#it’s gotten to the point where I straight up just don’t believe people I know that’s bad but when ppl are like my mom is emotioanlly abusive
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ㅤㅤㅤ✦ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎 ⸻ 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒
ㅤㅤjoel miller x f!reader
⌜HOW MR. MILLER STOLE CHRISTMAS MASTERLIST⌟
genre: enemies to lovers, romance, fake dating, minors dni
word count: 5.2k
chapter summary: unlike what you thought, the rumor hasn't been dying out and with a new game plan in mind, you go to seek out Joel.
warnings: age gap, fake dating, mostly fluff, drinking, small town gossip, people talking about the age difference, another heated kiss
**dividers by @saradika
You’re a fucking idiot.
A moron.
A fool.
Fucking small towns. Of course, rumors would spread. Of course, everyone would start talking about seasoned survivor Joel Miller and his new young lover. You shudder at the thought, unable to identify if it’s a bad shudder or the kind that makes your stomach flutter. You hate the idea of Joel being right. He’d said people would talk. And newsflash, unlike what you had thought, the gossip hasn’t died out.
There are two fundamental reasons why neither you nor Joel can just shrug it off, saying it’s not true. The first reason is that both Steven and Marc saw you being shoved up against a wall, passionately locking lips with Joel. The second reason is the fact that no one would think the twins were lying.
Again, this wouldn’t be an issue if you didn’t have a past to hide. People would start digging if you told them the rumors were only that. Rumors. They would start asking questions like where the two knew each other from. And you knew for a fact that Joel doesn’t want people digging either. People knew what kind of man he was, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will turn a blind eye to him killing the last hope of human survival.
Snow crunches under your boots, your body sweating despite the cold. Tommy’s place finally comes into view. You pray he hadn’t heard any of the rumors, as impossible as that might be.
Some part of you believes that if a time ever comes when everyone finds out what Joel had done, you'll stick up for him. You’re the only person who knows the way of the firefly. How easy it was for them to kill when they thought they were the heroes. In the end, he spared you, it was hard to hate a person who allowed you to live. No matter how much he regrets it now.
On the porch, you stare at the door. It’s weathered for the most part, some parts fixed and polished but not the whole thing.
You knock loudly two times, it doesn’t take long for Tommy to open the door, his lips curling instantly when he lays his eyes on you.
“Well well well, look who it is,” he says too cheerfully, you’re already rolling your eyes. “The good old sister-in-law! Can you tell me why I had to hear about you and my brother tying the knot from Wellington?”
Jesus fucking Christ, Wellington knows? No wonder this bullshit isn’t dying out.
“We’re not married Tommy.”
“Yet.”
“Just tell me where he is, matchmaker.”
He raises an eyebrow, his smile melting, “You don’t know?”
It takes you everything for you not to take deep heavy breaths. He’s making this exceptionally hard. You had a plan. And that plan meant you and Joel wouldn’t be an item in the near future. For said plan to work, however, no one needs to know it was fake to begin with.
“I don’t have his schedule, Tommy, and I wanted to surprise him with,” You press your molars together and lift your bag, forcing a smile. “Baked goods.”
Tommy is full of glee again, “Awwww how fuckin’ sweet. Didn’t know you had it in ya Pecan.” Before you can answer, he points to the bag. “I’ll give you the information for one cinnamon roll.”
You give him a deadpan look, mouth opening and closing like a fish. You’d only gotten two and you were looking forward to it. Instinctively you pull the bag back, hiding it behind you. “No.”
“Come on, pay up, or else I ain’t tellin’ you.”
“Fuck, fine. You’re a mean one.”
“If you say Mr Grinch I’m taking two.”
“No!”
He grins widely, perfect straight teeth coming into view. As he leans forward to snatch the bag away, you get a whiff of his scent and witness how perfectly his dark locks fall forward. Fuck, what kind of super genes did the Millers possess? How are they both so effortlessly attractive? It’s sometimes easy to forget that Tommy can be classified as good-looking since the two of you tend to give each other hell most of the time. But during those short moments where you get a good look at him? It’s devastating.
Tommy holds out the bag and stuffs the cinnamon roll into his mouth, his jaw moving.
“You really not gonna share it with Maria? It’s a miracle your spine isn’t broken from sleeping on the couch.”
He takes the roll out of his mouth and takes a proper bite, “I’m a fuckin’ delight to be around and she’s not home.” You take the bag and as you do, stick out your tongue. “Brat. Your loverboy is at the tree farm cuttin’ up trees. Tell him I say hi and he should find me later.”
“I’m not his secretary.”
“It’s almost like you want me to take all your treats.”
The smell of pine fills your lungs and you’re grateful. You adore the smell. The freshness and sweetness of it mixing with the crispness of snow. You’re honestly amazed at how organized the tree farm is. Tall, lush pine trees in perfect order as you walk between them. Lights have been strung up temporarily, the wires that tie them together so thin that it almost looks like they’re hanging from the sky. They must look beautiful during the night.
It takes you a while to find Joel. He’s in the back and you approach him silently. That wasn’t your initial intention, being snuck up on is never fun. But the way he’s chopping wood makes your insides feel all runny and warm. You didn’t know he additionally chopped firewood as well. He lifts the axe and throws it down, sweat beading on his forehead. The sleeves of his flannel are rolled up, exposing the sinewy muscle of his forearms to your gaze. He cuts down another log, it becomes two in one swift motion. Your mouth dries and tongue rushes out to wet your lips. Your mind cruelly reminds you of the night you kissed him, how good it had felt to have him pressed against you, claiming you—
“Why don’t you bring a damn camera next time, it’ll add to the whole stalker pervert thing you have goin’ on right now.”
Okay. He’s joking. Joking is good, right? Joking means that he doesn’t think about covering your face with a pillow while you sleep. Your body tenses, the soft hairs scattered across your body rising with attention.
“Sorry,” you blurt out, the two of you standing only inches apart. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you but we need to talk.”
“I was wonderin’ when you’d come by. Sucks to be wrong doesn’t it?”
“How was I supposed to know people had nothing else better to do than talk about our non-existent relationship.”
Joel suddenly throws the axe down, impaling the sharp end into the wood, you jump, adrenaline humming in your ears. He ignores your very fair reaction and peels off his gloves, turning towards the bench, “Gee, only if someone had told you that people would talk.”
“Yeah, okay I deserve that.”
He sighs, “What do you want?”
“Like I’ve been saying since the day I realized who you are: to talk.”
“Fine. I was about to take a damn break anyway. Come on, now.”
You both sit on the ice-cold bench, he leans over and picks up a thermos. You’re surprised when he also pulls out two mugs, placing them on top of a clearly handmade bite-sized picnic table. Without a word, you quickly place your offerings as well, at least the ones Tommy had let you get away with, two cheese-stuffed bagels and one cinnamon roll. You frown when you look at it. You really wanted that roll.
“What’s this?” Joel asks, filling the mugs.
“I thought you’d be in better spirits with a full stomach.”
You almost earn a hint of laughter but the sound is quickly swallowed down. The traces of his smile still linger on the corner of his lips, “Well, at least you’re not dumb enough to come empty-handed.”
Ignoring him, you place your cold palms around the mug and take a sip. The fresh taste of lavender and honey coats your tongue. Your favorite. “Huh, weird,” you mutter.
“What? Does it taste funny?”
“No no. It’s just. . . Lavender tea is my favorite.”
“Go figure,” he takes a sip and scowls. “I’d rather have coffee.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think you were a tea-loving man.” He grunts and picks up one of the bagels, taking a bite. “About the whole dating situation, I have a plan.”
He doesn’t acknowledge what you’ve said so you continue, “The plan is we fake it for a while, act like a couple, make everyone gush over us, then we break up, saying we wanted different things. That way no one digs into our pasts.”
“This is the weirdest way anyone has ever asked me out.”
You snort, “I’m not asking you out. The key word here is fake. Because if we just say we weren’t dating at all, people are going to wonder why you had me up against a wall. And unless you want to tell people you were threatening me. . .” you give him a look but he’s staring at the horizon, chewing thoughtfully on his bagel. You think he’s scowling but you’re not sure. “I think this is the best way.”
He swallows the last bite and glares at his mug before taking another sip of his tea, he wrinkles his nose. “How would we have to be around each other? I haven’t exactly been datin’ around that much.”
“I was six when the outbreak happened. I’m pretty sure your guess is better than mine.”
That finally catches his attention, his eyes widen, the furrow between his brows deep, “Six?” he repeats.
“Yeah.”
You’re used to people being surprised. Most like you haven’t survived. And your references to the past always made you seem older than you were, you preferred it that way. The less people could guess about you the better. Your mom and dad always paid extra attention to tell you about the world before the cordyceps, reminding you that a life like that could still be your reality once again.
“Was. . .” Joel swallows, pulling you away from your parents. You reach for the other bagel and start eating, giving him time so he can just spit it out. “Was that your first kiss?”
There is something in his voice, an emotion very similar to guilt. You swallow your bite.
“No. It wasn’t.” And that’s all you have to say about that. It seems to be enough because he visibly relaxes, his shoulders dropping. You change the subject. Quickly. “I’m thinking we hold hands a bit, kiss each other on the cheek, and stuff like that. We can come up with rules if you want but I think it’s pretty straightforward.”
He nods. An oddly comfortable silence stretches out. You finish your bagel and drain the rest of your tea.
“We should probably split this,” he says and pulls out a knife from his belt.
“Oh. . . you can have it.”
Joel chuckles, it isn’t quite a laugh but you still take it as a win. “I saw how you were oglin’ it. I ain’t gonna risk you biting my head off,” he cuts it into two and offers you the bigger half. A smile brushes against your lips. “Why didn’t you just get two?”
“I did!” you gasp, forgetting that the two of you aren’t lovers, not even friends. “Tommy took one as compensation for telling me where you were. By the way, he wanted me to tell you hi and that the two of you should meet up later.”
“Why ain’t he lettin’ me know his damn self. I know he ain’t doin’ shit today. You’re not my secretary.”
“That’s what I said!”
Another chuckle. You’re acing this.
“I’ll get him to pay you back, don’t worry.”
“You don’t have to,” you laugh. “It’s just a roll.”
“Well, you’re my girl now, aren’t you? It would be unboyfriend-like of me not to avenge my girl. If we’re gonna fake it, might as well do it right.”
My girl. Your cheeks grow warm. You know it’s not real, and that deep down he most likely despises your existence that threatens his peace but still, it’s good to belong. Even if it’s not real. Even if it’s a lie. Your brain tricks your body into feeling whole for a brief moment, that internal coldness you’ve been feeling since the day your parents died melting ever so lightly, the warm water that drips over the icy exterior, warming your stomach.
“Tell him he owes me two then,” you say, barely above a whisper. “The bakery rarely makes them you know, cinnamon is hard to make.”
He nods but doesn’t add anything else. The crinkles soften at the corner of his eyes, lips looking soft and pliant. You might’ve even dared enough to say that he looks at peace.
You stand and leave, taking a mental note to bring him more treats from now on.
You successfully fool yourself into believing it’s for his sake and not yours.
Joel enjoys the cold. He always knew he would but was never allowed to say it since he never lived in the cold. He hated that argument. Sure he lived in Austin his entire life but that didn’t mean he didn’t ache for a bit of chill. Even at the end of the world, when he barely had enough to cover his back, he found himself enjoying the little things. The fresh, crisp air, the snow crunching under his boots.
The silence.
Sometimes he wonders if he likes it so much because it reminds him of death and considering all the seasons, winter is the one where he is closest to it. Closest to Sarah. He does hope she’s someplace warmer now. He’s not a man of faith, but for her, he’ll believe there’s an afterlife where nothing but good and butterflies exist.
Joel also feels closest to her when he’s with Tommy. His brother is the only one who knew her, the good in her. He was the one who was there when the world was stripped away from such a kind being, and he was there when she was buried under the world she could always see the best of.
As Joel walks up to the porch the brothers' eyes meet, it’s true that uncles resemble the kids. Sometimes if the light hits him just right, Joel could see a bit of her in him.
“You owe her two rolls,” Joel huffs, sitting on the empty chair beside Tommy.
“I don’t know what she told you but we had a very fair exchange, I don’t owe your little girlfriend shit,” he grins, not noticing the way Joel frowns at the label. “Nice to see the guard dog in you hasn’t died out.”
“I ain’t a guard dog.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Just bring her two tomorrow and I’ll owe you one favor.”
Tommy’s grin only widens, “You must really want to impress her.”
Joel fights the urge to roll his eyes. This whole arrangement is going to be a pain in the ass, he can sense it.
“Fine, tell pecan I’ll have her goods Friday. I doubt I’ll be able to wake up early enough to get it tomorrow but you owe me one Joel.”
“Why the hell do you call her Pecan anyway? That ain’t her name, you dumbass.”
“It’s because she has a hard shell but nice and soft on the inside.” Joel’s shoulders raise and he swallows thickly around the knot forming in his throat. He remembers the way you tasted on his tongue. How soft you were against him, no hard shell in sight. Tommy has no idea just how soft you are and can be. His cock twitches under the denim. He hates himself for it. “You should bring her to the party tonight.”
“Huh?”
“That party, Joel,” Tommy playfully smacks his shoulder. “Don’t tell me you forgot already. You promised to come.”
Oh yeah. Fuck. He really doesn’t want to go and deal with all the eyes he already knows will be on him. And you.
“Yeah, ‘course I remember. I’ll be there.”
“Just you?”
Joel sighs, “And her. We’ll be there.”
“You know, I’m truly happy for you brother. You deserve to be happy with someone who appreciates you.”
The words sting but he can’t do anything about it. He looks away, eyes staring at the snow-covered trees. “I don’t like being at the center of attention.”
“It’ll die out. The lonely bachelors are just jealous. Don’t mind them.”
Joel doesn’t need to ask to know what he’s talking about. You’re nearly half his age, six when the damn world came to an end. He knows people are wondering how the hell an old man like him got a girl like you, as if your age is the only reason to be with you. Not that he would know. None of this is real after all. You don’t appreciate him like Tommy suggested, maybe grateful for not putting a bullet between your eyes but that’s pretty much it. The same goes for him. He doesn’t know you—other than that you enjoy lavender tea with heaping amounts of honey and cinnamon rolls.
“I won’t, Tommy. No need to worry.”
When you hear a loud knock at the door, you’re staring at your reflection in the mirror. Ever since the kissing mishap with Joel, you’ve been a bit more conscious of what you look like. You’ve never had a reason to care much about it before and you’re not sure you like being this aware of every little flaw now.
Walking to the door, you’re not sure who to expect. You don’t have many friends other than Tommy and Maria, you’re already on alert, grabbing a small knife from the kitchen. Old habits die hard.
What you weren’t expecting is to see a distressed Joel Miller.
“Didn’t figure you knew where I lived.”
“I’m the brother-in-law of the woman in charge, of course I know where you live. I know where everyone lives.”
You lift an eyebrow and lean against the door frame, his eyes drop to the knife but fear is the furthest thing in his features, “Still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“There’s a party at Tommy’s and he wanted me to invite you.”
An involuntary groan escapes your lips, Tommy knew you didn’t want to go. The fucker.
“And let me guess, I have to go because we’re a couple.”
“Don’t give me attitude it was your idea, not mine.”
He’s right, “Fine. Come in and I’ll change so we can leave.”
“What’s wrong with what you’re wearin’ right now?”
You try not to hide yourself behind the door as his eyes sweep you from top to bottom. Inherently, there isn’t anything wrong with what you’re wearing. It's just your typical jeans, sweater, and a dark green flannel thrown on top. You’re warm and cozy.
“Isn’t this a party?”
“What do you think they’ll be wearin’? Suits and fancy dresses?”
“I guess you’re right, I’ll get my jacket.”
Feeling warmer than normal, you lock the door and the two of you head to Tommy’s. “So, should we. . . talk about what we’re gonna do or say?”
“Say?”
Joel shrugs, “You know, if they ask us how we met or somethin’.”
“I think half the town knows how we met, Joel.”
“A’right, so our story is that I helped you down, had a couple of drinks, and decided we like each other?”
“Sounds iron proof to me.”
“This is fuckin’ stupid.”
“I don’t see you coming up with any plans.”
“Wouldn’t even be in this mess if not for you.”
The harsh bite in his tone makes you take a step back without thinking. You’ve seen this man kill with ease. He’d admitted to regret leaving you alive. Fear is an irrational thing. It’s something that lingers and stays even when the initial threat has been evaded. You’re still afraid despite knowing you don’t have to be. You’ve been enjoying your little talks, you’ve been enjoying spending time with him. Internally you’re conflicted and confused.
Joel slows down along with you, turning and checking just how far you’ve fallen behind. He stops and turns, eyes taking in the furrow of your brows, the running of your nose. You don’t flinch when he touches your cheek, his gloved hand soft against your skin. He’s so gentle. So gentle that it almost hurts.
“I ain’t gonna hurt you. Promise,” he lets out a steady breath, fixing you with a leveled gaze. “I might not trust you or even like you, but I won’t hurt you.”
Your eyes widen, heart thudding loud enough that you’re positive he can hear it. Without a word you nod, tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth. Joel nods back. His hand deserts your cheek and he locks your arms together, tugging you along the snow.
You believe him when he says he won’t hurt you. As foolish as that might be.
Two hours into the party and still all everyone can talk about is Joel and his new girlfriend. Even goddamn Maria had asked about it. Joel is still recovering from his sister-in-law’s interest in the matter. You were a definite natural in faking it. Unlike him, who was already exhausted from it all. It’d been a long couple of hours of holding hands, standing close, and kissing cheeks.
He’s holding a glass of the finest whiskey he’s ever had since the world ended, surrounded by familiar faces and his brother. You had scurried off somewhere. To the bathroom, he thinks. Or helping Maria with organizing. He probably should’ve asked, but he’s not used to questioning people unless it’s Ellie. But since the two of you are “dating” he suppose he should’ve.
“Yo Miller.” Joel fights the urge to groan as Wellington approaches with a raised hand. He slaps him on the shoulder, his cheeks and nose red and warm thanks to the alcohol. “You gotta tell me your secret.”
Joel sends Tommy a questioning gaze, his bother only shrugs. “‘Bout what Wellington?” he sighs.
“About catchin’ such a fine piece of ass.”
Joel’s shoulders raise, nostrils flaring as anger boils in his gut, but before he can get out a word Tommy intervenes, “Wellington.”
“What?” he slurs, turning to the younger Miller. “We’re all thinkin’ it. How old is she huh? Like half your age?”
Joel feels sick when the man grins. Wellington ain’t lying, you are half his age. Realistically, someone like you would never go for him. An old man who’s lost so much in his lifetime. But of course, he can’t say that, he can’t say anything that might out them as liars.
“Shut your goddamn mouth,” Joel grunts, pushing Wellington’s hand off his shoulder. “Or I’ll shut it for you.”
“I’d say money but that don’t exist anymore,” Wellington continues. “So what is it?”
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up—
“Joel?”
Your voice cuts through the tension like a knife. Everyone who’s in-ear shot of the conversation stills, an icy cold wind enveloping all of them, including Tommy. Joel recognizes the look of worry in his brother’s eyes. The older Miller swallows thickly as he rips his glare away from Wellington—he’s surprised that despite the amount of alcohol in his veins he looks ashamed.
“Yeah, darlin’?”
You shudder in a way only he notices. You’ve been doing that a lot lately. Your body subtly going straight and then relaxing. He wonders how much you’ve heard, or rather if you heard.
“I need some help in the kitchen, could you?”
“Uh, yeah sure. Of course.”
He ignores Tommy’s snicker and follows you through the crowd, away from the sight of Wellington and others. You stop at the threshold of the kitchen, not going in. You lean against the door frame and look away. “Sorry, I don’t actually need help. It just looked like you needed saving.”
“That bad, huh?”
“If looks could kill, Wellington would be dead thrice.” You say it so nonchalantly that he smiles, Joel mimics your stance and leans against the other side of the doorframe, leaving only little distance between you two. “What did he say?”
So you didn’t hear. Good.
“Nothin’ that you need to concern yourself with. He’s just buggin’ me, that’s all.”
You raise an eyebrow, “Didn’t really look like it was just buggin’.”
The subtle accent change at the end of your sentence makes him laugh, you shake your head but he sees the way your lips quirk into a smile.
“You makin’ fun of me sweetheart?”
“. . . Maybe.”
“That’s the type of talk that’ll get you in trouble you know.”
Your smile widens into a grin, “With whom?”
“Keep it up and you’ll find out.”
It’s been a long time since he felt like this. The enjoyment of the tug and pull. Heat spreads from the small of his back and reaches all the way to his groin. You must’ve had a couple of drinks before asking for him. You lean closer, your lips deliciously curled as mischief glimmers in your eyes. He wonders if you thought about the kiss. How close your bodies were that night.
“Be careful Miller,” you say, rolling your tongue over each syllable. “Almost sounds like you want me to keep it up.”
God, that he does. He’s starting to get hard. Without even thinking he leans a bit closer as well, tilting his head as if he’s about to kiss you. Your eyes flash with something expectant—
“KISS!”
The delicate moment shatters with reality. You’re not flirting, you can’t, because technically you’re already dating. Joel hates the way you flinch at the sudden crowd shouting. His head whips towards them, only to see Tommy taking charge, he points to something above and both of your heads snap up like a cartoon.
“Mistletoe,” he says. Lowering his gaze, he gives you a quick smile. “You know what that means, right sweetheart?”
You roll your eyes, “I do, jerk.”
“Brat.”
He almost laughs at the way your lips quickly wound shut. The crowd is getting restless.
“Don’t y’all have anythin’ better to do?” Joel quips.
“Nope!”
The echoes of kiss kiss kiss only get louder from there. Joel sighs, “I don’t think we can escape them.”
“If I had a penny every time we had to kiss to appease a crowd. . .” you whisper. He expects you to continue but you don’t, instead you place your hands on his cheeks, holding him gently. You come closer and as does he, his hands slide to your hips, tugging you flush against him.
You’re so soft. Softer than he deserves.
Unlike the first time, he takes the lead. He pushes you until your back is pressed against the doorframe, he claims your lips with a need he fearfully admits he doesn’t have to fake. He squeezes your hips, the sound of the crowd awing them fading into the background. It’s just his lips that move, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to feel your tongue against his. To feel the quiver of your naked body as he fills you to the brim, kissing you and telling you just how much he enjoys being inside you.
He swallows your tiny moans and whimpers, and as he breaks away, he pulls at your bottom lip with his teeth. You’re breathless when you meet his gaze, sharp eyes glazed over with a fog of arousal.
Then, as the crowd claps, he presses the side of his face against your ear, “Just a taste,” he whispers and feels your tremble underneath his palms. “Of what’ll happen if you keep it up.”
“That was one hell of a party,” you muse. You’re staring at the dark horizon, snow gently falling from the sky. Joel pushes a warm mug of tea between your hands.
“It’s still goin’ on,” he says.
“You’d die if you just let me live in my blissful bubble wouldn’t you?”
“Sure would.”
You let out a snort as he settles near you, your shoulders brushing against one another. You have to admit, it’s been a fun night—and not only because of the kiss. That was just a bonus. A very hot and steamy bonus.
It felt too real to be fake. Too real to be nothing. Years you had been alone and now you were sampling what it meant to have someone care for you, to tease you. He doesn’t even know you yet you two fit together like a glove and a hand. Makes you wonder how different this could all have been if he hadn’t been Ellie’s father, and you hadn’t been a part of the Fireflies.
“Oh good you’re still here.” The two of you turn to see Tommy, his cheeks a little flushed and his breath a little uneven. “I need to ask you two somethin’.”
“What now?” Joel groans, prompting a smile from you.
“You heard of the new family in town? The one with two kids?” You have no idea but Joel seems to know who they are. He nods. “We don’t have a house ready for them yet so I was thinkin’. . .” his eyes flicker between yours and Joel’s, your stomach going tight with worry. “You two can live together till we’re finished with the construction.”
“What?”
The question leaves your mouth before you can properly register. You turn to Joel but much to your surprise, he seems unfazed.
“Just for a while,” Tommy says. “I just figured since you two are already datin’. . .”
Joel ignores his brother completely to fave you, “Your call sweetheart.”
Seeing him so calm makes you ashamed of your initial reaction. You’re not even sure why you reacted so brashly. It was a simple request. A logical one.
“Yeah sure, that’s okay,” forcing a smile, you turn to Tommy. Joel’s touch is soothing behind you, hand rubbing small circles at the base of your spine. A welcome comfort. “Just let me grab my things and you can set them up tomorrow.”
“You’re the best, pecan,” Tommy glows, giving you a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll give Maria the good news.”
Joel’s hand deserts you almost immediately when his brother is out of sight. It makes your heartstrings tug. “You sure about this?” he asks. “It would be fine if I lived alone but Ellie is a curious one and she’ll figure it out if we ain’t convincin’ enough.”
“In all honesty, I had completely forgotten about Ellie,” you let out a deep exhale. “But I guess that’s fine. I’m sure we can pull it off. It’s not like I could say no.”
His gaze softens, “You could’ve asked to stay somewhere else.”
“No. . . It’s fine, Joel. Really,” you crack a smile. “I feel like I should be asking if you’re alright with it. You’re the one with the problem with me being around Ellie.”
“I’ll have my eye on you two,” he says a bit too quickly for comfort.
Your tongue sours, “I’m not going to tell her anything.”
Joel doesn’t say anything. Or even acknowledges that he’s heard you. He leaves you on the porch, following his brother’s footsteps, you’re left with nothing but a lukewarm mug of tea.
Then you notice it’s lavender.
#joel miller x reader#joel miller x fem!reader#joel miller x f!reader#joel miller x you#joel miller fanfiction#joel miller fic#tlou fanfic#the last of us fanfiction#pedro pascal characters#pedro pascal characters fanfic#hbo the last of us fanfic
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rumor has it
synopsis: rumor has it that yu jimin, straight A student and the star captain of the university's volleyball team, has only gotten to where she is through cheating and bribery. now, she's your partner for a final paper.
pairing: uni student jimin x uni student fem!reader
warnings: cursing
word count: 9.5k
notes: this is my first time uploading a piece on any media platform. feedback and comments are much appreciated!
the buzz of the students in the lecture hall dies down immediately as dr. kim, your english professor, walks in. you find your seat beside your best friend aeri and uncap your pen, ready to take notes. aeri, however, has different plans and rests her head on her arms, ready to catch up on sleep for the next hour. it isn't her fault that the university thought an 8 am english class was a great idea.
