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m1ckeyb3rry · 2 months

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── THE GLASS PRINCESS // TWO

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: You arrive at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls and meet your roommate.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.1k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: oc warning from this chapter onwards ig?? i had to make up students for the fire academy so if you don’t like that then idk what to tell you except that you should probably read something else 😔 but even though jia-li and kaho are not canon characters their brothers are!! we will meet them eventually HAHA although i’m sure some of you might be able to guess who they are based on that

To His Royal Highness The Prince,

I have arrived at the Academy safely. Ty Lee and I were given leave from classes today, to allow us to acclimate to the environment of the school, but tomorrow, we will join the others in our year for lessons. I promise that I will work hard, so that Your Highness’s good name is not sullied by poor performance on my part.

If it does not trouble Your Highness greatly, and if it is not presumptuous of me to make a request like this, please feed Bian a treat when she reaches the palace. She is working hard, too.

Ever Your Highness’s humble and obedient servant, Ursa

P.S. Regretfully, I must report that I have still regained nothing in the way of my memories.

The messenger hawk that Prince Zuko had given you was a beautiful animal, almost draconian in appearance, with eyes like amber and a queenly crest of russet feathers. She had an enormous wingspan and talons so large that if you handed her a scroll, she would be able to take it between them and then fly away without waiting for you to strap it to her back.

“Woah, so pretty!” Ty Lee said as the Royal Falconer wheeled the caged bird into your room, vocalizing your exact thoughts at seeing the magnificent hawk. “I’ve never seen one so big.”

“Pretty’s one word for it,” the falconer said, shaking his head. “She’s likely the finest bird Agni’s ever seen. Actually, she was meant to be a coronation gift for Prince Zuko, but he came to the aviary the other day and told me to give her to you.”

You were so enraptured by the hawk that you almost did not notice what the man had said, but when his words registered, you immediately straightened your back and gave him an incredulous look.

“This bird was meant to be the prince’s?” you said.

“She was, but like I said, she’s yours now,” the falconer said. “By order of that very prince himself.”

You bit your tongue, feeling equal parts embarrassed and guilty about the gift. Although you knew he was doing it for his own reasons, you still thought it was strange for Prince Zuko to be paying so much attention to you. Even if he had saved you, what cause was there to give you such a grand bird? A normal one would’ve been fine. A smaller, more average messenger hawk was probably more fitting for who you were, so why instead was the finest bird Agni had ever seen sitting before you?

“Does she have a name?” you said.

“We don’t name the hawks,” the falconer said. “You’re her owner now, though, so if you want to, you can.”

You thought about it for a second. “Bian.”

The falconer wrinkled his nose, giving Bian a look that she ignored entirely, too busy preening her feathers to notice. You waited for him to say something, anything, but it took him a while before he did.

“It’s an interesting name,” he said.

“Is something wrong with it?” you said. “I don’t know why I chose it. I can change it, if you’d like.”

“It’s not my place to be demanding you change your own hawk’s name,” he said, bowing at you.

“Wait,” you said. “Before you leave — must I keep her caged all of the time?”

“It’s not really common for anyone to do otherwise,” the falconer said. “But I suppose she won’t go anywhere unless you tell her to, so it’s fine if you let her out.”

Although he was obviously hinting that you should not do it, you leaned over and unlatched the door to Bian’s cage. You weren’t sure why, but something about seeing her trapped like that made you feel claustrophobic yourself, like the metal bars were encroaching on your neck, like it was your flight which was restricted.

Bian did not move for a bit, and then hesitantly, she peeked her head out of the door. When she realized that she was free, that the door was open, she flapped her wings, and with a great gust of wind, she took off and perched on your windowsill.

“They should know how to take care of her at the school, since most students bring their own messenger hawks, so you won’t have to worry about her there,” the falconer said. “And if you ever come to the palace again, you can leave her with me.”

“As you say, sir,” you said. “I don’t know enough about messenger hawks and their care or keeping, so I will defer to your expertise when it comes down to it.”

“Good,” he said. “Have a nice day, Miss Ursa.”

“And you as well,” you said, waving at him before racing to the windowsill to admire the roosting Bian. She peered at you suspiciously, but when you raised your fingers and rested them on the space between her eyes, she did not so much as snap her beak at you.

“Be careful!” Ty Lee said. “Messenger hawks usually aren’t that friendly. They’re a postal service, not pets.”

“It’s alright,” you said, stroking Bian’s head, smiling as she closed her eyes and crooned at you. “I think she’s different. Well, at least, I don’t think she’ll bite me or anything like that. She’s nice.”

“If you say so,” Ty Lee said. “Though I think I will stay far away, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s your prerogative,” you said. “But I’m not putting her back in that cage, so don’t expect that.”

“Sure, I won’t! Anyways, she’ll live in the school’s aviary while we’re there, so it’s not a big deal,” she said.

“Oh, true,” you said. “Do you think they’ll let me visit her still?”

“They wouldn’t stop you. How else would you send letters? Although, I can’t really understand why Zuko even gave you a hawk in the first place. Who are you going to be writing to?” she said, picking her bag in one hand and yours in the other.

“I think he wanted me to write to him,” you said, whistling at Bian, who whistled back before she realized you were actually calling her, at which she rustled herself alert. “Bian, do you know where the Royal Fire Academy is? That’s where we’re going. You can either come with us or fly there on your own.”

Bian cocked her head before diving back into her cage, landing on the perch and tucking her head under her wing. You glanced at Ty Lee, who shrugged, obviously as confused as you were.

“I guess I won’t close the door, but if she wants to be in there of her own volition, then I can’t take the decision from her,” you said.

“At least it’ll be easier to take her to the academy,” Ty Lee said. “Speaking of which, we should hurry up and go — I think the carriage driver is waiting for us.”

The carriage was covered in gold and brandished with the emblem of the Fire Nation. A dragon moose was in the harness, dozing off, its ears drooping lazily as it napped. The driver himself was in a similar state, resting his chin in his hands, his hat low over his head to protect him from the sun.

“Sorry we’re so late!” Ty Lee chirped at him. He awoke in a flurry of flailing limbs, looking around wildly before letting out a deep breath when he noticed that it was just you and Ty Lee. “The falconer came to give Ursa a messenger hawk, so that took a bit of time, but we’re here now!”

“It’s not an issue,” the driver said, patting the dragon moose on the rump and swinging off his bench, taking the bags from Ty Lee’s hands. She relinquished them easily, watching as he put them under your seats in the carriage, and then she turned to you.

“Give him Bian’s cage, so that he can put her in there as well,” she said.

“He won’t put her under the seat, right?” you fretted, gripping the bars of the open cage.

“Of course not, silly! He’ll just put her on the carriage floor or something, and we’ll have to sit around her,” she said.

“Okay, if you say so,” you said. “Sir Driver, please take the utmost of care with Bian when you put her away.”

“You don’t have to be that formal with him,” Ty Lee whispered to you as the driver gave you a strange look before grabbing Bian’s cage, though he did gentle his movements when you frowned at how rough he was being. “He’s just a driver.”

“Sorry,” you whispered back. “I would just feel bad if I didn’t address him politely.”

“They’re used to it,” she said, leaping into the carriage once the driver had left and extending her hand out to you to help you in. You grabbed onto it and let her pull you in beside her. Bian squawked indignantly when you narrowly avoided kicking her cage over, and you muttered an apology to her as you sat across from Ty Lee, folding your hands in your lap and crossing your legs at the ankles.

“Is the academy far from here?” you said.

“Not by much. It’s a quick journey, since it’s inside of the volcano as well,” she said.

“Volcano?” you said.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot you wouldn’t have known much about that! The Fire Nation’s capital is inside of a dormant volcano, but of course, the entire city isn’t actually located in the main crater. Only the most high-status dwellings and government buildings are here; everything else is on the sides of the volcano, just because there isn’t enough space for them here,” she said.

“The Royal Fire Academy is included in that?” you said.

“It’s where all the children of the Fire Nation elite go to school,” she said. “Naturally, it’d be in here, too!”

“Ah, that’s sensible,” you said, for you hadn’t thought that through until she had mentioned it. In fairness, you also hadn’t known that the inner circle of the Fire Nation was located inside the crater of a dormant volcano, but then again, what could be a greater representation of the nation’s pride than the subjugation of nature’s own version of fire?

“It’s a very beautiful building,” Ty Lee said. “From what I remember, anyways. Nothing’s as beautiful as the palace, but the academy comes close. And the grounds…you’ll love them, Ursa! Even though I didn’t like my time there that much, I still have some good memories of just how amazing the gardens were. I can’t wait to show you around!”

“I can’t wait to see everything,” you said. “Is there a library?”

“Duh,” Ty Lee said. “It’s a school. Of course there’s a library. Do you like reading or something?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember, but I’m sure that I’ll be much behind everyone else, so I’ll probably need to do a lot of catching up so that I can still get good marks. A library is my best bet at finding the information I need,” you said.

“You’re so studious,” Ty Lee said. “I’ve always just thought to myself that as long as I pass, it’s fine!”

“The prince has gone through so much effort to ensure my acceptance in the academy,” you said. “The least I can do for him is prove that it wasn’t a waste.”

Ty Lee beamed at you. “You’re amazing! I bet he’ll be really grateful that you’re so dedicated.”

“It’s good to hear that,” you said. “Besides, maybe it’ll help jog my memory if I read about history and science and other such things. According to Prince Zuko, I was a soldier before he found me, but I doubt he knows anything about my hobbies or preferences, so there’s no telling what might spark something in my mind.”

This was the true reason. Though it wasn’t a lie to say that you wanted to make the prince happy, your own identity was more important to you. The memories of the girl named Ursa, who she had been, who she had loved…you wanted to know all of it. You wanted to know who you were, not in anyone else’s words but in your own.

Ty Lee did not seem to judge you. She only smiled sadly before turning to look out the window, an obvious sign that the conversation was over.

She had been right; the journey to the academy did not take much longer than the duration of your conversation. You were there before you knew it, before you were really prepared for what that meant, but it was irrelevant. Your personal feelings on the matter weren’t important, because this was where you would now spend your time. You were going to be a proper Fire Nation girl, a lady, one who could rejoin society as someone that even a prince might be proud of.

Bian was carted off to the academy’s aviary before you could even think to wish her farewell, but beyond promising yourself you would visit her later, there was nothing you could do about it. That was because a tall, stately woman before you was now commanding all of your attention, her pinched face souring when she saw your plain clothes and meager possessions.

“So you are the Ursa that the prince insisted attend my school,” the woman, who must’ve been the Headmistress, said. “And here we have the infamous dropout of the academy, Ty Lee.”

Something about the Headmistress seemed to cow even the perpetually sunny Ty Lee, for she only ducked her head and folded her hands behind her back in deference.

“Yes, Headmistress,” she said. Following her example, you hoped you were doing it correctly.

“Yes, Headmistress,” you said.

“You two are probably the most sorry students I’ve seen in all my years at this institution,” she said. “You’re lucky that you are who you are and that you know who you know. If it weren’t for the royal family’s interference, then mark my words: you would not be standing here now. Neither of you.”

“Thank you, Headmistress,” Ty Lee said.

“Thank you, Headmistress,” you echoed.

“Luckily, two of our students still don’t have roommates, so there’s at least space for you both to stay. For as long as you can bear to, anyways,” the Headmistress said, the latter part of her statement pointed at Ty Lee, who did not even argue. “Ty Lee, you will room with Kaho, and Ursa, you will be with Jia-Li.”

You had been hoping that you would get to stay with Ty Lee, but there was only so much that you could expect to go your way. Although you had no idea who Jia-Li was, you hoped that she would at least be friendly enough that you could live with her without much complaint.

Ty Lee did not seem optimistic about the proposition of rooming with Kaho. Her sweet face crumpled, but she did not speak up. You wondered what kind of person Kaho could be, if even Ty Lee did not want to live with her.

“Yes, Headmistress,” you said, speaking for the both of you when it became evident that Ty Lee was far too distressed to say anything.

“I will show you to your rooms. You arrived too late to attend today’s classes, so you will be excused, but I expect the both of you to be present tomorrow. At this school, education is our priority, and special admission or not, no one is exempt from this,” the Headmistress said.

“Of course, Headmistress,” you said once again. “I am eager to begin learning.”

She glanced at you out of the corner of her eye before turning away. “Good. Enthusiasm is the first step to success. We’ll see; maybe we can make something halfway respectable out of you after all.”

The room you were to share with Jia-Li had a heavy, plain door, though two placards hung on it, the left emblazoned with the characters of your name, the right with hers. The Headmistress did not even wait for you to enter before marching off with Ty Lee, presumably to where Kaho’s room was.

You opened the door gingerly, cringing back preemptively in case Jia-Li was of an easily startled temperament. When there was no blast of fire in your direction, you stepped in, admiring the small room and getting your first glance at your new roommate.

She had long, silky hair tied in a ponytail with a red ribbon, and her eyes, which were trained on a scroll, were the same color as volcano-glass. The bed on the left of the room was clearly hers, as its blankets were messy instead of neatly made, and she was sitting at the desk by its foot. There were paintings hung on her side of the room, but the side that must’ve been yours was noticeably bare, likely in preparation for your arrival.

“Are you Jia-Li?” you said when she did not look up. She dropped the scroll in her hands and sprang to her feet, her cheeks flushed and her palms clasped together in apology.

“Yes, I am! I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you coming in. Are you Ursa?” she said. You wanted to say no, because you still didn’t feel very much like that was who you were, but you just nodded your head.

“It’s nice to meet you. I think we’re going to be roommates?” you said.

“Yes, they brought your things up just now. It’s nice to meet you, too! My last roommate left after losing an Agni Kai, so I’ve been living on my own for a bit. It’ll be nice to have someone here with me again,” she said.

“Do you get kicked out if you lose an Agni Kai?” you said.

“No?” Jia-Li said. “It’s just a dishonorable thing. She got so embarrassed she had to leave, but it’s not like anyone made her go. Actually, she lost to Kaho, so no one was even judging her for losing. Kaho’s only lost an Agni Kai once, and that was to Princess Azula, so it doesn’t even count.”

There it was again: Princess Azula. She must’ve been Prince Zuko’s sister, but everyone said her name differently. Almost reverently, though they never said the prince’s name like that. It was strange. You weren’t sure if you ever wanted to meet the princess, if she inspired this kind of terror in people.

“Sorry,” you said. “I probably should’ve known that. Actually, I probably did know that, but — I’m not sure if they told you or anything, but I don’t have any memories.”

Jia-Li blinked. “They didn’t mention it, but that’s good to know. Who are you the daughter of? They must be pretty distraught that you’re like this.”

“I don’t know. I’m not the daughter of anyone,” you said. “If I have parents or siblings or a family, they are lost somewhere in my mind, along with everything else I cannot recall.”

“Not the daughter of anyone? Then how’d you end up in the academy? It’s infamous for being selective and only open to the children of the nobility,” Jia-Li said. It didn’t seem like she was upset or scandalized by the fact that you, her new roommate, were just some ordinary girl — she just appeared to be confused.

“Actually, I was found by Prince Zuko while injured and taken to the palace to be healed,” you said. “Now that I am in a somewhat better shape, he arranged for me to attend the academy so that I can rejoin Fire Nation society in a proper way and understand what kind of world I am living in.”

Jia-Li’s jaw dropped. “You’re the one here on the royal family’s scholarship?”

“I didn’t know that was a well-known thing…” you said, rubbing the back of your neck sheepishly, stepping into the room fully. Jia-Li’s face lit up as you opened the bags Mai had packed for you and began to shake out your things to set them up in the room.

“Kaho’s been furious since she heard about it!” she said. “She’s always tried to gain favor from the royal family and failed, so to hear that a girl is coming to the academy that has the very thing she lacks has had her in knots.”

The name Kaho was familiar to you, and not just because Jia-Li had mentioned her earlier. You tried to think about where you might know her from, and then you realized that she was Ty Lee’s roommate, the one that she had been upset about.

“Is she someone dangerous?” you said.

“Depends. Are you talented with bending?” Jia-Li said.

“I’m not even a bender,” you said. Jia-Li winced.

“Then yes, she’s dangerous,” she said. “If I were you, I’d steer clear of her.”

“Are you a Firebender?” you said. Jia-Li smiled, holding out her palm, where a small flame blossomed.

“I’m passable enough. Certainly, I’m no prodigy, but I can do most of the intermediate forms, and I’m starting to try some of the more advanced ones, too,” she said. “That, combined with my brother’s friendship with Kaho’s, is enough for her to mostly leave me alone.”

“I’ll do my best to avoid her,” you said. “Though I don’t even know who she is, so it’ll be difficult.”

“I’ll look out for you,” Jia-Li promised. “Actually, my best advice would be to avoid people you don’t know in general. Most girls here aren’t that nice.”

“But I only know you and Ty Lee,” you said. Jia-Li nodded.

“That’s enough. Two friends is more than most people have, and it’s better to have two actual friends than ten false ones,” she said.

“How do I know that you’re an actual friend?” you said before clapping your hand over your mouth. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

She laughed. “It’s okay. That’s a good question; one whose answer you will have to determine for yourself. However, whether you think I’m a true friend or not, you’ll have to live with me, so for both our sakes, I hope you come to a more positive conclusion. In the meantime, though, I have to go to afternoon lessons. I’m assuming you’ve been excused from them?”

“Yes, I have been,” you said. “I’m to start with classes tomorrow.”

Jia-Li made a face. “Lucky. You should try to get some rest while you can.”

“I already can’t. I need to spend some time reviewing so that I’m prepared for class tomorrow. I’m already starting off at a disadvantage; I have to do what I can to close the gap between me and everyone else, so that my performance does not reflect poorly on the prince,” you said.

Jia-Li looked impressed. “I’ll leave you to it, then. If you ever need help with your homework or studying or anything, let me know. I’m not the top student at the academy or anything, but my grades are decent.”

“Who’s the top student?” you said. Jia-Li gave you a knowing look.

“It was Princess Azula, before she left, and ever since, it’s been Kaho,” she said.

“Not exactly a person I should be asking for tutoring, then,” you said in defeat.

“Not exactly,” Jia-Li agreed. “Anyways, see you tonight!”

“Tonight? Is something happening?” you said.

“Yeah,” she said. “We’re sleeping. In the same room. As we will be, until the end of the term.”

“Oh, right. I forgot,” you said. Jia-Li smiled, patting you on the shoulder as she walked out.

“Bye, Ursa,” she said.

Once your things were unpacked, you thought about trying to find Ty Lee, but Jia-Li’s warning about Kaho still rang in your head, and considering Kaho was Ty Lee’s roommate, it would probably be best if you avoided that area overall. Besides, you didn’t know where their room was, so even if you weren’t afraid of meeting Kaho, you wouldn’t be able to find Ty Lee anyways.

You were just about sitting down to write a letter to Prince Zuko, telling him about your first day, when someone burst into your room. It wasn’t Jia-Li — you didn’t think she possessed that much energy — but it was still someone familiar to you: Ty Lee.

“You must’ve read my mind,” you said. “I was thinking about how I’d like to meet you.”

“Ursa, things are just horrid! My roommate is Kaho, and she’s just like I remember her being!” Ty Lee wailed, throwing herself into your arms. You barely had the self-possession or advance warning to catch her, and then the only thing you could do was awkwardly pat her on the back, looking around and wishing there was someone else here to help.

“Do you know Kaho from before you left the academy?” you said.

“Do I ever,” Ty Lee muttered. “She’s the reason I’m even friends with Azula.”

“How does that work?” you said.

“She’s insane, that’s how,” Ty Lee said. “Kaho, I mean. She was jealous of how much attention the boys at the Royal Fire Academy for Boys were giving me, so she challenged me to an Agni Kai! Mind you, I’m not even a Firebender.”

“I thought you could only participate in an Agni Kai if you were one, though,” you said.

“Yes, that’s right. She knows that, too. It doesn’t stop her from going around and calling one for at any inconvenience, no matter her opponent’s bending status. The thing is, technically, nonbenders are allowed to call someone else — namely, a Firebender — to represent them in the match,” Ty Lee said.

“Is it common to do that?” you said.

