#I wonder if the magic that makes them forget is at play here bc well
Text
peppermint gum, m | jjk | savor...
pairing(s): jungkook x reader
It’s impossible to fall in love when you’re already in love. And Jeon Jungkook was in love. Helplessly. But what could he do? Time passed. The world became tasteless to his eyes. All he could do was hold onto the crisp and intense color of those memories, remember her words, and wonder where she was now. Savor, and burst forth.
this is part i | click here for part ii | total wc: 25.6k
warnings: rated M (18+) for language; this story contains parental child abuse - child neglect and abandonment; sloooow burn; mild alcohol consumption; hardcore pining JK; angst and fluff and feels; (in part ii) smut (fem reader, slight D/s dynamic, so much kissing, hair pulling, scratching / marking. grinding, choking, m-receiving oral, finger sucking, fingering, nipple play, m-masturbation, thigh riding, edging, penetrative sex, doggy, multiple orgasms); shifts back and forth between Jungkook’s POV and your POV; from lovers-to-strangers-to-lovers again :)
non-idol!AU; pining!Jungkook x noona!reader — ft JK's helpful? friends Kim Taehyung and Park Jimin; reader's close friend and talented guitarist, Kang Hyungu (ONEWE's Kanghyun if you want to see his appearance, hehe, same personality); JK has all his piercings and has hair (lol) had to be broken up into two parts bc it is 25k words, rip
--
“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll forget you?”
Those last words rang in his head, accompanied by her smile.
“Your mind might forget me, but the body always remembers.”
He wanted her to be wrong. But, of course, she wasn’t. Life wasn’t so kind. Life wasn’t so kind to give him a dramatic ending. Rather, it was a calm one of slow decay where he gradually learned to not miss her anymore. No ill feelings. Just helplessness. He had wanted her to be his morning, his afternoon, his night. She didn’t. He had been younger then. He had thought he could change what was already written.
She had done the right thing, actually.
Years past. The memories became a blur with everything else. Everyone else – between nights and bodies and the feeling of not quite right. Searching but not knowing what he was looking for so he cut them off just as he had been cut off. It hurt, of course, but not as much as it would have if he had let it drag on. Maybe that was what he had learned from that time.
He forgot to miss her.
But he still thought of her and wondered where she was now.
Tattoos, piercings, and countless hours at the gym later. Running. Life an endless loop despite the differences. Nowadays, he was making an effort to hang out with his friends more, not just for birthdays or online games, but socializing at in-person events that he still wasn’t very good at. Becoming older meant drifting apart since they didn’t have those common places to mingle in anymore, so it was important to put in the effort. If he wanted to improve in talking to people more casually, well, he should at least put himself in those opportunities, right?
Right.
Running.
Always running.
Sometimes, when he was in the dark surrounded by people and with just the right amount of alcohol in his system, he missed her terribly, but he couldn’t remember what standing next to her was even like.
Other times, he completely forgot she used to like this type of tea or that kind of snack. These details faded into the background, only to return to him in disorienting dreams and half-realities.
And most of the time, he forgot.
In between hands and lips and legs, he felt the rush. The exhilaration. Lust. He could make magic in the bedroom. Wasn’t that what it was all about? Wasn’t it all about the chase between two? Wasn’t love about strangers becoming forever-afters? Wasn’t it? He didn’t know anything about that when he was younger. Right. How could that be love?
Maybe.
Maybe he just forgot.
The spark always died so fast. It must have been not quite right.
She must have forgotten him too, by now.
When Jeon Jungkook saw her again, he hadn’t expected it at all.
It was at a nightclub concert. Loud and obnoxious and full of infectious energy. A friend of his was a singer of the band that was going onstage next. Currently, there was alternative rock band vibing with the crowd, singing songs that no one knew but spoke to feelings everyone understood. Breakup lyrics to sweetheart melodies. He was enjoying himself, but not paying much attention. In a split second, he had whipped his head around because one of his friends was playfully flicking the back of his hair, being an idiot, and then he saw her at the edge of the stage. Right there. He almost didn’t think it was her at first, but his eyes recognized that face right away, even amidst the chocolate smokey eye and cherry lip stain. He almost looked away, not wanting to stare at a now-stranger, but his body froze when she smiled, remembering the way his heart fluttered when those past-lover-now-stranger’s eyes sparkled with mischief when she smiled.
That couldn’t have been love, right?
He couldn’t remember.
Was she more beautiful than before or had helplessness desaturated his memory?
She was cheerfully speaking to someone. A young man who had cerulean hair. His undercut was dyed a gradient purple. Taller than her, with broad shoulders. Black t-shirt and tight jeans showing off a built body. He lingered near her the same way a cat stayed by its owner. She shook her head at him and said something. The man chuckled despite a demeanor full of nervousness. She handed him his purple electric guitar and pushed him, motioning him to interact with the band standing offstage. Oh, that was right. His singer friend had mentioned that their actual guitarist was out taking care of his grandmother. They had to call someone to fill in on short notice.
It was clear, by the instrument, that this was the fill in.
The young man trotted over to the band and introduced himself. He was meant with open arms and gracious bows that left him flustered and shaking his head.
Jeon Jungkook looked away, not wanting her to see him.
Would she know it was him?
He glanced at her again during the break for the band change. She was standing at the side, not too close to the wall but not too far. Could be noticed right away, because she was not drinking and because she was alone. Simply standing there. Almost regal even in a tight white crop top and hip-hugging black trousers. The thick black strap of her sling bag had a large plush keychain dangling by her waist. A tuxedo cat with a tangerine on its head. She didn’t seem bothered to be alone with no one to speak to. She also held onto a big, thick, black leather jacket. Folded and tucked in her arms. Could be hers.
Could also not be.
She was smiling in the direction of the substitute guitarist. Jungkook caught a shared gaze between them. She gave the man a thumbs up. He returned the smile, albeit awkwardly. A wordless exchange. Two people who knew each other very well. The lights dimmed. An announcement was made and cheers erupted around him.
But Jungkook was in the dark, surrounded by people, with not enough alcohol in his system to place the emotion he was feeling right now.
He looked to the stage as the spotlights returned to the stage, lighting up the band and his friend, but his mind held onto the image he had just now seen. Something about her makeup, with the striking eyeliner and black-cherry tinted lips. His own lips tingled, remembering the taste of a kiss from years ago.
A bright and refreshing flavor, so strong that it had seemed to last for hours after.
He was not self-centered or bitter enough to call her an ex-girlfriend. It had been a crisp and intense connection but, in retrospect, the time had been short. Fast and in a rush. The kind of love that made his skin prickle and his heart race. There had been no way to know how long it would last. There had been no comparison to realize that that love could be as fleeting as it was powerful.
A peppermint gum love.
Ah, what was he going on like this for? Maybe she didn’t want to be bothered. Maybe she wouldn’t want to see a ghost of her past. Maybe she didn’t even remember him. Jungkook knew he looked very different now. Back then, he had been a lot more worried about being presentable to everyone. Now, he was old enough to know he couldn’t and didn’t have to please everyone. He could wear loose clothes even if he worked out to look toned the way he wanted. He could get those lip piercings even if people told him eight ear piercings was already too many and adding two more on the right side of his lower lip was overdoing it. He could get a sleeve of colorfully dark tattoos and maybe consider getting more if he really wanted, even if some people found it tacky or not to their taste.
Well.
As long as he had the money for it, anyway.
He tried to discern how she was looking at the young man playing guitar, but Jungkook couldn’t figure out if it was the same expression that she had given him all those years before. He couldn’t remember.
His mind couldn’t remember.
But.
There was an interlude mid-act. He had made up his mind. He excused himself from his friends, mumbling the excuse of the bathroom. It was nerve-wracking to cut himself away from that safety. He didn’t have to do this. There was no ill feeling.
Just helplessness.
He moved through the crowd, winding between the people. Right there. There was so much noise. Conversations. Laughter. Drunken bickering. But all he could hear was silence. Bodies pushed up against him, bumping into him by accident, mumbling out apologies. But all he could feel was the suggestion of a touch, the faded peppermint gum love, grasping for a memory that he couldn’t seem to recall.
His finger tapped her shoulder.
He just wanted to know something.
“Do you still feel the same as you did back then?”
After the hey, how have you been, after the look of recognition and half-amused smile and the flutter of his heart, after the small talk of where are you now, he asked her the question. Those things were only the precursor. The filler and fluff. The pretense to the question that had been on his mind for a long, long time now.
“About what?” she asked, tilting her head curiously.
“I don’t know if you remember…” He didn’t either, actually. Remember her original words. “But you said that you didn’t think you could ever understand love. You said something like that to me a long time ago and I wonder… I wonder if that feeling has changed.”
He knew it was a strange question and yet.
He just…
Needed to know.
The shadows in her eyes became darker, impenetrable. “Sounds like something I’ve said. But, are you asking me because you think that feeling should have changed?”
He shook his head quickly. “No.” Looked at her head-on, unsure if this bravery was from alcohol or the question itself that had been lingering in his mind for so long. “I remembered what you said after all this time because…”
Hot and heavy, but ultimately forgettable nights.
Cold and bright.
Unable to last and, yet, lasted.
“Because I think now I am beginning to understand what you meant.”
There was a lot of noise around them, but he barely noticed. There was so much light, so many people around them, but this moment was a spotlight between him and the past cold brightness. The shadows in her eyes softened, no longer bristling thorns, fading into a dark forest of overlapping leaves. He couldn’t know, but he felt those eyes were different now. Darker. More decisive. And yet, in some ways she hadn’t changed at all. One of the things that he had always liked about her back then was that she always answered him seriously and wisely even if the question seemed out of the blue.
They always had an inexplicable closeness, even as strangers.
She was even more beautiful and more attractive than he remembered though.
“I lied,” she admitted with a half-smile. Was that a sparkle of mischief in her irises or was he seeing things? “I remember what I said to you. It had upset you a lot, I remember, when I said I didn’t understand love. You cried. It must have hurt you, but I couldn’t understand why back then. Back then, I said I didn’t understand love because I both didn’t want to learn and couldn’t feel it. Only the latter is true now. Or, rather, I don’t think I feel the same things that other people feel when they are with the people they love. But why do you say you’re beginning to understand that I meant?”
His body remembered the feeling of her hand on his shoulder. Now, their relations weren’t close enough for her to touch him. He didn’t remember crying but he wasn’t surprised to be told that he did. When he was younger, he had been a bit of a crybaby. Just because he didn’t recall didn’t mean it didn’t happen.
But.
His heart could still feel that deep scratch of those familiar words, even now.
“When I met you back then… I thought I knew everything about love. Love was for good people. I wanted to be a good person so I could be loved. All I had to do was become the person that people wanted to love. But then I realized I wasn’t doing the things I wanted to do, only what was expected of me. Then you told me you didn’t understand love and I, someone who wanted to be loved by you, realized I had nothing to fall back on because I was only made of others’ expectations and ideals.”
He shook his head. He did remember crying after they parted. He remembered trying to make the sadness go away. He remembered nights in beds and stumbling home to cry in the shower, feeling disconnected in the physical connection. He remembered nights alone, empty bottles and holding a shot glass of tears, feeling unable to speak about this to anyone. Lost without knowing how to be found. Doing things based on impulse because only impulses were truly his and not poisoned by the opinions of others. Laughing at the search of happiness. Above all, he had been afraid. He had been afraid to give voice to his worries because then maybe they would gain power and overtake him.
But then he remembered the person who didn’t understand love.
There was such a person that existed out there.
He wondered how she was now.
“I wanted to tell you…”
And now he knew.
“I wanted to tell you I understand now. Or… don’t. Um.”
She smiled at him.
It was not the same way as she looked at the guitarist.
“Huh, you’ve become so mature and grown up. Well, welcome to the smoke-and-mirrors of adulthood, Jeon Jungkook,” she chuckled teasingly, shaking her head. “I scarred you that bad, eh?”
“No, I didn’t mean–”
She raised a hand to stop him, waving away his apology. “No, it’s okay. I’m surprised you still remember me. And don’t hate me. A lot of them hate me.”
Your mind might forget me, but the body always remembers.
His body did remember.
“A lot of them?” he echoed, a muscle in his jaw tightening.
The faintest tick of her eyebrow. “You gonna tell me you have all these tattoos and piercings and don’t get laid?”
His heart dropped. “You don’t like them?” He blurted that a little too fast.
She laughed. “My opinion of them doesn’t really matter.”
“Yes, it does,” was his quick reply.
She paused. The shadows in her eyes swirled. He tried to discern their meaning as he stared into those dark irises but the shadows were all evasive and clever, flitting away from him playfully. When she spoke again, there was a sternness to her tone. Not scolding him. Just getting her point across.
“Answer the question of whether or not you get laid.”
Hot and heavy nights that meant nothing compared to the cold and bright scratch on his heart.
“I…”
The tips of his ears suddenly burned but maybe it was the alcohol.
“I do. But I haven’t remembered or been bothered to remember a single thing they’ve said to me,” Jungkook heard himself say and wondered where that bravery came from.
She didn’t say anything for a moment.
Then she smiled in the way that made him shiver.
“Hyungu is gonna be pissed,” she laughed as the sound of a guitar riff pierced the air.
Oh, shit.
The spotlight faded.
Everything rushed back. Sound, color, light. It suddenly became very clear that he was too far and too long gone from his friends to go back now and face them. Jungkook spun around, seeing that the crowd had packed up tightly again. To his dismay, he had no idea where his friends were. They were no longer in that little pocket they had been. Did they get closer to the stage? Had they seen where he had gone? Did one of them text him? He was afraid to pull out his phone, both in rudeness and in the possible mortifying teasing. His phone was always on silent, at least. What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.
He turned back.
The melody echoing behind him was sharp and bright chords followed by a soulful voice.
She had been looking at the stage but immediately caught his gaze with a surprised expression. As if she hadn’t expected him to stay once the music started. And he shouldn’t, for it was rude and intrusive and inconsiderate to stay and invade a stranger’s space any longer.
But.
“You didn’t give me an answer.”
She blinked at him. “What?”
He pulled up the sleeve of his charcoal hoodie, revealing more of his tattoos. Her eyes tracked the movement, widening in surprise at the burst of color combined with thick black outlines. She had been able to see some of them, as his sleeves had been pushed up slightly, but it was much more obvious with the cuffs to the elbows. His forearm was covered with ink and there was no sign of stopping past the black patch in his inner elbow.
He looked back at her.
For a moment, they were young again.
Haloed by music, immersed in each other. A movie in real life. Suddenly it felt worth it – worth taking the risk of being rude, intrusive, or inconsiderate. Suddenly, it felt worth rolling the die and betting double just to…
Have a taste of that peppermint flavor.
“Yes or no?” he insisted, frowning, stubbornly pushing for an answer.
Deep down, Jungkook had always hoped she was thriving, shining brighter than all the stars, because then it proved that he, someone who also felt like he didn’t understand love, could be as impactful as that sparkling smile.
The corner of her lips ticked up in amusement. “Does a stranger’s opinion matter that much? I thought you weren’t going to let the opinions of others bother you anymore.”
Are we really strangers?
He grinned. “A stranger’s opinion would be the most unbiased, right?”
Can strangers speak like the way you and I do?
She stared at him for seconds that felt like forever-ever-afters.
Then she laughed, reaching up with a graceful hand and touching her fingertips to her forehead. His breath caught his throat, suddenly flooded with memories of youth and rashness, short as it was. He could see it all in a whirlwind. Crystal clear and fleeting all at once. A perfect storm and now caught in the eye, all of his wonders and helplessness thrown to the wayside upon seeing this familiar gesture that he didn’t even know until now was familiar, realizing now just how precious it was.
She lowered her hand with a mirthful and sparkling expression.
Beckoned with a downward wave as the music swelled, dangerously close to melting into the bridge.
“Step closer. You’re in someone’s way.”
Jungkook jolted, stumbling, realizing there was a short woman with carrying three full cups of foamy, honey-colored beer looking confusedly at him.
“Oh, shit, sorry–”
Her hand touched his shoulder, directing him gently.
His body moved but his mind froze at the touch.
“Listen. This is my favorite part. I’ll tell you after.”
One moment, there was space between them.
The next, he was standing next to her.
She tapped the air, closing her eyes.
“Listen.”
He closed his eyes obediently. Took away the visual, and suddenly his world was flooded with the auditory. An intricate guitar solo to bring life to his fluttering heart blending with piano and drums flowing together. Memories flashing past, too fast to grasp onto, happiness and misery, and then the bridge came, the lyrics painting the photo of two colorless roses abandoned by the heavens.
He opened his eyes and looked at her.
Her eyes opened at the final chorus, exhaling softly. Turned her head and he could see in the shadows of her gaze that she, too, remembered their minty whirlwind of memories.
Or…
Was he just hoping for that?
She smiled.
“I love your tattoos and piercings. You suit them well. I’m glad you found your own color, Jeon Jungkook. You shine so much brighter now than you did back then.”
It was at this moment that he knew...
He fucked up.
He shouldn’t have walked over here. He shouldn’t have asked the question. He shouldn’t have stayed and continued the conversation. He shouldn’t have asked if she liked how he looked now. He should have stayed with his friends and wondered. He should have preserved in the hot and heavy instead of searching for the past of crisp and bright. He might get used to it. He might end up finding what he was looking for, whatever it was. Or, better yet, he might just forget this whole feeling and her lasting words if he never saw her smile as she spoke to him again.
But he didn’t, so that meant he really fucked up.
Pit-a-pat.
He stared at her for so long that he didn’t realize he hadn’t said anything in reply until the song ended and her expression changed, tilting her head in puzzlement. She thinks I’m insane. Say something, Jungkook! Anything! But nothing was coming to mind, as how it always was in these situations. Awesome.
“Uh…”
She smoothly interrupted his awkwardness. “Did you come with friends?” Expression neutral. “I would hate to keep you from your company for too long.”
The notable shift from more casual to formal slightly stung.
No.
Really stung.
“I… Well, honestly, I don’t know where they are,” Jungkook confessed, scanning the crowd for a moment in attempt to look for them. It was a half-assed attempt, but it was an attempt. “I think I’ll have to look for them after the show. We’re meeting up with the band to eat, I think.”
“Oh? You know them?”
He pointed awkwardly to the stage. “Ah, yeah, the lead singer… We met in high school and are in the same friend group… Well, I’ve only recently started hanging out outside again. We’ve played a lot of online games together.”
“Oh, really?” She looked back up to the stage. “In that case, do you think your friends would mind if Hyungu tagged along?” A cautious smile. “It’s just… Hyungu-ah is in a band too, but they’re on hiatus right now. A few of them are doing military service. I think he really misses that environment. I can’t really talk music with him though, I don’t know anything,” she added ruefully, shaking her head and scrunching her nose. “Sorry, that’s probably a bit much to ask you after seeing you all this time. I’m just worried about that introvert, haha.”
Oh, right. The substitute guitarist. Right, because she didn’t simply magically appear as an act of fate or red string level of storytelling in a drama. Real life wasn’t like that.
“S-Sure, we can all go together–”
She was asking him to suggest or go along with the proposition to not alienate the guy. It was clear that she cared about him. He didn’t want to see them together, but… If she became part of his friend group, he might have a reason to go out more. Maybe he was a masochist. Maybe he just wanted to see if she was happy with that guy. Maybe he…
Okay, he wanted her to be close, even if it was all futile.
She relaxed. “Ah, phew. It really did take me a while to convince him to get out of the house,” she chuckled. “It’ll be nice for him to be around people that understand his true language of music, haha. I’ll stick around just in case, but don’t worry, I’ll leave and let you guys be guys, heh.”
Wait.
What?
Jungkook blinked rapidly. “Huh? Aren’t you coming too?”
She stared back. “Huh? Why?”
He looked at her and she looked at him.
Both blank stares of confusion.
“Why wouldn’t you go with your boyfriend?” he blurted.
Invisible question marks popped up over her head. Then she jolted and jerked her head to the band, to the blue-haired guitarist tearing it up on stage with a grin, then back at Jungkook, her eyes wide. “Me? Me?” She pointed to herself quickly, half-laughing in disbelief. “Me and Kang Hyungu?”
Jungkook gawked.
She burst out laughing.
“Oh, fuck, no, no, no,” she puffed, waving her hand all over. “No, no, he’s not… Oh, sheesh, no, we’re not dating. You thought… hah, sorry, there’s a misunderstanding here, hahaha…” She flicked her hand downward as if that idea was so ridiculous that it needed to be physically slapped out of existence. “Ah, no, how can I explain…”
Huh?
Wait, didn’t she mention earlier that his Kang Hyungu was going to be angry? She did directly say, Hyungu is gonna be pissed, right after Jungkook had told her he never bothered to remember what other girls told him, which would imply… argh, this was very baffling and Jungkook found his scatterbrained thoughts spinning trying to comprehend it all.
She straightened and ticked her head to the stage. “Me and him are just friends. We’ve been friends are a long time. Sorry, I can see why you’re mistaken since I came here with him, but Hyungu-ah is the type that really doesn’t like new situations. When he got asked to fill in for another band, he wanted me to come with him, since he wouldn’t know anybody. I believe he said he only spoke to these guys a couple times at festivals and he just needed some moral support.” She grinned. “Ya know, a tough cookie in case things get tough, hehe.”
Jungkook understood but also he was confused. “O… Oh…”
She motioned away his doubts. “In his words, you’re scary, noona. I’d feel much better if you came with me. Can you believe this guy? Just admit you’re lonely.” She rolled her eyes. “Hyungu-ah is a guitar genius. He’s a music nerd. I’ve known him since…” She paused, a dark shadow casting over her eyes as she recalled the past. “I was asked to tutor him when he was in high school and I was finishing university. He was shit at math and science. I helped him pass and then I…”
And again.
That pause.
Jungkook got the feeling she wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell him or not.
She shrugged. “I moved away. Then I saw his name on a poster. Turns out this nerd made his dream a reality and started that band after all.” Her expression became fond. Gentle. “I went to go see him perform. I was surprised he recognized me, actually. Hah, kinda like–”
Her gaze shifted to him.
It was as if time stopped.
She continued, clearing her throat. “Anyway, I’m not dating anyone. Definitely not Hyungu. He’s more like a little brother to me. Or I’m more like a bodyguard, heh. With only intimidation tactics. I really should work out, huh…”
He frowned. “Have you talked about him before? I would have remembered someone so important to you.”
“Nah, I think you and me was after university. When I was being a slu–” She cut herself off. “Ahem, I mean, I was young and didn’t really want to deal with, well, anything. Running from myself, so to speak.” She sighed. A little heavy. “I meant to say sorry, back then. You got caught up with my madness.”
She winked.
Jungkook felt his heart skip a beat.
“But, hey, you dodged a bullet, eh?”
He shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t. That burst between them wasn’t there anymore.
Right?
Wrong.
He grinned.
“Nah, I’m bulletproof.”
Something about her.
Do you feel it too?
Her gaze sharpened and she stilled, mischief sparkling in her eyes.
“Oh, yeah?”
-
Well.
Can’t say you expected the events of tonight to be on this year’s bingo card.
You laid in bed and scrolled through your phone, but you didn’t pay much attention to anything on the screen. On one hand, you felt a little restless leaving Kang Hyungu to fend for himself with his low alcohol tolerance. On another hand, he was a grown man and would call you in the middle of the night to pick him up if he was really fucked up. Eh, he was too much of a good boy to be irresponsible.
You chuckled to no one in particular.
You were alone, after all.
It was a miracle, really, that little Hyungu still wanted to be your friend now.
In some ways, he was still the same kid you had met all those years ago. You didn’t really interact with him much as you were a couple years older and, well, a girl. You couldn’t really look at him either, all things considering. After all, wasn’t it highly probable that the bags under his eyes was your family’s fault? Your family and his family happened to be next-door neighbors at the apartment complex.
No one really talked about it.
In certain areas, the sounds of yelling and thrown dishes were simply background noise. Normal circumstances. The first near two decades of your life was that every day. Most of the time, your presence was as insignificant as a cockroach. Sometimes you would be spoken of but never spoken to. You learned from a pretty young age to shut up or be forced to shut up. The family motto was, children are not meant to be seen or heard. The adults were speaking. More accurately, arguing, escalating to screaming, and then to scalding silent treatment. Repeat cycle. You learned to snatch food from the fridge as soon as you saw it. No one was going to prepare anything for you, but at least there was always something edible in there.
Until you became a teenager, that was.
It got especially bad when you attended high school as both sides picked up hideous habits to deal with their issues. In your opinion, they should have picked divorce to deal with them, but instead they chose gambling and serial cheating. Sometimes neither would come home for days. Whenever they crossed paths, the endless war continued. There was no way to predict when the silence could become suddenly violate and now you were old enough to understand what was going on – and old enough to loathe it. You barely saw your next-door neighbors at that time because you did basically anything you could to avoid going home. There was only so much a child can take.
They either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
It was also about this time that you started using sex as a coping mechanism.
Approval by society wasn’t high on the list for you at that time, nor was it now. Must have been the upbringing. You watched alcohol become an expensive addiction for your parents and, paired with their mindless days at the casinos and excess spending on extramarital pleasures, illegal drugs were out of the question. Sex, however. If you knew what clinics to go to or where to shoplift, well. Free protection. Yup. During university, though, was when you needed money. You couldn’t go far as you couldn’t pay to live in a dorm. Your scholarships were barely covering tuition, so living at home was the only option. At this point, your parents had mostly forgot forgot that there was someone they birthed living in the apartment with them, which was fine by you, except when you needed to eat.
How Kang Hyungu knew things he shouldn’t know was a mystery you never figured out.
You had gotten locked out, again, and some loud dispute was happening behind the door. Deadbolted. It was shaping up to be a shit night – that was until a tall high schooler with a guitar bag approached the door to your right. You tried not to look at him and decided you would leave to find a PC bang to spend the night. But he must have seen your university-branded bag and called out your family name.
That was when Kang Hyungu started talking to you.
He must have noticed the many times that you had been locked out. Well, how could he ignore it? You didn’t want to do the small talk thing except for immediately informing him with your given name. However, your ears perked up when he mentioned that he needed help with math and science classes. He was looking to pay a tutor. Cram school was pretty expensive. Turns out you both had attended the same high school – of course, considering you lived in the same damn apartment building – and the high school posted notices about alumni that had received scholarships. That shit was a big deal to educators.
That was how you ended up in a basement studio room listening to five high schoolers make songs for hours and teaching them calculus, biology, and chemistry. All of them ended up being mild levels of garbage at those subjects, but it made teaching in a group much more efficient. It was thanks to Hyungu that you were able to eat all of university. Honestly, you didn’t really need the money as much as you needed somewhere to be. Yeah, it was pretty clear that Hyungu knew that somehow. He was a lot more observant than you gave him credit for. Neither of you really talked about it even though you should have.
Maybe, then…
When you graduated university, it was clear you had to leave. It was clear you had to put some distance between you and those who birthed you. Turns out, they did it for you, because one day you came home from job hunting and you didn’t have a home anymore. The apartment door was open and some random people were moving in. Cool. A talk with the leasing office, then. Turns out your parents moved out and didn’t bother to tell you. Together? Separately? Who the fuck knew. You found a box of your clothes in the dumpster along with some other random shit. Your birth certificate, even.
Your entire existence thrown in the trash.
It had really not been the best time.
Couple months of living strictly from PC bangs and business hotel rooms, you started a desk job at minimum wage. Funny how a degree didn’t do much but whatever. You also continued your not-so-great coping mechanism of fucking around, which is how you met Jeon Jungkook. He definitely had a different idea of how it all went down, but.
You paused, seeing that you had pulled up your phone contacts and there he was.
Even through changed models, your phone contacts transferred over. You never bothered to clear them out unless the person was worth blocking. Jeon Jungkook wasn’t worth blocking. The breakup, if you could call it that, was pretty simple. You said what you said and he didn’t fight you. You didn’t need his number in the years after, but you forgot about thinking you needed to delete unused numbers. You didn’t really forget him, though.
He was the only one that you felt sorry for breaking his heart.
He hadn’t been your type back then. Your type had been self-destructive, and you had become tired of that, so you chased for the complete opposite instead. You knew full well that it wasn’t going to work out. You didn’t even go into it invested. But you chose well, and he was the complete opposite. He trusted everything you said. He put up with your cold front. He liked you more than you liked him and he had no idea that he did. In fact, you wouldn’t be surprised that he wouldn’t care even if he knew. He was good in bed too. Eager, quick to learn, and listened to everything you said. Tried everything you asked without questioning or judging. It was precisely why you broke it off before it got too deep, because it got too deep way too fast.
He thought of you too highly when, at that time, you were too low to be anything above a grey area.
Aren’t you afraid I’ll forget you?
Just by asking you that, you never forgot Jungkook. He was the only one who seemed worried about that. Everyone else called you a heartless bitch or a dumb whore who was making a mistake. But Jungkook asked you if you were afraid that he would lose your memory, as if it was valuable enough to be tarnished.
Life worked in mysterious ways.
The happening of you seeing Hyungu’s name on a poster was by chance. The choice to go to that concert back then was on a whim. The chance of Hyungu recognizing you and coming to find you, dragging you to his bandmates that all yapped excitedly around you as if no time had passed was surprising. You had always thought they had forgotten or resented you on some level. After all, you didn’t have a working phone for a while since you couldn’t pay for a plan. You had essentially ghosted them for years, but Hyungu acted as if you had always been there. I’ll never forget that you took good care of me, noona. There was no way you could even attempt to date Kang Hyungu. How could you ruin a relationship that he kept preserved so preciously when you abandoned it? He spoke highly of you even when you hadn’t been around, even when you had been too busy being selfish and self-centered. He smiled at you and relied on you once again because he trusted that you could be relied on. You would sigh and be hauled around by these young loons and support their blooming music career as you got your footing and made it to a better desk job with better pay.
And, by some fate, being close to Kang Hyungu caused you to cross paths with Jeon Jungkook once again.
Weird, eh?
You lowered your phone, staring up at the ceiling.
Well, life was full of coincidences, right? There was no reason to think this was a special event. After all, you had been trying your best to forget that time in your life where you felt the most lost. It took a lot of pushing past your own stubbornness to realize that how your parents felt about you had nothing to do who you were. Accepting that you weren’t the worst fuckup ever to exist, thanks to the saving grace of someone who remembered to call you noona in an endearing way and not in an obligated way. It would be counterproductive to…
Jeon Jungkook’s smiling face flashed in your mind.
You only had one orb-shaped lamp on currently. It was one of those that you could set the lighting color and tone to your taste. You liked the low, moody, cool blue lighting. Besides, you knew the layout of your apartment by now, and the overhead lighting wasn’t necessary unless you needed to look for something.
The orb shone like the moon.
Jungkook had known such a different version of you and yet he still smiled at you like that.
“You must have somebody, don’t you?” you sighed to the shining moon.
It was silly to think too much about a random conversation. And, really, all he wanted to know was if you still found him hot or whatever. Yeah, he was just looking for external validation. You just happened to be there. Tattoos and piercings and working out? Sounded like a quarter life crisis to you. One that worked out in his favor, though. Your skin prickled with goosebumps, but it wasn’t from a tangible cold.
In the darkness, the moon-shaped light glowed brightly.
“It would be nice if you had somebody.”
You frowned and turned your back to the light.
It was a coincidence. Another moment of going through life and realizing you had been climbing Penrose stairs all along. How different were you from back then, really? It wasn’t as if you magically started getting into relationships and had a damn epiphany. The cruel epiphany was that we were all stuck in this endless loop of our respective pasts catching up to the present. No amount of heat could dissipate the coldness of the future.
You sighed, melting into the comfort of your cool bedsheets.