"good morning, class. let’s begin today’s lecture," dr. kim's voice echoes. with those words, you begin jotting down the professor's key points, making sure your handwriting is clear, knowing that the sleeping girl beside you will be asking for your notes later.
throughout the lecture, you can't resist sneaking glances at the girl two rows ahead of you. yu jimin sits there, in all her glory. you don’t know many people at this university, but it's nearly impossible not to recognize jimin.
her face adorns bulletin boards all over campus, celebrating her role as the victorious captain of the volleyball team that clinched the national championship for the university. from life-sized cutouts of her and the team placed around various corners to her frequent appearances on the university’s instagram story, it's harder to evade her presence than to acknowledge it.
although you aren't particularly interested in sports, you can't help but admit that she is extremely attractive. however, you’ve heard numerous stories about jimin's infamous reputation, primarily from the napping girl beside you. apparently, jimin is a rude and overall unpleasant person who got her high grades thanks to bribery and cheating.
an hour drifts by, and finally, dr. kim speaks the much-awaited words, "alright, class. i believe that concludes today’s session."
before you can pack your bag and make fun of your friend for drooling, dr. kim interjects, "oh, before i dismiss you, i'd like to announce that the final paper is approaching. it will be a paired effort." a glance between you and aeri implies your agreement to be partners.
"i will be assigning the pairs randomly," the professor states, pausing to allow the students to voice their groans and complaints.
"is she serious?" aeri asks you in a hushed voice. however, it wasn’t quiet enough.
"yes, miss uchinaga. i am indeed serious," you stifle a laugh as your best friend's ears turn crimson.
"as i was saying, this final paper will be done in pairs that i will randomly assign. you are all adults, and it's important to learn how to collaborate with people you don’t know. this paper will facilitate that skill." it takes all your restraint not to roll your eyes. it's way too early to be doing this.
“when i call your name, come up to my desk and pick a piece of paper from this box which has the names of everyone in this class. show me the piece of paper and i’ll announce it. if it’s your own name, you can draw again.” dr. kim looks around to make sure the class understands the instructions.
“it seems like everyone has understood so we’ll begin. miss uchinaga and miss y/l/n, why don’t you do the honors and pick out your pairs first.”
you and a much more awake aeri begin walking to the front, not missing the way jimin’s eyes quickly meet yours. maybe you just need some sleep just like aeri.
with a sigh, aeri goes first and is paired with the girl who is sitting on the right of jimin, a girl with the name ning yizhuo. she seems nice enough with the way she smiles at aeri when she hears her name.
you go up to the box and rummage through its contents. stopping at what you feel is an appropriate time, you unfold the paper and show it to your professor.
“it seems like ms. y/l/n’s partner for the final paper is yu jimin,” you make eye contact with her as the professor calls her name, and you give her a tight-lipped smile. she meets your eyes and only gives you a small nod. you and aeri go back to your seats.
as the professor continues to announce pairs, you notice a mix of expressions – excitement and disappointment – on the faces of your classmates. some seem genuinely happy with their partners, while others exchange anxious glances.
“i am giving you all 2 months to work on this paper. please do not procrastinate. this is a major paper, and your grade on it will have an immense effect on your final grade overall,” dr. kim announces before she leaves the room.
the buzz of the students in the lecture hall continues once more, with the majority of the class talking to their partners. you take a quick look at your partner, who was still sitting next to what seemed to be two of her close friends, one of which was aeri’s partner and the other was a girl named minjeong, her co-captain.
“i’m scared,” you tell your best friend. “what if she makes me do all the work?”
“hey, don’t judge a book by its cover – or i guess a person by their rumors,” aeri says, getting up from her chair.
“you’re the one who told me those rumors in the first place!”
“i would say i was spreading valuable information, not rumors,” aeri reasons as you both begin walking to exit the front door of the lecture hall.
before you both could step out the door, you feel a tap on your shoulder. you turn around, not expecting a certain raven-haired girl to be the one behind you.
“hi, y/n. i’m jimin,” she introduces herself to you bluntly without a smile on her face, how welcoming. before replying, you nod goodbye to aeri, encouraging her to go on without you.
“nice to meet you, jimin.” it was your first time talking to this girl, but immediately you could feel the pressure of her presence. you could barely look her in the eyes.
“here’s my number,” jimin hands you her phone with her contact information bright on the screen. “i have another class after this, but i’ll text you so that we can meet and talk about the paper.”
you nod, pulling out your phone and copying the numbers from her screen onto yours.
putting her phone back into her pocket, jimin begins walking out of the room with her two friends trailing not so far behind her.
“oh, and by the way, y/n,” jimin stops in her steps and stares you down in the eyes, “i won’t make you do all the work. i don’t trust you enough with my grades.”
you stand there, mouth slightly agape and face hot from embarrassment, watching the three girls walk out of your sight.
fuck.
"y/n, it's not that bad," aeri attempts to comfort you as she took a bite of her sandwich. hours had passed since you were paired with jimin, and now you found yourself in a university common space, trying to have lunch with aeri. however, the embarrassment from your earlier encounter was dampening your appetite.
"she probably hates me now, i can feel it," you sighed dramatically, plopping your head onto the cold table.
"what you're feeling is probably hunger. eat," aeri said, digging through your bag to retrieve your packed lunch. “it’s not your fault you didn’t know she had superhuman hearing,” aeri tries to make light of the situation.
"she's going to tell all her followers that i'm an asshole, and i'm somehow going to get expelled from this university," you exclaim with an exaggerated groan.
you're well aware you're being overly dramatic, but considering the rigorous academic demands of this university and the looming assignments, papers, and tests from multiple classes, your nerves are at an all-time high.
"first of all, calm down," aeri set her sandwich aside. "second, i know i'm the one who keeps you updated with all the campus gossip since you're practically a dorm hermit. but seriously, rumors are just rumors."
you didn't understand why she had to point out your introverted, homebody habits. "you should just let go of those rumors and form your own opinion about her once you actually get to know her."
you don't reply as you open up your lunch and began taking small bites. that was one of your biggest dilemmas. if you looked up "opinionated" in the dictionary, it would feature your face as an antonym.
always going with the flow, never wanting to stand out or have a loud presence, you'd rather take what you're given than go out and seek something yourself. hell, you couldn't even form an opinion on a tiktok without first checking the comments to see what the majority of viewers thought.
before you could spiral deeper into your thoughts, your phone vibrates.
yu jimin
this is jimin.
i’m free at 3 pm today. let’s meet at the library if you’re free too.
“who’s that,” aeri asks as she notices your eyes skimming over your phone. “it’s jimin, she wants to meet at the library later today,” you answer.
y/n
hi, jimin.
i’m free. i’ll see you then.
“ugh, i don’t want to go,” you complain to aeri.
“y/n, are you hearing yourself?” your best friend gives you a deadpan look, “this paper is worth more than half of our final grade. if you fail this paper, you’re going to fail the class.”
the weight of her words sinks in, and you're reminded of the possible consequences of not taking the paper seriously. of course, you knew that you had no choice but to go and work with the infamous volleyball team captain. while you were still quite mortified from your earlier interaction with her, you didn’t want to fail out of college just yet.
only the distant hum of quiet conversations and the faint rustle of pages moving could be heard as you enter the library.
as you weave your way through the bookshelves toward the back, you finally lay eyes on the person you were looking for. jimin is focused on whatever content is displayed on her laptop. you can't help but notice her furrowed brows and the subtle movement of her lips as she reads the text in a hushed voice. the sun's rays cast a gentle glow on the contours of her face, accentuating her features.
curse this university for having naturally well-lit buildings.
you gently tap her shoulder, careful not to startle the focused girl. you wish you could say that her expression softened the moment she turned and spotted you, but if anything, her features seemed to tighten. this was going to be a fun time.
“hi,” you say quietly to jimin as you sit down in the open chair in front of her.
"let's begin," she immediately suggests while you retrieve your laptop from your bag. "i understand that we could work on this individually in separate places since we both have access to this document, but i personally prefer collaborating face-to-face with my partner, especially for a final paper." you give a nod in agreement to jimin's proposal.
for the next hour, you and jimin discuss only the paper's details, staying firmly on the subject of your final paper. she has already outlined the content the two of you will cover, assigned each of you specific sections to write, and established a schedule for completing each part.
at one point, she asks, "what do you think? you haven't said a word about anything i’ve mentioned." her eyes remain fixed on the shared document displayed on both your screens, with a majority of the content coming from jimin.
"i mean, i'm fine with whatever," you reply. in group papers, you've never been inclined to voice your opinions or contribute ideas. don’t get it wrong, you're certainly not a freeloader, but you've never assumed the role of a group leader either.
"not even a single suggestion or comment?" she finally lifts her gaze from her laptop, locking eyes with you. you instantly break the brief eye contact you shared.
"no, i’ll give you some if i come up with any. besides, we still have 2 months ahead to tackle this paper," you explain, trying to reason with her. she releases a deep sigh and shifts her focus back to her laptop.
she clearly isn't your biggest fan.
"i think that's all we should do today. we've got a solid plan in place, and we can use the upcoming days to gradually work on this paper," she informs you, sliding her laptop into her bag.
you nod, following suit and tidying up your side of the table.
"i have classes from 8 am until 3 pm back-to-back," jimin rises from her seat and pushes her chair in. "i've got volleyball practice every day of the week, starting at 4 pm, except for wednesdays and thursdays." you raise your eyebrows at the mention of her grueling schedule.
“so, we can meet at the library on wednesdays and thursdays after my last class, which is at 3 pm," she looks at you, and you get the feeling that she's not suggesting a meet-up but rather informing you that it's already arranged.
“sounds good with me, i’m free those days as well,” you inform her with the awareness that she had already assumed so.
as she turns to leave, a feeling inside you compels you to apologize for the comment you made about her to aeri in the lecture hall earlier. but before you can muster the courage to do so, she's already gone.
for the next two weeks, you and jimin meet up at the library on wednesdays and thursdays. while you still saw her during your 8 am class, she was only focused on the lecture or in conversations solely with yizhuo and minjeong. however, in the privacy of the library, your interactions with her only happen through the shared online document where your collaborative work took place.
actual conversations, if they could even be labeled as such, between the two of you were few and far between. the only topic that managed to breach the silence was the ongoing discussion about the final paper.
during lunch, you update aeri about your library sessions with jimin. between bites of food, you express your worry, "i honestly don't know how i'll survive working with her for the next two months. it's not that she's a bad partner or anything. i just feel so awkward around her, like i want to disappear into the ground every time we're in that library."
aeri raises an eyebrow and helps herself to a piece of your food. "have you ever tried having a conversation that’s not about the paper with her? maybe if you initiate something, she'll actually have a real conversation with you."
thinking about it now, you realize that you've never actually initiated a conversation with jimin throughout the weeks of meeting up. it's always been her leading the discussions about the paper while you simply go along with whatever tasks need completing.
you sigh, setting down your utensils. "she probably can't stand me."
aeri counters with an exclamation, "she doesn't even know you! besides, she's not exactly a nobody on this campus. she's likely heard worse things from others. i doubt she even remembers whatever you said, considering her only focus is volleyball and school."
"sometimes, i really hate how you're right," you grumble, starting to clean up your lunch.
aeri smirks, taking the last bite of her food. "which is pretty much all the time."
with aeri’s words in mind, you walk into the library a little bit after 3 pm to where you and jimin sat. as per usual, jimin was already there with her laptop out, typing away.
"hey," you say in a hushed tone as you sit down. "i swung by the campus cafe before heading here and picked up a little something for you." you hold out a brown paper bag across the table, containing a warm muffin.
"food isn't allowed in the library," she remarks, not even lifting her gaze from her laptop.
you inhale sharply, feeling your cheeks flush with embarrassment. before you can pull your arm back, she reaches for the bag.
"but still, thank you. i'll save this for later," jimin looks up and offers you a nod with a ghost of a smile on her lips. “let’s get to work.”
around 30 minutes pass by and the silence has enveloped the two of you as it usually does in your meetings.
you stop your typing, that familiar feeling in your stomach urging you to break the silence. you find yourself wondering, what's the point? like aeri mentioned, jimin has probably heard worse things, and once this paper is finished, she'll likely forget all about you. after all, you're just another face in the crowd to her.
from the corner of your eye, you catch jimin glancing your way, noticing your sudden pause and distant expression.
“y/n,” she calls out, her voice pulling you back to the present moment.
you snap your attention to her. “yes?” you shake your head in an attempt to stop being swallowed by your thoughts. “did you say something?”
she raises an eyebrow, her gaze attentive. “that was the fifth time i tried getting your attention. are you alright?” you want to believe that there’s some sort of concern behind her question rather than just an act of common human decency.
“oh, yeah. my bad. i’m just tired. didn’t get much sleep last night,” you excuse. it wasn’t the truth but it wasn’t a complete lie either.
“that’s understandable, this semester is crazy,” jimin replies to you turning her focus back to her laptop.
"you're probably having the craziest semester out of any student here on campus," you remark, surprising yourself with the sudden courage to continue the conversation.
"what makes you say that?" jimin pauses in her work to look at you.
"i mean, i may not have the best knowledge of university sports, but even i know that being a team captain isn’t necessarily an easy responsibility. much less being the captain of a team with a national championship title under its belt," you explain. "plus, you have back-to-back classes from 8 am to 3 pm every day, and i assume you’re doing well in them, given the quality of your work in our shared class alone."
she lets out a quiet laugh - that was the first time you've heard it. "are you sure you’re not just making wild assumptions?"
your palms start to get sweaty, and you feel like you’ve definitely made a mistake. "i’m sorry-"
"i’m just joking," jimin interrupts you. "it’s absolutely not an easy schedule, but if you have to do it, you find a way. yizhuo and minjeong help me out a lot too."
"what do you mean 'have' to?" you silently curse at yourself for prying into her personal life.
"this is the most i’ve heard you talk, y/n," jimin says to you.
"i could say the same to you," you reply. "but, uh, don’t answer if you don’t want to, or if it’s too pers-"
jimin interrupts you once more. "it’s okay. i don’t mind. i prefer when people actually want to get to know me rather than making crazy assumptions that aren't true at all."
a twinge of guilt washes over you. even though you're disconnected from the campus social life, jimin's reputation has managed to reach your ears. many things have been circulated about her – from her attitude to her accolades, and even details about her love life, none of which appeared positive.
"back when i was younger," jimin begins, her vulnerability taking you by surprise, "my parents pushed me incredibly hard to excel in school. naturally, like most parents, they had aspirations for my success. they enrolled me in after-school tutoring to make sure i did better than all the kids in my grade. they also encouraged me to choose an extracurricular activity so that i’m not always buried in books. that's when i chose volleyball, obviously."
you absorb each word she says, intent on not missing a single one. here was yu jimin herself, an enigma of existence - simultaneously adored and despised. and now, right before you, she opens up and shares her story. the reason for her trust in you to this extent, allowing herself to be vulnerable, confuses you, yet you don’t mind at all.
“i have an older sister. she’s a hotshot lawyer now. she did well in high school and did very well in college unsurprisingly,” jimin shares and you notice a gleam of admiration in her eyes. “our parents never compared us to one another and we’re actually really close. besides yizhuo and minjeong, she’s one of the few people i can call my best friend.” you nod as she continues telling her story.
"my parents stopped pushing me so hard in high school," jimin continues, her eyes fixed on you to see if you’re still listening. you are. "they believed that i needed to find motivation within myself and take charge of my actions so that i wouldn't become overly dependent on them."
"so, no, my origin story isn't about parental pressure or living up to my sister's achievements. i believe i have to do well because... i want to. i have this belief that i'm destined for greatness, so i'll dedicate everything i can to achieving it,” jimin’s gaze turns serious. “even if it means having to deal with people who want to spread nasty rumors about me.”
you sit there in silent awe. you realize jimin was your complete opposite. jimin embodies a sense of ambition and dedication that you rarely exhibit. while you've often approached situations with passivity, avoiding confrontation, jimin radiates an unwavering pursuit of her goals.
the aspiration for greatness was something unfamiliar to you. your goals were straightforward – passing your classes, securing a well-paying job for the future, ensuring financial stability, and enjoying the company of your friends. as long as you had that, you were more than happy.
"what about you, y/n?" jimin's question breaks the quiet focus, both your laptops now lowered.
"what do you mean?" you ask, the confusion apparent on your face.
"i just shared something quite personal and vulnerable about myself. wouldn't it be fair for you to do the same?" jimin replies casually.
pausing, you contemplate your response. "i don't think i truly know myself."
jimin arches an eyebrow at your revelation. "what i mean is, i'm not sure who i am. throughout most of my life, i've mostly gone along with aeri, letting her lead me to new places and experiences. but i haven't really discovered a genuine passion for anything."
"i realize now how sad that sounds, especially to you, considering you're the complete opposite of that description," you continue, your voice steady. "but, despite it all, i'm still leading a pretty happy life. i've come this far, haven't i?"
jimin responds to your rhetorical question, her tone measured and thoughtful. "just because our ideals differ doesn't mean i can't accept your perspective. it's called empathy, y/n. i don't need to share your beliefs to understand where you’re coming from."
in that very moment, you feel the foundation of your assumptions about jimin, based on the rumors, begin to crumble.
"life isn't a competition, and you're absolutely right. if you're content and your actions aren't causing harm, doesn't that define a good life in itself?" jimin's words resonate with you.
as the sunset's warm glow graces jimin’s face, you find yourself thinking about how this girl in front of you has it all. no wonder she’s the topic of everyone’s conversations. her beauty is undeniable, she’s intellectually sharp, athletically skilled - she personifies an array of qualities that capture attention.
"thanks, jimin. your words mean a lot," you express, hoping she can hear the sincerity in your voice. "i've been wondering about something, though."
jimin responds, her curiosity piqued. "what's on your mind?"
"why did you feel so comfortable sharing that part of your life with me? don't get me wrong, i'm more than happy to listen, but we're practically strangers, and you opened up to me so easily."
jimin's gaze shifts toward the expansive windows. "like i mentioned earlier, it's a refreshing feeling when someone genuinely wants to know about my life, rather than blindly believing all those damaging rumors. believe me, i've heard them all, and most are far from pleasant."
before you could give her a reply, the librarian approaches your table. "excuse me, ladies. the library will be closing in 10 minutes. it's a good idea to start wrapping up and make your way back to your dorms," she advises with a warm smile, then walks away.
over the weeks you’ve been meeting with jimin in the library, you gradually get to know each other better. your talks shift from just focusing on the paper to real conversations. occasionally, you even end up talking more than working.
you find out that jimin is a big fan of anime. one of her favorites is "assassination classroom," and it made her cry. you’ve watched it before too, making you sob your heart out into your pillow after finishing it.
with a slight smile pulling at the corner of her lips, jimin confesses, "i've never really had the chance to explore many hobbies outside of volleyball. but i've always used anime to unwind and relax.”
you also learn more about her sister – you can't miss how her eyes light up whenever she talks about her. you discover that she has terrible eyesight and wears contacts every day since it would be impractical to wear glasses to volleyball practice.
you begin feeling a sense of connection as she opens up to you about her interests and her life. it's a side of her you never expected to see – a vulnerable, relatable side that defies the rumors and preconceptions you once held.
in return, you find that jimin learns more about you. you share that you and aeri have been best friends since childhood. during one conversation, you share a memorable experience from your past: the time you and aeri got lost on a mountain during a family vacation hike.
"how are you both still alive?" jimin questions, her words laced with a mix of humor and genuine shock.
"to this day, we still have no idea," you reply, chuckling at the expression on her face.
she learns that you’re an avid film watcher after you start giving her detailed film recommendations when she asked you what would be a good movie to watch for a girls night in with yizhuo and minjeong.
as you walk from your dorm to your 8 am class, which you share with aeri, jimin, and her friends, you pass by a group of students. normally, you would quickly walk past them, not caring about the nonsense they'd be talking about. however, that changed when they mentioned someone you knew.
"did you guys hear that jimin is sleeping with her best friend's ex behind her back?" the person who seemed to be the ringleader of the group shared, as the other students around them snickered. "isn't she such a backstabbing bitch? i also heard that the only reason she got a perfect score on that exam that everyone else failed was that she slept with that professor."
you slow your steps, listening to the lies spewing from their mouths. over the past weeks, you've learned so much about jimin, enough to know that none of what they're saying is true. you're extremely aggravated at their words. plus, who the hell has this much energy to be so negative even before 8 in the morning?
a part of you wants to ignore it and walk into your class. that would be the easiest option. haven't you always liked your life that way - easy and devoid of confrontation?
which is why you're extremely shocked when you find yourself standing in front of the instigator, going head-to-head with them.
"excuse me? have you ever heard of personal space?" they snide, making the other students around them laugh as well.
"have you ever heard of shutting the fuck up and minding your own business?” you don't know why, but the next sensation you register is solid bone connecting with your knuckles, knocking the ringleader out.
"does anyone have anything else to say?" you say through gritted teeth, the ache in your knuckles resonating alongside the rapid thumping of your heart.
the mouths of the students around the unconscious ringleader drop. before anyone can say anything, you hear someone's voice.
"y/n!" aeri yells and grabs your arm, dragging you away from the group of students and into a private hallway near the lecture hall. next to her is her partner for the paper, yizhuo, along with minjeong and, of course, jimin herself.
"what happened?" asks one person from the group. you're unsure who.
"are you okay?" says another person - you still don't know who's talking.
"why did you do that?" questions a third voice. you're wondering the same thing. everything was blurry, and it felt like you couldn't breathe. your chest was heavy, and the burning sensation in your knuckles was bothering you beyond words.
it's so early, just 8 in the morning, and here you were, out of your mind. they help you sit down on a bench.
"you three go to class," the fourth voice tells the others. "i'll handle this."
"are you sure?" you register a figure nod at the question and then hear footsteps walking away from where you were.
"y/n, you need to take deep breaths and calm down, okay? you're safe. nothing bad is going to happen to you right now," the voice assures. their words help you see clearly again.
with a shaky voice, you ask, "jimin? what are you doing here? you're going to be late for class."
"the lowest grade i’ve made in that class for the whole semester was a 98, i'm sure i can miss one lecture," she says jokingly, and you notice she's trying to lighten the atmosphere. "i never knew you had a solid punch like that."
"i didn't either," you let out a breath of disbelief. "something just came over me, and i couldn't stop myself."
"what happened? that's probably the last thing i thought you'd do," jimin asks, holding your hands to steady them, with a much looser grip on the injured one that you used to knock that annoying student out.
a moment passes before you try to explain. "they were talking... about you," you hesitate. jimin raises an eyebrow. "that person was saying terrible things about you, and they were all lies!" your voice gets louder. "all lies, jimin."
"i might not be yizhuo or minjeong, but after getting to know you these past 2 months, i felt like i had to do something. i wanted to defend you, even though you probably didn't need it," you ramble, not stopping. jimin listens carefully.
"i couldn't just walk away. i usually would, but... i couldn’t this time. they were saying horrible lies. it was so wrong," you exhale deeply, realizing you were holding your breath. "i hated hearing that about my friend."
before you can apologize for assuming your closeness, jimin's lips curl into a smile. "thanks, y/n. i really appreciate you standing up for me. i really do."
she looks you in the eyes, and you can feel the gratitude radiating from her. "i've grown thick skin to the rumors, and they don't bother me as much as they used to when i first started hearing about them, so you don't need to worry about me."
"still, i'm very grateful to know that i have a friend like you who would defend me to that extent. but next time, just ignore them. i wouldn't want you getting expelled from the university just because of those lifeless losers," she smiles at you, and you feel a tug on your heart.
you nod, not sure what to say. "my hand hurts so bad," you manage a laugh despite the pain.
"let's get you an ice pack from the clinic," jimin helps you up, going with you. she holds your hand all the way until the clinic staff hands you an ice pack, but you're too focused on your hurting hand to notice.
that day, jimin learns that while you label yourself as non-confrontational and passive, you’re empathetic, loyal, and kind.
you meet up with aeri in the cafeteria for lunch. she glances at your bruised hand and the icepack you hold in the other hand.
“hey, y/n, is your dad a boxer? because you’re a total knockout!” aeri laughs at her own joke.
“you’re not getting any of my lunch today,” you say with feigned annoyance.
“no! i’m sorry!”
the realization comes at you out of nowhere while you're in the library with jimin, finalizing the remaining parts of the paper. as you steal a glance over the edge of your laptop, you observe jimin with furrowed brows, her tongue peeking out in concentration, and her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. she tells you its because she couldn’t find her contacts this morning.
it’s raining outside with dark and gloomy skies, casting a dim ambiance over the library. despite it all, jimin shines in your eyes. it’s been like this ever since the incident. you’re extremely thankful that no person of authority caught wind of the situation. you're even more appreciative that despite the confrontation that led to you knocking out a fellow student, you weren’t expelled.
jimin has always possessed a beauty that captivates you. but now, you couldn’t see anyone else but her. whenever you're with her, your heart races, your hands sweat, and your stomach twists. you're not sure why. it's an uncomfortable feeling, yet you don't hate it. instead, you welcome it. you swear you can feel her eyes on you at times. or maybe it’s just sleep deprivation.
it’s when she calls your name, "y/n," you lift your gaze, meeting her eyes. they shine brightly despite the darkness in the building, her hair framing her face exquisitely. "i really liked your latest addition to our paper. i think it really captures what dr. kim is looking for," she says, a smile gracing her lips. in that moment, that’s when it hits you.
she really liked your work and you really liked jimin.
“aeri, i don’t know what to do," you muffle into your pillow. the two of you are currently in your dorm, a space free of roommates thanks to your parents' decision to splurge a little.
"just tell her you like her," aeri offers a solution to your current dilemma, as if it's the simplest thing in the world.
"that's insane. i could never do that!" you shift onto your back, still laying in bed, and glance at aeri, who's absorbed in her phone and helping herself to snacks from your fridge.
"that's not insane. you want to know what's insane? walking up to a stranger and knocking them out before 8 in the morning. that's insane," aeri retorts.
you toss a pillow at her, not truly irritated because her point was pretty valid.
"y/n, just be honest with her. if she feels the same, great! if not, it's not the end of everything," aeri speaks with sincerity, finally raising her gaze. deep down, you acknowledge that aeri's advice is good, great even. it's also the most sensible approach.
you don’t listen to it at all.
with less than a week left before the final paper's due date, you have two more library meetings with jimin and see her in your english class every tuesday and thursday. despite these many chances to talk to her, you try to completely avoid her.
you fail in doing so. although you avoid her eyes during the 8 am class, rushing out with aeri to prevent any conversations, the final paper still needs to be finished.
this meeting feels reminiscent of the initial paper discussions, where conversations centered solely on the final paper. you avoid looking at her, which is out of the ordinary since you spent most of these meetings simply looking at her.
