#and yet everything they are expressing is a different flavor of 'ugh'
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This is the panel that finally convinced me to read Dungeon Meshi. It's the only comic I've ever seen that gets crying right - it's awkward and uncomfortable, it's not remotely photogenic, there are way too many fluids involved.
And also Izutsumi.
#I think about those faces constantly#they are so expressive#and yet everything they are expressing is a different flavor of 'ugh'#she really is the perfect combination of 'feral teenager' and 'feral cat'#dungeon meshi#not polls
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Ugh please don’t draw Elucien! She feels uncomfortable around him and shrinks in on herself in his presence. I love your art sm and it makes me very sad that you would support a week that celebrates forcing a woman to be with a man she is uncomfortable with 😭
Hello anon. I’ve looked at this ask so many times, attempting to come up with a good way to answer you. But… I just don’t have anything I could say to make you happy. And honestly that’s not my job. It is not my responsibility, or anyone else's to make you happy.
I was debating not even answering this ask at all, but there are some things that need to be said here. Quite a bit actually, because I am a human being with a lot of feelings.
First off, I know that in your mind this is coming from a place of “I love your art sm” but when you frame that around your dislike for something I expressed my enjoyment of, it loses all its meaning. Seriously. It took me like four rereads of this ask to even realize you said you like my art. Thank you, by the way.
What I’m curious about is what you hoped to accomplish by sending me this. Did you think I would suddenly change my mind and not draw something I just said I was excited about drawing? Imagine:
“I kinda like this idea. I’m going to take time out of my day to create something for it because I enjoy it!”
“No don’t do that.”
“Oh you’re right. Okay I won’t create something I like. Thanks for telling me what to do, I didn’t know otherwise.”
…you can see how that doesn’t make sense right?
I think what a lot of people don't understand, especially people who haven't attempted to share something they create before, is that us artists do not owe you anything. We are not mindless machines that create whatever you want whenever you want. I create what makes me happy. I create because I feel inspired. I do not create because you tell me to. I find enjoyment in creating art and I find enjoyment in sharing it with you guys. (Although recently, not so much anymore.)
My point that I want you to take away here is this: coming up to someone and hating on something they just showed an interest in is very rude. You keep that to yourself. That's just basic human decency. Like, if someone is happy, why go out of your way to make them unhappy? In reality if you saw someone who is very happy eating their chocolate ice cream, would you go up to them and throw their ice cream on the ground, just because you personally don't like chocolate flavored ice cream? It's as simple as that and yet I will never understand why people fail to recognize this.
Now, about the actual ship. I want to keep this brief because I despise with a burning passion anything "ship war" related. I hate that term.
I have read the books, same as you. And I know all about Elain losing all her newfound boldness and all that jazz. I am well aware of everything between them, so there's no need to remind me. But what you seem to think here is that I ship her because she shrinks away from him. That is not true. I do not like them because it promotes forcing a woman to be with a man that makes her uncomfortable. No Elucien I have ever met ships them because of this. I like the idea of them because of what they could be. I like their characters and I genuinely think they would work well together, even if it is just as friends. So in the fandom here, yes, I ship them too. But in terms of canon, I believe Elriel is most likely to happen. So you don't need to worry about "losing" an Elriel or anything like that. I can enjoy both. Actually its very pleasant. Double the love, double the fanfics and fanart! You can enjoy multiple things without "compromising" your true beliefs. There's a difference between having a personal preference and having an idea of what will happen in canon. And seriously, multishipping is so fun. You should try it some time!!
Now I want to close this off by making this clear. I was once in your place. I was so closed off from anyone and anything that opposed my own ideas. There was... a lot of hatred. But let me tell you, letting hatred go is so freeing. I have met the kindest and most loving people by stepping out of the little bubble I created for myself.
So to me, there is no "ship war." There are no sides. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy things. There is no battle that is going to be won with theories and headcannons and throwing insults at people who believe different things.
I am here in this fandom because I enjoy being here. But for some reason, people like to tell you what you can and can't enjoy. Crazy, right?
(This was kind of a lot, I apologize. Anon, I am not coming after you personally for sending me this. Your ask just provided the perfect vessel for me to express my feelings on the matter.)
#ask#long post#Went into this ask with sadness but finished answering with a new positive attitude#gracie answers
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❥ ┋ ❝ nanami & where he’d take you on your first date together!
@densecloud said: aaaa new ask game!!! can i request for 'court' & nanami? thank you so much toya!! ٩(♡ε♡ )۶
a/n: YES U CAN LESLIE!!! I had so much fun thinking of all the dates Nanamin would take you that I had a hard time narrowing down one... so I wrote for all of them! I think it gives a neat, interactive twist to your original request. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. <33
tw: none.
ask game: 💌 15 valentine’s day questions (closed!)
disclaimer: I’m anime-only outside of the prequel, so apologies if my character interpretations aren’t accurate.
Nanami is a planner. he doesn’t like going about things on a whim. that applies for work, his days off, and most notably, his first date with you.
that isn’t to say he wouldn’t let you plan the date. no, Nanami just gets a certain pride taking you out. after all, he wouldn’t be courting you unless he had some sort of background with you. in this case, being jujutsu sorcerers has made you uncomfortably close. that just comes with working in a profession with so few colleagues. and with it being a horribly draining job, you’ve seen each other at your best and worse.
hence, Nanami lets you pick what kind of vibe you’d like for the date. he’d like to think he knows you well enough to plan something himself. but letting you have some agency allows him to gauge what to do. plus, the fact you’re not a Tokyo native lets him narrow down where in the city would be the best place to take you.
if you tell him you want something laidback, Nanami interprets that as a typical, casual date. nothing too strenuous. that doesn’t mean they have to be boring, though.
he takes you to a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in Musashino. it’s tucked away in some alley, and despite its sketchy location, the interior is surprisingly cozy. locals chat quietly while university students scribble notes in tattered workbooks. it isn’t much, you’ll admit. it’s not much different from any other coffee shop. but the moment your mocha hits your tongue, you immediately understand why Nanami likes this place so much. it’s sweet without being overly sweet, chocolately and warm. like a hug from your best friend: familiar and comforting.
Nanami tells you how he met Gojo while you’re here. it’s casual conversation. you learn that despite their contrasting personalities, there are few people that Nanami trusts more. maybe one day he’ll trust you as much as he does your shared colleague. it’s a thought that makes your heart as warm as your mocha does for your hands. (and while you may not know it now, Nanami already trusts you with everything.)
you find yourselves at Inokashira Park shortly afterwards. it’s a surprisingly warm day in March -- why not enjoy the weather while you can? he comments on the history about the park. something about how it was privately owned by the emperor until the twentieth century.
when you ask when the cherry blossoms will bloom, he tells you not until the end of March. you click your tongue.
“hm. guess we’ll have to plan another date for then, huh?”
“...I suppose we do.”
he wouldn’t admit how warm his ears felt in that moment.
if you tell him you want something fun, Nanami will take you to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. he honestly doesn’t know how you’ve lived in the city for this long without visiting it yet. there’s something exciting about it, though; to be the person you share this experience with. he’s thankful for that much.
to say the museum is huge would be an understatement. the building is massive. there are tons of exhibits to explore and even more sections to learn from. it’s... well... it’s a little overwhelming. yet Nanami is patient with exploring the whole thing. he doesn’t yank you from display to display. he lets you take it at your own pace, following you wherever you want to go, adding his own quips of information he’d learned from the several field trips he’s taken here as a child. after all, the museum is a staple. it’s one of his favorite places in the city.
that’s half of the reason why he brought you here. the other half is because he loves that look of bewilderment you get on your face. the museum features an interactive exhibit of Old Tokyo, with employees strolling the streets in traditional garb. they chat with visitors and offer small gifts, and boy. your face just lights up every time they give you some dumb knick knack. when you smile at him, showing him the pencil you got labeled EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM in red lettering, he can’t help but feel the corners of his mouth twitch just the slightest bit upwards, too. such a small thing to be excited about. that’s why he’s so enamored by you, though.
he feels a sense of pride when you ask if he can bring you back to the museum sometime soon. he just guides you by the small of your back as you exit the front doors, his lips with another hint of a smile, before saying,
“there are plenty of other places we can visit together. let’s plan for it.”
if you tell him you want something different, Nanami finds himself stumped. there are lots of “different” places in Tokyo. Asakusa has the traditional temples, Harajuku has the wild street fashion, and Roppongi has the wilder night life. “something different” doesn’t give Nanami a lot to go off of.
but he’ll digress. none of those places would be appropriate for a first date. so he opts for a great hot pot restaurant in Shibuya.
Shibuya itself is a great date location. it’s what most foreigners think when they hear “Tokyo.” bright lights, edgy streetwear, huge crowds of people -- all mushed together in one district. it makes your head spin as he guides you through the streets. but where he takes you takes the best parts of Shibuya and puts it in one, little eatery.
string lights dangle across the ceiling, twinkling as if it it was the night sky. it’s such a nice contrast from the neon lights outside. teenagers in streetwear morph into dapper, young professionals laughing amongst themselves. and while it’s still a little cramped, it’s not the kind that makes you overwhelmed. it’s cozy. people maintain their space.
the hot pot itself is delicious. Nanami orders a little of everything -- some seafood, some fancy meats, a variety of vegetables, and two noodle options -- and God. the moment you take your food from that broth and put it in your damn mouth? ugh. heaven. it’s so savory, perfectly seasoned and just the right texture. the saltiness from the broth brings all the right flavors out of your food. you might have burned your tongue but it’s so good you don’t even care.
Nanami laughs when he sees your eyes widen. he carries the conversation while you stuff yourself with noodles and other foods. just some stories about his life before sorcery, about his time as a stockbroker and how much he hated it. although sorcerery isn’t much better, he can at least help the people around him. it’s not much, but it’s better than helping some rich asshole get richer.
“you know,” you tell him in between bites, “you’re a better person than you give yourself credit for.”
“maybe,” he responds. “or maybe it’s just basic human decency.”
he didn’t mean it to come out that harsh. and judging by your expression, you don’t take offense to it. or maybe you just didn’t notice.
either way, he hopes you also don’t notice how quickly he turns away. there are much less obvious ways to hide his blush, he can acknowledge that. yet in this moment, all he can think of is all the goddamn hoops you put his mind through.
#jujutsu kaisen#jjk#nanami kento#jjk x reader#nanami kento x reader#headcanons#scenario#densecloud#cut for length bc this bad boy got LOONNNGG#also can u tell that the quality gets better the more I wrote....#hhh I'm sorry friends who just want a laidback date w Nanamin
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Jelly Beans, A Sashannarcy Oneshot
So I’ve written a number of Sashannarcy oneshots that I’ve posted over on AO3 and figured it was about time I start sharing them here as well. So here’s the first oneshot, in which Sasha brings some special candy to spice up the girls’ weekly game night
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“BeanBoozled?”
Anne blinked in confusion as she beheld the colorful box Sasha was holding up. She and Sasha sat on the couch in the living room of the apartment they shared with Marcy, who at the moment was searching through the board game cabinet for a suitable game for their weekly game night.
“Picked it up while I was out running errands today,” Sasha said. “Thought it could be a fun way to spice up game night.”
“How are jelly beans gonna make game night more interesting?” Anne asked with a furrowed brow.
Sasha grinned and gave the box a shake, the candy contents rattling within. “Ah, but these are no ordinary jelly beans. There are ten colors, but twenty possible flavors. Each color can be something really good, or really really bad, and the only way to tell is to pop one in your mouth and hope for the best. Take a look.”
Sasha passed the box to Anne. Her eyes widened as she beheld the flavors on the back. “Birthday cake or dirty dishwater? Coconut or spoiled milk? Peach or barf!? Jeez, it’s like Russian Roulette with candy!”
“Nah, at least with Russian Roulette the odds are five-to-one in your favor,” Marcy said as she walked over to the couch, a huge stack of boxes in her hands. “With those it’s more like a coin flip. Heads you get a delicious bean, tails you get one that’ll make you wanna die.”
“Exactly,” Sasha said with a smirk and a mischievous glint in her eye. “What do you say, girls? Wanna raise the stakes this week?”
“Sounds potentially disgusting and humiliating,” Marcy said, setting the board games on the table and taking a seat on the couch next to Anne. She grinned. “I’m in.”
“Me too,” Anne said, smiling and handing the box back to Sasha. “What did you have in mind?”
Sasha hmmm’ed as she looked over the games Marcy was offering. “We need a simple game. Let’s see here... Clue, no… Cards Against Humanity, Settlers of Catan, Boss Monster… no, no, nope… Ah, perfect! Would You Rather.”
Sasha opened up the game in question, took out a stack of cards and began shuffling them as she continued speaking. “So here’s what I’m thinking: we each take turns drawing a card and asking an either/or question for the other two to answer. Anyone who picks the less popular option has to eat a random bean out of the box. Sound good?”
Anne and Marcy nodded. Sasha set the deck of cards down and drew the top one. “Cool, I’ll start us off then. Anne, Marcy, would you rather… punch a pilgrim or eat an avocado?”
Anne sputtered out a laugh. “What kind of question is that?”
“That’s just the game,” Marcy said with a shrug. “Some of the choices have logic to them, others are just completely random. I think I’d rather eat an avocado, they’re loaded with nutrients and can be used to make guacamole.”
“Avocado it is,” Sasha said. “Anne?”
Anne pursed her lips. “Well from what I remember from history class, the Pilgrims were kind of dicks… But I think I’ll go with the avocado too.”
“And those are your final answers?” Sasha asked her girlfriends. Anne and Marcy nodded. “Well congratulations! According to the card fifty-nine percent of people agree with you.”
Marcy and Anne high-fived. Sasha discarded the card and Anne reached for the deck to draw her own card.
“Okay Marcy, Sasha, would you rather… have no teeth or have no tongue?”
“Oof, that’s a tough one,” Sasha said. “Either one of those would make eating a pain in the ass.”
Marcy rubbed her chin. “I think I’d rather have no teeth. ‘Cause at least if you have a tongue you could still taste stuff.”
“But how would you chew with no teeth so you don’t choke and die?” Sasha asked.
“Well that’s what blenders are for. Plus no tongue means you can’t talk either.”
“Oh, that’s a good point. Yeah, I’ll go with no teeth too.”
Anne nodded, discarding her card. “You and sixty-three percent of people. Congrats girls, no one gets to try the beans yet. You’re up Marbles.”
Marcy drew a card. “Sash, Anne, would you rather… sing everything you say or dance all your movements?”
“Sing everything,” Sasha said with a proud smirk. “After all, I’m a heart-stomper~! Stompin’ on hearts~!”
Anne and Marcy laughed. “Oh man I haven’t thought about our old garage band in years,” Marcy said. “We should break out the instruments one of these days, for old time’s sake.”
“Yeah but it’s been so long we probably suck,” Anne said. “Dancing was always more my thing, so that’s what I’m going with.”
“Ooh, first time two of us have picked different options,” Marcy said. She reached down for the BeanBoozled box. “Those are your final answers?” The other two girls nodded. “And the jelly bean goes to… Anne!”
“Aw, for real?” Anne asked as Sasha pumped a fist in the air. Marcy nodded and showed the text on the card: fifty-six percent of people would rather sing as opposed to forty-four who’d rather dance. “Damn it. Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here…”
On the back of the box was a circle of the ten jelly beans with a built-in spinner. She gave the spinner a flick and watched it slow until it settled on brown. “Okay that’s… chocolate pudding or canned dog food? Oh boy.”
Anne picked through the box of candies, pulling out a single brown bean. She held the candy up between her thumb and forefinger, gulping audibly. “Well. Here we go…”
Marcy and Sasha watched with great interest as Anne plopped the candy in her mouth. She slowly chewed… and a smile graced her face.
“Oh thank God, it’s chocolate pudding!” She said, swallowing.
“Aw, well that’s no fun,” Sasha said with an exaggerated pout. “You were supposed to get a gross one so me and Marcy could laugh at your misfortune.”
“Hey, the night’s still young,” Anne said. “Don’t forget you could also end up with a gross bean, Sasha.”
“Well not this time, ‘cause it’s my turn to ask the question.” Sasha drew the next card of the deck. “Would you rather… be dangled over the edge of the cliff or forced to speak in public?”
“Dangled off a cliff,” Marcy said instantly.
“Really, Mar-Mar?” Anne asked flatly.
“You girls know how I am about public speaking! Why do you think I did most of the work during our group projects back in school and left the actual presentations to you two?”
“Yeah, but we’re talking about public speaking vs. being dangled off a cliff!”
“It doesn’t say anywhere that you actually get dropped!”
Anne rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll still go with public speaking.”
“You and seventy-eight percent of people,” Sasha said. “Sorry Marcy, but the price of not having to speak in public is a gross jelly bean.”
“Totally worth it,” Marcy said defiantly. She picked up the box and flicked the spinner. “And I get… toasted marshmallow or stink bug.”
She plucked a brown-and-white bean from the box and plopped it in her mouth. She slowly chewed, and her neutral expression slowly morphed into disgust.
“Oh. Oh that doesn’t taste good,” she said. Her jaw moved again and she gagged, hand going to her mouth. “Oh that’s really not good!”
Anne tried to cover her giggle with a closed fist. “I don’t think she got the toasted marshmallow,” she said to Sasha, who openly laughed and slapped her knee. Marcy hunched over, face contorting.
“Ugh, it tastes like how stink bugs smell,” Marcy said with a grimace. “That sucked .”
“Could’ve avoided it if you just did a little public speaking,” Sasha said in a sing-song voice.
“Bite me, Sash,” Marcy grumbled. “Let’s see how you like it when you get one of those beans. Draw a card, Anna-Banana.”
Anne nodded and did so. “Would you rather own a mini horse or own a regular horse?”
“Ooh, I’d love a mini horse,” Sasha said with a smile. “They can actually be kept as house pets, right?”
“Yeah, but they still require a lot of upkeep,” Marcy pointed out. “If you’re gonna have a horse, it might as well be a full-sized one you can actually ride. I’d rather have a regular horse.”
“Well I’ve got good news Marcy, so would fifty-nine percent of people.” Anne said. Sasha crossed her arms with a hmph as Marcy smirked.
“Go ahead, take a bean Sasha,” Marcy said, holding the box out and giving it a taunting rattle.
“Fine, I will,” Sasha said haughtily. She accepted the box and spun the spinner. “And I got… buttered popcorn or rotten egg.”
Sasha quickly fished a yellow-and-white spotted jelly bean out of the box and quickly popped it in her mouth, face full of determination. Seconds passed as she chewed, Anne and Marcy watching her expression closely.
Finally, Sasha smirked.
“Buttered popcorn it is!” She said triumphantly. “Once again Sasha Waybright comes out on top.”
“Seriously?” Marcy plopped back on the couch, crossing her arms and letting out a frustrated exhale. “I can’t believe I’m the only person who didn’t get a good bean yet!”
“Cheer up Marbles, I’m sure you’ll get a tasty bean at some point,” Anne said. “Now draw the next card, this is getting good!”
---
“Green,” Marcy said. It was a few questions later and she’d picked another lower option, choosing to only have access to games online along with thirty-three percent of people, compared to sixty-seven percent who’d rather have access to only Youtube. The spinner had given her a light-green bean to sample. “That’s juicy pear or booger? Oh jeez…”
She picked a green jelly bean from the box and popped it in her mouth, chewing tentatively. She retched, cheeks turning as green as the candy she just ate.
“Oh God it’s booger,” she said with a retch, to Anne and Sasha’s shared amusement. “ Blech, plech! Oh that’s foul!”
“Okay, so you got two bad ones in a row,” Anne said between giggles. “I’m sure you’ll have better luck next time.”
---
“More people would rather drink tea than coffee, are you for real?!” Marcy asked, incredulous.
“Well coffee is an acquired taste, and there’s like a million different varieties of tea,” Anne pointed out, having picked the tea option to the question Sasha had given.
“Yeah but… coffee!”
“We get it Marcy, you love your bean water,” Sasha said. “But you still picked the lesser option, so it’s jelly bean time.”
Marcy gave the spinner a twirl and grimaced. “Strawberry banana smoothie or dead fish?! Oh this isn’t gonna be fun.”
She dug through the box until she found a lightly-colored orange bean with red speckles. With a heavy sigh she tossed it in her mouth, and her face contorted in disgust almost instantly.
“Dead - ack, hack - fish!” She said between gags. Anne looked like she was caught between sympathy and amusement, while Sasha was openly laughing.
“Man Marcy, those beans really hate you,” Sasha said, wiping a tear from her eye.
---
“Oh goodie, I got another one wrong,” Marcy said with a too-wide smile. “Silly me for thinking more people would rather die by drowning in a tsunami than throw themselves in lava.”
She let out a short, desperate laugh as she grabbed the box of jelly beans. “You know what? That’s fine, it’s fine. So what if three of three beans have tasted like garbage? One of them is bound to be good sooner or later. I mean if you flip a coin enough times, it’s bound to come up heads at some point. That’s just the law of averages, yeah.”
“Uh, I think that’s the gambler’s fallacy,” Sasha pointed out with a raised brow.
“Shut up and let me have hope, Sasha.” Marcy spun the spinner and giggled again. “Oh good, it’s peach or barf. That’s fine, that’s totally fine. Nothing to worry about, I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”
She plucked another jelly bean out of the box, this one a darker orange with red flecks. She kept giggling, one of her eyes twitching.
“You sure you’re okay, Marcy?” Anne asked, concerned.
“I’m just peachy , Anne!” Marcy said, far too brightly. “Peachy like I’m sure this jelly bean will be!”
She stuffed in her mouth, chewing quickly. The smile remained frozen on her face even as her eyes began to water.
“Aaaand it’s barf because why not?!” Marcy doubled over, hacking and coughing. “Oh God it’s on the sides of my tongue!”
Anne gave Marcy a comforting pat on the back. Sasha just shook her head with a chuckle.
“Okay, maybe we should give BeanBoozled a rest before Marcy keels over,” she said. “It was funny at first, but now it’s just getting sad.”
“No no, I’m fine,” Marcy insisted even as she kept gagging. “I can get a good bean at some point, I know I can!”
Anne and Sasha exchanged uncertain glances as Marcy grabbed the next card, it being her turn to read the question. “Okay, would you - blech - rather be a Jedi master or an elite Saiyan?”
“Ooh, I’d rather be a Saiyan,” Anne said instantly. “I love Dragon Ball!”
“Well I guess I’ll be a Jedi,” Sasha said with a shrug. “At least I’ve actually seen Star Wars. I’ve only seen like a handful of Dragon Ball episodes.”
“Well sixty-eight percent of people agree with you, Sasha,” Marcy said. “Sorry Anne, looks like it’s your turn for a bean.”
Anne nodded and spun the box’s spinner with a swift finger flick. Around and around it spun until it landed on blue. “That’s berry blue or toothpaste.”
“Aw man, you got an easy one,” Marcy said with a pout as Anne picked a blue jelly bean out of the box. “Toothpaste doesn’t even taste that bad.”
Anne looked to Marcy as she plopped the bean in her mouth. Marcy, who’d been unfortunate enough to get four terrible-tasting jelly beans in a row. She smiled as an idea formed in her brain.
“Hey Mar-Mar,” Anne said, voice slightly muffled with her mouth full.
Marcy looked up, and didn’t even have time to react before Anne pulled her in for a surprise kiss. Marcy’s face lit up as she felt Anne’s tongue push past her lips, too stunned by the audacity to offer any sort of resistance. Anne pulled away after a few seconds, and Marcy felt a familiar lump in her mouth.
“Oh my God!” Sasha laughed, a splash of red on her own cheeks as she brought a closed fist to her mouth. “Did you really just…? You didn’t! ”
“Yeah, I totally did,” Anne said proudly, blushing herself. “Well Marcy? What’s the verdict?”
Marcy’s face was burning as she slowly chewed, a pleasant taste spreading across her taste buds. “Berry…”
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Smoke Flavored
Word Count: 5.7K
Warnings: smoking, manipulation, innocence kink, cigarette burns, sadism
AO3 Link
No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t change what people saw you as. It wasn’t your fault either, you were nothing but a kind, selfless little soul. Or in simple words, a people pleaser.
It was also unlikely of you to take interest in a classmate of yours who was known for being a cold-hearted guy, completely polar opposite of you.
Unlike any other one of your classmates, this guy, Takasugi, was laid back and quiet. He was also eerily mysterious. You had been in the same class with him for three years yet you knew absolutely nothing about him aside from his name. Now, months before graduating high school, you only had limited time to be able to learn everything about him.
Since he was friends with one of your friends, Gintoki, you decided to try to learn more about Takasugi through him. He told you that they knew each other since they were brats and that Takasugi was nothing but a lame stoic emo guy who liked acting like he didn’t care about anything.
However, when you asked Hijikata about Takasugi, he told you that he was a delinquent. Sakamoto thought of him as a pipsqueak and Katsura said he was the type who wiped his ass standing.
Well, everyone had their opinions about him and none of them were similar to one another.
You gave up trying to get to know him through others’ views of him and decided to approach him yourself to find out what kind of a person he was.
Although he had been your classmate for many years, you had only recently taken an interest in him after he carried you to the infirmary when you twisted your ankle during the sports festival a couple of months ago. He was obliged to take you there because he was one of the only two health committee members in your class, he was attained unwillingly by the teacher since he didn’t go to any after-school clubs.
He hadn’t even spoken to you or did anything particularly special but the way he held you in his arms made you feel like you belonged between them. Days after the incident, you found yourself always watching him.
To be able to get close to Takasugi, you started hanging out more with Gintoki. He enjoyed your company along with Sakamoto and Katsura. It was fun to be around those three and sometimes even Hijikata joined the group with his own friends.
Takasugi rarely came by, he was never to be seen unless there was a class. You had no idea where he went during breaks but you were grateful to be able to see him during the classes. Good thing he was at least attending school, despite being a delinquent.
Gintoki was the only one who noticed your dreamy sighs or flushed cheeks whenever Takasugi stopped by for a moment before leaving to go for a smoke at lunchtime but he didn’t say anything.
It wasn’t his problem.
~~~
A miracle happened.
“Didn’t you hear the bell?!” Matsudaira growled, “Get back to your classes!”
Ugh, it was the worst when Matsudaira was on hall duty. You walked past him hoping that he wouldn’t yell at you for having your skirt too short again.
You were walking in the hallway without paying much attention to where you were going and accidentally bumped into someone. As you were about to look up and apologize, the cigarette pack the person you bumped into had in their pocket fell down.
Immediately there were whispers from everyone else around you in the hallway. Matsudaira’s head whipped around and his eyes landed directly on the cigarette pack.
Your stare lifted to the person in front of you, instantly making your heart throb. It was Takasugi.
None of you moved and you knew the cigarette pack belonged to Takasugi. He was going to get in trouble if Matsudaira found out he was smoking on the roof. Worst of it all, if he got detention he would blame you for it. He was going to hate you. Even the thought of it made you shiver.
Not wanting to risk it, you leaned forward to pick the pack of cigarettes yourself and put them in your pocket as if you hadn’t seen Matsudaira glaring your way. However you had done it so he would see it, this was going to give him the impression that they were yours.
Takasugi’s eye widened, you couldn’t tell if he was surprised or impressed. You hoped it was both. You were going to make sure he could stop getting in trouble and become less of a delinquent.
“Hey, you there!” Matsudaira shouted and stomped his way towards you, grabbing your arm tightly. “Who would’ve thought an honor student like you would be doing this! You’re in trouble, young lady! You think you can smoke at school?!”
When Takasugi made a move to walk away Matsudaira grabbed him too. “Where do you think you’re going? You’re breaking the dress code! What’s up with that uniform, punk?”
“Sir, I’m sorry wait- Uh, that hurts!” you tried pulling your arm free from his grip but it was futile, he didn’t let go of you or Takasugi until he dragged both of you into his office.
“You’re both in big trouble! I’m going to give you detention after school!”
While he was yelling at you all you did was nod rapidly. Takasugi was inanimate.
“Now, hand over the cigarettes!” Matsudaira held his hand up, waiting.
With violently shaking hands, you fished the cigarettes out from your pocket, staring at the packet for a moment longer before finally giving it to him.
“Tch, isn’t Marlboro a little too strong for a girl like you?” he scoffed and put the cigarettes in his own pocket.
“It was my first time,” you lied, having actually no idea how many cigarette brands there were or what the differences between each one were. “I just bought whatever I could get.”
“And you punk, fix your uniform.” Matsudaira directed his attention to Takasugi who shrugged in response. “You want to pick a fight with a teacher?”
“I’m going to get detention either way if I fix my uniform or not, aren’t I? So, why should I fix it?” Takasugi spoke, calm yet impatiently. “Can I go back to my class now?”
Matsudaira was speechless, he glowered at the guy with an eyepatch in anger but couldn’t find any words to say. “Get out of my sight, both of you.” His tone was cold as ice and full of fury, you didn’t need to hear it twice.
You followed Takasugi out of the office, your pulse had gone haywire from being yelled at by Matsudaira. Ugh, why did you take the cigarettes? Takasugi was indifferent if he got detention or not but you weren’t. This was going to be put down on your report and oh no, what if Matsudaira called your parents? No, this was the worst.
“Thanks for the earlier,” Takasugi said, glancing at you over his shoulder with a grin. “I think you owe me a pack of cigarettes, though.”
All of the previous worries past forgotten, a dumb smile tugged at your lips. “A-ah, yes!”
That dumb smile stayed on your face for the rest of the day and your eyes didn’t leave Takasugi’s back. You watched him with admiration. Excited to see him in detention, maybe you two could finally have alone time together.
However, Takasugi didn’t show up to detention. You sat in the empty classroom alone, reading a book to pass time since there weren’t any teachers supervising.
~~~
Standing in front of the vending machine, you were staring at many variations of cigarettes on display. The packs were mostly colored red but there were green or blue packaged ones as well.
There was no way you could decide which one to buy, you needed help.
“Um, excuse me?” you hesitantly called out to the guy smoking outside the convenience store.
He stared at you behind his sunglasses as if your existence was irritating him but soonly that expression changed into something softer when he realized that you were a pretty girl in need of help. “Yeah?” His cheeks were already blushing.
“C-could you p-please help buy me c-cigarettes?” you fidgeted with your fingers. “I-I don’t know how to buy them.”
“Of course!”
A smile spread across your face and he followed you towards the vending machine in front of the store.
“So, which brand do you usually smoke?” he asked, pointing at the displays. “Hi-lite? Lark?”
“Um, I think M-Marabou.”
You sounded too unsure but nevertheless, if he noticed it, he was smiling at you in a friendly way. Hesitantly, you handed him a bill. “Marlboro, huh?” After taking one good look at you he pressed a button and inserted the bill inside.
The silent thud of the cigarette being dropped was heard once the small gears stopped turning.
Thanking the man, you reached inside the small compartment to collect the green cigarette pack.
~~~
Your heart was beating incredibly fast. The frame of the cigarette packaging inside your cardigan was too heavy on your dignity as one of the honor students. If you got caught carrying this again, they would give you detention longer than the one yesterday. Thinking about it hurt your pride even more.
That was why you had to give it to him as soon as possible.
You knew he always hung out on the roof to smoke during the breaks and nobody dared to go up there since he had claimed it as his own territory.
Climbing up the stairs leading up to the roof with shaking legs, you arrived at the top, hesitantly opening the door. It creaked, alerting anyone who was on the other side that they had a visitor.
You stepped onto the roof and closed the door behind you.
Nobody was in sight.
“Hello?”
Nobody answered back.
You were getting ready to turn around your heels to head back downstairs when the door opened. As you were frozen in place, Takasugi walked inside.
He stared at you with a blank expression after he noticed your presence and walked past you to head towards a corner.
Dumbfounded, you found the courage to speak only when he sat down. “Um, T-Takasugi!”
He didn’t answer but he was staring at you as if he was waiting for you to say what you wanted to say and leave him alone.
Taking a couple of steps forward to close the distance between the two of you, a million different thoughts went over your mind and your every single thought was clouded by him. He needed to know that, there were barely five months until graduation, to you, it was vital that he knew about your feelings towards him.
He didn’t need to like you back, you wanted him to know. You wanted to be a faint memory he would think about when he was older. Some honor student who confessed to him on the roof. A cute and faint memory.
What a lie.
You desperately hoped he would let you in his life and open up to you like he had never done to anyone before. You wanted to be the only person he would love and die for.
“U-uh, I like you. Uhm, no. Actually, I love you!” you stuttered, cheeks flushing and fidgeting with your fingers. “I-I wanted you to know, please don’t feel obliged to say anything.”
He didn’t say anything.
A sinister smile tugged at his lips instead.
“Did you bring me my cigarettes?” he asked, ignoring your love confession. He knew you had them, just like how he knew you were madly in love with him from the beginning.
There was a quick pause of you trying to steady yourself before you quickly patted on your uniform, trying to find the pack you had bought. Once you located it, you pulled the pack of cigarettes out of your pocket and handed it to him.
With a smile, he took it from you and his eye landed on your face. You were biting your lip, helplessly trying not to frown. So cute, adorable even. You looked like you were about to cry.
If only he wasn’t already planning to ruin you.
His smile widened when his eye landed on the cigarette you had bought, a scoff left his lips. “You bought me menthol cigarettes?”
You stared at him in confusion, “W-what? Mentos cigarettes? I was sure I bought the right brand, I’m so sorry.”
Ah, you were more innocent than he had thought. An honor student like yourself didn’t know anything about the cruel life outside the gates of the school. You knew all of the math formulas though, how far were those going to get you in life?
“Nevermind,” he let out a breathy laugh, his eye returning on your face. “Wanna join me?”
Your cheeks flushed at that. Nodding rapidly, you stuttered a ‘yes’.
Takasugi gestured towards the empty space next to him as he was tearing the packaging of the cigarette.
Without hesitation yet in a meek manner, you sat down beside him.
“Have you ever smoked before?” He put a cigarette between his lips before fishing out a lighter from his front pocket to light the tip.
“I didn’t.” Oh, he was so close. You had never been this close to him ever since he carried you to the infirmary. This time, he was talking to you as well. Talking to you and nobody else.
He inhaled from his cigarette, the foul smell and the faint minty flavor of menthol ruined the strong taste of tobacco he liked. Although he hated menthol cigarettes for this exact reason, he didn’t have his usual cigarettes with him. There was no choice but to smoke the menthol ones you had bought for him.
He turned to face you since you were sitting on his bad side. He slowly lifted the cigarette up to your face, “Wanna try one?”
Your eyes widened for the wrong reasons. “Yes!” you answered without thinking, accepting it only because it meant getting an indirect kiss from the boy you liked.
Takasugi held the cigarette between his knuckles towards your lips and you leaned forward. Your lips touched his warm fingers as you took the cigarette in your mouth, cheeks flushing. Taking a deep inhale and holding it in your mouth until it reached your throat, instantly made you start coughing.
“You can’t inhale it like that,” he chuckled, continuing to hold the cigarette up towards you. “Try again.”
Quite hesitant this time, you parted your lips and took the sponge end in your mouth, looking at Takasugi through your lashes.
“Inhale softly, as if you’re breathing air. Don’t let it sit in your mouth, it should go into your lungs and come out when you exhale.” His eye was squinting with amusement.
