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dreamescapeswriting · 3 years

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Rent An Oppa ~ HHJ [Request]

WORD COUNT: 4.5K

PAIRING: Hyunjin x Reader

GENRE: non idol AU, strangers to lovers, rent an oppa, fluffy, a little angst but nothing too major, pining for one another, first kiss,

A/N: I made this one a fluffy one without smut hunny, I hope that this is okay hunny

Moving to South Korea was one of the best decisions you'd ever made. It had been your dream for years to move somewhere that wasn’t where you were from. You’d finally made it happen, you were here. Sitting in your new apartment staring out at all of the sights that you could see. The apartment you’d gotten was a loft apartment which was something you’d never thought of having before, but it was perfect. The ground floor was open plan, besides the bathroom of course and you had large floor to ceiling windows that looked out at the city of Seoul. Your bedroom was just up a flight of stairs and it looked out at the ground floor, it was unbelievably perfect for your first home in Seoul. There was only one thing wrong with everything and that was that you didn’t know your way around. Sure there were maps and people you could ask for help but you wanted a tour guide.

You’d seen an app being advertised on your plane ride over which you were tempted to use. “Rent an Oppa.” It sounded like it was straight out of a K-Drama but it was real and monitored wonderfully. Everyone had a screening test, background test and everything is done before they were allowed to become an “Oppa” for the app.

“Let’s see what this is then,” You mumbled to yourself as you sat down on your sofa, pulling your knees up to your chest as you began to scroll through the app. Everyone had profiles set up with verification photos to prove that they were who they said they were, then there were some small descriptions about the boys or girls there.

Endlessly scrolling and swiping through profiles you couldn’t find anyone you thought you would get along well with. You wanted someone that you had things in common with, if you were going to be paying them for their time you might as well do something you both enjoy doing it.

About to give up hope and go at it alone a profile popped up. A new profile that caught your eye. The photo was of a boy around 21-years-old standing on top of a rooftop, dressed in a smart shirt and tie aiming a camera at whoever was taking the photo of him. Photography-nut was written in his profile making you giggle a little as you flicked through his images. In each of them, it began to reveal his face and mid-length blonde hair. He looked as though he was really sweet and kind, the kind of boy you took to meet your parents.

“Hyunjin,” You smiled as you said his name, swiping onto his profile to see what rates he was charging. It wasn’t expensive and just in your budget range so you messaged him. There was no harm in seeing if he was free that day.

[12:03] Y/n:

Hi there, I’m not entirely sure how this thing works 😅😅 but could we arrange a meetup? I’m new in Seoul and need a tour guide 🥰

Staring at the phone you debated with yourself if that was the right way to start a conversation with someone on the app. There was no tutorial on how to message them or if you had to wait for them to message you first.

[12:07] Hyunjin 🍀

Hey! I would love to arrange a meetup. I can meet you anywhere you feel comfortable! Welcome to Seoul! 💞🌺

Smiling to yourself you gave him the address to the shop right beside your apartment building. It was the only play you really knew so far and you wanted to meet him somewhere you knew the exact location of. Rather than wandering around lost trying to find somewhere to meet him you didn’t know yet.

Dressed in a long-sleeved Beige shirt-dress and some black leggings you waited outside the shop, acting as though you were busy on your phone so you didn’t look as though you were staring out for Hyunjin. It was already going to be awkward enough without you looking around gormlessly for him.

“Hey,” A voice called out making you jump a little as you looked up from your phone to see him. He was identical to his photos though his hair was a little longer now.

“Hi, I’m Y/n.” You shook his hand and he smiled nodding his head,

“I’m Hyunjin and I know this is probably going to be awkward for a while so I hope we can become friends throughout it,” He smiled as he let go of your hand. This time you looked at him you took in his whole appearance, he was wearing a black and white striped turtle neck and some black jeans.

“I’m new to the app so we’re both doing firsts here,” He smiled as he looked around you both, taking in everything around him as he tried to figure out what you could do for the day.

“It’s still quite early in the afternoon...I can show you around, show you all of the shops, shopping mall and just around Seoul itself if you like?” You were completely taken by his voice, appearance and how sweet he was being with you.

“I would love that, the only place I know is the shop and my apartment.” You laughed weakly as he nodded his head.

“Would you mind if I linked our arms?” You shook your head and you linked arms with one another as he began to lead you down the road.

“So what brings you to Seoul?” He questioned as he tried to break the ice. It was nice that he was trying, you had rented him for the rest of the day and you were going to have to get to know each other.

“I fancied a change in pace. I’ve always loved South Korea and the culture,” You admitted as your eyes glanced around at all of the people you were pacing. Everyone in their own worlds as they went about their daily lives. Each person you saw looked as though they had been plucked out of a fashion magazine, their outfits were so effortless yet stood out in the large crowds.

“When did you get here?” He asked as he waited at the side of the road for lights to change and you could cross without being in any kind of danger.

“About two days ago...I’ve been locked up in my apartment eating Ramen. I was so worried I’d get lost.” You groaned thinking back on it while Hyunjin laughed a little, shaking his head.

“I’ll add a shopping trip on our list of things to do. I can’t have you living off only ramen.” He chuckled and your whole heart seemed to swell up when you saw the smile on his face. It was honestly one of the prettiest smiles you’d seen and his dimples were so deep you wanted to reach up and poke them. But you didn’t.

The rules of the app were very simple. No inappropriate touching, no exchange of social media or phone numbers. Once the dates were over that was it unless you rented another one but only through the app.

“I should take you to see Cheonggyecheon River, a small walk down and we’ll be at the nicest cafes,” Hyunjin explained as he seemed to be enjoying this almost as much as you were,

“So why did you join the app?” You questioned as you looked at him, it had been a question on your mind since seeing him on the app.

“I needed the extra cash for art supplies...I’m studying at the moment so this seemed to be the perfect side job.” He explained as he began heading down some stairs towards a small river that ran through the city.

“Cheonggyecheon River,” You whispered as you looked around, it had only been something you’d seen in photos but now it was real.

“So you do art?” You questioned as you went back to looking up at Hyunjin while you walked.

“Yeah. I try to, I’m learning to draw, I thought it would be fun.” You smiled wanting to know more about it.

“Do you have any pictures?” He nodded as he sat down on an empty bench with you, pulling out his phone to show you photos of the drawings he’d been doing in his spare time.

“These are amazing! You did these?” You were truly shocked to see someone who was just learning to draw create amazing pieces as he had done. Some were anime characters, others were drawings of himself and another was a drawing of a dog.

“This is my favourite,” You told him as you looked at the Chihuhaha drawing he’d done,

“My little Kkami, I missed him so I drew him from a photo.” You smiled at the drawing again,

“Do you not get to see him much?” He shook his head as he looked out at the water.

“I live in a dorm with seven guys who are studying, Kkami is at home with my family.” Your heart clenched at the thought of him not getting to see his dog much,

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head at you, you had nothing to be sorry for.

“Don’t be, it makes the time I have with him all the more special. Shall we start to go?” You nodded getting up from the bench once more and heading in the direction he was leading you in.

The two of you had gotten to know each other more on your walk over to the supermarket, getting to know about him and all his roommates that seemed adventurous.

“Felix came here at 2 am once just to get baking ingredients.” He laughed as he pushed the trolley around the store, adding things he thought you would enjoy as well as ingredients to make Kimchi with.

“Why was he baking at 2 in the morning?” You laughed adding some pasta products into the trolley, looking around at everything in shock. It was so much larger than any other supermarket you had been in and it was empty. Hardly anyone besides you and Hyunjin was around and there was soft music playing through some speakers.

“It’s Felix, who knows why he does what he does,” He laughed as he watched you. You were standing in front of ramen packets and he smirked a little,

“You could get the cups. They’ll be better for you and cheaper in price.” Thanking him you added a bunch into the trolley and smiled a little,

“Noodles are the only thing I can successfully cook.” You chuckled while Hyunjin shook his head at you,

“I need to give you cooking lessons but we’re almost out of the day...I can send you some cooking books if you like.” The thought of the day almost being over made you sad to think you’d never see him again.

“I could book you for another day? I would love to learn to cook from someone who’s lived here their whole life,” Yes. That was the reason. Totally not because every time he smiled or laughed your heart fluttered. Hyunjin’s heart seemed to flutter at the thought of getting to meet you again, although he was getting paid to hang out with you it didn’t feel forced. It felt natural to be around you as though he had known you for years and he couldn’t wait to do it all over again.

“Sure! We should get some ingredients to cook with tomorrow. Your Kimchi will stay good for three to six months if you keep it in the fridge and once you know-how. You’re pretty much great for everything,” You smiled before nodding. Both of you grabbing more and more ingredients for recipes you could freeze and add to the freezer.

Laying in bed that night you couldn’t help but smile to yourself at the day you had. Hyunjin bought you home in a cab, helping you in with the bags before he helped you put everything away. You’d already paid him before he got home and booked another day together but none of it felt like a job or obligation to either of you. Hyunjin went home with a giant smile on his face having enjoyed the day much more than he had expected to.

“I told you that you’d have fun,” Chan said as he walked into the kitchen later that night to see Hyunjin couldn’t stop smiling.

“I had a lot, she’s amazing Hyung.” He explained as he began to pour himself some hot chocolate and get ready for a few hours of studying before bed.

“Just don’t get attached. The rules were simple Hyunjin.” He nodded as he headed back to his dorm room to find Felix sitting there waiting for everything that had happened that day.

“Felix made cookies.” Was the first thing Hyunjin said to you as you opened the door to see him standing there. Today he was wearing a white t-shirt, a grey jacket and some shorts. It was the hottest day of the year.

“His famous ones?!” You asked a little too excitedly as you saw the Tupperware box filled to the brim with cookies all of different shapes and sizes.

“He was baking last night and he thought I could share them.” It was a lie. Hyunjin had practically begged Felix to bake you some the night before. He’d told you so much about them and he’d seen the look on your face when he mentioned them. He wanted you to try them.

“Tell him I said thanks,” You hummed as bit down into one of the cookies, instantly rolling your head back at the taste of them.

"He could run his own bakery, oh my goodness," Hyunjin smiled as he walked into the kitchen pulling out an apron he'd brought from the dorms and getting ready to help you cook.

"We'll start with the Kimchi, it'll be the best thing to start with and then whatever you're planning for your dinner." You nodded at him, finishing off the cookie before you washed up and pulled on an apron you'd gotten from the store yesterday.

While you were chopping and washing up the ingredients Hyunjin was telling you everything you needed to do.

"You know you should be a chef...Or give out cooking classes." You told him as you began adding all of the ingredients together.

"I would give you five stars," He laughed softly as he looked at you,

"Like a Michelin chef?" You nodded at him as you continued to add everything together. Hyunjin laughing a little as he began to stir some of the stew he'd been making, scooping some up for you.

"You've reached the peak of taste, you'll never go back to normal food I promise." He laughed as you hummed at the taste of the stew.

"You'll have to take some home with you, there's no way I'll eat all this to myself." You mentioned as you stared at the huge stew pot he was cooking with.

"I'm sure the guys would love it," Hyunjin said before adding a little more spice to the stew and leaving it.

The two of you camped out on your sofa for hours just spending time getting to know one another. He told you all about his life at the dorms while you told him about life back at home.

"Do you miss it?" He asked as he bit into one of the cookies and looked at you,

"Sometimes. I miss the people more than the place but it's home." You frowned thinking back on your time, it wasn't as though you were never going to go back again, but this was your life now.

"I suppose that's how it is with many people." He smiled weakly putting down his plate and looking at the time, he only had an hour left with you before he had to head home for the night.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" You shrugged your shoulders as you thought about it. Nothing was planned for at least a month, your job was waiting for some final paperwork to be done.

"Nothing that I know of,"

"Do you want to go to Seoul Tower, it's one of the best tourist spots. I think you'll enjoy it there," You smiled while nodding your head, wanting to spend all of the time in the world with Hyunjin. For as long as you could at least.

"Sure!" You smiled at him before going over to the stew to get everything put into smaller tubs for him to take home. The subject of payment was growing closer and neither of you wanted to feel awkward about talking about it again.

"Hyunjin. You're growing attached," Chan warned as soon as Hyunjin stepped through the door that night. All eight of the boys were on the app to earn some extra cash and for them, it had been routine days out. A cafe, a shopping spree here and there but that was it. None of them ever spent so much time getting to know their clients or even cook with them.

"I'm not. She's just being a nice friend Hyung," He complained as he placed the stew down onto the counter. Calling out to the boys that there was food if anybody was hungry for it.

"She's a client Hyunjin. Nothing more." He rolled his eyes as he listened to Chan bring up the subject of the rules again.

"No exchanging numbers, social media or inappropriate touching. I know Hyung, Gosh what do you think we're doing? Fucking in some park?" He grumbled taking a cookie and heading for his bedroom. He didn't want to hear the same speech over and over again reminding him that he couldn't have you the way that he wanted. There were feelings growing between you and he knew he was never going to be able to act on them and it killed him inside.

The days you spent together began to grow more and more and you forgot that this wasn't just friends hanging out together. That you were paying him for spending time with you. That was until the end of the night when you would wire transfer him the cash when he left leaving you both feeling awkward the next morning. Only for that to fade whenever you got on with the day that you had planned together. You'd seen almost every tourist attraction there. Hyunjin took you to Nami Island, ice cream dates, cafe dates, Seoul Tower and today you were going to Gyeongbokgung Palace.

"Everything okay? You seem quiet." He chuckled as you waited in line together to get tickets for the palace. Your eyes wandered up to him as you smiled weakly.

"Fine...I just can't wait to get in there." You lied not wanting to make anything between you more awkward than it had to be.

The palace was beautiful and filled with history Hyunjin couldn't wait to tell you about it. Explaining everything and tell you all of the facts he knew about the palace.

"Did you come here a lot?" You asked as you both sat down on some grass patches by one of the lakes. He'd brought along a picnic basket and a blanket for the two of you. The basket was filled with food he’d cooked and baked goods Felix had been forced to make once again,

“When I was a kid. I love history so I used to beg mum into taking me.” He laughed as he remembered all of the weekends he would spend there, learning about everything that he could.

“That’s amazing,” You smiled as he held up a spoon to your lips, spoon-feeding you some yoghurt he had bought along with him. You hummed letting him feed you when you looked around at different people around you. Lots of couples were doing the same thing as you both. Sitting together on the grass as they fed one another.

“Hey I was-” Hyunjin stopped speaking when you turned to look at him, neither of you realising how close you were to one another until your lips almost touched. Neither of you moved. You just stared at him, eyes flicking from his lips to his mouth your whole body aching to lean in and kiss him. But you didn’t. You sat there looking at him as he looked at you.

No one would have to know, he could just lean down and kiss you right now and no one would know about it. It wasn’t as though there were guards on the apps that tracked their every move. Placing down the spoon he looked at you, scooting closer to you as he watched to see if your facial expression changed at all. His right hand slowly rose to your face and he cupped your face in his hand, running his thumb along your bottom lip as you let out a small whimper.

“If I do this, there’s no going back.” You shrugged your shoulder. You didn’t want to go back. You wanted his lips on yours, you didn’t care about anything else.

Hyunjin pressed his lips against yours and instantly it was sweet yet filled with passion, your arms wrapped around the back of his neck as you kissed him back. Lips moving in sync with one another as he pulled you closer to him. The world around you faded away as you made out on the small patch of grass together, forgetting that he was paid to be there and you were renting him for the day. None of that mattered when you felt the way you did. Your whole body prickling with tingles as he kissed you. Lips parting and tongues touching. Everything around you was gone. All you cared about was this moment.

After taking you home Hyunjin came in to have hot chocolate with you, well over his intended time limit and continued to kiss you. Cuddle you. Only making you yearn for him to stay longer but he had to go home. He had classes the next day.

“I don’t know when I’ll see you again,” You admitted as you stood by the front door of your apartment. Neither of you moving as you stared up at him. It was your last week before work and you could no longer afford to pay him. Though the subjects of paying for dates had gotten too weird for you and Hyunjin to talk about.

“I’m sure we’ll see each other around,” He sighed knowing he couldn’t give you his number or any way of contacting him outside of the app. He’d hoped he’d told you enough about his personal life for you to accidentally bump into one another somewhere.

“Hyunjin I think-” He kissed you softly not wanting you to finish the sentence. He was getting feelings for you too but admitting them out loud would make him stay and he couldn’t.

“I will see you around,” He whispered putting an emphasis on the “will” before he leant down to kiss you one last time. His hands on your waist as he smiled against your lips, pulling away and leaving you alone.

Weeks passed by and Hyunjin saw no sign of you in any of the spots he had told you about, he even made an effort to walk by your apartment building every night home from classes but there was no sign of you.

“You’ve been so weird lately. Why haven’t you been going to see Y/n?” Felix grumbled as he rolled over in bed one night to see Hyunjin laying wide awake at almost 1 am. Just sitting there and staring at the top of the bunk bed he was under.

“I can’t...I have feelings for her and I didn’t want to keep taking her money.” Crawling down from the top bunk Felix came to see Hyunjin. He was fully dressed and staring at the ceiling still.

“It’s creepy. Stop staring like that. Just go and “accidentally” bump into her...What’s the problem?” Hyunjin sat up and shook his head,

“You don’t think I’ve been trying that? I’ve been walking by her apartment building almost every night. Sitting in cafes...Maybe I was reading into it wrong.” Hyunjin’s phone flashed up and he darted toward it only to see it was an email from the Rent an Oppa app telling him that his account was deactivated.

“You quit?”

“I didn’t want to do it anymore.” He mumbled before getting up from the bed and grabbing a jacket,

“Where are you going? It’s almost 1:30?” Hyunjin said nothing as he left the bedroom.

The account was gone and all that was left was a stupid message telling you that Hyunjin has left the account. Staring down at your phone you hated yourself for not messaging him sooner to arrange something. You had to see him again. For the last two weeks, you had been going to what he said was his favourite cafe and waiting for him. You’d do the paperwork for work there, read books. You’d been in there so much the owner knew you by name.

“I’ll make you some goodnight tea,” The elderly owner whispered as she walked over to your table. They were open 24 hours which was nice at times like this when you couldn’t get to sleep.

“Thank you,” You whispered as you went back to looking through the paperwork you had to finish. The job wasn’t what you expected it to be so you were trying to file paperwork whilst look for something else to do there.

“Nightcap for you too?” The elderly woman called out to someone who had just walked through the door. Frowning to yourself you glanced up to see a hoodied boy walk through the shop and stand at the counter.

“You’re not alone tonight. Someone else who can’t sleep,” The hoodied boy began to turn and as soon as you locked eyes your heart lept to your throat.

“Hyunjin?” You whispered to yourself as he began heading over to your table, eyes wide as he saw you sitting there.

“Fancy meeting you here,” He laughed as he sat down beside you, both of you just as happy to see each other.

“I-I’ve been coming here almost every day,” You admitted as he looked at you, hands finding yours and holding onto them as tightly as he could. He never would have thought you would come here, he’d only mentioned it once and how much it meant to him.

“I only told you about this place once,”

“I could see how much it meant to you...I thought I might catch you here and then we could...Go on a normal date.” He let out a breathy chuckle as he nodded his head.

“Sounds good to me. I’m paying.” He told you as he kissed your lips softly. All of a sudden all of those weeks away from one another melted into nothingness. It was just the two of you together once again giving you the freedom to date, exchange numbers and hang out without some pesky app or their rules in the way.

Tagline: @minholuvs @taestannie @sw33tnight @acciocriativity @mwitsmejk @taeechwitaa @justbangtanthingz @stillwithlix

#skz #skz x reader #skz x you #skz imagine #skz imagines #stray kids #stray kids x reader #stray kids imagine #stray kids imagines #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin #hyunjin x reader #hyunjin imagine #hyunjin imagines #hwang hyunjin x reader #hwang hyunjin imagine #hwang hyunjin imagines

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sleephyjhs · 4 years

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Him As Your Boyfriend (Yoongi Headcanon)

pairing: boyfriend!yoongi x oc/reader

genre: fluff

notes: i haven’t posted proper content in over two months and i’m so sorry y’all, i’m getting back there slowly!

m.list | requested

EVERYDAY LIFE

okay okay

normalise yoongi boyfriend culture

this man is so gentle and patient and all-round angel

who wouldn’t want to fall completely in love with him?

being in love with yoongi is like having a best friend

that’s a little bit more than a friend

so so many inside jokes that are only funny in your company

you’d definitely be having some interesting conversations too

weird topics, serious topics, drunk topics

yoongi is always down to converse

seeing who wakes up first isn’t a game yoongi likes to play

but instead who falls asleep first

you fall asleep early?

no doubt he’s tucking you into those sheets to make sure you’re the cosiest, comfiest you can be

i couldnt make this first segment without mentioning cooking

korea’s resident chef i do believe

no but imagine him preparing a fish he caught himself earlier in the day specially for you

frolically switching video tutorials on how to prepare and slice because it wasn’t the usual kind of fish you guys had

if y’all even like seafood.. ://

you are not

repeat NOT

allowed in the kitchen as hes making you a meal

not even a whiff of whatever he’s stirring up is prohibited

nono instead you have to wait and experience the dish in its full glory in one go

i’m willing to put money on it

that these would be amongst the best meals you’d ever had

and he’d be more than up to wait for one of your meals too

actually, yoongi loves to see the amount of effort you put in to look after him just as he looks after you

yoongi is the type to do anything for somebody close but appreciates being appreciated

his future partner better appreciate him or i’ll be getting involved >:(

he’s a very domestic person

meaning that yoongi seems to love being at home and taking on roles in the house

as well as looking after those who live in it

he’d happily share household chores with you

taking the ones that you struggled with or shyed away from

grocery shopping would be quite interesting

i’m not sure whether he’d push the trolley

or be the one in front picking everything of shelves

either way i don’t think he’d joke around too much

picking a pasta sauce is no laughing matter

HIS GESTURES

tell me if i’m wrong but

the perfect date with yoongi is getting in his car as it’s raining at night

too long past midnight

driving out onto a back road or empty car park

and just cosying to him listening to a playlist he’d compiled for you

having somebody who appreciates music as much as him is important

and so yoongi would watch your face to see how you reacted to each song

and eventually swapped out those that were less welcome with different suggestions

and waited patiently for the next late rainy night to let you hear them

even cuter if he was slowly narrowing it down to a wedding song :((

although i’m sure he’s more than capable

i never think of grand dates when i think of yoongi

i’d want to stay in with him

or at least go to a place that was comfortable

no fancy attire or menus with dishes neither of you could pronounce

hopping across local farm shops and collecting gingerbread to taste

finding a rustic cafe by a lake or mountain that sold exclusive homemade biscuits and warm drinks

he’s a fireside boyfriend

one that gives you warmth just by being with

but also in the sense that

yoongi finds value in homemade, heartfelt gestures

whether that’s searching and perfecting new cookie recipes with you

or just decorating the house for any holidays you may share together

those kinds of dates would always top the flashy cars and michelin star restaurants

i also think he’s a really good travel buddy

but vacations where it was mostly self catered or you had more freedom than perhaps a packaged plan

new zealand yoongi was a cultural reset

so think about somewhere like switzerland in the winter

or canada!!

anywhere where you could hide away together in a remote cabin

that’s a yoongi vacation

HIS ATTITUDES

now don’t attack me

but yoongi is not the mafia leader tumblr has convinced you he is

(im a sucker for the mafia au trope too but hear me out)

this man would protect you at all costs

but i don’t think direct confrontation is really his thing

we forget sometimes he’s definitely an introverted member

if it ever came to somebody making inappropriate comments towards you or unecessary actions

that’s when i think he’d intervene

but otherwise yoongi is more the type to dissolve the situation

lead you away

and go back if he really needed to

it goes without saying that he’s polite

would hold a door open for ages just so somebody else wouldn’t have to pull it open

but i don’t think he’s necessarily make a large commotion about it

he was being polite because he was being polite

not to impress you or purposely show you he cares

because it just went without saying

which i think is much more genuine that consciously holding a door or offering a hand

#bts #min yoongi #yoongi #bangtan #yoongi imagine #yoongi fluff #bts reactions #bts imagines #bts one shot #bts drabble #request #bts headcanon #bts mtl #min suga #suga #yoongi reaction #yoongi boyfriend #fluff #bts boyfriend

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bangchanstudio · 4 years

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Never Have I Ever | Changbin (1/?)

pairing: seo changbin x fem! reader

genre: university au, awkward friends to ? something more?

tw: drinking games, p*rn, smoking, smut-ish/suggestive, dom!changbin tendencies ?

word count: 5.3k

ch.two

synopsis: your friends get together towards the end of fall semester to blow off steam before finals. and by blowing off steam that means getting blackout drunk at your place by playing stupid drinking games that everyone is too stubborn to stop when they know they should. normally, you’re the best at holding your liquor but not tonight, tonight your friends vowed to get you drunk with a game of never have I ever, collectively agreeing to go against you so you’ll finally be the drunk one doing dumb stuff. so, that’s exactly how you end up here sitting in the dark watching p*rn with your best friend’s friend.

note: i don’t know what the fuck i’m doing so here

“So party, your place, 9pm?” Hyunjin asked before unlacing his arm from yours and heading towards his next class. It was chilly and the loss of body heat from Jinnie made you wrap your coat tighter around yourself. “I’ll text the group chat to remind everyone!”

“Sure sounds great,” you called before heading in the opposite direction back to your apartment. It’s not like you had a choice when it came to these sort of arrangements. After all, the only one in your friend group with an apartment to themselves was you. This semester was kicking everyone's ass so maybe a party is exactly what everyone needed. Normally, parties were the last thing on your mind, but they were always pretty fun when it was just you and your friends. No weird smells at frat houses, with strangers, strange drinks, and stranger pick up lines.