"are you okay?" jimin's face shows concern, her question directed at you.
"yeah, just feeling tired," you respond with the same excuse. it’s become a reflex at this point.
“alright,” jimin replies to what you assume was the end of the conversation. “so, can you tell me why you’re avoiding me?” damn.
“what do you mean?” you try and play it dumb, but even you couldn’t believe yourself.
"i'm not stupid, y/n. why are you so distant all of a sudden? i thought we'd moved past that after all this time," jimin studies you, her expression unyielding.
you quickly attempt to come up with a lie. "i'm sorry, jimin. i've just been swamped with finals from other classes, and my grades are really low. i need to do well on them to avoid failing," you deliver the excuse, hoping it sounds convincing enough.
fortunately, jimin seems to believe it, her expression easing. "i’m sorry for assuming it had something to do with me. i'm used to being at the center of problems most of the time,” there’s a hint of playfulness in her tone, an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.
guilt engulfs you as you face her. you're strongly tempted to just tell her the truth.
"no need to apologize, jimin. it's not your fault at all. it's mine for procrastinating on my other assignments," you offer a smile.
that night, you struggle to fall asleep as you overthink the potential outcomes of confessing - or not confessing - your feelings for jimin. the most extreme scenario that haunts your mind is her hating you and refusing to speak to you ever again. you don’t sleep at all that night.
you're standing in line at the campus cafe, desperately in need of a caffeine boost before your 8 am class. your phone displays aeri's message specifying the coffee she wants. you try to blink away the sleepiness with little success.
"y/n?" a tap on your shoulder startles you, and you turn to find yizhuo and minjeong behind you in line.
momentarily taken aback, you don't respond immediately, processing which one of them tapped you.
"you look like you got run over by a truck. are you okay?" yizhuo's concern is evident.
"yiz, you can't just say that! i'm sorry, she doesn't mean it negatively, i promise," minjeong interjects, playfully slapping yizhuo's shoulder.
despite your fatigue, a soft chuckle escapes you at their antics. "it's alright, i understand. i pulled an all-nighter last night studying for an upcoming exam." the lies come more easily now.
"oh, yeah. jimin's told us that you've been working hard lately," yizhuo shares, prompting you to raise an eyebrow. jimin talks about you?
"jimin always talks about you! we had a movie night last weekend, and she made us watch a film because she said you recommended it," minjeong adds, causing a blush to rise to your cheeks.
"how did you guys like it?" you ask, still surprised that jimin talks about you.
"we loved it. you have really good taste!" yizhuo's enthusiasm is unexpected, especially before 8 am.
"you and aeri should join us one of these nights. jimin would love to have you over. maybe after finals or after our game on friday? we can order pizza and snacks for dinner," minjeong suggests.
“plus, it can be be a little celebration for submitting dr. kim’s final paper and surviving her class,” yizhuo adds.
minjeong's invitation sounds far more appealing than your usual friday night, which typically involves binge-watching anime or kdramas in your dorm, sometimes with aeri if she doesn't have a party to attend. "sounds great, just text me the details."
finally at the cashier, you place orders for both your coffee and aeri's coffee. after a short wait, you receive your drinks and wait for yizhuo and minjeong. together, you enter your 8 am english class and send a small smile toward jimin before taking your seat next to aeri at the back.
today marks your final meeting with jimin in the library for this paper. the paper is fully completed, and the only task left is proofreading the sections.
"jimin, i have a question," you begin.
"about the paper?" she looks up from her laptop, meeting your gaze. you still can’t decide if her love for eye contact is a blessing or a curse.
"no, not about the paper. i just want some advice."
"oh?"
"it's nothing too heavy, i promise." you briefly glance down at your laptop's keyboard before returning your attention to her. "have you ever felt scared?"
"many times, yes," she replies. "but i thought you said this wasn't going to get heavy?" jimin's tone carries a playful note.
"it won't! i was just curious… how do you get over fear?" you ask earnestly.
"well, if i’m scared and it's a matter of my own safety, i avoid it. i have too much to live for," jimin senses the seriousness in your tone and tries to lighten the mood. "but if the fear stems from the possibility of failing or not achieving something, i tend to just disregard it and overcome it."
"if i let fear dictate my actions every time, i wouldn't be here today. i probably wouldn't have even picked up a volleyball. i might've dropped out the moment people started saying hurtful things about me," jimin muses, delving deep into thought.
"yes, certain things can be scary, but it's scarier to miss out on opportunities because fear is holding you back," jimin concludes her response.
a moment of silence passes. "you could give a ted talk with answers like that," you quip.
she playfully swats your hand. "finish proofreading your sections. we're almost done with this paper."
two hours pass, and you lean back in your chair. "i close my eyes, and all i see are punctuation marks," you groan.
"well, here's some good news. we can email this to dr. kim tomorrow during her office hours and officially put our final paper for this class behind us," jimin's enthusiasm is evident.
"so, no more library meetings, huh?" you sit up straight.
"no, but we'll still be seeing each other often. are you coming to movie night tomorrow?" jimin questions, tidying up her side of the table.
"i am," you reply, closing your laptop.
"don't tell me you plan on treating me like a stranger after we submit this paper," jimin jokes, standing up and collecting her bag.
"i would never," you respond.
she chuckles at your remark before reaching into her bag. "are you hungry?"
you walk alongside jimin. "a bit. i'm heading to aeri's dorm for dinner. she cooked japanese food for us."
"i'd think you two were roommates," jimin tells you as she pulls a brown paper bag from her backpack.
"well, considering how often she's at my place, i can see why. but no, we're not. she lives right across the hall," you explain.
"here," she hands you the paper bag. "take this. the girls and i went to an off-campus restaurant for lunch earlier, and i thought of getting you something as a small thank you."
"thank you? for what?" you inquire while accepting the bag.
"for being an amazing partner on this paper, of course. i've got to go. yiz and i have plans. i'll text you tomorrow about when to submit the paper," she informs you.
assuming she's about to walk in the opposite direction, jimin surprises you by enveloping you in a warm hug. naturally, you reciprocate.
"i'll see you tomorrow!" jimin calls out, walking out of your sight.
at aeri’s dorm, you devour the food that she’s prepared for you. “this is so good. have i ever told you that i’m so glad you’re my best friend?” you tell her through bites of food.
“only when i cook for you. now, close your mouth and chew properly. i don’t know how to do the heimlich maneuver.” aeri looks at the brown paper bag by your feet and points to it. “what’s that?”
“i think it’s a dessert or something that jimin got me.” you notice the look on aeri’s face. “don’t even start. it was just a little thank you for helping on that final paper.”
“i didn’t say anything. i might need to get yiz a little something too, considering what a great partner she's been," she teases
“ugh, whatever.” you finish your meal and share the slice of cake jimin got you with aeri.
later that night, as you lie in bed, jimin's words echo in your mind.
fear holds you back. fear holds you back. fear holds you back.
you open your eyes to the grating sound of your alarm the next morning and see a notification from jimin.
yu jimin
hey, good morning
just a reminder to email your copy of the paper to dr. kim at 8 am!
have a great day ahead :)
y/n
good morning
will do
have a great day as well
before you leave your dorm, you open your laptop and schedule send your copy of the final paper to dr. kim for 8 am.
making your way to class, you spot a poster on a campus bulletin board.
"i think fearless is having fears but jumping anyway." huh? your confusion lessens as you realize it's an ad for the swiftie club on campus. you can't help but question why they'd position their ad right next to jimin's volleyball photo.
before entering the lecture hall for your biology class, another banner catches your eye.
"do not be afraid." what's with all these posters? you realize you hadn't finished reading it. "do not be afraid… to join us in the bible study club!" why do all these clubs insist on placing their endorsements next to the volleyball team's photos?
you could barely focus during the biology lecture, only hearing fragments of the professor's words. that is, until the professor singles you out, "miss y/n, why are you afraid?"
"excuse me, professor?" to say you're surprised would be an understatement.
"i asked you a question," the professor's expression turns unpleasant. "why do cells degrade?" there's no doubt you're losing your mind.
thankful that you won't see jimin until later, you use your free time to calm down and regain your composure.
walking through the university building's halls, you accidentally collide with an enthusiastic student. "have you ever been rejected?"
"what?" you react with genuine surprise.
"we're conducting a focus group discussion for our thesis on people who've experienced rejection. if you fit the criteria, your participation would be appreciated," the student hands you a pamphlet.
"oh, no thank you." you brush past the dejected student. spotting an empty hallway bench, you sit down, putting your head into your hands. it's as if you're spiraling into insanity.
what exactly are you afraid of? rejection? embarrassment?
all your life you’ve done nothing but run away from your problems. always finding the easy way out of everything. you’ve never wanted to face any problem or challenge head-on, deeming them unworthy of the trouble and effort.
lifting your head from your hands, you slump into the bench, trying to break free from your unhealthy mindset.
that’s when the realization finally comes to you.
jimin is worth it. she's worth every bit of trouble in the world. she's worth every second of your time. she's worth it all.
you rise from the bench, your feet moving faster than your brain. inside the university gymnasium, students stream out of the volleyball courts, signaling the end of the game. quickly heading to the back where the locker rooms are, you spot minjeong outside.
"y/n? what brings you here? i didn't see you during the game," minjeong questions, looking at your disheveled appearance.
breathless, you hadn't realized you were running. "not at the game…" you struggle for air, "jimin…" you hunch over, attempting to regulate your breathing. "where?"
minjeong places a hand on your back. "before you go looking for her, make sure you don't faint right now," she advises. it's amusing, really, the volleyball player who just finished a game telling you to relax.
"she's in the back of the locker room. she's alone in there since everyone else quickly left because it’s a friday night," minjeong informs you. "only athletes are allowed inside." a frustrated groan escapes you. "however, if it's important, i can pretend i never saw you go in," minjeong adds, a sly smile forming on her lips.
you've never set foot in the locker room before. the idea of being here seemed distant, even impossible. yet, you continue forward until you spot the one person who's been on your mind since the very first conversation.
"y/n? how did you manage to get in?" jimin's voice carries a mix of surprise and curiosity.
you're thankful for minjeong's advice to catch your breath. "minjeong let me in." jimin's face is flushed, an unmistakable sign that she gave her all on the court. despite the disheveled hair and the sheen of sweat, she remains the most beautiful person you've ever seen.
"what are you doing here?" jimin stands from the bench, turning toward you.
"i needed to tell you something, and i couldn't hold it back."
"what is it-"
"wait. let me say this all before you say anything else, or i might just black out and forget everything." you inhale deeply. "throughout my life, i've let fear dictate my choices. i've been nothing more than a coward. i couldn’t even take a stance in a tiktok argument. confrontation scared me, and i felt like i could never handle it."
"i was always scared," you press on, sensing jimin's eyes on you. "until i met you and got to know you." your mouth feels dry. "there are so many things i want to say, but i don't want it to sound corny," you chuckle, noticing jimin's smile forming.
"through you, i've learned the worth of ambition and dedication. you've shown me that fear is something that can help you become the person you want to be, not stop you from becoming it," you pause, then continue, "you've given me a new perspective i never thought i could ever have."
“i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to talk this long,” you feel relieved as you see jimin laugh with you.
letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, “i like you, jimin. i have feelings for you.”
a beat passes and she doesn’t say anything. each second that goes by, you feel the dread within you grow more and more. as you were about to open your mouth to apologize, you feel jimin grab your arm. in the hush that follows your confession, you feel a rush of nerves coursing through your veins. jimin's grip on your arm is firm yet strangely comforting, and her intense gaze never wavers from yours.
jimin's lips form into a gentle smile. "you really caught me off guard, y/n," she admits, her voice carrying a mixture of surprise and something you dare to hope might be fondness.
your lips quirk into a sheepish grin, your heart beginning to settle from the initial anxiety. "yeah, sorry about that. i didn't exactly plan to pour my heart out in the locker room."
jimin chuckles softly, her fingers lightly squeezing your arm. "well, i appreciate your honesty. it takes a lot of courage to say what you just did."
the warmth of her smile and the sincerity in her eyes encourage you. "you've been my inspiration for stepping out of my comfort zone," you confess, your voice steadier now. "i realized that i can't let fear hold me back anymore."
jimin's thumb draws a little pattern on your arm, sending shivers down your spine. "i'm glad to hear that. and you know what, y/n?" her gaze intensifies, a spark of playfulness dancing in her eyes. "i think it's only fair that i tell you something too."
your curiosity piques, your heart racing once again. "what is it?"
jimin's smile turns tender, and she takes a step closer, her free hand lifting to brush a strand of hair behind your ear. "i like you too, y/n. more than you can imagine."
you’re not afraid anymore. with a gentle yet firm pull, you bring her even closer to you. with a surge of courage, you close the distance between your lips.
the kiss is gentle, tentative at first, as if both of you are savoring the reality of this long-awaited moment. jimin's lips are soft and warm against yours, and her fingers find their way to your cheek, holding you tenderly. your heart thrums in your chest, the world around you fading into a distant blur.
as the kiss deepens, the initial hesitance transforms into unspoken understanding. lips meld with lips, sending electric sensations through your veins. it's an intertwining of emotions and desires, a connection formed by your honest words and the silent longing that brought you to this moment.
when you finally pull away, your breaths mingle in the space between you. jimin's eyes are half-lidded, her lips still just a whisper away from yours. "i think you’re braver than you thought," she mumbles, her voice laced with newfound intimacy.
you share a breathless chuckle, your forehead resting against hers. “to be honest, i didn’t even think i’d make it this far.”
“are you guys done?” minjeong yells from the entrance of the locker room. “i’m hungry!”
both you and jimin share a laugh at minjeong. you reach for her bag and proceed to walk out of the locker room, your hands intertwined comfortably. together, you make your way to yizhuo's dorm, where aeri had already joined.
the soft glow of the television screen in the living room casts a gentle illumination on you and jimin, who are cozily seated on the couch. your hands are intertwined beneath a comfortable blanket, and a bowl of popcorn rests between you. the film playing on the screen has captured your undivided attention, while jimin is having trouble deciding either to watch the movie or you instead.
aeri and minjeong stand together at a distance, with yizhuo in her kitchen. the trio is busy preparing the remaining food to be served later in the night.
"i can't believe y/n actually did it. i can't believe your idea actually worked, minjeong," aeri whispers to the two girls.
"it was only a matter of time. i couldn't stand hearing jimin talk about her endlessly, looking like an oblivious lovesick puppy that was kicked onto the street," minjeong rolls her eyes at the memory of her friend. "i'm glad she finally admitted it to herself too."
"it wasn't minjeong's idea at all! it was my idea to go to the campus cafe that morning when you told us she'd be there," yizhuo points out. "plus, let's not take any credit from y/n. we may have given her some hope that jimin liked her, but at the end of the day, she was the one who made the move." aeri and minjeong nod, agreeing with yizhuo’s points.
“how’d you even know y/n was going to be at the cafe before class, aeri?” minjeong asks, finishing plating the dishes.
“she texted me she couldn’t sleep and asked if i wanted coffee before our 8 am class at 4 in the morning that day,” aeri explains.
“makes sense,” yizhuo points out.
the three girls make their way over to where you and jimin are seated, each holding plates of food in their hands. aeri takes the seat next to you, while minjeong and yizhuo settle on the floor amidst pillows and blankets, arranging the plates.
your gaze occasionally shifts from the movie playing to the people around you. there's a sense of contentment in this simple act – being in each other's presence, a shared moment that speaks volumes beyond words. back then, it was difficult for you to decide what you wanted and even what to think. now, looking around, you know for sure what you want.
you turn to face jimin when she squeezes your hand under the blanket. here she was, in all her glory.
you inch closer to her, resting your head on her shoulder. despite the gentle embrace of that moment, an urge runs through you - to dismantle each and every single dreadful rumor about jimin. she was more than just the petty and nasty words of thoughtless individuals who thrived on idle gossip.
in your eyes, she embodied all that was beautiful and kind in the world. with her by your side, fear dissolved into insignificance, its grip over you gone.
“i really like you,” you whisper, only for her to hear.
“i know. i really like you too,” she whispers back to you.
additional notes: it's my first time ever uploading a piece on any platform! i hope you all enjoyed reading. i don't really know how to work tumblr, i just want to share my writing lol. your comments and feedback are much appreciated! but pls be kind, i am sensitive hehe
#aespa x reader#karina x reader#yu jimin x reader#girl group scenarios#aespa imagines#aespa scenarios#karina imagines#karina scenarios#yu jimin imagines#yu jimin scenarios#aespa#aespa karina#blue’s pieces
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✿ Spring Fever✿
Smut: Minors DNI
You and Hyunjin go for a walk through a local nature trail and things get pretty heated.
Contains: public sex, fingering, female reader, slight name calling, squirting, unprotected sex (assume reader is on birth control)
Word Count: 1500
Author’s note: I am absolutely obsessed with the idea of Hyunjin and public sex. I apologize for this being a bit rough, I have no excuse, english is my first langue, I just suck at writing right now :))).
You take a deep breath, welcoming the fresh air into your lungs. The sunlight that you have missed all winter warms your skin as you listen to the birds chirping. You could hardly believe how much happiness blue skies could bring you after months of endless gray. You hold Hyunjin’s hand tightly as the two of you walk down the path of your favorite nature trail, placing kisses on each other's cheeks, simply enjoying the moment. The trail was quiet, it was a bit of a hidden gem in your town, not everyone knew about it. Long, overgrown grass surrounded the edges of the trail, offering a bit of privacy.
You notice a small trail that leads off the main one, a tiny clearing in the long grass, most likely made by a deer.
“Hyunjin, look, there's a little trail there. Can we go see where it leads to?”
He smiles and nods. “I think there might be a little pond that way, maybe we can find some frogs.”
Hyunjin takes the lead, pulling you behind him, protecting you from any cobwebs on the long grass. You admired his strong figure leading you, how could someone be so perfect? Hyunjin was hard to resist, you couldn't help yourself as reached forward, grabbing his ass. He takes a deep breath and stops. You can sense a change in demeanor, he stares straight ahead, his voice low, “You’re going to regret that.”
You don’t even have time to respond before he’s pulling you along again. His words send a tingling sensation straight to your core.
The two of you finally make it through the grass, the trail opens up to a small clearing and a large pond. You walk up to the edge of the pond, taking in the breathtaking view as Hyunjin holds you from behind.
“Look at the ducks over there. Aren’t they adorable?” you pointed out.
“Yeah... they’re cute,” he mumbles. While Hyunjin would generally be very interested in such a sight, his mind was elsewhere. He let you know what he was truly thinking about by slowly grinding into your ass. You tensed up for a second after feeling how hard he was before slowly relaxing into it. Hyunjin’s hand began to travel the front of your body, one hand grabbing your breast, the other pushing your hips closer to him. You relaxed completely against his body, letting him do whatever he wants. You tilt your head to the side to allow him to suck on your neck, knowing there would be little red marks for you to have to deal with later.
“Such a naughty girl... letting me touch you like this out here,” he whispers, his voice deep and sultry.
Too shy to answer, you pull away from his grasp, desperately grabbing his face to press your lips onto his. Your lips move against one another, his tongue slips into your mouth as he grabs your ass. You moan into his mouth, enjoying every second of his touch. You find yourself attempting to grind on his upper thigh, desperate to feel something down there.
Suddenly he freezes up, his hand goes up to your mouth to keep you silent. He leans close to your ear, “Be quiet, Princess.”
The two of you stay in that position for what felt like an hour, although it wasn't any longer than a minute. You wait until you hear the voices of the people walking by pass. The two of you had gotten so carried away, simply forgetting you were in public.
Hyunjin wastes little time getting back to work, his hand slips under your dress, feeling your wet panties. “Does my little Princess get turned on by the thought of other people catching her being a slut?” he coos into your ear.
His words make you melt, you’re so turned on but too shy to respond.
“I need to hear your words, Princess. Does the idea of me fucking you out here where anyone can see turn you on?” His finger slides past your panties, entering your soaking wet pussy. A quiet ‘yes’ slips past your lips, but that's not enough for him.
He slides another finger into you, thrusting them in and out, “What was that baby girl? I can’t give you anything more unless I know being a slut like this turns you on.”
“Fuck, Hyunjin, yes I love it, please just fuck me, I’m begging you.”
“That’s what I needed to hear baby girl, take your panties off for me, please.”
You quickly slip off your panties as he undoes his pants, he pulls them down just enough to release his cock. You watched with eagerness as his hard cock springs up from the confines of his pants. He gives himself a few pumps before he pushes you up against a nearby tree. He looks around to make sure no one is nearby before he lifts your skirt up, teasing your entrance with his cock.
“I need you to be quiet, okay Princess?”
You nod in reply, both of your hands are up against the tree to help keep you steady. He places one hand over your mouth to help stifle any possible moans, his other hand around his cock as he guides it to your entrance. He pushes into you, you're thankful for the hand that covers your mouth as you let out the most sinful sound.
“Shhhh I know it's hard baby girl, you gotta be quiet.”
After giving you a second to adjust to him, he begins to move. His cock stretches you out in the best way possible. You manage to keep quiet, the only thing you can hear is the wet squelching sound as he thrusts in and out of your pussy.
Hyunjin whispers into your ear, “Listen to how wet you are, you really are a slut, letting me fuck you wherever I want.”
“Hyunjin... you're going to make me cum if you keep talking like that.”
Your voice is already unsteady, losing yourself in pleasure. Hyunjin reaches around you, drawing little circles on your clit as he continues to thrust in and out.
“Are you going to cum already? I had no idea how kinky my little Princess was...”
He continues on for a bit before picking up the pace, his hips snapping into yours at an all-new speed.
“I’m gonna cum...”
“Do it, I got you, Princess.” He places a kiss behind your ear, his warm breath tickling you, your mind starts to go blank.
You feel the heat in your core build up as your legs start to shake, you decide to not hold back anymore, letting your orgasm wash over you. You can feel your juices running down your leg, more and more coming out with each thrust. You can’t believe you're actually squirting, you’ve never been able to do it before. Your cum continues to pour out of you as you get lost in pleasure.
Hyunjin feels your wetness coat his cock, soaking his jeans. He’s dreamed of the moment of being able to make you squirt, and now it's finally happening. Your orgasm triggers his own, he grunts into your ear as he fills you with his cum. He gives you a couple more thrusts as he rides out the pleasure before slowly pulling out.
He holds you tightly against his body as you regain your balance after your intense orgasm. He pulls away only to watch the mixture of his and your cum drip out of you into the earth beneath you.
You turn to him, only to see the front of his jeans wet from your orgasm. You start apologizing, but he cuts you off by kissing your lips deeply.
“Don’t even try to apologize Y/N, that was the hottest shit I've ever seen,”
You blush before kissing him again, “I love you Hyunjin.”
“I love you too Princess, let's get cleaned up.”
The two of you help the other clean up, you grab the panties you discarded earlier to try to soak up the excess dampness on his pants before using them to wipe yourself dry. You tuck the dirty panties into your purse to deal with later, deciding to finish the walk home with nothing on underneath. Hyunjin takes his zip-up hoodie off and ties it around his waist, using it to cover most of the wet stain on his pants.
The two of you look at the lake one last time before finishing your walk home. He wraps his arm around you and places a kiss on your temple.
“So do you wanna come back here for a walk tomorrow? Maybe we can actually look for frogs.”
You giggle, “I have a feeling we will never be able to come back to this spot just to look for frogs.”
Hyunjin grabs your hand and begins to lead you back to the main path of the trail.
“Oh yeah, you were right Y/N, those ducks were actually pretty cute earlier.”
#hwang hyunjin#hyunjin#hyunjin smut#stray kids smut#stray kids x reader#stray kids#skz smut#skz#skz writing#skz x reader#skz hyunjin#skz hyunjin smut#hwang hyujin imagines#hwang hyunjin smut#stray kids scenarios#stray kids fanfic#stray kids imagines#skz imagines#skz scenarios#smut#kpop smut
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No I in Team
masterlist
WC: 11.7k
Summary: You’ve just started a new job as a social media manager at Arrow McLaren, and get off onto the wrong foot with your insanely attractive new coworker.
Tags: angst, fluff, smut, 18+
February
This is what you’ve been working for since you were 13. Your first trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was love at first sight. Since then, you’ve revolved your life around racing and getting to every race possible.
You studied marketing and public relations in high school and have now gotten your dream job working as the social media manager at Arrow McLaren.
You’re starting your first day by joining a full team meeting at the team’s headquarters. Except walking around the large building, you can’t seem to find the intended conference room. You’re looking down at your phone, trying to decipher the directions in your email, when you collide with a solid body.
Before you even look up, an apology is spilling out of your mouth. "Oh my god, I am so sorry-" You cut yourself off when you realize who you’ve just bumped into.
"Just watch where you’re going."
"I’m so, so sorry, it’s just my first day and I have no idea where I’m going, the email I got said conference room on the second floor, but this place is huge and I’m all turned around." You only stop to breathe, realizing you’ve run into not only an indycar legend but a now-coworker, Pato O’ward, and have completely embarrassed yourself.
"I’m headed there; follow me." He was very straight to the point, but you nodded and thanked him.
When you walked into the conference room, you found a few faces of people you recognized from interviews and more you recognized from watching the sport. The meeting began, and plans for the new season were being discussed. You were introduced to the group, but mainly to Pato, Alex, and Felix as the new head of the team’s social media.
Everyone was very welcoming, making jokes with you and telling you not to believe Rossi when he acts annoyed whenever you make him do anything. Overall, you had a really great morning.
After the full team meeting, you were set to have a meeting with just the drivers, owners, and a PR team. You had a 30-minute break between the meetings where you overheard a conversation between Pato and Felix.
"Y/N seems cool." Felix's saying your name caught your attention. "It’ll be nice to have someone young running the social media make sure it stays relevant."
"I guess, yeah." Pato seemed unsure and dismissive.
"You’re not sure?"
"She already seems like a walking disaster. This morning she was staring at her phone and ran straight into me, and then she told me she couldn’t find the conference room, and it was right there. And she talks so much." He puts emphasis on the so much, and you take a little offense; you were just trying to be nice. Felix doubles over laughing. "What is so funny?"
"Oh, nothing, mate," He can barely get his words out because he’s laughing so hard. "you just described yourself, that’s all."
"Oh, come on! I am not that bad!"
You’re glad Felix is defending you and seems to like you, but still, you wish Pato felt the same. It’ll make this job really awkward if he’s never cooperative with what you need to do.
