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seriouslyhooked · 2 years

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The Best Bad Idea (Part 3)

Three-part CS AU where Emma and Killian are doctors working at the same hospital (world without pandemic). They’ve yet to meet, but Emma has definitely seen the sexy Dr. Jones in her travels at Mist Haven Medical. It’s generally a bad idea to get involved with a colleague, but a little fantasizing never hurt… right? Inspired by the song ‘Bad Idea’ by Ariana Grande and a TV couple who set the bar for true love stories.

Part One Here. Part Two Here. Story available on FF Here and AO3 Here.

A/N: Well… it took more than a year, but at last I am back with an update to this story. I have to be honest, there were times in the last year when I doubted I would ever write a fic again. I felt that I had written the stories I wanted, and with my graduation and a new demanding job, I couldn’t find time to sustain the hobby. But with summer fast approaching, I have had a little time to look back and to search for inspiration. I knew I needed to finish this short story. I HATE that I have left it this long, but I hope, if you’ve liked it so far, you’ll reengage and revel in the conclusion of this sweet little fic. Re-reading the first two chapters, I remembered the mix of humor and pure fluff I was going for. It made me smile so big, and if part three does that for any of you, I will be more than pleased. Thank you so much for continuing on, and I hope you enjoy!

Six months later

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, Thump. Unsteady, loud, and reminding him at every quiet moment of how much he was missing his Swan. This was the state of his heart since rising this morning, leaving the bed he shared with the woman he loved and clutching at cold sheets.

The action of waking up alone, while regrettable, hadn’t been the issue that set his cardiac system into full blown assault. Much as he hated to be parted from Emma, it was a somewhat natural occurrence. They weren’t always blessed with aligning shifts. Still, she had the day off today, and he’d imagined the morning going rather differently…

Facing the start of a new dawn with Emma in his arms made the hours to come more than bearable, and though it may mean fatigue down the line, he always began the day just as he ended it, reminding her of how remarkable she was. He’d start with soft touches, taking her in and tracing the lines of her lithe figure. His eyes swept over every part of her, from her golden hair to sun kissed skin and the freckles on her arms that became more prominent with warmer weather. At first, he’d always forget that this was now normal. He had to remind himself that she was real, and his process of remembering meant using all his senses, brushing kisses on her skin as she slowly came awake.

Every time Emma woke up smiling, the goodness in her heart radiating as she did. To see her happy was the best part of his life, and the only other thing that came close was the feeling he had of worthiness when she finally met his gaze. Her love was open and true, never shy and never guarded. Despite the pain of all she’d known as a child and beyond, in spite of scars he’d borne for years and tried to hide from others, they found new meaning together and the world felt as it should. Love would turn to lust, and lust to soulful fire. Soon touch was not enough to sustain either of them. To convince himself this was more than a night’s blessed dreaming, he’d go further: tasting her, marking her, claiming her.

Memories of what had been many times, but what alluded him today merged with the beating of his heart, pulling him out of the delicious remembrance and grounding him in longing once again.

I can’t wait anymore. I simply won’t survive it.

His eyes moved instinctively to his watch, and again he was downcast at the time displayed. The hours were creeping far too slowly. It felt like the shift would never end, and he was barely halfway through. To add insult to injury, he’d been plenty occupied the past few hours. Killian and his team had worked rounds this morning, seen numerous patients, and performed a number of consults. He’d helped David in the ER with one demanding emergency already, and started a complicated surgery of his own while waiting for Locksley to take over on the pediatric case. This would normally give the sensation of the day flying by. But not today. Not when he was so fixated on something he had to wait for.

Of course, while he was actively working, Killian was mostly fine. Maybe Killian wasn’t fully himself, but routine came easy to him, and he remained alert in the ways the job demanded. Medicine required him to be clear headed, task oriented, and to consider all outcomes no matter what plagued him. Lives were on the line, and he took that responsibility seriously. It was an honor to serve others as he did, and he had a legacy of loss to thank for that. Saving others in ways his own family and dear friends couldn’t be saved had always been his drive. But now, the beating of his heart drummed for different reasons.

I’ve got to ask her. I know that she loves me, but what if she’s not ready? What if I push too soon? What if…

“Let me guess, woman withdrawal.”

The assertion came from beside him, and though it took him by surprise, Killian didn’t flinch. Years of active duty and trauma fieldwork had steeled his senses. Thankfully the particular damages of war were behind him, but chaos was his calling. Or rather, seeing people through the chaos. Trauma surgery filled the gaps and made something from nothing. It was about stemming the tides of terror and giving people a fighting shot when time was of the essence. Some days it felt futile, fighting against a world that took just as much as it gave. But most of the time it grounded him. Every life he saved touched countless others and, he hoped, made up for some that he’d had to take over the years.

The voice that deemed it necessary to tease him was also deeply familiar, and it prompted no fear or agitation. At least nothing more than mild annoyance. Will Scarlet stepped into Killian’s peripheral view. They’d known each other since first enlisting years ago, had served together and trained with the naval medicine unit for a substantial block of time. When Killian came to America months back, it made sense that his best mate would join him. They neither of them had anything tying them to the land that once was home. Family connections had long since passed, and loss bonded the two men well before warfare. Now though, they were moving beyond that, retired with honors and on to new chapters. Killian was running his unit and putting down roots, and Will was doing the same as Mist Haven’s new head of ICU.

When he finally acknowledged his friend with a look, Killian had to bite back an audible scoff at the sight before him. Will’s white coat was thrown on him haphazardly and slightly askew, rumpled and creased, and baring the feint outlines of a few dirty footprints varying in size. In some ways it wasn’t surprising. There was just something about Will. He was a brilliant doctor, a fierce and loyal friend, but he tended to look like he’d just been caught in a windstorm. If he were a betting man, however, Killian would give his last dollar to the cause of the current disarray – one Belle French, a friend of Emma’s, and Will’s… well, that remained to be defined at last recount.

“I’m not that bad,” Killian replied, but his heart wasn’t in it. His irritability wasn’t helped by the responding laugh from his friend.

“Right. Let’s just pretend you haven’t made that ridiculous claim, which can only be called a blatant and reprehensible falsehood.”

“Blatant and reprehensible?” Killian asked. “What is this a court martial?”

“Hardly. It’s a friendly intervention. Seems reasonable since you’re scowling and staring into space in the middle of the hallway. Honestly, you need to stop sulking, mate. Whatever’s wrong with Emma -,”

“Nothing is wrong with Emma,” Killian quipped. “She’s perfect.”

“Of course she is,” Will said, this time smiling in a sign of true affection for Killian’s choice of love. “Let me rephrase. Whatever you’ve mucked up, you’ve got to get a handle on it. Find it, fix it, and let it go.”

The phrase would be seen as benign to many, but spoke to their time in the navy. In that world, speed was essential, and so was definitive response. From their earliest moments in uniform, they’d been trained to find the problem, treat the issue and ship it off to others. It was a stop and go kind of life, never fully engaging, designed to disconnect. But the motto still worked with other things, like self-doubt and overthinking. He appreciated Will’s efforts, but it still felt all for naught.

“It’s not about what I’ve done. It’s what I want to do.”

“Should I sit down for this? Seriously, mate, I’ve never seen you in such a state. What could possibly be that bad?”

Wordlessly, Killian pulled a small black box from his scrubs pocket. His eyes stayed glued to the tiny parcel as he handed it to Will. His friend opened the clasp and let out a low whistle. Killian knew what he was seeing: a large cut diamond in a delicate shade of yellow sitting on a white gold band. Like sun turned to stone, and flanked with smaller diamonds, it was the one ring Killian found that he knew was most like Emma. He couldn’t look at it without envisioning it on her finger and the need to obtain her acceptance was all he could think about.

“You know I love you, Jones, but I just don’t see myself settling for your cranky arse long term.”

The jest prompted its intended reaction. Killian laughed as he shoved his friend, stealing back the box. The ring had been close at hand for a few weeks now, despite the risk. It had cost more than many would ever dream of paying, and deserved proper protection, but he couldn’t run the risk of missing the right moment. He dreamed of the life he and Emma would have together, and as soon as he was able, he intended to propose.

“I hate to make light of your clear distress, but as far as an explanation, this is still rather lacking. I fail to see the problem.”

“It’s fast. Some would say too fast.”

“Rubbish.” Will shook his head, completely rejecting that logic. “Who gives a damn what anyone else has to say. What do you say?”

“She’s it,” Killian admitted. “She’s everything.”

“Aye. That’s clear to anyone with eyes and half a lick of sense. Meanwhile, it’s just as clear that Emma is in this with you, mate. The hearts and roses and general bliss are a shared experience. So again, I ask you, what’s the hold up?”

“I can’t lose her, Will!” Killian didn’t mean to raise his voice, but he caught himself and remembered where they were, close enough to others walking up and down the corridor to be overheard. He straightened his stance and tried to reign it in, lowering his tone. “If I’m wrong – if I push too soon -,’

“Paging Dr. Jones for a code 20 – 12. Dr. Jones for a 20 – 12.”

“Was that…?” Will trailed off, looking to the speaker for clarity.

“Emma,” Killian replied. Before her name had passed his lips, his head pivoted towards the nurse’s station. There was no denying it was his Swan, and the pages always came from the nurses. Had she heard him? Was she here? He was panicked and elated all at once.

The Trauma wing’s nurse manager on shift, Anna, smiled sweetly. It was clear as day she’d anticipated his frantic search, but to his dismay she shook her head. At the same moment his phone buzzed. His hands shook as he reached for the device. Blast it all, he was a schoolboy at the prospect of his Swan. But damn if he cared. The grin on his face, despite the unknown, was undeniable, and his heart continued its staccato symphony as he read a text from the woman he loved.

‘You know where to find me, xo’

“Scarlet -,”

“I’ll hold down the fort, mate.” Will offered the assist preemptively, failing to hide his mirth at the prospect. “You’ve got a woman to propose to.”

“Did he say propose?” one of the aids on the floor asked, but Killian didn’t bother with a reply. He was speeding down the hallway, pushing through the doors and into the depths of the hospital.

He made record time winding through the maze that was this building. Past the ORs and offices, other specialties and more, he made it to the great hall. He still had a ways to go, crossing through the sea of people and taking stairs two at a time. Eventually he was at the nursery, but he only spared the newborn babes a glance before soldiering on. His destination was familiar at this point, but it was also a strange suggestion. Their little oasis would no doubt be crowded at this hour with children and their families making use of the day’s soft light. No matter. Killian was hell bent on seeing his Emma, no matter the audience.

Rounding the corner to the final stretch, Killian noticed the lack of people in the hallway. Curious. Definitely curious. The closer he got the stranger it became. There was no one here, and only the quiet hum of machines and monitors. No children laughing, no babies crying. It made him stop and think. Was there an issue? An alarm of some kind?

When the windows came into view, the door that would lead to Emma bore a paper sign. The closer he got, the clearer it read. ‘Temporarily Closed.’ Beneath it, in a child’s handwriting was something unrelated. ‘Magical moment happening. Do Not Disturb!!’ The bright color crayon and questionable spelling only stopped him for a moment, then he looked outside and his heart stop. For there was Emma. And she was… simply a marvel.

Time seemed suspended as he slipped outside, the feint clicking of the door echoed out behind him. The sounds of the city came through at once, but all he saw was Emma. Wearing a red dress, with her hair down and curled, she was a vision, the same vision she’d made for on their first date. It nearly stole his breath, and certainly stole his sanity to see her like this. In seconds he was on her, taking her hand, holding her close.

“Emma,” he said, the pain of the morning released as he held her close. “God how I’ve missed you.”

Her laughter filled his entire being with warmth, the subtle gravel of the tone washing over him. It swirled in time with the light in her eyes and the humor at her lips, giving him hope in ways only she could.

“I missed you too, but I kind of had a lot to do.”

His brow furrowed, and only when she gestured at the space around them did he take it in. Hundreds of paper flowers were positively everywhere. Some were hanging from tasteful strings, fluttering in the breeze. Others wound up the benches and swings and slides. Most looked familiar. They were gifts he’d given her every day they’d been together. Some days he made only one, some days many more, but he always found a way to bring her flowers, knowing how much she loved them. Unbelievably, for each of the hundreds he’d made for Emma these past six months, there was one perfectly matching pair, and no flower stood alone. He knew in that moment she had made them, and they were all for him.

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, it’s a kind of crazy story,” she murmured, drawing his eyes back to her beautiful face. “Once upon a time there was a girl. She’d been… let’s say disappointed by life and by love.”

Instinctively his hold on Emma tightened. He hated the burdens of her past. Growing up alone as she did, having to fight so hard to survive. She was a miracle made real, and she’d become that way despite the odds. If he could take away everything that had ever hurt her he would. God above, he would. But she always reminded him that things happened for a reason, and the roads they’d traveled, both rocky and hard, had led to this, the two of them, together. He continued to listen to her heartfelt plea.

“In fact, her missing those things set the girl on a very particular path, fixing the hearts of people in need, with a lot science and a little love. She was alone a long time, and even when she found friends and success, she often wondered if her heart would really beat in time with someone else.” She brought his hand above her chest and she brought hers to his. Sure enough, the rhythm was identical. “And then one day, she saw him and the whole world stopped. Her heartbeat skipped and on that day, she knew. She knew she would love him forever. She knew she’d found what she’d been looking for.”

“I knew too, Emma,” he promised, running his hand along her cheek, his thumb brushing over the soft curve of her lips. “From the first moments, I knew you were the most precious jewel the world over.”

Emma smiled, radiating the joy that he felt. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but this was not the product of heartache. Instead it was possibility and promise that couldn’t be contained.

“Some people might call it a bad idea, these two hearts choosing each other. They may think the story not so smart. It might get messy. They worked together after all, and there’s always risk when letting someone in.” Killian let out a displeased grunt and his mouth hardened a bit. Unwilling to let that linger, Emma kissed him again, bringing in goodness, and calming the storm. “Those people would be wrong, Killian. So totally and completely wrong. We’re not a bad idea. We’re good and we’re certain, and the thing is, this story? It’s only just begun.

“The past six months have been the best of my life, and every day I fall deeper and deeper in love with you,” she said, pulling back slightly to reach for one flower in particular. The petals were a delicate cream, etched in his favorite shade of gold. It matched the shine of her hair and the flecks of gold in her jade eyes, and there, in her delicate script was the question he’d been desperate to ask her: Will you marry me?

“I know it’s fast. I know it’s crazy. But sometimes, when you know you know, and I have never known something to be more true. We’re two imperfect people, but our world combined is perfect. You make it perfect. You and your thoughtful, caring, sinfully sexy tendencies. So, Killian Jones, would you-,”

Before she could finish the statement, he took back some control, tasting her and taking her in a way that completely abandoned the setting of this moment. He wanted to show her just how proud he was to claim her heart, to leave no room for questions. For as she loved him, so too did he love her. For always and so much more beyond that.

“That wasn’t exactly a yes,” Emma said minutes later when they pulled back, her eyes dazed with a look of passion, and her lips tender from his expression of love. He chuckled, taking one more small taste before stepping back.

“Forgive me, love. My answer should be plain enough to see, but I find I can’t speak those words without being slightly selfish first. You see, I’ve been waiting an awful long time to ask you that very question, and I’d be remiss to miss the moment.”

With one swift motion he dropped down to one knee and pulled out the ring he carried with him. The shock in her eyes was clear, and then the tears at long last fell. He barely had his proposal out before she said those perfect words: ‘Yes, Killian. Yes, I will marry you.”

“Thank God for that.” In a moment the ring was on her finger and his woman was back in his arms. This time though, their kiss was cut short by the sounds of an opened door, the shuffle of many feet, and some unexpected commentary.

“Nurse Ruby, is that the handsome prince? Mommy said there would be a prince,” a little girl asked. Killian looked over to the glass doors and felt when Emma did the same. Her gasp gave away his feelings. For it turned out they had an audience and there were dozens of people filtering in. Many of the faces belonged to their friends, but there were also a half a dozen little ones from this floor sharing the magic as well.

“It sure is, honey. And you know what happens next?”

“They live happily ever after?” the girl asked.

“Aye,” Killian said, loud enough for all to hear, but with only eyes for Emma. “They live happily ever after.”

Post-Note: So there we have it! I know it is a bit shorter than the other two chapters, but I just wanted to wrap this up with the cuteness and love I thought this story deserved. The world is a crazy place, and life has been hectic, but it meant the world to me to find this peace again even for a few short hours. Writing this fic this afternoon and returning to this pairing was like coming home in many ways. This has always been an outlet for me to be hopeful and grateful and in touch with the joy that does exist in my life and beyond. It has also reminded me that I have many friends who made my time writing for CS so beautiful. I miss you all. I hope you’re well. I’ll try to stay a bit more present this summer, but just remember you are appreciated and wonderful and epic. Thanks to all of you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day! xE

Just tagging a few people I know were reading this story and always showed such support: @jennjenn615 @kmomof4 @winterbaby89 @teamhook @resident-of-storybrooke

#captain swan #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #cs fic #cs ff #cs fluff #cs au #cs doctor au #emma swan #killian jones #ouat ff #ouat fluff #bad idea au #the best bad idea

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kscribbs · 2 years

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Dr. Miller M.M.D. 🩺

In the series of fics I’ve written Lucy becomes a fully qualified paediatrician (to ordi- and magibeans alike). Ty, Dani, for the idea!

I mean. Can you imagine? You’re a kiddo in hospital and you’re assigned an absolute cinnamon roll of a doctor, who, (bonus) gives all-healing, all-warming magical hugs?? 🌸🌸🥺

#she came out way too cute #should be illegal #after 25 years on this planet I’ve finally discovered a style which allows me to draw FAST #looks kinda Quentin Blake-y #lil messy but that's okay #Doctor Lucy is so fun to write lemme tell you #bc it’s like #*distant sneeze*#*DR MODE ACTIVATED*#she can’t help but fuss over everyoNE #ceaselessly #lucy miller #cs au #ts #tsc #the santa clause #illustration #character design

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haknom · 1 month

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THIS MUST BE MY DREAM — YANG JUNGWON

∿ 📋 SCORE SHEETS ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 Jungwon was living his best life at Earl View Academy. He was scoring the highest marks, dominating every exam, and ranking the top one out of every student. See, he was living his best life at Earl View Academy before you came along, destroying his reputation because of your similar level in academics. It had to be a dream, there was no way someone could compete with him. With that said, he immediately renamed you as the new student to his one and only arch nemesis.

∿ TOP RANKS ✂️ academic-rival!jungwon x fem!reader (ft. jungwon from enhypen, baekseung from epex, and minji from newjeans)

∿ EXAM REVIEW ⟡ insp by doctor slump, long fic, academic rivals to lovers, rivals to lovers, highschool au, nerds to lovers, fluff, crack, and angst.

∿ 📔 STUDY NOTES ୨ৎ swearing, bickering, mentions of pills (painkillers), skipping meals, fainting, crying, being sick, and mental health issues, lmk if i missed anything.

∿ NUMBER OF EXAM QUESTIONS 🎓 14980 words

∿ FEEDBACK . . . and with that said it’s finally done!!!!! took me two months cs i took so many breaks …. happy belated jungwon day? LMFAO… and tysm to @soov for proofreading all the way !!! love u rei <33

∿ STUDY PLAYLIST 🎶 click here!

RANK ONE.

In Earl View Academy, everyone wanted to live Jungwon’s life. He was a son everyone wanted—not his words—and that made him feel good about himself. Even if he was quite the goofball, he still aced all his assignments while having fun.

His life was perfect.

“Jungwon!” His friend, Baekseung called, gaining his attention almost immediately. The boy looked over at his brown-haired friend with a smile, pausing the movements of his pencil gliding against his notebook.

“Hm?” He hummed, waiting for his friend to continue talking. Baekseung took a seat on the window sill beside Jungwon as Minji walked into the classroom.

“Did you see the banner they hung up? It has something to do with University, I believe.” He said as Minji walked towards them.

“Here.” She held out her phone, showing the boys a picture of the banner. It showcased a brief description of what to expect when applying to the University of Seoul and the date of submission—February 9th of 2024.

Jungwon’s birthday.

It was perfect timing, almost as if it was destined to be. His reputation at school and his relationship with his teachers would easily help him get accepted, right?

“The acceptance rate is 40%, which isn’t all bad, but many people apply, so…” Minji explained, turning off her phone, and shoving it into her back pocket. Jungwon tapped his pencil against his chin to a random, yet consistent rhythm in his head.

Jungwon’s friends always enabled his confidence. He was aware of his smartness, but they made it seem bigger than it really was.