After calling your best friend Chan, you both decided to meet at the market down the street from your apartment building to get drinks and snacks for that night. It was almost December but the cold made it feel as if we were already in the dead of winter, minus the snow. Your body welcomed the overly warm building as you spotted Chan waving for you by the cafe ready to go with a trolley.

“Mocha?” He offered stretching out his arm offering you the heavenly cup, which you so gratefully took and sipped at.

“Have I told you how amazing you are today?” You asked linking your arm with Chan’s as you made your way to the liquor isle.

He giggled looking away in that cute schoolboy way he always did when you complimented him. “Well, not today, particularly.”

“Well, you’re amazing Christopher Bang.” He gave you a knowing look at the use of his full name. Chan has been your best friend since high school. You had transferred from the states and he was the first one to invite you to his lunch table with his seven extremely loud, noisy, and obnoxious friends. You didn’t say a word the whole lunch period, and you thought maybe they wouldn’t invite you to sit with them again realizing how weird and quiet you were. But they did, they invited you again the next day and the day after and everyday after that. Before you realized it you couldn’t imagine your life without them.

They made you feel loved and cared for and like you actually had a family.

“What do you say?” Chan asked holding up a bottle of tequila in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other.

“Well, we did vodka last time. Let’s do tequila!” You preferred tequila anyway, slutty though it may may be dubbed. “Let’s get the limes before we forget.”

Before long the trolley was filled with a couple of bottles of tequila, cheap booze and snacks. Mainly shit for nachos since Jinnie and Felix agreed to bring pizza. The cashier was ringing up your stuff rather slowly, the guy looked like he had just been dumped or something judging by the way he kept glancing between you and Chan with a salty look, you almost wanted to clarify that, “No, we’re not dating.”

But it was common for people to think you were. Some people even thought you were in an open relationship with a couple of your friends considering how clingy and inseparable you all were with each other. The thought still confused you but who cares what anyone else thought.

“Hey, (Y/N),” Chan called you out of your thoughts while handing his card to the cashier, “would it be okay if Changbin came over?”

Changbin. You hadn’t hung out with him since the start of summer at Seungmin’s house party. He had moved away after high school and you didn’t keep up with him the way the guys did. It had been over a year since you could say you were actually friends, not that there were any hard feelings. He just moved away and that was that. You were annoyed at the slight ache of your heart at the sound of his name. Don’t be stupid.

After a year he actually transferred to the same uni as the guys and you, but you didn’t speak more than a few words and small talk at lunch or whatever. This semester had been hard on everyone so it’s not like there was time to hang out and much less everyone at the same time, and anytime you did hang out with the guys, he was never there and vice versa. A small part of you wondered if he was avoiding you, but that was stupid. You weren’t important enough to be avoided.

Chan took note of your hesitation, he was the only one who knew how annoyed you were at the whole situation of Changbin leaving. As good as you were at holding your liquor you weren’t invincible and the only time your girl friend convinced you to go to the BTP open party first weekend of the semester he was the one you called to help you get home and along the way spilled your guts both emotionally and literally.

“It’s cool if you’re not okay with it, he doesn’t know about the kick back I was just—“

“No, it’s fine,” You said cutting Chan off and mustering up a fake smile, “Invite him. The more the merrier, right?”

Right?

You couldn’t have been more wrong.

It was getting close to midnight when Chan walked in. Your apartment was warm both from the booze and from the heater. Jinnie and Felix were cuddled together on the dark gray sofa, Minho was the only one actually eating the food everyone brought, Seungmin and Jeongin were playing video games and Jisung was sprawled on the floor with his head in your lap watching YouTube videos. Your hand stopped suddenly in his hair as you saw who walked in behind your best friend.

“Hey guys! Sorry we’re late,” Chan greeted before kicking his vans off at the entrance and making his way over, sitting on your other side as to not bother Jisung.

“Heyyy, look what the cat dragged in,” Hyunjin cooed cocking an eyebrow at Changbin before glancing at you. He pushed Felix to the side and went to fetch the tequila. “Now that everyone is here we can finally get this party started!”

You shifted nervously on your bum as Jisung sat up right giving space so Changbin could sit next to him, subconsciously you scooted so close to Chan you were almost on his lap.

“Sorry,” you mumbled, glancing sheepishly at him. “No it’s okay,” He said placing a hand on your knee. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” “No, no, it’s okay, really!” You said, the boys were bickering amongst themselves over what drinking game we should start with, so no one was paying attention to you guys. You were grateful. “It’s not like we’re ex’s or anything.”

Chan rolled his eyes laughing, his dimples coming through. The sound made you relax, and smile.

All the while, Changbin was observing you without you even noticing. He didn’t mean to avoid you, he wasn’t even completely sure why he did that. Maybe it was the fear he felt of losing you when his parents announced they were moving away, afraid of losing what could be. Maybe it was how he saw the way you looked at Chan and figured he didn’t have a chance. Maybe it was the fact that he felt a certain way towards you that he couldn’t totally understand therefore wanted to avoid it at all costs. He still remembered the look on your face when he told you he was leaving.

Was it sadness he saw in your eyes? Even if it was, you covered it up quickly not wanting him to see. He wanted to see it, though.

“Okay listen up homosexuals!” Jinnie announced clapping his hands, “we’re going to start with something easy.” “Truth or dare!” Jisung yelled, startling you into a small jump, “Oh sorry, (Y/N).” You playfully shoved Ji’s shoulder, “Yeah truth or dare!” “No,” Hyunjin said exasperatedly, “That will come later, we’re starting with: Never Have I Ever.”

Everyone collectively groaned in protest.

It was a hard game to play because it was so easy to manipulate each other into getting drunk. There was little that was hidden between everyone, you guys were practically an open book with each other.

“Sounds fun to me!” Chan said giving a sly smirk. “Yeah same here,” Seungmin agreed a little too enthusiastically. “I’m good at this game.” Jeongin piped in, cutely raising his hand.

You puffed your cheeks out and furrowed your brows in cute frustration, “but I don’t wanna~” You whined crossing your arms.

“Too bad princess, it’s been decided.” Hyunjin said devilishly as he poured everyone's shot glass. You fidgeted it around annoyingly as your friends played Rock Paper Scissors to decided who would start the game. You were bad at rock, paper, scissors too so you didn’t bother joining in.

“Yes!” Felix shouted in triumph, “Okay let’s go! First one. Never have I ever… Kissed a stranger.”

“Oh come on!” Jisung protested, “That’s not fair, everyone has!” “Not me,” Felix said giving a smirk of satisfaction.

Everyone took a shot except Felix and Jeongin.

Minho went next, “Never have I ever… Sent someone a naughty picture.”

“What!!” “No way!” “Seriously?!”

Everyone was shouting their annoyance before taking another shot and refilling each others glasses. You mumbled a thanks to Chan for filling yours. Minho was the only one who didn’t shoot.

“Never have I ever…” Seungmin glanced your way before continuing, “Made out with the same sex.”

Your eyes widened and your cheeks flushed, not that it was something to be embarrassed about. It only happened once and she was hot and you were drunk and for god’s sake it was opening weekend! But… how did he know?

“Hey that’s discrimination,” Jinnie protested as he and Felix linked their shot arms around each other’s before drinking. “Lucky we’re okay with it.”

You stared at your glass biting your lip, Seungmin’s stare was burning holes in you, “aren’t you going to drink, (Y/N)?” He asked.

Everyone snapped to look at you, including Changbin who raised an eyebrow. His baseball hat hid most of his eyes, but you had memorized the way his face moved since the day you met him.

“Really?” “What, when? WITH WHO?” “You never told me,” Chan said laughing, covering his mouth with his hand in shock.

You licked your teeth and scrunched your face up trying not to curse Seungmin to hell before shooting your shot back and slamming the glass on the table without any salt or lime to follow.

“You’re such an ass.” You replied staring Seungmin down, whipping the bit of liquor off your chin.

He shrugged nonchalantly before nodding at Jeongin to continue which was unfair as he was still pretty innocent and everyone always had to drink to his never have I ever’s.

Changbin was next and you made eye contact with him for the first time in weeks. His dark eyes made your heart stop, they were unreadable as always and you felt exposed under his gaze. You quickly blinked away not wanting anyone to notice. “Never have I ever.. had a friend with benefits.”

“What?!” Jisung exlaimed, “Liar!” Changbin laughed shaking his head, “One night stands and friends with benefits are not the same.”

More groans were heard around as everyone took a shot, except you and Changbin.

“What? Really?” Jisung asked nudging you.

You blinked at him.

“What? Is it that surprising?” What did they take you for? “Like Changbin said, one night stands and friends with benefits are not the same thing.” You shrugged cheekily crossing your arms over your chest.

Jisung was next, “Never have I ever, given a lap dance.”

Boy were you on a roll, finally! “I haven’t!!” You shouted startling Jisung.

“No way!! What about opening night?!” Why was everyone trying to bring up dirt from opening night? It was starting to seem suspicious.

“What about opening night? You mean the pole dancing?” He nodded expectantly, “Pole dancing does not equal lap dance, oh innocent one.” You cooed pinching his cheeks.

“Okay my turn!!” You shouted gleefully, trying to think of something they’ve all done that you hadn’t. You hummed, musing, nibbling your lip, “Oh, I know! Never have I ever watched p*rn with someone else!”

“Why is that so oddly specific?” Chan asked taking his shot. “Because I know y’all are dirty,” You said watching as every single one of them took a shot.

Except one person.

Chan looked over at Changbin suspiciously, Changbin shrugged as if they were communicating telepathically, “Seriously? Never?”

“Nope, never." Changbin said before laughing.

“I guess we know a future dare.” Hyunjin said looking between you and Changbin with an evil grin.

You didn’t like the sound of that.

The game continued on for what seemed like forever and with each question your sanity slipped further and further away. Eventually the tequila was switched for regular booze as most of you were starting to crossover from tipsy to drunk.

Never Have I Ever: Slept nude - drink Skinny dipped - drink Hooked up with someone you just met - drink

“Okay okay okay, last one,” Chan stirred his accent getting thicker the more he drank, “Never have I ever… thought of someone else while having sex.”

Fuck. Me.

You glared at him, which all he did was return a stupid grin before hiccuping. Everyone was quiet looking to see who would be the one to drink. Chan really knew all of your dirty secrets and you tried to make a mental note of never telling him anything ever again, even though you knew that wouldn’t work out well.

As you held up the glass to your lips you made eye contact with him again. Changbin also drank to that. You paused for a moment, remembering your one night stand at the BTP party and how the guy was nice enough and cute enough, and buff enough… but he wasn’t enough. He wasn’t as good looking as Changbin, he wasn’t as hot or as toned as Changbin, his voice wasn’t as sexy as Changbin’s and his arms weren’t as sexy as Changbin’s, and your drunken ass told Chan that as he held your hair back on your bathroom floor as you puked up everything you had ever digested that day and cried to him about the guy not being Changbin.

What. The. Hell.

“Ohh~” Everyone cooed darkly looking between you too. “That’s kind of hot,” Jinnie said before deciding we were moving on to truth or dare.

“I need some fresh air,” You said, before grabbing your coat and rushing out the front door into the cold December air. There was a knot that had begun to form in your chest, you knew if you didn’t get out of there you would probably have a panic attack.

“Fuck you, Christopher Bang!” You shouted before climbing the stairs on the side of the building up to the rooftop. It was late and cold, so no one would be up there. No one was ever really up there, the sight wasn’t anything special. You could see campus from here and some hills in the distance. You pulled out a vape pen and sucked in a deep breath of menthol. The familiar feeling of smoke filling your lungs took the edge off. Not that it was something to be proud of, but we all had our vices.

You tensed as you heard footsteps coming up the stairs and cursed yourself for forgetting your pocket knife down in the apartment. One could never be too safe but assuming it was just Chan you started,

“You’re such an asshole Christopher Bang I’m never telling you anything ev—“ You deadpanned as you turned around to see Seo Changbin at the top of the stairs. Your eyes widened and you quickly hid your vape in the your jacket pocket. “I— I’m so sorry I thought you were Chan.”

He waved dismissively, “Can I… Can I join you?”

You nodded and for some reason you didn’t want anything more than to just disappear at that very moment.

“It’s…” you started, looking over the edge of the apartment building, “It’s nice to see you again. I mean we see each other on campus and stuff but I mean, you know, all together again.”

You bit your lip and squeezed your eyes shut annoyed with how stupid the words coming out of your mouth sounded. You were surprised when Changbin chuckled. He liked it when you got flustered.

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you too.” His hands were in his pockets but it seemed like they were clenched. “Chan mentioned you did well on your performance midterm.”

Chan talked about you with him? “Oh, that… yeah it was okay. I still need to do better.”

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.” You met his gaze, “You’ve always been so hard on yourself.”

You didn’t know what to say to that, so you didn’t say anything at all. The silence drew on, sitting somewhere between awkward and comfortable silence. But at the same time, that’s how it always used to be. Changbin was never overtly clingy, at least not to you, and you never were to him always keeping a respectful distance. Not because he was mean but… you just assumed he didn’t want to cling to you.

“I’m sorry for not reaching out when you left.” You mumbled breaking the silence at last. “No, it’s okay.” He said, taking his hat off, ruffling his hair and putting it back on. You smiled at the gesture and he smiled back catching you staring, “What?”

“Nothing. I just missed this.” He nodded in agreement before suggesting you two go back inside before the guys started to worry.

You returned to a painful game of truth or dare. And by painful you meant extremely embarrassing you could literally die.

“I have to do what?!” You were standing, hands on hips, foot tapping impatiently waiting for someone to explain what happened while you went to pee out the alcohol.

“Just pick a shot glass and drink, whichever you want.” Chan said for the third time.

“Okay but what’s the catch? Do I die? Am I poised? Do I turn into a fucking pumpkin?”

“You have to sit on said persons lap.” Jinnie deadpanned.

“I… what?”

“Choose a glass and drink it and whoever poured that glass, you have to sit on their lap for twenty minutes.” Everyone seemed giddy with Hyunjin’s explanation but you could feel your cheeks burning at the small chance that you would end up picking his glass and— no, no, no, shut up there’s literally seven other glasses that means the odds are 1 out of 8.. that’s good.. right?

You whined and stomped over to the coffee table where the shot glasses were formed in a circle. Logically, they just poured them out and placed the glasses in front of them right? You smiled, grabbing the glass that was closet to Chan, convinced that it was his. If you had to do such a weird and uncomfortable thing, at least do it with your best friend, right?

You threw back the glass feeling the hot liquid drip down your throat. “There! Happy? So now I just sit here?” You asked pointing at Chan.

Seungmin shook his head mischievously, “No, you sit over there,” you followed his finger to Changbin who was seated on an accent chair next to the sofa, he was smirking at you and god he looked so hot with that black t-shirt and,

“Wait- what?! Why?” You asked in protest. “Weren’t you paying attention!” Jisung shouted standing up and pushing you over to Changbin. “We switched up the glasses dummy. We knew you’d just go for Chan’s glass so we switched them around.”

“Sorry baby girl, can’t save you this time.” Chan said apologetically.

Jisung pushed you down into Changbin’s lap and you could feel him tense up. The guys couldn’t stop laughing and Hyunjin even took a picture, probably to blackmail you with later.

“S-sorry.” You stammered, so low you weren’t sure Changbin heard it. To your surprise he wrapped his arms around your waist and arms and secured you in place. That only made everyone lose their shit once again. You were sure your cheeks would be stained permanently red from now on.

What you didn’t realize is that most of tonight was a set up. No thanks to Chan. He knew how you felt, and he knew how Changbin felt. Chan was tired of being the middle man when neither of you wanted to confront your feelings for each other, so that’s what led you here. The night continued and you felt that every minuted was an eternity.

You were extremely aware of everything going on at that moment, despite the alcohol that still lingered in your veins. You were painfully aware of Changbin’s arms and how his muscles flexed with even the smallest movement or shift from them, of how his breath seemed to become shallower with the time that passed, of how hot his hand felt on your skin between your jeans and top that rid up, though, it was only a graze, or of how you could have sworn you could feel his heart beating from his chest pressed against your back. Maybe that was your own? Since this was your dare and Changbin was also suffering for it, the only mercy the guys offered you two was a pass until the 20 minutes were over.

“Okay, (Y/N), time!” Felix called as his timer went off. You immediately tried yeeting yourself off of Changbin but his grip stopped you

“But what if I like you here?” He asked, whispering in your ear. You were certain no one else heard but your eyes would have given everything away if someone had looked your way. There was a knot in your throat and butterflies in your stomach and that definitely made you… hot. He released you after a second, which you gratefully and not so gracefully sat on the cool floor, thankful for the guys being distracted and bickering for once.

Chan offered you a glass of water, though, he was probably doing it to sober you up but you really just needed to cool off.

“Changbin, truth or dare?” Minho asked “Truth.” “Have you ever thought about sleeping with (Y/N)?”

You chocked on the water you were chugging spitting it all over the front of your shirt, Chan was by you in an instant rubbing your back and telling you to look up so it would pass.

“Damn, talk about getting straight to the point,” Felix mused.

Chan helped pat dry your face and shirt while you peaked at Changbin through the corner of your eyes dreading what was going to come out of his mouth. Luckily, you didn’t have to wait long for a response.

“Yeah, of course.”

Yeah, of course?! What was that suppose to mean?!

The younger boys celebrated and high fived each other, before turning to Minho. “You owe us 20 each.” Jeongin said, Minho rolled his eyes before taking out his wallet.

Why were you friends with these assholes again?

“(Y/N)” “What?” You flinched in response to Hyunjin’s voice. “Truth or dare?”

You weighed your options. You really didn’t want to say truth for fear of them asking you the same thing and there was no way you could admit to wanting to sleep with Seo Changbin.

“Dare.” The dark grin that spread across Jinnie’s face made you instantly regret your choice, though you were positive you would have regretted it either way.

“I dare you to watch a p*rn video with Changbin.”

And that is how you ended up here, at 2am, kind of drunk, locked in your own bedroom, in the dark, with the only light source being from your laptop that sat in the middle of your small bed. You hugged your knees to your chest, staring at P-Hub’s home page. Changbin was sitting cross legged next to you leaning back on his arm.

“So…” He started, awkwardly. “Why don’t you choose?” “Me? Why don’t you?” He exhaled rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll probably choose something terrible. Don’t girls have better taste in adult videos anyway?” “What does that even mean?” You asked before jumping at the sound of someone pounding at the door.

“We don’t hear any video playing !!” It was Chan.

Mental note: kick his ass.

You sighed in defeat pulling the computer closer to you before typing in “morning sex” into the search bar.

“Really? Didn’t take you for a morning sex type of girl” Changbin mused. “I’m not, but that doesn’t mean it’s not cute to watch.” You replied scrolling through the videos looking for the least uncomfortable looking one. Maybe something vanilla will be less awkward. “So… you watch porn often?” He asked after a moment.

You stopped scrolling, closing your eyes and taking in a deep breath, “What do you care?” You turned to face him, but his face face was… so much closer than you were expecting. Your eyes widen slightly and your voice caught in your throat.

He was so… breathtaking. His dark eyes and soft skin unreadable… as always.

Clearing your throat you focus your attention back onto the screen. Though, you could feel Changbin’s eyes on you, observing you.

You finally settled on a video that looked innocent enough… well, as innocent as p*rn could be. The title was “Sensual morning s*x ended up with hard doggy.” Classy. The title didn’t even make sense but I guess that was budgeting for you.

Before you pressed play, you turned to face Changbin once again, trying not to linger on the thought of how his cologne smelled really… attractive. “No words.”

“No promises.” He replied before reaching over your lap and hitting the spacebar to play the video.

It started out slowly, with the guy’s hand going down her stomach. It’s quiet, though, he doesn’t waste any time on teasing and instead going straight into fingering her and palming her clit. It’s not long until you can hear her moans start to pick up at the sound of his fingers going in and out of her wet core. You couldn’t believe you were watching p*rn with Seo Changbin.

The girl in the video adjusts herself so that she can take the guys cock into her mouth while she’s on her back, him on his knees somewhere between letting her control his pleasure and him wanting to take over.

“Her boobs are pretty,” you muse, more so out of slight jealousy considering yours weren’t the biggest… they barely filled a b-cup.

“Aren’t you suppose to be here for the dick?” Changbin asked laughing a little louder than normal, that was the only thing that gave away his nerves.

You shrugged, “I guess it’s okay, it’s just when girls see things like this we tend to compare ourselves even though we don’t mean to.” What were you saying? Maybe you were still tipsier than you thought. Liquor had a way of bring out the truth in anyone.

“Your boobs are really nice.” You inhaled so quickly at Changbin’s compliment you started chocking again.

“How would you know that?” You asked hitting your chest to catch your breath.

“We went skinny dipping during the senior trip, remember?”

Oh, right. You did.

It was Hyunjin’s idea of course, and because it was Hyunjin’s idea Felix went too. Of course, Felix invited Chan who in turn invited Jisung, Changbin and you. The others didn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night to sneak out so it was just you guys. You snuck out of the cabins and trekked your way through the dark forest. That was the only time you ever held on so close to Changbin, gripping his arm, trying to keep up with their pace with the only light being from your phones to guide you.

Once you made it to the lake there was hidden booze and strip poker, followed by everyone jumping into the lake butt naked. You were all drunk so no one really remembers the skinny dipping part, and you almost forget it yourself.

“I.. almost forgot about that.” You said playing with the the hem of your shirt. “I don’t ever want to forget.” Changbin hummed. His eyes going back to the screen.

As much as you didn’t want to admit it even this vanilla video was turning you on. Or maybe it was the thought of Changbin being so close to you.

The guy finally put his dick in her and her moans were so pretty. The video was aesthetically pleasing, on a comfortable and wide couch. The sunlight was coming in through the blinds, it made her skin look so pretty. You didn’t realize earlier but the video is from his point of view so you could only make out his decent cock size and his hands on her thighs. Her moans started echoing around your room as he pounded into her, her boobs jiggling slightly at the pace. He held one of her legs up over his shoulder and massaged her boob with the other.

You didn’t realize how intently you were watching, biting your lip in anticipation of their sounds. Sounds really turned you on, probably more than watching did. You closed your eyes letting your imagination slip away little by little. You imagined being in that girls place. How long was it since you got laid?

“Fuck.” You muttered before realizing the word left your lips, your eyes springing open. “Sorry.”

Changbin wasn’t watching the screen anymore, you realized, he was watching you. The way your eyes had been so fixated on the screen, how you bit your lip so hard he thought you might bleed. The way you squeezed your eyes shut, your chest starting to rise and fall more shallow. He could tell you were imagining something. His eyes were dark with lust, his mind wondering how you would sound saying his name. Moaning from the pleasure that he was giving you.

His gaze made you shrink back into yourself, it made you wet and tremble. You tried to swallow the lump in your throat and say something, anything to break this fog that was starting to swallow you.

“Wh-what are you thinking about?” You stuttered out, the moans from the computer screen sounding so distant now and drowned out by how loud Changbin felt.

“I’m thinking of..” He started, placing an index finger on your lips, tracing them ever so slowly. His eyes, hungry. “How your pretty lips would look around my cock.”

You were taken aback by his bold words, but there was no denying he was stoking a fire that was starting to form at the pit of your stomach. He slipped a finger into your mouth, you whimpered at the sensation, wrapping your tongue around his finger and closing your eyes, listening as his breathing deepened.

“Damn, (Y/N), I really didn’t take you for a slut.” He stuck a second finger into your mouth, making you moan slightly. “Look at me when I talk to you.”

He grabbed your jaw with his free hand, the sudden movement making you fall onto your back and him on top. His hat fell to the side and his messy hair made him look even more dangerous. The sudden movement made him snap out of his daze and sit up.

“Fuck, (Y/N), I’m so sorry that was uncalled for.” Changbin got to his feet, securing his hat firmly back on his head. “We finished the video, I’m going to head out first.”

Changbin rushed out and you followed soon after composing yourself only to find an empty and dark apartment.

#seo changbin #changbin #changbin x reader #changbin scenarios #seo changbin scenarios #skz #skz scenarios #skz x reader #smut #changbin smut #skz smut #changbin imagines #seo changbin imagines #myfic #nhie1 #nhie

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kaleidoscopeminds · 4 years

Text

I’m going blind from this sweet craving

This came about because I wanted to write some Cake and my brain just went bakery!!! au!!!! Anyway this is very self-indulgent and driven by my own baking obsession. Please enjoy 6k of me talking about cake (literally) and a cheeky bit of side mashton because I couldn’t resist. For the club because everything I do is for the club <3

Warnings: horribly tooth rotting fluff, too many baking metaphors

Title from Cake by the Ocean by DNCE because I think I’m funny

Luke places the last piece of broken Oreo carefully atop the whirl of buttercream and wipes his hands on his apron, reviewing the set of cupcakes in front of him. He knows he’s hypercritical of his own work; he gets called a perfectionist by Michael at any opportunity (and not in a complimentary way), but he still maintains that it’s the only way to be to make anything good.

He deems this double dozen of the Oreo chocolate as close to perfect as he’s going to manage this morning and slides them next to the strawberries and cream set with mini meringue topping he just finished. He goes to the walk-in refrigerator and pulls out the layer cake that he made before he left yesterday, and then crosses over to dry storage to wheel out the trolley containing the carefully wrapped crates of bread that Ashton, their bread supplier, had dropped off about an hour ago.

He pulls the trays of croissants, pain au chocolat and pain aux raisins out of the oven deftly, and slides them onto a cooling rack to leave for a couple of minutes, before he can transfer them to the cabinet in the front of the bakery, and checks the clock. It’s 6:40, so he’s just on time to get everything stacked up in the front if he has a bit of help.

He hears the door at the front of the cafe slam, handle jangling ominously as it closes again and Luke smiles to himself, grabbing the trays of cupcakes and heading out into the front, opening the swing door with his hip.