Your second meeting of the day goes okay. The team wants you to share a little of what you have planned for the socials and discuss how these things are usually done. Everyone on the team seems really receptive to your ideas, and you’ve seemed to charm the room. You’re joking with the team owners about making the drivers do trends, and Felix and Alex are laughing along with you. Pato doesn’t talk much unless spoken to, and you just wish this day had started out better.
After your meeting, you were free to leave for the day. As you’re walking towards the elevator, Felix calls out to you. When you turn to face him, he begins to speak. "I’m sorry about Pato; I don’t know what’s up with him, but he’s definitely acting off today. Just give him time and he’ll warm up to you; you’re doing a great job already." You smile at him and thank him genuinely.
You really hope he’s right and Pato’s just having an off day. You start working with the team immediately, so whatever has him upset, he’s hopefully over by the morning.
March
Unfortunately, that is not the case; a whole month has gone by, and Pato still hasn’t warmed up to you. He’s in no way rude; he’ll do whatever you ask him to, and he’s always polite, but he’s never been personable with you.
You watch him during interviews and photo shoots, and he makes everyone in the room laugh. He’s kind to everyone, introduces himself to everyone in the room, and immediately becomes the center of it. You can see that he’s an entertainer at heart, and you wish he’d be like that with you. Even in more personal and private settings, he’s still very outgoing.
He’s so loud talking to Fro and Alex that you can often hear him through walls. He has a great relationship with his pit crew; he is so personable with them whenever he’s around them and will ask them about their wives and kids. If you’re ever in a room alone, it’s always very silent, and he answers you in the shortest way possible. Mostly, he’ll make up an excuse to leave the room or call someone in.
All of this keeps making you wonder where you’re going wrong. Rossi and Felix both seem to really like you; you’ve started getting along really well with both of their partners, and occasionally they will invite you to drinks after a day at work. They even tried to talk you into watching the Firestone GP with them in Rossi’s motorhome despite your having to work.
You’ve become friends with most of the team, and you’ve become really great friends with an engineer on the team, she’s been teaching you a lot about the makeup of the car during your downtimes. This job was so perfect, you just wish you knew why a certain driver seemed to have it out for you.
The Firestone GP that kicks off the season was a small letdown for the team. Rosenqvist had the best finishing position in 8th place, Rossi in 10th, and Pato in 13th. The team has been working so hard and really thought that they’d start the season off much better than this.
April
The team has been working a month straight at improving speed for Texas, and they’ve found some. During Friday practice, Rossi and Rosenqvist showed a lot of speed and were 3rd and 5th, but O’ward was still 9th, leaving the team to wonder where they were going wrong with him.
While walking by his garage, you notice a few engineers, including your new friend, and Pato watching his in-car footage from practice. As you watch, you notice what’s going on. You watch for another lap to make sure. "You’re going into the turns too fast, breaking heavy late, and by the time you’ve regained control of the car, you’ve ended up losing time." It feels like every eye in the speedway turns to you in that moment, like you could hear a pin drop in the garage.
Before anyone says anything, they simply rewind the tape and watch a lap. You watch everyone watch the screen as he goes into a turn, starts losing the car, then breaks heavy while getting it back under control. It happens three more times, and a mechanic speaks. "Holy shit, she’s right."
Pato takes the car back out, and in the few laps he’s able to do, his speed has skyrocketed. The speed he has now would have him at P1.
When he gets back into his pit, he’s celebrating with the team all around, and then he approaches you. "Thank you so much! You’ve saved my ass for this race."
"It’s no problem, really.”
Pato qualified for P3 the next day and finished the race 2nd. It's been a way better weekend for the team, and everyone is buzzing with energy.
After the race, Alex and Fro ask you to join them for celebratory drinks at a bar near the speedway. You join them and their partners, as well as Pato, and you all have a great time. You even got some content for Instagram and TikTok.
Everyone’s feeling pretty good and has a decent amount of liquor in their systems when Pato approaches you. "I owe you an apology."
You really were confused by this. "What?"
"Over the way I’ve been acting, I don’t even know why; I think I was just having a bad day and then got too stubborn to admit that I was wrong."
"Oh, it’s okay, water under the bridge." You try to wave it off, as this conversation feels very awkward.
No, I’ve been a total jerk for no real reason, and you haven’t deserved it, so I really am sorry. Can I please just have another chance at introducing myself?"
"You never introduced yourself in the first place."
He looks sheepish. "Another thing I’m sorry for." Holding out his right hand, he says, "Hi, I’m Pato. I’m glad you’re joining the team. I’m sure you’ll make a great addition."
"Hi, Pato, I’m YN; it’s so nice to finally meet you." When you shake his hand, you can see him soften a bit and his demeanor change, and you really hope that everything from the last two months really is water under the bridge in the morning.
You had a week and a half break after that, where you were only required to make a few posts and had one meeting. When you returned to work at Long Beach, Pato brought you coffee. You were shocked, but glad that fences really were mended.
April also held the first practice for the 500, which showed great promise for the team.
May
You and Pato have turned into fast friends. It turns out the two of you really are a lot alike. As you’ve entered the most important month for the sport, you cannot be more glad that things have been smoothed over.
Now that you’re close with all three of the boys, you’re often drugged into content whenever you’re filming it. The boys will often start arguing and look to you to settle it, or when you make them do a challenge, you have to clarify the winner.
Pato will even ask you to follow certain trends he’s seen floating around, and whenever you reveal that in a caption, his fans go crazy.
You don’t just begin to get closer professionally, though; when Pato finds out you’re a fan of the Marvel movies, he gets very excited to have someone on the team to watch them with. During the first week of May, he invited you to come watch Iron Man with him after a day of work, and you accepted.
When you first walked into his motorhome, it was definitely a little awkward; you didn’t really know where to sit or what to do with yourself. He quickly eased the tension, though. "Sit on the seat with the blue blanket; I dug it out in case you’d want it. I always keep it cold in here because I like to snuggle under a blankie."
You laughed at him. "Blankie? Are you five?"
"No! I’m just a sensitive guy who likes to be warm."
"Thank you for getting a blankie out for me too."
"Do you want anything to drink? I have water, electrolit, topo chico.."
"You realize we’re in private; you don’t have to endorse your sponsors to me."
He gives you a dirty look from the fridge and says, "You are so funny. I’ll have you know that I just don’t keep the fridge very stocked, and my sponsors provided all this."
"I’ll take a topo chico, please." You give him a sickly sweet smile from your place curled up on the loveseat, and he brings one for you and one for himself. You place both in the cup holders between you. "Thank you, sir."
"Don’t call me that, it's weird. I’m going to order food, did you eat or should I order you something too?"
"You don’t have to order me something; I’ll order myself food."
"Don’t be silly; I invited you; I’ll pay for takeout." He opens Grub Hub and starts scrolling through options. "You know what the worst part about frequent travel is?" You hum out a response. "I never know what food is good. I have no clue where to order from."
Oh, I know. My family and I used to always get food from this Chinese place on race weekend. Here it is." You pulled up the place on your phone, and you had to call to place the delivery order.
Once the order was placed, you both settled into your spots on the sofa and started the movie. Before long, the food has arrived, and you’re both digging in as the movie plays. "This is the best Chinese I’ve ever had. You definitely saved the day!"
"I don’t know about the whole day; maybe just dinner. Besides, I definitely didn’t save your wallet." You looked at all the takeout boxes on the counter. "I think we ordered enough for a small army."
"Yeah, but it’s so good." He punctuates his sentence with a groan and an eye roll that make your stomach flutter for just a moment; you’re not blind after all.
You’ve always found Pato attractive, even before you started working here, but now that you have the job, you know it's important to keep those feelings at bay. Not only that, but he made it easy to do so when he was constantly icing you out. Reminding yourself of those facts, you redirect your attention to the TV in front of you.
That was the first of many movie nights with Pato. You were at the paddock basically every day, and he claimed he got lonely being alone in his trailer every night, so he kept inviting you back.
For a tik tok, you had Pato and Felix make a list of red flags about each other, in which they both mentioned each other's taste in movies. Of course, the two started to argue about it, and Pato turned to you. "YN thinks my taste in movies is great; we always do movie nights together."
"Mate, I can’t believe you’ve been exposing her to that." He pauses, then says, "Wait, how often do you do movie nights? And why am I never invited?"
"Because your taste in movies sucks."
They move onto the next topic, and you cut that part out of the video, really not wanting too many people to see it, but it does get you wondering why he never invites Felix over instead of or even with you.
Two nights later, at your next movie night, you bring it up. "Patito?"
He groans. "What?"
"Why don’t you ever invite Felix over for movie night?" He looks at you quizzically. "I mean, he’s like your best friend, right? So why don’t you ever have him over instead of me?"
"Felix likes to be doing something. He wants to play a game or go out, which is great and all, but after work sometimes I just like to relax and watch a movie but don’t necessarily want to be alone."
"So you picked me because I’m boring."
He laughs. "Not boring, just easy." You squeal at him and smack him in the chest, but he grabs your arm and pulls you onto him from across the sofa. "Come on, you know I’m just playing."
You’re facing him, and your upper body is in his lap as you look up at him. All of a sudden, you feel way too close to him, and like you’re crossing into dangerous territory. You sit up and pull back into your seat. "Yeah, I know. Let’s start the movie."
"You’re right, I don’t want to be up too late with quals tomorrow."
"It’s May; you always have something tomorrow."
Qualifying for the Indy GP goes really well, and Pato gets pole. The team getting pole was a huge accomplishment, so a bunch of people went out for drinks at a bar 10 minutes from the speedway. You’re out for a few hours, and around 11, everyone decides to disperse, and you begin to call for an Uber to your place, which is 30 minutes away. While standing outside and both of you ordering ubers, you complain to Pato about how late it’ll be when you finally get home.
"Just come stay at mine; you have to be back in Speedway at 6 anyway."
"Are you sure it’s not a problem? I can just Uber back."
"Stop being silly. You’re my friend, you’re never a problem."
You both climb into an Uber and ride the 10 minutes back to the speedway. You have the Uber drop you off at the entrance and walk to the driver lot from there. It’s a gorgeous night, and no one’s out right now.
Pato turns to you, "Let’s go walk the track." You laugh at him, not thinking he was serious. "No, come on, it’ll be fun."
"You’re crazy; we’ll get in trouble."
"Oh, come on, live a little, baby."
The name rolls off his lips, and you’re convinced you may do anything he asks. You’re being pulled by him towards the gasoline alley and pit lane, where you could climb onto the track.
He begins shouting when you get on the track. Calling out just to hear his echo. You pull him to you and put your hand over his mouth. Hush, you’re going to get us caught." You’re laughing as you say it because he’s fighting against your hand.
When you take your hand off his mouth, he looks around the track. "In 3 weeks, every one of these seats will be filled."
"I know, it’s crazy to think about."
"It’s like 300,000 eyes on you, watching every move you make; it’s nerve-wracking but also so thrilling."
He’s still looking out at the bleachers; you’re standing on the bricks in front of the padoga. "We could kiss the bricks?"
He looks down at his feet, dragging his shoe across the bricks. "Nah, I want to save it until I win."
Well, I don’t think you’ll have to wait long."
It’s silent for a moment, and you wonder if you’ve said the wrong thing. "We should probably head back. I have a GP to win before I can win the 500."
You burst out laughing at him. "You’re so cocky."
"Confident." He corrects you with a raised eyebrow. He grabs your wrist, then interlocks your hands. "Let’s go."
On the walk back, you’re leaning into his side with your head on his shoulder and never letting go of his hand. When you arrive back at the motorhome, you’re exhausted. You head into the bathroom to wash your face, and Pato calls out to you, "There’s a spare toothbrush under the sink; I’ll get out some clothes for you."
When you exit the bathroom, there’s a pair of Pato’s merch pajamas sitting on his bed for you. "We can either share the bed or I can pull out the couch, but Elba says the couch is uncomfortable, so it’s up to you."
The thought of being that close to him all night makes your heart skip a beat. "Are you sure you’re okay sharing the bed?"
"We’re adults." He shrugs like it’s obvious. "As long as you’re not a blanket hog, we’ll be just fine."
After you change into pajamas, you get into the side of the bed that doesn’t have his things on the nightstand. As you climb under the layers of blankets, warmth and his smell engulf you. It’s different from how he smells day to day; it’s like what he usually smells like minus the sweat and gasoline. It makes you feel incredibly close to and surrounded by him. Sleep quickly begins to overtake you; you’re vaguely aware of him climbing into bed next to you, but you're fast asleep within 5 minutes.
The next morning, you woke up with a minor headache, and as you woke, you noticed that you were clinging to the man next to you. You’re half lying on top of him and have your arm across his chest and your face on his pec. Despite how comfortable you were, you knew it would be bad if he woke up and found you hanging all over him. You reluctantly and carefully pulled away from him and climbed out of bed. When you climbed out of bed, he rolled over and started searching for something in the bed. Rocky jumped up into the spot you’d just vacated and cuddled up with Pato, which seemed to settle him back into sleep. You quietly got ready for your day at work, stealing an Electrolit to hopefully ward off your headache.
As you searched the fridge for something edible, Pato emerged from the bedroom. His shorts hung low on his hips, and he’s shirtless; even with his bedhead, he looks absolutely delicious. "Goodmorning, sunshine."
He groans and stretches. "Morning, did you sleep good?"
"Yeah, I was exhausted, and that bed is stupidly comfortable.
"We still have an hour until we have to be at work; do you want to get breakfast?"
"I love the way you think."
"Give me five to get ready, and we’ll head out."
You end up taking his McLaren to a small diner. There’s a mural of IMS on one of the walls of the diner and a checkered flag in the window. "I still can’t believe this whole town celebrates like this for a whole month." Pato is looking out the window at the stores, all with flags adorning them.
"This is how I grew up. My dad and I looked forward all year for this month. I could never sleep the night before the 500; I was always too hyped up, like a kid on Christmas. I love this sport."
You quickly finish eating, then head to the track. Today’s the day of the Indianapolis Grand Prix, where Pato will be starting on pole, and you both have work to do before the race starts.
You don’t see him much after you get back to the track; you’re both being pulled in twenty different directions, but you’re able to get a photo of him climbing into the car for the Instagram story and wish him luck then.
The race starts well; he’s able to get through the first lap scrape-free, which cannot be said for all of the field. Around lap 60, he gets hit from behind and spins out; by the time the AMR team gets him going again, he’s in 21st place. The team is ecstatic with the finish of the race, with Rossi winning it, but for Pato, the race went awful. He had really high hopes for the race but ended up in P17.
The team has obligatory celebrations, and you have to capture some content of Rossi for the social media accounts. After all the celebrations are done, you go on a search to find Pato. You find him in his pit box reviewing race footage.
You lightly place your hand on his shoulder, "Hey,"
"Oh, hi."
"Tough race."
He lets out a dry laugh. "Yeah, no kidding."
"Are you ok?"
"Just frustrated."
"We’ve been invited to drink to celebrate Rossi’s win; wanna go?"
"No, I’ll just bring the mood down. You should go, though."
"There are plenty of chances to go drinking with them; do you want to just do a movie night? We can watch a sad movie, so you can’t bring the mood down."
He laughs, which was your intended reaction. "Yeah, you always cheer me up."
You go up on your tippy toes and wrap him in a hug, "You ran a great race today." As you pull away, Kevin Lee is hanging nearby to get a word with Pato. "I’ll see you tonight."
You have lots of work to do, and it’s a job in itself just to be able to grab Alex and take up his time. It’s hours later when you’re finally done for the day and able to escape to Pato’s trailer. He’s already in there and changed into sweats; when he opens the door for you, he looks mopey.
You’ve run to Walmart and bought fresh clothes—a pair of sweats and an oversized t-shirt—that you’ve now changed into.
You’ve been in his trailer so many times now that it’s anything but awkward. You look around at the place; the TV is still off, but there’s an almost empty glass and a bottle of tequila on the counter. Rocky and Norbi are calm in a way they wouldn’t be if he hadn’t taken them out, so at least you know that’s been done. You don’t really know how to comfort him; today was a big loss, and going into the 500, you know it hurts.
"You came to watch a movie, right?”
"I came because you’re my friend, and I know you’re upset. So whatever you want to do,"
He slumps down on the couch in front of you. "I’m so disappointed. I failed myself and the team. I had this race in the bag to win, but I fucked it all up."
You sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You did everything you could to make this a great race. You couldn’t help that you got hit. All you can do now is focus forward on the 500."
He leans back, "I know. You’re right." He pulls you back, and you’re now both reclining on the sofa with heads turned towards each other, only a few inches apart. "You’re my best friend, you know."
You smile at him. "Yeah, you’re mine too."
The two of you are pressed together from your shoulders to your knees. You grab the blanket that’s on the couch next to you and cover both of you with it. You turn on the TV to a show you’ve seen a million times and let the soft noise of it drift the two of you to sleep.
You wake up at 2:00 AM and can barely move from the position you’ve been sleeping in. You gently wake Pato and convince him to move to the bed. When you both climb under the covers, he grabs you and pulls you into him, placing a kiss on the side of your head. He’s clearly barely awake, but you can’t fall asleep.
Your body is buzzing with the feeling of his against yours and his breath on your neck. You feel like a horrible person because he got so vulnerable with you and is clearly just seeking comfort in you after a bad day, and you’re obsessing over it like a schoolgirl. Still, you can’t help the feeling that’s coursing through your body, like you’d be content to stay this way forever.
When you wake up, it’s like nothing has changed between the two of you. Pato feels better and is back to his normal and cheerful self, and your relationship stays what it always was, friends. It’s not that you ever expected anything to change, but for that night, you allowed yourself to hope it would.
A week of lots of work, three movie nights, and one sleepover goes by, and then it’s Saturday and time for qualifying. The team does incredible, all four cars make it into the fast 12. Sunday holds so much anticipation for the team. You’re slammed with making posts to celebrate yesterday’s results along with today’s. Not to mention, every time one of the drivers went out, you stopped everything to watch their run.
After the first run, Pato and Fro advance to the fast 6, and you watch to see who gets bumped. Knowing the drivers has brought a whole new side to this sport for you, you can’t even imagine what it’s like for the drivers who have failed to make it. The Firestone Fast 6 has Marcus Ericsson on pole, with Pato starting 3rd and Felix 5th. You know this is an incredible place to be for the race; to have a spot in the front row is a huge deal, but Ericsson on pole has everyone worried he’ll pull away with a second win.
You have a week that consists of two practices and studying every move Ericsson makes to find his weak spots and figure out how Pato can play off them. You’re posting on social media five times a day to lead up to the race. The Legends Day parade made for incredible content, and you’re left in awe at the people covering the streets just for a chance to be waved at by a driver.
Pato convinced you to spend the night with him after the parade; you couldn’t say no when he pulled out the puppy dog eyes and pouted at you to stay, especially when you never wanted to say no in the first place. It really was easier to stay in Speedway for the night, considering the traffic in the morning will be horrendous, and you sleep the best you ever have when you’re lying next to him.
The 500 lived up to everything it should. It was 200 laps of pure excitement. At no point in the race were you sure of who was going to win, and it left you unable to breathe for most of it. You had spent the day taking photos and videos so you could do an "Admin’s photo dump," and if you took some photos of Pato making ridiculous faces at you that you planned to just keep to yourself, no one had to know.
At lap 190, Ericsson is in the lead, with Colton Herta second and Pato third. You know that Pato will have to pull off a huge move to take the lead; he’s racing against two of the greatest in the field. As they go around turn 3, Herta goes on the outside of Ericsson, trying to make a pass for the lead, but he finds the marbles and wrecks both of them. Pato got by, but others behind him were not so lucky. The four car wreck gets red flagged immediately. The good news is, Pato’s restarting in 1st; the bad news is there are nine laps left, and Palou is right behind him. As the race starts up again, you can barely breathe. After a warmup lap, the race goes green, Palou takes a hard dive to the inside and passes Pato. He has the lead for three laps, and you’re already upset for Pato; you know how badly he wants this. As you’re thinking that, Pato passes him from the outside, and begins to run away with the lead. He leads the last five laps of the race and crosses the start-finish line as the winner of the 110th Indianapolis 500.
You’re so thrilled for him that you don’t know what to do with yourself. You can hear him on the team radio celebrating and thanking God in Spanish. He does his victory lap, and then brings the car back into pit lane. You’re at his car before it’s even stopped, taking his steering wheel from him, and when he gets out of the car, he wraps you in a hug. He’s holding you around the waist and lifting you up, spinning you. "You just won the fucking Indy 500. I’m so proud of you."
"I couldn’t have done it without you."
He’s all too quickly being pulled away from you and being congratulated by the rest of the team. You stand in awe as you watch one of the most important people in the world to you live out their dreams. You watch every part of the celebration with so much pride. You can’t think of anyone more deserving of the ring, the wreath, or dumping a bottle of milk on himself.
When he kisses the bricks, you’re right there next to him, kissing them too. "I guess it’s good we waited for the real deal to do this."
"This was definitely better than doing it just because we could." He has the biggest smile on his face, from ear to ear and reaching his eyes, and all you can think is how you’d give anything to always have him this happy.
It's been hours of celebrating him, and you’re soaking up every moment. When all of your business at the Speedway is over, you both head back to his motorhome to get ready to go out and celebrate. When you get there, he pulls down the fanciest-looking bottle of tequila you’ve ever seen.
"Take a shot with me?"
You scrunch your nose. "I hate doing shots."
"You can’t say no to me, I’m an Indy 500 winner.”
You sigh and give in. "That card works for today and today only." He has poured out two shot glasses, and handed one to you. "Here’s to you, being the best friend a girl could ask for, and the best damn driver this track has even seen." You clink your glass with his and take the shot, choking it down. "Holy shit, that needs a chase-"
You’re cut off by lips on yours. At first, you’re shocked and don’t react. Once you do, you have one hand on his cheek and the other around his neck, and you lean into the kiss like it’s oxygen. It’s easily the best kiss you’ve ever had, you’re thinking everything and nothing at once, and the pieces of the world feel as if they’ve fallen together. His hands around your waist pulling you to him, the way his mouth presses into yours, the taste of tequila on his lips, and the faint smell of sweat, it’s all too much and yet not enough.
You’re unsure how much time has passed when he pulls away, but you’re panting to catch your breath. "Yeah, that’ll work."
"I promise we’ll talk about this later, I just had to do that, and I really need to shower.”
You’re left a little stunned as he disappears into the bathroom. It has you wondering what this means for the two of you, what if it was just a caught-in-the moment thing and he didn’t really mean it?
He is ready to go within 20 minutes, you’ve changed into a pair of ripped jeans and a corset top, and he’s wearing white dress pants, with a white t-shirt and a gold chain around his neck. You’ve put on a light layer of makeup, and pulled your hair into a bun in an attempt to hide the fact that you’ve been in the sun all day. When he sees you, he says, "You look beautiful."
"Not too bad yourself."
Once you arrive at a bar in Indianapolis, Pato walks around and opens your door for you. He always opens the door for you because you have no clue how to open the doors to his McLaren on your own. When you step out, he places his hand on your lower back. "Is this ok?" You nod at him, and walk into the bar together.
The bar is already filled with people, Pato’s family, friends, other drivers, their partners, and parts of the team out to celebrate Pato’s win. Not everyone in the paddock is best friends, but they all get along, and Pato is so personable that he’s friends with almost everyone, so most drivers are happy for his win. Even Colton and Alex, who are surely having a rough night, came out to congratulate him.
You’re able to watch Pato all night, and he’s a different person than when it’s just the two of you. He’s an entertainer at heart, always putting on a show in front of a crowd, but when it’s just the two of you, it’s like he’s able to relax and just be his authentic self. You've been seated with Kelly and Emille for most of the night, not drinking because you told Pato you’d drive so he could party properly. Even while celebrating with everyone, he still checks in with you periodically throughout the night.
Kelly and Emille must notice the hand he places on your thigh or his lips brushing against your ear because they ask you if the two of you have "finally realized you’re soulmates". You shrug them off, figuring they’d just been drinking too much, but then they confess that one of the reasons they invited you to drink so much is because Felix and Rossi were convinced that you two would be perfect for each other. They quickly move onto a new topic, but you begin to wonder what dating Pato would be like. You figure it’d be a lot like your relationship now, but you’d get to have all of him, and not have to hide your feelings for him. The thought of getting to know him more intimately sends a chill down your spine.
As things start to wind down, Pato comes to where you’re sitting, and wraps his arm across your shoulders. The group has moved around your table, and he’s starting to say his goodbyes. Once you’re out to the car, he hands you his keys. "Please don’t wreck my baby."
"Oh come on, you’ve gotta have more faith in me than that."
"You’re the only person besides my papa I’ve ever let drive this car. That’s enough faith."
You turn on the radio, and the car ride back to Speedway is filled with Pato’s singing. When you arrive back in his motorhome, he’s begging you to spend the night again. You, of course, stay with him.
Climbing in bed, he reaches his hand out to the space in between the two of you. "Too much space. Come closer." You’re on your sides facing each other, and as you scoot in, he wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you towards him. "Much better."
You fall asleep like that, but when you wake up, he’s not in the bed. It has you panicking, wondering if it was a mistake to kiss him, and even more, imagining a relationship with him. You’re in one of his sweatshirts when you climb out of bed and head to the living area. You find it empty, of both Pato and the dogs. You’re pretty worried now, not knowing where he could’ve gone or why he disappeared so early.
Before your mind is able to wander too much further, the door to his motorhome opens, and the dogs come barging in. Pato has his hands full, but when he sets the stuff down on the counter and finally looks at you, he’s upset. "Oh no! You were supposed to still be in bed. Shoot!"
"Where did you go?" You’re very confused about his whereabouts and his aversion to you being awake.
"I went to get us breakfast, I wanted to surprise you when you woke up. I got all your favorites."
You can’t help the smile breaking out on your face. "You got me breakfast?"
"Of course I did. I know I said we’d talk about the kissing later, but I still feel bad for making you wait," a blush spreading across his cheeks. "I wanted to show you how much you mean to me."
You’re wrapping him in a hug before you know it. "I thought you freaked on me and bailed."
He pulls back from you and lightly takes your face in both hands. "I’m not bailing or freaking. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, and I can’t stop thinking about you, haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I can feel myself falling for you more each day."
You can see the sincerity in his eyes as they bore into yours. "Pato,"
"Yeah?"
"Kiss me again."
A huge grin breaks out on his face as he pulls yours to him. The kiss starts softly, with one of his hands cradling the back of your head while the other stays rested on your face. As it goes on, you continue to push him, your tongue swiping across his lips, seeking entrance. His hand tangles in your hair, and the other moves down to your waist, pulling you impossibly closer to him. He has full control of the kiss, and you, at this point. Your hands are in his hair and on his chest, letting him lead you through minutes of a make out session like you’re in high school.
