every gvf tiktok video i've come across since the pic of danny dropped has been them bashing the chop. like girly pops it might not be your taste but you don't have to make a whole video about it where you and the majority of commenters are talking shit

you having a wolfcut

a/n: I actually wrote this on my notes app I just copy pasted it lol. hope ya enjoy !!

Bang Chan ~

I see Chan as a person who's very open minded so when he sees you have a wolfcut he thinks it's pretty fucking lit. He will always compliment you and run his hands through your hair occasionally. If you have a tomboyish style, even better. Practically drools over you if you bleach it lol 😂.

Lee Know ~

Depending on his reaction to Hyunjin cutting his hair I don't think he'll think much off it. If you like it, he likes it. He doesn't really care, in his eyes you look beautiful in anything. You could be bald and he'd still think your the most beautiful girl in the world 😭😭.

Changbin ~

Error 101. He didn't recognize you AT ALL. He was like “who are you? what have you done with my girlfriend?” ofc it was a joke he really loves your hair don't worry. His flirting increases a lot. He'll say something like “are you a snack? Cause id totally eat you 😉” And your just like 🧍‍♀️

Hyunjin ~

WE CAN BE MATCHING, WE CAN BE- That was literally his first thought. You got a wolfcut similar to his in Noeasy era so he was overjoyed. He jumped up and down and he kept shooting you compliments which made you blush ofc~~ And if you dye it a color? He's head over heels in love with you. Let's you use his shampoo and conditioner and if your hair starts growing back, he's sulky but that's it.

HAN ~

He was not fazed 😭 He was like "Oh cool, you look hot babe.” You think he'd let you go to work in the morning without fucking you into the mattress? No. He honestly thinks you look hot. Takes pictures of you and "shows you off" on Instagram and public. Gate keeps some pictures because he doesn't want anyone to steal you from him. "Don't grow your hair back." Grow it back.

Felix ~

Head over heels in love with you. Would not leave your hair alone like 🧍‍♀️Constantly wants to do hairstyles for you even though you can't do much with it. Tries braiding it anD FAILS. Console him 😞🤚. Overall, he just really loves your hair and probably wants to match with you 🤭.

Seungmin ~

Again, didn't think much of it. He thinks you look cute and more like a kid now that you have shorter hair. He probably won't show it but secretly he thinks you look beautiful with your new hair, and you know it. There times when you know he like it and you can tell by his smile. You often tease him and he always denies but you know you know 😌.

I.N ~

MY BOY ALMOST CRIED OF PURE HAPPINESS 💀 You know how he's a huge fan of Hyunjin's long hair? Similar with you but he likes your wolfcut more because he can tease you and tell you that you look like Hyunjin Hyung 🤭🤭. He too had long hair during this time (blonde hair jeongin during World Tour 2022) so he was overjoyed because you guys matched, and to make it better you bleached it blonde 😍.

Beautiful Spouse’s Rewatch Thoughts SPN 05x06

I Believe the Children Are Our Future

“I don’t think Sorry is going to cut it, Sam.”

“This time with more feeling!” “Why would you sit so close to that CRT TV? They hurt to look at for too long that close up” “Maybe that’s why I hated TV so much as a kid - all the flickering. I can’t handle that shit” “Is he going to offer to fall asleep if he touches her boob too?” “Oh there it goes” “The Ole P&P ids”

Pointed out that Robert Plant was in Led Zeppelin, and they always use classic rock dudes

“we had server issues. I suppose back then people would have bought it” “They have BLACK light switches. Who the fuck has BLACK light switches? Only psychopaths and murderers have those, especially with the brass accents.” “what the fuck” “probably smells pretty good. Thats a big hunk of meat” “hell yeah brother” “eating on TV again” “It probably isn’t cooked all the way through but appears to be cooked all the way through and very delicious” explaining the white tiger t-shirt

Wheezing about the kissing vampire movies

“So ADAPT AND GROW, man. Sell your shit online” “So she put it under dad’s pillow? Why not put it in the guest room or somewhere else? Now she’s going to live with whatever about her dad forever” “A 350lb tooth fairy, but he looked more 260” “huh I was going to say Dean too” “hell yeah. Still eating ham” “And it’s ALL gone. He ate a whole ass ham, dude. That’s the implication at least” “that’s fucked” “uh huh” Dean made your dinners, Sam

“Could have had another ham” “He must have paid attention in the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry” “Boy Scout” “How do you know about demons?” “demon baby” “how come we never see that happen any other time?” “Gonna call Bobby? Nope” “His character does that so well. So flat faced yet embarassed” “Why does he always have a giant 5’oclock shadow?” “bald eagles and American flags” “Wow. That door is shit, and she’s locking it 1000000x times” “Can I buy a Castiel action figure just like that?” “creepy” “nice” “oh that was easy”

“I suppose they said he’s more powerful than your average demon” “fuck spiral notebooks” “but then you wouldn’t be a badass demon hunter.” “That ended abruptly”

Makeout Mountain ~ KTH [Request]

↱↱↱Word Count: 3.2K

↱↱↱Genre: Fluffy

↱↱↱Pairing: Kim Taehyung x reader

↱↱↱A/N: Just as a TW there are no mentions of actual abuse within this fic as it would make me too uncomfortable to write but it is brushed upon and spoken about/referenced.

The sun was practically melting your skin off your body as you walked in the direction of your local cafe, you were running late for work and you didn't want to give your boss more of a reason to hate you in the mornings. Though she was only at your building for a week she was your CEO and made your life a living hell whenever she was around. Searching through your bag you fished out your purse from the bottom only spilling the contents of everything else out onto the floor, 

"Oh fuck," You grumbled bending down and picking up your car keys, first aid kit which you carried everywhere and then your purse but as you went to grab the black leather purse another hand reached out for it. Whoever's hand it belonged to had really nice hands, and he was wearing a small ring on his right pinky making you recognise it instantly.

"Tae?" You whispered eyes slowly moving up from his hand to his arm and finally landing on his eyes, those beautiful doe-like eyes that sent shivers through your body and could see straight to your soul.

"Y/n?" He was shocked to see that it was you he was helping out, you packed everything back into your handbag and he held out his hand to help you to your feet. He'd grown a lot since the last time you saw him seven years ago and you knew that he was this big star now. He smiled when he caught you staring for too long and you coughed to clear your throat and look away, 

"It's good to see you," He stuck out his hand for you to shake as if you hadn't been best friends for years until seven years ago. 

"It's good to see you too Tae, how are you?" You wrapped your arms around his neck and he was stunned at first, the Y/n he used to know hated all kinds of physical contact but he wasn't going to deny hugging his high school crush. His arms snaked around your waist and up your back pulling you close as he felt your heart rapidly beating against his chest,

"I've been good, how are you? You seem-"

"Happier?" You giggled cutting him off and nodding along with him. You were, you were a lot happier now that everything in your life had changed for the better.

"We should-" He was cut short when your phone started ringing loudly,

"Shit." You grunted noticing your bosses caller ID coming onto the screen, 

"I have to go I'm late, we should meet up for a coffee sometime...you know if you're allowed?" He didn't care if he wasn't allowed he wanted to spend more time with you, get to know the you that you were now.

"Sure! Erm, here." He took your phone declining the call and adding his number into the dialling pad and ringing himself so he would have your number as well. 

"Call me when you're free and we'll figure something out." He told you as you started taking off in the other direction to him, waving goodbye and sprinting in the direction of your office building.

"You're late!" You boss yelled as you ran into the building dripping in sweat but only making it by being two minutes late, you knew there was nothing you could say to make her like you so you stayed silent and headed over to your desk to start on your day. Four more days of dealing with her and she would go back to her main office in Busan and you could go back to running your company in the way you and your employees liked.

"You have a meeting with Lee-Hi this morning and this afternoon you have a meeting with Miss Sana in there and then that's all." You assistant spoke but you weren't listening, you were too busy staring at the name that Taehyung had saved him. It was what you used to call him back in High School, 

"WinterBear" 

You only called him it a couple of times whenever he would sneak in your house to see you or sneak you out but you were happy he remembered it like you did. You could still remember the last time he snuck you out of the house, it was almost as though it was still fresh in your memory though it was almost 7 years ago when he'd just turned 16 and made plans to become famous. 

A plate crashed against the wall downstairs and you pulled the pillow over your head tighter not wanting to hear the yelling and smashing of items. Every sound made you flinch and every yell made you want to sink deeper into the mattress until it was like the scene from Nightmare on Elm Street,

"Y/n!" You frowned hearing your name being whispered, you pulled off the pillow looking around your room to see Taehyung sitting on the small roof below your window. 

"Tae?!" You whispered back quietly getting off the bed and making your way over to him, you unlocked the window and he smiled at you. He wasn't going to tell you that he could hear what was happening inside the house, he was just going to get you out as quickly as he could. 

"Is your door locked?" You nodded, the door was always locked whenever the fighting started and he knew that very well from all the previous times he'd come by to see you.

"Come on," You unlocked the window and slipped out of it, Taehyung took your hand in his so you wouldn't slip and he started walking you across the roof and towards his when you flinched hearing the sound of glass breaking. 

"Keep walking." He whispered to you and you followed his orders, walking along the flat vinyl roofing until you reached the small gap that connected your small roof with his. 

"Go on," He urged and you leant across shifting yourself over and waiting for him.

"What are we doing?" You questioned but he held his finger up to his lips pointing at his grandparent's open window and then gestured over to the ladder at the side of the roof that was waiting for you.

"I'm kidnapping you for the night," He chuckled pulling a set of car keys from his pocket and waving them in front of your face and pointing at the black car he'd gotten for his 16th birthday, 

"Tae you haven't even passed yet." You warned, you knew he was an excellent driver but he still wasn't legally allowed to drive, 

"Shut up and get in, it's a kidnapping." You shook your head at him but followed his orders and got into the passenger side door and waited for him. 

"So where are you taking me?" He turned on the engine and turned his head to look at you, 

"That's a secret, here you'll need this." He threw one of his old school hoodies at you and let you slip it over your PJ's before driving off in the middle of the night.

"Y/n? Are you listening?" You were pulled from your daydream and nodded at your assistant who went back to telling you about the meetings ahead for the day. You bit down on your lip debating texting him right now and escaping for the rest of the week but you didn't even have a spare minute with the CEO breathing down your neck and your meetings. 

I'm free Friday Winterbear x 

Taehyung's heart picked up as soon as he saw your name pop up on the screen, it made his heart leap as he saw that you were free soon. He really wanted to catch up with you after not seeing you for seven years, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about you since he got to the BigHit building. The boys could tell there was something making their friend extra happy by the way he was smiling and laughing a lot more, and the way he was smiling down at his phone with his nose scrunched up.

I'll text you with details later! x 

He'd debated adding that he'd missed you but he figured he could tell you that when he saw you next.

The past four days had seemed to drag on as long as they could and you hadn't decided if it was because your boss was finally leaving or that you were finally going to spend more time with Taehyung but the day was finally there. You were finally waiting outside the cafe you'd bumped into Taehyung in front of and you were nervous, for some reason your heart was pounding about meeting him and your hands were sweating the more you thought about him being there with you. 

"Are you Y/n?" You looked up from the floor to see a small bald man in a black suit carrying a silver briefcase, you nodded slowly unsure if you wanted to tell a stranger your identity - especially someone who looked like they worked for the FBI or the Men In Black. 

"Winterbear said to tell you he's right around the corner," 

"Oh! Thank you!" You smiled watching him walk away and making sure he wasn't going to turn around and follow you. You started walking in the direction he'd gestured too and found Taehyung leaning against the same black car he'd had since he was 16. He was dressed in black jeans, with a white shirt and black leather jacket the whole outfit coming together with his black sunglasses.

"She still runs?!" You asked in shock making him smile with his bright smile that managed to make you smile no matter what, 

"She does!" He tapped the door affectionately, 

"I thought she would have died out by now." You laughed running your hand along the black bonnet. 

"Don't listen to her Priscilla," Taehyung whispered opening the door and getting into the driver's seat, 

"Get in then." You slid into your seat and took the sunglasses he was handing out for you, 

"Where are you taking me this time?" He smiled turning on the engine and revving it a little.

"Secret."

"Taehyung this is-" You were speechless as you looked down at Seoul from the mountain he'd taken you up. It was a long drive filled with catching up on everything that Taehyung had been doing while you avoided all his questions on you. The road leading up the mountain was nothing but curves and hills until you reached the top which was like a giant car park surrounded by trees and to the left a huge waterfall going down to the bottom. 

"It's a secret place, only street racers and people who want to get away for a while know about it," You smiled as you stared at the view, it was insanely beautiful, 

"It's so pretty Tae." He stared at you thinking the same thing about you but he stayed silent as he got a blanket out from the boot and laid it on the floor so you could look at the view and catch up.

"We've talked about me all day, how are you?" You knew what he meant by the question and you looked down at your hands. 

"Things are good Tae, really." He stared at you trying to see if you were lying but when you locked eyes with him he knew it was the truth, 

"What do you do now?" He questioned leaning back on his hands and staring at you, you laughed softly and tucked some of the hair behind your ear. 

"I erm...I work for a big company and I run one of the buildings we have in Seoul." He smiled as you began explaining about how you'd made your way up to the position you were in now and he couldn't help but feel proud of you. 

"None of this would have been possible without you though Tae...If it wasn't for you that night I don't-" He stopped you by placing his hand over yours, he knew that night was hard for you to talk about and he didn't want to make you relive anything you didn't want to. 

Another night another fight but Taehyung could tell this one was worse, your window was open and you had suitcases sitting on the flat roof. He'd just gotten back late from training and he saw you so made his way up as quickly as he could and slipped through the window, 

"What are you doing?" He questioned, as soon as your head lifted to look at him he was flooded by anger, you had a giant red mark across your face from a slap that had clearly happened. Your face was covered in tear marks and you were still crying now, 

"Help me pack, quickly." You begged and he didn't question anything, he just grabbed everything out of your wardrobe and filled up the over the shoulder bag with everything while you picked out underwear and bathroom products. 

"Where are you going?" He questioned as you got out of the window not even leaving a note for your parents, if you left a note they would find you and you didn't want that. You needed out of the toxicity and if this was the way it was going to work than it was the way it was going to be.

"I don't know, I just know I need out Taehyung...I have a friend in Seoul and I can stay with for now and I have money for trains so I guess I'll head to Seoul in the morning." He stared at you while you tried to lower the suitcases onto the ground. 

"I'll drive you to the station in the morning, you can think about this with a clear mind-"

"I don't need to think Taehyung, I need out of here. I can't-" He nodded in agreement and took your hand in his pulling you to the car and helping you load it up. 

"Then I'll take you there now, but I'm not letting you sit there alone." You smiled at him and he helped you into the car staring at you as he got into his side of the car. He realised this was the last time he was ever going to see you and he debated telling you everything, spilling out his heart for you and letting you know that he had been in love with you for years but he held it all in driving off down towards Daegu station.

He let you lay on his shoulder while you waited in the car together, you were sitting on the backseat while he hummed softly to you to help you sleep peacefully. He drew invisible patterns into your skin while he looked out of the window and wondered when he would ever see you again.

"The night was one of the best and worst nights of my life," You admitted and before he could ask why you were already explaining it, 

"I got away from them and started my own life but I lost the one person I care the most about," His heart began racing as you stared over at him, 

"Me?" You nodded laughing softly a little as a blush crept onto his cheeks, you turned away to look at the view again and Taehyung studied the way you looked. You looked different but it was a good different, there was always a hint of a smile on your face, you looked as though you were glowing through happiness and you just seemed better.

"I'm proud of you, you know?" You turned back to him with a frown on your face, 

"I should be the one proud of you, which I am! You're this huge star now Taehyung and you're incredible," He shook his head at you scooting closer so you would listen to him, like really listen to him as he spoke to you. 

"Tae?" He took your hands in his and ran his fingers along your knuckles, 

"You're incredible, you've always been so strong even when your parents would fight and scream...When they did some things that-" He stopped himself from bringing up the rough past but continued on with why he was proud of you. 

"Despite all of that you never let any of it hold you back, you continued pushing forward even though you were alone and you must have been so scared when you moved to Seoul alone but you did it! You did it and I've never been so proud of someone before." You were tearing up as he told you all of this, throughout your life you'd never heard someone tell you that they were proud of you for something you had done and it was tugging on your heartstrings. 

"Back then you were this scared little girl who needed an escape and now you're a woman who...Who I've been in love with since we were 6 years old and you gave me a toy cow to play with- God you're a woman who made her own destiny and is still making her life the way she wants it and I'm just so proud of you." Your heart stopped beating as he told you that he had been in love with you, you stared into his eyes as he was still ranting about how proud he was. He must not have noticed that he'd admitted his feelings for you which made you giggle, he frowned looking up at you. 

"You love me?" He began stuttering over some words not being able to form complete sentences until you put your hand on his cheek running your thumb along his soft skin, it was as if it relaxed him enough to talk again. 

"I do..." You smiled and he couldn't tell if it was a smile of pity or a smile of you being actually happy, 

"I love you too." You admitted to him and it was as if the air had suddenly gotten harder to breathe in and neither of you knew what to do then until Taehyung placed his hand on top of yours - which was still on his face.

"I'm going to kiss you..." You laughed so hard that you snorted a little and he blushed once again leaning forward, you closed the gap between you and as soon as your lips met it was like magic. The bird seemed to sing louder and you could hear the water hitting the floor at the waterfall, everything was heightened as soon as you kissed him. The way his hand felt as he cupped your face and the way he ran his tongue along your bottom lip, you parted your lips and you both began making out on the top of the mountain. 

"Is this the famous Y/n we hear so much about?" Jin asked as you walked through the dorm front door hand in hand with Taehyung, the makeout session on top of the mountain still fresh in your minds. 

"Don't start embarrassing me," Taehyung warned but it was too late, Jimin had wrapped his arm around you and was welcoming you into the dorms while introducing them all. 

"I have some embarrassing photos of Taehyung I can show you, maybe use them as leverage whenever you want to get your own way about something." Jungkook teased looking at Taehyung who was trying to stop them all from crowding you but you didn't mind, it was like being around 6 other different versions of Tae and it felt nice that they were welcoming you with open arms.