“Hi Mikey,” Luke calls over as Michael struggles out of his jacket, pushing his glasses up onto his nose and grumbling incoherently.

“I’m not late,” Michael starts, attempting to pull his apron out of his backpack and hang up his jacket on the hook at the same time.

Luke doesn’t say anything, just turns his head to look deliberately at the large clock hanging over the coffee machine behind the counter and raises his eyebrows, smiling slightly.

“Well, barely,” Michael responds defensively. “You’re not the boss of me, Luke Hemmings.”

Luke laughs, “Unfortunately for you, I am. Supervising baker remember?” He opens up the display cabinet and slides the cakes carefully into place.

“Promotions gone to your overly large blonde head already, I see,” Michael says, struggling with his apron ties where they’ve got tangled around his belt.

Luke laughs again and goes over to Michael, untangling him and turning him round to tie his apron for him. “Go and drink your coffee Mikey, I made one for you about 10 minutes ago, should still be hot. I’ll get the rest of the stuff out to the front.”

“I think I’m in love with you,” Michael says genuinely, quickly walking behind the counter and finding the insulated travel mug Luke had filled with a latte earlier that morning. He pulls off the lid and Luke watches him practically inhale it, smiling fondly as he makes his way back into the kitchen.

“Remind me again why I always seem to be making coffee for you when you’re the trained barista?” Luke calls out as he carefully lifts the 4 layered cake onto a stand and carries it back out to the front.

“Ooh that looks fucking good what’s in that?” Michael asks, eyes lighting up at the sight of the cake in Luke’s careful grip. “And it's because you won’t admit it but you’re in love with me too,” He adds, putting his coffee down so he can take the cake off Luke to put on top of the cabinet.

“Chocolate hazelnut with Nutella and praline,” Luke replies with a smile. “Sorry to disappoint you Michael but we would never work, I couldn’t be with someone who hates mornings,” He says solemnly as he returns to the kitchen, lightly checking the pastries to make sure they’re cool enough before tipping them onto another tray.

“You’re going to be on your own for a while then!” Luke hears Michael call, and he laughs as he comes back through the swing door. “No one likes mornings,” Michael continues crabbily, downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp.

“You know who does like mornings?” Luke asks as he passes over the tray to Michael. “Our lovely bread baker.”

Michael blushes and ducks his head at the mention of Ashton. “Why don’t you ask him out then,” He grumbles, lining the pastries up neatly with the tongs in his hand.

“Not my type.” Luke wiggles his eyebrows at Michael. “Plus I think he might be more interested in barista types than cake-making types.”

“Shut up Luke,” Michael groans back. “I’ve told you before, he barely knows who I am. I only see the man for about 5 minutes every day when he comes to pick up the crates.”

“And yet every morning. I have to tell him that ‘No Michael’s not here yet, sorry,’” Luke smirks. “Honestly Mikey, you’re missing out not being here at half past five, lots of Ashton content.”

“Yes but that would involve, you know, being here at half past five,” Michael replies sarcastically. “Did Em make any tarts for today?” He asks.

“Yeah they look great, she’s done a new orange curd one with chocolate pastry which I’m excited to try.” Luke accepts the change of subject and goes back towards the kitchen. “Do you want to come and grab your boyfriend’s bread? Think that’ll be the last of it then.”

Michael glares at Luke and pretends to trip him up as he walks past, then follows him into the back.

“You’re such a dickhead sometimes you know that,” Michael says grumpily, pulling out the loaves of bread and stacking them on the counter.

Luke laughs, it’s too easy to get a rise out of Michael, particularly first thing in the morning and especially when it comes to Ashton. He opens the fridge again and as always sends a silent thank you to the angel that is Em, their evening baker, and the only reason they’re able to produce enough goods for the cafe. It honestly changed his life when his boss decided to employ an extra baker, now he can actually leave when the cafe closes; she picks up anything that Luke doesn’t manage to finish, as well as shaping the pastries to chill overnight and producing a few dozen tarts for the next day. He checks the new orange curd tarts and their customer favourite, the strawberry ones (perfect as always), and slides them off the shelves.

“You were literally declaring your love for me not 10 minutes ago I believe,” Luke says, checking the fridge to make sure he’s not missed anything.

He turns around frowning at the lack of a bitchy response, but Michael’s distracted by something in one of the crates.

“You okay there?” Luke questions.

“Yes,” Michael mumbles, blushing furiously, attempting to pull the crate out of Luke’s view. Luke quickly walks over, interest piqued, and grabs the crate out of Michael’s hands, ignoring his noise of protest.

In the bottom of the crate there’s one of Michael’s favourite chocolate chip hot cross buns, but instead of a cross on top there’s a carefully shaped ‘M’. Luke laughs delightedly.

“He barely knows who you are, hm?” Luke teases.

“Its..” Michael coughs embarrassed. “It’s probably just a friendly thing.”

Luke rolls his eyes. “Come off it Mikey, that’s the most obvious display of affection in enriched dough form that I’ve ever seen. Where’s my L eh? Nowhere to be seen.”

“Shut up,” Michael says, but he reaches into the crate and pulls out the bun, wrapping it in some baking paper with utmost care, before walking out into the front of the cafe.

“You’re meant to be stocking the actual breads!” Luke calls after him, grabbing the tarts and following Michael out.

Michael just raises his middle finger at him as he gently slides the wrapped bun into his backpack, still blushing.

Luke laughs and goes to fetch them himself, stacking them in the baskets at the side of the counter, ready to be sold or to be sliced for their toasties.

“Right I’m gonna start on tomorrow’s cake, let me know when you need a hand.” Luke says, turning to Michael who’s absentmindedly filling up the coffee grinder with beans and not looking like he’s heard Luke in the slightest.

“Earth to Michael, come in Michael.” Luke nudges Michael’s arm with his elbow and Michael looks up with a start.

“Oh yeah, sorry. That’s fine,” Michael replies quickly.

“Are you going to be okay out here on your own?” Luke jokes. “You look like you could burn yourself on steam or tip grounds everywhere at any minute.”

“Yes Luke,” Michael replies testily. “Now go and make some cake and let me do my job, I’ll call you when it gets busy.”

This is the way it works with the two of them in the morning, Luke getting a head start on his batters while Michael deals with the dribs and drabs of the early customers. When it gets to 8am and the little cafe starts getting really busy, Luke will step out to the front to help, and they will work seamlessly together; Michael tamping coffee and steaming milk expertly, whilst Luke takes orders and fills bags with breakfast pastries and muffins. After the rush dies down, Luke will retreat back into the kitchen and start the doughs for the next days’ croissants, until lunch time and he’ll be back out to give Michael a hand with slicing bread and toasting sandwiches.

He enjoys the buzz of service with Michael, moving round each other with a well practised air and smiling at customers, his favourite bit is getting glimpses of the joy they get from something that he’s created. He’s most comfortable in the kitchen though; in the sweetly calming clouds of icing sugar and the reassuring warmth of the ovens, most at ease on his own with slightly sticky hands, flour perpetually dusting all of his clothes and with a speaker quietly playing his favourite songs into the vanilla scented air.

“Luke!” He hears Michael’s voice float through the door, just as he’s closing the oven door on 3 sandwich pans of fresh raspberry filled sponge.

“Coming!” He responds, setting his timer for 30 minutes, and pinning it to the top of his apron, before washing his hands and heading out of the door to join Michael. He sees there’s a queue building up and quickly steps behind the counter and smiles at the next customer as Michael pours milk into 3 flat whites in quick succession, a perfect leaf in milk foam appearing in each of them with an artful flick of his wrist.

“Hi, what can I get you?” He smiles at the man who’s just approached the counter.

“A small black Americano to take away, and make it quickly, I’ve already been here 15 minutes and some of us have actual jobs to work you know,” an older man in a suit barks at him, not looking up from his phone.

“So sorry for the delay Sir, we’re very busy as you can see. Can I take a name for that?” Luke grits his teeth but maintains the smile on his face with some effort.

“It’s Richard,” the man says pompously. “And maybe you should employ more staff if you’re this busy.”

“We’ll take your feedback on board,” Luke replies, his smile coming forced. He writes the man's order, and “Dick” in tiny writing underneath on a cup before turning round and putting it on top of the coffee machine, rolling his eyes at Michael as he does so. Michael smirks in return, pressing his lips together to quell a laugh and slotting the portafilter into place under the grinder.

“That’ll be £2.00 please.”

“Actually I think I’d like to speak to the manager about the poor service before I pay,” The man says brusquely.

“She’s not here at the moment unfortunately,” Luke responds, not bothering to maintain the smile.

“Well then I’d like to speak to the most senior person here,” The man continues.

“You’re looking at him,” Luke replies coolly, crossing his arms. He’s never been good at dealing with difficult customers, which is why he prefers being in his quiet domain in the kitchen, but he’s dealt with men like this before, all talk but no action when pushed.

“I think you’re being incredibly rude, you’ve made me wait a ridiculous amount of time for a coffee which is priced extortionately, and now you’re going to be disrespectful to my face,” The man snaps.

“Maybe if people like you just paid and left then nobody would have to wait as long.” A calm voice comes from behind the man.

Luke looks around the rapidly reddening man in front of him to see the source of the voice and sees a man around his age in a suit, with a pair of headphones slung around his neck. Luke tries not to stare but the man is gorgeous, all deep brown eyes the colour of rich dark chocolate ganache, and swooping dark hair, his eyebrows raised and plump lips pursed slightly.

The older man starts spluttering angrily, “And who do you think you are to say something like that to me?”

The younger man just shrugs and continues to look at him calmly, not bothering to elaborate. Luke takes the opportunity to hold out the card machine towards the older man.

“£2.00 please,” He repeats.

The man scowls and taps his card against the machine.

“You can wait at the end for your drink,” Luke says with a dry smile.

The man grunts but moves away to the side with a glare.

“Thanks,” Luke says quietly, smiling at the younger man as he approaches.

The man’s lips spread into a genuine smile and Luke thinks they look even better that way if that were possible. “No worries, I think you were handling it fine, it was just an observation.” His voice is warm and deep, reminding Luke of a buttery caramel sauce.

Luke bites his lip and tries not to blush. “What can I get for you?”

“Flat white, please,” The man says, still smiling at Luke.

“Name?” Luke attempts to hide his face behind the cup he’s just picked up.

“Calum,” He says. “But I think I’ll take that to have in if you don’t mind?”

“Of course!” Luke says quickly, fumbling his pen slightly as he switches the paper cup for a ceramic one, peeling a sticky note so he can write Calum’s order. “Anything to eat?”

“I’m new here, what do you recommend?” Calum says, cocking his head slightly before looking over the display case. “It all looks amazing.”

Luke definitely blushes this time and clears his throat. “Well the pains au chocolat are quite good I think,” he says nervously.

“Let’s go with that then.” Calum smiles again and Luke thinks his legs might have melted into his shoes but he can’t seem to move them to check if that’s true or not.

“Or if you wanted something sweeter you could go with one of the lemon muffins, or the strawberry cupc-”

“Luke,” Michael interrupts from behind him. “Please stop flirting with this nice man and get on with serving the other eight nice people we have waiting?” He begs.

If Luke thought he was blushing before it's nothing compared to the heat he feels in his face now. He turns to Michael and throws him daggers.

“The pain au chocolat sounds perfect.” Calum fishes out his wallet. “And your colleague’s right, I’m being a bit of a hypocrite after telling that twat to hurry up aren’t I?” He pushes a hand through his hair and smiles apologetically.

“No, you’re fine it’s no problem at all,” Luke manages to get out. “That’ll be £5.60.”

Luke lets Calum tap his card on the machine and then busies himself with pulling the pastry out and onto a plate which he places on a tray with a napkin, ready for Michael to put the coffee on when it's been made.

“Why don’t you go and sit down, Luke will bring it over in a few minutes if you’re not in too much of a rush?” Michael suggests, pressing the buttons on the coffee machine and sliding a cup underneath to catch the espresso starting to stream out.

Calum looks bemusedly at Michael for a second before shrugging. “That’d be great, yeah. My office is just round the corner so I’ve got a few minutes. Thanks… Luke.” He says Luke’s name like he’s deciding how he likes the taste of it in his mouth, before quirking his lips once more, and heading to a table in the corner of the cafe.

“What are you doing?” Luke hisses at Michael as he takes the next customer’s order, writing quickly on another cup and fishing change out of the till when the woman hands over a five pound note. “You were just making a point about how busy we were!”

“I’m not telling you to go and sit down with him,” Michael whispers back, only just audible over the sound of the coffee grinder. “But he’s obviously into you, just take his coffee and flirt a bit and then come back and help me!”

Luke takes the most recent batch of completed coffees and distributes them to the waiting customers, smiling slightly when the rude man snatches it off him and storms out on his phone without even checking the name on the cup. He takes another order and passes it to Michael, just as Michael finishes off a flat white with a perfect heart.

“There,” He says in a pleased voice, setting it down next to the pain au chocolat on Calum’s tray. “Now off you go.”

Luke smiles at the woman he’s just served then glares at the tray and at Michael. “What have you put a heart on it for!” He yelps.

“It’s called flirting!” Michael starts steaming another jug of milk.

“He’s going to think you like him not me!” Luke protests.

“Just go!” Michael hisses, finishing up another coffee and handing it to a waiting customer. “Hi, how are you?” He intercepts the next person waiting at the counter before Luke can do anything about it.

Luke huffs noisily and picks up the tray reluctantly. He wouldn’t go over at all, but Calum did help him with the arsehole customer so the least he can do is actually provide the service he came in for and give the man his coffee. He heads over to where Calum is sat, with his headphones on and jiggling his knee as he types something into his phone. He looks up at the sounds of Luke putting his plate down on the table and smiles gratefully. Luke then sets down the coffee next to the plate and tries to tamp down his instinct to run away immediately. Calum looks at the coffee and then up at Luke, eyes twinkling and a blush in his cheeks.

“Hope you have a great day!” Luke squeaks out and speed walks back to the counter.

“So?” Michael asks as he fishes out a croissant and places it in a bag, tapping the end of the tongs on the glass.

“Uh, I told him to have a good day then ran away before he could respond,“ Luke mutters, snatching the bag off Michael and handing it off to the customer in front of him.

“Luke -” Michael starts.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Luke snaps. “Make coffee.”

“Okay boss,” Michael says, barely repressing a giggle.

Luke spends the next 15 minutes regretting every life choice he’s ever made and resolutely not looking towards the corner Calum is sat in, focusing entirely on the rush of customers. At about 8:45 he sees out the corner of his eye that Calum has stood up, brushing a few crumbs off his knee and patting his pockets. Luke turns around and busies himself with writing the next order on a cup for Michael so that Calum can leave without making eye contact with him. When he deems that it’s been long enough, he turns back to the counter, but standing just off to the side is Calum, scuffing a hand up through the back of his hair and smiling shyly at Luke again.

“Just wanted to say, an inspired choice on the pain au chocolat.” He says. “Send my compliments to the chef,”

“Oh erm, thanks, I will.” Luke stutters out.

“Bye, Luke,” Calum says. “Maybe see you tomorrow, and... Hope you have a great day too.” His face breaks out into a wider smile that reminds Luke of the feeling of getting just the right consistency for macaron batter, or a perfectly smooth finish on a cake or the way good puff pastry flakes into the perfect fragments when you cut through a mille-feuille. Or something.

With that Calum slips his headphones back onto his head and leaves the cafe.

“You are a useless sack of shit you know that,” Michael scoffs at him.

“Fuck off,” Luke mutters under his breath. “Two words. Ashton. Irwin.” Michael glares back at him.

They get through the last half hour of the rush as normal, Luke pausing only briefly to pull the sponges out of the oven, and he’s twitching more than ever to get back into the safety of his kitchen with some dough in his hands and the comforting whirr of his mixers.

“Okay I’m all good here, you can go,” Michael smiles at him shaking his head.

Luke basically runs through the doors into the back and inhales deeply. God, he needs to get a grip.

It continues like this over the next few weeks. Calum will come in most mornings, and sometimes he’s in a rush, smiling apologetically as he orders to take away. Most mornings though, he will appear earlier, choose something to eat on Luke’s recommendation and sits at the table in the corner for 20 minutes before complimenting what he’s eaten on his way out. Luke never speaks to him short of suggesting a new pastry or muffin (and maybe he’s also developing new options everyday just to be able to give Calum something else to praise), but he does spend quite a lot of time looking at Calum sitting in his corner, long fingers wrapping around his mug of coffee and mouth chewing thoughtfully on whatever Luke’s provided him with whilst he jiggles his knee to his music.

Luke swears that sometimes when he chances one of these looks over to him whilst he’s serving a customer, Calum is looking back at him, but his brown eyes always blink away as soon as Luke’s catch them.

Predictably, Michael is absolutely insufferable about it.

“Loverboy’s looking at you again,” He smirks, checking the most recent order Luke has written for him.

“Shut up, Mikey,” Luke says petulantly. “He is not.”

“He’s always looking at you, Luke,” Michael laughs. “You’re actually driving me mad, please just ask him out or something, you two have the most obvious thing for each other ever. ”

“We do not, he doesn’t like me like that,” Luke protests. “He could be looking at you for all we know, you were the one who put a heart on his flat white,” he adds, sourly.

“You should see his face drop when he comes in here and you’re already in the back,” Michael responds knowingly. “He looks like someone’s pissed in his coffee every time you’re not here to stammer at him about what cakes you’ve made.”

Luke’s face flames red and he turns his back on Michael deliberately to serve the next customer, as he hears Michael’s suppressed giggles behind him. Look, he knows Michael might have a point and that he could just talk to Calum, but Luke doesn’t really know how, unless he’s talking about pastry or ganache or sponges words just don’t come that easily to him. Especially when faced with someone who looks like Calum does. He sighs and closes his eyes briefly. When he opens them, as if summoned by Luke’s thoughts, there Calum is at the edge of the counter.

“Blueberry muffin was particularly good today,” He says quietly with his usual smile. “Have a good day, Luke.” He gives a small wave and exits the cafe. Luke opens his mouth to say something before he can leave, but nothing comes out so he just closes it again. He kicks the edge of the counter grumpily.

“I’m literally the worst ever,” He groans, spinning round and going through to the kitchen, swinging the door behind him, Michael’s laughs following him through.

Luke is having what he thinks might be the most disastrous day ever. It’s after 5pm, the cafe has just closed and he would normally think about going home soon but Em’s got the day off and he’s not been able to make half of the stuff he needs to for tomorrow. Every ganache he’s attempted has split, he’s burnt one batch of cupcakes and under-cooked another so they’ve sunk in the centre, he’s crystallised his caramel so its unusable, and the chocolate he tempered for the triple chocolate layer cake he has planned has come out mottled and dull. He hates to admit it but the worst part of it was that he didn’t even see Calum this morning, he worked out the front much longer than he normally does in the hope of seeing the other man, but he never turned up. Michael had just raised his eyebrows and given him a knowing grin as he had slumped back into the kitchen at well past half-nine. He sighs at himself as he pushes a hand through his curly hair which he’s had to pull back into a tiny ponytail at the nape of his neck, and tips another set of cakes into the bin.

He hears a knock on the back door of the kitchen, and the door opening. A curly brown head appears round the door frame.

“Hi Luke, Is this a bad time?” Ashton says, surveying the disarray before him, bowls and utensils on every surface, half finished cakes and fillings littering the other available spaces.

Luke huffs out a laugh and wipes his hands on his apron. “No you’re fine come on in, just having one of those days. Sorry for the state of it in here.”

Ashton smiles at him and steps into the kitchen, going to the store where he knows they keep the empty bread crates. “No worries at all mate! Oh I brought my flatmate with me, hope you don’t mind. Calum had the day off today and I roped him into helping me do the pick-ups.”

Luke’s mouth drops open as Calum Calum sidesteps into the kitchen and smiles at Luke embarrassed. “Uh, hi?”

Luke just gapes, spatula limp in one hand.

“Just going out the front for a sec, Cal, just need to check something with Michael!” Ashton calls quickly exiting the room. Luke thinks he spots a smirk on Ashton’s face and his eyes narrow in suspicion.

“Uh, sorry for barging in on you like this,” Calum starts, standing awkwardly by the door still. “When Ash said he did deliveries for cafes in the local area I didn’t know he meant yours as well.”

“Missed you this morning,” Luke blurts out, then promptly feels himself turn red, again. Jesus Christ where did that come from? He wants to disappear like, immediately and wonders whether he could shut himself in the walk-in without Calum noticing.

A small pleased smile appears on Calum’s face and he blushes slightly. “I thought it might be a bit desperate to also turn up when I’m not even in the office. But I guess I’m here anyway.”

“Well I’m glad,” Luke says quietly, ducking his head and biting his lip.

Calum’s eyes twinkle at him. “So this is where the magic happens?” He asks, examining his surroundings.

Luke groans. “Don’t look at it like his,” he begs. “I’m usually such an organised worker I promise, I’m just, having a few issues.”

Calum smiles and comes over to stand next to Luke. Luke inhales sharply and thinks that Calum smells like the freshly baked bread in Ashton’s van but also something else, sweet and spicy, like a hot cinnamon and apple cake or a warm speculoos biscuit just out of the oven.

“Can I help with anything while I’m here?” He asks softly, reaching out hesitantly and barely grazing Luke’s elbow. Luke focuses on trying to regulate his breaths which is proving almost impossible with Calum standing so close to him, the feeling of his warm hand through his sleeve and the sight of the concerned smile on his face.

“It’ll be okay I think,” he manages to get out breathily. “Thanks though, that’s very sweet of you.”

“No, I think that’s you,” Calum says quietly, reddening a bit but looking up to meet Luke’s eyes.

He reaches out and brushes a hand gently through an escaping curl on Luke’s face.

“You’ve got a bit of flour here.” He says quietly, tilting his head to one side and twisting Luke’s hair around his finger briefly. “And here,” Calum continues, skimming his fingers across Luke’s cheekbone. “Here too,” he murmurs, stepping even closer to Luke and dragging his fingertips under Luke’s chin and down the side of his neck, leaving them to rest curling slightly into the collar of Luke’s shirt and looking at Luke in the eyes. Luke’s not sure if he can breathe, lost in the gentle stroke of Calum’s hand and the swirling chocolate of his eyes, feeling the pink blush dusting across his skin, left in the wake of Calum’s touch. His eyes flicker down to Calum’s lips, and he sees them curve into a smile, before he leans forward slightly and catches Luke’s own lips in a soft kiss.

“Hm,” Calum murmurs as he pulls away slightly. “You taste sweet too.”

Luke honestly thinks this might be the best moment of his life so far, and slides his hand over Calum’s shoulder to pull him back towards him, but just as he does he hears a scuffling sound from outside the swing door into the main cafe.

“Mikey is that you?” Luke asks suspiciously, stepping away from Calum slightly and turning towards the door. Calum steps back too, but loops an arm loosely around Luke’s waist, fingers playing with the ties of his apron.

“No,” a voice comes through the door.

“Get in here,” Luke says bossily, “You too Ashton I know you’re out there.”

The two of them appear in the doorway, Michael having the good grace to look a little ashamed but Ashton doesn’t even bother, a huge shit eating grin on his face.

“What is going on here?” Luke demands, narrowing his eyes at the pair of them. He’s trying to stay stern but it's proving very difficult when he can feel Calum’s hands skim along his side and him gently nose his shoulder blade as he huffs out a giggle behind him.

“What I think is going on is that you, Lukey, and dearest Cal Pal might have been having a moment?” Ashton smirks at the two of them.

“I don’t know how you two are involved in this but I know you are and I want you to explain yourselves,” Luke says petulantly. He then looks at Ashton and Michael closer and catches sight of their hands clasped, hidden slightly behind Ashton.

“What is going on here?!” Luke repeats again, gesturing at their hands. He sees Michael (and Ashton come to think of it) every day, how has he missed this? Probably because he’s been lost in thoughts of Calum for the last 3 weeks he reasons with himself.

Michael blushes to the roots of his hair and pulls away from Ashton slightly but Ashton just tugs him into his body, curving his hand around Michael's hip and pressing a kiss into his neck before releasing him.

“Well Michael and I started talking the other week, and we found out that by some miracle that the Calum that happened to be coming in everyday to stare at Luke for 20 minutes and leave, was the same Calum who lives in my flat and won’t stop talking about the gorgeous cake maker who works at the cafe round the corner from his office.” Ashton says, laughing, as Calum makes a wounded noise of protest and hides his face in Luke’s shoulder. “And this very Luke that Calum wouldn’t stop talking about happened to be the Luke that I deliver bread to every morning and apparently won’t stop throwing longing glances at Calum from the other side of the counter when he thinks he’s not looking.”

Luke squeaks, and feels Calum giggle behind him, both arms coming round his waist and dropping his chin onto Luke’s shoulder.

“And you two thought you would mastermind a plan then I suppose,” Calum says amusedly.

“Why aren’t you more annoyed by this,” Luke gripes, turning his head to try to glare at Calum but managing only to brush his nose against his cheek.

“Because I got what I wanted out of it, regardless of the method,” Calum says sweetly, and Luke blushes again.

“That doesn’t explain.. This!” Luke gestures at Michael and Ashton, he doesn’t know quite why his brain has fixated on this development when he has Calum basically draped along his back but what has happened in the last 10 minutes has been too much for his brain to handle.

“Well we had to come up with a plan so I asked Ashton if he wanted to go for food,” Michael finally pipes up, a small pleased smile on his face.

“You did?” Luke asks in what he acknowledges is probably quite a rude way but this was a turn of events he was not expecting.

“Well maybe watching you pine so disgustingly made me want to do something about it,” Michael retorts, but there’s no heat in it.

“I knew the hot cross bun would work,” Ashton says solemnly, and Michael jabs him in the ribs with his elbow.

“Okay, I’ve decided that’s enough of the two of you,” Calum says. “Go and scheme elsewhere now please.”

