff and lights up. “Jeff! Bro! What’s up, man?”

“I thought you were on a call.” You snap at him.

“I’m on mute.” Liam slaps his palm against Jeff’s pulling him in for a ridiculous handshake-bro hug combo, before he finally comes over and lifts you off the floor. “Yo!”

“Yo!” You repeat, honestly unable to believe you’re related to this kid. If the two of you didn’t look exactly alike, you’d probably think he was adopted. “You still coming out tonight?”

“Hell yeah, this is my last call. I’m ready to go.”

You snicker, looking down at his sweatpants and dress shirt combo- he must have taken a video call at some point today. “Yeah, okay, bud.”

He ruffles your hair, in that annoying way he’s been able to do ever since he grew taller than you. “Don’t you worry, I will be.”

You laugh, ducking under his arm, to let him get back to it. You’ve got no doubts about that. Liam’s always ready to party. “Finish your call so we can start pregaming.”

He grins, like you knew he would. “Now we’re talking.” And then he ducks back into your dad’s office.

Jeff is laughing when you look back at him and you give him a look. “What?”

“Nothing, just forgot how the two of you were when you got going.”

“Yup, and you’re stuck with us for next two days!” You grin.

Jeff rolls his eyes at you, but he’s still smiling when he follows you to the kitchen, in search of your mom. She’s at the counter, rolling dough for biscuits, her only other contribution to the annual Thanksgiving dinner that she hosts, besides the turkey; a holiday that she’d taken over hosting once it had become too much for your grandmother to handle, but only on the caveat that everyone began contributing food toward the meal. It’s been a potluck style holiday ever since.

She’s ultra-focused, the volume on her favorite playlist high (this wild mix of 80’s pop and today’s hits that’s actually kind of a banger), so you sneak up behind her and wrap your arms around her. “Hi!”

“Jesus!” Your mom jumps, elbowing you in the process, but you’re laughing too hard to care. “Don’t do that!”

“Just excited to see you!” You beam at her, squeezing her once more, before pulling away. “Where do you want the pie?” Jeff lifts the pie you’d made yesterday, showing your mom.

Your mom purses her lips, studying the kitchen around her. “Leave it on the counter for now; I’ll have your dad clear some space in the garage.” She gestures with her elbow. “Hi Jeff!”

“Hi!” Jeff pulls out his best smile, a real one, dimples super popped. “Thank you for having me-”

Your mom cuts him off before he can finish, like you knew she would. “Oh, we’re so happy you could make it! You’re welcome anytime, Jeff!” She assures him.

“Is the guest room ready?” You ask. “We’ll throw our stuff upstairs before Dad sees it at the bottom of the steps and has a fit.”

Your mom fights back a laugh at that- a statement that everyone in your family knows all too well-but then looks almost apologetic as she finishes, “It is, but we gave it to Katie.”

“Oh, Katie’s here too?” Your sister’s roommate at college was, at this point, basically another sister to you. She hardly went home for breaks within the semesters, usually came up for at least a month during the summer, and more often than not came home with Abby when she was back for anything. The “guest room” really was more like Katie’s room at this point.

“Where else would she be?” Abby appears, right on cue, with Katie right behind her, practically matching in leggings and oversized sorority shirts. “It’s Thanksgiving; she’s ready to rage tonight.”

You actually can’t wait for the babies to be hungover tomorrow-both were 21 for their first Thanksgiving Eve and you know they’re going to be in a super rough spot tomorrow-but you keep that thought to yourself.

“It didn’t even occur to me!” Your mom says apologetically. “I just gave Katie her usual room.”

“No, it’s cool. Jeff and I can share. He doesn’t mind, right?” But you barely even wait for his shrug and nod in agreement. It’s not like you haven’t before, when you’re either too lazy or too drunk to go home. You’re both adults, it’s no big. “I’ve shared a bed with you before; I’ll spare Katie the bruised shins.” You tease your sister.

Katie cracks up as Abby sputters out how rude you are. “It’s a hazard!” Katie agrees, dodging the swat your sister sends towards her. It sets the two of them off, which you take as your cue to grab Jeff’s hand and drag him (and your stuff) up to your room.

Of course, usually when you’re sharing a bed with Jeff, it’s a king sized bed, or at least a queen- definitely not the double that your parents just shoved in your old room to replace the queen bed that had been in there until you moved out and took your furniture with you. You hadn’t realized how small it was though, not until today, until the idea of actually having to share it with someone, with Jeff, who might not be a giant, but isn’t tiny. “Sorry.” You apologize, almost unsure of what you’re saying.

Jeff shrugs. “Well, at least you don’t kick.” He smiles, as then it’s like everything’s back to normal, that awkward feeling that was growing over you gone as quickly as it came.

“She’s a bruiser, don’t let her tell you otherwise.” You throw your bag down, rifling through it for the sweater you were planning to wear tomorrow, to hang it up so it isn’t too wrinkled.

Jeff laughs. “I’ll take your word for it.” He’s holding up his shirt, a button down and a tie. “Where can I hang this?”

“You can’t wear that!”

He frowns, likely at the vehemence you’d just spoken that with. “Uhh, why not?”

“You’ll get roasted.” Seriously, you’d told him it wasn’t a dressy affair. God, what part of not dressy does he think requires a tie? “Don’t you have, like, a sweater?”

“I mean, yeah, but-”

“Sweater and jeans, that’s fine.”

Jeff gives you a look. “That doesn’t seem-”

“Sweater. And jeans.” You repeat. He’ll thank you tomorrow, when your uncle doesn’t ask him when tea is. When your cousin doesn’t talk to him only in a fake British accent for the entire night.

Jeff hands over a sweater, a soft thing you’ve seen him wear on many occasions, and you smile your thanks at him, hanging it up next to yours. “Meet your standards?” He asks; you think he’s aiming for teasing but he kind of misses the mark, sounding a little more nervous than joking.

“Perfect.” He smiles back at you and you laugh. “Come on, you dork. Let’s go see what’s for dinner tonight.”

-----

“Don’t wake me up when you come in tonight!” Your dad calls, as he drops the five of you off at Mel’s, the bar for Thanksgiving Eve. Your friends are already at the bar, you’re anticipating a high school reunion for sure, and you’ve warned Jeff of this, even though he assured you that he could handle it, and he was just excited for a nice, chill night.

You’d actually laughed out loud at that. Oh Jeffrey.

“Pshh.” Liam waves your dad off. “I haven’t done that since I was like 16 and still having to sneak out.”

Your dad gives him a look. “I was talking to your sister.” He looks over at Abby, who ignores him completely, in favor of taking a SnapChat with Katie, and he sighs resolutely. You all absolutely know she isn’t listening to a word he says. “Have fun, be safe. Uber home.”

Liam salutes him. “Will do.”

Inside the bar, the night starts exactly as you and Liam have started your last few Thanksgiving Eve’s-with a round of shots at the bar as you’re ordering drinks, before splitting off to find your respective friends to start the evening.

Jeff fits in with your friends fantastically, laughing and joking around with them like he’s known them forever, even though you’re sure the only one he’s met is your oldest friend, Ashley. But he greets Ashley and her husband, Brian, like old friends, and quickly joins conversations with all your other friends, and soon hours have passed before your brother is sliding up behind you. “Heads up.” Liam mutters as he passes. “Douche at 3 o’clock.”

You tense as it takes everything in you not to turn and look over. “Hey.” Jeff nudges you, concern clear in his eyes as he looks at you, and you’re not sure what he pulled himself away from, but you must look pretty bad. “You okay?”

You nod, kinda spacily, but leaning in closer to him, and he takes the cue to curl in toward you- you’re not really interested in shouting to the entire bar and you’re really not interested in drawing attention to yourself. “Yeah, just- my ex is over there.”

Jeff purses his lips for a minute and then schools his face back to neutral. “I take it things didn’t end well.”

“No.” You say, thinking of the demise of your relationship with Dylan. “It did not.”

You hadn’t even realized that Jeff grabbed your hand until he’s squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” You shake your head. “It was...definitely for the best.” It might have taken you a while to see that, but you can now, even if the rare instances you still see Dylan sometimes rattles you. “I thought I was going to marry him, at one point, but I’m so much happier here now.”

Jeff smiles. “Good.”

You squeeze his hand once more, a thanks for his comfort and care, before both of you rejoin the conversation, and you forget about Dylan entirely for the next hour, until you physically run into him coming back from the bar with another round of drinks for you and Jeff.

“Hey!” Dylan beams at you, goes right in for a cheek kiss, like you’re still that familiar, and once again you stiffen up.

“Hi.” You return politely, ready to sidestep around him and return to Jeff and your friends.

“No, wait.” Dylan steps with you, blocking your path. “I haven’t seen you in forever. Let’s catch up a minute, what’s new?”

“No offense, Dylan, but I’m not really looking to catch up with you.” You say flatly.

He opens his mouth to respond, but before he can another voice cuts in. “Everything okay here?” Jeff asks politely, stepping very purposefully next to you, and Dylan’s eyes immediately fly over to him.

“Mhmm,” You nod. “Was just on my way back to you.”

“Good.” Jeff says, in a tone far more harsh than you usually hear him take. “Let’s get back.” He positions himself again, clearing a space for you to easily slip past Dylan, and then steps closely behind you, catching up quickly.

“Thanks.” You lean against him, gently, not looking to spill either of your drinks, but Jeff solves that problem by taking his.

“Any time.” Jeff says softly and you don’t have much else to say on the matter so you just nudge him once more in thanks and walk back toward your friends with him at your side.

-----

When you wake up the next morning, you’re warm and comfortable and only a little hungover, which you count as a huge success. There’s not too much noise going on downstairs yet, which means you definitely have some more time to sleep, so you curl back into your pillow, humming contently when it pulls you in closer.

And then your eyes pop open abruptly, because pillows don’t do that.

Except they do when they look like Jeff Skinner, who looks just as soft and warm and comfortable as you feel right now, still sleeping judging by the evenness of his breath.

It’s just...it’s a really nice way to wake up, with Jeff’s kind-of smiling face, looking super soft and cozy as he breathes just on the wrong side of too loud, but not so loudly that it drives you nuts.

It’s a little too early to unpack that, and your hangover might not be that bad but it’s definitely bad enough that you’re not ready to think on that, so you close your eyes and let yourself curl into Jeff and fall back asleep.

-----

When you do finally get out of bed, Thanksgiving morning is its usual chaos, running around with last minute errands, cleaning, and helping your mom in the kitchen. The last to shower for the day, by the time you arrive downstairs, the Lions vs. Bears game is well underway, your notoriously early grandparents have already arrived, and your grandmother is already asking your mom where that one turkey decoration she bought her one year is.

You bypass the kitchen entirely and move toward the living room, where you find your dad, grandfather, Jeff, and siblings all gathered, just as you’d expected. You slide down on the floor next to Jeff, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before more of your family arrives and you’re offering your set up anyway, and wait for the next round of chaos to begin.

It doesn’t take long. Your aunts, uncles, and cousins start pouring in and then it’s just introduction after introduction, as you wrap up showing off Jeff to one group just as the next arrives. You are absolutely confident he has no idea who anyone is, but it’s fine, because he’s still laughing and joking around with all your uncles and cousins that have joined you in watching football.

The kitchen is its own brand of chaos, when you make a quick stop in on your back from a beer run, but chaos has never stopped your aunt before and it certainly isn’t today. “Oh my god!” She exclaims, after you’ve pressed a smacking kiss to the top of your grandmom’s head. “That boy!”

“What boy?” You ask, like an idiot, which is immediately clear from the looks you get from everyone in the kitchen, even your usually oblivious uncle, who’s doing...something...with the ham they’d brought. “Who, Jeff?”

“Yes.” Another aunt stresses. “He’s cute!”

You shrug. “Yeah, I mean-”

But your grandmom cuts you off this time. “And so friendly! Just the nicest boy! Oh, you couldn’t have found anyone better!” She exclaims.

“Well, I haven’t.” You announce, watching all of their faces fall. “So sorry to burst that bubble.”

“Why?” One of your older cousins frowns. “Girl. Get on that. You are not going to do better than that boy in there.”

“I truly don’t know if that was meant to be a dig at me or you all think that highly of Jeff already, but regardless. We are just friends.” Now everyone in the kitchen is giving you a look. You gather the beers and retreat, distributing them as you return to your spot on the floor near Jeff.

He’s giving you a look as you pass him his, but whatever’s on your face must not be too bad, because he just thanks you as you pass him the bottle, and you nod in return as you try to find the same comfortable spot as before, leaning against his thigh.

-----

Your dad catches you a bit later, as he’s coming back with beers this time and you’re coming out of the bathroom, and he nudges you carefully as you take a few bottles from his hand. “So Jeff?”

You groan. The tone of that statement was far too loaded. “Jesus, you too?”

Your dad laughs. “Who else?”

“Everyone.”

“Well maybe that should be your hint.” Your dad says teasingly, but also not? There’s definitely some seriousness to this. “That Jeff’s pretty perfect for you.”

You stare at him. “You’ve met Jeff, like, a hundred times. Why’s this coming out now?”

“I always thought you were my smart kid and that you’d figure it out yourself.” He muses. “Now I realize you’re only book-smart and you’d never figure this out on your own.” And then he leaves you there in the hallway, with your jaw dropped and too many thoughts, as he continues on, laughing at you.

-----

When the call to come serve yourselves echoes into the room, the usual mad scramble follows immediately. It’s only as you’re getting into line behind your brother that you realize that Jeff’s not with you anymore, and you abandon the long line waiting for food, in favor of seeking out Jeff.

You find Jeff upstairs, in your room, just kind of lounging on your bed, and you lean against the doorway. “Hey! Food’s ready.”

“Yeah.” Jeff nods, the smile he sends you back in return far too tight and forced to be genuine. “Be right down.”

But he doesn’t move, so you step in and climb into your bed next to him. “What’s wrong?”

Jeff laughs; it’s kind of hollow and doesn’t sound anything like his usual loud laugh or his giggles that you love. “What- nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Jeff.” You say softly. “Come on.”

He sighs. “Why did you bring me here?”

That...was not at all what you expected. “What?”

“Why did you bring me here?” He repeats. “Why did you bring me home, to your family? I thought, maybe, finally…” He trails off for a minute. “Except, there’s like ten other randos here too!” He laughs again, that hollow thing that you’re already hating. “Everybody in this family just brings people home, and that’s awesome, okay? Please don’t ever change that about yourself. I just-I thought we had something special, is all.” He says, sounding almost sad? Melancholy?

“You are special.” You hate this. Jeff should never be sad; he should always be happy and smiling and joking. This is worse than seeing him after losses, worse than seeing him at low points in the season, that one game when he realizes that shit’s done and they’re just playing to keep playing now, that playoffs won’t be coming this year, again. “Jeff, you’re-”

“I’m in love with you.” Jeff says and it’s so straight-up, matter-of-fact, like it’s never not been a fact for him. “And I’m sorry I’ve fucked things up here for tonight and made this so awkward. I just- being here with you and your family just made me want you that much more.”

There’s so so so much you want to say to Jeff, but it’s like time is frozen. You can’t speak, can’t move, can’t do anything except look at him in awe, until he starts to move off your bed, when you reach for him, finally, resting your hand on his thigh, relieved when he looks back at you. “My dad thinks I’m an idiot.” You blurt out and Jeff just gives you a look. “I’m sorry; that wasn’t what I wanted to say.” You take a deep breath, trying to gather the jumble of thoughts in your head. “Or at least, not the only thing. He thinks I’m an idiot because he thinks you’re perfect for me and I didn’t see it. My whole family thinks you’re perfect- cute and friendly and nice- and god, Jeff, you are! You’re all those things!” He’s still watching you, with like, barely the smallest hint of a smile on his face. “I just-didn’t realize you were perfect for me until we came here.”