He pulls away, but you continue to chase his lips. He almost gives in, but he grabs your face and stops you from continuing. "Wait," He’s panting, and you’re pretty sure it’s the best sound you’ve ever heard. "I have something important I need to ask you."
You look at him expectantly and hope he can’t tell how fast your heart is beating. "Will you come to the victory banquet with me tonight? I want to celebrate with you."
You consider it, you know it’s a black tie event, and you know it’s broadcasted; you really don’t want anyone wondering or theorizing about who you are. "I don’t have anything to wear."
"I’ll buy you something."
"I do not need you to buy me clothes."
"Now you’re just being difficult. Come with me, por favor, and let me buy you a dress."
You caved to his begging, like always, and he took you to a high-end boutique to find a dress. As you looked through the store, he grabbed a few dresses to add to the ones you were trying on. He followed you to the dressing rooms, and you modeled each dress for him.
"Pato, I can’t believe you picked this out."
"What’s wrong with it?" His voice is whiny, and you can tell through the door that he’s offended.
You look at yourself one more time in the mirror before stepping out to show him. It’s a rouched pink satin dress that’s all too short, and shows an insane amount of cleavage. Pato leaned back on the seat, looking as smug as ever. "You’ve never looked better."
You give him a death stare, "This is so not appropriate, and so not funny." You’re getting stressed about all of this, it’s a lot to go to this event with him and be seen by all of your coworkers, but even more so by any fans.
He must notice how overwhelmed you’re getting because he reaches out and grabs your hand. "Woah, baby, what’s wrong?" You explain to him everything that’s on your mind. "Hey, it’ll be alright, I promise you. What do you need to feel better about this? I’ll give you anything."
"I just want to find something to wear."
"Ok, we’ll find something, I’ll take you to every store in the state if I have to. You’ve still got a few more in there, yeah?" You nod and disappear behind the curtain to try the last couple on.
Finally, you put on a dress that felt perfect. It’s a floor-length black gown with a slit on the left leg and a deep v-neck. "I really like this one, but tell me what you think, and be honest."
You walk out and stand in front of Pato, giving him a slow twirl. "Wow."
"Do you like it?"
"Wow." You slap his arm lightly. "Estás deliciosa." (You are delicious)
You wrap your arms around his shoulder and sit perched on his legs. "Y estás muy rico." (And you are very hot)
"I think this is the one, but I won’t be able to keep my hands off you all night."
You change back into your clothes, and head to buy that dress. Your jaw drops when you realize the dress is $450, but before you’re able to protest, Pato has already paid for it. "You did not have to do that, I could’ve found a different dress."
"I liked that one."
"I don’t even know how I ended up trying it on, I didn’t grab anything that expensive."
"I grabbed it, you deserve nice things." He kisses your cheek. "Now stop and let me spoil you."
You feel a heat rise on your cheeks, You’re not used to being treated like you deserve everything, but something tells you Pato’s not going to stop doing so.
You spend hours getting ready, but finally you’re at the victory banquet together. He pays for a ride there, so you could both drink and not worry about it. You walk the red carpet together, and he has his hand around your waist or on the small of your back the whole time.
Everything feels so natural with Pato, from the way he gets you a drink without having to ask what you’d like to his hand resting just above your knee. As a host drones on, you lean into him and whisper, "Pato?"
"Hmm?"
"Is this a date?"
He turns to you a little quizzically, and almost looks offended. "What? No."
You try to hide your disappointment. "Oh, ok, I just thought..."
"When I take you on a date, you will have no doubt it’s a date. There’ll be flowers and dinner, and I will pick you up, and if you’re lucky, I’ll kiss you at the end of the night."
June
And a few days later, he keeps his promise. He picks you up from your hotel with the largest bouquet you’ve ever seen. He then brings you to a restaurant in downtown Detroit, it’s easily the nicest place you’ve ever been. He pays for the meal, which was easily $500, and then drives you home. Things with Pato were easy, the date was the best you’d ever been on, and you both spent dinner laughing, and constantly brushing against each other in some way. When you got to your hotel door, he kissed you as promised. Everything with him is still so new, which makes you want him desperately. His hand wrapped in your hair, which pulls slightly as his tongue slips into your mouth, sends a chill down your spine. You lose track of time, and your thoughts are flooded with nothing but him. You pull away from him, but he immediately moves his lips to your neck.
You can feel your chest heaving, "We should stop." even though you really don’t want to.
"This is more fun." You can feel the vibrations of his words against your neck.
"If we don’t stop now, I don’t think I will." Despite how much you want that, you’re still hesitant about jumping into things too quickly with him.
He detaches himself from your neck, and when he pulls back, you can see that his pupils are blown, and his hair is mussed from your hands running through it. "Have I told you how insanely gorgeous you look tonight?"
"Only about 30 times." You stand there smiling at each other for a moment, stuck in your own bubble. "It’s getting late."
"I know. I should go."
"Yeah, you probably should." Except you can’t help yourself from kissing him one last time. This time it’s soft and sweet.
"Now I’ve really got to go before we get started again." He walks towards the elevator, but turns just before heading into it. "You’re driving me crazy, invading all of my thoughts, I can barely function!" You know he’s joking, but you also feel the same way.
"Goodnight, Patito!" You call after him, and he returns with "Sweet dreams."
You spent the next few weeks settling into each other. You haven’t told anyone about being together, and have been enjoying your time in secret. You’ve just decided that there’s no rush to tell anyone, and it’s a little fun sneaking around.
It’s three days before Road America when you and Pato are softly chatting while waiting for Fro and Alex to arrive so you can film some content. You mindlessly have your hands locked together, and he’s rubbing your knuckles with his thumb. You don’t notice the guys arrive, and they sneak up on you.
"Hey, guys, what’s up?" You jump when you hear Felix’s voice and pull your hand back.
Pato tries to play it off by greeting him back, but Felix just bursts into laughter. You and Pato both laugh along with him but are confused. "What’s so funny?"
"Are you seriously trying to hide that you’re together right now?" Felix can hardly get the words out.
You and Pato both share a look before trying to play it off. "What? We’re not together, we’re just friends."
Now Alex, who tends to just watch, joins in, "We’ve known since the 500."
You roll your eyes at him. "Ok, we haven’t even known since the 500."
"Tell that to lover boy because he didn’t take his eyes off of you all night, and we saw the way he was touching you."
Pato’s cheeks are now bright red, "Ok, I wasn’t that bad."
"Like a love sick puppy." Pato hides his face in his hands.
At this point, you’re just laughing, leave it to Rossi to be brutally honest. You pull his hands away, "Aww, baby, don’t be shy; I think it’s cute."
July
Mid-Ohio once again falls on the Fourth of July weekend. Pato did great in the race, working from 10th place qualifying to a 2nd place finish. The two of you booked a hotel room together for the weekend because you end up in the same hotel most of the time anyway.
After the race, Pato took you out to celebrate. You found a place that was putting on a fireworks show and was lined with food trucks. You both got the greasiest food imaginable, and bought an elephant ear. You found a place in the grass and got comfortable on a large blanket. You laid against him as you waited for the fireworks to start and ate your food.
You’re talking about everything and nothing when Pato grabs your hand and then kisses you softly. "What was that for?"
"I think I’m falling in love with you."
At first, you’re a little shocked to hear it, but you can’t say you don’t feel the same. Everything with Pato has been so fast, but it’s also been so incredibly easy and natural. "I think I’m falling in love with you, too."
You feel like a teenager, making out in front of all these people, but it’s dark enough that you hope no one can see you. It’s the most loved you’ve ever felt, you can tell he’s pouring everything he feels into the kiss. You’re lying down on the ground, cuddled together, as you watch the fireworks go off above you.
When you get back to the hotel room, you’re not tired in the slightest. You’re pulling him into you and kissing him as he tries to unlock the door. When he finally gets the door open, he pulls you inside the room, pins you against the back side of it, and automatically asks for entry into your mouth with his tongue.
It doesn’t take long until he’s backing you up onto the bed and you’re falling back on it.
He continues chasing your lips, only breaking away to pull off his shirt. He grabs the hem of your shirt, but before lifting off, he stops to make sure you really want to do this. When you nod your head, he pulls it over your head. Your chest is heaving as he reaches behind you to undo your bra.
You can feel him pressing up against you, and you reach down to grab him as he attaches his mouth to your breasts. It has him pressing into your hand and letting out a moan that has you shivering.
Before you know it, you’re lying together in the middle of the bed, and you’re begging him to slide into you. When he finally does, you see stars. He’s babbling in Spanish, you can’t pick it all up, but you understand that he’s telling you how beautiful you are and that he loves you. You’ve never felt so fully connected to or in love with a person.
Your foreheads are pressed together, and your lips are brushing every time he moves. His right hand is holding yours, and his left is tweaking your nipple.
"Eres la persona más sexy que he conocido." (You’re the sexiest person I’ve ever met.)
His Spanish has you shivering under him as he continuously pumps into you. You feel yourself growing closer as he begins to speed up, and you move your hand down to your clit to move yourself along. He slaps your hand away and replaces it with his own. "Quiero explorar cada centímetro de tu cuerpo." (I want to explore every inch of your body)
You can tell he’s close by his faltering rhythm, but so are you. As he moves his lips to your ear and tells you to let go, you go flying over the edge. You’re seeing white, and he follows quickly after; it’s the best orgasm you’ve ever had.
You’re both naked with a layer of sweat covering your bodies, and you’re curled into his side. You’re tracing random designs across his chest as you both try to catch your breath, and he is placing kisses on your forehead.
"I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy." You’re whispering into the dim room, hoping he knows how special he is to you.
"Me either. Estoy enloquecido por ti." (I am crazy for you)
Things with Pato keep getting better. He took you to Mexico with him during the break between Ohio and Toronto, and you met a lot of his family. You automatically got along with everyone, and loved how close knit everyone was. You only fell deeper for him around his family. He introduced you to everyone as his girlfriend, and told everyone how much he loved you. You’re having dinner at one of his Tio’s farms, and you watch him as he runs around with all of his younger cousins, and you decide that if he asked you tomorrow, you’d run off to Mexico and spend the rest of your life with him.
August
Nashville came, and the two of you spent the weekend partying like it was your 21st birthday. When you came to a bar with a mechanical bull in it, Pato was convinced he could ride it. You took a picture of him, cowboy hat on and arm in the air, and put it on your Instagram story with the caption "save a horse, ride a cowboy". This was the first time you’ve posted anything about him, but you figured it wouldn’t be a big deal because you have a small following made up mostly of friends and family.
The following morning, Pato posted a photo dump of the weekend, and included a picture of you kissing his helmet before he climbed into his car. You can’t tell that it’s you, from your hair or the angle Elba took the photo from, but that doesn’t stop people from noticing. Immediately, fans flood the comments with questions about your identity. Your papaya polo is the only thing that gives people any clue as to who you are. No one really ends up finding out it’s you, but a few people see your story and like it.
You’re back in Indianapolis the next week, and Pato is staying at your apartment. He insists that he meet your family, claiming it’s unfair that he hasn’t met them when you’ve met all of his. You took him to your childhood home for dinner. Your dad grilled steaks, and your mom made corn on the cob and baked potatoes. Your parents knew about you and Pato, and they’d known who he was since he started racing. You were nervous as you pulled into your driveway. Pato grew up with money, you know that most drivers do, and he grew up in a huge house in San Antonio. You don’t know exactly what he makes now, but you know that it’s a lot, most likely pushing $1 million a year. Your yearly salary is a weekend getaway for him. He’s never shown that he cared at all; he gladly stays with you in your apartment with creaky floors and poor water pressure, but you still worry about what he will think of the home.
Your worries dissipate as soon as you walk in the door, and he’s nothing but his perfect self. He shakes hands with your father and hugs your mother, you can tell that they love him already. You eat dinner together in your backyard, and he immediately starts talking racing with your dad. Your dog stares at him as he eats, begging for a bite, and you chuckle when he caves and tries to secretly feed him a bite.
You know that the season only has a month left in it, and the thought of living in two different states looms like a bit of a dark cloud, but moments like this make you know you’ll be okay.
September
The season is closing, and you’re busier than you’ve thought possible. The top 3 for the championship are Palou, Pato, and Felix, so you’ve been insanely busy promoting the last 2 weeks of the season, and planning posts for the result of the championship.
There’s a lot of tension on the team because of how close Pato and Felix are, and either of them could win the championship. There’s also the chance that neither of them would win it, which would stink after such a strong year for the team. You worry about Pato and his relationship with Felix, and you don’t want the fight for the championship to hurt that at all. You can also tell that the stress is getting to Pato, he’s at work constantly, and even when you’re home, he’s studying his previous races or working out ridiculous amounts. You try to be there for him, but it’s hard when there’s no way you can ensure he wins the next two races.
And Portland doesn’t go the way he wanted. He has a 3rd-place finish, which slots him down a spot in the race for the championship and makes it so he needs to have an absolutely perfect run for Monterey.
You’re exiting the bathroom in your hotel room when you notice he’s sitting on the bed, staring off into space. "Pato, are you ok, honey?"
He takes a minute before responding. "There are five days left of the season."
"I know that."
"I live in San Antonio; you live in Indianapolis."
"Oh." You’ve both been avoiding this subject for as long as possible, but you’re running out of time, and it needs to be addressed. You sit down gently on the bed next to him.
"I love you, you know that, but I don’t know if I can handle being away from you that often."
"I know, I’ve gotten so used to being with you that it’s hard to be apart." You know that some couples crave distance, and would not be able to handle working together as well as basically living together, but you always want to be within 30 feet of Pato.
"Maybe I’ll move up here, it’s where the team is based, so it makes sense. I just already don’t see my family enough, especially the ones in Mexico."
Pato does so much for you, and works so hard that you know what the answer is. "I’ll move to San Antonio." You’ll be with him, but you have to be in Indiana frequently anyway for work, so you’d still see your family a lot.
"That’s not fair to you, to pick up your whole life."
"It’s what I want to do. I don’t want to be anywhere that you aren’t, and I’ll see my family whenever we have to work."
He pulls you into a hug that’s a little bone crushing. "I love you, mas que vida." (more than life)
"Te amo también." (I love you too) Your eyes are a little watery, and having moments like this with Pato remind you how endlessly lucky you are.
Pato seems to be in overdrive, his car is lightning fast, and he comes out on top of both practices.
You’re sitting in the driver's room with Pato while he gets ready for qualifying, he’d arrived insanely early, so he had time to decompress before going out. You’re cuddled together on the couch, with his fire suit hanging off his hips, and you’re talking about something other than racing for what feels like the first time in months. Rossi enters and finds the two of you there, "You know this is for drivers only?" You know he’s just giving you a hard time.
"I had to be here, I’m doing very important business." You smile up at him as he begins to grab all of his racing gear.
"I can tell."
As Rossi gets ready, he joins in on your and Pato’s conversation, but not much because the two of you talk so much that it barely gives him a chance. Then Felix shows up, late as always. He grabs his helmet and then hands it to you.
"What am I going with this?"
Oh, you don’t need it? I thought you were a driver now."
"You are sooo funny." You grab a pillow off the couch and throw it at him.
You sit with Pato until you have to go to the pits to do work. During qualifying, he puts up an insane lap that puts him in P1 by over a second. Pato gets the pole for the race tomorrow.
You’re both buzzing when you walk into your hotel room, and he’s immediately all over you. You’re setting your stuff down by the door, and he’s crowding up behind you. His hands are on your hips, and he’s grinding into you as he attaches his lips to your neck. "You’re my good luck charm. I’m gonna take you to bed and show you how thankful I am."
Heat is riding up your neck, and you’re leaning back into his touch. He takes you to the bed and tosses you on top of it. He takes his shirt off, but then turns all his attention towards you. He was kissing a trail down your body as he undressed you. Worshipping every new piece of revealed skin. He had you in just underwear panting and begging for him to do something more. He’s teasing you over the lace of your panties, and you know it’s absolutely soaked.
He finally takes them off and slips one finger in. You’re so desperate that it has you crying out, and he quickly adds another. "Is this why they call you fast hands?" You can barely get the sentence out, but it has him laughing. His hands are good, but they’re nothing compared to his mouth. He’s still pumping into you with his fingers, but he brings his tongue to your clit. He circles it with his tongue a few times, but then sucks on it lightly, which has you crying out.
Your hands are in his hair, pulling so hard that you know it has to hurt, but it seems to only spur him on. He lays his tongue flat against you, and you buck against him as he repeatedly hits your spot. It has you tumbling toward the edge, but you pull him away before you’re able to.
He looks a little confused, but you quickly dissolve his fears. "Want to come with you in me." He immediately crawls up your body, and pulls down his sweats, which now have a wet spot on them, just enough to free his cock. He gives himself a few pumps before he's filling you. He doesn’t give you time to adjust as he starts pounding into you, his thumb pressing circles around your clit.
"Come on, pretty girl, come for me." His words send you over, and you’re coming with a loud moan. He follows you shortly after, biting into your shoulder to muffle the groan he lets out.
He collapses next to you as you catch your breath. Your chests are both heaving when he says, "Round two?"
It has you laughing out loud because, of course, he wants to go again. "I'm afraid I won’t be your good luck charm if you fall asleep behind the wheel because you were up fucking me all night."
"Doesn’t matter. It’ll be worth it."
You do end up sleeping, which is a good thing because you both have incredibly busy days. You've been incredibly nervous all day, buzzing with anticipation of whether Pato will become the champion. You don’t get a lot of time, but you do see him for a few minutes before he has to get in the car.
"Kiss for good luck?" You place an exaggerated kiss on his lips. "What about a quickie?"
"Patricio O’ward!" Your jaw is open, and you’re looking around to see if anyone heard him. "Get in your car."
He hugs you before he has to go, but you whisper to him as he does. "Be safe. And I’ll give you whatever you want if you win." When he pulls back, he’s smiling from ear to ear, and he jogs off to his car.
You were on the edge of your seat for all 95 laps. Each lap was more nerve wracking than the last, and you felt like you could only breathe when a yellow was thrown. To make matters worse, there wasn’t a dull moment in the race. There were six yellows and a red flag thrown in the race, and one of the yellows screwed Pato, letting most of the field pit on yellow when he’d just pitted on green. You felt crazy, with his radio in your ear, tracking his stats for every lap, and counting how long each pit stop took. The whole team was on edge, but you were even more so.
After what felt like 10 hours, the race ended with Pato in the lead. You realized immediately everything this meant for him. This is the year he became an Indy 500 winner and an IndyCar champion.
He pulls into pit lane, and there’s cameras all over as the team runs out to meet him. He’s standing on top of his car, screaming out and celebrating, but then he spots you. He points to you and runs over to you as he takes off his helmet. He’s kissing you before you can really process anything. You grab his face and look into his eyes to speak to him. "I can’t believe it, I’m so proud of you." Your cheeks hurt from how wide your smile is.
"Never could’ve done it without you."
Your kiss was put on national television, and fans quickly put together that you’re the girl from Nashville and the victory banquet, but you don’t care. You are so insanely in love with Pato, and you want the world to know it.
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OMG can I ask for a MAWS prompt? 🥺👉👈 Like superman saving reader and developing a fanatism out if that 👀
A/n: I’m just going to assume Clark and reader know each other for the sake of the fic. Also idk if this is what you wanted
‘Are you alright?’
You swore you heard an angel ask, softly luring you into opening your eyes only to be greeted with the most softest pair of cornflower blues looking back at you intently. The man was so undeniably beautiful and gentle in the way he holds himself, in the way he spoke to you as he helped you off the ground whilst his big, strong hands were being the only thing holding you up from another collapse with how weak you seemed to be in that moment.
‘Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need any medical attention?’ The man furthered his questioning when you didn’t answer him the first time, believing that something must be seriously wrong, when in actual fact you were just silently trying to ingrain every last feature of this man’s perfect face into your memory for further reference under the guise of secret admiration; From his dark windswept hair, his god like physique, his soft jawline, to the S on his chest that stood out to you like a shining beacon of hope.
‘I’m fine, thanks to you…’ you trailed off upon realising that you didn’t know your hero’s name. ‘Superman.’ He answered with semi-confidence as though it was a name he had came up with on the spot. It looked like he wanted to say more but his attention was drawn elsewhere, his face sets into a comparatively more hardened mould and within a blink of an eye and a gust of wind; Superman had disappeared from sight.
Ever since being rescued your mind was forever plagued by constant daydream that fantasised of being saved by Superman again and again just so you could relive the feel of his big yet caring hands practically cradle you into his strong chest, where you would rest your head whilst shamelessly ogling at his side profile for as long as you were allowed before he would inevitably drop you off somewhere safe and disappear from sight once more. The context of what it was that he was saving you from didn’t necessarily matter, you could’ve tripped over untied shoelaces, or been dropped from a tall height, the details didn’t matter as long as the daydream ended all the same where Superman saves you and by extension the day.
‘Are you alright?’
The Superman in your dream would say each and every time, but it never failed in making butterflies in your stomach at the thought of him being concerned about your well-being.
‘I’m alright, thanks to you.’ You would always reply with as you were hyperaware of the placement of his hands,whether that be on your waist, on your arms, or your shoulders. It didn’t matter, just as long as he was touching you in some form of way where your mind could then further trick your into thinking he was actually there in front of you; from how authentic the warmth of his palms pressed against you was,or the puffs of warm breath that brushed against your face, to the way he held himself.
At some points of your daydream, it often would feel a bit too real.
‘You really should be careful. I don’t want you getting yourself hurt over me.’ He tells you as his face seemed to have gotten closer towards yours during the time he spoke, his hands had shifted to rest upon each side of your head; whereas you were internalising everything that wanted to deep out in that moment as his thumbs had began to gingerly run across your cheeks. ‘I’m sure your just equally as worried about everyone else you’ve saved. It’s in your nature to protect people but it’s also our duty to protect ourselves to prevent further incidents such as this…’ you trailed off just as his forehead was then pressing itself up against yours.
But the words that left his mouth pulled you straight out of the immersion.
Superman didn’t sound like Superman but instead…he sounded like;
‘Clark?’ You asked, looking over at the bespectacled man who held a worried look upon his face that quickly melted away into one of relief.
‘Oh thank goodness you’re okay, you were just sat at your there for a really long time and I was beginning to get worried that something might’ve happened.’ He explained but you were quick to note that his large hands were coincidentally placed on either sides of your face, just like Superman’s was in your dream. Upon realising this, Clark quickly pulled his hands away as his cheeks were burned with embarrassment of having potentially crossed a line with you but as he verbally tripped over his plethora of apologise that went over your head. You were more concerned with how much of your daydream did Clark overhear.
‘Hey Clark?’ You asked, stoping him midway through his apology.
He hummed.
You breathed out a sigh. ‘I didn’t…happen to say anything aloud did I?’ You asked him, mentally scripting any and every excuse you could come up with for the possible instance of his answer to that being yes, even going so far as to secretly cross your fingers but you would soon learn that there was no need when the word that came of out his mouth was;
‘No. You didn’t say anything at all, you just sat there for a long period of time with a far away, almost dreamy look upon your face.’ Clark explained. ‘Why’d you ask, was it embarrassing?’ He adds on whilst trying not to be push the issue any further in the instance that he was making you bring up some personal stuff.
‘Yeah…you could defiantly say that.’ You replied quickly before standing up from your seat, suddenly finding yourself standing within Clark’s personal space and as you tried to take a step back, you found yourself almost falling flat on your arse but before you could; you found yourself caught within Clark’s strong arms, his hands splayed out against your back, keeping you close to his strong chest that laid beneath his cream coloured jumper. You found yourself staring at him through his lenses and deep into his gorgeous blue eyes, wondering how you’ve never seen them like this before; It almost felt as though you were in a state of de ja vu.
Clark stared back at you with wide eyes accompanied by a furious blush upon his cheeks as he slowly brought you out of your head and back to you feet, where you were once again standing within Clark’s personal space. ‘Thank you.’ You uttered and Clark averted his eyes elsewhere whilst rubbing the back of his neck out of a nervous habit. ‘It’s nothing, just wanting to prevent you from hurting yourself is all.’ He tells you sheepishly and you couldn’t help but find his humbleness endearing, even though there were a few times where you’d wish he would let you praise and or thank him.
After several minutes of awkward silence, you cleared your throat and said, ‘I’ll see you later then? Only if you aren’t busy with anything else of course.’ You spluttered out the last part, not wanting Clark to feel obligated into spending time with you when he has prior engagements to attend to later in the evenings ‘Oh yeah, absolutely I would love getting together with you.’ Clark says and his eyes widened at the implication, ‘As friends!’ He adds inexplicably. ‘I would love to get together with you as friends, because you’re a dear friend of mine and I respect you as such.’ He mentally congratulates himself sarcastically for how smoothly that went and hoe there was absolutely no way you could possibly assume anything of it.
Yet you smiled at his attempt of not making you uncomfortable and squeezed his shoulder. ‘Then it’s a date, dear friend of mine.’ You told him before leaving the room and him in it to decipher what was just said.
#my adventures with superman#maws#maws x reader#maws imagines#maws imagine#maws x you#dc imagines#dc imagine#dc x you#dc x reader#dc x y/n#clark kent x you#clark kent x y/n#clark kent x reader#clark kent imagine#superman x reader#superman imagines#superman imagine#superman x you#dc comics x reader#dc comics x you#toonami
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Quite frankly some of y’all are getting too parasocial again, especially with the ‘LGBTQSMP’ stuff. By y’all, I mean the fandom at large, but don’t think I haven’t seen some weird stuff on here too.
Last night on Quackity’s stream, one of the first donos called him a “fruit loop”. And like okay, whatever, that’s bad, but then I managed to find the dono’s twitter literally by accident going through my twitter feed and here’s their reason why they did it:
And that’s really fucking weird! You all see why this is weird, right? And all of the replies to the clip of the dono I found (where I found this person) were all in agreement that this was a funny and totally normal thing to do. But, as I’m sure everyone is aware, this is not, in fact, normal. It’s parasocial as fuck, and it’s weird at best and harassment at worst.
Donation etiquette posts are something that go around the fandom every couple of days, and for good reason. Some people are too goddamn parasocial. You don’t know these people, and they don’t know you. It’s like if you walk up to the cashier at McDonalds and call them a “fruit loop” because you saw her talking to another girl earlier. That’s fucked up. At best, it’s fucking weird to do. At worst, it’s outing/harassment. (Not that I think Quackity is queer or anything, that’s none of my business, and it’s not anyone else’s.)