Ashton laughs and salutes them before tugging Michael out of the back door.

“I honestly can’t believe this,” Luke begins, “they think they can just meddle in our business and force us into the same room together and that we’ll just kiss and they can pat themselves on the back for a job well done?”

Calum is quiet beside him and Luke turns to look at him. “Well?”

Calum smiles at him, that one that makes Luke feel like he’s floating in sweet mallow clouds and tips his head slightly to the side. “I mean I’m sorry Luke but that’s exactly how it happened, so yes I suppose they can.”

Luke begins to make a noise of protest but Calum just grabs the front of his apron and pulls him back towards him.

“You can carry this on later, but can we stop talking about Michael and Ashton for one second? I was sort of busy before they came in,” Calum whispers over Luke’s lips.

“Yeah okay,” Luke responds, leaning into Calum and catching his lips back against his own.

Calum pulls away after a couple of minutes and brushes another rogue curl out of Luke’s face. “So about that help you turned down earlier, I’m not taking no for an answer. I’ll start cleaning some of these things up and you can get on and do what you do best.” Calum leans in and gives him one last peck before heading over to the sink and starting to run the tap.

Luke smiles, slightly dazed and runs his fingers over his lips, thinking Calum tastes pretty sweet himself, a little bit like the warm vanilla air in his kitchen and a lot like home.

#5sos fanfiction #cake fic #5sos fic #cake #meg fic #this is meg from the past as i have SCHEDULED this as i am busy #ya girl wrote some cake content and it's entirely self-serving #this is probably too long to read nicely on tumblr i should probably sort an ao3 acc #also apologies for any errors im still getting to grips with this and i didn't get anyone to read this for me first #also FUN FACT all the things luke talks about making are my own recipes and things i make 😌 thats how self serving this js

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arsnovacadenza · 4 years

Text

Napoleon Birthday Headcanons (Modern AU with some Jeanpoleon)

This is my scenario for my Jeanpoleon modern AU centered around Napoleon’s birthday. It’s not very well-structured, but I hope you’ll all enjoy it nonetheless!

Rated T for some stuff towards the end

It's a lazy morning on August 15, and Napoleon wakes up from bed and pads into the living room .

He plops on the sofa and Cherie climbs on his chest, Napoleon thinks it's just going to be another ordinary day, birthday or no.

Jean finds his boyfriend sprawled on the couch and brings him breakfast large enough for two. In one bowl.

Napoleon asks "Eating together from the same plate? That's awfully sweet of you."

The younger man simply stares at him, confused.

"I thought you enjoyed this sort of thing. It makes our relationship more 'intimate', you say."

"Hmm, true. But why so suddenly?"

Jean tilts his head. "It's your birthday. I wanted to do something different for you, so...."

Napoleon blinks. "Oh, you actually remembered. Did I remind you somehow?"

Jean blushes and thinks: 'No, dumbass. I remember the date because I use it as my password a lot.'

Napo isn't the type to remind people about his birthday. Nor does he expect anyone to celebrate it (not that he doesn't get multiple celebrations since he's very popular).

But for once, Jean wants to give him a different experience instead of just partying.

Jean himself prefers to stay at home, but he's made up his mind to make a new memory with Napoleon today.

And besides....he's got a mission to accomplish.

"I know it's not much, but for today, I'll do any favor you ask of me."

"Anything?"

"Anything"

"Just for today?"

'Not really'. Jean thinks. 'I’m not sure I can be the reliable person that you’ll always need, but I swear that I’ll be at your service until they carry me to my grave.”

So, he settles with "You already know the answer." He blushes, and it makes Napo's heart stop.

Jean knows he needs to coax Napo into going out of their apartment, since favors can mean anything from him paying all their bills (which isn't very Napoleon-ish), or have sex all day long. The latter is tempting, but Jean thinks that can wait.

But turns out he doesn't have to, since Napoleon is already rising from the couch.

He flashes the biggest shit-eating grin Jean has ever seen.

"Oh, there's something I need to do in town. But you're driving today."

Jean eagerly nods and they get ready to leave. Napoleon empties the car, clearing junk from the seat and making the interior much more spacious.

Jean is puzzled but is given no explanations.

"What are you planning?"

Napoleon smiles. "We'll see."

The first place they go to is the electronics store. Napoleon eagerly walks to the back and points at a bread maker machine. He calls the store attendant over. They talk a bit and Napoleon immediately announces he'd like to buy the model.

"By the way," he inquires the attendant (who is absolutely entranced by Napoleon). "I believe you have special discounts for members born in August?"

Napoleon shows his membership card at the cashier and they get a special birthday discount for the bread maker machine.

And it's not just at the hardware store. They go to a classy department store and Napo makes use of a birthday deal to buy an expensive suitcase.

They walk out of a bookstore with Napo dragging a trolley full of books, this time purchased with a special birthday gift card + membership deals.

"Sorry, Jean. It looks like you're sticking with me on a personal shopping spree."

Jean watches Napoleon as he exploits birthday discounts and freebies at every store they visit.

People stare as they walk around toting shopping bags from different stores like a pair of socialite middle-aged moms.

But Napoleon triumphant smile is worth it, Jean thinks.

It's sundown by the time Napoleon has exploited all of his birthday discounts. (There must be more, Jean thinks. His scrupulous boyfriend's probably restraining himself not to drain his bank account.)

It's still hot outside, but the air conditioner inside their car is comforting. Napoleon stares at the setting sun, humming an unfamiliar tune off-key.

"This is not the way to our apartment. Where are you taking us?"

"You'll see." Jean smiles.

They arrive at the beach. Jean boldly takes Napoleon's hand in his and leads him to the seaside cafe.

"Jean? Have you been planning this—"

Then he spots Sebastian, Yukari, and Isaac, waving at them from the shore.

"Merde," Napoleon gasped, his face red and smiling.

It turns out that the three have been planning to surprise Napoleon with a dinner by the ocean. Jean, naturally, was asked to distract the birthday boy for the entire day. It was an intimate party, with friends wishing him well and Yukari enthusiastically taking pictures for her Instagram and blog.

Long afterward, they finally part and the other three head to Sebastian's car since Isaac is carpooling with them. Before returning to their van, Napoleon invites Jean to enjoy the night air and gaze at the stars.

"Thank you, Jean. For accompanying me the entire day. And for the party, too." He gazed at his boyfriend lovingly. "But there's one little favor left I want to ask of you. That is if you want to help me cap off the day on a perfect note."

"What is it?"

Napo produces a tiny square foil from inside his pocket. "Think you're up for it?"

Jean was relieved that it was Saturday. They should be able to drive home the next morning. "So that's what the spare lube in the glove compartment is for."

Tagging:

@kisara-16, @thedollarstoresatan, @kissmetwicekissmedeadly, @nad-zeta, @delicateikemenmemes, @lulu-the-hedgehog, @ikesensrandomninjagirl24, @longingkisses, @weird-profiterole, @napoleonstan, @nafeary, @ashavazesa, @hokkaido-fox, @nuclearwinterexe

#ikevam hc #ikevam napoleon #ikevam jean #jeanpoleon #ikevam sebastian #ikevam isaac #hhhhh #happy birthday napoleon #riri tries ikevam

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starlight-phantom · 4 years

Note

Wow everyone sure loves angst huh. So with this AU, is Akiren still staying full time with Sojiro? Does he split time at the cafe and with Maruki? I'm just imagining Akiren doing something Extra™ and Sojiro just texting Maruki "Why is your son like this?"

Well, he'll stay with Sojiro full-time until he meets Takuto again at Shujin and then he'll start spending the occasional night at Takuto's.

And yeah, Sojiro would absolutely do that after seeing like.... I dunno, Ren, Ryuji and Futaba playing bowling with some old empty oil drums, a shopping trolley and themselves in the shopping trolley. He's got his hands full dealing with Futaba, he needs Takuto to come get his idiot.

#akira kurusu #ren amamiya #takuto maruki #sojiro sakura #futaba sakura #ryuji sakamoto #takuren family au #persona 5 royal #p5r spoilers

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ladybub · 5 years

Link

The next chapter is here! I got on a roll last night, I wanted to get the next chapter out ASAP so that we could get that sweet, sweet action going.

Enjoy!

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Sabine Cheng, Tom Dupain, Chloé Bourgeois, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Lila Rossi, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Nathalie Sancoeur Additional Tags: Overboard AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst, Fluff, Fake Marriage, I have literally got nothing planned, i am winging this, most likely smut Summary:

Overboard AU. Marinette Dupain-Cheng hasn't had the best of luck in her life, not only has her husband Luka passed away tragically three years ago, she's one failed test away from losing her scholarship, and also already lost her job at the cafe. With three children to take care of, she doesn't have the time to dawdle and needs to find another job, or a miracle, stat! Meanwhile, on his own personal yacht, Adrien Agreste - the heir to the Gabriel fashion line - hasn't a care in the world and women on his arms at all times. He's living the life of a Bachelor with no problems whatsoever, other than the hangovers he gets the morning after. However both their luck changes after a chance meeting, and when the son of the rich designer has an accident which causes him to lose his memory...

So... Marinette didn't end up with a job at the end of the day.

It seemed word got out about a clumsy waitress that was rumoured to have recently broken over half the mugs in the Le Blanc café - her old workplace - in one fell swoop, and had gotten fired. So when Marinette rocked up, resume in hand, it seemed that the managers were all too eager to turn her away, saying that they had no positions available and that they were very sorry - no matter how much she insisted.

She knew her luck was bad, but come on! She figured she wasn't going to get a job straight away, but she couldn't believe not one place would give her any hopeful indication that she had a chance. Even the ones that did take her resume didn't seem like they were interested. She felt the fuzz of anxiety in her mind, as her fear of losing the apartment loomed overhead.

Marinette shook her head and slapped her cheeks. She didn't have time to dwell on that right now, she had to get on the game! She opened the van door; she had just parked near the dock, right next to the hugest yacht she'd ever seen. Like, seriously, this thing was practically a cruise ship. It had multiple rooms and levels, and was absolutely spotless. She already knew that they had a kitchen on board, a fully-functional chef's kitchen nonetheless! More staff ran around on the board, and there were people on the deck, setting up for the party. It looked like it would be a long night.

She started packing the containers in the van onto a collapsible trolley that was tucked in the back. It wasn't even dusk yet and they needed to have everything ready by 9pm. She was so happy that her parents had opened the store to catering. Since they got the extra business, Tom and Sabine had extra time on their hands. They had taken a small step back now that they were older and the business was pretty self sufficient. They loved to babysit their grandchildren regularly for Marinette, and she was so happy that they were so involved in the kids lives, but mostly happy that they could take the time to enjoy themselves.

Marinette immediately felt out of place when she took a step onto the boat, just to her right was a giant spa! As she continued through the yacht, she walked past exquisitely décored rooms, each with their own ensuite. When she reached the kitchen, it was brilliantly polished and sparkling. As if it was brand new and untouched.

She finished depositing all the containers of food into the kitchen and already had completed the preparation, so all that was left was to stick them in the oven when the client wanted the appetisers shared around, and she was currently waiting for the first batch to come out. All the cold appetisers were plated and ready to go.

Marinette sat and watched the other staff scamper around in the meantime. She knew at 9pm, Tikki - the other server who was rostered for the night - would arrive, but that wasn't for ages away. She knew no one else here.

It seemed like the client wasn't here either, since no one bothered to greet her when she arrived. She couldn't help but feel curious about the many rooms in the boat, and quickly checked to see if anyone was paying any attention to her. Nope, coast seemed clear. It couldn't hurt to have a quick look around the yacht, right? She wasn't a thief, she just wanted to have a peek at exactly how big it was.

It was huge.

There was one kitchen, with in-built pantry the size of a room, two bathrooms - one with a bathtub, three master bedrooms and the forth one had its own balcony over the first floor. The fourth bedroom was the one she was in now, and it seemed to belong to someone, considering all the blankets were mussed up and there was more personal decorations around the room.

She quickly called Alya, she just had to know where she was. It didn't take long for Alya to answer.

"Hey Marinette, what's up?"

Marinette held in her giddiness, "Alya, you won't believe where I am right now. I'm doing a catering job for the bakery, and the place we're serving is a freakin' 5-star mini cruise ship!" She walked into the en suite, and eyed off a bottle of Gabriel cologne on the bathroom bench. Look's like the client is a guy... She thought.

"Really?! Who is hosting the party?" Alya asked excitedly, "Someone famous you think?"

Marinette quickly popped Alya onto speaker as she opened her emails, "Hmm, let's see... A guy named Adrien Agreste..." Her mind went blank, as it stuttered over the last name. "Wait, as in Gabriel Agreste's son?!" Marinette almost shouted.

Alya gasped on the other side of the phone, "You've got to be kidding me! Model for the Gabriel fashion line, mega hottie, Adrien Agreste?" Marinette knew the exact face Alya was pulling right now, and she was already dreading her next words. "Get in girl! This could make your career if you manage to get a contact with Adrien. Plus, have you seen him?" Alya made a noise that Marinette didn't want to put too much thought into.

"No way, Alya. I mean, you know that I used to have photos of him in Collège... But that was just a... Celebrity crush on a 14 year old boy. I haven't really been paying attention to social media, so I have no clue what he looks like now. Besides, I don't want to use some poor guy. I want to achieve success on my own merit."

"Mari, if you saw him you might change your mind." Alya encouraged, "You HAVE to open up Instagram right now, his handle is-"

"Do you mind keeping it down?" The voice came from the bed. Alya went silent and Marinette's blood went cold. No way.

Marinette's turned around, words of apology on her lips but then froze. It was like she was watching a magazine shoot in real life - on the bed was Adrien Agreste, sex hair from sleeping, and completely naked. Luckily (or, unluckily, depending who you asked) the sheet covered the important parts, but as he stood up, unbothered by her presence, and she got a full glimpse of his ass.

Notably, she noticed that on his left cheek, there was a cute little paw print, with the words 'Chat Noir' written below it.

Her face went beet red and she quickly looked away, she finally spluttered the words that she meant to say before. "I'm so sorry, I had no clue anyone was here. I was just looking around but I-It was rude of me to intrude, I'll leave now." She quickly turned to leave, hoping that if she walked off fast enough, he'd not notice her face and she could not die of embarrassment.

Before she'd managed to get out the door she heard his reply, and paused. "Don't worry about it, I'm not shy." Said Adrien, wrapping the sheet around him, and gave her a charming smile. "I mean, the world has seen most of it anyway." He shrugged, moving past her and into the walk-in wardrobe. As he dropped the sheet behind him onto the floor again, he gave Marinette a wink before walking out of view to get dressed.

After Marinette started thinking straight again, she began for the door once more. "Still I'll get out of your hair." Right as she reached the door, she saw Adrien's blonde head pop out of the wardrobe.

"Oh, wait!" He called, causing Marinette's heart to skip a beat. He walked out the wardrobe, buttoning up his perfectly pressed white shirt. "While you're here, do you mind getting me a..." He pursed his lips in thought, "A bloody mary. Yes."

Marinette's brain froze. Again. But this time, it wasn't because she was getting lost in his emerald eyes. "O-Oh, sorry, I'm not a bartender, I'm one of the servers of the catering company you hired, Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. We're here to serve the appetizers."

Adrien looked at her for a long moment. Shit. So much for leaving before he saw you properly. Marinette scolded herself. She then felt her skin prickle as his eyes dragged over her body. She suddenly felt self conscious. "Is there something on my uniform?" She looked to check.

"No, no. You're fine, it's just..." Adrien let out an over dramatic sigh, "You're a bit flat, princess. I prefer my girls with bigger breasts, what a shame, since your face so cute." Adrien gave her a very fiendish smile. "But still, I wouldn't mind if you crawled into my bed at the end of the night." He winked at her.

Marinette felt herself flush in embarrassment, but also felt like she had a bucket of ice water dump on her head. That was no way to talk to someone! Who did he think he was? "I-I have to go. To serve the food." She bit out. "You'll have to get your own drink." She stormed off.

Marinette reached the kitchen and opened the oven to peek inside. She closed the oven door, making a new timer for the next 5 minutes. She was barely containing the growing anger inside. If she wasn't representing her parent's bakery, she would've clocked the guy. Well, probably not. But she wish she could! Right in his smug face, maybe break his nose. Okay, that's excessive. She sighed, frustration now mingling with a bit of sadness. At least now she'd be able to distract herself with serving, and she'll just ignore him. She'll treat him like any customer, and the moment that the kitchen closes, she's out of here!

She groaned. Except that she had to come back in the morning and collect all the equipment. She couldn't be packing away everything and transporting it into the van so late at night. Guess she'll just have to take it as it comes, she didn't want to let her parents down.

Finally, right as the timer went off, Tikki arrived in the kitchen, a cute little ladybug pin on her apron.

"Tikki! Just on time, as always." Marinette was relieved to have someone else with her now. "I love your haircut! Short hair looks really cute on you."

Tikki touched the short red locks on her head, "You think? I was worried it'd look weird, but..." Her smile shined brightly. "I really love it! My head feels so light."

"Its super adorable." Marinette began filling the trays with the first round of appetisers, and set the first tray on Tikki's open hands. "Now we're just serving in the open areas," Marinette instructed, "I'll be keeping an eye on the ovens and get the new trays ready as they are needed. When you want a break, let me know."

"Got it, ma'am!" Tikki smiled playfully, before shooting an excited eye beyond Marinette and towards the music, which had just begun blazing throughout the yacht. "I can't believe that we're here, I feel like I'm on one of those party boats for celebrities."

"Well, considering the host, it pretty much is..." Marinette laughed weakly, she really didn't want to ruin Tikki's fun by being a wet blanket, but she knew she should tell her what happened the moment before. "Our client is Adrien Agreste, and unfortunately the only nice thing about him is his face." She scowled.

"Adrien Agreste?!" Tikki exclaimed, "Wait." Her excitement turned into a look of concern. "What happened? Did you meet him or something?"

Marinette sighed as she finished preparing the remaining trays and walked out the kitchen with Tikki, "He called me flat, and then invited me to his bed! I've head of negging but," She huffed, "he really seemed like he didn't care about hurting my feelings at all. Trust me, avoid him if you can. Adrien is a entitled brat."

Tikki gave Marinette a pitying look, "I'm so sorry, Marinette. You didn't deserve it, but," Tikki stopped and smiled at two guests who took a few quiches of her tray, "What do you expect? I mean, he's had beautiful girls throwing themselves at him all his life, and people sucking up to him for his wealth. He probably has some sort of God-complex."

"Ugh, you're probably right." Marinette's nose crinkled up, but she gave Tikki a reassuring smile, "I won't let it get to me, don't worry. I have bigger problems to think about."

Tikki reached up to Marinette and pinched her cheek, "That's my girl!"

It was an exhausting night, but Marinette was glad it was finally over. Lucky for her, Adrien was distracted the rest of the night and seemed to forget about her existence entirely - which, she admitted made her bristle slightly. What happened was so insignificant to him that he didn't even notice when she served him multiple times, whilst she had anger coursing through her the entire night every time she looked at him.

She parked the van in the same spot she had last time, and unpacked the trolley from the back. She'll be in and out, before anyone knew she was there. She brought along a cap this time which she pulled far down her face and wheeled the trolley up onto the deck and into the kitchen with no issues.

Just has she finished putting the last container into the van, the trays were the last things she needed to get. She sneaked onto the yacht one last time, and was just ready to leave the kitchen after collecting the trays when she heard the sound of two set of feet coming down the hall. She quickly ducked behind the wall, not wanting to be seen.

"Adrien, this has been going long enough. I won't tolerate any more of your abhorrent behaviour." A pang of familiarity hit Marinette. This voice, no, it couldn't be...

"Or what, Dad?" Adrien's voice spat out, "You'll cut me off? Your heir?" Marinette heard Adrien scoff, and she could tell that they both moved into one of the spare bedrooms just outside the kitchen. Adrien's words confirmed her suspicions, right in the room across from her had to be Gabriel Agreste. The same Gabriel who hasn't been seen out in public in years - and here he was, on Adrien's yacht.

"Perhaps I will!" Gabriel snapped, and Adrien seemed to go silent for a while, probably shocked to hear his father raise his normally reserved voice. "I will not have some brainless, alcoholic bachelor as the face of Gabriel. If you don't fix up your act soon, son..." A pause. "You won't be an Agreste anymore."

Marinette sucked in a shocked breath, was he going to disown Adrien? She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and she couldn't hear anything from Adrien either. A long moment passed before she heard someone leaving the room.

"You have one month. The week before the Spring Gala, if you don't come back to the estate with the intention on apologising and becoming an heir worthy of the Agreste name... Don't bother coming back at all."

With that, Gabriel Agreste left the boat. Marinette couldn't help but feel bad for Adrien, she couldn't imagine having that sort of relationship with her father.

She waited a few minutes before peeking out into the hallway, she couldn't hear anyone anymore. Perhaps now was the time to get out of here.

But before she could get away completely, a voice called out.

"Hey! Server girl." Adrien stood at the door to the bedroom, his eyes were red and when he walked up to her, she smelt the distinct scent of alcohol coming from him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you for a drink." He shot her a entertained look as he stumbled a little when he made his way towards her. "Instead, how about some more of those little..." He gestured with his hands, "cheesy, bacon... Egg things. Hm?"

All sense of sympathy Marinette felt was gone as she remembered the night before, but she couldn't bring herself to get angry at him after what she just heard. Not to mention, she was in uniform. Ugh, she hated the hospitality industry sometimes. "Sorry, the contract was only for yesterday evening. Besides, there's no more food and all the equipment is packed away."

Adrien plucked out his wallet and then grabbed a wad of cash, dumping it on the trays she was holding. "Go get me something to eat then. I'm feeling something..." He thought for a moment, "sweet. Maybe fruit? What's in season right now?"

Marinette balked at the money, but still, grabbed the cash and shoved it into Adrien's chest. "I'm not doing anything for you. The contract is over. I'm going home."

Adrien grabbed her arm before she could leave, "Aw, come on. I don't bite." He winked, "Unless you ask."

"Ugh!" Marinette yanked her arm from his grip, "I don't want to spend one more moment with a sleeze like you."

"Me-owch. This girl has claws." Adrien didn't seem perturbed by her comment, "Did I hurt your feelings last night, princess? I was wondering why I didn't see that cute ass of yours in my bed."

Marinette felt the disgust curl in her stomach, "No. I just would never sleep with someone who didn't respect anyone but himself." She turned on her heel to leave, only to feel herself begin to pitch to the side - falling right into the spa!

Or, well, she almost did. Then two muscular arms wrapped around her and stopped her from falling. Marinette became very aware of that fact that she was pulled towards Adrien's bare chest. Did this guy ever have any clothes on?! She couldn't stop the blush that made its way to her cheeks. Adrien was a prick, but, even she had to admit was he fit.

She pushed his arms away hurriedly, "Get off of me!"

"Is that anyway to thank your saviour?" Adrien chuckled, the sound deep and sardonic.

"I don't need your help." Marinette straightened up and smoothed down her clothes. "It's just a little water anyway, I would've been fine."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really."

"Alright then..." Then Marinette felt his hands on her again, but this time instead of pulling - he pushed her!

Marinette fell into the jacuzzi with a large splash, the trays clattering to the floor loudly, some of them denting as they fell down the steps beside the jacuzzi, down into the entertainment area below. When she resurfaced, she gasped loudly, "What the fuck! I could have seriously injured myself if I hit my head." She spluttered, and wiped the water from her face, "You really are a dick, you know?" She didn't care anymore, she couldn't hold in the anger.

Her only answer was Adrien's entertained laughter.

So she got out of the jacuzzi, slapping away Adrien's offered hand while he snickered. When she began collecting the trays, she noticed three of them had huge dents in them, making them unusable. Her heart sank. These were her father's favourite silver trays that they saved for the high-class events, like the one last night.

She stomped up to Adrien and waved them around in his face, "You need to pay for the damage on these, look!" She pointed at the dents, "These are custom silver trays that my father ordered for the business! They cost hundreds of dollars, and that's just for one of them!"

Adrien shrugged, "Not my problem, you dropped them."

Marinette seethed, "You pushed me!"

Adrien bent to her level, "What you gonna do, sue me? With what proof?" He laughed as he walked away, "Since you're not going to stay and suck me off, you can leave." He looked into the distance, waving someone over.

"W-What?!" Marinette spluttered, "You can't do that, you- you damaged our property!" Suddenly, the sun that was warming her back disappeared as a large shadow blocked the heat.

"Gorilla, escort her out. If she struggles, just throw her into the Seine." Adrien plastered on the fakest, sweetest smile she'd ever seen. "Bye bye, server girl."

Marinette didn't want to satisfy him with a response. She turned towards the Gorilla, a frown deeply set on her face. "I can see myself out. This isn't the last you'll hear from me."

She left the yacht in a huff, trying to ignore the burn of Adrien's stare on the back of her head.

Oooh, she was going to make him pay her family back, one way or another.

Notes:

Yes. Adrien is a huge dick in the beginning. I promise that he'll get his just desserts, and also that he'll get better.

Chloe and Lila will be back in later chapters, I promise there's more to them than being the bikini girls who hang off him.

I hope this chapter was more entertaining than the last! I really want to get to the good, juicy stuff. It'll come, eventually.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrien #adrienette #love square #fake marriage au #overboard au #my art #my fic

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drowning-in-dennor · 5 years

Text

Voyage

For day three of @aphyuriweek2019, I picked the theme of “adventure”. This doesn’t really fit the theme (and it’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever posted on this blog), but I hope it’s fine nonetheless! The story takes place in the Another Colour AU, and the pairing is nyo!DenNor.

She wonders just how her sister will react, finding out that she bought Wi-Fi for the flight just to access her drawing app. As Freja sketches her newest drawing on her tablet, she looks over to the girl sitting next to her, busy writing in her notebook. She risks a glance and sees rows upon rows of scrawled font she can barely read and looks away before the girl notices her.