“I should just forget about Jeon Jungkook,” you mumbled.
Whatever.
Wasn’t like you were ever gonna see him again.
You dozed off.
Your phone vibrated against your chest.
-
“You idiot, you know you have no tolerance…”
“Noona, it was so fun, ahahaha…”
The air was cold. The sting of winter clung to his cheeks. He called out her name, feeling like the sound was drowned out by the cars and white noise in his head, but, once again, Jeon Jungkook completely forgot how loud he was.
Passersby jumped as he ran past clutching a guitar bag.
Her arms were wrapped around a blue-haired man who was dwarfing her frame. He looked half-asleep and too proud of himself but that was probably under the influence of alcohol and good vibes. She jolted, startled, her eyes widening as Jungkook skidded to a questionably close stop in front of them, nearly colliding into her.
In fact, he did.
“Woah!”
“Yah!”
He threw an arm out and around them, snapping back to hold the three of them up, pressing the guitar bag to her chest. There they were, a bundle of people who somehow ended up like this with a guitar cuddled between them, standing in the middle of the sidewalk at midnight with nightlife bystanders staring at them like they were all insane. At least Kang Hyungu was completely oblivious. Come to find out during dinner, he had low alcohol tolerance. Less than a soju bottle low. Welp. Nobody had believed him and he had given in a bit. At least he had the backup plan of a close friend picking him up. The group of guys had all stayed at the restaurant, making sure he was safe until she arrived, flushed and windswept, bowing repeatedly in thankfulness.
Therefore, Kang Hyungu was blissfully unaware of the sudden awkwardness of past lovers staring at each other with their stunned faces millimeters from each other.
Jungkook froze, holding her tight.
“H… His guitar…”
Her lips parted but no sound came out.
In his shock, he had only now realized she had removed her makeup. His heartbeat leapt to his throat, suddenly remembering how much he had loved the shape of her eyes and the color of her natural, full lips. How her cheeks seemed more filled out now. Healthier. Her skin glowed. He could almost…
Almost.
His body shivered.
She blinked, casting her eyes down. “Oh, shit, how could I forget… T-Thank you. He would be heartbroken without his precious guitar,” she breathed out quickly and exasperatedly, reaching up to grab the strap. “Thank you. Sorry to trouble you.”
“It’s o-okay…”
Jungkook reluctantly peeled away from her, taking a step back. There was an awkward moment of her still holding onto her friend and shouldering the guitar, juggling between the two. Even in that short moment, Jungkook realized Kang Hyungu must work out. He was not as light as he seemed. Instinctively, Jungkook reached out and held Hyungu’s shoulders when the guitar slipped from her narrow shoulder.
“Aw, fuck–”
Jungkook almost laughed at her puffed cheeks and under-the-breath swearing.
Almost, because his heart ached suddenly.
She had been so cute when she was mad, even if it was being taken out on him. He always thought that, so it had always been hard to argue when he was trying not to be in love with those cheeks.
“Sorry, I got him,” she sighed. “I’ll get him home even if I have to drag him.”
“I’ll help you, noona.”
She froze with her arms around another man. Her eyes darted and fixated on him.
Jungkook realized his mistake and also froze.
He had been calling her formally by name out of politeness until now. The same way strangers would address each other with no intention of ever meeting again. The honorific had just slipped out naturally. Or unnaturally, depending on how one considered the effects of alcohol. The blue-haired guitarist was half-asleep on her shoulder. There were only two conscious souls under this streetlamp on this cold night.
A diffused spotlight.
He sputtered. “S… Sorry, was that too informal…?”
Her gaze shifted. Were her cheeks pink from the crisp air or was it his eyes playing tricks on him? “No, it’s fine, I just…” She shook her head, swallowing hard. “It’s been a while since you… It’s okay,” she chuckled, the corner of her lips rising. “I mean, I would be pissed if you called me anything else. Our age difference is not that significant, but it’s there.”
“Y-Yeah.”
Was there hope in those shadowy eyes or was it all in his mind?
“Don’t you have to go home too?”
He grinned.
“Ah, I stay up until three in the morning every night anyway. Let’s get Hyungu-ssi home.”
-
Which was how you ended up on a bus with not-so-little-anymore Kang Hyungu snoring on your left shoulder and your past fling Jeon Jungkook on your right.
Awkward.
You clutched Hyungu’s guitar bag like your life depended on it. Actually, deep down you were kind of glad it somehow ended up this way. Being on a bus at midnight meant the crowd was the unpleasant kind. It must have been an odd sight. Sleeping Hyungu by the window, you in the middle seat holding a very expensive guitar, and Jungkook at the aisle being a great big buffer to keep the unsavory folk away. He was wearing a thick black parka over his charcoal sweat set, and he had his hood up to protect his ears from the cold.
For some reason, his jaw was clenched.
His eyebrows were furrowed too, giving him a very mean appearance for no reason. Or, at least, no discernable reason you could conclude. He wasn’t looking at anyone in particular as far as you could tell.
“Sorry about this,” you suddenly said.
Jungkook flinched and turned his head to look at you. Instantly, his expression burst into life, the stern expression melting away into sparkling big peepers and pink lips in a small ‘o’, making your breath catch as the small mole under his lip appeared.
You used to kiss that mole first before you kissed his lips.
Used to.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” he replied with a smile.
“I feel like I cut your night short.”
He gave you a lopsided grin, scratching his cheek. “Eh, I can go to the club or karaoke bar some other time. And maybe I need to not be so easily influenced, ahahaha…”
You hummed. “Guess you’re still the same, going along with our people’s suggestions.”
He puffed his cheeks. “No, I’m not. I’m here with you now, aren’t I?” he shot back.
Pause.
You both looked away at the same time.
Hyungu snored softly in your ear.
Thanks for that, man.
You tried to ignore the creeping goosebumps along your back. It was not the outside temperature. You were wearing your big black leather jacket over the black sweatshirt and jeans you yanked on to quickly get out the door. Your shoulder bumped into Jungkook’s as the bus stopped and let some passengers off. It was still a few stops yet of this awkwardness. For fuck’s sake, you were the older one. Come on. You resisted the urge to slap your own cheeks to get a grip. Nothing is going on here. The heart palpitations were in your head. Yeah. Totally.
“Thank you, again.”
You felt him shift, sitting up straighter. “I really don’t mind at all, noona.”
You sat up too, casting him a sideways half-smile.
He bit the left side of his lip, mumbling.
“I never minded doing anything for you.”
A strange tingling sensation danced over your scalp and down your shoulders. Sigh. He was doing this on purpose, right? One look and of course not. You shut your eyes. Maybe you could just make up a reason to hate him. You thought you had lost him under other bodies and darker nights and bad decisions. You thought he hated you for ending it the way you did, so coolly and unfeelingly. You thought.
“Have you been happy, Jungkook?”
You felt him hesitate. You could almost remember how he smelled back then. Like crisp linens and bright cotton. He loved fabric softener and similar clean scents. Have you been happy after me? You hoped so. In retrospect, you had been such a small, meaningless part in this winding road of life.
“I… I guess? I’m doing things I like to do. I feel like I’m able to live more freely, and I figure I can just… keep doing what I’m good at.”
You smiled.
“That’s good.”
You opened your eyes.
“What about you, noona?”
Have I been happy?
Did you even know what that meant? And yet you felt the weight of precious Hyungu’s head against your shoulder. Someone who relied on your good heart wholeheartedly. Never mind your opinion of if your heart was good or not, or even there. Happy? You went to work. You enjoyed your hobbies like music and games. You stayed home and shopped online when you were bored. You had the money to buy your favorite snacks and you had the luxury to have poor time management to eat them at midnight and wake up puffy the next day.
You had a very simple life that your younger self could barely dream of.
I don’t want to end up like my parents.
Was that why you didn’t want to be in a relationship?
“Noona?”
You looked up suddenly, noticing your surroundings. Quickly pulled on the cord to create the gentle bell tone.
“We need to get off here.”
-
Somehow, Jungkook ended up in a stranger’s corner apartment surrounded by vinyl, boxed CD albums, and music equipment. It was on a lower floor so at least they didn’t have to climb any stairs to get to the front door. The living room area was less like a living room and more like a half-music studio, complete with guitars, speakers, and a computer with lots of expensive looking music equipment around it. The surrounding walls had black foam squares taped neatly, even on the ceiling. The rest of the wall space was occupied by posters of various indie and mainstream bands. He was surprised to see the few plushies of penguins on the couch. Along the wall of the stairs were flyers that each had a corresponding nail that hung lanyards with plastic cards – artist passes. Festivals and concerts and such, each one containing a recurring name if he looked closely enough.
He, along with his past lover, helped the young man he had just met tonight into the bed in the loft area.
It was a small space.
Somehow, they managed being that close.
“Thanks, again,” she sighed, descending down the stairs in front of him. “You must be thirsty. There has to be some water around here.”
Somehow, Jungkook found himself standing in the hallways of a stranger’s apartment drinking a bottle of water as he watched the one who got away rip a memo note off a pad and scribble something down, finding a Pingu mug to sandwich it under.
Somehow.
She turned around and sighed, looking relieved. The guitar bag was on the sofa, safe and sound.
Then they stared at each other, realizing they were now alone.
Well, not alone.
Above them, Kang Hyungu was in dreamland.
“Ah…”
Her shoulders slumped.
“Sorry, I didn’t even ask how out of your way this was. I’ll pay for a taxi back.”
“Ah, no, that’s okay. I can make my way.”
“Don’t be like that,” she scolded, although not with much severity. “I can’t take advantage of your kindness.”
He paused, staring into her eyes. They hadn’t turned on too many lights. Enough to see, and then turned off most of them right away to avoid waking up the neighbors with the brightness. Only the warm bulb by the door was on now, illuminating them together.
“Noona, can I ask you something?” he asked softly, realizing his voice shook a little.
She lifted her head, pulling her hands out of her pockets.
“Yeah, of course. What is it?”
Have you ever been in love?
He looked at her, and he remembered the question she didn’t answer on the bus. They had been hurried and trying not to inconvenience anyone. Now that what about you was lost in the whirlwind of sights, sounds, in time past. Jungkook was pretty sure that he knew what the line of love and distraction was, but he found he had no real words to describe it. Only a feeling of sureness, just as he was sure that if he asked this question, have you ever been in love, he would be overstepping a boundary somehow.
Mostly because it seemed obvious.
And also because it was not fair to ask questions that he was personally invested in the answer and honestly didn’t know if he wanted to know the answer.
Had he ever been in love? Sure, although he knew it was always with the caveat of what he knew at the time and driven by the image painted by his own parents. A miracle that he had a chance to witness. He hadn’t really thought about how deeply seeing them interact affected him until he met her. She never spoke about her parents. It was like they didn’t exist. No photos, no calls, no casual drop-bys to hand over a home-cooked meal and say hi. In contrast, Jungkook had the unfortunately mortifying moment of being balls deep and then interrupted by his own mother right before the big finale. She just silently laughed while hiding behind the door as his mom attempted to enter his apartment, why are there clothes all over the floor, aish, I keep telling you that I didn’t teach you to be messy, and him trying to reassure her that everything was fine and he had to be somewhere soon.
Yeah.
Anyway.
It the time it had been embarrassing, but she had told him something that had, again, stuck with him for a long time after. You are lucky that she takes the time to bother you. Some people would do anything to have their parents care for their well-being just one more time. The realization had humbled him. Sorry. I didn’t know your parents passed away. But she had just shaken her head with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
No, Jungkook, they’re very much alive. They just never cared about me, ever.
He had felt very sorry then, but she had waved her hand and laughed.
Don’t be. I can’t miss something I’ve never had.
It was then that Jungkook realized that he believed in love because his parents were in love. It was later when Jungkook realized that he, too, had been in love, but this was only after he had stopped seeing her. Only after he stopped tasting her strong, concentrated flavor. The world had become a tasteless future despite all the color and saturation trying to grab his attention.
Because she had left.
It might have been short, but that time had been a forever-after packed into a few months.
Jungkook jumped as she tapped the back of his hand with her fingertip.
“Hello? Welcome back to Earth. Did you enjoy your time spacing out?”
She looked amused.
“Guess you haven’t changed from your random space-outs, heh,” she chuckled, taking his empty water bottle and tossing it in the recycling. Even removed the paper label and everything. “Come on. You shouldn’t be interrogating me in Hyungu’s apartment anyway.”
She ushered him out of the apartment and made sure to lock up behind herself. He wondered why she had a key. Then again, her and the guitarist were very clearly good friends. Jungkook wondered if it would still be like that if Hyungu or her started dating. Or, maybe not, if they ended up dating each other.
Suddenly, Jungkook felt incredibly helpless.
She bumped into him because he stopped walking, bouncing off. They were still in the narrow hallway, trying to be quiet so as not to disturb the neighbors at this late hour. The light in the hallway was warm and low. Not due to the night. More because the lightbulbs were generally old and shitty.
“Woah, what’s going on? You don’t know how to walk straight? Do you need a leash?” she whispered lightheartedly, coming around him.
He looked up.
It must have shown on his face because the playful laughter in her features immediately slipped away upon eye contact.
He had millions of unfair questions swirling in his mind, can we try again, is there something wrong with me, why did you leave me, and Jungkook knew he could ask none of them. For fuck’s sake, they had only just seen each other again tonight. He should just be happy they were together now, even in this platonic way. He should just be happy that she seemed healthy and content. He should just…
But you’ve always known me so well.
You aren’t hard to read, Jungkook, she used to laugh when they talked about how fast they had gotten into bed together.
She placed her hand on his elbow.
Dragged from his minty whirlwind memories and thrown into the present, Jungkook stared at her unreadable expression, but there were too many shadows and his vision was too clouded with what was.
“Come on. We can’t stay here,” she murmured gently, pulling him along.
-
“I’m not letting you go home alone. It’s not safe.”
“What do you think I’ve been doing all this time? Teleporting?” You scowled. “Besides, turns out your apartment is closer to here and mine is further down. It makes no sense for you to double back.”
One thing about Jeon Jungkook was that once he got an idea in his head, he was more stubborn than an ox. It was true back then when he was chasing after your ass and it was true right now. He was frowning at you and furrowing his eyebrows. The frustrated expression was broken by how big his dark brown eyes were.
“I keep telling you it’s not a big deal for me, noona. I don’t mind.”
“This isn’t about whether or not you mind,” you sighed grumpily. “It just doesn’t make sense. Fine. Fine, do whatever you want.”
Which was how you ended up in a taxi with Jungkook, crammed in the backseat of a tiny sedan with a grandpa who didn’t make small talk and blasted trot music. Well, it probably would have felt less tiny if Jungkook wasn’t right next to you like a big fabric blob. You hadn’t paid much attention to how crowded you had been on the bus since you were already weighed down by half-dead guitarist and his guitar. You had thought Hyungu had been playing up his drunkenness for the attention but he had thoroughly passed out by the time the bus had arrived. He was a lightweight so you weren’t super worried to leave him alone. Then again, you couldn’t tell Jungkook to get lost and leave you at another guy’s apartment, because what kind of message would that send?
Not that Jungkook’s opinion of how you spent your time mattered.
It had just felt rude, that was all.
You were kind of worried about him anyway. You witnessed him zoning out and simply standing there twice already. Boy was gonna get kidnapped one of these days. Sheesh. The car rolled to a stop. You paid the driver through the app and thanked him, getting a wordless nod in return. Cool. Opened the car door and climbed out, followed by a big shadowy blob.
Uh.
The car drove away.
“Jungkook, you should have asked him to drive you to your place,” you pointed out.
Those big brown eyes looked from your apartment complex to you. “Huh?”
Was the heck is on his mind? You sighed and pulled up the taxi app again. “Give me your address. I did say I’ll pay for it.”
“I, erm…”
You looked up at Jungkook’s uneasy tone. Confused. He looked uncomfortable and awkward, not really looking at you in the face.
“I kinda have to go.”
You blinked at him.
He waved his hands. “Eh, it’s fine. I’ll go find a bush or something. Um.”
“Jungkook, I’m not letting you pee in a bush. Do you see this place? You think they’ll let me continue living here after seeing on one of their cameras that my guest peed in a bush?”
He looked from the white walls to the stone fence to the black iron gate to the immaculately clean, very neatly trimmed, small ball-shaped bushes. They weren’t even knee-height. “I-I-I just don’t want you to t-think…” He shifted, wavering a bit. Eyes darting in every direction. “It was all the water and the alcohol earlier, um…” You sighed and turned around to punch in the code. “I didn’t want you to think I’m doing it on purpose.”
You paused.
Then you pushed the gate open and motioned him in.
“Come on before your piss yourself.”
Which was how you ended up sighing as you tossed your jacket onto your large charcoal sofa while Jungkook emptied his bladder in the bathroom of your apartment. At least you hoped that was what he was doing. You weren’t going to be a creep and try to listen for evidence. You flopped down, cozying into the soft but durable fabric. You wouldn’t have brought this couch if it wasn’t for the great deal and the ability for it to be modular, meaning you could lock the pieces together to make a bed and watch television, as well as also having the ability to make it look like an L-shaped sofa when you had guests over so that they didn’t know that you really put the potato in couch potato several times a week.
Hey.
Money well spent.
Of course, you usually only had very few guests over. Occasional one to warm the bed and maybe hosting Hyungu’s band members. Not at the same time. Duh. You weren’t trying to traumatize the five friends you had – Hyungu and the other four band members. Yeah. Wasn’t much, but they existed, even though they were busy right now being Korean men and all that. Soon, Hyungu would be egg-headed and off to duty too. You puffed out your cheeks. Temporary, of course, and yet.
Who knows what could happen?
You were always prepared to find yourself alone.
Wouldn’t be the first time to come home, only to realize home didn’t exist.
It never had.
You heard commotion and Jungkook reappeared, looking relieved. Probably because he was. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to…” He trailed off.
You stood up.
You were past the wishing phase. The pretending phase. Past the numbness and looking for promises when there were none. Expectation was only the precursor to disappointment, after all. To be honest, if it wasn’t for your carnal sex drive, you would be past the distractions too. Good to know you weren’t completely ready to throw in the towel yet. If it wasn’t for someone relying on you, you as well have chosen to fade away.
If it wasn’t for…
You made eye contact with Jeon Jungkook, even though you didn’t want to.
Before today, you really wouldn’t have cared about seeing someone you used to date. Past was in the past. You had made a lot of bad decisions. So far, they hadn’t come back to haunt you yet. As you stared into those big brown eyes, frozen in place by your sudden attention, you wondered what you could say to assure him that you were different from back then. You could admit it now. You could admit back then you were weaker than anybody else, fighting your own demons by running away, wondering what was wrong with you to have parents who fought every day and did everything to run away from their internal struggles except the solution of divorce, and you could admit now that you took out that loss on everyone else around you, all the while knowing the reality.
That was just how life was, sometimes.
Life didn’t know fair and unfair. People made choices without caring about the consequences all the time. You didn’t care enough back then, because you knew you wouldn’t know what to do if they cared back. You knew you could never be beloved when you had nothing and no one to call home.
I don’t want to avoid reality, even if I’m afraid.
The past memories flickered like a whirling panorama – Jungkook nervous in front of you, trying to ask about how the automated system worked so he could get ramyeon with the soft-boiled egg at the PC bang in the dead of night. Playing computer games with him, laughing because he wasn’t very good but still trying for some reason. Learning that he wasn’t doing very well in university and that he was trying to do the escapism thing while working on his video editing business on the side. Sharing a bed with him, not saying anything about how all your belongings only fit in one duffel bag. He didn’t have to know. His face between your hands. Kisses that took his worries away. Body to body, warm for the first time in a long time. Your fingertips walking up his chest, all the way to his rattling heartbeat, turning a simple night into a fantasy.
The thought of your actions having any positive effect seemed foreign and impossible.
But maybe that was the victim mentality talking.
“Can I ask you something, Jungkook?”
He looked surprised. “M…Me?”
You hooked your thumbs into the belt loops of your jeans, doing something with your hands so they wouldn’t fidget about. Even now, he was the same. There was still this persistent innocence about him, stubbornly sticking around as if he could be young forever. He still believed in something, even if life kept trying to tell him time and time again that it wasn’t true.
“Do you still have feelings for me?”
You saw the whirlwind flash through his eyes.
Guilt. Nervousness. Uncertainty. Helplessness, wondering if he was asking for something that could never be given. He was still so easy to read. Those big brown eyes couldn’t hide anything and it wasn’t his nature to lie. There were stars in his eyes.
Those stars were tears.
“You said… You said you can’t feel love,” he shuddered, blinking hard.
There wasn’t much space between you and him. Somewhere around a meter. But it felt like light-years of desolate space and sudden heartache from a heart you weren’t sure you had. Maybe you were born with one, but all flowers wither with no care. You were the desert and he was the ocean, at least in the emotional sense.
You wanted to insist.
I can know love!
But, could you?
You collected a breath and nodded. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for back then. For using you, even though you probably don’t think you were used. For breaking the unspoken promise I couldn’t understand.”
Jungkook looked back at you. His voice small, stranded and lost.
“I have never fallen in love after you, noona.”
You were different now, you told yourself, but maybe you weren’t really and that was the problem.
“It’s impossible to fall in love when I have always been in love with you.”
You opened your mouth to tell him that was silly. It had only been a couple months. You hadn’t even really been that attentive. It had been a short-lived romance, if you could call fucking constantly and gaming at the PC bang at three in the morning that. A fleeting gratification. A sharp burst that lit up the timeline of a very long and eventful life that Jeon Jungkook would have. Nothing more.
Just…
A pop of peppermint gum.
You had meaningful relationships. Ones that taught you things about yourself and people. Maybe even ones that other people could consider love, depending on what their definition was.
But, then there was…
Jungkook.
You opened your mouth to tell him he was silly but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.
Had it been love?
And could it still be love?
“You… You don’t even know what I’m like now,” you blew out, suddenly feeling winded. “I could be a total asshole.” You looked away, tucking your tongue in your cheek.
“But I helped you make sure you got your friend and his guitar home safe?” Jungkook questioned, sounding confused. “Would a total asshole would do that?”
“I don’t know,” you rambled, not so sure about anything anymore. “I mean… you’ve only just met me again after how long?”
“A really long time,” Jungkook answered, frown in his tone.
“Yeah, exactly.” You latched on, not caring that he didn’t even calculate it. “How do you know it’s not rose-tinted glasses and all that?”
He shrugged. Glanced at you. “I don’t really think I have the brainpower for that, noona.”
You stared at him.
Jungkook shrugged again.
You shook your head. “You can’t say that about yourself.”
He scratched his cheek, looking sheepish. “At least I know where I’m still lacking?”
You let out an exasperated sigh. “No, you–”
He beat you to it.
“Do I have to understand?”
You froze, realizing you had taken a few steps towards him, perhaps in hopes of shaking some sense into him. This was crazy. This didn’t make any sense. This was only a coincidence turned convoluted by memories, tangled emotions, circumstance…
“My mind might forget, but my body always remembered. There is only you for me.”
Your head snapped up, seeing his soft smile. The recall was so fierce that it was déjà vu, except you had been the one with the gentle smile and he had been the one lost, wondering if you were afraid of losing his love. Now. His short black hair a little windswept, his dark brown eyes a little glassy, and yet he smiled at you, mole peeking out from under the center of his lower lip. Do I have to understand? To understand was to know and to know was to be sure that you were in love, except that you said so yourself that sometimes the thoughts didn’t quite catch up to the heart.
He looked embarrassed, abruptly looking away, letting out a shaky breath.
“It’s just… I think I knew it all along but, even if I know, it doesn’t mean I can change your mind, ha… ha, can you imagine, running off to track you down, you would just think I’m crazy, and if I jeopardized your happiness for my own selfishness, I don’t think I could live with myself… and, anyway…”
He wasn’t really looking at anything anymore.
“Even if what I wanted was ugly, our time was beautiful.”
You stepped forward.
“It’s a common, basic story, isn’t it? My wish for us to be exceptional is too foolish,” Jungkook laughed weakly. Rambling. Speaking from his heart but still unable to focus on the present.
You reached forward.
“I wanted everything about you. I still do.”
Your fingertip touched his cheek.
“Don’t cry,” you finally said.
He froze.
You wiped away a fallen star, the overhead lights of your apartment catching the tears before Jungkook even realized they were there. You brushed the droplet away, but they were falling, falling, and he turned his head, still not really registering what was happening, even as the base of your palms pressed into his cheeks and swept his tears away, quickly breathless as you were captured by the universes entangled in his eyes. You could feel the wetness on your skin. The shudder in his breath. His hands came up to touch your wrists, and you still believed you couldn’t be enough for him, even now, but your body responded on its own, cradling his face, bringing him to you.
“Please don’t cry,” you said again, softly, and realized you said it because, a long time ago, you would have done anything to have someone tell you that in the past, please don’t cry. So, you told Jungkook instead.
He was someone as precious as a memory.
And, yes, even if your thoughts didn’t catch up right away, you pulled him to you, body to body, feeling him shiver, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, this isn’t very manly of me, and like clockwork you told him to shut up and cry, holding him because you remembered he liked to be held. You had told him back then that you weren’t really the type to cuddle, but he had finally confessed late one night that he yearned to be close to you, even if only for a little while, and that he had been afraid to admit it in fear of pushing you away. So, you relented, if only to comfort him and make him happy.
Is that love?
“It’s okay to cry,” you murmured gently, stroking his hair. “It’s just not okay to cry alone.”
He buried his eyes into your shoulder and wept.
He was still in his jacket, swamping you with his frame and excess layers. You placed your arms around his waist under his parka, feeling his warm and shaking frame, gently placing your hands on his shoulder blades.
“I’m sorry… I-I don’t k-know why I’m c-crying…”
“Shh…”
You tugged him along. Step by step, and made him sit on the sofa with you, curled up in a tangle of limbs with your hands on his back. His body was hot from emotion, and he pulled his arms out of his jacket to wipe his nose and eyes with his hoodie sleeves, still not looking at you, and you gave him the privacy, not looking at him either, only holding him as close as possible and keeping his parka on his shoulders, covering you and him together.
“T-This wasn’t how… I t-thought… how I would be hugging you a-again…” Jungkook sobbed quietly, leaning his forehead against your shoulder.
You held him close.
“Yeah, well, nothing is really turning out how you or I planned it. Mostly because neither of us had a plan to begin with.”
He laughed, albeit feebly and wetly, but you just smiled and placed your hand on his head again, running your fingers through his hair. You didn’t have a grand speech planned. You didn’t even really know the right words to say or the correct way to organize your thoughts. You simply leaned him against you, nestled in the cushions, and kept your arms wrapped around him for a long, long time.
-
click here for part ii
--
masterpost
266 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ballgowns and Galas - Neymar Jr x reader
Neymar Jr x female!reader
Requested? Yes/No: i would absolutely love a ney imagine where he and the reader (perhaps an actress or a singer) used to date during his early fame. they truly loved each other, but broke up eventually due to certain issues. as the years go by, they both date other people to get over the horrible breakup (all attempts ended up failing, they're still pining over each other 💀) so flash forward after a few years, ney and reader happen to meet at a gala / party bcs they were both invited. imagine the TENSION between them.. like "oh okay you're there and i'm here and this is all really happening"- that ended up really long </3 ILY AUTHOR your works truly have mesmerized ♡
Warnings: Fluff, some angst, implied smut
Word Count: 4.4K
AN: Sorry I’ve been gone for so long my loves, I’m back with all the fics you could ever want to request <3
—
Neymar was the ex-boyfriend you knew would never leave your mind. The two of you had dated when he quickly rose to fame but things, unfortunately, fell apart. Your career started to take off, you’d been contacted by major film directors and before you knew it you were in a different country every week with a camera in your face. No matter how much either of you tried to move on from one another it was always unsuccessful. Being an actress you were always swarmed by dating rumours, whether it was a co-star or just your assistant and Neymar kept track of every single one of them.
Since the two of you split you two hadn’t spoken to one another and you hadn’t gone to any of his games. You used to turn up every week, whether he was playing for his country or his club but now the seat you once sat on was cold and it had been for many years. Although that wasn’t to say you didn’t care about him. You would still keep up with his matches, silently cheering for him every single minute. Your heart broke whenever he was injured or when he lost a match that clearly meant the world to him but you hid your feelings, the two of you were on different paths now.
Little did you know Neymar was the same. He let as many girls as he could fling themselves towards him in an attempt to get over you but he was always unsuccessful. Sure he’d had a few relationships which had been very public but they never lasted, his head always drifted off to you no matter how much he tried to forget. Much like you with his football he always made an effort to watch what you were starring in, whether it was a period drama or a heartfelt rom-com. He would always wake up in the early hours of the morning to watch any award show you were featured on and although it killed him to see you smile without him he also knew he’d rather you be happy without him than you be upset whilst you were beside him.
You’ve been in the news a lot recently due to your new project. Top Gun: Maverick was taking the world by storm, especially tiktok so it was no wonder why you and your co-stars were invited to attend. You were staring alongside Miles Teller and not to mention Tom Cruise, both men constantly praising your performance which landed you several calls from big Hollywood directors.
“Excited for tonight?” Your hair stylist, Nat asked as she began her magic on her head. “A few people of interest are going tonight…” She smirked at your reflection in the mirror before her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” You looked up from your phone, your eyes meeting her curious ones.
“Well, there are some good-looking guys there… Harry Styles… Micheal B Jordan…. maybe if you get with one of them tonight you’ll finally stop crying over your ex.”
“ I don’t cry over Neymar!” You whipped your head around to give her a glare. “We split apart years ago.”
“And yet you too still make the headlines alongside one another.” She turned your head back to the mirror. “Maybe it’s a sign.”
“A sign for what?”
“To get back together.”
“A second ago you were telling me to fuck another man to get over him even though I am over him, it’s been years.” You lied and she knew it. Your heart would always stay with him no matter how many years went by.
She shrugged, the smirk on her lips still planted on her face. “The world works in mysterious ways y/n.” Rolling your eyes at her you went back to your phone, texting your co-stars who were attending the gala with you.
The charity gala always brought in those who always hit the headlines, whether they were from the world of sports, fashion, music or film, or anyone you could think of. The event consisted of celebrities wearing their most expressive clothes whilst they paraded around a red carpet for all the photographers to see. They’d make their way inside and gaze at all the charity items up for auction before sitting down for a meal. After the food the auction would begin before it eventually ended with most celebrities getting drunk and regretting the money, they’d spent.
“You look beautiful…” Your stylist smiled as you smoothed down your y/f/c gown. The dress hugged your body like a glove, showing off every curve you had. Smiling at her compliment you kept your eyes on the outfit.
“You have really outdone yourself with this.” You turned around to face her, your smile beaming brighter. “Thank you…”
“Anything for Hollywood's favourite star.” She mirrored your expression, walking over to you and giving you a few last-minute touch-ups before the car came to take you to the event.
—
The flashing lights of the paparazzi blinded you the second you stepped out of the car and onto the red carpet, your name being called in every direction filled the air as you flashed a smile towards the cameras. Your head darted to the side to catch a glimpse of the other celebrities who were walking off towards the exhibition.
After posing for a few more photos you started to make your way down the carpet when a sudden loud noise grabbed your attention. Loud screams grabbed your attention as all the photographers suddenly turned their attention to the person who was leaving the car. The sudden commotion also caught your attention but unlike everyone else, you weren’t screaming for joy at who had left the car. Within seconds, you were making eye contact with your ex-boyfriend for the first time in years.
Of course, Neymar was here.
Your heart was in your throat at the sight of him.