Now he’s full on beaming, dimples showing, and you don’t even realize that you’re returning the grin until his hand comes up to your face, thumbing at the corner of your lip. “I’m sorry I’m a dumbass.” You finish lamely, too busy smiling at Jeff. “Please kiss me so we can make sure we get biscuits.”

Jeff hums. “I don’t know if I can kiss you now and just...stop.”

“Well I’m not going down to eat until you do.” You say stubbornly. “And you’ve been hyping up those biscuits since breakfast.”

“Fair enough.” Jeff laughs and then you’re smiling into the best first kiss you’ve ever had, tangling your hands into his hair and wondering if you may actually end up missing the meal this year.

#jeff skinner imagine #jeff skinner fanfic #jeff skinner fanfiction #hockey imagine #hockey fanfic #Hockey Fanfiction #nhl imagines #nhl fanfiction #nhl fanfic #my hockey fics

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wayward-dreamer · 3 years

Text

Life’s Lessons - Part 10

Title: Life’s Lessons - A Lesson in Love and Hope

Pairing: Mechanic!Dean x Female!Teacher!Reader

Other Characters: OFCs: Jill (Y/N’s sister), Evie and Mia (Y/N’s nieces), OMC: Brian (Y/N’s brother-in-law)

Word Count: 6,385 (notes in bold, thoughts, texts, song lyrics in italics).

Part Summary: As Christmas time approaches, Y/N and Dean are sad they can’t spend this time together as she goes home to New York for the holidays. However, their Christmas presents to each other prove that they have a future together.

Warnings: Slight angst, brief mention of reader’s exes, Dean’s self-deprecation rears its ugly head (slightly), Dean being sweet (yes, that’s a warning), Fluff (yes, it’s true, you read that correctly lol)

Music: It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas by Jason Manns (Y/N at the airport scene), Let It Snow by Bing Crosby (playing in the background of Y/N and her sister girl talk scene), Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Jensen Ackles and Jason Manns (Christmas Eve scenes)

Life’s Lessons Spotify Playlist

A/N: It’s a Christmas chapter! Yay! Great timing as it’s the first day of the holiday season! Thank you to everyone who has been reading and loving this series. I never thought it would get as much love as it has, and I’m so grateful to every single one of you! There’s only 5 parts and an epilogue left after this, I can’t believe we’re almost at the end, but there’s still quite a bit of story to tell. I’m so excited for you guys to see what happens! Happy reading and enjoy! :)

Life’s Lessons Masterlist

Dividers by the wonderful @firefly-graphics! Check her out for all your AU needs, and for festive themes!!!

Y/N smiled as she watched the kids rushing out the front doors of the school. It was officially the end of the day and the start of the holidays. She pulled her coat a little tighter around herself, as she called out to some students to be careful on the sidewalk, as it had snowed overnight. It was December 22nd, and school had let out early. In a few short hours, she was flying out to New York to spend the holidays with her family. She was nervous about the weather and was praying that her flight wouldn’t be grounded. She was also nervous to be headed home but considering Ethan had made the permanent move to L.A. she doubted he would be there.

She went back into the school and quickly packed up her things. She said goodbye to all the teachers and to Chuck and walked out with Cas and Charlie.

“Alright, here” Charlie said, as she handed her a small present in the parking lot.

“Oh Charlie, thank you” Y/N smiled, as she took it and handed one over to her as well. Y/N opened the gift, smiling as she saw the earrings she wanted during a time when she and Charlie had gone shopping, but didn’t buy.

Charlie hugged her after opening hers, a beautiful scarf that had her favorite colors.

Cas and Y/N exchanged gifts too, a new tie, white with little books on it for him because “blue may be your color, but you can branch out” and a leather-bound journal for her.

“Merry Christmas” all three of them hugged and called out to each other before they drove home.

Y/N hurried to get home as she still had a few more things to pack before she left in the evening. She had messaged Mark a few days after the incident with him, telling him that it was really over and to never call her, ever again. So far, it seemed like he had gotten the message, having not tried to contact her at all in the last few weeks. She was incredibly thankful for that. She was also thankful that in that time, she and Dean had been hanging out a lot, too. It was all very innocent and simple, just watching movies and making dinner together, or ordering take-out if they didn’t feel like cooking, after they both finished work. After that first night when they slept in her bed, they hadn’t done more than that. She was beginning to wonder when Dean would ask her out, and whether she should just ask him. Though she knew that maybe they just needed a little more time.

When she got home, she unzipped her boots and walked around in socked feet. She picked her suitcase which was half packed already and put it on the bed. She started putting some clothes and shoes and other items that she would need, including a few last-minute presents for her nieces.

Once she was finally finished packing, Y/N got changed into the clothes she’d be wearing to travel. A loose, grey, high-neck sweater and dark grey scarf, black pants and her grey coat, and white sneakers to make it easier on her feet in the airport. She had her carry-on and check-in bags ready by the door, needing both for this trip as she had to carry so many presents with her. She couldn’t wait to see her family after so many months away from them.

Dean shrugged on a thicker plaid shirt, wrapped a scarf around his neck and then his brown leather jacket. He picked up the rectangle shaped present he had wrapped horribly (he had never been good at that) and opened the front door, leaving the house and closing it.

He walked down the porch steps and across the path in his front yard, where he had cleared the snow off to the sides. He walked across the street and down the path of Y/N’s yard, which he had cleared for her, walking up her porch steps. He stood in front of the door and let out a big breath, pushing the doorbell. He had her present in his hand and he wanted to give it to her at that very moment. He had enlisted Dorothy’s help in finding it for Y/N, after an idea popped into his head and he couldn’t get rid of it. Considering Dorothy had connections, she had managed to get him a decent price on it; it was expensive but at least it didn’t cost him an absolute fortune once she haggled the price down.

The door opened, and Y/N was shocked to see Dean standing there. She stood at the threshold and admired how adorable he looked all rugged up to protect himself from the cold.

“Hi” she smiled, softly.

“Hi” he smirked, walking in when she stepped aside. “You leaving soon?”

“Yeah, my cab should be here any minute” she said, shutting the door.

Dean nodded, as he handed the present over to her. “Here.”

“Oh, Dean” she smiled at him, as she took it from him. “I was going to leave yours at your door, but-” she stopped herself as she tucked the present under her arm, gesturing for him to wait and walked into her office.

Dean watched as she came back, carrying a large, thin, rectangular shape wrapped up in silver wrapping and a giant red ribbon, tied into a bow.

“This is for you” she smiled, handing it over to him. “But you can’t open it until midnight, after Christmas Eve is over.”

“Okay. Wow. Thanks” he said, looking over it and wondering what the hell it was. “You can’t open yours till then, either.”

“New York’s an hour ahead” she laughed.

“Doesn’t matter. We both open them on our midnight. Deal?” he asked, smirking.

“Deal” she nodded, with a smile.

“So… New York. I’m glad you’ll get to see your folks for the holidays” he said, his smirk fading away knowing that she’d be so far away. He was happy for her, though. She deserved to see her family after so many months away.

“I can’t wait” she beamed. “Just to see them all, hug and cuddle my little nieces, soak up the holiday spirit.”

“That’s great.” He smirked. Seeing her love for her family made him positive that his own would love her, and she would love them.

He looked down at the present in her hand and smirked. He really hoped that it would let her know what he felt for her. Y/N looked at the present she got him and hoped that he’d like it. It was something for his new building where he was going to have the restoration garage. It would look amazing in his office, there.

A car horn honking pulled them out of their thoughts, and Y/N glanced down at her watch. She looked up at him smiling brightly.

“Merry Christmas, Dean” she said.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N” he smirked.

She moved in and wrapped her arms around his neck. His automatically came around her waist, pulling her into the hug. They held each other for a moment, basking in each other’s touch, their eyes closed. They jumped apart as the car horn sounded again.

Y/N laughed as she gathered her things. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Yeah” he agreed. “Here, let me help.”

Dean placed his huge present outside on the porch as Y/N walked out and closed the door to her house, locking it securely. Dean walked down the porch steps, with her check-in suitcase, putting it in the trunk of the cab. Y/N walked down and opened the door to the backseat, as Dean took her carry-on and put that in the trunk as well. She waited for a moment, as Dean walked over to her after closing the trunk. She really wished she could stay back and spend time with him, but she had to see her family. She was really looking forward to it, but she couldn’t help but feel sad that she wouldn’t be with Dean.

He looked down at her, looking as beautiful as the day he first saw her. He hated that he wouldn’t get to see her over Christmas and New Years’, wishing that she could stay back, and they could spend the holidays together. He wished he could see the look on her face when she opened the present from him, but he would have to settle for hearing whether she liked it or not. He was really going to miss her. Kiss her! He thought to himself as he continued to look at her. Before he could think twice, he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers, softly.

It didn’t take long for it to deepen, as Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled into the kiss, as he pulled her closer, their lips moving against each other’s. They were finally in each other’s arms again. There was so much behind the kiss; a promise of more to come, a promise of their future together, a promise of things being better for both of them. Y/N was the one to pull away, regretfully, but she had a plane to catch. “I really have to go” she said, frowning as she looked up at him. “But um… it’s about time you did that” she said, biting her lip.

Dean groaned when he saw her do that. “Don’t, sweetheart, or I won’t let you get on that plane.”

She laughed as she stopped. “Bye.” She leaned in and pecked his lips.

“Bye” he said, returning her smile.

With one last glance at him, she got into the cab. Dean watched it drive away with a smile on his face. He suddenly couldn’t wait to see her again.

Y/N eyes scanned over the crowds at the airport, trying to spot her dad. She had shoved her way through baggage claim and picked up her check-in and was now trying to find her father through the throngs of people embracing each other, excited to get their holiday celebrations underway. By the time they had a quick lay-over in Atlanta and flew into New York, it was 8.30pm, which was the scheduled time, and she was incredibly thankful to whatever higher power there was that got her there. It was still a 2-hour drive to Rhinebeck, and her family would most likely be sleeping by the time she got home, but at least she’d see them properly in the morning.

As the crowd around her cleared, she spotted her father and beamed as he saw her too, waving frantically. She rushed over to him and launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. She felt tears prick her eyes as she laughed, happy to finally see him again.

“Oh sweetie, let me look at you” he said, pulling away from the hug and holding her at arms’ length. “You look different.” He eyed her, his brows knitted together.

“I’m still the same me, dad” she shrugged, laughing slightly.

“It’s so good to see you” he smiled, his eyes glistening. “Come on, let’s go.”

As they walked out of the airport, a bearded man with glasses was jamming “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” on his guitar. His case was open in front of him, and Y/N quickly walked over, dropping a 20-dollar bill in.

“Thanks” he smiled. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas!” she called back and then hurried over to her dad, who was wheeling her bags to the parking lot. She smiled as she walked beside him; Christmas was her favorite holiday, and it was already off to a great start.

The drive back home was filled with Y/N catching up on everything she had missed. Her dad told her that her mom was going crazy with excitement of her being there soon and was making sure everything was perfect. Y/N laughed; her mom didn’t need to do anything extra to make things special considering it always would be no matter what, but she wouldn’t be her mom if she didn’t.

When they arrived home, Y/N gasped as she saw the house decorated so beautifully. The lights and decorations on the house were as stunning as always, and she was glad she got to see them again. As they went in, Y/N laughed quietly to herself as saw her mother, fast asleep on one couch, and her brother-in-law asleep on the other. Her sister and the kids were most likely asleep upstairs.

“I’ll get them up, you go upstairs” her dad whispered. “Brian can carry that up.” He gestured to her large suitcase.

“Thanks, dad” she whispered, as she quietly walked up the stairs with her carry-on.

She walked to her old bedroom and flicked on the light. She laughed slightly as she saw it still hadn’t changed at all since before she left for college. All her Backstreet Boys and NSYNC posters were still up on one wall, her Led Zeppelin ones still up on the other. She really had an eclectic taste in music. She heard a soft knock on the door and turned, seeing her brother-in-law, Brian, walk in with her suitcase. She smiled as she walked over, hugging him tightly.

“Jill’s gonna freak in the morning. I tried waking her up but Evie’s practically sleeping on top of her” Brian said, laughing slightly.

“I’ll catch them in the morning” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

Brian nodded, smiling at her. “It’s good to have you home. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight” she said, watching him leave and shut the door behind him.

Y/N quickly got changed for bed and slipped under the covers. As she drifted off, she couldn’t wait to see everyone else in the morning.

It was great to be home.

“Auntie Y/N!” a little voice yelled as it barrelled through Y/N’s room and bounced up on the bed.

Y/N gasped and flinched as a little body flung itself over her. She relaxed when she realized where she was, and held her 5-year-old niece, Evie tighter.

“I’m so happy you’re here” she smiled down at Y/N.

“So am I, sweetie” Y/N smiled, rocking her side to side as she didn’t let go.

Y/N looked up at the door when she saw her sister standing against the doorframe, holding her 8-month-old niece, Mia on her hip.

“This one wants to say hi, too” Jill said, smiling.

Y/N got up from bed, Evie stuck to her leg as she walked over to her sister. She hugged her tight, feeling a few tears escape down her face.

“I missed you, so much” Y/N said, holding Jill tighter.

“I missed you too” Jill said, pulling away and smiling at her.

Y/N smiled as she saw the baby. She was so big now, having only been 4 months when she left for Lawrence. She reached for her, but little Mia scrunched her face up, squirming into her mother.

“This one needs to be fed, so you get cleaned up and come downstairs. Mom’s making breakfast” Jill said, kissing Y/N’s cheek and taking the girls out of the room.

Y/N quickly brushed her teeth and threw her robe on over her pyjamas. She raced down the stairs and into the kitchen, smiling when she saw her mom’s back as she stood at the stove.

“Mom” Y/N said, as she walked over.

Her mom turned around and nearly started crying on the spot. She rushed over and took Y/N in her arms, hugging her tight.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here” her mom said to her as she pulled away, wiping her eyes.

“Me too” Y/N smiled.

“Alright, the pancakes are almost done. So, sit down and help yourself, and everyone else will down soon” her mom said, gesturing to the table that was already set.

“Can’t I help with something?” Y/N asked, frowning.

“No, you just got here, honey. Relax, we’ll put you to work tomorrow” her mom laughed, as she playfully shoved her towards the dining table.

Y/N laughed and shook her head as she walked over, licking her lips at the sight of the delicious breakfast.

After a great breakfast with her family, Y/N helped Evie decorate another gingerbread house, because the two she did with grandma yesterday weren’t enough. Jill sat with Mia on her lap, across from Y/N at the dining table, as Let It Snow played in the background through the house. Brian had gone back to their house to get some more bottles for the baby, and her parents had rushed out to deliver some homemade Christmas cake to their friends. So, Y/N was glad she and her sister were alone for a while, to have some proper girl talk.

“So…” Jill trailed off, as she distracted the baby with her toy, and tried to ice a piece of the gingerbread house with one hand. “How are things with Mark?”

Y/N smiled, sheepishly, feeling guilty she hadn’t told her sister yet. “Things are… over.”

“What?” Jill asked, wide eyes looking up at her.

Y/N shrugged, as she iced one part of the roof for the gingerbread house. “Things got a little… complicated.”

“Well, considering I only know whatever you told me up to the third date, I need the specifics” Jill said, shifting Mia when she started to fuss.

“I know, I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you in a while” Y/N frowned, looking up at her sister.

“It’s okay, Y/N. Don’t apologize. I mean, we’ve both been busy” Jill laughed slightly, gesturing her head between her two daughters.