The overhead speakers crackle. “Cabin crew, prepare for takeoff.”

Rustling from the seat next to her makes Freja look to the girl next to her again, who pulls out earbuds from her bag and plugs them into her phone. She hugs the airplane pillow to her chest, closing her notebook and slipping her pen into the spine. Freja continues drawing, but can’t help sneaking glances at her. The plane slowly starts moving and Freja leans back into her seat, listening to the rumble of the engines as they launch into the air.

It’s not until the “seatbelts on” light on the ceiling turn off and the plane stops rocking does the girl next to her pick up her notebook again and flip it open. On the first page, written in messy blue ink, Freja sees the line, property of Lilje Konvallsdottir.

The quiet sound of pen scratching against paper fills the air for a good while, as Freja continues to draw. An hour into the flight, Freja hears a sharp snap and realises that Lilje has stopped writing, instead pulling out a thick book and opening that. She tucks a lock of caramel-brown hair behind her ear, leaning against the window and away from Freja.

With six hours left until she gets to New York, Freja turns off her tablet and closes her eyes, letting the flicking of paper next to her lull her to sleep.

She wakes up again when the flight attendant’s rolling a trolley down the aisle and handing out trays of food. Freja takes a sandwich from the attendant, while Lilje, still nose-deep in her book, turns down the offer of food with a quiet “no thank you”.

Freja pulls out a bottle of water and sips it, wondering just how Lilje can handle sitting two hours in her seat without even getting up. She seems blind to everything around her, hidden in her own world, Freja thinks, I wonder if I should talk to her.

The plane rocks a little and Freja spills some water on her hand. She closes her water bottle, wiping her hand dry and sighing. At the corner of her vision, she sees Lilje tighten her grip on her book.

With a beep, the “seatbelts on” light goes on again and the plane bobs up and down, sending papers rustling and worried whispers around the seats.

“Cabin crew, we are going through a small patch of turbulence. Please keep your seatbelts fastened.”

The plane continues to rock. Freja turns on her tablet again and draws, grimacing as a jolt sends one of her lines going askew. Another jolt, and something bumps her foot.

She looks down. It’s Lilje’s notebook, but its owner seems to have no intention of picking it up. Freja bends down to pick it up and hands it to Lilje, who takes it with a nod. She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t put it away, only squeezes her now-closed book so tightly her knuckles turn white. Lilje turns away, tight-lipped and with a creased brow.

“Hey.” Freja gently touches her wrist, and Lilje jumps. “Are you okay?”

Lilje nods, avoiding eye contact and taking a deep breath. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“I’m s-” another jolt, and the plane suddenly makes a quick descent. Lilje gasps, squeezing her eyes shut. She slips her hand into Freja’s, digging her nails in.

“All right,” Lilje admits, so quiet she’s barely audible, “I’m really, really scared. Can I just-”

Nodding, Freja lets Lilje squeeze her hand. “Take deep breaths,” she advices, “think about what you’ll do when we land. When you leave the airport, where are you going to go?”

“T-To a bus station.” She opens her eyes. “then I’m taking the bus to Filios.”

“Filios University?” Freja feels the grip on her hand slowly loosen. “That’s impressive. Are you going there in September?”

“No, just a course. A three-week writing course that ends just in time for me to get home and start senior year.” Lilje picks up her notebook, slowly starting to relax. “I hope I’ll be able to get in after I graduate from high school.”

Freja looks at the notebook again. “That sounds fun.”

“How about you? Where are you going once we land?”

“Nothing much,” she says, “after dropping off my suitcase at the hotel, I’m off to an art convention. Hopefully, people will buy the stuff I draw so I can go home rich.”

Lilje giggles at that, slowly exhaling in relief as the plane stops its rocking. “Oh, thank goodness.” She smiles at Freja, still holding on to her hand. “Thank you for talking to me. I probably would’ve gone insane if you didn’t.”

…

After arriving at the airport, Lilje buys Freja a cup of coffee, and they spend a few moments at a cafe chatting and sharing works. When Lilje looks at her phone and realises that she’s late for the summer course’s opening ceremony, she tears out a page in her notebook, scribbles something down and leaves with a quick “I’ll see you soon.”

Freja picks up the piece of paper and sees Lilje’s phone number written on top, along with:

Maybe we can meet up sometime? Lunch this weekend would be lovely.

~Freja

#aph fanfiction #aphyuriweek2019 #aph dennor #APH Denmark #APH Norway #nyotalia #nyo dennor #nyo denmark #nyo norway #aph another colour #2p dennor #2p denmark #2p norway #2P nyotalia #2p nyo dennor #2p nyo denmark #2p nyo norway #my writing #kind of shit but oh well

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brookiedaaroacecookie · 5 months

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before we head into the new year, let’s go over all my Murder Drones AUs. Because wow there’s too many of them-

Human AU

This one’s mandatory. Everyone who’s watched Murder Drones has at least some SEMBLANCE of a human au. In mine, the workers are normal humans called “Workers”. The Disassembly Drones/Murder Drones are known as Disassemblers/Murderers. (creative, I know) The Disassemblers are experiments, who were taken at a young age and had multiple scientific experiments placed upon them.

2. Trolley Cafe AU

This one’s my favorite. They’re all humans again, because yes. Nori and Uzi got into a car crash a few years ago, killing Nori and chopping off Uzi’s left arm. She has a prosthetic now. A year before that crash however, an elderly Hispanic woman named Mya bought an old trolley and renovated it into a cafe, called “Mya’s Dulce Café”. (Mixed languages here, dulce is Latin for sweet. Had to do Latin bc it’s the only other language I know besides English-). Uzi enters the shop one day and meets N. She find out her mother used to work there and takes up a job.

3. Coffee Shop AU (haven’t written this one yet)

Uzi works at a coffee shop trying to get money to support herself. One day, she meets a sibling trio who comes into the shop at least once a week. Their unique dynamic piques her interest, and she falls down a rabbit hole into a trap called “friendship”. (And maybe something more with one of them… N)

ye i made all of them in the span of 2 months. :)

#murder drones #liam vickers animation #n murder drones #n md #murder drones uzi #nuzi #biscuitbites #n x uzi #serial designation n #uzi doorman #Murder drones au #Coffee shop au #human au #Trolley cafe au

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icequeenjules26 · 5 years

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Flight to Flight

Summary: Dan Howell, aspiring Ski Jumper, meets the handsome stranger Phil at an airport, and they hit it off immediately. But what he didn't know was that Phil was more than he seemed to be…

Word Count: 14,6k

Tags: Ski Jumping AU, Strangers to Lovers, Angst, Fluff, Smut

A/n: This is my fic for the @phandomreversebang! Art is from the amazing @lovelydeps, who even made a different art for me, and a biiiig thank you goes to my beta @indecisive-taco for her nice words and obviously her help! I loved writing this, I hope you guys like it!

Read on AO3

Dan arrived at the airport pretty early. His flight wasn’t for a few more hours, but the weather was horrible and he knew, if he would miss this flight his mom would be pissed.

She would probably be pissed anyway, but what had he been supposed to do?

Technically, she had asked him to be home at least a few days before easter to settle back in with his family and get all discussions out of the way before his extended family would arrive for the actual festivities. He knew that. He had known that. But he simply hadn’t been able to make it.

This was the opportunity of a lifetime. And he never would’ve gotten it had he gone straight home after his last competition.

So, while his Continental Cup team had taken the flight back home from Russia to Germany, he had boarded the flight towards Klagenfurt, Austria, and then the car to Planica, Slovenia for a weekend at the World Cup. Not to compete himself, sadly… At least not yet. But the German national coach had invited him to spend the weekend with the rest of the national team, and they had taken him in with open arms. He knew a few of them already from his youth, but others he hadn’t met before - especially the coach himself. Who had made pretty clear that his chances of competing in the World Cup in the next season were exceptional.

Naturally, Dan was still basking in happiness while waiting for his flight back home, even though the weather was crap. It was the end of March and it was still ridiculously cold outside, including wind and snow and ice.

Inside of the airport hall it was fairly warm, though, and his warm winter coat with the emblem of the German national team had been long since slipped off and stuffed into his hand luggage carelessly. The nice, cozy jumper he was wearing did plenty to keep him warm, even though it was loosely fitted and slipped halfway off his left shoulder whenever he was moving. Which happened too often, to be honest. He was sitting in the waiting hall, playing mindless games on his phone and ignoring his mom’s text to pass the time before his flight would finally be ready for boarding.

It didn’t take him too long to realize something was not right. The plane was supposed to be leaving in about half an hour, and it still hadn’t been called out for boarding, while the weather outside got more ridiculous by the minute. Snow and ice whirled around in a violent storm and it had gotten pretty dark outside even though it was barely 2pm.

He was starting to get restless when a female voice rung through the speakers, saying something undefinable about London-Heathrow and he whipped his head around, searching for the departure board. When he found it he reluctantly got up to get a closer look at it, backpack slung over his left shoulder and a trolley in tow.

It took him a moment to get there and then even longer to find his flight. Klagenfurt was not a big airport, but big enough, and after a big event like a ski jumping World Cup there were more flights leaving than usual. His was listed on the bottom half of the board, a slideshow stating Flug fällt aus - which was German and said his flight was cancelled.

Great.

The exact moment he realized that, he heard a groaning and a “Goddamnit” from somewhere next to him. He looked over as the same word left his lips and found himself eye to eye with blue irises shining so brightly in the rather dim lighting he thought he’d go blind on the spot. His breathing hitched.

Shit, he cursed to himself. Calm down. His eyes are probably the only thing pretty.

But as Dan finally managed to refocus, finally managed to get the whole figure into consideration he had even more reason to hold his breath. It was a man, probably not more than a few years older than Dan, and handsome. Ridiculously so. His black hair was styled into a quiff that looked almost effortless, leaving his pale forehead exposed. The black rimmed glasses perched on his nose only brought out the blue in his eyes even more, and his lips looked so sinful that Dan had to gulp.

And that wasn’t even the worst part: He was clad in black skinny jeans and a bright blue muscle shirt clinging tightly to his body - and what a body that was.

You should tap that, his mind provided unhelpfully and he could feel blood rushing to his cheeks (and a bit more south) as his eyes got as round as saucers. The guy’s abs were clearly outlined in the tight shirt and his chest made Dan lick his lips.

Jesus fucking Christ on a bicycle.

When the guy spoke, Dan was ready to come on the spot. His voice was deep and oozing of sex, and as if that wasn’t bad enough - he had a northern accent mixed in with a bit of Iitalian.

“Your flight got cancelled, too?”, he asked with a pitiful expression and Dan could do nothing else but nod, probably sporting an expression like a deer in the headlights. Is this real life?

“I’m Phil,” the black-haired guy said and stuck out his hand towards Dan. “Dan,” he answered with some effort, voice croaky and high-pitched. He flinched inwardly. Way to make a great first impression, Dan, he said to himself as he took the offered hand and shook it carefully. A feeling not unlike an electric current raced from his hand up his arm and his breathing hitched yet again.

And if he held onto the stranger’s - Phil’s - hand a lot longer than strictly necessary, then that was completely fine, because he probably hadn’t even noticed... Right?

It was Phil’s deep voice that ripped him out of his thoughts. “So… You don’t have anything to do, either?” His eyes were shining with an almost dangerous glint and his lips were curled up in a smirk. Both left no room for interpretation in the most suggestive way and Dan couldn’t be sure what was keeping him upright; all he knew was that it took all his willpower to prevent his knees from buckling under him.

He managed the slightest nod of his head and a somewhat crooked smile in return but didn’t trust his voice. His hands were shaking more than the first time he had been allowed to jump from the large hill or when he got to introduce himself to the German national ski jumping coach. He had balled them into fists and buried deep in his jumper so it wasn’t too apparent, but that didn’t change the facts.

The mischievous facial expression was still firmly in place when Phil asked him to spare the time waiting for further instructions with a coffee, and Dan just simply didn’t have it in him to say no. Nothing more.

It definitely wasn’t like he inwardly rewarded himself with a pat on the shoulder when he managed to blurt out an “absolutely” without his voice breaking even once.

Fifteen minutes later Dan found himself sitting in a tiny cafe in a corner of the airport. They had both ordered a latté, and while waiting for it to appear they made light smalltalk, talking about the weather, where they had wanted to fly to. Phil was nice, funny, and his deep chuckles made Dan think of nights beneath the sheets. When he bent down in his seat to get his phone out of his backpack his shirt as well as a newly added sweater slipped up just the tiniest bit, revealing rippling muscles and the elastic band of obviously tight fitting Calvin Klein pants.

Dan almost choked on his own spit and needed at least a few minutes to recover. When he came back to his senses, their coffees had arrived and Phil was cracking up.

Smooth, Dan. Smooth.

“You okay there, Dan?” Phil asked, grinning, his tongue poking out between his teeth. It looked so cute Dan felt himself blushing profusely.

“Fine,” he croaked out, pointedly ignoring Phil’s smug smirk, instead picking up his latté to take a sip to cover up the redness creeping onto his face. He tried to act like nothing happened, but he knew Phil saw right through him.

Screw him for knowing how fucking hot he is, Jesus fucking Christ.

They drank their coffee accompanied by comfortable smalltalk. Dan learned that Phil was a few years older than him and born Rawtenstall, England. They didn’t talk much about their childhoods overall, which Dan wasn’t too disappointed about considering the mess that was his, and stayed clear of work related topics - that seemed kind of weird to him, like Phil had something to hide, but so had Dan, so he decided to let it slide. Aside from that they covered a lot of topics reaching from hobbies to music to movies, and, surprisingly, Dan found how much he had in common with Phil.

They sat there talking for what felt like hours. By the time he had drank his fourth coffee he was on a serious caffeine-high, which didn’t go past Phil either, and so they both fidgeted and chuckled and blushed a lot. Dan felt like he fit right in with him and that almost overwhelmed him. Phil was a walking god, sex on legs, and Dan couldn’t believe he spent his time talking to him of all people. Also, meeting another British guy at an airport somewhere in the middle of Austria, what were the chances?

Phil’s flirting got more obvious by the second and Dan found himself unable to resist. They had started leaning into each other’s personal space, casually placing a hand on the other’s thigh, and Phil’s eyes noticeably flitted to Dan’s lips at least ten times a minute.

Dan was revelling in it. He loved the attention he got from someone as downright hot as Phil - attention he found himself returning freely. It wasn’t a secret he had the hots for the black-haired man in front of him, not to the increasingly annoyed waitress, nor to the man himself. Phil was aware that Dan fancied him, and Dan found himself not caring the slightest bit. He wanted this man, wanted whatever he was ready to give him, and to get it Phil needed to pick up on this growing crush.

And apparently, that’s what he did. His comments got progressively obvious, up to the point where they were outright scandalous, even for Dan, who was not one to mince matters either. He didn’t mind at all - quite the obvious, actually. It was refreshing to have someone unmitigatedly admitting interest, to not dance around the issue and wonder about the if’s.

Maybe it was formed by the situation they were in, stuck at an airport in the middle of nowhere with no way of knowing if their lives would fit together at all, but not even two hours after meeting it was clear to Dan they would be having sex sooner or later. So when Phil asked the waitress for the bill - and payed for it all without a word to Dan - before taking his hand and dragging him along to an almost completely deserted part of the airport, he wasn’t the slightest bit surprised.

They found a bathroom at the furthest corner, not a soul around, and Phil ushered him inside with an urgency that came almost shocking to Dan. As soon as they were inside, the door closed behind them, Phil had him firmly pressed against it. He would have wondered about the sound of a lock clicking into place, but was lacking at least half of his brain capacity - until Phil’s lips met his and it all went flying out of the window.

There was a ferocity, an intensity in his kiss that Dan never would have thought Phil was capable of.

He liked it.

Maybe a bit too much.

A few minutes of furiously making out later Phil pressed his hips against Dan’s and Dan was done for. He could feel Phil’s hardness grinding against his own and moaned loudly against Phil’s lips.

He could feel the smirk before Phil pulled away, regarding him with an unmistakable look that had Dan’s blood boiling. Phil was so freaking hot Dan wanted nothing more then to get his lips everywhere on Phil’s body - so that, he realized, was what he was going to do.

His hands wandered to the zip of Phil’s jeans out of their own accord - and he found himself actually growling when Phil took a hold of his wrist before he could open it.

“Before we do this,” Phil said pantingly, “I need to get something straight -”

Without thinking, Dan interrupted him. “Honey, nothing about this is straight.”

For a second it was so quiet he would’ve been able to hear a pin drop - then, out of nowhere, they both started laughing, soon clutching to each other to not fall over. Dan’s mind was so clouded by their previous activity, he didn’t even care that it definitely hadn’t been funny enough to justify this level of laughter.

It took them far too long to calm down. Both of them had tears swimming in their eyes and Dan couldn’t help but shake his head disbelievingly. He was truly hilarious when his brain was not properly supplied with blood.

“Okay, that’s true,” Phil conceded, still chuckling quietly, his hands resting on the wall behind Dan, bracketing him, “but let’s be serious for a second, okay?”

Dan narrowed his grin to a slight smile, leaning forward to kiss Phil on the cheek sweetly. In his mind the wildest theories started blossoming - what the fuck was important enough to interrupt their previous activity for?? - but he did his best to not let it show. “Of course. What is it?” His voice wavered slightly and he mentally facepalmed.

Way to go, Dan.

Phil’s eyes caught his in a look, holding them stronger than a vice. “I need you to understand that this,” he gesticulated between them, “is not supposed to be a one time thing, okay? I really like you, Dan.” Sincerity resonated so strongly in his voice Dan found his heart skipping a beat. It felt like happiness was seeping into his skin, making him glow from the inside out.

“Me too, Phil.”

For the single blink of an eye Phil stared at him as if he had seen a ghost, eyes wide opened, worry clouding their vibrant colour.

Then his lips stretched to a wide smile, eyes shining so brightly Dan was sure their shine would blind him - but he didn’t look away.

He didn’t even care.

If that was what it’d cost, if he would have to lose his eyesight to stare at the picture in front of him for just a second longer, then he was more than willing to pay the prize.

“You’re fucking beautiful,” he whispered, gently laying his hands on Phil’s cheeks before he leaned in, kissing him with the force of his feelings raging in his chest.

After that, things naturally progressed to where they had been before the interruption. This time, when Dan made a move to pull down Phil’s jeans along with his pants he didn’t get stopped. Quite the contrary. Phil spurred him on with a sinful moan, and Dan had to bite his lower lip to keep himself from moaning right back.

Instead he dropped to his knees in front of Phil, humming in pleasure when Phil’s cock sprang free, hard and flushed and glorious. He couldn’t wait to get it in his mouth.

He didn’t know what it was exactly, but something spiked his motivation and skills to the notch. It might have been Phil’s sexiness or his charming words minutes earlier or something else entirely - he would probably never know.

Nevertheless, whatever it was, it worked. Phil was panting and moaning and completely losing control mere minutes later, and before Dan knew it, he was coming down his throat.

And even though Dan usually wasn’t one to like come in his mouth, he enjoyed it this time. A lot.

It took Phil only seconds to move. Dan didn’t even have the opportunity to react, he suddenly got pulled to his feet and turned around, back slamming against the door behind him. Phil’s lips were on his faster then he was even able to comprehend the recent proceedings, attacking his own with a ferocity that made Dan moan into the kiss.

He could feel Phil smirking before he pulled away, then there was a hand pressing against the bulge in his jeans while Phil sank to his knees before him and he abruptly lost all ability to function.

The next few minutes were spent in utter bliss. His orgasm came faster than he would have liked it to, but he simply couldn’t push it down any longer, and he felt ridiculously good coming into Phil’s mouth.

Is this what heaven feels like?

It took them a while to recover from the whole ordeal. For some time they just stood there, clutching to each other as if for dear life, Dan’s jeans and pants still down to his ankles. Phil was pushed up against him, forehead resting on his shoulder, and for a second, everything seemed perfect. They had completely forgotten their surroundings, the fact that they had just blown each other in public toilets in the corner of an airport.

Then Phil raised his head, bringing his lips next to Dan’s ears, and Dan almost felt ready for round two in the matter of seconds. “I’m going to fuck you one day.” A shudder ran down his spine and Dan found himself moaning.

“Please,” he whispered back, breathless, voice hoarse.

Then their bubble of hormones and flirting and sex got interrupted rather violently. With a shrill ding the intercom shrivelled to life, calling out the last boarding for Flug 268 nach Manchester, England, and Phil got as white as a sheet. “Shit!” he cursed, abruptly letting go of Dan and scrambling for his bag. “I’ll text you when I land!” he managed to exclaim, then he was gone.

It was only a few hours later that Dan realized they had never exchanged numbers.

______

Dan spent the summer training with the German national team. Originally he had only been planned to join up with them a month before the World Cup was supposed to start, but he had gotten a phone call shortly after Easter, asking him if he'd be up for spending the whole summer with the team, including bonding activities and a weeklong vacation. Obviously he hadn’t been able to say no.

By the time the World Cup started up again it had been over half a year since he met Phil. He knew they didn’t even know each other’s last names or much other vital information, so Phil had no means to contact him, but the absence of any form of communication still made his skin itch and his nostrils flare in silent anger. It was probably just a coping mechanism, but he didn’t care. It was better than the sadness and sense of loss that he had no claim on anyway.

Somewhere below the surface he knew, though. He knew what he felt towards Phil had been more than infatuation, more than a purely physical attraction.

He had liked Phil. And somehow, even six months later, he still did.

It was nothing short of a miracle that the whole ordeal didn’t affect his jumping or sporting ability. He was a bit absent sometimes or had too many thoughts to properly concentrate, but his fellow athletes as well as the coaching staff were understanding and even taught him some techniques to enhance his concentration. Surprisingly they mostly did their job and going into the winter season Dan felt as strong a ski jumper as never before.

Most of his former problems and shortcomings had improved considerably, some had even turned into strengths. He was friends or at least on friendly terms with almost every last person in the Ggerman national team, including the staff as well as other athletes and medical attendees. He was more fit physically as well as mentally, and he understood the structure of a ski-jumping hill well enough to have a general idea of possible take-off points from just looking at it. The biggest improvement were his landings, though. Formerly shy of even landing with his feet properly paralleled, he now managed a nicely executed Telemark in nine out of ten times.

Telemark landing meant that in the moment he’d touch the ground his knees were supposed to be slightly bend, one foot in front of the other in something resembling a step. It was hard to manage with the pressure the landing put on your body, especially your knees and ankles, and landing with your feet parallel was just much easier to handle. He had been slacking off on that for basically the entirety of his career, making the judges give him lower points for the jumps, meaning lower scores in total. The total score included style, distance, the wind factor during the jump as well as the gate factor (the starting gate affects the length of the approach, therefore affecting the speed and, in conclusion, the distance of the jump).

Dan had always had his problems with more than one part of the process involved in ski jumping, but now, with a few months of excessive training and incredible coaches he had to admit he was getting quite… good. Not that he had been bad before, obviously, but he’d rarely had this proper flying feeling before - now it came almost natural.

On the way to Wisla, Poland, he finally had the time to get nervous. The journey there was quite stressful, involving a flight to Katowice and a following car ride that was heavily slowed down by traffic. In total it took over three hours longer than originally planned and by the time they arrived at their hotel Dan was tired of overthinking and overall exhausted.

Thankfully they had decided to head over a day early to give them all a smoother transition back into the strenuous schedule that was the ski jumping World Cup, so they had the luxury of taking the rest of the day off - at least aside from light muscle training to stay in shape. After that Dan fell into bed like a stone and didn’t open his eyes again until the next morning.

The following day was blocked for sightseeing and inspecting the jumping hill for the first time. Since it was tradition for the World Cup to start in Wisla, the rest of Team Germany had been here several times and knew the village, so they decided to stay in a café and drink some coffee, but Dan decided to bow out for the time being, rather doing that sightseeing. He had been here with the Continental Cup Team a few times, but never had had the opportunity to really look around.

There was so much culture he was astounded. With him living in Oberstdorf, Germany, a pretty cultural village itself, it meant a lot that Wisla had even more to offer. He visited churches and castles and old mansions, so completely entranced by everything he saw he forgot to pay attention to the time. He was scheduled to meet back with his teammates to make the drive out to the jumping hill together later that day, but he still had plenty of time.

Or so he had thought.

While visiting an old shooting lodge he took the time to inspect the map of the village a hotel employee had handed him this morning, not watching where he was going until -

Until his head, bowed down to look at the map, bumped into something hard and soft at the same time, making him recoil.

“Goddamnit,” he groaned, at the same time as a voice that sounded somewhat familiar and a sense of dejavu overcame him, like he had heard it before, ringing alongside his own tone.

And he had, he realized as he looked up and came face to face with the most handsome man he had ever met.

Funnily enough the only feeling standing out was relief about the current weather, warm enough to make him take off his Team Germany coat once again. It was stuffed into his backpack instead and out of sight. The rest of the feelings raced through his body unacknowledged, clouding his head, his thoughts and his vision.

“Phil,” he rapped out breathlessly when his head cleared just the tiniest bit, vision now completely captured by blue eyes and a kind smile.

He hadn’t changed one bit. And what that meant was that he was still hot as hell.

“Dan!”

For a second he saw Phil’s eyes lighting up, his smile widening ridiculously, then he was enveloped in strong, long arms, keeping him pressed to the very same chest he had just ran into. “I’m so happy to meet you again,” Phil whispered into his ear softly, voice laced with relief. Dan wasn’t sure what made him shudder, the tone or his breath skimming over the sensitive skin of his earlobe. He pretended that it was the latter, nothing else but a reaction of his body, but deep down he was pretty much aware that there was more behind it.

He had missed Phil. His voice, his smile, his touch. That his body was keeping it at a shudder was actually pretty fortunate.