You took a whiff of the cigarette, slowly as he said, inhaled it, and let it out without coughing.
“Good girl,” he praised, moving his hand away from you to take a drag from the cigarette himself.
Scooting a little closer to him with blushed cheeks, you told him something you were dying to say since yesterday. “You weren’t at the detention the day before.”
“Why would I be? They never check that classroom and there aren’t any teachers supervising. They call it detention in a way to scare dumb students into behaving, everyone knows that.” He turned his head to look at you with his good eye. “Were you in the detention classroom?”
“...No, I-I wasn’t,” you lied poorly.
“Then how did you know I wasn’t there?” He was smirking as he exhaled.
“I-... I was-” Defeated you sighed, “I had never gotten detention before.”
“That’s impressive.” There was a pause as he stared at you from the corner of his eye. “You must be a complete goody in two shoes.”
“I just never caused trouble before,” you replied, tucking your hair behind your ear shyly. You wanted to keep him out of trouble, helping him to get better.
“Hmm, I can tell.”
It was silent after that.
You listened to him smoking in silence until the bell rang. It was time to go…
“You’re leaving?” Takasugi asked when you made a move to get up.
Taken aback, you raised your eyebrows. “The bell rang, the break is over.”
“And?” He took another cigarette from the pack to light it.
You sat back down. There was no way you were going to miss the chance of being alone with Takasugi for a while longer, even if it meant that you would be skipping class.
Some time passed and you were unable to sit in silence. You felt obliged to start a conversation. “Have you written your report?”
“What report?” Throw the bait.
“Um, the one that will define your final grade.” You turned your torso towards him to face him completely. “Our homeroom teacher was talking about the report just yesterday, that one.”
“Ahh.” He looked lost in thought as he took a long inhale from his cigarette, “I didn’t start it.” Wait.
“It’s due next month,” you pointed out, a worried expression plastered on your face.
“Hmm.” He didn’t care, he wasn’t going to graduate if he didn’t hand in that last report he was so careless, smoking and slacking off. Wait. Patiently
You wanted him to get a high school diploma, Takasugi was probably under a lot of stress and the least you could do was to offer help. You wanted him to be a better person.
“I-I can help you write yours,” you said abruptly, determined to make sure he was going to graduate. “We can start whenever you want. I’ll write it for you.” It bit the bait.
He scoffed, his single eye met your gaze through the long curtains of his hair. “Would you come to my house today?” Reel it in.
Blushing, you bobbed your head in joy. “O-of course!” Success.
~~~
You were trembling when you entered Takasugi’s room.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” he said before dropping his bag beside his desk and leaving you alone.
You put your own bag down hesitantly, this room was nothing like you had expected it to be. There wasn’t a single personal item in his room, no personality. There were a couple of pieces of furniture but no decoration or anything. Except for that one framed picture on his desk.
Picking up the frame, you couldn’t help but smile. It was a picture of him with Gintoki, Katsura, and Sakamoto. Takasugi’s smile in the picture was something you had never seen before. He looked genuinely happy.
You nearly dropped the frame when Takasugi entered his room. He noticed the picture you were holding and gave you a simple glare, warning you to not mess up with his things without uttering a single word.
“I’m sorry.”
Ignoring your quick apology, he pulled out his chair for you and started his laptop while standing. “You can write the report, I’m going to sleep.”
“You can’t!” Your voice came out louder than you intended to. He stared down at you as his laptop’s screen lit up. “Y-you should help me write it. W-what if the teacher asks you about the report? W-we should write it together.”
He relented with a sigh and sat down on the chair he had pulled out for you.
“Where should I sit?” you asked, looking around for a second chair. “Should I get one from the living room?” You had seen them when you walked past the room.
Takasugi swiveled around on his chair and patted on his lap twice.
“I-I can get a chair from the living r-room!” you said in a panic. “I-it’s-”
“The desk’s too small,” he replied and you realized that it was indeed too small for a second chair. Aside from all that, he was offering you to sit on his lap. There was no way you would refuse. Absolutely no way you would pass on the opportunity to be close to him.
Hesitantly, you sat on his legs, he placed a hand on your lap and swiveled back towards the desk. He reached his arm from your side to type on the laptop and unlocked it.
“Go on.”
You opened a text document as you tried breathing evenly. “D-do you k-know what you w-want your report to be about?”
“I’ll let you choose.” His legs were warm and soft under you, very comfortable. You felt like you belonged in his lap like this. Exactly like how you belonged in his arms. Perfect match.
“O-okay.” You gulped audibly before reminding him something. “Be sure to watch what I’m writing, it’s still your report.”
He started watching you type on his computer over your shoulder.
You flinched and stopped typing each time his hand on your lap moved or he let out a hot breath on your shoulder. You wanted to press your thighs together because you were aroused out of your mind but your feet weren’t touching the ground so you couldn’t cross your legs to have that friction you were so desperate for.
“You made a typo,” Takasugi said, he reached his arm to point at the screen and he moved his leg slightly. It resulted in you having his thigh between your legs.
A blush spread on your face and neck as you nodded while using the mouse to tap on the type he was pointing at.
Behind you, Takasugi was smirking. He retrieved his hand that was pointing at the laptop screen and brushed all of your hair to one side.
You trembled at the contact, he felt your bottom pulsate rapidly on his thigh.
His smirk widened, becoming more sinister as he let his hand hover over your nape. Slowly, one by one, he presses his fingers on the side of your neck.
A gasp left your lips and your legs shook. So sensitive.
“You’re more obedient than I thought.” Your pulse quickened, eyes clouding with lust and excitement of what was to come. “Would you really do anything someone tells you to do?”
It was a genuine question he wanted to hear the answer to.
You couldn’t give him an answer though. Your lips wouldn’t move, your entire body went stiff because of his touch.
He didn’t need an audible answer anyway. Pulling your back on his chest, his hand that was previously on your lap went between your legs and under your skirt. “Spread your legs.”
Immediately doing as he asked, you placed your hands on his arm he had around your torso. You wondered if he could feel the butterflies you were getting in your stomach.
The answer was no. However, he could feel the way your pussy throbbed under your panties when he pressed his fingers against your slit.
You mewled at his touch, hips moving a little towards his hand to feel him more.
Oh, how naughty for an honor student.
“Weren’t you supposed to write my report?” he asked, you could hear the sneer in his voice. “Rather than humping my hand.”
Shaking your head, you denied the fact as if it was an accusation.
“What next? Are you going to say it’s my fault?” His chest rumbled beneath you as he spoke.
“I wouldn’t,” you uttered, lips parting when he pressed his fingers on your slit and the wetness soaked your panties.
“Did you get this wet from sitting on my legs?” His fingers went between your folds, the juices that were soaking the fabric of your panties made sloppy sounds whenever he lifted a finger and pressed it back on your slit again.
“N-no, that’s sweat…”
“Is it now?” His lips were brushing against the shell of your ear, hooking a finger to the elastic on the edge of your panties to pull them to the side. “You’re a terrible liar,” he whispered and pushed two digits inside your slick heat.
You moaned, legs pressing together and trapping his hand between your thighs while he twirled his digits around inside you.
“Spread your legs,” he demanded and once you did, he pulled his fingers out of you, holding them up to your face where you could see them. You watched thick clear fluids trickle down from the tip of his fingers. “Is this also sweat?”
Another blush colored your cheeks in response.
“Cute,” he murmured, shoving his fingers inside your parted lips. You unwillingly tasted yourself, the sweet yet salty nectar of your insides that was aching to be filled with his own. “Clean them off.”
With his words, you ran your tongue along the length of his digits, twirling around them to lick off your juices.
Takasugi patiently waited until you were done to retrieve his hand and lift you up from his lap. His hands grabbed your wrists as he placed them on the table. “Arch your back.”
No need to be told twice, you did as he told you.
The air in his room got thicker, heavier to inhale. It smelled like the cigarettes that had stuck onto his clothes.
His hands slid up from your wrists towards your shoulders, caressing the skin on your arms along the way. Slowly he led them down your back until he reached your hips. From there, he pulled you back against his growing bulge.
A gasp left your lips as he moved your hips using his hands, rubbing you against his clothed erection.
“This is what you want, isn’t it?” He grinded his hips onto your ass, making you feel everything.
“Yes, please,” you moaned, begging for him to fuck you.
Suddenly, his hands and weight pressing against you disappeared. You heard a thud after a short pause and when you looked behind, you found him sitting on his bed. He pulled out the pack of cigarettes you bought him and placed one between his lips.
“Takasugi?”
“Hmm?” He lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply.
“A-aren’t you…” you didn’t finish your sentence.
“What?” He was smirking again, the mocking tone of his voice was back. “You thought I’d fuck you?”
Silence filled his room.
Fixing your clothes in shame and embarrassment, although his eye was watching you intently, you avoided looking at him.
“Come here,” he said, oh so softly.
You walked up to him and lifted your gaze to meet his almost instantly. Obedient like a dog.
Is that what you are? A puppy?
“On your knees.”
You got on your knees.
This was far too amusing.
Takasugi palmed himself through his pants, his half-lidded eye looking down at you with wicked delight. “You like me right? No… You love me right?”
A nod.
“So, you want me to give you attention?”
“Yes!”
He leaned down and exhaled the smoke into your face. “You have to keep me entertained if you want me to look your way.”
“I-I will do anything!” It was the truth. You would write his report, buy him cigarettes, and even keep him out of trouble. You were going to fix him, shape him into a better person.
“Really?” He leaned further down, barely a centimeter away from your face.
“Shinsuke,” you breathed, lifting your head and puckering your lips.
“Don’t call me by my first name.” He stopped you by pressing the inside of his palm on your forehead.
“T-Takasugi,” you whispered, looking at him through your lashes.
“Stop begging, I won’t kiss you.” He pulled his hand back to take a drag from his cigarette.
Crack.
“I will do anything for you.” You crawled closer towards the bed, kneeling right in front of him. “I-I love you, I love you so much it hurts.”
“Sure.” Takasugi flicked the ash of his cigarette on an ashtray he had on the nightstand. His eye was on you, between his legs with glossy eyes that were ready to cry at any given moment, and on your knees, it was a sight to enjoy.
“I’ll prove it to you.” Desperate, you put your hand on his knee.
He silently continued smoking as your hands moved towards the front of his pants. You unbuckled his belt and pulled the zipper down with flushed cheeks. He was definitely watching you, his piercing stare was on you, drilling holes into you.
You didn’t even know what you were doing when you managed to pull his pants down along with his underwear to release his hard cock. It was bigger than you thought, longer too.
With one hand on his thigh, you wrapped your other hand around the base of his cock after licking your palm to make it nice and slick.
Hesitantly, you looked up to him, he was watching you keenly with one eye.
Not wanting to disappoint him, you lolled your tongue out and traced it along a vein towards the tip. You sucked the pink tip and moved your hand on his cock until he placed a hand behind your head, pulling you towards himself.
He took a sharp inhale from his cigarette when you finally took him in your mouth. Having your luscious lips wrapped around his cock was better than the nicotine rush he would get after not smoking for a while.
Exhaling softly, he carded his fingers through your hair.
You bobbed your head, pressing your tongue flat against his cock as you moved up towards the tip and hollowing your cheeks when you sucked him in your mouth.
“Is that how deep you can take?” Grey smoke left his lips while he spoke.
Tears dwelled in your eyes but you tried sucking him deeper in your mouth until the tip of his cock grazed the back of your throat. Your gag reflex stopped you from moving any further.
He knew how hard you were trying to impress him. The least he could do was to spare you from the disappointment. “That’s it, good girl,” he said, guiding your hand on his knee to wrap around the base of his cock and moving them along the length. “This will do.”
No, this wasn’t enough.
You forced yourself to suck his entire length down your throat until the thin hairs on the base tickled your nose.
Takasugi hissed through his teeth before he gave a breathy chuckle at your determination. You were desperately trying to pleasure him and convince him how you would do anything for him.
A puppy.
Lovely and obedient.
He put his still-lit cigarette on the ashtray and returned all of his attention to you. His hand grabbed a chunk of your hair, tentatively pulling you away from his cock before lifting his hips and thrusting into your mouth out of a sudden.
Your drool gushed out from your mouth and trickled down to your chin as he started skull-fucking you. Sloppy sounds of him fucking your mouth echoed in his room, making you even wetter.
Takasugi’s cock started twitching inside your mouth, knowing his release was close, he pulled out of you and held his cock over your face as he jerked himself off. His hand was moving up and down frantically, making a continuous click sound.
“Open your mouth.” He sounded utterly calm and composed despite being seconds away from orgasm.
You lolled out your tongue, opening your mouth for him.
“When I cum, you’re going to swallow.”
His cock throbbed in his hand as he pressed the tip against your bottom lip. Thick spurts of cum landed on your face and in your mouth seconds later.
You scooped the cum that had landed on your face into your mouth before swallowing it all.
Takasugi stared down at you with admiration, a gentle yet still ominous look was in his eye while he blinked slowly.
“Do you believe me now?” you asked.
He reached for his cigarette and took one last drag from it. “Open your mouth.”
Confused but curious, you opened your mouth.
He was leaning closer down, oh, finally he was going to kiss you. You closed your eyes in delight.
“This is for touching me without me telling you to.” Capturing your tongue between his knuckles, he pressed the still lit tip on your tongue. The sizzling sound and the sharp pain made you jolt open your eyes and pull yourself back from him.
Clapping a hand over your mouth, you whimpered in pain. It was still bubbling, your tongue was getting more swollen with each passing second.
“Good thing you didn’t try to use some other hole to touch me. That could’ve hurt a lot worse.” He stood up from his bed, tucking himself back in his pants. “Now, we can go back to writing the report.”
You watched him walk over to his desk and sit on his chair. He swiveled around, eye on you as he patted on his thigh.
There was a pause that felt like it stretched on for hours.
It was quiet in his room until you finally started typing on his laptop again as you sat back on his lap.
The pain was unbearable but you forgot it all as soon as Takasugi wrapped an arm around your torso to bring you closer to him.
“I believe you now,” he answered your question from earlier, the sick smile in his voice barely noticeable while he tightened his arm around you.
You stopped typing and twisted your body to look at him.
“What?” He furrowed his brows.
Pressing your lips together, your eyes landed on his lips.
Oh…
“No.” He let out a soft chuckle and used a single hand to turn you back around by your shoulder. You were about to whine when he leaned forward to whisper. “Not until you finish the report.”
You hummed in delight, legs dangling and moving happily as you started typing a lot faster on the laptop.
Takasugi hadn’t thought you would be this easy to handle or how easily he could make you do something with the promise of him giving you something in return. It was fascinating to him that although he stubbed out a cigarette on your tongue moments ago, you were now on his lap, writing his report with no complaints whatsoever. The only thing in your mind probably was that your first kiss with him wouldn’t taste like smoke or if he was going to touch you again.
He wanted to see how far he could go until you actually started hating him but deep down he knew, a gullible and innocent girl like you would be content until the end if he made you believe that you were fixing him into a better person.
#takasugi shinsuke x reader#class 3 z takasugi shinsuke x reader#my love for this emo bastard.... too much#my heart can't handle him at all#i can't wait for the final movie#also... this is soooo self indulgent so ignore#when will munkey stop writing about smoking??? the question remains#lol#i am so bad at writing endings so sorry about that fuckkk
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Memories
Jamie Oleksiak
Request: Hello!:) Can you write something (super) sad with Jamie Oleksiak? I don’t have a specific idea in my mind so I’d like to leave it up to you completely if that’s okay 💕
A/N: officially the longest thing i’ve ever written coming in at 5300 words!! based this fic off of The Vow, so it’s sad but not like sad sad. i hope you enjoy it i feel like this is one of my best works so hopefully you guys think so too! 🥰 italics = flashback
Warnings: angst, sad, mentions of car accidents & hospitals
Every Friday you and Jamie had a date night, it was the one night a week the two of you could wind down with each other and you never missed it unless Jamie was on a roadie. This Friday you guys went to your favorite restaurant and saw a movie after, the movie was some stupid romantic comedy and in all it’s cheesy glory it had the two of you laughing all the way to the car after the movie. It was a fairly hot night in Dallas, both you and Jamie wearing shorts and light t-shirts, walking back to the car hand in hand at around 11 PM.
“AC, I need the AC.” you groaned, buckling your seatbelt, not even in the car for a whole minute before complaining about the horrible heat.
“Don’t pressure her, it takes a few minutes.” Jamie spoke, softly patting the steering wheel as if to give the car some comfort after your harsh tone towards “her.” You laughed, putting up your hands in surrender as Jamie buckled his seatbelt and began pulling out of the parking lot and onto the main road. It was fairly quiet tonight in Dallas not many cars on the road, so you and Jamie decided to have some fun and sing along to the radio at full blast not having a care in the world. Pulling up to a stop sign, you looked around before turning the music down and undoing your seatbelt, smirking at your husband in the driver's seat.
“You know, i’ve always wanted to get knocked up in a car.” you whispered as seductively as possible, Jamie smiling at you, his eyes going wide once he realized, and you took no time to lean over the center console and press your lips against his. Tonight was supposed to be like every other Friday night, dinner, movie, sex, it sounded simple, but it was truthfully all you wanted and everything you looked forward to during the week. Tonight ended differently than your other Friday night dates, only a few seconds into kissing and there wasn’t anything to stop what happened next. You never predicted for your once blissfully in love moment to be completely ruined within a matter of seconds. You couldn’t have predicted the drunk driver speeding up behind you and shoving your car full force through the intersection. Yet it happened. With your seatbelt undone the collision caused you to go right through the front windshield, your head suffering most of the damages as you landed on the hood unconscious.
Everyone’s life was based on moments and how one decision you make could impact you for the rest of your life, no matter how big or small. Jamie felt that meeting you was one of life’s greatest joys, he knew the second he saw you that you were meant to be, that you were his one true love. Jamie used the one opportunity he was given to talk to you and he knew it would change his life forever.
-4 years ago-
Jamie couldn’t stop staring at the back of your head from a few feet away from you in line at his favorite coffee shop. You paid the barista and said “thank you” before turning around with your drink and walking passed Jamie, stopping at the door briefly to turn and look back at him realizing that he was already looking at you with a small smirk. You gave him a smile and continued out the door and made it the short distance to where your car was parked.
“Ugh!” you groaned, turning around almost bumping into Jamie who came walking up behind you with a small bag in his hand.
“You forgot your bagel.” Jamie smiled, handing you the bag feeling giddy inside that he was given the opportunity to talk to you.
“Thank you, you’d think I would remember my breakfast after spending 20 minutes waiting for it.” you laughed, looking up at his broad figure just now noticing how tall he really is.
“Yea, it’s what i’m here for.” Jamie said, mentally face palming at the corny line he just gave you.
“Um, i’m Y/N.” you reached your hand out to him, and noticed a small blush on his face.
“Jamie.” he shook your hand, both of you laughing awkwardly and pulling away from each other.
“Well, thank you for this.” you said, opening your car door handle.
“You know, um, I noticed that we have the same coffee order.” Jamie mumbled, and you turned back to look at him, a smirk showing on your face.
“Is that so?”
“Yup.” Jamie nodded his head, as if to confirm it and you could already feel the butterflies bubbling in your stomach.
“How intimate.” you giggled, keeping your eyes on his and noticing how the squint when he smiles.
“I was thinking, we should drink our coffees together. You know, to create a bond over our joint tastes...in coffee.” Jamie said, looking down at you and giving his award winning smile. You agreed closing your car door, the two of you walking back into Weekend Coffee together. You grabbed a table while Jamie ordered his coffee and pastry, coming back to the table and telling you he swears by their pastries. It took Jamie all of about 5 minutes to fall in love with you and you with him. The next few months were spent getting to know each other and falling for each other's quirks and habits.
Jamie woke up in the hospital with virtually no injuries having to listen to the doctor explain to him that his wife was in a medically induced coma. He sat by your side as often as he could and made sure to place your wedding band on your finger where it belongs. Jamie replayed the significant moments in your relationship in his head while he sat by you.
“Babe, you can’t keep doing that.” Jamie walked outside to where you were crouched over a grey cat giving him some food to eat.
“I know, but I love him.” you frowned, going back inside his apartment.
“I can’t keep him though, I'm allergic.” Jamie mentioned, and you knew that already, but the poor cat having to stay outside in the heat made your heart ache.
“Do you want some fruit? I bought it this morning.” you pulled the bowl of fresh fruit out of Jamie’s refrigerator and looked at him while he just smiled at you. Jamie, in those moments, confirmed the thoughts he’d been having for a while now. “What?”
“I want you to move in.” Jamie continued looking at you as he flipped the pancakes he was making for breakfast and you gasped.
“Yes!” you put the fruit down on the counter, coming up behind Jamie and pulling him away from the stove to give him a kiss.
Jamie smiled at the memory, and looked over at you with a tear in his eye. You had a tube down your throat connected to a ventilator to help you breathe and he couldn’t get over the sight. He blinked back the tears and put his head in his hands thinking about your wedding.
“I vow to always love you, and always try the new pastry flavors at the cafe, no matter how weird they may be.” you said looking up into Jamie’s eyes, making him and both your friends laugh at your vow to him.
“You wrote your vows on a Weekend Coffee menu?” Jamie asked, noticing the paper in your hand and you smiled shyly holding it up over your face. Jamie held the same menu up with his vows on it and you both laughed in shock. “Okay, I vow to love every bit of you, now and forever. I promise that no matter what gets in our way, we will always find our way back to each other.” Jamie said, promising his love to you in every way as long as you were both alive.
“Do you take each other as man and wife?”
“I do.” Jamie said proudly, a wide smile covering his face.
“I do.” you smiled just as big, letting a happy laugh leave your throat as you said it. The wedding was small, just having Jamie’s bestest friends there who grew to be your friends as well over the years and you wouldn’t have had it any other way.
A few days later you started breathing on your own so the doctors removed you from the ventilator and told Jamie you should be waking up soon and you did. The nurse told Jamie to give you some space when you woke up, knowing that you wouldn’t be fully coherent and probably scared.
“Hey.” Jamie whispered from the end of your hospital bed, seeing the eyes he fell in love with finally flutter open. You looked around the room feeling confused and avoiding eye contact with Jamie. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Y/N, it’s okay. You’re in the hospital, you were in a car accident, you suffered from some head injuries, but you’re okay.” the nurse explained in a soothing tone.
“Was anyone else hurt, doctor?” you asked softy, looking directly at Jamie and feeling uncomfortable under his confused gaze.
“What?” Jamie whispered, feeling his voice about to give out. “Y/N, you know who I am right?”
“You’re my doctor.” you stated, and watched as the man in front of you looked at the nurse and back at you before coming to sit in the chair beside you.
“Um, i’m your husband.” Jamie said, reaching for your hand and feeling his heart break when you pulled away from him holding a scared expression on your face. You glanced down at your left hand gasping when you noticed the wedding ring. Jamie walked out of your hospital room with the nurse feeling frustrated as she explained how brain injuries were hard to diagnose because of how unpredictable the brain is.
“She doesn’t remember me!” Jamie said frustratedly, pulling at the ends of his hair.
“The swelling in the brain can cause confusion and memory loss sometimes, but it’s normal.” the nurse explained, watching Jamie walk down the hallway of the hospital with tears in his eyes.
Jamie went home to pack a bag for you and came back to the hospital later that night. He fell asleep laying on a few of the chairs in the waiting room and was woken up by you tapping his shoulder lightly.
“Hi.” Jamie said sitting up, his voice gravely from the short slumber he was in.
“What are you doing?” you asked, wrapping your hospital robe tighter around your body.
“Sleeping.” Jamie yawned, and you smiled awkwardly before nodding your head. Jamie grabbed the bag he packed for you and moved it closer to you. “I brought you some clothes.”
“Thanks.” you spoke, sitting on one of the chairs next to him. “I’m hungry.”
“Okay.” Jamie laughed, grabbing your bag and walking with you to the hospital cafeteria. Jamie explained to you that you were a painter and had your own studio and you were shocked to find out you didn’t follow through with going to med school.
“I remember being in med school and...being engaged to Samuel.” you said, noticing how Jamie put his head down a little. “I just, I don’t know.” you got up from your seat in the cafeteria heading up the stairs hearing Jamie run after you.
“Babe, babe, just wait!” Jamie called after you and you tensed hearing the pet name he used, but stopped on the stairs turning to look at him.
“The best thing you can do is to go back to your life, with me. You heard what the doctor said.” Jamie said, putting emphasis on the word “best.”
“But I don’t know you. So what? I’m just supposed to go back to a stranger's place.”
“It’s our place.”
“There’s no proof of our love? A journal?” you asked, feeling helpless. Of course, you wanted to believe Jamie was your husband for the right reasons and that you were in love with him, but it was so hard for you.
The next day you got ready to leave with your parents not feeling like going home with Jamie was even an option at this point.
“Wait hold on, I have a letter you sent when I was away.” Jamie ran into your room, holding up his phone. “You said you wanted proof.”
Hey baby,
I’m at the studio right now and I miss you so bad these paintings are starting to look like you. I’m sending you a letter because I thought it would be a fun surprise for you on your roadie. I hope it actually makes it to you. Anyways, I love you and I can’t wait to see you when you come home next week.
Love you always,
Y/N
“Just think about it, you quit med school, you pursued being an artist, you moved to Dallas. These are all things you did way before meeting me, you know it to yourself to at least experience the life you set up for yourself.” Jamie said, grabbing onto your hands and pouring his heart into those few sentences. “Come home with me.”
“I guess I could try it out, to see if it will help my memory. If it doesn’t work out, i’ll come home.” you turned to look at your parents as you spoke and your parents understood. They loved Jamie and just wanted the best for you. You drove home with Jamie taking everything from Dallas in on your ride from the hospital. You spent the night looking around your shared apartment at the pictures and smelling the perfumes you had on your vanity. Nothing felt familiar when you went to sleep alone, Jamie sleeping on the living room couch.
When you woke up you took a shower and came out disturbed to find out you had a tattoo of a bird on your shoulder, and changed into an oversized sweatshirt before going into the kitchen area where Jamie was.
“You look nice.” Jamie said, smirking slightly, taking in your interesting clothing choices.
“Really? This is the only thing of mine I feel comfortable in.” you said, hugging the material around your body awkwardly.
“That’s mine actually.” Jamie laughed, pointing to the Stars logo on the front and you laughed while apologizing and he assured you it was okay that you wear it. Jamie went to practice and you managed to find the video of your wedding chuckling at your corny vows and tears up at Jamie’s. You noticed the name of the cafe on the menus and decided to go there for the afternoon.
The next few weeks went by as seamlessly as they could when you’re suffering from amnesia. You and Jamie made small talk in the mornings and at night before retreating to your own beds. Nothing felt normal for you, but you were trying everyday to discover new things around the apartment that might jog your memory while Jamie was at practice. Today you were feeling curious about your old life and Samuel and how things ended between the two of you when you remember being so blissfully in love with him. You called your mom and asked where he worked so you could visit him and although she was hesitant on telling you she eventually gave you the information. You took a short bus ride to locate his office building that he worked at and asked the receptionist to show you where his office is.
“Hi.” you said walking into his office, smiling widely when he turned to look at you and you realized he hadn’t changed a bit.
“Y/N.” Samuel said, shocked to see you standing in his office after no many years apart. You explained to him what happened with the car accident and how the last thing you remember is being with him.
“Can you please explain what happened with us?” you asked, shifting in your seat across from him in his office.
“Only you would dump a guy and then come back and ask for answers.” Samuel said, fidgeting with the pen on his desk. “A cruel, pre wedding dumping.”
“Why?” you asked, genuinely confused not fathoming why you would call off your wedding to the guy sitting in front of you.
“You just changed. You weren’t sure about med school anymore, and you really weren’t sure about me.” Samuel explained. “It’s okay though, i’ve been with Rose for about a year now.”
“Right.” you shook your head slightly disappointed that the guy you last remember loving had moved on from you.
“I couldn’t wait forever, Y/N.” you nodded your head agreeing with him and stood up to leave.
“I’ll let you get back to work.” you said, both of you going in for a hug, something you hadn’t felt in ages. Feeling Samuel’s arms wrap around your waist made you pull back to look at him before leaning in to kiss him with your hands cupping his cheeks. “I’m sorry.” you said, pulling away and walking out the door.
The next day you woke up ready to explore a different part of your new life that you hadn’t yet understood. The artist side. The last time you wanted to be an artist you were in high school so owning your own studio and actually selling paintings to people was one of the biggest things you had to wrap your mind around.
“I’m ready to see the studio.” you said at breakfast with Jamie, hoping he would take you there and show you around.
“Yea? Alright! We’ll go after this.” Jamie said excitedly, ready to show you a huge part of who you were. It was a short walk from your apartment so after breakfast the two of you went there and Jamie unlocked the doors for you.
“This is it.” he said, opening the door and letting you inside first to take everything in. “It’s cool right?”
“Wow.” you said slowly walking around the room, looking at all of your art supplies and paintings all over the room.
“You used to come in here and blast the music and get so lost in your art.” Jamie explained, watching you look around at everything, stopping to touch a few of the pieces you had on the walls. Jamie handed you a paintbrush when you stopped in front of your latest unfinished piece and you hesitated before taking it. “Go ahead.”
“I don’t really know what i’m doing.” you felt panicked and insecure in those moments, with Jamie watching over you knowing he wanted nothing more than to know you still remember how to make art.
“Hold on.” Jamie said, running over to the stereo you had in the corner of the room and turning it up loudly before walking back to you with a big smile on his face. “Just try it.”
“Can you just turn the music down please?” you asked, voice shaky feeling anxiety erupt in your stomach and spread all over your body.
“I swear you used to listen to it way louder than this-”
“I have a clinically bad fucking headache! Please turn it down!” you threw the paintbrush, yelling over the music at Jamie and rubbing your temples. Jamie turned off the music, feeling anger bubbling up inside of him. He didn’t want to blow up on you, but he wanted you to realize it was hard for him too.
“I’m trying to help you! We don’t speak to each other like this, Y/N. This is difficult for me too.” Jamie explained, before turning around and walking out of your studio. After he left you spent some more time looking around before going back to your apartment. Jamie went for a walk and stopped at your favorite takeout place before returning home to you.
“Y/N?” Jamie called out, not seeing you in the living room.
“I’m in here.” you responded, and Jamie walked into your bedroom seeing you packing a bag. “My sister is getting married soon and I just feel like I should be there for her. She has an engagement party coming up so I want to help her with that.”
“Okay, but what about your life here?” Jamie asked, watching you walk around your room grabbing more things to pack away.
“I don’t know, I just- I can’t do it.” you said. “I’m sorry, it’s just going to be until after the wedding.”
You invited Jamie to your sister’s engagement party, per your family's request, and against your sisters. Your sister never minded Jamie, but she always preferred you with Samuel, since she was the reason you guys had met in the first place. Your parents insisted on Jamie being a part of this event, not as your date, but just so he could feel welcome in this aspect of your life since it was new for all of you.
“Y/N!” Jamie said, spotting you once he entered the backyard to where the party was happening.
“Jamie! You made it!” you said, walking over to him and noticing his suit. “You look nice.”
“I was thinking that we should try a new method. We should start from the beginning, and I would like to take you on a date.”
“A date?” you asked, feeling uneasy at his question when you looked behind him briefly noticing Samuel. “I don’t know, the weddings coming up-”
“But if we go before that, you could still take me as your date.” Jamie said, smirking. Suddenly feeling smooth and confident with his choice of words.
“Okay. A date.” you nodded your head in agreement, smiling widely up at Jamie before both of your attentions got turned to some toasts being made.
A few days later and Jamie was getting ready for his date with you. He picked you up at your sister’s house, just outside of Dallas.
“Where are we going?” you asked curiously, noticing that Jamie was driving back into the city.
“It’s a surprise.” Jamie said, and not long after you made it to your first destination which was parked on the side of the road, you knew it looked familiar from the day you explored on your own, but you couldn’t pinpoint it. “This is the exact spot where we first met. I’m gonna take you down memory lane.”
You guys got out of the car and headed into Weekend Coffee where Jamie brought you to the table you first sat at together and left to go up and get you the same order you both had that day.
“This is my favorite pastry of all time and the day we met I forced you to try it.” Jamie said, sliding the pastry over to you for you to try. You took a small bite and moaned in satisfaction making both of you laugh at your reaction.
“It’s amazing!” you took another bite, and listened as Jamie explained to you how you always order that pastry and whatever new flavor they have that time and split them. The next stop on Jamie’s list was the rink where the Stars practice and also where he taught you how to skate very quickly into your relationship.
“What do you think?” Jamie asked, handing you a sweatshirt to wear while you're inside the rink.
“Um, I can’t skate. I’ll eat ice.” you said, shaking your head and Jamie laughed throwing his head back.
“I got you, don’t worry.” Jamie said, finishing the laces on his skates before kneeling down to help you tie yours the proper way for them to be secure on your feet. Jamie stood up on his skates and walked towards the opening of the rink before turning to look at you. You nodded slowly wobbling behind him, and watching as he expertly took his place on the ice.
“Hold my hand.” you shrieked, holding both your hands out for him to take. Jamie grabbed a hold of your hands and led you onto the ice, but he quickly moved his hands to your waist to help stabilize you.
After a little while of him holding you tightly, you hadn’t realized when he started pulling away from you and you were skating on your own. You gasped realizing he was watching you from about a foot away and that caused you to lose your balance. You felt your skates come up from under you and you closed your eyes bracing yourself for the fall, but it never came jamie saving the fall, holding you in his arms.
“Oh my god! I thought I was gonna die!” you yelped, and looked up at Jamie seeing him smiling down at you.
“I think you learned even quicker this time around.” Jamie smirked, standing you up straight on your skates. The two of you wrapped up the lesson and made your way back out to his car.
“Kiss me.” you said to Jamie once both of you were in the car. Jamie looked at you with wide eyes and you were already smiling confidently at him.
“Are you sure?” Jamie asked, already starting to lean into you and you nodded your head yes before pulling him in by the back of the neck. Jamie put everything he had in that kiss and you could feel all his emotions pouring into it.
“This is nice.” you said, pulling away with a smile on your lips. Jamie nodded, leaning in to kiss you again, finally letting himself feel safe in your embrace because for the first time in months he felt close to you again. You pulled apart both of you breathing heavy and your faces flushed and Jamie drove you back to your sisters house and of course, walked you to the door like a gentleman.
“I miss you. I miss us. I love you.” Jamie said, and you gave him a sad smile before looking around to avoid meeting his gaze.
“I should get inside. Goodnight Jamie.” you walked into the house, giving him a small smile before closing the door. When you walked inside your sister was sitting on the couch watching tv and waiting for you.
“Hey! Were you out with Samuel?” your sister asked excited.
“No, I was with Jamie. I like him.” you smiled, trying to fight off the tears beginning to pool in your eyes, but that didn’t help and they came rushing down your face.
A few days later and it was your sister's wedding, you didn’t bring Jamie as your date knowing that it wouldn’t be fair to him to give him that kind of hope. Jamie kept his distance with you, not wanting to overwhelm you with his presence at the reception.