“It’s not really a rule that’s put into practice often, as most people wouldn’t challenge a nonbender to an Agni Kai — excepting Kaho, of course. Anyways, Kaho was the best Firebender in the academy, so no one dared to stand against her, even with that rule in place; no one, that is, but Azula.

“She agreed to be my proxy, though I think that’s just because she was annoyed with how Kaho liked to lord her prowess over everyone. Of course, she won, because she’s the most talented Firebender in the world, and ever since then, she’s been my friend,” Ty Lee finished.

“That’s great,” you said. “Though I’d expect it doesn’t endear you to Kaho any.”

“Not at all!” Ty Lee said. “And now you’re telling me I have to live with her? The Headmistress did this on purpose!”

“How can you know that? Kaho and Jia-Li were probably the only ones needing roommates. It was either me or you,” you said, leaving out the fact that you were secretly pleased that it was her and not you.

“Why didn’t she just make those two stay together and let us be roommates?” Ty Lee said. “I mean, really! Kaho leaves Jia-Li alone, something about their brothers being friends, I think, so they would’ve been fine as a pair, and of course we would’ve had so much fun together. But no. I swear, the Headmistress is punishing me!”

“What for? We just got here,” you said. She gave you a dull look.

“Well, I mean, I did drop out and run away to join the circus, you know…” she said. “It wasn’t the best look for the academy, that’s for sure. She definitely hates me for it.”

“That’s true,” you said. “You should just spend as much time as possible in my room.”

“Sure thing!” she said, like she had been planning on doing that anyways but was pleased to have an official invitation.

“I hope Jia-Li doesn’t mind you being here too much. Did you happen to know her, too?” you said.

“Not that well,” Ty Lee said, tapping her chin in thought. “But I think she was nice. I can’t seem to remember anything about her that particularly stood out, which could be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.”

“Hm,” you said. “She did seem to say that she was pretty mediocre all around, so it checks out.”

“Sounds about right! But forget about our disappointing roommates. Do you know what time it is?” she said, raising her pointer fingers.

“I still don’t understand why it’s that time, but yes, I do know what you’re about to do,” you said.

It was something like a ritual for you two, now. Every day, without fail, Ty Lee would jab you with her pointer fingers, always causing your knees to feel weak and your pulse to grow shallow for a moment. You always asked her what she was doing, but she refused to elaborate, promising that she’d tell you one day.

Not today. Not tomorrow. But one day.

To my dear Ursa,

You don’t have to follow such strict protocols and rules of etiquette when you write to me. I know that I am a prince, but in truth I rarely ever feel like one, so it is strange for me when you act as if I am royalty. You may pity me for saying it, but since I know you so well am your benefactor, I will disclose that the habits of my banishment have yet to fade. And in those days, I was never referred to by such titles, so please stop. It is especially strange to hear you calling me such things.

I am glad that you were given time to settle in. Mai told me she was not sure that the two of you would be afforded such grace, but we are both pleased to hear that you were. I hope that your lessons go well, and that your classmates are kind and helpful. I also hope that, if you cannot have Ty Lee as your roommate, you get someone who is friendly to you.

You needn’t fret about doing well in your classes. I am confident you will, and that you will uphold my good name if I even still have one. Worry only for yourself. Try to avoid trouble, if at all possible, but write to me if it finds you anyways. I will do what I can to help you. I will always do what I can to help you.

I gave Bian a treat, as you asked. She was happy. I give you leave to make requests of me freely. It is not a problem for me to oblige you.

Yours, Zuko

P.S. I am sorry to hear that you still remember nothing. Please write to me if that changes.

P.P.S. Do not sign your letters off like that again. You are not my servant.

#zuko x reader #zuko x y/n #zuko x you #zuko #avatar the last airbender #atla #reader insert #the glass princess #canon au #m1ckeyb3rry writes

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p4rsuade · 2 months

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paraselene woman, i’m your man in the moon ➤ alex turner

𝓼ummary. it’s been a long year of touring, but he’s finally coming back to her.

𝔀arnings. age gap (sort of but vaguely implied)

𝔀ord count. 951

the car!alex turner x female oc

her 26th birthday was coming to an end. she watched as the time on her home screen flash to 00:00, and she lets out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding.

alex hadn’t sent her a happy birthday text, or called her all day. she tried not to think about it, she celebrated her birthday with her friends, and surely that should be enough for her, but no, she missed him with every bit of her being. she missed their cuddles in the kitchen, the way his hair would flop over his face as he slept, the orange hue of the sun slipping through the white voile blinds, landing onto his face, making him groan in utter annoyance from the sun disrupting his sleep, his stupid, soppy love poems he writes out of the blue, just so he could see that huge smile on her face, showing off her little fangs he always adores, ‘you’re like a mini dracula, y’know that’s adorable love.’

God, she missed him. she turned off her phone, and rolled on her side. happy birthday to me, i guess. she closed her eyes and slowly but surely, she had fallen asleep.

—

4:10am

there was a sudden dip in the bed, and it startled her awake. her heavy eyes opened slightly and before she could do anything, she felt arms wrap around her, the familiar fluffy hair grazing against her cheek as he kissed her neck. “hiya, love.” he murmurs against her skin. “missed meh?” he hums.

alex.

without another second thought, she quickly wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “woah, woah, woah..” he chuckles. “i guess yeh did.” he smiled, pressing more kisses along the side of her neck.

“happy birthday.” he whispers softly, and it warms her heart to its fullest. “how was your day today? i’m sorreh i didn’t get back earlier.” he asks as he eventually lifts his head up to look at her, a grin playing at his lips.

she smiled happily, the happiest she’s been. “it’s been okay. i missed you though.” she responds. “i’m sorreh, love. i would’ve been there but management has been on me arse, and the other lads wanted to—“ he was cut off immediately as she presses her lips against his, and he sighs, his shoulders relaxing as he moves her hand to the back of her head. “i missed you so much, aly.”

he chuckles against her lips, biting her bottom lip playfully. “i can tell.”

but then he sighs, and pulls away, burying his face into her chest. “i missed you too, love.”

it was as if he suddenly remembers something, because he suddenly lifts his head up quickly, and rolls off of her and he gets off the bed.

out of the darkness, he pulls out a box and something large, but she couldn’t quite tell what it was.

“happy birthday, darlin’.” he smiles before getting back into bed, laying on his stomach as he handed her the gifts.

it was a small box, as she guessed, and a vinyl. from the fontaines d.c. “i got ‘em to sign it.” he grins.

“aly..” she mumbles breathlessly as she takes in the signatures on the front of the vinyl. “remember our first date when i took ya to see them?” he hums and she smiles and nods, “how can i ever forget? i thought it was a little over the top for a first date.”

“yeh, and you kept arguin’ about it on the way, but i knew you loved it.” he chuckles, moving up to press his lips against her temple. “open the box, babe. you might like this one.” he smiled as he sat up beside her, wrapping his arm behind her back.

she looked at him with narrowed eyes, before placing the vinyl down, and she picked the box up, inspecting it. “what is it, al? why am i nervous?”

“open it and you’ll see, love.” he laughs, before slowly moving in front of her, waiting for her to open it.

she looks at him for a moment, before her gaze went back to the box. she unties the gorgeous bow that adorned the box, and she opens it, the box opening with a click as it pulls up.

in the box was a silver ring adorned with diamonds, and she lets out a tiny gasp. “simone..” he began, and she shakes her head in disbelief. “simone, look at me, will ya?” he laughs, before gently taking the box away from her grip, and he shifts, placing his knees on the bed.

“i thought about this a lot when i was gone, si.” his smile weakening as he was about to turn into an emotional, soppy mess. “you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to meh. and i wish you were with me on the tour. i couldn’t stand not seeing yer beautiful face for a year.”

“face-time doesn’t count.” he lets out a weak chuckle. “simone darlin’, will ya make me the happiest man alive and marry me?” he finally asked.

she was in disbelief, and she felt tears brim her eyes, without a word, she quickly moves closer to him, and she wraps her arms around his neck. “what kinda question is that?” her voice broke. “of course i’ll marry you, al. i love you so much.” she murmurs as tears ran down her cheek. “so that’s a yes?” he smiles as he places the ring down onto the sheets and wraps his arms around her. “yes, you dope!” and he laughs, burying his face into her hair.

“i love you so much, darlin’.” he murmurs into her hair.

“i love you more, aly.”

#alex turner #alex turner x reader #arctic monkeys #arctic monkeys x reader #arctic monkeys x oc #alexander turner #alexander david turner #fluff

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lovelyinconsistentices · 5 months

Text

➴ 𝚂𝙲𝙾𝚃𝚃 𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙶𝚁𝙸𝙼

I really want to do some Scott Pilgrim takes off writing requests, but I'm anxious to write so let's try to get rid of such anxiety! Please request as much as you want, I'll make a list of characters I'll write for now as there are some I feel like I wouldn't write well enough or need to read more about to get more of a feel for their character. I write for all genders and I'll write for poc readers as well, any ideas you want for the reader to be like are welcome!

➴ 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝚆𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴.

⸙ Fluff and Angst, any genres really. I've rarely written angst but want to write it, so I'll try my best!

⸙ Poc readers, do note that I am not poc but I will make sure to do my research before writing. I have a few tumblers I know of that I will use for helping me write poc readers, I'm sure my friend would also be glad to help educate me as well! Criticism and feedback are welcome. ^^

⸙ Readers of all gender, but it depends on the character I'm writing for. If a character is canonically gay please do not request for something romance based with that character if you're the opposite gender as I'm not comfortable with that, an example would be Wallace Wells.

⸙ You can suggest all kinds of things for how you want the reader to be, occupation, hobbies, aesthetics/styles, food taste, personality type, whatever you want and I'll do my best to write it.

⸙ I will write headcannons, prompts and fics!

⸙ I'm more used to writing in third person but I know most reader fics are in second-person, so I'll write a second-person version and third-person version! This is the same for genders, if I really like a fic. I'll write multiple versions for the gender, following the same plot or prompt but with noticable differences.

⸙ This is for anons, if you'd like to claim an emoji or an assortment of such you can just let me know and I'll keep it reserved. Might make an anon page as well!

⸙ I've been thinking about making a Scott Pilgrim OC and writing about them, would you like to read about them? If you do end up liking them I'd love to write x readers with them and stuff, just let me know. (Just something I wanted to mention!)

➴ 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝚆𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴.

⸙ I will not write nsfw, it's just I don't think I'd be very good at writing it and I'm uncomfortable. Maybe in the future but for now please do not request nsfw from me, there could be mentions of certain things or hints at it. I'm perfectly fine with it, as long as it's subtle.

⸙ No incest, huge ages gaps, or anything of the sort. I don't expect any requests like that but just to be careful!

➴ 𝙲𝙷𝙰��𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂

ˏˋ ╎𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽

𝚂𝙲𝙾𝚃𝚃 𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙶𝚁𝙸𝙼

Not a big fan of Scott, but I'll still write for him. Who knows maybe I'll make a reader who's a Scott hater for shits and giggles, I have Idea's for an oc and If I do write about him you'll see a lot of him taking jabs at Scott and questioning why Ramona even likes him.

𝚁𝙰𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙰 𝙵𝙻𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁𝚂

I have a lot of ideas, like perhaps a reader being an evil ex and stuff. I guess that could be spoilers for my oc, since I'm making him an ex! I also want to write a fic with the reader helping Ramona dye her hair and enjoying tea while doing so.

𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙴 𝚆𝙴𝙻𝙻𝚂

I'll definitely write for Wallace and do my best to portray him, as stated I'll only do romance for male and ftm readers. I could make fics with a female reader that are extremely platonic, friends and stuff. Or a sister reader, maybe Wallace having a sister who loves gossiping with Stacy and Wallace!

ˏˋ ╎𝚂𝙴𝚇 𝙱𝙾𝙱-𝙾𝙼𝙱

𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙽 𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙻𝙻𝚂

I read something and saw how Stephen ends up getting a boyfriend in the novels, so I don't know if he's gay or bisexual since he dated Julie last time I checked. I've seen comments about him being gay, so male and ftm readers only!

𝙺𝙸𝙼 𝙿𝙸𝙽𝙴

Her and Roxy kissing was woah, agh I love them both. I really want to write a drummer reader that could perhaps have some time of rivalry with her, an enemies to lovers fic.

𝚈𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙶 𝙽𝙴𝙸𝙻

I have some cute idea's, I can't wait to write him along with everyone else. I feel like he'd be the type to see someone and fall in love with them instantly, like perhaps reader is in a rival band and they're really good. He's instantly amazed by their skills and finds himself developing a crush on them!

𝙺𝙽𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚄

I'd love to write for her, lots of cute fluff and things of the sort. Especially like helping her paint her nails, sleepovers and gossiping, arcade dates and things of the sort!

ˏˋ ╎𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙻 𝙴𝚇𝙴𝚂

𝙼𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚆 𝙿𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙻

Agh, Matthew! I'd love to write for him, I have some idea's. Like reader being an assistant and trying to do their best to help Matthew balance all this work that has now fallen into his hands because he did not think about all the responsibilities to come before he defeated Gideon, ooh also reader who was a band kid and matches Matthews energy!

𝙻𝚄𝙲𝙰𝚂 𝙻𝙴𝙴

I'm scared I might not write him good enough, mainly for dialogue. But I do want to write for Lucas, I might only write for him when requested for a bit until I get more of a feel for his dialogue as well character, and once I get confident enough to write him!

𝚃𝙾𝙳𝙳 𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙼

Our favorite Vegan boy, I'd love to write for him. Maybe, something like Reader helping him after the realization of what happened with Wallace. Having to comfort him and stuff, also could have Reader as a band mate or something!

𝙴𝙽𝚅𝚈 𝙰𝙳𝙰𝙼𝚂

Could we possibly consider her an evil ex? I decided to put her in this category because of that but anyways, but yes I'll write for her! Envy is so muah, had anyone seen that one image with the two girls doing each other's makeup. Envy sitting on top of Reader's and doing their makeup, or the other way around. Agh, I find that just so cute!

𝚁𝙾𝚇𝚈 𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚁

Female readers for romance only, but I'd love to write for her and omg can't wait. I'm so excited, I don't have a lot of ideas but I'm sure some will come to me for her.

𝙺𝚈𝙻𝙴 & 𝙺𝙴𝙽 𝙺𝙰𝚃𝙰𝚈𝙰𝙽𝙰𝙶𝙸

I want to write for Kyle and Ken so much, sadly we don't get enough screentime for the two but still I'm gonna write as much as I can for the twins. I read something about how the twins don't like doing things separately or being separated after what happened with Ramona so that gave me some Idea's, maybe having a reader they can finally trust.

Definitely will write separate fics for Kyle and Ken where they meet the reader, and after a while come to trust them as well develop feelings. I'll also happily do fics for both of the twins and reader pairing, strictly platonic fluff. Ooh, maybe an older or younger sibling that they're very protective of!

𝙶𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙾𝙽 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝚅𝙴𝚂

Before he lost everything version. My favorite and I'm sure a lot of others favorite evil mastermind, I have some ideas and would love to write about him. He grew to be my favorite in the show, as for the movie it was Matthew who was my first favorite ex along with Roxy. I've been loving all of the exes even more lately, especially the twins. So I can't wait to write for all of them!

ˏˋ ╎𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚂

𝙶𝙾𝚁𝙳𝙾𝙽 𝙶𝙾𝙾𝚂𝙴

After loosing everything and meeting Julie again. So I have him twice on this list but that's because Gideon ends up using his old name again, leaving the fake alias behind. So I decided to have the version of him before that and after!

𝙹𝚄𝙻𝙸𝙴 𝙿𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁𝚂

The anime giving us more of Julie was everything, she's so agh and I'd happily write for her if there's people out there who would want oneshots for her!

𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙲𝙴𝚈 𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙶𝚁𝙸𝙼

We don't get a lot of Stacey last time I checked, but she's quite lovely. I love the idea of her and reader gossiping, maybe reader being her coworker. Or Reader being a Pilgrim sibling and the two love poking fun at Scott as well gossiping, platonic fluff!

𝙰𝙻𝙻

Oneshots, headcannons and things of the sort for all the characters. I'll also be posting oneshots and things of the sort with the separate groups in the future, like reader hanging out with Sex Bob-omb or The league of evil exes. Things like that.

Please let me know if I'm missing anyone or there's any characters I might not have and you want to request them, I have not read the graphic novels as of now as I don't have the money to buy them but in the future I definitely will when I get the chance! (Also, if there's any spelling errors. My apologies!)

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miru667 · 4 months

Note

Hiii Miru!!! ♥︎

How is your day going?

Sorry if I’m bothering you, but I just wanted to ask you something that was in my mind for a while, what’s your opinion about the today’s Once-ler Fandom?

I mean, the new oncelings (like me) and all the new stuff that is here, you probably think that all of this is so different in comparison with how the fandom was back in 2012!

And also… do you miss something from the fandom? :p

Something that you don’t see here anymore or not as much as it used to be?

Hiii suemooon! Today was yet another tiring work day =w= but my coworker gave me hot chocolate mix and marshmallows today as a christmas present so that was nice! I hope you're doing well too.

To compare today's onceler fandom vs 2012's onceler fandom...man I could talk forever about this haha! This is all just from my own point of view of course but I would say, yes a lot of things are different, but a lot of things are the same, too.

UHHMMM extremely long post so it's under a readmore LOL

For the differences, a lot of them are simply due to the way the internet has changed in 12 years. In 2012, most oncelings were in their early 20s, and if you were younger than 16 you were extremely rare and we would be like "WOAH?? THEY'RE 15?? I HAVE NEVER SEEN A 15 YEAR OLD ON SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE". But today's oncelings are like, mostly teens now, I feel? I think it's because of tiktok, which didn't exist internationally until 2018, and also because of parents giving ipads to their kids at the age of 2. But yeah, to compare today to 2012 is like comparing gen z to millennials, the content and jokes were different and, due to 2012 being in the past, what was socially acceptable was different, too.

Another thing that's different is the way young people act towards characters nowadays, but let me specify some more. I really dislike the term "content" when referring to someone's personal creations because it just sounds so corporate. And I don't know how to feel when I see some new oncelings treat an old popular askblog character as if they're public property produced by some big company, instead of as an OC that someone worked really hard on. For example, Truffula Flu Camp Entre and Thneedville High AU are like "established media" to a lot of people out there now, as if they're well-known series recognizable to the masses (no, they're not). And as a result, I've seen people headcanon whatever they want on other people's OCs and ship them however they want without even knowing if the mods are okay with those ships anymore (it's better to be real careful, if you want my advice..). I've also seen new oncelings give other people's OCs to public merch-selling sites without the mods' permission, and I've even seen new oncelings try to take inactive askblog OCs as their own. Why? :( Just make your own OCs. You can do it! Hold my hand.

New oncelings don't understand what they're stepping into when they look at our old content from over a decade ago. Our personal feelings and our private friendships from those times, whether good or bad, are precious to us and I guess it's just a new phenomenon that we have to deal with now, so I don't have the answers for this yet. But I would encourage everyone to also look at new and current OCs in the fandom - which many people do, and I love to see that!! I also love seeing people making friends with each other and having fun with each other, that's what reminds me of the better days of 2012.

Another difference is the...landscape? We have tumblr DMs now and we have discord communities so a lot of things are hidden now from public view. RPs used to be public on tumblr but now we rp on discord and only people in the server can read them, and there are pros and cons to that. Also the fandom isn't dominated by only a handful of askblogs anymore. Things are WAY more balanced and evenly distributed now compared to 2012, where Swag Once-ler was the king of the fandom with 200 asks sent to him every hour and 4000 followers accumulated in just 5 months. (And I'm not dissing on Swag, I loved Swag too. I'm just stating my observations. In fact I miss him a lot ;-;)

As for what's the same...xD The excitement and passion that a lot of new oncelings have! I find that so cute. People being creative is the same, people gushing over the onceler and fandom ocs is the same, even if internet slang has changed. People being ambitious with projects is the same, even if those projects are never finished (but this is just general human nature). And PEOPLE BEING SWEET TO EACH OTHER is the same! I was nervous during 2020 since a lot of "ironic" fans joined that year but I'm happy to have seen some genuinely sweet people around in more recent years, just like there were in 2012. 😊

I also see a lot of the same movie analysis discussions each year, which makes sense since new people keep entering the fandom, haha! "The lorax movie could've been better", "the 1972 film is better", "I wish they kept biggering", "they should've expanded the factory scenes and taken out the car chase scene", "i hate the onceler's mom", "the movie's point gets muddled because too many people think his mom's to blame", "i can't believe zac efron and taylor swift didn't sing in the movie", and on and on, those never change, and I've seen these same discussions so often that I support the antithesis of each topic now, just to be a rebel. 😇 But usually I don't engage in those anymore, I just think "haha aww! they're having fun :]" and leave them be! But like, it truly reminds me of the earlier days. It's me who has changed, in this case.