"I have some from our childhood so I'll show you those if you show me yours." You teased back making Taehyung groan and throw himself down onto the sofa he knew this was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship between you guys but the end of his reputation for him. 

Tagline: 

@writingdreamsnottragedies @yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @jooniesdarlingdimples @chimchims-stories-and-tales @fan-ati--c @mitzwinchester​ @lyoongx​ @callingmyangel​ @btsiguess-kpop​ @rjsmochii​

IS IT TOO GAY OF ME TO ASK FOR ALL THREE MIDWEST MONSTERS WIP CHARACTESR FOR THE SOFT MEME... i just love them DEARLY

IT IS EXACTLY THE RIGHT AMOUNT  OF GAY TO ASK FOR ALL THREE OF THEM MAX 

Putting this under a cut bc it got a bit lengthy!

Let’s go in alphabetical order! First up, Antonia Figueroa!

what they smell like

I haven’t thought about this much, but definitely something soft...like fresh laundry, or something floral! She tries to seem aloof and standoffish, but she’s really just. So soft, if you gain her trust, so I think her scent would reflect that! 

what their favorite smells in the world are

Vanilla!! She has far too many vanilla candles. She also loves the smell of the ocean breeze. The last time she went to Puerto Rico, she used her magic to bottle the ocean breeze, and when she’s stressed, she opens the bottle and just sits in the scent for a while.

what pajamas they wear/what they wear to sleep in

Big t-shirts! She has a collection of graphic tees just for sleeping in. A lot of them have the Pepsi logo on them ajsdbsdufh and some of them are just like. You know those tacky shirts with the animals printed on them?? These ones:

[id: a grey t-shirt with images of a bald eagle, a mountain lion, a wolf, and a moose on it.]

Yeah.

my favorite ship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

okay this one’s gonna be a little hard bc Toni, Javi, and Avery are all in a polyamorous triad so OBVIOUSLY I ship them all together but also! I definitely ship Antonia with Triss, a monster hunter from the Summer Court!! I can’t decide if it’s a casual thing or if Antonia is just also in a serious relationship with Triss, but Triss is over at Toni’s place all the time. Triss takes a big interest in Toni’s witchcraft and asks lots of questions, and she definitely curls up on her couch and reads spell books while Toni’s mixing potions or smth!

my favorite friendship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

Antonia and Javi!! Like yeah they’re partners but a) they don’t start off as partners, and b) YOU SHOULD BE FRIENDS WITH YOUR PARTNERS!! They’re the kind of friends that bounce snarky fake-insults off each other and then just end up cuddling on the floor and playing with each other’s hair. They’d also definitely bond over their experiences in being Puerto Rican out in the Land of Corn and Ghosts and Corn Ghosts

a song that reminds me of them

Wild Roses by Of Monsters and Men! Specifically this part Gets Me:

Down by the creek, I couldn’t sleep, so I followed a feelin’

Sounds like the vines, they are breathing

(Oh it sounds like, it sounds like, it sounds like, it sounds, oh)

And I’ve seen the way the seasons change when I just give it time

But I feel out of my mind all the time

In the night I am wild-eyed, and you got me now

what animal i think they would be if they were an animal

She would ABSOLUTELY be a cat. 100% a grumpy cat who reveals her True Soft Nature around maybe one or two people. She says “mother I crave violence” but what she really craves is a good snuggle session

what position they sleep in

She starts off on her back, but she’s a restless sleeper, so she usually ends up on her side by the end of the night! She definitely starfishes, though, which becomes a little bit of a problem when she, Javi, and Avery start sleeping in the same bed aifhsidgh

their favorite drink

PEPSI!! She’s specifically a big fan of wild cherry pepsi, but regular pepsi also works. At any given time she’s probably wearing some sort of pepsi memorabilia. 

a gift i would give them if i could

Spell ingredients! Dried plants from my yard! A ticket to PR! also this:

[id: a white shirt with the word Pepsi across the chest in blue. Beneath the word Pepsi is the Pepsi logo, a red, white, and blue circle. The shirt also has several Pepsi logos down the sleeves.]

Next up we have Avery!

what they smell like

Avery smells earthy and like. Fresh?? Crisp?? At the same time?? Kind of like a winter morning in the woods! Y’know that smell of “things are still alive here, the cold is just keeping them dormant”? That!!

what their favorite smells in the world are

His senses were enhanced during his time in the Court of the Moon, so he has some OPINIONS about smells ajfhsdiufhud that said! He LOVES fruity smells, specifically citrus scents! He’s also a big fan of the smell of fresh baked goods, whether that be bread or cookies or brownies!

what pajamas they wear/what they wear to sleep in

So Avery sleeps nude and keeps clothes next to the bed so he can put them on really quick if he needs to, HOWEVER! Javi eventually compiles a collection of lounge wear for him! (”Come on, you can’t just be in going-out clothes and armor all the time! Isn’t that uncomfortable?” “If I get uncomfortable I just get naked.” “I’m going out and buying you clothes right now.”) It’s honestly wild to see someone who wears mostly blacks and greys standing around his house in baby blue pajama pants with raccoons on them, or in a sheer green sleep shirt that says “Sunday is for snuggling”

my favorite ship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

Okay so here I’m gonna focus on him and Antonia because holy WOW they’re so sweet, like!! Antonia feels like she can be herself around him, which is so rare. She’s his main supplier for spells and things since she knows the way he works, but also he says he goes to her because she “casts her spells/brews her potions with love” and that “makes them all the more effective.” He definitely comes to her place if a hunt goes wrong and she does the whole “patches you up while affectionately calling you an idiot” thing

my favorite friendship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

Avery and Triss!! Triss is the first person Avery really opened up to after being released from the Court of the Moon. Even though the Celestial Courts are...different from the others, he felt that another monster hunter would be the one to understand him most. She helps him open up to more people, and shows him the beauty of the world. I imagine she gathers bouquets of wildflowers and “weeds” and brings them to him sometimes!!

a song that reminds me of them

Some Kind of Disaster by All Time Low! Especially these parts:

I woke up from a never-ending dream

I shut my eyes at 17

I lost every moment in between

I felt the sun rise up and swallow me, yeah

and

I crashed down from a high that felt so real

I never knew how much it would hurt to feel

You gotta hurt sometimes to learn to heal

You gotta get back up and learn to deal, yeah

AND

And it’s all my fault that I’m still the one you want

So what are you after?

Some kind of disaster (Some kind of disaster)

Fuck I gotta. I gotta go listen to this song now. I’m having Feelings

what animal i think they would be if they were an animal

Y’know, I was gonna be tacky and say a wolf, but now that I’m thinking about it...he’d be a coyote. Adaptable, can be a loner or in a pack, tend to be crepuscular when around humans, some people are very adamant about how they should be shot on sight.....

what position they sleep in

If he’s sleeping alone, he’ll sleep on his side, but if he’s sleeping with other people, he sleeps on his back so they can curl up on his chest!

their favorite drink

Water. Like, actually, he really loves ice water. Sometimes he’ll get frisky and drink *gasp* flavored water!

a gift i would give them if i could

A weighted blanket! Like, I know you have to be able to jump right up and get to work if duty calls or whatever, but can you please get one night of deep sleep?? And a hug. Someone hug this man

Last but CERTAINLY not least, Javi Justiniano! 

what they smell like

Fresh rain on dirt, crushed rosemary, and fresh cut wood! 

what their favorite smells in the world are

They absolutely ADORE the smell of peppermint! They’re also a big fan of pumpkin spice candles. It really is a shame they love seasonal scents so much sdifuhdiu I imagine they try to stock up as much as they can to last them through the year

what pajamas they wear/what they wear to sleep in

Okay so Javi is EXTREMELY tacky and will wear like. A sheer nightgown and silly patterned pants as pajamas. So a combination like this:

[id: a pale person with long, dark hair wearing a sheer and lacy white nightgown]

[id: a pair of black pajama pants with a red waistband and a red pocket. The pants are decorated with images of various red lobsters and the words “Pinch Me...I’m Dreaming”]

If anyone asks them about it they just shrug and say “I’m nonbinary, it’s allowed”

my favorite ship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

Here, I’m gonna talk about Javi and Avery because Holy Shit I Love Them. Javi is EXTREMELY chaotic and Avery rolls his eyes about it but secretly adores everything about them. Like. Javi canonically drunk calls Avery and asks him to carry them to bed because they don’t think they can make it up the stairs and Avery actually does it. And when Avery’s about to leave, Javi asks him to stay until they fall asleep, and he stays until morning, and hold on I gotta sit down--

my favorite friendship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

So I’ve already talked about how Javi and Toni’s friendship is AMAZING but I wanna give a shout out to Javi’s as of yet unnamed roommates! Like, they have to deal with the random monsters that Javi attracts and at this point they’re pretty unfazed by them. They walk into the kitchen and see a weird floating eyeball with wings or some shit and Javi’s like “I’m sorry it was there when I woke up” and they go “It happens. Does it like peaches bc ours are about to go bad” 

a song that reminds me of them

3am by Halsey! Specifically this part:

My self-preservation and all of my reservations

Are sittin’ and contemplating what to do with me, do with me

Think I took it way too far

And I’m stumblin’ drunk, getting in a car

My insecurities are hurtin’ me

Someone please come and flirt with me

I really need a mirror that’ll come along and tell me that I’m fine

I do it every time

I keep on hanging on the line, ignoring every warning sign

Come on and make me feel alright again

Baby. Has some abandonment issues. It’s probably fine.

what animal i think they would be if they were an animal

DEFINITELY a dog. Like, a big, sweet, clingy dog whose adoption profile labels them as “Thinks they’re a lap dog, so they need to be taught not to fall asleep on top of you. Unless that’s something you want!” 

what position they sleep in

On their tummy or their side! They don’t like going to sleep alone, so they have a couple people-sized stuffed animals to snuggle in bed. When Antonia, Javi, and Avery are all asleep in the same bed, Javi’s in the middle, curled up on Avery’s chest, and Toni is spooning Javi. It’s so good

their favorite drink

An iced mocha with peppermint syrup and LOTS of whipped cream! Most drinks are honestly just a vessel for whipped cream for them

a gift i would give them if i could

A big house with a nice backyard, and also a big dog to snuggle when they have to go to sleep alone! I’m totally not projecting! 

THANK YOU AGAIN MAX, this was a lot of fun and I’m even more excited to write about these characters now!! 

The fic you've been waiting for

Crowley avenging his beloved angel - Sandalphon got what he deserved (don't thank me, reblog instead)!!!!!!!!

Crowley and Aziraphale were unpacking the stuff they bought on a big shopping Sunday, and to this very day Crowley can't remember why and how they ended up talking about Aziraphale's, well... Ex-kin.

"I kinda enjoyed Michael", Crowley laughed. "Rather good-looking. Uriel, on the other hand..."

"Don't get me started on Uriel and Sandalphon", Aziraphale rolled his eyes. "I hate their guts"

"Sandalphon was a tough prick, I remember. And uglier than Belzebub", Crowley sneered.

"You don't say. He works in my place now, homophobic son of a... They couldn't have picked a worse candidate", Aziraphale said in a somewhat hurt voice. 

"Don't worry, angel. Soon enough, he will receive some beating from locals, I tell you"

"Yeah, I should've definitely punched that bastard back", Aziraphale muttered under his nose quietly, angrily. 

" Yeah, you bet...", Crowley laughed and then stopped abruptly. "W-w-wait, wait-wait-wait. Back? What do you mean, back?". Crowley stood up from the floor and stepped up to Aziraphale. 

" Nothing, really"

"No, not nothing". Crowley's eyes were widened in shock. " Do you mean, that, that piece of shit HIT you?!"

Aziraphale lowered his eyes. It looked like the memory wasn't pleasant. Crowley was gasping.

"When? When did it happen? How come I didn't know?", Crowley was not yet angry but more frightened. " Angel, look at me. Talk to me. Someone battered you and I know nothing of it?!"

"No one battered me. I was walking back to my bookshop and Michael, Uriel and... And he approached me, I was questioned..."

"Where the Hell was I?" - Crowley asked, astonished.

"You drove home", Aziraphale said quietly and sadly.

Crowley tilted his head backward and sighed with despair. "I should've known... ". He lowered his head and looked at Aziraphale with sadness and pain. Aziraphale looked confused and lost.

" What did he do? Tell me, angel", Crowley stepped closer, putting his hand on Aziraphale's arm, leaning closer. "Tell me. He's dead"

"Don't you dare, Crowley, we got away and I won't..."

"What did he do to you? What? Why didn't you tell me? I was up there, I saw him, I could've..."

"Because I didn't want you to", Aziraphale answered bitterly. " I needed you to be concentrated and cool-headed. You freed me from them, same as I did for you. That's all that matters"

"No, it's not. You look sad, you look hurt", Crowley said, cupping Aziraphale's cheek. " Otherwise you would've forgotten".

"He punched me in the stomach, alright?", Aziraphale said with a lump in his throat. His lower lip trmbled a bit. "It wasn't as painful physically as it was humiliating".

Crowley looked down on his angel's belly - soft, beautiful, beloved and precious - and everything before his eyes suddenly became red as blood.

"I told you because I trust you, but if you dare approach him or pull out something stupid like that, I will leave you, Crowley", he heard Aziraphale's voice from some distance.

"Do you hear me? Answer me, Crowley"

Crowley felt his head filling with lead from within.

"I will not approach him. I swear it"

"Good", he hears Aziraphale say. " I'll finish unpacking"

Crowley stopped Aziraphale, holding him by the arm. He embraced him from behind, wrapping one of his arms around his chest and putting his hand gently on the angel's belly. He buried his nose in his soft blonde curls and muttered: "I love you".

"I love you too", Aziraphale answered softly, "Now let me finish".

Crowley looked at him, picking up paper bags and arranging the stuff around the room, looking small and soft and lovely. Somehow it made his silent rage all the more burning and red became crimson in his eyes. He swore he wouldn't approach that sick fuck who laid his dirty hands - no, he couldn't bear to think of it - on Aziraphale

... But he said nothing of his friends.

***

Crowley pulled his hood further on his forehead

"Pleasure to see you, Jay. You look like a heroin addict in that hoody", said Phil. 

"I have to hide my hair somehow. Rare color"

Crowley was nervous and feeling restless.

"Yep. You're drop-dead gorgeous lad, we get it. To what I owe the pleasure?"

"I need to track someone down. Name's Saldanphon but he changes his IDs every now and then. You'll have to check for anything similar. Don't have a picture, but I draw him", Crowley laid a piece of paper on a table. The drawing looked fairly accurate. " Looks middle-aged, a bit fat, bald, ugly, has a golden tooth. A homophobe might be hanging around gay bars and the likes to preach or intimidate or whatever he does. That's all I have as of now".

"Well", Phil sighed " It's doable. But it will take a while. Any family?"

"No, none at all"

"I see. The golden tooth is indeed something". Phil looked at Crowley's hand. "You got married?"

"Ugh, yeah", Crowley answered looking around. " You know how to, ehm, tell me of the progress?"

"I've been around longer than you", Phil said wearily, and Crowley had to keep his mouth shut on that remark, " You'll know when I find something. Just one more thing. This, ehm, funny-named morality apostle. What exactly are you planning? He's gonna go?"

"No, not go", Crowley said with sheer disappointment "Plainly be taught a lesson. He put his shitty hands where he shouldn't have".

"Are you gonna call our mutual friend?", Phil raised his eyebrows. " If you want to make it clean, it's the best way. They'll never track his men down. Just food for thought, Jay. A piece of advice from the old man"

"That sounds reasonable", Crowley nodded, as if he had had any idea what to do next when he came to Phil, " I'll think about it. Thank you. Wanna count?". He put a book - a fake book, of course - on a table.

"Here? Oh, please. Trust me, if I don't find what I intend to find here, you'll know", Phil put a book in his bag and stood up. " Have a nice day, kid. Next time, wear something else"

Crowley waited for ten more minutes before leaving the diner. It was only when he was in a crowdy underground station when he put the hood off. He had to be cautious. For everyone's sake.

 

***

 

"Do you really think it's a good place, Jay?", said a tall and broad bald man in a leather jacket, trying to sit comfortably on a bench by a pond.

"The best one, in terms of privacy", said Crowley, looking grimly from his hood. " So. You said you owe me a favor all the way back from 1999. I didn't need anything for a long time, but now..."

"How do you manage to look so young, you sick bastard?", the man asked, chuckling, trying to look at Crowley's face. " You look just like my son, and that sad excuse of an heir is 27 now, not something you could tell by the way he speaks, though, I'd give him 10  in that department, still... How old are you, anyway?"

"I use a strong sunscreen. And I have good genes. Good, hardworking Irish people, my entire family. Will you listen or not, Patsy?"

A bald man stopped laughing and sighed.

"Of course. What seems to be the problem?"

"Our mutual buddy, Phil, tracked down a guy I need you to deal with. Here's what I've got on him", Crowley took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to a man without so much as looking at his side. " I want your people to teach him a lesson. He's gotta stay alive. I can't be seen. But I need to watch it from a distance. I know you're ready to do this, but still" - Crowley took out something that looked like a book and put it on Patsy's lap still without looking at him - "this is some additional motivation for you, or a token of a good will, if you wish to call it that way".

Patsy put down an apparently-book-thing in his suitcase and opened a piece of paper. He looked at Crowley, frowning.

" What kind of a lesson do you want him to be taught, exactly?"

"If your boys will do it properly, he'll need new teeth", Crowley said, finally turning his head to his counterpart, looking him in the eyes from beneath his shaded. "The whole damn package. And the old ones, I want to have them. Every single one. Especially the golden one. No internal bleeding, no injuries to any organs. You can break a couple of ribs, but carefully. As you wish. But I need his teeth"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Jay", the Patsy man said, looking flabbergasted. " What did this son of a bitch did to you so you became such a butcher"

"He laid his shitty hands where he shouldn't have", Crowley hissed, grinding his teeth. His hands clenched in fists.

" You didn't tell me you were married. Was this your wife?", Patsy asked warily.