It took them ages to let go of each other.

Or, in all honesty, they never did. They weren't hugging anymore, sure, but that didn't mean they weren’t touching - quite the contrary. While making their way to a nearby cafe they had constant physical contact - Phil’s hand on Dan’s lower back, their hands brushing together as if by accident, Phil’s long fingers gently wrapping around his wrist.

When they had ordered their coffee they finally came to talking, and it was like they had never lost contact. Instead of speaking of the issue, exchanging phone numbers to not lose each other again, they stayed completely clear of that subject - Dan honestly didn’t even remember. Their conversations were too enthralling, encapturing.

While drinking their coffee Dan realized Phil was still - or yet again - flirting. A hand casually dropped to his knee, sexual innuendos, eyes resting on his lips for far too long. Yet again, he found himself unable to care and desperate to reciprocate. The guy was like a drug, and Dan was hooked after just one shot.

It came as no surprise to Dan that they locked themselves in the bathroom mere minutes later. Their kisses were desperate, like the other was the first sip of water after running through the desert for the six months they had spent apart. Dan was glad he wasn’t alone in his urgency, could perceive it clearly in the way Phil was clawing at him, in the way his lips started roaming over Dan’s neck in a matter of seconds.

This time they weren’t patient enough for respective blowjobs. By the time they really started touching each other instead of just groping, they were both rock hard and desperate for release. Dan took it upon himself to take them both in his hands, stroking and tugging skillfully until first Phil, then himself jumped over the edge.

They were still slightly out of breath when Dan’s phone rang in the pocket of his jeans. He ignored it, still resting his forehead on Phil’s shoulder, trying to catch up with reality. “That,” Phil rasped out in between breaths, completely ignoring the ringing phone, “Was incredible.”

Dan chuckled in response. “Agreed.”

By the time they had cleaned themselves up and tugged their jeans and underwear back on his phone started ringing again. Dan groaned in displeasure but fished it out of his pocket to take a look at the caller ID.

The name flashing up made his blood freeze in his veins and he checked the time in a panic haste. “Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath, and Phil looked up from buckling up his belt.

“Everything okay?” he asked, clear worry in his voice, and Dan raised his head to look up at him. He could feel his eyes widen out of their own accord when he processed the time. “No!” he practically screamed then. “I really gotta go. Fuck. Can you take care of the tab for me?”

He barely even waited for Phil’s hesitant nod before he picked up his backpack from the ground and hurried out of the bathroom. The urgent “Dan, wait!” faded away unprocessed.

____

It was during his first competition jump the memory finally dawned on him. He had hurried so much to get to the meeting point with his team as soon as possible he hadn’t even begun to process things, and it seemed like only during the jump did the stress of the last few days finally ebb away.

He had had barely scratched the qualification distance, ending the qualifying as 59th with 60 jumpers qualified for the actual competition. But when he finally took off down the hill the day after, when he flew through the air and realized he had met the take-off point almost perfectly this time, it all just crumbled away, all the worries, all the apprehension rolled down the hill and out of sight.

He realized he and Phil had forgotten to change numbers yet again, but surprisingly, he didn’t panic, not in the slightest. Somehow there was this certainty in him that told him he would meet Phil again, sooner or later; a deep tranquillity laid itself over him, made him focus on the jump with everything he had.

It only took the fraction of a second, the realization and coming to peace with it, and afterwards was the first time in days - maybe weeks or even months - his head was completely clear, nothing clouding his judgement. With piercing clarity he felt his right shoulder starting to fold back, to give into the wind instead of holding against it, and did his best to push it back forward, gently to not disturb the airstream that kept him up.

During the last portion of the jump, where usually the support of the air fizzled away and there wasn’t much else to do but to initiate a landing, there was suddenly a stream of air, just a fraction of what had carried him down the hill, but it was something, and he laid himself onto it with everything he had.

It brought him the few meters that made a good jump an amazing jump. And with the second jump being equally great, he managed to finish in the top ten in his first competition with the German World Cup Team.

____

Overall Dan’s performance over the whole weekend was quite good. Werner Schuster, their coach, approached him on sunday shortly before their journey back home and rewarded him with a rare praising speech and a fatherly pat on the shoulder. The team celebrated him like he had won one of the competitions, even though he merely made it into the Top 10 at both of them; but they were so excited he couldn’t help but celebrate with them. The support they all gave him was incredible and his roommate, Karl Geiger, who also lived in Oberstdorf, even invited him round for video games the following week.

The next weekend they spent at the World Cup in Kuusamo, Finnland, where the first team competition would take place. Those were a whole different deal to Dan, changing the dynamics and energy in the team completely, and to his utmost surprise he even got nominated for it, even though it consisted of only four competitors, with a total team quantity of six members.

He was the second to jump. Andreas Wellinger, his teammate and first competitor for the German Team, had scored fairly well and put them into third place right after Norway and Poland, so it was his task to at least uphold that position. And he managed to, without much problem, even creeping closer to Poland, but when he had arrived in the leadersbox - both teams placing before them hadn’t jumped yet - for a second he thought he saw blue eyes and shiny black hair standing out of the crowd of onlookers.

As soon as he turned to take a closer look the figure was gone, but something inside him told him he hadn’t imagined it, and somehow, that made him skittish and excited at the same time.

Germany placed second in the competition, and the team took Saturday night off to celebrate that with a round of cards they all enjoyed, maybe a bit too much.

When he awoke at Sunday morning Karl, and, when he came down into the breakfast hall, the rest of the team wasn’t awake yet. That wasn’t really an oddity as it was still quite early, and ski jumpers tended to be late risers - but what was odd was that Dan was already awake and filled to the brim with motivation. They were only scheduled to get to the hill at around two pm, so he decided to take the time before that for some sightseeing through Kuusamo. He left Karl a note to find when he’d wake up, took a hoodie and a backpack and made his way through the beautiful village.

This time, he didn’t run into him. It wasn’t that fateful, didn’t seem that much like a scene straight out of a movie, but was quite special nonetheless.

When he lazily slendered over the old marketplace, looking around, admiring old architecture, there was a voice calling his name and when he looked around, there he was - Phil, in black skinny jeans, a fitted hoodie and in all his glory. “I knew I’d see you again,” he basically moaned, and before Dan could even react he was being kissed.

This time there was no flirting beforehand, no hesitation, no what do you want exactly?, only their desire for each other. Phil smuggled him into his hotel room, but even though Dan was quite aware what exactly Phil wanted - he himself wanted it, too, without a doubt - he had an important competition in under six hours and hadn’t been stretched for months now, so he remorsefully stopped Phil before he started doing just that.

“No sex today. Okay? And be careful, I haven’t been stretched for months,” he huffed out in between breaths and the smirk on Phil’s face became nothing short of smug. “Have saved yourself for me, have you?” he mumbled into Dan’s ear before gently caressing the sensitive skin there with his tongue and Dan lost all ability to focus.

“Maybe,” he whispered back, as collected as possible, and then everything dissolved into a rush of limbs and clothes and moans. It felt so good Dan completely lost all tethers to reality, lost himself in Phil.

When they were both done and Phil had gently cleaned Dan up - in the cutest way any guy had ever done for him, that was for certain - they were just lying in bed, Dan’s head resting on Phil’s chest while they held each other close. Somewhere in the distance music was running as a background noise and from time to time, they’d say something, briefly discuss a topic, but mostly they were silent, quietly reveling in the intimacy.

They remembered to exchange numbers this time, and Dan made it back to his hotel in time without a problem. The competition went by smoothly, he finished 14th, but Karl won the competition and the team lost all of their cool, celebrating deep into the night. ___ Phil’s first message made Dan dance through his flat for minutes, before he picked up his phone and texted back with a coolness that he in no way possessed. From there onwards it became increasingly natural to text him in almost every situation. They told each other everything - aside from anything relating to their jobs, which was still a topic that they stayed peculiarly clear of. Dan got progressively anxious about it, but couldn’t say anything either - he really didn’t want to tell Phil about his career. He feared rejection, laughter, anger; having a relationship with an athlete was often more work than it was worth, and he was aware of that. Not that they had a relationship - and what Dan wished for them to have was completely beside the point.

When they met in Nizhny Tagil, Russia and Engelberg, Switzerland, it became increasingly hard to ignore the issue, but they did their best. They just avoided bringing it up, asking if the other was in town too by sending them seemingly innocent pics of the town signs. They met up at both places and fooled around. Phil noticed how much easier it was to stretch Dan open, and Dan admitted with burning hot cheeks that he had done it himself the past few weeks to be able to take Phil in the future. Phil assured him that it would come really useful the next time they saw each other, and Dan almost came just from that thought.

The World Cup circus took place two weeks later, after Christmas, in his hometown Oberstdorf. Phil knew he lived here, so he didn’t even send a picture, just asked for the address and was there less than half an hour later. At this point Dan was utterly convinced it wasn’t just a series of coincidences, but found himself unable to do anything about it. He refrained from asking - because it would make the issue real, and because he was afraid of the answer.

Dating, or even having an affair with a member of another team was not an option, even if he only belonged to the medical or technical staff. He was pretty sure he’d have seen Phil before if he’d be a fellow athlete, but couldn’t be certain of that either.

So he kept quiet and continued to live in a blissful state of ignorance. When Phil arrived at his place he had a bottle of wine in the fridge and dinner on the stove, but they barely had the time to eat it before Phil dragged him into the bedroom and disposed of their clothes.

He was gentle, so, so gentle, and didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all while Dan had fallen completely pliant before Phil even asked for the lube. He felt like he was on his way to paradise. Phil’s touches swept like clouds of ecstasy across his skin and Dan was utterly high on endorphins before they even truly began.

When Phil’s first lube-coated finger entered him he couldn’t help but moan. He could feel Phil’s erection pressing into his thigh with the way he hovered over him and couldn’t wait to have it inside of him.

Fortunately for him that also seemed to be Phil’s goal. He took his time, worked Dan open thoroughly, but there was an underlying urgeness that made Dan shiver.

Phil pushed into him after making sure Dan was okay, slowly at first, then faster, and found Dan’s prostate almost instantly. His thrusts were strong and confident but careful and gentle at the same time and Dan was sure he had arrived in paradise. If there was another goal in life than to achieve the utter bliss he was in he was not interested in meeting it - at least not in that moment.

Afterwards they cuddled up together in Dan’s bed, Brooklyn 99 running in the background. Phil had asked for Buffy - apparently it was not available in Italy so he usually spent most of his time abroad watching it - but gasped theatrically when Dan had to inform him that Buffy was not available on Netflix in Germany either, acting utterly affronted by the prospect. Phil’s pout made Dan’s brain short-circuit, offering him nothing but code 500 - error because of cuteness overload.

“I can stay overnight, but I need to get going first thing in the morning. If you want me to?” Phil whispered when it had been silent for a while, and Dan looked up to him from his place on his chest. “I’d love that, Phil,” he assured him and they shared a kiss so sweet Dan was sure he’d be needing insulin.

They still didn’t define their relationship, held back by all the unresolved circumstances, but they both knew it was more than just sex - and that seemed to be enough, if only for this night.

___

By the time Dan woke up the next morning Phil was gone, but he had left him a sweet note on his pillow including a drawn heart and a message on WhatsApp. Dan wore a far-off smile the whole day and got teased endlessly by his teammates.

He finished qualifying as 29th, and it made him utterly proud. The four hills tournament was infamous and prestigious, and in all his former attempts on his home hill he had been eliminated in the qualifying. Jumping at home was a whole different story than jumping anywhere else, and truth be told, he had never been able to handle the pressure. The sole participation of a World Wup was an honour, especially at home.

The home team was allowed to have additional starters, so Dan had competed in the World Cup here before, but this year everything was different. This year, Karl clapped him on the back before he had to get ready for his jump, and Andi Wellinger wolf-whistled jokingly when he zipped his suit back up.

The four hills tournament competitions were different than the others. Instead of the thirty best competitors advancing to the second round the first round was jumped out in duels, and winning your duel sent you to the second round regardless of the other competitors. Additionally, the five best athletes who lost their duel advanced, too - those were called lucky losers. The whole mode gave the competition more tension, making it more attractive for fans as well as for the athletes themselves, and Dan had always loved the concept.

His duel opponent was an Italian athlete called Philip Lester. The Italian team had not achieved much for years now, losing and regaining their privilege to compete in the World Cup over and over again. Lester was a mostly blank page as far as the World Cup results were concerned, often even failing to make it into the actual competition. He made a few World Cup points in Wisla last year, meaning he made it into the top 30, and one top ten spot - in Oberstdorf.

Still, both Dan and the coaches weren’t too worried. He should be able to do it.

He was so focused on competing that the name didn’t even make him perk up - and he would come to regret that.

On the competition day Dan was so nervous he thought he recognized Phil as one of the competitors in the waiting room, but he put it down as nothing but nerves and tried to focus on himself again. Karl gave him a few tips to cope with the pressure of a home World Cup and Dan was surprisingly successful in executing them, making him more focused and relaxed.

Then it was his turn to jump. He had to set a standard for his opponent to meet, what made it even more precarious - he had no idea how far he’d have to go, so he decided to just give his all, no matter the cost.

And how much that was.

While jumping Dan was completely oblivious to the distance he had already passed. Only when he came close to landing he realized how far down hill he was, almost over the kurve of the hill, to the point where the ground got even again and the force to the bones in landing got a lot bigger.

When he initiated the landing he could feel the compression all the way up to his torso, but he forced himself to attempt a telemark landing. His right foot almost slipped, making him slinger, but he managed to keep them together, preventing a fall.

The fans cheered so loudly it was like a wave of support slammed against him, but instead of pushing him under it picked him up and carried him safely to the exit. He detached his skiers from his boots and picked them up, taking his place at one of the marked points next to the exit. For a second the atmosphere got tense as the points from the judges arrived and the computer calculated his end result, but then the arena was back to a loud cheering. The judges had given him points around 18 and with 20 being the maximum, that was a lot. He got a few points subtracted for good wind, but the end result was still great.

While his opponent got ready the whole arena was so quiet Dan would have been able to hear a pin drop, making him even more anxious. He knew that he had great chances of advancing via lucky losers even if Lester beat him, but the wait was still almost too much.

In the stress he completely forgot to pull off his ski glasses and helmet.

Then his opponent landed and the whole arena erupted into cheering. Even without the points from the judges and the wind points it was obvious he’d get a lot less points than Dan, landing quite a few meters in front of the green line indicating his own distance.

So, instead of watching the big screen showing the results, as he normally would have, he focused on his opponent, sliding down to the exit while simultaneously pulling off his glasses -

It hit Dan like a hammer to the chest, knocking all the air out of his lungs.

He knew those eyes. He’d recognize the piercing blue anywhere.

Suddenly he felt sick to his stomach.

“Phil.”

____

They both carried on like nothing had happened. Dan had ripped down his glasses in something close to a trance, and Phil almost fell over before he even came to a complete halt, but they acted like nothing happened. Nothing.

They high-fived, moved to a man hug, clapping each other on the back, then let go to move their separate ways; Dan to the leader box and Phil around the hill to his staff. It left Dan completely numb, somewhat detached from his body, for at least half an hour.

Then Andi Wellinger arrived next to Dan to keep him company and somehow managed to get him back to reality. It wasn’t that he felt completely fine, that he wasn’t bothered anymore, no; it was more that Dan had locked the discovery in a tiny box and buried it somewhere in the back of his mind where he’d never stumble across it without actively searching it out. The emanating feelings he pushed down, down, down, until they were nothing but a faint whisper.

That probably wasn’t the most healthy coping mechanism, but it at least allowed him to function as a reasonably sane human being. He simply didn’t have the time to deal with it - not right now. Not in the middle of a competition that was on its best way to making one of his biggest dreams come true.

Only a few more jumpers and so far no one had come even close to his score. Andi was cheering loudly, but kept him occupied with jokes and funny stories, and Dan was so, so grateful for his presence.

They both rooted for their teammates and celebrated with Karl when he won his duel, ranking on the fourth place.

Then, like it happened completely unforeseen, the first round was over and Dan was still first, even with a pretty huge margin, and he didn’t seem able to cope. The second round started sooner then he’d hoped - he would’ve appreciated some time to calm down and refocus, but it seemed like time was flying, hurtling past so fast he couldn’t keep up.

Even though he barely comprehended it was happening his second jump went great. Not as good as the first one, sure, but enough to keep his position and secure his first win of a World Cup - on his home hill!

The German team celebrated loudly, almost excessively that night. Sure, they had to get to packing, moving over to Garmisch for the next qualifier tomorrow, but Andi, Karl, Stephan Leyhe and him had decided to take the same car, and they had a lot of fun on the two hour drive. When they arrived at their hotel they all got together for a round of cards, including their Coach and two other team members.

Obviously, it was only stress keeping him from checking his phone - or so he tried to make himself believe.

___

He didn’t sleep well that night. At around five am he finally gave into his anxious thoughts and checked his phone for messages, and surely enough, there was one from Phil waiting for him.

I knew it was too good to be true.

Dan’s heart skipped a beat before it started to throb painfully in his chest. Their harmony, the way they were completely in sync with each other, their wordless communication - all of that made him read between the lines, made him realize that Phil had made the decision…

The only decision they had ever been allowed to make.

He texted nothing back but one single word.

Goodbye.

___

The following weeks raced past Dan so fast he was unable to conceive any of it. He did well enough in the other competitions, placing in the top twenty in all of them. During the whole weekend in Val di Fiemme, Italy, he didn’t even seem to be conscious, only recalling the events vaguely afterwards. During the World Cup in Zakopane, Poland as well as their week spent in Sapporo, Japan he started to regain consciousness, but it felt like he wasn’t really there, like he was observing it from somewhere far away.

At the beginning of February the World cup circus returned to Oberstdorf for ski flying. Surprisingly, Werner Schuster had given Dan the go to compete in it, despite the fact that he was young and mostly unexperienced in ski flying, and he needed some time to process that. So on the night before the first competition he decided to step out, take a walk around the beautiful village he called his home.

As he strolled through the quaint, peaceful alleys, over the old market place, the Nebelhorn, the highest mountain directly connected to the village, stood tall and proud in the distance, faint light and blinking indicating the usage of snow groomers on the piste. He came to a halt in front of the large letters spelling out Oberstdorf in the spa park, encaptured by the sight in the distance. All of this meant so much to him, his life, his career, his home - and even though he missed his family back in England from time to time he knew he would never go back there. He had grown up here, in a boarding school for winter athletes, and was grateful his parents had let him make this decision.

Still, sometimes he wished he was nothing but a normal boy - someone who could follow wherever his heart lead him.

He knew, right now it lead to Phil.

Tears started prickling in his eyes, obscuring his vision; white blended with the yellow shine of the lightbulbs and the pitch black of the night sky to an abstruse mashup of colours that started spinning until he couldn’t even distinguish between the ground and the sky. For the first time since this fateful competition he let himself think about it, let himself open the box and stop pushing down the feelings bubbling inside of him.

It hurt. It hurt a whole lot. His heart laid in thousands of fragments in front of him, smashed on the cold, hard ground that was his reality. He didn’t grieve about a lost love, not yet, but about the what could have been. A voice told him this relationship could have developed into something big, and that only hurt more.

When he toppled over, two strong arms engulfed him, and he sunk against a chest, into a smell so familiar he couldn’t stop the tears from falling any longer.

“Phil,” he sobbed into the thick winter coat, holding on to the man in front of him with everything he had, mumbling his name, over and over and over again.

Phil. Phil. Phil.

When he calmed down Phil was still there, gently caressing his hair and placing kisses onto it, all the while mumbling sweet nothings. Dan felt like bursting into tears all over again.

“Dan, can we talk?” he asked when it had been quiet for a while, nothing but Dan’s still ragged breath and the odd calling of a bird interrupting the silence. Maybe he should have, but Dan simply didn’t have it in him to say no.

___

Their talking turned into having sex as soon as they set foot into Dan’s flat and he wasn’t even surprised about it. He knew about the pull Phil had on him, mentally and physically, and he had pushed it down for so long he was proud he hadn’t bulged sooner.

They ravished, revelled in each other - quite literally, on Phil’s side - without a sense of guilt or remorse. They were both completely aware of the situation, making conscious decisions - they could’ve stopped. Probably.

Truth was, Dan didn’t want to.

Truth was, Dan had spent the last few weeks barely even existing, subconsciously often so focussed on avoiding Phil that everything else seemed to smaller in comparison. He wanted more than that. More than existing - more than a tiny piece of his energy focussed on his sports. He loved being a ski jumper. And if keeping Phil was what he needed for that - so be it. It was a win-win situation, really.

They did talk afterwards, in hushed whispers and mumbled assurances, but they talked, with a clarity and certainty that surprised them both. They agreed to keep seeing each other, casually, but seriously enough to make them promise to not see anyone else at the side.

For Dan it was the boost of confidence and consciousness he needed. Sure, Werner Schuster hadn’t said much about his slacking performance and dropping results but the relief on his face when Dan managed to place second in the ski flying World Cup the next day spoke volumes.

Overall, the following weeks Dan walked as if on clouds. There was a spring in his steps and a constant smile on his face and his teammates wouldn't let him hear the end of it. Even the quiet and shy Stephan Leyhe gave suggestive remarks that had Dan blushing crimson every time.

Through the whole rest of the season, everything was more than amazing. Dan managed to get into the top ten in the overall World Cup and the German team was more than proud of him, celebrating him even days afterwards, even though there were others that managed to do the same. It was because he was a new addition, they kept telling him, and he couldn’t help but to grin widely about it. He was a part of the team now. He belonged there. It seemed more like a dream than reality - and yet it was.

He was sure he had never felt as happy as this off-season. He spent the summer between training with the rest of his team, his friends, and Phil, basically travelling back and forth between Val di Fiemme, where Phil lived, and his home. He went on vacation / trainingscamp to the south sea with his team and made a journey home to see his parents and his little brother, and they finally stopped judging him for being an athlete - no, they almost seemed proud.

Overall, he was thriving.

The fall back to hard, unforgiving reality couldn’t have been harsher.

He had to admit it was some case of hybris, of megalomania. They had been so save for months now that the beginning of the world cup made them reckless. Phil would sneak into Dan’s cabin for a quickie, or they’d hide behind them for a makeout-session. Later, Dan would question if it had been worth it for a bit of sex and a few stolen kisses, but he wouldn’t be able to estimate the worth of the time he had shared with Phil.

It was invaluable.

It wasn’t that one, single discovery, not someone running in on them having sex or catching them kissing, like it happened in movies or TV-shows.

No, it all started with simple rumors.

They were vague and innocent at the beginning; two athletes were said to hook up regularly, identities unknown. Andi, or Welli, as they called him, filled Dan in with low whispers and a hushed tone and Dan didn’t even think much about it. Affairs between jumpers weren’t common, sure, but not unheard of either, so he just assumed it was about someone from the widely varying austrian team.

Then it got more specific. A German and an Italian, Andi told him a week later as they waited for their training to pick back up after a weather-inconvenience, and added a few suggestive questions just for good measure. Dan’s blood ran cold for just a second, then he was back to himself, shot a few equally suggestive remarks back and thought that was the end of it. He texted Phil that they should be a bit more careful but forgot about it just a few hours later.

He never would have thought it would get through to the coaches.

The next friday after the qualifying Werner Schuster got the whole team and his Co-trainer together at a table. It was the last World Cup station before christmas, the third one in the running season, so things had started to get back to normal after the commonly slack first two World Cups, so Dan didn’t even think to be worried. They had those team-meetings almost every week. Sure, the urgency in his trainer’s tone had caught him of guard, but it was probably just about the dropping performances this week. Surely. Certainly.

“Glaubt nicht, dass ich das hier gern mache, Jungs,” he started and Dan raised an eyebrow to a perfect half circle, exchanging a quick look with Karl, who had come to be his best friend. He was shy and reserved, but he had warmed up to Dan, and them living in the same village had pushed them together quite quickly. They were able to talk about everything with each other, always shared a room and laughed about the same inside jokes, and Dan appreciated him a lot.

Don’t think I enjoy doing this, guys.

“Es ist mir zu Ohren gekommen, dass einer von euch,” he focused directly on each and every one of them; Dan did his best to stay cool when his coach’s eyes came to a halt on his face, but he knew he’s a bad actor, “eine Affäre mit einem Springer hat. Aus einem anderen Land.” Dan had to gulp. He tried to keep it hidden, but Karl shot him a worried look and Dan started to become anxious. He crossed his arms in front of his chest to keep his hands from shaking. Karl still didn’t seem convinced, though, he knew him too well for that.

It has come to my attention that one of you has an affair with a jumper. From another country.

“Es ist mir grundsätzlich egal, was ihr mit eurer Freizeit anstellt, Jungs. Aber ich muss euch dran erinnern, dass eine Affäre mit einem Konkurrenten gegen die Regeln ist.” For a while it was silent after this. They all looked up, avoided their Coach’s eyes while fervently searching for those of the others, all flitting through the room, trying to figure out who it was - and how to help them. Only Karl’s eyes stayed firmly on Dan’s face. He could feel them boring into him, and if it would have been anyone else’s they would have felt like daggers. Not Karl’s, though. Karl’s felt like honey on his skin, smooth and sweet. He was properly worried now, Dan was sure.

I generally don’t care what you’re doing with your free time, guys. But I have to remind you of the fact that an affair with an opponent is against the rules.

“Ich will gar nicht wissen, wer’s war. Es interessiert mich nicht mal wirklich. Ich hab euch drüber informiert dass ich das leider nicht dulden kann, und damit ist die Sache für mich durch. Aber ihr wisst, dass Regelverstoß einen Ausstoß aus dem Team nach sich ziehen kann, so leid es mir tut. Gute nacht, Jungs.” With that, he got up and left, his Co-Trainer trailing behind him. Dan knew it wasn’t meant as harsh as it had sounded. Werner Schuster was a nice guy and a really good coach. But he also didn’t like slagging. Usually it was just pranks and jokes - they were a tight knit pack who liked laughing - but this - this was huge.