And finally, "do you miss something from the fandom? Something that you don’t see here anymore or not as much as it used to be?" I mentioned Swag already, I also miss a lot of other askblogs that belonged to my friends, and most of all I miss a lot of my friends who've drifted away, and I hope they're all doing well. I had a lot of good times with friends over the years. Some of them were rp partners and I miss our rps and I miss their characters dearly, I can't think about it too hard or else I might cry. What else...I want to say that I miss the crazy nightblogging events we used to have but I don't know if I could keep up with those anymore if they happened again haha. Same with askblogs answering asks live, almost no one does that now because people want so much to make every ask pretty with a new pretty artwork. But like, even if that comes back, again I don't know if I could keep up. So I suppose everything had its place!

Things will continue to shift and change, and you never know what the future holds so it's best to just keep going. I'm still making new friends and new good memories in the fandom each year, and I'm grateful for that.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for this ask and thanks (and sorry) to anyone who read through all of this!!

#miruask #suemooon #i spent 7 hours typing this LOL #reference

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eldritch-spouse · 11 months

Note

Hi Mother Pinnie I hope your day/night is going well. How would the clergymen react to their obsessions fainting from seeing their cocks for the first time?

Your ocs make me bark like a dog and keep me warm thinking about them. But thinking of actually being face to face with things like Vinnel's rotting horror goop dick and Morell's cock that looks like it can split a person in two is enough for me to feel very a bit panicky to put it mildly.

May your bagels be forever plain and delicious.

[What do you call this, "cock fright"? "Penis terror"? "Manmeat panic"?]

TW: Noncon.

You faint from the "grand reveal"

Morell just sort of gawks... Well, he's pretty big compared to you, and he likes to think he's packing pretty well, but is it really that big for you? If you were that scared, you could have just told him, you poor little thing. In the end, he fixes you up and takes care of himself, chuckling about your silly reaction. Guess he'll go slower next time.

Gallon assumes your reaction was due to the prehensile nature of his dick. Maybe you're one of those people that's really scared of things that squirm. Which is a shame, because he can't really help that. The slime sighs and scoops you up safely, wondering if your second time seeing it will be as ridiculous as this one was. He can try to shape it differently, but his excitement won't help...

Vinnel snorts. Aw geez, does he scare you that much? It's actually kind of flattering. And hot. Fuck, he can feel himself throb just thinking of forcing you to blow him, while you cry and scream around his cock, afraid that you'll get sick from going down on him. Vinnel wants to see the terror on your face as he pounds you full of his slime and you have no choice but to take the thing you're so frightened of. You'll wake up to his cock inches from your face.

Santi doesn't know how to feel. Maybe he got you too horny? There was definitely arousal when you fainted. This is very odd, even the virgins he's had up until now didn't faint like this, though some would look away from his length. Guess he'll have to try something softer... Next time you two get intimate, he'll make sure you can't see his cock, just feel it. Maybe after you feel how good it is, you'll want an eyeful.

Grimbly just blinks. What... Why??? What's wrong with his cock? What did he do? Is it- Do you not like it?! HUH?! He doesn't understand why you'd react that way at all and he's going to become very insecure about exposing it to you in the future. Catch him examining his dick in front of a mirror, tears in his eyes as he tries to decipher what's so horrifying.

Patches wonders if maybe you thought he'd have no cock. Maybe you assumed it had rotted off a long time ago and the shock of finding out there's actually something between his legs just... Made you faint. That's, well, unexpected. Sure his dick is green and it has some vine-protrusions like the rest of his skin, but other than that it's pretty standard and humanoid. What's wrong with it? Huh.

Sybastian recoils. Woah. That's new. He's pretty huge for a mimic, but he doesn't think he's hung like a fucking horse, there's not need to faint. He tucks himself away and wonders what to do. Maybe you're not ready for his cock yet, he might have to use his tongue for now. Humans are frail little things, physically and mentally, so he's not too sure what to do beyond giving you some time before trying again.

Nebul actually snickers. Oh, you're adorable. Perhaps Master worked you up a little too much. Were you so afraid of disappointing him that your little mind just short-circuited? Hah, oh he enjoys you so very much. Too bad, you'll have to face it, so better get used to it. You'll wake up to Nebul inside you. Not moving, just inside you.

Belo is genuinely terrified. He knew it was too soon! What a fool he was! Look what he did, now you're probably traumatized. You hate him, you hate him because he was filthy and animalistic and it was too much to handle for you. He won't forgive himself so easily. He's a degenerate!! Please forgive him, please please please-

Fank-e freezes. Oh. Oh okay... Maybe he should attach one of the smaller builds. Not that he likes them too much, but maybe something less flashy will sit well with his startled little qt. In the worst case scenario, he can go for a pussy and ditch dicks until you're more comfortable. Fank-e's going to have you search various models with him so you don't faint again, even if it was pretty funny to him.

Krulu gets a massive power rush. Yes, faint at the sight of him. You know how great of an honor his offering is, and your mind broke because of it. Simple creature, your humble nature is flattering, but you have nothing to fear- Only pleasure from now on. Although, if the sight of his malehood is that imposing to you, then you best make it up to him by servicing his cunt.

#Krulu oc #Morell oc #Vinnel oc #Nebul oc #Patches oc #Grimbly oc #Santi oc #Fank-e oc #Sybastian oc #Gallon oc #Belo oc

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penguin--rat · 1 month

Text

canine girl in all her doggy glory!! already posted her design and profile the other day, but i updated her profile and i want all her images in one post.. speaking of her profile, warning warning for talk of violence there more on canine (+ lyrics?!! Woah!!) under the cut:)

canine girl is inspired/an au of my oc alík, but i don't think it'd be wrong to say she's a different character alltogether? while the things she struggles with are things that alík does, too, she's more like.. idk ❤️only i can understand this ...

as you may have guessed by her warning, canine girl has violent intrusive thoughts, and feels extremely guilty for them, even if she never acts out on them. her profile doesnt get too into this .. since she feels that guilt and shame, i don't think she'd wanna share the details online .. or with anybody ever.. you know how it is 💥

her design is smth i struggled with greatly .. her mask is this

and as soon as i saw it on alíks pinterest board i was set on using it and im sooo happy i did!! i think it works greatly..!!! other notable things about her design, that im happy with, are mostly to do with her hoodie. her hoodie-ears are actual ears, shes just hiding them:) and its made to resemble a service dog vest!

you can't really see it in the 'fake screenshot' art, the first one, but she's got a kind of belt (harness ?) around her chest !! its around her shoulders too.. and her chain hanging from that could be interpreted as a leash ig ?? idk 💥💥you'll never understand sinister minds inner workings... another design-y thing is !! shes got her arms around herself in the fake screenshot, which is bc she's hiding her claws from you 💥her eyes are also made to resemblea wolfs:)

her pants are just like that bc its alíks fashion sense 💥and bc i think they fit! and i like them!! a little treat just for me:)

another thing that i wanna talk about is her profile!! its so !! chill !! the colours are warm and inviting, her info there is silly, she invites you to talk with her if you're struggling, shes got fun blinkies.. !! shes just having fun on a site hanging out and chilling .. its like that bc i wanted to show, even if in a little way, that intrusive thoughts arent indicative of a persons identity. canine's intrusive thoughts don't make her a bad person, they don't make her a rabid dog like she thinks, they just make her somebody with intrusive thoughts. shes more than her intrusive thoughts, you know ??

anyhow! the lyrics !! i wrote lyrics for a theoretical song that she would have, but Wont, because im not a songwriter. i might make a silly littly tune for her one day, like a minute long at most, most likey shorter, so these lyrics are what you get !! and also it was my second time writing actual lyrics (first time was 10 minutes before when i was writing lyrics for another tptm oc, unknown girl) so Dont be meanies... Ok... treat me niceys... her voice for this would be kohaku merry btw :3

warning, again, more specified this time: themes of violent intrusive thoughts, talk of violence, vague references to generational abuse

That I’m just like a dog, I know Got the leash and collar to show Tug it one way, then another I’ll obey you like no other

But obedience doesn’t cut it With teeth sharper than a razor blade The only way to be is afraid That’s what I say, anyway

Can’t say I’m sorry, not to you That’d scare me, letting you know About your mangled body on the floor Still just a fantasy, nothing more

(Violent thoughts suppressed) Ineffective muzzle helps little (Violent needs repressed) ‘Cause my razors make it brittle It’s not on purpose, just my spittle Can’t help my second nature

(BEAT ME, FLAY ME, LEAVE ME DEAD PLEASE DO YOUR WORST, I BEG IT WON’T BE UNDESERVING TO BEAT A WILD DOG SENSELESS

GIVE IT YOUR ALL, YOUR EVERYTHING WE BOTH KNOW I’D DO WORSE WERE I NOT A DOG BUT SOMETHING LIKE I AM NOW, JUST SHAMELESS)

The carpet floor’s forever stained A family heirloom of violence and hate Trying so hard to reject that norm Can’t help but feel it’s all I’m destined for

Gotta stop myself with only a collar Can’t be like my father’s bully father So as long as you hold my leash I swear I’ll hide my deepest needs

Even if it’s not real, I fear You’ll reach into me and see All these sinful fantasies Of your bloody arteries I don’t mean them, believe me It’s just that this is all I know how to be A mutt that doesn’t know any better Only to claw and dismember

(Violent thoughts excessed) Maybe it’s just natural selection (Violent needs processed) Can no longer deny this connection That I’m just like a dog, I know Got all this shame to show

Your hands are only ever kind A stark contrast to my mind It’s not real, just thoughts, I know Adrenaline still fills me though

My collar thins, soon it will snap Go away, don’t want you here for that Your kindness is naivety My impending misery Your outstretched hand is prey Don’t say I didn’t warn you Here comes the prophesised day Where the hand feeds no more

(WITH MY LEASH AND MUZZLE GONE YOU MISTAKE FOR A FAWN YOU THROW MY COLLAR TO THE FLOOR I BEG, PUT IT BACK ON NOT YOUR FAULT, BUT C’MON DON’T BE SO CRUEL AND SHOW ME I’M THE ONLY VICTIM TO MY FANTASY)

#tptm #the post traumatic manifesto #tptm oc #oc art #AT004-212 #kinda ?#eye contact #eye contact tw

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ruthytwoshakes · 5 months

Text

oh good evnening my homos,, my swagggalishis peepol, my lovely little guys . idk. I drew some gi. rrrrrls !!! Some fem fort!! Wahhooooo!!! Yippepeeee!! oh oh and big thank you to everybody who voted in the poll I set up! Once winter break hits I’ll be able to work on the projects full time, until then I’ll just be putting out little wips because school is more important :]

I’ve always wanted to make a gender swap au of some sort but I really had no good ideas until now,,. . They’re all clones of the red team that Engineer and Pauling worked on!! But like kinda. really crazy and blood-thirsty.

Pauling was requested to make a better Blu team because they sucked so bad,, ,so instead of hiring new people she got lazy and asked Engineer for help to mess with the respawn machine and create these new guys. They’re also like a fourth bigger than the original mercs. They’re very scary and violent and not r,eally good at being people yet. to be fair they were born like yesterday sorta. And I think I’d be a little evil too if I was born with the memories and mannerisms and scars of a life that I had not lived. ? ,,,,oh well sucks 2 suck. They hate the other team with a burning passion because they were programmed that way I guess. Idk I just came up with it tonight so it kidna isn’t all that coherent but we bal l . If I have the time I’ll draw them all beating up the boys or just like tormenting them. heheghjshh. pyro is a bear because the original pyro is a butch,, and spy is trans masc cus the original spy is trans fem. c ool

oh if anybody has any ideas for names I’d love to hear them! I’m shit ass at names so help is appreciated B))))) )

oh. welell hello thehrer,, here is more deisntns

these are for fun and would not actually work in the au,, teehhe. Man I don’t know what the fuck happened with saxton but he just looks the exact same. he’s growing out his hair. happened with saxton rhymes kindaa also Bidwell yay! Made her look more like Ma because I think she and scout are sisters booyahhh woah. Reddy with the butch realness hell yeah ,, love her. Mister Pauling wooooooow don’t have much 2 say. Twink Pauling little scary. Administrator though fucking killed me ,,I turned a bad bitch into an old man I’m losing my minddd. Kept the earrings cus they slayy cunty cunt cunt? Idk I don’t say that stuff

PYRO FACE JUMPSCARE !!! I know I committed sin and removed a masked character’s mask buut,idk fuck it I wanted to. Got some gnarly burn scares there and a rat tail cowaaabunga. Don’t know if you can tell but Blu has a half a beard.

JUMPSACREE JUMPSCARE I ADDED MY OCS MUHAHHA it’s gliderrrs yay. Red and Blu glider are two different. guys,, uhh they’re both twins!! Fraternal I think. Red is very flamboyant and extroverted and talks with her hands while Blu kinda stares at you,, you can’t really tell if she’s angry or not? Not happy with you that’s for sure. I can’t info dump about them on this post because I have to get back to work but one day in the near future. perhaps. perchance. mayhaps. what

#tf2 #fem fortress #butch fortress #tf2 whole team #tf2 saxton hale #tf2 bidwell #tf2 reddy #tf2 miss pauling #tf2 administrator #Soldier is basically Tank Girl lmao #I love both the hair designs for scout so much hhghhgghhh what do #soldier and sniper are girlfs btw #American aviators hell yeah #tf2 glider #daffys drawings

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nkirukaj · 29 days

Text

The Radio Demon & the Billboard Doe (5)

Pairing: Alastor x Fem! OC

Warnings: Swearing?

Genre: Angst?

Word Count: 3.9K

5. The Eyes of the King of Hell

“What’s that?” She stands beside Alastor as he chops up vegetables

“These are vegetables, my dear,” he says in a slightly condescending tone

She rolls her eyes “No, like you’re cooking something. What is it?”

Alastor hums “I am preparing jambalaya for whoever would like some,”

“What’s that?”

He turns his head slightly “A traditional Louisiana dish with meat, vegetables, rice, and seasonings.” He states plainly

“You’re from Louisiana?”

“New Orleans,”

“Woah, like Princess and the Frog?”

He scrunches his brow “My dear, I have no idea what you’re referring to. So I’m just going to say ‘yes’.” He returns to cutting

Voe stands and watches him cut, despite not rolling up his sleeves, they remain clean. He is very aware of his audience.

“Do you need something?” He questions her

“I’m just watching,”

He looks away “Lovely,” tone filled with sarcasm

She continues standing near the taller demon, coming up to about his chest, inching closer whether intentionally or not. She is watching, however, her eyes completely fixated on the movement of Alastor’s fingers and the precision of his slicing. He glances down at her, only getting a glance at the top of her head, a small tuft of curls blocking the view of her face. He knew this recipe better than the back of his hands that were chopping and slicing ingredients on their own without him even having to look. He continued glancing at her bright red curls wondering what could be so fascinating about him preparing this dish that she hadn’t moved or spoken in the past 30 seconds. It seemed as though she hadn’t blinked or breathed in that time either. What could be going on inside this demoness’ head?

Alastor was broken out of his wondering by the sound of ‘meow’. He blinked several times, startled at the noise. He glances at Husker, but he seems too engrossed in a conversation with the effeminate spider, and he is much too far away for the volume of the sound. Charlie and Vaggie were even further and Niffty was busy stabbing bugs, it wasn’t until he heard the sound again that he realized it was coming from the demon beside him.

“Did you just…’ meow’?” His voice dripped with confusion and a dash of disgust

Voe snaps her neck up to acknowledge his words “Oh yeah, that’s just something I do sometimes when I’m feeling things, or just thinking things, or if I’m bored…pretty much whenever I feel like it.”

His smile falls flatter “Do refrain from doing it around me.”

Voe’s eyes swivel from side to side “Uh.. no. I do what I want when I want. Duh. Haven’t you learned that yet?” She smiles with furrowed brows

“Yes I know,” He turns back to his hands, placing ingredients in a large pan “It’s very unbecoming of you.”

“Does it bother you?”

He is still focused on the food “This specifically or your entire attitude? Well, I suppose it wouldn’t matter, because they would both be the same answer.”

“I don’t see why it would bother you. I mostly just mind my business.” Alastor exhaled through his nose, choosing not to say what he was thinking. “You’re not wearing gloves.” She pushes out her lips and scrunches up her nose.

“Mhmm.”

“Did you wash your hands?” Alastor’s smile turns back up, knowing that the withholding of this one answer was enough to turn the power back in his favor “I’m going to assume that you did because that would be really dirty if you did. I guess the dirt would add its own flavor though right?” She gives him a crooked smile and he snickers, refusing to let her know that he found that quip comedic as well. “Where did you learn that from?” “What?”

“The Jambalaya recipe.”

Alastor inhales this time “My mother,”

Her lips turn up “Aww cute. You spent a lot of time with your mom?”

He raises a brow “I suppose you could say that.”

Voe puts her hands under her chin “That’s so nice! I never took you for a Mama’s boy.”

“Ah yes, very insulting to love your mother.”

“I didn’t say it was an insult.”

“Mhmm.” He starts to ignore her as he continues cooking. She tilts her head still watching him. When he finishes, he turns off the stove, and walks away from the pan, leaving Voe standing in confusion. “I wouldn’t take some now, wait for it to cool first.” he tosses over his shoulder.

“Oh, you’re done?”

“Clearly,” Voe’s ears droop a little, disappointed at the end of her show. Alastor looks back at her “Is something the matter?”

“I guess not. I just didn’t realize you were finished.”

He rubs his chin with his index finger “Hmm. Dig in!” is all he gives before leaving the room. Voe’s ears come back up and she caresses them but is unaware that while Alastor may have left the kitchen, he was still watching her from the shadows.

______________________________________________________________

"The Vees present 'Respectless' by Velvette!" exclaimed Voe.

"No no no!" Velvette interrupted

"What would you like me to say, Velvette?"

"It's not what you're saying, it's how you're saying it! Do it with feeling! I need more emotion! Say it like you care!" Velvette demanded.

"I do care, and I am saying it honestly,"

Velvette insisted, "Smile for me."

Voe forced a smile, but Velvette wasn’t satisfied. "No teeth," she instructed.

She closed her lips, but Velvette changed her mind, "Bring back the teeth."

She opened her lips again. Velvette stared at her for a while and then asked, "Are you autistic?"

Shocked, Voe looked around and then down at her shoes. "Yes," she mumbled.

The doll thought for a moment and then said, "Hmm, never had an autistic model before. As far as I know. Whatever, we'll work on that later. But this," she grabbed the doe’s chin, "Do you have a teeth whitener?"

Voe searched around and offered, "I have charcoal toothpaste."

"So that's a no then. Get your teeth whitened."

"Are you gonna pay for that?"

Velvette waved her off, "Yeah," she said, now checking her phone.

"Okay then." Voe goes to step off the stage “Is that all you need me for today?’

“Not quite,” Velvette puts away her phone and slaps her hands together quite dramatically, smiling full of glee. A large-looking paper appears once she opens her hands. The paper floats and unfurls, revealing itself as a contract, complete with a quill and a line to be signed. “It’s been fun working with you so far, but I need you to sign this.”

“Is that a contract?”

“No, it’s toilet paper, of course, it’s a contract! Don’t worry your pretty head about it, it’s just some legalities that we can only straighten out once this is signed. You don’t even have to read it.”

The doe is reluctant ‘I think I’d like to read it if that’s okay.”

The doll rolls her eyes, scoffing “Whatever, just make it quick. I have things for you to do.” she winks before exiting the room

Voe approaches the contract apprehensively, reading it intricately. Parts were detailing her having to listen to Velvette regardless of what she says, her not being able to discuss things that go on inside of the V tower, being at Velvette’s beck and call, her inability to attack and/or kill Velvette and things of that manner. At the very bottom, right before the line, was the statement “I, Voe the Beau, hereby sign the ownership of my soul to Velvette of the Vees’.