I’ve seen some weird stuff on Twitter recently. Truthing, really, and that’s something parts of this fandom have struggled with for a really long time. But take this tweet by the same person as above as an example:
There’s a difference between jokes about “haha the qsmp is just a gay dating show and jaiden”, but some people are taking that way too literally. I’ve seen truthing on both the English side and Spanish side of the community recently, and you know that I’m not searching it out for the sake of drama because I don’t speak Spanish. I’ve seen multiple Spanish accounts on Twitter telling people to stop being weird in chat because it’s gotten to the point there that the mods are getting involved (I was watching Roier’s stream last night, and I’m pretty sure I saw this myself in chat.)
Jokes are fine. Fandom jokes are fine. But that’s where the jokes should stay- in the fandom. Yes, Quackity made a joke on day one stumbling over his words and “accidentally” calling everyone his boyfriends. Yes, the Spanish creators are a lot more chill with shipping content than the English ones. That doesn’t mean anything irl. Calling it the first bisexual smp is fine as a fandom joke, but people seem to be considering it truth when, as far as I’m aware, there’s only one actual bisexual on the server, and there’s, I believe, only two LGBTQ+ members. While the default shouldn’t be straight, it isn’t cool to just assume people’s identities, and especially not from what they do in minecraft roleplay. That’s called acting, not real life.
Truthing is dangerous. Anyone older than 16 probably remembers the way Markiplier and Jacksepticeye stopped interacting online entirely, and it’s because truthing and shipping actively damaged their friendship. Dan and Phil struggled with this, too, with them actually being gay but being unable to come out until years after they were popular because of all the truthing going on with them.
It’s dangerous! It’s weird as hell! Not everyone is dnf. Even if their boundaries don’t mention it specifically, it should be common sense not to openly speculate on a cc’s sexuality. It should be even more common sense not to call them a literal slur in their text-to-speech donos because you think it’s “telling the truth”. For a straight person, it’s just uncomfortable. For a queer person not out, it could be dangerous.
As a whole, the fandom has been behaving. We’re just under a week in as of today when I’m writing this, so I guess we’ll have to see what happens next. But please remember to be normal. These people aren’t your friends. You don’t know them. You barely even know their characters right now. So calm down and touch some grass before someone actually gets hurt.
#discourse#sorry for the post I saw the tweets and saw red#as someone that was outed against my will bc of ‘jokes’ like this I’m#ugh
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For ectoberhaunt 2023 day 13: horror flick.
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Roy frowned first at the book, then at the circle he’d painstakingly laid out on the forest floor, sweeping his eyes back and forth, hunting for mistakes. He couldn’t find any. The lines and curves he’d painstakingly carved into the soil and painted over were immaculate. All the symbols were in the right places. The candles were still burning strong. The sacrifices (items with great emotional value to the summoners) were in place, ready to be consumed.
Which meant that the problem wasn’t his fault.
He turned his glare on his two companions. “Did you two do the purification ritual like I said?”
“Yes,” said Aimee. “Don’t talk to us like that. We’re not stupid.”
That wasn’t an assertion Roy would make, but there weren’t a lot of people around who had real experience with the occult and a willingness to, ah, experiment with rituals of this level.
“Did you do the purification ritual?” drawled Beth. She pulled back the hood of her robe and pulled a stray strand of hair away from her numerous ear piercings. “Rituals like this are touchy. Even a tiny mistake can upset things. For all we know, we have the time of day wrong, or the wrong kind of soil.”
“We checked everything, though,” Roy complained. Not only had they checked everything, they’d practiced. They weren’t a bunch of stupid college students in a horror flick. They knew what they were doing. They’d summoned things, real things, before. Nothing as big or as powerful as this, but they’d gotten ahold of some powerful entities.
One of the spirits they had summoned and bound had even traded this book for their freedom.
Maybe that had been a mistake on their part, if the ritual in the book was incomplete or a scam.
Something snapped and rustled in the trees behind him, and Roy turned, scowling. If a deer messed with his summoning circle, he’d scream.
But, no, it wasn’t a deer stumbling out of the underbrush. It was a kid. A short kid. A middle schooler? Roy had never been good at figuring out the ages of kids.
“What are you doing here?” asked Aimee.
“Uh, walking. It’s public property,” said the kid. “What are you doing here?””
“No, it isn’t,” said Beth.
“Uh, yes it is. I know, because I walked here.” The kid leaned sideways and peered around Roy. “Ooh, are you summoning something? What is it?”
“That’s none of your business,” said Roy, wondering if he could get away with setting one of his lesser spirits on the boy. Beth could be surprisingly touchy about that sort of thing. “Leave.”
Between his family, his body type, and his occult power, Roy wasn’t used to being ignored or disobeyed by anyone but Aimee and Beth. The boy didn’t even look up at him, instead starting to walk counterclockwise around the circle.
“Where are your parents, anyway?” asked Roy, feeling out of his depth. It was an unusual feeling, and he didn’t like it.
The kid did look up at him, then, scorn clear on his face. “How old do you think I am?” Before Roy could answer, the kid knelt next to the circle.
“If you mess that up,” said Roy, threateningly, marching over to loom over the boy.
“Roy,” hissed Beth.
“Geez, chill,” said the boy. “I’m just looking. You’ve got a mistake, here, by the way.” He pointed. “You’re missing a line.”
“What?” snapped Roy.
“And the same thing, over there. Is your handwriting this bad, or did you copy these signs straight from a book without knowing what they really meant?”
Roy almost believed the boy for a minute, then scoffed. “What do you know about it? You’re just a kid. You’ve got a good face for lying, though, I’ll give you that.”
“I know more than you,” said the boy. “For example, did you know that when you summon a ghost, they don’t have to portal into the circle? Like, that’s usually easier, because where’re you going to find a natural portal, or a door, or whatever, and you can jump on the energy from the summoning, but you don’t have to. Lots of ghosts can’t, even. They’re not strong enough to make portals, so they just have to deal with the pull until whoever is trying to summon them gives up. Although I guess stronger ghosts do that too? Huh.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Aimee, and, huh, she actually sounded scared.
“Well,” said the boy, straightening and brushing off his knees, “I guess what I’m saying is that if you were trying to get a hold of a ghost that happened to already be on Earth, and nearby, they could just walk to a summoning. Or fly. Personally, I prefer flying.”
Aimee took a step back, her hand dropping to a protective charm. Beth, lips pursed, mirrored the motion.
“Did you know, there used to be separate rings for the summoners in these kinds of rituals? They sort of fell out of favor over time, because most ghosts did portals and they were problematic or something, I didn’t really pay attention to that part, but…” The boy shrugged. “They were there for a reason. All of your protections are in that circle.” He nodded at it. “Not great if someone does come from outside. Useless, just about.”
Then the boy looked Roy straight in the eye for the first time, and smiled.
The smile was wrong. It started out too white, too sharp, too curvy, bright and moonlike beneath glittering eyes. And then Roy’s vision began to blur. Or, no, only the boy blurred, but even as he blurred, two shapes became bitingly razor clear. A dark and burning crown that made Roy want to weep, and a shining ring that made him want to run and never stop.
Bright, unnatural eyes continued to gaze into Roy’s.
“If I were you,” said a voice that could have belonged to the boy, but echoed with the thoughts and feelings of a thousand other speakers, “I would quit now, while I was ahead. You’ve already bitten off more than you can chew.”
Then the presence, the crown, the ring, and all, vanished. Roy looked wildly around the clearing, but the only people he saw were Beth and Aimee, and they looked downright ill.
He took a shaky breath. “So, should we call our first attempt at summoning the Ghost king a success?”
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200mph: part four | jjk
pairing: jungkook x reader
word count: 2.7k
rating: pg
warnings: swearing, kissing, y/n is a little liar hehe, so much fluff they're so in love
summary: jungkook's crazy about you, but luckily, you're feeling the exact same way.
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✏︎
Your mind felt like a traffic jammed highway. There was so much to think about.
One minute you were basically a nobody, trying to blend yourself in with the crowd, and the next you’re suddenly inserting yourself deeper into Jungkook’s world.
Not that you didn’t want it that way, but it was definitely an odd couple pairing. And Jungkook seemed like a great guy, you were both just confused as to what was going on between the two of you. It was obvious there was something more than just a friendship, you would have to practically be blind to not see it, but it doesn’t mean either of you know how to act upon those particular feelings.
He became very consistent with his texts, apologizing with how busy he had been throughout the past week. You had planned on meeting at the same restaurant as before, but like clockwork, each day something would pop up for one of you and would end up cancelling the night. You would have loved to believe these were “unofficial dates” but you also didn’t want to seem like a creep.
Jimin took notice of you staring off at the wall, not answering anything he said. He thought something was bothering you for the past few days, but if that were the case you would eventually talk to him about it. He didn’t want to pry anything out of you, opting to switch the subject before your focus went back onto him.
“Y/n?” He snapped his fingers in front of your eyes, grabbing your attention.
“Sorry, I haven’t gotten much sleep recently.” It wasn’t a lie. You hadn’t been sleeping, too many thoughts of Jungkook crowded your mind, but you weren’t about to admit that.
“It’s okay, just was gonna ask if you wanted to order anything.” He mumbled, too busy scrolling on his phone.
“Uh yeah.. whatever works, you know I don’t mind.” You didn't mean to sound so defeated, but you could help all of your running thoughts.
Jimin angled his head up, concern written all over his face, but you knew he would never push you to tell him something. The two of you always just freely let the other know of anything that was bothering you, never asking about it. But maybe you should tell Jimin, he knows Jungkook! Plus, it could help clear your mind. You just weren’t going to mention where you guys met, not wanting to admit your lies to Jimin.
“Hey, so you know that friend of yours? I think his name is Jungkook, he’s really nice.” Jimin raised his eyebrows at that, what once was concern was disappearing and switching to what almost looked like anger.
“He’s not ‘really nice’ Y/n. He’s an asshole, most college guys are. Where’d you even see him?”
Fuck. You were going to have to lie, again.
“Just.. in the library. I was bored and recognized him from that night, remembered you two were friends, and just talked to him.. I guess.”
The sight of the two of you looked identical to an owner scolding their pet. You could feel the anger radiating off of Jimin as he looked down on you with furrowed eyebrows. He was about to snap.
“Yeah, we’re friends, but you don’t need to be involved with people like him, Y/n. He’s bad news.” Jimin rubbed his forehead, letting out a long, deep sigh. “Just try to stay away from him, neither of us want or need you to revert back to how you were last time.”
Although that was kind of a low blow to you, he did have a point. He's been along your side with every guy that has played with your feelings, eventually having to pick up their pieces of your broken heart himself. You couldn't blame him for not wanting you to go through those emotions again, especially with Jungkook, his roommate.
He tried his best to keep a straight face (clearly failing), but Jimin was pissed. You were his best friend, of course he didn’t want you to get hurt again by another lowlife guy. And Jimin also couldn’t understand why Jungkook didn't just listen when he said to leave you alone. He’s pretty much asking for trouble with him at this point.
“I gotta go, have to finish up some work. I’ll text you later tonight.” And with that, he up and left. No emotions were behind his words, he couldn't let anything out.
But you were so confused; why wasn’t he happy that two of his friends liked each other? It crossed your mind that maybe he thought he would be the third wheel, you’d have to talk to him later about that and assure him that would never happen. But for now, as much as Jimin wanted you to stay away from Jungkook, you just couldn’t bring yourself to do so. You were still hungry and there was a boy you knew couldn’t resist you, especially if you asked him to go out to dinner.
♥︎⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁⦁♥︎
“Sorry for cancelling so much, stuff came up and I just got really busy—”
You reached your hand across the small oak table, softly interlocking your small fingers with his much larger ones. “It’s okay, you’re here now, right?”
He smiled towards you, a blush becoming more evident on his cheeks. “I’m glad you called though, I’ve been wanting to see you. Anything new happen with you?”
“Not really, homework, projects, essays, you know how it is. Same old, same old.” You got a laugh out of him.
“Yeah, not my favorite thing to do either.” He took a sip of his drink.
“How have the races been going? You don’t look too beaten down.” You picked at your salad, almost finishing your meal.
“Can’t win every week, that just wouldn’t be fair to anyone else now, would it?” He smirked at you, causing you to blush. God he’s so attractive. “I haven’t placed terribly, but I wish I would have done better a few of those weeks. It's hard to focus when there’s this girl I can’t stop thinking about.”
Your cheeks were so hot you knew you resembled a tomato. How could he say that so nonchalantly! “She’s lucky to have all your attention.”
“Yeah, the luckiest.”
It was difficult not to fall for Jungkook. He was so cute when he would get shy, but so sexy when he would say little things like that to flirt with you. His voice was soft and calming, and you could listen to him talk for hours. As crazy as it is, to you, he was perfect.
It bothered you why Jimin freaked out earlier. As far as you knew, they were good friends! Did something happen within the past couple of weeks between them?
You hated lying to Jimin, but you felt like you didn’t have a choice. If he wasn’t going to be supportive of yours and Jungkook’s friendship, or whatever was going on between the two of you, then the only thing you could do was lie. Someday you’ll come clean to him, but for now, you just wanted to feel out whatever was coming your way.
“You look lost in thought.” He said worryingly, swallowing a bite of his steak. “Anyone I need to set straight?”
You smiled at him, letting out a small laugh while shaking your head side to side. “No, it’s just been a long week, I’m trying not to stress over anything.”
“Well, I’m racing this Friday. If it’ll help you get away from all of the stress, I’d love for you to come.”
“Yeah, I’ll always be there if you want me there.” You knew you would be making more trips to these races. Now that you and Jungkook were getting closer, it was almost inevitable. At least you knew he wanted you there just as much as you wanted to be there.
“Get used to never having a free Friday night then.”
The waitress brought over the check but before you could even peek at the total, Jungkook had snatched the small leather booklet, flashing you a smirk. You would have offered to pay, but knowing Jungkook, that would have been a losing battle for you, even if you were offering the pay of your meal only.
“Let me walk you back. Don’t need any freaks getting to you.” He stood up from his seat, helping you gather your coat and purse.
You’ve walked back to the dorms alone at night many times before. Luckily, nobody has ever gone up to you, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen, there were weird people who hide in those dark alleys. At least you had Jungkook here with you tonight.
Said gentleman held the restaurant door open for you, connecting your hands together as you embarked on the short walk through the city.
It was a beautiful night, mostly warm with a slight breeze. The weather had been absolutely miserable for a few days, and it was relaxing to have sunny days once again. There were flowers lining the sidewalk, various kinds and colors amongst them, as well as a few leaves from the trees.
You couldn’t help but smile as you felt Jungkook’s thumb soothingly rub the top of your palm. You gave his hand a small squeeze, looking up and meeting his eyes.
The two of you continued walking, hands swinging in between your bodies as he spoke up. “You don't mind me taking up your time, right?"
"Not at all, why?" The wind picked up, blowing a few strands of hair in your face.
"Just didn't know if you had a boyfriend at home waiting for you."
Jungkook wasn't an idiot, he knew you were single. He just wanted to hear you say that you were single, maybe that confirmation would give him a confidence boost.
"There's no boyfriend at home, I promise." You giggled, smile so wide that your cheeks started to hurt.
"Well, there might be soon," he said softly.
You had butterflies in your stomach again, only this time, it was way more intense. He's such a flirt, he knows what he's doing to you. Your red cheeks aren't helping you hide your feelings.
"I don't wanna beat around the bush, I think you pretty much know how I feel about you. It's kind of obvious." He laughed, nudging his head in the direction of you joined hands. "I just don't want to move forward if you aren't feeling it."
He needed to stop pouting; of course, you felt the same way! "Trust me, I wouldn't be here, out with you, if I didn't have feelings for you, Jungkook."
"Just making sure." He gazed into your eyes; you noticed his sparkled with adoration. He was too pretty.
The rest of the walk to your dorm was calm, comfortable silence followed along. There wasn't any awkwardness between you two, just two adults who mimicked hopeless romantic teenagers. And who cared, you were happy and Jungkook seemed so too.
Who cares what Jimin said to you, he doesn't know Jungkook the same way you know him. They're frat brothers, of course Jimin is going to think he's an asshole or a fuckboy, because they usually are. But Jungkook doesn't take Jimin out to dinner or hold his hand like he does with you. It's just different.
You wished the walk could have been longer when you realized you were already at the front of your dorm building. You wanted to spend more of the night with Jungkook, but it didn't feel like the right timing to invite him in, or even ask to back to the frat house with him. As much as you liked him, it was way too early for anything like that, you weren't even dating.
Oh how you wanted to be his so badly.
"Looks like this is where we'll be parting ways." He let go of your hands, instantly pulling you close and wrapping his arms tightly around your waist instead. "Thank you for tonight."
You brushed the brown bangs away from his eyes, resting your hands on his toned chest. "Don't thank me, you were the one who wouldn't let me pay."
He bit his lip, a soft smile evident on his face. "Oh? I didn't know it was a crime to treat you."
"It's not.. but you don't need to make it a habit of yours."
"Maybe I do."
You could see him leaning slowly towards you, his eyes stealing quick glances down towards your lips and arms pulling your small body closer into his chest.
He spoke in the softest voice you had ever heard. "Is this okay?"
Even if you hadn't known him for that long or are still learning about him and entering his world, this felt so right. You've had flings before, and you've been in a serious relationship, but none of that could even compare to this very moment.
You knew this was right, as you whispered, "Yes."
His lips just barely grazed along yours; he snuck a hand up to softly cup your chin and finally pulled you to him, connecting the two of you. Your eyelids shut, wanting nothing more than to focus on his lips as they molded perfectly with yours, they were so soft and plush.
You felt so secure in his arms, the feeling of hands rubbing up and down your back soothing any worry you had. It made your heart melt when you felt his lips curl up into a smile, feeling a faint hint of his teeth against yours. Each of you were releasing all emotions you had inside. You were so vulnerable right now, but Jungkook made you feel safe.
You raised your arms, cupping each of his cheeks as you began to slightly pull away from him, giving his lips few more pecks. As much as you wanted to continue, you didn't want to rush things and potentially ruin anything to come.
The kiss wasn't necessarily short and sweet, but it also wasn't ruined by being a slobber fest. If Jungkook had any doubt you didn't reciprocate his feelings, he was definitely worry-free now. If anything, it made him even crazier for you.
His eyes stared deep into yours, a small bunny smile peeking through. "You better not plan on running away from me now, not after that."
You couldn't help but laugh, god he was too cute. "I wouldn't dream it, Jungkook."
"Not that I wanna leave, but it's late and we both have early mornings tomorrow, and you also probably have a few last minute assignments you need to take care of."
"Yeah yeah, remind me of everything I have to do instead of spending more time with you."
He leaned in once more, stealing a quick peck from you as he began to take a few steps away from the dorm building. "I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight."
You wished him a goodnight, waving to him as you entered the main common room.
You really felt like a teenager again, unable to control the butterflies erupting in your stomach. The smile on your face mimicked the Cheshire cat, and if someone were to walk past right now, they would think you were going crazy. It wasn't your fault you've been loved deprived for such a long time, and now there's a man that wants nothing but your attention.
Jungkook hadn't been this serious about a girl since he had gotten into college. To him, it was easier to just mess around, never having to put full attention and effort into someone who would eventually leave him. With you, though, he felt different.
There wasn't any explanation, and he truly didn't know why he felt that way, but his instincts assured him that you weren't going to leave like everyone else did. He wanted to make a relationship work with you, and he was willing to do anything for you to make that happen.
To feel loved again, to feel complete again, meant everything to you both. Two souls who had been blindly waiting for each other were finally getting a peak at what real love could be, and they wanted nothing more.
///
a/n; part four is hereee and im sorry it took so long, life happened and it set me back a little bit, but thank you for being so so so patient with me🥺🥺🤍 please leave me feedback and let me know if you want to be added to the taglist for future chapters!!
2023; © aechawrites
taglist; @braindump-of-the-braindead @itstash @thvlover7 @uwusunwoo @imnotherebye28 @tatamicc @mochilover1995x @skzthinker @icyllic @taumathegoat @withluvjm @pointofviewyugyeom @coralmusicblaze @namjoonscrabjuice @destructive-memories @junecat18 @heartjiminie
#bts#jungkook#jungkook x reader#racing#jeon jungkook#jeongguk#college#kpop#jungkook smut#bangtan#jungkook angst#jungkook fluff
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NINJAGO HEADCANON TIME ‼️
I- am shamelessly on a Ninjago fixation again (I blame my irl friends- they’re not gonna see this anyway sooooooooo) yippe. Some of these headcanons are ones Ive see and whole heartedly agree with, and some are just random ones i’ve come up with throughout the years so uh yeah don’t mind that some have more then others haha. I’ll probably post smaller ones (and like a another one specifically for DR headcanons :DDDDD
They are in no coherent order🧍♂️
This is long I apologize 😂
Lloyd
• He/They and Panro Ace.
• None of the ninja are not queer and three(?) of them are ace to me (I am projecting.) Lloyd is ace, for I cannot see the words Lloyd and s3x working in the same sentence. In general just idea cannot be fathomed by me. If you do, cool! (We don’t shame headcanons around here!!)
• He is trans masc as well I love trans masc Lloyd headcanons.
• Getting this out the way. I am a s u c k e r for the oni dragon feature headcanons. 👏💳👏💳👏
• He has horns, starting on his forehead following the curve of his head, the horns aren’t to long and are pretty smooth, starting off as his skin color before transitioning into a black color with a green sheen.
• The horns are a mix of dragon shape with oni coloring.
• Lloyd has pointy ears and they do reflect his emotions.
• Like they’re sitting pointed high when he’s really happy, excited, nervous (?) and tend to droop when he’s sad or upset. Though they are typically in a neutral middle.
• Yes he has a tail but he does hide it when in public.
• Does have shape shifting! Just not to the extent of a full blood Oni, he could change into other people or animals but it’s much harder and required complete focus. So it’s better for him to take small characteristics or changes (like his face, hiding scars, etc), or to hide some Oni and Dragon features if he so wishes.
• He can purr, but is very embarrassed by it so other than around the ninja he tries his best to keep it down.
• Short compared to the ninja, like the second shortest, around 5’6”.
• Trust issues, kinda funky to new people like he’s not mean but he isn’t gonna be all buddy buddy and friendly (I blame Harumi & his childhood.)
• Especially after seasons 8-10, absolutely does not trust anybody besides his family.
• Absolutely did not like the new changes of horns and a tail, etc when they manifested. Dreaded it and himself at one point. Took a lot of care, and work, and love (and probably a lot of therapy) for him to feel comfortable again.
• There are days in which he still feels awful but he knows he can go straight over to the ninja when he starts feeling like that.
• Through he did not mind his fangs since he did have them since birth. When they started growing it was not an uncommon occurrence to find him staring into the bathroom mirror as he’d gently poke the tips of his fangs.
• There are some times, rare times, where you’ll still catch him doing it.
• His fangs are not as typically long as a regular onis, but longer that a normal humans canines.
• His nail are in a similar fashion, they grow pointy and a faster than the rest of the ninja, so he often has to file them down at least one or twice a week.(?)
• Even now has the biggest sweet tooth, when he was younger he’d steal some of Cole’s sweets but now they’ve been baking together for a while. He’s gotten pretty good
• Lloyd, like his father, both like shiny stuff or things with nice sounds. Think like dice! some are shiny while others just make the best sound when clunked together. Leads me to my next thing.
• HE HAS PIERCINGS, I firmly believe he had his ears pierced at least once, with like gold studs but will change them out to other gold esk earrings every so often.
• The rest of the ninja have bought them a set of earrings that match each ninja. Quartz studs from Zane. Like a vertical bar hoop earings from Cole, Kai went a little extra and got him a gold lobe to conch chained earring which a dangling piece of chain with a red jewel, Mismatch blue studs from Jay, and Raindrop earrings from Nya.
• He gets constantly reminded ans (lovingly) made fun of his Prime Empire avatar.
• The next few are gonna be angst and possibly a bit darker, so be warned when proceeding.
• Lloyd has had and still has a lot going on, mentally and emotionally.
• You’ve seen the amount of trauma and shit he’s been through.
• When he first found out about being the green ninja he was young, a kid, so he found it exciting imagining himself like that. He felt very important and wanted to do anything and everything to achieve that faster. Kids are oblivious like that. After getting hit with Tommorow’s Tea it finally dawned on him.
• Lloyd got what he wanted but being the Green Ninja was not the simple obstacle to overcome.
• The weight of the responsibility and power was to heavy at first. So he put himself through the training, every morning to night he trained. it got bad at one point because he’d rarely leave, even to eat.
• It was an issue that had an intervention for, he wasn’t allowed to train without someone knowing or supervising for awhile.
• He broke down during the intervention, because he wanted to be ready and to strong enough, etc. But he never did through out the training. That night was a movie night where Lloyd got to watch all his favorite moviess.
• He struggled with getting into better eating habits after awhile of the non-stop training. The others were always patient with him though.
• Lloyd felt he had a lot to uphold and maintain especially as words were used like “chosen one” and “destiny” to describe his role.
• After awhile he started having a harder time expressing his emotions, but the Ninja caught on quick enough and did help him reverse that thinking and process. Sometimes it’s still hard.
• There are times where Lloyd blanks out to his own thoughts and he struggles to come out of them.
• Has anxiety and has had anxiety and panic attacks more then once. Knows the routine on how to deal with them.
• The first time he had a panic attack he was alone and it scared him. But he was to afraid to tell anyone.
• Sensei Wu was the first to find out and talked to Lloyd about it, he got the rest of the team involved after getting a plan and everything set up to help Lloyd.
• Probably has (undiagnosed) ADHD, notable hyperfixations were Sharks, Space (due to a comic book series), The history of Ninjago/the Ninja, and his current Hyperfixation is Plants/botany.
• To lighten the mood, RGB SIBLINGS.
•I am a firm believer in them.
• Lloyd intended to make matching bracelets for him, Kai and Nya but while making them decided to do it for all the ninja so now they all have needed bracelets consisting of a green, light blue, blue, red, black, and white bead.
• They (Kai and Nya) were the first people he saw as family besides Sensei Wu. Then they adopted him very much was like “Yes, he is our little brother. Whatcha gonna do about it?”
• Lloyd started copying both of them because he really looked up to them. Took their sides in arguments but took Nya’s when it was an argument between the two of them.
• Lloyd often let Nya paint his nails and sometimes practice makeup on him.
• He also got roped up into most of Kai’s pranks, he loves it though.
• Rgb siblings have a very good relationship and they are the closest out of any sibling esk relationship Lloyd has with the Ninja.
Nya
• She/They and Bisexual (fem leaning)
• I see a lot of the Ninja as Bi in some aspect (again i’m projecting.)