I don’t wanna know who it was. I don’t even really care. I’ve now informed you that I can’t tolerate such behaviour, and the thing’s done and over with in my book. But you know that a violation of our rules can entail expulsion from the Team, as sad as that would make me. Good night guys.

After a while of silent conversation the others got up and left. Dan trailed behind them, feeling numb all over and completely not in control of the situation. His hand flitted to the phone in his jeans, but he didn’t pick it up, didn’t know what to say - didn’t even know what he wanted to say. This was his job, his career, and sure, a job wasn’t everything, but this was more than that. This was his life. He had finally made it, finally started to get somewhere, to have success - he didn’t want to, no, he couldn’t risk it all for a man he fooled around with.

He’s more than someone you fool around with, and you know that. You love him.

Dan pushed the voice away but deep down he knew it was right. He loved Phil.

What a cruel time to have that realization, Dan mused quietly, and watched almost indifferently as his heart shattered into a thousand pieces all over again.

We have to stop. For good., he typed into his phone. Coach caught wind of something fishy. I love you. Goodbye.

_____

Karl found him half an hour later, sitting in his bed in a curled up position and staring into the darkness of the room. He had just come out of the bathroom, already in his piyama, and sighed worriedly when he took note of Dan’s current state. He sat down next to him and slided over till he was positioned similarly to Dan, back pressed into the wall.

“Also warst du’s,” he whispered quietly. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement, but Dan still nodded slowly. “Und Phil Lester?”

So it was you. And Phil Lester?

His head shot up on his own accord and he could feel his eyes widen. For a moment he was frozen in shock, then he turned his head to stare at his best friend next to him. “Wie…?” His voice was completely hoarse, more a breath than a word, but Karl still managed to pick up on it.

How…?

“Keine Sorge, es war nicht offensichtlich. Ich kenne Phil bloß schon eine Weile und er war nie so… Glücklich wie er gewesen ist seitdem du dabei bist. Ihr wart beide komplett durcheinander nach eurem Duell bei der Vierschanzentournee, und das schien ein zu großer Zufall zu sein.”

Don’t worry, it wasn’t obvious. I’ve just known Phil for a long time, and he has never been as… Happy as he’s been since you’re here. Then you were both completely out of it after the Duel at the four hills tournament, and it seemed too much for a coincidence.

Dan calmed down considerably, laid his head back onto his knees, but refrained from saying anything. What was there to say, really?

“Ich vermute du wusstest nicht, dass er auch ein Springer ist?”

I’m guessing you didn’t know he’s a jumper too?

Dan just nodded, silently marvelling in the perceiving skills of his best friend. How freakishly observant was he, exactly, to puzzle that together all on his own?

“Und als du’s realisiert hast war’s zu spät.”

And by the time you realized it was too late.

Again, Dan just nodded. Even though he was still numb tears started to come into his eyes, but he couldn’t be bothered to move. Still, Karl noticed.

“Wir schaffen das, Dan,” he said gently, moving closer to Dan and wrapping an arm around him. “Du bist nicht allein.”

We’ll get through this, Dan. You’re not alone.

For the longest time they just sat there in the darkness, and Dan had never been more grateful for the silent, unconditional support Karl tended to offer than in this single moment.

____

Seeing Phil after this was torture. Unfortunately for him, Dan’s consciousness had not decided to clink itself out again, so he was there and coherent when he ran by Phil on his way to the World Cup the next morning. They didn’t say anything, but their eyes met for just a second and the broken, defeated nod Phil gave him almost smashed him to pieces. Karl was there to keep him upright, keep him stable, to refrain him from snapping in half, but Dan knew it weighed heavy on his shoulders. Karl was a unbelievably compassionate man and seeing his friend this hurt didn’t go easy on him.

It didn’t get considerably better after this. It was kind of the same, day in and day out he missed Phil with every fibre of his being. Anything reminded him about their time together and anything had the power to make him break down all over again. Karl was like a tower of strength right beside him all along the way, supporting him in a way that no one else could.

Dan decided to stay home over Christmas. He was still grieving, nursing on his broken heart. The situation with Phil had broken it once already, but he had been able to mend it back together. Broken twice, though… It would take a long time to get over that, and a confrontation with his family would definitely not be helpful along the way.

After Christmas came the Four Hills tournament, and Dan did terribly. It wasn’t that he wasn’t concentrated, wasn’t focused; it felt more like there was just no resistance in the air when he jumped, or at least not as much as he needed. Like the air was parting for him. Karl assured him it was only temporary, that he’d get better again as the season progressed, but Dan wasn’t so sure about that. Phil’s absence from his life weight heavily on him, dragging him down; like a rock had replaced his shattered heart and there was no way to shake it off.

Werner Schuster didn’t ask any questions. They did their meetings, sure, analyzing Dan’s jump from all angles, but there was nothing they could do for him - technically, his jumps were completely fine. He held the skis in the right angle, the knees completely straight, his shoulders were pushed forward the slightest bit, just like they were supposed to, and his neck strained just the right amount. Even his take-off points were fine on most hills - he gave his coaches a mystery they had no idea how to solve.

His emotions were the problem, his consciousness - his confidence. It was like Phil had taken it all away with him when he left, taken it away with no intentions to return it. The place usually occupied by his confidence felt empty, hollow in his chest and Dan just couldn’t deal with it. Phil had taken even more than just his heart, leaving him with a feeling so foreign he wasn’t able to decipher it.

The worst part was that they both still cared. It wasn’t like in a usual breakup, where Dan could just trash talk his ex under alcoholic influence until they were nothing but a laughingstock. Phil hadn’t been shit to him or betrayed him or been emotionally horrid - there was nothing but environmental influences keeping them apart and that hurt even more than any other possible reason for a break up.

Whenever he would meet Phil’s eye, when they sat together in the waiting room, when they passed each other between the technician’s cabines, there were still so many feelings shining in them Dan felt ready to break down and wail in agony right then and there. Karl was usually able to keep him sane, collected; he also kept him from doing stupid, reckless things.

Competitive sportsmen where not really supposed to drink a lot of alcohol, but they were germans - drinking beer was practically a requirement to get into the team, meaning they were all able to hold their liquor quite well. But sometimes, when they felt really spent or restricted they'd open a bottle of some strong kind of alcoholic beverages and started drinking, for the sole purpose of loosing up, of getting drunk. During those time, he was most tempted to text or call or simply visit Phil, and it fell to Karl to keep him from that.

“Es wär alles gut,” he slurred one night, “Wenn ich hät Tschüss sagen können, weißt du? Wenn ich’s gewusst hät. Wenn ich seinen Schwanz mehr hätte schätzen können. Ihn mir einprägen können.” That froze Karl in a state of mild confusion - he had obviously no idea how to deal with that statement; like he wasn’t sure if he should be embarrassed about it or just sad.

Everything would be okay if I could’ve said goodbye ya know? If i would’ve known. Could’ve appreciated his cock more. Memorized it.

They both knew it was a lie, too. They both knew that one single night would not be able to fix this, to get his feelings back in order. They also both knew that this was about so much more than just Phil’s cock.

Dan had been in too deep for that.

As the time progressed Dan’s performance stagnated at a bad level, but for Phil, it was like he was thriving. He brought in continuous top ten results and during his home World Cup in Val di Fiemme he even managed to snatch the second place. Dan was happy for him, obviously, but he was also devastated, not sure what to make of it. He knew Phil had been in for more than the sex. He knew Phil missed him - or at least he suspected it, with the longing looks they shared sometimes that made Dan lose reality. So why was he not more affected by it? Why did it seem to get Phil’s spirits up instead of down?

Karl offered to get him the questions answered. He had forbidden Dan from seeking out direct contact, but he himself was a whole different story. He had always been friendly with Phil, he explained, and if he asked like a onlooker instead of someone who knew the story, he’d get the answers Dan needed - craved.

“Er sagt er ist wütend,” Karl informed him just a week later while they were waiting for their sushi. The World Cup took place in Sapporo, Japan that weekend, and Dan had always loved sushi, so they had decided to go out for Dinner - just because they could. “Das… macht irgendwie Sinn,” Dan answered, eyes trained on the food in front of him, intently avoiding Karl’s gaze. “Wut auf das System.” He could see Karl nodding opposite to him, then a sharp intake of breath. “Das System...” he breathed, now the one avoiding the other’s eyes. Dan didn’t really follow, so he kept quiet. It was probably nothing anyway.

He says he’s angry.

That… kinda makes sense. Anger about the system.

The system...

___

It happened once again the night before the ski flying World Cup at his home. Dan was wandering through the streets absentmindedly, trying to clear his head, when the thoughts overwhelmed him - the sadness, the loss. It danced in front of his eyes in the form of broad, black circles, obscuring his vision, stealing his consciousness. When he toppled over, Phil was there once again, catching him just in the fall.

“Dan,” he whispered, breathlessly, wrapping his arms around him as if he never wanted to let go again. Dan reciprocated the hug weakly, choking back a sob.

It only felt natural to pull back, to lean in for a kiss. It was overwhelming, incredibly amazing, and Dan just couldn’t comprehend how something so wrong could feel so bloody right.

“We can’t do this,” he said quietly as he pulled back, letting his forehead sink against Phil’s. There were tears swimming in the man’s eyes and Dan just wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. He couldn’t stand being in this situation, couldn’t stand being responsible for this.

“I know,” was Phil’s broken answer, and Dan had to squeeze his eyes shut.

“I’ll never forget you,” Phil whispered, pressing a tender kiss onto Dan’s forehead, and then he was gone.

___

“Ich kann das nicht mehr.”

I can’t do this anymore.

Dan’s sobbing made it almost impossible to speak, but he knew Karl would be able to tell - to understand.

He ushered him into his flat in less than the blink of an eye. He took Dan’s coat and sat him down on the sofa, a steaming cup of tea in his hands mere minutes later. He listened to Dan’s ramble, his incoherent explanation; he wordlessly took the cup away when Dan started crying again, and then he held him, wordlessly, as he broke down all over again.

“Dan, Ich… Ich hab da eine Idee. Um alles besser zu machen. Gib mir noch ein bisschen Zeit, okay?”

Dan, I… I had an idea. An idea to make it all better. Just give me a bit more time, okay?

Dan was sure the quiet murmur he’d registered in a state halfway between sleep and wake had been nothing more than a dream.

___

The next World Cup in Lahti, Finland was unsurprisingly hard for him. He had never particularly liked the hill, even before he’d lost his ski jumping abilities - or that was what it felt like anyway - and after the scene he’d had with Phil it was kind of obvious from the very beginning that concentrating on jumping was impossible.

But it seemed like he wasn’t the only one distracted. Karl seemed oddly out of it, absentminded; he talked a lot with the rest of the team and was often in private conversations with the others. Dan’s consciousness, glad to concentrate on anything else then his broken heart, flung onto that so fast he was getting whiplashes. He just didn’t know what to make out of that. Karl had never been a secretive person, never had kept many secrets from Dan since they’d become friends. He had half a mind to ask someone about it, but he realized the only one that knew Karl well and wasn’t his Teammate was Phil, so that plan went down the drain instantly.

After Lahti they went back home to Germany. The World Cup took place in Willingen that week, and even though it wasn’t the hill in his home village it was still nice to be back on familiar ground. It coated him in a sense of security, took his problems and his pain and wrapped them into a blanket of familiarity, kept them away. It was snowing, too, which made it even nicer; it abraded the sharp edges, made them round and harmless.

When Dan arrived in Willingen Thursday afternoon the rest of his team was already there. Karl had been visiting Stephan Leyhe, who lived in the area, and therefore hadn’t taken the car with Dan, but it seemed suspicious. Something about Karl was still off, even if Dan still wasn’t able to pinpoint it exactly.

He settled into the room he still shared with Karl, put down his luggage and changed into comfortable clothes. The others were downstairs in a hobby room that held equipment for table tennis, darts and billiard, but he needed a moment.

That was when it knocked on the door. “Ja?” he shouted, confused about the intrusion and completely in the dark about who it might be. He feared it was his coach, wanting to talk to him about the bad performances, but the knock had been careful, restricted, barely audible, and that didn’t fit Werner Schuster at all.

He hadn’t expected Stephan Leyhe to open the door. “Dan, können wir reden?” he asked gently, almost shy, his mouth caved upwards in the tiniest of smiles, but it seemed genuine.

Dan, can we talk?

“Sicher,” he answered, almost breathlessly, and watched as Stephan stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Sure.

He took a seat on Karl’s bed, opposite to Dan, and seemed to need a moment to organize his thoughts, so Dan stayed silent, holding his breath.

“Was dir passiert ist nicht fair, Dan,” he said than, voice low, almost raspy, his eyes trained on Dan’s duvet. “Es hält dich davon ab Leistung zu bringen, glücklich zu sein. Es hat niemandem geschadet, und ich finde nicht dass irgendjemand das Recht hat, dir das wegzunehmen.”

What’s happening to you isn’t fair, Dan. It keeps you from performing as well as you could, from being happy. It’s not harming anyone and I don’t think anyone has the right to take that away from you.

Dan’s breathing hitched, his heart hammering in his chest. He was frozen into place, unable to move a muscle, so he had to watch helplessly as Stephan looked up and into his eyes. “Karl hat mit uns allen gesprochen. Dem ganzen Team. Uns ist allen aufgefallen, dass etwas mit dir nicht stimmt und wir wollen dass du glücklich bist. Der Trainer ist normalerweise nicht bestechlich, aber wir sind alle auf deiner Seite.”

Karl talked to us. To the whole team. We all realized something’s wrong with you and we want you to be happy. The coach usually isn’t bribable, but we’re all on your side.

Dan stared at Stephan completely dumbfounded, no idea what to say. He was blinking rapidly, trying to make sense of the situation, but it was like his brain couldn’t keep up with reality, unable to comprehend the situation at hand.

Stephan smiled kindly at him, completely open now, shyness gone and replaced with a benevolence so genuine it only confused Dan more. “Vertraust du uns?” he asked with complete seriousness and Dan couldn’t help but nod wordlessly. “Dann kriegen wir das hin.”

Do you trust us? In that case we’ll make it happen.

___

Dan had never been more proud to be part of this team than he was that night. The whole team got together at dinner and opened their case to Werner Schuster. They explained that they knew Dan long and especially well enough by now to be sure of his motives. He wasn’t spying on them to purposely get information to other teams, and he wouldn’t blabber them out carelessly either. Schuster seemed confused at first about why they thought that would be an issue, until it finally dawned on him. As he had promised he didn’t particularly care that it was Dan specifically, more that it had happened at all.

For at least half an hour the team listed reasons why it wouldn’t be a problem, the thing that Dan and Phil had, whatever it was specifically, with limited success. Werner Schuster seemed to remain quite sceptical, until Welli spoke up. “Komm schon, Trainer. Wir wissen alle, dass es keine Nachteile gäbe. Dan’s Leistungen während dieser... Sache waren deutlich besser, oder nicht? Das ist doch auch für das Team gut!”

Come on, coach. We all know there’d be no downside. Dan’s performances were better during that… Thing were considerably better, were they not? That’s even good for the team, too!

For a short moment it was quiet. Then Karl, who had kept quite closed up for the discussion despite being the driving force behind it, looked Werner Schuster deadly in the eye and stated: “Er ist mein bester Freund, Trainer. Er liebt Phil. Er macht ihn glücklich. Ich kann nicht mit ansehen, wie du ihm das wegnimmst.” The indication behind his words were clear. And if that wouldn’t have been quite drastic enough, the whole rest of the team agreed loudly and wholeheartedly.

He’s my best friend, coach. He loves Phil. He makes him happy. I can’t stand by and watch you take that away from him.

Silence settled over the group. The other jumpers all looked their coach dead in the eye, staring him down, while Dan had an internal breakdown. How was it possible that all of them were so bloody nice to him - that they all liked him enough to do this for him?

“Also… Was ihr damit sagen wollt ist ihr tretet alle zurück wenn ich nicht zustimme?” the coach asked, flat and serious. The group just nodded, once and in total synchronicity.

So… What you’re saying is you’re all quitting if I don’t say yes?

Out of nowhere there was a smile tugging on the corner of his lips and he looked Dan straight in the eye. “Sieht so aus als hätte ich gar keine andere Möglichkeit, was?” Suddenly it was loud in the room. There were arms wrapping around Dan until he was the center of a group hug, but all he could do was sit still and blink, still trying to process what his team was willing to do for him.

Looks like I don’t have a choice here, doesn’t it?

“Ich hab dir doch gesagt wir kriegen das hin,” Karl whispered into his ears, and that’s when the realisation settled into his brain. Seconds later he was crying his eyes out, but that was okay. He had his team to dry them.

I told you we could do it.

_____

Afterwards, he needed a minute alone, so he put on his team jacket, overly proud to be able to wear it, donned his head and stepped outside into the still falling snow.

In the dark the snow only got more beautiful. The old lamp posts shed yellow-tinted light, and as Dan walked along fields of snow and further away from civilization he mused about what to do now. There was a chance Phil didn’t even want to have… anything with him anymore. It had been quite some time and theoretically speaking, they had never been a couple; maybe he had moved on or had enough of Dan’s problems - or maybe his own coach would have a problem with it. What if it had all been in vain?

He fiddled with his phone for a second as he walked through the snow, but he pocketed it again. In all honesty, he was scared. Right now, his relationship with Phil was Schrödinger’s cat, alive and dead at the same time. What if he wrote that message, made that call, and it was entirely dead?

As he looked around, deep in his thoughts, he noticed a figure walking in the opposite direction. It was hard to make them out through the falling snow, but as he got closer, he could make out black hair, covered in white specks that would prove to be snowflakes, clad in a blue jacket with a tiny flag on the left side - an Italian flag.

They met directly under the glow of a yellow light. The outside world was dark, obscured, almost invisible to him as he gazed into light blue eyes. There was pain shining in them and Dan wanted nothing else but to make it go away. It did answer a few of his questions though.

It was obvious Phil was not any more over it than Dan was.

“Dan,” he breathed out, his voice raspy and hurt, and Dan couldn’t help but took a step closer.

“What is your coach’s view on it, Phil?” he asked, almost breathless. He could hear the urgency tainting his own voice, could feel it deep down in his bones.

“Does it matter, Dan?” He looked utterly defeated, but Dan couldn’t help with that. Not until he had an answer.

Apparently his urging eyes were enough to make Phil go on.

“He doesn’t care, but -”

That was the part were Dan cut him of. Where he stormed forward and kissed Phil, with all of the passion and love still stored in the deepest corner of his heart. He didn’t simply open the box, he smashed it open, spilling all its content out, filling him to the brim with a deep warmth that should be unexpected in the freezing temperature and falling snow, but felt like the exact opposite.

“What -” Phil tried to ask when they finally broke apart, but Dan cut him off yet again, a grin on his face so wide his cheeks started to hurt. “It’s okay. My team, they - they’re so great Phil, bloody hell - they made my coach see reason. They convinced him. He’s fine with it!”

Through the tangled, incoherent explanation that was all that Dan was able to offer Phil’s eyes got wide, disbelieving. Then Dan fell quiet, his heart so full it hurt, and Phil finally seemed to understand.

“Oh my god,” he breathed out, then his lips were on Dan’s and for the next few minutes, no words came from either of them.

When they came up for air, cheeks flushed, Phil took Dan’s face between his hands, his blue eyes shining so vibrantly Dan thought he might faint. There were golden flecks swimming in th, truly standing out through the yellow glow, and for a second Dan was mesmerized by them. Then Phil’s voice brought him back to reality.

“I love you, Dan. Oh god, I love you so much. Will you be my boyfriend?”

How is this guy even real?

He didn't hesitate for even a nanosecond. “Of course Phil, of course. I love you too!”

Phil brought his hand up to gently tug the beanie from his head, then he laid their foreheads together, gazing into Dan’s eyes. “Is this what happiness feels like?” Dan asked faintly, almost unaware of his own words. Phil just smiled, and then they kissed again under the yellow glow of an old lamppost, snow still falling, covering them both in white flecks.

___

The day after Dan’s performance was suddenly back, and full force. He basically annihilated the competitors during the first jump and didn’t ease off much in the second.

When the computer was done calculating after his second jump, showing a big, glowing 1 behind his name, and he was suddenly engulfed in a warm hug from his boyfriend, Karl and the rest of his team not too far behind, Phil’s voice rung in his ears, filling him with warmth all over again. “Yes, Dan. This is what happiness feels like.”

#phan #phanfiction #phanfic au #phan fluff #my writing

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jungwooswift · 5 years

Note

DK/Jeonghan college sweethearts AU

Jeonghan majors in advertising and DK majors in education

they meet in a gen-ed class that Jeonghan didn’t actually want to take

their first date was at a cafe on-campus -- it was almost midnight and they both ate cereal (DK didn’t realize it was a date though he DID already have a crush on Jeonghan)

have been known to take naps on the couches in the student lounge

Jeonghan sometimes writes papers for DK

DK is part of a frat but Jeonghan finds Greek life to be absolutely asinine

Jeonghan minors in philosophy and is 100% THAT GUY at the party who goes on rants about shit and DK tries to get him to stop (even though he’s usually wearing a red-white-and-blue tank top and playing beer pong)

seriously Jeonghan is engaging others in The Trolley Problem while DK is doing keg stands

they dream about moving to the city where Jeonghan will work at a fancy ad agency and DK will teach public school

DK decorates his graduation cap but Jeonghan just writes DK’s name on his

#DK #Jeonghan #seventeen #Anonymous

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mirai-eats · 6 years

Text

Disappear for Twenty Minutes

Lance has a cousin that can get him and Keith into Disneyland for free. Shiro finds out and hints heavily he'd like to go, too.

Voltron, klance/laith, 5,980 words, rated T, modern/college AU

MASTERPOST

“Rico wanted to know if you can come in Friday. Diana called out so you just gotta cover her,” Shiro said over dinner late Tuesday night.

“Sorry, can’t,” Keith said around a mouthful of chicken Parmesan. “Lance and I are going to Disney.”

“How? Neither of you have money for that.” Shiro frowned.

“Lance’s cousin works at one of the hotels and he can get up to three people in for free. Park hopper pass and all,” Keith explained.

Shiro froze, his wine glass of cranberry juice halfway to his mouth. “Oh, okay that’s pretty cool. Have fun. I’ll tell him no, then.”

Keith arched a brow at Shiro’s reaction. “Do you want me to come in? Is there something going on?”

“No, no nothing like that.” He waved away Keith’s question. “Don’t worry about it. Have fun on your date at Disneyland.”

“Ookaay, uh, yeah. I haven’t gone since I was like, nine? Yeah nine. He says I have to try the Dole whip and churros, and we’re gonna get matching ears” Keith continued on. “I don’t really like churros, but he promised these are the best. And he said he’s got a coupon for the Blue Bayou? It’s a really fancy restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. So I’m gonna be sweaty and gross eating in the fanciest restaurant in Disneyland. He has a whole day planned out, we’re basically going from opening to closing.”

“That’s pretty cool. Bring me back a souvenir?” Shiro had stopped eating and was staring at his now empty wine glass. He sighed. “I heard the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride is pretty cool.”

“Shiro, what’s wrong?” Keith put down his own glass and gave him a firm stare from across the table.

“Nothing, nothing,” he said too quickly, his eyes averted Keith’s glare as he shoved a mouthful of chicken into his mouth. He chewed quickly and stood, gathering his plate and wine glass. “I have a paper to write.” With that, he walked quickly to the kitchen and dumped his dishes into the sink before slinking off into their shared bedroom.

On Wednesday he met up with Lance for brunch at a local cafe in Old Towne before their shared noon class.

“I think Shiro wants to come with us to Disney, but doesn’t want to straight up ask because it’s technically a date,” Keith said.

Lance looked up from his morning tea. “It’s a date, though.”

“Yeah, but last time he went he was like fourteen.”

“Do you want him to come with us? I don’t mind at all, my cousin can let in three people, but it is a date.”

“We could sneak off?” Keith suggested. “I don’t think he’d want to be with us, anyway. He’ll probably run off on his own and end up going on Star Tours over and over.”

“Hm, true. But do you want him to come?” Lance gave him a leveled look. “If he’s gonna go do his own thing, sure. I don’t mind.”

“He might be working, so he probably won’t be able to take us up on our offer, anyway,” Keith noted.

He was wrong.

“I’m gonna call out of work,” was Shiro’s immediate reaction to the invitation. “I’m gonna look for my Star Wars shirt, and get us some water bottles. Should I bring a bag? Yeah, portable chargers, first aid kit, snacks, jacket, extra shirt, sunscreen. . .” Shiro had gotten up from their spot on the couch and wandered to their bedroom to start looking for the stuff. He paused in the doorway. “What time do I need to get up? What time are we leaving?”

“Uh, we’re gonna get there at nine,” Keith said. “It’s a full day thing, cause we’re not gonna get a chance to go until summer.”

“Cool, cool.” Shiro dodged back into the bedroom.

The night before the Big Disneyland Adventure (Lance had dubbed it as such), Keith lounged across his bed texting Lance, while Shiro dug through their closet, his sling bag on his bed and packed full of necessities.

Me Today 9:37PM He’s still looking for that shirt. It’s kind of ugly but I just barely managed to convince him not to bring the fanny pack.

Lance <3 Today 9:37PM OMG A FANNY PACK?? MJOKJDFAGAM

Me Today 9:38PM Yeah Today 9:38PM Are you sure it’s okay? It’s a date, I don’t want my brother messing up anything you have Planned

Lance<3 Today 9:40PM Dude it’s cool. Shiros fun to hang out with. I really don’t mind

“Let’s get ready for bed. We’re gonna have a busy day and it’s important we get a full eight hours,” Shiro said. He threw the now incredibly wrinkled Star Wars shirt across his bed. The one with Chewbacca and the 80s graphics and read “Party Animal” across the chest.