You hadn’t seen him in person since the day the two of you parted but there he was, standing right before you, his eyes burning into yours. You ripped your attention away from him, knowing that even that small yet longing glance would cause headlines and a surge of attention onto the two of you online. Your eyes searched for an escape and you found one in an interviewer. Her name was Madaline, and she always attended premiers and a few other galas you’d been invited to so a familiar face was all that you needed to put some distance between you both.
“Madaline, hey!” You called to her whilst she checked her phone, the copper-haired girl looked up at you, a smile bright on her face as she caught your gaze.
“Y/n! Oh my God, you look stunning!” The pair of you embraced as if you were old-school friends. “You up for an interview?”
“Of course!” Returning the smile your eyes darted over to Neymar who was now posing for photos before looking back at her as she handed you a microphone.
“Ready?”
“Yes.” You took a deep breath, pushing Neymar to the back of your mind before focusing on the questions at hand.
“Your dress is absolutely stunning, who designed it?”
“Everything was made by the genius that is Vivienne Westwood.” You smiled, looking down at y/f/c dress which sparkled in the light. “Even the jewellery.” You gestured to the diamonds hanging from your neck.
“It’s beautiful. And I see you have a small charm on your bracelet.” She pointed to the band around your wrist which had a small diamond plane hanging from the metal. The charm was a small added touch from Westwood representing one of the biggest films you’d been in this year.
“Oh yes,” You held it up for her to see. “It was another one of Westwoods touches.”
“Does it come with a mini Tom Cruise inside of it?” She asked, a light laugh escaping her lips. You followed her laughter before letting your hand fall to your side.
“If only it did.”
“I do have another question…”
“Ask away.”
“You and a certain co-star were getting rather close in Top gun… Miles Teller I believe it was.”
Rumours had been flying all over the place when the two of you were filming despite the fact that he had a wife, a woman you’d met and grown rather close to during the many months of filming and even though you’d been seen with his wife many times in public and behind closed doors, fans still speculated that the pair of you had a fling going on.
“I can assure you that nothing is happening between the two of us, he has a wife and -”
“Do you have someone?” Her brows arched yet she had a hesitant expression on her face, worrying that you’d snap at her invasive questions.
“No, I do not.”
“But are you looking?” She dared to ask more.
“Love will come to me when it’s ready.” You replied, not wanting to talk too much especially as your ex was closing in on you. “And until then I’ll spend my evenings with a glass of wine and my cat.”
The pair of you shared one last laugh before she bid you goodbye. This time you didn’t dare look back at him, your heart was pounding after those last questions, thankful she never touched on the subject of Neymar. You entered the large dimly light hall which was lined with numerous items which were to be bid off to you and other celebrities who were in attendance.
Taking small elongated steps your eyes scanned every single item that was on display until your eyes fell on a large painting. The frame glistened as it kept the painted horse inside, allowing it to dance before your eyes yet never leave. The horse was rearing and with every blink, you could have sworn the animal grew in beauty.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” A smooth voice you knew all too well floated through the air.
“Ney…” You looked over at him as he stood beside you, his head turning to meet yours.
“How are you y/n?”
“You never come to things like this, your father always hated the idea of you spending tons of money at events like this.” You took in his features, his hair was different, last time the two of you shared a glance with one another he looked as if he was joining a boy band. He’d cut it shorter and he’d grown a slight beard, making him look older, more mature than he was back then. “Did you know I’d be here?”
“As welcoming as always y/n.” He gave you a warm smile.
“Sorry I umm… It’s just been a while.” You looked away, your eyes focusing back on the painting before you.
“Several years.” Neymar raised his hand, guiding your chin back to face him. “Too long y/n…”
Your heart melted at his words, it was no secret that you hung up on him and had been since you split. No man or anyone for that matter would ever be able to numb the pain of the pair of you falling apart. The tension between you both was building by the second, both of you high on the feeling of the two of you being back in the same room.
“How’s Jareth?” He referenced the cat he gave you just before the two of you split. Only the week before the gala you posted a photo of you and the black cat when he was a kitten vs now for his birthday. He was getting old but he was one of the few things you still had to remind you of Neymar. Ney had watched you fall in love with the film Labrythn, especially David Bowie’s character, hence your cat's name. He knew you had to have your own little Jareth in the form of a cat. Since then you got Jareth a few siblings, naming all of them after fictional characters and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, Neymar knew all their names.
“You know I never stopped watching your games.” His eyes softened at your words as you paused. His hands still lingered on your chin. “Do you know how hard it was to watch you get that injury in the world cup? Ney you nearly ended up paralysed-”
He smiled at your worry, the pair of you split just a few weeks before the World Cup, at first he just pushed it to the back of his mind to focus on the football but everything changed when he had his injury. When he was in the hospital all he could think of was how you used to take care of him every time he had the slightest graze or a career-threatening injury. He would often look over to the spare chair next to his bed and imagine your tired face making sure he was okay, much like you had done all those years ago. It was that day he realised how much he really did miss you and what you had wasn’t just some childish relationship.
Neymar let his hand fall as he took a step towards you, his gaze never dropping from yours. “Why did we fall apart y/n?”
You scrunched your brows at him. “You know why, we fell apart, both our careers went in opposite directions and we never came back together, you moved on-”
“So did you.” He jumped in, eyeing you up as he spoke.
“You could say that.” Shrugging you turned back to the portrait of the horse. You and Neymar both knew deep down that the pair of you never got over one another, in fact, the way the two of you were eyeing one another you wouldn’t be surprised if you just ripped off one another's clothes there and then. “But then so did you.”
His eyes followed yours as he became fixated on the painting before you both. “To an extent… I got used to you not being around, I never got used to the rest.”
“Like?”
He smirked as he spoke. He leant down, his lips hovering above your ear. “I never got used to the feeling of another woman around me, I always just wanted you… I never got used to the feeling of another woman's lips on me… you know y/n I got used to your presence not being beside me but I never got used to never feeling you again… do you know how many of your films and shows I’d watch and see you kissing another man and beg God to let me take his place?”
Chills ran down your spine at his words before you replied. “You know you could have just messaged me, you know I’d let you come back into my life… with time.”
“Time?” He whispered, a small laugh escaping his lips as he spoke. “I wasted too much time being away from you.”
“You can’t blame me for that -”
“When did I ever blame you, my love?” Neymar leant down, planting a kiss on your cheek from behind stepped away, his eyes glancing over at the painting you were once eyeing before he turned away and headed towards the hall for the event that was due to take place.
Your heart dropped at the sight of him leaving. His words implied he would come back but with Neymar, you can never really be sure. Your eyes wandered back to the painting you once had your heart set on but not your heart was set back on him. The spark you once thought had died down had been ignited once again. The headlines would be slashing yours and his name as much as they could after your little interaction, but would you really go back to him?
—
“I didn’t know he was here…” Your assistant who happened to be your best friend asked as she sat down beside you at your designated table. Her eyes glanced over to his table a mere few meters from yours before she spoke again. “Did you?”
“Of course not.” You set your glass down. “I wouldn’t have turned up if I knew.”
That was a lie and you knew it.
“Have you spoken to him?” Her gaze remained fixed on you.
“Briefly -”
“And?”
“It was just small talk.” You lied again, this time taking a sip of the drink in front of you. “We haven’t spoken since we split and that was years ago. Just small talk and nothing more.”
She knew not to press on, after years of questioning you about Neymar she always knew deep down that the pair of you clearly had a small flame of love burning for one another but with the break-up being as public as it was she just kept her mouth shut.
You could feel his eyes burning into you, wanting nothing more than to meet his soft gaze you flickered over to see if he was still watching but to your avail a booming voice caught everyone’s attention. “Welcome back everybody!” The host of the event announced. “It’s nice to see some familiar faces and some new ones.” His grey eyes wandered around the room. “Now we have some beautiful things up for auction tonight and I’m not getting any younger so let’s start, shall we?” A round of cheers danced through the room as items started to be dragged out onto the stage for the room to bid on.
The night dragged on, you laughed with your friends as you drank and watched everyone bid on their favourite items. You really had no interest in any of them other than the painting of the black horse from earlier. Before Neymar interrupted you your mind was imagining it proudly standing on the wall by your stairs. You’d been needing a piece to make the house feel more put together and that horse would frame everything perfectly.
Despite the number of glasses before him, Neymar was only getting drunk on the sound of your laughter. He’d give anything to hear you laugh at his jokes one last time. Sure he knew he was pinned up on you when the two of you broke up but he never knew he’d crave you this badly after one short encounter. He wanted to leave, hating the idea of you being so close to him but he simply couldn’t have you, not yet anyway. His eyes shot up to the stage where he saw the large horse painting you were clearly in love with. He sparked up an idea… You’d either hate him for this idea or you’d love him for it but he was willing to take that chance.
“And now… our final item is this beautiful hand-painted portrait of one of the world’s most stunning creatures. The bid will start at one thousand -” Before the man could even finish his sentence Neymar held his auction number in the air, giving a small nod to the man.
“I have one thousand do I hear two thousand?”
Narrowing your eyes at your ex-boyfriend you held your own number up. He turned his head slightly, a smirk on his lips as he met the gaze of the man and held his own number up again.
You knew what game he was playing and you weren’t going to let him win.
The two of you went back and forth with each other, the pair of you never sharing a single thought about the amount of money you were spending on a simple painting but hey it was for charity so that doesn’t matter, right?
“Oh come on y/n, you can’t bid that amount of money, it’s too much for that.” y/b/f complained, huffing in her seat at yours and Neymar’s childish antics.
“He knows what he’s doing, he wants to get one more thing over me before the two of you actually call it quits.”
“So you’re telling me there’s still something there?”
“y/b/f -”
“Sold to the gentleman in black!” The announcer spoke, catching your attention. Whilst you and y/b/f had been arguing you’d forgotten to put your number up one last time meaning Neymar won the painting, it was all his.
“Fucking prick.” You spat under your breath. The sudden lust you’d had now turned into loathing. He knew how much you wanted that painting and yet he still wouldn’t let you win, not even one last time. You finished up your drinks and left, wanting nothing more than to be with your cats, even if Neymar was responsible for buying the first one but unbeknown to you he had a plan, one that meant this wouldn’t be the last time he’d be seeing you.
—
A week had passed and there was no Neymar in sight unless you count the ongoing headlines about you both but that was something you refused to engage in. When you found yourself alone in bed you often wondered to his contact in your phone, debating if you should send him an angry text about him stealing the painting which clearly had your name written all over it but that would only feed into his ego.
Currently, you were laying across your sofa, Jareth slowly falling into sleep on your chest as you read through your new script and let your hand smooth down his black fur. The small echo from the tv was the only noise in your house until the doorbell made poor Jareth jump in his spot. The elder cat let out a cry of a meow at the noise. Setting the script down you scooped the cat up and held him against your chest and crook of your neck, cooing at him as you opened the door.
“It’s alright old man.” You kissed his head. “Probably just Jannet ordering some packages and isn’t in to collect them.” You referred to your neighbour as you met the eyes of a man you knew all too well. Neymar stood outside, a worried expression on his face which he tried to cover up with confidence.
“y/n…”
“What do you want? And how do you know where I live?” Your brows furrowed at the sight of him.
“y/b/f isn’t good at hiding secrets, you really need a better assistant.”
“She does fine thank you.” Your words were filled with venom as you spoke.
“You look, good old man.” He now turned his attention to the cat, a smile on his lips as he watched a familiar sight. “He looks good for his age.”
“Because I take care of him.” Arching your brows at his words you leant against your doorframe. “Why are you here?”
His smile dropped slightly at your words but his confidence attempted to shine through his demeanour. “I wanted to give you something.” He reached to the side and pulled out a large wrapped item from behind your wall. “I’m sorry -”
“For?”
“Everything. I fucked up. The pressure from this stupid sport should have never led me to losing you.”
“And you think a wrapped gift is going to fix all of that?”
“No, but I hope it’s a start. I’ll fix this if you’ll work with me. We both know there’s something still there.” Your eyes met his hopeful ones. He had a point and if the two of you took things slowly and built on what you used to have you knew you could fall back into his arms, probably a lot faster than you wanted to admit.
“Come in.” You held the door open wider for him, allowing him to drag the gift which was bigger than him through into your front room before closing the door. You placed Jareth on the counter before turning to watch Neymar place the gift on the floor, his eyes longing on yours as he rose and made his way over to you.
“Please just open it.”
You gave him a silent reply before shifting your body towards the gift. Neymar took his place where you once stood, next to Jareth whilst you kneeled down and slowly pulled the paper back to reveal the gift. All your anger filtered away when you were met with the eyes of the horse painting you once fell in love with at the gala. You started to connect the dots, he’d won that bid just as a way to see you again and make amends. Looking up your heart melted even further when you saw what he was doing.
When Jareth was a kitten Neymar used to cuddle him like he was a baby and rock him around like he was your child. Jareth used to always snuggle his head into Neymar’s side when he carried him like that and just like old times you watched as Jareth cuddled into Neymars side as he cooed him like a baby.
“Ney…”
“I’m sorry I made you feel like shit at the gala but I had to win it because I needed to see you again.”
“You know you could have just messaged me and asked to see me.” You stepped over the painting and walked towards him.
“Not as romantic though, is it?” He smiled. “I know it’s been years but I want to try again. I never stopped loving you y/n, no matter who I was with I just wanted you. I still do. I know it’ll take time but I’m willing to wait a lifetime if it means I can spend even just a night with you.”
“You always had a way with words Ney.” You leant up and kissed his cheek, your heart swelling at the sight of him and Jareth. “On one condition.”
“Anything.” His eyes were fueled with hope.
“We get another cat.”
“I’ll buy you a whole island full of cats if it means you’ll give what we had a second chance.”
#neymar one shot#neymar fanfic#neymar imagines#neymar x reader#neymar x y/n#neymar x you#neymar fluff#neymar smut#neymar#neymar jr#football imagine#football fanfic#football#football x reader#football x y/n
708 notes
·
View notes
Text
Thank you @there-is-just-me-myself-and-i for tagging❤ and I'm so sorry that it took so long to make this 🙏 And I combined those two together 😅 I'm pretty sure most people made those already, so I have no idea who to tag.
👀
Comfort film: I can't even name one, because it's way too hard and sometimes I just forget about some that I love and watch from time to time. Currently, I can name The Physician (Der Medicus, 2013) and The Fall (2006).
Comfort food: not sure that I have one.
Comfort clothes: any clothes in which I'm feeling comfortable.
Comfort song: actually, any from my playlists. I love music way too much to choose one particular.
Comfort book: can't name one here as well.
Comfort game: Heroes of might and magic 5, Samurai Warriors/Dynasty Warriors. Can't remember when I played them last time, but those are my favorites from school time.
💫
1. Three Ships: Kevin/Nico(EC), Tommi/Olli, Joonas/Niko (BC) (3 is not enough 🙈)
2. Last Song: Bad Omens - Limits
3. Last movie: I can't remember, I watched only tv-shows lately. Maybe it was The Wonder that I watched last.
4. Currently reading: The Witcher, last time I didn't finish the last two books, so I decided to start from the first one and read them all finally.
5. Currently watching: Trigun Stampede (2023).
6. Currently consuming: chocolate 🙈
7. Currently craving: normal sleep and good rest. And a new laptop. 🙃
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
i was thinking that i should reflect on kh2
(before i forget what it was like playing the game lol)
i genuinely think kh2 was really fun but i think it's somewhat funny that the most memorable scenes in the game for me were mostly concentrated into the scenes where roxas appeared. (the prologue made me cry at least twice. i had to pause fighting him because i was crying. i cried through his last conversation with axel. when he showed up literally every other time i was fighting back yelling bc they really did a superb job of Getting You Attached To Roxas in the prologue that i spent the whole game getting excited to see him again.) as a character i really enjoyed him and i'm glad to be seeing him again in days... i like how well they showed his confusion and struggles in the prologue and it just. makes him so easy to empathise with and root for him. and also the twilight town trio... i really want to see the real trio interacting with roxas........
i think also with the whole "defeat org13" plot i really wished we got to see the org more because pretty much most of the time when we meet org members it's either sora and co immediately antagonising them (which is for justifiable reasons considering that they worked pretty hard to fix the worlds in kh1 and now they're being told that org13 is fucking around in them again.) or they're kinda just throwing very context-loaded information at me which. isn't necessarily bad but is hard to remember and process all at once... and also the fact that we don't get to see who's talking + i don't recognise all their voices so the whole scene where zexion is being talked to about ansem/xehanort was a whole blur to me HALSDHFSKDLFJSD i didn't hate it, though i feel like a lot of it felt like going straight to fighting without trying to understand the org...
...which ig is also understandable. i did really enjoy the (surprise surprise) scene after beating roxas where sora is trying to process the fight and donald and goofy tell him that Obviously the black coats are trying to deceive him and he shouldn't dwell on it when it clearly made him stop and think and hesitate...
either way. i think after getting through com (reverse/rebirth especially) and also the prologue i was expecting a big character moment or sort of culmination at the end for sora similar to how riku accepts his darkness as part of him and how roxas pieces things together but i guess the ending was a bit. strange to me because it just kinda was an "our hearts are connected so here's a happy ending" which didn't really make sense to me bc. the door to light just showed up because sora read kairi's letter to him? and while i kinda get it, it made me so confused for a while because i was trying to think of a proper explanation for it before just accepting it's just an "our hearts are connected" thing and magic happened (shrugs). that said, while i liked the conclusion sora and riku come to at the end when they're stuck at the... uh.... dark beach place......... where they're happy to bear the darkness so that their friends can continue living in the light, it kinda... felt completely moot when the door to light thing happened. and also i'm glad that roxas and namine got to meet again and i really . really liked seeing them in the ending movie but Man I Really Wanted To See Them More. i feel like i am complaining too much about that
also with riku i felt like i was expecting a lot more screentime from him but i think the way he acted reflected the conclusion he made at the end of com and i really liked that sora and kairi were able to accept him even when he was in ansem mode... like. if that's not friendship then What Else Would Be. in terms of kairi i had to ask mage about her keyblade and their explaining that the game is just allergic to kairi doing anything actually. makes a lot of sense bc i really wished she was also there when sora/riku/the king opened the door at the end!!! (it also made me wonder when riku's sword turned into a keyblade but i think that was also waved off as a "he became worthy of wielding a keyblade again" thing) (and also where the hell did he get kairi's keyblade from. the fact that not even mage knows this one is not comforting lmao)
actually going to talk about gameplay now and i think i remember hearing people say that the boss fights and gimmick battles are what make kh2 Really Shine and i think i kinda understand... the boss fights being made unique with the reaction commands was good and i did enjoy some of them... the others though. i still find it extremely funny how i survived demyx perfectly fine but then i got walled on XALDIN (not to mention marluxia fucked me up so badly i raged on him)
i don't hate com's battle system and kh1 was pretty similar on a base level so i can't say much about comparison but i think . i think it should be easier to level up drive forms. i really think drive form grinding was awful because i Almost Never used drive forms until i realised they gave you movement abilities WHILE I WAS ALREADY HALFWAY THROUGH THE GAME. i played the entire first half WITHOUT DODGE ROLL LMAO. and then i had to grind all of them all at once. awful.
anyway. i did enjoy kh2. i promise i will go back and do the cavern of remembrance and try the data fights + lingering will at some point. it just might take me a while. hrhfhgfhgffdj. it was a good game though i liked it
#blue/-#blue/seafoam#seafoam-playthrough#seafoam-cerulean#seafoam-thoughts#i hope i didn't forget anything
0 notes
Text
【 chapter 1 - the cub, some warmth, and a lion's advice 】
author's note: i'm back with the next installation of this series ! i have some more yuu introspection and a little bit of familial teachers <3 and leona still being a jerk but also being nice for once (totally not bc he doesn't like seeing yuu sad-)
word count: 5.6k
tags: yuu introspection ! (take my yuu brainrot everyone), cheka kingscholar is a ray of sunshine, familial teachers let's go, giving our bb yuu the love they deserve, some angst bc i love me my angst, leona kingscholar gives actual good advice for once ??
[ baby it's cold outside series | read it on ao3 ]
Yuu, as promised, was up very bright and early the next day. Grim was still slumped in their arms, half-asleep as they trudged through the snow over to the bridge. It was quiet. Most students were still asleep since the mirror only opened up at midday. They couldn't forget about it, with how Deuce was gushing about seeing his mom the whole week before.
"Turn over here," Grim mumbled sleepily. "Why're we even up so early?"
"Leona wants me at Savanaclaw bright and early so, sorry for dragging you with me," Yuu put Grim down as they each grabbed a couple of logs.
They still didn't know why Leona wanted them to be there early. Last time they checked, Ruggie could barely drag him out of bed every morning for practice. So there had to be something. Something that was connected to the look that Leona had yesterday. Something that was surely going to be trouble.
Grim took the lead to get them back to the fireplace. As soon as the fire was lit with Grim's magic, fairy-like creatures appeared. They were small, orange hair flickering like a real fire as they made crackling noises akin to wood burning.
"F-funyah, I thought Crowley was making the faires up," Grim stared at them in wonder. Yuu reached out a hand for one of them and to their delight, one sat on their palm. The touch instantly warmed Yuu's hands and more faires started curiously flocking them.
"Sorry little guys," Yuu patted them on their firey little heads. "I can't stay for long today, I have to go and babysit an overgrown lion cub." There was crackling in return and they seemed to wave as Yuu and Grim left the hall. "Well, that was pretty cool."
"It was, but I'm still sleepy..." Grim did a big yawn and stretch, like a cat. "Imma go back to the dorm and sleep a bit. You stay safe, henchman. Don't want you dying, y’know."
"Thanks for believing in me," Yuu said sarcastically. They wrapped their own ratty scarf around Grim. "Don't fall asleep before you get in bed. And make sure to close the doors and windows."
They shivered a bit as they made their way over to the Hall of Mirrors. Yuu didn't exactly have a lot of clothes that were snow-worthy, so they had bought a couple of jackets from the school store. It seemed to be doing its job, but they would have no chance if they were out playing in the snow.
Getting to Savanaclaw gave them a radical shift in weather, going from Sage's Island's cold winter to Savanaclaw's sweltering heat. They carefully peeled back their snow-speckled jackets on their way to Leona's room.
When Yuu opened their door, they half-expected Leona to still be asleep. But what greeted them was a fully awake Leona Kingscholar, lazing around on the couch. He was dressed properly in his dorm uniform this time and green eyes tracked their every move.
Yuu decided to stick with a safe greeting instead of testing him, "Good morning, Leona."
"Bad morning if I'm up this early," Leona's expression shifted before he put out a hand. "Help me up, he's here."
Yuu pulled him up slowly, but wait…who was here?
They don't get to ask any questions before the door flung open and Leona got hit in the stomach by an orange streak of movement. Said orange streak was laughing all the while, "OJITAN! I missed you so much, ehehe~"
"Ugh, not so loud, brat," Leona muttered, and yet he still lifted the child up gently in his arms. Cheka Kingscholar was here, wearing a large puffy jacket and looking like an orange chick in Leona's arms.
And it finally clicked in Yuu's mind when they spotted the look on Leona's face. They're going to have to babysit that tiny lion, aren't they? For however long he was here because they were Leona's “faithful servant”.
Well, shit.
"Oh," Cheka's ears swiveled and he squirmed in Leona's hold to face them. "You're...oh! Aren't you Ojitan's friend? Cheka remembers you from that spelldrive tournament!"
"You have a good memory," Yuu tried to give their best smile. "I'm your uncle's friend. Kind of. My name's Yuu."
"Oi, brat," Leona sighed. "You'll go on a tour of NRC with them, alright?"
"Will you come with us?" Cheka's eyes practically sparkled. "I wanna see Ojitan's cool magic skills!" Oh yeah, they almost forgot the part where the kid idolized Leona and the very ground he walked on.
"Yeah, yeah," Leona waved a hand dismissively. "I have some homework to do so I'll join you in the gardens later." Great, he was already pre-planning his nap time. Cheka seemed to find it an acceptable answer because he ended up walking around the room, marveling at Leona's stuff.
"Hey, servant."
"You called, Leona-sama?" Their words were dripping with sarcasm and Leona wrinkled his nose at them.
"Quit it. There are three rules," Leona raised a finger. "One, keep the brat occupied for as long as you can. Two, he better not get hurt. It's annoying to deal with hurt people. And three, you're still my servant, so you still have to wait on me.
"Who knows?" Leona said with a sharp smile. "Maybe I'll sleep the whole time while you guys are gone. Oh, and he'll only be here for a week, so rejoice."
"Thanks for that quick and easy guide," Yuu mumbled. "Uhm, Cheka? Where's your, uh, stuff?"
"My attendants have it," The little cub said, rifling through one of Leona's drawers. "They're still talking to the crow man, so they'll come soon."
"Alright, so would you like to go on that tour?" Yuu offered a hand and the little lion gladly took it. "NRC's pretty big and it has lots of things to look at."
"I wanna see all of Ojitan's favorite spots!"
"We can do that," Yuu cracked a small smile. "They're all kinda close together, but yeah, we can definitely do that."
"Herbivore, what's with that sad jacket?" Leona asked suddenly. They looked over to see him watching them yet again. Of course he would poke fun at the jackets they manage to scrounge up. Nothing got past him when it came to things he could scrutinize.
"I don't really have proper winter clothes. Crowley's probably supposed to give me some, but he hasn’t."
"Then just use mine," He tilted his head. "I have several jackets so just choose one. It'll definitely be better than that sad excuse of a jacket."
"Y'know, you can just be nice without being a jerk about it," Yuu went through Leona's closet, Cheka curiously peeking at them from the side.
"Where's the fun in that?" Leona sounded like he was smirking. Meanwhile, Yuu found the least expensive-looking jacket that would maybe fit them, taking it out. It still looked like a whole ass dress on them, but at least it was warm.
"And besides. You're working for me for ten days,” Yuu really regretted giving him that much power over them now, seeing the arrogant smirk on his lips. “I don't wanna see you get sick on the first day and not cash in on my free servant."
"You shouldn't be talking so crassly in front of a child," Yuu retorted. "Let's go Cheka." There were no more complaints out of the Savanaclaw Housewarden as they exited his room. Which was good, because one more comment and Yuu would’ve probably taken the child and ran.
"I think Yuu-tan is very cool," Cheka whispered conspiratorially as they made their way to Savanaclaw's mirror.
"Hmm? Why's that?"
"My Ojitan doesn't like talking to anyone at home. Even the servants and my papa," Cheka said with a giddy look on his face. "So seeing him talking a lot with Yuu-tan, that means he's very good friends with Yuu-tan, right?"
"Kind of?" Yuu really didn't know how to answer the little lion's increasing number of questions. Them being friends with Leona Kingscholar just didn’t sound that correct. It wasn't as if they were Leona's lackey and they weren't exactly…on equal terms. It was hard to think of a clear answer.
But they didn't have to when they spotted Jack doing his morning jog. "Oh look, it's my friend, Jack."
Jack must've heard them approaching because he jogged over to the sidelines, "Hey, Yuu. Back again? And with...eh? Isn't that Leona-senpai's...?"
"Woah! Do you know my Ojitan?" Cheka beamed at him as he stuck out a hand. "I'm Cheka! Nice to meet you, big wolfie!"
"I'm babysitting Cheka for winter break," Yuu deadpanned. And they didn't miss the slightly amused look on Jack's face before smacking him.
"Do you play spelldrive too, wolfie-tan?"
"Wolfie-" Jack sighed, resigning himself to the nickname. "Yeah, I do. Actually, your uncle's the captain of our spelldrive team. Pretty cool, right?"
"So he does practice here?" Cheka looked out into the field. "So cool! I miss seeing him play. Where to next, Yuu-tan?"
"I guess we can go visit the main street?" Yuu glanced over at Jack before smiling slyly. "Bye-bye, wolfie-tan." And Cheka echoed the goodbye. Yuu swore they saw Jack's cheeks tinting at the nickname. They took that as their revenge.
As soon as they stepped through the mirror, Yuu let Cheka clamber up into their arms. It made their arms hurt like when Grim was dead asleep on it, but it was better than risking the crown prince of Afterglow Savanna getting sick because of them.
"So these are the sports fields," Yuu tried to act the part of a tour guide as Cheka ooh-ed at the fields. "You can't really see it because of the snow, but that's basically where we do our flying lessons."
"Do you do flying lessons too?" Cheka asked, tilting his head.
"Uh, I do. But my broom's kinda special since I don't have magic of my own."
"I knew it!" Cheka grinned triumphantly. "You don't smell like magic! It's a nice smell though so I don't care." It impressed Yuu how both Kingscholars could notice their lack of magic so quickly. A beastmen's nose sounded like it'd come in handy at times.
"Thanks, little lion," Yuu couldn't help the small quirk of their lips at the compliment. "Maybe if we get permission from Leona, we can play out here tomorrow in the snow. Do you get lots of snow at the Savanna?"
"Nope!" He said, emphasizing the 'p'. "It's always sunny or rainy there, mostly sunny. But there's lotsa snow here, I'm sure Ojitan will let us play!"
As they were about to step out of the fields, a voice yelled out to them, "Hey! Wait a second!"
And there was Vargas, in the flesh, shoving a hat into their arms, "I gotta go quick so here's my gift! Don't forget to exercise in the winter. With plenty of eggs and exercise, your muscles will thank you!!" Then he was running off yet again.
Huh. Did they just get gifted a hat just now? From Vargas, of all people? The hat looked really warm, with fur lining the inside and ear flaps to keep their ears from the biting wind. It was a dark brown leather, with a red strap to keep it on their head.
"Uh...you wanna try the hat?" Cheka nodded eagerly and Yuu plopped the hat onto the cub's orange and yellow hair. The hat was too big, but Cheka gave a big, toothy grin that told them he liked it all the same. And besides, he looked really cute in the hat. It made Yuu briefly wonder if Leona was ever this cute as a child...which was besides the point.
They meander over to the path, icy rock crunching beneath their boots, "This is the main street. It has the Statues of all the Great Seven. Do you know about them?"
"Mm! I remember Ojitan telling me about them once," Cheka said, tapping his chin. "He told me about...the King of Beasts!"
"Did you know that your uncle's dorm was based on the King of Beasts?" Yuu trudged on. "He's this statue right here."
"That's such a scary-looking lion," Cheka mumbled in awe. "But it kinda looks like Ojitan." Yuu snorted at the comparison. It was…kinda true. The haughty look and the scar over his eye really did remind them of Leona. Or maybe they were just thinking too deeply into it.
As they kept walking, they noticed that Cheka's tail had come to rest under their arm, curling away from the cold. "Are you cold, little lion?" Yuu asked, looking at the child's reddened nose.
"Kinda. But I wanna keep going!" Cheka sniffled, though his eyes looked determined.
"We can keep going after a short break," Yuu took a detour from the main road to go to Sam's. "Let's go here. Usually your uncle gets his snacks from here."
Yuu put Cheka down as they entered the store, "Sam? You open yet?" Yuu didn't see the usually-spirited man, but they did see the shadows shift to mimic his shape. "Do you know where Sam is?" Sam’s friend from the other side shook its head before vaguely ruffling up both Yuu and Cheka's hair.
Cheka squealed in delight, "What's that, what's that!! That's so cool!"
"That is my friend from the other side, little imp," Sam pranced out of the depths of the store. "Sorry for the wait, I was busy packing stuff for Ruggie-kun."
"Ruggie-senpai? What are you packing up?" Sam gestured to the big bags of food behind him.
"All the stuff that's near expiry," He explained jovially. "Ruggie-kun has a lotta mouths to feed back in his neighborhood so I do this as a favor every break."
"Hey, mister!" Cheka pointed at one of the sparkly things at the corner of the store. "What's that?"