"I have no wife, but I am indeed married", Crowley answered. " I know you're one of the few people of your occupation who don't look down on things like that. I love him. But I swore I won't touch this bastard myself. I don't have much choice, Pat"

"I'm sorry it happened to your, well, spouse", Patsy said carefully. " But the guys that I have in my crew are not as open-minded as I wish they were. You know it yourself. Ours is not the most prestigious job. I'll do this favor, but when you're sitting in a car with them, better keep the personal personal". 

They shook hands.

"I'll be waiting for your call. You know which number to call, and which not to", Crowley said, standing up. "I'm looking forward to seeing your team at work".

 

***

 

Crowley was staring into the field glasses, trying looking at two tall men in leather jackets dragging a bald man resembling Sandalphon, gagged and tied up, to a torch on the abandoned parking lot. The jeep where Crowley and his associates were sitting was right in its darkest corner.

It was Christmas Eve, the 24th of December. The snow was falling gloriously, but the place was too grim and damp for the fairy-tale-like spirit.

“You see them, Cap?”, a young driver, sitting by Crowley’s side asked.

“It looks like him, but I need insurance. I remember his voice. Call them”

One of the guys on the backseat dialed a number and one of the bouncers took the phone.

“Our cap wants so be sure it’s the guy. Let him speak”

He turned on the speakerphone. Soon enough Crowley heard Sandalphon screaming something like:

“I’ll give you anything you want, please, untie me, I need my hands, I…”, before Crowley nodded and Sandalphon became silent again. The phone was turned off and Sandalphon was dragged to a small staircase, and Crowley had to pay very close attention, looking into field glasses again, to recognize what was going on.

“Are you sure your people can do ALL the teeth in one go?”, he asked a bit unsurely.

“You insult us, Mr. Jay. It is our signature. One strike, all teeth. Leaves a strong message”, murmured a young man behind him.

“Well, then…”, Crowley started, but then he saw something rather outstanding, that made him make a certain sound: “Oi, woah… That was surprising… Alright, gentlemen, pardon me for my previous skepticism. I take that back. On second thought, I even refuse to take, the, ehm, the evidence”

He then heard his phone ring. It had to be Aziraphale. He had to answer. He quickly took the phone and blurted:

“Angel, honey, I can’t talk, I’m very busy, buying you a surprise, I’ll call you back in ten, love you”, without letting him even say a word. He figured out it would be more secure.

“Wife?”, asked a second young man, with a smile.

“Yeah. Sort of. Listen, I think I’d rather be going, are they done with the teeth? At the end of the day, I’ll think I’m more than happy without them. I don’t wanna take ‘em. I saw what you did, it was amazing. Drop me at the underground station, please… Else my, ehm, spouse, will be suspecting something, which I don’t fancy, like, at all”.

 

Crowley was very relieved when they drove away.

 

***

 

Crowley thought he had never had such a lovely Christmas morning. Angel was by his side, in his lovely tartan pajamas, they were tucked under the blanket, sipping tea and lazily switching the channels on telly.

“I thought I hated Christmas”, Crowley said quietly, as he lowered his head to Aziraphale’s, planting a soft kiss on his temple. “Now you made me love it. What next, angel?”

“You’ll stop wearing all black?”, Aziraphale answered, with a sarcastic smile.

“Naah, not in this life and not in the next”, Crowley said leisurely, switching the channels. Then he saw the news.

“… The victim of this horrific Christmas assault is alive, but severely traumatized – his teeth were…”

That was something Crowley didn’t account for – the bloody news.

“Ugh, what is it with these people”, he said with a trembling voice, trying desperately to sound casual, turning the telly off. “It’s only violence on this television, I’ll better put on some music. And make you some tea”, Crowley said, standing up.

“Dear boy”, Aziraphale said softly. “I’d like some tangerines. Would you be so kind as to bring your husband a plateful of those?”, he smiled. Crowley looked like he was melting from the inside.

“Every time you say the h-word I can’t say no to anything, angel. I’ll be in 15, a’right”

Crowley sighed with relief as he stepped into the kitchen. He was off the hook now, but some time from now, the angel might still learn about what happened. Will he be able to understand?

“All I did, I did for you”, Crowley thought in pain. “I love you so much I couldn’t stop it. He had to pay, my love, he had to”. Crowley felt tears fill his eyes, as he was putting tangerines in a bowl, but he was able to will them away. “I’d kill for you, I’d die for you, Aziraphale”, he thought with anguish. “I hope you know that whatever comes. I hope you will forgive me for what I had to do”.

 ***

 

With Crowley gone, Aziraphale was finally able to read the newspaper.

 

“Broken teeth, that’s a good take”, he thought smugly, as he read the weekly crime report. “See, Sandalphon. What goes around, comes around, next time you want to apply brutal force to your… arguments, better remember this, no? Though I doubt there will be the next time”

Aziraphale smirked. What his husband lacked in logic and cautiousness, he made up in loyalty and protectiveness. Blind loyalty and fierce protectiveness.

“You’re such an idiot, Crowley”, Aziraphale thought tenderly. “Really, A-J? To think I wouldn’t know? Me, famous Mr. Fell of Soho?”

That very evening, when he received a phone call from Phil and heard of some “heroin junkie looking” guy calling himself “Tony Jay” or “A J”, or, God have mercy, “Jay”, of all things, he knew it has to be Crowley.

“Wearing a black hoodie on top of his shades, really. It’s a miracle he didn’t get busted for drug possession”. Maybe it was indeed a miracle.

Truth be told, he wasn’t angry. He couldn’t approve openly, but there was a certain warmness in knowing that a homophobic golden-toothed prick who assaulted him now got what was coming for him.

“But I can’t encourage this sort of behavior in Crowley”, he thought, hiding his smile. “Now, dear boy, you need to control your impulses. At least, most of the time”.

Still, Aziraphale knew that he was one of the luckiest men – well, not really men, but… - alive, for his partner would stop at nothing to protect him.

“If only he would’ve acted a bit cleverer… Well, I suppose you can’t have it all. He’s beautiful, caring, kind, sweet, fiercely loyal and sexy as Hell, in the most literal sense of this word. It’s only natural he has to be a complete idiot to not let me forget myself. Oh, he brought me the cannoli the other day… This boy watched The Godfather too many times”.

 

“Angel!”, Crowley said, entering the room with a bowl full of tangerines. “What are you smiling at?”

“I’m thinking about how lucky I am to have you, dear boy”, Aziraphale answered with a loving smile.

Jungle Park [7]

Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 7.5 OR Chapter 8

➜ Words: 7.3k

➜ Genres: Fluff, Light Humour (?), Slice of Life, Workplace Romance!AU

➜ Summary: The equation is simple. Hoseok needs to hire someone. You need a job. Except like any actual equation, it’s not fucking simple at all! Not when you have to add the fact that he was forced to hire someone he doesn’t want in his office, he has little respect for your job in general, and oh yeah...once upon a time you might have—*CENSORED*.