“Hey, you want me to introduce you to people. Can’t feel good to be the one left out.” Samuel said, coming over to where Jamie was standing at the bar.
“I’m not the one left out.” Jamie said confidently.
“If you say so. You just seem weird over here all by yourself.” Samuel laughed, getting his drink from the bartender.
“I’m just waiting for Y/N.” Jamie said, slight irritation in his tone of voice
“Good luck with that.” Samuel said, starting to walk away from the bar.
“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” Jamie asked, before Samuel could get too far away. “Y/N leaves you, has a whole life without you with some new guy that's different and now you get to watch her reject all of that.”
“I like it a little bit, I guess.” Samuel smirked, a condescending chuckle falling from his lips.
“You wanna know what I like? I like that Y/N told me everything about you, that when she was with you she’d wake up at night panicking thinking, ‘is this all there is?’” Jamie said, taking a sip from his drink.
“She told you everything?” Samuel asked, a smile on his face. “Did she tell you that she kissed me a few weeks ago?”
“Look, you obviously love her and think that you're gonna get her back, but she outgrew you. It’ll probably happen again, man.” Jamie said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Well, i’ll be sure to think about that when i’m in bed with your wife.” Samuel said, and that was the final straw for Jamie as he threw a punch to his face knocking Samuel to the ground.
“Jamie!” you yelled, running over and seeing Samuel on the ground. Jamie turned to look at you and ran after you.
“What was that?” you felt Jamie coming up behind you so you stopped short turning around once you were out of earshot from everyone.
“I’ve been driving myself crazy trying everything possible to save us and you’ve been kissing Samuel?” Jamie said, frustration hitting him like a brick.
“That’s not fair!” you said, looking up at Jamie.
“No? I see the way you look at him, it’s the same way you used to look at me.” Jamie whispered, looking at the ground and back up at you. “Your memory’s not coming back. I’m a stranger.”
“I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to hurt you Jamie. I’m so tired of disappointing you.” you let the tears fall down your face freely.
“I know. How do you look at the girl you love and tell yourself it’s time to leave?”Jamie asked, before turning and walking away from you.
9 Months Later
You were finally getting around to unpack your things from Jamie’s apartment. You hadn’t realized the last box was holding something very near and dear to your heart. It was your wedding vows, the ones written on Weekend Coffee menus.
“I vow to help you love life, to always hold you with tenderness, and to have the patients that love demands.” you read the menu outloud, feeling a pang in your chest and your breath hitch in your throat. You decided to take a ride to the small cafe where everything started, upon arriving you saw Jamie outside the doors reading the “closed” sign on the glass. Jamie turned, walking away from the door and doing a double take as he saw you approaching and stopped in his tracks.
“Hi.” Jamie said, walking closer to meet you halfway on the sidewalk.
“Hi.” you responded, both of you stopping in front of each other.
“I hope you didn’t come all the way to the city for a pastry.” Jamie said, turning to look back at the sign.
“Actually, I moved back here six months ago.” you said, smiling up at Jamie.
“Really? That’s great.”
“I’ve actually started to paint again.”
“That’s amazing!”
“It’s crazy what my hands remember, that my mind forgot you know?” you said, gesturing to your head as you spoke. “So, thank you.”
“Wasn’t me.” Jamie said, shaking his head noticing the tears pooling in your eyes.
“Yes it was. You did everything. You never wanted anything but the best for me.” you said, reassuring Jamie, wiping the tears that started to fall down your face.
“I just wanted you to be happy.” Jamie confirmed.
“Isn’t there somewhere we used to go when this place closed?” you asked, smirking at Jamie hoping he’s getting the hint that you want to go out with him.
“Yea, let’s go.” Jamie said, both of you walking the same direction. Jamie smiling down at you when you reached for his hand.
You never regained your memory, but the love between you and Jamie was true, it was real and raw and able to be felt no matter what forces were between you. It was a love that anyone could feel being in the same room as you, it was kind, patient, and honest.
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Alastor + disaster cook! S/O
headcanons
✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧
gif, original work and characters do not belong to me
you could not cook to save your life
any attempt at cooking would result in certain failure in the best case scenario and 5.4 magnitude earthquake damage in the worst
sure, you could make edible pasta and if you really put your best efforts into it, acceptable omelette too
but anything past that level of complexity was simply out of your league, a lost cause to put it mildly
don't you even think about making a cake, that shit's dangerous
as they say: as above so below
when you landed in Hell and found yourself joining the Happy Hotel soon after, you came to find out your culinary skills had not magically improved
which is quite ironic since Charlie had made you head chef of the hotel
the string of curses which had left your lips upon hearing the news had been legendary, even for Hell
you adored the demon princess with your whole heart (or whatever was left of it anyway), bUT REALLY CHARLIE? YOU DO NOT GIVE A GUN TO A CHILD AND EXPECT CASUALTIES NOT TO HAPPEN
at this point you were certain she was subconsciously auto-sabotaging
either way, you didn't have the heart to tell her no, so you decided to put your heart and soul into trying to learn how to properly cook, which didn't turn out to be the ideal choice of words since you were in Hell and your soul was probably rotten to the core
at least, nobody could say you hadn't tried your damn best
and hey! some days your cooking hadn't even been completely sickening
you decided to stick to easy, “safe” dishes though, you know, just to be sure
so pasta and eggs were definitely a thing
a constant and repetitive thing to be precise
you were trying your best, okay? nobody in your place with your limited set of skills would have taken the job, but you did and you deserved recognition for that feat alone
or a fucking donkey hat for your skyrocketing dumbness levels
things were not so bad at first
both Charlie and Vaggie were very supportive, each one of them in their own way - even though you had totally seen Charlie trying to swallow pure unadulterated fear that one time you had announced you wanted to try to cook something more elaborate
Angel Dust on the other hand... hadn't been as considerate as to lie to your face about what he thought of your cooking
"fuck me doll, this shit's disgusting"
*insert the I don't have friends they disappoint me vine here*
Vaggie had proceeded to give Angel quite the earful while Charlie tried her best to cheer you up
you went full hermit mode on them for two days after that
you were proud of yourself, handling criticism so well
anyway, the cycle kept repeating, with the only difference that most days Angel would grab something to eat outside of the hotel and join you during meals only to blankly stare at the plates and silvery
Charlie had tried to shield you from the truth, but you weren't that stupid
you respected Angel's choice, really, you did, and you had decided to be the bigger person among the two
that's why you began to put a lil bit of laxative into his portions whenever he decided to grace your efforts and actually eat your "disgusting cooking"
y’know just to spicy things up a little
at least now he had a valid reason to complain
with the whole fiasco on live TV and the sudden and suspicious appearence of the one and only Radio Demon at your doorstep, however, things started going haywire
Alastor's presence was eeirly demanding and unsettlingly charmimg at the same time
so it was only natural for you to gravitate the fuck away from him whenever you could
you always acted politely, greeting him whenever you bumped into him through the corridors of the hotel, but you only went as far as to appear courteous because you didn't want for him to go Hannibal Lecter on you. thanks, no thanks
“and what can you do my feminine fellow?”
“I can suck your dick!”
you had snorted a bit at that which immediately shifted the strawberry pimp's attention to yourself
“and what about you, pretty dame? I take it you're in charge of the kitchens around here?”
dressed in your chef attire, you were going to meekly answer him, but before you could, roaring laughter erupted in the room. it belonged to the one and only slutty spider you found oh so irritating
in the fraction of seconds, Alastor snapped his neck at an unnatural angle to stare at the spider with a strained smile on his face
needless to say, the cursed image would forever haunt your traumatized psyche
“hasn't your mother taught you it is rude to interrupt a conversation which you have no part in? that just won't do!”
static filled the air and you feared you were going to implode if the heavy pressure didn't lift off soon enough, so you decided to take action
“ugh... yes, I'm the head chef! but, well, I... could actually use some practice and proper training?”
you hated how uncertain you sounded, but Angel's comments and your own dissatisfaction with your culinary products made you quite self-conscious about your skills
“don't fret your pretty little head about it, my dear! I, for one, am a culinary connaisseur and wonderful chef, if I do say so myself. I'll be ecstatic to guide you through your training!”
how you'd be able to handle his booming voice during hours and hours of practice was your first and main concern, but you had never been one to refuse the chance to finally prove the people who had criticized you wrong *cough cough* Angel Dust
since that day, Alastor began to personally give you cooking lessons
he was exuberant and pretty sly when it came to veiled jabs about your dreadful cooking, but he really took his time to help you out
which you had been both grateful and suspicious about
“now, we can't have our future patrons starving to death, can we?”
he was strangely patient and an overall good teacher too (emphasis on overall)
he guided you step by step through each dish, simultaneously showing off his own flawless culinary skills
you hated that you daily found yourself boosting his already GIGANTIC ego, but you couldn't help it. you could only dream about reaching that level of artistry in cooking
he always came up with creative recipes to test your limits and cooked for you in order to make you more familiar with different tastes. his mother’s were your favorites, jambalaya being his one true specialty
he had blindfolded you once and proceeded to present you with various samples of spices, oilments and all kinds of food so that you could acquaint yourself with the smells and flavors of the ingredients and figure out yourself which ones would best suit a certain dish
saying you were hesitant at first was an understatement, because you know? being completely at the mercy of a sadistic serial killer who had terrorized the seven circles of hell? not even being able to see him? not on your bucket list
he had tried to ease your nervousness with the whole “if I wanted to hurt anyone here, I would have done so already” thing, but it was getting kind of old pretty fast
“if I had been one to play with fire, I'd have joined a circus”
he found your sense of humor as endearing your sheer presence
(when he rolled up his sleeves to cook, you felt like you could catch fire any minute, you were a slut for strong skinny arms)
yes, Alastor had always loved to show off his own impeccable skills but he unexpectedly found himself enjoying the moments spent in your company too
he relished in seeing you fail again and again, but he also admired the way you always managed to bring yourself back up to your feet each time
he had yet to fully understand if it was foolishness or stubbornness to guide your steps
either way, you turned out to be his favorite form of entertainment in the hotel!
no matter how many slights would he send your way, you'd always manage to find an appropriate remark that made his permanent smile stretch a little more in sheer amusement
“oh dear, this beef is so undercooked one could still hear the poor beast’s lament”
“the only noise I hear is the obnoxious ramblings of an arrogant boomer”
he wasn't technically a boomer but it was always so satisfying to irk him with terms he had no knowledge of
during your cooking lessons, when the only thing left to do with a dish was wait and pray for the best, you'd come to talk about everything and anything
he'd talk to you about his precious New Orleans as he remembered it and you'd fill him in on recent historical/social developments of your time
he always looked so taken when you shared with him that modern knowledge and it made you feel useful for a change
it was, dare you say it, almost adorable how he'd ask you countless questions about your home town, the catastrophes of the last century and had there been any other war since his death?
the topic switches almost made you dizzy though
once or twice, when the timing allowed, he'd even indulge in a musical show to pass time
on the days your mood soured because of a particularly complicated recipe or bad result, he'd drag you along and dance until you were so distracted by the absurdness of the circumstances that you forgot about your previous sadness
with time, his musical shows became more frequent as he realized you'd always offer him a genuine smile after his flashy performances
it was out of personal indulgence, not because he liked the way his music always seemed to cheer you up
he'd not been vocal about the way he tried to comfort you, but you were grateful nonetheless
the first time you managed to succesfully complete one of his complicated recipes, you had almost cried
“now, now deary, under my watchful eye, it was only a matter of time until you'd finally blossom into a fine cook!”
“Alastor can I... can I hug you?”
and how could he say no to such an adorable expression? he found himself stunned into silence, not being able to tell you yes either, therefore you slowly came closer as if trying not to scare a wild animal away
when Alastor passively stood before you, not moving away, you wrapped your arms around him
he really was such a dorky noodle
he didn't relax into the hug, but he kept still as you relished in the moment and let the pressure you had hoarded for months now loose
Alastor proceeded to show off your dish during dinner and even Angel Dust could do nothing but shut up and dig in
The all powerful Radio Demon was simply so proud of your progress - not that he doubted you'd prevail in the end, thanks to his expertise and guidance
from that moment onward things only got better and even if you didn't necessarily need Alastor's help anymore, neither of you ever mentioned going your separate ways
you were both secretly glad for the silent agreement
friendly banter and dad jokes were a daily occurrence and with your new-found confidence in the field, you'd always bite back showing off new delicious dishes instead than words
you still had trouble every now and then, but Alastor was always there to help you out
not that you'd ever hear the end of it if you actually asked him for help
“what was that, my darling? is the mightiest chef in Hell having trouble in Paradise?”
you had noticed however that he'd started sneaking glances your way more than usual lately and he also started following you around wherever you went in the hotel. he became your shadow both inside and outside of the kitchen
the attention soon became unnerving, even more so when you'd go in the kitchen only find a different flower on the counter each morning
you came to realize that Alastor's advances were rather old fashioned, but you would amuse the dork and yourself for a while before taking charge
gifts became an ordinary occurrence as well as praise and you preferred not to think about what praise could do to you when it came from Alastor
he enjoyed your reactions to his flattering words a little too much, he had to admit
you had had enough of his childish antics one day and you decided to finally put your plan into action
“Al, can you come here for one sec?”
he wasn't particularly fond of the nickname, but you just loved to get under his skin as much as he did when it came to you
“what can I do for you, my darling chef?”
“here, I have a gift for you”
he looked uncharacteristically unsure of what to do but slightly amused as well. in the end curiosity took the best of him and he finally decided to open the box you had handed to him rather unceremoniously
“what is this dear?”
the apron you had chosen was a perfect fit for your long boi
“read it, please”
“kiss the cook? well, if you ask me so nicely, I just might have to”
he then proceeded to peck your cheek and you swore you could have fainted right there and then by the sheer sweetness of the gesture
it hadn't exactly been what you had planned, but you weren't going to complain
your relationship was bound to be full of surprises apparently
#hazbin hotel#hazbin alastor#hazbin hotel x reader#alastor x reader#reader insert#x reader#headcanons#hazbin hotel headcanon#alastor headcanons#hazbin oc#fandom prompts#hazbin hotel alastor#gender neutral s/o#s/o#fluff#alastor fluff#cute#love#yandere#just a little of you squint#alastor x you#you#charlie#vaggie#Angel dust#alastor imagine#imagine#hazbin hotel imagine#alastor
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Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 2
Warnings: None
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Zuko/OC
Summary: "You have everything you've ever wanted." "No." He said softly. "Not everything..." His golden eyes looked at her with a melting intensity she had never witnessed before. "I guess not." She responded with glassy eyes as tears welled up threatening to break the dam of her eyes.
My fanfiction: M A S T E R L I S T
"I am not sitting next to him!"
"Well I am NOT sitting next to him!" Mecha shot back. Despite his tone there was a playful glint on his dark green eyes.
The two sibling currently found themselves bickering in the living room. If anybody was eavesdropping on their conversation they would've assumed that they were children and not teenagers fighting. The two had been dissecting their first impressions and encounters of his Highness the Disgraced Prince Zuko and his retired Uncle Iroh before heading to the governing dinning room where they would meet their honored guests for dinner.
"You HAVE to sit next to him. After all, he isyour future husband," Mecha made a mocking kissy face and batted his eye lashes at his younger sister. "You best shut your turtle-duck beak before I make you!" She threatened landing a punch on his shoulder. "Lion turtles! It hasn't even been a day since the funeral and you twisted lot are already planning my arranged marriage? Give me a break!" She bickered back angrily.
"Tsai, just think about it!" His greedy eyes went wide. "You'd be the most powerful woman in all Four Nations!" He said raising up a clenched fist.
"Yes, and the unhappiest too! Didn't you see what happened earlier?"
She recalled the moment when they met. When they were both awkwardly pushed into introducing each other.
She had been courteous and respectful, just as she had been taught her entire life. She lowered her head respectfully and introduced herself. His Royal Highness on the other hand-
Zuko had stood mute. He didn't direct a single word to the girl. She had smiled at him softly in an attempt to appear friendlier. Perhaps he was shy?
It was then that he turned away and proclaimed that they had to leave and claimed that coming to the funeral service was a massive waste of time.
"That stuck up royal brat didn't even say a single word to me! And then-"
She remembered the way he had looked at her. His eyes were hard. They were two drops of medallion gold reflecting a great displeasure at the encounter. There was something uneasyabout them. More like, something painful. Regardless she had been insulted.
"Mom would be over the moon!" Mecha continued. "As would I," he whispered. That greedy green making way to his face once again.
"Shut up! Is being the next Vice Royal Governor not enough for you?" She said rolling her eyes at her obnoxious sibling.
"But imagine, if my sister ruled the world" he retorted his eyes blazing. "Pass," she scoffed. "I've got greater things in mind," she nodded not caring much for global dominion.
"Oh, yeah?" Mecha teased. "Like what? Becoming Fire Lady?" He once again wiggled his eyebrows. She glared and decided to ignore his comment.
"I've heard that the prince has a sister if you're so interested in the royal family," she rolled her eyes.
"I'm following grandpa's dream," she said determined her eyes gleaming with fresh tears as a grin grew across her face. "One day I will bring the Earth and Fire Nations together and form one nation! Just look at everything Yu Dao has accomplished by embracing the best of both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation cultures? It will be like nothing anyone has ever dreamt of before!" She nodded. It wasn't an impossibility. Yu Dao had been the foundation of this dream her grandfather had began. So far he had had local success, so what was stopping them for branching out onto greater things?
"Right," Mecha snorted. "A little shrimp nobody like you," he poked her stomach "You have been spending waytoo much time in the library. I will agree with you. All nations will be united under one and oneonly." He said proudly with burning nationalism.
"However," she said with a mischievous smile on her lips. "If everything goes according to mother's plans of seducingthe prince. I might as well be one step closer to becoming the most powerful woman in the land as you said. And then I'll be onebig step closer to making this dream a reality!"
She had just poured out her heart to her brother, but all he seemed to hear was:
"So you're saying there is a chance you might fancy the banished prince?"
"Ugh!"
Xxx
"Tonight will most definitely be an interesting evening. Don't you think so?" Iroh asked his nephew with a sly knowing smile, his tone coated with an air of casualness.
He had never seen his nephew interact with a lady his age before and Iroh found it more than amusing, perhaps even entertaining.
The Prince remained silent. He hadn't said a word since they had left the funeral service earlier. They were both currently resting in one of the palace's guest rooms getting ready to head out for dinner and then much to Zuko's delight leave Yu Dao once and for all never to return.
"Who knew that my friend had such a lovelygranddaughter. Also coincidentally around your age," his eyes narrowed as he scanned Zuko's face for the slightest hint of betrayal to his poker face. Yet he remained stoic simply sipping some water that has been brought to them earlier. "Such a rare color of hair too. She reminds me of a rose. Prim, poised, red and beautiful." Iroh's eyes once again darted to scan his nephew's frozen expression. "She'd be a striking Fire Lady one day."
Zuko started choking on the water he had been drinking spluttering all over the bedroom and himself.
"Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed leaping to his feet. He could feel the back of his ears burning in embarrassment. "I don't have time for this. For this kind of pathetic affairs and speciallyfor girls. I have to focus- now more than ever - in fulfilling my destiny, regaining my honor and capturing the Avatar!"
Iroh sighed. His nephew could be so blind sometimes.
Xxx
Mecha and Tsai entered the dinning room where her mother and father awaited already sitting in the long table. The table was arranged with three seats on one side and three opposite. Their father sat center, mother next leaving one single open seat on their side. The sibling's eyes met for a split-second before they both darted for the open seat.
"Mecha! That's my seat! I don't want to sit next to the prince!" Tsai fought her brother who had beat her to the chair. The other refused to bulge and sat tightly. "Back off before I burn your hair off my dear sister!"
"Tsai! You will bring honor this family and sit next to the royal prince and entertainhim! It has already been a strenuously long day for all of us," she sighed sounding drained. "We would all appreciate it if you cooperated!" She scolded with an icy gaze.
She turned to look at her father, the governor, who flashed her a weak smile. He really wasn't in spirits today.
Frowning, Tsai took her seat across the table in the left seat.
"Make us proud sister," Metcha winked at her. It was then that the royal escorts brought the prince and the retired general in. Thankfully, her parents didn't capture the middle finger flick she flashed him.
It was obvious that the prince also did not share Tsai's enthusiasm. You could tell by his deep scowl and the awkward dance that he made with his uncle when he attempted to take the seat to the right. The uncle said some lame excuse that he needed to sit on the right because of some ancient superstition.
Tsai wasn't sure what to say, neither was the prince. Instead she sat just as she had been raised to her entire life, specially during stressful situations. Back straight like an arrow, head held high, a calm expression on her face. Throughout the dinner they peppered on idle conversation about the war, life in colonies in contrast to the one at sea and on the mainland. They were halfway through the meal of roast duck with a side of tomato-carrot stir fry and vegetable-dumplings.
When Mecha felt like opening his big mouth.
"Is it true the Avatar has returned?" He blurted out before stuffing his face with a vegetable dumpling. Governor Azah's ears perked. Sanyu looked as if she wanted to crawl under the table and hide.
'Way to address the elephant in the room.'Tsai's mother looked at her with pleading eyes.
"What do you think of the tea Prince Zuko?" She touched his arm gently and smiled at him slightly before taking a sip of her spiced Jasmine tea.
It was a sincere question.
"Um.." His eyes darted to her hand that was resting on his arm. Feeling self conscious she removed it and once again as if it stung and in contrast once again smiled.
Her mother had trained her well.
"All tea tastes the same, like wet leaves."
Her eyes went wide and her mother face palmed knowing what was coming right before the girl scoffed back at the prince.
"What?" She raised a challenging eyebrow.
Tea was one of her passions. It was a trade she had learned and shared with her past grandfather. Tea was considered to be sacred within her clan. Because of this it was no surprise that the members of the Vice Royal clan all bore the names of different teas and spices. Hers itself translating directly to mean "tea."
"Oh!" Iroh interrupted. "How could somebody from my own family say something so horrible. Please excuse my nephew, he is ignorant in the ways of tea. Has much to learn.." he poked his head.
"What a shame," she retorted tugging her hands inside of her ochre colored long sleeves that usually hid her hands. "Specially considering your trek around the world. I'm jealous of all the bold flavors you must've encountered and the even more for ones you must've missed," she shook her head with judgement.
"We had some excellent Moon Peach tea recently in Kyoshi island. I even brought some Lychee nuts with me to make tea. If you'd like I could give you some." Iroh offered kindly.
Tsai almost jumped out of her seat, her eyes gleaming as the two continued to have a conversation over the prince who looked beyond irritated.
"Do you think General Iroh is too old to be betrothed to Tsai?" Mecha whispered to his father sniggering as he saw the sparks fly between the general and his sister. His father's chest swelled as he let out a low snort.
"No whispering in front of our guests!" Sanyu hissed her eyes almost bulging out of her head.
"Really? Wow! I would absolutely love nothing more!" She clapped her hands together with glee. "I've never tried lychee but before but I've read that-"
Zuko had been through some shit, but being right here, right now he felt like he was in hell. All the noise in the room became a loud buzzing. The Vice Royal family bickered amongst themselves as the older sibling held a sneaky expression on his face as he laughed at a private joke. The mother glared daggers at her son and spoke so fast and so low it was hard to understand.
Meanwhile, Uncle Iroh had met his match.
They both spoke allegorically and their enthusiasm grew more and more with each moment as their conversation morphed from teas to one of Iroh's favorite past time: Pai Sho.
"I used to play with my grandfather all the time! I bet that I could beat you!" She spoke quickly. Maybe she wasn't speaking that fast, but the buzzing in the room continued to get louder and louder and then there was laughter!
"Why don't you two get a room?!" Zuko roared as he rose from his seat slamming his hands on the table. "I've had enough. I don't have time for this. I'm leaving. I'll be in my ship waiting Uncle." He turned and stormed out of the room rudely.
"But we're about to have dessert!" Iroh protested.
Servants neared the table holding mouth-watering plates of ash-banana bread with ice cream and purple berries. The rude prince wasn't even considerate enough to bow down to his generous hosts and didn't even say thank you for the meal, hospitality or company. Tsai glared at the back of his head as he walked away 'Just who did he think he was?' she snorted. There was nothing she hated more than coincided people. At least she glad that he was out of her atmosphere 'Good riddance,' she rolled her eyes and turned to enjoy her favorite dessert and the lovely company of General Iroh.
Sanju sat looking distraught, the woman looked as if a boulder had just smashed against her forehead. "I think-I'm going to lay down for a minute," she spoke with as much poise as she could muster.
"General," she lightly bowed her head and took in a deep breath. "Thank you for joining us," she said brining a hand to her temple. "I think I will be doing the same," Azah also rose emotionally drained from the day.
It had been a long day for the whole family, but for him specially. "Thank you, it was truly an honor to meet the man my father spoke so highly of. I just... I just wish it could've been under better circumstances," he smiled weakly and lowered his head before the General.
Iroh rose for a moment and did the same out of respect.
With that Azah retired without having his dessert, Mecha vanished at some point in between as well leaving only Iroh and Tsai sitting in the massive dinning room next to each other alone.
xxxx
First: https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621142853126602752/sunburn-prince-zuko-1
Prev: https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621142853126602752/sunburn-prince-zuko-1
Next: https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621143643304116224/sunburn-prince-zuko-3
CHAPTER MASTERLIST
#prince zuko#zuko#Zuko x reader#Zuko x oc#atla fanfic#avatar#avatar fanfic#aang#sokka#katara#fanfic#reader insert#xreader#fluff#prince Zuko fanfic
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Moot and Eirelandais
People like to think that to snap, something has to happen. Some precipitating event, big or small, that is nevertheless different from the thousand repeated indignities tolerated prior. But nothing different had happened. The same unwanted hand making its way up her leg as she waited tables. The same undesired breath on her neck, whispering the kinds of things she had no interest in hearing. All of it exactly the same as it had been for nearly the past three years. All of it she had put up with, every day, relentlessly, until one day Eirelandais realized she could not tolerate it any more.
The apothecary, Eidle, had to die.
Like most nights in his life, Dubius Moot found himself in a tavern. Like most nights in his life, someone, somewhere, was trying to kill him, or at least have him killed. What was unusual for Moot was that at least one of those people was his former mentor, and because of that he’d had to flee her and the city he loved trying to survive in. He’d made it far enough by now that no one in the tavern seemed to have any idea who he was. That was unusual too. Back in the Bryc, at least one person would’ve recognized him by now, offered him a drink—but no matter. The goal was to get as far from Opelia’s reach as he could.
Though he’d stolen enough to pay for his lodgings honestly, he couldn’t resist engaging in enough misdirection and sleight of hand with the tavernkeeper that the man would be paying Moot for the privilege of having Moot sleeping in one of his beds.
“And let me know if any of the girls catch your eye, we can add it to your bill,” the tavernkeeper said to him, oblivious to the money he’d just lost.
“Ah, hah, hm, yeah,” Moot replied, doing his best not to wince. He hated men like these, but the world was too full of them to fight them all. He took a watery ale toward a seat in the back corner and resolved to steal more of whatever he could before he left in the morning.
Eirelandais watched the traveler passing money back and forth with her uncle, quite certain he’d left her uncle poorer for the exercise. Her uncle, the idiot, had a look on his face as though the traveler had paid him double. She smiled to herself. The world finds ways to punish the deserving.
She watched the traveler as he was preoccupied at the bar, hoping to observe him without catching his eye. He clearly was not from around here—humans had come through before, but they were few and far between, particularly for a town that wasn’t on the main road between Cliath and Enniscorthy. His dark, curly hair was pulled back in a careful ponytail from which a handful of wild strands had still managed to escape. His clothing looked like the deliberate sort made to be sturdy, but not look too nice lest people realize what kind of money you’ve really got. Most of it was still covered by his dark hooded cloak.
Eirelandais managed to look away before the traveler turned in her direction. Best not to catch his eye. Best not to make this night any more complicated than it needed to be. She glanced at Eidle, already at his usual table near the fire. His cold, greedy eyes met hers. Tonight, she thought to herself. It will be tonight.
Moot kept walking but stopped the mental inventory of what appeared to be most easily stealable ranked by value and weight. He mentally cursed that slithering weasel of a tavernkeeper, because a girl had caught his eye. It wasn’t her long blond hair, gathered high on her head, nor the steady way she carried herself across the room on those long, inviting legs. It was the look she gave, one that went unnoticed, there for the briefest moment and then gone. Dangerous and determined and deadly. And most importantly, not directed at him. His heart beat a little faster, for the first time in days not over some imminent crisis or threat to his own life. He sipped his ale and watched her surreptitiously, hoping she’d do it again, or look his way, or come talk to him. The night was young, and there weren’t many other girls working. Surely she had to talk to him.
Oh. But that meant he had to come up with something good to say. This was an unusual problem. Nothing came to mind. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been at such a loss for the right words. But as he continued to watch her as discreetly as he could, as she approached some average-looking creep at a table by the hearth, he found himself overwhelmed with the desire just to talk to her, and for her to want to talk with him.
“My sweet baby bloom,” said Eidle in a low voice, his fingertips brushing against the nearest bit of exposed skin he could reach. “My delicate young flower. That man—” he flicked his eyes in the direction of the traveler “—is staring at you.”
Eirelandais felt her pulse quicken in irritation. Of course, the human would bring himself trouble.
Eidle reached out for her arm, pulling until she was forced to lean over awkwardly toward him, his lips nearly touching her ear. “You’ll need to slip him a drink, before he tries anything.”
This was unnecessary. Eirelandais knew what to do. Eidle didn’t need to tell her.
“And bring me something I like,” he said. He boldly tried to nibble her ear, but she had already straightened back up again.
She kept her eyes down, and murmured, “of course, Eidle.”
The traveler was a detour, a diversion, and the perfect distraction. He would need to be poisoned—the usual blend, something to cloud his memory, preoccupy him with uncomfortably lusty dreams, and leave him with a little headache in the morning. He would be fine. And Eidle, the apothecary who had foolishly taught her everything he knew about poisons so he could keep her all to himself, who would not have suspected how sharp this delicate young flower could become, well. If she got the dosing right, he would not be fine.
Moot wondered idly to himself if it was feasible to be in love with someone you hadn’t even spoken to yet. Because he was quite certain that the girl was going to kill the creep by the fire, and he loved her for it.
The longer he sat thinking about it, the higher the stakes got to come up with something to say to her besides, “hi” and “can you get me a drink?”
He started quietly reciting pick up lines to himself to see if any were so bad they circled around to being good again, and was so lost in thought he didn’t notice as she slipped right past him to the kitchen.
Eirelandais stared thoughtfully at the cup as she prepared it. Fortified wine for both—Eidle’s favorite, and she found in her experience the poisons tended to compliment the flavor of the wine, bringing out a subtle complexity. She wondered about dosing for the human, and hoped they weren’t too different. She’d check on him later, just to make sure he was still breathing. She didn’t worry about toning down the dosing for Eidle. He’d built up a resistance to a good many poisons. She made sure his would kill him.
No one was listening to him, so Moot gradually brought his volume up to conversational level to try out various tones of voice. “Is your dad a baker? Because those buns look amazing. Are you a thief too, because I think you’ve stolen my heart. If I told you that you have a nice body, would you hold it—ugh. No, no this is all wrong. Maybe if I just—”
“Excuse me, sir?”
Moot panicked. It was her. “Is your dad an amazing thief because I think you’ve stolen my buns,” he blurted out. Oh, no.
Eirelandais laughed, a genuine giggle she couldn’t help. “I’m sorry, maybe I don’t need to offer you this drink.”
“I’m sorry, that was. Hm. I’m not normally. Hm,” he sighed, frowning at himself.
Eirelandais had been feeling anxious as she approached, but as she watched this young man trying to pull himself together she smiled. “Well, I haven’t met too many humans to say if you’re what would count as normal.”
“Apologies,” Moot said with a smile, his thoughts finally catching up with his mouth. “To be fair, no, I suppose I’m not normal. But,” he waved his hand, “enough about me. I seem to be finding you so intriguing that my mind doesn’t know how to deal with it. Won’t you sit down and tell me your name?”
“Why don’t you stand, and offer me yours?”
Moot gazed up at her, unable to control his grin, resting his chin in his hand as he admired her. “Quite honestly? Because I think you’re a lot taller than I am, and I’ve already given you good reason to laugh at me. I’d like to keep that one in reserve, in case you need something new to smile about. Also, I’m a little bit on the run and haven’t come up with a good fake name to give out yet.”
“It’s Eirelandais,” she said, setting a cup of wine on his table. “I can’t come sit with you while I’m working, but have a drink on me, and I’ll see if I can think up a name for you.”
“Eirelandais,” he repeated, taking up the cup, toasting it to her. “Thank you.”
Eirelandais chided herself. She had enjoyed that too much. She hadn’t meant to really talk to him at all. She’d been repeating to herself—left, traveler, right, Eidle—until she’d gotten close enough to hear the traveler talking to himself. He had looked like he would be the sort of person to know exactly what to say to someone, and it surprised her that he wasn’t. She hoped Eidle hadn’t noticed them talk, her laugh, her expressions unguarded. She took his cup to him. It would probably be at least an hour before his poison took effect. Eidle was just barely sneering, sitting at his table quietly seething. Of course he had noticed.
The wine was good—surprising to find in a nowhere town like this—but after half an hour or so Eirelandais had not come back with a fake name for him. Moot decided to go back to the bar for another watery ale, since there was little point wasting the amount of time or money it would require to get him drunk on even the good stuff. He didn’t want to deplete the town supply. Just give him something to do with his hands. Perhaps he’d come across an excuse to trade a few more words with Eirelandais. He stood up.
Or, tried to anyway. His body disagreed completely, and the room suddenly felt about fifteen degrees off from the axis where he had thought it had been. He stumbled back down into his chair.
“Oh, no?” he whispered to himself in confusion. This was an unwholesome new feeling. Moot had a legendarily high tolerance and built resistance to every known toxin, powder, and otherwise vile concocted liquid. He’d never successfully been poisoned before.
His arms felt very far away, and a little bit like his fingers were on fire. He pressed his palms firmly to the table, holding on onto the surface so that he wouldn’t slide off. He would be a magnet for pickpockets if he ended up on the floor.
“Eirelandais,” he whispered, trying to look around for her without moving his head, trying to summon her through sheer force of admiration.
Eirelandais saw the movement out of the corner of her eye. The traveler looked like he’d lost all cooperation with his legs. That was fast. Human dosing must be different. She had better help him.
“Drunk already?” she asked, moving the cup and the mug off to the bar.
“We need to talk,” he slurred confidentially.
She checked the time. If Eidle died at his table, well she could just slip out the back, perhaps. She glanced at Eidle. He did look like he was making a strange face.
“Come on,” she said, offering her arm. “I’ll help you to your room.”
He managed to stand, leaning heavily on her and clinging to her arm. He looked up at her, his rich brown eyes wide and glassy. “Oh, spirits help me,” he mumbled, “I told you you were taller.”
He leaned his head against her arm, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Youuuuuu,” drawled Moot, trying to unbutton his vest as he fell over sideways on the bed, “Are. Amazing.”