Y/N looked at Evie sitting next to her and smiled, seeing her niece in full concentration as she decorated, her tongue sticking out.

“This one has to leave, though” Y/N said, looking at Evie and then Jill.

Jill nodded in understanding. “Evie, honey. Can you stop what you’re doing for a second?”

“What is it, mommy?” Evie asked, her big eyes looking at her mom.

“Can you make sure all the presents are kept neatly under the tree?” Jill asked her in return.

“Okay” she replied, simply, not understanding why she had to go but doing it anyway.

Once she was out of earshot, Jill turned to Y/N. “Okay. Spill.”

Y/N took the next few moments to tell Jill everything that had happened with Mark.

“Fuck” Jill remarked, not knowing what to say.

“Yeah” Y/N nodded.

A short pause fell between them as Jill thought about everything her sister just told her.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Jill asked, her eyes teary.

“I didn’t want you guys to worry about me” Y/N replied, shaking her head. “And don’t tell mom and dad, they’d freak out. I’ll tell them myself at a later stage.”

Jill sighed, but nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you” Y/N smiled, softly. She bit her lip, wondering if she should tell her sister about Dean too. Maybe it was too soon?

Jill tapped her fingers on the table as she watched her sister, her face looking like her brain was overloaded with thoughts.

“There’s something else” Jill said, knowingly. “Isn’t there?”

Y/N looked at her sister, tentatively. She wasn’t sure if she should say it or not.

Jill cocked her head to the side, a smile gracing her face as she understood. “Who is he?”

Y/N scoffed, impressed with her sister’s intuition.

She spent another couple of minutes telling Jill everything about Dean. She felt a smile tug at her lips as she talked about him. After everything she had been through in the past, and then with Mark, she thought for minute back there she’d never be able to think of dating someone again, but things were different with Dean.

“So… when you get back, what’s going to happen?” Jill asked, curious about what she was thinking of doing.

“I… don’t know, but… I know that he’s it now” Y/N replied, her smile growing.

Jill smiled. “I gotta say, I’ve never seen you like this. Yeah sure, you’ve been with a few guys, but this is different.”

“It feels different this time” Y/N nodded. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, but… it feels like this is it. And I know he’s some years older than me, but that doesn’t matter to me.”

Truth be told, men who were slightly older than her were a turn on for her. Plus, she had only ever been with guys her own age. Maybe it was time for a change.

In that moment, Y/N’s baby niece started to fuss in Jill’s lap.

“Oh, honey. You can’t be hungry, I just fed you” Jill said, frowning as she didn’t know what was wrong.

Y/N got up and walked over to their side of the table. She slowly picked up the baby and held her close, lightly bouncing her. Little Mia smiled and Jill smiled, too.

“She just needs a little lovin’ from her aunt” Y/N smiled, kissing her niece’s chubby cheek.

Jill admired her sister with the baby. “You look good like that.”

“Stop” Y/N laughed, shaking her head. She didn’t need those thoughts in her head at that moment. She had always loved children, and couldn’t wait to have her own, but she wondered if Dean was the one who she would have them with. Did he even want any?

The doorbell rang and interrupted them. Y/N gave little Mia back to Jill and walked to the front door. She screamed when she opened it and saw Katie smiling at her. The friends hugged tightly, laughing.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Katie said, swaying them side to side.

“Me too” Y/N tearfully told her, letting go of her and letting her into the house. “You just missed girl talk, though.”

“Well, catch me up. I’m all ears” Katie said, walking into the house, taking off her coat.

Y/N laughed as she followed behind her, ready to divulge everything she told Jill to her best friend as well.

The next day brought a whirlwind of familial chaos, as Y/N’s family got everything ready for Christmas Eve dinner. Christmas carols were playing in the background, as her mom worked on the ham, her dad helped with all the sides and her sister was in charge of decorating the rest of the house, the table and setting it. Brian was keeping the kids entertained and Y/N was making pudding and few other treats for dessert.

It took all day, but they finally got everything ready and in time for dinner. As everyone got dressed and ready, Y/N took some time to admire the house. The lights were dimmed, the candles were lit, and everything was bathed in a beautiful glow. The lights on the tree were shining, and the fireplace crackled, adding to the ambience of the room. She was so glad to be here with her family and to spend this time with them.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Let your heart be light

From now on,

Our troubles will be out of sight

She quickly had a shower, and then got ready for dinner in a red, A-line dress, with sleeves that came to her mid-forearm. She pinned her Y/H/C hair into a bun, a few strands framing her face. She put on her nude heels and then went downstairs to join her family.

Dinner was absolutely divine, and her mom had outdone herself, yet again. Everything from the ham to the pudding for dessert was perfect, and everyone was absolutely stuffed by the end. They all relaxed on the couch and sang some carols, drank eggnog and enjoyed the fact that they were all together again. For the first time in a long time, Y/N had no fear about Ethan or Mark, or any of the other troubles she had had in the past. All she needed was her family and hoped that the man who she had fallen in love from the minute she saw him, would also be a permanent figure in her life.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Make the Yule-tide gay,

From now on,

Our troubles will be miles away

It was pretty much the same vibe over at the Winchesters.

Mary had assigned jobs for everyone, stating to the boys that they weren’t getting out of it just because they didn’t live at home anymore. She made Eileen and Sam come early as well as Dean, so that they could all do their assigned jobs.

Once everything was ready before dinner, everyone put on their ugly Christmas sweaters, a Winchester tradition that was something silly but fun. Bobby, Ellen and Jo arrived, and they all greeted each other. They sat around talking and laughing as they ate, and afterwards sat around on the couches, listening to carols while drinking eggnog. No one trusted Sam with it anymore, so it was Eileen’s job to mix it since she joined their family. Dean smiled as he looked around at his family, content for the first time in years.

Here we are as in olden days,

Happy golden days of yore

Loving friends who are dear to us,

Gather near to us once more

However, Dean was the first one to notice when Eileen wasn’t drinking any. He gestured to her and then signed “are you okay?”, which was just one of the things of what little he knew, but he was trying to get better at it. She nodded and then smiled at Sam. They had a small conversation between themselves, before Sam turned to everyone with a huge smile on his face.

“Well, now’s as good a time as any to tell you… we’re having a baby” he said, beaming. “Eileen’s 16 weeks in.”

Dean’s eyes widened but his smile grew as he got up, and hugged his brother first, Mary and Eileen hugging as Mary cried. Everyone hugged the expecting parents, before they all sat back down.

“Congratulations, guys” Dean said, as he returned to one side of the couch. “That’s awesome, seriously.”

Sam smiled as he kissed Eileen’s cheek. “Thanks, Dean.”

“Oh, I can’t wait for my first grandchild!” Mary exclaimed, as John kissed her head.

Dean’s mind wandered off as Eileen and Sam were talking about moving into a bigger place. Mary was listening intently, but Dean couldn’t focus on the conversation. He couldn’t have been happier for his little brother and sister-in-law. They were going to make great parents; he knew that to be the absolute truth. However, he couldn’t help but feel an unexpected sadness wash over him. He never thought of himself as the “having kids” type of guy, hell, he never pictured himself in a serious relationship. That was when he was younger though. As he got older, he realized he wanted those things, and even though he was happy for Sam, he felt a little jealous sometimes that his little brother would have all of that before he did.

The last year of his life had been a waste, as he tried to salvage a relationship with Lisa. He couldn’t help but think where he would be if he had broken up with her a year ago. Mostly likely with Y/N as soon as she got to Lawrence he thought as he tried to concentrate on the conversation his family was having. It was no use though, as his mind continued torment him with the possibilities that could’ve been, if he had just claimed his freedom sooner.

Dean silently excused himself and walked out to the back porch of his childhood home. He let out a long breath, seeing it cloud up in the cold. He sipped the eggnog, feeling the kick of the alcohol warm him up. He smiled sadly as he thought about Y/N, so far away from him, in New York with her own family. He wondered what she wanted from life and whether their wants would align, whether having a family was something she wanted or not. He really hoped so.

“Merry freakin’ Christmas” he mumbled to himself. He never had a problem with being alone, but as he got older it had started to become a fear for him. Maybe that was why it took so long to see the whole truth with Lisa.

“Sure is” he heard someone say behind him. He turned and saw his mom standing behind him.

“I’ll be back in soon, mom” he said, turning away from her.

“Actually” she started as she stood next to him and faced him. “I was thinking we could talk.”

“About?” he asked, staring down at his eggnog.

Mary was quiet for a moment before she spoke. “Who is she?”

Dean scoffed as he closed his eyes. Of course his mom had figured it out.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, his jaw clenched. “She’s… she’s the best person I’ve ever known and… I have no idea if I should do anything about this because honestly, she deserves more than me.”

“Isn’t that up to her?” Mary asked, knowingly. “If you’re spending so much time with her, and I know you have because I’ve hardly seen you over the last few weeks, then doesn’t that mean that she wants to give you a chance?”

Dean blinked a few times as he took in what Mary just said. “I guess.”

“Then all you have to is take the leap” Mary smiled.

Dean nodded slowly, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Yeah.”

Mary nodded. “Just know, you have to bring her here because we need to meet her.”

Dean groaned and laughed, shaking his head. “Great.”

Mary smiled, leaning over to kiss his cold cheek. “Come inside soon, it’s way too cold.”

“I will” he promised as he watched her go back in.

Dean smirked as he thought about how Y/N would actually fit in with his family. He knew he needed to muster up the courage and just ask her out. Let go of the fear that had developed because of everything that had happened with Lisa. Maybe it was too soon after, but the truth was, he didn’t want more time. He was ready to be happy.

Through the years

We all be together,

If the Fates allow

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.

At midnight, Y/N and her family all wished each other a Merry Christmas, before they cleared everything up and each of them headed to bed. They would be up in several hours again, to open the presents anyway. As she went upstairs, there was one thing she needed to do before she headed to bed. Walking into her room, she shut the door and walked over to her carry-on bag. She opened it and found the present from Dean. She moved the bag back to the floor and then sat down on her bed, the present in her hand.

She laughed a little as she saw the envelope on it had her name but also “READ AFTER OPENING” in Dean’s all caps writing. She opened the wrapping, frowning when the thing was wrapped in brown paper as well. She unwrapped the brown paper, noticing that it was a very old but beautiful, hardcover book. She frowned again, but as she turned the book around and saw the spine, she gasped loudly.

In her hand, was an early edition of her favorite novel of all time, Jane Eyre. Y/N’s eyes widened as they started to well up with tears. She remembered telling him it was her favorite at dinner with him. It was yet another thing he remembered about her, the Led Zeppelin album being the first. She felt the tears rolling down her face as she opened the book, slowly flicking through it. She closed it and hugged it to her chest. She couldn’t believe he had done this for her.

She put the book in her lap and picked up the envelope, opening it and sliding the card out. Opening the card, she smiled through tears as she read his words.

Merry Christmas, sweetheart.

I hate that you’re not here with me, but I can’t wait until you’re back. There’s a lot that I wanna say, but I’ve never been good with words. So, I’m just gonna do my best.

I’ve never been surer of anything, than I am that you’re the greatest person that I’ll ever know. You’re beautiful, smart, strong as all hell, and have the kindest heart of anyone I know. I know how freaking lucky I am that you’re in my life.

I hope this present lets you know how much you mean to me. How much you’ll always mean to me.

Y/N, this is it for me. You’re it for me. I need you to know that.

Have an amazing time with your family and I’ll see you as soon as you get back.

Dean

She laughed through her tears, shaking her head. She had never been surer of anything either; that he was the greatest man she had ever known. That she was so madly in love with him, and she couldn’t wait to tell him that someday.

And have yourself a merry little Christmas

When it reached midnight in Kansas, Dean said a quick “Merry Christmas” to everyone, but everyone kept wondering why he was heading off so quickly.

“You know, you can just stay the night to open presents in the morning” Mary told him as she handed out warm cider to everybody.

“No, there’s uh… something I gotta do” Dean said, putting his jacket on.

“Something or… someone?” Jo asked, smiling suspiciously.

“Shut up, Jo” he groaned, glaring at her.

Jo laughed as she and Sam looked at each other.

“Seriously, what’s the rush, kid?” Bobby asked, curiously.

“Can a man not have a little time to himself anymore? Jeez” Dean grumbled, shaking his head.

“Alright, everyone leave him alone” Mary said, calming everyone down. “He’ll be back soon anyway.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek, patting his shoulder.

He would be back in several hours anyway to open presents with everyone, but at that moment he had to see what was awaiting him.

When he got home, he walked over to the big present from Y/N, resting against a wall in his living room. He chuckled as he looked over the size of it, wondering what the hell she had gotten him. He opened the large bow, letting it fall away. He dug his finger into the edge of the wrapping and ripped it open, at every side to see the present more clearly.

“Holy shit” he gasped as his mouth open in awe.

The present was a large black frame, with a black and white photo of his beloved Baby, shining away in the sun. It looked like his backyard in the background of it, and he had to wonder how she took this photo. On the corner of the frame was an envelope with his name written on it. He took it and opened it, smirking as he saw her handwriting.

Merry Christmas, Dean!

I took this photo for you to hang in your new office at the restoration site. There’s nothing better to convince the customers to bring their cars to you than a picture of Baby.

I’m so proud of you for everything you’re working towards. It’s going to bring so many amazing things your way; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

I hope that the new year brings you everything you wish for, because if there’s anyone who deserves it, it’s you. You’ve been an amazing support to me, and I’ll never forget everything you’ve done for me. Ever.

I can’t wait to see you when I get back and just be near you again.

Y/N xx

He smirked as he read over the note a few times. She really was something else. He couldn’t believe that someone like her would want someone like him, but he knew how lucky he was that she was in his life.

And have yourself a merry little Christmas

He looked at the clock and saw that it was ten past midnight, which meant it was ten past 1am in New York. Y/N was probably asleep, but he really wanted to speak to her. He sent her a quick text, asking if she was awake. When he got a reply instantly that she was, he dialled her number. In New York, Y/N sat up instantly when her phone rang and picked it up.

“Hi” she said, smiling. “Dean, I… I don’t even know what to say.”

“Did I make the English teacher speechless?” he teased with a smirk on his face.

“Yes” she admitted. “Dean, it’s… thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

Dean smiled. “Well, it’s like I’ve said before, sweetheart. You don’t ever have to thank me.”

“Did you… did you mean it? What you said?” she asked. She already knew it was the truth, but she just needed to hear it. She just needed to know for certain.

“Yes” he replied. There was no pause. No hesitation.

Y/N felt tears welling up in her eyes all over again. “You’re… you’re it for me, too.”

Dean smiled, feeling like his heart would burst from her confession that she felt the same.

“Thanks for the photo. It’s so freaking awesome, Y/N” he smirked as he looked over at it.

“You’re welcome” she said, smiling. “But Dean, now our presents are totally uneven. This would’ve been so expensive-” she said as she picked the book, but Dean cut her off.

“Hey, no. It’s not about that, okay? I knew… I knew that I wanted you to have it. Plus, with Dorothy’s help it wasn’t too expensive, so we’re good” he reassured her.

“Okay” she said, nodding.

Dean looked up at the time and knew he should end the call. “I should let you go. Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

“Merry Christmas, Dean” she smiled as they both hung up the phone.

That morning, as they fell asleep for a few more hours before they had to wake up again, even with miles and miles between them, they fell asleep with dreams of each other. They fell into a peaceful slumber, knowing this was the start of something magical for both of them.