“Although a lot of people apply, I’m sure you’ll get accepted. Your application will catch their eyes immediately, trust me.”

Jungwon bit back a smile at Baekseung’s words, sending him an amused nod instead.

“I’m sure it will.” He replied, returning his focus to his notes. Before his friends appeared, he was working on a few equations, to make sure they stuck with him for their test.

It was his way of studying; learn the materials in class and study them like his life depended upon it.

It worked like a charm every time.

“I don’t get how you understand these things.” Baekseung said while peeking over at his work. Jungwon smiled, letting out a chuckle.

He never did, it wasn’t anything new.

“See, you start with your values, then you write out your formula and substitute your variables for your numbers—”

“Enough! You lost me at the word ‘values.’” He exclaimed, causing both Jungwon and Minji to laugh.

“Hey, when you get accepted into the University of Seoul, don’t forget me.” Baekseung pleaded and leaned in with his hands desperately clasped together.

“I won’t, I won’t.”

Jungwon dropped his pencil, letting it lay flat on his notebook, and placed his hands on top of Baekseung’s.

“You have nothing to worry about.” He said, playing along with Baekseung’s act.

“I don’t get how I was pulled into this trio,” Minji said, cringing at the sight before her.

“Yeah, me neither.” Baekseung smiled at Jungwon, then, removed his hands from underneath his, and returned to his spot on the window sill.

“Oh well, here we are now. You love us, right?” Jungwon teased, the cringing expression never leaving Minji’s face.

The two boys stared at her in silence, waiting for her response. They wouldn’t let her off the hook if she didn’t open her mouth to say anything.

“Fine. I do.” She replied, earning bright smiles from her friends in return. She shook her head, a small smile making its way to her face.

It was impossible to avoid their faces. Even if they weren’t trying, they still managed to swoon her over with one look. They were unstoppable together.

Jungwon went back to studying as Minji and Baekseung playfully bickered over a past memory. It was a common occurrence, nothing new.

“I heard they’re selling Yakult in the cafeteria today!” A classmate said to their friend, gaining the three’s attention immediately.

They stopped what they were doing and looked at each other. They gave each other a look that only they could understand. There were no words shared, only their eyes held their words.

Soon after, Baekseung and Jungwon got up from their spots, following behind Minji who led them out of the classroom.

Yakult was their favourite thing ever. It was something all three of them could agree on—that they tasted delightful. Other than that, they all had different tastes in a way.

“Finally, they’re bringing it back!” Minji cheered, happier than ever. Baekseung, who stood in the middle, wrapped his arms around the two to pull them in closer.

“Do we have a plan?” He asked as Minji scoffed.

“Do we even need one? Just do whatever your mind tells you to.” She said and he nodded.

“Smart choice.”

The two conversed alone just as they did back in the classroom, except Jungwon wasn’t studying. He could’ve been included in their conversation right now, they weren’t excluding him at all.

He just didn’t pay attention. He didn’t even take note that they were talking because it all sounded muffled to him.

All he paid attention to was his homeroom teacher who walked down the hallways, lips moving as if he was talking to someone, but Jungwon didn’t know who.

Once he walked past, it was then revealed. A girl stood fairly behind his homeroom teacher, catching Jungwon’s attention.

He had no clue who she was, nor had he ever seen her face before, he ‘didn’t’ even care about what her name was, what time she arrived, what foods she liked, why she was wearing their school’s uniform, or what she had for breakfast.

All he cared about was how pretty she was, and fine, maybe what her name was too. Previously, if someone were to tell him about another being heaven-sent he wouldn’t understand them.

Now, he really does because she, she was heaven-sent to him at least.

“You okay?” Baekseung asked, looking over at Jungwon’s dazed figure. He shook Jungwon with the arm that rested over his shoulder, startling the poor boy.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m okay.”

Well, he hoped he was.

“Sweet, if I’m not wrong, lunch starts in about 3 minutes. Therefore, I believe we’ll be first…” Baekseung paused, his voice growing quieter at the sight before them.

“… In line.” His words were almost like a whisper. He was practically speechless at the line. At least 20 students were already waiting for their Yakult’s.

“Yeah, um, maybe we do need a plan,” Minji said, regretting her previous words. There was no way they’d get through a line like this one.

“Maybe? We 100% need a plan.” Baekseung said, his arms slipping off their shoulders.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine if we just wait. It can’t be that bad—Woah! Okay. Maybe it is bad.” Jungwon’s reassuring words were cut off by his shocked ones.

The line extended even further. How was that even possible?

“Hey, Min, what time is it?” Jungwon asked Minji as she checked her phone that previously sat in her back pocket.

“11:37 AM.” She replied, still flabbergasted at the number of students waiting for their Yakult’s.

“Do you think that will be enough time to visit the nearest convenience store and then come back?” Jungwon asked, desperate for an escape. He was still craving a Yakult, but they wouldn’t get one at this rate.

“It’s 27 (81 Fahrenheit) degrees Celsius outside…” Baekseung muttered, mentally sweating at the thought.

“We can get ice cream as well…” Jungwon whispered, scared that the line of students would overhear his words and run after them.

What if they were craving ice cream too? It wasn’t just the three of them who were feeling hot.

“Smart choice. Yeah, let’s do that instead.” Minji cautiously walked away from the entrance of the cafeteria, careful not to make a sound as the two boys did the same.

Yes, they were being very dramatic right now, but that line of students was very intimidating.

The three returned to class with leftovers of their ice creams, hoping nobody would ask them for at least one lick—it was disgusting to know that they were serious.

“Oh, Jungwon,” Minji said, remembering something from earlier. Jungwon hummed in response, his mouth full of ice cream.

“Did you even start your applications? Our midterms are soon, so I’m sure our guidance counsellors are going to approach you about it.”

“Are you worried for me? Or do you want to use my application as a template for yours?”

“I…” Minji stayed silent as Baekseung stifled a laugh. She sent him a glare, causing him to clear his throat. What was he laughing at? He was bound to do the same exact thing.

“Fine, you caught me. But hey, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do!” She exclaimed as Jungwon chuckled, getting up from his seat to throw away his ice cream wrapper.

“If you want, I can assist you—”

“Guys, guys!” A classmate shouted while running into the classroom shocked. Everyone’s heads turned to look at the said boy, more confused than ever. What lie was he about to spurt next?

“I just saw a pretty, pretty girl in the teacher’s office. I think she’s a new student.” He explained, however, nobody reacted.

“Are you lying to cover up the fact you were being scolded in the office?” Another classmate asked, causing laughs to erupt from other students in the room. Jungwon smiled to himself, that was a good one.

“I’m serious! I heard she might even be smarter than Jungwon!” The student exclaimed, causing Jungwon’s smile to falter and his pen to stop moving.

All eyes were focused on him as he slowly looked up at the shouting boy.

“Eh, I’m sure there’s no one who can compare to his level!” Baekseung said, patting Jungwon on his shoulder and smiling.

Jungwon was considered very smart for someone his age. It was a common compliment he received, but he didn’t hate it. It was quite ego-boosting.

“Everyone! Have a seat please.” Ms. Eun walked through the doors of their classroom, and another student walked in a few moments later.

“Obviously, I’m sure you’re aware of the new student joining our class today! Please make (Name) (Last Name) feel welcome in our classroom!” She explained as Jungwon’s eyes widened.

You were the same girl he saw in the hallways earlier. For some reason, his heart skipped a beat and his ears went numb at the sight of you.

“Oh, Jungwon. (Name) also got perfect on the entrance exam and was the top student at her old school. It must be great to meet someone at your level.” Ms. Eun smiled as all the emotions Jungwon had felt earlier plummeted.

So his classmate wasn’t lying. There was really someone who matched his skill of knowledge.

You looked over at the boy Ms. Eun referred to, noticing the way his expressions switched. At first glance, he was calm, but his eyes said otherwise.

They held an emotion you’ve never seen in anyone else’s—a desire to win. And, of course, you wouldn’t let him achieve that goal of his.

If someone were to win and maintain that top student rank, it would be you and you only.

You two hadn’t even spoken to one another, but within those 2 minutes of staring into each other’s eyes, it was obvious you both saw each other as a threat.

No matter what, only one of you can have that title.

RANK TWO.

“Jungwon, you haven’t looked up from your notebook this whole class,” Minji said, turning around in her seat to face him.

“Literally! There’s not even a single test coming up. What is there to be reviewed at this point?” Baekseung chimed in with a frown.

Yet, Jungwon didn’t look up, easily proving their point. It had been a week since you first arrived at Earl View Academy.

A week since Jungwon first felt threatened by your appearance. His life was perfect until you arrived.

His friends swore they hadn’t had one single hangout since then, but he said otherwise.

“You do know, you reviewing your notes while Minji and I converse without you, isn’t a hangout right?”

Jungwon’s pencil stopped moving for a brief moment, only to start up again at an even faster pace.

He couldn’t fall behind you.

He glanced over at your focused state, glaring in the process. You seemed to be at ease and he wasn’t.

That should’ve been him.

What happened to the perfect life that everyone wanted to live? The one where he could be happy and carefree even while passing all his classes with 100s?

“Don’t tell me you feel threatened—”

Jungwon’s pencil-led snapping silenced Baekseung’s voice almost immediately. He looked up at his friend, eyes darker than usual. There wasn’t his signature gleam that complimented his dimpled smile. He looked like he was ready to kill someone.

“Minji…” Baekseung called, signalling for her to take over the conversation. Sadly, that failed. She was just as scared as him.

“Hey, I could, uh… I could sharpen this for you!” She exclaimed, instead of continuing the same topic as before.

She took the pencil out of his hold, but Jungwon silently searched his pencil case for another one.

He had no time to waste. He was almost done with his notes.

Minji took her seat again, placing the boy’s broken pencil beside his notebook with a soft, yet dragged-out ‘okay.’

There would’ve been no point in going anyway.

“Dude, why don’t you let loose a bit?” A classmate said to their friend and began shaking their shoulders.

“I can’t! You know how my mom is about my grades right now…” He mumbled, embarrassed.

The boy from earlier grabbed his basketball that rolled under his desk and bounced it around him.

“I know you want to play basketball right now, but that’s okay. I’ll just play with Jungwon and his friends.” He informed his friend, turning to look at Jungwon who wasn’t paying attention.

“Yo, Jungwon! Catch this!” He shouted, alerting both of his friends, but him.

He passed the ball, expecting Jungwon—or even Baekseung—to catch the ball, however, there was nothing.

Instead, the loud thud of a ball hitting your head, echoed throughout the classroom. At least, that managed to catch Jungwon’s attention.

Your pen fell out of your hand, landing on the desk. Your ears began to ring as frustration—and a bit of lightheadedness—took over your system.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry.” The classmate said, making his way over to you with a worried look.

It was only your second day and you were making enemies.

Yet, you couldn’t bother to accept his apology. You looked at him with a facial expression that not even his mom had ever given him. He was terrified.

“Does this classroom look like a circus to you?” You asked as a throbbing pain slowly began to settle in your head.

“Are you so unskilled that you can’t even hold a basketball properly? Actually, are you so childish to the point where you aren’t aware of classroom rules?”

The atmosphere of the classroom vastly shifted. It was quite intense and unsettling.

His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water stunned by your words. He was speechless, how could he respond to that?

“Please leave me alone, you’d only be a distraction to my studies.” With that said, you returned to your work, acting as if the boy in front of you didn’t exist.

Jungwon’s brows furrowed at the sight, you were being so mean and for what?

The boy shamefully walked back to his seat as all his friends held in their laughs. He was already embarrassed enough, their laughs only adding to the fire.

Forget what Jungwon said about you being heaven-sent, the Devil must’ve sent you instead. He swore if he stared even longer, horns would grow on your head at any given moment.

So, he looked away and continued taking his notes.

“She seems mean,” Baekseung whispered to the two around him. Minji nodded in agreement, mentioning how she got chills from how you stared at the boy.

You proceeded to rub at your temples in an attempt to force away the throbbing migraine coming your way. You couldn’t take a break from studying.

You had to finish reviewing this material before anything at all—not even a meal break was allowed in your Book of Rules.

“What do you guys want to do for lunch?” Baekseung asked, gaining Jungwon and Minji’s attention again.

“I heard they’re going to play Basketball in the gym. You two should play as well!” Minji exclaimed, which only resulted in Jungwon’s head perking up at the sport.

“I’m down,” Jungwon said almost immediately. Baekseung and Minho’s eyebrows rose at his quick decision. It was almost as if he wasn’t studying his butt off while ignoring his two chattery friends a moment ago.

“Are you sure? I thought you had to revise your notes.” Baekseung verbalised his confusion as Jungwon began packing up his belongings.

“I already understand everything. A + B = X times 6–”

“Okay! Okay. No more Math, please.” Baekseung was quick to halt Jungwon’s equation with his index finger. He slowed down his pace when zipping up his backpack, taking in the words Baekseung uttered before.

A smile made its way to the boy’s face at the realisation of his friend's confusion. Baekseung definitely had no clue what they were learning in class.

“Hurry! I don’t want to be late for team decisions.” He exclaimed, hopping off of the desk he sat on.

Jungwon waved off his friend’s pestering and walked out of the classroom, the two trailing behind him.

You, on the other hand, struggled to focus on your work. The whole classroom was quiet and you were the only one left. Everyone had left for lunch, but you.

Yes, you loved quiet, however your migraine didn’t. The accompanied silence only made your migraine throb even more, a faint mic feedback noise to back it up.

Almost like you had a fever.

You placed your pencil down beside your notebook on your desk and stood up from your seat.

A quick stop at the nurse's office wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? It would benefit your studying session and get rid of your pain quite easily.

That was the only exception to your Book of Rules when it came to studying. Nothing else.

Jungwon shot the ball into the hoop, his hair and necktie flowing with his every movement. His uniform sleeves were rolled up, cuffed around the skin above his forearm, helping his gameplay style quite well.

Baekseung smiled at his friend, high-fiving him in the process.

“Nice one! They won’t beat us at this rate.” He said, looking at the scoreboard that read 17-9. Maybe he wasn't exaggerating it like every other time.

Jungwon grinned, his dimples showing faintly. It wasn’t an all-tooth grin, more toothless. His lips were pursed into a thin line and his cheekbones were nearing his under eyes. It was enough to show his appreciation for his friend’s compliment.

His forehead was becoming a slightly sweaty state, causing his previously parted bangs to clump together and loosely stick to the damped skin.

There were 8 more points until the match was done. They didn’t have much time to play 4 full quarters, so they made a bet; first to 25 wins.

Sadly, no rewards could have been won by the players, making this Basketball game more enjoyable than competitive.

Jungwon didn’t have enough time though, he would almost need to return to studying quite soon. Seriously, he couldn’t fall behind someone like you.

“Baek,” Jungwon whispered, hoping it was enough to gain his friend’s attention who stood across from him on the court, but it wasn’t enough at all.

“Baekseung!” Jungwon called while raising his voice a bit over his usual tone. The said boy looked over with widened eyes in shock.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Jungwon said, fighting back a snicker at his friend’s startled state.

“Well, I have to go now. Tell Min I said bye too.” He said and walked past Baekseung, patting his shoulder as a way of saying goodbye.

As he walked out of the gymnasium doors, he shook his head, causing his hair strands to move around, some still sticking on his forehead.

He stretched his limbs and began revising the lesson from earlier.

The hallways were empty, leaving him with more of a quiet atmosphere to focus on his thoughts.

Jungwon’s lips moved, soft whispers of equations and problems leaving them. If there were other people here, they would give him the dirtiest looks right now. He most definitely looked psychotic.

Luckily, there wasn’t anyone. Yet.

The sound of the door sliding shut caught his attention and he looked up to see where it came from.

The nurse’s office was always a popular spot in their school, so it wasn't a shock that someone was leaving the room at this exact moment.

Surprisingly, it was a shock to him. He never thought you were the type to leave your desk ever.

Your brows furrowed at the sight before you.

A sight of disgust.

Yang Jungwon was the last person you wanted to see with your throbbing migraine. He was all sweaty, his hair glistened from the sweat droplets that stuck onto the strands, his necktie was loose, his uniform was dishevelled, and his face was a light shade of red due to the hotness of the gymnasium.

He looked disgusting.

Jungwon had no clue as to why you were glaring at him. He wasn’t the reason you ended up visiting the nurse’s office, so why were you giving him such a dirty look?

He should be the annoyed one at this exact moment. After all, you were the one who moved to Earl View Academy and ruined his ‘perfect’ life.

He looked back at you with a confused yet irritated expression on his features as the two of you stood in silence.

Jungwon’s eyes looked over your appearance, noticing how your hand was propped against your chest and holding an item he had seen before.

Your eyes followed his gaze and then widened at realisation. Out of reflex, you hid the painkillers behind your back, not wanting to come off as weak towards him.

You couldn’t let him see you as someone who wasn’t that much of a threat to his academic success.

In silence, you turned around, moving the pill bottle to your chest again, and made your way back to the classroom. For some reason, your movements aggravated Jungwon’s previous calm state.

God, he hated you so much. He couldn’t believe he once thought you were pretty—it would be a lie if he said he still didn’t. That didn’t matter though, you could be pretty and still have a snotty attitude.

That was a perfect description for you.

Although you thought you left Jungwon behind in front of the nurse’s office, to your dismay, you didn’t.

There he was, standing at the doorway of your once previous quiet study room—or in other words, your homeform classroom.

You rolled your eyes after noticing him at the doorway and looked back at your notes.

He ignored your response to his presence and took a seat at his desk near the window. Jungwon slipped his hand into his backpack, grabbing his pencil case and notebook in the process.

A tense silence followed the two of you as you flipped your pages in sync and continued writing down more things in sync.

You were pausing more than he was due to the pain in your head which only slowed down your movements even more. Yes, you planned on taking the painkillers, but not when he was around.

Still, you couldn’t hold back. You had to do it or else you wouldn’t be able to study one bit.

Although the painkillers mentioned eating a meal before intaking the pills, you refused to follow the instructions. You had no time to take a break and find something to fill your stomach, especially when you were already falling behind Jungwon’s studying pace.

You reached for your bottle of water off your desk and popped a pill in your mouth, scarfing down water right after.

Jungwon looked up at the sound of pills shaking in a bottle. It was obvious it came from you, you were the only other person in the classroom.

It seemed like the basketball to your head earlier really took a toll on you. He didn’t blame you though, it truly did sound like it hurt.

Except, that wasn’t the only thing he noticed. Even if he was in one place all lunch, it seemed like you didn’t leave your seat at all. It was kept the exact same like he last saw it before lunch time.

Luckily, the sound of your stomach growling was enough to answer his unsaid question as he watched your ears turn a shade of red.

As much as you tried to pretend that didn’t happen, you were tremendously embarrassed. Still, you couldn’t eat.

Not yet at least.

“You didn’t hear that.” You mumbled, hoping it was loud enough for Jungwon to catch. He hummed in response while eyeing his work, not paying much attention to your silly incident.

He knew how embarrassing it could have been, so it was best not to engage.

Thankfully, God was on your side, ringing the bell a few seconds after Jungwon had hummed.

Soon after, students began flooding into the classroom and heading to their seats in loud crowds.

Therefore, your quiet time with the last person you wanted to spend it with, had ended.

RANK THREE.

“Jungwon and (Name), please come up and answer the questions on the board.”

Great.

It was only 10:30 AM on a Wednesday, and yet you were already going head-to-head with your rival.

Jungwon confidently made his way to the chalkboard and picked up a piece of chalk from the ledge.

You, on the other hand, paused for a moment after getting up from your seat. You were suddenly feeling lightheaded, and that was never a good sign.

However, if you didn’t make it over fast enough, he would for sure beat you in a blink. And so, you did. You rushed over and picked up a chalk stick, then began writing.

It was a simple equation to you, but to everyone else who didn’t understand the lesson, it wasn’t. It was way more complex to them than how it really was.

Jungwon was already halfway through answering the question whilst you haven’t even started. You wrote the given values on the side to keep track of the numbers you would use.

Easy, right?

Not quite.

You couldn’t focus at all even if there were no distractions nor was it loud in your classroom.

The only thing you could hear was the harsh sounds of Jungwon pressing his chalk against the board after he reached a new step.

Your ears became sensitive to any sound, causing you to even take note of the rhythm his piece of chalk followed when gliding against the blackboard. It was irritating you and annoying.

As much as you wanted to stop him from writing, you couldn’t because it was impossible. Your hand wouldn’t move one bit. Your vision became blurry, eyes fluttering shut and opening in a pattern.