Eirelandais shut the door and looked him over. His cheeks were flushed, his eyebrows looked like they were sweating, and she started to wonder if an antidote might be needed. That was doable, but not something she had time for.
“Run away with meeee?” said Moot, trying to roll over. “I think alluv youuu,” he slurred.
Eirelandais tapped her fingers against her chin, thinking while he rambled, trying to decide what to do. She liked the traveler, and wouldn’t feel right leaving him to potentially die just because he was human.
Moot managed to push himself up and tried to wave her over. “’M serious. This’s serious,” he slurred, clearly working hard to be as understandable as possible. “D’you know, d’you KNOW, that no one, no one has ever, ever, EVER managed to poison me before? Y’gotta teach me, y’gotta tell me, ‘s gotta be enough poison to kill a man, his mother, ‘n the horse they rode in on.”
Eirelandais shook her head. “It’s a common poison. You’re just human.”
Moot slapped the bedcover indignantly. “No. M’best friend is the most poisonest man to ever mix two liquids in a bottle, in all of Innisfail ‘n Ivernia. Common poison’s m’breakfast, lunch, an’ middle name.” A thought managed to occur to him, and for a moment he looked like he could cry. “Did Opelia send you? To kill me? Ohhhh no, you reeeeeally did trick me…”
“What? No!” Eirelandais snapped. “Who? No. I’m not trying to kill you—”
Moot gasped, loudly and dramatically. “I knew it,” he hissed with glee. The unbounded look of adoration returned to his face, then slowly slid to a frown, attempting to think. “But you did give me poison.”
Eirelandais tried to remember. Which cup had she sat down, and which one had she carried over? She thought she knew. There were only two cups.
“—and a lesser man than Dubius Moot would be dead before you, y’know, you’re very lucky,” he drawled, trying to wag his finger vaguely in her direction.
She slumped against the wall. The wrong poison. Could it be possible? Surely the traveler was just wrong. But if he wasn’t? That meant Eidle would not be dead. Nor would he be asleep from a poison he’d designed. A poison he knew the taste of. The face he’d been making. She was in trouble.
And her only help was too incapacitated to even come up with a good fake name.
“Dubius Moot?” she said absently, her mind still hoping to avoid reality for a few more moments. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be.
“Oops.” He clapped his hands over his mouth.
“That’s a terrible fake name.”
He sighed. “That’s ‘cuz it’s my real name. You were s’posed to help me witha fake one.”
“Yeah. Dubius?”
“Mm? Call me Moot. Mos’ friends do.”
“Moot? I’m in trouble.”
These were the facts: it should not take Eirelandais this long to put the drunk to bed. He had seen them smiling. She was his. And she had tried to poison him.
This would not do.
She could hear his footsteps coming down the corridor, recognized them immediately, like so many nights before.
“Eirelandais,” Eidle called softly. “My sweet little blossom, whatever are you up here so long doing?” His tone seemed gentle, but she could hear the sharp edge, the seething rage simmering beneath, the promise of violence yet to come. She held her breath, hand on the doorknob, waiting.
His footsteps stopped outside the door. She felt his hand rest on the doorknob. “Please don’t make me have to teach you a lesson,” he said as he turned the handle.
Now. Eirelandais jerked the door inward, pulling Eidle stumbling forward. Dubius Moot exploded haphazardly from a crouch beside the door, his solid frame connecting into Eidle with a crash that knocked Eidle’s head against the footboard. Eirelandais quickly slammed the door shut again, but Eidle was out cold. For now.
Moot rolled off him and peered closely. “He’s breathin.”
“For now,” said Eirelandais, hurriedly undoing Eidle’s belt, yanking it roughly out of the belt loops.
“If you think you can stand, help me,” she said, slipping the belt around Eidle’s neck as she tried to reach the other end to the top of the bedpost.
Moot got as far as his knees before falling over again, and did the best he could from there to push Eidle’s slumped form upright enough for her to tie a knot. She braced her shoe against Eidle’s neck, pulling the belt as tight as she could, then arranged him into an obscene tableau before taking the money from his pockets.
On the little table, she left a note –“For Eirelandais”—and the money from Eidle. Perhaps it was enough to cover the debt her father had sold her for. It would have to do.
Moot had managed to drag himself upright, propped against the other bedpost. Eidle, raggedly, was still breathing. For now.
“Do you…still want to run away with me?” she asked.
Moot burst into a smile as he clung to the bedpost. “More’n ever.”
“How do you not have a horse?” hissed Eirelandais, struggling to hold Moot upright with one arm while she searched for the key she had taken off of Eidle.
“Horses...can’t climb trees,” he managed to get out. He slipped out of her grasp, hit hard against the side of the building, and just barely managed not to throw up on either of them. He’d really hoped that vomiting would at least make him feel a little better, but that was not the case. “Might not be ok,” he muttered.
Eirelandais got the door to the apothecary’s shop open and pulled Moot inside. There was nowhere to put him, so she lowered him as gently as she could the rest of the way to the floor and let him curl up on his side. She had been here enough times to know what she was looking for, the jar full of powdered charcoal sitting next to the jug of cold, clear water drawn under the full moon’s light from the allegedly enchanted spring. She wasn’t sure she bought all that, but it was good, clean water. She poured it into an empty bottle and carefully dumped in several heaping spoonfuls of charcoal, then sealed the bottle shut with the palm of her hand while she shook it. This wouldn’t fix everything, but it was a start, and it would buy Moot some time so she could think.
“You need to drink this,” she said, sitting him upright, “and try to keep it in you.” She helped him hold the bottle to his lips, and it took all his concentration not to spit the gritty liquid back out at her. “Keeping it in,” he mumbled, clutching the empty bottle as he sunk back down to the floor.
It wasn’t merely that she’d poisoned him with any one poison--it was the combination, the unique ways the poisons had been brought together, treatments and mixtures Eidle never would have dreamed of, the unique interactions resulting in a constellation of symptoms that no simple antidote could cure. Not that Eirelandais had put any thought toward making a cure when she’d thought and mixed it up. Now she wished she had.
She tapped her fingers on her chin, trying to remember what kinds of rare ingredients Eidle kept on hand. She tried opening a few small drawers, but found them locked--a different key, of course, was needed. She swept her hands blindly along the top of a few high shelves, hoping another key would appear beneath her fingers. No such luck. She spared Moot a glance. He’d begun to shiver, teeth clenched. She didn’t have time to think of something better than finding more ways to shovel charcoal into him. She doubted that would be enough. He needed a healer, and there was only one person in town who knew any healing magic.
The apothecary’s wife.
Eirelandais quickly straightened up the things she had moved, grabbed a few vials that looked like they would be worth having, and helped Moot off the floor. He was soaked in sweat.
Eirelandais had never met Eidle’s wife. She had heard a good many cruel things about her, but Eirelandais always suspected her only true crime was having been young once. And loving Eidle, perhaps. Still, it would not look good to wake her up and bring her to Moot laying on the floor of her husband’s own shop that Eirelandais should not have had a key for. She shut and locked the door behind them, and pocketed the key. She’d considered slipping the key under the door, but what if Eidle’s wife led them right back into the shop? The sight of the key without its owner wouldn’t lead to anything good.
It felt like Eirelandais was the only thing holding Moot up at this point. They made it to the door of the home attached to the back of the apothecary’s shop, and Eirelandais rapped sharply, urgently on the door while her mind was racing. What was Eidle’s wife’s name? Should she address her by name? What would she tell her? What would make her ask the least amount of questions? What if she didn’t wake up?
The sound of movement came from the other side of the door, and a wary female voice--”Who goes there and what do you want? It’s late.”
“Please,” said Eirelandais. “Are you the healer? I believe you are, it’s my friend, I think, I think he’s tried to poison himself.” Why did she say friend, why would she have some random human friend, there aren’t any humans in this town, come on Eirelandais. “I’m Eirelandais, from the tavern just down the road.”
“Ah.” A pause--the door was still chained shut, but the apothecary’s wife opened the door to peek out at them. “One of Corrigan’s girls.” She had tried not to mean any judgement by it, but Eirelandais could tell she’d taken the term ‘friend’ euphemistically. Fine. Whatever.
“Please,” said Eirelandais again. “We gave him some charcoal for it but I don’t think it’s enough.”
The older woman sighed. “Bring him in,” she said, shutting the door long enough to undo the chains. “I can’t promise much, I’m no great healer.”
“Thank you,” said Eirelandais, as the two of them helped lay Moot out on the couch. “I don’t think you can do much to make him worse.”
“It’s a shame you’ve come when my husband is away. He’s a great apothecary, could probably help your friend more than I can.” She sorted through a series of bottles in a cabinet on the wall. “I’m sure you could find him in town--”
Oh no, thought Eirelandais, absolutely not.
“--but by now he’s probably too drunk to do much good. So you’ll just have to settle for me. My name’s Aellys, by the way.” She set some bottles on the table by Moot with a mortar and pestle, and took out a sharp needle. “Any idea what he took?” she asked, holding the needle in the flame of the candle on the table.
Eirelandais shook her head. Would the knowing make a difference, when magic was involved?
“Do you know his name?”
Eirelandais looked at Moot’s troubled face. He’d asked her for a fake name.
“I think he said his name was Dolan.” Dolan - unlucky one. Probably not what he would have picked, but certainly an accurate reflection of how his night had gone.
Aellys chuckled a little to herself. “No wonder, with a name like that. Well, let’s see what we can do to help. Hold the bowl for me, I need to get a bit of his blood.”
“Dolan?” said Aellys, raising her voice as if it might be heard over the pain. “This might hurt a little my dear, but then again everything probably hurts right now doesn’t it?”
Eirelandais held the mortar while Aellys pricked one of Moot’s fingers with the searing-hot needle. She squeezed a few drops of blood, and then knelt by the little table, speaking softly in the sort of long-dead language reserved for the use of magic while she added a sparkling gray powder from one of the bottles. Aellys ground the powder with the blood, and added enough liquid to the bowl that it would be drinkable. Eirelandais watched nervously, hands clenched and feeling useless, as Aellys continued to chant. Aellys waved her over, and motioned for her to take Moot’s hand while Aellys helped him drink the mixture, all while continuing the spell. Once the mortar was empty she stopped, and let Moot lay back down on the couch.
“What now?” asked Eirelandais. “What did you give him?”
“Now we wait,” said Aellys, clearing away the table. “I gave him something I’ve been holding onto for many, many years. Charcoal made from enchanted helix horn. It was a wedding gift, if you can believe it.” She smiled, but there was a hint of sadness to it. “You hold onto these things waiting for the right time to use them, and then you never use them. It seemed like the right time. Might as well use it.”
Eirelandais watched as Aellys closed the cabinet. Did she know who her husband had been, when he wasn’t at home? Perhaps she knew all too well. Perhaps she hadn’t wanted to know, and had been content to stay at home and ignore whatever rumors and whispers managed to reach her. Eirelandais was too afraid to ask.
“Wake me up if you need me, and sleep if you’d like. I doubt you will though. There’s nothing more either of us can do for now, dear.” Aellys patted Eirelandais on the shoulder, checked the locks on the door, and went to the bedroom. Eirelandais wondered if Aellys had been waiting for Eidle to come home. Maybe that’s what she’d done every night.
Moot had fallen into a fitful sleep. Eirelandais found herself wanting to brush the stray curls off his face, but resisted. She looked at the strange, soft curves of his ears, and this time she could not resist reaching out to feel one. She could feel faint scars beneath her fingertips. Moot shifted onto his side, and Eirelandais quickly pulled her hand away.
Eirelandais found the most uncomfortable chair in the room and pulled it over by the couch so she could keep an eye on Moot without falling asleep. Aellys had been kind, too kind. She would probably make a good enough apothecary. But Eirelandais didn’t intend to find out. They needed to leave before daybreak. Eirelandais stifled a yawn. She would carry Moot like a sack of potatoes if she had to.
Moot’s consciousness came struggling back to him. The first thing he noticed was pain. He had thought he’d felt pain before, but those were mere inconveniences. This was Pain, perhaps the worst he’d ever felt, screaming through every ounce of his existence. If he wasn’t dying, someone should have let him, because this was the most cruel and tortuous experience of his life. His skull felt too small, and his brain felt like someone had yanked it out through his mouth and slammed it back in upside-down through his eye sockets. His stomach was in a confused and untenable state, feeling simultaneously hungry enough to eat a horse, yet too nauseous to even speak. The taste of devil ferrets haunted his tongue. Everything was awful.
The second thing Moot noticed was the feeling of a hand pressed on his mouth (oddly comforting, for the moment, because it made him feel like he could keep all his insides inside of him with someone else fortifying the gate), very nearly blocking the air from his nose too. A poor attempt at smothering? Maybe they were just getting started. Another hand was shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes unevenly, blinking in the dim pre-dawn light, trying to get his bearings.
Eirelandais. Very close. Her hand on his mouth, as she softly shushed him. If she was trying to smother him, well. He found himself strangely alright with that. Existing right now hurt. She leaned a little closer to him and whispered, “We need to leave.”
Moot nodded as little as possible, closing his eyes. If he could just go back to sleep, maybe forever, he might feel better. Yes, that would do. He felt dimly aware of the hand leaving his shoulder as he tried to drift back into the less consciously painful embrace of sleep. Two fingers slowly pinched his nose closed, cutting off all his air.
Eirelandais let go as soon as Moot’s eyes flew open. “We need to leave now,” she whispered fiercely. “Come on. Can you stand?”
Moot made quiet noises of protest as Eirelandais pulled him up off the couch. He gripped her arms, white-knuckled, as waves of pain and nausea hit him. He focused on his breath, harsh and intense, in and out, in and out through his nose, mouth and eyes clamped shut. For a moment he merely stood there, clinging desperately to Eirelandais, frowning and furrowing his brow as he battled every awful feeling that fought for his attention. Need to leave now, she’d said. Even if he’d wanted to question it, there was no way he’d trust himself to speak feeling the way he did. He gave a little nod, and waved a hand in what he felt was the direction of a door, and hoped that was enough to convey both “lead the way” and “please don’t let go of me.”
Her hands were steady as she helped him across the room, her feet light on the floor, listening for any sound of Aellys stirring. She wasn’t sure Moot could keep himself together, but by the look on his face picking him up was out of the question. He was glaring daggers at the world ahead of him, wholly consumed by the laborious process of remembering to successfully walk without falling down or turning inside-out.
They made it outside, Eirelandais closing the front door carefully behind her. She left Moot resting against the side of the building, his head tilted back as he focused on his breathing, and grabbed their bags she’d hidden in the apothecary’s little stable. Supplies were critical. If they could get enough distance between themselves and this town, she’d be able to stop and make Moot some ginger-root tea. He desperately looked like he needed it, she thought, securing their bags over her shoulders. As she returned Moot had undone the top half of his vest and was working to unlace the shirt beneath it, as though any fabric encroaching on his neck threatened to choke him.
“Can you walk?” she asked.
“Mhm.” He slowly pushed himself off the side of the building, and managed to get himself braced, upright, unassisted on his own two feet. For a long moment, he simply stood there.
“Are you...sure...you can walk?”
“Mhm!” Moot managed with false cheer. His entire conscious existence had boiled down to two things: breathing, and walking. He did both forcefully, deliberately, looking like a man possessed as he trudged over to Eirelandais.
She offered a hand, but he waved his dismissively. Focusing on a third thing would be catastrophically distracting, and he could only accomplish the other two through great powers of concentration.
“You mentioned something about being on the run, right?” she prodded, looking up and down the road. Eirelandais realized, in the chill light of the slowly rising sun, that she had had no real plan beyond killing Eidle. The world was opening up before her, strange and full of unknown potential. “What direction do we need to go?”
#My writing#original story#original work#original fiction#fantasy#fantasy fiction#moot and Eirelandais#a world with elves and shit like that
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Furious Coffae || Tasmyn and Norma
TIMING: Current
LOCATION: Coffee Plus
PARTIES: @tasmyn-pearce and @normallee
SUMMARY: Norma goes to get her “caffiene hit” as she’s told people do and makes new friends with a certain spriggan.
Coffee was such a human invention. They were so bland and boring, of course they were tired all the time. As much as Tasmyn hated to admit it though, it was wicked delicious. She had over time become very intrigued how different countries across Europe made coffee. She liked the fancy sweet ones the best. And the iced ones. And while she didn’t need coffee to keep her energy up, she did have one nearly every day. Today, when she arrived at Coffee Plus she noticed that the line was impossibly long. She sighed heavily as she got into the back of the line. If she hadn’t already set her heart on having a nice iced caramel frappuccino today she would have just left. Reluctantly, she decided that she would have to just wait for her turn to order. After all, that’s what humans expected people to do in situations like this.
Coffee culture seemed like a cult to Norma. She rather enjoyed cults, they brought so much controversy with them. They were such easy feeding grounds. While she wasn’t currently looking for a platform to work her magic, unfortunately, she was looking to blend in with mortals and they all seemed to enjoy this Coffee Plus location. She was no stranger to the dark, bitter liquid, it had been around for centuries now, but the pervasiveness of these cafes with complicated orders were a relatively new phenomenon that she didn’t fully understand. However,if she wanted to appear human, what better way than with a status symbol in the form of a small paper cup? As Norma walked directly to the counter, she wondered if any actual essence of a man named Joe was in the beverage she was about to order. That made it sound much more appealing to her. “One cup of Joe, please. Not John, he sounds less pleasant,” she told the cashier.
As Tasmyn patiently waited her turn she spotted a rather lovely looking woman walk into the cafe, ignore the line completely, and walk right up to the corner to place her order. She was both wildly impressed and disappointed in herself for not thinking to do such a thing herself. Sure, humans got controlling over their coffee. But for the most part, Tasmyn had always found them to be quite passive. She was quite curious to see how this was going to go, so she abandoned her spot in line and moved closer to the woman who had, very specifically, ordered some Joe. “Have you ever tried the blended iced coffees? They take all the bitterness out and replace it with sweetness!” She offered, offhandedly to the other woman. Admittedly, she was hoping to hop in on the swift ordering, but she wouldn’t be disappointed if that didn’t end up happening.
Norma was startled that someone else in the shop had spoken to her that was not an employee. And in a pleasant tone at that! So often humans were groggy and grumpy while waiting in cafes. In fact, most of the people standing behind them were exactly that and were grumbling as well. “A blended ice coffee? No I haven’t!” Norma turned to the cashier and said, “I would like one of those! Oh, actually, two of those. For the suggestion.” Norma gave the brunette a smile. “I’m Norma, it’s nice to meet you.” Before she could get a reply, another customer came up to them. “Um, excuse you,” the blonde behind her said. She looked rather perturbed. Norma couldn’t figure out why. Maybe she was a John fan. “Oh yes, I apologize, I should have said excuse me. Excuse me! Thank you!” Norma told her. She turned back to her newest colleague. “You don’t know her, right?”
Tasmyn had a good feeling about this woman. Not only did she take her suggestion with a smile, but she had also ordered her a drink as well. Finally, a human in this town who got it. Or, well, at least a not-fae. She had been mistakenly presuming all people who weren’t fae were human in this town, and rather quickly she was discovering how not true those assumptions were. “You’ll love it! Unless you don’t like sweet things. But? Who doesn’t like sweet things? I haven’t ever met someone who said ‘no thank you, that’s too sweet!’” To think she had almost decided not to come into the cafe today. “I’m Tasmyn! You have such a lovely name, Norma.” She huffed in slight annoyance when the woman who had previously been first in line said something to her new friend, Norma. “What’s that expression you american’s love? You snooze, you lose? You can get your coffee next.” People were so rude sometimes. “No, very thankfully I do not know that woman.”
Norma wasn’t sure how she felt about sweet things, at least not sweet coffee. It seemed a bit like an oxymoron. But she was certain she would find out! “It’s very nice to meet you, Tasmyn! I enjoy your clever comebacks and I’m very glad you don’t associate with this woman.” Norma leaned in to whisper, though not very quietly, “She seems very angry.” The blonde gave an offended huff and it delighted Norma, truly. “Here is my payment, cash man. Please take it and bring us the coffee,” she said, turning back to the cashier who seemed flustered, but ultimately decided it was best to just go with the flow and not argue with her.
“Hey, what’s going on up there?!” a man a little farther back questioned. A few others chimed in and Norma could feel the anger and hostility brewing within them, deep and dark like the liquid pouring out from the metal machines nearby. She wanted to drink it down and feel it filling her with energy. “These two cleary don’t know what a line is,” the blonde snipped back, eyes glaring daggers into them both. It brought a smile to Norma’s face. It was nowhere near as satisfying as using her powers properly, it wasn’t the full unfiltered chaos she craved. But maybe, she could reach out. It was right there, right at her finger tips. The strife and anguish she could stir up so easily. Her hand hovered in front of her, daring her to touch the blonde and whisper in her ear. But she stopped, clenched her hand and dropped it away, pulling Tasmyn along with her instead to wait for the coffee, away from temptation. “I heard it comes out over here. We should follow the silly hu-- I mean, the rules. Just the rules.”
For the first time ever, Tasmyn was genuinely surprised that she didn’t sense any fae in this woman. But she had such a good energy about her, and everything she was saying made perfect sense to her. Yet, she wasn’t fae. There was no way she could be human… could she? Were humans capable of being this awesome? Unlikely. Especially when she saw her listening to the people in line complain. She was just as entertaining as Tasmyn was. Which made sense, the people in line were clearly just embarrassed they didn’t think to do this themselves. Without hesitation, she followed Norma as she pulled her along away from the register. “Have you never been here before?” Tasmyn shrugged at her second comment, “Rules are so boring. So constricting.” Maybe it was because she felt empowered by skipping the line, or maybe it was the mushrooms calling her name in the distance, but she decided to take the next drink that was placed down on the counter for pick up. The barista placed it down, announced a large mocha latte for ‘Megan’, and Tasmyn just swooped in and collected it off the counter and brought the hot beverage to her lips. “Oooh, that’s better than I thought it was going to be!” She announced to her new friend with a smile.
“No, I haven’t! I have been to Coffee Plus Plus, though! They’re far slower over there. The service here is so speedy! I very much enjoy it more.” Norma could feel the ire of everyone in line growing. God it was delicious, if only she could stir the pot a little bit more. Her head snapped back to Tasmyn as she mentioned rules. “Oh yes, they are. But it’s fun to watch them bend and break as it were. But I do try my best to be a law abiding citizen and American. For the record!” Her lips pursed in a moment of confusion. Norma had lived far too long to care too much about committing things to memory, it turned out most facts were in fact useless, but she was fairly certain her new friend was named Tasmyn. She had recalled that correctly, hadn’t she? Megan sounded similar to a point. Maybe she had heard it incorrectly. “Is your name also Megan? Or does it just not matter what name you give them?” Before awaiting a proper answer, the barista called out a drink for a “Karen.” Norma did the exact same as Tasmyn and grabbed the drink in question with a quick thanks. She took a sip and… “Ugh,” she exclaimed, making a face as the bitterness and artificial flavors met her tongue. “Is this a cherry flavored coffee? Gross! Who does that?” Norma put the cup back down on the counter and slid it back to the barista. “Please try again, thank you.” From the side, a woman with a rather unfortunate haircut practically screeched. “That was mine!” she said, huffing and puffing. “Do you think steam could actually come out of her ears?” she asked Tasmyn in what she thought might be a whisper.
Since moving to town, Tasmyn had a hard time finding people with a similar outlook on life. But Norma seemed to get it. “Well, I’m not a citizen nor an American, but I suppose there's nothing wrong with trying to abide by the laws.” Asshe took another sip of her stolen drink, she could hear a woman, presumably Megan, complaining to one of the employees. “Yes! She just took my coffee, the one I paid for. Now I’m going to be late for work!” It made Tasmyn chuckle a little, the human reliance on coffee being their own downfall was quite entertaining. “No, I’m Tasmyn not Megan. But, I don’t think it matters what name you give them? Well, it does as in that’s the name they’ll call out when your drink is ready, but you can tell them your name is anything.” It was becoming clear that not only the customers were mad at the pair of them, but the employees were looking furious too now. Maybe because now they had to re-make the drinks knowing they weren’t getting more money for doing so. Tasmyn sipped again on Megan's drink, noticing that the new drinks coming out weren’t just being placed on the counter in front of them, but held until the actual customer came to claim them. “Oooh! That would be fun! But, I’ve never seen that happen before. Is that something hum- uh, people do?”
Somehow Norma felt as if it should be obvious to her that Tasmyn was not an American but, as it was, she still had no idea how borders worked or why or what they even were anymore. “Interesting. Where are you from? See I’ve been told following the law is the best way to stay out of trouble. Which is obviously something I liked to do.” That was untrue. But for the sake of her safety, she had to try at least. She started tapping her foot while waiting for a non-disgusting coffee, the supposed Megan and Karen glaring at her. Norma simply smiled and gave them a small “polite” wave. It seemed to incense them more. Wonderful. “Someone should really tell them that names are irrelevant in that case. They are very hung up on this.” Norma craned her neck to see if the disgruntled employees were making her new non disgusting drink. She couldn’t tell. But she could tell they were all flustered and grumpy. Her head tilted as she heard a similar tick to her own. The small slip of “hum” before swapping words. Was this simple social mirroring that most humans were prone to? Or did it mean something else? “I have never seen it literally happen to a human, no. Not naturally.Not without a little assistance.” She decided to test the waters, see how it landed. Likely this was not another fury she was speaking to, but there were plenty of options in between.
“Cornwall.” Tasmyn replied simply, her attention turning to the second part of Norma’s statement. “One could argue we’re about to get in trouble right now though. Which, honestly I don’t mind. Trouble is fun sometimes.” Usually Taz was the person in the room most uneducated about human politeness, but she was wondering if maybe she had met her match. “That’s because people are too reliant on their caffeine. So they don’t like us for creating a barrier to it. Because they think these drinks belong to them just because they paid for them. Which is an insane way to think about things.” As she looked around she saw a few of the baristas talking to some woman who was dressed slightly nicer than the other employees but still had a name tag on. Maybe the boss, hmmm… interesting. She presumed they were discussing her and Norma. “Assistance?” Her ears perked up and she returned her attention to her partner in coffee crime. “What kind of assistance?” There was a small smirk that spread across her lips. This woman wasn’t fae, but maybe she wasn’t exactly a human either. “Because, that would make this day far more entertaining…”
Norma nodded, searching her mind for where Cornwall was or could be. It sounded vaguely European, but then again, so did most American locations. Considering how settlement and colonization worked. She considered most of the old names superior but then again, she hardly remembered those anyway. Her head shot towards her new friend at the mention of trouble. “We are?” Her lips pursed as she tried to determine how to proceed. Part of her thought about running away, avoid trouble, but then again, she wasn’t alone in this. Surely between the two of them, they could pass the blame or cause enough confusion to get out of this. Maybe.
“Oh, I see. That makes sense. Though I do suppose a fair exchange of currency for goods is to be expected. Though it seems to be occurring with or without their expected timeliness.” Which, speaking of, she assumed it was her turn fairly soon, but just in case, she started waving at the baristas. Who, at this point, ignored her. How rude. “It looks like you have to wait your turn after all,” the Karen lady snipped. And as if on some sort of cue, the name Norma was called and she swept in to grab her drink. “It seems I do! This is much better, good job, coffee person. This effort is far superior to last time. You should always do this instead.” The barista looked confused but shrugged and went back to steaming milk, surely to take her advice while this Karen steamed herself. “Yes, assistance,” she assured. “I was thinking along the lines of a little… magic,” she added with a smirk. “You know, if one was skilled in that sort of thing. Perhaps?” It was a shame she couldn’t tap into her own store of powers. But it was worth asking if her new found friend was capable of causing enough chaos for them both.
“Just a little bit.” Tasmyn said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Breaking rules never bothered her, mostly because they usually seemed like stupid ways to make life more difficult than it needed to be. When she heard the bitter coffee woman talk, she turned around towards her and sighed, “Waiting is so stupid. If you just grabbed any drink you could’ve been well on your way to where you need to go by now.” As she turned back she smiled widely at the fact that Norma seemed to be enjoying her coffee suggestion. “Isn’t it so wonderful! Much better than just normal coffee. Normal is boring anyways.” Not long after, the barista placed down Tasmyn’s cup and called out her name. Happily, she snatched it up off the counter and took a big sip of it. “Magic?” She replied, eyes wide and her tone in a soft whisper. She couldn’t tell if this was some sort of test or not. Was she a hunter trying to trap her? Fortunately, the truth wouldn’t really get her into any trouble here. “I’m not personally magically inclined.” Now she was slightly disappointed, it would have been hilarious to see her friend make steam come out of these rude peoples ears. “We should go try to befriend someone who is skilled in magic. That would be fun!”
“Oh yes, it’s wonderful! Definitely better than nor--” Norma’s eyes went wide as she realized what she was about to say. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with being normal, though, of course. In fact, I consider myself to be perfectly normal. I mean, look at me!” she said, gesturing to herself with a nervous laugh. True, she hated having to be a boring basic human, but it was the safest way. So proving her normalcy and leaning into it was vital to her survival, like it or not. She took another long sip of her drink, hoping it could give her a moment to collect herself, be “normal” again. At least coffee was normal, right? She was well on her way with that alone. “You’re not?” she asked back, a little shocked that the very odd and fun woman she was talking to was somehow not inclined to magic. It seemed unfathomable. She couldn’t possibly be just a human, could she? They weren’t capable of this sort of chaos on their own. “That’s a shame, but yes, we should! I used to know many people who were knee deep in the dark arts. Light, too, but those were less fun. I’m a little bit unable to tap into my own source of power in this town. If you follow.” This was more than she should be telling any stranger, true, but it seemed a risk worth taking. And if things went wrong, well, she was exceptionally hard to kill.
“Normal is a bit boring for my tastes.” Tasmyn responded matter-of-factly. She’d never understand the human fascination with being just like everyone else. Maybe her attempts to live in human towns and try to not draw all that much attention to herself would be easier if she just gave in and tried to be normal. But that simply wasn’t how she wanted to live her life. Generally, Taz was a rather trusting fae. She believed that people were often telling the truth, and maybe that was because she herself couldn’t do anything except tell the truth. While she knew Deirdre had warned her to be careful for hunters, she made the choice to trust her new coffee friend. “I can… do some things that some people might call magic. But, that regrettably does not include making steam come out of human’s heads.” She wasn’t entirely sure what it meant to not be able to access her power in this town. Were there beings that couldn’t do magic in certain places? Or was there some anti-magic hex surrounding the town? “I don’t follow. But it sounds like a very intriguing story!” While she loved making friends of all kinds, mystical and powerful friends were her favorite to make.
It was boring for her tastes, too, but there was no way she would be able to announce that here. “It can be very exciting sometimes, I’m sure,” Norma said, not sure if she was trying hard to convince her new friend or herself. It would be alright. She wouldn’t have to keep up this charade forever, surely. Demons got bored eventually. They’d lift those bounties someday, right? Norma took a sip of her coffee and tired to ignore the sinking feeling brewing her belly at the thought. There was no doubt in her mind, however, that Tasmyn was supernaturally inclined. Though not a witch. “You seem to have a natural talent for chaos, magic or otherwise. It’s quite impressive.” Norma supposed that new furies were made all the time, it was entirely possible this was a new one she didn’t know of. Human was out of the question, she knew that much. It might be safe to test the waters a little further. “It’s a very long story. One that I don’t know all the ins and out of just yet. Maybe I’ll explain it to you sometime later.” Norma could already feel some of her facade slipping just knowing she was talking to someone who was likely not human. Perhaps that was a mistake, considering they were still surrounded. With a sigh, Norma sipped her coffee and decided it needed something extra. She looked over behind the counter and saw those fun pumps of liquid there. She reached over and pumped one right into her drink, despite the barista’s protests. It couldn’t hurt, right? She took a sip and… ‘Ugh, not good. Can you fix this?” she said, handing her drink over to the barista. “Get. Out!” he shouted “Both of you! Out!” Norma looked around for who he could be talking to. Did he mean her? And her new friend? “Well that’s rather rude!” She remarked, snatching her drink back. And the one sitting at the counter.
Tasmyn smiled at the compliment. Or at least she took the comment about chaos as a complement. “Thank you. You’ve got quite the talent for it too.” While she had found a handful of friends in town who were willing to do wild and possibly irresponsible things with her, the fact that this total stranger was so open to it all was refreshing. They didn’t know each other, yet they seemed to understand each other, at least a little bit. “I would very much like to hear that story sometime later.” Was that a way of making future plans? She hoped so, she wanted to be friends with Norma. Tasmyn gaped a little when she saw Norma reach over the counter and put a pump of flavoring into her drink. Sure, nothing they had done in there today had been orthodox coffee shop behavior, but this was ingenious. Create your own flavors. Mix and match. She was about to do the same thing, going for a different flavor though since the one Norma picked didn’t seem to be great. But then the barista spoke. “What? Excuse us. We are customers. The customer is always right. I work at a restaurant, so I know that!” In defiance, she reached over the counter and put a big pump of raspberry flavor into her drink. They were just trying to enjoy their experience. Then the person from before, maybe the manager approached them. “Ladies. I need you both to leave or we will be forced to call the cops.” That struck a bit of worry into Tasmyn’s stomach. The cops? That seemed like an over exaggeration. She turned to her partner in alleged coffee crime, “What should we do?” She asked in a whisper.
“Thank you!” Norma replied instinctively. “I mean, I’m not that chaotic. I’m simply a normal human. Just a human,” she said quickly, trying to cover her slip up, making sure that the last part of her speech was the loudest. Just in case anyone was listening. “I would very much like to tell it to you! Just not here. In the open. I don’t think Megan would full appreciate it.” That said, she was having a grand time with her new friend. Up until a very forceful woman came up to them and asked them to leave. Norma froze a moment before realizing what the consequences of this could really be. Tasmyn whispered to her but here was no question in her mind what she had to do. “The cops? Oh no, I’m a law abiding American citizen! No cops, no thank you! Goodbye!” Norma scooped up as many coffee cups as she could carry from the counter before turning to book it. “Thank you, coffee people! Bye! Nice meeting you Tasmyn! Let’s meet again soon!”
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Stripped Bare - Chapter 16 (Bryce X MC AU)
Book: Open Heart
Pairing: Bryce X MC (Charlie Hawkins)
Summary: It’s the day of the wedding rehearsal, and Charlie introduces Bryce to another one of her family members. Also, there may be trouble in paradise for Katelyn and Landry.
Note: Just in case the relationship between Kyra isn’t clear, they are not related by blood or technically even by marriage. They are both related to Katelyn as her cousin, but they are from opposite sides of the family. Charlie only knows Kyra from when she would invite them both over as kids. This distinction will be necessary this chapter, lol.
Also another thing which I have failed to mention enough is that most of the locations and things in this series are real parts of this resort. There are mentions of a bar, specific bartender, and cocktail, all of which really exist at Half Moon resort.
Lastly, I appreciate all the feedback I got on where to take this series. I was able to merge several ideas with things I already had in mind, so there’s no specific credit to be given, but you may see bits and pieces of what you personally suggested from here on out. Thank you all again for your help.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2850
Friday
"There's something different about you...." Kyra narrows her eyes and scans Charlie discerningly. "Is it new makeup? You're all glowy or something."