That line hit her like a semi-truck. Her soul? What would that mean?

“Umm Velvette?” she calls for the Overlord, who appears behind her

“What? It’s not difficult, it’s just a contract sweetie.”

“I think there’s a mistake…”

She raises her eyebrow “Eh?”

“This says that if I sign you own my…soul?

“Yeah, that’s how this works. You work for me, you belong to me.” The doll crosses her arms over her chest

“I don’t know how comfortable I am with that…”

“I’m sorry, do you not want to work for me?”

“I do! I just…don’t know how I feel about being owned.” She rubs her elbows and tries to smile

Velvette glances at her nails “Hmm well, don’t sign it then. I can have a replacement by this evening. Melissa! Call Molly for me!”

“Huh?” Melissa calls from outside the room

“Melissa!!” she puts her hand on her forehead, then pulls out her phone “Remind me to fire her,” she says into it, turning away from the doe.

“Wait!”

Velvette smirks with her back still turned to the model. She looks over her shoulder innocently “Yes…?”

“Could I just…have some time to make sure that you can do what you say? I mean, this is my soul we’re talking about.”

She looks impatient “Mhmm.” she scrolls through her phone, not looking Voe in the eyes

“It’s a big deal, no?” Voe’s smile is nervous and lopsided.

Velvette puts her phone away completely and grabs the doe’s shoulders “Listen, I like you. A lot more than I like my other models. You’re beautiful, you’ve got great taste, and you’re quite smart. You’re welcome. So, I give you a bit of leeway. I have never done this for anyone else, so you’re welcome. But I will make a preemptive deal with you. I will continue to let you work for me..for 5 months, to prove that I’m not all talk. I am the real deal, baby. At the end of those five months, this will be non-negotiable, you will either sign the contract or walk. Do you understand?” Voe nods and Velvette rubs her arms “This is gonna be great. I promise. When I’m done with you, you’ll be begging me to take your soul, I promise!”

Voe nods once more, and breathes again, lucky to at least have more time.

______________________________________________________________

Voe stares at herself in the mirror in the parlor, making silly faces trying to get the best view of her teeth. Velvette’s words had really gotten under her skin. Had she not been brushing enough? Were her teeth dirty this whole time and she hadn’t even noticed? Did she have bad breath? Angel strolled past her to take a seat at the bar.

“Looking for something up there?” he crosses his legs on the stool with his eyes facing downward as Husker fills him a glass

Voe’s mouth forms a flat line "Angel, are my teeth white?"

He looks up from his phone and furrows his brows. "Not really, more like off-white."

“Ah, shit,”

“Meeting didn’t go well I take it?”

“She told me I needed to get a teeth whitener.”

He shrugs “Maybe you should,”

Voe pouted. "Does Val make you whiten your teeth?"

"No, I whiten them myself."

She gasped. "Does that mean I'm going to get a makeover?"

“Uhh, I don’t know about a makeover toots, but um you’ll definitely be getting poked and prodded.”

She leans back from the mirror “Hmm.” walking over to join the spider at the bar

“What? You need a drink too?”

She shakes her head “Not unless Husker gets over himself and learns how to make something fruity.”

“I don’t even like the sound of that.” the cat glares back at her while cleaning out glasses

“Me either,” Angel looks disgusted

“Okay, seriously what is wrong with you guys? It’s literally just alcohol with like juice in it, what is the big deal?”

“The fact that you don’t know what the problem is, is very disappointing.” the spider downed his drink silently requesting another

“Okay so everyone gets to get drunk but me.” She slaps the bar counter with her palms

“Seems like it,” Husk gives her a sarcastic smile in return

Voe rolls her eyes and looks at Angel tilting her head. She watches him as he trails his finger over the glass in one of his hands.

“What?” he sounds irritated

“Are you okay?” she asks

Angel looks around, confused “Uh, yeah?”

“Are you sure?”

“Alright, you’re getting weird now.”

“I’m serious. I want to know how you’re doing.”

He stands up to leave “Yep, I’m outta here.”

She follows him as fast as she can, but his legs are incredibly long. She starts to run, and before realizing it, she’s in front of him. “Hmm, what was that? Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about a few days ago.”

He looks down at her “A few days ago?”

“I saw you..with Valentino.”

He raises his eyebrow “Mhmm. My boss?”

“He gives me creepy vibes. And you looked…scared.”

He brushes her off “I ain’t scared of him,” he lies

Voe squints, trying to read Angel’s expression. His eyes are relaxed and his brows are steady, but his lip quivers “You’re lying to me.”

“Okay, he speaks nonchalantly

“Why are you lying?” she asks gently

“Why are you trying so hard to be in my business?” he feels the irritation bubbling inside

She shakes her head “That’s not what I’m trying to do,”

“Well, then what are you trying to do?” his volume rises slightly

She steps back a little and thinks “I-I don’t know. Help, I guess?”

“Help with what? Being annoying?”

She takes another step back and squints her eyes, feeling tears bubbling up, but refusing to let them fall “Um, okay. I guess not. Never mind then.” She turns around right before the first tear drops and makes her way to the elevator, pulling on her ear as she goes. Angel slaps his forehead and drags his palm down his face before hearing a notification on his phone and running off out of the building.

______________________________________________________________

“How’s everyone’s day? For today’s activity, we can go around and state one hope we have for today. Anything you like,”

“Um, I wanna do crack,” One demon volunteered

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Vaggie whispered under her breath

Voe comes downstairs as the conversation continues. Alastor is standing behind the couch, allowing the residents to sit.

“Hi Voe! Welcome to our activity!” Charlie waves, Voe waves back with no words and looks back at her phone. “Did you want to join us?”

“Not really,”

“Okay!”

“Wait, so this is optional?” Angel piped up, strewn out over the couch

“No,” Vaggie responds with her hands on her hip

“What the Hell?!”

Voe enters the kitchen, looking through the cabinets to find her cookies. Once she did she took a sleeve and turned to go back to her room, but then she saw the deer man standing out in the open and decided on mischief. She saunters over to stand near the buck.

“Stretching your legs out deer man?”

“Ugh, you again.” Alastor rolls his eyes

“Indeed it is me, is that an issue?” she takes a cookie from her pocket and thinks about eating it when no one is looking.

Alastor sighs “You have quite the energy today don’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s called being young. Guess fossils can’t relate.” she shrugs, placing the cookie back in her pocket

He glances to the side “I guess not.” sighing once more

The air between them is silent for a few beats.

Without thinking, Voe reaches up and one of her fingertips graces the tip of Alastor’s red/black locks. In that very instance, Alastor’s head turned 180 degrees with a sickening *crack*, eyes black with radio dial pupils, antlers tripling in size as his teeth elongated and his neck broke leaving his head dangling upside down. There’s a bright red ‘x’ shining in the center of his forehead. His hand reached backward and caught hold of her wrist. She tries to pull back, but he digs his claws into her flesh, his grip is solid.

“I suggest you never try that again, my dear. Understand?” She nods slowly and he lets go of her wrist “Wonderful,”

Voe pulls back her hand, taking a step back. An uncomfortable warmth envelopes her chest, her eyes fall to the floor and she starts pulling at her right ear, trying to melt into the walls. Her pupils dart around facing her feet and she suddenly falls silent. The warmth rises to her face. She glances over at the group and everyone is staring. Why did he have to make a big deal out of it? She couldn’t take everyone staring, not now. Her eyes were burning, likewise her skin. Her mouth went dry and all she could think was That’s what you get for trying to be cute. All she wanted was to disappear, but they wouldn’t look away. After staring for what felt like hours, Vaggie spoke.

“Alastor, can you please not freak out the guests?”

Alastor turns back toward the Princess “I apologize for that rude interruption. Please continue on Princess.”

Voe stands quietly wishing she didn’t exist, but refusing to cry in front of others turns and exits the parlor, to make it so no one notices her departure. She wasn;t looking up, and could not focus on her vision, while she was spending energy on not crying. So unfortunately, embarrassing herself for the second time within an hour, she walked right into Lucifer. She tries to turn and hide her face from the King of Hell, but he sees her tears and gently grabs her.

“Hey, Voe, right? What’s wrong?”

But she can’t speak, all her energy is spent trying not to sob loudly. The King is patient and waits for her to catch her breath.

“I tried to touch Alastor’s hair and he-“ she sidled a sob” in front of everyone.” Her tears fall faster

“Hey hey, you’re okay.” He holds her shoulder, using his thumb to wipe a small tear from her eye “That Al guy is a huge jerk, right?” Voe laughs a bit, trying to breathe while also trying not to sob “Hey, you wanna touch my hair?” He smiles, his gorgeous grin catching her eye

“Kinda?” she laughs some more and he stands up straight to remove his top hat, revealing his slicked-back blonde ‘do. Voe reaches up, putting her fingers through the King’s locks, feeling each silky and soft strand on her fingertips, looking into the eyes of the King of Hell. His eyes were so beautiful, that she almost found herself lost in them. She snaps her hand back “Sorry,” she states holding her wrist

“No no shh.” Lucifer holds her head to his chest “You’re just fine. You’re perfect.” he whispers

Later in the evening, the gang is in the kitchen ready for some Al-cooked dinner when Voe takes a seat in the empty parlor, scrolling on her phone. She does not speak or attempt to engage with anyone, but her presence is noticed. The silence is awkward for everyone but her. She is choosing to make their dinner uncomfortable. The silence goes on for a few minutes. Voe smiles at their inability to speak and opens a text that she received. She giggles at the message and goes to respond when Charlie clears her throat.

“Hey Voe, you look happy!” The princess does her best to diffuse the tension “Who ya textin’?” She asks

“Your dad,” the does responds without even looking up

“Y-you’re texting my dad?” She swallows her food after almost choking on it.

“Mhmm.” Voe nods, a smirk creeping up on her face.

Charlie looks around, growing uncomfortable “W-what’s he saying?”

Voe’s head comes up “I don’t think you want to know,”

“Oooh! You think she’s about to become your new mom Charlie?” Angel interjects jokingly

Alastor scoffs, sitting at the head of the table. He glances over at Voe sitting by herself. How insolent of her to avoid joining the rest of the group for dinner. All because of what? Something that was her own fault? So childish of her to spurn his cooking. And to bring her brashness into their vicinity, interrupting their peace with her nonsense.

“Are you aware that dinner is finished or do you need a special invitation?”

Voe blatantly ignores the stag and continues to text Lucifer. Although, she had no desire to eat at this time anyway.

“I think she’s still mad Smiles.”

Alastor rolls his eyes and begins to dine, everyone following suit. The air is filled with sounds of utensils hitting plates and loud sounds of chewing. Voe is taking selfies on the couch and sending them to Lucifer in different poses, like a smile or with her tongue sticking out, or with peace signs, etc.

After some time passes, everyone has eaten and retired to their rooms as Voe continues to sit on the couch, feeling nice with finally being alone. Alastor is washing dishes, he’d given Niffty a reprieve from this, the monotonous task allowing him to think. Once he finishes he turns and sees that Voe is still on the couch, still playing this childish little mind game. He shadow warps to be standing over her shoulder and she is on her Sinstagram, scrolling through and liking pictures. He gets a glimpse at her username and raises his eyebrow

“You are aware that your use of that word is incorrect?”

She turns toward him “Oh you’re talking to me.” her tone is flat and monotonous

Alastor’s eye twitches “Yes.” She shrugs and turns back to her phone. Alastor inhales and speaks again “That word is the masculine term, and last time I checked, you are female.”

She snickers “When’s the last time you checked?” She asks not looking at him

“You know this little thing you’re doing is ridiculous. Ignoring someone who is talking to you. I ask again, are you a child?”

“No, I am not.”

“Then you understand that you have no right to be upset about what took place earlier, yes?”

“Who said I was upset?”

“Well, your actions say it loud and clear, my dear.”

“Or maybe you feel guilty, because all I’ve been doing is sitting.” She is facing forward

“Sitting alone and in silence, not eating?”

“What’s your point?”

“Just know that in regards to the events earlier today, you were in the wrong.”

She slightly turns in his direction “Why are you taking it so personally? All of my actions have no emotions tied to them. You seem to be adding a motive that is not present. And then telling me that it’s my fault to assuage your own guilt. Perhaps what you’re looking for in that black hole you call a heart, is an apology.”

“Indeed! I am looking for an apology, from you.”

“Why?”

“Since you came here you have been intentionally getting under my skin. And today you try to lay your hands on me with no reason. I don’t even like being touched when there is a reason.”

She turns back around “Well, I didn’t know that.”

He stands up straight “Well then, I apologize for making you cry.”

Voe’s skin turns a pinkish hue “I did not cry.” she lies

He knows that she’s lying because he watched her leave, but he doesn’t press her. “Well, I’m sorry I upset you.”

She doesn’t look up from her phone but mutters “I’m sorry I touched you without your consent.”

“You are forgiven.”

She smirks “Next time I’ll have consent.”

Alastor’s smile turns slightly (only slightly) flirtatious “See to it that you do.” and dissipates into the shadow.

32 notes · View notes

sarahsmi13s · 1 year

Text

Duckie

Chapter 1

pairing: bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw x twin sister!reader; kendall adams (oc) x bradshaw!reader; (eventual) jake ‘hangman’ seresin x bradshaw!reader

characters: bradley bradshaw, y/n bradshaw, tom ‘iceman’ kazansky, sarah kazansky, kendall adams, pete ‘maverick’ mitchell (mentioned), goose and carole bradshaw (mentioned)

word count: ~3.2k

warnings: angsty bradshaws, mentions of cannon character deaths, sibling separation, drinking, LOTS OF TIME JUMPS, please let me know if i missed any

a/n: just a general note!! from what I’ve seen rooster's birthday is around June, he also just seems like a summer baby. So y’all’s birthday is 19/06/1987

series summary: daughter of goose and carole and twin sister to bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw, y/n bradshaw also got her papers pulled when she tried to enlist in the Navy. which turned out to not be as bad as she thought.

chapter summary: mav has pulled the twins papers. bradley is set out to prove something, while y/n takes it as an opportunity to do a reality check and see what other options she has

ch 2 ch 3 ch 4 ch 5

************ *You and Bradley are 17* (just graduated HS)

Bradley burst through the door of your shared home, being only the two of you since your mom passed in the middle of your senior year.

“Woah, Bradley, what’s wrong?” You looked up from your book. “Maverick, that’s what’s wrong!” He ran a hand through his curls, angrily placing it on his hip afterward.

You marked your page and stood, “What did he do, Brad?” He paced, running his hand over his mouth and jaw.

“Brad, what did Mav-” “He pulled our applications!” You jumped back a little and Bradley watched tears line your lid.

“Maverick pulled our papers…” You were in shock honestly. He nodded even though it wasn’t a question. You scoffed past your tears and let your hands drop, “Why would he do that? He knows how much we want to be like-” The name got stuck in your throat. You shook your head, running a hand through your hair, “Why would he do that Brad?” Your twin shrugged, “He thinks we aren’t ready? I don’t know, Duckie.”

You sighed and wiped your eyes. “Well, I guess we need to look at colleges.” You crossed your arms and rubbed your bicep with your hand, trying to self-comfort.

Bradley noticed the immediate change in your behavior. “Y/N, it’s okay to be upset about this. You have every right to be mad! Hell, I’m fucking pissed off! When was the last time you’ve seen me this angry?”

“Oh, I’m upset Bradley. Fuck, I want to march right down there get in Mav’s face and demand an answer. But what good is it gonna do, huh? I don’t have time for fighting.” You turned around and went to leave for your room.

“So, that’s it? You’re just gonna give up?”

His voice stopped you in your tracks and you just knew he had his hands on his hips; looking just like Carole. “You think Mom would just let us walk away like that? She has always supported us!” You didn’t face him but looked up at the ceiling, hopefully squeezing your eyes shut to keep the tears away, “Don’t Brad-” “You know, if Dad-”

You never whipped around so fast in your life. “DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!” You marched up to him and poked his chest, hard, “Don’t you fucking say it.” He realized he crossed the line when you didn’t even look up at him.

“Duckie-” You shook your head, “No, don’t Bradley.” You shoved past him and went to the door and grabbed your motorcycle keys.

“Wait where are you going?” You didn’t even look back as you slammed the door. He sighed, “Shit.”

*********

You drove for a long time, not really sure where you were headed. But you ended up at the cemetery that held both of your parents.

Of course this is where you would go.

You took your helmet off, and walked through the cemetery, muscle memory taking you right to your parents headstone.

Sighing sadly you sat down, “Hey Mom, Hey Dad.” You bit your lip, “God this doesn’t get any easier…”

You proceed to tell them both about your week; ranging from how work was, what you watched on TV, everything up to the moment your brother nearly broke down the door..

“Dad, Maverick pulled Brad and I’s papers…” You drew in a shaky breath, “We just want to be like you. We looked up to you… still do and Mav, God Maverick, he never let us forget about you. Mom didn’t either. Bradley actually learned piano, can you believe it? Hell, I bet you guide his fingers every time like when we were kids.” You dryly chuckled, wiping the tear with your thumb.

“Thought I’d find you here.” You turned and looked up, seeing the other pilot that took up a fatherly/uncle role in your life. Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.

“I’m that predictable, huh Ice?” The older man laughed, “Just a little. May I sit?” You nodded, resting your chin on your knee. “So, did Bradley call you?”

The older man nodded, “Yeah, said you’d got in a fight and you’d been gone for hours.” “Hours? I have-” You looked at your watch, “Damn, I’ve been gone for hours.”

It was quiet for a moment, you leaning on Ice’s shoulder.

“Did he tell you what Mav’ did?” You felt him nod. “Could you have stopped him?” “Me? Stop Maverick? You’re asking for a miracle there Y/N.” You couldn’t help but chuckle, but cut it off with a sigh, “I’m so angry at him, Ice. I just want to scream and cry, make him feel bad for it.”

He nudged your head with his shoulder to get you to look at him, “You know, you could always wait a few months and find another way in.”

You sighed, “I appreciate that, I really do. But who’s to say he won’t do it again. Maybe-” You picked at your nails, glancing at the headstone with your father’s name engraved and painted black on the white marble.

“Maybe it’s a sign,” you chanced a look into Ice’s eyes. They held nothing but curiosity at what you meant. “Maybe I’m meant to help the world in a different way. Or maybe I’m not ready and I need a little bit to figure myself out before I jump in the backseat of a plane.” “Backseat? Figured you’d want to frontseat.” You shrugged, “Dad was a RIO, so I figured I could do that since Bradley wants to be a pilot. Our plan was to fly together; him as the pilot and me having his back, just like we’ve always been.”

Tom gave you a small smile before giving you a side hug, “Well, whatever you choose, I’ll be your wingman. And I think as long as your heart’s truly in it, your father would be proud of you.” You hugged him, “Thanks Ice.”

********* (18)

“I still can’t believe you chose Arkansas for college. You’re smart enough to go to MIT. You got accepted into MIT! And you chose Arkansas?”

You scoffed, smirking at your brother as he helped you move in, “Hey, don’t diss the Natural State, Brad. It’s beautiful here and you can’t deny that. Plus, it’d be such a weather change. I mean, freezing winters, no thanks. AND I got a scholarship to play softball.”

Bradley sighed, sitting a box on your bed, “I know, I’m just gonna miss you.” You nodded, “I know, I’m gonna miss you too. This will be the first time we’re apart, but we have phones and I bet Ice will pay for your flight here.”

He just nodded, looking around, “Was that the last box?” You looked around also, “Yeah, I think so. Wanna go eat?” He smirked, “You read my mind.” You smiled, clapping your hands, “Let’s go!”

************* (Now 20)

You brought in a deep breath, rolling your neck, “Talk to me, Dad.” You eyed your catcher, seeing the signal she gave you. Breathing in through your nose, you wind up your pitch.

It flew right over the plate, right down the middle. Strike 3. Batter out. Ball game. Your team won.

Your team rushed the mound lifting you into the air. “Bradshaw! Bradshaw! Bradshaw!” You laughed and pumped a fist in the air. You kissed two fingers and pressed them to the sky, something your mother had started doing at your games in honor of your father.