• Genderqueer but def more feminine leaning.
• Nya and Jay keep their half of the Yin Yang medallion on themselves 99% of the time.
• Nya is in fact taller then jay and is only an inch taller then Lloyd standing at 5’7”.
• Nya and Cole are best friends.
• They work out together go on jogs and help spot each other, etc.
• NYA IS B U F F, Can easily pick up Jay and carry him around.
• Both cringe looking back at the “Cole is my perfect match” thing.
• Has a spice tolerance because of Kai but not at the same level as him.
• P.i.x.a.l. and Nya like to work on stuff together, just like they’ll ask for tiny bits of advice or suggestions. It’s best described as parallel play? but they’re doing very similar things but on their own.
• Can not cook for shit, has burnt food more times then she can count.
• Messy clean room, tbh this can go for all ninja except Kai weirdly enough, his room is by far the most organized out of them all, still can be messy but overall clean.
• Skates, known longboards, regular skateboards and skates, she and Lloyd do it a lot.
•Knows how to ride a motorbike and is very proud of it. That thing is like her child.
• Also post becoming one with the sea she’s grown wayyyy more interested in the ocean and relating topics like preservation, marine biology, how the ocean works and how land is made, etc.
• Side effect from becoming one with the sea is she constantly smells like sea salt
• She also has markings left over in swirly shapes, and her eyes glow a faint blue in the dark.
• Subconsciously understands (aquatic) animals like they make their noises and subconsciously Nya’s brain translates it.
• The monastery has since also been made to follow proper recycling procedures.
• Goes out to help with any kind of beach clean ups, sometimes will drag the rest of the team to help.
• Likes pretty much every and all kinda of music. You name is she’s listen to it. While working on her Samurai X suit she’s find random music to play.
• One of the three (Jay, Her, and Cole) coffee addicts of the monastery, the others either don’t drink coffee (P.i.x.a.l. and Zane), drink tea (Lloyd and Sensei Wu), or drink Redbull (Kai.)
• Feels like she needs to prove her worth 24/7. Especially in early seasons. But she’s learned that she’s loved no matter her worth and that she’s important to the team, but there are times she struggles.
• Back to Nya and Jay, I feel like they’d have date nights once a week.
• It takes a variety of forms, like movie dates, all day dates, or simply staying over in each others rooms to cuddle.
• Or stargazing dates or long rides on Nya’s motorbike.
• I feel they’re 100% comfortable and honest with each other even if they don’t want to. Especially in the later seasons.
• They’ve had a few breakdowns together, relatively no one knows bout this as they take extra care into keeping it private. Unless the other was genuinely concerned then they might get Sensei Wu involved but that is the farthest they’ll go.
• Double dates with Kai and Skylor.
• Nya has two victims when she wants to experiment with stuff. Jay and Lloyd, at this point they have become accustomed to it.
• Couple times the entire ninja crew fell for the skincare ‘dates’ now it’s a once a month thing.
• SHES A GOOD INVENTOR, There’s like 4 (Nya, Jay, Zane, and P.i.x.a.l.) of them now, so sometimes with bigger projects they’ll get together to help out.
• Jaya kiss each other a lot, from pecks, to showering each other in kisses, forehead, nose, butterfly, hand kisses. They’re adorable.
• THEY BOTH ARE SO TICKLISH TO THE POINT THEYLL GET ALL GIGGLY WHEN THEY GET PEPPERED IN KISSES.
• Sometimes while they’ll out they’ll spot a pretty person and point them out and giggle about it to each other.
• Wears claw clips and has noticed Jay keeps an extra one on his at all times.
• They absolutely dance and play in the rain.
• If one of them gets sick because of it they feel bad and will stick with them 100% through it even if they end up catching it.
• They are so silly I love them hehehe.
• Saw this short comic and now it’s my person headcannon Nya for the samurai x idea from Lloyd.
• Daddy’s girl.
Jay
• He/Him and Bisexual (fem leaning)
•Jay is trans, ftm. Another one where I really like the trans headcanon. <333
• Second person in the group to have ADHD. Though he’s known about it for longer and takes medication to help but also has his own routine to help incase he forgets to take his meds.
• When he was younger his main hyper fixation was inventing and now it’s just carried over into regular interests. There are times where it’ll seep back into his brain for a short while but it hasn’t been as big as it was when he was younger.
• Loved building things with his dad ‼️ was bonding moments for them. He still has some of the trinkets they’ve made together. They’re his prized possessions.
• Learned to sew from his mom, which was useful ashe took his stuffed bear, Mister Cuddlywomp, around with his everywhere and he’d either get dirty or ripped so Edna taught Jay to see so he could repair the stuffed bear whenever.
• Had a hyperfixation on video games, birds, and Dinosaurs. His current hyperfixation is back to inventing.
• Rambles a lot and everybody listens, especially Nya. Lloyd on the other hand jumps in and they end up rambling together for hours.
• He also collects stuff, Crow collecting random stuff Jay and Dragon loving shiny Lloyd. They show off their collections to each other atleast once a week.
• He has sensitive ears and can get overwhelmed easily by loud noises. So he caries a pair of headphones on him at all times.
• Lloyd and Jay are very close and definitely hang out a lot whether it’s a parallel play thing (like Nya and p.i.x.a.l.) or it’s talking about their hyperfixations, or their collections, etc.
• Oh yeah, he’s definitely the shortest ninja I wanna say around 5’4”-5’5”.
• Has lightning looking scars from his first few attempts at his power. Can be a bit subconscious about them but then remembers this one time a kid said he looked badass from the scars.
• Again I love him and Nyas relationship because they’re so comfortable with each other.
• He’s the little spoon and loves when Nya plays with his hair.
• Cuddler, enough said.
• Power has gone out multiple times because he’s been jumpscared. So now everybody’s agreed to just not scare him. He’s vulnerable to pranks, no body is.
• Which, Jay has started 2 prank war before, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it’s happened twice.
• Can’t skate, Nya has tried many times and all failed.
• I feel he definitely has some scaring especially because he’s always be scraped or have bandages on him as a kid.
• Rom com enthusiast ‼️
• Really wants to learn more about his biological parents, especially after that whole thing in Sky bound, I feel like it was just a one up thing and I would’ve loved to see him get to learn about them from Sensei Wu in canon. So after Skybound ended he begged Sensei Wu to tell him about his bio parents. He would’ve said yes and told him as much as he could remember.
• Nervous laughs when he feels awkward.
• Fidgets a lot with his fingers, or random items he has on hand.
• Bit of an artist, says he can’t draw, proceeds to make the most detailed and analyzed sketch of a invention he’s working on and says “I know it’s messy and I was a bit lazy with it sorry.”
• Likes to cloud gaze when he doesn’t have training. He finds it calming and satisfying to watch the clouds slowly pass by. Has almost fallen asleep out there.
• Jay sometimes feel likes he’s the useless member of the team, Kai is pretty useful with his knowledge of weapons, Zane could cook remarkably, Nya has made multiple vehicles and even a secret base as well as repair the bounty, Cole is a good baker and super strong (+ plus he has connections due to his fathers status) and pixel is an major knowledge source for them.
• He will sit in his room thinking about how he could become more useful, one time Nya found him like this and he spent the rest of the night crying to her. Apologizing for ever making her feel this way before.
• I feel they would’ve talk to each other about it more after Jay calmed down and how Nya felt during that time. It made them grow closer and understand each other better.
• Jay always makes sure to include everyone since then. No matter what’s going on.
• Has a stuffed animal collections and they hall have names and elaborate personalities and backstories. Many of them are friends with Lloyd’s stuffed animals.
• He’s a sweetheart overall, possibly writes poetry for Nya, or atleast has attempted it.
• Sharper cainines the left over from when he was a snake.
Kai
• He/They and Bisexual
• Kai is a demi-boy or bigender I can’t really decide because they both fit him.
•Massive spice tolerance, will and can drown his food in black pepper regardless of if it needs it or not. You can smell it.
• He’s a decent cook but has formally been banned from cooking from now on due to an incident where he almost set the kitchen on fire.
• Street smart.
• Avide romance enjoyer, Jays the only one who knows and has it used as blackmail.
• Jay gives him book recs.
• Average height, 5’8” in reality he’s 5’7”.
• He’s really warm to the touch, so he’s like a personal heater when it gets cold out.
• Kai and Skylor love each other a lot. But they were on and off for awhile. Eventually they made it official.
• Visits the Noodle house a lot to flirt with Skylor which she just ends up making him help her.
• Talks shit with Nya in Spanish.
• Attempted to teach Lloyd Spanish, only picked up little things.
• Kai has scars and burn marks from working in his family black smith. He got more the first time he used his powers, he no longer has finger prints.
• The only normal one, has no side effects from being turned into or being related to anything.
• Mama’s boy (cried over the song Mama’s boy)
• Kai has a mild hydrophobia, because he almost drowned as a kid. Nya helped pull him out and that was the first experience of her using her elemental powers whether she knew it or not.
• Kept having nightmares especially after and during Seabound.
• When his sister became the sea he’d stare out at the ocean, it was his two biggest fears combined but he still wanted to be near for Nya.
• He definitely had multiple breakdowns about and overall cried a lot. He was terrified.
• Actually really good with kids, loves them to death.
• Theater kid, even just a tiny bit. Don’t ask.
• Redbull drinker, but will drink other energy drinks if there’s none in the house.
• Scared to lose his power do sometimes he’ll wake up suddenly and try to light his hand to make sure he still has it,
• Could be 25° outside he could wear shorts and a t-shirt and be fine. Despite that he hates it.
Cole
• He/Him and Gay.
• Cole is the only cis person out of the Ninja but he does feel fem from time to time so you can see him experimenting with his styles and tends to keep his hair longer.
• Very good baker! Experiments with different recipes and stuff. Lloyd likes to help with whatever he can however he can.
• The tallest of the ninja at 6’1”
• After reverting from being a ghost he had a hard time adjusting back to being human.
• He had to adjust to eating and drinking again. Zane often would help him but he would forget at times.
• Mild hydrophobia, forgets he can touch water again.
• Forgets he can’t become invisible or pass through stuff.
• Sometimes has phantom feelings of being a ghost still, no physical altercations occurred really.
• He can still see ghost though, freaks him out a bunch but he’s made a few ghost friends.
• Loves music and has a vinyl and cd collections. Cole is very proud of it.
• He eventually began to enjoy dancing, using it to train along with other various forms of martial arts.
• He’s the Dad of the group.
• When he is stressed he bakes late at night, he’s scared a few of his teammates when they came to get water or smth late at night.
• Can kinda like feel the group like tremors, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. Pretty useful and he often uses it when the city doesn’t pick up on stuff.
• He’s scared of being abandoned.
Zane
• He/They/It and Asexual
• I saw this once and I agree, they very obviously feel emotions, like love, heartbreak, happiness, sadness, hurt, etc. But I do not think when they were built their creators had them being sexually active in mind, I do not think they were built with any of those parts at all. And being asexual doesn’t mean you can’t love someone you absolutely can be attracted romantically to anyone just you don’t or barely feel sexual attraction. I’m stating this because of the fact they are Nindroids.
• Zane is nonbinary because i’m nonbinary and I say so.
• Zane and p.i.x.a.l. are dating but they aren’t the typically publicly affectionate kind, they’re obviously a couple but leave affectionate for private.
• Also the mom of the group.
• Most people are banned from using the kitchen except him and Cole. As well as kai if he has either of the two’s supervision.
• One of the more organized people, he’s more organized than Kai. Everything must be in place.
• He also follows recipes to a T. Not a simple mistake in his cooking.
• Can withstand the cold, he’s cold to the touch. Even if he is metal he’s colder than what it typically gets like.
• He’s like an info machine, they ask him lots of questions which can get very annoying at times. They don’t mean for it to be rude, they just want him to show off how much knowledge he holds.
• Second tallest of the ninja at 5’11”
• Let’s the team vent to him and help them find solutions or ways to help at all.
• Likes books but has only really read a few that he truely enjoyed.
Pixel
• Any pronouns and Asexual
• I saw this once and I agree, they very obviously feel emotions, like love, heartbreak, happiness, sadness, hurt, etc. But I do not think when they were built their creators had them being sexually active in mind, I do not think they were built with any of those parts at all. And being asexual doesn’t mean you can’t love someone you absolutely can be attracted romantically to anyone just you don’t or barely feel sexual attraction. I’m stating this because of the fact they are Nindroids.
• Pixel is a demi-girl.
• P.i.x.a.l. is also 5’11”
• Also someone the team vents to.
• Super cool badass but also the biggest softie, While Zane and her aren’t as affectionate, if you’re sneaky and lucky enough you’ll find them cuddling or out watching movies.
• P.i.x.a.l. is very good with kids, finding them really adorable.
#ninjago#lego ninjago#ninjago fandom#ninjago headcanons#ninjago lloyd#ninjago nya#ninjago jay#ninjago kai#ninjago cole#ninjago zane#ninjago pixal#lloyd garmadon#nya smith#jay walker#kai smith#cole brookstone#zane julien#p.i.x.a.l.#acerrr writings
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63
nonny, I'm SO SORRY this took so long, but I made it a bit extra long to make up for it 💛 enjoy!
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“Somebody’s in love!”
Eddie jerked his head up, panicked that Henderson had finally caught him staring one too many times at Chrissy Cunningham. At her crinkly nose and her short little skirt and her delicate hands and… you get the idea.
Fortunately, Henderson was not talking to Eddie, but to Steve Harrington, who’d been fluffing his ever-obnoxious hair in the reflection of one of the video games at the arcade.
“Hey, twerp, when your hair looks as good as mine, you’ll spend time in front of a mirror, too,” Harrington said, bopping the brim of Henderson’s hat affectionately.
“Excuse you,” Henderson said indignantly. “My hair looks amazing, thank you very much.”
Thank fuck. He’d gotten away with it again. Automatically, his eyes drifted back over to Chrissy, where she was giggling with Max and Will…
Fuck. She was looking at him now.
He dropped his gaze, spinning the opposite way to find a game, any game, to distract him from being a fucking idiot and staring at the most stupidly pretty girl in Hawkins.
“Hey, Eddie.”
He looked up from his game—apparently his subconscious had directed him straight to Pacman, what the fuck—to find Chrissy looking up at him with wide, baby blue eyes. She had to be some kind of fucking enchantress with eyes like that, blue enough to pull him in with her siren song and leave him to drown.
What a way to die.
“Hi,” he said eloquently, clearing his throat and trying over again. “Um, having fun?”
“Yeah,” she said, a genuine smile blooming out over her face. “It’s nice to hang out with people who don’t… care. About, like, social status or being cool.”
Eddie clutched his heart in mock hurt. “Are you saying I’m not cool, Cunningham?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean—” she stopped, a shocked smile crossing her face. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“Me?” Eddie bent down until he was eye to eye with her, keeping his expression grave. “I’ll have you know I am a serious man. Not a nonsensical or shenanigan-rous bone in my body. Some might even call me…” he paused for dramatic effect before slumping back against Pacman, pressing his hand to his forehead. “Dignified.”
She burst out into a peal of laughter, her eyes almost squinting shut with her smile. Fuck, he wanted to eat it, let that sound melt across his tongue like cotton candy.
“Do you mock me?” he asked in a shocked whisper. “I cannot believe our own benevolent queen would treat me thus.”
“I—” another giggle escaped her lips before she managed to silence it. “I would never. I actually…”
She trailed off, blushing a little.
“You what, your highness?” he asked, tilting his head with an expectant smile. “Your wish is my command.”
“I, uh, was wondering if you’d teach me,” she said in a low voice, like she was sharing a secret. “I don’t really know how to play these games.”
Eddie held out his hand with a flourish. “Step right up, my lady, and I’ll show you the ways of the man of Pac.”
“Thank you, kind sir,” she said, slipping her hand into his and letting him guide her.
Her hand was so fucking soft he was afraid the callouses on his fingers might tear her skin up. But she didn’t seem to mind his touch, lacing her fingers firmly through his. His brain stuttered to a halt momentarily, and he had to shake his head to clear his thoughts. Focus, idiot.
He pointed out the controls to her as he gave her a brief explanation of the game, and she nodded along, content to absorb his words. And if he leaned over her shoulder a few times to point out some things, well, he was just doing his civic duty as an arcade game instructor. He didn’t try to press against her or even touch her, he just liked basking in her presence. Hell, even standing near to her was closer than he ever thought he’d get.
And she didn’t seem to mind. When he leaned over her shoulder to tap on the screen, she snagged the sleeve of his jacket, twisting her tiny fingers into the leather.
“You can come a little closer,” she murmured, tugging on his sleeve. “I don’t bite.”
He took a hesitant step forward, keeping a couple inches of space between them. He didn’t want to fucking assume anything even though the hem of her skirt brushed against his bare knee where the fabric had worn straight through on his jeans. Fuck, this might just be heaven.
“What’s the matter, Munson?” she asked teasingly, giving his jacket one last insistent pull. “You scared of me?”
He almost stumbled forward, and now he could actually feel her against him, her angular shoulder pressed against his ribcage and her ass brushing up against his thigh. She leaned her head back against his shoulder, nestling it in the crook of his neck, and for a split second he forgot to breathe.
“Yeah, Cunningham,” he laughed, daring to curl his hand around hers on the joystick. Who needed heaven when you could have Chrissy Cunningham pressed against you like this? “I’m fucking terrified.”
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Angst story where reader makes Shuri mad cause I seen a lot talking abt reader being mad
Angst one-shot
Nakia joined Shuri on the sand. They shared soft smiles.
“Now is the time that you tell me why you’re really here, aside from seeing your nephew,” the older of the two spoke.
Shuri looked slighted. “There’s gotta be another reason?” She received a knowing expression in response. “I can’t just be a good aunt?”
Nakia chuckled. Shuri had in fact been spoiling Touissant with gifts and quality time. There was an unmistakable bond between them that grew each week.
“It’s not about your aunt duties. It’s about you not mentioning Y/N. I haven’t heard you say anything about her all day.”
“It’s only been a day…” Shuri backed down, however, when Nakia gave her a smirk that said she wasn’t buying any of it. “Okay, fine. We had a fight—not a physical one, you can relax. But the short of it is, she thinks I don’t want her to have a life.”
“Hmm?” Nakia was wildly confused. That didn’t sound right at all.
“Yeah,” Shuri said, sighing. “She calls herself paying me back for working long hours by going out every weekend. All I said was you can’t cancel this one thing just to have dinner with me? Do I need to start scheduling dates with you in advance? Because you’re always booked!”
Flashback to Yesterday
“Now, you know you have a lot of nerve, Shuri. You are the one who is always booked in that damned lab! On the weekends I want to do more than cuddle. I want to go out! I want to have a good time with my friends, meet people, and be outside! You never want any parts of it, so I made it easier for both of us. But the one time you do want to go out, I’m supposed to drop everything?”
Shuri could hardly believe what she was hearing. “I didn’t know wanting to take my girlfriend out would be such an inconvenience for you. Have you not been going to the club and parties for weeks straight? Every time I asked you if wanted to do something, what did you say? You already had plans. Damn, you can’t fit me in for one Saturday?”
“No, what about all the Saturdays you had me thinking we were going out only to flake! The Saturday you just so happened to finally want to be social with your girlfriend, I said my friends were having their housewarming…-“
“Which thanks for asking me if I wanted to come!”
“Shuri, how many times did I invite you to things and you never wanted to go? Unless if it’s your event or something, you’re never interested. At the end of the day, all you care about is that stupid lab.”
You could see that you had now struck a nerve in Shuri. She stood from her chair with so much force that it railed against the wall. “Take that back.”
You shook your head with a scornful laugh. “That’s my entire point, it’s all you care about!”
“No, the lab is all you care about. You can’t keep it out your mouth and you are letting it ruin us!” She pointed angrily.
“You don’t get to put this on me! If you knew you wouldn’t have time or wanna have time for a relationship, you should have never entered into one.”
“No, maybe, I should have never entered into one with you.”
That almost knocked you over but you refused to crumble before her. Instead you decide to hit her back. “You may find someone else, but they too will eventually see that dating the Queen of Wakanda is not all it’s cracked to be.”
End flashback
Nakia gasped. “She said that?”
Shuri put on a smile as she sniffled and quickly wiped her eyes.
“You know she didn’t mean that,” Nakia tried to assure. “She’s only ever spoken highly of your relationship, and happiness doesn’t lie. That was the hurt talking. I mean, you did suggest that you shouldn’t have gotten with her.”
“I…I think I really messed up, Nakia.”
Toussaint took a break from his friends, staring at his aunt who was clearly emotional and being consoled by his mother.
He raced over there. “Aunt Shuri, who did this to you?”
Nakia smiled at her son. “She got some sand in her eye…” she answered when Shuri took a beat.
“Don’t insult my nephew’s intelligence like that,” Shuri found her voice.
“Yeah, mama, I can tell that it’s something serious,” Touissant agreed. “I ask again, who.did.this.to.you?" His stare was unwavering on the princess while she gazed at him in awe.
“Your father would be so proud of you.” She smiled as he embraced her tightly, huffing out a laugh when he pointed out that she and Nakia tell him this daily. She patted for him to sit down. “Don’t give us any reasons not to. But, little man, sometimes couples get into disagreements, and I am in one now.”
“With Y/N? Tomorrow is not promised, so try to make it right today.”
Shuri and Nakia exchanged looks.
“Please don’t cry again,” Touissant groaned.
“We won’t cry, we will listen,” Nakia replied, casting a look at Shuri and holding her hand.
A tearful Shuri nodded with a smile that held promise. The three family members went indoors and Shuri excused herself to the room she’d been staying in. Her leg bobbed up and down as she considered how she wanted to approach this conversation. You had made her so angry. But more than anything, you made her sad. And this wasn’t normally so. Typically, you brought an unrivaled joy to her life.
You were the reason that the love songs she’d been singing along to for years were now her reality. You were the partner she wanted to build with, grow old with, and possibly have a Touissant of your own with. It wasn’t always Wakanda that motivated her. You also were her boost.
When Shuri felt a little more at ease about having this conversation, she called you. She was bit surprised when you answered off the first ring. “Hi Y/N.”
“Hi Shuri. Are you well?”
“I am okay, I am still with Nakia and Touissant.”
“I know you know this already, but I’m home.”
“I thought you’d be at your friend’s mother’s birthday party.”
“I didn’t feel up to it.”
Shuri didn’t have to guess why. This was confirmation that you were just as affected by this mess between you. “Baby, I’m sorry. I did one of the things I hate, which is to speak so freely when I am frustrated, but the truth is, you are the only one I want to be with. I can’t even entertain the thought of being with another.”
You smiled to yourself at her heartfelt admission. “I knew you didn’t mean those things, however, it still hurt to hear you say them. But I think that was both our intention in that moment, to hurt each other. I want to apologize too. I should’ve never called your lab stupid. I know your lab and the work you do overall is important to you. It’s important to me too. And honestly, it’s one of the reasons I fell for you. Not necessarily because you’re Queen—an amazing one at that, but I love being with someone who values their country. It’s beautiful to see. And I want you to feel supported by me, not stressed. When I was going crazy over not seeing you as much, it’s only because that’s how much I like having you around, that’s how special you are to me…”
Your words soothed Shuri, calming her, making her feel you in her bones. “Y/N, you are so precious, and yes, I am passionate about my duties and leadership, but that does not mean that I should take you for granted. You are so good to me, and I need to do a better job of appreciating you. I know you are just as much as a prize, but no one can have you but me.”
“You know I love it when you get territorial,” you said, amusing her.
“I love it when you tell me what you love about me.” Her voice was a touch lower but closer.
“Are you flirting with me Shuri Udaku?”
She laughed. “Is it working? Because I want to take you out on a date. And then I want to have fun afterwards, at any place of your choosing.”
“Just tell me what time I should be ready.”
Shuri smiled like she did the first time you held conversation. She could not make it home to you soon enough.
#shuri x reader#shuri angst#shuri x you#shuri x y/n#shuri imagine#shuri fanfiction#black panther imagine#black panther fanfiction#marvel fanfic writer#princess shuri#queen shuri#wakanda forever#mcu fanfiction#mcu shuri#reader imagine#reader request
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⚠️Does contain The Sun and The Star spoilers so continue at your own risk!!!⚠️
I don’t know when Will Solace became one of my favourite Percy Jackson characters but it probably has something to do with the fact that he’s one of those characters that’s deeply traumatised but everyone forgets about it
So (for some reason) i’m gonna sit here and list everything my man’s been through:
At ten years old he and his mother got attacked by Stymphalian birds, found by his satyr and taken to camp halfblood where he, at some point, became a year round camper
He admits that his mother, despite his love for her, could be quite neglectful during her time on tour and he grew to live with it but now he’s scared of being abandoned
Between the ages of 10-12 he’s training to be a field medic in camp
Had to watch his friends and family switch sides to fight against them and probably had to watch them die throughout the course of the books (it’s mentioned that there’s countless demigods deaths from Kronos’ side during the battles)
At 13/14 he fights in a battle to defend his home where his brother, Lee Fletcher, dies along with many other campers including some from the Apollo cabin
Within the same battle he probably has to heal many of his friends as well as watch them die as he believes he ‘fails’ to heal them
At 14 he fights in The Battle of Manhattan where it’s believed the Apollo cabin suffers the most fatalities (four documented, however I remember seeing somewhere that the cabin was practically empty due to fatalities and switching sides by the end of the series)
During the battle he heals Annabeth, which drains most of his energy, he creates a field hospital on Olympus to heal other campers and he becomes head counsellor of the Apollo cabin as Michael Yew was never found after the bridge collapse.
Fought in another battle literally less than a year after the last one and delivered a baby mid way through at the age of 14/15, had two entire camps full of children depending on his skills as the head healer
Watched Octavian willingly hurtle himself to his death and believes he ‘let’ him do it even after being ashamed that he’s related to Octavian.