"No, I don’t think so." Charlie laughs nervously. Kyra knows, or if she doesn't she's about to figure it out. Not that Charlie would keep it from her, but she doesn't want to discuss it here, seated amongst the wedding party at the beachside set-up, waiting for the officiant to arrive to start the rehearsal.
"Oh my god! You and Bryce fu-"
"Kyra!" Charlie covers Kyra's mouth with her hand. "This is not the time nor the place."
Kyra smirks satisfactorily. "You didn't deny it. I expect full details later. And I mean everything."
Charlie rolls her eyes but can't hold back a smirk. "Okay, just keep it down for now."
Kyra glances off to the side where Bryce is waiting and winks at him. Bryce shoots a confused look to Charlie and she just shrugs and throws her hands up. As expected, Kyra is having difficulty with the concept of discretion.
The rehearsal is uneventful, but there seems to be extra tension between between Katelyn and Landry. Not that they’re a super affectionate couple to begin with, but the air is especially icy between them. Maybe it’s just stress and pre-wedding jitters, but whatever the case, seeing those two together makes Charlie even more thankful she’s not still with Andrew.
Bryce approaches Charlie as they are dismissed to head to the rehearsal dinner and loops his arm around her waist. “You walked down that aisle like a pro. You’re going to nail your performance tomorrow.”
Charlie giggles. “Well this is me we’re talking about. No guarantees I won’t fall flat on my face.
Bryce nods. “This is true. I’ll have to make sure you keep your alcohol consumption to a minimum tomorrow.
“But not tonight. I have to deal with my parents again. Oh, and did I mention my brother should be there too? His flight was supposed to get in this afternoon.”
“No you did not. Is he as hard to impress as your parents?”
“Nah,” Charlie shakes her head. “He never liked Andrew, but I have a feeling he’ll like you.”
“Sounds like a good judge of character then, so obviously he’ll love me.” Bryce smirks.
“Hurry it up you two!” Kyra calls over her shoulder. “Cocktail hour starts now, and I don’t want to drink alone.”
~~~
“Guess who!” A pair of large hands cover Charlie’s eyes as she stands at the bar, but she’d know that voice anywhere.
“Will!” She spins around on her tiptoes and throws her arms around her much taller brother. "I’ve missed you!”
He squeezes her back tight. “You too, Chuck.”
“Okay, I don’t miss you anymore. You can get right back on that plane and go back to Africa.”
“Chuck?” Bryce questions with an amused expression on his face. “I haven’t heard that one yet.
“Just a nickname Will calls me to annoy the shit out of me. If you haven’t guessed, Bryce, this is my brother Will. Will this is my boyfriend, Bryce.” The word feels strange and uncertain coming off her tongue now that this thing between them is officially real, but she’s instantly reassured when she sees Bryce smile brighter when he hears it.
“Nice to meet you, Will.” Bryce extends his hand to will, but Will pulls him in for a hug and claps him on the back.
“Same to you. Charlie, I can’t believe you’ve been keeping him a secret from me.” Will puts a hand up to his lips as a shield. “He’s hot!” he mouths inaudibly to Charlie.
“You know I could see that.” Bryce chuckles.
“Yeah, please don’t feed his ego. It’s already big enough,” Charlie teases and the guys both laugh. ”Anyway you’ve been so busy with your Peace Corps stuff, I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you lately,” Charlie offers as an excuse without having to reveal that Bryce didn’t exist in her life before two weeks ago.
“Fair enough. I’ll catch up with you two later, but I should go say hi to mom and dad. You wanna come with?”
“No.” Charlie shakes her head emphatically. “I’ve had enough of them already, mom especially.”
Will frowns sympathetically. “I’m sure as soon as mom sees her favorite baby boy and dad starts hounding me about deadlines for applying to grad school, they’ll forget whatever they were on you about.”
“Good luck with that.” Charlie waves him along with a tight-lipped grin.
“Oh my god!” Kyra walks up beside Charlie. “I haven’t seen Will since we were kids. When did get get so grown up...and hot.”
“Kyra!” Charlie smacks her in the shoulder. “That’s my little brother!”
“Well he’s not my brother. And in case you forgot, we aren’t related, and he’s not a kid anymore.”
“Hey, I don’t blame her.” Bryce joins in. “Good looks run in the Hawkins family. He’s got your gorgeous green eyes, and that stubble and ‘too busy doing humanitarian work to get my hair cut’ look is really working for him.”
“Ugh, now you are drooling over him too? Whose side are you on?”
“Aww, you know I’m on your side, babe.” Bryce pulls Charlie close, taking her breath away with a heated kiss. “You’re the only Hawkins I want.”
Kyra clears her throat. “You guys are disgusting...in the best possible way, of course.
“Sorry,” Charlie steps away from Bryce sheepishly. “We should probably get to our table now. Looks like they are starting to serve dinner."
Charlie reluctantly sits with her family, but sticks to pleasantries with her parents. Kyra rounds out the 6 person table, providing a much needed buffer. Charlie's not sure if her mom is just pretending the whole thing never happened, like she so often does, or if she's just waiting to get into it again when nobody else is around, but she'll take the peace for now. It's not really awkward anyway with all the stories Will has to tell. Unsurprisingly Kyra is hanging on his every word, but he doesn't seem to mind the attention.
A short while after dinner is served Kyra nudges Charlie in the side and nods toward the corner. “Check that out.”
Charlie tries to turn her head inconspicuously and spots Katelyn and Landry seemingly in the middle of an argument. And then, without any notice or goodbyes, they leave the restaurant. “Well that doesn’t look good,” she mumbles under her breath.
Noticing the commotion, the tall Sarah stands up to cover for the couple. “The Bride and Groom wanted me to tell everyone they are retiring early for the evening so they can be well rested for tomorrow.” Landry and Katelyn’s parents all look confused but shrug it off and go back to eating their meals.
“Well,I think the party’s over here. Is there a good bar or somewhere we can go to hang out?” Will asks.
“How about Cedar Bar?” Bryce suggests. “I think Caswell is on tonight, and he’s the best.”
Will Chuckles. “I suppose I’d be familiar with all the bartenders here too if I had to put up with Katelyn for a whole week.”
Charlie laughs. “Bryce is just like that. He's made friends with just about all the staff here. It's unbelievable really."
"It's not fault people can't resist my charming, magnetic personality. It's just how I am." He winks at Charlie.
Charlie rolls her eyes but can't hold back a smirk. "Well then lets go and you can work your magic to get us some free drinks."
~~~
The night is warm and there’s a gentle breeze coming off the water into the open air bar. It’s busy, but not too crowded or loud to engage in conversation. The group finds an open table for four and Bryce goes up to the bar to do his thing. He shakes Caswell’s hand and returns to the table with a triumphant look on his face. “Four Yellowbird cocktails, coming up.”
“Uh, what’s in those?” Kyra asks skeptically.
Bryce shrugs. "When someone offers you their signature cocktail for free, you don't ask."
Moments later a cocktail waitress brings over four hurricane glasses filled with yellow-orange liquid and a colorful fruit garnish. Charlie takes a sip and is met with an interesting mix of flavors but it somehow works. "Not bad. Definitely rum, orange juice, bananas and.... something else. I feel like this is one of those dangerous drinks that could get you drunk real fast."
Kyra takes a big swig of her drink. "I'll be glad to test that theory out."
Will leans over to whisper something in Kyra's ear, a blush creeping over her cheeks before she pushes her drink off to the side. Charlie’s still not quite sure how to feel about whatever is going on between the two of them, but Will’s an adult and she trusts Kyra, so she’s just not going to interfere.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were dating someone new.” Will shakes his head at Charlie. “How did you two meet?”
This part is still tricky, they’ve practiced the story but it’s really hard to look Will in the eyes and lie. “Well we were both medical students,” she offers, which is technically true.
“But didn’t you say you went to Harvard, Bryce?”
“I did, but there is some overlap in the faculty and hospital appointments between Harvard and Boston University so sometimes the students end up in the same place.”
Charlie breathes a sigh of relief at Bryce’s quick-thinking answer, and Will seems satisfied. Bryce places on hand on Charlie’s knee under the table, idly rubbing soothing circles over her skin. He continues with these little touches here in there, but unlike before, these aren’t for anyone else to see.
They finish their cocktails and order another round of less extravagant drinks while catching up. Unsurprisingly, Bryce and Will get along like old friends, and Will only embarrasses Charlie a little. With what Bryce has seen of her already, she’s not worried anything Will says will scare him away.
“Hey guys, mind if I crash your party?” A stunned silence falls over the table as a bleary eyed Katelyn stands before them.
“Um, not at all,” Charlie replies as Bryce pulls up an extra chair to the end of the table.
“No offense, Katelyn, but you kind of look like shit,” Will adds. “Shouldn’t you be getting your beauty sleep for the wedding?”
She rolls her eyes at the same time she wipes the mascara smudges with the back of her hand. “Who knows if there will even be a wedding.”
“What?” Charlie and Kyra both gasp. Although Charlie can think of a multitude of reasons why Katelyn and Landry aren’t right for each other, she couldn’t imagine Katelyn calling off the wedding at this point.
“Landry is just as much of a douchebag as you all thought. Even if you never said it, I could tell you all were thinking it.”
“What happened?” Charlie asks out of genuine concern. As much as she can’t stand the person who Katelyn has become, she’s still family and Charlie still cares.
“Fucking Tanner showed up.” Katelyn pulls out her phone and shows them some screenshots of intimate conversations between Landry and his friend from college within the last few months. “He said they were just joking, but I’m not that naive. I forgave him so long as he cut off communication, and I thought he did. Then Tanner showed up today, and our arguing escalated until we went back to the room. I demanded to see his phone and found a thread of messages hidden under another name. He claimed Tanner’s only here because the invitations went out before I found everything out. He says he still loves me and begged me to go through with the wedding, but I don’t know if I can.”
“Screw him,” Kyra scoffs. “You can do so much better.”
Katelyn might be awful to put up with, but Kyra’s right. Landry’s still not good enough for her, but Charlie’s not sure that’s what Katelyn wants to hear right now. “What Kyra means is that you deserve someone you love and loves you just as much in return.”
Bryce stands up. “Maybe we should let you ladies have some time to talk this through. Will, come get a drink at the bar with me?”
The men leave and Katelyn picks up Wills half-full cocktail and downs it. “I don’t know what to do... Are you going to finish that?” She points to Charlie’s drink, and Charlie slides it over to her.
“What does your gut say you should do? You don’t have to feel obligated to marry him just because we are all here for the wedding.”
Kyra takes another sip of her drink. “Yes, what she said.”
“I don’t even know if I love him. I love what he is on paper. He can give me the life I’ve always wanted, and if I don’t have him, I’m left with nothing.”
“Psshht.” Kyra shakes her head. “Girl, you know you are way out of his league.”
“Who is this Katelyn and what did she do with my independent, intelligent, ambitious cousin? The Katelyn I grew up with wouldn’t need a man for anything,” Charlie echoes the sentiment.
“But I’ve given up going to law school to be a wife. It’s all I have now.”
“Katelyn, you’re only twenty-six, and in case you forgot, still independently wealthy. You have the time and money to do anything you want. If you want to marry Landry because it makes you happy, do that, but not because you think it is what you are supposed to do.”
“Trust me,” Kyra interjects. “You’ll look like much less of a loser if you call off the wedding than if you actually marry that pasty-ass white boy.”
“Kyra!” Charlie shoots her a glare. Sure they’ve all been thinking it but it’s a bit harsh to say out loud.
“Kyra’s right. I should have dumped the cheating, spineless, scrawny-ass bastard a long time ago.”
Charlie leans over to hug Katelyn, stifling a laugh. “We aren’t trying to tell you what you do, but we’ll support whatever decision is best for you. Right, Kyra?” Charlie arches her eyebrows at Kyra as a warning to keep her mouth filtered for Katelyn’s sake.
“Yep.” She gets up to give Katelyn said after Charlie retreats.
“Good.” Katelyn dabs her tears away with a cocktail napkin. “Now I need all the drinks.” She reaches for another drink, but Charlie stops her.
“Are you sure that’s the best idea?”
“Yes.” Katelyn pushes away from the table and walks up to bar, ordering two shots and downing them immediately. Will and Bryce bring her back to the table, already another drink in hand.
Bryce leans in to whisper to Charlie. “We should probably try to keep her from over-doing it.”
“It might be a little late for that, but we’ll watch her.”
The night wears on and the group sneakily orders a couple more non-alcoholic beverages for Katelyn, but she’s already had quite enough. It’s getting late and Kyra and Will bow out first, Will volunteering to “walk Kyra back to her room” as if that isn’t obvious. Charlie finally convinces Katelyn to go back to Landry and face whatever is going to happen.
“I’m just going to use the restroom before we go. Do you need to go, Katelyn?”
“No, I’m good.” Katelyn stumbles back against the wall.
“I’ll wait out here with her,” Bryce offers.
“Good call.” Charlie laughs and pushes through the women’s room door.
~~~
Katelyn is a fucking mess. Bryce has no idea how she and Charlie can be related. She’s good looking enough, but nowhere near as pretty as Charlie. But her personality...yikes. Charlie says Katelyn wasn’t always this way, and he’s grateful Charlie has managed to grow into the person she is despite a similar upbringing.
“Charlie’s so lucky to have you.” Katelyn slurs, stumbling forward and crashing into Bryce’s chest. He tips her back upright, but her hands remain planted on his pecs, giving them a squeeze. “You know how bad I’ve been wanting to feel these? I know you’re always showing off your muscles because you want everyone to look, and I’ve definitely been looking.”
Bryce removes Katelyn’s hands, placing them at her sides. Sure he’s proud of his body and likes to show it off, but he’s certainly not looking for this type of attention. ”That doesn’t mean everyone gets to touch me. That’s reserved for Charlie.”
Katelyn pouts.”But is she as good of kisser as me?”
Bryce should have been anticipating it from her question, but before he can make sense of what’s happening, Katelyn arms around around his neck and her lips are his. Initially shocked and frozen in place, he finally comes around, but it’s already too late.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Landry booms, his face red with anger, and next to him is a bewildered looking Charlie.
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summer is over, and so are we. [1] ↠ jung jaehyun
[pt.2] [pt.3]
➹ jaehyun x reader
➹ genre: angst, fluff
➹ word count: 2,104
➹ summary: He introduced you to a warm summer you thought you would never have to leave. Yet, here you are, in the middle of a ruthless winter which’s ending seems to be nowhere in sight.
a/n: yall remember her? im bringing it back lol
It still hurts a little bit. When I walk into that café down the street and I’m sipping on bubble tea, but you’re not the one sitting across from me.
“I’ve only had the matcha milk tea. I haven’t tried anything else.” You stood in line with Jaehyun, studying the menu of the endless flavors as you two waited your turn to give your order.
“Only matcha milk tea? I usually stick with the fruity flavored ones. Like, the mango and the lychee ones are probably my favorite.” He explained to you while he observed the staff create the drink of the person in front of you two.
“Would I like them?”
He paused for a second and thought about it, “yeah, you would! I think you’d really enjoy the mango one, actually.
A chuckle escaped your lips and you looked up at him, a bright smile overtaking your face, “I’ll trust you then.”
You two had noticed that one of the tables outside was vacant, a very rare occurrence. Not wanting to miss this chance, you had rushed outside and claimed the table as yours. You moved your chair and now you were seated next to Jaehyun, a mango bubble tea in the both of your hands.
“Can I try yours?”
“...We have the exact same one?” Although you were a bit confused with Jaehyun’s request, you still pushed your drink towards him.
“Yeah, I know. But I told myself if we ever came here for a date, I’d take a sip of your bubble tea, to you know, share an indirect kiss.” He took ahold of your drink and swirled the straw around for a way to avoid eye contact with you. He felt embarrassed, you could tell by the way his cheeks had turned a light crimson color along with the way his ears seemed to burn up, too.
A small giggle escaped your mouth. How could he be so adorable? “Well...why settle for an indirect kiss when you can get a direct one?”
He let out a shy chuckle allowing you to notice his dimple prominently popping in on the side of the cheek that was currently turned to you. Oh, the self-control it took for you not to poke it with your finger.
He licked his lips unconsciously and faced you, “I can kiss you?” You replied with an ecstatic nod. Maybe a bit too ecstatic.
“Then…” You intently watched his every move. The way his right hand had hesitantly come up to your face, his fingers shakily settling under your chin. The way his other hand was still holding onto the drink that he had entirely forgotten about. The way he moved in closer and then took a pause, allowing his eyes to trace over your face to memorize everything about it. His eyes fluttered closed and shortly after, so did yours.
He kissed you, your lips molding together like the last two pieces of an incomplete puzzle. At that moment it was just you two, your senses completely flooding with his smell. It felt like no one else was around, that the past and future didn’t matter anymore. The kiss wasn’t fiery or full of need. It was slow, cautious, sweet, full of promise and didn’t fail to make you feel tingly all over. It was comforting in a way that words could never be. That was when you knew you loved him. From the first kiss you two shared. And maybe that was when he did too.
When I stumble into the park at night, but it’s not you and I sitting on the swings cooling off from the heat of the day.
It was dark out and here you were, sitting on the swings at the park. The usual bird song and the baying of dogs were replaced with the sound of crickets. The unusual rustle of leaves at a time like this would heighten your senses and alert your brain, convincing it some type of danger was approaching, but it’s been different nowadays. Coming here this late has become a routine for you and Jaehyun. It’s a spot to take a breather and spend time together without having to interact with the busy bustle of the day. So you’ve learned to tune out such thoughts. And besides, with Jaehyun by your side, nothing felt as scary as it used to.
Usually, you two felt relaxed in this environment but tonight, Jaehyun was feeling tense and that face didn’t go over your head.
Your feet were planted on the rubber mulch while you used them to slightly sway yourself back and forth on the swing. Jaehyun was on the swing next to you not moving as much as you mainly because he was too busy watching you. Your gaze was set on the floor so he must have assumed you didn’t notice his stare but, of course, you did.
“It feels really nice out.”
Jaehyun sighed and looked away, “yeah, it does. Thank god it gets cooler at night time.”
You hummed in response before turning your body towards him, “are you okay?” He looked back at you and nodded. He held his hand out to you, palm facing up, wanting to hold your hand. You gladly obliged and as soon as you set your hand in his, he enclosed his fingers around it tightly.
It was silent for another few minutes as Jaehyun stared at your hand in his. His eyebrows were furrowed which could only mean he was thinking about something deeply and you so badly wanted to know what was bothering him. He took in a deep breath and finally spoke up, “I think...I...I love you.”
“Oh...Is that a bad thing?”
He quickly shook his head, “of course not! It’s just...I’m worried your feelings aren’t as strong as mine and that maybe you’d get annoyed of it or something. I don’t know.”
“I don’t think I love you,” you watched as his expression completely dropped, “I know I love you.”
Jaehyun let out a gasp and used the hand he was holding to tug you up out of your swing to bring you closer to him. You stumbled up and laughed as he pulled you between his legs where you stood and snaked your arms around his neck. You looked down at him with a grin, your hair now covering the sides of your face and coming down to tickle him.
“y/n! You scared me!” He whined, his bottom lip coming out in a cute pout.
“It’s what you deserve for being so silly and thinking that I’d get annoyed of you!”
“So you love me, huh?” He jerked his brow up cockily, doing a complete 180 from his pouty behavior from earlier in a matter of just a few seconds.
“More than anything.”
“Good, because I do too.” And at that moment, it was undeniably true.
When I’m laying in my bed after a long day, but you’re not there with the sheer comfort that your arms always provide.
“Oh, you’re here?” You walked into your room encountering Jaehyun’s body sprawled across your bed on his back, his legs dangling off the edge.
He nodded, “It seemed like you were having a bad day so I decided to put the spare key you gave me to use.”
Your shoulders fell, no longer feeling like you had to put up a front. Jaehyun could figure you out like you were the back of his hand. “You could tell even over text?”
“Of course I could baby. Was it work?”
“Yeah. I don’t wanna talk about it though, it’ll make me angry and upset all over again.” You sighed and combed your fingers through your hair as you moved across the room to set down your bag down on the dresser.
“Come here~” He opened his arms up without moving up from his position. You gladly complied and settled between his legs, your body falling on top of his. As soon as you fell down on him, his arms found their way around your waist and yours, in return, wrapping around him too. Your face nuzzled into his chest and you instantly were engulfed with his sweet smelling cologne tinged with the soft scent of the citrusy body wash he uses. The same smell that would stick to your bed sheets and provide you with comfort when he wasn’t with you.
“Ugh, I love your smell.” You mumbled into his chest.
He laughed and you could feel his chest vibrate with each breath, “why thank you! I work really hard to smell like this.” It was quiet after that. The only thing that could be heard was your breaths that were starting to sync up now and the sound of the tapping rain against your window that had started falling lightly just a few minutes ago.
“Oh! I did my nails yesterday and I regret it already. They’re so hard to work with.”
“Oh my gosh! Let me see!” Jaehyun started to lift his butt up off the bed to allow you to easily slip your hand out under him. Your heart warmed up with how genuinely excited he sounded. When you brought your hand out, he let go of your waist with one arm and grabbed ahold of your hand to get a better look. You watched him marvel at the fake nails that were glued to your real ones and you immediately began to beam. He always showed interest in every little thing about you and made it so difficult for you not to fall in love with him over and over again every single day.
“They’re so pretty,” he focused his gaze on you and brought his finger to boop you on the nose, “but not as pretty as you.”
You snorted, “you’re so cheesy.” Instead of letting you return your hand back under him, he continued to hold your hand against his body and shot you a grin, bearing his teeth and those dimples that you loved more than anything.
“Let go of my hand, I need to itch the inside of my nose.”
“No.” You whined out his name in response.
“Worry not, I’ll itch it for you!” Before you could protest he picked out your index finger with his own index finger and thumb and began approaching your nose with it. You tried to move your head away and the sudden movement caused him to end up shoving your finger way too far up your nostril. You jerked up off of him, your hands flying up to your nose where you could feel the pain begin to spread.
You groaned with your eyes shut tight and Jaehyun flew up off the bed after you, his eyes were wide and full of worry accompanied with regret. “OH MY GOD Y/N I’M SO SORRY! ARE YOU OKAY!? LET ME SEE! OH MY GOD, I’M SO SORRY!” He grabbed at your hands and removed them away from your nose. He peered into your nose to check if you were bleeding. His relieved sigh indicated you weren’t bleeding at least.
Jaehyun suddenly grabbed the sides of your head and you let out a yelp when he tugged you into his chest, squishing your face against it, “I’m so sorry!” He continuously repeated until you muffled out an “oh my god Jaehyun it’s okay!” against him
“Are you okay?” He asked when he finally let go of your head.
“Yes, I’m fine, babe! Come on, let’s go lay back down.” He nodded and crawled up onto the bed, you following suit with the blanket that was previously at the foot of your bed. You opened it up and loosely wrapped it around him and then yourself. This time his head rested against your chest, the feeling of it rising and falling was therapeutic to him. Your hand played with his hair so softly that it was starting to make his eyes droop heavily with sleep. His arms gave your body a tight squeeze as he groggily mumbled out an “I love you.”
“I love you more, Jae.” And you did.
I met you in the summer, but I wish I hadn’t.
You were my first love, but I wish you weren’t.
I wish I was over you, but it’s been a year and I’m still dwelling on that summer that was once ours.
It’s winter all year long now, and it’s killing me. I need to feel the warmth that is you in order to survive, and I hate it so much.
#nct scenarios#nct#nct 127#nct 127 scenarios#jung jaehyun#nct jaehyun#jaehyun scenarios#nct au#nct series#nct fic#jaehyun au#nct u#nct x reader#nct imagines#nct fluff#nct angst#jaehyun fic#jung yoonoh#jaehyun gifs#summer is over and so are we
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Furiends Episode 3: A Bad Idea
A new day has come, and the warthog sits with the cat and blue jay at a small table in a small coffee shop by the name “Pawbucks”. The girls, however, are slouched in their chairs, and have their heads leaning against solid objects as flat-mouthed, half-eyed expressions occupy their faces.
“Ugh, I’m so bored!” Navy exclaims. “What are we supposed to do now?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” responds Emmy. “Thought it would be a good idea to talk about art, but we constantly see each other’s posts on Furbook.”
“Come on, I’m sure there’s something else to do,” Carly adds. “Maybe we can go to the cartoon festival?” The bird and warthog just look at her. “No? How about-”
“Let’s just get out of here,” Emmy interrupts. She gets out of her seat. “Perhaps, it’ll come to us…” The bird and cat follow without another word. The three exit the coffee shop and walk along the sidewalk. As they amble down the street, Navy begins a conversation on her interests with a certain character she conjures up. That’s when the pass a display of books in the window pane.
Emmy takes notice of a book on the shelf through the display, forcing her to enter the store. The other girls follow her as she steps toward her target, pulls the book off the shelf, and examines it. The title reads “The Dark Arts for Dummies,” and having a deformed face on the cover. “Interesting…” Emmy opens the book and scans through its contents briefly. “Very interesting…”
Carly stands behind Emmy, glancing over her shoulder to see inside the book. “That book interests you?”
Navy stands and makes her way beside the warthog. “Ooh, a book on dark magic?”
“Looks like it,” Emmy says. “Says everything about how to summon demons and conjure black magic.”
Navy gasps and smiles at the idea. “Oh, can we do this! Please?”
“I don’t know if we should,” Carly adds. “May have some bad outcomes.”
“Or maybe we can raise our very own demon!” Navy utters. “And perhaps wreak havoc on that wolf for taunting Zach.”
“Not sure if that’ll be the case,” utters Emmy. “But you know what, it probably would be a way to kill boredom. Besides, what could go wrong?”
***
Back at the mall, the three girls wander around in search for their items. They split off in different directions as they look around.
Navy picks up a box labeled “dinner candles” on it, taking it for the first item. “These will do.”
“Miss,” calls out a store associate. “We haven’t stocked those yet!” Navy continues walking up to the counter and prepares to pay, leaving the clerk with a look of dismay.
Emmy searches up and down the row of chalkboards, taking the erasers and chalk from the holders. “This will suit our need of chalk dust.” She picks up one eraser, but barely has a grip on it. “Uh oh!” Upon catching it, she hits the chalk boards on either side of her, emitting dust into the air around her. “Oh no…” Emmy’s mouth begins opening wider until, “Achoo!” The dust enters her nose more, causing an uncontrollable sneeze. “I must… achoo! Get out of- Achoo! Here…”
In the floral shop by the corner, Carly looks around for the last item on the list; black rose water. “Hm… If I were rose water, where would I be?” Her eyes are drawn to the bottle on the top shelf near the entrance. “Of course, it’s up there…” She looks around, yet sees no worker in the store. “And no one’s around to help… Guess I’ll just help myself then…” The cat reaches for the bottle, but her paw is only inches away from it. “Hugck! Come on!” She stands on her tippy-toes. “Come on, Carly! You’ve almost got it!” Her paw stretches out more and wraps around the item. “Got it!” Her weight, however, causes the god to lean forward into the shelf. “Uh oh! Whoa!” Carly is knocked into it, causing it to fall over. As the shelf falls, a vase of flower water tips and spills all over her. Carly gets up and sees the damages she’s caused. “Uh, whoops…” She quickly pulls out some cash and leaves it on the counter. “I’ll just be going!” She leaves the scene. “I was never here…”
The girls regroup in the center of the mall.
“All right, everyone got everything from the list?” asks Emmy, rubbing her nose with her finger. The cat and bird nod. “Good. Now, we need a place to perform the ritual.”
“Let’s do it at my place,” says Navy. “We can set up there and-” The bird sniffs the cat. “Hey, why do you smell like fresh roses?”
“Please don’t,” Carly utters. “I need a bath once I get home…”
“You can wash later, when we’ve-” Emmy sniffles. “Oh no… Achoo! Ugh…” She sneezes again.
“Bless you,” Navy tells her.
“Security!” someone shouts. “Security! Someone has destroyed the flower shop!” As the spectator yells, the girls rush out the entrance.
***
The gang gathers at Navy’s studio apartment, where they set up for their “special event”. Carly draws along the floor, making a pentagram with a marker. Emmy takes sand and proceeds to encircle the pentagram, touching the points with perfection. Lastly, Navy places candles beside the points and lights them.
Carly looks into the picture in the book before viewing the shape in reality. She crosses her arms with a smile of pleasure. “Looks about right.”
“Yeah,” Navy adds. “And it smells nice, too!”
“Okay, let’s get started.” Emmy picks up the book and holds it in her hooves. “All that’s left is to recite the incantation.”
“Wait!” Carly interrupts. “What if whatever comes out of there tries to kill us?”
“Hm, good point. We should suit up and prepare for the worst.” The three girls rummage around Navy’s place for protective equipment and anything that could be used as a weapon. They manage to find gear and tools, preparing in five minutes. Navy holds a shovel close while donning a knight’s helmet, while Carly protects herself with football helmet, wielding a frying pan for her defense. Emmy’s head is covered with a pumpkin as a baseball bat leans up against her for her weapon. The warthog holds the book up. “Everybody ready?” Navy and Carly stand guard behind Emmy, ready to expect the unexpected. Emmy begins the incantation. “For thou who lives trapped in flame and clay, heed this call, rejoice and pray.” Navy’s wings tremble, shaking the shovel in her grip. “Gather upon thy mortal door.” Carly tightens her grip of her frying pan. “Break the gates, and emerge once more!” The candle flames enlarge, brightening the room as a portal opens within the center of the pentagram. One big, round ball shoots out from the entryway, bouncing off the walls of the apartment. The three girls panic as the frenzy continues.
“Whoa!” Carly dives behind the counters in the kitchen to take cover, lying on the floor. “Jeez! How do you stop this thing?!”
“I don’t know!” Emmy dodges as the flame ball flies past her. “This thing’s out of control! Yipe!” She stumbles onto the ground, avoiding the fire sphere as it nearly collides into her.
“Don’t worry!” Navy holds the shovel firmly. “I’ve got it!” As the ball comes her way, she swings and smacks it away. The sphere of flames smashes through the glass window and outside. “Homerun! Woo!” The orb is last seen barreling down the street, burning lampposts and trees along the way. “Um, uh oh…”
Carly stands and looks out the broken window. “Nice going…”
Emmy is quick to her feet as she heads out the door. “Come on! We have to go after it!”
“Are you crazy?!” the cat utters. Navy is already behind the warthog. “Hey, wait for me!” Carly sprints after them.
***
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Zach, Niji, Eren, and Silus enjoy some time together in the park. The boys each hold ice cream cones in their paws and chat away as they lick their frozen treats.
“Mmm,” Niji spurts after licking his treat. “I love rainbow-flavored ice cream.”
Zach looks to the short deer, who takes a bite out of his swirl. “Eren, thank you very much… You didn’t have to pay for mine… I could’ve just passed on it.”
“No no,” Eren tells him. “It’s fine. Besides, it would’ve been fair if you were left out. You’re our friend after all.”
“Nobody ever thought it was unfair when they left me out of things, the orphanage and Team Rescuers especially…” Zach’s ears start to droop.
“They’re just dumb,” Niji adds in. “The whole town, too. Just because you’re different, doesn’t give them the right to push you out of things. So what if you are the product of some bad animals or have a mental disorder? You look and act normal to us.”
Zach’s eyelids open wide as his ears straighten. “R-really? You think so, Niji?”
“We all do,” Silus implies. “They just don’t know what it’s like to be different. You shouldn’t let people talk you down because they say you have “flaws”. In fact, you shouldn’t assess yourself for your flaws, but of your strengths; the things that make you proud of who you are, no matter what anybody things.”
“Gee, I-” The fox pauses, then turns his head after spotting something glowing in the corner of his eye. “W-what? What is that?” Everyone turns to see where he’s looking. “It looks like a giant-” Zach’s eyelids pull back as far as they can go as he notices a large fireball heading straight for him and his friends. “Holy!” Silus is quick with his reflexes, grabbing the fox, wolf, and deer with his arms and pulling them away to avoid the flames. However, as the ball of flames whooshes past, it manages to touch Zach on his torso, Eren by his shoulder, and Niji on his head, as well as the newt’s arms that grasp the three. The four boys collapse to the ground and scatter as they grudge at their burns, grunting and yelping with pain. The fire sphere then disappears from view, leaving the friends clueless.
Emmy arrives on scene with Navy and Carly beside her. “I think this is where it-” She notices the boys. “Oh my gosh! Niji, Eren, Silus, Zach!” She and the girls aide the four friends to their feet. “You guys okay?!”
“What happened?” asks Carly. “You’ve got burns!”
“Yeah, no kidding!” Niji shouts. “No thanks to that giant fireball that passed by!”
“Wait, you know where the fireball went?!” Navy utters. “Where did it go?!” She searches around frantically. “Is it around here?!”
“Navy, now’s not the time!” Carly calls to her. “We have to help our friends!”
“We don’t even know what’s happening,” grunts Zach. “We were having ice cream when that flaming ball came out of nowhere… Oh, it hurts!”
Eren looks up at the girls. “Um, why are you wearing those outfits?”
“We’ll explain later,” Emmy says. “Why don’t we head back to Navy’s place and get you guys some ice?” The friends agree. The boys stand with ease due to their injuries and follow the girls back.
@carlycmarathecat @emmy-the-absolute-goof @pink-unicorn-blood @rainbow-strike @ask-choro-mama
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The Joker x Reader -”Venom” Part 2
The Joker broke into a top secret lab to steal vials with an experimental pathogen and what he found in there was actually Venom. From that moment on life has been more complicated, but thankfully chaos is The King of Gotham’s trademark style.
Part 1: http://diyunho(dot)tumblr.com/post/179365800921/the-joker-x-reader-venom
-- You and The Joker are spending the day at the beach with Venom. The symbiote is frying in the scorching sun while the couple found refuge beneath the huge umbrella.
“Aren’t you hot?” you address the alien and he turns on his side, enjoying the outdoors.
“No. On my planet we have 10 suns like this one so I’m cold.”
“Wow, that’s amazing! Did you hear that?” you enthusiastically elbow J. He’s currently dozing off with his head on your tummy because he wants to feel the baby kicking. I mean, you're one month pregnant and there’s really nothing going on yet but The King of Gotham dismissed the obvious.
“Huh?” The Joker opens one eye, unhappy to be woken up.
“On Venom’s planet they have 10 suns!” you repeat, super passionate on the subject.
“Fascinating,” J growls under his breath. “Aren’t they on the verge of extinction if they only have 10 young males in their world?”
“What?!” you frown, not understanding what he means.
“You said they have 10 sons,” J gets annoyed since it’s not clicking for you.
How does he always misinterprets everything?!
“No, not 10 sons as in kids, 10 suns as in celestial bodies!” you flare your arms around, pointing at the shiny globe in the sky.
“Stop wiggling around, the baby might move and I’ll miss it!” J gets pissed and holds you tighter.
“The baby won’t move. There’s barely anything in here!” you poke your tummy. “We don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl, too early to tell.”
Venom yawns and extends one of his arms to touch your tummy for a few moments, carefully listening.
“The little human is going to be like you, Y/N.”
You gasp and The Joker lifts his head up, suddenly alert.