“I think I’m going to faint.” You whispered, your words falling deaf on all ears, aside from Jungwon’s.

He didn’t pay much attention to your sentence, brushing it off as a dumb remark about his handwriting or something.

Truthfully, his calligraphy wasn’t the best when it came to using chalk, so you wouldn’t be wrong if you were to say something mean about it. He would only end up agreeing in the end.

Everything stilled for a brief moment before you lost your feeling in your hands, dropping the piece of chalk you held, and falling against the hardwood floor right after.

Gasps were emitted from your classmates—ones you couldn’t even hear—as Jungwon stilled his movements at the loud thud which caused him to flinch slightly.

Jungwon looked down as he still pressed the chalk on the board, his eyes widening and blood draining from his face at the sight.

“(Name)?” Your teacher called, hurriedly making her way towards your unconscious figure. However, there was no response.

“Hey, Jungwon, you were on the track team last year, right?” Ms. Ling asked as he nodded, swallowing and hoping the nauseated feeling in his stomach would disappear.

Spoiler alert—it didn’t.

“Could you run her to the nurse’s office, please?” She asked, leaving the boy with no other choice but to say yes. If he were to say no, he would seem like a villain, and he couldn’t let that happen.

“Okay.” He mumbled and placed the chalk on the ledge before crouching down, slipping an arm under your legs, and wrapping one around your back for extra support.

To his surprise, you were awfully light. A little too light for an average person. It was quite concerning.

Jungwon shook his head, making all his thoughts disappear in the process. He had no time to waste, he had to get you to the nurse’s office quickly—his teacher’s words, not his.

He slid open the door with his foot, shocked that he even managed to succeed himself, and placed you on an unoccupied bed.

Mrs. Oh, the nurse, emerged from her office with a concerned look after noticing the rush Jungwon was in.

“What’s wrong?” She asked before seeing you who lied unconsciously on the bed.

“She fainted a few moments ago in class.” He explained while running a hand through his hair, followed by a sigh.

“Fainted?” The nurse asked and made her way to your still figure, reaching out to touch your pulse points.

“I don’t think it’s a fatal issue. Just hang around for a bit, I’ll run some short tests then you can tell your teacher why she fainted.” Mrs. Oh said as Jungwon nodded.

He could just ask for the notes from Minji after class.

A few moments later, Mrs. Oh returned with a clipboard in her hand and a concerned look on her face.

“Is it bad?” Jungwon asked, slightly worried about her response.

“Oh, no.” Mrs. Oh said, reassuring the boy, then opened her mouth to say something else.

“Thing is, she hasn’t eaten for the last two days.”

What?

RANK FOUR.

Jungwon walked down the hallways of the school, heading to the vending machine nearby. Mrs. Oh’s words replayed in his head many times. It had been a day since your visit to the nurse’s office, but he was still hooked on Mrs. Oh’s discovery.

He didn’t know why he cared that you hadn’t eaten for two days. That was your problem not his.

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel quite worried about your health. How the hell were you still at his level of academic achievements even if you weren’t eating to fuel your brain?

It was crazy. Not even he could survive an hour without a small snack to keep him going. So, how did you even manage to survive?

More of Mrs. Oh’s words flooded through Jungwon’s head, mainly focusing on the fact she put him in charge of making sure you were eating.

Was it not obvious you two hated each other? Well, maybe not since you were fast asleep, but to him it was.

What the hell was he supposed to do to monitor your food intake? Buy you snacks and drinks from the vending machines at their school?

Actually… that wasn’t such a bad idea. It could work for him, but would it work for you? Would you even accept his offers?

You were hard to work with in the first place. There was no way he would follow upon Mrs. Oh’s request. That was your problem and only yours. Not his.

Nevertheless, that didn’t explain the fact he was currently punching in the number two into the vending machine, expecting two granola bars to follow through the hole.

Of course, it wouldn’t be enough to fill him up this lunch, but he had no other choice. He was already exhausted enough from playing football outdoors, leaving him with no more energy to wait in line for food in the cafeteria.

He grabbed the granola bars and made his way to room 116—his home room.

He was excited for the peace and quiet he was about to experience. Nobody ever came to school this early. It was 7:30 AM after all.

School started at 8:20 AM.

If you were to show up at the bell, he could save the granola bar until lunch and give it to you when the room was empty.

Nobody could know that he was interacting with you, especially not after you two made it clear you wanted nothing to do with each other.

“Oh, hey, Jungwon! It’s been quite a bit since I saw you first thing in the morning.” A faculty member said, greeting the boy. He smiled at the teacher and nodded.

It wasn’t a lie. Jungwon always came early, yes, but he never went straight to class. He was either shooting hoops in the gym or doing his morning jog around the track in the field.

The September breeze blew the trees outside as Jungwon watched the leaves sway while walking to class. The windows in the hallways were wide, emitting a bright light into Earl View Academy.

It really suited the vibe he was going for.

But you didn’t.

Jungwon noticed your focused figure, his mood dropping immediately. He was glad you were okay, but not glad that you were in class.

He wanted alone time today, nothing else.

Jungwon put on a straight face, avoiding eye contact with you while walking to his seat. He swiftly placed the granola bar on your desk and moved away as if he didn’t.

You looked down at the granola bar, then to the boy who walked away in silence.

Before you could say anything, he was quick to silence your ‘irritating’ voice.

“Just eat it. Mrs. Oh is making me monitor your meals even if I don’t want to.”

He said without any other explanation. You looked back at the granola bar, hearing Jungwon sit down and begin opening his snack due to the loud rustling of the wrapper.

Instead of doing the same, you pushed the granola bar to the side and returned back to your studies. Once again, your ‘Book of Rules’ said no meals until you were done reviewing.

Jungwon opened his notebook, flipping through the filled pages to find an empty one and begin his studying. He was holding the granola bar in one hand and eating at the same time.

It wasn’t hard at all, which only confused him since you weren’t doing the same.

“Aren’t you going to eat it?” He asked, but you ignored him, staring into your notebook in silence.

The boy scoffed, looking out the window in disbelief. He doesn’t even know why Mrs. Oh trusted him with this ‘task’. He couldn’t say no though, he would have felt guilty to face her again.

Honestly, he was still shocked at the news from yesterday. What did she mean you didn’t eat for 2 days?

Was this an often routine of yours? Was that why you were so concerningly light when he carried you? You were always studying and never seemed like you took any breaks, which only left him wondering.

Seriously, did you ever eat?

“What?” You asked, stiffening and turning around to look at the bow. There was a look of annoyance present on your face, only causing Jungwon to stare back in confusion.

“What?” He questioned back. Why were you looking at him like that even after you blatantly ignored him a moment ago?

“Why is it your business if I ever eat or not?”

Hold on. Did Jungwon think aloud earlier? Was that why you were acting this way?

“I…” He said, fumbling over his words. Truly, how should he respond to that? You weren’t wrong about it not being his business to care—even if you didn’t say that.

He didn’t want to care if you did or not. Still, he couldn’t explain why he was so curious about it.

“Mrs. Oh told me in the nurse’s office that you fainted because your last meal was two days ago…” Jungwon began as your brows furrowed.

“So? Why should you care if that were to happen or not?” You asked.

Once again, you weren’t wrong.

“You’re telling me, you wouldn’t be a little bit concerned about someone who hadn’t eaten for 2 days?”

“If it was part of my business, sure, but if it’s not, then no.”

Jungwon pursed his lips, unsure of what to say next. He tried to think of it, but it ended up coming out on his own. He would definitely regret this later.

“Why?” He started.

“Why do you do that?”

You remained silent and so did he. There was an obvious tension in the air and the both of you felt it easily.

You averted your eyes away from his overpowering gaze, suddenly feeling all fragile due to his sudden question.

“Mind your own business.” You mumbled before turning around to face your desk again.

Normally, you’d return to studying immediately, but this time you were quiet as you stared at your notebook.

You always had answers for questions. Always. However, nobody had ever asked you a question like that, and for some reason, you couldn’t find an answer for it.

Jungwon sighed and shook his head. He didn’t blame you for not answering and getting all defensive instead. It was a question that could pry into anyone’s private life, and obviously, you two were nowhere near a basis like that.

“At least eat the granola bar. I don’t want Mrs. Oh on my ass about anything.” He said before picking up his pencil and writing on his plain notebook.

At the sound of his words, your gaze shifted to the pink wrapper on the granola, noticing how it was strawberry flavoured, one of your favourites.

Maybe you could reconsider eating the snack he got you even if it was going against your rules. It was obvious he wouldn’t leave you alone if you didn’t.

You unwrapped the granola bar, making sure to not crush the treat inside as the bell went so suddenly.

You were both shocked at how much time went past at such a fast pace as a certain thought crossed your mind.

It was time to start another school day.

RANK FIVE.

Ever since that day, Jungwon continuously dropped you off snacks in a discreet manner.

Although you never wanted to eat them, he made you. Your secret rule was slowly being forgotten because of his actions.

“Hey,” he called from his window seat, causing you to remove an earbud from your ear.

“Are you allergic to anything?”

“Why?”

Jungwon stared at you in silence. Were you really asking him that question?

“So I don’t get you anything that’ll kill you…” He said in a tone of disbelief, but you didn’t react.

“Why are you still doing this? Mrs. Oh must’ve forgotten about my visit by now. You can stop.”

You turned away and continued writing in your notebook, leaving Jungwon baffled.

He hated how you were never wrong. Mrs. Oh definitely forgot about your visit from a few weeks ago, but Jungwon couldn’t stop his habit of giving you snacks.

Why?

“You’re telling me you rather faint continuously?” Jungwon asked, halting the hand that went to put your earbud in your ear.

“That’s not a healthy habit. Seriously, you’re going to end up visiting the ER next.”

“As if that hasn’t happened before.” You mumbled and successfully put your earbud in your ear.

Jungwon’s face contorted in confusion, unsure of what you had said. It didn’t seem like the remark he expected, but he shrugged it off.

Whatever.

“Jungwon!” Baekseung exclaimed, running up to the boy and hugging him from behind.

Jungwon stumbled over his feet at the sudden embrace as Minji chuckled from behind the two.

“You’re acting like you haven’t seen him in a decade.” She said, crossing her arms once she reached them.

The hallway they stood in was empty—aside from the 3 being there.

Jungwon wasn’t even aware that he was in the hallway at the moment. His mind was elsewhere when he left the classroom.

Yes, he said he didn’t care about what you said, but he secretly did.

Did he hit a nerve or did he hit one of your soft spots? For the last few weeks, it was obvious there was a lot to you that nobody knew of, yet, Jungwon was close to finding them out.

He felt bad due to your reaction from earlier and a few days ago. Maybe he should really watch what he says from now on.

“What’s up? Do you have your head up in the clouds or something?” Baekseung asked, teasingly.

Jungwon shook out of his thoughts and looked at the boy.

“That was terrible. Never say that again.” He said, causing Baekseung to frown and Minji to laugh.

“Still, he’s right. What’s up with you lately?” Minji asked.

The three walked down the hallways, passing time before their next period started.

“What do you mean what’s up with me?” He asked, confused at their questions.

“You’re constantly spacing out today. Plus, you’re never running or playing basketball outside in the mornings either. I haven’t seen you for a bit every time I arrive at school.” Baekseung explained.

“Dude!” He exclaimed, tapping Jungwon’s shoulder to bring him back from his trance.

Jungwon looked over at Baekseung, startled from the harsh tap.

“What was that for?!” He exclaimed.

“You were doing it again. Seriously, what’s up with you?”

The three remained silent upon Baekseung’s question; Minji and Baekseung waited for Jungwon’s response while he thought of one.

What the hell was he supposed to say?

“Is it her?” Minji asked, chiming into Jungwon’s thoughts.

“Your rival.” She added after seeing Jungwon’s confused face.

He didn’t reply to her question, instead he stayed quieter than ever. Not a peep came out of his mouth. They were almost sure he stopped breathing too.

“So it is! I knew it. Pay up, Baekseung.” Minji said with a bright smile on her face while holding her hand out in front of Baekseung.

Baekseung frowned, glaring at Jungwon as he reached into his pocket for the 10 dollar bill he promised Minji. She looked at the buck, facing the light in case it was fake.

“It’s not fake!” He exclaimed as she chuckled.

“You never know.” Minji said and slipped the $10 into her pocket.

“Wait, you guys placed a bet on me?” Jungwon asked in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. I bet that you liked (Name) and Baekseung said you were just hooked on your university applications.” Minji said, leaning closer to Jungwon.

“He knows nothing about love.”

“I do!” Baekseung blurted, embarrassed at Minji’s remark. She looked over at her and shushed him with a finger on his lip.

“No, you don’t. Just accept that.”

Jungwon shook his head, still shocked at what his friends managed to do. Why would he even be hooked on his university applications if he was 100 percent sure he’d get accepted?

Plus, liking you was definitely out of his range. Wait, liking you?

“I don’t like her! What made you ever think that?!” He exclaimed, his hands flying up in defence.

“Yes. Yes, you do. Don’t fear it, Jungwon.”

Minji looked over at the boy with a teasing smile. Jungwon was a little terrified at the look Minji gave him with her finger still over Baekseung’s lips.

She truly seemed psychotic.

He began speed walking away from the two with hopes that he could escape the so-called assumptions. How would Minji know he liked you before he even knew himself?

Pfft, she was completely wrong.

Jungwon looked at the board, writing his last bits of notes with small diagrams to go along with them.

He was starving, but luckily, lunch was soon.

Speaking of lunch, he wondered what snack he should bring you today. You refused to tell him what you were allergic to, so he couldn’t just get you anything.

He looked up from his notebook, stealing a glance at your seat.

Well, he thought it was your seat, but instead, there was someone slouched over the desk instead.

He continued looking around for you, maybe you switched seats without him knowing?

No, that couldn’t be it. He saw you in the same seat this morning before classes. So, was it really you who was slouched over the desk?

That was surprising. You were always the one to be over the top when it came to education, yet, here you were knocked out mid-lesson.

“For homework, please complete pages 4 and 6. Enjoy your day everyone!” The teacher said while closing their lesson planner and leaving the classroom.

The bell sounded, signalling that lunch had begun while Baekseung and Minji took that as a chance to bother their friend, Jungwon.

“Hey!” Baekseung cheered, sitting down on the window sill like always.

Jungwon looked up at the boy with a smile as Minji turned around in her seat.

“Seems like you don’t have much of a competition anymore.” She said, silently hinting at the girl who was fast asleep—you.

Not even the bell woke you up. You must’ve had a rough night then.

Even if it had been 5 seconds since Minji spoke, Jungwon’s eyes never left you. He was genuinely concerned for your wellbeing.

“Baekseung, didn’t you say you wanted to go to the fast food restaurant nearby for lunch today?” Minji asked, looking up at the boy who stared back in confusion.

“What—”

Minji silenced him with a light slap on his leg, sending him a glare and mouthed the words ‘play along.’

“Oh, yeah! I’ve been craving a burger all day.” Baekseung blurted while nonchalantly rubbing on his leg and dragging out the word ‘all.’

“Jungwon, did you want anything from the fast food restaurant?” Minji asked and looked at him.

But he was still stuck in his trance.

“We’ll get him fries.” She whispered to the boy on the window sill. The two left as quietly as they could, leaving you and Jungwon alone in the classroom.

He observed your silent state, watching how your back raised softly as you breathed. The sunlight from the windows shined on your face, making your eyelashes more visible than others.

You looked so peaceful and so relaxed. It was the first time he had ever seen you this calm and not stuffing your head in your notebooks, rubbing at your temples in a stressful way, harshly sighing and placing your pencil down when you were feeling tired or didn’t understand the formula. It was a great sight.

Jungwon was so focused on you that he didn't notice the smile on his face.

He was smiling because of his arch nemesis. Well, could he even call you his arch nemesis if he cared about you so much?

Probably not.

The vending machine beeped as the four items hit the bottom of it. Jungwon reached down to grab the items and made his way back to class.

Was he out of his mind for still getting you snacks? Possibly. But he couldn’t stop himself, it became a habit of his.

At least you never wasted the snacks he got you. There was one point of the day where you would eat them casually, not even paying much attention to the item in your hold. It became a habit of yours too.

Eventually, the rule became forgotten, but only at school. It still affected you at home.

You woke up in a panic. The classroom you sat in was empty, just like your notebook. The one you significantly chose for the subject.

You looked around, eyes squinting at the bright light from the uncovered windows, taking in the fact nobody—not even Jungwon—was with you.

Great. You were so behind—something you hated.

You panicked, looking at the board to only be met with erase marks of today’s lesson. There was no way you could scavenge with something so little.

Out of habit, you looked down at your desk and rubbed at your temples with your fingers, more stressed out than ever.

You couldn’t fall behind nor could you fail. That was your worst nightmare. Did your parents care if you were to fail a class or fall behind? Not at all. They only cared about you and your health, yet you hated that.

Honestly, growing up, you tended to be naturally good at the things you did. Your parents were, of course, super proud of you, but you didn’t think it was enough.

You never thought anything was enough.

So, studying continuously, fainting continuously, and even starving yourself continuously became a natural routine of yours just to seek academic validation.

If you weren’t at the top of your class or your studies, you weren’t sure how your future would turn out. You would probably end up lower than ever.

No wonder you were so frustrated with yourself. How could you slack off, let alone fall asleep all class? That was so not like you.

You were very disappointed.

The feeling of a sudden coldness on your arm made you jolt. You looked up, wondering where it came from, only to notice the boy who stood before you, Yang Jungwon.

You both looked into each other’s eyes—for the first time, you weren’t glaring. Your vision was quite blurry because of the tears that threatened to fall while he could see you perfectly fine.

He nonchalantly placed the beverage on your desk followed by the poptart. He then made his way to his seat and sat down silently.

You stared at the two items on your desk, holding back your tears. There was nothing about the bottled coffee or the poptart that made you emotional, it was yourself and Jungwon.

You were jealous of him.

The more you attended Earl View Academy, the more you noticed how everyone adored the boy. Everyone, including staff members.

He made friends quite easily and got along with anyone possible.

However, you were the complete opposite. You had your own circle which consisted entirely of yourself and your studying materials, nothing else.

You rarely conversed with anyone, but when you did, it was always harsh. Things easily ticked you off, causing you to confront the so-called things pretty quickly.

Due to this, you were never envisioned as someone who was approachable. Even if you were on top of your studies and understood everything going on, not even many teachers took a liking to you.

It was rare to see one that did.

There were a few times where you tried to maintain certain friendships, but they all ended quite fast. Their reasonings were always the same—you never had time to hang out with them, but you always had time to study.

They eventually fell tired of you and left you behind to befriend someone else. They always regretted even trying something with you because it always turned out to be a ‘waste of their time.’

Jungwon placed his opened notebook on your desk so you could copy down the notes he took in class.

“The homework is page 4 and 6 today. If you don’t understand anything, I could explain it to you if you want.” He said before walking back to his seat.

He shouldn’t be this helpful to you. You two were ‘rivals’ after all—something you both silently yet mutually agreed on. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help himself. Even the sight of your tear filled eyes managed to make him feel a bit hurt.

He probably wasn’t even the cause of it, yet he felt like he was.

“How do you do it?” You asked, catching him off guard. He looked up from his phone and at the back of your head because you refused to face him in such a vulnerable state.

“Do what? Oh, the work? Hold on, let me—”

“Not that.” You said, interrupting him as he halted in his tracks.

“…Then what?” He asked hesitantly. He genuinely had no clue what you meant. Either Jungwon couldn’t read between the lines, or he was just too stupid.

“How do I be like you?”

RANK SIX.

Jungwon stood in silence, stunned at your sudden question. He was never asked such a thing from someone like you.

Children were always the one to ask him that exact question, which only left him with one possible answer every time.

“You’re already like me. Smart and strong.”

It was very cringey, but every child felt confident after hearing his words. Still, you were nowhere near a child, so how could he respond to your question?

“What do you mean?” Was all he could think of. He didn’t want you to seem weak or anything, so he kept it simple and short.

Maybe an elaboration would help him with an answer next time.

“You’re so… perfect. All staff members and students adore you, or even look up to you. You always balance your time, making enough space to hangout with your friends and study at the same time. You’re athletic, smart, most likely a great son, and your parents are probably so proud of you for maintaining the top student rank continuously.” You ranted, leaving him flattered and quite flustered but confused at the same time.

“Perfect?” He asked, genuinely curious about what made you think that.

“Yes, you’re so perfect. I’m jealous of you.” You added, finishing off your sentence while turning to face him.