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

-x-

Tags: @flamencodiva @deanwanddamons @winchest09 @katehuntington @akshi8278 @hobby27 @michellethetvaddict @spngirl05 @kyjey @halesandy @440mxs-wife @stoneyggirl @deanswaywardgirl @wonder-cole @that-one-gay-girl @redbarn1995 @marianita195 @babypink224221 @deans-baby-momma @parinarain @thoughts-and-funnies @mandalou29 @castiels-a-winchester @ellewritesfix05 @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @supraveng @roonyxx @supernatural-love14 @vicmc624 @prettyboyswow @lunarmoon8

#Life's Lessons #Dean x Female!Reader #Dean x Female!Reader Series #Dean x Female!Reader Fanfiction #Female!Reader Insert #Mechanic!Dean #Teacher!Reader #Dean x Reader Fanfiction #Dean Winchester Series #Dean Winchester Fanfiction #Dean Winchester Fanfic #Supernatural Fanfiction

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lifeofkaze · 3 years

Text

When Stars Ignite - Chapter 15

HPHM Rockstar AU

A/N: Katriona Cassopeia (in mention) belongs to the gorgeous @kc-and-oc, David Willows (in mention) belongs to the wonderful @that-scouse-wizard

General Warning: This whole fic has a general warning of being NSFW / 18+. We will give specific warnings for every chapter in itself, but several adult themes will be more or less present in every chapter, may it be explicitly or in mention. These include sexual topics, drug abuse, (ab)use of alcohol, smoking and a whole lot of cursing.

Specific Warning: language

~~~

Find the masterpost here, the previous chapter here and the next one here. The songs featured before every chapter can be found on this pretty badass playlist here.

~~~

This work is a collaboration with @the-al-chemist

Taglist: @slytherindisaster @carewyncromwell @night-rhea @thatravenpuffwitch

Mm, child, tired of the bullshit Go on, dust your shoulders off and keep it moving Yes, Lord, tryna get some new shit In there, swimwear, going-for-the-pool shit

~ Cold Years - Good As Hell ~

Lizzie frowned as she saw Murphy quickly turning his wheelchair around and getting ready to leave as she approached him and Orion. The blond sound technician nodded to her in passing and she could have sworn he winked at her as well.

She looked after him curiously as she sat down on the deckchair next to Orion, her towel loosely wrapped around her shoulders.

“What’s gotten into him?”

Orion smiled ominously. “Yearning for his one true love.”

“What, basketball?” Lizzie snorted. “Fucking fringe sports.”

Orion had to laugh at her words. “I was talking about Katriona.”

Lizzie shrugged. “Close enough.” She tilted her head to see what Orion had been writing down into his notebook. “How’s the song going?”

He spun the pencil between his fingers, the way Lizzie had shown him with a drumstick. “Slowly; I’ve been a little distracted by more inspirational sights.”

He briefly smiled at her before resting his chin on his arms with his eyes closed.

“Were you now,” Lizzie giggled. She moved a little closer to Orion, pulled her still dripping ponytail over her shoulder and wrung it out over his back. She laughed as he jumped at the cold water hitting his warm skin.

“What was that for?” he called out, playfully trying to shove her away. “You’re a mood of your own, do you know that?”

“As if you don’t love it.”

Orion only snorted and chose not to answer. Expecting another teasing remark from Lizzie, he was surprised when she remained silent. Looking up, Orion saw her attention had shifted from him to the other side of the pool. He followed her eyes to where Artemis was sitting alone on her deckchair, listening to music with her gigantic headphones on while scrolling through her phone.

“You’re still intent on making friends with her, aren’t you?” Orion said. It was more a statement than a question.

Lizzie hummed in response, her eyes not leaving Artemis. “I can’t believe she wants to be alone all of the time.”

“Have you considered that maybe she values her solitude more than she does company?” Orion contemplated softly. “Sometimes we keep from others because we want to protect sides of ourselves we don’t want anyone to see.”

“Like Merula does all the time?”

Orion nodded. “Yes, she and Artemis are more similar than both of them might think.”

“But Merula and I became friends eventually,” Lizzie said stubbornly. “The effort was on another level but we still did. I bet I could make Artemis like me; I don’t want her to be alone all the time. That’s the best part of touring isn’t it? Spending all this time with your friends.”

“It is for us, but not necessarily for her. You can’t force her, Liz; if she wants to remain alone, you’ll have to accept that. Why are you so intent on befriending her anyway,” he wanted to know, “is this about you or about her?”

“It’s not an ego thing, if that’s what you’re going for,” Lizzie answered a little more sharply than she had meant to. She could see that Orion was taken aback by her tone, so she softened her voice a little as she tried to explain.

“I don’t think she’s keeping to herself by choice,” she said. “She’s always on the sidelines, always watching what everyone else is doing. She only started talking to Charlie a few days ago, and God knows how he managed to do that. I don’t think that’s because she doesn’t like us, though. I think she just had really bad experiences in the past.”

“Artemis is not a scared cat. It shows your compassion that you want to include her so badly but just think about all the things you’ve tried already. You tried talking to her many different times, you wanted her to join us for lunch, asked her to go out for drinks after the shows; she declined every single one of your offers. If Artemis wants to tear down her walls, she will do so in her own time and at her own pace.”

Lizzie contemplated Orion’s words; without thinking about it, she placed her hand on the tattoo on Orion’s back. She had seen it up close so many times by now, but she never grew tired of how beautiful it looked. The water beads still glistening on his skin were looking like shiny pearls amongst the black lines.

She was broken out of her thoughts, when Orion moved away from her touch. “What’s wrong?”

He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “You know I appreciate both the gesture of affection and the thrill of the risk, but I think you’re taking things a little too far.”

Lizzie only chuckled and tried to playfully poke him in the ribs, but Orion moved out of her reach again. A little irritated, she furrowed her brow. “Since when have you become so boring? You didn’t complain about the little extra attention when we had the photoshoot yesterday.”

“I know, but still, it was reckless of you,” Orion replied calmly. “People could start noticing.”

“But they didn’t.”

Orion sighed. “I’m not entirely sure about that.”

Lizzie’s shoulders tensed, all playfulness disappearing from her face. “What do you mean?”

“I think Skye might have seen something. I wasn’t sure because she didn’t say anything so I decided to wait and see. But in any case, it is unwise to draw attention like that.”

Lizzie raised her head, her eyes moving to where Skye was sitting with Erika and Andre. And sure enough, the blue haired bassist was in fact looking their way. Lizzie unconsciously moved a little away from Orion, but when hers and Skye’s eyes met, Skye’s look confirmed what the sinking feeling in Lizzie’s stomach had been telling her all along - she knew.

“That’s not good,” Lizzie whispered, more to herself than Orion.

“It is far from optimal indeed.”

And sure enough, Skye’s frown deepened as quickly as Lizzie’s panic was growing. She watched as her friend said something to Erika before getting out of her chair to come over to them.

Lizzie absolutely didn’t want to be confronted by Skye, and least of all in front of the others. Skye had never been a particularly subtle person; if Lizzie got into an argument with her here, she might as well shout everything from the rooftops.

Before Skye could make her way to them, Lizzie practically jumped out of her seat, trying to look as casual as possible while her heart was racing in her chest.

“Pity you don’t want to join the next round,” she proclaimed just loudly enough for Skye to hear it, “water polo is always more fun with more players.”

She set her eyes on Artemis, who was still sitting on the opposite side of the pool. “I’ll just go and ask Artemis instead.”

“How smooth,” she heard Orion mutter with a mocking tone, but didn’t care. She had wanted to speak to Artemis anyway and if she could bring the whole length of the pool between herself and Skye by doing so, all the better.

Lizzie set off to round the pool in the opposite direction to Skye; much to her relief, she noted that her friend had sat down onto her deckchair again, but she could feel her green eyes boring into her back.

Artemis was slumped deep into her chair when Lizzie approached her. She was slightly nodding her head to the inaudible beat coming from her headphones. The corners of Lizzie’s mouth twitched when she saw the stylised cat face engraved in silver on the speakers; she had the same limited edition.

Artemis was so concentrated on her phone that she didn’t even notice Lizzie’s presence. Lizzie wondered if that was intentional, but when Artemis jumped violently when Lizzie sat down next to her, she instantly felt sorry; she hadn’t wanted to scare her.

She countered Artemis’ hostile stare with an extra cheerful smile, partly because she wanted to start the conversation off right and partly to mask her own jumpy nerves.

“All alone today?”

Artemis sized her up for a moment. “Apparently.”

“Sorry about scaring you, I thought you’d seen me coming.”

The look in Artemis’ eyes grew hard. “I’m not scared.”

“I just thought…”

“I said, I’m not scared,” Artemis repeated stubbornly and Lizzie raised her hands in defence.

“Of course not, sorry.”

She waited for Artemis to show any sign of wanting to continue their conversation but received none, so she tried again. “Do you want to come over and sit with the rest of us? You don’t have to sit alone all of the time.”

Artemis’ eyes flickered to where Everett was basking in the sun. “I don’t think so.”

Lizzie was looking in the same direction. “Whistling after you earlier was shit, sorry about that. Ev takes a lot of getting used to, but he doesn’t really mean it that way.”

Now Artemis’ hazel eyes found hers and Lizzie could see a trace of anger flashing in them. “I think he very much meant it that way.”

Lizzie sighed; actually, Artemis was right but that wasn’t something she could downright tell her and still hope to get her to come. “He can be such an idiot, I know. Just forget about him.”

Artemis indicated her headphones. “That was the plan.”

The faint sound of a guitar was reaching Lizzie’s ears from the music that was still playing, and the voice of the singer was sounding familiar. “What are you listening to?”

Artemis watched her critically, probably contemplating just putting her headphones back on, and be done with it. “Some cover songs from a singer from Liverpool. He’s called David Willows. Have you heard of him?”

Lizzie had to laugh. “You could say I’ve met him once or twice back in the days.”

She immediately regretted laughing when Artemis’ eyes narrowed; she had probably given the impression that she was making fun of her.

It was apparent that the unapproachable pyro tech had no intention of continuing their conversation; she was repeatedly glancing at her phone and her whole body language had turned dismissive. Under usual circumstances Lizzie would have given up at this point but she didn’t want to give Skye another opportunity to talk to her.

“What I actually wanted to ask,” she tried for the third time, “Charlie and I want to play another round of water polo. Want to join?”

The look in Artemis’ eyes turned contemptuous. “And climb onto some random guys naked back to make a mickey out of myself?” She demonstratively dropped her eyes to her phone. “No thanks, I’m good.”

Lizzie had to stifle a sigh at her stubbornness. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“I said no,” Artemis replied, a lot more sharply than before.

Lizzie felt a flare of temper. “It’s just water polo, why are you making such a fuss about it?”

Artemis' face darkened considerably and Lizzie feared she might have overstepped her mark. But before Artemis could say something, her eyes shifted from Lizzie to something in her back, only moments before Lizzie felt Charlie’s hand coming to rest on her shoulder.

“There you are, little rockstar. Have you persuaded Artemis to join?”

His tone was easy but the look in his eyes wasn’t lost on Lizzie; he wasn’t happy at all she had disregarded his wish to leave Artemis alone.

“I’m afraid not.” Her tone was brusque; she was pissed with Charlie for stepping in.

Charlie’s mouth twisted into a grin. “Hate to say it, but I told you so.”

His attention turned to Artemis, who was just as unhappy with her company than the rest of them. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

Artemis sighed deeply. “If you have to.”

She put her phone down and got up and Charlie immediately walked her away from Lizzie. Lizzie’s face darkened and she fought the urge to cross her arms in front of her chest. She was not impressed Charlie had interfered; he was starting to grow overly protective of Artemis, even though she didn’t seem to be the kind of person to need anybody’s protection but her own.

Her thoughts were instantly forgotten, when she suddenly heard Skye’s voice in her back.

“Jameson, you and I, we need to talk.”

Lizzie grimaced before turning around. Skye had her arms crossed and was staring at her accusingly.

“What’s on your mind?” Lizzie sighed.

“You know damn well what’s on my mind,” Skye hissed. “There’s something you need to tell me, right fucking now.”

Lizzie averted her eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know damn well what I mean,” Skye snorted. “What in the actual fuck is going on with you and Orion? Don’t try to pull the old innocent-trick on me, we’ve lived together and I know you’re as innocent as Merula next to an empty box of cigarettes.”

Her eyes narrowed when Lizzie didn’t answer. “I saw what you did yesterday at the photoshoot and I saw you earlier next to him as well. You’re not even as handsy when it comes to Charlie and a lot of things make a lot more sense to me now. So, gonna ask you again and you better not lie to me; what’s the deal?”

Lizzie muttered something under her breath, making Skye frown. “What’s that?”

Knowing she would have to tell her friend if she liked it or not, Lizzie sighed. “We may potentially have a little thing going on, if you want to call it that,” she said, not meeting Skye’s eyes.

Just as she had feared, Skye’s voice immediately rose in volume. “Are you out of your bloody mind?”

“Keep your voice down,” Lizzie said angrily, “there’s no need to shout.”

Ignoring her words, Skye continued, albeit with a lower voice. “You know the rules! It’s a clear hands off the other band members. What if dad finds out you guys are dating?”

“He won’t find out if you just shut up about it and keep your nose out of things that aren’t your business,” Lizzie responded sharply. “And for the record, we’re not dating. It’s just some fun, nothing of it.”

Skye pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, clearly exasperated at her friends’ antics. “Can’t believe it, I always thought you were the smart one out of the two of us. How long have you been at it?”

Lizzie fidgeted uncomfortably. “A few months? Maybe?” She faltered under Skye’s withering stare. “Since last August.”

Skye looked at her incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she groaned. “You’re not saying you’ve been shagging our guitarist longer than my longest relationship lasted and never even thought to tell me? Your best friend?”

“At least I’ll have to tell no one else if you don’t stop shouting,” Lizzie replied wryly. “And sorry to say that but your average relationship duration is not a very high benchmark to reach.”

Despite herself, Skye had to suppress a grin. “Fair game.” The smile faded as quickly as it had come when she continued. “Seriously though, are you sure about what you’re doing? It’s a damn right dangerous game you’re playing at, is all I’m saying. What if something goes wrong?”

They both glanced over to where Orion was now again working on whatever song was floating around in his head. Much to their surprise, Artemis was sitting next to him. When she saw them looking, they quickly turned their heads again.

“Nothing will go wrong,” Lizzie insisted, “if anyone should know shagging a colleague can work just fine, it’s you.”

If Lizzie hadn’t known her so well, she might have missed the slight flush creeping onto Skye’s face. “No idea what you’re on about.”

Lizzie made a dismissive sound. “Oh please. Don’t act as if not the whole fucking crew knows about you and Erika.”

Skye raised her chin defiantly. “Okay fine, maybe being friends with benefits can work, but this is different. She’s part of the crew, Orion’s an actual member of the band, and a damn important one at that. If you guys screw things up, we’re all royally fucked.”

“Stop worrying, everything will be alright. Orion and I are completely on the same page with this.”

Lizzie hesitated for a moment. “You’ll keep this to yourself, right? You won’t tell your dad about this?”

Skye looked at her as if she had gone mad for good. “Do you think I’m bonkers? Dad doesn’t need to know everything. Way too involved in our stuff as it is, if you ask me. But you got to promise me one thing.”

Relieved the immediate catastrophe had been averted, Lizzie nodded. “What?”

“Don’t put me into a position where I need to lie to my dad, alright?” There was nothing of the ever present sparkle in Skye’s eyes; she was dead serious about this. “Don’t get too involved with him. This is about family.”

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #harry potter hogwarts mystery #orion amari #charlie weasley #skye parkin #lizzie jameson #artemis hexley #rockstar au #when stars ignite #wsi #besties collaborate

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thetenthdoctorscompanion · 3 years

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New Year OC Ask Game

BUT BEFORE YOU REBLOG: As the creator of this list, I prohibit you from reblogging without sending at least one question or prompt to the person you reblogged it from. Give others what you’d like to receive. Ask games are a community exercise. Be kind.