Marriage seems to be the ultimate goal for many. And she can’t blame those who want it. At least when she constantly faces the most beautiful side of love and matrimony, bouquets of red roses and yellow tulips, long trains of wedding dresses, the tulle of the veil, the glowing smile of both bride and groom radiating happiness.   Yes. Weddings were undoubtedly gorgeous.   “And here...a song dedicated to these love birds.” The band behind her is already beginning and all the guests clap. It’s a pretty easy gig when she can sprout all the cheesiest nonsense and bullshit she wants and they eat it from the palm of her hand. “May their love be everlasting as the stars.”   The woman with the sleek, long, black hair stands at the stage. She parts her lips and sings the first note, the melodic song filling the venue as the bride and groom begin their first dance. It’s another sickening love song of the most delusional lyrics, but she doesn’t care much. By the looks of people’s faces, they’re loving every second of it.   When the song ends and she belts the last note out, microphone pressed to her lips, the audience erupts into claps with melted expressions. “That was amazing. You have a really beautiful voice,” the best man says as he approaches and the band continues playing some background music, others joining the dance floor.   “Thanks.” She sets down the mic and climbs off the stage. “I’d like to say I try.”   He trails after her to the side. “And you’re friends with the bride…?”   “Oh no.” She uncaps a bottle of water and takes a sip, quenching her throat. “I’m just a hired wedding singer.”   “You’re a professional then?” He grins and it’s obvious he’s trying to flirt with her through praise. She’s flattered, but largely unaffected.   “One day, maybe I’ll be.” Her arm extends straight out and the best man shakes her hand with a firm grip. “My name is Jung Sowon.”   “Nice to meet you, Sowon. My name is Sejin.” He smiles and lets go, slipping his hands into his black, dress pants pockets. He kicks the grass once and glances up. “I don’t know if this is okay, but I was wondering if I could get your number. I’d love to hear your lovely voice again.”   “Well, I don’t know about my number, but I can give you a number.” She reaches inside her blazer pocket and pulls out a rectangular piece of white card stock and hands it to him.   Sejin takes the card and frowns, reading the top. “Jung and Park….?”   “That’s my brother’s law firm.” She beams brightly like a ball of sunshine. “He’s a divorce lawyer. Keep it. You might never know when it might come in handy.”   The man is mortified, jaw slack as the card is still held in his hands and he watches the woman saunter away. When the band is on break, she also hands out the business cards like they’re flyers. “Please check out this law firm. Jung Hoseok does matters of divorce. He’s a really good lawyer.”   She bows at the wedding guests and hand them the card as well. Their eyes are always wide, mouths dropping open. She even leaves them on people’s plates and on the tables like they’re wedding favours. “Hello, please take this. Jung Hoseok is a fantastic divorce lawyer.”   Hey...it’s free advertisement. Might as well.   As Sowon weaves between white round tables, a kid accidentally collides into her, face planting right into her legs. The little girl giggles and stares up, pretty hair decorated with a flower headband, pink dress wrinkled from running around — an angel on the outside and a parent’s nightmare on the inside. “Oops, sorry!”   The older woman squats down with a smile, meeting her eyes at the same level. “It’s okay. I actually have a present for you.”   She qurisk her head to the side, apples of her cheeks reddening from the cool breeze. “What is it?”   “This.” She hands her the rectangular card and the child’s brows knit together while her cute lips pout. “This is really important. Give it to your parents, okay? It might help them one day.”   “Okay!” She grins and goes running off.   The wedding singer eventually strolls over to the buffet line and grabs free plates of food without anyone really noticing. She sings a handful more songs afterwards, most being the same old cliché love songs. Things couldn’t get easier or better than this. And after the party’s over, she bids goodbye to the band and packs up her stuff.   At home, Sowon flops on the bed. Her body molds against the mattress, tired and aching bones she didn’t remember having ten years ago after running miles. She’s trying to muster energy to take a shower that’ll wash away the grime on her skin. But before she can launch herself on her feet again, her phone rings beside her head.   It rings and rings and her arm reaches over, grabbing the mobile device. She smiles while reading the caller ID and picks up without another second to spare. “Well, well, well, looks like my little brother finally decided to give his poor, older sister a call. How long has it been, brat?”   “Stop handing out my business card.”   “Oh.” Her tone raises up in pitch from excitement. “Did you get more clients already, Seok?”   “No!” Hoseok whines on the other line and she grins, practically able to hear his pout. “Angry calls are what I’m getting.”   “They’re angry now, but one day, they’ll call and ask for help. I guarantee it.”   “Stop.” He channels his firm voice despite knowing it’s futile. Much to Hoseok’s dismay, any time he’s shown his family his professional side, they cooed at him. Whenever he tried to command his sister, the next second he was being held in a choke hold, and threatening to sue did nothing but gain laughter from the maniac of a witch. Still, he likes to try. “I don’t like getting angry calls or voicemails or spam. Stop giving out my divorce business cards at weddings, you sick freak.”   “Can’t I just boast about you?” She rolls around in the covers of her bed. “I’m so proud of my hot shot baby brother who thinks he’s too good for everyone else.”   There’s a pause.   “I’m begging you.”   “We’ll see.”   //   At the rate he’s going, Hoseok wouldn’t be surprised if his head of hair will all turn gray by age thirty six. Maybe he’ll even start balding. It’s easy to misunderstand that he’s feeling this stressed since he’s constantly drowning in work. But that’s isn’t the case at all. Rather, Hoseok jumps into the ocean of work with open arms. He loves what he does and he thrives in the workplace. In his free time, he works and at work, he works twice as hard. He just loves the feeling of accomplishing his professional goals, of keeping busy, of being able to sleep at night knowing he didn't waste his time and that he did something useful for his future.   Rather, Hoseok’s losing all his hair because of the women in his life.   It would be nicer if they were romantical problems — if he had issues with his love life, significant others, potential lovers or partners. In that way, people would understand him and he’d be able to consult someone with more ease. But the women of his life include: his mother, his sister, the receptionists, Seulgi who’s a paralegal, Sunyi and Naul who are lawyers of his firm, and you.   And each and every one of these people are handfuls.   “In light of some recent issues in the office, I think it would be important to discuss sexual harassment in the workplace.”   You’re standing up stiffly in front of the conference room, conducting your first ever seminar. A slideshow runs behind you, remote in your right hand and thick binder held in your left arm. If it weren’t for the way Inyoung is smiling at you, appreciating your efforts to protect the people in the firm and going this far to address the issues, you would be slick with sweat right now.   Everyone is staring at you, their gazes pinpointed on your face. More importantly, Hoseok’s seat is the farthest, but his stare is the most intense. He looks at you as if you murdered his entire family and he’s seething and ready to enact revenge at your weakest moments. You know that it’s just his concentrated face, but it’s still intimidating and scary. But you never let him nor any of the uncertain thoughts in your head hinder your plans.   You clear your throat, deciding to start right away. For now, it seems like everyone’s relatively engaged. You don’t want to drone on and on and make them bored.   “What is sexual harassment?” You click the remote and the slideshow begins, going to the next slide where there’s some flashing text that draws people’s attention. “It’s any unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks, including any comments or inappropriate touching, in the workplace.”   The slide changes. For the most part it seems pretty straightforward, but you’re perfectly aware that the boundaries can become murky and it can become hard to tell what is or isn’t sexual harassment. “Let’s go over some examples…”   “Derogatory language would be seen as sexual harassment. Even something as suggestive notes or emails. Invading personal space, any unnecessary physical contacts, demanding hugs are also all examples. Another—” A hand shoots up in the cluster of employees and your mouth shuts. “Alright, we have questions already. Yes?”   Namjoon lowers his hand. “What if it’s consensual?” It’s a genuine inquiry. He’s not trying to give you a hard time. The paralegal’s face remains impassive and his head slightly tilts in curiosity.   “It’s still inappropriate for the workplace. We wouldn’t condone it. Everyone should remain professional in this environment.” You nod and he does too, satisfied with your answer. “Speaking of which, inappropriate staring is also considered—….yes, Taehyung?”   The caramel-haired lawyer smiles and explains, “Sometimes my mind goes on a trip and it looks like I’m staring when I’m not.”   “Uh...well, as long as you don’t have the intention, it should be fine. But try your best to not let that happen, okay?” You continue after the man flashes a thumbs up, “No one should be sharing inappropriate pictures either. Please don’t share nudes in the office.”   Seulgi looks over at Seokjin with a raised eyebrow and you don’t even want to know at this point. You click the remote, changing the slide again.“Sexual jokes are also looked down upon—”   Yoongi raises his hand this time and then he crosses his arms. “Does that include ‘that’s what she said?”   Sunyi rolls her eyes to the back of her skull and you can practically hear the storm of complaints she’ll make to you and the documents you’ll have to fill out. “....yes. Moving on, bragging about sexual endeavours is also improper behaviour. Everyone is here to work, not talk about their personal lives or what they did on the weekend.”   Suddenly, Lisa coughs loudly like she’s choking a chicken bone. The noisy interruption gathers the attention of the room and she eyes Taehyung in particular who remains oblivious, perhaps on purpose.   You continue quickly without prying or publicly humiliating anyone, “Basically if you’re wondering if an action is sexual harassment or not, just ask yourself ‘would I do this in front of my grandma?”   It’s easy enough to understand and you even gain a few amused smiles around the room. “It’s a good rule of thumb for a lot of things. Would you talk badly about someone in front of your grandma? Would you talk about your sex life in front of your grandma? Would you send nudes in front of your grandma? Would you make sexual remarks in front of your grandma? The answer is no, right?”   Your confidence boosts at the bubble of laughter that echoes throughout the group. “Our firm has a strict policy on sexual harassment. We take it very seriously in order to protect everyone and create a safe environment. If you ever feel unsafe, threatened, or uncomfortable, come talk to me, Jimin or Hoseok at any time. There will be absolutely no tolerance for this sort of thing.”   The slide changes again. “And just putting it out there, if there are any office romances, then you need to file with HR. All you need to do is fill out a form and sign. It’s just for the firm to be aware. We are legally obligated to protect every employee here from sexual harassment and hostile work environments.”   After a few more minutes of going over more details and getting the group to watch an old video you found on the internet that explains and reenacts different scenarios, you flicker the conference room lights back on and stand in front, preparing to close the seminar up. “Does anyone have any questions?”   “How about after work?” Jungkook’s voice is soft and shy, and you’re happy that he’s actively participating. “Do these rules apply?”   “....No,” you answer after thinking carefully. Jimin seems to have no problem with your answer, but you can’t exactly tell with Hoseok when he’s still half-staring, half-glaring at you. “You’re free to do whatever you want after work, but please be five hundred meters away from this firm. Don’t do anything on company property.”   Seokjin raises his hand and speaks without being called upon, “So we can’t get it on in this office?”   There’s a few disgusted looks that pass around, mostly from Dahyun and Inyoung who look like they’ve bitten into a sour lemon. On the other hand, Seulgi and Namjoon don’t look too unfazed with his particular inquiry. You can only sigh. “Under no circumstance should you ever engage in any sexual acts inside this office.”   Taehyung’s palm lifts, surprisingly timid. “What happens if you’ve already broken that rule?”   “Ew, gross!” Seulgi’s expression blanches and even Yoongi’s brow lifts, skeptical expression marring his blankness. Jimin scoffs with a laugh and Hoseok groans, rubbing his temples.   “You’re all a bunch of wild animals,” Naul waves him off and looks away.   “Look it wasn’t my fault!” Taehyung tries to defend, feeling like he was somehow put on trial and is at the stand in front of his accusatory colleagues. “I met her at a bar and we got wasted and I was being responsible by not driving! And the office was only a block away, so I decided why not!”   “Oh my god!” Sunyi is screeching and cups her hands over her ears like she can block out the monstrosities she’s hearing. “Oh my god, oh my god.”   “Why are you treating me all like this!” He laughs in disbelief. “I cleaned up the desk after and I personally bought that carpet cleaning solution and I scrubbed the carpets for like an hour—”   “Too much information, dude!” Namjoon interrupts with a loud voice. “We don’t want to know!”   “Oh my god!” Yoongi suddenly bolts up from his seat and turns to the fellow lawyer. His arm extends and his hand quivers as he points to Taehyung’s face, features marred with complete horror. “Is that why my office smelled like that for an entire week?!”   Sunyi bursts out in hysterical laughter. She has to physically grab her stomach as she leans over with giggles streaming infectiously out of her throat. The lawyer is no longer disturbed listening to Taehyung’s sexual endeavors in the office, instead savouring the look on Min Yoongi’s face. “Serves you right! Get a taste of that, Min.”   Suddenly, Taehyung turns to her.   He becomes serious, all traces of humour and mischief escaping from him. Then, her smile falls, and she slowly shakes her head. “No…” The disbelief quickly becomes fear. “No...no, you...didn’t….you...wouldn’t…”   “That stain on your couch—” His timbre is low and vibrates. “—it wasn’t ketchup.”   “Gross! Gross! I can’t believe you would do that in my office! That’s where I work and eat and—! Oh my god, I sleep on that couch sometimes, Taehyung! What’s wrong with you, freak?!”   “Serves you right,” Yoongi mocks her back in a whisper.   Taehyung leans back in his seat and scans the room with his sharp eyes. “You’re making such a big deal out of this like you haven’t done it yourselves when I know for a fact that you have!”   Dahyun looks away. Seulgi shifts uncomfortably. You don’t miss the way Sunyi glances at Yoongi for the shortest of seconds, the both of them gone quiet. But you get distracted when Lisa shouts, “We haven’t!”   “Liar.” He turns to the oldest lawyer on the team, the middle aged woman who is sipping on her beverage and watching the gong show go down. “Come on, Naul. I know you’ve brought your husband here more than twice.”   “I have a bedroom, thank you very much.”   “Jin?”   The man in question dodges. “My secrets will stay as secrets.”   “Okay, fine.” Taehyung holds his hands up like he’s defeated. “Deny all you want, but I bet the only people who haven’t actually done anything in this office is Y/N and like…”   Simultaneously, everyone turns around to the back of the room, looking at Hoseok.   The lawyer is unimpressed, one leg thrown over the other. He looks like a strict judge at a singing competition, hair swept over his brow in a comma motion and in a fitted suit like he’s ready to be broadcasted on national television, but also giving no fucks with what’s being presented before him. “This meeting is over. I hope you all paid attention and learned something, because I’m going to test you all on it.”   Jimin laughs when everyone becomes petrified and he steps in before mass hysteria can spread like wildfire. “He’s joking. There’s no test. But Hoseok’s right. This seminar has gotten a little off topic. It’s time to get back to work, but please take the topic of discussion seriously.”   He continues, doing a beautiful job of wrapping things up, “Any inappropriate behaviour in this firm will not be tolerated by Hoseok nor I. If you have any further questions or concerns, please come talk to Y/N, Hoseok, or me. It’s best to clarify any confusion, so that everyone is on the same page. With that being said, can we give a round of applause to Y/N for doing so well?”   People clap for you, the thundering applauses reverberating and you become sheepish under the attention. “It’s nothing, really. But thank you for listening to what I have to say.”   One by one, employees trickle out of the room. They’re chatting with each other, returning back to your desks and catching up on some work. On his way out, Taehyung grins at you. “That was fun, Y/N.”   You hold your sigh. “Well, I’m glad.”   “Thank you,” Inyoung murmurs as she walks past, modest smile still placed on her lips.   “No problem.”   Jungkook smiles and the rest of them also put in their few compliments and words of appreciation. Jimin is one of the last people and he actually stops. “Good job.”   “I was nervous,” you admit, remote off the laptop still in your sweaty hands.   “Couldn’t tell.” He grins, eyes crinkled into half moons. “It was your first time conducting a meeting, so don’t beat yourself over it. You’ll get better and better as time goes by. Plus, if it weren’t for you, I would have to conduct this seminar myself, so I’m once again thankful for your existence, Y/N.”   “It’s nothing.” Your eyes fall to your feet. “It’s my job.”   “And you’re good at it.”   But for some reason, you seek someone’s praise in particular. You’re thankful for everyone’s positive feedback and their encouraging remarks, but it never feels like quite enough. It’s like you thirst and ache to hear it from someone who is much tougher in nature, who is naturally a critic. Only when you hear from him will you truly be satisfied and you know you’re not being spoon-fed by stretched truths.   So, like the pathetic loser that you are, you hang around. You walk slowly to your laptop, closing the presentation, disconnecting the remote. And when you steal a peek at the corner of the room, Hoseok’s still seated, sending off a text message. It’s excruciating how desperate you are and the way you linger.   Jung Hoseok is the last to leave and when he notices you’re still here, his brow lifts, as if asking if you have something to say. “I’m sorry.” It’s the first thing that pops into your head and spills off your tongue without much warrant. “It got out of control towards the end there.”   “No, it happens. You don’t need to apologize.”   The both of you walk together, exiting and going down the hall. “You...got your car fixed?”   “I did,” the lawyer muses and glances at his watch like he’s late to something. “The battery got drained like I thought it did.”   “That’s good. It would suck if there was something wrong with the engine or the tires. Maintenance on cars can be really bothersome and expensive.”   Lame. It’s so lame how you’re ranting about car maintenance.   But you can’t help the disappointment that leaks into your voice and spills all over your face. You really liked having a friend to go home with. It made time go by faster. And you just hope that he can’t read the look on your face right now. You’re sure you’re not doing a very good job with hiding your emotions.   “Hey, Y/N.”   He looks away from his phone, from his watch, from the end of the hallway to your profile.   “Hmm?”   His voice is soft and gentle, a small smile that expands over his face. “You did well.”   One word from him is all it takes.   Like the idiot that you are, an even bigger smile overwhelms you. “Thanks.”   //   With the seminar complete and the staff handbook well on its way, you decide to take a longer lunch break, hanging out in the lobby of the building and chatting with the security guard. While you’re still working with developing friendships in the office, you’ve become good friends with the older guard. He reminds you of your late grandpa or when you were in elementary school and no one really wanted to hang out with you, so you became close to the class pet goldfish.   You’re standing near the front entrance, sipping on coffee as the guard drinks the cup you bought for him and he tells you about his weekend. He chats about how his son came over for barbecue and his wife made this pineapple pasta dish that was very delicious. And you’re about to respond when you hear a muffled—   “Y/N?”   There’s a woman on the other side of the glass windows, having stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk. She knocks once on the window to get your attention. Her hair is long and sleek, a midnight shade that matches the colour of her irises. Her eyes are wide like a deer in headlights, lashes standing straight up to the sky, sharp jaw dropped.   She stares at you. You stare at her.   And the girl bolts in her high heels towards the doors.   “Do you know her?” The guard asks just to be sure, hitching his thumb over his shoulder.   “Y-yeah….I do…” Your eyes are on the woman’s and you watch as she scrambles inside, taking wide strides towards you. You don’t even bid goodbye to the guard, taking steps to meet the female in the lobby. “Sowon?”   Without letting a squeak slip or another word spoken, her arms open all at once and she embraces your frame, squeezing you tight like a teddy bear. “Oh my god! I missed you so much. Huhuhghgh.” She makes weird sounds as she restrains you with her arms like she’s trying to pick you up, lug you around, giving you a good spin, but she’s not strong enough to.   You can’t help the laughter that bubbles up your throat. “I missed you too.”   The older girl parts away and scans you up and down several times. “How are you? You look great!”   “Thank you.” You’re a bit breathless, finding her presence and everything that’s happened in the span of two minutes overwhelming. “I’m good.”   “What…” She shakes her head like she can’t believe you’re actually here in front of her. “What are you doing here?”   “I work here now.”   “No. Really?”   “Really.”   //   The cafe is quaint in the middle of the afternoon on a workday. The sunlight washes through the glass into the room, painting the surroundings in warm hues. There’s not too many people around, few conversations from customers here and there, but the murmur of sounds are relaxing to your ears.   After already having two coffees for the day, you decide on a blueberry pastry and Sowon gets some kind of latte drink. She sits across from you, still looking at you in awe while you remain a bit uncomfortable under her constant gawking. “I never thought I would see you again.”   “That’s what I thought too.”   “I’m just surprised.” She gives you a soft smile. “And I’m glad that you’re here.”   There’s a slight pause and you fiddle with your fingers in your lap. “I heard Hoseok got into an accident.”   “Did he tell you about it?”   “Yeah.” You hesitate, aware that she’s watching you carefully and with mustered courage, you take a deep breath and sit straighter, looking her dead in the eyes. “I really, really like my job. I’m working as an HR manager in the firm. It’s really fun to help out and tend to all the issues inside the office. I’m enjoying it a lot…”   “And Hoseok’s okay with that?” She holds the cup in her hand, sipping while her eyes are still above the rim, eyeing you carefully.   “He’s the one who hired me,” you tell her. “We’re professional.”   Sowon hums with another smile and puts down her cup on the table. “Understood,” she sing-songs. “I’m just glad you’re doing well.”   “Thank you.” It’s a soft murmur, but with that out of the way, you adjust the attention onto the woman. “How are things going for you?”   “Pretty fantastic actually.”   “Are you still at that magazine writing job?”   “Oh, god no.” She takes a sigh of relief and you’re happy that she’s moved on since she dreaded the job back then. “I’m a wedding singer now.”   You’re pleasantly surprised. “Really?”   “Really. I love it.” There’s a bright grin that spreads into her cheeks, uncanny to her younger brother when he’s in a good mood. “I haven’t been better. Free and happy. And before you ask—” She leans over to whisper while the long strands of her hair cascade down and frame her face. “I dumped Yugyeom. Well, more like he dumped me because he was sleeping with my best friend and preferred her over me because I’m too...boring…�� She shrugs. “But I was going to drop that hot potato anyway.”   “I….see...” Any sympathy isn’t necessary since Sowon seems nothing but sincerely happy about it, so you can only bob your head to show you’re listening.   “It’s so nice to see you again,” she muses and means it genuinely. “We should go out for dinner to catch up more. Better yet, you should come home. My parents miss you more than I do—”   “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” You look away unintentionally, nervousness grabbing hold to dictate all your actions. “I mean, isn’t visiting my boss’ parents during my free time a little weird?”   Sowon scoffs, leaning back and crossing her arms. “No. You’re practically my sister, aren’t you? That trumps whatever Hoseok is to you.” You laugh and she eases, glancing at the labels of her paper cup. “But if you have free time...if you feel comfortable...you should visit them. They’re getting old.”   “I’ll try.” You steal a glimpse at the screen of your phone, having felt it vibrate in your pocket.   “I’m keeping you from something, aren’t I?’   “No, not really.” It’s not like you have much to do today. If anything, you were ahead of your own set schedule, but… “I’ve just been gone from the office for a while.”   “If my brother is ever imposing on you or using his title of ‘boss’—” her fingers make air quotations. “—to bother you in any way, then just tell me and I’ll beat some sense into him.”   “Okay.” Your cheeks ache from smiling so widely.   “The kid thinks he’s such a hot shot now that he goes around bullying others without realizing.” A hopeless sigh spills from her lips. “Well, don’t let me hold you up. We should both get going.”   “Oh, aren’t you coming with me?”   “Nah. I was coming over to bother Hoseok, but I found something even better.” She smiles, indicating you. “So, I’m satisfied. I’ll probably head home.”   “Are you sure?”   “Yeha. He wouldn’t want to see me anyways. I know that kid.” She gets up and you both take your belongings, slowly leaving the warm cafe to the colder streets. “Don’t bother telling him I swung by either. Save him that stress.”   “Okay.” Outside of the door, you hug her one last time and she holds onto you, patting your back in steady beats with the palm of her hand.   “Promise me you’ll be okay,” she murmurs gently and you smile against her shoulder   “I’ll be fine.”   “Then don’t be a stranger.” She parts and gazes at you. “Keep in contact with me, alright, brat?”   “Yes.” You giggle, bidding her a final goodbye. Her backside eventually fades off down the street and you’re sorely reminded of her brother whom she resembles so strongly that it shakes you inside.   //   Lost friends. Lost memories. It’s been so long that things begin to resurface despite years of pushing them away. You didn’t realize you missed her so much until you saw her and you begin to ponder about your other friends, the people that you used to be so close to until the life that you were so fond of was ripped away from your grasps. But you’re too afraid to reach out again.   It’s dangerous to play the game of what if. What if things had been different back then. You wonder how much your life could’ve changed. Maybe you would have someone to go home to, maybe you wouldn’t have been so lonely, maybe you would be happier, maybe not.   You really shouldn’t dwell on things that aren’t part of reality. But the encounter with Hoseok’s older sister leaves you reeling and you don’t even realize where you are.   “Y/N?”   “Yes?” Your daydream is broken and you force yourself to focus on the receptionist sitting across the desk from you. “Sorry, I was thinking about something else, but go ahead.”   Dahyun glances behind her to the closed door and then clears her throat. “Does Hoseok hate me?”   Your eyebrow lifts. “Why would you say that?”   “He keeps glaring at me.” She points to both her eyes with her index and middle finger, whispering like he’s a monster who can hear behind solid walls. “Whenever I walk past or he walks past or I knock on his office, he has this glare.”   “No, that’s not it,” you try to explain with a laugh. “That’s what he looks like when he’s concentrated or being serious. Trust me, he doesn’t hate you. Hoseok doesn’t hate anybody. It would take a lot to make him actually mad.”   “Oh, okay.” Dahyun takes a sigh of relief. “I was worried he was upset with me.”   Not long, you get another guest inside your office.   “So last week, there was a file I was working on.” Sunyi is ranting again. For once, it’s not about Yoongi’s loud chewing or how she swears she can hear him trimming his toenails in his office and it’s absolutely disgusting. “And I asked Hoseok if a draft was necessary for the case. It’s more complicated than that, but that’s the basic gist. Anyways, he told me ‘no’, and then today he asks me why the draft wasn't done and that we need it! How ridiculous is that?!”   “Maybe he’s just busy,” you attempt to appease her and expand her empathy. “Things can get pretty hectic. He probably just forgot and got confused.”   “But he always blames others instead of himself. It’s so frustrating!”   “Well, being the boss is tough. There’s a lot for him to juggle. I’m sure this is a misunderstanding.”   “It’s not. He just never admits when he’s wrong.”   “Did he apologize to you?”   There’s a moment of silence. “Well, yeah, after I explained what happened.”   You smile at the lawyer. “He’s a partner of this firm along with Jimin. The both of them have a lot riding on their shoulders and they have to uphold the name of this place. They’re the leaders of this firm. It’s probably difficult to admit their mistakes as the bosses since it would damage their own pride and shake the foundation of this place.”   Sunyi shrugs, mumbling a mere ‘I guess’. But you know she’s thinking about what you’ve said.   There seems plenty of concerns and worries today since you get yet another person sitting in your office, across from your desk. Kim Seokjin is undeniably handsome no matter what he does, though right now you can agree he’s seen better days.   “He keeps micromanaging me! Every time I’m doing something, I feel him hovering over my shoulder and watching the screen of my computer like he’s trying to catch me do something wrong.” He groans, ranting and nagging, shaking his head and pounding his first on your desk, startling you to death. “Do you know how uncomfortable I feel on a daily basis?!”   “He’s probably just doing his rounds. It’s part of the job as boss….”   Your voice goes quiet at the way he looks at you. Seokjin’s arm falls to his side and his frown deepens. He leans over closer until half his body is pressed on the surface of your smooth desk. He looks at you like you’ve gone crazy. “Why are you defending him?”   “What?” You blink. “I’m not.”   “You are.” He tilts his head. “We usually always talk shit on Hoseok. Every. Day.”   You’re beginning to sweat. “Well, it’s not good to talk badly about our bosses.”   “Did he find out?” Jin’s eyes become wide.   “No, no!” You quickly reassure the legal assistant. “What we talk in here is confidential.”   “Then did you get in trouble?”   “No, nothing like that. I’m just….trying to approach it from a different angle….less talking trash...you know?”   “It’s strange,” he says, pouting slightly at how you don’t want to talk smack about Hoseok anymore. “No offence.”   You hum before pulling out your emergency drawer. “Would you like a cookie?”   Kim Seokjin grins, attention like a fish’s and successfully diverted. “Yes, please.”   //   Sometimes it feels more like you’re the complaint department or a counselor than an HR manager. You don’t mind since mediating and conflict resolution has always been your strongest skill set. But it’s difficult when you’re dealing with other people’s problems and no one helps you with yours. You even forget about your own issues. And yet, despite it going against your own mottos and what you were taught, it feels better to just bury those problems and forget them.   There’s nothing like having a problem and pretending it’s not there right in your face.   Ignoring is also part of your skill set.   The knocks on your door break you out of your trance and you lift your head, finding an older woman standing at your doorway. “Do you have a moment, Y/N?” She smiles and you stand.   “Of course! Please take a seat.”   Kye Naul is one of the lawyers of the firm and you’ve haven’t been able to get many interactions with her when the others occupy your time a lot more. You know a few things about her, like how she’s one of the oldest people in the office, probably ten to twenty years older than you, and her sons have grown up and moved out of the house. She’s also the person who’s practiced law for the longest in the firm and both Jimin and Hoseok respect her greatly.   She takes a seat across from the desk and you feel calm, reminded of your own mother’s presence. “I’m sorry. You were about to leave, weren’t you? It’s pretty close to five o’clock right now. I would've stopped by earlier, but I just finished billing five minutes ago.”   “Oh no, it’s completely fine.” You smile. “Trust me, I don’t have anything to do after this, so feel free. I’ll just be at home watching television anyways. What’s the matter?”   It isn’t a lie. Today is your off-day with your part-time job of taxi driving.   “This might be inappropriate and unprofessional,” she prefaces. “It has nothing to do with the firm or the office. It’s about my marriage.”   “It’s okay. Trust me, I’ve heard enough about people’s antics around here and what their odd hobbies are to be surprised or for it to be inappropriate.”   She nods and inhales deeply. “My husband is having a midlife crisis.”   “To put it shortly, we’re going through a rough patch because of it.” There’s a long pause. “He wants to buy a boat, move houses, hell, buy a house boat. He wanted to adopt a kid, a cat, a dog. He even tried convincing me to volunteer in a different continent for six months building mud houses for the elderly.”   She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Have you ever had someone drive you absolutely insane?”   “Yes.” You hold back a laugh, amused at hearing about her husband’s crisis. “I think everyone has at some point.”   “How did you end up tolerating them?”   “I don’t know,” you muse and a slight shrug follows. Someone specific comes to mind as you keep talking. “I guess I just cared so much that it didn’t matter to me if they were insane or completely crazy. I guess that makes me crazy too.”   She exhales another breath and nods. “Love makes people do stupid things.”   “Well…” You’re not sure where it comes from, but it stumbles from your tongue the moment you hear the four-letter word ‘love’. Immediately, you shake your head. “I’m not sure I would call it love.”   “Oh?” Naul’s brow lifts in curiosity. “Then what is it?”   “I don’t know. Definitely not love though.” You nod, so sure of yourself. This certain someone that you have in mind — you don’t love him. “It’s...a blindness.”   “A disease?” The lawyer clarifies, eyes narrowing even more as she carefully watches you.   “Sort of.” You can’t see it any other way. To be completely crazy for someone where you overlook flaws and have to sacrifice yourself. It’s blinding. It’s horrible. It’s painful. “I don’t think love should make you do stupid things. I don’t think that’s love.”   Yet, the older woman only appears more and more amused. “Why do you say that?”   “I can’t see how it’s love if you keep crawling back to someone and they keep hurting you over and over again. It’s just...a bad addiction at that point.” Your original stance in remaining unbiased is hurled out the window as you spill your truest beliefs out loud. The beliefs that formed over many long years from being jagged by someone you held...   “It’s stupid to keep running back to them.” You repeat it in your head several times.   “You’re right,” Naul says simply. “It isn’t love. Or at least, it isn’t just love.”   Her wise eyes are glimmery like they know too much. The lawyer leans closer to you like she’s about to tell a secret. “It’s a selfless love. It’s an unconditional love. That’s why we tolerate them and keep coming back, even when they make us angry to the point we want to throw a lamp across the room. That’s why we don’t kick them out of the house at night and make them sleep on the couch instead. It’s unconditional love.”   The lawyer continues, “Doing crazy things, things you thought you’d never do for anyone, allowing yourself to be vulnerable and accepting them back after getting hurt, that’s okay. It’s powerful to be that selfless. It’s still love, Y/N. It’s okay to feel this way. There’s no need to blame yourself and think it’s a bad addiction. God knows in a relationship patience, tolerance, compromise is required.”   She smiles and when she speaks, it’s less for herself and more for you. “Now, if only unconditional love went both ways, then love wouldn’t have to turn toxic, now, would it? If selfless love was always reciprocated, no one would ever have to hurt.”   “It’s harmful when it doesn’t go both ways and that’s when it needs to be stopped. If it does go both ways and you know that person would tolerate us too and wouldn’t mind being hurt….” She sighs softly. “Well, we just have to ask ourselves if the other person has unconditional love for us as well. Only then will we know that doing all these crazy things is worth it.”   You’re speechless, not sure how to respond. Naul simply gets up from her chair, much calmer than she was when she first walked into the room. She must’ve decided that this was enough to help her, but before she can leave the room or bid a goodnight, you stop her.   “Stay with him,” you say quickly while standing on your feet.   The door is already parted and she turns to look at you. It’s as if your memories are flashing before your eyes and you are actually trying to talk to your past self. It’s as if you are attempting to alter history that cannot be changed. It isn’t Naul who stands in front of you anymore, but someone much different. “Or at least don’t decide anything on your own. Talk to him properly.”   And the lawyer scoffs with a grin. “Of course I’m staying with him. He’s one of those people in my life that I’ll never be able to let go.”   That same evening, Naul comes home to an apartment where her two brain-celled husband is flipping through grocery flyers on the kitchen floor. When he looks up at her, he smiles and tells her that they both ought to take up fishing since it’s apparently beneficial to their health and a very relaxing hobby. For now, he’s given up the idea of building mud houses near the jungle. But he also tells her that he’s already pre-purchased two very expensive fishing rods and by the way he slightly cringes, she knows he’s afraid she’ll become upset.   But the woman simply sighs and leans down, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him silly. When he smiles against her lips, she parts and nods, finding fishing a great idea.   In the meanwhile, you’re still left dwelling on the conversation.   As you return to your empty home with nothing to do, you wonder how stupid you really are, how you keep crawling back, how you keep running for him, hanging onto every single of his words, how you can keep following him like some kind of loyal dog, even after being abandoned and kicked helplessly. More importantly, you wonder how you can never let go.   It isn’t love. Selfless love. Unconditional love. Any of that. You refuse to believe such a thing. You refuse to believe you harbor such feelings.   But — “You did well.” — one word from him is all it takes for everything you’ve known to crumble.