“You’re jealous of me?”

Truly, in Jungwon’s eyes there was nothing about him to be jealous of. He had his own ups and downs, but managed to keep his composure around his friends and many others.

“Honestly, (Name), you’re fine the way you are. Yes, you have some unhealthy habits, but that doesn’t mean they can’t change.” Jungwon said while walking towards the seat in front of you.

“I wouldn’t say I’m perfect either. Of course, I’m going to sound a bit cringey, but all of us have things we don’t show. Like, I could’ve cried on my way to class.”

“Did you?”

“Did I do what?” Jungwon asked while taking a seat.

“Oh. No, that was just an example. I would never cry where people could see or hear.”

His eyes slightly widened as he raised his hands up in defence.

“I didn’t mean you shouldn’t! Do whatever you feel comfortable with.” He said, hoping he didn’t offend you.

You used your sleeves to wipe away the few tears that managed to fall, then looked at the boy in front of you.

“I don’t know why I’m about to tell you this, but I really need to get it off my chest.”

“Go on,” Jungwon said in a soft voice.

Although he waited for you to speak, you hesitated. Could you even trust him? You two started off as rivals, and still were rivals, but didn’t show it as much.

Whatever, speaking your mind wouldn’t hurt.

“Honestly, it’s not that I need to be on top of my work for my parents to adore me, they do. They very much do and show it every day, but it’s me who thinks it is not enough.” You said.

“I believe if I’m distracted, I won’t be able to achieve my academic goals to the fullest, you know?”

Jungwon nodded even if he didn’t get what you meant. He understood achieving your academic goals, but not to the point where he couldn’t do so if he were distracted.

“I mean, yeah, but considering eating meals or taking breaks as a distraction isn’t good for your mental health—or your health in general,” Jungwon explained as your eyes narrowed.

“Are you scolding me right now?”

“Quite literally.”

You rolled your eyes at Jungwon’s words, waving them off as if they meant nothing.

“Pretend this didn’t happen. Tell anyone, and I’ll make sure your life in Earl View Academy is almost unbearable.” You threatened, sending daggers at the boy.

“How so?” He asked, curious as to what tricks you could pull.

“I’ll beat you on every test, I’ll beat you on the final exam, and even make sure you don’t get accepted into University of Seoul.”

“Okay… However, in return, you have to at the very least tell me what you’re allergic to.” Jungwon said with pleading eyes.

You were shocked that was all he wanted in return. He really wanted to know what you were allergic to, but why? What good would that bring him if he knew what you could and couldn’t eat?

“Why are you so curious about that?”

“Dude, you really want me to end up killing you?” His words sounded like he was joking, but he wasn’t.

“No… I could just eat what I know I can and what I know I can’t.”

Jungwon continued to stare at you, waiting for you to give him the actual answer he wanted. You sighed and gave into his silent begs.

“There’s nothing.”

He remained quiet, his head tilting like a lost cat.

“There’s nothing that I’m allergic to. I’ll eat anything.” You informed the boy as he held back a smile.

“Perfect.” He whispered before grabbing the notebook he gave you earlier.

“What do you mean by perfect?” You asked, causing Jungwon to glance at you with a slight smile on his lips.

“You’ll see.”

RANK SEVEN.

To be honest, yesterday you went home wondering what Jungwon was hinting at.

He pretended as if he had never brought up anything and proceeded to teach you today’s materials. It was annoying.

Yes, you wanted to know badly, but begging wouldn’t even get him to tell you anything.

You adjusted your name tag while looking in the mirror, wondering what else you should fix up.

There was 5 minutes before you had to leave for school. Five minutes before you would get to see Jungwon.

You had no clue why you were a bit excited to see him. Usually, you never were. It was weird.

Part of you was glad he listened to what you had to say yesterday, it felt nice to get it off your chest. However, the other part of you felt ecstatic and let your heart thump even at the thought of seeing the boy.

What happened to the part of you that deeply hated him?

You couldn’t start liking Jungwon. At least, not when there was a possibility that he still hated you or saw you like his competition.

Right?

Jungwon stretched his limbs before reaching down to tie his laces. It had been a while since he ran around the track in the morning. He wanted to see if he still had it in him.

He couldn’t let his stamina fall because of his so-called continuous studying habits. It was also a great way to get his mind off of things, for example, you.

After yesterday’s conversation, for some reason he felt terrible about what you said. Was it his fault? No. But obviously, there was a time and place where he was in the same boat as you.

Trust him, it wasn’t the best.

This morning, he woke up extra earlier than usual because he had a lot to do—cook. He hand picked a recipe he believed you both would enjoy, and cooked all morning so it was nice and fresh by lunch.

It was way better than constantly getting snacks from the vending machine. Now, you could actually gain nutrients while eating.

He was very excited.

But why? Why was he excited to share a meal with you? There wasn’t anything going on between, aside from your quiet studying times halfway through lunch, the conversation from yesterday, and the times you two have been paired up or went head-to-head in class.

Other than that, what was there to really be excited about?

Jungwon slowed down his pace, then leaned over while placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Or was he just excited to see you? What was the meaning of all this?

Were you the reason his heart raced as if he did his morning runs whenever he was in class? Were you the reason he was always planning what he wanted to buy the two of you on his way to school? He rarely ever did that when you didn’t attend Earl View Academy.

So, were you really the reason?

You took a seat at your desk, pulling out your studying equipment—a normal routine of yours. You always arrived at the same time, 7:30 AM, with Jungwon arriving a little after.

Shockingly, even with 5 minutes passing, he didn’t appear. That was odd, he was always on time.

You shook your head, brushing off the fact he hadn’t arrived yet. The things he taught you yesterday were the only materials you had to review this morning.

You couldn’t fall behind so easily.

When you went home, you decided to take a break. A was a rare sight since you were always studying all night and all morning, nobody could stop you.

But for some reason, Jungwon was able to change part of your ‘unhealthy’ studying habits. At your old school, it was impossible for that to happen. Not even your short-term friendships changed anything.

It was the same old ‘Book of Rules’ you followed with no updates.

The door slid open, showcasing an exhausted Jungwon. He walked over to the seat in front of you and placed the two snacks in an empty spot on your desk then took a seat.

It wasn’t at his actual desk, instead, it was the one in front of you.

“Why do you seem so tired?” You asked, noticing his droopy eyes.

“I ran around the track today. It’s been a while since I’ve done it, so I guess I pushed my limits.” He explained while yawning. He stretched his arms before examining your desk; there was a partially empty space at the edge of your desk.

It looked like it could fit most of his arms and head.

“Can I?” He questioned while gesturing at the spot from earlier. You nodded, not giving him any other reaction.

Your heart was already racing from the ‘close’ proximity he provided. You had to keep it lowkey.

“Thanks. Wake me up a few minutes before the bell.” He said and dozed off to dreamland.

The classroom fell silent, the only thing being heard was the rustling leaves from the wind that travelled through the sky, your pencil gliding on the piece of paper you wrote on, sounding like music to Jungwon’s ears.

It was a relaxing sound. Not even close to irritating.

There were moments where you snuck in a few glances, noticing the way his face looked peaceful and less irritating than when he was wide awake. His breathing was at a usual pace as his back rose and fell at his command.

He was quite the pretty sleeper.

The formula of your work suddenly started to not make any sense. You searched the article you were looking at, realisation only hitting you a bit after.

You were working on your English, not Math. No wonder your formulas weren’t making any sense. Clearly, with how close Jungwon was to you, it was obvious you couldn’t think straight.

How often did someone mix up English work with Mathematics? It was never that often, and yet, you still managed to make the mistake.

You picked up your highlighter, forgetting about the embarrassing situation from earlier, and began highlighting simple concepts that you would need to remember when answering the questions.

Without you knowing, 30 minutes of silence passed between the two of you. You were surprised he didn’t wake up from the sound of your beating heart, because to you, it was quite loud.

You hesitated on waking up the boy in front of you. He was sound asleep. What if he woke up cranky?

Still, he requested for you to wake him up a few minutes before the bell. He wouldn’t be mad if you did so, right?

You softly placed your hand on his shoulder and gently shook him at a slow pace. There wasn’t much momentum, however, it was still enough to wake him up.

His eyes slowly opened, eyeing the area he sat in.

He could barely see, eyes still blurred with his sleepiness. Jungwon blinked a few times before looking in front of him, spotting your shocked figure.

“Morning.” He mumbled, his words cutting short because of a yawn. He stretched his arms before looking over at the clock.

It was only 8:20 AM. It always shocked you how students weren’t filling up the classroom around this time. They always arrived at least 5 minutes before the bell. Even if it was shocking, it was quite satisfying how everyone was still on time.

“What’re you working on?” Jungwon asked, slightly curious about the reason you held a highlighter.

“English,” you muttered. He hummed at your words and continued to inspect your desk.

“You didn’t eat?” He asked, pointing at the neatly kept snacks. It looked the same as when he first gave you them.

You shook your head. You completely forgot about the snacks. Instead, you were more focused on calming your racing heart, so it wouldn’t have woken him up.

“Eat. At least three pieces before the lesson starts.” He said. The snacks he brought the both of you were a small packet of animal crackers. One of Jungwon’s favourites as a child.

You paused for a moment, debating if you should follow through with his request. He was staring at you, once again, causing you to feel fragile under his gaze. There was no way he would stop if you didn’t eat.

You placed your highlighter down and grabbed one of the two packets. Hopefully, that would help his strong state.

Honestly, you couldn’t help but feel taken care of because of Jungwon’s acts. Your parents were amazing to you. There was no doubt about it. Still, with Jungwon, there was a new feeling you’ve never felt with anyone else.

At your old school, you wouldn’t even have a chance at something like this. If you fainted, there was only a tiny bit of shock from others. It happened very often because of your bad habits that it became so natural to those who studied and worked there.

But if you were to faint around Jungwon or anyone else in this school, they would be very worried. The nurse at Earl View Academy even instructed Jungwon to watch over your eating habits.

At first, you didn’t like the idea of having a so-called babysitter, but eventually it felt nice to know someone possibly cared about you. He started off as your number one threat, and became the person you looked forward to seeing most.

To him, you started off as someone he could never trust and his one and only arch nemesis, and became the person he watched over and enjoyed being around.

Well, look how the tables turned.

“Also,” Jungwon said, chiming into your thoughts. Your attention was then focused onto the boy who stood up from his previous seat with his animal crackers in hold.

“You’re doing great.” He said as the bell rang as if it were completing his sentence.

He sat in his assigned seat at the window while students began filling up the classroom. Maybe they were a little delayed today, but your heart for sure wasn’t.

You were concerned as to why Jungwon’s words had such an effect on your wellbeing, judging from how fast your heart rate was going.

You didn’t even know it was possible to experience such a rush of adrenaline. Your face felt warm as you recalled his words.

Was he perhaps referring to yesterday’s incident?

No matter what the reason was, you’ve never been told something like that. It was always about taking a break and slowing your pace. Even mentioning how you were trying too hard and needed to pay more attention to yourself.

But the words ‘you’re doing great’ were different. It felt like they were filling a void in your life that you didn’t even know existed.

Whatever it was, you were thankful.

Thankful for Jungwon.

Jungwon watched as the ball ricocheted off the rim of the net, sighing in disappointment.

“Gosh, straighten up.” Baekseung said and tossed the ball back to his friend.

The trio stood inside the empty gymnasium, shooting hoops for fun, until it became serious. Baekseung was quite literally concerned for Jungwon’s wellbeing.

He was missing every one of his shots.

“You do remember he did Track and not Basketball like you, Baek, right?” Minji asked while flipping through the pages of her book.

“I mean, yeah, but he’s never this bad.” Baekseung replied, emphasising his words.

“I’m literally right here.”

“Oh, my bad.”

Minji chuckled at the two, looking away at her book while placing a bookmark between the two pages she stopped on.

“Won, what’s on your mind?” She asked.

Great, here comes round two.

“I swear we didn’t put a bet on anything this time. Feel free to tell us anything.”

Jungwon sighed, letting himself loose. It was now or never. He needed to settle things, so he could peacefully continue along with his day.

So…

“How would you confirm your feelings for someone?”

RANK EIGHT.

Minji blinked her eyes in silence as Baekseung held the basketball in his hand with a dropped jaw.

Judging by their reactions, it was obvious they didn’t know what to say, leaving Jungwon feeling embarrassed.

“Nevermind, forget I said that.”

“No, no.” Minji said, shaking her head.

“We were just… stunned, that’s all.” She reassured Jungwon who’s ears turned a light shade of red out of embarrassment.

“Is this about a particular someone?” Minji questioned, slightly wanting it to be you.

She had been noticing the difference between Jungwon’s behaviour now and the first time you arrived. Nowadays, he was always looking at you with adoration in his eyes instead of an intense glare.

It was definitely different between you two.

“You know who it is, don’t you?” Jungwon asked, judging by her expression. It looked like she was holding off on saying something. She was terrible at hiding her expressions.

“Wait, I’m so confused,” Baekseung chimed in, dropping the basketball and making his way closer to the two.

“It’s (Name), right? The atmosphere between you two is so much different than before.”

Jungwon remained quiet upon Minji’s words. She wasn’t wrong, but she was very observant. Even Jungwon hadn’t noticed the change between you and him.

“Your silence is the only answer we need.” Baekseung said with a sly smile.

What? Who wouldn’t act the same way after finding out his best friend had a crush on someone?

“It is…” Jungwon mumbled.

“Okay. First question is… how do you feel when you’re near her?”

Oh.

Well, that could go a long way… There was at least a list of possible feelings, so where should he even start?

“Tingly. I feel tingly.” He said, recalling the moments he was with you.

To be honest, he was shocked you hadn’t realised how red the tip of his ears were when he fell asleep in front of you. It was almost an impossible process for him to sleep, but he managed.

“Sometimes, my ears become warm and my heart flutters at the sight of her smile or if I were to make her laugh…” He paused, thinking of more things to say.

“And—”

“Yeah, you definitely like her.” Baekseung interrupted with a shock yet disgusted look on his face.

“I do?” Jungwon asked, looking at the boy with wide eyes.

Baekseung nodded, causing him to look over at Minji who only did the same as Baekseung in return.

“Are you ever going to tell her?” Minji asked, opening up her book once again.

“I’d embarrass myself terribly. We’re still kinda rivals in some way. Wouldn’t it be weird if I were to suddenly confess my attraction to her?”

“Okay, Shakespeare, what the hell do you mean by attraction?” Baekseung asked as Minji chuckled.

“He means feelings, Baek.”

“Oh… That makes sense. I say do it, what is there to waste? You only live once.” He explained as Jungwon rolled his eyes.

It was a corny saying he had been told all his life, but they were never wrong. Things always turned out good for him if he at least tried them. Therefore, it wouldn’t hurt to profess his love for you, right?

“Jungwon, it’s 11:30, don’t you have to go now?” Minji questioned after checking the time on her phone.

“Ah, right. Thanks Min, thanks Baek.” He said before smiling at them and leaving.

To be honest, Jungwon was expecting a longer explanation to his feelings, but comparing these moments to a book, it was awfully obvious that he liked you. It must’ve flown past his head the first time.

You stared at the clock, awaiting Jungwon’s arrival. This was the first time you had caught yourself doing something like this. Usually, your head would be stuffed in your notebook right now, but after discovering these possible feelings for the boy you spend lunch with daily, things have changed.

Your habits must’ve been one of them.

There were moments where you glanced at the door, hoping that he would appear after every glance, but he didn’t.

“Sorry.” A voice emitted from the doorway, heavy panting followed through. Your head whipped over, noticing the boy you were waiting for all this time. He looked up from the floor, making straight eye contact with you.

He was subtly sweaty, making it obvious that he ran here. Yes, it was a disgusting look, but to you…

He looked disgustingly handsome. It was odd, very odd, that the look made your heartbeat race. You couldn’t deny it, you definitely liked Jungwon.

“You’re late.” You said in a teasing tone. You could care less if he was late or not, but it was fun to joke around with him.

“I’m aware.” Jungwon joked back while walking towards his seat.

“Are you hungry?” He asked while reaching into his backpack. You stayed silent, not sure how to answer that question.

“Be honest.” He said in a serious tone and grabbed the meal he cooked this morning.

“A little bit.” You replied as he took a seat in front of you. You eyed the containers he placed on the empty space, causing you to move your notebooks aside to create more.

He opened the containers one-by-one, leaving you stunned with every single meal. Once he was left with one container, he looked up to see your reaction, smiling at your childish look.

“Does it look good?”

His question brought you out of your trance, causing you to straighten up immediately.

“Yes. It looks great.” You said as Jungwon chuckled at your response. You observed the 3 containers, noticing the different aspects of each; one had greens while the others didn’t.

“Oh, I wasn’t sure if you liked greens, so I separated them just in case.” He explained while pointing at the container you stared at.

You nodded at his words and hummed in amusement. Maybe you were only a tad bit hungry before, but now, you were starving.

“You don’t have to wait for me, you can eat.” Jungwon said, gesturing at the meal in front of you two.

You looked at him once then down at the utensils, hesitantly reaching for a spoon. Jungwon picked up on this and grabbed your hand, flipping it over while grabbing the spoon that laid on the napkin. He then placed it into the palm of your hand and looked into your eyes.

“Don’t hesitate, it’s fine.” Jungwon said and flashed you a smile, his dimples catching your eyes immediately.

Well, maybe you weren’t hesitating on eating anymore, but you were definitely still hesitant about something…

Confessing your feelings to the boy before you.

Yeah, that could wait.

RANK NINE.

Two days ago, Jungwon had a talk with his two friends. He was reassured about his feelings for you, finalising them to a certain extent.

Today, he claimed he was ready to confess. He wouldn’t back away from doing so, and plus, there ‘wasn’t’ much time until graduation (it was 7 months away).

Of course, it was a lie. He had to make an excuse to be able to push himself to tell you how he really felt.

You, on the other hand, thought the same. But, you weren’t sure how you would approach him in a way where it wouldn’t be as awkward as you imagined.

Still, that would have to wait for the perfect time today. You couldn’t mess this up.

As your teacher spoke, your head became drowsy. Your notes seemed messy due to your eyesight blurring and nothing was comprehendible.

You shook your head, an attempt to regain your composure, but that didn’t work either.

“Okay, everyone. I’ll leave the rest of this period for individual work time.” Your teacher said even if there was only 5 minutes before lunch.

“Soccer today?” Baekseung asked Jungwon who wrote in his notebook.

He nodded at his friend’s request, causing the boy to smile. It had been a while since they went to play soccer and not basketball, so it would be quite fun to reminisce about the past.

The bell went, making 5 minutes feel like 30 seconds. To others it must’ve felt long, but to you, it felt short. You couldn’t focus on anything around you, not even the time. The throbbing headache that made its way into your system, as well as the nauseating feeling was all that occupied your mind.

Nothing else.

Not even the fact Jungwon was standing beside you right now.

“You alright?” He asked. You looked up at him, your head spinning at the movement. It was quiet in the classroom, hinting at the fact there was practically nobody left aside from the two of you.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Lies. You were far from feeling ‘fine’. However, you couldn’t let him worry as much as he did about your eating habits.

You managed to flash him a convincing smile as he did the same. The gentle pat on your head before leaving felt comforting knowing it was from Jungwon and no one else.

“I’ll be back.” He said as he walked out the classroom, leaving you alone in silence.

You weren’t able to tell if the heat that crept up your neck was from his subtle action, or the developing fever that made its way towards you. Honestly, you could care less. It wouldn’t stop you from studying anyway.

And, well, maybe preparing your confession for the said boy.

The mesh of the net ricocheted as the ball glided against the barrier. The goalie was on the floor, the outcome of his failed attempt at blocking the ball.

“It’s okay! That was a good try.” A teammate reassured while helping the male up on his feet.

Once the ball was thrown into play, Baekseung scanned the area, searching for an open target to send the ball to. Teamwork was all that mattered when playing sports, so, why not include everyone even if he could shoot the ball himself?

You looked out the window, noticing the view of the many boys who kicked around a soccer ball. It wasn’t the best view, but you were still able to see a few faces—Jungwon’s especially.

Most of you wanted to get a closer look. It would be nice to take a short break from studying, right? It couldn’t hurt your academics that much…

You rose from your seat, head spinning once again. It was unbearable, but you’ve experienced worse.

See, you’ve definitely experienced worse. So, why were you on the verge of passing out, once again?

You stood in front of the window sill Jungwon’s friend, Baekseung, would always sit on. Your grip tightened the ledge, losing balance in your legs. Your vision became even blurry than before as your mind became foggy.