"And who might you be, littler imp?" Sam cooed. Yuu couldn't help but think the older man had a soft spot for kids in general. He was kind hearted enough to pack everything for Ruggie too.
"I'm Cheka Kingscholar! I'm here to visit my Ojitan," Cheka beamed, before continuing his long speech on why he loved Leona so much and why he was his favorite person.
"Could you tell Sam I'll take a hot cocoa?" Yuu whispered over to the shadows that were clinking the glass cups. Yuu took the paper one instead. The shadow gave a thumbs up and Yuu set to work mixing up the warm drink for Cheka. They were sure that he would definitely enjoy something sweet.
As they waited for the hot water to boil, they pulled out their phone. Crowley had gotten it for them after the whole Octavinelle incident, which had been really helpful. They pressed on Leona's number. Now, how did they get his number? Well, by getting Ruggie to sneak into his phone to get it– at the price of a week's worth of premium lunches.
They put the phone closer to their ear when the line clicked, "Great and benevolent Leona-sama, it is I, your faithful servant."
There's a sharp sigh over the line, "If you don't get to the point in the next one minute, I'm ending the call."
"Wait, wait," Yuu fumbled. "I'm just calling to check in on you."
"Hah? Could've just texted me," There was shuffling over the line and Yuu belatedly wondered if he was asleep right before.
"Calling's faster. Anyway, how's the work?"
"It's getting done. Don't worry," Leona yawned. "There're so many alchemy equations, it's almost like Crewel is mad at me."
"Gee, I wonder why," Yuu shifted the phone to their other hand when the water was done. "It's not like you skip his classes most of the time."
"More attitude and I'll turn the paper to dust," Leona said; no heat behind his warning.
"Sure, sure. Do you want anything from Sam's? I stopped by to get the cub some hot cocoa," Yuu gently stirred the liquid, adding in milk.
"Get me something with meat, I'll meet you at the gardens in thirty."
There's a hand tugging their jacket, "Is that Ojitan? Can I talk to him?"
"Say no. Oi, herbivore-"
"Only for a second okay," Yuu said sweetly, handing the phone over to Cheka so he could talk to his beloved Ojitan.
"How many marks for the cocoa, Sam?" Yuu pulled out their wallet. "Oh, and if you could pack up three, no four burgers to go?"
"Two marks for one, and the burgers make it fourteen," Sam smiled secretively. "Before you go, I've got a gift for you, Prefect."
"A gift?" Yuu blinked, staring as Sam pulled out a box.
"It's not quite what you kids are into these days, but I thought it'd suit you!" Sam opened the box. "Ta-da~" Inside was a black scarf with little skulls printed on it in dark purple. A scarf. Sam was giving them a scarf.
"It's wintertime, so I wouldn't want my favorite little helper to freeze," Sam gently wrapped the scarf around them. "I hope that you have a good break here. Sage Island is beautiful at this time of year."
"I...thank you," Yuu couldn't keep that vulnerable tone from their voice. And they couldn't help it, that they were touched by such a simple gift. They thought back to Vargas’ rushed gift-giving as well which made them draw a sharp inhale. Was this planned all along?
"Oh! I got a matching smaller one for the little fire imp too," Sam brandished a Grim-sized scarf. "Stay safe this winter, and I'll see you next year, little imp."
"You too."
There's a tug on their jacket and Cheka's there, "Ojitan wants to talk to you."
"Yeah?" And Yuu turned away from Sam, giving Cheka his drink. "Be careful, it's hot, okay?" They blinked rapidly, trying to stop any tears from falling.
"...Why the hell do you sound two seconds from crying?" There goes trying to be subtle. Curse Leona Kingscholar for having such good hearing.
"I'm not," Yuu denied weakly. "It's just...a gift."
"Uhuh, a gift is making you cry," Leona's tone was teasing, but Yuu could hear the slightest trace of concern.
"It's complicated, ask me later," Yuu dismissed, not set on baring the softer parts of their heart to Leona Kingscholar, and most certainly not over the phone. "I got you a burger. I hope it's enough for your kingly tastes."
There was a small pause, "Yeah. Sure. Don't forget to watch the brat like a hawk."
"I'll keep him safe, don't worry," Yuu felt a lot less like crying after the short back and forth with Leona. The line clicked and Yuu was greeted with the sight of Cheka eagerly sipping at his hot cocoa.
"You like it?" Cheka nodded vigorously and Yuu felt like that was mission accomplished. "Should we continue then? Er, you can hold the drink if I put a cap on it." Yuu still wasn't used to accommodating Cheka. His antics might've been similar to Grim, but he was a complete angel compared to him.
"Let's go!" Cheka said cheerily. "Bye shadow-tan and Sam-tan!!" Sam waved them off from where he continued to pack food into bags. Holding on to a kid in one hand and the burgers, Yuu felt like they had become a true babysitter.
The inside of the main building was warmer, so they helped Cheka take off his little puffy coat.
"Yuu-san," They stood up to see Trein walking down the hallway, Lucius in his arms.
Lucius jumped off, approaching the duo with caution. He was probably being wary of Cheka. But Cheka's eyes were sparkling as he saw Lucius.
"Kitty!" Cheka giggled. "I'm a cat too, but a big cat. A lion, ehehe~!" He patted Lucius, who sniffed at Cheka before rubbing against him. Yuu took the hot cocoa off him before an accident could happen.
"Who is this?" Trein asked, looking down at Cheka with unreadable eyes.
"That's Cheka, Leona's nephew. I'm touring him around," Yuu smiled at the quiet teacher. "Are you going home for the holidays?"
"I will be returning to my daughters once the mirror opens," Trein acknowledged. "Lucius is also quite ready for a change of pace." Said cat was now purring in Cheka's arms, tiny tongue licking at the squealing cub's face.
"I almost forgot," Trein pulled out a small pouch. "Lucius." Said cat squirmed out of Cheka's hold and over to the Prefect, butting his head at their legs.
"I personally wanted to gift a black pair, but Lucius chose these grey ones, which were also elegant," Trein said solemnly, taking out a pair of winter gloves. "I see you got a scarf from Sam-san and the hat from Vargas already?"
"Wh– Oh, ah, yes," Yuu fumbled with the stuff in their hands before accepting the gloves gingerly. "Did you all plan this out beforehand?"
"Who could say?" Trein smiled the slightest bit, which shocked them. "Maybe it was just a whim of ours."
"Ah! That's Yuu-tan's third gift!" Cheka looked curiously as they pocketed the gloves. "Is it your birthday?"
"Yuu-san can't go home right now," Trein said, picking up Lucius once again. "So as teachers, we want to make sure they're having a good break here at NRC."
Cheka nodded, "It's okay, Yuu-tan! You have me and Leona-ojitan! You won't be lonely, ehehe~" If Yuu was a different person then maybe they would've cried right then and there at the words they received. But instead they swallowed around the lump in their throat.
"Thanks, Cheka, Trein-sensei," Yuu gave a small smile before stuffing the gloves into the pockets. "Shall we go meet with your uncle?"
"Yes!" Cheka agreed. "Bye, Kitty and Mr. Kitty's owner." As Trein left, Yuu turned toward the direction of the infirmary. It was faster to use the bridge to go over to Ramshackle and then over to the botanical gardens rather than go all the way around again.
"Wait a second, puppy!" There was the sharp clack of shoes before Crewel came into view. "I cannot have you walking around in that atrocious color!"
Cheka looked confused, "Puppy?"
"He calls us all his puppies," Yuu said in a conspiratorial tone. "He's the alchemy professor."
"Tch, I see the others got to you first, but behold," Crewel brandished what looked like a designer brand shopping bag. "Now don't go feeling bad about the price, this jacket was an old one I outgrew. And its quality is assured."
"Wait, Crewel-sensei, I-" Yuu had the burgers, the jacket, and scarf taken off by Crewel's careful hands.
"Who am I if I leave one of my favorite puppies shivering all winter long," He said dramatically, tugging the jacket over Yuu's shoulders. "Yes, your physique is perfect for this jacket as I thought."
Cheka's eyes were the size of dinner plates by the time Crewel was done, "Yuu-tan!! You look super cool!" It was a warm winter jacket in an elegant black, faux white fur lining the hood and layers upon layers of zippers.
"Thanks, Crewel-sensei," And Yuu felt their ears flushing when Crewel patted their head.
"I hope you have a wonderful holiday and return with a fresh mind, puppy," Crewel backed away, a smile on his face. "I'm expecting a lot from you next year." They felt that same warmth again, but it felt less like they were going to cry this time as they watched Crewel leave.
Yuu picked up the bag, Leona's jacket folded neatly inside, and the burgers on top, "Let's go. Your uncle might be waiting."
"I bet Ojitan's gonna be surprised," Cheka giggled. "Yuu-tan looks very pretty and handsome."
"You think so?" Yuu does a slow spin as they walk. Cheka giggled again and copied them.
"I know so," Cheka reached his arms up, and Yuu carried him. His tiny hands pat at Yuu's face. "Yuu-tan has a different smell than other humans but is very kind. So you're pretty and handsome like my papa says."
It was quite the trek over to the botanical gardens, especially with Cheka insisting on being carried the whole way. When they finally got there, the botanical garden was sweltering as always, but Cheka was in their arms, so...they were toughing it out. They found Leona within a familiar underbrush almost immediately.
"Leona-sama, Cheka-sama and I have returned," Yuu sat down next to the seemingly dozing lion.
"Do you and Ojitan play attendant and master a lot?" Cheka asked, sitting on his uncle's stomach. Leona still didn't stir.
"We're playing because it's winter break. Now, c'mon I even got you a burger," Yuu sighed. "Okay, fine. Two burgers."
Leona finally shifted, "Took you long enough."
"I got a little sidetracked," Yuu handed over the burgers, including Cheka's.
"You stink."
"Gee, thanks."
Cheka giggled, "I didn't know Yuu-tan was so popular. So many people gave presents for the winter holidays!"
Leona raised a brow, already halfway through his first burger, "That's why you stink of Crewel and were crying?"
"You...are literally the worst," Yuu grumbled. "I didn't cry, I was touched by these thoughtful gifts."
Cheka, with a mouthful of burger, suddenly exclaimed, "It's so Yuu-tan won't be lonely, the teachers said. But they have us, so it's okay!"
And Yuu just prayed that Leona would forget about it. They did not want to talk about this, especially not to…to Leona. They didn't even know if they could get through it without crying.
But as fate would have it, Leona Kingscholar wasn't just anyone. He was sharp, knowing where to dig his claws in a hunt. He was also patient, someone who could circle his prey just waiting for a slip-up.
After roaming around school all day, Cheka must've been tired because he instantly fell asleep right in his uncle's lap after finishing his food. Leaving a lucid Leona and Yuu alone.
And that was when Leona decided to bite.
"What's that about you being lonely?" As soon as the words left Leona's lips, Yuu felt like they were the one being hunted.
"It's....nothing. Something Cheka made up, I'm not...lonely." The words tasted like ash on their tongue because it was untrue and the expression on Leona's face showed he was unconvinced.
"Look. I'm not into sappy shit," Leona lied down, placing Cheka on the soft grass. "So why don't you just rant while I rest. That way it's off your chest, or whatever. Consider it a favor for today." Yuu could only watch as Leona slipped an arm under his head, falling asleep within a couple of seconds. Yuu peeked at him, resting their head against their knees.
"Just about everyone's going home for the holidays," It hurt for Yuu to inhale as they thought about their next words. "Ace was busy complaining about his brother's welcome pranks. Deuce said his mom's going to cook his favorites when he returned. And Jack's going snowboarding with his family. Ruggie-senpai has tons of food from Sam's for his neighborhood. Fuck, even you have Cheka here. No matter how much you claim to dislike him, I know you care.
"And not to be a total pessimist, but I only have Grim. I can't even see my family, if I even had one because I'm here. In Twisted Wonderland. Which isn't the worst place to be...
"But...I can't... I don't remember them. Somewhere somehow I lost every single memory I had of my family or my friends. Whenever I try thinking about it, my brain comes up blank and it's...the most awful feeling I've ever experienced," When Yuu inhaled, their breathing felt sticky, just like the tears that were rolling down their face. "I miss them. I want to remember what I forgot...if I had any family at all. I-it hurts to see everyone else just..enjoying their breaks and I know it's not their fault but..."
"You're envious all the same." It's Leona's voice that finished the sentence, and his voice that startled them into a hard flinch.
"I thought you said you were sleeping," Yuu asked shakily, glancing between their arms to see Leona finally opening his eyes.
"Never said I'd actually fall asleep," Leona sat up. "So that's why? You can't remember your family or friends from back there?" Yuu nodded the best they could, breath catching when Leona came closer to them.
“If you don’t remember them, then why not make new ones?” The suggestion had them snapping their head up. There was a smirk on Leona’s face when he saw their face. “There we go. Finally got your eyes on me, huh, herbivore.”
“What- what do you mean by that?”
“What I mean is,” There’s a hand plopped on their head. “Instead of agonizing over what you can’t remember, why don’t you focus on those you can remember?
“Your merry band of herbivores, the pup Jack, that cat of yours. The prissy Heartslabyul students, the octo-jerk and his goons, Ruggie, hell, even the teachers.
"Ugh, what I mean is: In Afterglow Savanna, family’s those who care about you, so you...have plenty of family members here at NRC.”
Yuu blinked. That was… “...really good advice,” they murmured out as they tilted forward till they bumped into his arm. “Thank you.”
“Don’t count on me doing it again, herbivore,” Leona’s hand ruffled their hair before he yawned. “Now stop cryin’ already, it’s making it hard to sleep.”
Of course. Typical Leona. He couldn’t let a sweet moment be, he just had to find a way to bite back at the end. It still made Yuu feel a lot better as they watched Leona lie down to take a proper nap this time.
And Yuu was content watching him and Cheka doze. It gave them ample time to calm down and to think about what Leona said. And he was right. Maybe they didn't need to try so hard to remember. It'll all come back someday so...they should live in the present. And their current present was taking care of these two, so they would try enjoying it to the fullest. Thinking about it that way, well...it didn't seem so bad.
[ omake : sleep with us ! ]
Leona scratched at his ears as he sat on his bed. It was nighttime now, and after that little nap, the little brat had wrung them dry with requests. And by them, he meant the herbivore. It seemed that they were taking their job as a babysitter seriously. Now Cheka was throwing a tantrum because the herbivore wanted to go back to their dorms.
"Cheka, it's okay," Yuu was crouching in front of the little cub that blocked their way. "I'll be back tomorrow, I promise." It's kinda cute how they think Cheka would just give up that easily. The brat was almost as stubborn at him at times.
"But, but!" Cheka's cheeks puffed out. "I want you to sleep here." Me too, Leona wanted to echo. But if things went well then he would get exactly that without even lifting a finger. Besides, was the prefect someone who was immune to a kid's pleading? He didn't think so.
"I, er, have a friend that'll be worried if I don't go back."
"But why can't you sleep here with me and Leona-ojitan?" Yuu threw a glance over, and Leona took care not to seem too amused by the cub's actions.
"Because there's no space unless I sleep on the couch...?" Leona snorted at the poorly covered-up lie. It was useless, because-
"Leona-ojitan's bed is big enough for the three of us!" And there we go, Cheka finally pointed out the elephant in the room. Cheka tugged at their shirt. "Please~ Stay with me."
"Give it up, herbivore," Leona yawned. "The night isn't getting any longer. Just get over here already." The brat sent them the best puppy eyes‐ or was it kitty eyes?– that he could before the herbivore finally sighed.
"Fine. Let's go to sleep," Yuu carried the little menace over to the bed and Cheka went straight to pulling them closer to him. Which he appreciated. But he could do it on his own if he wanted to.
He ended up with the herbivore sidled up close to him, Cheka squishing between them both and using Yuu like a personal pillow. Which was rude, because clearly, Yuu was his personal pillow, not Cheka's. But he would allow it this once since he did a good job of getting them to stay.
He could still see the slight redness in their eyes from when they had cried earlier. It still left a bad taste in his mouth just thinking about it. He hadn't realized how lonely of an existence the herbivore was until that moment.
"Does he get that stubbornness from you?" Their eyes met his and he doesn't look away.
Instead, he shrugged, "Dunno. Maybe. Now go to sleep." Thankfully the prefect didn't open their smart mouth again. They fell asleep quick, probably just as exhausted as the brat was.
But Leona found that he couldn't sleep all that easily that night. The warmth he was feeling, the sound of two others was far too loud in his ears. And a sense of kinship from the herbivore of all people; the loneliness that they couldn't yet shake. Leona had known that feeling all too intimately for far too long. So maybe this time, he could be the one to be there for them. This time, he could be the helping hand that his younger self would’ve wanted to have.
thanks for reading the yuu angst ! comments and rbs are always appreciated <3 if you'd like to read more, check out my ao3 + masterlist !
[ previous chapter | series post | next chapter ]
#/trau writes#/trau fics#mmm caring leona#not @ them sharing trauma lmao#twisted wonderland#twst fics#twst fic#leona kingscholar#leona kingscholar x reader#leona kingscholar x you#leona x reader#leona x yuu#twst yuu#twst mc
408 notes
·
View notes
Note
could you do a peter parker x reader where she can control her hair? and it can be any length she wants but prefers the length mid thigh and its and its unbreakable? so like fury asks if anyone in the team knows anyone they could recruit and he suggests her and all the avengers go meet her at a tailors shop she owns while she's cleaning and she shows her powers? please and if you do it, thank you
note: i hope you meant the powers to be reader's hair bc that's what i used it as lmao. also i used the gif because this is kinda how rocket got smacked with your hair. thank you for requesting<3
warnings: kissing, curse words
peter parker x reader
summary: something like request^
The swooshing of the broom and the melody of a random song played through the speakers of your tailor shop while you swept the floor. The small lengths of wool and silk thread tangling on the broom bristles as you scooped it up. The racks and unwanted pieces of cloth laid on the marble floor making you let out a sigh of exhaustion.
A knock on your glass showcase window made you jump. The movement making your hair disentangle from the neat twist plait. You lowly cursed as your hair touched the floor, the belly laugh behind the window noted you that your bestfriend was the person responsible for your little mishap.
"Couldn't you ring the bell like a normal person!" You annoyingly exclaimed, closing your eyes and controlling your hair to stop at mid-thigh length. Your preferred length. You picked your broom up and teasingly shook your head when Peter told you open the door. "I think I'm gonna leave you outside tonight, just for scarring the life out of me and my hair."
You resumed your previous activity, counting the numbers in your head until you heard the lock on your ceiling window open. The sound of Peter's displeased voice and childish complains filling your storage room.
"Can't keep me outside Y/L/N, I'll always find a way." He proudly dusted his shirt, taking the scoop from your hand while you grabbed the racks and placed them in your extra closet.
"Thanks to your super spidey powers." You teased, thanking him when he returned the dustpan. "Anyway, why are you here?" You inquired, curious why your best friend decided to stop by your little, tailor shop.
"Well I- wait," Peter scrunched his brows. "Can I not drop by to visit my bestfriend?" He sassed, hand on his hip giving you a quizzing look.
"Oh please Peter, you only stop by when you need something." You remarked, returning a pointed stare before you began to reorganize the formal wear you were currently adapting. "And that something is usually to stitch those huge ass holes in your spidey suit."
Peter didn't respond immediately, because you were right. He did stop by your shop for you to mend his suit. Because one, he loved your company. And two, you were the only person who knew his secret other than the avengers, Ned and MJ.
"Fine! fine!," He huffed. Not so discreetly looking over his shoulder as if he was giving someone a signal. "You're right-"
"I always am Parker." You boasted, using the ends of your hair to move the sewing machine and pins to there rightful place.
"Yeah- okay, but I really came to tell you life changing news!" Peter amazed, a gasp leaving his lips when he saw the movement of your hair. It never ceased to amaze him how your hair was basically magical. Being able to move stuff with your command, grow at whatever length you wanted, heal others and even be unbreakable. Epic, really.
"And what is this so great news-"
The words didn't leave your lips properly as your tailor shop entry door was suddenly yanked open. Your door handle and lock was surely broken, at the loud eerie sound of a metal crunching noise.
"Get out of my way Tony!" Stephen scowled.
"Shut it wizard dude, I'm the leader here not you." Tony rolled his eyes, removing the pair of expensive shades from his face.
"Since when? Fury sent all of us Tony." Rhodey said, dusting his shoulder.
"I wonder how much she makes in this shop, not much I bet." Steve scrunched his face, eyeing your little shop.
"Did we really have to bring Groot?" Clint groaned, flicking baby Groot off of his shoulder when he tried to grab one of his arrows.
"He's a baby, Clint. We can't leave him at the compound alone." Gamora remarked, tickling Groot's tree stomach as she picked him up.
"Okay if she does joins us, we will have to ask her to design new clothing! Look at this!." Wanda marveled, showing off the mid thigh silk dress.
"I should get this for the recruiting party Tony is planning for her." Natasha thought out loud.
"What the fuck!" You yelled, glaring at the talkative avengers standing before you. Looking mighty and high as always. "I just fixed that lock dude!" You whined, sighing gallingly when you saw the chunk of metal by Thor's feet. "You're repairing my lock, hammer man."
"Ah yes, I will have the Man of Iron restore your brittle lock Lady.."
"Y/N."
"Lady Y/N." Thor smiled.
Peter let out a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his ear and looking at you sheepishly. "Surprise?"
"Surprise my ass Parker! Why are the avengers in my tailor shop and why is this raccoon trying to cut my hair?!" You moved your hair with your mind, smacking the animal avenger with your y/h/c locks.
"Woah, did she just-" Bucky froze, mouth agape.
"Control her hair to hit Rocket, yeah." Peter Quill laughed at his co guardian misfortune.
"Okay her hair is very much un- unbreakable," Rocket coughed out, holding his stomach. "And strong."
"I am Groot." ˢʰᵉ'ˢ ᵃ ᵇᵃᵈᵃˢˢ
"You can not say that word Groot, but I do agree with you." Gamora smirked, finger bumping the cute tree.
You were mad, really fuming. You spent two hours cleaning and by the looks of it you'll have to do it a second time. So yeah, you wanted an explanation.
"Okay don't get upset." Peter spoke calmly. Holding his hand out and gesturing towards the superheroes infront of you, who had the same impressed expression on their fanciable faces.
"This is the life changing thing I was talking about," He paused with a smile. "You're joining the Avengers!"
"What?" You were officially bamboozled, with everything. One minute you were simply tidying your shop and next, half of the avengers are occupying your shop. Quarreling and interfering with your stuff.
And not to ignore the fact that your best friend just blurted out four questionable words to you.
"You're going to be an Avenger, Rapunzel." Tony repeated, strutting to you with short steps. "If you want to of course, sidey here told us your hair power thingy and though I was a little iffy about it at the beginning, it looks like your power is truly powerful." Tony patted your shoulder. Looking over at Rocket, who was being assisted by Drax.
"As much as I would like to say it's an honor to be in your presence," You said. Controlling your hair to grow back at mid-thigh. "Why?" You faced Peter, inquiring him with the plain word.
Peter shrugged, giving you a bashful look. "Fury asked if we knew anyone who could be recruited, and without thought I suggested you." He sighed, feeling completely awful for the situation he put you in.
"And I know, I should've asked you first but I know how much you adore helping others and the money here isn't enough for your college tuition Y/N." Peter ignored the awkward silence in the room that was loud seconds ago before continuing. "I thought this would be a way to assist you."
You physically softened at his words. He was too kind and caring for his own good. You could never be upset with this idiot boy.
"I'm sorry-"
Peter didn't finish. His apology was muffled by your lips pressed deeply to his frowny pink ones. He was slighty awestruck, the feeling of your lips were breathtaking. He swore he could kiss you forever. His hands found your waist pulling you in closer, even including a little tongue movement inside your mouth.
As if reality kicked in, a teasing 'ohhh' sound came from a few avengers. Causing you to shyly pull away from Peter, who loudly groaned at the lost contact of your plump lips.
"Looks like Spidey is getting a little too handsy." Sam quipped, chuckling when Peter told him to shut it and hid his face in the crook of your neck.
"So is this a yes?" Peter hopefully asked.
You feigned ponder. "Yes."
Peter pecked your lips, mumbling a short 'yay' attempting to deepen the kiss.
"That's enough smooching spiderling." Steve uttered, obviously not enjoying the PDA.
A beeping sound came from Tony's watch altering the team about an upcoming mission.
"Looks like we gotta go," Tony spoke with a serious voice before turning to you. "Glad to have you on the team Rapunzel."
"It's Y/N." You corrected.
"Okay, I'll send some people by tomorrow to pick up your stuff. See ya soon, Rapunzel." Tony winked, exiting your tailor shop.
"He's not gonna give that up." Peter laughed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.
"I oddly don't mind." You responded, waving bye to the others. "Thank you Pete."
Peter grinned. "I didn't quite hear that, say it a little louder baby."
"Thank you mister Parker." You kissed his lips, playfully rolling your eyes. But you weren't that distracted to miss Thor stealthily trying to leave your shop.
"Hey hammer God! Don't forget to fix my lock."
"I will have Stark right on it Lady Rapunzel!"
#peter parker fanfiction#peter parker fic#peter fanfic#peter parker#peter parker x reader#peter parker fluff#peter parker x y/n#avengers x reader#peter parker x you#peter x reader#avengers x you#lee writes short fics
237 notes
·
View notes
Text
An Irregular Romance ★ Harrison Osterfield One Shot
Pairing: Harrison Osterfield X Reader
Summary: Over five years ago, Harrison followed his heart (a.k.a. you) to drama school, and the day he asked you out was the day he discovered you had a boyfriend. He thought that part of his past was behind him, but then he was cast as Leo in The Irregulars and you were cast as Bea. Romance and shenanigans ensue as he tries to navigate the resurrection of his crush on you.
Word Count: 10k
Warnings: spoilers for The Irregulars, swearing, drinking (reader gets v drunk at one point), cheating boyfriend + “open relationship” drama
Masterlist in bio
*Gif is not mine
A/N: inspired by harrison literally saying he followed the girl he liked to drama school but she didn’t like him back; the drama school is the brit school (idk if that’s what he was talking about but age wise it works better); also darci is 18+ in this fic bc it just fits better to make her around their age; plus i had to re-post this bc the tags didn’t work so rip
also just like to say a massive thank you to @duskholland for proofreading this for me :) you’re the best! this fic would be missing 90% of its commas if it wasn’t for you lmao
❁❁❁❁❁
Harrison had been buzzing with excitement all week. While he knew for sure that he had landed the role of Prince Leo in The Irregulars, he had no idea who the other cast members were. His agent learned from Netflix that they’d announce the cast on Saturday, so now here he sat, anxiously awaiting the news as he drank another pint with his good friends.
“Anything yet?” Tuwaine asked, refreshing his Twitter timeline.
“Nope.” Harrison said with a shake of his head as Netflix’s Instagram page remained unchanged as another minute went by.
“Maybe they’re announcing it at midnight.” Tom shrugged, trying to be useful to ease his friend’s nerves.
“Everyone would be asleep.” The blond replied before taking another long drink of his beer.
“Well, congratulations whenever they officially announce it.” Harry stated, standing up with his empty glass. “Next round’s on me.”
The conversation began to wander off, and Harrison found himself deep in thought, pondering his mysterious, new castmates. Would he like them? Would they like him? Were they big names or no names? Were they people he had screen-tested with (because, truthfully, he only screen-tested with a few girls, but even then, he didn’t screen test with all of the potential actresses)? As he got stuck, trying to think of someone he’d actually liked when they screen-tested together, he was snapped out of his thoughts by Tom yelling.
“It’s up!” Tom held his phone in the middle of the table as he, Harrison, Tuwaine, and Harry, who was now back with more beer, looked over the cast. A sense of pride soared through the group at Harrison’s picture and name being on the official Netflix page for The Irregulars. Harrison read over the other names, wondering if he knew any by happenstance. Just as he recognized one name in particular, Tom spoke up.
“Y/N Y/L/N? Isn’t that the girl you fancied in drama school?” Tom asked with a smirk. His smirk seemed to widen as Harrison blushed a deeper shade of red.
“No, no, no!” Harrison grumbled, taking out his phone to look over the post for himself because maybe, if he looked from his own account, the cast would magically change. When he looked at your name and picture right beside his, realization hit him. He slumped over, putting his head down on the table regretfully.
“I’d nearly forgotten about Haz’s girl that wasn’t his girl.” Tuwaine joked.
“Wait, what girl?” Harry questioned, out of the loop.
Perhaps the stupidest but best choice Harrison had ever made in his life was following you, his biggest crush, to drama school. Why his mother even let him chase after a girl like that was beyond him; he thought she should’ve advised him against it, but with the whole “follow your heart” attitude, his mum was his biggest supporter. He did his best to impress you, to get you to notice him, but you were unfazed by him. The day that he finally got the courage to ask you out was the day that he learned you’d had a boyfriend for the past two months.
Though he didn’t get the girl in drama school, he actually enjoyed it, and look where he ended up now— a new Netflix show was on the horizon for him. Despite the fact that he was (and still sort of is) crushed and embarrassed by the fact that you (very kindly) rejected him five years ago, drama school turned out to be a blessing.
“Harrison, here,” Tom laughed as he clapped his friend’s shoulder as Harrison still didn’t lift his head from his pitiful position, “thought he’d pursue acting because Y/N wanted to be an actress. He didn’t realize that in order to get her attention, he’d have to actually talk to her.”
That was enough to make Harrison lift his head, eyeing his friend questioningly. Cutting Tom off, he defended himself, “What do you mean? I did talk to her.”
“Right— you’d have maybe one conversation with her every three weeks.” Tom turned back to his brother, “Anyway, Haz finally asked her out and, turns out, she’d been dating this other guy for months.”
“Whatever. I only asked her out because you and Tuwaine shoved me into her. Maybe she doesn’t even remember me.” Harrison pulled out his phone to check over Netflix’s Instagram, wanting to see for himself the new cast again. When he opened the app, it notified him of all the new followers he had gotten, and, with one glance at the list of names, one account stood out to him.
‘@yourusername started following you’. Harrison let out a sigh, not wanting to dwell on this any further.
“She works fast.” Harry teased, looking over the blond’s shoulder.
“We’re co-stars now. She probably followed everyone else too.”
As if on cue, a new notification came through his Instagram— ‘@yourusername sent you a message’. With bated breath, he opened it to see the message that confirmed his worst fear— you remembered him.
‘Hey stranger! How have you been?’
❁❁❁❁❁
With every passing day, Harrison’s excitement for this new big project grew… but so did his dread about seeing you again. He wasn’t entirely sure now as to why his gut was filled with butterflies mixed with anxiety just thinking about you. You were only ever nice to him, both before and after he asked you out. It all led him back to the same conclusion that he still had a thing for you, but yet again, maybe it’s just life that your first real crush always has some power over you.
As he walked down the strangely long hallway to the conference room, he adjusted the collar of his letterman’s jacket. Today was the big day— the first table read for The Irregulars, and the first day he’d be confronted by you after all these years. Just on the other side of this door, his co-stars and the main production crew were waiting. Everything was real now; production would start in just a few days.
With one last nervous breath, he pushed open the heavy oak door and entered the room. People were chatting as they sat around the large conference table, which had small name cards at each seat. Harrison’s eyes found you almost immediately. You were locked into a conversation with your co-star, Darci, seated to your left for the table read. To your right was one of the last available seats, and Harrison’s name was on the little card on the table. All hopes of being unnoticed by you were instantaneously gone as he took his seat beside you.
“Fancy seeing you here.” You said to Harrison with a laugh, and he was instantly reminded of how that laugh basically drove him to where he was today.