If you don’t know someone’s OCs, that’s fine! There are so many people on this site, no one could know them all. Send a question, or a prompt with “OC of your choice.”

Happy New Year, and may we all be more energized to create and support each other in the coming year.

~ Creator Questions ~

💻 Which OC have you worked on the most this year?

✅ What’s one of your biggest accomplishments this year? It could be a story you finished, a story you started, an edit, an idea. Anything!

❎ It was a hard year. What was one goal you had for this year that you didn’t get around to?

🔜 Resolution time! What’s one writing goal you have for 2021?

❤️ Who is one of your favorite OCs from a different creator?

🥰 Share a kind review or message you got this year.

✉️ Clean out for the new year. Do you have an ask that’s been sitting in your inbox? Go answer it.

📺 We all did a lot of binge watching in quarantine. Did you join any new fandoms?

😢 Apologize to one OC you hurt this year. You know what you did.

💇‍♀️ Cut off the dead ends. If you could unwrite one of your OCs, who would you choose?

🎵 Pick a song off your Spotify “On Repeat” playlist, and tell us which OC it reminds you of. (Or just put your music on shuffle.)

~ Which OC… ~

📆 Would you invite to spend NYE with you?

✨ Unironically embrace “new year, new me”?

👊 Is ready to punch anyone who unironically says “new year, new me”?

💪 Is actually going to follow through on their fitness goals for next year?

😅 Pretends they’re going to follow through on their fitness goals for next year?

🥳 Has NYE traditions they follow every year?

😑 Ends up working NYE? How do they celebrate?

🥂 Drinks too much before midnight?

😘 Would kiss a stranger at midnight?

👍 Would be handling quarantine the best?

👎 Would be handling quarantine the worst?

📈 Was productive and worked on personal goals during quarantine?

🎞 Binged every film known to man during quarantine?

🍞 Tried making a sourdough starter?

😷 Started making their own masks? For fashion or for donations?

~ Prompts ~

🕰 “Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six—NO!”

🤨 “That has got to be the weirdest tradition I’ve ever heard of.”

📞 “I know it’s after midnight, but I still wanted to call you.”

⏱ “Well technically it’s still midnight for another 30 seconds…”

🎆 “What exactly are you planning to do with all those fireworks?”

🎄 “Of course mistletoe still counts after Christmas. It’s still mistletoe!”

⏰ “Am I too late?” “It’s three o’clock in the morning.”

🎊 “That’s something you don’t usually see in a party cracker.”

🎉 “Which one of you assholes brought confetti?”

👀 “Looks like I already broke my new year resolution.”

🍾 “I never realized how dangerous champagne could be.”

💥 “We’re doing New Year’s Eve right if it means blowing off my own hand with these firecrackers.”

😴 “Are you kidding me? I’m going to bed.”

😱 “…do you think that’s good luck, or is it really, really bad?”

🙂 “I can’t believe we’re actually in NYC for New Year’s Eve!”

🙃 “I have never wanted to be in NYC for New Year’s Eve, and yet here I am.”

🌙 “You will wait until midnight, and that is final.”

💋 “Not exactly how I planned my midnight kiss going.”

⏳ “There’s still an hour before midnight. That’s plenty of time for all of this!”

😒 “Well, thank God that’s over…”

#ocappreciation #ochub #ask game #oc ask game #ask games #my god the emojis took so long #happy new year yall #im at work so you know #hit me up

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genesisrose74 · 3 years

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Christmas With the Karasuno Boys (HC’s)!!

Part 2: Kageyama, Hinata, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, & Narita

Part 1 (Daichi, Suga, Asahi, Nishinoya, Tanaka, & Ennoshita) here!

A/n: Tumblr said my word count was too much so I’m splitting this bad boi up into two parts :p Enjoy!!

*****

Kageyama

This boy has a secret soft side for Christmas istg

He HATES showing it to other people on his team and shit

But holy bejeezus he is mesmerized by the holiday in every way possible

Lights, sweets, snow, just like,,, the general magic of December is the most awe-inspiring thing to him

Since he is still a sporty and pretty active mofo, you decided to fuel that on your holiday-themed date as Kags had noted that he’d never gone sledding before

Your jaw was on the FLOOR when he first told you because he would 10000% enjoy the hell out of it

And so you dragged him out to this popular sledding hill that you frequented as a child and taught him what to do

Not gonna lie, he was kind of nervous

“Well you’re experienced at it. I don’t wanna mess up”

🥺🥺🥺 bubby

“You won’t, Tobio! I can already tell you’re gonna be a sledding pro”

Feels a little better after that, but he asks you to help him out for his first run down the hill

He sits behind you with his arms secured snugly around your waist and his head nestled on top of your shoulder

Which would probably seem really funny to passerby because this boy is tol and intimidating in most other situations

As soon as the sled started down, Kags tightened his grip and made this cute little yelp of surprise

But you were laughing insanely hard at the combination of going really fast downhill whilst also having your boyfriend cling to you for dear life

And then when the sled stopped safely at the bottom he started to chuckle

FULL ON, GENUINE SOUND OF ENJOYMENT

That shit is rare

Y’all stayed at that hill for half the day because it was so fun

You got him a new, very high quality athletic roller for Christmas because his old one was just not cutting it anymore

And you also gave him this really cute bracelet with a volleyball, his jersey number, and a little strawberry milk set of charms attached to it

It matched this really pretty and subtle chain he’d bought for your birthday

His blueberry eyes got all wide with affection dfjdskfjsdk—

Got super blushy and couldn’t get a handle on his speech for a fat minute

He thinks you’re the coolest person ever no I do not take criticism

Geez you’re both adorable together, ideal “stoic boy becomes warmer during the holidays around his love” movie plot and I love it

Hinata

He is all in on Christmas. Not a chance this boy doesn’t get excited as hell

Will openly go into holiday mode as soon as November is over

Was secretly already listening to his Christmas playlist before then

He is one of the sweetest gift givers, that is FACTUAL

If you want something really badly, he will take notice and get it as your present immediately

He’ll also gift you an extra thing that’s handmade 🥺

Like some pastries that his mom helped him make, or a specially made basket of soaps with your favorite scents in it

It’s absolutely adorable and you cherish those ones especially

Is happy if you simply get him something; mans doesn’t care what it is

New practice volleyball? A brand new sweatshirt? Elated either way

You had seen an advertisement for a friendly match between Japan and Poland’s men’s volleyball teams, so you waited online on the ticket sales website until the minute it opened

Spoiler alert: you got some banger seats 😌✨

Shoyo may or may not have tackled you when he read the ticket details, letting out his excited giggle (you know the one)

“I can’t believe you got these, angel! You’re coming with me, right? You’ve gotta! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Gives you sweet little kisses between each individual ‘thank you’

“Of course I’ll go with you, Sho! I’m really glad you like it!”

He will give you the brightest smile of all time — that shit makes Christmas lights pale in comparison

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

RIGHT BACK AT YOU BBY

Hold his hands to warm up together when temperatures drop pls :)))

It’s become a weekly December tradition to watch a Christmas movie with Natsu at the Hinata household

She’ll sit in your lap while the three of you are cuddled under a blanket together, and Shoyo will lace his fingers with yours all discreetly

In conclusion, I am a sucker for holiday Hinata 🥺🥺🥺

Tsukishima

His room is decorated to the very minimum simply because his mom and brother had insisted on him being festive

You know those holiday instrumentals that are really calming and jazzy and stuff? Yeah, that’s the only Christmas music he will tolerate in his house

While he’s still got his usual icy demeanor, this blond bitch does get slightly less snippy with the Karasuno boys

Is always on the nose with getting you the exact thing you wanted for a present

Like,,, TO THE SMALLEST DETAIL

You don’t even have to bring that shit up beforehand, he just KNOWS

“Tsukki, how did you—?”

“It’s pretty obvious, with the way that one ad kept showing up on your phone.”

b r u h

How does he pay such good attention without even letting on??

As for his own present, you’ll usually get him two: one gag gift and one more serious gift

His dino plush collection size is partly due to the former’s contributions this time of year

Yes the dinos have names

You exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve with all the team (you made him go) and he saved your more serious one for last

It was a scarf that you’d gotten custom made, which had a Spotify code knitted into the fabric

Scanning the code opened the app to a playlist you’d created especially for him

He got pretty quiet when figuring it out and scrolling through the playlist

Would let out a certified Tsukki Nose Exhale™ when he came across certain songs

The more subdued reaction was expected because it’s Tsukishima

His little chuckles and warmer eyes were enough of a giveaway to tell you he very much enjoyed your gift

But on the walk home, he took the scarf and wrapped it around you both, and then brought his arm around your waist

“Thank you.”

You deadass almost combusted because it was so unexpected??

“You’re welcome. Merry Christmas, Kei”

Way to respond calm and collected 😌👍

But on the inside your body was in freak out mode

He wears the scarf all the time jdfsklfjdsk

Yamaguchi

Take the most tooth rotting fluff you could imagine

And then double that and put a fucking cherry on top

That’s the equivalent of what Christmas is like with Yama Yama

Y’all are like kids in a candy store — literally

For your Christmas dates it’s all about sweets and shared giggles, so frequent trips to the candy and baking isles of the grocery store is a must

Making gingerbread houses, peppermint tasting (mostly trying those different and wild ass candy cane flavors), you name it and it’s there

Stomach aches? I don’t know her

Yeah you do but they go away with enough butterfly kisses 🥰

Tadashi is exceptionally good at decorating gingerbread houses for whatever reason

He put a poll on his instagram between yours and his final products and he won by a landslide

It’s not like yours was necessarily bad, more like he’s just an icing master

You also might have eaten too many gumdrops which left your rooftop lacking in ✨spice✨

But it’s okay because Tadashi donated some of his leftovers to you

He’s such a sweetheart uwu

Please for the love of everything get him something heartfelt as his present

You know those long distance bracelets for couples?

Basically if your s/o taps the icon on the bracelet it’ll send a little vibration to the other person’s as a notice that you’re thinking about them

This boy seeks constant reassurance, and you love to give him his deserved love and validation, so it was the perfect present

It takes a second for him to figure out what it is, but after reading the directions and testing it out, the most adorable smile erupted on his face

And then since you already had yours on, he tapped the little icon again with a giggle

“Hey there”

It becomes common habit to tap it at least once every couple hours

GOD HE IS SO CUTE

He is just so soft this time of year, give him all the love and he will return it tenfold ☺️

Kinoshita

This boy is absolutely an awkward cutie and an avid romantic

Give him the cliches and he will eat em up, no doubt

It naturally gets more apparent around the holidays

He’ll take you on pretty winter walks, give you lots of little gifts (while blushing a hell of a lot), and is just a professional at stumbling upon some mistletoe

Wow wonder how it got there, Hisashi

He’s quite a bit more confident when simply alone with you than in a crowded space

And that definitely shows when he takes you out on a secluded sleigh ride around town

Yeah you heard me

A fuckin’ sleigh ride

Horses and blankets and everything

Don’t even ask how he managed to pull it off, because he loves watching the cogs turn in your head and simply will not give you a straight answer

Of course there’s the nice driver guy who’s there, but in the back alone Kinoshita’s confidence goes 📈📈

Lots of flirting, tons of skimmed touches and shared giggles throughout the ride

I legitimately simp really hard for him

Anyways it was a gorgeous ride through town and super fun

On Christmas Eve you both exchange gifts together and tbh whatever you got him will leave him happy and flustered regardless

But when he opens the wrapping paper to find an entire set of vintage VHS tapes, he’s stunned

He owns a VHS (actually canon!) and honestly loves it to death, and the fact that you’d get him tapes of pretty high quality for his collection meant a lot

Gosh he’s so underrated but a definite sweetheart, give him all the holiday love

Narita

Another underrated bby 🥺

He’s so chill and is pretty open to anything during the holidays, so long as he gets to spend ample time with you, his friends, and his family

Definitely more of an indoor person despite being accepting of most situations

Hence why you thought a cute little indoor winter picnic would be right up his alley

Which it absolutely was 😌✨ nice work

You’d made plans while in secret communications with his family members about the whole thing

He’d been pretty stressed lately with trying to handle his schoolwork, while also helping out others with theirs

Despite being a wonderful tutor, it was clearly becoming a bit overwhelming as he tried to grapple with so much at once

So when he came home one day to find a pristine house with you settled on a blanket in his living room, he was quite surprised

There’s a cheese plate, soda cans in a cute ice box, sandwiches, snacks, a presparked fireplace — you and his family went all out

Really adorable I cannot lie

“I thought you said you were going gift shopping today?”

“I might have maybe lied :P”

So he gives the sweetest little smile and sits across from you

Y’all stay there and talk for hours

After finally getting through everything previously laid out on the blanket spread, you slid him a little rectangular box that he looked at curiously

“Already? I haven’t wrapped yours yet!”

“Mine can wait a bit! Just open yours”

And so he does, and you watch with a face-splitting grin as he looks down in awe

You got tickets to see his favorite rock band in concert while they were on tour

He sprung onto you and pulled you into the tightest hug ever

“Holy shit you’re the best I love you so much how do you get even more loveable every day—!?!l”

It’s a jumble of words but you’re able to put it together and it makes you giggle

He deadass sprints upstairs to go get your gift and make sure that you feel as equally appreciated as he does

In simple words: wholesome holiday sweetness 🥰

146 notes · View notes

generallybarzy · 3 years

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hey there, stranger. x

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine

an: this was supposed to be out on new years, but oh well! Let's keep the holiday magic going as long as we can!!! It has officially (actually at 11pm later today on the 22nd) been a year since i created this blog, and since Maty played so goddman well tonight, it’s only fitting to finish this. Its been three, beautiful, perfect months since you first met your loving boyfriend, and its the end of the year. time for the ball to drop, and for you to drop a metaphorical ball on mat to ring in the new year. A new year hopefully filled with so much more emotion and growth- both romantic and personal.

taglist: @selenophileangel @deleausvp @dunnwithlyfe @smit41 @softboybarzal @fallinallincurls @matbaerzal @brokeninsidebutnobodyknows @hockeyhughes11 @folkloreflyers @nazdaddy @shawnsreputation @comphybiscuit @aboveaveragehockeyboys @canadianheaters @ifiwasshawnmendesidslapmyself @baby-cat-nol-pat @heybarzy (i’m assuming you wanna be tagged, if not, lemme know), @d-cozens

word count: 3.7k (longer than usual!!)

playlist (specifially the song I Feel Good About This by The Mowgli’s)

The days between Christmas and New Years were always the slowest for you. Having to spend the in-between of your holidays alone was tiring and the cold winter weather just wore you down more.

This year, though, you couldn’t be happier.

After meeting Mat’s family on Christmas day, you were on cloud nine. You were becoming more and more confident in this relationship and where it was headed, and for the first time ever, you couldn’t wait to see how it played out. And though Mat’s hands had not traveled further than they had on Christmas, you could practically feel the sexual tension in the air. He just had to hold on for a bit longer. With your three-month anniversary approaching, you still felt it was much too soon to take that step, despite the emotions that were becoming more and more overwhelming every day.

The six days between Christmas and New Years were spent in Mat’s apartment, as your campus was closed for Christmas break and you didn’t want to stay all alone in that tiny dorm when you had such a loving boyfriend who was needy and had stayed in New York for you instead of flying to Vancouver to see his family. The quickest thing you learned during your stay was that the best treatment for the gloomy winter blues was a simple dosage of time with Mat. Though Mat still had three games to play between Christmas and New Years, every second that you weren’t there watching him or watching from the couch, you were together, cuddling on the couch in the central heating of his expensive apartment, baking cookies, and cherishing each little moment.