it’s a wonderful life (5/?)

part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 6 / part 7 / part 8

(i guess this dang story is finally gettin somewhere?)

The sound of iron locks and shifting gears from her prison echoed in her cell.

Blake slowly roused herself from meditation, ears tilting towards the muffled noises from the hallway outside. One person. Heavy boots. A Red Fang-grade taser, and blades clanking by their hip. Breathing muted by a mask.

With a resounding click from the other side, the door’s hinges creaked, and a shaft of light blinded her through closed eyelids. Blake didn’t shift from her spot on the floor. The smell of someone familiar came next, revealed under a nullifying scent hiding the person’s presence from  faunus senses. It was like opening a floodgate of memories, both good and bad. The only other person who can successfully infiltrate a maximum security prison was...

“Blake?” Illia took a few steps inside the dark prison cell. The sound of keys jingling in her shaking hand. She smelled like sweat. She smelled like fear. “I’m gonna get you out of here,” Illia said. “But I need to know that you’re not gonna fucking kill me once I do.”

Blake almost laughed at the irony of being freed by someone who didn’t even want to come near her.

“What are you doing here?” Blake asked, her voice rough after hours of silence, her throat parched and mouth dry.

She heard Illia stumble over her footing after taking another cautious step. Unsurprising, since this was probably the first time they have spoken to each other without death threats, knives, or fighting with lives hanging by a thread.

“You know what they’re planning to do to you, right?”

Blake barely moved, staying still as if her life didn’t depend on a fraction of a second.

The stretching silence whittled Illia’s patience away. Blake wasn’t even acknowledging her presence, sitting with her legs crossed and her eyes closed.

“Are you gonna sit here and do nothing?” Illia chanced a quick look at the prison door, wary of unwanted company. “Where did all your fight go, Belladonna? I thought you said you were gonna kill me if I showed my sorry face around you again.” Illia kneeled in front of her. Blake could hear anger simmering underneath her next words: “Look, no matter what happened between us, you know I can’t just leave you here. You were my friend.”

“You have a wife, right?” Blake finally opened her eyes and turned to her; the cold, unsettling gaze pinning Illia down with a look. “Got married a year ago. A daughter. She is beautiful, by the way.”

Illia wasn’t sure if she liked this kind of attention better or not. A chill overcame her to near freezing, and she couldn’t avoid her voice from shaking.

"How did you know about that?”

Blake turned away and bowed her head, her ears folding back against her head. “You know this is what I deserve. I deserve to stay here for what I’ve done to the White Fang. Don’t throw your life away because of me.”

“And what about what you did for the White Fang? Adam is dead because of you.”

“Can one life outweigh everything I’ve done to you?”

“Blake...”

“You’re wasting your time.” Blake shook her head. “Take the next boat back to Mistral and forget about me.”

“-- Your mother deserves the chance to see you again.”

“Don’t.”

Illia took a little longer this time to swallow her fear, finding herself paralyzed and unable to muster a reply. Blake Belladonna was ruthless. She knew exactly which buttons to push, and Illia figured Blake wasn’t used to having other people practice her own methods against her.

“What else can I do that won’t result in more people getting killed?” Blake asked. “I leave dead bodies wherever I go, Amitola. That’s who I am . That girl you knew -- she’s gone. It’s time you accept it and move on."

“I never gave up on you. Not once.”

"I can see that, because here you are, wasting your time. You’re a fool.”

"Join us.” Illia pressed on nonetheless, leaning forward, desperately trying to catch Blake’s eyes which remained downturned. “Leave this place and come back home. Fight for us.”

“You think this can change?” Blake lifted her hands between them. The sudden movement caused Illia to jump back. Looking down, she saw Blake’s fingernails still stained with Adam’s blood, dried and flaking. “Adam won. I can never go back. I can kill you right now, and I won’t feel remorse. I can make you disappear, cut you down so they’ll never find your body. And nothing from this conversation would have made a difference.”

Illia breathed in deep, and forced her mind to conjure the kind, courageous girl from her childhood. Tried to match that awkward kid to this twisted woman, unrecognizeable as a faunus and more akin to a monster.

“I know if you meant that, you would have done it by now.”

She was running out of time. They must be searching for someone who stole someone’s locker items by now, finding a few missing uniforms and dead bodies lacking personal ID cards. No matter how good Illia was at espionage, breaching The Horn was a serious criminal offense in Adam’s city, classified as a suicide mission by the White Fang.

This was so fucking stupid.

“If they find you, you’ll be killed on sight.” Blake said.

Illia kneeled in front of her, ignoring the feeling of insects skittering around her knee. “I am not giving up on you, because I know you would’ve never given up on me.”

Blake breathed in deep, feeling cold air enter her lungs, and forced her mind to go back...

“Fine.”

Back to sleep.

“I’ll wait.”

She was having that dream again.

Blake looked around and breathed in the autumn air, tilting her head back and taking in the pink sky and rain of red leaves.

Peace and quiet.

She hoped the train would never come.

“In hindsight, this is perhaps not the kind of company you’re expecting?”

She sat upright when she heard the voice which seemed to echo from the heart of the forest itself. Her ears and hackles stood on end as she looked around, trying to focus on where it was coming from.

Nothing.

Just her imagination.

"There is no need to be afraid, young Blake.”

Blake leapt from her perch when she felt someone sit next to her. She reached for the blade on her back, pausing when she remembered it was never there. It took a moment for Blake to realize that she was back to the older version of herself: her long black hair pulled back, oily and crusted with dirt; the scratch on her forehead; the tattered Red Fang uniform she wore for hours or days, hanging on her like soiled rags.

She bared her teeth, furious for her ruined illusion. “What did you do?”

“Well, you weren’t listening to me out there.” The person said, stroking his gray beard, an infuriating smile on his face. “I figured I could try another way reach you.”

Blake shook her head, confused. "Who...?”

“I admit, I hoped you’d fall for the more subtle approach. I guess a little bit of deus ex machina won’t hurt?”

Blake narrowed her eyes, stalking a wide berth around him.

He was an old man, an ordinary faunus, with a modest curl of antler horns on his balding head. What was left of his hair was long and wild, his skin dark, and his cheeks plump. His baggy brown robes hid a haggard posture drooping with a slight hunch.

She tensed when he fished something out of his robe, which turned out to be a beaten wooden pipe. Its stem was long and flute-like, worn and used; its chamber gilded with a row of golden leaves.

Blake studied him, yellow eyes calculating, trying to place the old man’s face in her memory.

“You’re in my dream.”

“And I must apologize for intruding.”

“Whatever, or whoever you are -- what are you doing in my dream?”

“Well,” The old man nodded. “Why can I not be here?”

“Because this is my dream, and my dreams never had you in it.”

“You said it yourself. This is a dream. Anything can happen in a dream.” The old man smiled. “And dreams are my domain.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What do you want from me?”

“Well,” The old man took a puff of smoke from his pipe. The smell of tobacco permeated the air, and Blake watched his face fall. The wrinkles on his forehead sloped as he appeared to think deeply. “At least, with me here, Adam won’t call for you, yes?”

She didn’t know what to say about that.

“Would you like to sit?” He asked, patting the space next to him on the rock.

Blake sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked about their surroundings, and saw they were indeed alone in the grove. The train hadn’t come. It was like time had stopped thanks to the presence of her interloper, but Blake wouldn’t thank him just yet. She watched as he took his time to enjoy the wind; a casual resident traipsing around in her head.

Blake sat down.

“I must be losing my mind.” She said. “Not even my head would leave me the hell alone.”

“Maybe if you stopped running away, we would.”

Blake swallowed her bitterness. "I’m not the type to run away.”

"And that is why I’m here for you, Blake. You didn’t run away.”

“I didn’t -- I don’t know what you mean?” She said. Blake studied him closely. “I didn’t run from where? Are you...?”

The old man tapped the flute pipe on his arm, dusting his gray sleeve with ash. “I’m not death, if that’s what you’re wondering.” He said.

"Quit dancing around and just answer my damn questions. Why are you here? Who are you?”

“And you will have your answers. Patience, Blake. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you who or what I am easily, yes?” The old man’s eyes glinted a molten gold. Blake shifted uneasily on her perch, unable to force herself to look away, a strange draw tugging desperately at her heart. “But I will answer your second question.”

From her peripheral, she saw a weathered old hand reach out for a handshake. One which she took... was compelled to take -- no matter how much she wanted to wake up. No matter how much she wanted to believe this wasn’t real. Just a dream. Not a memory.

“I am happy to finally meet you, Blake. I am the God of Light.” The old man said. “And I am here to help you find your way.”

Zeketra (is that the ship name :-/) where Petra and Zeke are on a blind date. You're the best writer1

You’re the best! And, yes, that’s what @clio-moria and I use as the ship name ^^

Blind Date

Zeketra. Modern AU.

3150 words. 

Petra waits impatiently at the bar, smiling quickly and shaking her head when a waiter stops at her table to ask if she’d like a drink while she waits for her date. A part of her hopes he won’t show at all. She’s sure if he did, he’d only turn out to be a serial killer. After all, what kind of man uses a dating app if not to find potential victims? The only reason she agreed to this was because Hanji had practically begged her to, complaining that they had scoured the edges of all the dating apps in existence in order to find her the perfect and this man, Hanji claims, is certainly the one that Petra has been waiting for all her life. Doubtful, but Petra decided that a drink (only one!) wouldn’t hurt and scheduled a short date at a bar close to her apartment. If things went well, perhaps the date would be more than just a drink. If not…she could just down her drink fairly quickly and dash away. The way things are looking, the date seems to be more of the latter because it’s been ten minutes since he was supposed to arrive, and he didn’t have the decency to text her about being late.

She sighs and checks her phone, thinking that the time isn’t going by fast enough. Once fifteen minutes pass, she can return home and just let Hanji know that she’d been stood up and that no date had taken place. She’s fine with being single anyway. She doesn’t understand why Hanji was making such a big deal about this guy.

Truthfully, Petra doesn’t even know what the guy looks like. Hanji had refused to show her a picture and her friend had been the one to coordinate the blind date. Even though Petra had told her that it would be impossible for her to recognize him when he walked into the room, Hanji told her not to worry. She’d certainly know it was him once she saw him.

Petra looks lazily around the room right now, her gaze glossing over every man that appears to be single in the dimly lit bar. Really, it could be anyone because Hanji had given her absolutely no hint at all about who it could be. It could be the slightly balding man in the corner who’s drinking his third glass of beer, face red and glowing from all the alcohol. It could be the young man who looks nervously about him like he’s not supposed to be here. Petra suspects that it’s either his first time in a bar or he’s snuck in here using a fake ID. Perhaps both. Maybe it’s even the dark stranger with the sour expression sitting at the counter and complaining about his day with the bartender. Or, Petra thinks, that dashing man who had just walked in, his blond hair grown out so that it frames his chiseled face. He even has a well-grown beard and a decent mustache, two things that Petra had never thought of as attractive until now, that make him look like he could be a young Greek god. Ah, but it’s not as if Hanji would ever hook her up with someone that looked as perfect as that.

She looks down at her table again, frowning at her expression reflected in the table’s surface. She traces a finger around a stain, wondering when the last time anyone had wiped it down.

If there was someone Hanji had set her up with, it would probably be someone who looked rather ordinary, right? A guy who looked too good was bound to fool around sooner or later, but Hanji would never accept anyone who looked less than acceptable. Not that Petra knows what Hanji’s idea of acceptable is. Ah, but a guy like the one who had just walked in is impossible, Petra thinks. She laughs to herself, but when she looks up, she’s startled to find that very man standing in front of her.

“Miss Ral?” he asks with a polite smile on his face. She didn’t think it was possible, but he looks even better up close. His blond hair falls in such perfect waves, his eyes a gorgeous green that Petra didn’t know existed, and he stands so tall before her that she’s sure that he’s not human at all. He must be a statue chiseled from the gods come to life. How is it that her name is the one that comes from his lips? “You are Petra Ral, correct? I’m Zeke Jaeger. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting very long.”

She had intended to be indifferent when her date finally arrived and apologized for making her wait so long, but she can only mumble that it’s fine and that she herself had only just got here even though that’s a lie.

“That’s good to hear, although I’d feel better if you allowed me to get you a drink as an apology,” he says to her. She wishes he’d stop smiling at her. She might faint if he doesn’t. Really, it should be a crime that someone as beautiful as he exists. “Is there something in particular you’d like?”

She’s not sure what she tells him to get her, but she must have told him something because he gives her another charming smile before disappearing to the bar to retrieve their orders. Once he’s gone, she whips out her phone to text Hanji.

Hanji, what the fuck? This guy isn’t real. She receives a text from her friend almost immediately.