“How long has it been?” Harrison asked, trying to play it cool like he hadn’t been rehearsing this day in his mind for the past several months.
“Far too long.” You smiled.
As the last few people trickled into the room, introductions flew around the table as everyone met their new coworkers. After a cold read-through of the script and a few words from the show’s creator, the table read was deemed over. Just when Harrison thought he was free to forget about your existence for a few more days, you pulled him aside.
“Hey, Darci and I were going to get drinks with McKell and Jojo. You should come.” You offered, and Harrison chanced a glance across the room to where Darci was chatting with your other two main co-stars.
“Uh, yeah, sure.” Harrison replied. He cleared his throat before giving you a definite nod that yes, that’d be a great idea.
“Perfect.”
And just like that, the five of you made your way across town to a pub. Darci had chosen the spot, explaining that it was the best place for drinks in Liverpool, and, seeing as she’d lived there her whole life, none of you tried to argue with her.
Harrison felt a strange pit in his stomach as everyone talked and laughed over some beers, as if you weren’t all strangers a few hours ago. His eyes always seemed to land on you and your contagious smile. You looked almost exactly how he remembered you, and you still were the same happy, go-lucky girl he’d fallen hard for. It was crazy to him how quickly you gave him butterflies, how effortlessly you made him feel like a silly schoolboy all over again. He couldn’t help but wonder if you thought he’d changed since his school days, too… or if you even thought about him enough to notice. So far, you’d made no indication that he was anyone besides an old friend from drama school, making him hope you didn’t remember that dreadful day.
As you and Darci excused yourself for a bathroom break, Harrison gave himself a little reminder that he was meant to be getting to know all of his co-stars right now and wasn’t meant to be focusing so intently on you. He took another sip of his beer, turning back to Jojo and McKell.
“So how do you and Y/N know each other?” McKell asked, and Jojo tried to hide his shit-eating grin behind his beer.
“Drama school, a few years ago.” Harrison replied, trying to play ignorant.
“Ah, so it’s a schoolboy crush, then?” Jojo questioned teasingly.
Harrison felt his face heat up. Jojo and McKell were practically strangers to him, and they already knew. He was cornered, “Is it that obvious?”
“A little.” McKell said while Jojo simultaneously replied, “Very.”
“Just ask her out.” Jojo encouraged.
“That’s the problem— I did.” Harrison replied, and both of their jaws dropped.
“No way. Did she let you down easy at least?” McKell’s voice was somewhere between a disbelieving, teasing, and pitiful tone.
Harrison scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, “Well, yeah? I mean she wasn’t rude about it, but it was still a bit awkward. She was dating this other guy at the time. He didn’t go to our school, though, so I had no clue about him.”
“That’s rough.” Jojo grimaced, before he gave Harrison a hopeful smile, “Maybe she’s single now.”
“I’ve been rejected by Y/N once— I don’t need her to reject me a second time.” He shook his head with a small laugh to conceal his embarrassment. He took a drink of his beer, hoping that would calm his nerves a little.
“Incoming,” McKell said quietly, nodding in the direction of the bathroom.
“What’d we miss?” Darci asked as she slipped back into her seat. You remained standing to put your jacket on, both you and Darci completely unaware of the boys’ conversation.
“Nothing, just Jojo being an idiot.” McKell joked, to which his newfound friend just punched him in the arm, taking another long drink of his beer.
“I think I might head back to the hotel.” Your words were met with a collective groan from three of your co-stars— Harrison silently frowned as he sipped on his beer.
As your head was down to collect your things, Jojo swiftly kicked Harrison under the table. Harrison looked at him quizzically, sending him a “what the hell was that for” look. When his co-star just nodded his head encouragingly towards you, Harrison got the idea.
“I’ll walk you.” Harrison said, making you look over at him. Standing up from his seat, he insisted, “I was just about to head out, too.”
“Okay,” You smiled, still completely unaware of his interaction with Jojo.
After you all exchanged phone numbers and created a group chat lovingly titled “The Irregz”, you and Harrison left the pub. You fell in step together, walking along the sidewalk in the chilly Liverpool air back to the hotel that you’d all be staying at for the next few months.
“So what have you been up to since graduation?” Harrison asked you, his hands deep in the pockets of his letterman’s jacket.
“All sorts of things, really.” You shrugged with a smile, “I got a few TV roles here and there, did some modeling, but so far none of it has really stuck, so I’m hopeful that this will be a foot in the door. What about you?”
“The same as you, really, but, instead of shows, I’ve done some short films.”
“I see you’re still best friends with Tom.” You said in a teasing tone. Harrison felt an unusual, upsetting tug on his heartstring. Not noticing any change in his demeanor, you continued with a laugh, “It’s funny. I would’ve placed my bets on you being world-famous after graduation.”
“Me?” He questioned, surprised by your words.
“Yeah, you didn’t go to LAMDA for nothing.” You playfully nudged his arm with your elbow, and he felt his cheeks heat up once more. “Don’t be modest— I’m not wrong.”
“Can’t argue with that logic.” A laugh passed his lips, any previous bashful reservations slowly fading away.
Before Harrison could say anything further, your phone began to ring. You fished it out of your pocket and barely looked at the caller ID before sending it to voicemail. Your actions were fast, but Harrison still caught the name of who was calling, Davey, followed by a red heart emoji. And that’s when it hit him— you were still with the same boyfriend from drama school, all those years ago.
And just like that, Harrison felt a tsunami wave of heartbreak from drama school wash over him.
“Hey, Y/N!” Harrison called out as he stumbled his way over to stall you from leaving school. He had one hand holding onto his book bag strap tight enough that his knuckles were turning white, and he shuffled his other through his hair.
“Hey, is everything alright?” You asked, concerned at how nervous he seemed.
“Yeah, um, well, tonight’s opening night for West Side Story, and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? I know it’s your favorite play, and it’s one of mine too, so, yeah, I thought maybe we could go together?” He was sure that he’d never sounded so unsure of himself. Truth is, he didn’t want to ask you out right now, but Tom and Tuwaine had quite literally shoved him in your direction, physically encouraging him. He felt rushed and unprepared.
When you smiled so captivatingly and softly at him, he felt his racing heart speed up even more. Was this it? Was he really going to take you on a date? He thought to himself. His hopes weren’t up for long as you spoke up, “I can’t. I’ve already got tickets for tonight. I’m going with Davey.”
“Davey?”
“My boyfriend.” You replied, a hint of guilt in your voice.
His heart shattered. The only reason he was here, at this school, was because of you, and now he just had all of his hopes for any future dates with you thrown out the window.
“You and Davey are still together?” Harrison wondered aloud as you two arrived at the hotel.
“Yeah,” Your response was hesitant and quiet. He knew why— there was that elephant in the room between the two of you.
Before he could stop himself from mentioning it, he blurted out, “You don’t have to feel guilty about it, you know.”
You paused, watching unsure as he ran a hand through his hair nervously. “I kinda wonder what would’ve happened if I had said yes. Davey and I didn’t even end up seeing West Side Story, anyway, so I wonder if you and I would’ve ended up any differently.”
It wasn’t much, but his heart sped up ever so slightly— so you had thought about him, even in the dating context. Harrison couldn’t think of a response (his brain repeated “fuck Davey, ask her out again”) fast enough as you stopped at the front desk. You mumbled something about needing some towels, and Harrison took that as his cue to just continue walking. He bid you a quick farewell, wanting to escape to his room as fast as possible.
Nothing you had said tonight had been particularly flirty, but he still rewound the events in his head because maybe he missed something. As he laid down in his bed that night, his mind drifted off with thoughts of you, wondering just how he’d manage to pull off these next few months without falling for you all over again.
Over the next several weeks, his predicament only seemed to grow. Spending so much time with you (and your other three co-stars) just made Harrison wish even more that he’d asked you out sooner in drama school, and having to spend most of his screen time gawking over you added to it further. Maybe it was another school boy crush, or maybe it was intense method acting— either way, he definitely liked you.
Ever since he read the script for episode four, he knew that eventually your two characters would become romantically involved. He would’ve felt giddy over the thought (because his eighteen-year-old self would’ve died at this opportunity), but whenever he thought of the scene, he was reminded about your boyfriend. Harrison wasn’t the type of guy to hate his crush’s boyfriend, but something just didn’t seem right about Davey.
Harrison was lying on his hotel bed, reading over the episode’s script for what must have been the fifth time through that afternoon. It was Sunday, the day before you’d both film Leo and Bea’s kiss. With a beer on his side table and an array of highlighters beside it, he was set. As the words started to run together, and his glasses began to feel uncomfortable on his nose, he heard a knock at his door.
“Coming!” Harrison called out. Setting his script aside, he rolled off the bed. He was confused at who could possibly be at his door, but, figuring it was someone from set, he had the decency to slip on a white t-shirt, opting for not answering the door in nothing but grey sweats. He was thankful for his last-minute decision as he opened the door and was met with you on his doorstep. Smiling at you and leaning on the doorframe, he let out a small, “Hey.”
“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to rehearse tomorrow’s scene.” You offered with a friendly smile on your face.
“Right now?” He asked, glancing back into his room to decipher if it was clean enough or not.
“Oh, is this a bad time?” You replied, subconsciously stepping back. “Is someone here?”
“What?” Harrison looked at you, confused before it clicked what you thought, “Oh, no, no. There’s no one here. I was just rehearsing, too.”
“So is that a yes then or-?” You trailed off.
“Yeah, come on in.” He opened his door fully, allowing you to step in. He chivalrously closed the door behind you. “Would you like water or anything?”
“Can I have a beer?” You asked, spotting the one on his nightstand.
“Sure.” Harrison nodded. While he got you a beer and grabbed his own half-consumed bottle and script, you settled on the couch with your pages in hand.
“Thank you.” You smiled as he handed you the beer, and you took a sip happily. “You know, I’m honestly so jealous of you this week.”
“Why?” He asked with a laugh, thrown off guard by your confession.
“You get to do all the palace scenes again.”
“I also throw myself off a balcony.”
“But still.” You insisted. “Leo really needs to sneak Bea into the palace just so I can have one of those extravagant ball dress scenes. I just want to feel like a princess, and I feel like it’s what Bea deserves.”
Harrison looked at you admiringly for a moment. “You are a princess.” His face dropped as soon as he realized he’d said his thoughts aloud. Coughing, he tried to cover it up, “I mean—- you were kind of princess-like in episode 3, right?”
“Smooth.” You laughed, but didn’t press the situation. Your phone began to ring, and Harrison watched as you rolled your eyes, declining the call and ultimately silencing your phone.
“Spam call?”
“More like clingy non-committal somewhat boyfriend.” You stated, rolling your eyes.
He furrowed his eyebrows, confused. You hadn’t mentioned Davey in the past few weeks— not that Harrison was complaining, but he just assumed you were private about your personal life. “I thought you and Davey were on good terms?”
“We are? I don’t know.” You sighed, taking a sip of your beer.
“If you’re not comfortable with the topic, we can just rehearse-”
“No, it’s fine. I just haven’t really talked about it with anyone. Before I came here, he asked about having an open relationship while I’m away, and I told him no. And the last time we talked, we got into an argument and that was a couple days ago. I’m not ready to talk to him, and at this point, I’d much rather talk to you than him. It’s very frustrating that he wants to have an open relationship, but he still expects me to be at his beck and call. It’s like he’s looking for someone to substitute me, but I can’t have a life of my own. He wasn’t the most supportive of me taking this job in the first place, too.” You paused, with a small shrug, “I know you’re probably thinking I should leave him, but I can’t. We’ve been together for 5 years. I don’t know anything else at this point.”
“I get it.” Harrison said softly, hesitantly resting a comforting hand on your knee. “He was your first love. It makes sense that it’s hard to move on.” He felt his own heart sink at his ironic words. After all, you were his first love.
“I wouldn’t say he’s my first love.” You said softly, placing your hand on his, squeezing it gently. “Plus, at this point, I wouldn’t even say I love him.”
A silence fell in the room. Harrison really didn’t know what to say now. He would have told you to leave him, but you already knew that, so what was the point in him repeating it? Besides, it was your relationship, and you needed to make the decision for yourself… or let Davey make it for you.
“Let’s go through the scene, yeah?” You asked, changing the topic. You dropped his hand to pick up your script again.
“Right.” Harrison mumbled to himself, flicking through the pages to the scene.
You glanced around his hotel suite for a moment, looking for something similar to a bridge rail to lean on. “Should we use the kitchen counter? As the bridge rail?”
“Yeah, that works.” He nodded. The two of you got up, scripts in hand. Harrison stood to your right, just as the stage direction had called for. There was some space between the two of you, enough room for Harrison to shuffle closer to you later, as scripted.
“You’re not on your own, Beatrice. You must remember that.” Harrison said to you, leaning on the counter but looking over to you with his icy blue eyes. “You’re very different to anyone I’ve ever met.”
“What do you mean?” You asked, looking at him curiously.
“You have something about you.” He started, awkwardly.
You cut him off, “Like a smell?”
“No, like a quality.” He chuckled softly before continuing, “I don’t know what it is, but I really like it.”
“Well, when you think of it, let me know.”
“I’ll be sure to.” He smiled at you, his confidence slowly building as the scene continued on. Harrison stepped closer to you until he was right beside you, leaning sideways on the counter. “And I’m not saying you don’t smell, by the way. I’m just saying that that’s not the thing.”
You laughed, turning your head away from him in disbelief. “You know, I was thinking of kissing you, but now I’m not gonna.”
Harrison paused, taking a moment to mentally hype himself up for what was about to happen, but also taking a moment because it was scripted for Leo to be nervous. “Well, uh, I suppose I have to kiss you then.”
You turned to him, smiling coyly. Slowly, Harrison closed his eyes and leaned in. His heart started racing faster as he felt your breath fan against his face before his lips finally found yours. It was gentle and hesitant, everything that it had been scripted to be. As much as he wanted to keep kissing you and keep tasting the sweet strawberries of your lipgloss, it had to end. He pulled away after a moment, and you seemed almost breathless as you opened your eyes to see him again.
“I meant it when I said you’re not on your own.” Harrison looked at you with more hesitancy this time, but he still kissed you with the softest passion. The script said that Leo and Bea kiss and continue to kiss for a few seconds; Harrison wasn’t counting, but he was sure this kiss was longer than it was meant to be. Again, he found himself dreading its inevitable end. If there was one thing he could do for the rest of his life, it’d be this… well, this amongst other things with you. His stomach started to stir with guilt as he remembered Davey; you were still technically in a relationship, open or not, arguing currently or not. But then it clicked with Harrison, you weren’t pulling away— no, you were fully kissing him back.
Before he could pull away and end the scene with his last few lines, a knock came from his door. Regretfully, he stepped away from you. He didn’t meet your eye as he went to answer the door while you read over the script on the counter. Flustered, he opened the door.
“Mum! You’re here.” Harrison’s eyes went wide, surprised to see his mother and his sister standing before him.
“Surprise!” She smiled, hugging him almost immediately. “We had to come and see you at your big job.”
“Are you not happy to see us?” Charlotte teased, and Harrison shook his head, pulling her in for a hug. As they all stepped into Harrison’s apartment, you waved from the kitchen.
“Hi.” You smiled, coming over to introduce yourself.
“Oh, mum, Charlotte, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is my mum and Charlotte, my sister.” Harrison introduced the three of you.
“You’re Y/N Y/L/N from drama school?” Phil said with a smile, making the connection as you shook her hand. Charlotte seemed to stifle a laugh as Harrison’s cheeks heated up.
“Yes, that sounds like me.” You laughed, brushing off any awkwardness that Harrison feared was there. “We were just rehearsing our scene for tomorrow.”
“Maybe we can come to set.” Phil suggested, sending Harrison an expectant look.
“I’ll have to ask. This is so, so last-minute, though, so I don’t know.” He replied.
“It’s a spontaneous weekend trip.” Charlotte clarified.
“We should get some dinner. We haven’t eaten much all day.” Phil told Harrison before turning to you, “Y/N, you should come, too. It’d be so lovely to get to know you.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” You trailed off, glancing at Harrison. He sent you a silent look that said ‘she seriously does want you to come… If you don’t come, I won’t hear the end of it’. “I’d love to. I just need to go change first.”
You grabbed your script off the counter, and Harrison walked you to the door. “How long do you need?”
“Like 10 minutes?” You replied, and he nodded.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were coming, or that they’d invite you to dinner.” He said quietly, making you laugh.
“It’s fine, but I do have to warn you, if my parents spontaneously drop by, they don’t know who you are.” You teased.
He let out an embarrassed groan, “Let’s not talk about that.”
“See you in ten.” You sent him a wink before leaving to your own hotel room. As Harrison closed the door and turned back around, he was met with the smirking faces of his mother and sister.
“So, is there anything you want to tell us?” Phil asked.
“We were rehearsing. That’s all.” Harrison insisted, going through the wardrobe to find some clothes to change into for dinner.
“Huh,” Charlotte trailed off, crossing her arms. “So, you wearing sparkly lip gloss that matches Y/N’s is a coincidence?”
“It’s a kiss scene tomorrow. We rehearsed the lines and the kisses, too.” He explained. With a pair of jeans, a clean shirt, and his red letterman jacket in hand, he made his way to the bathroom.
“Oh, multiple kisses.” She teased, making him roll his eyes.
“She has a boyfriend!” Harrison ended the conversation, closing the door to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, you returned back to Harrison’s room, and the four of you left, making your way to an Italian restaurant nearby. You and Harrison shared anecdotes about filming so far, keeping spoilers to a minimum until the server came with your food.
“We got in so much trouble from the makeup and hair department.” You laughed as Harrison finished telling them of how you two went on the playground last week, much to the chagrin of the crew.
“It was worth it.” He added.
“Who would’ve known you’d play a Netflix prince?” Charlotte asked teasingly, but it was clear she was still proud of his achievements.
“Look at that face. He couldn’t play anything but a prince.” You joked, and he smiled smugly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He stated.
“Phil, I have to say, I’ve never met someone more well suited to play a well-mannered prince.” You told her, playfully pinching Harrison’s cheek beside you.
“I remember when there was a time he was revolted at the idea of playing a prince.” Phil said, her lips growing into a smirk, and Harrison knew exactly what that meant.
“Mum, no—“ He started, but you just shushed him, wanting to hear whatever embarrassing story was about to be told.
“He watched a single Batman movie growing up— and not even a good one at that, and decided he simply had to be Batman.” She explained. “Then the Christopher Nolan ones came out, and there was no stopping him.”
“Every kid wants to be a superhero, and Batman is simply the best one.” He said as if it was obvious.
“I didn’t know you had a Batman phase.” You teased.
“Phase? He still has posters and comic books and dolls.” Charlotte added.
“Action figures.” He corrected her, making you laugh at the humor of it all.
“You know, honestly, I think I still have Catwoman action figures.” You admitted, trying to make him feel better, and Phil’s eyes lit up as she remembered another story.
“I cleaned your room a couple weeks ago, Harrison, and I was surprised to see you still Anne Hathaway as Catwoman posters.”
“Do we really have to talk about that? Does this torture not end?” He groaned.
“Fine. That’s enough for tonight.” Phil let out a defeated sigh, clearly enjoying herself.
“Y/N, if you want the really embarrassing stories, you’ve got to talk to Tom. He’s told me embarrassing Harrison stories that I can’t say in front of mum.” Charlotte laughed, and Harrison’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head at his sister’s words.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” You smiled coyly.
“Sometimes, I wonder if he forgets that I know just as much embarrassing shit that he did growing up, too.” Harrison stated, shaking his head.
The night went on with minimal embarrassment on Harrison’s end. After Phil and Charlotte went back to their hotel, you and Harrison started the walk back to your own hotel. As you walked, your hands would brush against each other’s every so often, but neither of you made any move to take it further.
“Darci’s going to be so jealous in the morning.” You said, making him laugh a little.
“Why’s that?”
“That’s her favorite restaurant in town. Plus, I just got a free meal.” You laughed. A visible shiver coursed through you as the chilly night air picked up.
“Are you cold?” Harrison asked, already taking off his letterman’s jacket.
“Thank you.” You replied, taking his offer of warmth. Your short sleeves did nothing to shield you from the cold, but he had at least been prepared enough with long sleeves. “Are you sure you won’t get chilly?”
“I’ll be fine.” He reassured you.
“I had a really nice time tonight. I’m glad your mum invited me.” You admitted happily.
“Me, too. Apart from all of the embarrassment I just went through, I enjoyed tonight.”
“I never knew you had a secret Batman fanboy side.”
“I never knew you had a secret Catwoman fangirl side.” He countered with a smile.
“Guess that means we make a good team, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess it does.”
As you smiled at him, completely content under the moonlight, he wanted nothing more than to kiss you right then, to taste the sweetness of your strawberry lip gloss again. The last bit of your walk was filled with you two arguing over Batwoman and Catwoman, two things that neither of you had ever realized you had in common before.
Harrison’s wish finally came true the next day, as you two ran through the kiss scene multiple times. It was strange at first for him, because his sister and mother were intently watching, proud to see him in action, even if it was just a kiss scene over and over again. But, with you there, he grew more and more comfortable with each take.
As a few more weeks passed by, Harrison thought that perhaps you and Davey had officially ended things, but then he heard through Darci that you had magically worked it out. Whatever magic it was, he was upset about it, and he found himself increasingly irritated at the mention of Davey.
“Ooh, we finally get to meet the Davey tonight?” Darci asked as the five of you enjoyed lunch in between shots. It had been two weeks Harrison’s mother and sister visited, and now Davey was coming, much to Harrison chagrin.
“He’s only here for two days.” You explained, taking a bite of your sandwich.
“Ah, so you’ll be very busy, then.” McKell teased, suggestively nudging your side with his elbow. You brushed off his comment with a laugh, avoiding Harrison’s eyes.
“We should get him to do that calzone challenge with us.” Jojo said to Harrison. Although Jojo and McKell had been rather supportive of Harrison’s interest in you at the beginning, they seemed to forget about it most of the time now— for which he was actually kind of grateful.
The conversation couldn’t go any further as the director came into the room, holding the script in his hands. The look on his face told all of you that something was up. He looked between you and Harrison before speaking, “Change of plans for tomorrow. Eileen isn’t feeling well, so we’ll film Bea and Leo’s scene tomorrow instead of her scenes.”
“But tomorrow was supposed to be—“ You started, but cut yourself short, realizing there was no point in arguing. Schedules, plans, things all change, and this was just part of the job. “Never mind.”
“Well, tomorrow will be interesting.” Darci said quietly, voicing what was on everybody’s minds.
The director left with a silent nod, and the room fell silent for a moment. You and Harrison wouldn’t dare to look at each other, both of you feeling awkward suddenly. Making out with Harrison multiple times, especially with your boyfriend there, was not something either of you particularly enjoyed the thought of.
Having to film no more scenes today, Harrison went back to the hotel with Jojo and McKell. He didn’t end up seeing you for the rest of the day, but he was okay with that as he wanted to go as long as he could without meeting Davey. The director had taken some pity on the two of you, asking you to come in later in the morning instead of at 6 AM like usual.
Harrison made his way down to the hotel gym, wanting to utilize his newfound free time. Normally, he’d get his daily workout in after filming, but he didn’t see a reason to not get an early start today. He didn’t expect anyone to be up this early, but as he got closer to the gym, he could hear a voice coming from inside the room, the door cracked just slightly.
“Love, I promise I’ll be back in two days.” The stranger paused before continuing, “You know I’m only here for business, nothing else.”
Curious and trying to decide if he should even enter the room, Harrison snuck a quick glance through the crack in the doorway. He felt his blood run cold as he immediately recognized the guy sitting on the weight bench. Afterall, Harrison had looked at your social media enough to recognize your olive-skinned boyfriend, Davey.
“Bit early for you, isn’t it?” Harrison nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of your voice from down the hall. He heard Davey mumbled something on the other side of the door, probably having heard your voice too.
“Yeah, but I just figured I’d start my pull-ups early today.” He replied before opening the door for you, acting like he had no clue that Davey had been in there.
“Hello, gorgeous.” Davey said to you, completely ignoring Harrison. He stood from his spot at the weight bench to wrap his arms around your waist and kiss you possessively.
“Davey, this is Harrison, he plays Leo. Harrison, this is Davey.” You introduced the two guys.
Davey looked Harrison up and down with his dark brown eyes and seemed to stand straighter, even though the blond was inches taller. Harrison was the first to step forward and politely outstretch a hand to the raven-haired guy before him. With a tight smile, Davey shook his hand, “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
Davey turned back to you, “Spot me?”
“Actually, I wanted to-” Your eyes drifted over to the treadmill as Harrison got in position to start his pull-ups at the bar. Davey looked at you expectantly, and you nodded, silently agreeing to stand there and spot Davey while he bench pressed.
Slipping on his headphones and turning on some music, Harrison began his workout. He played his music loud enough to block out your conversations with Davey. Not only was it none of his business, but god, Harrison really hated everything about him already. Hearing silence between you and Davey when his song changed, Harrison spared a glance over towards you. He was surprised when he found your eyes trained on him or, rather, trained on his abdomen that seemed to stick out from his tight white shirt. Still unaware of his eyes on you, your own eyes trailed up to his arms, watching as they flexed with each pull-up. Feeling flustered by your fixed gaze, Harrison faltered a little, and your eyes immediately darted back to Davey in front of you. Harrison couldn’t help the proud smile that ghosted his lips as he continued— you were checking him out.
Harrison finished his workout and decided to get cleaned up before heading to set in half an hour, leaving you and Davey in the gym. When he left, he was surprised that you were still spotting Davey, getting no work out in like you had planned. The whole time he was getting cleaned up (and brushing his teeth repeatedly to ensure he had good breath), he just kept picturing your staring in his head. He had worked very hard to get his body in this shape, and he was very proud of himself too, but he was even prouder that you’d clearly taken notice. If anything, it almost excited him that they’d be filming this scene today. There were a few times in this episode specifically in which Leo is shirtless, but none of those scenes had been filmed— and if this scene was going to be anything like it was scripted to be, then you’d definitely get a better show than in the hotel gym.
He didn’t see you again until the two of you were on set, in full costume and makeup. He had a loose shirt on, but underneath it, his chest had been painted with blues and purples to make convincing bruises. As he went to his mark, Leo’s makeshift bed on the floor of the cellar, Harrison spotted Davey across the set, looking bored and unhappy. His blue eyes drifted over to you next, and he refrained himself from smirking as he noticed your makeup artist applying chapstick to your lips.
While you gathered your prop lantern and the lights dimmed around you all, Harrison made himself comfortable under the ragged blankets. The director called out “Action!” and Harrison closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep as he waited for you to come into the shot. Hearing your footsteps, Harrison stirred, blinking his eyes open.
“Bea, is everything alright?” He asked, looking up at you as you stood over him.
“Let me see your body.” You said definitively.
“Beatrice—” He started, but you cut him off.
“Show me, Leo. I want to see it.” At your words, Harrison shifted slowly, moving as if in pain. He pulled the blankets down and went to roll up his shirt. “Take your top off.”
He paused, looking at you questioningly with a hint of fear in his eyes. Groaning a little, Harrison sat up and removed his shirt. He looked at you expectantly, and you set aside the lantern before kneeling on the blankets beside him. Your hand drifted over the painted bruise tentatively, ghosting over the same abs that you had been studying just hours earlier. Harrison waited for you to deliver your next line, knowing he was scripted to kiss you after it. It felt like ages that he was waiting for you, wanting nothing more than to kiss you right now. His mind went blank as your eyes found his and you leaned in to kiss him.
It was unscripted, and he was surprised, but he didn’t let his surprise stop him from immediately kissing you back. Your chapstick tasted of strawberries, just as it had the last time the two of you had a kissing scene, and he swore he was in love with the taste of it. He expected to hear the director yell cut, to hear him question why you suddenly improvised, but when nothing came, he just continued to kiss you. You pulled back, a shy smile on your face, “I don’t want you to hide your body from me anymore. It’s too nice to be hidden.”
His heart leapt as he leaned forward to catch your lips once more, this time scripted. His hands shuffled to your waist, pulling you down to lay beside him as he rolled onto his side, his chest leaning over yours. Your fingers tangled into his hair, and he savored the feeling.
You pulled back again, whispering up to him, “No more hiding.”
“No more hiding.” He reaffirmed. As he continued to kiss you, his hands sensually wandered down your back, keeping you as close to him as possible. Part of him wanted to pause the intimate scene and pinch himself, just to make sure it was really happening, but he was worried if he stopped kissing you now that he’d never get the opportunity to kiss you like this again.
“Cut!” The director called, and Harrison reluctantly pulled away from you. He could’ve sworn a small frown passed your lips as he looked down at you, not having shifted off of you yet.
“Spearmint— my favorite.” You teased quietly, as if it was only for the two of you to hear. As you laughed underneath him, Harrison couldn’t help but wonder what his younger self would think if he knew he’d one day get to make out with Y/N Y/L/N. Even if it was just for the show, it was a sight that he’d always want to remember.
“I’ve always enjoyed the taste of strawberries.” He replied softly, rolling away from you.
The director ran you two through a couple pointers for the scene, and, to Harrison’s surprise, he even suggested Bea kissing Leo first, just like you had improvised. You reasoned that you forgot your line momentarily, but something about the way you kissed Harrison made him feel like that wasn’t the case; no, it seemed like you’d truly wanted to kiss him.
After running through the scene a few more times, the director was satisfied. While you stayed behind on set to film more scenes, Harrison returned to his hotel room. Just as he was searching his toiletry bag for some much-needed chapstick, his phone began to ring with a Facetime call. Seeing Harry’s contact photo light up on his screen, he accepted and set his phone aside momentarily. He didn’t need to wonder what Harry (and most likely Tom, Tuwaine and maybe even Sam) were calling about— he had made the dire mistake of telling his easily-excited best friends about today’s scene.
“Why are we looking at your ceiling?” Harry asked almost immediately.
“I’m, uh, looking for lip balm.” Harrison admitted quietly and smiled to himself when he found some. He quickly put it on and then grabbed his phone, heading to his bed where he could comfortably talk to his friends.
As expected, his friends let out an incoherent chorus of excitement. Sam seemed to calm down enough first to ask (more like, shout through the phone), “How was it?”
“Does she really kiss with tongue? Remember Jack used to say-” Tom started, and Harrison scoffed, hearing the name of one of their old classmates who swears he had a summer fling with you once.
“I still don’t believe him, but no, not today at least.” Harrison was honestly a bit embarrassed to admit it. You were in a relationship… with a possibly cheating moron, but still. It just didn’t feel right to talk about you in that way.
“Not today? So there could be another time!” Tuwaine shouted encouragingly.
“Is she still with that prick?” Tom asked.
“Yes, but,” Harrison paused, and they all looked at him expectantly, waiting for elaboration, “I think he might be cheating on her.”
“What makes you say that?” Harry questioned. “Mate, just because you fancy her doesn’t mean her boyfriend’s a cheater.”
“No, I mean I heard him on the phone, and he said he was in Liverpool for business, not for his girlfriend.” He reasoned, “I’m just very suspicious of him.”
“You should tell her if you think he is.” Sam stated, “If he isn’t, then, oh no, you’re on bad terms with her boyfriend, who probably already hates you after today. If he is, well, she’d hate you if she finds out you kept it from her.”
Harrison let out a small sigh as the others nodded. “I don’t know. It’s not my place. Besides, she said something a few weeks about him wanting an open relationship. Maybe it’s that?”
“Okay, look, forget I asked about him.” Tom said, shaking his head, while the others looked at Harrison skeptically through the phone, “How was it to finally have your drama school dreams fulfilled?”
“Fucking heaven.” Harrison admitted with a laugh.