Yeah, you were definitely about to knock out cold. There was no way you would manage to stay conscious.

A moment after coming to terms with the fact you were about to faint, your body hit the floor, leaving the space between two desks occupied.

Your eyes were slowly closing as the warmth of a hand was placed on your face. Ears ringing, making anything that person said incoherent.

It was a terrible feeling. Maybe you should’ve gone to the nurse’s office at the beginning of your fever.

Yeah… Maybe.

“It’s 11:30, I have to go.” Jungwon said after checking the time on his watch. He waved goodbye to those he played with on the field, then looked at the classroom window, a smile making its way to his face.

Now it was time for 30 minutes with you.

But where were you? He scanned the empty classroom, yet you were nowhere to be found. Your stuff wasn't there either.

You weren’t there.

He was confused. You never left your seat, no matter the reason. So, where could you have gone?

Jungwon had no clue where he was going, letting his feet take him wherever. Suddenly, he was in front of the nurse’s office. Not even he knew why he was here.

Without hesitation, he slid open the door, a wave of nostalgia hitting him. Except, you weren’t in his arms like before.

“Oh, Jungwon. What brings you here?” Mrs. Oh greets almost immediately. That was a great question.

What brought him here?

“I’m not sure.” Jungwon said, not knowing what else to say. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t know.

“What do you mean?” She questioned, confused. That was the first time she received an answer like his.

The boy stared at the nurse in silence. It was awkward for her, but not for him.

Seriously, why was he brought here?

“Is… Is (Name) here?” He asked. Part of him regretted letting his so-called question slip out while the other part hoped you were here.

Other than that, he wouldn’t have any other ideas about where you could possibly be right now.

“Oh, yes, she is. Were you looking for her?” Mrs. Oh questioned, a slight smile plastered on her face.

Jungwon nodded, not wanting to say anything else. He already embarrassed himself enough.

He followed the direction the nurse pointed in, heading to where you were supposedly lying down.

“Apparently, she fainted in class again. One of your classmates brought her over… Turns out she had a raging fever.”

So, he wasn’t hallucinating the pained expression you gave him at the start of lunch.

At the sounds of his footsteps, you turned around fast, pretending to be asleep.

“I saw you.” Jungwon said, pulling your curtains aside.

“Nice try.” He took a seat beside you as you bit your bottom lip, eyes squinting in defeat.

“Are you feeling better?”

You turned around at his words to face him. The damped cloth that rested on your forehead slowly slipped off, causing him to catch it.

“A little bit.” You said as he adjusted the cloth.

You weren’t lying about it being a little bit. At least you were now able to move.

“Did you take medication?”

You nodded, noticing the fact he was only going to continue asking questions about your wellbeing.

“I heard you fainted… Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked, the worry finally sinking in.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I got up to look out the window, but I guess I overestimated my ability.” You said with a light laugh.

“Why would you get up to look out the window if you were already feeling unwell?” He asked with furrowed brows.

It was only common sense, you should’ve made your way to the nurse's office. Not somewhere to admire scenery.

“Are you lecturing me, again?” You asked, referring to the conversation in the classroom from a while ago.

“Yes. You need to take care of yourself more.”

“But if I said I was trying to watch you play soccer, then what?”

Jungwon felt his heart skip a beat.

Okay. Maybe you got him there.

“T-That doesn’t matter. Your health comes first.” He mentally cursed at himself for stuttering. Your words must’ve taken a toll on him.

“You’re boring.” You said before looking away from the boy.

To be honest, this would be the best time to confess, right?

Mrs. Oh had left the office a while ago, meaning it was just the two of you left alone.

When would Jungwon ever get another opportunity like this one?

“Listen,” he started, gaining your attention all over again. You look over at him, waiting for him to continue his sentence.

“I know grades are important, but your health is too. Please prioritise your health as well, okay?” Jungwon paused, hesitating with his next words.

It was now or never.

“I don't want to fall in love with a corpse. It’ll be better if it were just you.”

You stared at the boy, stunned. You couldn’t tell if your temperature was rising or you were flustered by his sudden confession.

An awkward silence followed through, as he felt his heart sink.

Did he just mess everything up?

“Anyways… have you drank anything yet?” Jungwon asked, switching the topic really fast.

“No…” You whispered.

He nodded his head, pursing his lips and patted his thighs.

“Okay. I’ll go get you something.” He said before rising up from his seat and leaving quite fast.

You felt bad. If it were a confession, you just left him hanging.

Jungwon pushed the buttons on the vending machine with pressure. He was embarrassed.

Very embarrassed.

He didn’t want to show himself in that room ever again. The atmosphere was definitely still the same as before—awkward and unbearable.

Maybe he shouldn’t have taken his friend's advice. He could’ve saved himself from experiencing this sort of regret.

The sound of the juice boxes falling from their designated spots caught Jungwon’s attention. He whined at the sound, not wanting to go back at all.

Still, he couldn’t keep you waiting.

His plan of pretending nothing happened was now set in motion. It wouldn’t be that hard to forget the previous interaction, right?

“I hope you like orange juice—”

“Was that a confession earlier or was I going crazy?”

So much for pretending nothing happened.

He stumbled in his tracks, he was nowhere near your bed yet.

“Was it?” You asked, quite literally pestering a response from him.

Jungwon mumbled something to himself. Something along the lines of hoping he doesn’t mess things up further.

“Yes, it was.” He said, a heavy sigh following through.

Although his sigh sounded stressed, yours sounded relieved.

“Oh, that’s good. I thought I was the only one.” You said, causing Jungwon to make his way to your bed even faster.

“What do you mean?” He asked, his hands carrying the juice boxes and a confused expression on his face.

“Is it not obvious?” You asked, but he remained still.

Clearly, it wasn’t.

You sighed, disappointed that he couldn’t read between the lines with that brain of his.

“I like you too, Jungwon.”

RANK TEN.

“It really happened?!” Baekseung exclaimed, shocked. Jungwon covered his mouth with a hand, not wanting the whole world to hear about yesterday’s interaction.

“Then what?” Minji asked.

“It’s a secret.” Jungwon said with a teasing smile. Minji rolled her eyes at his response. It definitely wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

The classroom door slid open, gaining his attention quickly. You walked into the classroom, holding your books to your chest.

A smile of adoration made its way to Jungwon’s face as you looked over at him, smiling.

Minji observed the interaction with curious eyes.

“What the hell? Never do that again, please.” Baekseung said, removing Jungwon’s hand from his mouth.

“Wait so… Are you guys, well, dating now?” Minji asked.

“Woah, no.” He said, raising his hands up in defence.

“So, you guys just confessed to each other and that was all?” She asked in a more hushed tone since you arrived.

Jungwon nodded.

Minji was about to say something else, but the bell rang, cutting her off before she could even start. The teacher walked in, addressing everyone to return to their seats.

You smiled to yourself and pulled out your phone to send the boy a text.

“Nice one.” It read with a smiley emoji.

Jungwon’s phone dinged, causing him to look at it. A smile made its way to his face as he read the message.

He was lying to his friends the whole time. Yes, that was bad to do, but it was the best way of keeping your official relationship with each other a secret.

They could know you two confessed to each other, but not that you were dating.

To be honest, Jungwon never saw this coming. He always thought you would be someone he hated because he never knew it was possible to meet somebody who was at his level.

He truly thought he was dreaming when he first saw you and learned about that information.

But right now, he was thankful he wasn’t and was thankful that you were someone who he fell in love with.

Ξ ©HAKNOM, 2024

736 notes · View notes

star-my · 11 days

Text

Ateez Fic Recs ☆ Tumblr

These are all available on tumblr as of April 2024. Some are likely crossposted on ao3 as well.

~Ao3 RECS HERE~

Almost all are complete works, those with “+” after WC are incomplete.

Most of these are Mature or Explicit (usually because of smut) ~ mdni ~ italicized titles rated G or T ~ Please read responsibly

If any authors tagged here wish to be removed/untagged, please lmk! | Shoutout to @thecarnivaloflies for creating their own rec list that I gathered some of these from!

OT8/Multi

☆ Arranged Marriage with Prince!Ateez scenarios by @nateezfics | Prince AU, Arranged Marriage AU | 6k

☆ Black Ocean series by @bvidzsoo | Pirate AU, Siren AU, Royalty AU | 14-40k each

☆ Hooked by @songmingisthighs | SMAU Uni AU, Fake Dating AU |

☆ boyfriend!ateez discovering you write smut scenarios by @eightmakesonebraincell | SMAU |

☆ Rating BFF!Ateez as Valentine's dates by @bluehwale | SMAU |

☆ Blue Bird by @seonghwaddict | Mafia AU | CS + JWY | 7k

☆ one more rep by @cheollipop | PT AU, Model AU | CS + JWY | 7k

☆ time of love by @desayunho | SMAU Neighbours AU | CS + JWY |

☆ Arriba by @teeskz | Uni AU | KHJ + JYH + CS + SMG + JWY | 13k

☆ Splish Splash by @atozfic | Uni AU, Athlete AU | PSH + JYH + CS + JWY | 20k

☆ Light it Up! by @cybrsan | Hala AU, Dystopian AU | KHJ + PSH | 4k

☆ Triple Threat by @huihuiheart | CS + JWY + CJH | 6k

Kim Hongjoong

☆ Wanbelyn by @songmingisthighs | SMAU, Doctor AU, Single Parent AU, Nanny AU (Ongoing) |

☆ Marigold by @yoongiseesawmp3 | F2L Uni AU | 13k

☆ guns and roses by @baekhvuns | E2L Mafia AU | 6k

Park Seonghwa

☆ mr & mrs park by @baekhvns | E2L Mafia AU, Single Parent AU, Nanny AU | 50k

☆ bodyguard by @baekhvns | S2F2L Mafia AU, Bodyguard AU | 38k

☆ just friends by @baekhvuns | R2L Model AU | 37k

☆ paradigm + paradigm, pt 2 by @yoongiseesawmp3 | F2FWB2L Coworkers AU, Bar AU | 12k

☆ facade by @gamerwoo | S2L Arranged Marriage AU, Royalty AU, Assassin AU | 26k

Jeong Yunho

☆ your hand by @smileysuh | Coworkers AU, Tattoo Artist AU | 7k

Kang Yeosang

☆ badboy!yeosang by @ateezmakemeweep | High School AU, Bad Boy AU | 18k

☆ entropy by @in-san-ity | S2F2L Mafia AU, Single Parent AU | 21k

☆ crash landed on you by @atozfic | S2E2F2L Fake Dating AU, Chaebol AU | 20k

☆ Graveyard Dares and Bitemarks by @harmonie-writes | F2L Vampire AU | 5k

☆ Sweeter than Candy by @hwalyn | E2L SMAU (Ongoing), Uni AU |

Choi San

☆ lowkey by @arafilez | FWB2L | 3k

☆ the law of attraction by @yuyusuyu | F2L Uni AU | 3k

☆ perfidy by @in-san-ity | S2F2L Uni AU, Mafia AU | 21k

☆ Will you join me? by @kyun-toast | E2L/R2L Mafia AU, Assassin AU | 3k

☆ after all, you're my wife by @astayinwonderland | Arranged Marriage AU, Mafia AU | 3k

☆ texts with ateez (+ crush san) by @baekhvuns | SMAU

☆ the scentist by @k-hotchoisan | Neighbours AU | 5k

☆ it's you series by @minisugakoobies | BFB AU, Roommates AU, Secret Relationship AU | 9k+

☆ The Art of Climbing the Corporate Ladder series by @ennysbookstore | S2F2L Coworkers AU, Office AU | 29k

☆ Obvious + Claiming by @huihuiheart | Established Relationship AU, Hybrid/Omegaverse AU | 4k

Song Mingi

☆ preying on you tonight by @bvidzsoo | E2L Werewolf AU, Witch AU, Uni AU | 29k

☆ Genesis by @songmingisthighs | S2F2L SMAU, CEO AU |

Jung Wooyoung

☆ upstairs neighbour wooyo series by @mangiverse | SMAU R2F2L Neighbours AU |

☆ tits out by @captain-joongz | BFF2L Uni AU | 7k

☆ body talk series by @jungkxook | BFF2L Uni AU | 28k+

☆ All 'Cause of a Neck Kiss by @cocobeanncteez | F2L | 3k

☆ Two Can Play by @huihuiheart | Werewolf AU | 2k

Choi Jongho

☆ zemblanity by @in-san-ity | S2F2L Mafia AU, Bodyguard AU | 24k

#ateez fic recs #group: atz #member: ot8 #type: fic

73 notes · View notes

honest-moth-of-silver-grove · 3 months

Text

Current Castlevania Masterlist (As of 01.21.24)

Key:

HC = Headcanons (most asks)

OS = One Shots, Ficlets, Drabbles (stand-alone pieces longer than bullets)

CS = Longform & Chapter Stories

CYOA = Choose Your Own Adventure (parts where Reader, s/o, makes different actions to appeal to different, separate characters)

Matchups = Character Matchups for Different Fandoms (readers get paired with a character based on their personality)

Hot! = Adult/NSFW Content

🧛‍♀️ Castlevania 🧛‍♀️

Longer Form (One-Shots) & Chapter Stories:

OS: Modern!Reader jumps into the flames to save Lisa

OS: Modern!Reader jumps into the flames to save Lisa (Part Two) & meets Dracula after rescuing her

OS: Modern! Reader jumps into the flames to save Lisa (Part Three) & goes back to the castle with Lisa and Dracula where she meets Adrian

OS: Yandere!Alucard x Reader

OS: Yandere!Alucard x Reader Part Two

OS: Yandere!Alucard x Reader Part Three

OS: Reader dies in Castlevania Trio’s arms after declaring their love for them

HC & OS: Sypha pegs Trevor- Hot!

OS: Third person in addition to Sumi and Taka finds Alucard tied up with the bodies of Sumi and Taka around him and they have to comfort Alucard

OS: Cho’s daughter comes to avenge her mother, but falls for a lonely Alucard

OS: Cho’s daughter comes to avenge her mother, but is captured by an obsessive Yandere!Alucard

OS: A empathetic herbalist reader comes to find Alucard post-S3, and their relationship is like Beauty and the Beast

OS: Kitsune!Reader leaves offerings for Alucard Post-S3

OS: Trio saves Werewolf!Reader from cruel vampire owner (Part 1)

OS: The Trio Saves a Werewolf!Reader (Part 2)

CS: Sacrificial Family: A child is sacrificed to Dracula by their cultist parents. Completely aghast by this abhorrent behavior displayed by who should be your caretakers, the vampire, and his wife decide to adopt them. But welcoming a new addition to the family when yours is composed of a human doctor, vampire lord, and dhampir child isn’t as easy as it seems. Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three

Choose Your Own Adventure:

HC & OS & CYOA: Witch Trio Ask Series (3 Parts)

HC & OS: Realizing they independently fell in love with the same s/o (1 of 3)

OS & HC & CYOA: Realizing they independently fell in love with the same s/o (2 of 3)

OS & HC & CYOA: The trio member of your choosing brings you back to the group (3 of 3)

Quizzes:

What Castlevania (Netflix) Character Are You Most Compatible With?

Trio:

HC: The worst partner for the trio to have

HC: Reacting to someone from the future

HC: Significant other with chronic pain

HC: How They Spend Valentine’s Day

HC: Falling in love w/ the same person & trying to woo them separately

HC & OS & CYOA: Witch Trio Ask Series (3 Parts)

HC & OS: Realizing they independently fell in love with the same s/o (1 of 3)

OS & HC & CYOA: Realizing they independently fell in love with the same s/o (2 of 3)

OS & HC & CYOA: The trio member of your choosing brings you back to the group (3 of 3)

HC & OS: Time Travel Lady Ask Series

HC: A lady from the future pranks them & they become obsessed (1 of 4)

HC: A lady from the future pranks them & they become obsessed & catch her (2 of 4)

OS: Alucard reflects on the status of his darling and the wedding portrait she pranked him with long ago (3 of 4)

HC & OS: The lady from the future gets revenge on the trio (4 of 4)

HC: Trio competes for the same girl/their flirting styles

OS: Reader dies in Castlevania Trio’s arms after declaring their love for them

HC: Trio falling for 4th adopted group member but they’re oblivious to the trio’s flirting

HC: How the Trio spends the Winter Holidays with their loved one

HC: How The Castlevania Characters Watch the Superbowl

OS: The Trio Saves a Werewolf!Reader

OS: The Trio Saves a Werewolf!Reader Part 2

HC: Soldier, Poet, King with the Castlevania Trio

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

HC: Modern!AU Castlevania Headcanons

Alucard

HC: Yandere! Alucard

OS: Yandere!Alucard x Reader

OS: Yandere!Alucard x Reader Part Two

OS: Yandere!Alucard x Reader Part Three

HC: Yandere!Alucard finds girl in coma in the woods & takes her home (½)

HC: Yandere!Alucard when coma girl wakes up (2/2)

OS: Third person in addition to Sumi and Taka finds Alucard tied up with the bodies of Sumi and Taka around him and they have to comfort Alucard

HC: A mother of a dhampir runs to Alucard’s castle for help & he falls in love with them & protects them from her evil vampire ex

HC: Alucard has a long-lost mute!sister who’s lost her memory

OS: Cho’s daughter comes to avenge her mother, but falls for a lonely Alucard

OS: Cho’s daughter comes to avenge her mother, but is captured by an obsessive Yandere!Alucard

OS: An empathetic herbalist reader comes to find Alucard post-S3, and their relationship is like Beauty and the Beast

OS: Kitsune!Reader leaves offerings for Alucard Post-S3

HC: Alucard Getting a Villager’s Attention (Pre-S1)

HC: Alucard Meeting Trevor’s Older Sister

HC: Confiding in Trevor & Alucard that you like Sypha

HC: Helping their Significant Other Through a Panic Attack

Trevor

HC & OS: Sypha pegs Trevor- Hot!

OS: Trevor and a Poor Vision!Reader outside of Gresit

HC: Confiding in Trevor & Alucard that you like Sypha

HC: Helping their Significant Other Through a Panic Attack

Sypha

HC & OS: Sypha pegs Trevor- Hot!

HC: Sypha Reacting to a Vampire!Child That’s Scared of Her

Lisa:

OS: Modern!Reader jumps into the flames to save Lisa

OS: Modern!Reader jumps into the flames to save Lisa (Part Two) & meets Dracula after rescuing her

OS: Modern! Reader jumps into the flames to save Lisa (Part Three) & goes back to the castle with Lisa and Dracula where she meets Adrian

HC: How The Castlevania Characters Watch the Superbowl

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

HC: Modern!AU Castlevania Headcanons

Dracula:

HC: How The Castlevania Characters Watch the Superbowl

HC: Castlevania Pairings and Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

HC: Modern!AU Castlevania Headcanons

Hector:

HC: How The Castlevania Characters Watch the Superbowl

HC: Helping their Significant Other Through a Panic Attack

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

HC: Modern!AU Castlevania Headcanons

HC: Isaac & Hector’s Partnership Post S4

Isaac:

HC: How The Castlevania Characters Watch the Superbowl

HC: Helping their Significant Other Through a Panic Attack

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

HC: Modern!AU Castlevania Headcanons

HC: Isaac & Hector’s Partnership Post S4

Godbrand:

HC: How The Castlevania Characters Watch the Superbowl

Greta:

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

Lenore:

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

Zamfir:

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

Striga:

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

Morana:

HC: Castlevania Pairings & Their Preferred Positions - Hot!

#castlevania imagines #castlevania x reader #alucard x reader #alucard imagine #trevor belmont x reader #mod post #masterlist

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vaiztohirez · 1 month

Text

SVSSS College/University AU!!

(mostly STEM, and with assumptions arising from the American systems, bc that's what I know)

Shen Yuan: In accordance with my headcanons for canon, I think he'd still be studying evolutionary biology in this AU. He'd have fun with it, and I think he'd be decently good at it. Same energy as my roommate doubling Chem and Archeology bc Alchemy isn't an option

Luo Binghe: Shen Yuan tutored him once when they were in middle school and high school respectively, and Bingy majored in STEM about it. That and I think it would make sense with his backstory, for him to be studying biochemistry or molecular biology with the intent of becoming a cancer biologist. Like I said earlier, he'd be phenomenal in wet lab because of his skills in the kitchen (and general badassery) transferring to the lab. If he actually had Protagonist Powers I think he'd probably manage to actually cure cancer lol.