What??? Did he catfish me? And I thought I was so careful too! I’m sorry, Petra baby ☹

Petra sighs, running a hand through her hair and then regretting it immediately because it would only make it look messier and she had already put minimal effort into preparing for this date. She wishes she had put on a nicer dress at least and worked a little bit more on her makeup. Zeke probably regrets ever agreeing to meet her in the first place.

No, I mean he just looks too good to be true. He looks like he stepped out of a men’s fashion magazine.

Ohhh. Here, Hanji inserts a winky face with a heart. Only the best for you, Petra! And if you think he’s impressive now, you should see him without a shirt. Although maybe you will tonight…

Petra rolls her eyes thinking that Hanji is being ridiculous, but she receives a picture of Zeke on her phone and her jaw nearly drops to the floor.

She’s seen pictures of photogenic people before, but none of them hold a candle to Zeke Jaeger especially when he’s standing on the beach hardly looking at the camera. The sun sets in the background, the sky painted a perfect blend of soft pinks and oranges and yellows, and the ocean reflect the warmth of those colors against its cool blue waters. The background, though, as beautiful as it is can’t match the perfection that is Zeke.

He’s reaching up to run a hand through his hair, giving Petra a good view of his perfectly toned chest. The shirt he had worn deprived her of a sight of his impressive abs, glistening from the water he had just emerged from like a child of Aphrodite. Her eyes follow the water dripping down his chest and she bites her lip when she sees the shorts that are slung low on his hips. Good lord, she might actually say yes if he asks her to sleep with him tonight. Heck, she might ask him to sleep with her.

“Your drink, Miss Ral,” Zeke says as he approaches their table with their drinks.

Petra’s so startled that she drops her phone, catching it right before it hits the ground. Hastily, she turns off the screen of her phone and shoves it into her purse so that he can’t see that she’s been ogling half-naked pictures of him. She giggles nervously to show him that everything’s fine, tucking her hair behind her ears as he places her drink in front of her. She tries hard not to stare at him too hard, but she knows that she’ll spend most of the night thinking about the heavenly body hiding beneath his clothing. Goddamn it, Hanji.

“Just letting my friend know that I’m fine,” Petra says with a forced smile. She feels the need to fidget some more, but she doesn’t want to seem any more awkward than she already is so she sits still with her hands folded on the table.

“Ah, yes, Hanji. I hope you didn’t tell them that I came late,” Zeke says. He lifts his drink – a rum and coke – to his lips and takes a slow sip. Somehow, he manages to make even this simple action attractive and Petra finds herself having to look away, her face flushing. “They mentioned that they wouldn’t hesitate to ruin me if I didn’t treat you to a less than perfect evening. I’ve probably ruined that already by not arriving to our date on time.”

“Oh, I only waited for a few minutes,” Petra lies. She can’t understand how a man like this could be apologizing to her. She reaches for her own glass to give herself something to drink (Is this an old-fashioned? She’s not sure) and says, “I’m sure you have your reasons.”

“I do owe you an explanation at least,” Zeke says. “I was helping a woman catch her dog. Its leash snapped, and the silly little thing was running around the park. It took quite a while, but we managed to capture it in the end. The time completely slipped away from me and I had to come later than I wanted to. All disheveled after the chase too. I’m sorry I look like such a mess even though you yourself look so lovely tonight. I assure you that I’m usually very punctual to important dates such as these.”

First of all, she can’t believe that he’s apologizing for how he looks right now because he doesn’t look messy at all to her, his hair just sexily tousled and his button-up unbuttoned in such a way that she can see his perfect collar bones peeking out. Compared to her in a dress she had tossed on lazily with her hair brushed quickly before she ran out the door to meet him, he looks infinitely better. It’s difficult to tell if he’s flattering her to be polite or if he genuinely does think she’s beautiful. Or maybe Hanji paid him. They do have those boyfriends to rent in China. Perhaps they’re making their way over here as well.

Then, of course, there’s the fact that he was only late to their date because he was helping a woman find her dog. It’s probably the only acceptable reason for anyone to be late to anything and Petra can feel her heart melt.

“A dog?” Petra says. “Was it very cute? Oh, I’m so glad you were able to catch it in the end.”

“It was adorable,” Zeke tells her with a grin, “but I wasn’t able to get a picture. I do have pictures of my own dogs if you’d like to see them.”

“You have more than one?”

He slides his phone over to her and shows him his lock screen. There are the dogs he had mentioned – one a gorgeous golden retriever and the other a black Labrador with a sleek and shiny coat. They’re as photogenic as their owner, smiling for the camera like a couple of animal models.

Just when she thought he couldn’t get more perfect he reveals that he has pets. Petra’s honestly afraid that she might find out this is all a dream and that she’s about to wake up soon.

“Do you have any pets of your own?” Zeke asks her.

“Oh no,” Petra laughs. She takes a sip of her drink, thinking that the alcohol might calm her down. She’s surprised by how much it burns down her throat, and she coughs a little bit before answering. “My apartment doesn’t allow for pets although I’d love to keep a dog or a cat sometime.”

“Well, perhaps you can meet mine sometime,” Zeke says.

The more he reveals about himself, the more intriguing she finds him. He has a younger half-brother named Eren and although they have a seven-year age gap between them, they’re quite close. He works as a business analyst at banking company after double majoring in finance and management with a minor in accounting at Sina University. He likes to volunteer at his local library every other week when they hold book sales and borrows books because he already has too many lying around his house to buy any more. He walks his dogs every night and in the mornings on the weekends. He enjoys a drink with his friends every now and again but not all that often.

She thought she would feel dull talking about him in comparison, but he hangs onto her every word and seems genuinely interested in her life. He asks her about what it’s like to work at a publishing house (not very exciting, but at least she now knows everything about supernatural romance novels), her hobbies (reading, watching movies, and baking even though she’s not really good at it), and her favorite places to go when she’s not working (the park because she likes the ambience when she’s going out to read and the mall for the theaters and grabbing a bite to eat afterward, but she purposely forgets to mention the beach because just thinking about it makes her feel like a pervert). It doesn’t take long for her to get used to his gaze and she finds herself being able to converse with him effortlessly without stumbling over herself.

Although she had intended this date to go by much sooner (really, she was planning on just downing her drink in about five minutes if things were going downhill), she sipped her drink slowly and carefully to spend as much time with him as possible. It seems he does the same because it takes quite a bit of time to finish his own drink, only taking sips after she’s finished speaking with him because he wants to give her his full attention when she talks. Still, they finish their drinks too quickly and she regrets not picking a restaurant to dine at.

“How is it that you don’t have a girlfriend yet?” Petra says. The alcohol has loosened her tongue some, allowing her to ask questions she never would otherwise. She swirls the melted ice around in the bottom of her glass, taking a sip and then frowning when she remembers she’s already finished her drink and all that’s left is ice water. “It’s like you walked out of a Jane Austen novel.”

“Ah, Miss Austen,” Zeke says with an affectionate smile on his face. “I’m flattered, but I’m afraid I’m nowhere near as charming as Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley.”

No, he’s far more divine than any of those men can be because he’s real and sitting in front of her in flesh and blood whereas those fictional male leads will only be words in a book or (if you’re a fan of the movie adaptations) men on the screen.

“Do you really have such bad luck with dating that you had to resort to a dating app though?” Petra asks curiously. He could have any woman on the street if he really wanted, she’s sure.

“My brother says I’m quite picky,” Zeke says with a sheepish smile that Petra thinks is surprisingly adorable. “He was the one to actually set me up with an online profile and suggested you were perfect with me.”

She makes a mental note to thank his brother if she ever meets him.

“Did you want to come inside?” Petra asks, feeling nervous again. Perhaps it’s too early to ask him to come inside her apartment (she’s not even sure the last time she properly cleaned the place or if she has anything embarrassing lying around), but she doesn’t want this night to end. She curses herself for being so practically cynical. Why couldn’t she just be optimistically romantic for once in her life?

He refuses, of course, and she shouldn’t feel so disappointed, but she does until he clarifies, “Only because I need to go feed my dogs. I thought it would be fine since it seemed we were only to go out for drinks. If I had known we were going out afterward, I would have gotten a sitter.”

“Ah, that’s fine,” Petra says hastily.

“But another time for sure, if you’ll have me,” Zeke says. Could it be that he’s looking at her shyly? Doesn’t he know by now that she could never refuse him? It’d be a sin to turn down a man like him. “Is next week too soon?”

“Of course not,” Petra says, and then she stops breathing completely because she finds his face so close to hers as he leans down, cupping her face delicately in his hands.

“I’ll look forward to it then,” he replies with that same perfect smile before pressing a kiss against her mouth.

She’s so surprised that she stands there in shock for a second before realizing that this isn’t a dream at all, that this night is all somehow magically real, and melts into him. She thinks she’s never been kissed so sweetly before, the taste of lips laced with a bit of bitterness from the rum and coke he had earlier, and likes the way he firmly plants his mouth on hers. She knots a fist into his shirt to bring him closer, kissing him back but hoping that she doesn’t seem too eager. Too quickly he pulls away and she an involuntary sigh escapes her lips once he parts, making him smile.

“Was that too forward of me?” he asks softly. He tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “I know we’ve just met, but I couldn’t resist.”

“Not at all,” Petra replies breathlessly. “That was…perfect.”

“Those are my feelings as well,” Zeke says with a grin. He steps away, hands in his pockets. “We’ll go over details when you’re free and hopefully we’ll see each other again soon. It was delightful meeting you, Petra.”

“Likewise,” Petra murmurs.

As soon as he leaves, Petra runs up the stairs to her apartment to text Hanji.

You’ll never guess what happened, she texts.

You naughty girl! Did you sleep with him already? Hanji sends her a string of suggestive emojis and a lot of…eggplant emojis.

Petra rolls her eyes. No, but I did have the most wonderful evening.

She can practically hear Hanji screaming from the other side. So spill!

So she does.

Prompt: dick and jason captured by a villain who wabts to know batmans secret identity. Dick volubteers himself for interrogation but does it in a way so the bad guys dibt get suspicious. Like, "hah, him? No way woukd batman tell HIM his secret ID." And jason afrerwards being pissed bc Dick you idiot how could you do that toyourself you self sacrificing idiot

Thank you anon for this lovely prompt! I had a great time writing it and I hope you liked what I wrote ~ 

It was just their damn luck. Sheer stupid luck that endedup getting them caught in a trap. Or should he say, it was Dick’s fault. Yeah,let’s just blame it on Dick. They were investigating an abandoned warehousetogether where Dick ‘accidentally’tripped a wire, caused them to get doused with sleeping gas.

And now, Jason found himself tied up in a locked roomalong with an unconscious Dick beside him. His hands were knotted tightlybehind his back and legs were bound together. Dick was in the same condition ashim, but he seemed a little bit more roughed up than usual. Had a small bruiseon the side of his face, smeared with a bit of dirt. Did he fall on somethinghard or did he potentially wake up only to get knocked out by whoever hadcaptured them?

Whatever it was, Nightwing seemed okay for the most part.Was slumped against him, head resting on his shoulder as it rolled back andforth. Jason was thankful that they hadn’t bothered unmasking them…yet. Tried to sit up straight so hecould make it comfortable for his—his well, his whatever it was. Brother? Fake brother? Or his crush that he often lusted after, butnever took it anywhere? Instead, just flirted like an idiot.

He sighed softly and wanted to nurse the slight poundingin the corner of his head. Blamed it on the toxic gas for making his mindbleary, but at least his head survived the fall. Bless his mask. Whoever madefun of it can go to hell because this thing was a life saver.

Jason looked around the room for any sign of openings.Found that there was a door that was most likely locked and hopefully, it couldbe easily picked. Otherwise he could just blast it—oh no. He can’t. His gunswere taken. Jason peered down at his holsters and found that they were indeedempty. He luckily still had a few gadgets on him, could feel them within hisarmor. The idiots hadn’t checked them completely.

There were soft rumblings from beside him and he feltDick shuffle, head tripping over Jason’s shoulder and jerking him awake.

“Morning sleeping beauty,” Jason mumbled,teased him as Dick lifted his head with his mouth ajar and a brow raised.

“Wha—?”

“Yeah. Nice to see you’re up.“ 

“What’s going on?” Dick questioned, stillgroggy and trying to wake up. He gave a quick glance around the room andsuddenly sat up straight, seeming to realize the situation he was in. He tuggedat the bonds, testing to see if they could be undone easily, but they weresecured as a cuff. “Shit,” he cursed and that wasn’t a first. Dickhad a bit of a profanity issue even though most didn’t think so.

“Good to know you’re aware we’ve been captured andtied up.”

“So has whoever caught up revealed himselfyet?” Dick asked and winced, hissing loudly.

“No and are you okay?” Jason murmured,concerned about Dick’s well-being.

Dick sighed and nodded his head. “Yeah. Just, Ithink I hit my head.“ 

"Hm.” Jason tried to search for it in the dimlylit room, couldn’t see much of anything though. “Can’t tell.”

“Here,” Dick said, twisted and turned as bestas he could so Jason could take a good look at the side of his head, which, hestill couldn’t see anything.

“I don’t see—” He was suddenly interrupted bythe door swinging open, banging against the wall with a loud thud.

There, stood a man, one that they knew. The criminalwho’d captured them was the drug lord they were after. He was a middle agedman, large and burly. Was balding partially and had a receding hairline. Thelines of his face were sharp and he had a defined jaw. Eyes were dark andheavy, intimidating to the general population. He was wearing a smirk on hisface and strolled in like he owned it, flaunting his success at capturing them.

He pulled up a chair from the side that Jason seriouslydidn’t see beforehand, swung it around so the back was facing them and sat downwith legs squeezing the front. Placed his arms atop the back rest, lax andpompous. 

“Look what we got here,” the man sneered.“Red Hood and Nightwing. Twopeas in a pod." 

"Yep,”Dick said with a pop of his lips, confirming for the man. “That’s us.”Nightwing blurted and Jason wanted to kick him in the leg but couldn’t.

“Ah. Smart one aren’t we? But who’s the one that’stied up and about to be at my mercy?" 

"Not us.”

Jason rolled his eyes so hard they almost got stuck atthe back of his head. He tilted to the side, banged Dick on the head with hishelmet, heard him grimace and groan at him.

Snickering, the criminal made a remark. "Looks likeyou two are in a bit of a shuffle.”

“Nah. You’re just thinking it,” Dick said butthere was a hardness to his voice, warning Jason to stop getting in the way.Even though he was the one that was trying to be an annoyance. Didn’tunderstand they were in a bit of a bind here and probably should be cautious.

“Right,” the man said, whistling a tune as hepulled out a knife, twirled it around to show off how sharp the edge of theblade was. “So, which one of you would like to go first? Telling me allyour secrets, especially Batman’s identity.” He licked his lipssatisfyingly. Neither Jason nor Dick answered to that question, let it hang inthe air for a few minutes until the drug lord got impatient. “No one eh?Well, if no one volunteers then I’ll just pick one.” He said and pointedthe knife directly at Jason.

That’s when Dick decided to jump right in and do the moststupid thing he’d ever done. Okay, oneof the stupidest things because the fool always had to be the one to puthimself in danger. He was just a freaking danger magnet.

“Hah.Him?” Dick scoffed, putting on his bad boy attitude. “You’ll getnothing from him.”

“Shut up.”Jason hissed and tried to make a jab at him but his elbows wouldn’t reach.

“He’ll tell you nothing. I mean, come on. He’s theRed Hood for fuck’s sake. Do you even think he knows Batman’s identity?”

God this idiot was trying to offer himself as thesacrificial lamb. Just put himself on a plate and serve it right up. Oh hell nowas Jason letting him take the fall.

“I’d be more opened to telling,” Jason said andDick about just shoved him off to the side. 

“Stay down,” he snarled, getting pissed off andoh, was he angry. “Just let medo this.”

Fuck no was Jason going to listen to him. Parted his lipsto argue back, but it was too late. The man got up from his seat, chair fallingto the ground and strode right over to them. Fingers wrapped around Dick’s arm,squeezing so tight it could bruise and jerked him upwards, reeling him in. Hecut off the ropes that bound his legs and kept the knife to his lowerback. 

“Try to run and I will kill you,” he threatenedand shoved at Dick, caused him to fumble forward as he made him exit theroom. 

“Nightwing!” Jason shouted, struggled to undothe ropes keeping him grounded. The man snickered, glanced back at him with afucking grin. Jason snarled back, gritting his teeth and just wanted to wipethat smirk off his face. 

“You’re going to enjoy hearing his screams as Itorture him,” he taunted and kicked the door shut. Heard the lock clickand footsteps slowly getting farther and farther away.

Jason shouted, angry and slammed his feet against theground. “Fucking Dick,” he murmured under his breath, cursing hisidiot of a crush or whatever the hell he was to him, for doing what he did.

He need to calm down, needed to find a way to escape sohe could rescue him. Wasn’t going to just let Dick be tortured for information.Not like that because he knew how it felt, had gone through it before. It was thereason why he died in the first place and there was no way Dick was goingthrough that.

Jason drew in a few deep breaths, in and out to calm hisrapidly beating heart. Pulling it back to a norm before he thought up a fewdifferent scenarios in his head. Luckily, the man wasn’t smart enough to do athorough check and he was lucky to still have the knife buried in the sleeve ofhis jacket. 

Carefully, he twisted and curled his wrists as best as hecould, getting his fingers to bend enough so the tips could grab onto thehandle of his tiny knife. He pulled it out and quickly cut through the ropes.After successfully freeing his arms, he stretched and shook them, tried to workout the kinks and stress of his muscles. Next, he undid the binds on his legsand jumped up to his feet.

The fucker was about to get a beating for messing withthem and if he so much as sees a cut on Dick, then he’s done for.

For being a criminal who thought he was so smart, hewasn’t really. Had the simplest lock on the door that Jason picked within a fewseconds. He didn’t even have a bolt or even any freaking bodyguards to watchover him. Seriously, was the guy a novice and just got lucky because Dick andJason decided to be idiots tonight?

That just made them sound like they were also beginnersso Jason scratched the thought and decided to just leave it at the man for notbeing well prepared enough. Underestimated them—yeah, that sounded nice. 