For the next week, Harrison resisted the urge to tell you about Davey. He wanted to, he really did, but whenever he’d finally be alone with you and mentally prepare himself for the conversation, you would always just seem so happy and content. He couldn’t bring himself to disturb your happiness, especially when it was Harrison making you happy. After Davey left, it’s like something changed within you, and Harrison had no clue what it was, but he enjoyed it.
‘You have to tell her.’ Harrison read over his most recent text from Tom again. He let out a small sigh, trying to get the courage to tell you as you sat across from him at the booth.
It was Saturday, and you two, along with Darci, Jojo, and McKell, had made your way to a club, wanting to celebrate another week down. With only two episodes left to film, you all knew your time together was starting to run low. You were all a few drinks in by now, happily buzzed. Jojo and McKell were off somewhere, probably attempting to be each other’s wingmen. Darci was telling you a story so wild that Harrison wondered if it was even true. He finished the rest of his drink and shuffled out of the booth.
“I’m going to grab another drink.” Harrison said to you two, and, without waiting for a response, he left. He made no move to flag down the bartender, leaning against an empty spot in the bar. Pulling on the collar of his blue shirt, he started to feel hot, unsure if he could handle this.
“What happened to getting another drink?” You asked him, stepping up beside him.
“Where’s Darci?” He replied, not wanting to answer your question.
“Found a friend in the crowd.” You laughed and turned to flag down the bartender. You ordered a round of shots, to Harrison’s surprise.
“Are you good?” He asked skeptically.
“Yeah,” You nodded, but with how your eyes were glazed over the alcohol and another unreadable emotion, Harrison didn’t quite believe you. Playfully, you nudged him, “I should ask you the same thing. You’re the one who’s been moping all night for god knows why.”
“I haven’t been moping.” He argued as a tray of four shots was placed in front of you two. You handed one to him and took one for yourself.
“Cheers to another week done.” You clinked your shot glass against his before both of you downed them.
As you went to grab your second shot, Harrison reached a hand and stopped you. Concerned, he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Davey and I broke up— for good this time.” You admitted, and his hold on your wrist softened while he looked at you pitifully. “He told me when he was here that he went through with his ‘open relationship’ plan, even though I never agreed to it, so he’s been basically cheating on me since I left for this job. Then tonight, he drunkenly texts me, and I know it’s just a booty call. He’s done it for years, but now I actually see it for what it is. So now, my shitty boyfriend is gone, I’m finally single, and my only plans for tonight is to get properly drunk. Maybe even hookup with a stranger— god knows it’s been a while since I had decent sex.” Harrison was speechless, and you continued, a smile finding its way to your face at the end of your venting. “Dance with me after this shot?”
“Do I have a choice?” He asked playfully, feeling your mood lighten once more. You winked at him, handing him a full shot glass. He made a mental note to keep a close eye on you and to keep you from drinking anymore.
After you both drank back the burning liquid, you grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the dancefloor. Harrison had felt the alcohol that was flooding his system earlier, but the colored lights, pounding music, and countless bodies around him seemed to make the alcohol hit him harder. There was a weight off his shoulders, knowing you were actually single as you danced with him, and yet he still felt strange about his current state with you— were you truly into him or was he just the first guy you could drunkenly hook up with?
You turned to face him, a small frown on your face, “Haz, you’re being a bit of a killjoy.”
It was then that he realized, while you were fully grinding on his body, he was relatively motionless. Your hands found his, and you planted one on your hip and another on the small of your back, low enough though that it teetered being on your ass. You leaned in closer to him, letting him get a whiff of your perfume. While one of your hands trailed along the hem of his shirt, daring to even dip below his shirt, the other traced through his hair.
As you planted a kiss on Harrison’s neck, not caring at all for the dancing bodies around you, you heard him let out a strangled groan of your name. Your nails light scratched over the deep V in his hips, hooking onto where his jeans met the line.
“Should we get out of here?” You asked Harrison, your lips right next to his ear as your voice dripped with seduction. He felt his heart flip with intoxicating excitement before he was immediately reminded of the gravity of the situation. You went to kiss him, but he moved back quickly, stepping out of your reach. Pouting, you asked, “Do you not want me? After all this time?”
“No, I do.” Harrison insisted. “I want you, but not like this, not when you’re drunk. You’re not in the right headspace for this. I don’t want to be your drunken rebound.”
“How can you be a rebound when it’s always been you?”
Harrison sighed. Oh, how much he’d love to hear that from you— sober. He was saved from having to reply when Darci, McKell, and Jojo found you two. They looked at the two of you skeptically, but Harrison just shook his head.
“I’m going to take Y/N back to the hotel.” He said as he stepped closer to the group so that they could hear him over the music.
“We’ll come, too.” Jojo insisted, even though, with his words slurred and his eyes glazed over, he was thoroughly drunk, too.
“Where did Y/N go?” McKell asked, realizing your sudden absence.
“Oh god,” Harrison muttered, and the four of them dispersed in the crowd to find you, tripping over the other sweaty bodies. Darci found you first, unable to stop you from having a couple more shots.
“No, no, you’re done.” She argued with you. You reached for the last shot that she had taken from you, but, in your intoxicated state, you easily lost your balance. Harrison quickly wrapped an arm around your waist to hold you up.
“I don’t think she can walk.” Jojo commented.
“What gave that away?” McKell asked sarcastically.
“Come on, let’s get you home.” With a small sigh, Harrison, as the most sober of the group (though he still felt fairly tipsy), proceeded to lead you out of the club.
Darci hailed a cab for the five of you, and while it was an illegally tight fit, you all made it work. You leaned on Harrison as he was pressed right up against you. On your other side sat Jojo. You mumbled softly to Harrison, one of your hands falling onto his knee, “Do you remember that year when they put up mistletoe at school?”
“Where are you going with this?” He asked you softly.
“I saw you kiss Vivian at the one outside of the gym, and I couldn’t walk in that area for three months without thinking of you. I was so jealous of her, and you just looked like such a good kisser, which I’m happy to report you are.”
“Babes, maybe stop with the drunk talking.” Darci said, because all of you could tell this was stuff sober you would never say.
Harrison looked at you in surprise— he barely even remembered when Vivian dragged him under the mistletoe, so the fact that you remembered and were jealous? And you said he was a good kisser, too. He felt a glimmer of pride overcome him.
“Ask me tomorrow, it’s the truth.” You shuffled in your seat, laying your head against Jojo’s shoulder, “Jojo, wanna know a secret?”
“Y/N, maybe-” Darci started, but Jojo cut her off.
“No, go on, Y/N.” He laughed, wanting to hear your drunk thoughts.
“Do you think I’d make a good Catwoman?” You asked, words slurring together as you grew tired.
“Catwoman? Like Anne Hathaway?” He questioned, and you hummed a ‘yes’. “Yeah, you’d make a good Catwoman.”
“Good. Tell Haz he needs to my Batman then.” Your voice was quiet, as if it was something just meant for the two of you to hear, but your voice wasn’t nearly as soft as you had thought it was, meaning Harrison and the rest of your friends were truly aware of your little drunken secret
“Okay, I’ll tell him.” Jojo reassured you, a shit-eating grin on his face as he glanced over your head to look at the embarrassed Harrison.
The rest of the car ride was silent, and Harrison helped you out of your seat. With the help of the others, he got you safely inside your hotel room. Everyone retreated to their own rooms, except for Harrison who stayed with you. He laid you down on your bed and went searching for your pajamas, which to his luck were stowed underneath your pillow.
“Can you change or—?” Harrison asked, holding out the clothes to you
“I’ve got it, though I wouldn’t mind you helping.” You said with a wink. As you started to change out of your club clothes, Harrison turned away from you and focused on getting out some much-needed pain reliever and a glass of water for you to have in the morning. He heard you shuffle on the bed behind him before you let out a small huff, “Hazzy, can you come here?”
Hazzy— that was a new nickname. To his surprise, you were already tucked up in bed, your previously worn clothes scattered on the floor around you. He set the water and meds on your nightstand before kneeling to your level, “What’s wrong, love?”
“Do you know why Davey wasn’t my first love?” You asked quietly, your eyes beginning to droop with sleep. You reached a hand out to tentatively run your fingers over his cheek before you cupped it, smiling softly at him.
He had a hunch, but he played along anyway, wanting to hear you say it, in case he never heard it again. “Why?”
“Because you were.” Your voice was so quiet that he barely heard you, but he was so glad that he did. He leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead, and you let your hand fall from his face.
“Get some sleep. We can talk in the morning.”
“Can you stay tonight? Please?”
“Of course, love.” Harrison stood to his full height, and when he looked at you again, you were already asleep. He softly readjusted the blankets on your bed to make sure you were warm enough, before he made his way over to the couch. Grabbing a throw blanket off the back of the couch, he settled into his bed for the night. Just like every other night lately, he drifted off thinking of you, but this time, there was an excited flutter in his heart.
The next day, Harrison woke up to you letting out a groan, loudly asking, “Why the fuck is it so bright in here?”
He slowly sat up from the couch to check on you. A smile crossed his face as you took the pain meds he’d left out and downed the glass of water. Your eyes seemed to bulge out of your head when you noticed his presence in the room. Laughing, he greeted you, “Good morning, sunshine.”
“Please tell me you miraculously don’t remember anything I said last night because I remember, and I don’t want to.” You said, pulling your knees up to your chest.
“Sorry to disappoint then.” He sent you a sympathetic smile.
With a sigh, you patted the spot beside you on your bed. Wordlessly, Harrison got up from the couch and came to sit beside you on the bed. He expected you to say something, but when you were silent, seemingly caught up in your thoughts, he spoke up, “Did you mean it? When you said I was your first love?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in your reply, and you turned to finally meet his eye, “It was a very intense schoolgirl crush, hence why I hated Vivian after that mistletoe incident, but seeing you again just made me realize that it was more than just a crush. I’ve regretted saying no to you all those years ago ever since you came back into my life.”
“Well, I thought I was over my crush on you, but turns out, there are just some things time can’t change.”
A comfortable silence overfell you two again before you finally spoke up with the words that had been on your mind for weeks, “I think I’m in love with you.”
“I think I’m in love with you, too.” Harrison sealed his words by leaning in to kiss you.
With no script to follow now, he felt fireworks as you kissed him back. One of your hands drifted to the back of his neck, silently urging him to continue kissing you. His hands snaked around your waist before he shifted to lay on his back, rolling you on top of him. You deepened the kiss, your tongue finding its way into his mouth. He moaned at first, fully enjoying himself, before his lips curved into a smile, and he started to laugh against your lips.
“What’s so funny?” You asked, pulling away from his lips. His hands wandered from your hips up to where your own hands were resting on his chest, and he casually intertwined your fingers.
“It’s nothing.” He said in an attempt to play it off, but the smile on his face told you that whatever he was thinking was hilarious to him. “You remember Jack Evans? He told everyone that you were the best french kisser in school, and, well, he’s not wrong.”
You let out a scoff before giggling to yourself, “First of all, how many girls have you french kissed from drama school and should I be jealous? Second of all, Jack was an ass who couldn’t kiss for shit, but I’ll take it as a compliment that he told everyone that.” You leaned down until your lips were just barely touching, “And thirdly, do you want to keep talking about drama school, or do you want me to keep kissing you?”
“You don’t need to be jealous, but I kinda like that you are.” He replied with a cheeky smile. “And you’re right. He was an ass.”
“And for the last one?” You asked, raising your eyebrows at him.
Harrison pretended to think about it for a second before he let go of your hand to cup your cheek, bringing your lips crashing back down to his.
#harrison osterfield#haz osterfield#the irregulars#harrison osterfield x reader#harrison osterfield one shot#harrison osterfield fic#harrison osterfield x you#haz osterfield x reader#haz osterfield x you
294 notes
·
View notes
Text
Part 2: Food in The Devildom and Celestial Realm
headcanons for what type of things the brothers' typically cook when its their day of the week to cook? who is the best, who is the worst? also- if you have time- headcanons for what you think devildom vs celestial dishes are like and if there's any difference to human cooking in prep or ingredients? just cooking headcanons! go crazy. can u tell i daydream about what devildom/celestial food tastes like everytime it gets mentioned 😳 like imagine poison apple pie or those cigar cookies 🤗
(Part 1 of this ask, the headcanons about the brothers’ cooking skills, can be found here (x).)
Food! One of the cornerstones of culture ^-^ It’s really interesting to see how a society’s culture affects its food and vice versa!
So what’s up with the Devildom and Celestial Realm?
The Devildom
Because we’ve spent the most time in the Devildom, we know more about the food there. Most of it is adjacent to human world stuff, but with weird— I mean, local ingredients. Poison apples, bat meat, cocktails you have to mix while under the effect of a siren’s song to get them to taste right…
I think the most interesting aspect of Devildom (and probably the Celestial Realm too) cuisine is the incorporation of magic. The siren drink from the 30s lessons comes to mind, but so does that rare Hell Coffee they mention at one point. The one that’s more bitter the more the maker loves the person they’re making it for.
Magic is highly symbolic, I wonder how that plays into Devildom cooking? Do you have to be in the right mood to prepare certain dishes or it’ll taste wrong? What creatures’ meat is considered common and what’s an upper class delicacy? Can demons taste magic in a way humans can’t?
Which brings me to Solomon, a legendarily terrible cook. Is he awful at all cooking, or is it his attempts to make Devildom cuisine, which incorporates magic, that fail because humans lack the senses to properly taste magic? Is he constantly pulling the magic equivalent of dry-rubbing pork with a fuckton of cayenne pepper? I have a funny feeling that he is.
Speaking of humans, let’s talk long pig. It’s mentioned a few times, mostly in the earlier lessons, that at least some of the brothers have either eaten entire humans, human meat, or a human soul before. I wonder how common human meat/souls actually are in the Devildom, because from the way everyone’s worried MC is going to be devoured, it seems like it’s pretty rare. (Which is weird if the Devildom is supposed to, in part, be Hell, but that’s a crack theory for another day)
Do demons need some weird nutrients only found in magic and/or souls? What’s up with cannibalism seemingly being at least kinda chill down there? (iirc Beel has been known to munch on a Lil D every now and then)
What would a soul even taste like? Are human souls the shrimp colours of flavour?
Alright, that’s sufficiently off the rails. NEXT!
The Celestial Realm
Perhaps this is Luke’s or Michael’s fault, but most of what we’ve seen from the Celestial Realm is sweets, which makes me think angels have sweet tooths. But! It also makes me think of Biblical manna, what G-d is said to have provided the Israelites to eat during our* 40 year desert trip after being brought out of Egypt. It’s been talked about in the Hebrew Bible twice, once in Exodus and again in Numbers.
It’s described as showing up with the dew at night, looking like flaky hoarfrost (the crunchy frost layer you sometimes see in the fall or winter on grass in the mornings, if where you live gets cold enough for that), or sometimes bdellium (which itself looks like prunes or dates kinda). Raw, it tastes like a honey wafer, but can be ground up and baked into cakes, which apparently taste like cakes made with oil.
Other fun thing about it: it spoils fast if you don’t eat it that day, unless it’s been saved for Shabbat/the Sabbath, because every morning the Israelites had to pick it by hand and no working is allowed on the Sabbath. Whether this is an inherent property of manna or just how G-d chose to present it to the Israelites as an encouragement of temperance is unclear. Because it’s the Bible. And not meant to be worldbuilding.
ANYWAY! That history lesson over, I find it interesting that the Celestial Realm, what’s supposed to be this place of rigid order and righteousness, is also home to something as simple and indulgent as sweets. It’s not that the Devildom or the human world doesn’t have sweets of course, but I can’t recall anything not sweet/dessert related from the Celestial Realm.
Also, it would be a massive disservice to my blog and personal brand if I didn’t mention the Furry Syrup. Why does the Celestial Realm have syrup that turns you into an animal? Is it a prank? A unique culinary experience? Is Simeon just really strange?
It’s not that weird for magic food to do something to the person who consumes it, it’s just kinda weird that it’s coming from fake-Heaven of all places. Is eating a full-body experience for angels? Is the Furry Syrup meant to do that, or is that some sort of allergic reaction because the brothers aren’t angels anymore?
It’s a mystery!
Well, I don’t think this was necessarily what you might have been looking for, anon who requested this, but it’s what I’ve got. I’d love to hear anyone else’s thoughts about food in Obey Me, especially food and magic bc there’s a lot of cool stuff you could do there imo.
*You’ve probably seen me say god or even God uncensored on here before, but in this case I’m talking about The Actual Abrahamic Big Man Upstairs, and as a Jewish person, we’re technically supposed to censor His name for Reasons. I tend to forget to do that digitally bc, well, you can’t ritually bury a tumblr post in the ground... But I remembered today, so I’m gonna try and do that. Life’s kinda complicated when you’re a jew who likes to read/consume media about bible fanfic okay?
Also might have noticed I spoke weirdly in the first person when talking about the exile from Egypt. That one’s a force of habit from Passover/Pesach, one of the big Jewish holidays. We’re meant to talk about the events of Exodus in the first person, as though it happened to us, not just our ancestors, for Reasons. I suppose it’s a tribal/community thing. Idk, i’m not a rabbi, I’m not even really religious. I’m just a nerd who never went to shul but is Very Interested in my own culture and mythology.
#obey me#obey me headcanons#obey me celestial realm#obey me devildom#obey me shall we date#mine#my writing#will i write a worldbuilding theory post about obey me without mentioning judaism?#or just anything related to the bible?#probably not#but can you really blame me?#mf SOLOMON and ASMODEUS and LILITH ARE IN THIS GAME!!!
106 notes
·
View notes
Text
... All right, let’s do this.
Under the cut bc there’s SO MANY images, and I’m sorry, and I know the cut is worthless to mobile users but, well, here we are. Please don’t unfollow me for this post specifically.
^^ I can’t decide if this woman holding the Tesseract is impressive or not bc, I mean, she’s wearing a glove - but, Red Skull probably was, too? Also the TVA are obviously not humans, so “impressive” may be generous. On the other hand, “only beings of enormous power” can wield the Tesseract/infinity stones, so.
Loki looks pissed.
“I know what this place is.” I like this, bc it provides us with some narrative evidence that Loki has always known much more about the universe and How Things Work than anyone cared to realize. Loki’s always known what’s going on; that he isn’t ignorant to the existence or inner functions of the TVA feels in-character.
Inception!
Lokiception!
Why does every shot of the TVA’s headquarters look like the inside of a poorly-lit DMV? Though I guess it fits with the “timelessness” of it all as, after all, time ceases to exist or have meaning once you enter the DMV.
But I digress.
I’ve already remarked on the “I’m smart” comment, but I do like this shot.
I really love what Loki’s hair is doing here, I don’t even care. For better or for worse, his hair’s doing it’s own all-natural thing and I dig it. Let it move, let it dance, let it fall into his face and obscure his features as fanfic has allowed so many times.
I’m not a fan of the exaggerated jump or “wtf” expression along with “this is absurd” but THIS moment? Classic Loki. He looks 500% done and we’re only 51 seconds in. Also, I refuse to believe that stack of papers is everything Loki’s ever said. I know we all complained about the “you love to talk” line but, I mean, certainly he’s said more than approximately the total sum of Ulysses in his 1000 years of existence.
Here’s what I want to know:
1. How does Loki taking the Tesseract result in so many new timeline branches? Surely he’s only responsible for one new timeline? I really, really hope they address that this is all the Avengers’ fault.
2. What timeline is WandaVision and TFatWS taking place in? The main one, I presume? How do we know it’s not one of these alternate ones?
3. Which timeline is Agents of SHIELD in and will they be addressed? Bc they got up to all kinds of Time Shenanigans in seasons 5, 6, and 7 to the point where I’m pretty sure they split off into their own universe (which is why they weren’t affected by the Snap or that whole thing, or so I’ve heard). If Loki crosses paths with Coulson & crew, I may pee my pants.
4. So where does Jessica Jo - ah, forget it, I’m not even going to ask.
I wonder what it is about this “unique Loki perspective” that Mobius is interested in recruiting. (Incidentally, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Owen Wilson in, like, a real role - wherein he’s not playing some version of Owen Wilson, that is. He’s got a costume and everything here. Fun to see!)
This is a bamf shot, okay. The way it’s framed is pretty intimidating.
“You listen well, brother -”
“I’m listening.”
^^ I figured out what kind of energy this moment has, lmao.
“It’s adorable that you think you can manipulate me.” I mean, do I even have to comment? I am here for narratively validating the “Loki is ten steps ahead” (heh, and I quote) canon. Here’s another place where I feel like Tom was involved, since I’m pretty sure that somewhere, he’s literally said “Loki’s always ten steps ahead of everyone else.”
That said, I’m not crazy about the delivery of this line; the over-confident tone of it smacks of “here’s someone about to get knocked the fuck off their pedestal” and I’m not here for that.
That said, these next scenes -
- not only show Loki with the upper hand but, also, it’s clear that Loki goes rogue at some point, possibly early on, and I do like that. Drag me if you will, but I want to see Loki scheming and being manipulative, in his own interests.
I think that Loki being the protagonist will allow them to portray his manipulation in a way that the audience is on his side. I don’t think that the TVA is being framed as the “reliable narrator” through which the audience should view Loki, or “good guys” at all; I think that maybe they’re not evil, but there’s probably a lot of morally-grey shenanigans and goings-on.
I also think Loki is capable of outwitting them; Loki, being ten steps ahead, has probably figured out something that the TVA has not even thought of yet, so he’s going to fix things his own way, according to his own plan. And I want to see that, because I think that this will give the narrative room to really explore both how Loki thinks and what he does when his plans go awry (as I’m sure they’re bound to do); like, how will he fix it and still remain on top in the end?
So, I mean, I’m pretty intrigued (and still cautiously optimistic).
Lots of action shots happening, I won’t add even more images to this post, but this magic is still giving me life.
What is this, a food court? (Speaking of which , what’s up with all the action in the mall earlier?)
“I’ve studied almost every moment of your life”
(^^ Missed opportunity)
“and you’ve literally stabbed people in the back like 50 times.”
Receipts or it didn’t happen, and that’s all I’m gonna say about that line right now.
Thanks, I hate it. This is all wrong, this whole thing - just awful, scrap it, toss it out. Tom, I love you, but this was the wrong delivery and an all-around bad acting decision. It’s too over-the-top, too earnestly “well I never!”, too comical (as in, feels like it belongs in a comic with a speech bubble as opposed to funny).
Once more, with feeling. From the top!
I like that we get to see Loki doing a wardrobe change, as I don’t think we’ve gotten to see that before. He always just shows up in a new outfit or illusions one on.
That’s one ugly ass outfit, but you make it look passable, Loki. You’re beautiful, in case no one’s told you that today.
The remaining shots are very visually pleasing and action-y and I dig them, except the volcano one (stop posing with your arms outstretched every five seconds, Loki, it’s kinda cringe. In the above still, it works; in front of a volcano, it’s just tonally off. I say this with love, don’t @ me).
Overall, I think I maintain my 7/10 rating. I think that the trailer hints at a lot of potential in the story that I will enjoy seeing, and I think that the nature of it being a trailer means that it’s a little tonally hyperbolic (this is kinda the format for Disney shit; show the flashy bits, the funny (”funny”) bits, to draw in the casual viewer. Save the story bits for the show. (Case in point: there’s a lot of great material in TFatWS that happened just before or after the one-liners shown in the trailer.)
So, yes. Sorry this is such a mammoth post, I just needed to explode my feels. If you think the trailer’s awesome, kudos and I love you. If you’re disappointed and upset, I’m sorry and I love you. If you’re hovering in the middle, still in cautiously optimistic territory, pull up a seat and have some popcorn with me.
That is all.
#loki on the small screen#long post#image heavy post#loki pokey artichokey#mood gif#i honestly don't know if i should tag spoilers?#i don't think a trailer counts as spoilers personally#but ymmv so#loki series spoilers
138 notes
·
View notes
Text
a 4-part rec list of my fave drarry fics - the thrillers, dramas, soft bois, and wankbanks getting me through 2020′s shitstorm
[ for my fellow fledgling drarry stans! the drama list is here and, well.
like i didn’t initially intend to go off in the mini-reviews beneath every rec but it’s just that you can't nOT yell about drarry as classic literary foils!! also it’s my dumb sideblog so i decided there are no rules and i get to be annoying about good writing.
but rly, the whole premise of the drarry pairing is shaped by this genre and if the ~serious world of serious published writers~ weren’t absolute cowards, they would admit that drama fic authors have contributed more to the genre than the average shit you can find at your local chain bookstore. so that's that on thAT.
& if you love a fic here, don't forget to follow the authors, leave kudos & comments on their work, send them nice msgs bc they do all this shit for free xoxo ]
part 2: dramas
mood: for when I need emotional catharsis and maybe 7 hours to sob/brood about loneliness, the cost of love, & the perpetual fear of being truly known
includes: angst, hurt/comfort, reconciliation fics. it’s cruelty o’clock folks and someone is about to say/do something Fucked Up that they can’t take back. but don’t worry!! there will be a Reckoning feat. hamlet-worthy monologues, ugly truths, unbridled rage, trauma, insecurity, and just a fuck ton of tears!! but maybe even tender apologies and mended things.
(Un)wanted by @aibidil - 36k - E
| Ginny's pregnant, then she's not and Harry's single. Harry, again with no family, doesn't know what to do with this turn of events, or how to find a new life—post-war, post-Ginny, post-abortion—in which he belongs. He doesn't expect that life to include dancing to the Backstreet Boys with Hermione and Draco Malfoy. A story of finding belonging in the unexpected. | --- can a fic be tender and unflinching at the same time? bc this story strikes that balance rly well and for a piece about unwantedness, it is incredibly humanizing. ginny holding her own, draco being gentle but not letting harry play victim, hermione calling harry “hazzah” and just the way this friendship insists on the validity of found families even when harry is spiraling?? and you’re forced to consider that no one has the monopoly on fucked-upness and that doesn’t absolve us of the ways we hurt each other but it means that everyone has the same potential to be better after being broken. goD JUST READ IT, OKAY.
Blood Magic, the series by @houseofhebrideanblacks and @thestralsofspinnersend 335k - E
“Later that night. . .Draco wondered at the depths of magic, its breadth and scope. The ways in which life pervades and eludes death, the ways in which they endure all manners of small and large deaths within their lives.” -- if you don't read any other fic on this list, i hope you read this series bc holy shit it’s breathtaking. harry’s a recovering addict, draco’s recovering from abuse, and in a cottage within the forbidden forest begins an unlikely partnership as the boys take up the tedious work of healing. there are thestrals and everyone's in therapy. there are whole chapters of cottagecore drarry. it's a beautiful exploration of how we bare the immensity of loss against the miracles of birth and regrowth.
Ship of Theseus by GallaPlacidia - 18k - T
“A ship in a full sail, a ship in a state of decay, a ship that had been rebuilt, slightly different. A repeating cycle. “What makes the ship the same?” asked Harry. “I don’t know. There must be something in it that lasts across the changes.” -- DO YOU KNOW HOW THIS QUOTE LIVES RENT FREE IN MY SAD, SAD BRAIN. DO YOU KNOW HOW I LOSE SLEEP THINKING ABOUT THE FUCKING SHIP OF THESEUS. it’s a memory loss fic and everything is so unFAIR. you want to murder harry sometimes bc he’s such a shiT and you suffer through the ways he questions desire, penance, redemption, true love. and by the end, you want to believe in those golden slumber lyrics: “once, there was a way to get back home”
Yours to Keep by @dracoismytrashson - 135k - E
i love the university setting, i love getting to see harry and draco’s first forays into a real LGBTQ community, the class and race structures outside of the wizarding world. i love that this is the context in which they’re allowed to confront the shittiness of PTSD, anxiety, depression etc. as they come together and fall apart against each other’s traumas. it makes the ending feel earned af. “Baby, we’ve been easing into it for a decade.” -- my god this line
Away Childish Things by @letteredlettered - 153k - T
this fic is devastating. like, completely forget whatever reticence you might have towards a de-aging fic and read this. the de-aging premise allows the author to cut through the ways harry and draco hold each other at a distance and you end up with these stunning moments of clarity where they’re truly seeing each other for the first time. and suddenly everything makes sense. i won't spoil it here but there’s a scene towards the end where harry is talking to hermione and ron about realizing the first time he felt what its like to be loved and I fucking SOBBED. an all-time fave fic about learning how to belong.
Had To Be You by @lettersbyelise - 59k - E
a genuinely excellent slow burn about absolute fucking morons who refuse to express their mutual love over the course of literal years?? HOW MANY TENDER MEET-CUTES DO 2 GAY IDIOTS EVEN NEED. a car ride a bookshop a street corner -- when harry met sally is my enemy. but you know what? this fic is masterfully written, it’s an epic tale of unexpected friendships and the inability to say the things we feel. also its very much also a soft boi fic if not for the Major Fuck Up that pushes it into drama territory for me. so worth the turmoil tbh.
Hurricane by phrynne - 120k - E
auror partners terrified of love. it’s a fic about walls - where the emotional landscape of this fic is occluded by dishonest words so you feel the tension play out in hollow voices, shuttered looks, emptied eyes. it’s like watching two ppl get flayed alive in slow motion and everything is SHIT for a little. it’s mean, it’s ugly, it doesn’t let you give the characters an out when they’re being cruel - to each other and to themselves. but harry and draco are two violent forces hurling toward each other’s walls and the inevitable reckoning comes and it’s so very worth the ending. the hospital bed scene to rule all hospital bed scenes.
Returning Tides by @zigster-ao3 - E
“Is my timing that flawed?
Our respect run so dry?
Yet there's still this appeal
That we've kept through our lives”
--those fuCKing ian curtis lyrics in the summary!! p a i n. why do i put myself through getting-back-together fics knowing full well i’m gonna be Sad As Hell during the not-together portion of the story?? we are all unfortunately hoes for heartache. anyway this fic is beautiful. draco’s a dad and recently widowed, harry has a thestral reserve, the settings here are stunning. a story about grief and love that lingers.
A Piercing Comfort by @talithan - 44k - T
“There is no objective scorecard. There isn’t anything that a person does that tips the balance from ‘deserving’ to ‘undeserving’, or vice versa. A ‘deserving’ person will not run out of worthiness after a set time of happiness and have to then go about working to deserve it again. And an ‘undeserving’ person does not have to suffer at length before having the opportunity to be ‘deserving’.” -- the heart of this fic. harry’s in therapy, facing depression, and learning how to accept love he doesn’t think he deserves. (also draco is harry’s therapist but yes, that power dynamic is handled ethically-well imo and addressed in the author notes I promise!!).
Borrowing Courage by @xx-thedarklord-xx - 70k - E
|After years of being a Magical Artist and painting for other people, Draco decides it’s time to paint for himself for once. The secrets pile up as he tries to unravel the mystery of his relatives but the only thing he didn’t count on was having to go to Potter of all people for approval.|
--god i love this fic. the thing about drarry here is that they never mean to hurt each other but they do. they do and draco’s trying to do the right thing and he wants so badly for good family but harry’s never rly stopped grieving sirius and it’s this whole unintended mess of festering wounds forced to heal. everyone needs a hug. also ron/blaise pairing and ron+draco’s friendship here is everything!!
Reparations and the sequel, Foundations by Saras_Girl - 320k - E
| Harry is about to discover that the steepest learning curve comes after Healer training, and that second chances can be found in unexpected places.| -- incredible. harry and draco’s dynamic as healers, the cast of original characters, the boys learning what it means to trust each other, draco building a rehabilitation center, harry falling in love with him, and “meus fabula est mei ut dico: my story is mine to tell.” i cry
The Ties that Bind by phoenix_writing (not on ao3) - 61k - T
| Upon Andromeda’s death, Harry and Draco are given custody of Teddy. Their lives will never be the same.| -- harry’s got major abandonment issues and he’s just trying to be a good co-parent with draco but everyone is being the woRST and you want to murder them on behalf of harry. but then, the boys learn to listen to each other and god it all becomes so tender. also harry has a gay panic. things are awful but it all works out.