Your team put you on the ground and you went to the dugout going from there to talk over the game and develop a plan for tomorrow. (a/n: college games are played in series; Friday, Saturday, Sunday - best 2/3)

You left your team and went to your car.

“Y/N!”

You jumped, looking around frantically before finding a familiar face.

“Bradley!”

You sprinted across the parking lot jumping into your brother's arms. “I can’t believe you came!” “Of course I came! I wouldn’t miss my baby sister punching her ticket into the SEC Tournament.”

He put you down and you looked at his face, seeing something that wasn’t there when you saw him at Christmas. “First, your only older than me by 12 minutes and second-”

You gestured to your upper lip, “That’s new.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “Uh, yeah. I just thought-” “You look like him. You look a lot like him.” Bradley gave you a smile, hugging you one more time.

“I mean, it could be fuller…” “Shut up,” he chuckled, gently shoving you away. You laughed.

You brushed some hair out of your face, “Oh, and about the SEC Tournament. We won't punch our ticket until tomorrow.” “Sorry I couldn’t be here yesterday,” he said, walking you back to your car. You shook your head, “It’s okay, Brad. I batted like shit yesterday anyway.” He laughed, “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, Y/N.” “Oh no, it was pretty bad,” you snorted.

You got to your car and you picked up your bag that you had dropped. “Oh, by the way, Ice is here too but he left foooor uh…” Bradley racked his brain for the town name, it was right there.

You noticed his finger pointing in the direction of a town just North from where you were. You smiled, “Rogers?”

He clapped his hands together, “Yes! Rogers! He said to call Sarah when we left and we’d find a place to eat at. They’re grabbing a room for the night. You know I probably need a room too.”

You scoffed, “Bradley Bradshaw, you are not staying in some over-priced hotel. Just come stay with me, I have an extra room.” “You sure? I don’t want Jason-” “Oh we broke up. He was an asshole. Plus he wouldn’t get a say anyway, not his place.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really like him anyway. Would have messed up the Bradshaw genes.” You rolled your eyes, “Oh my gosh, shut up.” You shoved his shoulder, getting into your car, “Follow me and we can stop by my place then go to Rogers. I know you hate driving in cities.” He nodded, “Lead the way.”

*********

You pulled up to your place and parked, getting out real quick to clean the trash out of the floor.

“Still using the floorboard as a trashcan, I see,” Bradley teased behind you before moving to help.

Without missing a beat or looking up you retorted, “Still driving that museum piece, I see.”

“Hey, she runs just fine, she ain’t that old.” You laughed, dusting your hands off before running a hand on the fading paint, “She needs a paint job.”

Bradley just shrugged before getting into the passenger seat, “I kinda like the faded look, gives it character.” “What, like the ceiling liner coming off? Does that give it character?” You questioned as you slid into the driver's seat.

“It’s called a headliner and yeah I need to get that fixed. But can we go? I’m starving.” You laughed and threw the car in reverse, “Call Sarah and pick a place.” “Geez you sound like Mom.” You smiled, glancing both ways before turning onto the highway, “Thank you.”

*********** (21)

It was finally yours and Bradley’s 21 birthday, which meant you were at a bar having drinks.

“I didn’t know Arkansans had this much fun!” Bradley said with a laugh before tossing back a shot.

Bradley decided to spend the summer in Arkansas rather than have you come up to Virginia where he was going to school at UVA.

“Well, now you know!” Kendall, your current boyfriend, said raising his glass (of water) in a toast.

You smiled, glad that Bradley liked Kendall when they met the same night he came to watch your game in April, back when Kendall had just been a friend.

“So, why don’t we go back to the house? I’m kinda hating this bar right now,” you said.

The bar had started to feel stuffy, and despite both of your parents being outgoing and ‘party people’, you and Bradley both had your moments where crowds became too much. But sometimes you and Bradley weren’t in sync.

“If that’s okay with Brad?” You turned to him, it was his birthday too and you wanted to make sure your brother had a good time. “Will there be drinks at the house?” You laughed, “Just barely 21 and you already love alcohol. But yeah, Kendall went and bought some this morning.” Bradley patted the bar, “Yeah, let’s go.” Kendall kissed your temple, “Thank goodness. I was getting so tired of water.”

In your tipsy state that made you laugh really hard, like full on ‘Goose’ laugh.

“You kill me. You really kill me!” You wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed him before pulling away and mumbling on his lips, “Thank you for being the DD, Ken.” He pecked your nose, “Of course, Baby. Anything for you.”

“Hey if you two are done sucking face, can we go?”

You laughed and flipped Bradley off before pulling your boyfriend in for another kiss. “Come on, he’s getting antsy. He might play the piano.. Again.” Kendall paid the tab and kept his arm around you the whole way out.

You got back to the house and all three of you had a few drinks.

Bradley had started to drink water, per the request of Kendall.

“Hey, I know you’re having fun Bradley, but for your first time drinking maybe we should take it easy the rest of the night? Hangovers suck major ass the first time.” Bradley agreed and now he watched you, still drunk despite having your last drink about 2 hours ago when he also had his last..

“Kendall, take me to bed or lose me forever.” You had yourself sat on top of the counter, arms extended toward your boyfriend. Bradley chuckled, shaking his head but tensed slightly hoping that the one boyfriend he approved of wouldn’t take advantage of you like this.

“Sweet girl, you’re drunk. I’ll take you to bed, but you’re gonna go to sleep. Plus, you have training tomorrow. Your coach would kill me if I kept you up all night. Come on.”

And with that, all the tension rolled off Bradley as Kendall carried you bridal style to your bedroom down the hall.

Kendall came back, chuckling lightly as he filled a glass with ice and water. He stood across the bar from Bradley.

“You know, our parents would have liked you,” Bradley spoke up.

Kendall gave a small smile, “You think so?” “Oh yeah. I’m sure of it. You make her happy, that’s all they could ask for in someone. You’re a good guy, Kendall. Dad definitely would have given you a hard time, but that just means he likes you. Mom, she definitely would be embarrassing Y/N,” Bradley gave a quiet chuckle and sipped his water. Kendall nodded, “It’s hard to imagine Y/N getting embarrassed.” “She got that from our dad. He definitely had zero shame.”

“She talks about them a lot. How carefree your parents seemed to be when they were together, even though she doesn’t remember much of it. She said she’s always wanted a relationship like that, and I want to give her that.” “I’ll hold you to that.”

********* (21)

You walked out of the arena a huge smile on your face, you just graduated.

“Hey Baby!” You looked up and saw Kendall, arms open ready for your embrace. “Kendall!” You ran and jumped in his arms. “I’m so proud of you baby.” You lifted your head, looking down at him, “And I’m proud of you.” You giggled and kissed him.

“Now that’s one for the photo album.”

You pulled away, gasping at the voice. Kendall chuckled and put you down. “Bradley!” You ran once again and jumped into your brother's arms, legs wrapping around his waist. “Y/N!” He laughed as he caught his balance before wrapping you in a big hug.

“I’m so glad you could make it!” He put you down, “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He pecked the top of your head, well the top of your cap. “Why don’t we head out of here? Ice and Sarah are in the parking lot.” You nodded, “Let me get a couple pictures and then we can go.” You passed him your camera you had.

He held his hand up. “No need.”

At the tilt of your head, he held up a camera of his own. A polaroid, your Dad’s polaroid. “Wait, is that…” He nodded, “Sure is. And I already got a photo with it.” He held out the photo and you took it.

It was you and Kendall, just a few moments ago looking down at each other. A beautiful sunset was your backdrop and you know who painted it.

“It’s beautiful, Brad. Thank you.” Kendall’s arm found its way around your waist, “Look at us, Baby. College graduates.” You nodded, still looking down at the photo. “I wish they were here…” Tears had gathered in your eyes as you looked at Kendall then to Bradley.

“Come here, Duckie,” Bradley opened his arms to you and you immediately fell into them.

“They’re here. They’re always here. And they are so damn proud of you.” You nodded, sniffling a little, “Thanks Bradley.”

“Plus, look at this photo,” he grabbed your wrist and held your hand up. “You know damn well Momma painted that just for you.” You giggled, tears still falling out of your eyes. “She loved sunsets.” “And she loved us. She would be over the moon right now to see you standing here. Dad would probably be openly sobbing that his baby girl is no longer a baby. Mav-” Bradley cut himself off, clearing his throat.

You just nodded, because you both knew that if Mav hadn’t pulled your papers, you wouldn’t be here.

“I guess I should thank him. Cause had he not been a total asshat, I wouldn’t have been here.” Your brother pressed his lips into a thin line, “He doesn’t deserve it. Let him wallow in the fact you’re succeeding. Cause I certainly will.” He ended with a smirk prompting you to step back in shock, “Wait, did you get into flight school?”

He nodded, fully smiling now. “Brad! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” You squealed, feigning offense. “I wanted to surprise you!” “Well consider me surprised. I’m so happy for you! I’m proud of you, Bradley.”

Tears brimmed his eyes, your approval and praise was all he needed to know he had someone that thought he could do it. Someone that would support him.

He pulled you into another hug, “Thank you, Duckie.”

When you pulled away, Kendall clapped Bradley on the shoulder, “Congrats man.” He patted his hand before holding up the camera, “Now, I believe we need to get some photos. And we better hurry, Ice really wants to go back to that Mexican place.” You all laughed and moved to find your friends and teammates to take pictures; both on the polaroid and digital camera.

Now, once the photos were developed, you made a copy of three photos. One of you, one of you and Kendall, and one of you and Bradley. Then you would slide those photos into an envelope and send them to Ice, a long with a special note.

************

CHAPTER ONE IS HERE

let me know what you guys think and i may post the next part tomorrow when i get home from class

but i’ve been sitting on this series since like August so i’m very excited to put this out there

top gun tags <33 (i will put these in the comments as well): @milesdickpic @luckyladycreator2 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp

lmk if you want to be tagged :D

#bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x sister!reader #bradley bradshaw x twin!reader #bradshaw!reader #top gun imagine #top gun maverick #top gun fic #duckie

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lindalofbroome · 4 months

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30 - Unity

'Let the seven gifts of the land be joined — at the last.' [Zara's father said.] Adin took the great gem and pressed it to the last, empty space in the belt. It slipped into place with a tiny click. And at that moment, our world changed. TALES OF DELTORA The Deltora Annals The Battle for Deltora

just wanted to draw my moon and stars ocs since i love them and they are Adin-era so i guess it fits the first deltora unification but then i ended up drawing them in wedding garb so i guess it's double unity or something alsdkfjh

anyway this is Badr of Rithmere and Luisa of Del, theyre warriors who spedrun enemies to lovers because of the shadow invasion. they often had princess bride esque encounters of "you seem a decent fellow i hate to kill you" "you seem a decent fellow i hate to die lol" type of border skirmishing / patrolling etc. found themselves fighting side by side at hira and developed a nicer respect rather than the grudging kind and they began to enjoy each other's company more as they could hang out in peace under Adin's rule

i think it's too presumptuous to say that they were the first intercultural marriage, i would imagine that there were some at least they were just quieter and lived in the country or something to avoid conflict. but badr and luisa's wedding(s) wouldve been a big deal post-adin's coronation because now everyone is start to trade and intermingle and chat with each other in friendly terms, and they would be well known for their courage and skills so their respective cities were definitely Too Involved lmao

anyway del people are curious and love travelling so i think generally they wouldve been like "oh cool" but also "please have a del wedding with us" because they want to partayyy 🎉 etc but the mere were probably waaaaaaaaaay more reserved. maybe average reserved. like not the most suspicious but also not the most enthusiastic lol. they'd be like woah a stranger here. but luisa is so bubbly and loveable they take to her eventually 😌💙

i drew a rough version of the mere wedding attired because i've sort of done del wedding attire for jaslief so i thought why not try something else

also it's a coincidence but ive latched onto it so much but im obsessed with giving del moon imagery because of how the topaz and the moon are so interlinked and i think it's important to their culture, but guess what's also in the night sky. stars. you know who's famous for star motifs?? the mere. [always sunny in philadelphia red string.gif]

here's some drawings i haven't posted yet because i've been trying to do the warrior getup for all the tribes and i haven't done that yet lol

they're my favs my lil guys :)

and all because i drew a mere person swindling a del person once upon a time lmao

#roddacember 2023 #roddacember #lyn's roddacember prompts #postlyn #postlyn art #emily rodda #roddaverse #deltora quest #tales of deltora #oc #badr of rithmere #mere oc #luisa of del #del oc #//#theyre married your honour

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jananakookie · 1 year

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Rumor Has It | pjm - Chapter 5

💬 Pairing: Jimin x OC (Reader)

💬 Genre/Tags: enemies(?) to lovers, fake-dating au; angst, fluff, smut

💬 Chapter warnings: contains slurs, angst, alcohol consumption, mentions of bullying

💬 Word count: 15.5k

💬 Recap:

Rumor has it, Park Jimin is single again after his latest girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend.

Rumor has it, he's willing to get back at them.

Rumor has it, you're the perfect means to an end.

Previous Chapter - Index - Next Chapter

Chapter 5: On a mission.

Today is the day to meet Jimin's family. You have been stressing about it for the past week ever since Jimin told you about it, and you can’t even proclaim why.

For some reason, you cannot help but be afraid of them, considering the Parks are supposed to be the most influential family in the city. No matter what kind of people they are, at the end of the day, this sure is an intimidating title that is enough to make your nerves go crazy.

So you went all in and made yourself at least look as presentable as possible because as everybody knows, it’s always the first impression that counts. And you feel like you have to take everything you can get, plus looking good and feeling good about yourself will increase your confidence.

You might be a broke college student with a shit ton of untrue rumors surrounding you, but you can at least look good.

“Woah… Damn.”

You raise a brow, giving Jimin a testing look. You're not in the mood for another one of his criticisms about your appearance again. “What is it this time?” you sigh, trying not to let the frustration show too much since he arrived no more than a minute ago.

“Let me guess, my dress is too shabby? Is my makeup cakey? Does my hair look dry?”

“No.” Jimin shakes his head, eyes still scrutinizing you from head to toe. “I’m just shocked to see how hot you can be when you try hard enough.”

Startled by his unexpected compliment - even if backhanded - you raise a brow. “I—,” you start, just to halt for a moment, “was that a compliment?” you ask, as his eyes finally travel up to yours.

Jimin scoffs at that, taking a couple steps toward you. “As if that’s so unbelievable. I compliment you all the time.”

“Yeah... I don't know about that. The only times you ever actually compliment me, it's just to mock me, and your insincere flattery barely counts anyway,” you grin, not needing him to admit it since you know you're right anyway.

It's not that you're ever upset by his comments because you know he's just being annoying and doesn't mean to actually offend you. He knows you can take it, and he knows that you know that too, which is why he does it. Over time, it has become your thing. Admittedly, you're much more comfortable with him making his stupid jokes than you are when you're having to get serious with each other. You seem to have found common ground in bickering with each other.

He just briefly looks at you before texting someone on his phone while still thinking about your comment. “That might be your interpretation, but I’m always serious about these things and things in general, ___. I’m an open book. I have never told a lie my whole life,” he proudly says, looking like he’s waiting for a reward for being a good boy while you can’t help but grin at this act.

“You do realize you’re saying that while we are literally on our way to meet your family, just to lie to them about the relationship we don't have?” you smirk, seeing his face fall for a second before he clears his throat.

“That’s different.” Jimin takes a moment to put your heavy bags in his trunk before coming to your side.

“How exactly?” you ask while waiting for him to open the passenger door of his car for you like he always does. Fairly enough, he soon after opens the door for you and waits for you to settle in before he goes to the driver's side and seats himself.

A smirk makes its way onto your face when he doesn't give you an answer, even after settling in, making it obvious he doesn’t have one.

“Got you, Park,” you smirk.

Jimin rolls his eyes at your consistency, knowing fully well that you won't let it go. “Whatever. They will be happy, so it’s a lie with good intentions. It basically makes it okay,” he mumbles while starting the engine of his car and making it roar loudly.

“Wow, your logic is unmatched. If your parents come to ask me what made me fall for you, I'll tell them it was your moral character which I had never seen in another man before,” you lovingly sigh, trying to dreamily look out the window as you feel Jimin's eyes on you.

He laughs but doesn't comment on it and only tells you to put your seatbelt on so he can drive off. Giggling, you follow his request so as not to delay your arrival and fasten your seatbelt.

“Aren’t you nervous?” You ask, tilting your way sideways to look at him after a couple minutes of driving in silence.

It's just another one of the thousand questions floating around in your head lately. You know that you would be if you were in his shoes. It's not easy to lie to your loved ones, especially since they are the ones who know you best. Not to forget the moral aspect of it all. Jimin must have thick skin if he doesn't worry about anything.

“Are you?” He asks instead, rolling the ball back to you. Seeing how he shifts his gaze for a moment from the street to smirk at you, he seems to already know the answer, though.

“Obviously,” you sigh. “I didn’t sign up for this. What if I break something and they sue me?”

Not to be dramatic, but that is one of your concerns. One of many actually.

Jimin snorts, his eyes forming little half-moons. “___, I don’t know why you think my parents are a pair of bad movie villains, but I can assure you that this will not be happening,” he chuckles, making you pout for not taking your concerns seriously. “My parents are nice people, okay? There really isn’t anything I could think of that you would have to worry about.”

“Well, there is one thing actually,” you say, seeing him looking at you from the corner of his eyes while he still mainly focuses on the street, showing you that he’s listening. “You have to help me keep this dress absolutely immaculate, so I can return it to the store tomorrow,” you explain, making him laugh. “What? It costs a fortune, Jimin, and I would still like to… you know… live somehow for the rest of the month.”

“First of all, why are you wearing a dress you can’t afford? There is no way you will not stain it.”

“Because I wanted to fit in today. I’ll feel out of place either way, but I can’t show up to some CEO get-together in a twenty-dollar dress,” you explain, rolling your eyes in annoyance.

“It's a business party to celebrate the company's tenth birthday in its current state, ___. Not a CEO get-together,” he explains, rolling his eyes at you not even knowing that. He tried to explain it to you yesterday, but it seems like you didn't listen, and it's annoying. You're both doing this for a reason, and if he can put some work in, he feels like you should be able to do that too.

“Also, stop making yourself go crazy. One would think that you, of all people, would not be so judgmental of someone you don’t even know,” Jimin says, casually looking at you. “But I guess that’s just being human, huh?”

You let out a big sigh, realizing he does have a point. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful. I’m really just a little nervous. Your parents are probably nice people. It's just that this is unusual for me.”

Sensing your distress, Jimin does something the both of you wouldn't have expected from him. He takes one hand off the steering wheel and pats your thigh a couple of times before he takes your hand, that's resting on it, and gives it a tight squeeze. “Relax. It’s all going to be fine.”

“It’s easy for you to say that… I can only hope they haven’t done any research about me,” you mumble as you look out of the window absentmindedly still holding his hand.

He lied. It’s not fine at all. In fact, this is probably the most uncomfortable you’ve ever been.

To be fair, Jimin's parents aren't the reason. Mr. and Mrs. Park are very nice people, and you feel terrible for thinking so badly of them, when in fact they are the sweetest people you've talked to in what feels like years.

You didn't get to actually talk to them because the time was only enough for a quick, superficial introduction before they had to leave again and talk to a couple business partners which means the actual getting to know each other will have to wait for a few more hours. Nevertheless, their open and friendly demeanor immediately calmed your nerves.

You even teased Jimin about him probably being adopted since his parents are so much more likable than he is, to which he then threatened to tell his parents you insisted on holding a speech to introduce yourself and claim your undying love for him which was enough to make you shut up real quick.

You are certain it was an empty threat because nobody would even allow you to do that here, but you really didn't want to risk it.

So moving on, you, unfortunately, haven't been as lucky with his sister so far.

If looks could kill, you would have been grilled multiple times by now.

Jimin hasn't said anything about it yet, and you don't know if he's even noticed, so you decided to keep your mouth shut and not mention it.

It's fine that she doesn't like you. After all, you’re only here to do Jimin a favor, and it’s not like you’re actually dating, which means you don't have to care what she thinks about you. Very soon, this will all be over, and you won't see any of them ever again, including Jimin.

The actual problem, however, is that Jimin has not told you who will also be at this business meeting.