To get the relationships right, I think Ning Yingying and Ming Fan have to be studying something related to biology, but I don't have a good enough handle on their characters to decide what exactly within the broad broad field of bio they might be interested in. But I do know that the three of them were put in a study group during intro bio and managed to make that into actual friendship further down the line.

Shang Qinghua: I Knew he had to be Computer Science all the way. As someone who is intimately acquainted with the precise flavor of dying all CS majors are, he's absolutely got the energy. Plus, I had a daydream/plot bunny back when I was taking Algorithms that the type of procedural thinking taught in CS would be invaluable on An Ding. He absolutely still writes a ton to keep some semblance of sanity. If you see him in the CS building at 11 pm typing furiously it's a coin toss as to whether he's writing or debugging lol. He and Shen Yuan made instant hatefriends with each other in the university's anime club their first year, and slowly transitioned to being die-or-die (yes, that was not a typo, they are both dying at the end of this ride lol) best friends.

Literally everyone else I could think of under the cut:

Shen Qingqiu: I think he and Shen Yuan are cousins at most, so the QiJiu backstory can be had in some capacity. Of course, they can't literally be slaves named after numbers in a modern AU, but the separation/reconciliation/etc can happen. I think he's either premed and angry about it, or aggressively going towards academia. Math, maybe? I know those are two very different things, but whatever he's studying, he's mean about it, but very good.

Yue Qingyuan: I think he is in the med school at whatever university he's at. One of those freaks who manages to be dying entirely on the inside instead of the outside. This is why I think it'd be useful to have SJ|SQQ as premed, so their paths crossed. I think SQQ was delayed in enrolling by QiJiu Backstory, which is why they're in different years. He's maybe planning on going into family medicine, I think.

Mu Qingfang: How could I make the doctor character not a doctor? He's out of school, kind of. I think he's doing his residency at a hospital near the university. He's friends with YQY, and is Concerned at the bits of QiJiu Backstory he's picked up over the course of that.

Qi Qingqi: Thinks all you doctor types are a bit insane (affectionate, but deep down). I think she's a graduate student studying chemistry, maybe drug delivery if I had to pick something specific? No real reason, just vibes.

Liu Qingge: The emotionally constipated Sporty Ponytail(TM), so... Sports Medicine, obviously. I think he might be minoring in environmental studies or something, so there's reasons for him to cross paths with Shen Yuan. Story reasons, I mean -- he's doing it because he got interested in high school.

Liu Mingyan: I don't know if it's too on the nose to tie her to a field that'd make her excruciatingly aware of the reasons why to wear a mask, but I think she'd be studying Epidemiology or Public Health, something similar to that. I think she'd be good at thinking on the personal, community, and population levels, and balancing that.

Sha Hualing: So that she has some overlap with both LMY and LBH, and because I just think it fits somehow, I think she'd be studying molecular biology with the intent to go into virology.

Mobei-Jun: Honestly I'm not entirely certain he's in school. I think it might make more sense for him to be running the restaurant location Binghe works part time at. Which brings me to the rest of the demons!

Meng Mo: Head chef of the restaurant Bingy managed to finangle his way to a part time chef position at. No, I don't know how he managed that either, because it's a pretty high end restaurant, and "chef" doesn't tend to be a part time position from what I know. Binghe is just that good at cooking, I guess. Meng Mo is kind of mad about it.

Tianlang-Jun: He owns the restaurant and probably a bunch of other things, but he's rich-person bankrupt because he was suspected of murdering his wife (he didn't, obvs. Honestly it might be funny if Su Xiyan wasn't even actually dead). It was suuuuuper awkward when it came out that LBH was his biological son, but Binghe Refuses to touch business, so Zhuzhi-Lang is the successor.

That's all I've got for now!

#svsss #headcanons #AUs #shen yuan #shen qingqiu #shang qinghua #everyone else in svsss but I don't want to tag them all lol

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laxi0v0 · 1 year

Text

Some teacher au doodles I made yesterday.

Jonathan is the stoic, difficult to please psychology teacher everyone hates and is scared of.

Edward is the new charming SC substitute who everyone seems to be in love with.

Strange things began to happen with the arrival of this new sub, one of which is the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the previous CS teacher.

But perhaps even stranger is the new found friendship between the lovely Mr Nigma and the stoic detestable doctor Crane.

Despite starting out with hatred for one another they quickly realized they were compatible with eachother when their conversations turned from disagreements and insults into truly challenging eachother's intelligence which ultimately made them grow closer.

Edward and Jonathan would help eachother out often and their relationship would grow even closer over a short period of time, finding themselves sharing feelings for eachother and their lives suddenly becomes much more "adventurous" at work.

But all comes to an abrupt stop when Edward is accused to be involved in the disappearance of the man he's replacing..

#scriddler #batman villians #riddler #batman characters #edward nygma #batman au #batman riddler #edward nashton #jonathan crane #scarecrow #teacher au #art #au #laxi's sketchbook

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all-mirth-no-matter · 2 years

Text

Mirth’s Masterlist

Explore: my everything tag | myotps

WIPs

Time After Time: (Peaky Blinders, Tommy Shelby x OC/Reader) You have been told by your mother since the moment you were born that you had the gift of prophecy. Convenient, since you managed to mysteriously transport back into time by one hundred years. What happens when you become wrapped up in the Shelby’s family business after the brothers return from the war? Will you ever get back to your own time or figure out how you got to Small Heath in 1918?

Reader Insert (tumblr): masterlist OC (multi-chapter): ao3 | moodboard

Once Upon a Supernatural Time: (Supernatural x Once Upon a Time, Dean Winchester x Emma Swan) Henry Mills needs help convincing his new-found mother, Emma Swan, to believe in magic so she can break Storybrooke's curse. Could Dean and Sam Winchester be just the help he needs to get Emma to believe? Or will they also need some convincing? Dean's dealt with a lot of things - demons, angels, witches, werewolves - but magic may be a bit out of his belief system.

Explore: ao3 | moodboards & manips

Our Lie Abilities: (Teen Wolf, Stiles Stilinski x Lydia Martin) She's a famous actress recovering from a difficult hiatus. He's a member of a band just trying to make it. They're lying to the world - but can Lydia and Stiles lie to themselves? Fake dating, non-supernatural AU.

Explore: ao3 | moodboards & manips

Doctor Who University: (Doctor Who, Tenth Doctor x Rose Tyler) Rose Tyler is still mourning the loss of her beloved mentor when she starts a new semester of classes. Unexpectedly, she develops a strong bond with his replacement - a tall, thin professor with really great hair. [currently on hiatus]

Completed

Once Upon a Time, Emma Swan x Killian Jones

Tonight You’re Mine: Two feuding band members are handcuffed together at the Enchanted Music Festival. Emma Swan, part of a rising rock band, can't stand the egotistical Killian Jones, lead man of the popular group Skull Rock. How will they survive the festival and both perform before they find a way to become free of each other?

Explore: ao3 | moodboards & manips

The Princess Bride: As the Enchanted Forest teeters on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Emma is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary & his henchmen, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry a prince, & rescued once again by the very crew who took her. Foiling their plans & jumping into their story is Killian, Emma's true love & friend to a dangerous pirate.

Explore: ao3 | manips

Much Ado About Nothing: Shakespeare's comedy meets Once Upon a Time. Emma as Beatrice, Killian as Benedick, Snow as Hero, and David as Claudio. A story of gossip, rumors, sarcasm, scandal, and manipulation tied up with a bow of romance and humor. What could possibly go wrong?

Explore: ao3 | moodboards & manips

Overdue: (one-shot) CS College AU. Someone keeps forgetting to return the book Emma Swan needs to complete her report, so she tracks him down and forces him to hand it over. Based on tumblr prompt.

Supernatural x Once Upon a Time Crossover

Swan Hunting: Dean Winchester embarks on one of his first solo hunts since his brother went off to college. But as he searches for answers, he becomes acquainted with a certain blonde waitress he met in the most unconventional way. A young Dean/Emma AU.

Other Swanchester One-Shots: a collection of one-shots usually accompanied by a manip.

Credits & Disclaimers

I do not own series characters and original script dialogue, they belong to their creators. Original characters, narrative ideas, and word manipulations used to create these stories are mine. I do not give consent for any of my stories to be copied, reposted, transposed, or used for AI without my permission. I do consent to reblogging and link sharing.

Story Header art by me

Divider art by @saradika

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iverna · 1 year

Text

Holiday Subterfuge (CS one-shot)

Emma has been using her imaginary boyfriend as an excuse to get out of work-related socialising all year. But people are getting suspicious, so when it's time for the Christmas party, Emma makes a deal with a friend: he'll call, wearing his scrubs, pretending to be her boyfriend. It goes reasonably well until Killian Jones shows up. (Based on several prompts that sort of coalesced into... whatever this is. Yes, I wrote modern AU. 'tis the season, and all that.) rated G | ~ 2,700 words | read on ao3

This was a mistake. Emma suspected it was a mistake the second she agreed to it, but call her naive, she still had hope.

The plan was simple. She’s been using her non-existent boyfriend who works odd hours as an excuse to get out of after-work get-togethers, team-building trips, invitations to lunch, and every other bonding activity she hates. And it worked perfectly—he’s a doctor, so everyone is always full of understanding and admiration.

Until the annual Christmas party. Which she has known about for weeks in advance, and which they planned especially so that everyone could attend.

And Emma does not have a doctor boyfriend. She doesn’t have any boyfriend.

Enter Victor Whale, a friend of a friend, a man who is more than willing to accept a bottle of whiskey in return for pretending to be her boyfriend via FaceTime. The plan was simple: he calls wearing his scrubs, makes a bit of small talk, and she gets another year of peace and quiet.

Emma is holding her phone, watching Victor chat to her boss, Ingrid, when she becomes aware that someone’s watching her.

She turns—right into Killian Jones.

For a moment, she doesn’t quite register it. She’s used to seeing Killian in jeans and a sweater down at the docks, or in a t-shirt and loose pants at fencing practice. She’s never seen him in a suit before. It’s not a bad look—she’s pretty sure that no outfit in the world could make him look bad—but it doesn’t quite look like him, either.

“What are you doing here?”

He looks just as off-balance as she feels, but as she watches, he pulls himself together. “I was invited,” he says, and she realises that there’s someone standing next to him. A petite brunette, dressed impeccably in a blue blouse and corduroy skirt. Belle.

Belle, who has also begged off various work engagements due to her boyfriend.

She’s dating Killian?

Emma’s stomach is dropping, something that feels horribly like loss plummeting through her. She thought he was single. He flirts like he’s single. And yeah, she always rebuffs him, because that’s been their dynamic ever since they met.

And maybe, just a bit, because she wants to know whether he’ll keep trying.

So far, he has. Or so she thought. And it’s not like she thought he really means everything he says to her, but she did think—she assumed—well. She didn’t know he was taken.

By Belle.

And then her brain catches up to her, and she takes a closer look at him and the expression on his face and the guilty, trapped set to his shoulders and she realises two things: one, he didn’t expect to see her here either. And two, he’s lying.

He’s not dating Belle. Belle is doing the exact same thing Emma is, except she clearly didn’t think of the video-call compromise.

He meets her eyes, and he seems to realise that he’s giving the game away, because he straightens his spine and relaxes his stance, a smile on his face. Another lie. She’s caught it now, and he’s not fooling her. She smiles back blandly.

Belle is not quite oblivious to the byplay. “Hi, Emma,” she says brightly. “You two know each other?”

“Aye,” Killian says, a heavy, almost resigned note to his voice despite his apparent efforts. “Emma is in the fencing club.”

“Oh.” And then Belle’s eyes widen, and she stares at her ‘boyfriend’. “Wait, you mean this is the—?”

Killian clears his throat loudly. “I didn’t know you worked here, Swan.”

Belle closes her mouth, though her eyes are still wide, as if she’s processing some kind of revelation.

Emma has no idea what that’s about. What she really wants is to call Killian out right now, but that means giving Belle’s game away, and that wouldn’t be fair. She’ll get him later. For now, she just shrugs. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“Truer words,” Killian mutters. Under his suave exterior, he still looks unsettled. Maybe he knows that she knows. Or maybe he’s worried that she’ll figure it out. He can almost never fool her during practice either. She can always tell when he’s feinting.

Granted, that goes both ways, but still.

“Emma?” a voice comes from her left.

She’s forgotten about her phone. The video call. Victor.

Crap.

“Uh, yeah.” She forces a smile as she turns her attention back to the screen. “Sorry, I got—uh, a friend just showed up.”

Victor smiles back. “Do they wanna say hi?”

“Who’s that?” Belle asks.

And that’s when Ingrid leans in with a bright smile and says, “This is Victor! We finally get to meet Emma’s mysterious boyfriend. He’s on call at the hospital tonight.”

Belle’s eyes widen. She glances at Killian, who has gone rigid. Emma, fighting back a renewed feeling of dread, angles the phone so Belle can see. “Victor, this is Belle.”

“Ah, yes.” Victor is all smiles and charm. “Emma’s mentioned you. She didn’t mention that you’re gorgeous. Wow.”

Belle blushes, though she looks rather like she wants to sink into the ground and disappear. “Thank you.”

“So what do you do exactly, Belle?” Victor asks oh-so-smoothly. Emma resists the urge to roll her eyes. He was bad enough with Ingrid; if he keeps this up, he is not getting the whiskey. He’s supposed to be her boyfriend, not trying to score with her colleagues.

Killian is glaring at the phone, and for a moment, Emma doubts her own assessment. There’s something in that frown, in his stance now, that looks… not possessive, but definitely protective. Is he jealous? Maybe he really is dating Belle.

But no. Killian can play the charmer with the best of them, but he’s a romantic at heart. There’s no way he wouldn’t have mentioned a girlfriend. And there’s no way he’d be dating someone if he wasn’t besotted. And if he were… she would know. Everyone would know, the same way everyone knows that David is madly in love with Mary Margaret.

She’s never imagined Killian dating anyone, but now that the thought has occurred, she can’t imagine him being anything other than devoted.

Even though she really has nothing to base that on.

But the idea of him dating Belle and flirting with her like he has been just doesn’t fit. It goes against everything she knows about him.

Until now, she never realised just how much she knows about him.

Victor is still flirting with Belle, oblivious to the daggers that Killian is glaring at the phone, and Emma has suddenly had enough. This wasn't part of the deal. “Okay,” she says, turning the phone so Victor’s looking at her. “I think I’d better go. Don’t want to keep you from your work, honey.”

“Always so considerate,” he drawls. “I’ll catch you later then, sweetcheeks.”

“Yeah.” She almost—almost—rolls her eyes, but that wouldn’t exactly help sell this relationship to her audience, so she manages a smile instead. “Bye.”

She ends the call. When she looks up, Killian is watching her with narrowed eyes, and Belle is still looking mortified. She seems to gather herself, and takes Killian’s hand. “I need to talk to you,” she says. “Excuse us a moment, Emma?”

“Uh, sure.” Emma stands there as they walk off together, feeling a little thunderstruck.

There’s no way. This is a ruse, the same thing she’s doing.

He’s not even Belle’s type.

“He seems very nice,” Ingrid says. Emma looks at her. She’s watching Killian and Belle walk off too, smiling. Emma clenches her fists. “You know him from fencing, he said?”

“What?” Emma forces her hand to relax. “Oh. Yeah. He’s, uh.” She can’t call him nice. Nice doesn’t even begin to describe Killian Jones. “He knows how to leave an impression.”

“I’ll say.” Ingrid turns her smile on Emma. “As does your Victor. I’m so glad I finally got to meet him.”

Emma can’t help hearing and confirm that he’s real behind the words.

And then her stomach lurches again, because… now Killian thinks she’s dating Victor. Meaning that pretty soon, David and Mary Margaret are going to think that she’s dating Victor. And probably August, and Ruby, and… crap. She’s going to have to confess before this goes any further. She can’t lie to her friends. This whole thing was never supposed to extend beyond work.

Which means she’s going to have to tell Killian that she essentially hired a guy to pretend to date her. Which is pathetic. She’s never going to live it down.

At least her colleagues are finally satisfied that Emma’s boyfriend is in fact real. She’s never liked work get-togethers; they always feel like an insincere waste of time. Hence the whole pretend-boyfriend thing. But at least the conversations don’t feel like a minefield tonight.

Eventually, she finds herself standing alone at the buffet table, and there’s a whisper of movement beside her as Killian joins her. “Swan.”

She feels her mouth twist. “Jones.”

He has opened the top two buttons of his shirt, his tie nowhere to be seen. Better, she thinks. More like himself.

“Enjoying your evening?” he asks, the picture of politeness as he takes a glass of champagne.

“Oh, yeah,” she says, unable to help the sarcasm. “You?”

His mouth quirks just before he takes a sip of his drink. “What’s not to love?”

“Uh-huh,” she says. “That why you agreed to come? You just love work parties?”

He looks momentarily taken aback, like he’s not quite sure what she’s getting at. “I came with Belle. Though, I wanted to—”

“You’re not dating her,” she says, and maybe she’s a little smug about it because she caught him out and that’s not easy to do.

He opens his mouth, closes it again. “Pardon?”

“You,” she says, poking him in the chest, “are not dating her. There’s no way.”

She expects him to deny it, to give her whatever story they came up with. But he lets out a sigh, bows his head, and looks up at her through his lashes. It’s the look he always gives her when he’s guilty and trying to persuade her to go easy on him, and she knows she’ll be in trouble if he ever figures out just how well it works.

“Guilty as charged, I’m afraid,” he says. “What gave it away?”

She shrugs. “You’re not her type. And there’s no way you wouldn’t have mentioned it before now.”

His eyes are sharp on hers. “You know me too well.” She can’t tell whether there’s something intimate in it, or whether that’s just wishful thinking.

She shrugs again. “I told you, I’m pretty good at knowing when people are lying.”

“I was going to tell you,” he says. “And in my defence, I didn’t know you’d be here. I had no idea you worked here too.”

“Right.” She never talks about work. She never talks about anything personal if she can help it.

“And speaking of things I didn’t know,” he says, and he sounds casual, but there’s something tense behind the words, “why have you never mentioned this man of yours? Victor, was it?”

“Oh.” Emma just about suppresses a wince. She should tell him. She has to tell him. It’s only fair. “Yeah. It’s, uh. Long story.”

“I’d love to hear it,” he says, and there’s a glint in his eyes that she recognises from practice. She was wrong. He’s not tense. The word is predatory. “I would love to know how you came to date a man who calls you ‘sweetcheeks’.”

She’s going to kill Victor. “That was—he doesn’t call me that.”

Killian raises his eyebrows. “I was there, love. I heard him.”

“Yeah, well, you call me—that.” Not the best comeback, in hindsight, but by then it’s too late to think of a better one.

He laughs, looking amused now. “If you prefer ‘sweetcheeks’, I can always—”

“No,” she cuts him off, annoyed.

She spots Walter and two of the other tech guys wandering over towards the buffet table, and hastily turns away. Killian follows her as she walks away from the table, with no aim other than avoiding people.

There’s no avoiding him, of course, not now that he’s smelled blood.

And she can’t even complain, because she started it.

“At first I thought I owed you an apology,” Killian says as he falls into step beside her, “for misreading the situation so badly and pursuing you when you were spoken for. But then, you never so much as mentioned the man, so how was I to know?”

Emma comes to a stop, staring at him. Pursuing? What does that mean? Pursuing implies catching, which implies… more than just idle flirtation. Right?

“And now,” Killian goes on, “having seen the man you’ve allegedly broken your golden rule for, I can’t help but think that either you’ve taken leave of your senses, or something else is going on here.”

That… sounds like something she should be offended by. “Excuse me? What rule?”

“The one about no relationships,” Killian says.

He’s right. She did say something about that. Once. Shortly after she met him.

And she did set that rule for herself, years ago, but… she almost forgot about it. It hasn’t seemed very important lately.

Weird.

(Not really that weird.)

“Oh,” she says. “That.”

“You’re not telling me that you, Miss Love Will Leave You Brokenhearted, broke that rule for him,” Killian says, his eyes narrowed as he studies her. That predatory gleam is back, the one he gets when he knows that something’s going on and he’s determined to get to the bottom of it. “I don’t know that I’ve ever met a more obvious candidate for breaking a woman’s heart.”

He’s right. He’s so right that it’s kind of scary. He’s got no business being that perceptive.

And what the hell did he mean by pursuing?

“I know,” she admits. “It’s—like I said. Long story.” She looks around to make sure nobody else is within earshot. “Kinda pretty much the same as Belle, I guess.”

“Ah.” It’s a long sound, and it seems to release the last bit of tension in his stance. He grins at her. “I had a feeling. It just seemed like too much of a coincidence.”