-
[part 1: thrillers | part 2: dramas | part 3: soft bois | part 4: wankbanks]
#drarry#drarry fic#drarry fic rec#drarry dramas#im so sorry if this got long but also#I have too many Thoughts#all I do is cry over two sad gays#its pain o'clock sweeties#time to Sob about the mortifying ordeal of being Known
444 notes
·
View notes
Note
hiiiiiiiiii do u write for the drgaon prince ??????????????????????? it’s totally not el spamming you again bc you deserve your ezran/callum x sister reader even if i’ll give it to you too
the secret life of katolis royalty - headcanons
prompt(s): the royal family uphold a proper, good reputation. but with you and your siblings, there are always bound to be a few secrets whether they're silly or not
pairing(s): familial! callum x fem! reader x ezran
fandom(s): the dragon prince
genre(s): fluff
warning(s): none (if there are, please feel free to point them out!)
other notes: hi el 🙄 anyway yes i write for dragon prince now because there is a lack of content in this fandom, especially for the royal siblings ! i want platonic goodness, and i'm getting it even if i have to make it myself. enjoy :) also reader may possibly be bi?? can be interpreted as whatever you'd like though !
- so you're three years older than callum, making you at least seven when ezran is born
- you're so protective, no doubt about it
- and callum doesn't mind because you're not overbearing (if anything callum is more protective of you and ezran than you are of your brothers)
- which is why callum never finds out about your little things with both soren and claudia (more like a kiss with claudia, dating soren, and then breaking up with soren to try shit out with claudia; spoiler alert you kinda miss soren as much as you love your magical perky girl)
- another reason is that cal has such a major crush on claudia before meeting rayla and you don't want him to feel bad upon finding out
- but let's be honest ezran finds out because he walked in on you making out with soren after exiting a secret tunnel
- ezran gossips with you more than you both like to admit because of this huge secret only the two of you now know
- but it brought you two closer and he's really happy about that because now he gets to cuddle into your side while he asks questions and spills the beans while you play with his hair lmao
- yk sometimes you even shit talk callum and his sword fighting and that definitely stays between the two of you (he always wonders why you two are giggling under the tree whenever he plays around with soren)
- but you love your brothers and they love you so !! freaking !! much !!
- y'all are attached to the hip, you can't be seen without one or the other
- most of the time it's your brothers doing your thing and brushing up your knowledge on royal etiquette because a part of you is anxious whenever your father talks about his royal wrongdoings
- he doesn't mean to worry you, he just wants you to be prepared (you were in fact, worried and unprepared when he died and you now had three mf children and a dragon egg to take care of)
- don't worry though because callum and ezran are here to save the day and will tell you how amazing you are for hours, it honestly passes the time very well
- okay but i gotta get this outta the way before i forget but callum is the epitome of the "you're doing amazing sweetie!" meme okay?? he is
- where he succeeds (magic, art, being awkward) you on the other hand lack and vice versa (you are badass okay? you can fight and spar properly thanks to your mother's extensive knowledge and even without a weapon you can pack a punch)
- rayla doesn't really understand how callum can be so happy and perky even when you suck at what you're doing
- but he's your baby brother and he loves hyping you up
- callum is your biggest hypeman and always has been it's a second nature to him, trust me if someone were to mention your name he'd never shut up !!
- like this one time you drew rayla and callum on a spare piece of paper callum gave you and it didn't really turn out the best but he still fake cried and attacked you in a hug
- he keeps it in his sketchbook and he's never letting that go, so rayla jokingly judges him for it and your boy ezran backs you up with callum
- "i don't see why you keep it, i mean it doesn't even look like us! we're like lil' stick figures" "art is contemporary, rayla. it can be anything you want it to be! isn't that right zym?" "ez is right, plus it doesn't look that bad! it's cute. look, she even drew me doing magic! her markings are so accurate" "callum, i don't even know what spell you're doing" "it's clearly aspiro! look at the wind" "they're lines!" "that's what art is all about!"
- baby gets so nervous when he and rayla kiss bc he obviously has to tell you and your opinion matters most to him; he's just scared bc rayla always teases you and you may not approve
- so he kept it a secret for a fat minute after telling ezran, ez is so annoyed bc he has to keep your soren secret and callum's??? at least bait and zym are there to listen (man relationships are hard)
- you just laugh because you saw it coming and the moment is just so wholesome !! you tackle rayla into a hug, welcoming her into the family with "bad drawings and all" bc she never lets you live it down fr fr
- but later that night callum can't sleep and he lets out everything because he never really told you about his crush in the first place like he feels really guilty because you're always so open with him and sometimes he has some walls up, like how he was with king harrow even if you're his biological sibling
- also you bet on your life that you would do anything to make sure callum was content with his life and so after his lil rant and your assurance he asks if you've ever felt that way before
- and you had to do it to em, so you tell him about soren and claudia
- "why didn't you tell me anything before?" "you liked claudia! i didn't want to be the reason for your heartache" "but you're my sister, you deserve to be happy. maybe you and soren can work out" "eh, we'll see. not gonna lie i was ready to go back for him after he almost killed that dragon. he looked pretty hurt but you looked way worse honestly" "hey! you're making my heart hurt here y/n." "that doesn't count because it was playful!"
- you end up going to sleep that night leaning on each other because that's what you've been doing all your life — leaning on each other and you don't want him to forget that !!!
- you also wake up the next morning with ezran in between you sleeping soundly, and rayla comes back to the three of you making funny faces and laughing like there was no tomorrow
- she didn't get it but the three of you did, it was a simple moment that you would all cherish even after ezran becomes king — perhaps it even makes you better as royals
- and from then on, there were no secrets, just a family trying to piece themselves together again after so much tragedy
#dragon prince#dragon prince imagine#tdp x reader#tdp imagine#the dragon prince#dragon prince x reader#prince callum#prince ezran#human rayla#tpd rayla#tdp callum#tdp ezran#tdp soren#tdp claudia#tdp harrow#soren x reader#callum x reader#daniza's fave characters are paying rent
226 notes
·
View notes
Text
valentine’s day + stray kids ✧
the enablers: @wingkkun by virtue of their existence and @thepixelelf bc of her @newskynet valentine’s day prompt list (which can be found here! check it out :D) anyway you can blame them for my word vomits tonight tomorrow <3 happy early valentine’s day and I hope you enjoy these blurbs!
pairing: stray kids x gender neutral!reader (one blurb for each member!)
wc: 3.5k (total)
genre: fluff, lots of fluff, university!au
triggers: cursing
golcha version | the boyz version
SKZ Scenarios Masterlist | SKZ Drabbles Masterlist
1. “shit, what day is it again?”
when chan opens the door to a beaming you, he has no idea what’s going on. he still has headphones around his neck, there are definitely bags under his eyes, he hasn’t slept in maybe close to twenty hours, and there is definitely something important that he’s forgetting, judging by the nonplussed expression that has now slid over your face.
“chan, when did you sleep last night?” you ask, stepping into his dorm. you’re holding something behind your back that chan’s craning his neck to see, but you catch sight and twist away. “hey, no looking.”
the knowledge that you have something is more than enough, though, to get his overly tired brain actually thinking. his eyes narrow. what the heck is he forgetting -
oh.
oh no.
chan scrambles around for his phone as you look over, eyebrows rising as he pats his pockets. “shit, what day is it again?”
you hold up your own phone, giving him an eyeful of your lock screen set to a picture of himself laughing into the camera. he isn’t focused on that, though - he’s focused on the words underneath the time that say “february 14, 2021.”
“oh my god, it’s valentine’s day.”
“no shit, sherlock.” you put a finger to his forehead and press hard. “i made reservations.”
“what? okay, no, i swear you didn’t tell me about this -”
“i didn’t, chan.” you smile, shaking your head. “it was supposed to be a surprise. and i knew you’d forget the day or something because you always do lose track of time - hey, don’t look at me that way, i even made a bet with minho on the way and i’m right - so i came early to force you to sleep for several hours before we go out.”
okay, that’s fair, but chan’s lips curve downward into a pout anyway. “i didn’t forget,” he protests. “well, i forgot today, but i still have something for you! i got it last week.” he looks around frantically, then drags a box out from underneath his bed. “here!”
a wide smile splits your face and you pull your own present from behind your back, a red-wrapped box that chan begins to open as you cuddle the teddy bear he’s handed over to you. “chan, you sap,” you say, words muffled in the bear’s fur. “god i love you.”
“and i love you too,” he replies, pulling out a box of his favorite candy. “kiss?”
laughing, you press your lips together once, twice before pulling away. “sleep time,” you announce. “no kisses until you’ve gotten at least three hours.”
chan all but lunges into bed, trapping you with him between his arms. “sleeping now,” he says, voice muffled into your shirt. “goodnight.”
“good afternoon, more like.” you smile anyway, stroking his hair. “but good night.”
18. “oh my god, this chocolate tastes like chalk.”
minho is about to lose his shit in this tiny hospital bed with the sterile white sheets and curtains barring sunlight from streaming on his body. back when his ankle wasn’t broken to high hell, he really hadn’t given the sun enough appreciation. after three days of almost zero movement, though, he swears he’ll actually go outside voluntarily once he gets out of here.
the door opens. a head peeks in.
ah. there’s his daily dose of human sunshine.
a smile slides onto minho’s face as you come in, arms full of snacks and flowers. you place a bouquet of red roses on the little table beside his bed and dump the snacks onto his sheets. “happy valentine’s day, idiot boyfriend who broke his ankle just three days before today.”
minho scowls. “it’s not like i tried to.”
“i know. even you’re not that dumb.” you pat his head mockingly, laughing as minho’s scowl deepens. “sit up, idiot. here, i’ll help.”
he allows his frown to turn into a grudging smile as you help him sit properly in bed, careful not to jar his ankle before passing him one of the bags of chocolates in his lap. “jisung gave this to me for you and asked me to ask you if you would be his valentine.”
minho pauses in opening the bag. “what.”
“jisung for you.” you laugh. “his partner was right next to him laughing their ass off. try the chocolates.”
he picks one out. puts it in his mouth. chews. “oh my god, this chocolate tastes like chalk.”
“what - how the fuck do you know what chalk tastes like?”
“i don’t, what the fuck? i just imagine it would taste like this.”
you snort. “so my boyfriend first breaks his ankle dancing three days before we valentine’s, and on this romantic day i learn he’s definitely eaten chalk.” you sigh, snatching a bag of gummies from the sheets. “what a day.”
“i don’t eat chalk!”
“bet.”
he opens his mouth to reply, but you cut him off with a kiss. “eat your chalk chocolate,” you direct when you pull away. “or jisung will get upset.”
“ugh fine.” he rolls his eyes. “but i’m only listening to you because i love you.”
“cheeseball.” you smile. “i love you too.”
20. “babe.” / “since when do you call me babe?”
grinning, jisung picks up the bouquet of roses you were about to hand him before falling to the ground in laughter. “these for me?”
“no, they’re for my valentine.” you snatch them back, still wheezing. “which was going to be you, but you ditched me for minho, so now i need to find someone else.”
“aw, come on.” jisung pouts, pursing his lips actively even as you try to hide the smile on your face by turning away. “y/n! y/n. y/nnnnnnnnn. y/n, look at me. please? y/n. babe.”
“what the - jisung - since when do you call me babe?” your half disgusted, half amused face sends him into hysterics as he glomps you in a hug, laughing into your shoulder. “hey, sung! get away! you’re drooling on my clothes!”
“am not!” jisung pulls away, trying to pout but laughing too hard to do so. you just looked so fucking funny. “and what’s wrong with me calling you babe?”
“don’t do it again.” you push his shoulder. “do not. you won’t like the consequences.”
“consequences?”
“one, you don’t get these flowers. i’ll put them in my own room.” you wave the bouquet in front of him. “two, i give chan the all clear to play ‘wow’ on his campus radio station.”
“you wouldn’t dare -”
“three, no kisses for a week.”
jisung falls to his knees. “no, no, y/n, my beautiful and wonderful significant partner, i will never call you babe again, please don’t sentence me the barren world of no kisses for a week just because of my idiot mouth -”
“jesus christ, jisung, get up. you’re making a scene.” you laugh anyway, pulling him up before placing a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips. “i was just joking. but please don’t call me babe if you don’t want me to cringe to the next dimension.”
“done deal.” jisung holds his out his hands. “flowers?”
you roll your eyes, handing them over. he breathes in their scent, smiling widely. “they’re so pretty!” then he looks up and winks. “but not as pretty as you.”
at that, you laugh again, crushing the bouquet as you wrap him in a hug. “i love you so much, jisung,” you murmur into his ear.
his arms reach out to loop around your waist as he pulls you closer. “i love you too,” he replies, smiling.
for a moment, you two only stand, finding peace in each other’s warmth. then jisung’s mouth runs once more.
“you know, i wrote my lyrics for ‘wow’ thinking of you.”
“do you have to ruin every moment?”
14. “you’re seriously asking me out on valentine’s day?”
changbin doesn’t even bother to reply to the picture jisung’s just sent of the flowers his partner gave him. he’s too nervous, his stomach literally fluttering as he stops his motorcycle by the curb and wheels it into the shop.
“hi, welcome, what can i - changbin?” you raise an eyebrow. “did you seriously bang up your motorcycle on valentine’s day?”
changbin’s ears turn bright red. he knows it even if he can’t see them. you think he always comes here because something else has magically gone wrong with his motorcycle, but what you don’t know is that he’s been pretending things are wrong with the vehicle for months at this point just so he has an excuse to see you.
and now it’s valentine’s day. the day he chose to fess up and admit how he feels and ask you on a date.
heck.
“nothing’s... broken.” changbin scratches his neck. “uh...”
both of your eyebrows are now high up on your forehead. “so why are you here?”
“i...” he coughs, feeling his ears flare even hotter. “i wanted - i wanted to ask if you -” he looks down, unable to look at you. “i wanted to ask if you would go out with me today. like. on a date.”
silence. he doesn’t have the courage to look up.
“you’re seriously asking me out on valentine’s day?”
changbin shrinks behind his motorcycle. holy fuck, this was the worst idea, you’re about to reject him and his heart is going to shatter -
then you step forward, place a hand on the vehicle. “okay, that came out wrong.” you tip his chin up gently so he’s forced to look into your soft, teasing eyes. “what i meant is that i’d love to go on a date with you today. i just didn’t expect you to ask me out on valentine’s day. didn’t seem like a very you thing to do.” you pause. “though i guess considering that song you played for me last time, it isn’t that surprising.”
oh, god. on track. changbin wrote that thinking of you.
“wait, seriously?”
he really just said that out loud. changbin groans, slapping his forehead. “why am i dumb,” he mumbles into his hand.
you laugh, peeling his hand away with grease-covered fingers. “you’re not dumb, bin. just sweet.” as he melts from the use of your nickname, you wave your greasy palm in front of his face. “let me go wash and tell seungmin to close up early. i’ll be out in a second.” you grin. “looking forward to whatever you have planned.”
(later, when you wrap your now clean arms around changbin’s waist on his motorcycle, he smiles so wide it feels like his face is going to split.)
25. “i love you.”
with a relieved sigh, seungmin locks up the shop, wiping grease-stained fingers on a towel. despite the fact that he mostly only handles the register, dirt still manages to get everywhere, even when he tries to be careful.
doesn’t matter. seungmin likes his job, likes it even though it’s a little hard to be independent from his parents after so many years of living off their credit card. the freedom is sweet, though - now he can learn what he wants, do what he wants, and best of all...
now he can date whom he wants.
seungmin smiles, running up to his dorm so he has just enough time to change and shower before meeting you. he cleans up quickly before grabbing the singular rose in a glass on his desk and racing downstairs once more, hair still slightly damp, to meet you in front of the building.
god, you’re beautiful, standing against the backdrop of the afternoon sun. in the moment that you don’t notice him walking out the door, he runs forward, smiling, before engulfing you in a back hug.
“hey - oh, seungmin.” he can hear the smile in your voice as you clutch his hands hanging around your shoulders. “you scared me!”
“sorry,” he says, pulling away to spin you around. god, looking into your laughing face, seungmin knows everything was worth it. he may have lived in the lap of luxury before, attending parties every other weekend and drinking the finest champagne while dressed in the most resplendent clothing (courtesy of the kim family empire), but luxury doesn’t mean much when he was missing real, true love, right? you were one of the first, other than hyunjin, to see through his cold facade and break into the warm heart underneath.
as he hands you the rose, he’s glad, so glad that you gave him the courage to go head to head with his parents for the first time, to finally break away from their strangling control over every bit of his life. what did he need parties and designer clothing and jewels for, anyway? he’s still living, still able to support himself even if it means a little more work. and even if he’s tired, he has your lips to come back to, every day.
“i love you,” he murmurs, kissing you softly, sweetly. “i really do, y/n.”
“so do i,” you breathe, smiling against his lips in reply.
12. “valentine’s day... that’s the one with the bunny, right?”
hyunjin kind of wants to hit you, significant other or not. judging by your shit-eating grin, you probably know exactly how he feels, but you keep your eyes as soft and innocent as possible. “no, i don’t know what day it is, hyunjin. isn’t it just february 14?”
“y/n.”
“hyunjin.”
he groans, sinking dramatically to the ground. “it’s valentine’s day.”
“oh. right.” you adopt a thinking expression, raising your eyes to the sky. “valentine’s day... that’s the one with the bunny, right?”
“y/n!”
“i’m kidding, i’m kidding!” you finally laugh, reaching out a hand to pull him up from the university quad. “hey, get up, hyunjin. you’re going to get your designer clothes dirty.”
shit, he is. hyunjin accepts your hand, dusting grass bits off of his shirt. “you’re so mean,” he whines. “to think i had a whole evening planned and all, just for you to pretend to forget the entire day.”
“ah, but i didn’t forget. i only pretended to.” you grin, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “and to prove it, i have something for you! close your eyes.”
eagerness and apprehension flooding his veins, hyunjin shuts his eyes. for a moment, he hears you digging around in your bag, and then you put something in his hand. “here!”
opening his eyes, hyunjin looks down to see a pair of elegant earrings in his palm. you made them, definitely - he can see the tiny mark of your initials etched in the metal of one earring, his initials on the other - and he smiles wide, so wide, all of your previous transgressions forgotten in this moment. “i love them,” he says, already unfastening the hoops currently in his ears to put the new ones in.
“i thought you would. hey, let me help.” your fingers take the earrings, deftly inserting one into each ear. “perfect.”
“i have something for you two, but you’ll get it later.” hyunjin pockets his old earrings before taking your hand. “right now, i’m taking you on a date.”
“what, i have no say in this?” your eyes sparkle.
“nope!” hyunjin laughs, swinging your arms in the air. “come on, i swear the evening’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“i believe you.” you stop him to kiss him once, softly. “everything’s fun with you, hyunjin.”
15. “shut up and kiss me.”
with the brownie box in his hands almost empty, felix makes every effort to dodge anyone who knows for fear that they’ll ask for one of the last few treats left inside. hyunjin took like five earlier, jesus christ, even when felix warned him he was saving some for you. ungrateful brat.
thankfully, no one accosts him, and he makes it to your meeting place without interruption. there you already are, mindlessly twirling a bouquet of roses around in your fingers. as he approaches, you look up, and felix is (once again) blown away by the intensity of your smile.
some people liken him to the sun. others, with his freckles, compare him to the stars. both, though, felix thinks are more proper descriptors for you and your lovely grin that’s as bright as the sun and the stars combined.
“felix!” you stand as he comes closer, handing him the roses. he passes over the box of brownies and you screech in delight, taking off the lid and popping one of them into your mouth. “oh my god, it’s so good.”
“don’t talk with your mouth full,” felix scolds, smiling anyway. “do you only love me for my brownies?”
“maybe” is the cheeky reply. you laugh as felix reels in mock astonishment, placing a dramatic hand to his chest. “i’ve been betrayed,” he wheezes. “stabbed in the back by my one true love who turned traitor to our romance, how will i live -”
“hey, felix?”
he looks up. “hm?”
your eyes sparkle. “shut up and kiss me.”
your lips taste like chocolate, sweeter even than the brownie you just finished. felix puts his arms around you, rose petals brushing against your back as he holds you close, close, closer -
“oh my god.”
a familiar voice makes felix pull away from your lips as he turns around. “jeongin?”
“nope, nope, nope,” the younger boy chants, eyes fully closed. “i saw none of that, jesus christ, come on, let’s go -”
too late, felix notices the person standing next to his friend, eyes also screwed shut. a smirk rises on his face. that must be jeongin’s crush, he thinks as they race away, the crush he’s been sweating over asking out for the last few weeks.
“aw, man.” felix frowns, suddenly coming to a realization. “jeongin probably wanted to confess here.”
“he’ll do fine,” you laugh, tugging at his arm. “now get back here. we’re not finished.”
felix smiles, pulling you close once more. “no, we aren’t.”
6. “no one’s ever given me something like this before.”
listen. jeongin did not need to see felix making out with his partner right before he was about to confess. not only did it completely ruin his plans to talk to you in the prettiest part of campus, but he also has an image seared into his mind that he really does not need.
“sorry,” he mutters, still unable to look at you.
“it’s fine.” jeongin can hear the second hand embarrassment in your voice. “it wasn’t your fault. uh.” you pause. “you said... you wanted to tell me something?”
right. jeongin squeezes his eyes shut, desperately trying to erase the previous images from his brain. “yeah. i did. um.” he swallows, then forces himself to look into eyes that sparkle in the fading sunlight, eyes that he fell in love with so many months ago when you two first worked on that project together.
thankfully, his words don’t fail him. “i just wanted to say i like you a lot, y/n.” jeongin keeps looking at you, even though all he wants to do is run away screaming. “as in... i want to ask you out. if that’s okay with you.”
silence.
then you start giggling.
jeongin frowns. why -
“oh my god, jeongin.” you double over on the bench, laughing even harder. “i’m so sorry.”
his heart sinks as embarrassment begins to burn his ears. “if you don’t like me -”
“no, no!” you straighten, wiping your eyes. “no, it’s not about that. it’s just -” you snort - “oh my god, you wanted to ask me out in the garden, right? but felix was there, and... jesus christ. jeongin, i’m so sorry.”
his cheeks flare red, but he also lets out a major sigh of relief that your laughter wasn’t a rejection. “yeah,” he says, a grudging smile climbing onto his face. “yeah, that’s pretty much what happened.”
you wipe your eyes again. “sorry for laughing. i didn’t mean to make fun of you or anything. i’d actually love to go out with you.” you smile. “really.”
“well, thank god for that.” jeongin huffs, cheeks still hot. “or i would’ve gotten this for nothing.” he holds out a small teddy bear. “this is for you.”
“oh.” you take it, eyes turning soft. “oh. no one...” you swallow. “no one’s ever given me something like this before.”
jeongin’s heart melts, it really does, seeing the slow, shy smile spread across your face as you hold the bear close. “thank you, jeongin.”
“you’re welcome,” he breathes, hardly able to find his words as the sun creates a stunning backdrop behind you as it begins to set. “happy valentine’s day, y/n.”
you smile wide, so wide. “happy valentine’s day, jeongin.”
#kpopscape#destinyverse#districtninewriters#nsnvalentine#stray kids#skz#stray kids scenarios#stray kids imagines#skz scenarios#stray kids x reader#skz x reader#stray kids chan#stray kids lino#stray kids lee know#stray kids minho#stray kids changbin#stray kids hyunjin#stray kids han#stray kids jisung#stray kids felix#stray kids seungmin#stray kids in#stray kids jeongin#fluff#drabbles#tw cursing#university!au#valentine's day blurbs#scriptura-delirus
152 notes
·
View notes
Text
house of mirrors
2.5k word mlp fanfic. dont judge me >.>
summary: rarity and twilights visit to the crystal empire is more eventful then either had hoped. somethings wrong with the castle, and more importantly, somethings wrong with shining armor...
content warnings: fear of transphobia (no actual rtansphobia bc this is the colorful horses show)
Rarity held back a whinny of delight as she trotted off the train and into the crystal empire station. Everywhere she looked she was dazzled by gleaming crystals of every color refracting rainbows on every surface while somehow remaining the farthest thing from gaudy. Starting to feel faint from excitement, she leaned on twilight's shoulder as her eyes fluttered.
“Rarity come on!” The alicorn laughed as she helped her friend upright. “We’ve hardly been in the empire for a minute! Save your fainting for the ceremony.”
The white horse perked up immediately at the reminder of what she had come here for: she was to assist Cadence and Shining Armor in the preparations for the newborn princesses presentation to the public! She cantered in place with excitement, lifting twilight's luggage with her magic and running off to their suite in the castle with twilight hot on her heels.
The suite was spacious with generous decor in simple light colors. the main focal point of the suite was the giant bay windows which cast giant swathes of warm light across the room. upon closer inspection rarity was amazed to discover that the windows were made entirely of cut crystal rather than glass. the faint color of the gemstone created a slight cast on the light coming in, giving a view of the city below that was ever so slightly tinted. this realization recontextualized the furnishing in rarities mind: it wasn't dull and plain, but simply a blank canvas for whatever the crystal windows brought in. a strange method of decor indeed. or was it a response to the material conditions of living in a house of crystal?
When the two had almost settled into their apartment, they were startled from their rest by a brisk knock at the door.
“A summons for princess twilight sparkle,” a booming voice called from behind the door. “You are needed urgently by princess mi amore cadenza for matters concerning his highness the prince.”
Worry flooded the purple alicorns features. “Urgent? Then I guess I had better go now.” She magically gathered a few items into her saddlebag and gave a parting smile to her friend as she was rushed away by royal guards.
Shocked by the suddenness of it all, rarity let out a chuff and sat squarely on her quarters. Was shining armor alright? she wanted to put her anxieties to rest, but it was plainly obvious that she hadn't been invited. would the entire trip to the empire consist of her sitting alone in her room while twilight attended to all matters of actual importance?
Trying to shake the thought from her head, rarity got up and left her room to explore the castle. It truly was extravagant, with pillars of crystal stretching to the high vaulted ceilings spreading refractions of glittering iridescence that made the whole space seem somehow both extraordinary glamorous and warm and homey. Inspiration flooded her mind as she trotted the decadently decorated halls. She just couldn’t wait to get back to her studio and put this inspiration to good use.
She was halted in her exploration when her ears picked up familiar voices talking from behind an ajar door. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help but listen in...
"-i don't know what to do twilight, he hadn't seemed this off for years, and now flurry is here and hes completely absent!"
"i don't know cadence, he hasn't said anything in his letters-"
“- all I’m saying is maybe you could get through to him! He won’t talk to me, or anypony else here. you're my last hope. maybe hell listen to his best friend”
“i've never been able to help him in one of these episodes before. if he’s not ready to talk then confronting him will only make him more defensive.”
“That’s a risk we’ll have to take. I’m worried for my husband twilight.” Rarity leaned on the door to hear better as the princesses voice dropped, “please, if not for shining armor, or for me, then for flurry heart. She deserves to have a father who can dedicate himself to her, not one who’s so preoccupied that he can hardly look after her.”
There was a sigh, then rarity heard twilight speak “very well. I’ll do this for her. Maybe that will get through to my brother.”
Sudden approaching hoofsteps started rarity out of her reverie. She stumbled backwards just in time to miss the swinging door as twilight entered the hall. “Rarity? I thought you were still in the room? Oh well, I need your help anyway." She looked over her shoulder as if to make sure they were alone. "I think somethings wrong with my brother. It's possible that one of the unreformed changelings has taken his place to try too take advantage of the upcoming love boom from flurry hearts royal presentation."
Rarity was taken aback by her friends leap of logic. "Doesn't that seem like an extreme suspicion? Having a baby is stressful enough for normal ponies, I cant imagine what kind of pressure would be on a royal prince."
"I don't know rarity, after what happened at the wedding we can't be too careful. I hope its just nerves and parental stress, but we have to expect the worse if we want to be prepared to handle it."
rarity nodded. "alright, then let's find your brother."
The two ponies galloped down the halls in search of the princes chambers. the crystal walls seemed to burn with energy, the warm cast of light from earlier having turned harsh and almost too bright. rarity wondered absently if this was a product of the changing time of day or a trick of the mind. could the walls of a castle really know how somepony felt, and shine it back at them like a diamond mirror?
a distant commotion pricked the two mares ears. "this way!" twilight called as she rounded a corner, dashing after the sound with rarity at her side.
the two skidded to a stop when they reached an open doorway from which the sound seemed to emit. with a flick of her ear twilight motioned for rarity to follow her and the two cautiously made their way into the room. twilight emitted a small light from her horn, then lit the rooms lamp once she could find it on the wall. with the room lit rarity immediately got an impression of drabness and depression, the tightly draped windows letting in no light and the gemstone walls shining the same dim echo back and forth across the space, almost seeming to beg for the light to go out again.
twilight gestured with her chin to the curtained bed at the center of the room, grabbing one edge of the curtain with her magic and indicating for rarity to take hold of the other. once the unicorn had secured the curtain, twilight gave a sharp nod and both ponies tugged their curtain aside, revealing a stallion-sized lump that spectacularly failed to live up to either mares fearful imagination.
the blue-maned unicorn sat up at once, alarmed by the sudden intrusion. he seemed to calm down slightly when he recognized his sister, but he remained guarded. "twily? rarity? what are you two doing in my private chambers?"
"well to be fair," rarity gestured back at the entrance, "you did leave your door open."
"cadence must have done that when she left." shining armor gruffed. "that doesn't answer my question though: what are you doing here?"
twilight stepped forward with a cautious expression, ready to fight if this really was a changeling. "were just here to check up on you, see how youre handling the upcoming princess presentation" it was clear that twilight was being reserved with her supposed brother.
then, shining armors eyes met hers, and her suspicion evaporated. that peculiar sadness that had haunted her brother in her young filliehood, then she had thought he'd escaped when he found happiness in cadences arms, was burning hot tears from shining armors eyes. she had never seen a pain like that before or since. if there was anything twilight was certain of, it was that this pony was the same one she had known her whole life. but the question still lingered, was he the real shining?
completely without her permission, tears began to well in twilight's eyes. "oh shinning, whats happened to you?"
her brother choked on a sob. "I'm sorry twily, you were never supposed to see me like this. no one was. i should be able to hold it together for you... for cadence... for my daughter..."
"shining nopony wants you to hide any part of you! we want to know when you're hurting so we can help. i had thought you'd healed from whatever's causing this pain but it seems to be back and i wont let you hide it from me this time!" the purple alicorn sniffled as tears streaked down her muzzle. "please shining, tell me whats wrong."
The stallion nervously rubbed his hooves together and cast his gaze to the ground. "i don't even know where to start."
"the beginning," twilight proposed. "i want to know everything. you cant heal until you let your wounds be seen."
shining nodded and took a deep breath, "its just that, when you were a fillie, everyone expected me to be the perfect big brother, and i never measured up to that expectation. it was like being thrown into the ocean with no idea how to swim, and everypony kept insisting that i was a fish and i should know how, but i didn't. then in the royal guard it didn't matter how i felt as long as i followed orders and played the role, so that's what i did. i don't know if it actually quieted the pain or just forced me to ignore it, but for a few years i thought maybe i could live with it. cadence was the only pony i've ever met who could make that noise in my brain silent; with her it didn't matter if I wasn't brother enough fro you or stallion enough for the military. i was always enough for her, no questions asked. i was so happy when we got married that i could almost forget about that feeling, telling myself it was a phase i'd outgrown. but now with flurry heart, all that anxiety is back. its like no matter what i do ill never be able to be a good father for her. i love her more than anything, id do anything for her, but it isn't enough. i'm not enough." the white unicorns neck gave way as he succumbed to quiet sobs, his once proud chin quivering and brushing his chest.