You must have looked pretty stupid when your eyes suddenly fell on Nayeon, who was standing a few meters away from you and had already seen you.

She averted her eyes as soon as your eyes met hers but it was pretty obvious that she had seen you, considering how uncomfortable and nervous she looked right after.

You immediately confronted Jimin for not telling you she would be here, to which he just grinned sheepishly at you and said he must have forgotten.

Yea sure…

He knows very well that you would not have come if you had known about Nayeon's presence, and this is the only reason why he hid it from you.

Fortunately for you, you have managed to avoid her very well so far, and you hope it will stay that way for the rest of your stay.

Since Jimin will one day take over his parents' company, it was clear that he would also be the center of attention today. What you didn't count on, though, is that this would affect you as well.

You were hoping you could get away with just standing next to him silently while looking pretty but Jimin's parents had apparently publicly announced that he's bringing his girlfriend which now contributes to the fact that many also talk to you out of politeness.

It probably wouldn't be so awkward if you had at least the slightest idea what Jimin's family business even is. Unfortunately, you've never really talked about it and you've never asked because it never mattered. Why do you need to know these things if it's nothing but a fake relationship that should never have left campus?

Fortunately, you have Jimin by your side, who always steps in at the right moment and speaks for you to avoid further inconveniences and this might be the only time you're thankful for Park Jimin's existence. Although it is his fault that you are in this situation in the first place so he is also the one who has to take care that your lie will not be exposed.

So far, you seem to be doing well with it. No one suspects anything. They probably think you're just a pretty enough girl who doesn't know anything about anything, and in a way, they're not wrong. Except, that your intentions are not what one would think.

“I can’t believe you don’t know anything about me,” Jimin sighs, as soon as you’re alone for the first time in hours. “I mean, come on… You didn’t have the slightest idea about the company. That’s almost insulting.”

Staying unbothered, you nibble on a grape you found on one of the champagne trays, wondering if they’re even for you to eat or if they’re just for show, considering no one else seems to be eating anything.

“Why would I know that?” you shrug, finding yourself interested in the deep frown between his brows. “I've never cared much for you before, Park. You didn’t seem to believe me when I told you that. Sorry if that’s hard to swallow.”

Jimin scoffs at that, and you see him wanting to answer, but he stops as he looks at something behind you with big eyes.

“Hey.”

Her voice startles you, making you freeze right on the spot. You can feel her eyes burn through your skull from behind. At the same time, Jimin’s eyes nervously tremble from you to her and back to you.

“Hi, Nayeon,” he welcomes her, offering her a comforting smile while you freeze and keep standing there, not daring to turn around. You would like to leave now, not in the mood for this encounter, especially today when you’re full of nerves anyway. Jimin, however, seems determined to keep you here with him.

He takes a few steps closer and wraps his arm around your waist, slowly turning you around to face her.

“I wasn’t sure you’d be here today,” he speaks, probably trying to convince you that he really didn't plan for this encounter to happen.

Nayeon sucks in a breath, gracefully avoiding your ice-cold gaze as she only concentrates on Jimin for the time being, nodding her head lightly. “I wasn’t either,” she admits, clearing her throat after.

You have yet to say something to her, but you cannot encourage yourself to do so. Yes, you’re probably rude by not greeting her properly, but why would you care about that. You're sure that politeness is obsolete anyway when it comes to Nayeon and you.

“My father said that I have to come today. He said he will disown me otherwise,” she lightly chuckles, even though it doesn’t come off as a joke, plus the frown on Jimin’s face and the fact that he doesn’t even smile at that tells you it probably isn’t.

“It’s whatever, though. I did my part, and as soon as I can I will leave,” she quickly adds. “I just didn’t want to leave before greeting you, so… here I am.” A nervous breath escapes her lips as her eyes finally land on you. “Hi, ___.”

You nod, acknowledging her as narrowly as possible, as you mutter a halfhearted “hello” back to her.

As soon as she hears your response, it seems as if her face lights up just a little bit. She probably didn’t expect you to acknowledge her at all. You may be mad, and you have every right to be, but you’re not a child. If she can muster the courage to address you directly, you can give her an answer. But she should by no means assume that she can expect anything from you.

She looks so stunning today, though. You can't help but notice. The mere sight of her is enough to lower your self-esteem. You have put so much effort (and money you don't even have) into looking somewhat good today while she looks like she's barely given it a second thought and still beats you by miles. So unfair, but nothing new either.

Nevertheless, it is noticeable how tired and unhappy she looks. You can see the dark bags under her eyes even through the makeup she’s wearing and that has to mean something.

You remember what Jimin told you about her the night of the first party you attended together. He mentioned how bad she was doing and that she’s in a 'bad place' right now. Looking at her now shows you he wasn’t exaggerating.

“It’s so nice to see you here, really.”

You watch how her lips perk up a little as she tries to smile, though it looks more like a grimace as she’s obviously trying to blink back tears.

You just nod, not trusting yourself to not say something inappropriate while she already looks like she’s trying hard not to crumble.

It probably wouldn't go over too well with the rest of the guests if you made Nayeon cry. Apart from the fact that it would come across as rude in general, you know that her parents are particularly close with Jimin's parents - and you surely don't want to start something now.

Noticing how you probably won’t react anymore than that, Jimin takes matters into his own hands as he tightens his grip around your waist, clearing his throat.

“How are you doing?” Jimin then asks her with a sigh. You can hear in his voice that he isn’t sure if he can ask, but it’s obvious he isn’t all too happy about her disappearance either. “You barely show up anymore, and you’re missing out on a lot of our courses too. I tried to call you about a dozen times this week. I can try to keep you updated, but I can only do as much when you never pick up your phone,” he notes, sounding annoyed with her while also trying to not be too harsh.

Nayeon gulps, looking regretful, but she doesn’t seem to have an answer. Instead, you can feel her burning gaze on you again while you continue to hope to escape from this situation.

Why is no one talking?

But while you’re too busy with your own thoughts, Jimin and Nayeon seem to have a silent conversation of their own because a loud gasp comes from Jimin, making you look at him in question.

“Oh my God, do you see that thing over there?” Jimin suddenly exclaims, pointing at something in the distance. “That’s amazing! I have to take a closer look,” he mumbles, withdrawing his arms from you.

You try to look but don’t see anything, and it’s only then that you realize what he’s trying to do.

Before leaving, he gradually leans down to whisper in your ear. “Please be nice, but don’t make it too easy for her either.” And then, with a rushed kiss to your cheek, he quickly lets go of you and takes a couple steps backward.

You try to catch his hand before he can leave but unfortunately, he’s already gone before you can do anything, leaving you and Nayeon to just stand there next to each other. Alone.

Man, you’re so going to kill him later.

A few moments of silence that feel like literal hours pass before Nayeon breaks the silence by uncomfortably clearing her throat.

You don’t look at her, still trying to summon Jimin to come back immediately with the dirty looks you’re sending him from here, but it has no use.

So you shift on your feet a little before stealing a couple more from those garnish grapes, that definitely aren’t for eating, hoping it will tell her to leave you alone.

“___, do you perhaps think we could talk?”

Well, your wish did not get granted this time, it seems.

Your voice sounds breathless and nervous as you quickly mumble something about having to use the bathroom in a weak attempt to flee from her. But Nayeon suddenly grabs your arm, preventing you from leaving as she calls your name again in a hurry.

You turn around and reluctantly face her, seeing how bad she really looks for the first time since you’re now standing much closer than before.

Bags under her eyes, dry lips, pale. That’s not the Nayeon you know. She did a good job of covering it up, but now that you’re standing so close to each other, you can clearly see it.

“What?” The harsh tone in your voice obviously takes her by surprise, but she doesn’t back down.

Instead, she swallows hard before gathering herself. “Do you think… Do you think we could talk? Please?” She asks again, looking at you with large, pleading eyes.

“I don't know what the two of us should talk about. Everything has been said between us,” you state, keeping your gaze cold even though you feel bad when you see her face fall right after.

Nayeon shakes her head in disagreement. “No, I don’t think so,” she denies. “There are many things left unsaid. And I really need to get them off my chest.”

“I don’t know,” you sigh while weighing the pros and cons in your head. “If I’m honest, I really don’t want to.”

“Look, I can’t blame you for not wanting to talk to me, okay? Trust me, I wouldn’t wanna talk to me either,” she says, blinking back tears as she looks at you. “You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to forgive me. I don’t expect that from you anyway…”

“What is the purpose for all of this then?” You ask, not understanding what she’s aiming for.

You watch as Nayeon balls her fists for a second while biting her lip as she looks at you. “I want to apologize. I think that is the least you deserve,” she then explains. “What you do with it is up to you. But I need to apologize,” she breathes stressing the word.

You take a moment to contemplate your next move, letting your eyes roam around the area, attempting to find something that could prevent you from going along with her request. But in the end, you sigh, making a gesture with your hand to show her she can start taking.

Now looking at her panicking face, you almost have to laugh. For someone so determined to apologize to you, she now sure looks like she has no idea what to say. She probably didn't expect you to agree.

Waiting patiently, you watch as an uncomfortable laugh escapes her lips, her eyes moving around without looking at you directly. “Gosh, now I don’t know what to say…”

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” you say, rolling your eyes while you’re already turning around, fed up with her wasting your time like this.

Nayeon once again stops you, and she quickly shoots forward to grab your hand tightly again. “I’m sorry!” It comes out a little rushed since she desperately tries to make you stay.

You stand your ground, crossing your arms over your chest while raising a brow. “Anything else?”

She flinches at your sour tone but nods her head. “Yes, actually. What I did to you… I don’t even know what came over me,” she starts. “There’s so much I want to tell you, and so much I need to apologize for. And I could give you that typical bullshit answer on how I was hurt and acting impulsively, but that wouldn’t be enough. It wouldn’t be a lie, but that’s not an excuse.”

You don’t say anything. For now, it feels right to let her talk and finish what she wants to tell you first. You share her opinion on that matter, you do deserve an apology, but she also deserves to explain herself.

“I should have talked to you first. I have no explanation as to why I let him feed me all these lies and confronted you about it without hearing your take on things first. I knew about the lies surrounding you. I knew none of them were true because you told me that yourself, and I always believed you. And yet, this time... I believed him. And I have no excuse for that, ___. I’m just so very sorry.”

Lowering your gaze, you nod, taking in her words.

“I guess it was easier and less hurtful to believe you came on to him than him willingly cheating. And it's embarrassing to admit, but yes… Looks like that’s the person I am, after all.”

You see her struggling to keep the tears from falling but it's obviously hard for her to do that when it looks like she can barely see due to her eyes being full of unshed tears. You guess she doesn’t want you to pity her which is understandable. You can relate to that. But you’re not going to pity her for feeling bad about what she did because she should. It’s not her fault she got involved with the wrong guy, and it’s not her fault that he did what he did and said what he said. None of that was her doing. But she has to own up to her own mistakes. To what she said and did, and there is no way you will pity her for that.

But that’s not what she expects nor is it what she wants, and you know that. She's not out to get you to see her as a victim.

“I know I said you don’t have to forgive me, and I stand by that. But maybe you can at least accept my apology. I feel so bad that I ruined our friendship for this.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say we were friends before,” you disagree, probably sounding a bit more irritated than you originally intended to. The way her face drops even more is an indicator of that, but you’re just telling the truth. It’s not like you ever hung out or anything like that. What you had was never a friendship. At least not in your book.

“Oh. Right. I see…”

Feeling bad about your choice of wording, you sigh. You don't want to dwell on things that happened in the past, things that can't be made undone. What would you gain from that?

Forgiveness is a virtue they say, but it's not easy. You wouldn't have thought about forgiving Nayeon had she decided to not speak about it with you, but she didn't.

She owned up to her mistakes and apologized.

“However,” lifting your gaze to look at her, you think about your next move for a second before shaking your head at yourself. “I don’t like to hold grudges.”

A look of hope washes over Nayeon’s face as a slight gasp leaves her lips at your words. “Wait, does— does that mean-”

“I won’t forgive you this quickly,” you clarify before she can even ask the question. “But you had the guts to come to me and apologize. I respect and thank you for that.”

“It’s the least you deserved.”

“Yes, it is,” you agree, nodding your head. “And yet, you’re the only one who has done that until now.” It’s a weird thing to admit, but you’re grateful for her apology.

You’ve said it before, and you still stand by that; Nayeon is not a bad person per se. She’s someone who did something bad, but it’s obvious that she regrets it. And even if you’re not going to completely forgive her right now, you know that you will be able to in the future.

Why be resentful if it won’t do you good anyway?

Sure, you can get through the rest of your college years on your own, but it's easier when you don't have to.

“Can I ask you something?“ She carefully asks, testing the waters with you.

You curtly nod, not expecting anything harmful. The more surprised you are when you hear what’s bothering her.

“Why didn’t you say anything the day I confronted you? Why didn’t you defend yourself?”

You scoff at that, raising a brow to show her how stupid her question is to you. “You think that was my obligation?” you ask. “Making a fool of myself even more while trying to convince you of something you would have never believed me anyway?”

And that’s all it takes for her to immediately fall silent.

“You had already formed an opinion. I would have only dragged out the humiliation you subjected me to and gained absolutely nothing in the process,” you add with a scoff, watching how she bites her lip and breaks your gaze.

Nayeon is quiet, but she nods, blinking away a few tears once again. “I can never express how sorry I am, ___. I always thought I wasn't one of those girls. The ones who are gullible enough to believe any bullshit their boyfriend plants into their brain. I just… I really wanted to trust him.” She looks devastated when she tells you that, and you must admit that it almost makes you feel for her. Almost.

But after swallowing hard and regaining her composure she takes the courage to hold your gaze again. “Did you mean it?”

You again raise your brow questioningly, trying to follow. “Mean what?”

“You know…,” she starts. “The thing about us not having been friends. Because to me, you really were one. Probably one of very few because it looks like apart from Jimin, there’s no one left now. They all decided to stuck by Yeji and Taehyung.”

“I never actually saw us as friends,” you say, deciding to go with the whole truth, even if that’s probably not what she wanted to hear. You can clearly see on her face that she was expecting a different answer. “However, I would have liked us to be,” you then add, immediately seeing her eyes light up at your confession. “But then it never seemed like anything real to me. I thought you were just trying to be nice because you felt bad.”

A barely noticeable smile tugs on Nayeon’s lips when you finish. “Befriending you is hard, ___. You’re very closed off, you know?” And for the first time, Nayeon actually laughs lightly.

It’s just a chuckle, nothing major but from the corner of your eyes, you can see Jimin, who’s very obviously keeping an eye on the two of you, watching your interaction intently.

“I have my reasons,” you shrug, making her laugh stuck in her throat as soon as it started. “It's hard to put up trust. I have been through all of this several times, and no offense, but I’m glad I didn’t get my hopes up with you. We’ve seen what happens when it counts.”

“I can't tell you how ashamed I am of my behavior toward you, ___. Please, if there is anything I can do… I’ll do anything for you to forgive me,” she begs, making you roll your eyes.

Looking at her, you groan, waving your hand in a manner to tell her to shut up. “You can start by stopping to be so damn dramatic,” you say. “I already told you I don’t like to hold grudges. Don’t make me regret it.”

You don’t have to say anything else for her to understand. She gets it. After all, Nayeon knows you don't like to be emotional, so it’s like a silent agreement between you two.

Just don’t expect too much too soon, and we will be alright;

She almost looks like a child on Christmas morning when she bites back a grin, nodding her head understandingly. “Can I hug you?”

“Ugh, Nayeon—” Your protesting groan is interrupted when she comes at you, taking you in a bone-crushing hug without warning.

You keep your arms limp by your side, feeling uncomfortable when the hug lasts longer than you thought it would. Letting your eyes roam around, while you wait for her to stop crushing you. And as fate would have it, your gaze lands directly on Jimin, who is already looking at you with a soft, content smile on his face, sending a wink your way.

You can’t believe this little fucker tricked you into making amends with Nayeon - and it worked!

As a result, you send him a glare instead of silently telling him he’s getting it later but you only see him laugh before someone takes him away again.

Fortunately for you, Nayeon finally decides to let you breathe again but she takes your hands in hers instead while looking at you with a creepy smile, already making you nervous about what’s about to come next. Even if you think you have an idea already.

“So…,” she starts, dragging it out even though it’s not hard to guess what she’s about to ask.

You can feel the panic already starting to build up inside you.

“Jimin, huh?” She finally grins, teasingly wiggling her brows in the process.

Now, this is exactly what you feared. You don’t want to discuss anything that has to do with Jimin, precisely Jimin and you with Nayeon.

Not only would it be unpleasant for you to make her believe you are experiencing love when you have always loudly claimed that Jimin's infamous charm has no effect on you, but you're also not sure if she would even buy your lies.

She knows your true opinion about Jimin, she knows your true opinion about relationships, and most importantly, she is the only one who knows both you and Jimin.

This could go wrong pretty fast. So you must play your cards wisely. Don’t say too much, don't over-act, and keep a low profile, but tell her just enough to not make her suspicious. Easy. You got this.

Nayeon laughs, probably sensing your discomfort while she studies your face. “I— sorry, I just… it’s hard to believe. When Jimin told me about you two, I almost choked,” she tells you, giggling with excitement. Why these news would excite her this much, you don’t quite know. But you have to admit it’s nice to see her happy like this for a change. “You need to tell me everything, okay? This is so cool, oh my God!”

You cannot help but let out a laugh as well, feeling how her hand squeezes yours so tightly. “It’s… a confusing story.”

“Oh, I bet! And you need to tell me all of it. I mean— one second you tell me you couldn’t care less about Jimin, then I disappear for a while, and next, you’re in love?!”

“We’re not 'in love',” you laugh, explicitly stressing the words while rolling your eyes in feigned annoyance. “Please do not exaggerate right away. This is… very new and very, uhm... uncertain so-”

She is quick to interrupt, having caught on to your weird choice of words while talking about the guy you're supposed to be in a relationship with.“Uncertain?”

You cringe, already regretting your dumb choice of words. Uncertain? Really?

Clearing your throat, you shyly smile at her while you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “I mean… not uncertain. But we’re just at the beginning, so I don’t want you to jinx it.”

“Ah!” Nayeon grins brightly, sending you a wink. “Don’t worry about that. He’s brought you along today which tells me you must be important to him,” she winks.

Your eyes get wide just as you chuckle uncomfortably. “Yea… I bet I am,” you lie, trying to sound as promising as possible.

“He doesn’t let just anyone meet his family, trust me. Don’t tell him I said that, but Jimin is a little momma's boy,” Nayeon falls into a fit of giggles, making you join in as well.

“Somehow, this is not surprising at all,” you laugh along.

You already knew how close Jimin is with his family from how he spoke about them in the past. He’s told you some basics to not completely throw you into the deep end, and you’re very thankful for that. You hope it can come in handy later at dinner when you’re finally going to be introduced formally.

“How did you two even meet?” Nayeon suddenly asks, completely throwing you off with the first question already. You never agreed on a specific story with Jimin on how you even got to this stage.

“Oh, uhm... he came by my apartment one day. It was very random actually, but he wanted to apologize for what happened,” you say, deciding to stick with the... well, half-truth at least. It's better to give her some crumbs of what actually happened than to make some cliche romance story up in your head in a matter of a couple of seconds. This has to be the safest plan.

Luckily, Nayeon doesn't even seem to see the slightest thing weird about this as she just nods with a stupid smile on her face. “He's always been a very conscientious guy. He felt bad about the whole thing, you know?”

This, you didn't know yet, and you gotta admit it's surprising to hear since he didn't seem that concerned when he came to you. Yes, he did apologize for his friend and he did look troubled after learning you still try to avoid people as best as you can - but he's never given you the impression of actually caring about your feelings. At least not like that. Maybe you're similar in that way, and he doesn't like to show too much emotion either.

“Anyway, he was the last person I expected an apology from since, you know, he didn't really do anything. He was a victim too,” you explain further. “So we kinda talked for a while and started meeting up a little more, and the rest is history,” you shrug, trying to keep it as short as that, hoping she won't dig deeper.

You feel like that should be enough. If she wants to know more, she should go and ask Jimin, to let you see if he can come up with something better.