“Don’t tell anyone,” she says quickly. “Please.”

One eyebrow quirks up. “And what do I get for keeping your dirty little secret?”

She mirrors his expression, although she has to use both eyebrows. “Oh, blackmail, is it?”

“Don’t try to claim the moral high ground, love.” He looks like he’s enjoying himself now. “You want to make me, an honest man, party to your lies and deceptions. Surely that calls for some kind of recompense.”

“You’re already party to lies and deception,” she points out, “or have you forgotten why you’re here?”

“Belle has already promised me a favour in return.”

She is not going to ask what that favour involves. She is not. They’re clearly just friends. “Fine. What do you want?”

He considers. “I want you to give me a fair chance. If the answer is still no, that’s fine, but no treating it all as a joke or hiding behind the past.”

She feels her eyes widen. “A chance, as in… you and me?”

“Not a date or anything of the sort,” he says quickly. “I’m not going to blackmail you into that. I just mean… you always laugh it off. You don’t let yourself consider it.”

Right again. And if Emma is perfectly honest—something she can admit she struggles with—there have been times when she almost knew that he wasn’t just joking around. When she felt the maybe hovering between them. It’s just a lot easier to laugh it off than consider the possibility of… anything else.

But it’s Killian. She knows him—better than she even realised. She’s been right about him every single time so far.

“Like I said, if the answer’s still no, I’ll accept it,” Killian says, and she knows that he means it. “And you have my word that I won’t bring it up again.”

“No, that’s—” Emma shakes her head. “I mean, yeah. Okay. Deal.”

He beams at her.

* * *

He smiles more widely still just over a week later, when she ends their last training session before Christmas by asking him out.

(Once he's recovered from his shock, that is.)

* * *

Tag list (shh I didn't forget again) - @optomisticgirl @mariakov81 @courtorderedcake @tomeandflickcorner @spartanguard @snowbellewells @karl0ta @heavenlyjoycastle @queen-serena88 @stahlop @inkerii @bubblegum1425 @elegies @winterbaby89 @kday426 @sals86 @superchocovian @pirateherokillian @laschatzi @scientificapricot @kmomof4 @thisonesatellite @ilovemesomekillianjones @last-tsarina @thesschesthair @the-darkdragonfly

#cs ff #ouat ff #cs one-shot #cs crew #merry christmas etc #modern au #cs au #captain swan #captain swan fanfic #cs fanfic #ouat fanfic #fanfic #mine

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ironstrangeao3 · 1 year

Text

Lost Warriors of Elysium

by forevernightfall

When Peter Parker accidentally kickstarts the unraveling of the universe (Spider-Man: No Way Home), the remaining Infinity Stones & Deities are forced to act, the Time Stone, rather known as Aika, pays a visit to Stephen Strange, her Zakar. With that, they rewind time back to a time of great need, specifically Tony's time of great need, when he is lost in Rose Hill Tenessee with little Harley Keener. Aika moves Strange's training back so that he is still a sorcerer.

The Zakars and their respective Gods recollect, and start planning for their future threats. But are they prepared for what trouble Elysium and its dangers will bring to them?

“Zakar mine, it seems as though you have an.. infatuation with Hankali’s Zakar.” Kifo teleports near Bucky, poking and prodding at him. “He's very handsome isn't he? Oh! And what vigorous muscles he has, and shant we forget his hands, Loki Mine?” Kifo grins wickedly, watching as Loki jumps and glares at him, not noticing how Bucky’s cheeks flush the lightest red and smirks.

“It’s alright Kifo, I find Loki alluring as well.” Bucky winks, watching in satisfaction as Loki flushes pink from his ears to his neck.

Words: 1156, Chapters: 1/20, Language: English

Series: Part 6 of AU ; soulmates, Part 1 of Elysium

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Doctor Strange (Movies)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Stephen Strange, Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Harley Keener, Loki (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Carol Danvers

Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, Tony Stark & Avengers Team, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Tony Stark & Stephen Strange, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark - past, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, Happy Hogan & Pepper Potts & James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Stephen Strange & Wong, Christine Palmer/Stephen Strange - past, Happy Hogan/May Parker (Spider-Man), Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Loki & Tony Stark & Stephen Strange, Gamora/Peter Quill, Carol Danvers/James "Rhodey" Rhodes

Additional Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Deities, Sentient Infinity Stones (Marvel), Infinity Stones as Gods, Minor Character Death, Sort of Not Steve Rogers Friendly, only cs wanda is influencing him, Not Wanda Maximoff Friendly, Not Vision Friendly (Marvel), srry yall, i love him but had to sacrifice him for the greater good, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/46895305

#tony stark #stephen strange #ironstrange #fanfic #ao3

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keikoyume · 2 years

Note

Sorry I know Lotus belongs to Huntself I thought The Coffee shop au belonged to you

It's okay~

The Coffee Shop AU belongs to me, yes!

It just happened that I used the same doctor and hunter in my CS AU and my friend's modern one, that's all x))

I admit it's confusing, yes x'D

#ask #anon #lotus

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the-unspeakable-tsar · 7 months

Text

Chapter 2 - X-Manson by Doctor Benway - Annotated By Tsar

we now get into the upsetting life of this Au's Bobby Drake. tw for descriptions of assault, child neglect, and homophobia.

Previous Post.

[Shot of a corporate female shark in business attire. She has a strange air about her, as if every last part of her from her hair to her toes were made of various different types of plastic.]

[Caption: Ms. Candace Southern, Personal Assistant, New York NY]

*Miss Candy Southern, Warren Worthington's girlfriend from the comics who hasn't appeared in years. Only for her to gain popularity alongside the charming CEREBRO podcast by Conner Goldsmith

CS: Mr. Worthington went to the school in Westchester after he left the Massachusetts Academy. His parents did not feel that the Academy was a suitable environment for their son after that Frost woman took over as headmaster. Mr. Worthington found the time that he spent the School For Gifted Youngsters to be the most enlightening, exciting, and wonderful period in his life. He continued to support the School as a loyal alumnus. He believes that much of the media attention directed at the School was of a sensationalistic nature, and that only in the last two years after the death of the Professor did things begin to slide. Mr. Worthington regrets the events that occurred during those last few years, but urges you to seek out other students such as Henry McCoy who had positive experiences during its early days.

*Warren's father doesn't care for Emma, that early on into everything?

**current survivor count for the original five x-men seems to stand at two...Warren and Hank.

Int: Did Mr. Worthington visit the School during those last few years?

CS: This is all Mr. Worthington has to say.

[Shot of a middle-aged, paunchy, balding man with a permanent 5 o'clock shadow who is wearing a bright red sundress. He is sitting on a sofa in a clean, bright apartment decorated with an unusual array of items all bearing rainbows of various forms.]

[Caption: William Drake, San Francisco CA]

*in an odd twist of fate, in this universe, Bobby's homophobic father is a gay man.

WD: I didn't want him to go to that school. I wanted him to come here to live with me and Carmen. It would have been so much better for him. Different isn't bad here. He'd have been a hit at parties with powers like that. We would never have had to go out for ice.

[Shot of a middle-aged woman with big blue hair, wearing a bright blue suit. Her apartment is cold and gray and spare. There are plastic covers on the arms of the sofa on which she sits.]

[Madeline Drake, Perth Amboy NJ]

*the same cannot be said of his mother.

MD: Carmen? His name's Gilbert Weinstein and he used to be our plumber. I mean, our house was old and I knew it needed work, but I never suspected, not once. Not until I came home early from my sister's in Fort Lee and found them both wearing my old dresses in the guest bedroom. Naturally, I filed for divorce.

[Shot of W Drake]

WD: She took me to the cleaners. Got the house, got custody of Bobby and I didn't even get visitation rights. He had to sneak out of the house to call me.

[Shot of M Drake]

MD: What would you expect? The man was a prevert.

*Madeline sure talks a lot of shit. She sent their son to a cult-school that killed him.

[Shot of W Drake]

WD: Pervert? Hah! Carmen and I have a stronger relationship than I ever had with that spitting cobra. Fifteen years we've been together. We wanted Bobby to come out for a visit, but she wouldn't let him go.

[Shot of M Drake]

MD: He turned Bobby against me.

[Shot of W Drake]

WD: I turned Bobby against her? What about Laszlo, the only het hair stylist on Staten Island?

[Shot of M Drake]

MD: Robert never did get along with Laszlo. He used to make Laszlo upset with all those stupid jokes. Then he told all those lies about Laszlo. It was more than I could put up with.

*What

[Shot of W Drake]

WD: He used to phone me up, crying, saying he wanted to run away and come and live with me. In the end, I took her to court.

*Jesus fuck.

[Shot of M Drake]

MD: I tried to make a deal with Robert. I told him if he couldn't get along with Laszlo, he'd have to go to a boarding school.

Int: The School For Gifted Youngsters?

MD: Yes, I think that was the one I picked.

[Shot of W Drake]

WD: It took years in the courts and every cent I had. By the time that old Laz got arrested for indecency with a farm animal and things started to go my way, Bobby'd been at the school for two years.

*goddamn, nothing in bobby's life is going well, holy shit.

[Shot of M Drake]

MD: He was so happy at the school. He never would have run away if his father hadn't been pressuring him to leave.

[Shot of W Drake]

WD: He phoned me from the school. He sounded happy, just like he'd sound when his mother was listening in, before the divorce. That's how I knew he knew there was something wrong. When I got the news that he'd run away, I phoned the cops in Salem Centre. They had no leads and never did. I meant to do more to find him, but I just never got around to it. Something always came up, or I'd forget. Forget that I even had a son until the cobra phoned to crap on me for making her son run away. Thought I was going senile.

*The horrors of Xavier know no bounds.

Int: Your wife believes that he ran away, and that he's still lost.

WD: She still can't accept it. We both got the autopsy reports, and, even in that state, oh God, even in that state I could tell it was my only child.

[Shot of a man in a very cheap suit. He appears to have graduated from high school football to law enforcement a bit too quickly.]

[Caption: Detective Dwight Hammer, Westchester County Police]

DH: Robert Drake's body was one of the six we found in the lake. It'd been in there a good ten years at least. It was wrapped in a canvas tent and chains, then they weighted it down with concrete blocks. The divers missed it, and we only found it when we started dragging the lake.

Victim Numer One of The Lake: Robert Drake. More to come.

[Shot of W Drake]

WD: Would living with me have been as bad as that?

#marvel #xmen #fanfiction #annotated fanfiction #bobby drake #iceman #warren worthington iii #angel #candy southern #x men comics

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amityuniversitykolkata · 1 year

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Top M.A. English colleges in Kolkata to apply | Amity University Kolkata campus

At the master's level, the study of English and Literature is widely accepted around the world. One of the most popular programs that students like is this program. There are several factors behind this popularity, but the most common ones are better career opportunities, higher salaries, and better prospects for further education. Getting into the best M.A. English colleges in Kolkata, Amity University Kolkata Campus. Expand your career opportunities at an English college.

Benefits of studying MA English at his Amity Institute of English Studies and Research in Kolkata

1. To learn a language with confidence:

An MA in English is the ideal choice if you want to improve your language skills. You can get to know different aspects of the language such as grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary. This program also helps improve your writing skills.

2. A master's degree in English will also help strengthen your research skills. This is because reading and interpreting various texts is an important part of the course. Develop the ability to treat these books critically and extract important information from them. Industries that require research, such as academia, marketing, and journalism, will benefit from these talents.

3. Another advantage of an English master's degree is that it helps you learn about different cultures. This is because the curriculum covers a wide range of literature from different countries, eras and eras.

For this reason, we are one of the best M.A. English colleges in Kolkata.

Holistic development

The benefits of studying MA English are many. At Amity University Kolkata Campus, we aim to enhance your writing skills, improve your vocabulary and grammatical understanding, and develop your understanding of literature. You may have the opportunity to learn additional aspects of the English language and culture, such as media, popular culture and film.

M.A. English

Eligibility:

Non-Sponsored Category - B A (H) English (agg.50%) or Graduation with English (min 50%) & min 70% in English at 10+2 level

Visit our website to know more about Sponsored Category.

Duration: 2 Yr.(s)

1st Year Non-Sponsored Semester Fee (Rs. in Lacs) : 0.685

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Full Time PG courses

Doctor of Philosophy (English)

Doctor of Philosophy (English) - Part Time

M.A. (English)

Post-Doctoral (English)

Post-Doctoral (English) - Part Time

_____________________________________________________________________

At AU Kolkata here are the following M.Tech programs offered:

M.Tech (Computer Science & Engineering)

Eligibility

B.Tech. / MCA or M.Sc. in CS/IT/Phy/Math/Statistics

Duration 2 Years

Program Fee (Rs. in Lacs): 0.815

M.Tech (Electronics & Communication Engg.)

Eligibility

B. E./ B.Tech./AMIE (ECE) / M.Sc. (Electronics/Phy.)

Duration2 Years

Program Fee (Rs. in Lacs): 0.79

M.Tech (Mechanical Engineering)

Eligibility

B.Tech/B.E/AMIE(Mechanical/Automobile

Duration 2 Years

Program Fee): 0.79

Since we have a rising demand in queries about the engineering colleges in Kolkata, Kolkata colleges and universities, you can feel free to visit us at www.amity.edu/Kolkata

Furthermore, if you need more information on M.A. English colleges in Kolkata then read more at our official website. We are here to help. Also, contact us for personal support/advice.

Source :- https://sites.google.com/view/amitykolkatauni/home?authuser=1

#M.A. English colleges in Kolkata.

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nikarupel · 2 years

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Tardis wecker bedienungsanleitung

TARDIS WECKER BEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG >> DOWNLOAD LINK vk.cc/c7jKeU

TARDIS WECKER BEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG >> READ ONLINE bit.do/fSmfG

Uhr, Kalender, Wecker, Temperatur- und. Feuchtigkeitssensoren. 2 AAA-Batterien (nicht im. Lieferumfang enthalten). Lieferung in einer Eco-. Design-Box.Doctor Who Projizierender Wecker "Tardis" die Bedienungsanleitung war schwer verständlich, der Wecker funktionierte auch nur wenige Tage, Die TARDIS-Gebrauchsanleitung (im Original TARDIS Instruction Manual oder TARDIS Handbook) erklärt die Funktionsweise einer TARDIS. Die meisten Teile des Sets gehen in den Bau der TARDIS – der Zeitmaschine des Legendary Defender – wird in der verwiesen LEGO Set-Bedienungsanleitung, Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung Eine Tardis, drei Ideen: Verschenken Sie ein Miniaturmodell der. Zeitmaschine aus „Doctor Who“ an einen echten Fan. Hi, hab von ALDI letztes Jahr einen ASCOT Funkwecker gekauft. Kann mir mir jemand weiterhelfen und einen Tipp geben, wie ich dort die Weckzeit

https://semehonama.tumblr.com/post/693725480301543424/tomtom-start-20-bedienungsanleitung-gigaset, https://mokafohejar.tumblr.com/post/693725479712194560/metz-mecablitz-34-cs-2-digital-bedienungsanleitung, https://nikarupel.tumblr.com/post/693725662034493440/wae283v6-bedienungsanleitung-hp, https://nikarupel.tumblr.com/post/693725515638571008/varycontrol-handbuch-englisch, https://mokafohejar.tumblr.com/post/693725538048786432/siemens-ex875lyc1e-bedienungsanleitung.

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seriouslyhooked · 3 years

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The Bast Bad Idea (Part 2)

Part One Here. Story available on FF Here and AO3 Here.

A/N: Hello everyone! First and foremost, I want to start with a huge thank you to all of you who have reached out about this story. The response was so far beyond what I was expecting, but I am thrilled to know that all of you enjoy a CS Doctor AU as much as I do. As someone who grew up watching Grey’s Anatomy, it’s essentially engrained in my DNA to love a medical romance, and this story is one I have wanted to write for a long time. I’ve had more than a month away from writing thanks to my busy schedule, but finally my muse came to play and add a bit of fluff to this sweet short story. Chapter two picks up with a critical question – what was Dr. Jones going to propose to Dr. Swan…? Without further ado, here is our answer. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

“This might be presumptuous of me, love, but I find I’m helpless to resist. I was wondering – that is, I was hoping that perhaps, you and I, we could…”

His eyes strayed down to her lips, and Emma wet them absentmindedly. She heard a low growl, and realized it was coming from Killian. She shifted in her seat, turned on in a way she had never been before. Instinctively she moved closer, sensing the sinfully sweet current between them, like lightning just before it cracked across a summer sky. The instant attraction was breathtaking. It felt almost out of time and space.

“We could…” she continued, nudging him along and hoping he would elaborate. She wanted so badly for him to say aloud what she herself was wishing for.

Yet where Emma expected words, she was instead met with action, tantalizing and surprising, but inspiring something in her she never expected. Before she knew it, Emma was in Killian’s arms, aching for this moment, kissing him and knowing she was positively senseless. All that existed was this kiss, this touch. It was electrifying and invigorating, a blaze rushing through her blood stream that emboldened a part of her she’d always held back. Desire. That was what this was, and it was luscious and intoxicating.

Following his lead, Emma broke away from the kiss only to gasp for air as he crowded her body against the wall. The hardness of the cement blocks behind her, coupled with the heat and definition of Dr. Killian Jones was too much to handle. She arched into him, striving for contact, and reveling in the feel of his skin on hers. The only problem was these damn clothes between them. Never in her life had she been irritated at this doctor’s coat she’d worked so hard to earn. For years she studied and poured everything she was into medicine, all for the authority this coat portrayed, but she practically purred when Killian stripped hers off and tossed it to the ground. Pushing his off of his body in return made her mind race. The muscles of his chest and arms were driving her to distraction. Then they flexed, and she swallowed harshly, earning a deep, decadent chuckle from this man who drove her crazy.

“See something you like, Swan?”

God that cockiness. They’d never had any kind of real conversation before now, but the way he smiled spoke volumes. His air and his persona were dripping in assuredness. Emma used to think that she hated so much confidence, but when it came to Killian, she craved it something fierce. It was somewhat infuriating, the way his eyes shone with mischief and conceit, but it was also hotter than anything she’d ever known. Still, part of her would rather die than admit that aloud. She had her pride, no matter how wrapped up in this moment she may be.

“It’s hard to say,” she replied, her voice sounding out with a shredded silkiness that she’d never heard before. “I haven’t seen much of anything yet.”

“My apologies, love. Allow me to rectify the situation.”

Emma watched as this ridiculously attractive man purposefully teased her. With deft fingers he reached for the base of his scrub top, inching the material higher up his body. The trail of dark hair he revealed was evocative, but it held no candle the shape and tone of those abs underneath. Sweet Jesus, were those real? Emma bit back a groan at the sight, her lip pressed tight between her teeth. It took everything in her to keep her hands from reaching for him. She lay them flat on the wall behind her at her sides instead, but they balled into fists unconsciously as Killian eventually tossed the shirt away.

His black hair was mussed now, both from removing the scrubs with that always-present swagger, and from her fingers having run through it during their never-ending kisses. His eyes were dark navy blue, but still they shone with hunger and delight. His grin was a mix of charming and predatory, but instead of inciting a fight or flight response, Emma only wanted to surrender. This was a man who knew he was in complete control. He had hooked her, totally and beyond any shadow of doubt, and all she wanted was for him to have his way with her.

The curses he whispered while helping her shed her own scrubs were like prayers on high, a sweet song to her ears that only added to his allure. Killian’s eyes never strayed from her, but his reactions were so open and transparent. He hid nothing, allowing her a glimpse to the world inside, and it caused the power between them to shift. If Emma was being hunted, then she was also hunting in return, and Killian seemed ready to be caught.

“Emma, I -,”

His voice faded out, and she struggled to hear him. Instead, there was a blaring alarm. Was this a fire drill? Why had the light in the room gone hazy? Still, Emma heard herself whisper his name.

“Killian?”

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

The screech of the sharp, incessant chiming by her ears wrenched Emma’s eyes open, and immediately she groaned in disappointment. All of that – every exquisite moment – was a dream. Ugh, of course it was! Because this was her life now: fantasizing about a hot trauma surgeon ceaselessly and wishing that her memories of him were more than mere imagination.

“Damn it,” she muttered aloud, covering her eyes with her hand in frustration. With her vision blocked, Emma was more aware of the feeling that her body was wrapped up in her sheets. She’d obviously been tossing and turning through the night, restless in ways she rarely was before seeing Doctor Jones. These freaking dreams just felt so real, and they’d only gotten worse since officially meeting him.