Jason carefully filtered down the hall, searching throughoutthe warehouse for signs of Dick. Pressed an ear through each door to listen forsomething, didn’t want to just open it in case he’d get caught. It was oddthough, felt like there was no one within the whole vicinity. The man couldn’tjust be a one-man show…or he could. Or his crew was just small. 

Speaking of crew, he found them crouching outside thebuilding. Could see them from the second story as he peeked outside the window.Well, there they were. There were about five men who were just standing guardoutside, not at all suspicious.

Jason was starting to think he was new to the businessand he supposed that would be a bonus for him. Easy to out play and take out.

He continued with his search and roamed the place somemore and finally, he heard Dick’s screams, loud and screeching and he rushed tothe room. Found it wide open with Dick’s hands tied up to a rope hanging fromthe ceiling, pulling him up just a few inches from the ground. His uniform wasin tears, ripped up and torn, parts of it hanging off around his waist. 

Jason could see tiny cuts and bruises coloring his torso,what bit of skin he could see and god,he could see red right now. Could feel anger boiling within him, ready torelease on this poor soul that was about to meet his end. Fingers curled intotight fists, balling and he jumped right in, caught the man off guard as hekicked him off to the side and stabbed him in the back. 

“Hood!” Dick called and Jason couldn’t hearhim. All he could hear was static, screeching and buzzing in his ear. Was sopissed at this fucker for hurting Dick and knocked him to the ground as hetried to get up. He climbed on top of him, pinned him to the cold concrete andthrew punch after punch at his face until he was no longer recognizable. Untilhis hands were covered in blood. 

“Hood. Fuck!Just—listen to me Little Wing!"  

And that’s when he stopped. His body frozen when heregistered that nickname that Dick had given him. Green-blue eyes stared at themess he’d made, the face he’d just pummeled. Couldn’t even tell whose blood waswhose as he could feel his knuckles sting with pain. The man was still alive,very much twitching and slowly, he climbed off of him. Kicked him once morebefore he went right over to Dick. 

The Golden boy sighed softly, relieved that Jason hadcalmed down, as much as he could calm the fuck down. He helped Dick out of hisbind, wrapped a secured arm around his waist to support his fall as he undidthe rope. The moment he dropped to the ground, Dick disentangled himself fromJason and moved to check on the motionless body. Found that he was stillbreathing and just unconscious. He got right to work and bound him up withzip-ties and made a call to the local police.

Jason was just standing there, lost in thought as he juststared at Dick, watched as he worked. And then he was being tugged away, pulledalong by Dick like a sack of potatoes as the vigilante dragged him out of thewarehouse, away from the crime scene.

They ended up hiding between two buildings, out of viewfrom everyone. In a corner of town where there was less people, almost like aghost town. Not that anyone would really be out this late at night. 

Dick had Jason pinned to the wall, unclasp the hooks tothis helmet and pulled it off. He tossed it to the ground and roughly grabbedhis hands, attempting to dab away the blood that was slowly drying with hisripped up uniform.

"Dick—” Jason called.

“What?” He said, snapped back at him and no, he did not get to do this to him.Because he was the one that endangered himself and was being stupid and—and—

“God damn it Dick,” Jason hissed and grabbedhis wrist, stopping whatever he was trying to do. “You—” he growled,getting pissed off. Was ready to let out his anger that he’d been holding infor the past few hours. “You’re so stupid." 

"What?” Dick asked, appalled by the insult. 

“That’s right. You’re an idiot. You’re aself-sacrificing idiot who just—god damn it. Why did you have to do that toyourself? Why do you always have to be the hero?” Jason shouted, voicefilled with rage. His fingers were trembling as he pressed down around Dick’swrist with enough strength to leave marks.

It must have hurt and he knew it hurt and yet, Dick saidnothing. Just looked at him with his chapped lips pressed into a thin line. Heturned off the whites of his lenses and Jason could see his bright eyes, blownwide and confused. 

Jason took that as a sign to continue seeing he wasn’tabout to retort. “You always do this. Always have to be the one tosacrifice yourself to help others. You have no sense of danger for yourself andthen you end up getting hurt!” He knew he was shouting, raising his voicebut he couldn’t help it. He was irritated and anxious, hated it every time Dickpulled a stunt like this. 

“Your identity is important and so is Bruce’s even though I hate him.” Jasonsighed and loosened the hold on his wrist to reel him in. Dick fell intoJason’s chest and the taller man wrapped an arm securely around his waist.Buried his fingers in his hair and pressed his lips tenderly to the cute littleswirl he’d like to stare at sometimes. “I worry, damn it. You made me worried. You’re a risk. I’m not. I’m deadto the world so it wouldn’t even matter if they unmasked me.”

“Jason—" 

"No. Let me fucking finish. I’m not done beratingyou yet.” And Dick just chuckled at that and Jason had to crack a look athim. The man was smiling wide, wearing an amused grin on his face like whatJason had said wasn’t important. That it was nothing and it was just a joke.

“Why are you laughing?" 

”Well. Iget what you’re saying but I couldn’t let you get captured and tortured. Again.“ He added that last wordsoftly, sounded sad and guilty. "Not again because I wouldn’t be able tobear it.” Jason knew exactly what he was referring to and felt Dick’s handcurl against his chest. “I wasn’t there last time, but this time, I was.So I had to do something. Anything toprevent you from being in that position again.” Vibrant blue eyes gazed at him,full of concern and honesty. So vulnerable that Jason couldn’t help but kisshim. Captured his lips with his own, heard Dick gasp from surprise. It wasshort and chaste and just—everything Jason wanted.

“You’re so fucking dumb. I swear. I can handle myself,” Jason said, was bluffingthrough his embarrassment, trying to hide it. 

Dick just laughed and leaned up on his tip toes (whichwas adorable as fuck, enjoyed the fact that he was taller than the Golden Boy),kissed the tip of his jawline, leaving tiny little soft kisses. “I supposeI am. But I’m not changing that. If I can save someone than I will." 

Jason groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, pinched thebridge of his nose in frustration. He was never going to learn. The golden boywas who he was and no matter what Jason said, no matter how he spun his wordsor how much he tried to convince him otherwise, he wasn’t going to listen. Hewas always going to be the self-sacrificing fool and Jason just had to learnhow to deal with it.

He couldn’t believe he was about to say what he neverthought he would say. "This is why I fucking love you.” And Dick justsmirked, like he knew it already. And that, well,that was okay then. At least they could start somewhere.

And anywhere was fine with Jason.

If you’d like to send me a prompt, feel free too and I’ll try to get to it as soon as I can :)

The Exception. 6. Epilogue 

They had 4 kids, Britany their little Bree, Luke, Adam and Chris. Life took the third back to God just a week after he was born. 

They cried, they mourned, weeks turning into months and Chris came unexpectedly, bringing happiness and joy back to the family.

Stefan stroked the old picture with his thumb.

Mieke and he were standing on the Sydney Bridge, Bree in his arms, Luke in his mother’s. Adam was still growing inside his mother’s womb, little angel who had been ghosting his memories for more than 50 years. 

Cora, as she was used to on each Sunday, took this picture in May 1945, Adam was born in June, about two months early.

They were celebrating the end of that damn war, the World sighed in relief but there was so many wounds to heal.

Europe, Russia had been devastated; Germany and Japan would pay for their faults for decades. Mankind would recover, maybe, and have its dignity and faith in humanity bringing goodness back.

Chris was missing in the black and white picture. He came the year after Adam died. 

Stefan felt a stab in his heart at the reminder. Mieke and he had been more devastated by his lost than any city blown up to ruins by bombings. 

They cried again and again, fighting hell to get up in the morning, trying their best to keep up a smile on their tired faces and raise their other children. Mieke had acted like a ghost for months and all his attempts to cheer her up failed miserably. She closed her heart and her thighs to him, slowly fading away. 

One night where she was silently crying, he took her in his arms and rocked her gently; his chin on the top of her head, whispering soothing love words in her ear as she finally let it go. 

She cried and hit her fists on his chest, biting his shoulder to keep herself from screaming too loudly. She dug her nails deep into his skin, leaving marks, and then slapped his face with all the force she had left. 

Like it was his fault. Like it could be someone’s fault. 

He let her straddle him as she was beating him up, until she crashed down on him, exhausted and panting. He wrapped his wife close to his chest and sat up; combed back her hair damped with tears, stroked lightly her perfect lines, then brushed her lower lips, red from being bitten to blood.

“Mieke, I love you.”

He just said.

She stared at him for a solid minute, reading deep sadness in his eyes, along with hope. And love.

She leant over to brush her lips on his, and then pushed him back to the mattress. Grabbing the hem of her nightdress, she rolled the cloth up her thighs and lifted her ass up to line up with his shaft. Her fingers grasped his pec, and she sighed as she slid down his cock, her eyes never leaving his.

She made love to him, the same way she always had, in their other life.

Chris came 9 full months later. They welcomed this strong young boy, healthy and bald. Happiness filled their house again, along with the cries of the newborn, hungry both for life and milk.

The Kaiser was right; they fought for human rights and equality on each occasion. 

They fought for the rights of the natives, and drove to Canberra that day in 2008, when Kevin Rudd apologized officially for the shameful way Australia treated Aboriginals and the stolen generation.

They fought for the equality between men and women, between all human beings, whatever colour their skin was.

They fought against the ‘gay panic defense’ law, which allowed people to justify a murder in the name of their fear of homosexuals.

More recently they fought for gay and lesbian’s rights, hoping for them to be allowed to get married one day. Love was love after all.

They were involved in several causes and proud to teach this to their children. Goodness and justice as a legacy. 

And Australia was on its way to the fairness she claimed.

Mieke died the year before, in her mid 70s. Breast cancer. At least, he had all his family back home for the funerals.

Stefan let a sob out, it still hurt so much. They had a good life together; they could tell they knew love and happiness. Which he wished to all his children and grand children.

Brittany married twice and gave birth to three girls. She had to follow her latest husband to Perth and he missed his little Bree so much. She called her mom and dad every day by phone or Skype. 

Handwritten letters and much awaited mails were bygone days. He wondered how things would have gone if Mieke had been able to call the Kaiser with her IPhone and get an answer by fax or e-mail within an hour. 

Anyway, the two or three times a year he had them home was never enough to enjoy his beloved daughter and her team, to which he loved telling stories of their mother as a child. She still thought she was born here in Sydney, as written and stamped on her certificate of birth.

Luke had always been a lonely and introvert child, only fully alive when talking about ocean and what’s beyond. He was eager to travel the world, dreaming of being a sailor or working on an oil rig. He loved staying all by himself and told his parents he didn’t feel like he belonged there. He was only 6.

Mieke had cried many rivers, blaming herself not to have been able to take care for him after Adam died, foreseeing their son leaving their household at an early age, which she wouldn’t survive as she repeated again and again. 

She survived though, when he came home at 17, hired as a steward on a yacht, bound for a cruise to French Polynesia. He was over excited, about to ‘live the dream’ , jumping up and down through the house, packing his stuff and shoving them in a big duffle bag.

Pulling his crying mother in a huge hug, he begged, subtly delivering the speech he had prepared for the occasion.

“Mom, this is what makes me happy. I promise I’ll send you postcards from every single place I land on. Mom, please, let me go.”

Stefan looked at the wall where thousands of cards were pinned. There was no country in the world Luke had not put a foot on. 

He tried to settle down in Sydney when he was 30, even took a wife and had a son. But this was not a life for him. He had stayed at bay for 4 years but the ocean screamed his name so loud every fucking day and he had to struggle too hard not to pack and leave within the second.

Chris had always been his favorite. Not really his fav but they always had been very close. Thinking alike, same sense of humour, same skills in teasing and winking, same no skill in taking pics. Mieke was use to mocking them, saying they couldn’t take a good picture to save their lives. 

Chris married a blonde beauty who brought two children into the world. A girl and boy. 

They named their first born Bree, after Chris big sister. And the boy was weirdly called Jai, a name he had never heard before, Stephen as a middle name. Like his beloved grand pa.

Bree had dark eyes and hair, she reminded him of Mieke so much. Smart and beautiful, she wanted to become a teacher like her mother. She was surprisingly -not that much- very skilled in foreign languages.

The boy was the perfect Aussie bloke, blonde curls, amazing blue eyes, sporty, cheeky and kind of a womanizer. He had inherited his frame but looked so much like his mother. Pretty allergic to each foreign language that was not deep accented australian.

He often paid a visit to his grand parents, shamelessly skipping school to sip a beer with his grand pa, chitchatting about girls, life and acting. It had always been his passion, playing someone else, telling stories.

He was chasing the gig, dreaming of a career in Hollywood.

Stefan chuckled. He and Mieke had been very talented at it. Being someone else, telling stories, lying about their roots.

Mieke made him swear to never ever speak about their former life. Too dangerous. The shadow of what happened when they arrived in Sydney haunted her brain and she told him she’d rather kill him than relive those bad times. 

Their deepest secret had laid under a floorboard since they moved in this house, after Luke was born. Sealed like their lips. 

The ID they made whilst in London before leaving, Nietzsche’s 'Beyond good and evil’ he still remembered Mieke’s note and the first page by heart. The letter the Kaiser wrote to save Stefan’s life. The official court decision that made him a free man. Their wedding pic. Few pics of them taking pose with Cora or Marvin before they had to cut ties with them. To keep the secret.

It was a miracle that none of their children or grandchildren ever asked about their roots, their story, where Mieke’s name came from or why she kept calling his husband Stefan instead of Stephen.

The rules of family secrets. No questions.

At some point, he would have to tell his family the truth. 

Stefan Brandt and Mieke De Jong. 

The Kaiser Willem II. The spy, the murders, the war, the run. The real story of Bree’s birth. Her real name. The reason she named all her dolls Cora. The real reason why Luke lived for sailing. Running from Oz to find where he was really from. 

The reason why Jai wanted to be somebody else for a living.

The real story of the Courtney’s.

@captstefanbrandt @kenzieam @beautifulramblingbrains @pathybo @beltz2016 @bookwarm85 @jaicourtneyseyes @oddsnendsfanfics @frecklefaceb @writingismyhappytime @badassbaker @anditcametopass @kiiiimberlyriiiicker1995

@tigpooh67 @societalfailure @singingpeople

Friday was a great day

I walked in to him mentioned my funny puns I made for him. Him bragging about me to others. Indian Boss. I made coffee and he came over and said “I still love all those puns you made me” and I could tell he was impressed. Then every time (or at least a few times) he went to get water he would look over at me, say my nickname, and talk to me. He needed me to do some scheduling (like he can’t look at bald boss’s calendar himself) and I told him to just CC me on the email and he said he felt bad doing that. I later mentioned it again and he goes “no You shouldn’t have to do that” “what, my job?” “Yeah but you’re not supposed to do that for me, I’m not important” (or something like that) and I tell him that I’ve scheduled for nearly everyone in the office, outside of dev.

God that panic attack I had when I heard him talking about the charity event he had to go to and then the house warming party. I can’t describe it. It was like (here I go, describing it, lmao) my heart sank and my chest tightened and then my stomach filled with electricity. Short of breath. Nerves at a high. It’s terrible. I had to go by his desk, pretending to ask about some stupid key card shit asking about his weekend plans. Charity event he went with some friends. No worries there. Then he had that boat bachelorette party which I found more humorous than anything else. Couple people brought it up to me like “did CRUSH tell you what he was doing this weekend?” And i say yeah and I think it’s hilarious and then 50+lbs is nearby and CRUSH says he’s invited and I go “YOU INVITE 50+LBS AND NOT ME??” He talks about keeping the ratio up and I say that by adding me he keeps the ratio high .... or low ... and he laughs and says I’m gullible, that he’s bringing no one and “can you imagine showing up and being like, hey, we’re here and oh this is my friend” friend. No coworker. Friend. He also asked about his friend who matched with me on hinge “you know, my friend who swipes.” “Oh yeah we matched” “did you hook up? No, actually I don’t wanna know” “yeah we chatted, he told me he had a motorcycle” then he says that he hated that thing and that he always tried to get CRUSH to go on a ride to the boat and he thought he was crazy. CRUSH showed me this video of an interior of a courvette, and I ask him why he needs such expensive toys considering the implication that people with those kinds of toys are vain and have small dicks. He said “I like keeping expectations low and then disappointing them anyway” haha he listened to a voicemail from his mom on speaker at the fridge, got to listen to her say she loved and missed him and I mouth “who is that?” “My mom” “awww” chubby jew sales asked me towards the end of the day with CRUSH nearby, “what are three characteristsics you would use to describe someone with a courvette” I quickly go “self-involved” think for a good 20 seconds “heterosexual, small-penis”

So much happened that Friday. We did the 12 gun salute for our final intern, or should I say one nerf assault, got that bitch on camera and at the end you can see him look at me, smiling, after I ‘woo’ once it’s over. Then he was at my desk, caught me labeling my Polaroid book, checked out the photos from the hoopla, mistook the whole album for the hoopla, I quickly corrected saying it was just those 5 pictures, then he still goes through it, first photos he sees are of me and my wife at the Gala and he comments that we looked great, or very nice or whatever he said, of course now I can’t remember. He continues all the way to the second page and then gets distracted and leaves. I bring over the photo of me in the robe in Jamaica to his desk and go “how amazing is this photo” and he goes “this is awesome. You look like a baby” “thank you! ... I don’t know if that was a compliment, but I’ll take it” haha

He was at my desk and one of the drawers was open, saw old cigar boss’s ID photo and picked it up, saddened by it. Says he remembers the day because he was there with Trump Dev. I say that I’ve already given him one hug so I’m out. We ended up leaving together “by accident” (I started packing my shit the second I heard him packing his, and then loudly said, I gotta get out of here) then stood up with my backpack and he was there with his and I go, “quit stalking me geez” and we walk out together. He asks me to put his umbrella in his backpack and then we get in the elevator. He says he’s walking home and I ask about his new place, slipping in the question about a housewarming party and he says he’s gonna have it when his place isn’t a shithole so I go “oh so never?” “Yup” haha

He came by my desk once, sneaking up behind me but I saw him from the corner of my eye. So he asked me something and he goes “ah, was trying to scare you” then he later came by, maybe a few hours later and did in fact scare me cause I genuinely did not see him coming by and I go “there, you scared me”

We also were all bullying him about a subway salad, and at the end he goes “yeah everyone keep making fun of me and my food” and I go, “you’re fat and you go to subway” flippantly and he genuinely laughs. I ask him if the salad is made with the same lettuce they use on the sandwiches and he says yes and I catch a laugh/snort and he laughs.