"shining... i..." twilight was speechless. what could be said? her brothers pain went far beyond anything she knew how to mend. at that moment being the princess of friendship meant nothing; she couldn't even move herself to speak in the face of her first best friends deep sorrow.
"i hope im not overstepping here," a timid voice chimed in, startling both siblings as rarity cleared her throat. "but i think i may have an idea as to the source and solution of your distress."
"rarity?" shining choked, "how could you possibly know how i feel?"
the mare nervously flicked her mane with an idle hoof. "there's a lot you don't know about me." turning to twilight, she asked "would it be alright if the prince and i could have a moment alone?"
Twilight nodded and bowed out of the room, and the two remaining ponies listened to her hoofbeats echo down and again further down the labyrinthine crystal hallway, which now seemed to glitter coldly like a sterile knife where it once had gleamed so warmly. rarity shivered at the thought of living in a place like this, which could transform before your eyes depending only on ones own emotion. that was, she mused, the property of crystal. it created nothing, only reflecting what was cast onto it. in a dimly lit cave the finest diamond was often mistaken by novices for a common quartz, but at the heart of a kingdom built on a foundation of admiration it gleamed on every surface like the morning dew on a freshly budded rose. this castle wasn't a cold cage or a warm embrace, it was an endless hall of mirrors, each perfectly angled to show you the deepest darkest crevice of your heart.
"i understand why it tortures you to live here." rarity whispered. "each surface gleams to a pristine chrome finish, yet the face it reflects is fundamentally and inconceivably wrong."
shining armor appeared startled, "that's exactly how it feels. how do you know? is it that obvious how miserable i am?
the mare shook her head, "only to those who have felt the same misery. shining armor, i once lived the same life as you, albeit in a much more drab estate. I felt that at every turn i failed at the very task of existing as myself, my relationships suffered because it pained me to view myself as a part of them. mirrors became my enemy because i couldn't face the pony looking back at me. the stallion looking back at me."
a small gasp escaped the taller unicorns lips "what-"
"think about it shining," rarity pleaded shakily, " everything you cant stand to be: brother, father, soldier, prince. they all have one thing in common." tears welled in her eyes and choked her throat "you cant run from it shining. it never stops. you only make yourself more and more miserable. you can cover as many mirrors as you like but eventually you're going to look around and realize that you're still the same pony you hated, standing alone in complete darkness."
something clicked behind the other ponys eyes. "no, it cant be... what about cadence? flurry? twilight? i cant throw all of them away because i have some twisted dream of living as a-"
"-you're not sick shining. maybe a bit different, but there's nothing wrong with you. you'll find that the friends worth keeping don't care at all. they're suffering by watching you suffer; freeing yourself will only free them too."
"i have no idea where to even start though. aren't i a bit too old for this?" shinings eyes were wide and scared.
"i would love to personally see to all the aesthetic changes you wish for, if you'll have me. you really couldn't ask for a more qualified personal stylist. and as for the social shift, you've got the princesses of love and friendship in your corner."
"but that's just it: they're not in my corner. they may as well be on the other side of equestria, or a gaping cavern. how can i even know that they'll still see me as me?"
"i know how scary it is, especially in the early days, but i can personally account for twilights acceptance. and as for cadence, i'm pretty sure they don't go around giving titles like the princess of love to ponies who cant accept others for something so harmless as gender." her smile faded and her face grew a bit serious "i can be there with you if you want. like i said, i know how scary it is." she placed a hoof on top of the other mares own.
She smiled. "I think id like that."
#mlp fanfic#mlp fanfiction#rarity#twilight sparkle#shining armor#princess cadence#mlp trans#trans shining armor#transfem shining armor
29 notes
·
View notes
Text
when worlds collide - h.p. x gn!avenger!reader
a/n: bahahahahaha no one reads harry x reader lmaoo you don’t have to tell me - i know. but still, i thought this was a cute idea and i went with it. hope you enjoy :)
not edited.
also: timelines don’t match up bc i don’t want to do the math so harry is like 20 - 21 and your like 19 - 20 in 2020. Civil War and everything on didn’t happen. Fred didn’t die.
gn = gender neutral
warning(s): “language!” - captain america.
word count: 3.1k
request(ed): no.
summary: stephen sends y/n to a strange new place with...wizards?
————————————-&—————————————
Never doubt Stephen Strange. That's something that pretty much everyone has accepted. Never second guess the wizard man. Usually you'd agree. Usually you'd just let the man babble about whatever he needed to and then go about your day.
Not now.
The fuckery.
Now you were here (wherever here was) after some flashes of orange and a "be careful." Did he even do the spell right? Is this really where you were supposed to be?
It was dark, and dirty and you just wanted to go home and not talk to anyone so you turned yourself invisible.
You were born with your powers - you think. You were adopted so you wouldn't know where your powers came from. All you know is that one day your parents couldn't find you, even though you were right there. Instead of thinking you were some kind of alien and throwing you out to labs, they helped you control it the best you could.
It was difficult at first, all things considered, but you got through. You discovered you had another power as well. Force fields. Those came in handy during the battles. (You helped where you could), and Tony Stark took you in afterwards as his own. He helped you create your suit, and your name, and discover more about your powers, he was basically a dad to you.
Your parents were a little hesitant letting you join the Avengers, but once they realized this is what you were meant to do, and you had people just like you protecting you, they couldn't keep you from that. They just couldn't.
So here you were, invisible, in some dark and creepy alley. There were doors either side of you, so you got out of the way considering they could open and smack you in the face at any given moment. You heard loud voices and laughing and cheering from both ends of the alley so you walked towards the one in front of you.
The voices were so loud and echoey that you really couldn't focus on anything else. Maybe that's why you didn't hear a boy behind you trip and fall into you from behind.
"I'm so sorry." he said helping you up.
You turned around to help him, he got awfully dirty, and searched for his glasses that fell off his face.
Once standing, he took out a stick, waved it over him, and all of a sudden the dirt and gravel was gone.
"How did you do that?" You were no stranger to magic, but this was something you've never seen before. And why would he do it in front of you? For all he knew, you were an unknowing human.
"What?" He asked eyebrows furrowed together, accent strong.
"With the stick."
He chuckled shoving the stick back in his cloak.
"The stick." He smiled and looked you up and down. "It's a wand. You must not be from around here."
"Yeah, what tipped you off?" You noticed the lightning bolt scar on his head. You wondered how he got it.
"The accent, the clothes, the inability to recognize a simple wand, the ability to be here, not recognizing me, and wait - where is your cloak?"
"Cloak?"
"You were just invisible a moment earlier but I don't see your cloak anywhere."
"I don't have one. I can make myself invisible without a piece of fabric or your fancy stick." You say sarcastically. Were you flirting?
"Handy." He grins. "The name's Harry Potter."
He holds his hand out for you to shake. "Y/N L/N."
He asks you if you want to talk somewhere besides a dark dirty alley. You agreed. It took some convincing though to let him use his stick to clean the clothes you had on, but to change your outfit to something less, standout-ish.
When you felt the witch hat on your head you immediately snatched it off your head and glared at him.
He just laughed.
Once out of the alley, you breathed in the now clean air, and was mesmerized. People were bustling in and out of small shops, animals were flying and chirping around their owners, children were running around with their friends and siblings, and people were waving sticks, or wands, just like Harry used.
"C'mon, this way." He smiled at your awestruck face. It reminded him of when he first arrived with Hagrid all those years ago.
He brought you inside a coffee shop, and sat you at a booth near the window knowing you'd probably want to still look outside at the new scenes.
After ordering, and a few moments of silence as you looked around, you decided to ask some questions.
"Where am I?"
"We're in Diagon Alley. It's like an outside mall."
"I mean like, planet? I guess?"
"Earth."
"Earth?"
"Well, more specifically London. Diagon Alley."
"London?! I'm in London?!"
"You've never been? To Earth? Or London?"
You rolled your eyes silently cursing Strange. "I'm from Earth. The United States, actually. I just wish he'd put me on a fucking plane or something instead of making it seem like I was going to Mars."
"He?" Harry was very curious.
You looked into his green eyes, your mind wandering. The guy in front of you was very attractive. His dark hair complimented his eyes, and his glasses made him even more attractive.
"You guys are wizards right?"
"Really? What gave you that impression?" He asks sarcastically. "The sticks, the pointy hats, or the big bowl with green liquid sitting outside?”
You rolled your eyes. "Very funny. It's not my fault you live into the stereotype of brewing potions in your cauldrons -"
"Oh well I can only assume you're one of those Avengers from the States, yeah?" He grins. "You guys are all over the news."
"Yes, sure -"
"And don't one of you wear capes and another shoot lasers or lightning or whatnot? Sounds very stereotypical to me."
You laugh as the waitress brings over your drinks and muffins. You thank her. "No, well yes, that's Strange and Thor, but that's besides the point -"
"Well of course it's strange." He grins and winks and you over his mug. He was purposely annoying you and found great joy in it.
"Anyway," you sigh getting back to the point. "Do you guys have a Wizard here, like a powerful, trusting, all-knowing kind of guy?"
His eyes dropped slowly and his smile dimmed for a moment before slowly widening once again.
"Had. His name was Dumbledore."
"Our guy is Stephen Strange. Or Dr. Strange. He sent me here, and I'm not sure why."
"Hmmm." He hums setting down his mug. "Are the states in danger? Were you sent here on a secret quest that would put you through tough trials that would risk your life but would ultimately save everyone you've ever loved so you just have to do it?"
You were in a silent shock. "Uhm. No, not that I'm aware of, no."
"Well then perhaps your Wizard Strange is playing matchmaker."
"Matchmaker?"
"Well you were sent here weren't you?" You nod. "Arrived outside the exact place where I was and I just happened to bump into you? Sounds like a set-up to me."
"Or a coincidence."
"I'd like to think it was fate that I bump into the most attractive person I've ever seen and they don't know who I am and won't judge me 'cause of my past." He took a bite of his muffin.
"Should I be worried?"
"I guess you'll have to figure that out yourself." He winks.
You decide to eat your muffin as well. It was a comfortable silence until you looked out of the window and noticed a guy crouching down behind a cauldron...with a camera.
"Harry?"
"Hm?"
"Why is there a man outside taking pictures of you?"
His eyes widened. "Oh shit." He whispered. "Here." He took out a baseball cap and put it over your head, hiding your face from the camera.
He gets out of his seat quickly pulling you along with him to the back of the shop but before you could say anything he had his wand pulled out.
Next thing you saw was a couch and living room.
"Wow." You panted. "What a way to bring a girl home."
"I apologise Y/N, I block them out so much I forget they're even there and now they've seen you, and have a story and -"
"Wait, wait, wait, are you wanted for murder or something?"
Harry walks over to his bookshelf and pulls out a rather large book. After opening up on the table, he waved his wand over it and beckons you over to read it.
'Boy who lived.'
'Golden boy defeats Voldemort'
'winner of Triwizard tournament'
And there was so much more… 'Harry Potter' in bold just strewn across the pages. His whole life story.
Your eyes widen at everything. "So both and neither. War hero. How come I've never heard of you? Or any of this?"
He smiles at the pages fondly, running his fingers across the letters and reminiscing on his times at Hogwarts.
"Unlike you Avengers, we like to keep our business private and quiet. We don't like prying eyes."
You scoff. "Not our fault we have alien invasions every year."
Harry agreed and for the rest of the night you sat on his couch talking and sometimes arguing, over every little thing. It felt like you two had known each other forever.
You're not sure when, but you fell asleep there and woke with your head on his chest and his arm wrapped around your waist. You're not sure how the two of you ended up this way, and you realized you were practically strangers, but you didn't want to move. You just wanted to tangle your fingers through his dark hair.
But you didn't. Instead you stared at his closed eyes, and focused on his long, dark, eyelashes that fluttered a little from time to time. You thought about how you could get used to this. Waking up with his arm wrapped around you.
You told him last night that if he was actually a serial killer, and wanted to kill you that you had a whole team of people who would rip him limb from limb. He had no doubts and looked actually scared of your threat.
You thought about what it'd be like to live here among people like you.
Stomach grumbling, you decided to get up and see if he had anything you could make for him. It's the least you could do. His face turned when you left his arms, but you quickly pulled the blanket over him so he would be able to sleep a little longer.
You found his bathroom, and washed your face. In your backpack was a toothbrush and some toothpaste so you brushed your teeth, fixed your hair, and got dressed.
By the time you got out of the bathroom, you noticed Harry was still sleeping so you went into the kitchen and tried to find anything remotely close to breakfast foods. By the look of his inventory, you could tell he was very good at cooking but hadn’t been to the store in a while. He did have some eggs and toast though so you decided to make that.
In the middle of it, you got a phone call from Strange.
“Strange?”
“Harry Potter.” he says.
“What?” you were so confused as to how Stephen knew ANYTHING.
“You’re in his place, we've been tracking you.”
“So I guess we should probably have a talk about privacy? I don’t know, it just seems like something we should discuss you know? Cause usually people can respect that - especially people who just DUMP you here in the first place -“
“Calm down that’s what the mission was. While you were sleeping, we searched the place with a camera we put on you and he’s not who we thought he was. You completed the mission L/N. Great job.”
“Is he a danger?”
“Not necessarily. Just making sure your fine is all.”
“What -?”
He hung up.
Why wouldn’t Strange tell you his intentions? Why would he let you stay here if he thought Harry might have been a bad guy? Why would he risk that?
Right as you hung up Harry Potter walked into the kitchen with his lenses in between his shirt - he was cleaning his glasses.
His dark hair hung over his eyes but his eyebrows were raised.
“You made breakfast?”
“It was the least I could do. I didn’t mean to fall asleep but thank you for letting me stay.”
He smiled and put his glasses back on. In doing so his gray shirt lifted and you could see his abs. You turned away a blushed.
“It was no big deal. Thank you for making breakfast, love. You didn’t have to.”
You didn’t say anything and instead placed both of your finished plates on the dining room table. He followed you and sat down immediately digging in.
“These are the best eggs i’ve ever eaten Y/N thank you.”
You smiled in response but then frowned remembering your conversation with Strange. You should probably tell Harry.
“So,” you cleared your throat. “You were wrong.”
He gave you a look that meant “about?”
“Dr. Strange - the wizard I work with - he likes to check out potential threats and make sure that ya’know - the earth stays safe and everything. Je can kind of see the future and its propabilities. He did the same thing with Thor and his brother Loki.”
“Okay, go on.”
You cringed. “And so he called me and told me that he sent me here so he could see you? I don’t know I guess he saw you as a threat and wanted to make sure you weren’t.”
You looked at Harry but his face was clear of any and every emotion. He just continued to eat his eggs. It was silent.
You ate a bit at your eggs too until he spoke up which made you look up.
“I can’t say I’m very surprised honestly. With everything you guys manage to fuck up there I’d wanna know if someone else was about to create shit problems too.”
You sighed with relief. He wasn’t mad.
“I’m sorry really Harry, I didn’t even know.”
“No yeah it’s fine. I get it. I still think he sent you specifically for a reason though. There’s just no way we aren’t soul mates or something.”
“Oh shut up Potter.”
He smiled. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Gee your head must hurt.”
He squints at you jokingly. “You should let me take you out. I can show you around today. Y’know, so you can see what wizards are like.”
“Is this a date?”
His face flushes red and he looks down at his plate. “Yeah, yeah it’s a date.”
And a date it was.
“What the fuck is wrong with you Harry! Again?!” You practically screamed. Harry called it aparation but you call it hell. You let it go the first time but damn. He barely even warned you, just took your hand, held it tight, pulled you close, and waved his wand.
It was teleportation. Something you’ve never ever done before.
“Fucking hell Potter I’m going to murder you.”
“And Strange was worried about your safety? This is like your 4th time threatening to end my life and besides, it wasn’t even that bad.”
You rolled your eyes.
Throughout the day Harry showed you all sorts of things you’d never ever seen before. This consisted of every flavor jelly beans (and by every flavor they really meant every flavor), a chocolate frog, and never ending bubble gum. And that was just on the candy side.
He took you inside this joke shop ran by two of his friends from his old school he called hogwarts. They were twins that went by the names of Fred and George. The only twins you had ever met was Wanda and Pietro but telling the story of Pietro’s death seemed to sour Harry’s mood but excite the twins. The fact that he sacrificed himself for a little boy made him a hero in their eyes. They begged you to tell them more stories.
By the end of the day you went back to Harry’s place and you were exhausted. You can’t believe all that you’ve seen and eaten. How was this stuff even possible? How was it all hidden? You were amazed.
Harry was glad to see you had a good day and glad that he had met you. When you got back, he told you that you could stay another night...and perhaps in the bed instead of the couch. He hadn’t meant it in a dirty way but that didn’t stop you from laughing until tears came out of your eyes. He was so awkward at times. Once he had to ask if it was okay to take your hand while you were in the street and it was so cute how he couldn’t really find the words even for something as simple as hand holding.
“Harry?”
“Hm?”
You both were laying in his bed facing the other.
“I had a lot of fun today. I feel like i’ve known you forever.”
He grinned from ear to ear and was glad that you couldn’t see him. He would have been beyond embarrassed if you’d seen how unmistakably happy that made him.
“I had fun with you Y/N. You’re great company.”
You were silent for a moment.
And another.
“Harry?”
“Yes?”
“Can I kiss you?”
You were scared of his response and your heart was practically beating out of your chest. What if he was just being friendly? What if he just wanted to be friends? You would have made a huge fool of yourself. You were going to turn away embarrassed until his hand came up to your face and slipped onto your cheek. He was so warm. His lips pressed against yours for a moment and then he pulled away.
After a moment he reconnected and moved his lips against yours slowly. Your hand went to the back of his neck and toyed with his hair. He groaned into your mouth. You smiled and scooted even closer to him. All you could hear was the sound of your breathing and kissing. You didn’t want to pull away but you had to.
“Harry.” you said practically breathless.
“Yeah.” he was breathless too.
“I want to show you my world. You should come see New York.”
“Yeah? You wanna show me those alien invasions and robot attacks?”
You laughed and snuggled into Harry. He wrapped his arm around you and kissed your neck.
“Mhmm.”
“I’d love to see it.”
Tags:
@romance-geek @gooseyhouse
#harry potter x reader#harry potter oneshot#harry potter#harry potter imagines#harry potter imagine#harry potter x you#harry potter x y/n#harry potter fluff#harry potter fic#harry potter angst#harry potter smut#harry potter marvel crossover#marvel#marvel imagine#mcu#marvel imagines#the avengers#marvel cinematic universe#draco malfoy x reader#steve rogers x reader#tony stark x reader#fred weasly x reader#thor odison x reader#ron weasly x reader#loki x reader#stephen strange#dr strange#hp#draco malfoy imagine#harry potter icons
192 notes
·
View notes
Text
alright, I'm usually over at twitter or discord spewing my thoughts and prompts, but I feel like the Merlin fandom is bigger over here, so maybe someone appreciates that
Thoughts and a fanfic prompt to s2ep07 The Witchfinder
Aredian accuses Merlin of magic bc of the amulet he placed in the physician's quarters, and from the look in his eye, presumably speculates that Gaius will "confess" that it's his - what Gaius of course does because he loves Merlin like his own son. During the episode, still-innocent Morgana is on Aredian's radar as well, just bc Gaius treated her nightmares, and we learn that although Gaius confesses, Aredian still wants to "expose Merlin and Morgana's evil deeds".
I feel like most people - once we realize that Aredian is an asshole who stages all the "sorcerer sightings" for money, and Arthur once more is more reasonable than Uther and helps Merlin save the day, who is actually doing all the work again - I feel like most people tend to forget that Aredian actually precisely accused 3 real sorcerers of sorcery. Yes, neither of them did what they'd been accused of, but nonetheless, Aredian points them out with eerie precision.
So WHAT IF Aredian actually has some weak magic himself? Like the "funny feelings" Merlin sometimes gets when he just instinctively knows shit's gonna go downhill or when he feels drawn towards other people's/being's magic? Like an actual witchfinder, you know, not skilled enough to play detective and catch sorcerers in the act, maybe not even interested in upholding the laws against sorcery or not, just as long as he gets payment and fame - but what if he makes those seemingly random *finger point* "THAT BOY" accusations that nobody ever questions bc of his own weak magic that makes him sensitive for it?
Okay, so now comes the prompt idea. We all probably laughed when cheeky Merlin exposes Aredian with that toad coming out of his mouth on top of everything else, but imagine he doesn't bc that would be too obvious and instead just places the "fake" evidence in his room - that would leave Aredian the opportunity to use his mouth.
So what if, while Arthur and the knights are searching the room, Aredian thunders that "THAT BOY placed this here, HE'S the sorcerer, you have EVIL IN YOUR CASTLE" and Arthur only scoffs because please, that man is just ridiculous. And then, like *Merlin* did in the actual episode, *Aredian* turns away, half-hidden from view, whispers a spell that has Merlin's magic reacting, body spasming and eyes golden.
And Merlin is just standing there, struggling to hold his magic inside and not have it lashing out, and Aredian is smirking bc there's no way to explain that away, surely he has won now-
And Arthur whirls around, punching Aredian in the face, yelling at his knights about stuffing that man's mouth with a cloth before he says any more spells, and when Aredian fights them bc he finally realizes he's about to lose and then moves towards Morgana, Arthur runs him through with his sword.
Aredian is dead.
Merlin is still breathing hard, even though his magic has settled once again, and while everyone is shocked and panting and Arthur assures himself of Morgana's wellbeing, Merlin is On Edge. Because that was his actual magic reacting, and his own eyes turning golden in response to the spell, and a room full of knights, and Morgana, and Arthur were watching.
But when they all return to Uther, Arthur relays the story and it sounds as if Aredian, traitor of Camelot and apparently an evil sorcerer that has sent innocent people into their death, has enchanted Merlin to look as if he had magic, JUST like he did with hiding that amulet in Gaius chambers, to put the blame onto someone else.
Nobody questions it, not even Uther.
Merlin feels the tightness in his chest lessen, finally able to breathe normally again. He wants to laugh, really. Arthur is SO CONVINCED that his manservant is nothing more than a bumbling, but highly loyal idiot - and he has tried to protect Merlin, he remembers, right in front of Aredian and Uther and the whole court - that Arthur doesn't even consider Merlin could actually have magic.
When the day winds down, Merlin helps Arthur getting ready for bed, serving him dinner, tidying his chambers, still tired and wary, but incredibly relieved.
Until Arthur says, "So, Merlin," and Merlin freezes because that tone sounds chilling. Carefully, he straightens up and looks at Arthur, who's watching him with frighteningly intense eyes, gaze piercing. "Anything you have to say?"
"Uhm," Merlin hesitates, unsure what exactly Arthur means, heart beating wildly. "I don't know what you mean, Sire," he settles on, but that seems to be the wrong thing to say.
Arthur narrows his eyes. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe 'thank you', but I know manners aren't your strong suit, so how about the truth?"
"The truth?" Merlin laughs nervously, dear god, he shouldn't have let his guard down-
"YES, Merlin, the truth," Arthur growls, and then he's out of his chair, stomping towards Merlin. "Because I can assure you, this was the last time I've lied to my knights and my father and the entire court for you if you don't even have it in you to tell me the TRUTH!"
Arthus has him cornered against the bedpost now, and Merlin is trembling ever so slightly. Arthur's eyes are blazing, like a blue, furious thunderstorm, and Merlin knows there's no escaping this; especially because Arthur is right.
So he talks. He's hesitant at first, reinforcing that everything they found out about Aredian is the truth, that Merlin did not lie, that he did not *once* betray Arthur, or Camelot. Arthur looks as if he isn't sure if he fully believes Merlin, but he listens, and that is more than Merlin could've hoped for.
In the end, Merlin's voice is rough from talking, his face pale and tight with worry. Arthur has stepped back from him a while ago, first crossing his arms and snapping out questions, and then he started pacing.
"I swear," Merlin says lowly, "I never intended to bring anyone harm. I was born like this... and I have finally found a purpose."
"And what would that be, Merlin?" Arthur asks, but he doesn't sound harsh; he sounds tired, staring into the flames of the fireplace.
Merlin gulps. Now or never. "Protecting you. I- I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want you to have to choose. Because no matter the outcome... it would've burdened you."
Still staring into the flames, Arthur laughs humorlessly. "And yet it seems I did it anyway."
At Merlin's silence, Arthur finally turns, and he almost looks sick. "Does Gaius know?"
"Yes," Merlin whispers, but he's not afraid that Arthur will punish Gaius for it. Arthus isn't Uther.
"Of course," Arthur mumbles, and his eyes show that he's working through what he's heard so far. "How could he not know? After all, a quite powerful warlock is living with him."
Shifting uncomfortably, Merlin wonders if there's anything he can say to make it easier for anyone, but there are no words he can think of.
Arthur scoffs, shaking his head. "That... that can't be..." he trails off, and he's reeling more than Merlin has ever seen him before. "That would mean-"
Abruptly, Arthur turns away, aiming for his chair, before he whirls around again and once more stomps towards Merlin.
"If you're telling the truth," Arthur snaps, and there's a threatening expression on his face, before it softens at Merlin's flinch. "Then why aren't you affected by the magic? Why do you still want to protect me, so much so that you're putting yourself at risk everyday?"
"I," Merlin starts, unsure. "I told you, I think... that you'll be a great king, and I-"
Arthur shakes his head. "No," he interrupts. "Why is the magic not tainting you? Why... why are you still you?" he finishes, quieter.
Merlins heart feels incredibly tender. "Because magic is just a tool, Arthur. Like sword fighting. A tool that some people can use, and some can't. A tool that sometimes is used for good, and sometimes for evil. Having magic says nothing about a person - but the way they use it does."
Silence, only the crackling of the fire can be heard as Merlin watches Arthur's face, seeing the emotions flit over it, the horrible realization. "Then..."
Merlin doesn't say anything. This is a conclusion Arthur should draw, alone, without Merlin's influence.
Arthur looks up, and the light of a candle reflects in his eyes. He looks vulnerable. Pleading. Incredibly young.
Merlin waits as Arthur turns away once more, running a hand through his golden hair, shoulders tense.
"If it's alright with you," Merlin carefully starts, "I'd look after Gaius now. He's gone through hell these past few days."
"Yes, yes," Arthur agrees, sounding crumpled under the weight of tonight's revelations. "Please pass on my well wishes to him again. What happened to him was... unjust." He gets hung up on that word apparently, because he repeats it under his breath, like a death sentence. "Unjust."
Tentatively, Merlin steps towards Arthur, but he doesn't know if it will be welcome right now.
"Goodnight, Sire."
The door has almost closed behind Merlin when he hears the faint "Goodnight" in return. He smiles. Maybe, just maybe, the horrors since the witchfinder arrived are leading the way to their destiny.
Addition: Maybe, because Arthur's actually kind of smart, he realized that Merlin has magic earlier, but tried to convince himself that he hasn't. And maybe Arthur puts two and two together about the witchfinder having actual magic, and he asks Merlin about Morgana. And maybe that would save her, and the kingdom, and ultimately himself. Just saying.
#merlin bbc#merlin emrys#arthur pendragon#merlin x arthur#merthur#the witchfinder#episode remix#prompt idea#half a fanfic#bc let's be honest I can't not spew copious amounts of words when I try to explain a thought#Merlin's magic revealed#Arthur knows about Merlin's magic#yes these are ao3 tags
40 notes
·
View notes
Text
gifmaker appreciation tag
rules: answer the first half of the questions with gifsets of your own, then answer the second half by tagging gifmakers you love!
tagged by: @cuddlybitch @baek1nho @belsmultifandommess @gongmyung @koreandragon @surii @thingskateknows @liveasbutterflies @baijingting thank u all so much for tagging me!! always love a chance to celebrate gifmakers on here 💖💖💖
LINK A GIFSET…
Link a gifset you’re really proud of:
blending is something i always try to do and then give up halfway into the first gif so i’m proud of myself for giving it another go for this vincenzo set. helps that it’s a really dark scene so i could hide all the flaws XD baby steps! also i just think the parallel with the hug and bloody hands and the villain quote is genius ok.. my mind 😌
Link a gifset where you tried something new:
i tried to play around with colourful gradients for this vincenzo set and i’m pretty happy with how it turned out
Link a gifset that features your favorite character or celebrity:
he’s just a baby 🥺️
Link a gifset that you want more people to see:
maybe this atots one?
Link a gifset that you had fun making:
i always enjoy making comp sets but then it gets to the part where i have to match the colouring across the gifs and then i start questioning everything.. this move to heaven one was pretty fun tho! their sibling energy <3
Link a gifset that you created as part of a meme, challenge, or series:
i put quite a lot of thought into��this one for the ‘characters i see myself in’ challenge
Link a gifset of yours that makes you smile:
too many bc i usually like giffing the cute/comedic moments the most! i’ll pick this atots one!! i mean just look at them 🥺️
Link a gifset that you made for someone else:
i made this into the ring set and this do you like brahms set as part of last year’s kdrama secret santa exchange 🎅💝
TAG SOMEONE WHO…
Tag someone who inspired you to start making gifs:
i’ve been on this hellsite for more than a decade so it’s hard to remember why i started making gifs or who inspired me. i took a break for awhile but it was 2gether and the lovely fandom on here that got me to start giffing again at the beginning of quarantine last year :D
Tag someone who makes great vibrant gifs:
@cuddlybitch @mercurialhigh @metawin @alienwlw do absolute MAGIC with their colours and i’m always in awe!!!! @gimme-a-chocolate also makes such great vibrant gifs 😍
Tag someone who makes great pale/pastel gifs:
i’m not sure if it counts as pale but @ramsking has a very soft distinct colouring that is gorgeous <3
Tag someone who gifs for a fandom you love:
@becomeundone for run on, vincenzo and cherry magic 🥰️🥰️🥰️ not forgetting @yesdramas for general kdrama fandom and @earthmixs for general thai fandom (and now kdramas too hehe)
Tag someone who uses text/typography really well in their gifsets:
definitely @baijingting and her devastating quotesets 💔 and i love how @deokmis is always experimenting with different fonts and styles! also in general the s&b and jatp fandom on here are sooo impressive
Tag someone who motivates you to step up your game:
@mostlyfate and @gominshi for sure!! always incredibly stunning and creative gifs✨
Tag someone who you have taken inspiration from:
i get my inspiration from all the wonderful people i follow so it’s hard to just pick one. but recently i’ve been going into the sabedit and litedit tags to admire everyone’s works and find inspiration to improve my sets
Tag gif makers who you admire and appreciate! (Put as many people here as you want!):
some have already been tagged before but i wanted to show my 💗 anyway! @moonlightsdream @baek1nho @uppoompat @liveasbutterflies @surii @ipytm @florenzim @dramaism @haeyeongs @gangtaes @kojiseok @oh-aew @ficklefackle @winar @thingskateknows @gongmyung @minhyowon + the ones i already mentioned above!
#tagged#i know this is a gifmaker appreciation#but also wanted to give a shoutout to my other moots#for their memes and text posts and wonderful translations as well#they all keep the fandom going 💞
28 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
budapestmode
Budapest
largando
Untitled
ifyourgunnabedumbyougottabetough
To quote the Grinch "imma psycho"
fourthapprentice
what happens, happens and then we’re gone.