That was three days ago now, but things had been chaotic in the meantime. The level four trauma that came in when they’d been formally introduced totally swamped the ER. Emma was called down for consult on multiple patients, needing to give life and death assessments and treatment plans for half a dozen people. While down there, Emma had the chance to see David and Killian in action. She was struck, even in the grips of adrenaline, by their cohesion and capability. They were cool and collected, battling odds that were dire to say the least, but they prevailed. Emma had worked for years to hone her craft, to heighten her skills, and to meet the moments of medicine that her work provided. But the energy in the ER had shifted, and she felt her own abilities elevated by the camaraderie and collectiveness of everyone in the hospital.

That shared experience only lasted a short while, for after initial inspections and emergency consults, Emma was quickly rerouted to the surgical wing. For 16 hours straight she worked to save the lives of four people, and through something that felt like magic, or maybe divine intervention, she was successful each and every time. That good fortune held, not only for her, but for all of her colleagues as well. The hospital had managed something next to impossible – they had saved every victim of the horrible accident, but the work had been backbreaking. When she’d finally scrubbed out of her last procedure, Emma admitted defeat, heading home and sleeping for twelve straight hours.

Her next shift was markedly slower, and Emma had the chance to see the progress of her post-op patients, and to connect with the others in her unit. It was critically important that the doctors, nurses, admins, tech teams, and other staff were all feeling strong and secure. Patients needed everyone working as a collective whole, and Emma took it upon herself to monitor that. It was unusual for a Doctor, especially one who wasn’t overseeing daily operations, but it mattered to Emma. Saving lives took so much more than her medical degree and steady hands. She needed each and every person in the cardiac wing to be successful, and she valued every one of them for what they brought to the team.

Unfortunately, while Emma’s day was slower and steadier, there was also a favorite element now lacking. She wasn’t too proud to admit that she’d willingly joined Ruby on the daily trip to the coffee cart. Actually, she’d been the one to page Ruby this time, earning more than a bit of teasing from her best friend, but Killian and David never showed. Only later, when Emma was at the tail end of her workday and helping with a consult in the ER, did she learn why.

“He was here for sixty-eight straight hours,” David said bluntly, after having confirmed his diagnosis for a patient presenting with a blood circulation issue.

“I’m sorry?” Emma asked, confused for a moment at David’s turn of topic.

“Killian,” David said, prompting Emma’s face to heat. Here she was, hoping it wasn’t totally obvious that she was looking for a man she hardly knew beyond imaginings, but David had seen through her in a matter of moments.

“Oh, um – that’s, well that’s… crazy. Sixty-eight hours?” That beat even her record, and she’d been called a workaholic on more than one occasion.

“Mhmm. We were on the end of a twelve-hour shift when the call came in and he stayed, until every last patient in the trauma department was seen and attended to. I left for eight hours and was dead to the world the entire time. Still felt laggy when coming back. Meanwhile, he caught maybe four hours sleep total interspersed between rounds, crashing in on call rooms. You’d never know though. He was totally unfazed. Brilliant as ever. It was like being back in the field again.”

“Seriously?” Emma asked, amazed at that. She was no stranger to long shifts, but to work that hard for that long was a herculean feat. Somehow, though, she wasn’t surprised to hear Killian had pulled it off.

“Yup. I had to force him to go back to his hotel. Actually, Regina had to. I tried, but until the Chief said something, he wouldn’t budge. She had to spew all sorts of protocol and legal jargon at him to get him to go. Even then, I could tell he was debating whether to stay or not.”

“He has a real connection with his patients,” Emma commented, vocalizing a fact she’d ascertained by watching him in action. Killian cared deeply, and while his main job may be all about stemming the flow of crisis, and bouncing around from one case to the next just to keep people holding on, he kept track of all those he helped, and invested in each patient no matter what.

“Maybe. I think it had more to do with the fact that it was only eight am and you wouldn’t be at the coffee stand yet.”

Before Emma could respond, David was paged for something else. He’d left her with a polite goodbye, but also a knowing smile. Another time, Emma might have tried to fake that she wasn’t interested or deny that there was something between her and Killian, but instead she was too busy fixating on what she’d just heard. Emma carried David’s assessment around with her for the rest of the day, well after leaving the hospital and heading home. She spent the night wondering if what David said was true. Was Killian as interested in her as she was in him?

“This might be presumptuous of me, love, but I find I’m helpless to resist. I was wondering – that is, I was hoping that perhaps, you and I, we could…”

“We could what?” she whispered, getting out of her car, heading inside to her next shift. “What was he going to ask me?”

“Did you say something, Emma?”

Emma jumped at the unexpected question, senses on high alert as she stood before the elevator in the parking garage. When she found Mary Margaret only a few feet from her, and clearly the orator of the previous question, Emma relaxed slightly. She tried her best not to show her embarrassment, but it was difficult. Now she was talking to herself? Jeez, she was truly losing it at this point.

“Oh, uh, nothing. How are you today?” she asked her friend. Mary Margaret smiled widely. Her excitement was palpable, filling up the elevator car as the two of them stepped inside.

“I’m great! Just eager to get to work.”

“Any interesting cases on the schedule?”

“Oh, uh, sure, there’s a few, I guess. Well really most of my day is going to be in consult with the Chief’s office.”

“Wait a second, you have to spend a prolonged period of time with the Evil Queen and you are smiling? Who are you and what have you done with Mary Margaret?” Her friend now looked flustered, clearly trying to grasp at an explanation and then it dawned on Emma. “This is about David isn’t it?”

“David?” Mary Margaret asked, her pitch higher than it had been just moments ago. Emma laughed at her friend’s terrible play acting. Trying to pretend that this wasn’t about David Nolan was a lost cause. Eventually Mary Margaret realized that, and she sighed, releasing the tension in her shoulders as she exhaled. “Okay, yes, I am seeing Dr. Nolan today.”

“Let me guess, he’s also going to be at the admin meetings.”

“They’re about coordinating long term therapies better with our emergency protocols and treatments. So yes, the head of the ER is likely to make an appearance.”

“I see,” Emma said, biting back a smirk so as not to make Mary Margaret too uncomfortable. In the end though her curiosity won out, and she had to ask. “So, any movement there?”

“Movement?”

“Has he asked you out yet?”

“Not exactly.” Emma waited for her friend to explain herself. Mary Margaret held off for a few seconds before blurting out the truth. “I actually asked him.”

“Really?” Emma was shocked. Not because she thought any less of Mary Margaret. In fact, quite the opposite. She was proud of Mary Margaret for going for what she wanted. She just had never ever seen Mary Margaret step outside of a comfort zone like that, and certainly not with a hospital colleague. “Good for you. And he obviously said yes.”

“Why is it obvious?” Emma rolled her eyes, but in a teasing way.

“Come on, you know you two were making heart eyes at each other the other day. There was a definite spark. We all saw it.”

“I’m honestly surprised you noticed since you had your own, what did you just call them? ‘Heart eyes’? Well, you definitely had heart eyes for a certain trauma surgeon.”

Now it was Emma’s turn to blush, and what perfect timing, because the elevator doors had just opened to the lobby. They exited the quiet of the elevator to a hustle and bustle found only at a top tier hospital. It felt like a swarm of people, buzzing every which way, on their own individual paths.

“David and I going to dinner tomorrow,” Mary Margaret said quietly, looking around and finding no eavesdropping colleagues. When the coast was clear, she smiled, looking back at Emma with excitement all over her face. “That’s all I know though. I may have asked him out, but he made it very clear he had plans for how our first date was going to be.”

“I have a good feeling about this guy,” Emma said, referring to David. She had known Mary Margaret for a long time, and she knew how much her friend wished for a real and solid love in her life. Few people desired and deserved that kind of connection like Mary Margaret, and for Emma, there was a real satisfaction in seeing her friend’s instant connection with a stand-up man. Based on past experience, there weren’t too many of those to go around.

“Which one?” Mary Margaret asked. Emma stammered something non-committal out, causing her friend to laugh once more. “And that right there is all the answer I need. See you later, Emma. Oh, and when you see Killian again, just go for it. Believe me, it’s so much better than waiting and wondering.”

With that, Mary Margaret headed towards the wing of the hospital where the Chief and her admins worked. At the same time, Emma turned her attention to the cardiac unit. She had a ways to go to get there, but while still in the main entrance of the hospital she was stopped short by a gruff, and somewhat uncertain voice.

“Excuse me, Doctor Swan?”

“Yes?” Emma replied, looking to the young man who approached her. Taking in his features, she realized she knew him peripherally. He was one of the new interns cycling through the hospital this year, but he hadn’t worked in the cardio wing or in a surgical capacity. Taking in his lanyard, which bore his ID card over plain clothes, she saw he was an ER intern. Interesting. “Can I help you?”

“This is for you.” The young man offered her a paper box. Emma accepted, thoroughly confused before the intern elaborated. “Curtesy of Doctor Jones.”

“Oh,” Emma said, suddenly incredibly interested. Unable to resist, she opened the box. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but what she found made her smile widely. “These are flowers. Paper flowers.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m not entirely sure of the significance, but Doctor Jones told me there is a note inside as well. He wanted me to be sure to mention that.”

Emma was more than excited to read what this astonishing man would write to her, but something the intern said reminded her of the awkwardness of this situation. Had Killian used his authority over the interns to have this delivered? It wasn’t a crazy assumption. Many of the residents and attendings here saw interns as the low rungs on the ladder. They were meant to be learning and training, but often they were sent on coffee runs and foolish errands. Emma never believed in that though. She found it unkind and unnecessary.

“To be honest, it was hard to convince Doctor Jones to let me bring these,” the intern said, perplexing Emma further while eerily reading her mind. “I had to offer about a half dozen times. My shift was ending, you see, and I’ve been looking for a way to thank Doctor Jones since he got here. You know he created extra hours in the ER skills lab? He’s working with first years too. We get very little access usually, because the third years are prepping for exams and stuff, but he convinced Doctor Nolan to extend the hours. He’s even hosting classes himself. Cool right?”

“Very cool,” Emma said with a nod, and another smile. She breathed out a sigh of relief, genuinely happy to realize this man she’d been thinking of was good to others. It also made accepting this thoughtful gift so much easier.

From there, Caleb said goodbye, heading out for whatever interns did with down time these days. Oh, who was she kidding? Sleeping. That’s what she’d done, and no doubt that was what all interns still wanted most of all. Emma though, felt more awake now than she had in a long while. She found a quiet corner in one of the corridors leading to the cardio unit and took a seat, opening the box away from prying eyes.

Inside the box there were six different types of what looked like origami flowers. They were beautiful and delicate, and she wondered where he could have bought them. Only when she opened the note did she realize the truth.

Emma,

As you know, I’ve been away for quite a while, out in the field in a completely different world. In the desert there’s not really that much to do, except survive and keep as many of your people as well as you can. The downtime is long and hot and quiet. I picked up these tricks from a fellow soldier. It kept my hands at the ready and my mind clear, and there’s an honest beauty in them that reminds me of you.

Truth be told, there’s a flower for each time I’ve tried to catch you at the coffee cart since our meeting. Clearly my missions have been unsuccessful, so this calls for a change in tactics…

Emma smiled at the thoughtfulness and felt the pull of butterflies low in her chest. He thought she was beautiful, and he said it without fear. Had a man ever said so much? Had it ever mattered? Certainly not like it did now. Reading on, Emma laughed at the lightheartedness of the note and the bit of cheeky humor that accompanied it. His easygoing candor and transparency enchanted her, drawing her in even more than she already was. Then she memorized the time and place he suggested that they meet at the bottom of the page, knowing nothing and no one was going to keep her from this meeting.

Only after reading through his handwritten thoughts three or four times did she realize an added layer of perfection: these flowers weren’t just handmade and crafted with intention. They were also safe for her to take with her to her ward of the hospital. Being in and out of the ICU and cardiac units, Emma couldn’t bring real flowers into her offices without putting some patients at risk, but she could have these. From within the box she selected a bright yellow blossom, beautiful and intricate and folded to perfection. Wordlessly she tucked it away in her pocket. The others were deposited for safe keeping in her office as soon as she arrived back in the East Wing, and displayed on her windowsill, brightening the space.

The hours between the start of her shift and the time she was meant to meet Killian passed by slowly. Her rounds usually distracted her, but not today. While she still gave all due attention to her patients, Emma had that sense in the back of her mind that this afternoon would bring so much more to the forefront. The promise of seeing him again kept her heart pattering faster than it should be, and by the time the clock was minutes from their meeting, she was positively bursting with anticipation.

“Okay, usually I would give you a hard time and pretend to tag along, but even I can’t mess with a smile like that.” Ruby’s words snapped Emma’s focus back to the hallway where she was standing, pretending to read a chart. As she looked to her friend, however, she would never be able to recall what was on the screen in front of her. Ruby grinned when their eyes met. “He gave you the flowers, didn’t he?”

“You knew?” Emma asked and Ruby nodded.

“Yup. Ran into him at the cart a couple of times. He was really starting to piss off the kiosk guy with all his loitering. Had to give him a hundred dollars just to shut him up.”

“He didn’t!”

“No, I wouldn’t let him. I told Boris to shut it unless he wanted a hospital wide nurses strike. Guy knows better than to cross me. He just acts tough for clout.” Emma laughed, knowing her friend truly ran this place in most ways. But then the apprehension of the moment caught up to her again, and Emma’s brow furrowed in worry. “Oh no you don’t. No doubting this, Ems. I’ve vetted this guy. Run all the background, checked all the sources. He’s a good one, a one in a million, needle in a haystack, diamond in the rough kind of man. And, to top it all off, he’s crazy about you.”

“You think?” Emma asked and Ruby nodded.

“I know, but that’s all I’m saying. Let Killian speak for himself, okay? And, even though it’s hard, try and trust this.”

“I think I already do,” Emma whispered. “Trust him, I mean. But that’s crazy, right?”

“Love tends to be that way.”

“Ruby.”

“Emma,” her friend parroted, taking her hand and squeezing gently. “Just go for it. Go for it and see for yourself.”

With a nod, and the validation that she needed to hear from a trusted friend, Emma headed off. It felt natural and expected to make her way towards the center of the hospital once more. This time though, she passed the coffee cart, with only a fleeting glance. Killian wasn’t meeting her there today. In fact, she wasn’t entirely sure where they were meeting. She followed the directions he’d given her, up a few more flights of stairs and through the wing with pediatric patients and newborns. She had been here many times before, for consults and comfort. It was a draw here in the hospital – the cuteness of babies just starting their journeys in the new world. Emma looked at them today, noticing the vibrancy inside the nursery, but didn’t linger. Instead, she followed the last of the route that Killian had given her and ended up somewhere she’d never been before. A place that must have just finished being renovated.

“Wow,” Emma whispered, walking into the sunlight on the open terrace.

With the glass surroundings and the plant life everywhere, this place was beautiful. There were pergolas and hanging vines, topiaries and flowering plants, daffodils and tulips, all breathing in the spring. It felt like a park, floating in the air, with the sounds of the city barely audible below. Emma could imagine the kids and the families who would come here someday. She hoped it would be a space for them to find some peace and happiness while staying in this unfamiliar and often stressful place. Hospitals were rarely any fun for patients, necessary as they may be, but this space was beautiful enough to distract from that.

“You made it, love.” The deep rumble of that familiar voice sent a shiver through Emma’s whole body. She cast a glance over her shoulder, finding Killian, leaning against the stone façade of the building behind them. In his hands were two coffees, and as he moved towards her, he offered her one with a boyish smile. “This is for you. Didn’t want you missing a routine caffeine fix for my sake.”

“Thank you,” Emma said automatically, feeling his fingers brush across hers, sending a zing of awareness through her. Her eyes flashed up to his, and she knew he felt it too. Suddenly she had no want or need for this coffee. She cleared her throat slightly before continuing on. “Where exactly are we? And how, might I ask, does the new guy know about it before I do?”

“It’s the Hubbard Family Wellness Gardens, gifted by one of the hospital’s most loyal benefactors” he said, full of knowledge. Emma was shocked that he actually knew what this place would be but then he smiled, gesturing to the plaque bearing that information. She bit back a laugh. “And as for how I found it, that’s easy. I never leave well enough alone, and I’m curious by nature. I’ve been nearly everywhere in the hospital now, but this place seemed the best for what comes next.”

“What comes next?” Emma asked, her voice hitching up as she repeated the words.

“Aye,” Killian murmured, his tone dipping sensually low. She swallowed harshly as he entered into her space, and he tracked the motion. She felt the heat of his closeness, and caught his scent in the air, clean, and male, and with a hint of spice.

“I’m afraid I didn’t think this through,” he said, close enough to kiss her. God, how she wished he would kiss her. Emma vocalized her first thought.

“Really? I did. Like a lot.”

His smirk told her she’d said that aloud even though she never meant to, but before she could react, he took hold of her cup once more.

“I meant these,” he gestured to the coffee in her hand. Oh, right. “May I, love?”

Emma nodded, and shakily let go of the cup she forgot she was holding. With deft hands, Killian placed their drinks back on a table beside them with far more poise than she could muster at the moment. When that was done, he stepped towards her again, looking at her with a glint in his blue eyes that made her heart skip. His hands came to her body, one to her hip, the other to cup her cheek. The rightness washed over her, and so did the realization that none of her dreams could actually prepare her for real intimacy with Killian Jones.

“Last time we spoke I intended to ask you something. Do you remember?”

“Yes, I remember,” she whispered, her voice hoarse from wanting this so badly. Without thinking, she wet her lips, and he caught the action, letting out a groan that mixed pain with passion and pleasure. Then he cursed, a totally British ‘bloody hell’ falling past his lips before dipping his mouth to hers and giving them both a taste of temptation.

The kiss was… beyond incredible, but Emma was so deep in it she had no ability to comprehend anything at all. She was consumed with the moment, arching against Killian, feeling the silky strands of his dark hair and the scruff of his beard. His kiss was assured and passionate, dominant and indulgent all at once. She succumbed to the sensations, and let the rightness surge within her, not caring at all that they were outside or at work or that they’d just met. Instinct took over, and her gut, which Emma had always trusted, was telling her that this man was even more than she imagined, and someone she should choose to let in.

Pulling back from the kiss, Emma and Killian stayed close, and Emma took stock of all the places they were touching. His hold on her was firm but caring, like she was precious, and he wouldn’t let her slip away. In his eyes she saw so much emotion, and again she was struck by his transparency and trust. He wasn’t shying away from her or the moment. He was in the depths of desire with her, and their kiss, that perfect, sexy as all hell kiss, had left him tongue tied. The quiet wasn’t awkward, but assuring, and Emma felt secure here, safe even, while also being filled with more unknown wonder than she’d ever been before. Like someone at the start of a glorious adventure, she took a next step born of passion and hope.

“I’m off at six tonight… so, you want to pick me up at seven thirty?” she asked, referencing a date he hadn’t actually asked her out on. She feigned ignorance even though she could read him like a book. “Unless you were going to ask me something else…”

His hold on her tightened, and he shook his head immediately. She was right. He wanted a date – and she saw no reason to wait when she wanted one just as badly. She grinned at him, loving how the tables had turned. This time he swallowed harshly, and she was oh so tempted to kiss him again and see if he’d stay shy or rise to her challenge.

“It’s a date, Swan,” he said dazedly.

Emma hummed out her agreement, going in for one last fleeting kiss. But where she meant to only tease, he took the reins again, kissing her senseless and leaving her breathless when they finally broke apart. Only when her pager beeped with an incoming call did they end their inevitable interlude, and as they did, Emma felt a pang of longing, wishing this moment could last so much longer than this.

“Tonight, love,” he whispered, running his thumb against her lips. “Far away as it may seem, I promise the wait will be worth it.”

“Good,” she replied, nipping his thumb ever so softly, and bringing the fire back in his eyes, before taking a step back. And with that, and just enough presence of mind to grab her coffee, Emma headed off, back through the hospital to the work that awaited her, knowing she could and would get through anything today for the promise of tonight.

Post-Note: Ah!! Finally!! I got the words on the page!! I did the thing!! I wrote the story!! And honestly, it’s such a relief. It felt, at some points, like I may never get this chapter written, but finally today it came. I know many of you were waiting, and I cherished every comment and review and message along the way. I hope all of you who wrote me, and those who read along with chapter one, all enjoy this installation. I write these stories for me and to brighten my world ever so slightly, but also in the hopes that they’ll spark joy for others too. In a time like this, a little joy goes an awful long way. Anyway, thank you all for reading, sending you the best, and hope you’ll join me next time for the final chapter of this CS AU! xE

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