Thinking about that, you have no idea what story he told his parents or if he even did tell them anything, but you hope it's not something completely different. You make a mental note to ask him later, deciding not to stress too much.

Thankfully, Nayeon seems to be happy with your answer. Either that, or she noticed how uncomfortable you are already and doesn't want to push her luck too soon, but no matter what it is, she doesn't ask further.

Deciding to make use of the situation and take the conversation in a slightly different direction, you take the initiative to speak up again. “Any tips on how not to make a fool of myself later?” You ask, hoping maybe Nayeon can help you come off as… well, someone who's worthy of their time.

Nayeon gives you a warm smile. “Just be yourself, ___,” she says. Noticing you’re already about to complain, she takes both of your hands in hers again and makes you look at her. “Just be the way you always are, and they’re going to love you, trust me.”

“Yeah, I kinda doubt it, actually,” you sigh. It’s not that you’re particularly worried about Jimin’s family not liking you or not wanting you to be with Jimin - that isn’t your goal anyway - you’re just nervous about getting looked down on again. It’s just not a nice feeling, and even if you won’t have to face them ever again after tomorrow, it’s still something you’d like to avoid.

“Don’t stress too much. They’re lovely people,” she then reassures you, trying to ease your nerves.

“I know, it’s just—” you stop yourself, biting your lip as you take a quick look around, contemplating if you really want to say it.

Turns out you don’t need to since Nayeon gives your hands a squeeze to make you look at her. You’re surprised to see the compassionate look in her eyes as she gives you a small smile. “You’re worried they’ve heard?”

Sighing, you nod, feeling a little dumb for being so see-through, but you’re glad, Nayeon seems to understand your problem.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that if I were you,” she says, smiling when she sees the way you frown at that.

“Jimin’s sister obviously knows. She’s giving me death stares ever since we arrived,” you explain, trying to make her see your fear is valid.

“Ah, right, don’t take it to heart. She’s a teenager,” Nayeon chuckles. “She gives everyone that look and she automatically bitches at everyone too. It’s the hormones,” she shrugs. “Mijoo will probably just need to warm up to you first before she stops behaving like that, but as I said, don’t take it too personally.”

“But she obviously knows about the rumors. Jimin said she’s friends with some siblings of our classmates, so it’s a given,” you sigh. “So embarrassing.”

“It’s not embarrassing because it's not true. None of it is.” For the first time, Nayeon’s voice is stern as she’s sporting a deep frown on her otherwise perfectly smooth face. “These rumors don’t define you, ___. You’re more than that. Don’t let them hold you back from anything. You’re funny, you’re beautiful and smart, and they will see that. It doesn’t matter what some people who have never even had the pleasure to speak to you have to say about you.”

Nayeon’s little outburst makes you smile, although it makes your heart clench when you remember that she’s trying to make you feel better while you’re lying straight to her face. You're not nervous for the reason she thinks you are. It doesn’t feel right, but you try to calm your conscience by telling yourself that you’re not actually hurting anybody by doing this. It will be over in a while, and then you can laugh about it with her. At least you hope.

Someone getting closer to you attracts your attention from the corner of your eyes, so you turn your head just a little to see Jimin coming toward you with a bright smile on his face.

“Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but I need to steal ___ again. There are some people left who want me to introduce her.”

“Oh, so now you’re coming back from looking at that invisible thing? To introduce me to more people,” you frown, crossing your arms in despair. “What am I to you, Park - just someone to show off?” You’re just joking and Jimin catches on, immediately playing along.

“Of course, you are, babe. Can’t let Nayeon be the only one lucky enough to have your attention.”

Nayeon squeals again, getting your and Jimin’s attention as you look at her questioningly. “You guys are too cute! I’ll leave you to it then, but see you later, yeah?”

“Sure, see you at dinner,” Jimin smiles, gradually throwing his arm around your shoulders.

You exchange a look with Nayeon, seeing how she sends you one last wink combined with a look that probably means to tell you not to stress and that everything will be fine before she walks off.

“Nayeon will be at the dinner too?” You ask Jimin, kinda hoping you didn’t misunderstand. You would feel less nervous, knowing she’ll be there too.

“Her father is our most important business partner and long-time family friend. Our families are almost always together at every gathering there is,” Jimin explains. “Will that be a problem?” He asks, looking at you with a look in his eyes you think could be interpreted as worry. “I thought you guys looked like you talked things out. Did I misinterpret?”

“It wouldn’t be a problem,” you shake your head. “And we did get to talk, yes.”

Jimin stares at you intently as if he’s waiting for you to spill the beans, but you’re keeping him in suspense for now. “You planned that pretty well, huh? I would like to smack you, but that huge knife in my back hinders me from moving too much,” you grunt, pursing your lips to a pout.

He has the audacity to laugh while tightening his grip around you. “Ah, I was only trying to help. Don’t be mad, please.”

Honestly, you expected him to throw a witty remark your way, complain about you being extra, or even deny having planned all that, but he looks a little remorseful as he admits it.

“I knew Nayeon wanted to talk to you badly, but she didn’t know how to approach you and even if you would never admit it, I knew you were aching for her to make amends too,” he confesses, raking his hand through his hair to get some loose strands out of his face in the process. “Wasn’t sure if I’d be going too far but guessed it’d be worth a try. And hey… you didn’t kill her, so please don’t kill me either, alright?” He offers you a wide grin, but his eyes are pleading for forgiveness.

You must admit, seeing him in this position does something to you. It brings you inner peace to see him so restless and insecure while he waits for you to say something. So you drag it out just a little longer for your own pleasure before you redeem him.

“Thank you,” you finally mutter, letting your eyes wander as you fight against this inner urge to gag due to having to thank him for going behind your back. “She apologized, and we got to talk things out, thanks to you. I’m still mad at you for doing this without my permission, but I guess you did the right thing this time.”

And again, Jimin doesn’t ruin the moment with a stupid comment or joke, teasing you about being right. He just accepts what you said with a nod and a kind smile.

“Just happy I could help,” he says in a soft voice. “You both deserve better than that. Can’t help to have allies, right?”

You don’t get to say anything else to that because Jimin finally drags you along to meet the other people he wanted to introduce you to.

Another half hour passes by, filled with business talk you don’t understand until you finally get a break again.

“I know this is boring for you, and it is for me too, but I would be very grateful to you if you wouldn’t make it that obvious when we’re talking to someone,” Jimin grunts holding your hand a little too tight.

“Okay, I get your irritation, but I swear that yawn came out of nowhere. I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful,” you explain, trying to swallow the little laugh that’s waiting to come out. “It is boring, though, I’m not gonna lie. How did Yeji do this?” you suddenly ask, not thinking about your words and freezing when you hear her name leave your lips.

You still don’t know if it’s okay to talk about her in front of Jimin, or not. He usually reacts irritated whenever he crosses her path and therefore you’re walking on eggshells around him when she is mentioned. This time, your mouth was just a little faster than your brain.

“Well, according to recent events and accumulation of information, I guess she probably compensated by fucking my best friend whenever she got the time to.”

He sounds careless, but you easily notice his clenched jaw.

You clear your throat and look to the floor in shame, quickly apologizing.

“It's okay,” he grins, easing your nerves. “You don’t have to tiptoe around me, you know?.”

“It’s just that I don’t know what’s going on with you at all,” you try to explain. “You don’t talk much about her.”

To this day you still don’t know much about Yeji and Jimin as a couple; how he feels about the situation, how he found out, and so on.

Yes, he seems to be mad at her, of course, but when he came to you, asking you to be his girlfriend, you kinda figured it was to win her back. He never gave you another reason for him to want to do this, so you’re just really confused. But he never wants to talk about it either, so it’s no wonder you don’t know how to act in front of him when it comes o his ex-girlfriend.

“It doesn’t really matter, that’s why.”

You’re just about to contradict and tell him that it actually does matter - especially since you happen to be a part of this, but Jimin is quick to interrupt. “While we’re at it, I would also really appreciate it if you could stop flirting with my cousin the next time he talks to you,” he says, as always, changing the topic before he has to say more.

“But he’s so cute!” you huff, dramatically kicking your head back as you whine. “And he was the one who started flirting, just so you know.”

“I do know. I was standing right beside you if you forgot,” he glares, looking at you with irritation clear on his face. “Doesn’t mean you can just shamelessly flirt back.”

“Do you know if he is single?” you ask, obviously not having listened to anything he just said, which makes Jimin’s frown even more prominent.

“Would you stop that?” he grumbles, looking straight at you. “Why would you care if he’s single when you aren’t even single yourself?”

Pursing your lips you hide a grin, happy you found a new way to tease him. “Well, technically, I am—”

“Well, technically, you’re not. Now stop this nonsense. We’re on a mission,” he snaps, clearly done with your conversation.

Figuring you’ve annoyed him enough, for now, you quietly laugh to yourself as you let him drag you with him to your next destination.

The dinner finally came after endless hours of meeting and talking to people. Even though you were nervous about it, you couldn’t wait for it to happen since you were dying of boredom and hunger.

Just as Nayeon had predicted, you sure were stressing without reason because Jimin’s parents are exceptionally kind. Almost too kind to be successful business people, but then again, all your knowledge comes from movies and some would say that’s not a reliable source.

Anyway, you’re having fun, and Jimin seems to be happy too - at least he hasn’t kicked you under the table or squeezed your hand too tight for a while now, which tells you you’re not performing too bad.

Nayeon is sitting on the other end of this abnormally large table with her family so there’s no chance for you to communicate, or even properly hear her, but she sends you comforting smiles from time to time which you appreciate a lot.

But your nervousness has long gone, thanks to Jimin’s mom and dad, who made sure to give you a warm welcome and include you in every conversation from the very beginning to avoid making you uncomfortable.

Of course, both of them ask you questions from time to time, which you already knew would happen because they wanted to get to know you for a reason. But none of the questions asked were inappropriate, embarrassed you, or had anything to do with any rumors.

On top of that, the food was simply fantastic. You are sure that you have never eaten better in your life, nor that you will ever eat so well again. You even have to stop yourself from longingly looking after the empty plates that the staff clears before serving the dessert almost immediately afterward.

It’s a fancy little cake, glazed with what looks like chocolate and garnished with strawberries and blueberries. It’s almost too pretty to eat, but you don’t even get the chance to look at it for more than a few seconds before Jimin calls for one of the waitresses and makes you, and everybody else, look at him instead.

“Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but would it be possible to ask for one that has grapes instead of strawberries? I know you offer several variants, but only if it’s not too much of a hassle,” Jimin politely asks, giving the waitress his brightest, most charming smile.

The poor girl looks like she’s about to faint, not even being able to hold Jimin’s gaze for more than a millisecond and still blushing like crazy. She doesn’t even get one word out, just nods shyly before walking off as soon as she can.

You cannot help but laugh internally because it was cute, even if you feel a little sorry for her.

“Since when do you not like strawberries anymore?” Mijoo, Jimin’s sister, asks loudly, looking a little irritated.

“I do,” Jimin shrugs, not really paying further attention to Mijoo’s bothered look. “But ___ doesn’t.”

And suddenly, all eyes are on you, and you look at Jimin in disbelief, wondering if you heard right. He’s just briefly smiling at you but doesn’t elaborate any further.

“What?” You ask, trying to cover your confusion with an uneasy laugh.

“Hm? Is that not the truth?”

“Yes, it is. I’m allergic to strawberries, so I don’t eat them,” you confirm, still feeling everyone’s eyes on you, making you uncomfortable. You’re almost sure this is your punishment for laughing at the waitress earlier. “I didn’t know I’d told you about that.”

You weren't going to say anything, not wanting to be a bother, and if it had been up to you, it wouldn't have been necessary to send the dessert back either. You could have just left out the strawberries like you always do.

Jimin softly chuckles. “You didn’t, but one doesn’t have to be a genius to notice that about you,” he says. “Whenever we're out, and you're eating anything with strawberries, you always leave them, but you keep stealing the grapes out of my fruit salad. Don't think I haven't noticed.”

You’re baffled, to say the least. Everything he said is the truth but… not in a million years would you have thought he was paying enough attention to you to notice that about you. Him noticing you're stealing the grapes from his ritual Monday morning fruit salad might not be hard to believe, but the strawberry thing? You don’t even know what to say.

Feeling the embarrassment creeping up and your ears getting hot already, you tear your eyes from Jimin as you clear your throat. You quickly look at Nayeon, who is already giving you a knowing smile.

Luckily for you, the waitress comes back soon after to bring you your dessert, so you (and everybody else) are now occupied with eating instead.

“Thank you,” you quietly mutter, only for him to hear, seeing how Jimin sends a wink your way.

You mostly eat in silence, letting everybody carry on different conversations while you’re too much in your head.

To most people, the strawberry incident probably wouldn’t be such a big deal, but it is to you. It makes you think how little you actually know about Jimin. You never made an effort to learn anything about him, which hasn't bothered you before. Hell, you didn't even know! But now that you have talked a bit with the people in his life, it has become very noticeable. You can only hope nobody else noticed.

You never thought much of it either, since what you're having isn't a real relationship, so why get to know each other. Well, apparently, that hasn’t stopped Jimin from noticing subtle things about you, which now just makes you feel bad that you didn’t know what kind of business his family has and it occurs to you just now, that you don’t even know when his birthday is.

You know he eats a fruit salad every Monday morning, likes his family, and despises Jungkook, but that's it.

Maybe you should work on that.

You’re alone, just strolling around after dinner since everyone had something else to do. The first person you meet is Mijoo, who is currently sitting at the huge pool and letting her feet dangle in the water.

That she's not exactly keen on getting to know you, you’ve already noticed, and that’s okay, you guess. But for some reason, you don't want to leave without giving her the chance to see that you are not the person people make you out to be.

Maybe it really only has something to do with your honor, but you don't want to leave things between you like this.

After thinking about it for a short while, you slowly walk over to her and sit down next to her.

“Is it okay with you if I keep you company for a while?” you ask, giving her a small smile when she turns her head to look at you. “Everybody else is busy, and I was a little bored.”

She shrugs before averting her gaze back into the water. “Pretty pointless to ask when you're already sitting down anyway.”

You cannot help but snort at her sly remark, nodding your head in the process. “Fair point. But I can leave if you don’t want me here. No hard feelings, I promise,” you grin.

Yes, admittedly, Mijoo is hard to approach and not the least bit as open and friendly as her parents, but Nayeon is right - she is just a teenager, driven by hormones. You would be lying if you said you couldn't remember that time.

That's why you don't resent her behavior.

How could you if you were a nightmare during your angsty teenage years as well?

Mijoo lets out an annoyed sigh but shakes her head anyway, showing you you’re allowed to stay.

For a while, you’re just sitting in comfortable silence. You enjoy the warm water around your feet while letting your eyes roam the area. The Park property is truly beautiful. You knew they were rich, but this is just amazing. A tiny smile forms on your lips when you take it all in. And then your eyes fall on someone standing a little farther away talking to some guys.

“That’s your boyfriend, right?”

You watch how Mijoo rolls her eyes, obviously annoyed by you trying to make conversation.

You already know that it’s him. Not to be mean, but Jimin's description of his appearance was.... strangely on point. You would never say it out loud, though.

“Did Jimin send you here to talk to me?” she snaps, eyes forming to slits.

A chuckle breaks through your lips at her snarky tone. “No, I promise he didn’t,” you say truthfully, smiling at her. “I really just didn’t have anyone to talk to for a while, so I decided to come down and talk to you since we didn't really have the chance to get to know each other yet.”

She doesn’t even look at you and doesn’t say a word, so you wait for a while before you start talking again.

“You don’t like me very much,” you state, not even feeling the need to ask since there’s no point in asking a question you already know the answer to.

Gladly, but unsurprisingly, Mijoo doesn’t even try to convince you otherwise. “I heard some stuff about you.”

You didn't expect her to hit you with the truth so soon, but you're pleasantly surprised, to say the least. Yes, getting the harsh truth can hurt sometimes, but you prefer it instead of being lied to.

“Yea, I bet you have,” you quietly chuckle, letting your feet dangle inside the water. “People sure have a lot to say about me.”

Mijoo clears her throat, seemingly also surprised by you not trying to deny anything either. “And is it true? The stuff they say?”

You look into the water, eyes following the small waves the movements of your feet are causing before shrugging your shoulders. You lean your head to the side as you grin at her. “What do you think?”

She seems a little perplexed, but she clears her throat and averses her gaze from you, probably preferring to not look at you right now. “I think, I don’t know you enough to form a final opinion on you.“

She looks down at her feet in the water while she says it, making you smile yourself. This family really is something else.

“Hm, Maybe we could try to get to know each other a little better, and then I’ll ask you again,” you suggest, biting your lip.

You’re not sure, but it kind of feels like the ice is slowly about to break. Or at least it's getting warmer.

For the first time since you’ve met her, you think you see the ghost of a smile appear on her otherwise stoic face while she stares into the water, but it’s gone as soon as it came. It still makes you a little happy, letting you catch some hope that you might be making process with her.

“Maybe,” she shrugs, trying to act careless, but you can see her relax in your presence. It makes you immensely proud of yourself.

“I may not know you,” she then says. “But I do know my brother. And Jimin wouldn’t be with you if the things they say about you were the truth. Or at least… if you were a bad person.”

You nod, pouting your lips. “Guess you will just have to find out then. Who knows, maybe you will end up liking me,” you say with a teasing tone in your voice while Mijoo’s face stays serious.

“I liked Yeji. Didn’t turn out too well either,” she then states, making the teasing smile on your face disappear as soon as it came.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, you clear your throat and straighten your back.

“Considering what I’ve heard about you, I really hope Jimin knows what he’s doing and that the things they say about you really aren’t true, or else you and I will have a big problem.”

You can’t even be mad at her for telling you this because it somehow warms your heart to see her so protective of her big brother. It’s much like the day Jimin told you about her and mentioned he didn’t want her to get hurt. You always wished for a relationship like that with someone. A sibling, a friendship… but you never had the chance to make that kind of connection with someone.

It’s good to see something like this exist outside of movies and books.

“You know what? That’s fair. I promise I won’t disappoint you - or him,” you grin slightly, trying to ease the tension again.

She doesn’t say anything to that anymore but seems to accept it, and you fall back into silence. The next time it gets disrupted isn’t because of you, but surprisingly it’s Mijoo, who starts speaking first, startling you just a little since you didn’t expect it from her.

“I know you said Jimin didn’t ask you to talk to me, but I already know he vented to you about Chanyeol. And if it should occur to you anyway, don't even try to tell me anything. I don’t want to have this conversation with you. I know what I’m doing,” she informs you, still suspicious of your true intentions in talking to her.

You can't help but laugh at that, seeing how on point she is with her guess about Jimin. She really knows him well. “Ah, no. Don’t misinterpret, please,” you start. “Jimin definitely asked me to talk to you, but I refused,” you admit, thinking it’s best to be as honest as you can with her. It’s pretty obvious she is very attentive to her surroundings and knows Jimin better than anyone else, so she wouldn’t believe you anyway.

“Oh?” For some reason, she looks as if she did not expect this answer from you. “How come you didn't wanna do it?”

Letting out a loud, exaggerated sigh, you lean back on your hands again and enjoy the view of the sun slowly setting in front of you. “I’m really the last person to give advice to others if it’s about relationships or guys in general,” you explain. “I’m a mess in that field,” you giggle.

Mijoo once again doesn’t reply with words and gives you a nod, silently telling you she's listening.

“Besides, I can't take the liberty of telling you anything about your boyfriend when I don't really know either of you.”

“Good. I agree with you,” she coughs. It’s probably not what she expected to hear, but she seems to share your opinion, so you guess this was the right answer.

You are happy you can be honest in that aspect at least. It’s a shame you already have to lie about everything else, but that’s not your concern now. Although you had a hard time getting used to lying to these people that are treating you with so much kindness, it’s Jimin’s family, so it must (or at least should) be even harder for him. Especially since he is so close with them.

Luckily, you don’t get to spend much more thought on that since Mijoo continues to talk not soon after, and the first thing that comes to her mind is complaining to you about how annoying Jimin is which kinda makes you laugh.

“For real. Why can’t he just shut up and keep his nose out of my business for once?” She groans. “I have never interfered in his affairs like that because unlike him, I can show some respect.”