“It’s not even ten yet, what the fuck?” Keith put down his phone and glared at Shiro. “I don’t go to bed until after one, you know this.”

“Yeah, but you don’t go to Disneyland everyday, so chop chop get to bed,” Shiro said sternly, even clapped his hands to get Keith moving.

“When you do that it makes me not want to do anything for you.”

Shiro ended up getting Keith in bed before eleven. Shiro fell asleep almost instantaneously, snoring heavily into his duvet, the little ocean sounds he played to help him relax echoed from the tiny speaker by his pillow. Keith sighed, tucked in bed, but with his phone out and his text chat with Lance up.

Me Today 11:03PM I wanna get a fastpass for space mountain first and foremost

Lance<3 Today 11:03PM I wanna get Guardians after tho

Me Today 11:04PM … Today 11:04PM Are you sure this is all Okay? I can always tell him never mind, it’s a date. Or we leave him in downtown Disney.

Lance <3 Today 11:05PM I don’t mind, rly. But do you? This isn’t just about me tomorrow, it’s about both of us.

Keith smiled softly at Lance’s last text. He’s seriously too sweet, he doesn’t know how he got a guy like Lance.

Me Today 11:06PM I kind of do mind. But I don’t wanna break his heart. Besides, we could still ditch him

Lance<3 Today 11:06PM ALSKDNKN THATS THE SPIRIT

Shiro kicked down the bedroom door, bright and early 7:30 AM, with a shout of “GET UP WE’RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!” and tossed two slices of hot, buttered toast at Keith’s face.

“Shiro,” Keith hissed.

“Lance is gonna pick us up soon,” Shiro said, as he bustled around the room getting the rest of his bag together. “We gotta be ready.”

“He’s probably not even awake yet, let alone on his way.” Keith wiped some butter off his chin and took a bite out of the first slice of toast. “I’m gonna eat this and sleep a ‘lil longer.”

A little after eight, Lance pulled up to the front of their apartment building in his ugly little white car. Keith jogged ahead of Shiro to snag the front seat.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Lance greeted him with a peck on the lips. Keith couldn’t help but check out his boyfriend, with his styled hair and blue eyes still a little droopy with sleep. He hadn’t had any food or caffeine yet, making him a little subdue and more pliant under Keith’s lips. He wore an adorable short sleeve button down, white and decorated in little ice creams. The sleeves were rolled up a bit and the front tucked into a pair of light wash distressed capris. His green army jacket laid across his lap. He was so cutely dressed, like always, it made Keith feel a little weird about wearing dark jeans and his Pizza Planet shirt.

“‘Morning, babe,” Keith said, giving Lance’s cheek and extra kiss. “Thank you for doing this. I’m really excited.”

Lance waved him off. “I been wanting to go with you for awhile.”

Shiro slid into the back seat, grumbling about how he was too damn tall to be crammed in the back when there was a much roomier front seat available for his “incredibly muscular legs”.

They got to the Mickey and Friends parking structure in record time, but was caught up behind the line of cars.

“It’s February,” Keith whined. “On a weekday. Don’t people have jobs? School?”

“Not if it’s Disney,” Shiro said.

“I’d gladly ditch school for Disney anyday,” Lance agreed.

The first problem with bringing Shiro along as a third wheel to their date to Disneyland was met as they got out of the car and got themselves situated.

“Slather on some sunscreen, you two. I have the spray on can and a lotion to use on your face.” Shiro tossed a bottle of sunscreen at Keith. “Are you wearing Converse, Keith? They don’t have support!”

“Jesus, Shiro, are you wearing cargo shorts?” Lance snickered.

“Yes! I can use every single pocket today,” Shiro said. “And you’re wearing Converse, too! Both of you are gonna hate yourselves by like, two o’clock.”

“At least I look good,” Lance murmured.

“You too. Pass the sunscreen to Lance, Keith.”

“I’m Cuban,” Lance said.

“This is the California sun, it doesn’t give a fuck.”

Lance sighed and took the sunscreen bottle from Keith.

The second problem arose once they meandered through downtown Disney and to the meetup with Lance’s cousin outside the World of Disney store.

“Listen up you two,” Shiro started. “Before we get in there I wanna set some ground rules. First of all, this place is huge and there’s a lot of people, so let’s stick together. Second, I love you guys, but I don’t wanna see anything more than G rated hand holding.”

Keith gripped Lance’s hand tighter, also sensing his fun day going down the drain with his helicopter of a brother hovering over them. Lance shot him a side eye look that screamed I can’t believe it but also I can.

A little after nine, they met up with Lance’s cousin, who promptly took them straight to the front gates flashed his ID, and let all three of them go through with tickets handed to them.

“I got Lightning McQueen on mine,” Lance examined his ticket once they got inside. “Lightning McQueen. . . Lance McClain. . . Keith, this is fate.”

“A coincidence.”

Keith was immediately assaulted by so much. The air smelled sugary sweet, and filled with a delightful tune that matched the Main Street USA charm. But God, even forty-minutes after opening, there were so many people. The horse drawn trolley rode by, laden with passengers decked out in Disney merch, people of all walks of life milled about the faux street. Children screamed.

“I’m happy to be here, but I already wanna go home,” Keith said. He saddled up close to Lance and grabbed his hand.

“Nah, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride only has a twenty minute wait, so we’re heading onto that first, but we gotta get fastpasses for Space Mountain before that,” Lance said. He picked up the pace a bit, tugging Keith through the crowd of people milling about Main Street. They were all heading the same way into the park, but Keith couldn’t help but get annoyed with how slow they were moving. They’d stop in the middle of the street, or their whole family would be spread out and make it impossible to walk around.

Tomorrowland was packed with people trying to wiggle into the Star Tours ride. They passed by Storm Troopers, Shiro insisting they stopped and take a picture.

“Move out of the way,” one of them gently nudged a child with his gun and kept walking. The kid laughed and asked if her mom got a picture of that.

“Nevermind, that was really funny, but I don’t want them to be mean to me,” Shiro said.

“Jesus, it’s a fifty minute wait already for Space Mountain?” Keith noted when they reached the entrance.

“And it’s only gonna get worse. Come on, let’s grab a fastpass.” Lance lead them up to the fastpass ticket dispenser, noting that their time would be in three hours.

They hurried back through Tomorrowland, across Main Street, and into Adventureland.

“What’s this line for?” Shiro pointed at the entrance of Adventureland.

“Dole Whip,” Lance said. “It’s pineapple flavored and super good.”

“I want it.” Shiro started to drift toward the back of the line, Keith grabbed his hand and tugged him back into the flow of people heading deeper into Adventureland.

“Later, dude. That lines ridiculous and I wanna get my butt on a ride before I die,” Keith said curtly.

They ended up waiting nearly a half hour for Pirates, standing around awkwardly. Keith and Lance chatted idly, but any topics they really wanted to get into were avoided due to Shiro being there.

The ride was fun when they finally got on it. They crammed into the front seat, Shiro squished in between them. Lance idly told them how there’s rumors that the skull hanging on the bed is real, and there are human remains in the water due to people dumping loved ones ashes in there. Rumors, he reiterated when they got splashed going down the drop.

They wound through the cute back alley of New Orleans Square and found themselves by the train station and the entrance to the Haunted Mansion.

“Hold up, I wanna get a Mint Julep while we’re over here.” Lance practically skipped to the register and ordered three Mint Juleps and a bag of Mickey-shaped beignets. “Cheers.” He held up his own pale green drink, decorated with mint leaves and a lemon slice.

“Oh god, I thought this was going to be alcoholic. This is a baby mint Julep, okay,” Shiro said after taking a sip. “That fucked me up oh my god. Actual mint juleps taste like pain but spicy. This tastes like something I would like to have pumped into my blood. Hook me up to an IV of this.”

“The ones inside the Blue Bayou restaurant have light up ice cubes and skewers with cherries on them. This is the cheaper, less fun version of them,” Lance explained.

“They can be even better?” Keith said softly.

The beignets were fantastic. Shiro accidentally exhaled too hard on his and got powdered sugar down his front. Keith inhaled laughing too hard and took in too much powdered sugar and started coughing.

The Haunted Mansion wait was a little more fun than the Pirates, due to the line being wrapped through the front lawn that was covered in funny gravestones. They took turns reading.

“Wait, wasn’t the Haunted Mansion a scary movie?” Shiro said.

“When I was seven it was scary,” Keith said.

“I actually never saw it,” Lance said. Shiro and Keith stopped and stared at him.

“Then why are we going on the ride?” Keith asked.

Lance shrugged. “It’s a good ride. If the movie is as scary as the ride, then it’s really not that bad.”

“Okay, Mr. Disneyland expert. . . who hasn’t even seen the Haunted Mansion.”

“During Halloween and Christmas they deck it out as Nightmare Before Christmas and I actually like that better than the original Haunted Mansion.”

“Why would you even say such a thing? Keith, can you please break up with him?”

“Not yet.”

Lance gasped and spun to face Keith. “Yet?”

“You’re on thin fucking ice for thinking Nightmare Before Christmas is better than Haunted Mansion.”

“It’s fun! And it combines my two favorite holidays into a family fun musical!”

Lance was right about the ride, it was definitely not scary, but it was a lot of fun.

They rode few more short rides with almost as short lines, and wounded up getting a few churros outside Thunder Mountain.

“I want a hat,” Shiro said, staring off at a child wearing a Lightning McQueen ear hat. Keith prayed that wasn’t the one he wanted. “And Dole Whip.”

“Aw Keith, we should get matching ears,” Lance nudged Keith’s hand and grinned.

“You can have the Minnie Mouse ears,” Keith said,

“I’m down. She has a bunch of cute bows.”

They rode Thunder Mountain, the ride being a two seater roller coaster so Shiro sat in the very front seat by himself and Keith and Lance behind him. After that they took off across the park to get to Space Mountain, weaving through the foot traffic and strollers. Keith lost count of how many times a parent tried to run him over with a stroller, the child legs kicking out aiming for his knees.

“I will literally,” Keith huffed. “Kill the next person who thinks they can run me over with their two seater stroller and nine year old kid in the front seat on a tablet,” As he said that, he got cornered by a large family that split him off from Shiro and Lance, herded him into a trashcan, and nearly got ran over by a two seater stroller with an older child in it, the parent weaving expertly through the crowd with the intent to kill anyone who got in her way. Keith barely dodged out of the way from certain death, almost stumbling into an ice cream cart. He circled back to where Shiro and Lance were walking. “I’m going to kill her.”

“The kid wasn’t on a tablet though,” Lance pointed out.

They made it through the fastpass queue in record time, following the weaving path through the other fastpass checkpoint and into the building. They were belted into the ride in a matter of ten minutes.

“Wow that was kind of fast. It’s a seventy-five minute wait,” Shiro said, a little breathless.

“I’m gonna shit myself this is so cool.” Keith was practically vibrating in his seat, up in the very front with Lance. Like Thunder Mountain, they had asked the cast member if they could get a front row seat and they’d been directed to row number one.

The pictures came out terrible. Lance couldn’t stop heaving with laughter as he snapped a picture of it on Snapchat and posted it to his story. Shiro, chin partially blocked by Keith’s mane of hair, was grinning like that cat meme. Keith looked like he was high, and Lance took the time to pose with a smile and forming a heart with his hands.

“I’m not photogenic,” Keith murmured.

“You were also going thirty-five miles per hour on a roller coaster in a pitch-black room, you didn’t see the camera coming.” Lance gave a comforting pat on his back and placed a kiss on Keith’s cheek.

They got a fastpass for Star Tours and wandered through Fantasyland, riding a couple storybook rides and getting more churros. On the teacups, Keith and Lance weren’t even properly sitting, intent on making the cup spin faster and faster. Shiro had his camera out recording, leaning all the way back so he wouldn’t get hit with a stray elbow. They stumbled off the ride and wound up taking pictures outside The Mad Hatter inside the teacup. Lance managed to convince Shiro to take a picture of Keith and Lance in the teacup. Lance wrapped his arm around Keith and pulled him in and smiled. Keith, not wanting to ruin the obviously couple-y picture he was going for, awkwardly rested his hand on Lance’s knee and leaned in close, smiling at the camera. His cheeks felt warm.

It was nerve wracking, being in public and being openly affectionate with each other. They’ve been together for almost four months, friends for longer. They were still tentative with each other. Keith wanted to always kiss his stupidly pretty face, hold him close and not let go.

Lance, probably reading Keith’s train of thought, tilted Keith’s chin up and placed the gentlest kiss on his lips. He kind of hoped Shiro got a picture of that.

“Knock it off, you two. I wanna go buy a hat.” Shiro slapped Keith’s shoulder and dropped Lance’s bag into his lap as he walked by. Their little bubble was broken.

Keith shot Lance an apologetic smile and climbed down from the teacup, holding out a hand to help Lance down.

Shiro was already looking through the hats. Keith zeroed in on a pair of ears.

“Oh my god, they light up,” Keith gasped. He clicked on the little light, seeing the Millenium Falcon and Death Star flash between the stars.

“Aw, but babe, matching ears,” Lance pouted and held up a pair of ears with a sequin polka dot bow. “This one has interchangeable bows.”

“Is there a Star Wars themed bow?” Keith asked.

Lance scrunched up his whole face in thought. “I don’t think so.”

“Tough luck, I’m getting this.” Keith turned to take it to the register to see Shiro turning away and thanking the cashier, fixing a hat atop his head.

“Are you shitting me, Shiro?” Keith asked, agashed. A mother shooed her son away from Keith, shooting him a dirty look.

Shiro wore the Goofy hat. A tall green, flimsy monstrosity with long ears that dangled to his shoulders, the black band reading “Goofy” in block orange letters. Shiro grinned. “What? I liked this one.”

Lance was guffawing behind Keith. “Shiro, oh my god, Shiro. That’s so fucking funny. I love it.”

“I don’t,” Keith grumbled.

Keith bought his cool light up ears, and Lance got the interchangeable ears with the Little Mermaid bow. Lance sulked out of the shop, disappointed at not matching Keith.

“You guys should get those matching Disney shirts,” Shiro suggested.

Lance sulked more somehow. “No, those are tacky.”

Keith snorted. “And the matching ears aren’t?”

“Yes.”

At that point in the afternoon they meandered over to Adventureland and got in line for Dole Whip. Keith bought one for him and Lance to share. That made him perk right up and forget about the ear thing. They didn’t even bother with spoons, content with taking turns licking off the top. Shiro trailed behind them, his own Dole Whip in hand.

“This is so fucking good, I’m gonna cry,” Shiro said, voice cracking. “This was worth $3.49. No, this is worth $5.49.”

The rode a few more rides before their fastpass for Star Tours was ready. They got side tracked on their way around to Tomorrowland by Captain America, standing outside the Marvel center taking pictures.

“I want Captain America to hold me close and don’t let go,” Shiro sighed, gazing at the cast member.

“I want Captain America to smash me over the head with his shield,” Keith said.

“I want Captain America to hold my hand and tell me I’m valid,” Lance said.

“Steve Rogers will do all of that, except one of the things we said,” Shiro said, eyeing Keith.

“He’s not gonna hold you close, Shiro. He has Bucky,” Lance said. Keith choked on his water.

Inside Star Tours, Keith reached up and flipped on the lights to his ears. “So I’m a nuisance to everyone behind me.”

After the ride, they exited Disneyland and went over to California Adventure, heading straight for the Guardians of the Galaxy fastpass distributor.

“7:30 to 8:30. God, we’re cutting it close,” Shiro said looking at his ticket.

“Let’s go on California Screamin’, that’s one of my favorite rides,” Lance said, tucking his ticket back into his wallet.

They crossed through A Bug’s Land and through Pacific Wharf toward Paradise Pier. Lance was bouncing up and down with excitement.

“This is one of my favorite rides at Disney! There’s a loop, and a lot of cool drops and turns. It takes you over Paradise Pier and the water and. . .” He trailed off, staring out over the water and pass the iconic Mickey Mouse ferris wheel.

“It’s closed for refurbishment,” Keith said.

“What? No! Why?! It’s perfect just the way it is!” Lance cried out. “If the ground wasn’t amusement park ground I’ll fall to it and grovel.”

“Please stop being a Leo, I bet it’ll be open again soon.” Keith rubbed a hand tenderly on Lance’s back.

Shiro let out a low whistle. “Wow, the whole back half of paradise pier is closed. I wonder why.”

They ended up wandering to the Grizzly River Run, the line not being very long due to it being winter still technically. The calendar said it was late February, but it felt more like a nice, spring day.

Lance looked online to find answers about California Screamin’ while he waited, gasping softly when he found his answer.

“They’re renovating Paradise Pier and turning it into Pixar Pier!” He said. “Oh my god, they’re turning all the games and rides Pixar themed instead of the California beach boardwalk theme they had before. And the California Screamin’ is still gonna be the same, just The Incredibles Themed! It opens in the summer! Keith, we have to come back.”

“Okay, just let me in again.”

Shiro got soaked on the ride. His hat had been tucked away thankfully, but the rest of him was drenched. They had come down one of the drops and Shiro was in the splash zone. His forelock was plastered to his forehead, grin bright and eyes shining with mirth when they got off the ride.

They wandered back to Disneyland and got on the Indiana Jones ride. In the line, Keith leaned up against Lance’s sticky back, eyes heavy, and Lance leaned back against Keith. Shiro was shifting his weight between his feet, eyes glazed as he stared down at his dying phone. They weren’t even in the building yet.

“It’s like, almost six, do you guys wanna get some real actual food in us after this?” Shiro suggested.

“I wanna eat the rich,” Keith groaned. “Everything here costs money to buy.”

“That’s how it works, you exchange money for goods and services,” Shiro said.

After the ride, they plopped down outside the Haunted Mansion and dug into some soup and sandwiches they scored. Keith and Lance shared jambalaya soup in a bread bowl and a french dip sandwich, and Shiro had his own meal.

“It’s pricey here, but at least the food’s good,” Keith groaned into his sandwich.

“A bottle of water still shouldn’t be almost five dollars, though,” Shiro said.

“Hey, let’s go to Tom Sawyer’s Island,” Lance suggested.

They finished eating and took the boat over to Tom Sawyer’s Island, Lance grumbling under his breath how it should have been named Jim’s Island. Keith snorted a laugh. The boat was really just a wooden platform that took them across the river, so crowded with people it made Keith press up against Lance’s side. Lance’s hand traced idle patterns across the small of Keith’s back.

Once they landed, Keith took Lance’s hand and they took off down the dirt path and ducked into the first cave passage, wounding their way around the island. Determined to lose Shiro, they ducked down and took every turn they found at a run.

In a shadowy alcove, hidden in a cave and by a skeleton display on the ground, Keith pushed Lance up against the worn, plastic-y walls and kissed him like his life depended on it. Lance kiss him back just as hard, wrapping his arms around his neck and tugging him closer. He opened his mouth to let Keith slip his tongue in. Keith pushed his thigh up between Lance’s, effectively pinning him to the probably gross wall and kissing the life out of him. It was energizing, kissing Lance, Keith decided. His heart raced in a good way, and his skin tingled where Lance touched him. He tugged Lance closer and tangled their tongues together, pulling a small moan from Lance. He melted in his hands.

He wanted to kiss him all the time, hold him close. He wanted to do more with him, touch more, hold more, kiss every inch of his body. Make him fall apart under him and-

“Oh my god you guys!” Shiro’s shout broke their trance. They jumped apart, swollen lipped and red faced. Shiro stood at the mouth of the cave entrance, Goofy hat somehow making him intimidatingly taller. “You disappear for twenty minutes to make out in the corner of a cave? I told you to keep it PG, you horny little fucks!”

“Keith started it,” Lance said, voice hoarse. Keith smacked his arm playfully. They were asked to please get off the island and never do that again by a cast member.

The sun was setting, turning the sky above them shades of pink and gold, streaked with clouds. Lance took a selfie of him and Keith in front of the castle bathed in pink light, Shiro peaking out behind Lance’s ear. They rode Autopia, wandered through a few stores down Main Street and bought some goodies for their friends and headed back to California Adventure for their fastpass at Guardians of the Galaxy.

“I really love this movie, it better not disappoint me,” Shiro said when they were piling into their seats.

“It’s like the Tower of Terror, but less Terror and more 80’s bops,” Lance said.

He was right. Lance’s cousin had given him a free photo op coupon and Lance, laughing so hard at the look of horror on Keith’s face at the final drop, didn’t hesitate to use that coupon and got a hard copy of the photo.

It was dark out by the time they got out, the street lights on and the walkway still milling with a lot of people.

“Don’t they have jobs? Aren’t kids in school now?” Keith asked.

“It’s a Friday, they can stay out as late as they want,” Shiro stated.

“We should have ditched class and work on like, Wednesday. No one misses a Wednesday for Disneyland,” Keith murmured.

“Yeah they do. I’d miss jury duty for Disney.”

They made their way back to Disney, and with everyone lining up for the Fantasmic show over at the River of America. They wove through the crowd of onlookers and to Splash Mountain, which had a fifteen minute wait due to the time of year and the show starting soon.

“That way, this could be the last ride then we can watch the parade and fireworks.”

“Isn’t this based off that really racist movie that Disney is trying to ignore, but Splash Mountain is such an iconic favorite they can’t get rid of it?” Shiro asked while they waited in line.

“Yeah, Song of the South is based off the Uncle Remus stories. We read a couple back in American Lit, remember Keith?” Lance said.

“Oh, the Tar Baby story? That was weirdly written.”

“The dialect was supposed to imitate how a black slave would recite a story in the south, but it was written by this white guy,” Lance explained. “I don’t remember anything about it, honestly.”

“I know I just took the class, but neither do I,” Keith shrugged.

“Anyway, the movie was still racist and they should at least make this ride like, Winnie the Pooh themed,” Shiro said.

“There’s already a Winnie the Pooh ride.”

“I want another one.”

They got wet again. The water was sticky and really, really cold. The drop going down at night, with the flash of the camera blinding you, was absolutely terrifying. Keith reckoned he is never going to take Lance’s suggestion to ride Splash Mountain at night ever again.

Shivering and soaking wet, they made their way to Main Street. They got another round of churros, some popcorn, and each flavor of pretzel and soda and found a seat on the curb to wait for the parade to start.

“I’m gonna go get a coffee real quick at Starbucks, you guys want anything?” Shiro asked.

“A hot tea?” Keith asked. “I don’t care the flavor, surprise me.”

“Same for me, please. You want money?” Lance asked.

Shiro shook his head. “No, you got us into Disneyland and gave us this awesome day, I can buy you a tea.” He stood up and took off down the street.

Keith sighed heavily and leaned against Lance. “Thank you,” he murmured.

“It’s no problem. I’ve been wanting to do this with you for a while, anyway,” Lance said. He intertwined their fingers, stroking a thumb over the back of Keith’s hand.

“Hmm. But I had a lot of fun, even with my brother’s meddling. I’m sorry about that,” Keith sighed.

“You had fun, right? That’s what matters. I don’t mind being cockblocked by your brother. Besides.” Lance leaned in and brushed a kiss to the top of Keith’s head. “I got to see you happy today. Yeah, I’m kind of sad I couldn’t kiss you and whisper sweet, sweet nothings in your ear all day, but you smiled a lot and that made me happy, too. We can make out in the car later, if you want.”

“I do like the sound of that.” Keith couldn’t help feeling the phantom tingle of Lance’s lips against his, the blunt end of his nails scratching against his shoulders. It lead to a spiral of other, much more dangerous thoughts. He shook himself out of his stupor, Disneyland not being the place to think of things like that.

Shiro returned with their tea, with only minutes before the parade started. It was bright and colorful, the music loud and cheerful. Lance lost it over the Cars float. The firework show started immediately after. They piled into the street and heard Julie Andrews introduce the show with Tinker Bell flying over the castle.

He gripped Lance’s hand the whole time, unable to peel his eyes away from the show. He sang along to the songs, and even pulled Lance into a kiss in the finale fireworks. Lance kissed him back with a smile on his lips.

They sluggishly took the tram back to the parking garage and climbed up the escalator to their car. The three of them took a moment to relax and catch their breath in the safety of Lance’s car. None of them said a word.

Keith reached over and touched Lance’s hand, ready to go.

They got home just before midnight. Lance bade Shiro goodnight and Keith stuck around in the car for a second with Lance while Shiro went ahead to unlock the door.

Under streetlight, Keith could clearly see the exhaustion lining Lance’s face.

“Hey, do you wanna stay the night tonight?” Keith asked. Lance only lived barely fifteen minutes away via side streets, but he looked like he was about to collapse with exhaustion.

Lance smiled weakly. “In your tiny bed? And without my skin care stuff?”

“I know you have a travel pack in your glove box,” Keith frowned.

“That’s true, but I wanted to do a full face regime tonight because Disney really fucked with my skin today.” He looked at Keith’s puppy dog eyes. “But I could do that tomorrow morning if you’d really rather have me here.”

Keith leaned in and gave him a slow, heavy kiss. “I’d always rather have you with me.”

Lance dug out his travel toiletry bag and locked the car behind them as they walked up to Keith’s apartment door. Shiro left the door open and the lights off, and the man in question was found snoring in his bed with his shoes kicked off and feet dangling over the edge of the bed. Keith pulled the blankets over him.

They got ready for bed and cuddled up in Keith’s twin sized bed, Lance in one of Keith’s shirts. The bed was way too small for either of them to stretch out, instead opting to curl up into one another.

They were asleep before either of them could properly wish each other good night, but managed to give each other one last kiss before dozing off.

#voltron #vld #Voltron legendary defender #klance #laith #keith kogane #lance mcclain #takashi shirogane #fic #twenty minutes

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