The final intern left that day and he wrote us goodbye notes, the sales team got one to share, I got my own, and CRUSH asks where it is (after I tell him about it) and I get up to go to NewBaby Sales’ desk and get it for him and look over his shoulder as he reads it and his scent is fuckin STRONG AND AMAZING and I literally stand there at his shoulder reading the card and breathing so deeply and silently that I could’ve OD’d from the aroma holy shit I can still smell it now, fucking amazing. Ugh. Smelt like ... sweet cologne. Not floral, no harsh. Just ... yes.

He was talking about that day he went solo on the boat with TrumpBlonde, after I had brought up wondering if his dad and sister were going to this bachelorette party since he went solo with TrumpBlonde, and he said something that was like “yeah, best day of my life” and I heavily rolled my eyes and I could tell he noticed it annoyed me that he was talking about her and he ups the anty by saying that he’s pregnant with her baby and I laugh.

Later on I hear him talking to chubby sales and chubby jew sales, chubby Jew sales routines bullies him but in a less funny way, like, it seems like he wants to be him but also is so happy not to? Anyways, he was picking on him for hooking up with a lot of women and said that CRUSH probably has an STD and then it cut in and out but I hear them talk about the nuvaring and chubby Jew sales doesn’t know what it is and I loudly go “it’s female birth control” WHAT? It’s lady birth control. “No it’s not” “wait, what’d you say?” “What’d you think we said?” Chubby Jew sales leaves to go smoke a cigarette and was also feeling uncomfortable and I go back to work and they talk for a few minutes before them both asking what I thought they said, and I ask them back, what did they say, we go back and forth for like a full ass minute and then I look at chubby sales and mouth “what did he say?” And he goes “NR?” I’m like oh yeah the nuvaring, and they go yeah, and I’m like, it’s female birth control, I’m not wrong. They seem extremely confused and I go, do I need to give you a lesson on what a Nuva ring is, they say yes, and I bring a chair over and say “from personal experience...” and explain the various aspects. CRUSH goes “yeah it’s a ring you put in and leave there forever” I explain the timeline (3 weeks in 1 week out, you get your period, then you put it back in) and the fridge aspect blew their minds. “Well why does it have to be kept in the fridge?” “Well the whole thing is that it slowly releases birth control when in you, and you’re a warm place —“ “ohhhh” hahah it was fun and funny, I didn’t mind explaining it not felt uncomfortable telling two of my coworkers I’m on birth control lmao chubby sales says that you can’t feel it when doing it and I say that I’ve had no complaints, “it’s like ... rubbed for her pleasure” LMAO then they spent a good twenty minutes doing “the move” from dirty dancing, singing the song “I’ve had the time of my life” and CRUSH keeps flinging his chest at chubby sales and chubby Jew sales until he eventually decks chubby sales in the face. Whoops lmao “I feel like I’ve blown your mind this week.” “You have!” “Nuvarings and that stand up set? My gosh ...” (also idk if I’ve posted this yet but remember when he asked dental floss for that photo of us on the jet ski? I gotta remember to get that. I feel like I saw it and it wasn’t that great lmao)

I posted earlier some “50 signs he’s into you” or whatever work-related romance BS and I think one of them (I think, like I can’t just fuckin look it UP) is that he makes up reasons to talk to you and he’s 100% doing that cause not only can he 100% schedule on his own, and most likely has been for a YEAR, but he’s been CCing me on random ass emails? Like he doesn’t know that all billing goes to literally anyone but me? Or his little donut project? I’m telling you, he likes me. There are some days where I feel bad about myself or how I look but when I come to work, I see him, I make him laugh, it makes me smile, he makes me laugh, and I smile and all that insecurity fades away and I feel like ... I feel like a ... I feel beautiful. He makes me feel beautiful. I know this is a pipe dream, that we can’t be together and that he’s in this fuckboi phase of getting over his ex and being a hot 29 year old, but ... I like the way he makes me feel. I crave going to work. The weekends are fucking agony now. I can’t date anyone because I’m obsessed with him. And I’m not ... sometimes I hate it because it’s kinda hopeless and I can see people just sigh at me and look at me like I’m some idiot and I’m fully aware of what I’m doing. I’m fully aware. But ... for now ... and for the past year really ... we’ve been flirty friends. And that’ll remain the same. It’s not healthy. But, it’s happening and until I come to an impasse, I’ll continue looking like a hot bitch and an internal hot mess.

Campus Fires:Favours.

Campus fires are a series of short stories. set within the six month time skip. That occurs within my Novel. Some of them will be funny. Some of them will explore side characters. All in All this is mostly a Primer for my actual novel when it launches.

“A mans’ job is providing for the ones he loves.”  My father used to tell me that. I feel like he wanted his darling boy to grow into a good man. Too bad he never prepared me to grow into anything else. Not his fault. We are products of our environments after all. Too bad not all of us come out with the right bar code.

Still, my father being the way he is will always find it’s way back to me…somehow. Like today for instance. I’ve been trying to get supplies, so I can help Robin better establish his clinic. The downside is, money no longer means anything. If you want or need anything around here. You’d better find someone who needs a favour. It’s just too bad that, not many people on our beautiful island nation, are willing to help much less talk to a transgendered person.

Thus there I sat. Throwing smooth stones into an artificial pond. In the hopes that my brain, could come up with a better solution than any I’d come to so far.

From behind me I heard a voice say. “You know I hear throwing stones in there fucks with the delicate ecosystem or whatever.”

It was Nicolai. Or maybe Nogueira? Truth is, I’m not sure what to call him. He was what I like to call a question mark. He appeared out of nowhere when this all started. About ten percent of what he says is actually legible. The other ninety percent is either crass, perverted or angry. Don’t get me wrong though. All of this far from makes him an awful person. He won’t admit it, but Nicolai spends most of his days keeping us safe. Whether it be from his power mad friend Alvin or wild animals. Not to mention…he’s one of the few people that treat me like a person and not a sideshow.

In my mind, Nicolais’ only flaw, is that he can’t let go of Nikki. One might ask…Who is Nikki? Well, Nikki is the name of the love of his life. There’s still alot I don’t know about what happened but, apparently Nicolai wronged her six months ago and he’s been trying to rectify it ever since.

“So like, around here people call me the law. I can fine you for that.” He laughed, tickling his right ear with his Index finger.

“Aren’t you the one always saying there’s no rules to life anymore? The world ended?” I asked. A single eyebrow raised.

“Yeaaah.” He groaned. His finger now moved from his ear to scratching his head. “But I also say How Shyamalan instead of what a surprise. I can’t be trusted with phrases like that.”

“Did you just defeat your own argument?” I laughed.

“Most likely.” He nodded.” This is all new to me and my brain is operating at like thirty percent.”

I laughed as I set the stones down on the railing in front of me. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and gave me a shrug. “I heard there’s Cayman in this pond. Thought maybe I’d get to see it bite somebody in the ass.”

“Is that all you spend your days doing?” I laughed.” Hoping misfortune befalls people?”

He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “You know I never get that about people. Nearly all humor is based in pain, yet you berate and belittle enjoyment of misfortune.” He shrugged once more. “Now! How bout some reciprocation? Tell me why you’re here?”

I stuttered and shook my head. “Ummmm, you know. Meaningless errands.”

He paused and squinted at me for a moment, before he pointed behind me. “Meaningless errands require a health up plus bag?”

I got confused for a minute, but quickly caught on once I realized, he was pointing at my bag. “Health up plus?”

“I don’t actually know the name for it but, it’s a plus and it appears on first aid kits and in video games. THUS health up plus.” He nodded.

I laughed, held up the bag and pointed to it. “It’s called a RED CROSS.”

“Like Jesus?” he asked.

“What? No not like Jesus like…never mind.” I sighed.

“Good to know.” He laughed. “Still not the question I asked though.”

I paused for a minute. I wasn’t in much of a talking mood. And despite his best efforts to be funny and charming, right now it was more annoying. “It’s….complicated.” I sighed.

“Can I guess at it?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said.” Take a crack at it.”

He placed a finger on his chin and started tapping it. “I’m gonna guess…you need medical supplies but, Robin Timult is being an ass.”

“That’s…close.” I nodded. “In truth he’s running low. I was trying to get some from the hospital but…”

“Buuut?” he asked.

“But the head nurse is…religious.”

Nicolai closed one eye and winced. “Oi boy.” He scratched his head and spun around a few times, all before he snapped his fingers and pointed at me.” Was it Rachel?” He asked.

“Rachel?” I questioned.

“Fair skinned, long brown hair, massive earlobes.”

“Oh!” I replied. “Uhhhh no. she was…hefty and…obsidian? I wanna say?”

Nicolai held his stomach and laughed.” Obsidian!? Ain’t that a bit too colourful for someone so awful?”

“Might be.” I shrugged. “Either way, insulting her isn’t going to get me what I want.”

He started scratching his chin and looking into the air. “So what will?” he mumbled. After a while he nodded to himself and said.” Okay,”

“Okay?” I asked.

“I’ve got a solution. Follow me.” He smiled.

Nicolai took me on a lengthy trek. Through areas on campus, Id have never been to, had it not been for the world going to shit. We came upon a pavilion. Most of the tables and benches were covered in vine, but there were people at the few that weren’t

“Daniel!” Nicolai shouted as we drew closer to the group at the back. “What’s uuuppp!” he shouted. His hands raised high in the air.

A dark haired young man sitting on one of the tables, sighed and slid off the table. “No!” the young man said firmly. For the next five minutes an argument that was both comical and concerning. Daniel would deny Nicolai what he wanted and Nicolai would make a weird crack.

Eventually Nicolai got tired of it and mentioned a name.”Raira.” Daniels’ eyes widened and he got super aggressive. Thankfully Nicolai was accustomed to violent retaliation. Another thing he’d deny but, provoking a response and dealing with the outcome was kind of his lifestyle.

Daniel looked back at his friends gathered around the table. At least they looked like his friends. Business associates might have been a better title. He looked back at Nicolai and glared him daggers. Nicolai reciprocated with a shit eating grin.

Daniel turned towards his associates again and made a whirling motion with his index finger. The one furthest to the back got up and crouched down to a chest hidden in the bushes. He turnt back towards Daniel and flashed him a peace sign. Daniel shook his head and held up six fingers.

His partner nodded, reached into the box and pulled out a revolver. He threw it to Daniel who caught it then handed it over to Nicolai.

“Is this real?” Nicolai asked.

“You said it didn’t matter.” Daniel replied. Making sure to accompany it with a glare.

“Yeah well.” Nicolai flicked the barrel of the revolver out and spun it. When he saw it was empty he nodded. “Here’s hoping bullets remain a scarcity.” He sighed.

Daniel slammed a finger into Nicolais’ chest. “I don’t want—“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Nicolai interrupted. He bashed Daniels’ hand away and dusted his t-shirt off “I keep your secret, you get to continue being a piece of shit. Surreptitious symbiosis achieved.”

Daniel growled before he sucked his teeth and took his place back at his table.

Nicolai spun the gun around his finger then tucked it into the inner pocket of his hoodie.” Next stop the hospital,” he said.

“With a gun!?” I shouted. “No!”

“Fine.” He shrugged.” Stay here then. I’ll go do what I have to.” He stuck his hands in his pants pockets and walked off.

It was a stressful and argumentative walk to the hospital. Nicolai kept being vague and seemed to fear a straight answer. At the hospital, par for the course, the gates were chained. Bruto the Alsatian guard dog paced back and forth with a drippy elongated tongue.

Nicolai made his way up to the gate and shouted.” BENNNNY!”

In minutes a portly, balding, olive skinned guard came waddling down to the gate. “Nic, Nic! How yuh goin Nic, Nics.” The man smiled.

“Benny hey man, how you been?” Nicolai asked.

The portly man seemed to get more excited than he already was. “I good I good. You good? Yuh brain good today?” He asked.

“Yeah Benny.” Nicolai nodded. “ My brain is good today.” He smiled.

It was weird seeing Nicolai be something other than sarcastic or cynical. There was a gentle air when he spoke to Benny. Yet enough respect that he wasn’t patronizing.

“Dat good, dat good.” Benny nodded.

Nicolai snapped his fingers then reached into his pocket. “Hey Benny, brought you a present.”  With a bright smile he brought the gun out and handed it over to Benny.

A broad smile engulfed Bennys’ face as he held the gun up and started dancing. “Is it…is it okay to give him that?” I asked nervously.

“Of course it is.” Nicolai nodded. “Benny is a police officer after all.”

“Yes!” Benny shouted. “ I is de police! FREEZE.” Benny took and aiming stance and pointed it at us. I panicked and ducked behind Nicolai.

“Calm down.” Nicolai laughed. “ It’s fake and it’s empty.” He whispered.

“Fake? I asked.

“Shhh!” Nicolai placed a single finger on his lips.” It’s plastic, but he doesn’t need to know that.”

I looked back at Benny and he seemed to be channeling, early nineteen eighties police procedurals. He’d aim, roll on the floor, get up and then make shooting sounds. His noise attracted one of the nurses from inside. Fair skin, long hair. It was safe to assume this was Rachel. She snatched the gun away from Benny and scolded him for it. Benny got extremely silent and avoided eye contact with her at all costs.

When she asked him where he got it, he pointed to us outside the fence. Rachel stormed over and threw the gun at Nicolai, hitting him square in the eye.

“Agh! What the fuck!?” he screeched.

“I told you not to come back here!” Rachel was furious. I expect this wasn’t regular behavior for her as even Benny looked shock.

Nicolai groaned and winced as he rubbed his eye.” I really wouldn’t have. Just because I respect your authority, but I needed a favour.”

“ No!” she screamed. “ Go away.”

In a meek voice Benny stuttered.” M-m-miss Rachel, why you doh, be nice to him?”

Rachel turned around and shushed Benny as she embraced him and kissed his forehead. “It’s ok Benny, alright? He is bad people. We’re good people.”

“That’s a lie,” Nicolai said.

“I told you to get out of here!” Rachel commanded.

“If you’re such good people, then why was my friend turned away for being transgendered?!” He shouted. His voice had gone from cynical to angry.

“What?” Rachel asked. Confusion filled her face. “Who refused whom?”

“Your coworker.” Nicolai stated. He folded his arms and glared at Rachel. “Due to certain, physical descriptions we’ll call her eight ball.” He nodded. “When my friend came here looking for medicine to trade, eight ball turned her away.”

Rachels’ face turned into shock. She looked over to me and asked.” Is this true? Did one of my nurses actually turn you away?” Her voice was soft. The difference in voice between talking to Nicolai and talking to me was vast. It was like seeing two sides of the same mother.

I nodded furiously and saw her jaw drop, ever so slowly.

“We’ve built up a good trade relationship Rachel.” Nicolai complained as he pointed at her. “I’d hope that-“

“I know!” she interrupted. “I know.” Rachel gave Benny a kiss on the forehead once more and told him to go wait by the entrance. She looked back at me and smiled. “What exactly do you need sweetheart?”

I was so dumbfounded I almost forgot I’d made a list. After I handed it to her, she looked it over and nodded. Smiling as she got to the end. “The names of these medicines, are you a med student by chance?” she asked.

“Umm, yes.” I stuttered.” Yes.”

Rachel put the paper under her arm and clapped. “Well done young lady. Nice to see an aspiring female doctor.”

I couldn’t help but blush at the comment.

“You know before everything went to shit, I would have been a psychologist.” Nicolai interjected.

Rachel glared at him, then rolled her eyes as she walked away. Rachel seemed to be taking a while, so Nicolai and I  took a seat on a nearby sidewalk while we waited.

“You planned all this didn’t you?” I asked.

“Not to a T.” he shrugged, “But I did develop the makings of a plan.”

I laughed and shook my head. “You know, I would have never gotten this far on my own.” I sighed. “People here are—“

“People here are still stuck on tradition and religion.” He laughed. “ I mean hey what do you want from a Caribbean Island right?” He shrugged.

“Nicolai,” I said softly. “You don’t know how hard it is. To feel like there’s something wrong with you, only to have everyone around you validate it.” Talking about peoples’ prejudices and bigotry was always hard. The ones directed at me especially. Although, if there was anyone who knew how to hold back tears, it’d be me.

Nicolai sighed and started rocking back and forth. “You’d be surprised at how much we have in common.” Nicolai scratched his head. “Look, people here, are LOUD. Not a lot of people actually use their brains. If you ever want anything in future…just be LOUDER.” He laughed.

“I’ll remember that.” I laughed.  There was silence between us for a while. Just enough, for me to gain courage to ask. “When’d you know?”

“When’d I know what?” he asked back.

“When’d you know…you were pansexual?”

I expected him to be shocked, but he wasn’t. Instead it seemed like he was anticipating the question. “It’s a long story. Also like Nikki, I’m just not ready to talk about it. ”

“Oh.” I replied, dejected.

Nicolai smiled at me and pat me on the head. “Look it took a long time before I was okay with it. Ok with…Me. There were people hurt because of it. Real, tangible pain that I will never be able to fix.” He clasped his hands together and placed them under his chin. “You can’t force someone to tear their mask off. Whoever you’re waiting for.”

“No.” I stuttered and tried to laugh it off. Waving my hands in denial. “This isn’t about Robin.”

“WHOEVER.” He laughed.” You’re waiting for…Has to do it on their own.” He nodded. “If he can’t well.” Nicolai shrugged. “You could do better.”

His words resonated deeply with me. There were times I was genuinely perplexed by Nicolai. Other times I couldn’t help but hate him. But at the end of it all, I realized that Nicolai ,was just someone enormously comfortable with himself. Someone I gathered, took a long time to get that way. When Rachel came, she handed over all the medicine I needed with a smile. Nicolai made sure to stay back so she wouldn’t get angry.

I gave him a wave from across the street. Showing off my bag of newly gotten medication. Nicolai clapped then bowed. Giving me a two finger salute, before he went about his business.