You guess Jimin is more intrusive than you would have thought when it comes to his sister and her boyfriend, and for some reason that doesn't surprise you one bit.

“He just cares about you, Mijoo,” you try to explain without interfering too much. You don’t want her to think you’re taking Jimin’s side because as you already told him at the party, you think it would be best to just let her be. But you feel the need to show her he’s not acting out of cruelty.

“Jimin knows how guys are at your age. Well, not that they’re any better at our age, to be honest, but he really loves you and doesn’t want you to end up being hurt,” you try to explain. “Honestly, I would kill to have someone like that in my life. I always wanted to have an older brother. Really could have used a Jimin when I was your age or even now,” you chuckle, imagining what your life would have been like if you had had someone like him at Mijoo’s age.

“Oh,” she says, probably sensing your conversation suddenly got a bit too private and you feel it too, even if that was not your intention. You got a little off track it seems.

“But… at least you have Jimin now.” She sounds confused, making your alarm bells go off because you realize you let your cover slip for just a second. “I’m sure he cares about you just as much.”

You clear your throat, trying to keep your composure as you muster a smile back on your face. “Yea. Sure. He does, of course…” you try to smile at her, but it stopped being sincere. “I just mean… I wish I would have met him sooner.”

You both stay silent for quite some time after, but other than the times before, this time feels uncomfortable to you. Your little slip-up makes you nervous and stressed. Yes, it wasn’t anything big, but you’re not sure if that is already enough to make Mijoo suspicious.

“He thinks very highly of you, you know?” She suddenly breaks the silence. It’s almost pathetic how fast your head turns to look at her after she said that, and you can’t be sure because of the poor light source, but you think she almost smiled at that.

“Why do you think that?” You ask, almost instantly wanting to smack yourself again for sounding so doubtful.

Would an actual girlfriend react so surprised?

“Well, for starters, because he literally begged me to not tell our parents any of the things going around about you,” she shrugs. “Not because he’s ashamed of you - he wouldn’t have brought you here if that was the case - but because he didn't want their impression of you to be affected by that. He wanted them to get to know you as you really are because he knew they would like you. Plus, he didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

She’s saying all that so carelessly while you must look completely baffled with your eyes big and your mouth hanging open.

“He really said all that?”

“All that and a couple more things, but I stopped listening because I felt uncomfortable in that lovey-dovey situation,” she says, cringing right after.

You laugh, shaking your head at her, knowing pretty damn well that she completely misinterpreted, but you’re still surprised he would do that for you. He also didn’t tell you about it, which you don’t quite understand, but he must have his reasons, and you're not going to dwell on that.

Thankfully you don't get the chance to do that anyway because Mijoo makes sure to speak up again. “Well, hopefully, he doesn't have the time to annoy me that much anymore since he has you now to keep his mind off of my relationship,” she sighs, making her annoyance with her brother known. “Last month at one of our family get-togethers, he gave Chanyeol a pack of condoms, trying to embarrass us,” she rages.

“Jimin gave condoms to your boyfriend?” You ask, amazed because you would have never thought of that. A voucher for a visit to the hairdresser, maybe; a pair of pants that will cover his butt, perhaps, but condoms?

“He bought them in the smallest size possible just to embarrass him. Such a typical unfunny joke from Jimin, I swear. It was nothing but another excuse to annoy us both,” she explains.

Pressing your lips together, you nod your head a little. “That sounds more like him, to be honest.” You know this isn't supposed to be funny, and Mijoo's obvious annoyance is more than enough evidence. But it's hard to keep a straight face.

Please. It is a little funny okay?

“Don't worry, they were probably just leftovers from his own stash,” you joke, forgetting who you're talking to for a moment. It only occurs to you when you hear her laugh loudly beside you, almost making you fall into the pool from the unexpected reaction.

“Why didn't I think of that come back then? Oh, what a waste,” she complains while still giggling loudly.

Although you're happy you got this big of a reaction out of her for a change, you do regret making that joke in the first place. Joking about your supposed boyfriend's small dick in front of his underage sister. You're sure Jimin wouldn't find that funny, but oh well. He isn't here.

“Happy to help, but don't tell him I said that,” you chuckle.

It seems like most of the tension between you and Mijoo evaporated shortly after. And even if you feel a tiny bit bad it happened at Jimin's expense, you're happy for yourself.

What they say must be true, after all; nothing brings two people closer together than a common enemy.

About an hour later, you’re sitting in front of a bonfire with Jimin, Nayeon, and Mijoo while tightly wrapped in a blanket because the fire wasn’t enough for you to get warm.

Everybody else has already left, but the four of you decided to hang out a little longer.

Mijoo’s boyfriend had to leave as well, much to Jimin’s joy, but you managed to make him shut up about it before the siblings could get into a fight.

For the past half hour, you found yourselves talking about different things, laughing about stupid stories either of you told, and well… getting a little drunk it seems.

“Okay, my turn, uhm…” Jimin thinks for a while before he starts chuckling to himself and looks at his sister. “Hey, do you remember the wedding we attended a couple years ago? The one where the bride almost had a stroke because her sister - the first bridesmaid - was nowhere to be found while she should have been there already?” Jimin asks her, seeing her nod her head.

“Of course I do!” Mijoo laughs. “Wasn’t she locked up in the bathroom or something?” She asks while trying to get her own memory going.

Jimin grins widely, taking a big gulp from his beer bottle before he nods briefly. “Yeah, that was the official story she told everyone,” he chuckles, looking mischievous. “The truth, however, is that she was busy sucking me off behind the chapel.”

Almost instantly the two girls start to groan and complain loudly, making gagging noises and sending deep frowns his way.

“Jimin!“ Nayeon exclaims, rolling her eyes. “This is so disrespectful towards ___.”

“What? Why?” he asks, seemingly confused, looking at you to see you looking just as confused.

“Because you don’t brag about past hookups in front of your girlfriend. That’s common sense,” Mijoo agrees, looking at her brother with a stern look.

Jimin pouts at you, squeezing your sides lightly while his arm is wrapped around you ever since you sat down on his lap. You saw Mijoo doing the same with her boyfriend earlier, and since it occurred to you that Jimin is putting way more work into this whole fake dating thing than you, you decided this would be a good idea. He didn’t seem to complain.

“Is that true? Are you jealous, babe?” Jimin then asks teasingly referring to Nayeon and Mijoo’s words.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, sighing loudly before fixing your eyes on his own. “I might not look like it, but I’m raging inside,” you say, trying to look as serious as possible before you and Jimin simultaneously burst into laughter.

“If this isn’t a match made in heaven.” You hear Mijoo mutter quietly, but you both don’t react to it, too caught up in your drunken giggles about things you probably wouldn’t find as funny if you were completely sober.

Wiping a tear from the corner of your eye from laughing so hard, you clear your throat before looking at the other two girls. “Alright, it’s my turn now so uhm… who wants to hear the story about how I lost my virginity?” you boldly ask, excitedly looking around.

“Me!” Jimin immediately yells into your ear, sounding just as eager to hear your story as you are to tell it. Unfortunately, he seems to be the only one since Nayeon and Mijoo are starting to get up, muttering something about needing to leave.

“Hey, no! Come on, guys. I swear it’s a funny story!” you whine, trying to make them stay.

“And this is my cue to go to bed,” Nayeon says, grinning at you before her eyes turn stern when she looks at Jimin. “Take care of her tonight and get her home save tomorrow, you hear me?”

“Yes, Ma’m,” Jimin salutes, making the both of you fall into a fit of giggles again.

Nayeon sighs but still smiles at the two of you. “Come on, Mijoo, I think it’s time we leave the two alone. Talk to you later, ___, okay?” She sends you a hopeful smile, to which you only nod and give her a thumbs up, making her chuckle at your drunken stupidity.

“So, about that story,” Jimin starts a couple of minutes after you two got abandoned by the girls and you still haven’t spilled the beans, reminding you of what you actually wanted to talk about.

“Right!” you exclaim, smacking your forehead when you remember. “Oh God, that was so funny,” you giggle. “I mean, it wasn’t at that moment, but now, several years later and after a lot worse things happened, I can wholeheartedly laugh at this failure.”

Jimin only gives you a warm smile, absently pulling the blanket back over your suddenly exposed shoulder without you even noticing.

“So it happened with my first-ever boyfriend,” you begin, grinning up at him with big, glistening eyes that reflect the fire just perfectly. “We just kind of… decided to do it in his room after school on a random Wednesday-”

“The classic,” Jimin nods. “Personally, I would prefer a Friday, but who am I to judge.”

He’s just teasing you, quietly laughing to himself when you get frustrated for forgetting where you were after he interrupted you and the way a frown replaces the excited look you previously had in your eyes.

It doesn’t last for that long, and you’re quickly back on track, continuing your story. Even if Jimin thought it was funny, he decides to not tease you again and just let you speak - even if it’s very tempting.

“Okay, so we’re doing it alright?” you gulp, sipping from the wine glass in your hand. “And then, all of a sudden, his mom just… barges in!”

“No way!” Jimin laughs, kicking his head back, accidentally squeezing you even tighter against him in the meantime.

“Yes, way! But the disturbing part is that he... came. In those exact two seconds, his mom was watching,” you say, both in horror and amusement from remembering the sheer embarrassment you felt that day. “Just like that. No warning.”

“What!” Jimin almost falls over in laughter, shifting in his seat and slightly making you grab onto him tighter because it felt like you’re falling off his lap for a second. “You’re shitting me. There is no way it actually went down like this.”

“No! I swear that’s what happened,” you giggle, shrugging innocently as if you didn’t just tell him about your boyfriend nutting while his mother was watching the two of you.

“And then what happened? What did she do?” He asks, still interested but also kinda grossed out by the images making their way into his head.

“She yelped and ran off,” you shrug. “And I never went back to that house ever again,” you explain while cringing. “This is so typical for me, I swear. The whole thing lasted no more than three minutes, and yet she had to barge in at that very moment,” you groan, shaking your head in disbelief. You have always been haunted by bad luck, it seems.

Jimin barely holds it together, and his laugh is just too contagious for you to be embarrassed by old memories.

“Three minutes?” he then scoffs after his laughter has died down. “Not to brag or anything, but I could at least give you four.”

You gasp, shifting your body a little on his lap to face him better. “Four whole minutes, Park? That'd be like… my new personal record.”

Jimin laughs again, his face coming even closer. “That’s sad, ___.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” you sigh. “It’s hard being a woman, having an interest in men.”

He grins brightly, hugging you closer. “Either that, or you just have bad taste.”

“We all know about my bad taste, Park. You don’t always have to remind me,” you roll your eyes. “I prefer to put the blame on others like any real adult would.”

You’re averting your gaze from the fire that’s slowly starting to go out, not looking at him for a mere second, but when you look back at him, something has changed.

Your faces are suddenly so close, and you can't even remember when that happened, but he's so close that you can clearly feel his breath on your lips. You watch his tongue dart out for a mere second as it runs over his bottom lip, and you find yourself mesmerized by it.

Jimin is suddenly so still too, not moving at all, and if you weren't so busy looking at his lips, you'd notice him staring at yours the same way.

Slowly, carefully, his free hand - the one that isn’t already holding your waist to keep you secure on his lap - slides up to your face to get rid of a strand of hair that had just fallen into your eye, and he dips his head just a bit. Then, just as slowly and carefully, he leans in, giving you plenty of time to pull away if you want to.

But you don't. You don’t move at all. You don’t even know what’s going on, have no idea when the atmosphere shifted from joking about past hookups to… this. But you’re curious. You're curious to see what he’s willing to do.

When his lips finally make contact with yours, it's gentle and soft. He kisses you delicately, almost as though you're made of glass. It feels different from your first kiss. This time there's no one watching, no one to prove anything to, and if you were completely sober, this kiss would probably confuse you a lot more than the first one did.

The hand on your side roams, finding your curves and squeezing all of them gently, making goosebumps form on your skin. Jimin pulls back to take a breath, even in the dim light, you can see his lips are swollen from the kiss, and he's staring at you with dark eyes.

“Shall we go inside?” he asks.

You nod, silently standing up and waiting for him to put the fire out completely before he comes over to you, sporting a handsome smile on his face as he takes your hand and leads you all the way into the house.

You don’t remember how it started, or who implied it, but you don’t even make it entirely up to his room before you’re kissing again, clumsily stumbling up the stairs and giggling whenever one of you accidentally bumps against a random piece of furniture.

Once inside his room with the door shut behind you, he carelessly throws his dress jacket over an armchair before stepping closer to you once again. You simply just watch his every move, not backing away in the slightest with your eyes fixed solely on his as one of his fingers tilts your chin up.

You can feel goosebumps rise up on your arms again as he kisses you sweetly, touching you without the blanket blocking his fingers from your skin as he backs you up until your legs bump against a small dresser. Within a second, he has you sitting on it while he settles between your legs, kissing you with more force than before.

There is no tongue this time, but it feels more intense than the kiss you shared before and it's making your head spin.

But you must seem to have misinterpreted his eagerness to kiss you because the moment you let your hands wander over his toned chest and down to his belt, he is quick to stop your movements altogether.

He pulls back to take a breath, and when your eyes flutter open in confusion, there is a soft smile adorning his face.

“Why not?” you ask, trying to make him come closer again, but he doesn’t budge.

Jimin only smiles as he looks at you, looking into your big, glassy eyes while you look at him in question.

“Because you’re drunk, ___.”

You groan, stubbornly shaking your head. You keep your arms around his neck while trying to reason with him. “So what? You’re drunk too, so it doesn’t matter.”

“I’m not as drunk as you. Not in the slightest,” he chuckles, smiling down at you just as you let out a big huff in annoyance. “I won’t take advantage of you like that. That wouldn’t be okay, and if you weren’t so drunk, I know you would agree.”

“Why do you always say that? I’m not that drunk,” you argue.

Jimin only grins, seemingly amused by your irritation. “You haven’t said anything mean to me in the past couple of hours, babygirl. That’s not normal.”

There it is. That stupid pet name you hate so much. He hasn't called you that all day and him using it right now, tells you the moment passed and that he's determined to not let anything happen tonight.

“Ugh, of all the times you could have chosen to be a decent guy, you choose now? That‘s such a typical move from you. Anything to annoy me.”

He chuckles, carefully reaching for your hands to move them away from around him. “I promise, if you still want it tomorrow morning, I will be the last person to not immediately be up for it.”

You pout, not willing to give up so easily. “I think we should allow ourselves a little reward for… being such good actors.” you propose trying to persuade him again, even if it obviously won’t have any use. He made up his mind, and as he said earlier, if you were sober, you would agree with him.

Jimin only grins but still withdraws further from you, making your pout even bigger in the process. “I’m completely with you on that one, but still - not in this state. Please understand.”

“Ugh, whatever,” you scoff, hopping off the counter and stumbling over to his bed before landing face-first inside it and rolling over with a groan. “Why would I want sex with you if I could just spend those four minutes sleeping?”

Jimin laughs as you feel the mattress dip when he joins you. “Look at you being such a horny little brat,” he smirks, looking down at your annoyed face.

“Stop talking to me like that if you’re not going to do anything about it,” you mutter, rolling on your side so you don’t face him any longer.

“Alright, I’m gonna go take a quick shower. You can go to sleep if you want to but you should take off your make-up first and get out of this dress, so you feel more comfortable.” Jimin then says, just as you hear him shuffling around in his closet. “I'll lay out a few things for you for the night. As soon as I'm gone, you can change in peace.”

Even if you’re suddenly almost too tired to move, you listen to him and do what he asked you to do. You sleepily wiggle out of your dress and hang it over a chair so it won’t get too many crinkles, and lastly, find your bag and take out a few makeup wipes.

You don’t notice Jimin coming back into the room and joining you in his bed only a short while later because you’re already fast asleep. You also don’t notice him being the one to put the blanket over your shivering body because you were too sleepy to notice.

“Sure. Not drunk at all,” Jimin chuckles to himself after he has you neatly tucked in and makes himself comfortable as well, soon falling asleep too.

You wake up from a pounding pain in your head. Profoundly confused by the unfamiliar surroundings you find yourself in, you take a moment to look around and remember you’re still in Jimin's parents' house.

Turning around, you’re engulfed in warmth, undoubtedly coming from the man who’s still sleeping soundly beside you, but with enough space between your bodies to keep you from finding yourselves in an awkward position.

Frankly enough, Jimin - although still asleep - looks much more rested than you feel right now.

You groan slightly, slowly sitting up and holding your aching head, the bright sunlight shining through the window not being of any help either. Your eyes scan the room carefully, taking in every little detail. But it’s not until they land on Jimin’s dress jacket, carelessly thrown over the black armchair, barely hanging on, that flashbacks from last night come rushing back into your brain.

Ho-ly shit.

Quickly covering your mouth with both your hands to prevent yourself from making any sounds that might end up waking the peacefully sleeping man beside you up, you slowly let yourself sink back into your pillow, hoping for it to swallow you whole and never let you go again.

You wanted him to sleep with you. No - even worse! You asked him to sleep with you multiple times, and he refused! Could it be any more humiliating?

Okay yes, if you really would have ended up sleeping with him, that would be even worse, but this right here - that’s the second worst scenario you can think of.

And you made out. Again. And this time, it was not to make anyone believe you're together because there was no one there. You have absolutely no excuse for making out, but it happened. What. The. Fuck.

You can’t believe you did that. You could kick your own ass for being so stupid and letting it come this far. What the fuck is wrong with you?

And more importantly - how are you ever going to face him again? He is never going to let you forget about that, you’re sure.

As if your inner turmoil with yourself about your inconceivable stupidity has transferred into the outside world, Jimin suddenly begins to stir next to you. You notice him slowly waking up, and it makes your heart almost explode inside your chest from anxiety.

“Hey, good morning.”

You turn your head a little, seeing Jimin’s puffy eyes already fixed on you and a tired smile resting on his lips.

“Morning.”

“Sleep well?” He asks, adjusting his weight a little to hold his head with his arm up to look at you better.

You only nod, offering him a tight-lipped smile before your body reminds you of the current state you’re in. “My head is killing me, though.”

Chuckling quietly, Jimin wordlessly gets out of bed to walk to a little mini fridge at the far end of his room - you hadn’t even noticed it being there. He takes out a small water bottle, comes back to you, and quickly rummages through the bedside table before handing you the bottle and a pill.

“Good thing I’m prepared,” he winks, this time deciding to sit next to you and watch you while you eagerly take the pill and a sip from your water. Feeling the cool liquid going down your throat makes you feel much better, and you thank him before settling back into your pillow, waiting for the medication to kick in before you decide to get up.

“So…”

You raise a brow looking at Jimin, who is also looking at you expectantly.

“So?” you ask, not knowing what he’s on about.

“Do you remember anything from last night?”

You gulp, trying to hide your embarrassment somehow by averting your gaze elsewhere and hoping he won’t notice. You should have known he won't be subtle about it - it's Jimin, after all - but you still hoped he wouldn't ask about it the second he wakes up. If there is one thing you don’t want, it’s having to discuss what happened last night. But considering you were clearly drunk, this could be used to your advantage.

Getting back into your Hollywood-like acting skills, you furrow your brows as you shake your head. “What do you mean, did anything happen?”

Jimin intensely looks at you, trying to read you and see whether you’re lying. You feel very uncomfortable under his intense gaze. “No. Forget I said anything.” A corner of his mouth raises up in a half-smile, implying that there's more he wants to say but decides against it.

Not that you give him the chance to anyway because you quickly waddle out of bed, getting as much distance between you two as you can. “Is it okay if I take a shower?”

He nods, telling you where to find fresh towels and other stuff you might need before watching you leave into his bathroom and close the door behind you.

He knows you’re lying, he doesn’t even have to waste a thought on it because you’re that obvious. Or maybe you aren’t, and he has just gotten better at reading you but he's sure that you know exactly what happened yesterday.

And it probably shouldn’t, but you not telling him the truth and making up some lie about not remembering anything, really bothers him for some reason.

However, it shows that he has done the right thing by not giving in to you because you could not have made it more clear that it was purely the alcohol talking last night.

#jimin au #jimin smut #jimin angst #jimin slow burn #jimin e2l #park jimin #jimin fluff #jimin x reader #jimin fanfic #jimin fake dating au #bts jimin #bts au #bts slow burn #bts au fic

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