Though you had hoped to be able to cuddle him all afternoon before going out into chilly Times Square to watch the ball drop, he had a game in D.C. on New Year’s Eve, and so you’d be spending most of the day alone before he got back.

Mat woke up this morning, a few hours before having to leave for practice, his arms around your body. He wanted to wake you up so that you could spend time together before he left, but he didn’t have the heart yet to wake you. You looked so peaceful, lying against his chest like this, in all of your glory. Makeup-free, messy hair, but still just as beautiful as ever. Mat’s hand found its way to your cheek, warm to the touch, and his thumb dragged gently over the smooth skin, careful not to wake you.

The night before had ended in celebration, cheers and drinks and laughter, as the two of you had just found out that Mat made the 2020 All Star game in St. Louis, and Mat still grinned thinking back to your reaction.

��Oh my God, Maty!”

“Yeah, yeah!” he laughed along as you held onto him and jumped in excitement. “I know!”

“Congrats, baby!! I knew you would do it!” You were easily more excited than him, and he felt his heart swell with pride. Not pride that he had gotten into the All Star Game, he was excited about that, sure, but not as much as he was proud to have made you happy. Proud to have you proud of him. That, that was what warmed his heart.

“Thanks, babe.” His arm wrapped around your waist and held you close, bringing your celebratory jumping to a halt.

You looked up at him with confused, pretty eyes. “Aren’t you excited? I feel like you’re not celebrating as much as you should be.”

“Of course I’m excited! This is amazing.”

“You’re gonna be playing with all the stars!! All the players you used to watch and look up to!! You are one of the stars!! I can’t believe it, Maty. My boyfriend is a star!!”

“Hey, hey.” He laughed a bit, trying to keep his modesty. It felt amazing, being considered a star, sure, and he still couldn’t believe it. He was so excited to be in the All Star Game, of course, but he didn’t want you to think that was all he cared about. He didn’t want you to think of him as a star hockey player. No, he was your boyfriend. So, he played it casual. “This isn’t my first one, you know, you don’t have to congratulate me like this.”

“Mat.”

“It’s cool, but I mean, it’s not like it’s my first, it’s not as special as last-”

“Shut up, shut up baby. My beautiful, amazing, talented boy. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first or your hundredth game, alright? I’m still gonna be proud of you. Because you’re talented, and beautiful, and so, so good and passionate about hockey.” Your small hands caressed his cheeks, and as much as he tried to play it cool, he felt the blood rise to his face and a smile breaking through his lips. And you noticed too. “Actually, Maty, you love hockey so much there’s no way you wouldn’t be ecstatic about this. I think you are excited, but you're trying to seem cool. Is that what you’re doing?”

His shoulders rose and fell as he started grinning more. You were proud of him, you supported his career and his dreams and his love of hockey, and he couldn’t ask for more.

“You know me well.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Finally, he laughed breathlessly. “I’m super excited.”

“I know you are, my talented boy.”

“Hey there…”

Your voice pulled Mat from his trance, and he refocused his gaze on your face after spacing out. He smiled, the way he always did when he saw you in his bed, and pulled the blankets tighter. “Hey there, baby.”

“Looked a little lost in thought, there, buddy.”

“Yeah?” He laughed at your teasing and looked up to the ceiling. “I’m just happy.”

“Yeah?” You leaned up to kiss his chin. “I’m excited for you.”

“Not just that.”

“Oh?”

“I’m just so happy with you.”

You reached out to cup Mat’s face in your hands, stretching up and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “I’m happy too.”

“Good.” He held you to him and rolled to his side on the bed, a big leg coming to hook over yours and pull you closer to his body. From this position, you could kiss him much easier, so, playing with the collar of the t-shirt he’d slept in for modesty, you pulled him in.

“How much longer until you have to leave?”

Mat groaned, as if your question had pulled him out of his dreamy, blissful state. “Three hours.” You hummed in response, completely content with spending that time right here, in your little haven with Mat. “Sorry. I really wanted to be with you on New Year’s”

“You can’t help that you have a game. I’ll be watching, like always.”

“But I wish I could be here with you.”

“But you’ll be home before midnight, won’t you?”

“I promise.”

“Good.”

The morning dragged on slow and leisurely, with no reason or will to get up. Slowly, gently, you managed to migrate from bed to the kitchen, to the couch, where you cuddled back down with bowls of healthy cereal, both too lazy to make breakfast, some slow morning show on TV. There weren’t many words exchanged, but there didn’t need to be. You understood each other, and the silence was telling, his hand around your waist spoke loud enough, the way his eyes held your so softly and gently proclaimed his feelings loud and clear, his lips on yours screamed out his love for you without restraint. There was nothing he could do different than he was now to show you more how much he loved you- it was obvious, it was as clear as day, and the further and further along this relationship went, the more confident you were becoming that you loved him back. But you still couldn’t tell him, you couldn’t bring yourself to break down that final wall and give you all to him. You were still running on half of your heart, and you knew he was trying his best to build it back up for you.

When the time finally came that he had to leave, it took all his strength to pull away from you.

“I don’t wanna go. Can I just say I’m sick?”

“No, baby.” You pushed him towards the door, handing him his backpack. “As much as I’m gonna miss you, your team needs you. Go score some goals for me, alright?”

“Hnn.” He groaned in response but leaned down to press his lips to yours in goodbye.

You patted down the front of his suit, admiring the way he cleaned up so pretty, though wishing he could stay with you in sweats all day. “You look good, Maty.”

“So do you.” His hands smoothed down your arms, down the sleeves of his jersey you had already put on for good luck. “I promise I’ll be home in time to head out, okay?”

“You better. Now go play some hockey, bubs.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

His bottom lip jutted out in a look that should not be that cute on a grown man. But, oh fuck, it was. “One more kiss? Please?”

“Okay. One more.” A smile tugged at your lips as he pulled you in to lock lips one more time over the threshold of the door, toothy and sweet and giggly. And Mat was hoping, in his head, that every game day would be like this from now on. Kissing his beautiful girlfriend before stepping out the door. Never again would he have to return alone after a long night, or find solace in some other woman after a loss. He had you. He loved you.

He smiled as he pulled away, sighing a soft breath through his laughter. “Okay, bye now.”

“Bye, baby.”

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

They won.

The perfect, beautiful, Hollywood ending to a perfect year. The best way to ring in the new year, and you couldn’t be prouder of the boys.

Immediately after you saw the team leave the ice on the TV screen, your phone started vibrating with a call. Mat’s name lit up on your screen and you couldn’t help but smile to yourself at the butterflies that erupted in your chest just at the thought of him, giddy and excited after a game, and the first thing he thinks of is you. It made you feel so special, so cared for, so remembered. So loved.

You answered the call, your heart throbbing. There, on the screen, Mat was sitting, still in his uniform, helmet perched high atop his head, his locker in the background of the frame. All around him, you could hear the boys celebrating in the locker room. His friends were all celebrating, and he was here, calling you. He didn’t have to. But he did. He chose you. “Hi, Maty!”

“Babe! Did you see me?”

“I always do!”

You saw him get jostled around a bit by teammates on the other end, and the giddy grin that lit up his face was just too much. “Hey, hey, I uhh, I gotta ask something.”

“What’s up?”

“I, uhh, I know we planned to go out to Times Square tonight, and we still will, don’t worry! But, uhh, I got a buddy here who got his plans shot down last minute and he's gonna be alone tonight. Think this could be less of a date and more of the three of us? It’s alright if you don’t want him to come, he’ll be oka-”

“It’s fine.” You weren’t sure how the words came so easily to you, but something made you feel as if you were ready. Ready to get dangerously tangled with Mat’s personal life, with his friends and his life outside of you. You were ready.

“You sure?”

“As long as you promise to kiss me at midnight and not him.”

He laughed on the other end, and you heard the echo of someone else’s laugh next to him and a shout of “Thank you!”. Mat glanced over to his friend for only a second before looking back to you. “Thanks. Hope he doesn't scare you off.”

“He can’t be worse than you.”

“Oh, yeah?” Mat cackled again, his cheeks pink and aching from the overwhelming happiness he was feeling.

“I miss you, bubs.”

You heard his teammates cheer in laughter and roar “ooh!” as if they were high school boys cheering on their buddy in the background, seemingly the entire locker room started eavesdropping on their star player and his girlfriend. Mid-laughter, red-cheeked and flustered, he never took his eyes off the camera. “Miss you too, baby. I’ll be home in a few hours.”

“See you then.”

I love you!

“Bye.”

I love you!

Things felt unfinished as you hung up the phone. ‘Bye’? It didn’t feel like enough, it felt wrong, and your throat was itching to say something else. Stupid, stupid, it’s way too early.

Way too early, maybe but fuck it felt good. It felt so good.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

You couldn’t contain your excitement when you heard the key turn in the door to Mat’s apartment a few hours later. You jumped up from the couch to run over to the door, smiling immediately when you saw Mat’s face.

"Hey, (Y/N)!"

"Hi, Mat!”

“Missed you, baby.” You wrapped your arms around his waist as he pulled you close and squeezed tight, forgetting for a moment that you had company. He was just burying his face in your hair when another man, who you only knew because of all the games you watched and had seen him next to Mat on the bench every now and then. You stepped back from the hug, but kept your fingers laced through Mat’s. “Oh! And hi Mat’s friend."

“Hi, (Y/N)!” His friend spoke up from the doorway. “I’m Anthony!”

“That’s Tito.” Mat said at the same time, jerking his head back to motion towards his friend without looking away from you. You laughed at their antics before Tito continued.

“Nice to meet you, finally. Mat hasn’t shut up about you for at least 2 months.”

“Dude!!” Mat exclaimed and turned to whack him, causing his friend to laugh.

“Oh, wow.” Something warmed your heart at the thought of Mat talking about you to his friends. There was something so amazing about the feeling that blossomed up in your chest knowing that you still existed in his mind even when you weren’t there with him. “Nice to meet you too.”

“Sorry, we’re late. We stopped by my place so I could change. Didn’t want to go out in a suit. Wouldn’t have been really warm.”

“That’s fine!” You were liking Mat’s friends so far. He seemed sweet. “Speaking of warm clothes,” You nudged Mat a bit, “You should go change so we can head out to the square, it’s getting close to time.”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Thanks for letting me crash your date tonight.” Anthony spoke up, interrupting your slight PDA. “I know you had plenty of big plans for ringing in the new year, if you know what I mean.” He laughed and had a suggestive tone as he glanced at Mat, who hit him again, looking frantic.

“Dude!! Shut it!!!”

“Hey, it’s true.”

You laughed a little, but couldn’t help but flush as you locked eyes with Mat again, imagining the things Anthony was suggesting. Plans? Big plans? You didn't have plans like that tonight, unless Mat had planned to try and sleep with you tonight. Was he planning something like that? Would he, knowing how uncomfortable you are with that? Despite you worry, the thought made you heat up all over, and you didn’t want to be so flustered in front of his friend. You squeezed his hand- heavy in your own- one more time, and he squeezed back hopeful, a plea for you to ignore what you’d heard, before you dropped it. “So, Maty. you should probably get ready to head out. Go put something more warm on. Then we can leave.”

“Right, right.”

Mat glanced over at his friend, locking eyes and engaging in a silent conversation you knew best friends always have. When Mat finally walked off to the bedroom, Anthony made himself at home on the couch, waiting, a new, tense silence in the air, and typing some texts out on his phone while you gathered up your jacket for heading out. It took Mat a bit longer than usual to get ready, and when he emerged, he had a beanie in his hand, and a black plaid coat paired with the Office hoodie you loved so much, and a grin on his face,, warm and bright like the one you knew. He bumped fists with Tito as he stood from the couch, and came over to you, lacing your fingers together, gazing at you softly.

“Are you ready to head out?”

You tried to compose yourself from how good he looked. "Absolutely.”

“Not if you two are gonna be all gross all night.” Tito groaned.

“Ha ha.” Mat stuck his tongue out at his friend playfully. “You wish you had a girl like I do.”

“Aw, Maty.”

“Ew, you two.”

The subway trip and final short walk from the station to to Times Square was how you’d expect it to be, with two dorky best friends, Tito willingly and happily third-wheeling and chirping the two of you every time you ever so much as glanced at each other, let alone snuck a little kiss on the crowded subways. And when you finally made it, standing alone together in the huge crowd of people and counting down each final minute, you knew, there, standing in the chilly New York City air with Mat and his best friend, there was nowhere else you'd rather be, ever.

You felt Mat’s hand tighten around your, grabbing your attention the way he always did. “Hey, sorry about earlier.”

“Earlier?”

“Yeah, uhh, when Beau said we have big plans.”

“Ohh…” Your cheeks flushed again at the thought of what that suggested.

“Yeah.” He shifted on his feet a little,his gaze falling to his shoes.

"Were, uhh, were you planning on trying to sleep with me tonight?"

“No, no, not necessarily. I didn’t mean anything like that. I mean, I wasn’t gonna try to do anything.” He ran a fumbling hand through his hair. "Not if you don't want to. I was just talking to him, about you, us, I guess, and just he thought it'd be funny to mess with me like that tonight. Guess it's playback, I've embarrassed him before."

"You're rambling baby."

"Sorry."

"Mat, it's okay."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. I mean we're together, I can handle jokes like that. We'll get to that eventually, anyway."

He laughed a bit, cheeks pink. We’ll get to that. He tried to ignore the thoughts that phrase had conjured up in him. "Yeah."

"And we can have a serious conversation about these things later, before we do anything, okay? Preferably when we're alone and your friend isn't standing like three feet away."

"Yeah, yeah, we will. I promise." His lips found your forehead, before you fell back into comfortable silence, leaning against his chest as Tito took some snaps in the background. Your gaze rose to Mat’s face as he looked up towards the clock, counting down the final minutes of the year. His cheeks were pink and wind-kissed, his jawline sharp and his hair sticking out of his beanie in little dark curls you loved so much. His lips looked so soft, his gaze so warm and welcoming as his eyes met yours again. His lips quirked up in amusement at seeing you watching him, but before he could say anything cheeky, you spoke up, not being able to contain your feelings any longer.

“Mat. I gotta tell you something."

“Quickly, it’s almost time, babe.” He smiled, bending down closer to you a bit, listening close for your soft words as you leaned up towards his warmth against the chilly New York winter, bringing an arm up around his shoulders. You made sure to be close enough to him to hide your words from Tito or any random eavesdroppers. This was for Mat. Just Mat.

Only Mat, ever.

“I know it’s still so soon. We’ve barely been dating at all yet, right?” Mat nodded, a small smile at the adventure your relationship had been so far. “It’s only been three months, but they were three amazing months. Thanks to you. You’ve helped me open up, did you know that? In three months. I’ve never been happier. Or felt more comfortable. Or safe. I don’t know what it is about you… you're a special guy.” He laughed, breathless at your words, the look in his eyes soft and begging you to continue. “I’ve been thinking about this since you accidentally let… uh, those words slip, remember? It’s so soon, and we don’t really know where this is going. I don’t know where we’re gonna end up yet, a few months down the road. But you know what I do know?”

His answer was barely a minty breath against your lips, coming out with a puff of air in the below freezing air. “What?”

“I feel good about this. I feel good about us. And I think this year is gonna be good to us.”

His cheeks were pink and a cold breeze pushed his hair around. His grin fell into something softer, something more gentle. "(Y/N)...."