“You mean a girl?!” your boyfriend’s mouth opens in amazement.
The alien licks some sand because he loves the taste, then nods in agreement.
“Yes. Mmmmm…crunchy…” Venom shoves more sand in his face, savoring the exquisite flavor.
“We’re gonna have a girl!” you scream and kiss The Joker, while he’s still stunned. “We should start decorating the nursery! Let’s go on a heist tonight!”
“Great idea, Pumpkin!” he agrees, already having a place in mind.
-- Yeah…it didn’t happen. Y/N and J had a huge fight and she left to spend the night at the hideout near the Bridge of Angels. She’s actually contemplating spending the rest of her life there…
If only!
You took a hot shower and just began reading a book, not that you can concentrate on the words dancing in front of your eyes.
You jump when the sound of broken glass interrupts your quiet night. Something else is being smashed, then another object. You creep out from behind the wall to take a peak in the main warehouse only to see Venom on a rampage, shattering a bunch of your favorite art pieces.
“What the hell are you doing?!” you barge in as the alien prepares to wreck a valuable Ming Dynasty ceremonial vase, gifted to you by the Joker two months ago. “That’s part of my collection!” you yell at him and Venom brings you up to date:
“This is how we woo females on my planet: we destroy everything they like!” and without further comment: Bam! your beloved vase is history. Literally.
You are so outraged you forgot to breathe.
“If you touch one more thing I’ll never talk to you again!!”
The symbiote doesn’t have any doubts about his courtship skills, but hearing your serious threat makes him have second thoughts:
“It didn’t work…” Venom whispers to The King of Gotham.
“Did he put you up to this?” you sulk and prepare to let out an outpour of indignation.
“No. I told him what my kind does to get the attention of a female and he said it’s a great idea, plus that we should also blow up your car after we’re done here to seal the deal.”
“Excuse me?!” you get on your toes in order to be closer to Venom’s face.
Uh-oh, you seem super mad.
“You’re on your own,” the alien immediately disappears, leaving his host completely exposed to an angry Y/N.
“Goddamn traitor,” The Joker shrieks through his clenched jaw.
You and J glare at each other with contempt, ready to fight again.
“Why are you here?” you pout and as usually, your boyfriend blames another:
“Venom dragged me out of The Penthouse in the middle of the night against my will! I didn’t want to see you!”
“We missed you and he couldn’t sleep,” the alien’s voice spits out.
“Shut up!” J growls and Venom has more information:
“He was afraid you’re not coming back and panicked. So we decided to come for you.”
“These are aberrations,” the feisty Joker casually scratches his thigh, accidentally pulling down on his gold boxers that happen to be your favorite. The elastic fabric nicely hugs all his perfect curves, not that you noticed such a trivial detail.
“What are you doing?” Venom hisses in his host’s ear.
“Zip it! This is how we woo women on this planet!” The Clown prince of Crime grumbles as your eyes check him out.
-- “Go home…” you kick his shin, your defense lowered due to the skimpy attire he’s wearing.
“He says you are his home,” Venom reads The Joker’s mind and decides to share.
“I didn’t say such nonsense!” J straightens his back, proudly disclosing his perspective on the matter.
“You were thinking it,” the symbiote blurs out. “And he really missed you.”
“I was only gone for three hours,” you pout and The Joker scolds the alien:
“Stay put and shut your trap!”
Y/N is contemplating her existential choices while The Joker crosses his arms on his chest, mentioning the main hardship:
“I’m cold!”
“Maybe you should have worn more clothes than a pair of tight boxers,” you unconsciously bite on your lip.
“It’s none of your business how I decide to dress myself,” J blows a rebellious strand of green hair off his face, indifferently resting his arms on his hips now, this way you can see the tattoos in all their glory.
Not to mention the soft skin you certainly don’t care about.
You’re still hesitating so it needs to be reinforced:
“I said I’m cold!”
A second look at those boxers and you pout more.
“Come to bed then…” you drag your feet on the concrete and the boyfriend follows with a huge smirk.
“I can’t believe you did something right!” Venom is sincerely amazed at the Joker’s strategy.
“Give me five!” J extends his hand in the air and the alien hisses:
“Five what?”
“Ugh, you’re killing me!”
“No, I’m not. Our DNAs are a match. I’m not harmful to you; quite the opposite.”
“Seriously now!” J gets annoyed because sometimes Venom doesn’t get the meaning of Earth’s entire vocabulary.
“I’m always serious,” the symbiote doesn’t get this one either.
J is short on patience and doesn’t have time to explain the meaning of words in different contexts so he teases:
“If you’re always serious, come out and have a serious talk with Y/N.”
“No way,” the alien refuses. “My survival instincts advise of the opposite. On my planet we don’t mess with enraged members of the opposite sex: they’re very dangerous.”
“Pfft, you guys are sissies, you don’t know how to handle them,” J expresses his conviction on a subject he has no clue about.
“But you don’t know how to handle Y/N, you mess up all the time. Aren’t you a sissy too?” the symbiote innocently concludes.
The Joker is absolutely, indubitably and unquestionably shocked at the remark.
“How dare you?! I’m The Joker and…”
“We are Venom!” the alien argues.
“No, we are Joker!”
“Venom!”
“Joker!”
“Not again!” the annoyed girlfriend crawls on her side of the bed, fed up with her shitty night.
-- You keep your distance and J pulls you on top of him without any extra effort.
“Warm me up!” he slides his fingers in your pajama shorts, gropes your butt and keeps his hands there. “First you’re gonna warm me up because it improves my dexterity, then we’re gonna full around and then I’ll listen to the baby,” a new schedule is laid out.
“There’s nothing to listen to, our daughter is just a small bean,” you grouchily mutter. “And I don’t want to full around, I’m upset.”
��Then get off me, Y/N!” The Joker smells your hair, holding you tighter.
“No…” you adjust your body on top of his, squirming around since it’s nice to feel him close.
“I bet in 10 minutes you’ll rip my boxers to pieces; I know you want me, you’re just playing hard to get.”
You sniffle and bury your face in his neck; such a strange coincidence he’s wearing your favorite cologne.
“Mark my words: 10 minutes!” The Joker’s prediction resonates in your exhausted brain.
In about 7 minutes you’re both out, tired after the eventful evening; Venom finally emerges, testing the waters.
You’re snoring with your mouth opened, also drooling a little bit and one dark tentacle gently pushes up your chin.
Snoring intensifies.
“Such beautiful sounds coming out of her,” Venom admires the noise and curls around the King and Queen of Gotham. “Nice humans,” he licks your foreheads, pleased the cringe worthy octanes flowing out of Y/N are getting louder and louder.
-- “We have company!” you warn your boyfriend and Venom is more than excited: he took over for tonight’s robbery at the baby store, this way everything runs smoother. Batsy’s cape is floating on the top of the opposite building and the alien opens one of the huge windows, waving at the masked vigilante.
The Batman’s body is transformed into Venom’s favorite relative, the creature expanding until it reaches over.
“This is my cousin Poison,” the symbiote presents him to a totally smitten Y/N.
“Oh… my…. God… so cute!” you squeal and Venom adds:
“It’s a burden that cursed the entire family.”
“I like your girlfriend,” Poison wraps himself around your waist and you giggle, ticklish at his touch. “We’re still single,” he gestures towards Bruce Wayne. “He ordered a new pair of tights so I guess we’ll be busy for a while.”
Venom lets The Joker out because he wants to get his nemesis’s attention:
“Hey, hey!!” J flares his arms around. “Hey, loser!!! How are the stretchy pants fitting, huh?” he maliciously snickers and Batsy gets worked up at the innuendos.
“What did you say, Clown??!!”
“STREEETCHY PAAAANNTTTSSS!” The Joker has no problem yelling back the insult.
“I had enough of his crap!! Let’s get him!!” Batman commands his alien without success:
“I’m not engaging in any type of combat with cousin Venom!”
“We’re going to beat that jerk to a pulp!” J fumes as his symbiote yanks him away from the imminent altercation:
“No, I’m not fighting cousin Poison! I told you we like each other!”
-- Jeez, such a mess: The Joker was furious at the missed opportunity, not to count your disappointment that the first encounter with Venom’s cousin was abruptly ended over some stupid stretchy pants.
Things calmed down in the household after you started talking about baby names again, all three parties involved finally agreeing on the first name: Emma.
But the last name… that’s a different story.
“Emma Von Joker sounds very royal,” J scoffs and arrogantly ignores your displeased attitude.
“Emma Von Venom is better!” the alien clings to you, softly petting your knees in order to get your approval.
“Von Joker!”
“Von Venom!”
You wish there was a way you could beam them both into outer space because they’re driving you nuts.
Thankfully, you might have a solution to end the useless conflict:
“What if we use that couple name you came up with last week?”
“JoVen?” The Joker gets pumped up since it was his idea.
“Emma Von JoVen,” the symbiote debates, then exposes all his 89 teeth in what you might call a smile. “It sounds good.”
“Hmmm…. has a certain ring to it,” J takes the bait.
“What if we skip the “Von” and we just go straight to Emma JoVen?” you manipulate the conversation in order to get what you want. You caress Venom’s big head and seductively wink at your boyfriend, puckering your lips in the process.
The Joker is so eager to get laid after falling asleep last night he’s not fussing for once:
“Alright, we can do that.”
“OK,” the alien is fast to agree, happy he has your affection again.
Despite everything, Venom and his host are pretty lucky to have a woman they don’t know how to handle.
Not bad for two sissies.
Also read: Masterlist
http://diyunho(dot)tumblr(dot)com/post/153664676321/joker-x-reader-masterlist
#the joker x reader#the joker imagine#the joker fanfiction#the joker jared leto#the joker#venom#venom x reader#venom x you#venom x joker#the joker x venom#the joker x reader x venom#joker#joker fanfiction#joker suicide squad#mister j#Mistah J#dc#DC comics
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Hiraeth (M)
Pairings: Jeon Jungkook x Reader
Genre: Soulmate/College Au, Light Angst, Fluff, Soft Smut
Words: 18K
Description: We are always yearning for someone, even if that person may not exist in this tangible realm.
A/N: To whomever stumbles upon this piece of my heart, I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay :)
Warnings: Mildly Explicit Sexual Content
Soulmates.
Apparently everyone had one.
And everyone would have the name of their destined other half inscribed on the tender skin of their inner wrist when they turned 18.
Everyone…minus you.
It had remained the sole most exciting thing about turning 18 ever since you learned about the exhilarating phenomenon, something you had been looking forward to more than the pile of presents you knew you would be receiving on said day, more than the “surprise party” you knew your friends would be throwing you, and more than being the center of attention for a solid few hours like all the other birthdays you’ve experienced in your life so far.
It was supposed to be one of the few things in life that are guaranteed, analogous to a type of promise which does not revolve around uncertainty or a surefire plan that is carried out without fail, an occurrence not influenced by outside forces and has been written in the stars since the beginning of time. Its assurance is assumed, which is also why its ultimate letdown was able to spur so much damage.
Because on your 18th birthday, in place of the sparkling letters of the name you could practically feel on your tongue, painted in the vibrant colors of your most beautiful dreams, you are instead left with a black horizontal line- dull, ominous, and utterly frightening.
To say you panicked right off the bat would not capture the exact sequence of events in its entirety. The truth was your mind had initially blanked, leaving your soul drained of any kind of emotion, but the more you looked at the inconceivable marking the more you became intimately aware of everything that was going wrong. The growing tension as you bit back your tears made your heart clench and writhe in the confining space barred by your ribcage. It was a sharp piercing sting that only existed in your mind, but who’s to say mental pain is inferior to physical? If anything, you’d much rather opt to take the latter.
“Maybe that is their name” Taehyung had suggested rather hopefully as he stared at the horizontal line tattooed to your wrist. “Like it’s pronounced dash or something,” He rubs his thumb over the soft marking, making a more than obvious attempt at consoling you.
“Right…” You answer dully, trying not to let your disappointment push you towards taking it out on those around you. It wasn’t their fault, and you had no right to act like a shitty person. “Because some pair of parents out there decided to ruin their child’s life from the get go.”
“Maybe it’ll show up slowly,” Jimin says, also giving you a more than obvious sympathetic look. He had always sported those naturally pouty lips, but the concern dripping from his glossy eyes is enough to patch up part of your gaping wound at the very least.
“Yeah, if anything, they’ll probably find you” Taehyung adds encouragingly.
When you were younger you had never concerned yourself over finding a lifelong partner, a significant other, or “missing half” as some people liked to call it. Heck, no one did because everyone knew that when the right time came, they’d find said person and fall in love to be united for eternity. It was the satisfaction guaranteed offer printed on every individual’s wrist upon adulthood.
Of course, that was before you found out you’d end up being an anomaly.
You reach out and press the doorbell, sensing the icy air threaten to give you frostbite the second you remove your gloves. Taehyung and Jimin had invited you over to their apartment for a small get together after finals, celebrating the start of winter break and the end of yet another hard fought semester. You wait patiently for someone to open the door, snuggling deeper into the warm space created by the woolen scarf wrapped around your neck, observing the white crystalline flakes continue to fall from the sky, drifting and dancing in mid air before making their landing on solid surfaces tied to the earth- the brick windowsill, the frozen railing of the stair steps, the untouched patches of snow on the lawn that was green some seasons ago.
“Y/N!” Jimin’s cheerful voice greets you in tandem with the heated air that escapes through the opened door.
“Hey Chim” You greet, as always, attempting to return a smile as bright and welcoming as his own.
“Come in, come in” Jimin chirps, opening the door wider and scrambling to find you a pair of fuzzy slippers to change into as you remove your snow covered boots.
“Y/N!!!” You hear the familiar baritone voice that can only be described as overly zealous, shoot from the kitchen. He was most likely cooking up a storm and quite literally too. You had heard about the last time he tried to bake a cake in which Jimin ended up calling the local fire department in fear that the whole apartment would be burned to ashes.
“Hey Tae” You return the greeting. “Need some help there?” You inquire, waiting for the male to respond and hoping he knows what he’s doing this time or at least has taken extra precaution.
“Don’t worry.” Jimin reassures. “He’s been taking lessons from Seokjin.” Jimin whispers excitedly.
You laugh. Of course, Kim Seokjin, the resident chef in your group of friends, you can still practically taste the palatable flavors of his unforgettable Kimchi stew on the tip of your tongue. Oh how good that sounded right about now.
“Is he coming?” You question, wondering why Taehyung was cooking instead of the more experienced male.
“He was busy tonight. Said he was still working on finishing up his final thesis since it’s his last year.” Jimin responds.
You sigh as you plop down on their soft couch, looking around at their cozy little apartment that had basically become your second home ever since they moved out of the dorms.
It was no surprise that Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung were destined to be together from the day they were born. After 18 years of an inseparable friendship that blossomed from their days as innocent and unassuming childhood neighbors to hidden high school lovers, no one even battered an eyelash when they saw the characters of Taehyung’s name slowly appear in sparkling coral ink on Jimin’s dainty wrist, swirling in vine-like movements of cursive script and shimmering like the fiery tail of a majestic phoenix. Likewise, Jimin’s own name in celestial blue had emerged on the lightly sun-kissed underside of Taehyung’s upper forearm at exactly the same time, brushstrokes matching the tendrils of a graceful comet soaring across the dark midnight sky, putting the glow of distant stars to shame.
They were without a doubt the definition of soulmates, the perfect combination of opposing poles creating a balanced universe, the poster children of the system the world revolved around.
You didn’t even have to try to not be jealous of them or envy what they had. It’s akin to the type of comparison that’s not even assessable because the objects of comparison were on completely different levels. Like when you don’t get frustrated when someone who is way smarter scores higher than you on an exam or when you lose to someone you didn’t even have the credentials to put yourself up against in the first place. Losing to an obviously stronger opponent is not something to be angry over, just like resenting the world you had no control over was entirely useless.
Why be bitter about something you would never even come close to having?
“So is it just the 3 of us tonight?” You query, as Jimin takes a seat across from you and offers you a drink. Having quaint little get-togethers with just a few of you closest friends had become the norm so to say. Because parties and getting dead drunk on weekends was less fun after all of you had passed the age of 21, something about taking the thrill of performing illegal acts away and being tired of the same old reckless routine.
“As far as I know” Jimin confirms, taking a sip of his beer.
“Actually, someone else is coming.” Taehyung corrects from the kitchen. He walks into the living room to place a bowl of chips on the coffee table.
“What? Who?” Jimin questions, eyes fixed on Taehyung, who was starting to look like a deer caught in the headlights.
“I-I..ugh, sort of invited J-Jungkook and his plus one” Taehyung swallows, waiting for the other male to respond to his revelation that you didn’t know why he was getting so nervous about.
“What the hell???” Jimin chokes on his drink making you jolt in your seat. “Jungkook as in Jeon Jungkook? Why the hell did you invite him? We barely know the guy anymore, and he clearly doesn’t share the same values as us.”
“H-he said he was tired of parties and wanted to try out more mature activities.” Taehyung explains. “And n-not in that sense, get that out of your head!” He adds quickly, face flushing a light shade of pink.
“Tae, he’s 2 years younger than all of us, he’s nowhere near mature.” Jimin argues.
“So, who is this we’re arguing over?” You butt in, unsure of what exactly was going on, or why inviting this Jungkook guy was such a big deal.
Jimin turns to you. “Someone you don’t want to get involved with” He advises. “But now that Tae has invited him over, I’m not sure you’ll be able to.” He flashes the younger male a scolding glare.
“A-actually, he…ugh… sort of invited himself” Taehyung reveals, scratching the back of his neck.
“And you agreed to it?” Jimin throws Taehyung a flabbergasted expression.
“You know I have a soft spot for the guy, and he looked so lonely.”
“Tae, Jungkook is anything but lonely.” Jimin reminds.
“He’s just misunderstood,” Taehyung counters.
“He changes girls more than he changes clothes!” Jimin retorts, a statement that makes you raise your eyebrow questioningly.
“Well technically that doesn’t say much because he likes to wear the same shirts over and over.” Taehyung fires back. “But I’m sorry ok, I can call him now and tell him something came up and-“
Jimin sighs. “It’s ok Tae, what’s done it done. Just think a little before agreeing to these things from now on.” He grabs a napkin to wipe his beer-spattered shirt.
So the part about Jungkook changing girls more than he changes clothes was evident the moment he stepped into the apartment with his arm around not one, but two gorgeous representations of the female species. The cocky look on his face screamed fuck boy, and you’d think those wouldn’t exist in a world where everyone had soulmates, but there were a good number of outliers who weren’t satisfied with one partner. The unfaithful, they were labeled, or simply those who wanted to “live young and free”.
“So much for plus one” Jimin mutters under his breath like he knew this would happen.
“Kookie!” Taehyung voice echoes through the room as he opens the door wide enough for the three people attached at the hip to walk in the doorway…barely. It was like they felt it was so necessary to sustain physical contact that they couldn’t bear to be separated for the few seconds it would take to enter one by one.
“I told you to stop calling me that,” Jungkook says through gritted teeth, arms still wrapped around the two girls.
You hear Taehyung murmur a soft sorry, and return to his smiling self.
“And who are these lovely ladies?” Taehyung proceeds to inquire, directing his attention to the females next to Jungkook. The ones who were eyeing Taehyung up and down and whispering god knows what into Jungkook’s ear.
“I’m Eunbi” The taller, more cold looking one replies.
“Eunha” The shorter one adds with a cute smile.
You and Jimin stare at the awkward scene splayed in front of you, namely Taehyung running out of extra slippers and having to offer his own to Jungkook while forced to be barefoot for the remainder of the night (his Christmas themed socks were pretty adorable if that made it any better), and then Jungkook and his girls walking over to squeeze on the now cramped space that is the couch you were sitting on.
Jungkook smiles and nods his head at Jimin as he makes eye contact with the older male, a grin that to any outsider would not look threatening in the least, but you knew there was some hidden strain in the otherwise casual greeting between the two, especially as you watched Jimin smile back with a beam that, for once, doesn’t reach his eyes.
Then comes the moment his pupils made their way over to land on you. A precarious lingering of distant contact that makes you feel oddly self-conscious and your heartbeat to accelerate from its normally steady pace because his cocky face falters almost unnoticeably, lips parting ever so slightly, and was that sparkle you saw in his previously cloudy iris or was that just your imagination?
“And who do we have here?” The words escape Jungkook’s lips in the form of a question directed at you. His expression had just as quickly reverted back to the way it was when he had entered the apartment.
“I’m Y/N,” You announce. “Friends. We’re friends.” You point at Jimin and Taehyung.
“Best friends” Taehyung corrects with a beam, he hastily slides over to join everyone in the living room
Jungkook ignores the emphasis made by Taehyung, most likely deeming it as unimportant. He proceeds to stare at you, eyeing the way you shifted uncomfortably next to Eunha as she pushes you towards the edge of the couch that was clearly not made for 4 people because you were practically morphing together with the armrest.
“Jungkook, your sweater is sooo soft” Eunbi purrs as she rubs his chest like she was petting a dog.
The smirk on Jungkook’s face makes Jimin cringe.
“I prefer his white button up” Eunha interjects. “You know, the one that’s kind of see through and shows off his…muscles.” A flirty smile spreads across her face.
“It’s too cold for that babe, but look forward to when the weather warms up.”
So you learn that Jungkook has been working out, or more like he announced the fact to everyone in the room, bragging about how much weight he’s able to lift now, in which Eunbi, Eunha -and you want to say Taehyung- all listened to with enthusiasm. Apparently he was a pretty scrawny kid back in high school, and now that he’s a freshman in college, he wanted to sport a new image, or in his own words, “get ripped”.
You’d call what the 6 of you were doing in the living room a “friendly conversation”, but honestly Jungkook was talking 99% of the time, and the other 1% just came in the form of awestruck gasps and one-word comments from the two other girls.
“So, you guys hungry?” Taehyung interrupts just as Jungkook pauses to take a sip of beer. You can practically hear Jimin’s sigh of relief as he hops up from his seat.
“Starving” Jimin grunts, racing towards the kitchen and almost forgetting about you.“Oh, Y/N do you want to help me set up the table?”
You ears perk up at the sound of your name. “Yes!” You reply instantly, thanking god that he turned back for you. “I would love to.”
You don’t turn back to see if Jungkook notices how obviously happy you and Jimin were to get out of there, but you figure it shouldn’t matter, not when he still has Eunbi and Eunha to keep him company.
...
It wasn’t long before the food was plated and everyone was sitting down enjoying the meal. Taehyung was telling stories of how Seokjin was able to teach his formerly hopeless ass how to cook along with Jimin’s re-telling of the infamous he-almost-burned-down-the-apartment tale. Everyone was mesmerized as they listened to the two, laughing at how comedic their expressions were and admiring their unique personality dynamic. It was always times like these when you couldn’t help but sit back and appreciate how perfect Taehyung and Jimin were for each other, something so beautiful that you honestly wouldn’t believe if you hadn’t been seeing it with your own eyes for years.
“So Y/N, is this Seokjin guy your boyfriend?” Eunha suddenly asks, her voice snapping you out of whatever thoughts you were having.
“S-sorry?” You stutter, wondering how the hell she got that idea.
“Seokjin is Namjoon’s soulmate” Taehyung butts in before realizing he said the trigger word. “Ow” He mutters as Jimin pinches his thigh under the table.
“It’s fine, guys. I think I can handle it.” You assure them, still unsuccessful in your attempts to convince their overly worried and protective selves that you’ve gotten over the soulmate thing. It’s been years. You’ve moved on. “But yeah,” You turn back to Eunha. “Seokjin and Namjoon are a pair and we’re all just very good friends.”
She nods in understanding, or what seems like a polite gesture.
Jimin clears his throat moments later. “Taehyung has also prepared dessert,” He says, giving Taehyung a hurry-and-go-grab-the-cake look. “haven’t you Tae?”
Taehyung stares as Jimin confused for a millisecond before the realization hits him, and he glides back into the kitchen to bring out the pastry he had spend all day baking and decorating to perfection.
“So pretty~” Eunha coos, clapping her hands in delight as Taehyung makes his way back from the kitchen with his masterpiece.
“Waa~” Eunbi joins in, nudging Jungkook who seems to have spaced out. You’ve barely noticed that he’s been silent all throughout dinner, too focused on Taehyung and Jimin telling stories and feeding each other lovingly.
You can almost see the faint flush spread on Taehyung cheek as he admires his own creation proudly. He begins cutting into it, serving each guest a piece of the delicious treat until there is only on last piece of cake remaining, and neither you nor Jungkook have been served yet.
“Umm….” You can physically see Taehyung’s Adam’s apple bobble up and down as he gulps in nervousness, staring at the last piece like it was a time bomb about to explode.
“It’s fine, I’m feeling full anyways.” You quickly announce, flashing Taehyung a smile as natural as possible.
“B-b-but…” Taehyung’s eyes switch back and forth between you and Jungkook.
“Actually, I’m not really a fan of sweets.” Jungkook opens his mouth to voice for the first time since everyone began eating, every one turns to the young man who had been staring at you.
“Since when?” Eunbi bursts out. “You told me you loved sweets, and you always go back for seconds when it comes to dessert.” Her mouth hangs open as she gapes at Jungkook in disbelief. You turn and see that rosy pink flowers have blossomed on his formerly uncolored cheeks.
Taehyung quickly clears his throat. “Jimin and I will just share a slice.” He quickly says while pushing his own piece in front of you and serving Jungkook the last slice that had commenced this embarrassing sequence of events.
…
When Jungkook and his girls leave, Taehyung comes back into the living room and looks at you and Jimin uncomfortably.
“Tae, don’t feel bad. It’s his fault for bringing an extra person.” Jimin consoles.
“I’m just, gah, I shouldn’t have invited him.”
“He wasn’t that bad” You shrug, causing both Jimin and Taehyung to look at you in surprise.
“Y/N, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him already” Jimin makes a mildly disgusted face.
You almost choke on the water you were sipping. “What? No, no, I’m just saying he seemed more considerate than you guys make him sound.”
There’s a pregnant pause in which you have a minor flashback of his cocky attitude when he had walked in and the 40 minutes of straight bragging he engaged in while you were all gathered in the living room.
“Ok, pretend I didn’t say anything.” You correct, making both Jimin and Taehyung laugh.
…
When winter break does finally arrive in burst of frigid wind and snow-speckled air, the university campus turns into a frost covered ghost town-previously bustling sidewalks and grassy lawns now entirely empty and void of life.
Finals were thankfully a thing of the past, albeit not so distant, but at least the end of the semester was allowing you to somewhat breathe with ease. But like every year, you’re hit with that strange hollow feeling that settles in your gut after weeks of overwhelming stress, like diving into cold water after hiking to the top of a mountain in the heat of midsummer or stepping off of a wild roller coaster after your body had already adjusted to being accelerated in a million different directions.
Standing in front of the library, you take a long look at the peaceful patches of untouched snow, the daylight waning under the cloudy, grey expanse and the bare trees rooted frozen in the serene environment- matching with the cool undertones of the white wintery realm that had been cast over this part of the world.
Jimin and Taehyung had both gone home to their families, and were most likely celebrating this joyous season happily with their parents, siblings, grandparents, and undoubtedly, each other. The thought almost makes you wish you had decided to go home this winter break, to be back in the company of your loving parents who would probably be more than happy to prepare all of your favorite foods and talk about the past school year and whatnot. But you stay firm in your decision to give yourself some time alone, some time to think and figure life out, or do whatever you didn’t really know exactly.
You just wanted to be alone for a bit.
Taking a deep breath you begin heading back to your studio apartment, pulling out your headphones and putting your favorite playlist on shuffle. These were the times you enjoyed the most, walking alone after a long day and getting lost in your favorite music as you cleared your mind of stress and only dwelled over pure emotion, sadness, nostalgia, acceptance, hope, or whatever your heart desired.
Just as you were getting in the zone, a figure walking in the near distance catches your attention, not only because he was the only person around this abandoned area, but also because said person’s trajectory on the sidewalk would soon intersect with yours. You pull your headphones out as the dark figure almost bumps into you because he was mostly likely also lost in the music he was listening to-made apparent by his oblivious attitude towards the oncoming collision and the pair of headphones stuffed in his ears.
“Hey, watch it!” He begins to voice as he nearly doubles over while trying to avoid running straight into you. An annoyed scowl is plastered across his face, that is, until he sees who you are and the face of recognition washes over his distorted expression. “Y/N?” He murmurs in disbelief.
It was none other than Jeon Jungkook.
“H-Hey” You greet, casually, trying not to turn this into an awkward encounter or causing it to drag out into a full blown conversation.
“You’re still on campus?” He inquires, pulling out both of his earpieces and tucking them away into his coat pocket.
“Yeah, I decided not to go home this year. I’m still working part time at the coffee shop downtown.” You throw in the last part just for kicks. It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn't the full-blown truth either because you could’ve easily taken work off like you did every year, but you figured you’d spare him the details. “You’re not either?” The words leak past your lips before you’re able to remind yourself that you didn’t want to start a conversation with him.
“I’m not really into family gatherings and the idea of going home” He replies, shrugging and letting out a warm huff of air, white vapor dispersing in trails of wispy smoke.
You nod, ignoring the note of curiosity over what he actually means by that. It was a conventional gesture between strangers who didn’t understand each other beyond the most superficial of levels, a sign that you were ready to end this interaction right then and there. “Well, I’ll-“ You were about to add see you around, but Jungkook cuts in before you could finish.
“It’s k-kind of late. I can walk you back to your dorm or apartment or wherever” He offers rather nervously, if you weren’t mistaken about the way his voice went a pitch higher on a few select words, namely late, I, walk, and apartment.
The prepubescent aura he’s radiating now makes you wonder how he’s able to attract so many girls. What happened to the cocky fuck boy impression that he initially gave off? Or the one Jimin and Taehyung keep insisting he possesses and that he himself had clearly demonstrated less than two days ago?
“Ummm, no that’s ok. I don’t live far from here anyways.” You smile, kindly rejecting his spur of the moment, or so you think, offer.
“Oh, o-ok, t-then” He scratches the back of his neck. “I guess I’ll, uh, see you around?”
“Yeah” You affirm before proceeding to walk in the direction you had been headed before the collision. You were about to go back to listening to music when some unspecified force temps you to turn around a check to see if Jungkook had left. To your surprise he’s still rooted in the same spot, seemingly just minding his own business until your eyes meet his and causes his expression to mimic that of a deer caught in the headlights.
You raise an eyebrow, wondering why the hell he hadn’t moved at all.
“O-Oh, uhhhh…” Jungkook looks around the empty campus, clearly unsure of what to do with himself right then.
“You alright there, buddy?” You shout back, wondering why he was acting so strange and waiting for him to finish whatever explanation he was probably cooking up in his head.
“I-It’s just, I-I was about to walk in that direction too, and I didn’t want this to be like that awkward situation when you say goodbye to someone but end up walking in the same direction anyways.” The words come out almost slurred, like he was trying to spit them all out in one go. The faint flush of pastel pink is making its way back up his cheek as he makes his way towards you with a defeated sigh.
You let out a small laugh, not even knowing how to respond to this whole situation that was turning out to be more amusing than you expected. “Ok, how about you just walk with me until we end up parting ways.” You suggest, realizing that this situation was made even more awkward because the two of you were trying to avoid being awkward.
Jungkook chuckles nervously as he scratches the back of his neck.
The two of you continue walking for quite some time because you actually live further from campus than most people would consider walkable, but you enjoyed it, always relishing in your much needed periods of solitude. But now walking alongside Jungkook with no music to distract either of you, it wasn’t until the silence lingering in the air was beginning to feel so suffocating that you swallowed your social ineptitude and dipped your toe into more small talk.
“So what was that about you not liking the idea of going home?” You query as Jungkook’s previous response to the question you had asked makes its way back to the front of your mind. You hope that it doesn’t sound too personal or prying, but he could always just make up some meaningless response if he was uncomfortable with sharing his real thoughts, right?
You can almost feel Jungkook tense slightly at the sudden sound of your voice before relaxing once more. “I left my home when I was really young to attend a private academy in the city” Jungkook explains. “I was raised by my grandparents in my early years, then I moved in with my parents for a few years after that. I guess I’ve just never considered certain places to be my real home. They’re all kind of just…places.” The look in his eyes is sincere-almost telling of the vulnerability hidden behind his glassy pupils in a way that made your heart soften ever so slightly. The nervousness that had been interlaced in his voice before has left without a trace as well.
“I see…” Is all you can say, and you feel kind of shitty for the fairly cold response you’re giving him.
“What about you?”
“Hmm?” You turn to glance at him startled, not expecting the same question to be directed back at you.
“I mean, why don’t you like going home?” He asks, explicitly wording the question he had previously implied.
“I-I…” You trail off, clearly remembering you had never mentioned anything about not liking to go home, distinctly recalling your intention of specifically avoiding the revelation of things you only said to yourself. It was impossible that Jungkook would know, and you almost convince yourself that he was probably just fishing, that he doesn’t actually know his question had hit a spot you had always chosen to avoid. The part about you that you don’t just reveal to anyone walking down the street or even your closest of friends.
“Come on, you can’t possibly expect me to believe work is the only reason you’re not going home for the holidays can you?”
Oh, so he’s already trying to read in between the lines? You feel a bit of embarrassment mixed with irritancy sprout like little florets in your chest. “Well, I’ll have you know, I take my job pretty seriously.” You attempt to cover up that spot, glossing over it for the nth time in your life. It was all mechanic at this point.
Jungkook looks skeptical, but doesn’t push the matter further, perhaps sensing your reluctance to continue on with the topic. The walk from that moment on turns into a relatively silent one, in which Jungkook doesn’t tell you how far he lives or even motions to head in a different direction even as the two of you close in on your apartment. The sky was already dark and the automatic streetlights had lit up just as the sun dipped below the distant horizon.
“You did this on purpose didn’t you?” You accuse with a hint of playfulness, stopping when you’re both in front of your apartment.
“I-I, ugh…” He’s searching for the words that can form the excuse he’s hoping you’ll believe, but ends up just shutting his mouth before he can make matters worse.
“Thanks” You say anyways, deciding that he was probably just worried about your safety and really didn’t have any ulterior motives.
He scratches the back of his head, tucking his reddening face lower into his scarf.
“It was kind of on the way” He shrugs. “I-I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah, see you” You wave at him one last time before walking up the steps to your apartment.
…
Going to work the next week felt nothing short of routine. Now that the crippling stress from classes wasn’t an issue any more, spending long shifts at the café didn’t sound as bad as it had the weeks leading up to midterms and ultimately finals. Since it was the holidays, business was moving at a snail’s pace, causing your boredom to compel you to turn your thoughts to a certain someone you’d rather not waste your time thinking about. But you had to admit he was kind of sweet for walking you home, despite the unconventional way in which the events actually transpired, and your short conversation with him surprisingly felt a lot more personal than most of the ones you’ve had with even the closest members of your family and friends.
Waving off your own daydreams, you attempt to steer your attention towards wiping the coffee stained table when the sound of the bell signaling the entrance of more customers startles you as the coincidence of seeing the person you were just thinking about unfolds in reality, making you nearly jump out of your own skin.