"Can I tell you a secret?" He nodded and leaned in closer, fluidly and slow as if in a trance, turning his ear towards you. You could hear the final countdown in the background, the crowd chanting five! four! three! "Mat," Your hand cupped his cheek, your lips found the shell of his ear, grazing across the skin as you sighed. "Mathew, I'm falling in love with you."

“Hey, lovebirds! It’s midnight!” You could hear Beau yelling at you in the background, but all you were focused on, as you pulled back from your whisper, was your boyfriend.

Mat’s eyes were wide and gleaming wetly, full of visible emotion and unrestrained joy. His lips split into a shaky, breathless string of laughter, his hands trembling, gripping yours with everything in him. His tongue darted out quickly to wet his pink lips, and with one final shaky breath, he sighed:

“Kiss me.”

And you did.

And with that kiss, you knew Mat felt the same. You could feel his passion, his genuine, hopeful, overwhelming feelings, seeping from his lips to yours, from his fingertips to yours, with every little breath he took against your lips, holding you against his body. Neither of you wanted to pull away, but when you couldn't go on any longer, your foreheads pressed against each other and your eyes gazed into each other's deeply. Mat opened his mouth to say something, cheeks red and lips swollen from the kiss, but before any words came out, Tito was clapping a hand on his back and teasing the two of you about the kiss. His words fell on deaf ears though, as you were still focusing on Mat, the way his lips curled into a smile as he finally let words fall out.

"Happy new year, (Y/N)."

#op #hey there stranger #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal fanfiction #nhl fanfiction #mathew barzal #mat barzal #fic

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olivarryprompts · 3 years

Text

Fanfic Friday #6

Welcome to Fanfic Friday! Each Friday I will post a new fanfic here and on A03. Enjoy x

Read and save it on A03 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/32370130

{Peter Parker’s Field Trip to Stark Industries}

Ships: peppertony, wandanat, sambucky

Warnings: mild anxiety, swearing

Status: married or dating

Wc: 3,281

“-and so that wraps up this lesson. Your homework is to do this worksheet, please hand a sheet back to everyone. I have a quick announcement, and it is very exciting. Given that this is one of the most advanced classes we offer, the school has arranged for us to have a field trip!”

Peter refocused on the word field trip. He didn’t have a good track record for those.

“We will be going to Avenger’s Tower! This is a very exclusive opportunity and you all should be very excited-”

No, no, no, no, this couldn’t be happening to Peter. Not now. Oh god. He had a suspicion this was set up by his basically-father. He was going to kill Tony. His teacher went on to blabber about permission slips and NDAs.

“Class dismissed. Please hand your forms in tomorrow as the field trip is on Friday.”

FRIDAY? How could it be so soon. Peter wanted to die. He headed for the door, but was stopped in his tracks by Mr. Blaze calling his name.

“Yes?” he said, turning around. The class had mainly cleared out by now.

“Peter, you're a good kid, and I understand not being the most popular student in school, but we need to talk about the lie you made up about working at Stark Industries.”

“But the internship is re-”

“This field trip is a great opportunity, and I do not want your lies ruining it for yourself or your classmates. Please do not mention it whilst we are there, or there will be serious consequences.”

“It’s a real intern-”

“Please Peter. You should know better than this. See you tomorrow.”

He was tired and fed up of school when he headed into the hallways to see his best friend.

“Hey,” Ned said, meeting him in the hallway.

“Hey,” Peter replied weakly.

“What’s up? Something happened?”

“Nah, just that field trip.”

“Oh the one to Stark Tower! It’s going to be so fun!”

“Right..”

“You’re not excited? I know you work there and stuff, but still.”

“Hmn uh yeah. No it was more Mr. Blaze being a bitch,” he replied, half lying.

“Still thinks you're lying about the internship?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Wanna come over to mine? Build some lego?”

“Nah, got to be home. Too much work to catch up on with all the patrolling I’ve been doing.”

“Gotcha. Well, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah see you.”

Peter walked to the carpark expecting to find Happy in his black SUV. He was, instead, met by Black Widow.

“Nat?”

“Hey spider boy.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Figured I’d pick ya up and bring you home. Had a second free.”

He jumped into the passenger seat of the jet black convertible.

“How was school паук?”

“Не очень хорошо,” he said easily slipping into Russian. (Not very good)

“Зачем? что-то случилось? (Why? Did something happen?”)

“Да. У нас есть производственная практика в Stark Industries. Что было бы не так уж и плохо, но мой глупый учитель не думает, что я действительно проходил там стажировку, поэтому он отругал меня. Плюс мое паучье чутье сегодня сильно пошло на убыль.” (Yes. We have a field trip to Stark Industries. Which wouldn't be so bad, but my stupid teacher doesn't think I really have an internship there, so he told me off. Plus my spider sense were going off so much today.)

“бедный ребенок. Я могу чем-нибудь помочь?” (Poor kid. Anything I can do to help?)

“Убить Tony за это? (Kill Tony for setting this up?”)

“Нет, детка. Сожалею." (No can do kiddo. Sorry.)

“Разве ты не можешь рассказать другим Мстителям? Особенно папа.” (Can you not tell the other Avengers? ‘Specially Dad.)

“Я не обещаю.” (I won’t, promise.)

"Спасибо.” (Thanks.)

They’d arrived at the tower. There was more to it than he was telling. Ever since he’d moved into the tower, he’d been his safe space. It was his and his families. And he knew it was supid because so many people used it, but still. It felt awful for people from his school to come there. Peter pulled his security card out of his bag, scanning it.

“Peter Parker-Stark, clearance level Alpha 5, all access. Hi baby boss,” Friday, the building's AI called out, “Shall I tell Mr. Stark you’re home?”

“Yeah sure. I’m going straight to my lab, though.”

“Okay sir. Morgan would also like to inform you that she is looking for you.”

“Send her down to the lab.”

“As you wish.”

He hopped in the lift and allowed Friday to take him to floor 89. It was his personal lab. Oren, he’d reprogram Karen, allowed him entry through the glass door.

“Hello Peter, welcome back. What would you like to work on?”

“I’m going to do some work on my web shooters. Play my “workin after school” playlist on, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

He worked peacefully on his shooters design and mechanics for about 30 minutes before Oren alerted him that Morgan was coming up.

“Morgan Stark is requesting entry.”

“Granted.”

The door opened and revealed his basically little sister.

“Hey Mo,” he said, picking up the little girl, “Who let you roam around all on your own?”

“Mummy sent me up,” she smiled.

Peter nodded.

“What are you working on Petey.”

“I’ll show you,” he said, placing Morgan on his work table. He’d quickly made sure there was nothing that could hurt her.

“Web shooters?” she guessed.

“Yep. See I wanted to make them even more efficient so I changed the gears and trigger mechanism.”

She nodded knowingly. She was very smart for her age.

“Nice! Can we build our robot?”

“Sure thing. Oren, pull up the files for Petey-Pie and Morgana’s Robot.” He’d let Morgan handle the name for their creation.

Peter went and grabbed the box that had all their pieces in it. Being careful around the young girl, they continued to work on building the robot, Peter teaching her little things on the way.

So he had a normal evening. Did some fun work, some homework, ate dinner with the lunatics called the avengers, and went to bed.

“If it isn’t my two favorite small children!” Tony said, entering his lab.

“Daddy!” Morgan said, running into her father’s arms.

“Oren, I thought I told you to lock Dad out.”

“Unfortunately your father runs the building, so I could not follow your wanted protocol.”

“Love you too kid.”

“You set up the field trip.”

“Field trip?”

“Yeah. My school’s coming here on Friday!” Peter said, looking up from his work.

“Really? Nope wasn’t me. It was likely someone from PR, kiddo. You do go to one of the best STEM schools in the country.”

Tony had a point.

“Right...sorry.”

“It’s good, kid. What’s got you so wound up about it?”

“Daddy, I’m going to Mummy.”

“Okay kiddo, Friday take little Potts to bigger Potts,” he said with a smile.

“Yes sir.”

Once Morgan left, Tony asked again, “So wanna talk about it?”

“Just, just this is home. My home. And I know that’s stupid because it’s a fuckin 100 floor tower, but I know it. I know it so well, and I just don’t really want kids from my school here. I know I can’t gatekeep a building bu-”

“Hey, hey, it’s not stupid. It makes sense. This place is home and you don’t want them messing with any part of it. I bet most kids in your class wouldn’t love it if people came into their home for a field trip.”

“Yeah. And i-its my safeplace. From everything.” Everything being all the people he lost. His parents and uncle and aunt.

“I get it. Want me to have Pep cancel the trip?”

“N-no, no. All the kids in my class were so excited.”

“Always so selfless,” Tony smiled, “When is it again?”

“Friday.”

“Kiddo, I promise it’ll be fine. If anything, anything happens just get Fri to call me or Pep. Most of the avengers will be around too so you can call ‘em too.”

“Yeah. Thanks. They’ll just try to embarrass me, though,” Peter laughed.

“They will. Do I need to sign something?”

“I’m just going to have Mum do it because her signature is less recognizable.”

“Yeah, okay. Your teachers still don’t believe you?”

“How did you know th-”

“Come on kid, I’m Tony Stark.”

Peter smiled, “Fair enough. Yeah they don’t. I mean they will after the trip.”

“Yeah, that’s the bright side.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it then. Don’t stay in here too late.”

The night before the field trip he was so nervous. He ended up eating dinner in his lab. Pepper complained but Tony just told her he’d had a long day and deserved a break.

He knew he should have gone to bed but as each hour passed, he got more and more anxious about the trip. He needed something to take his mind off it, so he just kept working and working. Suddenly it was seven in the morning and he needed a shower. Finishing his eighth coffee of the eve, he headed to the 91st floor where he stayed. Hoping that neither of his parents would notice his all nighter he crept into his room.

After getting ready for school, he made his way back out of his room.

“Morning,” Pepper greeted him, “How was last night?” She wore a knowing smile as she continued to tap on her computer, presumably doing work.

“Fine,” he smiled, “Don’t tell dad.”

“I won’t. You're turning into him, though.”

“What else was expected?”

Pepper just smiled, “Sam and Bucky had loads of pastry delivered to the main kitchen if you wanna pop in there.”

“Yeah, sounds good. Thanks.”

“By sweetie, have a good day at school.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

“Love you too, hun.”

Peter jumped in the lift taking him up two floores to the Avengers hang out space.

“Spiderling!” Sam and Bucky greeted

“Old Man, bird boy,” he smirked.

“You look like shit, паук,” Nat said from the sofa.

“Thanks,” he said, putting a few of the delicious looking treats onto his plate. He also grabbed himself another cup of coffee. He plops himself down next to Nat on the sofa.

“Did you not sleep again? You look like hell.” Tony said, entering the kitchen to get himself another cup of coffee.

“Right back at you dad.”

“Fair.”

Steve entered, coming back from his run.

“Hey,” he said, addressing the room, “God kid, you look like yo-”

“OKAY NEXT PERSON TO TELL ME I LOOK SHIT IS GETTING IT!”

“Oh sorry,” Steve said, rolling his eyes. Clint came in with Pietro at his side, “What’s this about Peter looking shit?”

“I hate you all,” he said, finishing his last bite. He laid down on the sofa.

“Oh ah kid, something I needed to tell you. Right, you can stay here. No need to go to school and back. Pepper wrote a note saying you’d meet at the school because you had a doctor's appointment or some shit.”

“Why is spider boy here?” Sam asked.

“School field trip.”

“Only you Parker,” the White Wolf laughed.

“No embarrassing me, please,” he begged.

“Hell no, this is a great opportunity,” Sam said, looking over to bucky.

“I won’t,” Nat said with her hands up.

“I’m in, team embarrass Peter,” Clint said, high fiving Bucky and Sam. At that moment, Wanda walked in heading straight for her girlfriend’s arms. Nat happily let her fall into her lap.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Nat asked with some level of concern.

“Everything,” Wanda said.

“Drama queen,” Pietro scoffed. Peter closed his eyes and let the conversation happen around him. At some point, Tony had left. Clint had gone off to train with the Dumb and Dumber, and Steve claimed he had a mission brief.

Friday’s voice startled him, “Peter, I recommend you head downstairs as your class is arriving in 5.”

“Five what?” Peter questioned.

“Four,” The AI continued.

“A LITTLE MORE WARNING WOULD BE NICE!”

Peter grabbed his shit and jumped into the private elevator as fast as he could. Luckily, he was in the lobby mere moments before the class entered. He pretended just to be standing around.

“Peter,” Mr. Blaze called, “Please come and join the class.”

Peter nodded, spotting his best friend amongst the crowd.

“Hey,” Ned greeted.

“‘Sup.”

“Good morning everyone,” said the tour guild, “My name is Tamiko Hiroki and I will be taking you on your tour today. To start, I will be giving you all badges. When I call your name please step up and collect it.”

She made her way through the basket and by the time she was done only one student had not received a badge.

“Hey, Peter didn’t get a badge,” Cindy Moon, a kind girl in his physics class, called.

“Apologies, there doesn’t seem to be one in here for a Peter.”

“Uh I-i, I have m-my own. Thanks Tamiko.”

“Oh okay, cool. Please follow me to security.” The class seemed shocked. Was the kid telling the truth about his internship?

“So, there are many different levels of pass here. Guests get Beta levels 1-5 depending on what they are doing. Then there’s Omega’s who are interns and such. Next is the scientist and important employees with Zeta. Finally there’s Alpha for major important roles such as department heads. The top level, Alpha 5, contains the most important people like the Avengers who live in the tower and CEO Pepper Pots.

“Tamiko Hiro, Clearance level Beta 5.”

“Don’t worry everyone, that's Friday, the AI who runs the building. Just keep passing through.”

“Philip Maiko, Clearance level Beta 1.”

“Michelle Jones, Clearance level Beta 1.”

Peter headed towards the back, allowing all the students to go in front of him. He prayed they didn’t hear his security protocol. The rest passed through with Beta 1. Then, Peter came up.

“Peter Parker-Stark, clearance level Alpha 5, all access. Hi baby boss,” Friday, the building's AI called out, “Shall I tell Mr. Stark you’re home early?”

“I’m on a field trip, Fri. No need to tell D-Mr. Stark. Thanks.”

The class, once again, looked shocked.

“Why does Penis Parker have all access?” Flash called to Tamiko.

“I do not believe I have clearance to disclose that information, but Peter here may answer,” Tamiko said, glaring at Flash.

“I mean I’ve said it before. I am a personal intern of-”

“PETEY!” Bucky yelled, giving him a hug from behind.

Deflated, he responded, “Hey Buck.”

“Is that all I get?

The two settled on one of the many sofas in the lab. Pete’s head in Tony’s lab.

“Sorry about that, Pepper explicitly told all tours to stay off this level, but it seems as though her assistant made an exception because she thought it was okay as you were on the tour. Pepper fired her.”

Only his mum, “She didn’t have to do that.”

“She was furious.”

“Oh I’m sure.”

“I know this is your safe space, so-”

“It’s okay. No one came in.”

“Yeah.”

“You feeling any better?”

“Just tired. Thanks.”

“Always kiddo. You wanna go upstairs? Take a nap?”

“Sure.”