“Y/N, what a surprise” The familiar voice almost gives you a heart attack as you turn around to be faced with the person you already knew it was.
He wasn’t alone this time, bringing his friend who looked to be a few years older than him into the coffee shop.
“Y/N, Hoseok. Hoseok, Y/N” Jungkook runs through the brief introduction, after ordering at the counter and making his way over to you.
Hoseok eyes you up and down, before nodding his head in approval. “Wow, Kook, your new girlfriend is gorgeous!”
“We haven’t gone out yet,” Jungkook quickly says, clearing his throat. “But what do you say we change that, babe?” He turns to you with a smug grin.
You’re caught off guard for a momentary lapse, wondering if the question was actually meant for someone else. But upon realizing that it was in fact directed towards you, you’re immediately appalled. His sudden change of personality had come as a shock. Was this what Jungkook was really like? Was he just hiding behind a façade the other day you two were alone? You were beginning to understand where Jimin and Taehyung were coming from with the way they had been so wary of the younger male. Jeon Jungkook was undoubtedly a cocky asshole, 100% purebred douchebag.
“Um, no thanks” You frown, turning your back and returning to counter to help make the orders.
You can hear Hoseok laughing in the background as you try to ignore the stunned expression that’s probably plastered on Jungkook’s face right then. Serves him right for playing games. Why was he acting like this again?
When their orders are made, you watch the two of them leave the shop, with Jungkook glancing back at you almost apologetically, but you convince yourself that it’s just your imagination.
...
The rest of the afternoon passes as per usual, with customers coming and going. At one point you get a call from your parents, wondering how you were doing and reminding you to take time to de-stress and to not overwork yourself because it was something you had the tendency to do. You can tell by the tone of their voices that they’re still a bit disappointed that you decided to stay on campus over break, but you’re grateful they’ve always respected your decisions even if it went against their wishes.
By the time your shift was over later in the day, you were glad there were no more surprises awaiting you …or so you thought because just as you were leaving the café, you see a certain Jeon Jungkook leisurely leaning against the wall outside.
You elect to ignore his presence and walk ahead.
“Hey, Y/N, wait” You hear Jungkook call before running after you as you strolled past him.
“What do want, Jungkook? I don’t have time for this.” You ask in annoyance, ignoring the pleading look in his eyes and his fake apology that you can practically already hear.
“Listen, about what happened back there-“
“I have no interest in going out with you, so you can stop stalking me or whatever this is.” You interrupt sternly, knowing that if you agreed to his promiscuous antics you would end up being nothing but one of the million other nameless flower petals on his already crowded wall.
“I know it’s weird that I waited for you to get off work, but I just didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable if I had stayed in the shop…” He trails off.
Your walking comes to a halt as you register what he had just said. “You waited for me outside?” Your voice comes as a murmur. In temperatures this low?
“W-well, I mean, I did go to the dance studio with Hoseok for 2 hours before coming back here.” He scratches the back of his neck.
That’s still 3 hours of shivering in the snow. “You dance?” You query instead, attempting to lightened the mood.
Jungkook chuckles. “What you have a thing for dancers?”
You frown at his pick up line.
“S-sorry” He lowers his head once again. “I’m just, I-I..” You see his body waver slightly, and his failed attempt to steady himself before you take notice. You have a hunch that something’s not right, and upon reaching up and feeling his forehead you become aware that he’s burning up.
“Jungkook you have a fever” You voice alarmed.
...
The rest of what happens comes as a blur, namely Jungkook flashing you a faint smile before collapsing against your body. Luckily your apartment was much closer to the café you worked at than the university. You don’t know where Jungkook lives, if he lives alone, or if any of those things passed as an excuse to take him to your place, but you didn’t have time to weigh out your limited options meticulously, not when he’s literally crushing you with the weight of his body.
He at least manages to remain half conscious while you support him for the ten minutes it takes to walk to your apartment; cause god knows it would’ve been impossible for you to carry him there.
You struggle to pull out your keys from your purse and swing the door open, but once you do manage to drag him into your room and throw him on you bed, you stand there and stare at his limp body for a good 5 minutes as he lies on top of your fluffy duvet, fully dressed in winter apparel. Wait, is it better to take off his clothes? At least his coat right?
You get around to removing his Timberland boots, his coat, and his beanie only to find that his clothes underneath were damp. Shit, they’re still sweaty from him dancing. Why didn’t he take a shower and get changed before leaving the studio?
The questions continue forming in your head as you cursed under your breathe, trying to calm your nerves as you slowly remove his coat, sweatshirt, and eventually the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath.
Please don’t wake up and get the wrong idea…
Ugh, why am I acting like this is a crime? I’m just doing what needs to be done.
Stop it, Y/N, calm yourself. You’re making this a bigger deal than it actually is.
The internal monologue kept rolling as you stripped him down to his boxers, you blame it on your inherent habit of talking to yourself and overthinking. In a way it was a form of therapy, distracting your thoughts from the actions that your body was performing, and initially it worked, you had successfully convinced yourself that this was what any compassionate human being would do when presented with a sick person.
Nothing creepy or inappropriate or invasive.
But the minute your fingers come in contact with his heated skin-that was oh-so-freaking soft might you add, and your eyes landed on the gentle rising and fall of his chest as he breathes through marginally parted lips, you’re forced to swallow the saliva that has built up in your mouth. And it didn’t help that Jungkook’s abs looked more delicious than the tastiest of chocolates and the series of well-defined muscles on his chest, shoulder, and arms were making your mind go places it should most certainly not be allowed to go. Fucking hell.
He really wasn’t kidding about working out.
You’re able to finally breathe again after the deed of undressing him is done and Jungkook is wrapped tightly in your blanket, which will now probably smell like him for god knows how long you put off washing your sheets. He sleeps for a good 4 hours, in which you take the time to make some porridge, wash and dry his clothes, and change the dampened cloth you had placed on his forehead a good twenty times. You’re staring at the soft features of his face just as the slow fluttering of his eyelids startles you as he wakes up.
“W-wha…w-where?” He begins to murmur, barely having the energy to raise his head off the pillow and lazily look around the room.
“You had a fever and passed out” You begin explaining, feeling a bit tired after going through such a physically- and mentally exhausting event. “I brought you here because it was the closest place-er, because I didn’t know what else to do…” You trail off, waiting for him to respond.
His pupils land on you and the moment they do, the most relaxing of smiles washes over his expression.
“Thanks” He half whispers.
“I just did what needed to be done.” You voice the same words you had said to yourself a couple of hours ago.
There’s a momentary pause as Jungkook slowly sits up, only to find that he was naked under the blanket. His surprised expression is quickly replaced by a coy smile as licks his lips and clears his throat. “I see you’ve washed my clothes.” He says, eyeing the folded laundry placed at the foot of the bed with a playful tone in his voice.
“Oh…yeah…” You voice hitches a little as a powerful heat radiates to your cheeks. Of course he would notice right away. “I also made some porridge.” You quickly add, changing the subject and rushing towards the kitchen so he wouldn’t catch how embarrassed you were.
Jungkook laughs silently as he watches you dash off.
You could tell he was feeling much better as you watched him eat, seeing the color returning to his lips and checking that his body temperature had gone down.
“So about the way I acted back at the coffee shop…” Jungkook begins as he swallows the porridge and lets out a long exhale. “I didn’t mean to come off so-“
“Arrogant? Cocky?” You don’t know why you were interrupting him, but the words kind of just took matters into their own hands before your brain filter could give them a pass or fail.
He sighs. “Yeah. I’m just bad at this.” He hangs his head a little, avoiding direct eye contact as he stirs the contents in his bowl.
“So let me get this straight, you’re telling me you aren’t the smooth-talking player everyone thinks you are?” You half scoff, knowing this is probably just one of his little tricks to come off as innocent. You had seen the real him, or what you had thought to be the real him at least.
“Would you believe me if I told you that’s actually a result of practice?”
You raise your eyebrow. “Practice?”
“I’m not as smooth as everyone thinks,” He admits.
“Oh really?” You cock another brow.
“I thought it was obvious to you.”
You have a minor flashback to the time you had first questioned his social skills back when he almost ran you over the sidewalk a week ago. “Yeah, I’m just still trying to figure out who you really are. I mean, I obviously don’t really know you yet. ”
“To be honest no one really does…” He trails off, looking down at his hands.
“Not even your friends, or multiple girlfriends or whatever they are to you?”
“I see you’re a fan of monogamy.” He comments, avoiding having to answer your prior question.
“Yeah, you can put it that way.”
He laughs a little, shaking his head, and you think you can sense the look of disappointment that flashes across his features.
“Do you ever take into consideration how your soulmate would feel?” Your jaw clenches after the sentence escapes your lips. You don’t know why were you bringing this topic up, especially when you of all people should not have the right to talk about soulmates.
“Soulmates.” Jungkook scoffs, turning his head to face away from you.
“I’m assuming you haven’t found him or her yet, but when you do-“
“Look can we not talk about this?” Jungkook cuts in, voice interlaced with a bit of annoyance and perhaps even anger if you weren’t mistaken.
You flinch a little, an action that he notices and immediately regrets snapping at you.
“I’m sorry.” His face softens as he turns back to you with apologetic puppy eyes.
“It’s fine. I shouldn’t be telling you how to live your life anyways.” You didn’t know what had possessed you to bring such a sensitive topic up. You and Jungkook barely knew each other and you were already getting into his personal business. Way to go, Y/N. You mentally scold yourself for getting carried away.
“It’s just…I’m not a fan of the whole soulmate thing.” He mutters, taking another bite of porridge.
Of course, that should’ve been obvious enough.
“To be honest, I’m not either.” You admit. “I just…I don’t know. Forget I even brought it up.”
…
Winter break ended faster than you had anticipated, much to your powerless disappointment. It was a few days after the New Year had begun and classes were starting the very next Monday that you became conscious of just how swiftly time passes. You can’t say you were looking forward to going back to school, but at least you had a couple of classes you were looking forward to this semester.
Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, you didn’t see Jungkook after that fever incident when he thanked you one last time before leaving your apartment with clothes smelling like your laundry detergent. He had complimented the scent, but with someone as “bipolar” – the word you decided to refer to his multiple personalities as, as Jungkook, you couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or just fake nice. It had just become another addition to the hoard of other questions you had about him. Did he really want to be your friend or was he just trying to get in your pants? Was he a douche or was he some shy kid under the guise of an expert player? You didn’t know what to think or which side of him to trust, but you figured it didn’t matter because you wouldn’t have to see him again anyways.
But oh how wrong you were yet again.
Taehyung and Jimin come back from break the weekend before classes start, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss their bright and bubbly personalities lighting up your days. And of course the first thing they want to do to kick off the semester is go watch the new Avengers movie, it’s so predictable of them but that doesn’t keep you from acting exasperated at their “lame” suggestion.
“Really now? The new Avengers movie?” You cross your arms, looking back and forth from Taehyung to Jimin.
“You know we’re huge fans” Taehyung flashes you a boxy smile. “Oh come on, Y/N, we know you are too~.”
You roll your eyes, pretending like you were being forced to something you would’ve agreed to anyways.
Jimin giggles, slapping Taehyung playfully on the shoulder, and you’re almost tempted to make a gagging motion.
“It’ll be the 3 of us, just like old times.” Taehyung chirps.
You can’t help the smile that forms on your face at Taehyung’s words, but when your eyes trace over to Jimin you notice a look of guilt wash over his features.
“What’s the matter Chim?” You query concerned.
“So I may or may not have invited….ummm, ugh…J-Jungkook” He cringes as if he was about to receive a smack in the face.
“You what!?” Taehyung gasps.
Jimin laughs nervously, preparing to use his crescent shaped eye smile to get Taehyung to forgive him. “He recently agreed to be a part of a three member dance crew with me and Hoseok. Completing our dream of entering the spring dance competition. You know how long Hoseok and I have wanted this, don't you?” Jimin explains quickly, voice full of desperation.
Taehyung practically rolls his eyes 360 degrees. “And that my friend, is how the mouse gets caught in the cheese trap.” He shakes his head and turns to you for a look of confirmation.
“Wait, you guys all know each other?” You accuse with a sharp finger pointing from Jimin to Taehyung and back to Jimin, finally putting the pieces together.
“About that…” Taehyung begins. “We used to hang out at parties and stuff all the time, until Hoseok met Yoongi, and Seokjin met Namjoon, leaving only Jungkook who decided to go solo after that.”
“And it’s always been me and Hoseok’s dream to form a dance team with Jungkook called the 3J’s, but ever since he left the group and started dating a bunch of random girls, we kind of fell apart.” Jimin adds.
You swallow, finally viewing the picture in its entirety. “Hoseok and Yoongi, Seokjin and Namjoon, they’re all soulmates….” There it was again, the word you just seem to be unable to avoid. Taehyung and Jimin nod simultaneously, flashing you a sympathetic look.
“And I know it seems like I’m just letting go of the grudge I held against him because he agreed to join us again, but he seems different lately.” Jimin continues, inciting a skeptical look from both you and Taehyung, but there’s was nothing you could do now that Jimin’s already made up his mind.
“So you only invited him, right?” Taehyung inquires, just making sure there’re aren’t any more surprises.
“Jungkook and his plus one.” Jimin corrects, the statement making your heart fall to the pit of your stomach for reasons you claim are unknown to yourself. You knew he wouldn’t butt in on Taehyung and Jimin’s movie date without bringing an actual date himself, and yet you where somehow clutching on to the idea that maybe he take a break from being in fleeting relationships akin to that of fuck buddies.
“Oh come on Tae, you know Jungkook is rarely seen without at least one girl attached to his hip.” Jimin says. “He’s not the innocent child we knew before.”
“Ok guys, it’s fine.” You cut in. “Being the 5th wheel isn’t all that different from being the 3rd anyways.” It’s supposed to be a joke, but neither Jimin nor Taehyung laughs; they just throw you that sympathetic look you’ve gotten way to use to seeing.
The three of you wait for Jungkook- and whichever girl he was probably screwing now, at the Student Union so the five of you can walk to the city from there. You were listening to Taehyung and Jimin talk about how their break was, how their families are doing, and their plans for this summer (yeah already, and the semester technically hasn’t even started yet). Taehyung was in the middle of suggesting you guys go on a road trip/camping with the crew when he abruptly stops as you hear the footsteps of someone approach.
You turn to see who you suspected it was.
“Hey” Jungkook’s familiar voice cuts through the sounds of the other students in the background, making you tense up as you were reminded of the other times you’ve heard that voice.
He was dressed very casually, wearing a beanie to cover his hair except the bangs that lay flat against his forehead. There was something odd about his demeanor or what you couldn’t really place a finger on…until you realized…
He’s alone.
“So, uhh, where’s Rose?” Jimin asks, looking around and behind Jungkook to see if there was anyone there.
“She canceled,” He says, short, detached, and unbothered in the slightest.
“And you couldn’t find a replacement?” Taehyung raises his eyebrows disbelievingly.
“It was last minute.” Jungkook shrugs, avoiding your muted gazes.
“Ok, then are we ready to go?” Jimin gets up from his seat and flashes everyone a cheerful grin.
The fact that you haven't seen or spoken to Jungkook since you stripped him down naked and tended to his fever and the fact that Jungkook is clearly trying not to acknowledge your presence now doesn’t really sit well with you. If he’s going to be back to being buddies with Taehyung and Jimin, you’re going to have to force yourself to be on good terms with the guy.
You eye him suspiciously as he diverts his attention to the direction of the movie theater five blocks down. Jimin and Taehyung walk in front of the two of you, giggling in hushed whispers, pointing at the interesting objects displayed in the shop windows, forgetting that you and Jungkook were trailing awkwardly behind.
Somewhere in the space between skyscrapers and the muffled hum of car engines, you feel Jungkook’s hand brush against yours. It’s a light touch, the flutter of a feather drifting in the air, but it sends a tingle shooting up your arm and you swallow the saliva that has built up in your mouth.
You hear Jungkook clear his throat, and it was as if there were words bubbling up to his throat but ended up getting swallowing before they could be voiced.
The crowd of people was becoming denser as you neared the busier part of the city, it was hard not to be bumped by some random shoulder, or be squished closer and closer to Jungkook who was walking next to you. Taehyung and Jimin were far ahead now, and you could barely see the top of their head through the swarm of bodies.
“Um, is it ok if I hold your hand?” Jungkook murmurs, barely loud enough for you to hear.
You turn to see that he’s looking at you, waiting for you to either accept or reject him. You’re pretty sure your expression is reflecting how unprepared you were to face such a sudden request, and you’d be lying if you said that was an easy question to answer whether you said yes or no.
“Uh, you know, so we don’t get separated?” He adds in a significantly less confident tone.
You ponder over his statement again, wanting to dissect the expression on his own face so you could figure out what his motives are, but the innocent look in his eyes compels you to nod before your mind could stop yourself.
At your signal, he tentatively reaches over and takes your hand, unable to even make eye contact as he performs the deed because he was so nervous. Jungkook’s hand is surprisingly delicate and soft. You’re not exactly sure what you were expecting because you had never taken the time to imagine what his hands would feel like, but it’s much warmer than yours. And you’re sure he’s taking note of how cold your hand is because he proceeds to stuff your intertwined hands into his coat pocket. He doesn’t look at you for the remainder of the walk to the movie theater, but you can feel his fingers move, and tenderly rub your frozen digits in an attempt to warm them up. His firm grip is strong yet gentle, like he was afraid to hurt you but also didn’t ever want to let go.
You would also be lying if you said walking hand in hand with Jungkook for the first time didn’t feel strange, but it’d be a bigger lie to say you didn’t enjoy feeling so protected and safe for once in your life.
You’re so caught up in your dreamy thoughts that you don’t notice the bump in the sidewalk that you conveniently decide to trip on in that moment. It sends you tumbling forward, but Jungkook catches you just in time, right before you can fall face flat on the hard cement.
“You ok?” Jungkook turns to you with concern while he supports your upper body.
“Yeah, haha.” You try to laugh it off, but it sounds more forced than you intended. “I do that all the time.”
He chuckles silently, relaxing a little for the first time this evening. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m here then.”
You open your mouth to respond, but your mind blanks for a millisecond.
“I-I mean, you know, keeping you from falling and stuff.” He quickly adds, clearing his throat awkwardly.
“T-Thanks” You murmur softly, trying to avoid looking at his flushing face. You hope that he can’t sense your own nervousness and the churning of butterflies in your stomach, because you know exactly why that feeling is there and you most certainly do not want to address it.
You can feel his hand still moving as the two of you continue to walk, gripping and releasing like he was gently kneading your hand, contemplating how to start a conversation that would loosen the tense atmosphere hovering over the two of you.
“So, uh, I know you’re not interested in going out with me, but if you ever need someone when you’re with Taehyung and Jimin, I’ll be happy to get you out of that 3rd wheel situation.” He suddenly says when the two of you were reaching the theater entrance.
You wonder if that’s the real reason he came today.
“Jungkook, look, I don’t want to complicate things between us-”
“I understand.” He interrupts before you can finish. “It’s just, I’ve been in that sort of position, and I really hated that feeling of tagging along as an extra. Please don’t think this is just me trying to get in your pants or anything or being fake to get you to do something you don’t want to. I-I just want to help, and I totally get the not wanting to make it awkward between us since our friend groups overlap, and you know, it’s just, ugh, I’m just so bad at this.” He lets out a long exhale knowing that he was ranting again, that habit of his when he gets hit with social anxiety and hasn’t planned a whole speech out to come off cool and composed.
You bite your lip, wanting to let him know what you were truly thinking. Even though his thoughts came out jumbled, you get what he’s saying and you’re shocked at how accurately he hit the spot. It was true. As much as you liked being alone, you did hate that feeling of being out of place when Jimin and Taehyung dragged you along to their “dates”, you have been in situations when you wished someone who just come and take your hand and tell you they’ll be there when you don’t want to be alone. And you finally realized why you were secretly so happy when Jungkook had come without a date. But you don’t get the chance to respond because the heat of the theater lobby was greeting you, and your first instinct is to quickly slip your hand out of Jungkook’s pocket before Jimin and Taehyung turn to wave you guys over.
“We got the tickets!” Taehyung announces.
“Hope you guys don’t mind sitting closer to the back.” Jimin adds. “We probably should’ve reserved seats because this place is packed.”
You shrug. “Fine with me.”
You quickly follow behind Jimin and Taehyung, trying to put off the thought of responding to Jungkook’s offer. You’re immensely thankful that the lighting in theater is dim because it was acting as a blanket to cover all of the untended issues you were choosing to run away from.
“Oh yeah, and our seats are not in the same row.” Taehyung whispers. “Umm, do you want to sit with me and Jimin with Jungkook or I could sit with Jungkook and-“
“Tae, you go ahead and sit with Jimin” You interrupt, knowing that he was just trying to be polite and was probably feeling bad about leaving you with Jungkook.
“You sure?” He says, looking up to eye Jungkook who was pretending he couldn’t hear the conversation.
You nod in confirmation.
…
Seokjin and Namjoon may not seem like a classic soulmate pairing to the untrained eye, but you’ve known the two of them long enough to recognize complementarity at its finest. Kim Seokjin is maternal, protective, and caring, while Kim Namjoon is a genius-born leader and total klutz hybrid.
Seokjin is a complete jokester, always has been, and anyone who wasn’t familiar with his eccentric personality would think Namjoon was the older one in the relationship. But oh how wrong they would be, because despite always emphasizing his age with anyone younger than him, Seokjin has always treated Namjoon as his equal, if not superior. And everyone knew they were meant to be the moment he refrained himself from jumping out of his pants when Namjoon accidentally addressed him informally. It was actually quite a life defining moment.
They now live comfortably in a newly constructed apartment complex downtown, and have invited you, Jimin, and Taehyung over for “afternoon tea”. It honestly did not make any sense to you, but it had something to do with Seokjin wanting to test out the housewife life just for kicks before heading off to grad school.
“I don’t get why Y/N and Jungkook can’t just get together.” Seokjin blurts out, making you jolt at the sound of your name and Jungkook’s being used in the same sentence.
The five of you were currently gathered in their cleanly organized living room, enjoying freshly brewed tea and baked goods courtesy of none other than Kim Seokjin.
“You know that’s not how it works,” Namjoon reminds him, before you can come up with a similar retort.
“He clearly doesn’t care about staying faithful to his soulmate.” Seokjin sighs. “He’s too feisty. I blame it on his competitive nature. I told him to wait for the time to come, but that boy has no patience.”
“Hyung, I think it’s better not to talk about that when, you know” Taehyung gestures to you not-so-subtly.
“Oh sorry, Y/N, I didn’t mean to-“
“Guys, how many times do I have to say that I’m over it?” You try and convince them that you’re fine with not knowing your soulmate and they don’t have to act like they’re walking on needles when they bring up the topic in front of you.
“Who is Jungkook’s soulmate anyways? Has he told you guys their name?” Jimin suddenly asks.
“I thought he told you guys.” Seokjin responds raising both his eyebrows. “He’s never bothered to tell us.”
“He hasn’t told any of us?” Taehyung gasps.
“Let the boy have his privacy.” Namjoon butts in. “I’m sure we’ll all know once that person shows up.”
There’s a moment of prolonged pause before Namjoon suddenly speaks again.
“So, Y/N, not to be nosy or anything, but what exactly happened to your, ugh, soulmate?”
“Oh right, I haven’t told you yet” You respond, realizing Namjoon has no idea about the line tattooed on your wrist. He probably thought you just hadn’t met them yet. “My soulmates name didn’t really show up when I was eighteen.”
He throws you a startled look. “Like there’s nothing there?”
You roll up your sleeve and show him the faint marking that had already grown almost invisible.
“Ahh, the infamous horizontal line.”
Your eyes widen. “You’ve seen this before?”
He chuckles lightly. “Not until now.” He admits, gesturing at your wrist. “But I’ve heard about how some people don’t get names but different markings instead.” He shakes his head. “They are very rare, and there’s still a lot that is unknown about what they mean, but I found an old book at a library once that explained some of the markings that have shown up throughout history.”
You ears perk up. “Did it say anything about what a line means?” You feel your heart beat quicken as you wait for the older male to respond.
“Well…” He begins, rubbing his hands together and preparing his pending monologue. “It talked about a couple of the more common markings. Like for example, an X meaning your soulmate has died before you met them, a circle for soulmates who will not meet in this life but another, and a triangle for people who have soulmates that have someone else’s name on their wrist and not theirs….” He sighs. “As for a line like yours….”
You lean in closer because his voice suddenly grew soft.
“…the book said that it was the rarest of all the symbols that have been studied so far.” He pauses again. “It means… you don’t have a soulmate.” The last sentence almost comes out inaudible, and you aren’t quite sure if it’s because Namjoon’s voice was so hushed or because your eardrums feel like they were suddenly plunged underwater.
And maybe it was just because you were still clutching onto that nonexistent sliver of hope that a name would eventually appear, or that your soulmate would have the same marking as you and it would mean you found them, but all of that vanished with Namjoon’s words. The other markings are undoubtedly tragic, heartbreakingly so, but in some twisted way that could even come off as romantic depending on how one chose to view it, like those famous tales of star-crossed lovers or sad endings that are so meaningful because of the beautiful love that once was or could have been. But none of that was applicable in your case. It’s like you were torn away from all of that, not even privileged enough to feel the kind of gnawing pain that unforgettable or unrequited love leaves behind because what you are faced with is not even the thought of that red string of fate being cut or disappearing because now you’ve come to the realization that it never even existed in the first place.
You will always be reaching for something that is not there and never will be.
“Y/N, are you ok?” The voice of Jimin cuts through your isolated thoughts.
Breaking away from your reverie, you don’t have a choice but to force yourself back into reality and tell him you’re fine. Because truthfully, you are, and although it may seem unfair at times, you have already come to terms with your destiny, so knowing the meaning behind the rare marking on your wrist should not change that aforementioned acceptance.
...right?
…
On the Monday that classes officially begin, you run into Jungkook again.
You were starting to think your frequent run-ins with the younger male are too odd to be simple coincidences, but then you realize this was strictly only the second (or third?) time it’s been unplanned. But if that wasn’t enough evidence, the way he tries to pretend he hasn’t seen you and attempts to play it off as if the two of you were complete strangers tells you that he was not expecting to see your face among the crowd of swarming students. You watch in amusement as he looks everywhere but in the direction of you, even trying to use his scarf to cover his face.
“Jungkook!”
His eyes widen at the sound of your voice calling his name.
“I swear I’m not a stalker” is the first thing he blurts out of his mouth.
You giggle at how endearing he looks as he waits for you to charge him with a felony. “It’s fine. Coincidence, right?”
“Y-yeah, cause you know, I was walking to class and then… you… and I-I…yeah.” He smiles shyly, scratching the back of his neck.
You smile before looking down at your phone and notice that your first lecture starts in less than 5 minutes. “Well, I better get going. Don’t want to be late!” You turn to leave, but notice that he’s not making a motion to do the same. Instead, he’s just standing there, looking around like he didn’t have a class to catch.
“Ok, don’t tell me it’s because you don’t want to walk the same way again.” You look at him mischievously, crossing your arms and patiently waiting for his response.
“Would you believe me if I said it is?” He almost sounds timid, like he was afraid you were going to get angry with him for being annoying or bothersome.
“Unbelievable.” You sigh, shaking your head but unable to contain the grin that peeks through your incredulous expression. “What class are you headed to?”
“Zoology”
Your jaw drops. “No way.”
Jungkook looks at you confused.
“Me too.” You cannot believe this is actually happening. “But why are taking Zoology!?” You ask the question as if it’s something he shouldn’t be doing when in fact it should be the other way around, but you were in too much of a shock to think clearly.
Jungkook cocks a brow. “Shouldn’t I be asking why you’re taking a freshman class?”
You can feel your face heat up. “I-I” Why the hell were you getting nervous now? “I put off finishing the my last life sciences requirement, and I didn’t want to take human anatomy and physiology because those are two separate courses.”
“Makes sense” Jungkook bobs his head in understanding, not wording another question as the two of you scramble into the lecture hall just in the nick of time.
...
It becomes something of the norm, a routine if you will, for the next few weeks verging on months. Namely you and Jungkook showing up at 8am lecture occasionally together, other times separately. Often times he gets there before you, and less frequently, you get there before him, but whatever the case you make it a habit to try and bring two cups of coffee when you get the chance to stop by the cafe so neither of you end up falling asleep half way through. He says he’s not a morning person, but he always seems to arrive in class earlier than you on most days, saving you a seat next to him with his backpack that he removes upon your entrance.
You have to admit that in the beginning it was still a bit awkward, to see him every other day, bright and early in the morning, especially on the days you hit the snooze button one to many times and have to skip putting on makeup. You swear Jungkook is pretending when he acts like he doesn’t notice your dark eye bags and far from flawless skin, but you know he does and just chooses not to address why you look like you just rolled out of bed (or got ran over by a semi).
“Oh my god. I thought I was going to be late!” You huff as you settle down in the seat next to him.
“You know you could’ve just copied my notes right?” He grins, sliding over a pen and a sheet of blank paper he tears out of his notebook because he already knows you forgot in your frenzy to get to class.
“True” You respond casually, taking the stationary from him with gratitude. “But it’s not the same.”
It really isn’t, but that’s not genuinely the reason you not only haven’t skipped lecture all semester but have also consistently been on time, even in an impossible crunch. And as reluctant as you are to admit it, you secretly know you’re going because you know he’s going to be there waiting for you. Because let’s be real, you’ve skipped your fair share of classes in the past 3 years, and Zoology would not have been an exception had it not been for a certain Jeon Jungkook. You got used to counting on the fact that seeing him would put you in a good mood for the rest of the day, and you’re almost sure he’d be at least slightly disappointed if you didn’t show up one day. That kind of disappointment is not something you want to be held responsible for, not when his smiles makes his eyes crinkle in the corners and your heart feel all warm and fuzzy.
So despite thinking it was maybe a bad idea to put off a freshman course until your junior year, you soon come to realize you’re more than grateful you did because you also don’t think you would’ve survived through dissections without Jungkook as your lab partner.
“That freaking grasshopper was scary as fuck.” You comment as the two of you walk out of lab for the umpteenth time.
Jungkook laughs, making that signature cackling noise you’ve come to recognize from a mile away. “It was dead though.” He points out.
“My statement holds.” You shiver at the thought of how large it was, and how terrifying it looked when you were dissecting it. You hated bugs with a passion, and it didn’t matter that it was a lifeless black corpse, prior green color completely drained from being soaked in embalming fluid for god knows how long. “And it smelled horrible.”
“Not as bad as that dead bird.” Jungkook wrinkles his nose cutely.
“I think that’s only because the formaldehyde didn’t penetrate deep enough into the breast tissue. It smelled rotten.” You think back to how foul the specimen smelled, and mimic Jungkook’s nose scrunch.
“Still. I’ll never look at chicken the same way again.”
...
The first half of the semester passes by at half the speed of light. You and Jungkook see each other in class and lab three days a week and occasionally on the weekends when you have to study for an exam. He’s boyish and funny, and you learn that he’s also really competitive because he goes out of his way to memorize entire taxonomies just to beat you in study games.
“How did you get another hundred?!” You stare, wide-eyed and dumbfounded at his test score. “Unbelievable.” You can’t even ignore the hint of jealousy that’s nipping at your belly.
He shrugs pretending like he did know it was because of his competitive nature and your suggestion to make studying a game of sorts.
“And you’re not even going to thank me?” You inquire, crossing your arms and waiting to hear a declaration of gratitude from him.
“For what?” He tilts his head innocently, still playing the oblivious bystander.
You frown. “Stop pretending like you would’ve set the curve had it not been for the game I came up with.”
There’s a pause as he pretends to ponder over the statement. “You’re right” He smirks. “I wouldn’t have. Thank you…Noona.”
His emphasis on that last word makes you blush like crazy, sinking down into your scarf to hide the blossoming roses. Did he seriously just?!
Sometimes you forget that you’re still older than him because he constantly makes it a point to act like age doesn’t matter. But it’s always when you least expect it, that he chooses just the right words to make your heart pound faster than it should. The audacity.
“Well, I’m off to my next class! ” You inform abruptly.
Jungkook smiles as you hastily turn away, acting like you were going to be late, when you knew that he knew it didn’t start until the next hour. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” He yells across the widening distance between the two of you.
“Yup!” You shout back as you almost half sprint through the lawn.
In all honesty, you didn’t think a lame class like Zoology would end up being your favorite class of the semester, in fact, you were actually expecting to hate it with a passion, but something about getting to joke around with Jungkook put a smile on your face on those mornings when it was hard to get out of bed, and that’s more than you could’ve asked for.
…
A couple of days before Spring Break, Yoongi invites everyone to his “annual celebration”. It’s essentially just a small get together that he hosts at his parents’ mansion while they are out of town, so it’s not anything wild, particularly since Yoongi’s parents are a bit anal about keeping the place spotless and Yoongi himself is not a fan of big parties.
This is the first year you’ve been invited, or more accurately Taehyung and Jimin invited you because you don’t actually know Yoongi all that well, but friends of friends are usually forced to get along. That said, you’re not actually going because the they dragged you along for once. You’re going because Jungkook had asked you to go with him a few days before the inseparable pair even brought it up.
It went down something like:
“S-so uhh, a friend of mine…uh, Yoongi, is having this p-party…and I w-was wonder if maybe you want to…?”
“Go with you?” You finish the sentence for him, not even bothering to hide the amused smile that stretches across your face.
The way he still gets choked up by his nerves has always been charming in it’s own unique way, especially when contrasted to the manner you’ve witnessed him joke about anything and everything at this point. So of course you agree, forgetting about the astonished looks on all of your friends’ faces when you walk in to Yoongi’s house with Jeon Jungkook at your side.
Yoongi’s expression isn’t all that different from the way he looks bored 99% of the time. You’ve only been acquainted with the guy on a couple of rare occasions, but according to Jimin, he has quite the natural poker face.
Seokjin and Namjoon have somewhat of a pair of knowing smiles plastered on their faces, and you’re first thought is, you don’t want them to get the wrong idea. You know exactly what they are thinking, and you didn’t want them to jump to any conclusions.
Hoseok’s face is perhaps the most startled. His mouth forms a perfect “o” as his pupils dart from you to Jungkook and back to you.
“Jungkookie!” He suddenly shouts as he snaps out of his trance and runs up to the two of you still standing in the door way. He flings an arm around Yoongi who was still holding the door open as you and Jungkook proceed to remove your shoes at the entrance.
“Hyung!” Jungkook greets with a nod as the older male pats him on the shoulder.
“And this…is Y/N, right?” You look up and notice that Hoseok is now looking at you with a smile brighter than the sun. You’re slightly pleased that he still remembers you from the coffee shop incident a couple months ago.
You nod, returning a smile of your own.
He points at Jungkook and then back at you. “Are you guys finally…?”
Jungkook opens his mouth to respond, but you beat him to it.
“We’re just in the same class this semester.” Even as you hear your own response, you can’t believe it flew out of your mouth so quickly. You see Jungkook’s face drop ever so slightly from the corner of your eye, and something in your chest clenches.
You don’t really know what you and Jungkook are because you’re obviously not together in the traditional sense. You’re just friends…classmates…lab partners…or maybe more, you don’t really know. You do, however, know that you don’t want to set yourself up for getting hurt, and if that means being suspended in this ambiguous state with Jungkook, then maybe it’s better to keep it that way.
It’d be a lie to say you never thought about being more than friends, but it’s only a fleeting thought you sweep to the back of your mind whenever you’re reminded of that sting on your wrist. Seldom do you ponder over the idea of being more than friends with anyone, especially not when you know it’ll only be a fling for them before they find their destined soulmate, and you are definitely not one to go against the laws of the universe.
“I see” Hoseok nods in mild disappointment.
“Well, help yourselves to drinks and snacks” Yoongi cuts in. You had almost forgotten he was still there because he had been silent for so long.
“Guys let’s sing!” Taehyung suddenly pipes up.
“Oh god” You hear Namjoon groan in the background, but it doesn’t stop Taehyung and Jimin from giggling like little kids as they hurriedly set up the karaoke system.
It was not a surprise that they would end up being on a team. You’ve always known they were naturally talented singers, and you’ve witnessed their angelic voices first ear on more occasions than one. They know they’re good, so of course they end up going first and getting a solid 95%.
“You guys do this just to make us look bad right?” Yoongi sighs as he takes the mic Jimin conveniently hands him with a playful smile.
“No problem. We’ve got this.” Hoseok loosens his shoulders confidently and smirks. For the few seconds before the duet open their mouths, you’re almost led to believe they might give the reigning champions a run for their money. That is, until the song actually begins and you’re almost tempted to cover your ears.
It’s safe to say Hoseok and Yoongi don’t even try to stay on key. They’re hitting all the wrong notes, and they howl at the top of their lungs as if singing louder will hide their cracking voices.
“You’re turn” Hoseok says to Namjoon as the song ends.
“And don’t even try to let Seokjin do all the singing.” Yoongi adds.
Namjoon starts three pitches lower than he actually should, and suddenly goes up three pitches higher. It makes you wonder if he’s just doing it on purpose or if he’s just vocally challenged. Seokjin, however, has one of the most soothing voices you’ve ever heard, but you’re not allowed to enjoy it for long before it’s you and Jungkook’s turn.
You’re nervous to say the least, but Jungkook flashes you a reassuring smile that quells your anxiety. You’ve never been told you were a bad singer, but you weren’t amazing either and certainly nowhere near the level of Taehyung and Jimin.
When the song begins you start out softly, almost at an inaudible volume due to the fear of singing on the wrong key or messing up the lyrics, but you hear a voice so clear and calming, twirling along the melody like colorful ribbons, that you question if they accidentally forgot to turn off the original singer’s voice. You glance around but detect that no one is making a move to correct what you assumed to be a mistake, and then it hits you that it’s Jungkook. You’re so at loss for words that you’ve stopped singing completely, slowly turning your head to look at the male sitting next to you in awe. His eyes were closed, and he was fully immersed in the song like a lonely man serenading his lover. You’re mouth hangs slightly ajar, and you barely comprehend the ending of the song when his eyes flutter open to meet yours.
“As expected” Jimin sighs at the perfect score flashing on the screen.
Jungkook clears his throat and diverts his eyes the same time you do.
“Well, I kind of stopped singing like 10 seconds into the song.” You admit embarrassingly, even though it was probably obvious to everyone in the room.
“It’s ok, Y/N, it’s just for fun anyways.” Taehyung hops up to grab the mic from Jungkook. “Who’s ready for round 2?”
A series of reluctant groans is heard from Yoongi and Hoseok before Namjoon comes up with a negotiation.
“Let us rap and you’ve got a deal,” Namjoon requests, to which Taehyung and Jimin both permit, decreeing it “only fair in the spirit of the game”.
...
A couple hours later, every one is either passed out on the couch or still drunkenly singing. Yoongi’s house is more spacious than you had imagined, so you decide to have a look around and grab a breath of fresh air. One of the guest bedrooms has a nice balcony overlooking the mountainside, so you decide to do some stargazing or viewing of the enthralling cityscape in the distance. It’s the perfect setting for you to contemplate life the way you always do when you’re feeling that need for solitude.
It was a clear night, the moon was hanging on the dark indigo canvas, looming over the treetops that are partially covering the miniature skyscrapers as seen from afar. The breeze is a bit chilly, but not unbearable and the muted sounds of the night are serene and sedative.
Just as you were watching a dark cloud drift across the starry expanse, you hear a faint click and the opening of the sliding door behind you.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were here.” Jungkook’s voice is apologetic and soft.
“It’s ok, I just thought I’d get some fresh air.” You smile, hoping that the moonlight is bright enough for him to see that you’re not bothered by his interruption in the slightest.
He nods before sluggishly turning to leave.
“Jungkook, wait” You stop him before he steps back inside. “Do you want to talk for a bit?”
A surprised expression sweeps across his face, but just as quickly as it appeared it’s washed away as he approaches you with a relieved smile.
“Things were getting pretty crazy back there.” Jungkook chuckles weakly, trying to lighten up the stuffy atmosphere hovering over the two of you. “They’re all passed out now.”
“Yeah, I had no idea Karaoke could be that intense.”
“Haha, yea. Today was actually tame compared to some other instances.”
You grin, thinking about how hilarious Yoongi, Hoseok, and Namjoon were. “You’re really good at singing.” You comment, not meeting his eye but somehow able to see how wide they’re probably opened right now.
“T-thanks” He clears his throat and swallows. “I’ve always loved singing. I practiced only when I was alone, which used to be all the time, so I guess that explains why I got good at it. ”
“Did you ever feel lonely?” It was more of a test rather than a question. You just wanted to hear his opinion on the matter, the one topic you seem to ponder over all the damn time whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. And it somehow always ends up resulting in you convincing yourself that you’re not lonely at all, and that you simply enjoy being alone.
You still believe it’s indisputably true.
Jungkook doesn’t respond right away, taking the time to really think about your rather impulsive inquiry. He turns his attention to you, and you really don’t have a choice but to maintain eye contact because you had initiated the question and he was relaying an answer.
“Sometimes I feel like I can have all the people in the world and still feel lonely.”
Your breathing slows to a stand still.
“And it’s those times when I’m alone that I feel like I’m with the perfect amount of company. It’s like I can only win by battling lonely with lonely. ” He chuckles. “Ugh, I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.” He drops his gaze, and if it weren’t for the darkness you would probably be able to see the color drenching his features.
You cautiously take a few steps forward, making sure not to startle him. “How do you feel now?”
You can see his lip part as he looks back up at you who is now only inches away from his face. Lifting a tentative hand, you reach up to cup his soft cheek, feeling the warmth of his tender skin in the center of your palm. It’s the first time you’ve examined him from such proximity, the curvature of his nose, the slight pout of his lip, and his eyes- a pair of crystal clear orbs that are shimmering under the moonlight, glittering with the light of a thousand stars.
Moving forward, you can sense his hesitation, but he doesn’t inch back. Instead he leans in closer, lifting his own hand to grab your wrist and pull you towards him until your bodies were almost in contact.
And then his lips are melting onto yours.
Your eyes are closed but you can feel him. You can feel the way he releases his grip of your wrist as he uses both hands to caress your face. Your own hold on his cheek is broken as you lose yourself to the sensation of his soothing lips enveloping yours, motions slowly paced with a trained patience that tells you he’s still afraid. Initially, it’s frustratingly delicate, the way he holds back as if you would suddenly pull away if he were too urgent- too forceful, but gradually the momentum picks up and the swirling ways of his tongue incites you to press your body against his, erasing any thought of turning back, like an object hitting escape velocity setting off on its way to the end of the universe.
He supports you against the sliding glass door as he continues to drink you in; hands clasped around your hips as you hastily reach backwards and slide the door open so the both of you can stumble back inside. You fall onto the bed, gasping for air as he cages you underneath him.
“Are you sure about this?” He whispers in between breaths as he searches for the answer in your eyes.
“Positive” You answer with a confidence you weren’t aware you had, but you were ready to finally give in to that desire buried deep within your heart, the one you’ve ignored all this time because you too, were afraid.
He nods gently before connecting his lips with yours once more, working his way down your neck and igniting a flame in your stomach. His hands begin roaming parts of your body that you didn’t think he had the guts to explore, and it makes you question if he’s just as nervous as you are or if you were perhaps analyzing this situation more than you should. Your thoughts are racing as he tugs your pants down, coming back up after he does and taking your lips into his once more. You falteringly start to unbutton his shirt, but it so painstakingly sloppy that he lifts a hand to stop you after only two buttons, pausing to stand up and throw it off completely instead. You can feel your readiness increase as you eye his toned torso, the one you’ve had unspeakable thoughts of since the day you tended to his fever.
His eyes trace along your own bare figure, laid on the bed with no protective barrier, nothing to hide any of your self-proclaimed flaws, and that’s when you’re hit with an instant of vulnerability right before he leans back on top of you. He dips his hand under your panties, an action that causes you to emit a loud gasp and quickly stretch down to halt him, clutching on his arm a little tighter than you intended.
He freezes in place. “Do you want to stop?” He questions in concern, searching for a signal within your eyes.
You shake your head. “Sorry, I panicked.” You murmur, feeling even more heat rise to your face.
He flashes you a faint half smile, giving you a light nod as he proceeds to carefully slide two fingers between your already moistened folds. He plunges them in and out, wiggling in fluid motions, and using his thumb to rub your clitoris in small circular drawings, sensually spreading the fluid that is being released by your arousal. You feel the knot in your lower abdomen tighten, and it’s only emphasized by Jungkook’s own stifled breathing as he continues to dust tiny kisses down your neck to your exposed chest.
“J-Jungkook” You moan rather timidly as he stops to look back up at your pleading eyes. It was embarrassing to admit it, but you couldn’t wait much longer. You needed to feel more of him inside of you. You wanted him to fill that physical hollowness, even if it was only going to be temporary.
He somehow understands what you want without you having to state it explicitly, and you’re relieved when you see him unzipping his jeans, the crotch area of which was already giving away his own unhindered arousal.
“Are you ready?” He voices in a rich timbre, making an excited shudder run down your spine. You nod, straddling him by the waist.
He leans down to leave one last peck on your lips before he begins to enter you, sinking his length into your taut entrance. You can hear a guttural moan emanate from his throat as a reaction to how tight you actually are and how good you’re making him feel. Each of his movements is restrained but contain a trace of primal hunger that leaves you wanting more as he thrusts in and out of you after you’ve adjusted to his girth.
Never once did he lose himself in his own pleasure and forget to tend to your needs, making sure to read every little change in expression, every subtle jerk that maybe meant his movement had hurt you. You think Jungkook’s determined gaze is deceivingly sweet and misleadingly comforting because it’s erasing all of the doubt that you don’t actually have a soulmate, all of the invasive thoughts that you don’t deserve to be loved. It’s wiping away every last tear you’ve cried in the past, when you were lost and had to tell yourself that you’re fine amidst the hidden pain. Jungkook’s dazzling eyes are telling you that he will cherish you for the rest of his life, and despite the skepticism that all of this may be a dream, in that moment, you allow yourself to believe it’s real.
“Jungkook, that feels so good” You reassure him as you throw your head back against the pillow, prompting him to speed up and eliciting a louder cry to escape your lips.
His palm rises to hold your face because he didn’t think his gaze was enough to capture how beautiful you are to him, how much you’ve meant to him all this time. And in that momentary flickering, you can see the welling of his eyes, the gathering of tears that make his obsidian irises gleam with an insurmountable volume of stardust. It brings you to a transitory calm in the heat of the moment, a fleeting pause before the burning desire comes flooding back and you can feel yourself nearing the brink. You catch a glimpse of his eye crinkles as he squeezes them shut in pleasure, biting his lip and trying to delay his release. But another moan from you sends him hurling towards the edge with you chasing after him only seconds later. The last thrust drains him of all energy as he falls on top of you, chest rising and falling in rhythm with yours as everything else dissipates.
That feeling of your tangled bodies finding each other in this sea of isolation is filling the all the spaces that were once left empty. You make an effort to remember the warmth of his body, the scent of his hair, and the dull vibration of his pulsating member still inside of you, but you’re mind is too foggy to do so. Jungkook slowly rolls off of you, shifting into a position where he’s cradling you with his torso before drifting into the deep depths of slumber.
...
Hours pass before you wake up to the dim glow of the moonlight seeping in through the opened curtains. The male next to you is still sound asleep, breathing peacefully through parted lips. You swallow the lump in your throat as you sit up, making sure you cause the bed to move as little as possible as to not wake Jungkook up. Cautiously you stand up, tug on your clothes, and tiptoe over to the door, forcing yourself to not look back at his sleeping form.
He stirs awake, sensing your intent to leave, but just as you were about to turn the doorknob and step out of the room, you hear him whimper faintly.
You freeze in place, dropping the hand that you had lifted to twist the doorknob. It was as if the planet had stopped revolving and the surroundings had frozen in time. You turn back to Jungkook, the boy lying alone in the bed that seemed too big for how small he looked in that moment, and something in your chest constricts, robbing the air from your lungs.
“Please, don’t leave me.” He whispers pleadingly, with glossy eyes that contain entire galaxies, star systems that you cannot even dream of reaching, and looking into them in that infinitesimal second, you realize that he is, indeed, not your home.
He is not the comfort of a place that you ache to return to at the end of time and are capable of doing so, the destination every wanderer will eventually conclude their seemingly never-ending journeys. No, Jungkook is not your home. He is your hiraeth, something that does not exist in this tangible realm. He is that place that you will never be able to grasp because it is not actually there, it’s not real and never will be, but your heart will continuously chase after it anyways.
So you don’t leave him.
You stay.
…
“Oh come on Y/N, we’ve been planning this for months!” Taehyung exasperates, reminding you that he and Jimin have been planning this summer road trip since the begging of the year.
Of course you still remember. How could you possibly forget?
“It wouldn’t be the same without you and Jungkook” Jimin insists, almost in a whining tone as he nudges your shoulder.
You weren’t planning on rejecting their offer anyways. You just wanted to see their genuine reactions to you pretending to be on the fence, being a tease and all. In reality, you loved road trips, camping, and travelling the country. You can practically already see the beautiful scenery that Jungkook will capture on camera, as you had learned of his love of photography and filmmaking not too long ago.
The image of his smiling face pops up in your mind, making you smile fondly before turning back to Taehyung and Jimin.
“Guys, we’re obviously going” You roll your eyes playfully as identical looks of relief wash across both of their faces simultaneously.
You liked the way they accepted your relationship with Jungkook, how seamlessly it blended in to your friend group dynamic, with virtually no objections or awkward feelings. It was like everything had finally fallen into place.
And maybe they were all still concerned for when Jungkook actually finds his soulmate, still wary of the day he might leave you for someone else, the precise thing that had held you back from accepting him for so long. But you somehow find yourself dwelling over these fears less and less as time passes, because Jungkook makes you feel courageous. He renders you strong enough to believe that everything will be ok in the end no matter what happens, and for now, that’s more than enough.
...
It was the end of spring semester when you receive a text from Jungkook telling you there was something important he wanted to say to you in person. He had just messaged you about meeting him by the duck pond near campus, the place students liked to read under willow trees and come to feed their expired bread to the variety of bird species in the area. The blossoming spring was a perfect setting to take a nice walk outside and enjoy the mild weather, but you find yourself racing down the sidewalk because you were already twenty minutes late.
“Y/N?”
“Jungkook, sorry I’m late. I had to turn in my thesis paper last minute, that crazy professor wanted a hard copy. Like what century is he living in?” You shake your head, still trying to catch your breath.
“No worries. I just got here myself.”
You eye his half eaten granola bar, and the rest of the crumpled wrappers he was squeezing within his palms. Jungkook was either a fast eater or he was lying to make you feel better for being nearly half an hour late.
You barely hold back the urge to swoop down and hug him dearly. “So what did you want to tell me?” You query instead, sitting down on the patch of grass next to him, dropping your backpack and leaning next to him.
“I-I, ummm…”
“Or did you just want to see me?” You help him out; completely familiar with the way he gets too nervous to form coherent thoughts at times.
“Yeah, I really did.” He sighs, sitting up more to make room for you to rest your head against his chest as he leaned against the tree.
A moment of silence passes as the two of you gaze out at the pond, ducks swimming in sync and the occasional elegant swan making its way across the water.
“I use to come here a lot by myself.” You say, eyes still focused on the way the warm breeze causes the droopy branches of the willow trees lining the pond to sweep along the water’s surface. “I enjoyed my time alone, and although I’m reluctant to admit this even to myself, the reason I was so obsessed with solitude was because it made me feel like I was alongside someone I really wanted to be with.” You chuckle, realizing you sounded like you were spewing nonsense. “Sorry, I’m not making any sense am I?”
Jungkook doesn’t respond right away, but you know he’s thinking about something from the way he twirls his fingers in your hair, separating the silky strands and taking his time to ponder over your words. “No, I get it.” He voices. “That feeling of always thinking about someone even if that person isn’t real. So we never feel lonely even when we are alone.”
“Wow, that’s way better than I could’ve described it.”
You feel his body shift slightly as he wraps his arm around your shoulder a little tighter, and you can’t help but reflect on the fact that the sensation of being with Jungkook felt almost exactly like the alone times you treasured so much. As impossible as it sounds, it’s like he was somehow always with you disguised as that person who isn’t real or maybe it’s the other way around.
“So there actually is something I wanted to tell you today, and I’m really not sure if this is right time or if I should just wait because I might just be messing things up by saying this to you and I’m so nervous right now- god, I’m never going to be good at this am I?” He closes his eyes and sighs deeply, making you giggle at his flustered state. Truthfully, you’ll always find it extremely endearing, and you wished he wasn’t so hard on himself.
“Jungkook, it’s ok. Just tell me, I’m all ears.” You reassure him, feeling the rise and fall of his chest and being able to hear the rapid pounding of his heart as you nuzzled against his chest.
“I love you.” He says, voice so soft and airy that it was almost carried away by the wind before it could make it’s way to you ear.
Your initial reaction is not of disbelief or skepticism because you somewhat already knew about his feelings for you. And it wasn’t because he had already gotten in your pants and made love to you and it also wasn’t a deceiving result of you own feelings for him. Jungkook had made you feel special with his nonverbal gestures and shy actions for a long time coming, even when he was pretending to be a douchebag and acting unlike his real self to impress the people around him. It was always clear to you that he had placed you somewhere deep within his heart with his showing of his vulnerable side and the seeping of his true thoughts that he only revealed to you. But the weight of the actual words that escaped his lips just now comes as a slow swelling of your heart and makes a home in widening smile gradually stretching across your features.
“I love you too, Jungkook.” You whisper back, hugging him just a tad bit tighter, even though you knew he would never disappear.
It’s astonishing how much importance you used to put on the concept of finding a soulmate, that one person who was meant for you and promised to make you feel whole. You’ve come to learn over time that soulmates are not the final destination; your other half is not the ultimate goal in life or the only window to happiness and security, because in the end, those things are only constructs of your mind and ways that dictate how you ultimately perceive your own reality. Everyone is on this endless journey in search of that which cannot be found in this world or even the next, discovering consolation and solace in the spaces created by things we wished were there to fill the void.
Jungkook may not be your soulmate, but he’s the closest thing in this universe to that which your heart yearns for, and in a way it makes him mean so much more to you than a destined soulmate or an definitive home.
“So, this might make me sound grossly hypocritical, but I never actually received a soulmate.” You confess as you tilt your head up to read his reaction to your statement.
“What do you mean?” He questions, sitting up so he can look into your eyes because he truly cared, and he could tell just by the hesitation and tone of your voice that this was something you were reluctant to share but were doing so because you felt that it was the right time.
You flash him a faint smile before fiddling with your sleeve, biting your bottom lip as extend your upturned wrist towards him. There’s no hue of surprise washing over his face, or any kind of shocked response flickering past his irises for that matter. He just stares down at the horizontal line that you’ve put in the utmost effort to conceal ever since the fateful day it showed up on the tender skin of your wrist with a fondness that you don’t really understand.
“Jungkook?” You whisper, afraid that you might’ve scared him or made him change his mind about you.
He doesn’t respond vocally, still gazing at the exposed skin, pale and raw from the lack of exposure to sunlight over the years. He cautiously lifts his hand to place on your wrist, rubbing the area gently with the caressing touches of his quivering fingertips. You see his eyelids flutter up to glance at you momentarily with glistening eyes and the faintest of smiles. He doesn’t say anything, but instead turns his own arm over, slowly lifting the sleeve of his shirt cuff.
And beneath the fabric that is filtering away the harshness of the world is a marking that almost stops time:
An identical black horizontal line, matching the very one tattooed on your own wrist.
...
#bts fanfic#bts smut#bangtan bookclub#btswriters#armiesnet#bts scenarios#jungkook scenarios#jungkook smut#jungkook fanfic#bts imagines#jungkook imagines#bts soulmate au#jungkook x reader
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TodoChako: Indirect Kiss
Okay, did another one! I don’t know why, but I did. So yay! Woo! Hooray! I hope you guys like it. I really do.
Just before the Test of Courage in episode 3.
Uraraka let out a heavy sigh, nervous about the test of courage tonight. She wasn’t fond of scary things, as were some of her other classmates, and it made things even more nerve-wracking with what happened in the three months of attending U.A. It had set her on edge, what with the villains being more active and even though she had faith in the teachers, it didn’t stop her nerves. It just made her more apparent that it was night and they were to walk through the woods, being purposefully frightened.
She was helping Bakugo with prepping, amazed at his ability with handling a knife, cutting up the carrots with the speed of a professional chef. She ignored the insult, but smiled nonetheless as she helped him move the ingredients to the current chefs taking care of the pots. She let herself be distracted by their work, chose to focus on something else to ease her mind. By the time she knew it, she was sitting at the table with Iida, Deku, Tsu-chan, and Todoroki. She had claimed the seat next to the duo-colored haired teen, focusing on his left side considering the chill of the summer night was descending on them.
Iida and Deku and Tsu-chan had been talking about their training, how sore they were. Uraraka listened, commenting that her training had been especially hard on her due to the draw back on her quirk, Aizawa-sensei’s comment on how they had just barely made the cut made her frustrated at herself, however it made sense. Again, like Momo had mentioned the first time they were being trained in teams, she and Deku had taken advantage that it was training. In her case, her and Aoyama had taken advantage that it was a test against the teachers. If Thirteen had been a real villain, there would be no way she and him would be alive.
Sighing, she tried not to think about that too much and focused on eating her stew. Everyone had pretty much had a bowl from a different pot, and her pot had been made under Bakugo’s watch, having “fired” the chefs that were in charge and she was amazed at how well it tasted. Everything tasted so delicious, the vegetables weren’t undercooked or overcooked, the meat was soft, and the seasons were overpowering or underpowering. It was well balanced and she enjoyed it very much.
“This is really good, Bakugo knows how to cook!” Uraraka took another bite, smiling to herself.
“Kacchan actually cooked?” Deku chimed in incredulously, seemingly nervous at the mention of Bakugo. As if he would come in and start verbally assaulting him.
“Mnm! Bakugo didn’t like the way the Class-B students were taking care of the meal, so he pretty much took over. None of us could really stop him, but it seemed like it worked out well.”
“Bakugo-chan seems to surprise us more and more, Ribbit.”
“I see, I have failed to take into account of Bakugo-kun’s strengths as a chef! I wonder if he can supervise the next time we have to cook again tomorrow.” Once again, they were all talking amongst themselves, and Uraraka turned toward Todoroki, confused at his silence. He had continued to eat, seemingly unwilling to participate in the conversation.
“Todoroki-kun, are you feeling alright? You seem rather quiet.” Uraraka had kept her voice low, as to not attract the others who were absorbed in conversation.
“Ah.” Very simple answer, but Uraraka felt maybe there was something on his mind. He didn’t look angry, but he seemed troubled by something. Not sure how to really talk to him or get him to open up, Uraraka stared at her bowl in thought.
“Uraraka,” Todoroki’s voice cut through her plans on trying to strike up a conversation with him, her head turning to face him, smiling softly, “would it trouble you if I tried it?”
Surprised by his request, Uraraka nodded her head in response. “Sure.” Without really thinking about it, Uraraka took a spoonful and held it up to Todoroki’s lips, ready to feed him. What was even more strange is that he leaned in to eat from the same spoon she had been eating from. Pulling the utensil from his lips, she set it back in her bowl as he savored the flavor. “It’s good. I think I know where I went wrong.”
“Oh, so you were in charge of your pot?”
“Yeah, but I now know where I went wrong. I didn’t let it cook longer, so the meat didn’t end up as soft as it should’ve been.”
“Well now you know, I’m glad I could help you.” Todoroki smiled at her, going back to eating as well as she, not aware of the looks that their classmates gave them.
Midoriya and Iida expressions were of pure shock, mouth’s agape after witnessing their indirect kiss. Tsuyu had been more amused, her finger to her lips, smiling at them because they seemed oblivious to what happened. When they looked up at their friends, curious why they had stopped talking, they were confused by Midoriya getting flustered, face red as he tried to ignore his feelings about how he would’ve liked to share an indirect kiss with Uraraka. Iida had been a bit more concerned that they should be careful when sharing food, going off in a tangent that it could be dangerous and result in them getting sick and so forth. Tsuyu had kept her smile, telling Uraraka that she never thought she would do something like that.
Uraraka had been confused by it, not really understanding what they were meaning until it dawned on her that she shared a kiss with Todoroki. However indirectly, her face went into a full blush, covering her face. Todoroki hadn’t really seen the problem in it, but then again, as he considered what it implied, he did kiss Uraraka in a sense.
“I’m sorry, Uraraka. I didn’t mean to kiss you.” Todoroki had looked at her, taking note of the redness in her face. Just like the beginning when she was talking to Midoriya before chanting about training camp.
“D-D-Don’t be silly Todoroki-kun! You didn’t kiss her! You both were just sharing a meal and that’s all.” Midoriya had been laughing nervously, trying to make sense that it didn’t really count as a kiss.
Uraraka, on the other hand, was even more embarrassed by it. M-My first kiss! Well no, it wasn’t really a kiss, but it feels like it could be. Ah, it went to Todoroki-kun either way! Trying to calm herself, she felt maybe she needed to go cool off because her face had felt so hot. Fanning herself, she laughed again nervously that she needed to cool off and get a drink, not giving them a chance to protest as she left the table.
Swiftly walking past the others, she tried to focus on ignoring the idea of an indirect kiss. She never paid attention to stuff like that, and she shared food with her parents, so she didn’t think about it when it came to sharing a spoonful with Todoroki. He could’ve just been anyone, Tsu-chan, Iida, even Deku. Thinking about indirectly kissing Deku made her even more flustered, her crush now more obvious to her thanks to Aoyama. Yet why did it feel more personal with Todoroki? That’s what she wanted to know. It wasn’t like she had feelings for him, but she did think he was pretty cool. But so were all her classmates! Was it just because he was Deku’s friend? No, she didn’t think she’d react this way if it was IIda. Ugh!
Uraraka had stopped walking, realizing she had walked into the building. She didn’t really mean to, but she wasn’t opposed to getting a moment to breathe and collect her thoughts. It wasn’t everyday that she had to deal with these things. It didn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything. I just got caught up in the moment. It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t. It doesn’t. It absolutely doesn’t.
So why do I want to know how his lips would actually feel? Would they… be cold and hot?
Realizing what she had thought about, Uraraka covered her face again, crouching down, groaning out loud about the whole thing. Since when did she get caught up in boys? She understood about Deku, after Aoyama made her realize her crush on him, but Todoroki? She had a moment where she wondered how Bakugo’s hair would feel. But she didn’t want to kiss him! So why did she think about kissing Todoroki?
“Uraraka?” Jumping up, the man in question had a surprised her, his hands full with two drinks. “I was watching you and you walked passed the cooler.” Uraraka laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, trying to avoid direct eye contact with him.
“I guess I hadn’t realized I was. I was lost in thought.” Nervously, she reached for a drink, holding in her hands.
“I’m sorry. I feel like I really made you upset about the whole thing back at the table.” Uraraka smiled, her staring at the floor, face still red but not as badly.
“No, there’s no reason to be sorry. It was just super embarrassing that it was pointed out like that. I wouldn’t have noticed it if they didn’t make a big deal about it. I mean, it wasn’t really a kiss. You wanted to taste the stew and I was offering. That’s all I saw it as, but, maybe I should’ve gotten a separate spoon or something. Haha.” She laughed a bit, taking a drink from her juice.
Todoroki had remained quiet and Uraraka felt even more nervous, looking over to him. He was just looking down, lost in his thoughts again. Being close to him, she was drawn to his lips, her face reddening further when she thought back on how they might’ve felt against hers. Would they be two different temperatures? Would they alternate?
“You’re staring.” Uraraka was once again forced out of her thought, startled by his voice. Even more, he had seemed so much closer than before. He must’ve leaned down to check on her.
“S-Sorry! I was just thinking about stuff.” Uraraka was really nervous around him even more now.
“What about? With how intense you were looking at me, I don’t know if I did something or not.”
“Ah, no. I just…” Uraraka trailed off, looking down, really flustered now. God, she didn’t know how to tell him she was wondering about his lips. Wondering how they felt. How they would feel against hers. Damn this is so embarrassing! Shouldn’t we head back already? Uraraka looked up at him, Todoroki surprisingly patient with her. He was her friend and he was Deku’s friend. There wasn’t any feelings, and even if she had a slight, minuscule, crush on Todoroki right now, it wasn’t really real and he doesn’t seem like a gossip. He wouldn’t care. Right?
Breathing out, Uraraka looked away, squeezing the can in her hand. “I was just wondering, Todoroki-kun, how it would have been like to kiss you. Just how your lips would feel or if you would have different temperatures like your hands? Would it alternate from hot to cold? That was all.”
There, she confessed it. They could just try to move past this and move on. They had a test of courage to go through! And honestly, with how scared as she had been before, she would gladly welcome it now than deal with this. It was so much more stressful!
“I actually can alternate the temperatures throughout my body. So if we were to kiss, I can go between hot and cold, as you say.” Uraraka was completely flabbergasted, staring at him. She didn’t think he’d tell her anything like that! She figured he’d think she was weird! But what truly shocked her, and made her think she was in some alternate universe where up was down and right was left, he spoke up: “”If it really makes you curious, I wouldn’t mind kissing you.”
There was a pregnant pause between them, Uraraka left speechless and stunned, Todoroki seemingly calm and casual about it. Is he serious!? He can’t be serious, right!? No way, no way, no way! Even if he was serious, Uraraka wouldn’t do it! She liked Deku. She had a crush on Deku and even if it was recent that she realized it, she felt she might be betraying him.
But then again, we’re not dating. It’s not like it is cheating, because if I haven’t even confessed, there’s nothing there… right? Uraraka considered that in this moment, she was just someone with a crush who has yet to confess. And it was okay, right? Biting her lips, she looked at Todoroki who was waiting for her response, her brown eyes getting drawn in by the gray and blue. Even if others would say the blue color was beautiful, Uraraka was drawn more to the gray of his eye.
Without really thinking about it, Uraraka took the can out of his hands and set them both down on the floor, taking a step forward and reaching for him. Todoroki rested his hand on the small of her back as her hands cupped his face, the finger pads soft like a kittens stroking his skin, and leaned down as she leaned up. She was still incredibly nervous, but she felt a desire to sate her curiosity. To know what it felt like to kiss Todoroki Shouto.
Their lips brushed against each other, Todoroki ready to pull back if she wanted him to, letting Uraraka take the lead as she pressed her lips more firmly against his. He breathed in, his hand pushing her body closer to his, her hands sliding into his hair as she moved her lips against his, eyes hooded as she felt shivers slide down her body. Maybe it was his arm? Maybe it was just that she was aware she was cold? She didn’t want to think it was because, even though both were inexperienced, the kiss actually felt good. That Uraraka got lost in the feel that his lips were soft against hers, that he wasn’t kidding that he can alternate temperatures.
It was hot, the heat from his left side warming her up from the inside out as she closed her eyes to really enjoy the sensation. He shifted to being cold, and it made her gasp in surprise, but she didn’t pull away, just kept kissing him because it actually felt good. His lips were cold, the hand holding her making her shiver. He kept going back and forth, kissing her back, getting lost in the kiss as well. It may have lasted several seconds, maybe a minute, but it felt even longer, Uraraka and Todoroki lost in each other.
When they pulled back, both their faces were flushed, Uraraka even more nervous than he was as she stepped back to put some distance between them. Not that she didn’t like it, but she was completely confused. Was it really inexperience? Was that why she felt like this? Of course. It had to be. Todoroki had avoided looking at her as well, clearly needing to think about what he had allowed to happen. Neither wanted to speak first, Uraraka trying to calm her racing heart, her hand pressing against her chest.
A minute passed, neither of them saying a word until Uraraka’s phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her again. How many times have I been scared by something? It hasn’t even been the test of courage yet! Looking down at her phone, she noticed it was Deku who had texted her, asking her where she was, worried. She felt a pang in her heart, gripping the phone in her hand firmly as she tried to ignore the fact that she kissed Todoroki. It wasn’t cheating. They weren’t dating. It wasn’t anything, but she did feel like she might’ve betrayed Deku, in some way. As she texted him back that she was fine, she had just stretched her legs because she was worried about the even tonight, she looked over to Todoroki who had picked up their drinks and looked over to her.
“Who was it?” His voice was leveled, but Uraraka could’ve sworn he seemed upset.
“Deku-kun. He wanted to know where I was and if I was okay.”
“Ah.” That was it, nothing more to add on. Uraraka smiled sheepishly, walking behind him as they headed back to where everyone was. They didn’t finish eating, or at least she knew she didn’t, but dinner was over and they were all cleaning up before they were to begin. Uraraka glanced over to Todoroki, his face calm, eyes staring ahead, but she was drawn back to his lips, feeling an urge to kiss him again.
Shutting her eyes, she shook her head firmly, not wanting to think about it anymore. It didn’t mean anything. It didn’t. It… It didn’t mean anything. Todoroki and I are just two different people. Two different people that kissed each other and forgot the world. Uraraka looked back at him, his eyes glancing back at her. She bit her bottom lip, knowing even if she wanted something with him, they both needed to focus on their hero work. It wasn’t a matter if they needed to, they absolutely had to. Because no matter what, it was important. She wanted to be a hero and help her family. He wanted to be his own hero. There wasn’t time for love. For dating.
With a small smile, Uraraka accepted that right now, she needed to focus on herself and her goal. Todoroki nodded to her, making her think he understood. She hoped he did.
“Well I guess I better help clean up, thank you Todoroki-kun.” She purposely wasn’t specific, but she was nevertheless happy he had come to check up on her and get her something to drink.
“You’re welcome.” Todoroki gave her a small smile and walked away, Uraraka watching him go. Pressing her fingers to her lips, she closed her eyes and breathed in. She was fine. It was fine. It was all fine.
Turning around, she went back to the table to help Tsu-chan and the others clean up so that way they could go ahead and begin. It didn’t seem so scary anymore, the Test of Courage. She felt maybe it was all going to be okay.
Little did anyone of them know, it wasn’t.
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