#mcu fanfic #irondad #tony stark #peter parker #wanda maximoff #natasha romanoff #wandanat #pepper pots #peppertony #morgan stark #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky #family fic #found family #peter parker field trip

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miracle-sham · 3 years

Text

Amidst the Howls of Death, Your Divinity Gives Me Breath.

| {Jasonette July 2021, Week 1, Day 2: Protection} |

| Marinette, Jason, Bruce, Dick, Tim, and Damian are all unfortunately familiar with how danger lurks around every corner in places like these. But perhaps their instincts can be ignored for just one evening of rest? |

| Or a Priestess, a Gunslinger, and his family, walk into a creepy inn. |

| Word Count: 2,789. |

| Warnings/Tags: Swearing/Explicit Language, Mild Gothic Horror, Implied/Referenced Background/Minor Character Death, Pretend Character Death, Fantasy & Magic Au, Romantic Fluff, Sharing a Room/Bed, Cuddling & Snuggling, Kissing. |

———

| A/N: Another fic with a playlist, so check it out if you're curious to the songs I listened to when writing this! And have look in the end notes if you want to read a short descrip of what inspired this piece! |

| If you want to be tagged in future oneshots/fics or a specific Au, then feel free to send me a dm and or ask! |

| Also side note, Don’t Like? Don’t Read. Also also, please do not criticise any of my writing. This was written for fun and receiving criticism, even in a compliment/criticism sandwich, is the exact opposite of fun. |

———

As soon as Marinette, Jason, and his family had entered the ramshackle hamlet, they all could tell without a doubt that there was something not quite... right about the place.

Even in the dying light of the day, it was obvious that every window and door were boarded up. A few even had stone or iron bars nailed or soldered across any and all potential points of entry—chimneys included. Some buildings were half-collapsed beneath the weight of their own rotting timbers, others looked unnaturally clean and newly constructed, most however were somewhere between the two extremes. But regardless of how new or decrepit the buildings appeared, each and every single one had at least some form of large scratching or claw marks gouged into the wood and stonework.

The first thing the Wayne family and Marinette had all agreed upon, was acquiring rooms for the night from the only inn in the hamlet. One of the nicer buildings albeit, but just as foreboding in its own sense due to the deeper and more extensive scratch and claw marks along the exterior.

Inside, the innkeeper was undoubtedly strange, eyeing them each with an odd look in his eyes, and an empty grin. Giving him an off-putting appearance that certainly wasn't helped by his slow and methodical cleaning of kitchen knives, from just behind the bar.

Wheezing, the innkeeper tilted his head to one side, staring the family of six down. Voice like gravel, he rasped. “Tread carefully 'round these parts, travellers. There's been tales of your kind vanishing in the dark, followed by the howls.”

“Our kind? What do you mean by our kind?” Dick questioned sharply, narrowing his eyes and subtly curling his hands into fists by his sides—hidden by his deep blue cloak.

“The howls? What howls?” Tim asked curiously, a few seconds after Dick, eyes twinkling with the thrill of a mystery to unravel.

The innkeeper chuckled. “Curious lot, aren't you. I'm afraid that won't do you any good 'ere.”

“Is that a threat?” Bruce rumbled, adjusting his pose ever so slightly to put himself between his four sons plus pseudo-daughter in law, and the innkeeper. So that should anything happen, he would be first in the line of fire instead.

“Not if you pay for rooms tonight, stay quiet, and watch yourselves from straying in the dark.” The innkeeper replied, still grinning emptily as his chuckled subsided.

Tim ducked around Bruce's side to stare at the innkeeper. “You didn't answer our other questions! What do you mean by our kind and why did the previous travellers disappear followed by howls! How did you know that the howls follow disappearances?”

The innkeeper pulled out a whetstone and began sharpening the knives without looking, as his gaze snapped to Tim. “I only answer questions from paying customers, boy.”

“Father! I do not wish to stay somewhere as suspicious as this contemptible establishment.” Damian hissed, keeping his voice low as to avoid the hearing of the innkeeper, and tugged on the edge of Bruce's black cloak.

Jason edged a hand towards the hilt of one of his flintlocks. He leaned closer to Marinette to whisper in her ear. “For once, sweet priestess, I'm with the demon spawn, I don't want to stay here any longer than strictly necessary. This wretched fucking place reeks of ancient necrotic magic.” He wrinkled his nose before adding, “and not your goddess' other half's kind of ancient necrotic magic.”

Marinette frowned, glancing around the inn with ill ease. “I can feel what you mean, my dear knight. Whatever is causing the necrotic magic is definitely not holy by any means. But as far as I can tell, the magic was stronger outside, it's almost muted somewhat in here.”

“Forgive me, sweet priestess, but that doesn't ease my nerves at all.” Jason scoffed.

She rolled her eyes with a quiet snort of laughter, “I wasn't trying to, my dear red hooded knight.” She steeled herself slightly, mirth fading, “though what I am suggesting, is that we purchase rooms for the night. Whatever the source of the magic, we're most likely safer in here than out there. There are no claw marks on the inside after all.”

“For the record, I hate when you're right about these things, my holiness.” He growled, glancing around to confirm her statement.

“You say that as if I hate it any less than you.” Marinette countered, “now let's go intervene before another impending scuffle gets us kicked out of what is possibly our only safe shelter for the eve.”

“And miss out on free entertainment? I cannot believe you.” Jason snickered.

She shoved him good-naturedly before striding past Bruce and up to the counter, imposing in her own right even in comparison to the rest of the family. She cleared her throat to draw attention to herself and stared down the innkeeper with all the sharpness of a storming sea upon rocks. “You will answer all our questions if we purchase rooms, correct?”

The innkeeper squinted at Marinette. “Aye, girl.”

She pursed her lips then nodded. “How much for lodgings then?”

“We've got a room with a double bed, three with a single, and two twin rooms.” The innkeeper responded, empty grin curling into something more twisted, “The singles are a gold each per night, the rest are two gold each per night.”

“That pricing is outrageous!” Damian scowled.

Narrowing her eyes, she ignored Damian and hummed. “I see,” she glanced back at Jason and raised an eyebrow.

He nodded in return.

“Then I will purchase the room with the double bed.” She stated, plucking two gold coins from her purse and placing them upon the bar counter.

The innkeeper nodded, sliding two keys over to her. “Excellent choice, my lady, your room is on the left at the very end of the corridor upstairs.”

Jason prickled at the addressing title given to her, gripping the hilt of the gun he had reached for with whitening knuckles.

Marinette picked up the keys and stared coolly at the innkeeper before taking a few deliberate steps back until she was once more beside Jason. There, she handed him one of the keys.

Silence permeated the room for a minute as the rest of the family communicated through glances and facial movements alone.

Bruce sighed, breaking the stalemate, and placed four gold coins on the counter as well. “We'll take two singles and a twin as well.”

The innkeeper chuckled, passing four more keys over. “Wise decisions, Traveller. The twin room is the last door on the right along the corridor upstairs, and the two singles are the first two doors on both sides.”

“Now answer our questions,” Dick demanded.

The innkeeper glowered at Dick. “What I meant by your kind, was that you're the kind of folk who trouble follows. The travellers that poke their noses where they don't belong. And as for the howls, I wouldn't know. I've never seen what makes it because I stay inside where it is safe. Those who don't stay inside... well their screams, remaining bloody streaks, and disappearances are evidence enough for me.”

Marinette grimaced. “I am going to retire to the room now.”

Jason startled at her words and stared at her concern. “I'll, uh, join you. If you don't mind.”

“You don't have to for my sake.” She responded.

“It would ease my conscience if you weren't to go up alone.” He grit out.

She bowed her head for a second, “then your company would be most appreciated.” She began to make her way towards the stairs up to the rooms.

Before she reached the first step, the innkeeper called out. “My apologies, my holy lady, I did not intend to discuss such gruesome conversations before you that would offend your delicate holy constitution.”

“I appreciate your concern, however, I think you will find it was not my delicate holy constitution that was offended, as much as it was the wish for some privacy after a long and tedious journey. Thank you very much.” She spat in response, voice as acetic as an alchemist's corrosive acid.

The innkeeper raised his hands in a placating manner. “My sincerest apologies then, my lady.”

Marinette took that as a cue to continue upstairs, with Jason on her heels.

Once they reached the door, Jason snarled. “How dare that fucking bastard call you his lady, I'm going to put a bullet through his fucking skull.”

She sighed and went up onto her tiptoes so that she could place a kiss on his lips. “Perhaps wait until after we sort out the cause of the ancient necrotic magic plaguing this place. Though I'd like to rip his tongue out his mouth before you get to have your fun.”

Jason unwound marginally beneath the kiss, his fury was still palpable, however. “Hmm, I would like to watch you do that, my love.”

“Of course you would. Now, let's enjoy some much-needed privacy together. As much as I adore your family, there is only so much time spent travelling I can spend with them without wanting some peace and quiet to cherish you, my knight.” She remarked, opening the door with the key in the meantime.

———

Lounging upon the double bed, Marinette hummed as she gently carded her fingers through Jason's hair—his head resting on her lap and a soft smile gracing his face as he gazed up at her.

She paused her humming, face creases in mild displeasure, as a loose lock of her hair fell across her face. After a few half-hearted attempts to blow it out of the way, she closed her eyes and sighed—fingers twitching to a stop.

Jason raised an eyebrow and reached a hand up to her face, cupping her cheek for a few moments before tucking the loose lock of her hair back behind her ear. “Something on your mind, sweet priestess?”

“Ah. No, not really, no. I was just…” She sighs, lips twisting with faint distress, her earlier mask of determination faltering in the privacy of their room. “I'm worried about you. About this place. It's not safe and I'm worried if we fight anything here, whether it be the cause of the howls, a godforsaken Akuma, or even those creepy fanatics again, you're not going to make it—survive another close call.” She inhaled sharply. “I dread to think that should it come to it, the resurrection rituals won't work for you any longer.” Tears springing to her eyes as she voiced her doubts.

Jason frowned, “Oh,” He fumbled for words, shifting himself up into a sitting position so he could properly cup both sides of her face, and pull her into a gentle kiss on the lips. Pulling back, he took a deep breath, “oh, my holiness. Oh, my love. As long as I've been by your side, you've never let me fall, and your goddess and her pantheon don't seem like they'll let me die anytime before you. Not after the deal we struck, and I promise you, my priestess, that I don't intend on ever breaking that deal.”

“I know my knight, I know.” Marinette mumbled, tugging Jason into a tight hug as soon as he pulled away from the kiss, “but will there be a choice? Have you not forgotten your revival sickness we've yet to find or create a cure for? And not to mention the rumours about what has happened to the others who were also brought back by that awful Lich!”

Grimacing, he idly rubbed the back of his neck. “How could I fucking forget, I've hurt everyone I care about, especially you, thanks to that…”

She hummed once more. “And yet, none of us blame you for that, my love.”

“You should.” He argued weakly.

“I will never!” She retorted.

Their conversation lulled as they relished in the other's embrace.

Minutes passed before Marinette pulled away from the hug. She huffed, fingers twitching and nose scrunching up. “Jason, my red hooded knight, and love of my life.”

Jason squinted at her, “Yes…?”

“Wou— Can— What if I—.” She frowned, searching for her words, before settling on words she knew by ritual. “It would ease my mind if you were to be bestowed with some form of protection magic. Would you accept such a blessing from me?”

He remained silent for a few moments. “Of course I would, sweet priestess. I trust you, and I trust your goddess and her pantheon.” He closed his eyes and glanced away. “But shouldn't you save that magic for yourself, or when we're out in the fucking fray.”

“My powers will replenish come dawn, and the protection will last until then. I'd rather be certain in knowing you'll be safe whilst we sleep here.” Marinette answered, leaning forwards to cup his face in her hands.

Jason opened his eyes and looked back over at Marinette. “Alright,” he reluctantly conceded, “but only if it can also be applied to you.”

She stared at him then rolled her eyes, the corners of her lips twitching upwards in amusement. “I shouldn't have expected any answer but that from you. Luckily I've still got enough divine power to cast those two protection wards on the both of us.”

“Good!” He grinned cheekily.

Rolling her shoulders, Marinette mentally went over the incantations that would be used in this specific warding. She locked eyes with Jason and tilted her head to the side, “you first my knight.”

Squinting at her suspiciously for a few seconds, he eventually relented and shrugged. “As long as you've got enough divinity to protect yourself after, my holiness.”

“I will, trust me.” She responded, closing her eyes for a brief second before muttering the ancient celestial words of the language of the guardians. Her eyes filled with holy light, glowing like two sparkling suns. Whilst her hair began to shimmer and float as though underwater in sun-dappled waves. Swiftly she made an elegant hand gesture as continued to murmur the incantations. The shimmer in her hair and glow of her eyes flared for a split second as her words and hand gestures crescendoed, before flickering out like a snuffed candle.

As the golden radiance faded from Marinette, a similar golden glow began to settle around Jason. That too faded but a split second after appearing.

“Your powers never cease to amaze me, my holiness,” Jason murmured, staring at where the soft golden glow had radiated around him. Carefully he moved to hold her hands in his own so that he could press gentle kisses to them.

She giggled, blushing profusely. Although a smirk formed on her lips at his words. “Oh? Then where was this adoration of yours, my knight, when I magically mended those noble finery clothes of yours that were so unfortunately ripped just the night before we were to attend a masquerade, hmm?”

“Hey! Fucking–! Argh!” Jason sputtered for a second and then twisted around to grab a pillow from the bed, throwing it at Marinette. “Just cast the fucking protection ward on yourself!”

Marinette cackled as she fell back against the bedding from the impact of the pillow. She dramatically threw an arm over her face and cried out in mock distress, “oh no, oh dear! It would seem I have been most verily betrayed by mine own knight who was sworn to protect me, and yet! Here I lay, bloodied and betrayed! The world is fading from my grasp, I see the light of my goddess and her pantheon beckoning! Oh, whatever shall I do?”

“It would seem my last assassination attempt failed, sweetest priestess. Fear not! I shan't fail you again.” He declared equally as theatrically, grabbing the other pillow and throwing it at her as well.

“Ah! I have perished. What a shame, I am unable to cast that protection ward on myself now. Oh no!” Marinette continued, flopping onto her side and sticking out her tongue in mock death.

Jason snorted, “My assassination may have succeeded, but I cannot live with myself in this world without my love any longer. With this knife,” He stole back one of the pillows, “I shall perish besides the light of my life! Bleh.”

He flopped against the bedding beside her, a few seconds passed before the two of them burst into more laughter.

A few more moments passed before he elbowed her lightly. “Come on, your turn!”

Marinette wheezed and waved a hand, muttering the incantations between breaths. The radiance glowed around her, eyes and hair glimmering as they did before. Then as she reached the end of the incantations once more, it all faded away again. “Happy?”

“Indubitably, my love.” He responded.

She pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Good!”

———

| Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little fic! Comments, likes, and reblogs are much appreciated! |

| Fun fact: this was supposed to be longer but I wasn't happy with how the last part was going and so I cut it. So if people enjoy this one, well I'll just have to finish the follow-up piece to this fic, won't I. Ironically the part that was cut got more into the gothic horror and the main reason behind the title but I decided to focus on the romantic fluff as the end point instead. Flowed a little bit better. |

| This piece was inspired by a d&d campaign i joined for a few sessions. It was set in a creepy little hamlet with an incredibly creepy innkeeper who forced our party into signing a contract before we could spend outrageous amounts on gold just for a single night's stay. And uh turned out the dude was a demon we just sold our souls to, and then all but one of the party ended up leaving the inn to try our chances against the horrifying plague-like monsters outside, aka the whole reason we brought rooms in the first place! |

| Also feel free to send me any asks or comments with any questions you have regarding this fic, I’ll be more than happy to answer! |

| @jasonette-july-event |

#Maribat #MLB x DC #DC x MLB #Jasonette #Jasonette July #Jasonette July 2021 #JasMari #MariJay #Marinette x Jason #Jason x Marinette #Jasonette July Week 1 #Jasonette July Day 2 #Jasonette July Protection #Amidst the Howls of Death Your Divinity Gives Me Breath #AtHoDYDGMB #Sham's Posts #Sham's Writing #Sham's Fics

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