Let himself be a distraction for six guards that would have happily either killed him or captured him
Spent his days after the battle with Gaea in the infirmary healing other campers, or watching them suffer through injuries they would ultimately not recover from
Has his father just fuckin plummet to earth and pitch up at camp as an egotistical teenager after his own powers were going mental and camp was falling into disarray because Apollo was no longer an Olympian throughout
Has to help his father complete his quests and heal other injured campers during fights and battles all whilst trying to make sure his boyfriend and his father don’t do anything stupid and die
Finally gets a break at camp with his boyfriend with no other campers and gets a prophecy that insinuates that he will have to go to the depths of tartarus which could either drive him insane or just straight up kill him off and be abandoned there
Goes on said quest and before they’ve even gotten into tartarus he’s passed out 3 times, is the colour of literal wax and has wounds that have just randomly opened up on his body after collapsing on a hill of what’s described as glass shards and rolling down.
is plagued by nightmares, gets drawn in by voices of tormented, pain ridden souls and loses his one source of light that’s keeping his barely sane
Comes to the realisation that he cannot heal everything and that not everything needs to be healed. That his boyfriend has dark parts that Will may not like but that’s okay and they can learn to live with those parts of eachother
(i fully believe that, if it came to it, despite his objections, he would have sacrificed himself to stay in tartarus if it meant Nico and Bob got out alive)
I know many people love to talk about Nico’s trauma and honestly fair enough cause his trauma is deep and horrific and he deserves to heal and be happy and his trauma should never be overlooked
however i will never miss an opportunity to bring up will solace and talk about the shit he’s been through
#the sun and the star spoilers#the sun and the star#rick riordan#will solace#nico di angelo#pjo will#pjo nico#bob the titan#small bob#iapetus#mark oshiro#percy jackson#annabeth chase#grover underwood#spoilers#tsats spoilers#tsats
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𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒐𝒐𝒌'𝒔 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍
✿𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: Jungkook x Reader
✿ 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚: The one where Jungkook, a second year student in the Auror Academy, keeps a journal to vent about his unsuccessful attempts at wooing you.
✿ 𝑻𝒂𝒈𝒔: crack, humor, romance, Harry Potter Au
𝑨/𝑵: This is a Harry Potter AU but you don’t have to read Harry Potter to understand it. If you have any questions just let me know!
°•. ✿ .•°
(<<< part one)
November 5th, 10am
There are a few things I have previously done in my life that I believe could’ve added to the cosmic debt I am now paying, such as:
-Telling Jimin that “top me” is a muggle slang for “be my friend” and watching as he asked people to top him.
-Stealing leaves from Professor Sprout’s garden to figure out which ones were smokable and therefore profitable (up until I ended up with a third nipple from some hacky hocus-pocus weed).
-Jinxing Namjoon. Twice. But I stand by that. 10/10 would do it again.
All of the above and many countless other things are finally catching up to me. Maybe I should get my shit together, do charity work or something. Maybe if I had actually helped Taehyung with his Divination homework like I said I would instead of just making up all the shitty ways to die written in the stars, karma wouldn’t manifest itself in the shape of first years kicking my fucking ass in hand to hand combat without being allowed to fight back.
“Lovely demonstration on the effects of a throat punch, Jungkook” Coach Jin said, clapping his hands.
“I think the name is self-explanatory enough” I replied, voice cracking from the aforementioned punched throat.
“You never know”.
Coach Jin hates me. I am 100% sure of that. The reasoning is unclear and I’m honestly afraid to find out.
In the interest of maintaining myself less punched, I should invest some amount of energy to get him to like me.
November 5th, 11am
No energy was required to find out why that motherfucker didn’t like me. Now his dislike is fully reciprocated. I hope he chokes on his own pretty, juicy lips.
See, what happened was that one of the first years had gotten pretty carried away by the prospect of punching my pretty face and knocked me straight out, sending my karma-striken ass to the Infirmary, ears ringing and nose bleeding.
Now, I repeat that I am not the most romantic dude on earth (but I’m trying, okay? I even started reading Twilight to pick up some Hot Tips) but when all the signs are pointing towards that one person, who are we to go against fate? How can we spit on the forces of the universe like that? On Trelawney’s weed-filled legacy?
How can I not interpret Y/N doing an internship at the Academy Infirmary as the highest, clearest sign that we are meant to be? I am a student at the academy prone to causing and suffering accidents and she is a healer! The only way this could be more perfect was if she was a 100 years old vampire and I were a very pale high school student.
But alas, every great love story has its Jacob.
November 5th, 12pm
In retrospect, I do realize that my metaphor was flawed, cause if Jin was Jacob, he would’ve been into me, Bella - also why did I put myself as Bella and not Edward? - and if Jin was indeed into me he sure had a very weird way of showing it, completely ignoring me bleeding to probable death to flirt with the nurse, who I had claimed as my wife through the very legal power of “dibs”.
“Hi, Y/N” he said, leaning on my bed, hand resting on my bruised leg, making me whimper in pain embarrassingly, but also in a very manly way.
“Hello, Professor Kim” she said, professionally, not even bothering to look at him while tittering with her supplies.
“You can just call me Jin, you know. I’m only a couple years older than you.”
“That would hardly be appropriate” she answered, swatting his arm away from my bed. I think she said something else, but I honestly couldn’t hear shit when she cradled my face between her soft (so soft!) hands and for a split, dream-like second I thought she was going to kiss me.
“You shouldn’t let your students get so carried away.” she ended up saying “Poor Mr. Jeon. Look at him!”
Damn.
I guess I did look kind of pitiful, all sweaty, bloody and bruised.
Probably looked like I’ve been french kissed by a bludger.
Coach Jin shrugged “He doesn’t look any worse than usual to me.”
The disrespect?
Before I had the chance to tell him very maturely to bugger the fuck off, Y/N stepped in “Then maybe you should be my next patient so I could get your eyes checked” she snapped and maybe those punches hit me harder than I initially assumed or maybe there was just something fundamentally wrong with me (place your bets!) but I thought that was very hot of her. Specially when she then proceeded to completely ignore Coach Jin’s presence and turn to me “How are you feeling, Mr. Jeon?”
“You can call me Jungkook, you know.” I mumbled. At least there was no stutter this time, so I would count it as a successful interaction had she not proceeded to ignore what I said too.
“I’m going to give you an ointment for that bruise and it should disappear in a couple hours. Luckily nothing seems to be broken, but I would avoid any sort of exercises or tiring activities for the day.” she said as she ushered me out of the room with a funky looking jar thrusted into my hands “And hey” she called as I was about to leave the room with a very sour looking Coach Jin “take care of yourself, Jungkook.”
WELL.
WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT.
Before I could fully express my happiness, Y/N closed the door to my face, but not even the hardwood hitting my bloody nose could wipe away my smile as I turned to my sullen coach.
“Whatever” he grumbled “Don’t think you’re off the hook. You’re still with me tomorrow, Jeon.”
Bugger.
I guess if worse comes to worst, at least Y/N can still look after me.
Actually, that’s not a bad idea at all…
°•. ✿ .•°
Jungkook's Journal taglist is open <3
[Permanent taglist: @imknewattis ; @dreamamubarak ; @onlythebest-106 ; @betysotelo18 ; @havetaeminforbreakfast ; @uno7 ; @chimchimmarie ; @anaya123world ; @namjooningelsewhere ]
#jungkook fanfic#jeon jungguk#jeon jungkook x reader#jeon jungkook x you#jeon jungkook#bts fanfic#bts x reader
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Love in the Air: Is Prapai an Asshole?
So I have seen some less than complimentary comments on Prapai’s character, namely because of poor Sky (which is understandable and completely valid). I thought I would offer my two cents.
Now, the series has been very clear in defining Prapai as a rich playboy and brat essentially; spoilt, somewhat careless, cocky, smug, has had everything in life handed to him pretty easily. All the common symptoms that come with being wealthy and privileged. A walking red flag you may even say. His little brother is actually a great example of how that upbringing reflects in others within their circle.
And I’ll admit, there were definitely moments in episode 8 where I was like ‘ohh you are being so slimy right now, with your smug, smarmy and quite punchable face’.
But I think that’s the point. Prapai is meant to be the antithesis to Sky. He’s everything Sky is not. But I also don’t believe he’s a genuinely awful person. If we consider Stop as a comparison, Prapai doesn’t go about his life intending to hurt or aggrieve people. I think the key differentiation is intention. He’s just incredibly self-centred.
Prapai’s life revolves around what he wants and does, which means he doesn’t possess any perception outside of that. So if he does rub people up the wrong way, or inconveniences someone, causes damage - he’s likely doing this without having even noticed he has. It’s not even on his radar, which is textbook ignorance and a maddening lack of self-awareness. What would change this is if his actions had consequences. If someone was able to call out his bullshit, and he was actually able to see why and how his actions can be problematic. Even Payu doesn’t stop him from pursuing Sky, knowing full well what his friend can be like. Clearly no one in Prapai’s life has acted as his moral compass, and this is again where Sky is going to play a massive role.
My take is that Prapai is not truly an asshole, he just exhibits a lot of asshole behaviour. Some of which is just straight-up bravado and big talk (and should not be taken with an inch of seriousness). His ‘asshole’ tendencies is what I believe the series will attempt to unravel.
Prapai’s first encounter with Sky
Prapai has grown up in a world where most people are just like him, and that has inevitably enabled a lot of those bad traits.
I don’t think he should be excused for how his behaviour with Sky at the beginning probably caused a lot of internalised damage. We do have to remember that he doesn’t know Sky at all. Doesn’t know Sky’s history, his personality, not even his name. And during that initial encounter, he doesn’t really care. Why would he? He probably thought he’d never see Sky again.
When you’re young, handsome, privileged, wealthy and powerful, life is mostly fun and games. Prapai’s probably never had to take anything that seriously. So his perspective in most situations is probably ‘This is just some fun, you’re on board with that right? Everyone else is’. He doesn’t fathom what the other side looks like. Note that throughout this episode, Prapai is amused by his pursuit of Sky. He sees it like a game that Sky is playing hard to get.
Sex is also a casual transaction in Prapai’s world. We see that he goes on booty calls. It doesn’t have the gravitas to him as it may do for other people. Payu even comments that at the races, people bet anything - as if these things are easily expendable in their world. They are a very out of touch group of people.
And Prapai probably assumes - why wouldn’t Sky enjoy a night with him? He’s a catch, and everyone in his life has either inflated his ego or given him positive reinforcement. So again, it doesn’t even occur to him that Sky is deeply troubled by this. Even if he did have the foresight, Sky quickly jumps in and gives him what he wants.
And he’s always gotten what he wants.
Prapai’s Lack of Maturity
I think people who come from privilege can have quite an immature and sheltered outlook on life, because they haven’t had to do much for themselves, ever. When Prapai starts to clock that he’s thinking about Sky a lot, he doesn’t get why. His thought process is very much like a 15 year old boy. He’s genuinely baffled.
He convinces himself that this is just a simple blip, nothing more. But when he continues having dalliances with other men, it doesn’t seem to do it for him anymore. Instead of doing some self-reflection, he thinks that by pursuing Sky, it’ll ‘cure’ him of whatever temporary spell he seems to be under.
A Few Redeeming Moments
In the scene where he’s invited another guy to spend the night with him, he very politely turns his guest down when he’s clearly not into it. He apologises and says he needs to figure things out, and that he’ll make it up to him. I’m assuming this is also a random fling but Prapai was quite sweet with him. A true asshole would probably be like ‘Yeah, I’ll let you see yourself out’.
I also really liked the interaction between Prapai and his brother. He really did come across as more mature in that scene, where he was the older sibling ushering his little bro to get to their family dinner on time.
Prapai’s Character Development
Now I do trust that over the weeks, Prapai will come to be humbled and will make attempts to redeem himself in Sky’s eyes and ours as the audience. I think Prapai will go through a lot of growth in this story. Sky is his turning point. His relationship and gradual love for Sky will make him a better person.
We already start to see at the end of the episode that Prapai takes 2 hours out of his day especially to go and buy Sky flowers and deliver them personally. His PA is visibly surprised. He’s evidently never made this effort for anyone before.
We’ll eventually see the sweeter, affectionate, caring and sincere sides of him. Sky does fall in love with him after all, so there must be good reason.
For all his faults and flaws, I can’t bring myself to dislike him. I actually find him very endearing in a sort of boy-who-needs-to-grow-up kind of way. And perhaps that’s a testament to Fort’s performance. I think his outlook on life right now is just very simplistic but Sky’s about to change all that.
#LITA#love in the air#love in the air series#prapaisky#prapai x sky#sky x prapai#fort thitipong#i have a lot to say about prapai too it appears#im watching closely prapai - do not let me down#prove yourself and be absolutely extra doing it#LITA analysis#im on a roll folks
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mod jake what r ur thoughts on tomjake? both like canon and what they could be
Question for me yippee!! Thank you anon!! /gen
Personally I liked tomjake in season one quite a bit, I was more invested in them as separate characters than as a couple but they were mostly cute in the beginning and they had a lot of good angst moments later, like the zombie episode was oddly sweet to me and got me invested in their relationship. And Tom’s elimination genuinely made me cry, it was a great twist, and him still wanting to save Jake after everything that he did made it even more tragic that he got booted that episode. I think that’s why Tom’s like seeming acceptance of what happened in the finale kind of felt cheap to me, I really would’ve liked him to hold onto that sense of caring for Jake while still resenting him a bit— and I felt like his semi-forgiveness came out of no where, which became more apparent in season three when we found out that Tom had straight up been ignoring him and Miriam, so like what was even the point beyond giving Jake a reason to clearly restrain himself.
I think it’s obvious that Jake’s my favorite DC character, and I miss pre-S1 finale tomjake tbh— but that being said, I feel like season three is focusing on their relationship way too much while still not doing anything with it. I don’t like how Tom’s just randomly ignoring Jake and always mildly annoyed at him. To be honest, S3 Tom and S1 Tom feel like completely different characters to me; and I know they’re building up to explaining why that is, but I feel like the suspense is kind of empty, because we’re eight episodes in and haven’t even gotten a hint beyond him (possibly lying about) having a boyfriend. And while Jake’s my poor meow-meow and I want him to get better, I think he should’ve gotten worse first. The shit Jake endured in season one just felt (to me) like it was laying the ground for an antagonist arc. I think it’s just because I enjoy angst and antagonists, but I really think S3 would’ve been better if we saw Jake get a bit underhanded beyond voting out James; like I think it would’ve made sense after the manipulation and mental distress he’s been dealing with. Also I believe an anon on the blog said before that the Tomaiden baiting would be more interesting if Tom had a one-sided crush on Aiden, and I fully agree, I think it would add more depth to the drama and give us more stakes as the audience and make Jake seem more sympathetic instead of just like…trying and failing to overcome his trust issues for the one millionth time, which I know some people find annoying.
I’m not sure if this made sense, I’m just spitballing here, I’m hoping this build-up pays off soon, and I don’t hate the focus on Tom or Jake this season nor do I necessarily think the writing is bad; I just would prefer for the build-up to be more substantive, I think Tom’s being a tad unreasonable without much critique from the narrative yet, and I think both of their characters and their relationship could be made more interesting by having Jake be resentful still (allowing for more character growth later and making him more entertaining) and including notions about Tom’s lingering feelings for Jake.
So overall, I think S1 Tomjake was pretty good and S3 is…realistic, but I’d honestly prefer dramatic morally-gray yaoi spectacle over realism. But also S3 isn’t done yet and this boils down more to my personal preferences than a genuine critique of the writing. 👍
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Kamen Rider Stronger
finished April 20, 2023
i forgot i finished this on 4/20. LONG POST WARNING!!
Okay, before I start this one, holy shit I’ve done so much since the last time I wrote one of these. Let me get back into the groove here. Stronger is in a weird spot where I feel like I have to recap a lot to talk about what I want to talk about so there’s going to be a lot of that. This one builds. Let me convince you that General Shadow is an interesting character.
AS ALWAYS: I’ll be dropping spoilers willy-nilly for like every series leading up to this + all of Stronger but there's an extra warning before the show ending spoilers. Thank you.
YIPPEE!
I know I've already owned up to it but at this point let's make it official... Showa Rider might be made for me? Every single time I try to think back about what I just watched to write about it I'm hit with the exact same thought: holy shit, that was SO fun. It is, it really is and always is. I had a blast, thanks. This is also the first time I've really felt like the way that I'm watching this (by starting at the very beginning and just blasting through season by season) has actually paid off! The past couple seasons have gotten interestingly experimental but Stronger feels like they were attempting to return to form while still using the knowledge they learned along the way. It's kind of adjacent to how V3 felt like '71 Rider refined; Jo Shigeru came in like "we are SO fucking back."
The comparison between V3 and Stronger extends to the main characters too; I think that Kazami and Shigeru are more alike than not. We've been rotating protags (sans Hayato, sorry babe but you’re special in my eyes) in a pattern I've described as "sensory issues -> batshit -> wet" where for as much as I compared Hongo and Amazon to each other in the "the world is so loud and scary and I can't trust myself to not lash out and that scares me more" department I have to do the same for Kazami and Shigeru in the "hey boss, I'm gonna go fucking, I don't know, dig this bullet out of my shoulder with a knife I cleaned by spitting on it and then electrocute myself for funsies" department. Like okay, take a look at this list I whipped up here:
Both Kazami and Shigeru wanted to become borgs to avenge people who were dear to them and killed by the organizations in their respective series; Kazami for his family and Shigeru for his friend. Though Shigeru went straight to the source while Kazami tried to convince Hongo and Hayato to borg him first to no avail, you can’t tell me that Kazami didn’t jump into that beam and save the two of them and not think that might win him brownie points that he could then later use to convince the two of them that yes, this is the right thing to do and he would be a great addition to the team.
Both of them have another Rider with them (I count Tackle!) who aren’t really… fully borged? Yuki isn’t for sure, he’s just got the arm; I’m not sure exactly whether or not Yuriko is a full borg because I don’t believe they straight up address that in the show but they sure didn’t address her like one and I’ve heard some things (...we’ll get into this later) that would lead me to believe that she was meant to be only partially there originally and get to full borgification by the end of the show. Both of them fought with the respective riders they were paired with. Also, both of their mouths are out in their suits! Very cute!
Speaking of suits, both of them have very silly little suits that I don’t think anyone else in the series could pull off wearing. Imagine if Keisuke transformed into V3 or something. I think I’d cry looking at that. Hayato as Stronger? Man, he doesn’t have the sheer balls for that one. Sorry king…
Which of course leads me to: they’ve both got huge egos. I really don’t need to elaborate on this one, look at the shit the two of them pull… Kazami a little more in the physical department with the stunts he does and Shigeru socially with his cockiness, but you can see the comparison, right?
And before we go on I think I need to clarify something: Shigeru jumping himself with his bike is very very real. That is actually a scene that happens. Anyway! I adore the way that the show started off and Shigeru and Yuriko had already been through their borg procedures and that the first time we meet them they're already fighting. It's a nice break from tradition! It feels fresh and new! I also think that it's one of the only ways that you could possibly sell how they borged Shigeru in a way that would make sense in a children's show. They gave him electric hands? Like, metal hands that he has to wear gloves over lest he fucking electrocute everyone? There had to have been an adjustment period there but by the time we meet him he's fine with things. I think this was probably the right call; while I love myself some good borg angst and it's interesting to see them adapt to their new lives and Ishinomori back me up here I think you would agree that exploring this idea is fun... for the way that Shigeru is borged specifically I think there's a little too much room for things to go south way too fast. Those two concepts can coexist in my mind. Can you imagine what it would have been like if he had tried to go swimming or something?
After the first episode we do get a flashback in the second to exactly how Shigeru got borged which was basically:
Shigeru: [walks into Black Satan] hey I want to be on your side I love facism
Scientists: ok what borgification u want
Shigeru: just fuck me up and make me stronger
Scientist: okay [electric hands]
Shigeru, Stronger: haha fuckin idiot I’m actually here for revenge! you killed my friend and I hate nazis. taste the powers you gave me [explodes them]
And then he escapes, taking Yuriko (Tackle) with him. From the start he’s really cocky! My remark as I was watching the show was that he really feels like he can do anything because he just doesn’t give a shit about the social implications of anything that he does. Take him just walking into a lighthouse, getting stopped by the guard who works there, patting the guy down and being like “alright, well, you’re not a monster I guess,” and leaving. He’s silly and kind of rude to Tachibana (when he shows up) and has a “Who are you?” “What? Don’t you know who I am?” exchange with all the monsters he meets. He has a whole damn speech he does every time he transforms. It’s so good!
^ HE GOES :D
While this might have set Yuriko up to be the Female Straight Man (which she kind of is for him a little) she’ll rib Tachibana or the two of them will team up and slander a monster together. I love the way they interact… I think it helps them remain on pretty equal footing even though Shigeru is absolutely the primary fighter. He still leaves things to her and trusts her to do them. I don’t think she’s fully borged - she’s never referred to as such and instead gets the term… what’s it in English, electrowave human? So she can do special attacks and such. It kind of feels like a Taki type role but stronger? Not exactly; a lot of Taki’s importance in ‘71 Rider comes from the fact that he is fully human and able to keep up with them to contrast Hongo and Hayato, but Shigeru doesn’t have the same need to connect with his humanity as they do (being borged was his choice, after all) and as such I think Yuriko fits with him much better. If we let Tackle and Taki 1v1 I think Tackle would sweep.
You see what I mean about Stronger seemingly learning from and refining the previous series? There’s not a way that I can talk about it without contrasting it – I think this is the point where I would stop and say that if you’re thinking about taking on the Grand Prix for yourself in full or in part and would like Stronger to be one of the series you watch to watch whichever of the series come chronologically before this that you are also interested in partaking before starting Stronger. I personally believe that there can be a lot of value in experiencing things in reverse order [<- guy who played the Layton series backwards and loved it] but also… I think that seeing things build up to Stronger as opposed to experiencing Stronger and then going behind the scenes to take a look at the building blocks is the way to go. Nowhere is that more apparently in my opinion than with:
Hey man, what if the Generals fucked?
^ he's calling the cops on me for that one
Maybe this was the part of the series I was most excited to talk about. Don’t worry about it. So far I’ve pitched Stronger like a continuation of ‘71 Rider to V3 which I’d say the main cast falls into; there’s not really a lot of the others in Shigeru… but if we’re talking villain generals? We’re talking X, baby. I think that meeting Apollo Geist first is absolutely essential if X is something you’re planning on watching (don’t watch X but like, watch X) so that you can see the fields from which Titan was grown. I have it on anecdotal evidence that doing things non-chrono and going back to watch X and therefore meeting Apollo Geist post Stronger feels a little underwhelming, but meeting Apollo Geist fresh off the heels of V3 feels correct and the ramp up in Stronger comes naturally. All of that to say: we’re back with the sexual tension, but it’s even more nuts this time.
There’s one scene in X where civvie Apollo Geist shows up at Tachibana’s coffee shop and sits down at the counter to order. He asks where Keisuke is; Tachibana tells him that he’s out, and inquires as to how this man (who has not introduced himself) knows Keisuke. An old friend, perhaps? Apollo Geist shrugs – something like that. It feels like Titan took that scene and decided to build his entire goddamn character around it.
^ man what the hell was this pick up line
Remember earlier when I mentioned that none of the monsters seem to know who Stronger is? That’s very much true, but Titan absolutely knows. He follows him around and smokes his stupid little cigarettes from his stupid little cigarette holder and just watches him. Titan’s obsessed with this man but whereas with Apollo Geist all the monsters were like “oh fuck yeah, let’s tie up X and drag him back, I’m sure that would make Apollo Geist happy,” it almost seems like Titan wants to keep Stronger for himself and just… doesn’t tell anyone about him. He’s possessive. He’s really intense about it. He is also using X-era techniques which didn’t even end up working against Keisuke to try and get Shigeru, of all people. It’s a fascinating strategy. The two of them follow each other to a concert and just stare at each other across the hall. Titan doesn’t really get his ass kicked, but he knows he’s not strong enough yet for Stronger. He upgrades himself. He fucking goes for it. And Titan… dies.
Well, let’s put a pin in that for a second. In any case, we need a new general, because that’s how these things go. Despite looking like a cross between an anatomical model, an astronaut, and the fucking Joker, Shadow is oddly compelling as a character to me in a way I have absolutely no idea how to describe or talk about? He’s not actually a part of Black Satan – he just kind of heard that Black Satan was fighting Stronger and was like “well shit, I want a piece of that, let me in,” and is just kind of here now. He proclaims so to Shigeru upon meeting him. Shadow really likes to play whatever game he thinks is going on by his own rules and he seems to have a blast doing so. He’s enigmatic, he’s fresh, he’s unlike any general that we’ve had before. His weird secretive nature almost makes him seem more like the leader type than the general type. Shigeru seems to understand that Shadow’s much more of a sinister threat than Titan, but doesn’t really seem to know what to do about it.
Let me quickly detour you another time just to finish setting up this stage here: throughout my time watching Stronger I was also working on over easy, you know, that Donbros comic I made! Still really like that thing. I know I and others have joked about Tarou being Showa-coded and honestly if you were to pick him up and place him down in a 70’s Rider series I think he’d be right at home; I mentioned up top that Shigeru doesn’t seem to give a shit about societal expectations and while I think that Tarou gives a little more of a shit about the consequences (seems to have less of a grasp on how the implications actually work though) I’m fine putting them in a similar category. Did you know Inoue’s dad worked on Stronger? That’s a fun little fact for you.
Okay, time to get back to the show.
Titan gets one funeral (which Shigeru gets invited to in the funniest way, by just Being in a field while this was announced to him somehow) but it was kind of a flop and nobody showed up and they didn’t even manage to use it to capture Stronger, so they decide that he needs another one. It’s at this second funeral that Shigeru finds Titan laying in a casket on a bed of roses (yes, just like Shigeru has all over his outfit) and manages to prick his electric hand on one of them, bleeding like a human, directly onto Titan’s lips, who then revives, licks it, and becomes Hundred-Eyes Titan. Buildup’s over, this is where the mad yaoi really starts.
You might now be understanding why I brought up Donbrothers earlier; yes, this scene shares really striking similarities with the time that Tarou got the juice sucked out of him at Sonoi’s funeral but even more homoerotic, because it’s actual blood?
Nevermind the actual Showa-era “how human are cyborgs, really” conversation that’s to be had both in the borg angst sense but also about the fact that he can bleed from his what-I’ve-been-presuming-to-be-metal hands. Again, calling back to X, it’s almost like that point after Apollo Geist got resurrected and was going to die unless he took one of X’s parts and put it in his heart, but this actually happened and wasn’t just theoretical. We’re going past where Apollo Geist got to. If first base is fighting the Rider and home base is actually killing them, I think Titan’s made it to second. Uh, but he’s got a problem getting to third. They’ve already brought in his replacement. There’s only one way to fix this one.
Titan and Shadow Get Divorced
Titan was kind of a flop in his first life. He’s been powered up a little more with Shigeru’s blood, but Shadow’s also been given Titan’s position pretty recently, and it would be a dick move to fire him. Look, usually the generals don’t come back unless the people they’re working for are the ones bringing them back, and they sure as shit weren’t doing that for Titan. Might as well just make them work it out together? For some reason the Black Satan leader seems to think this will work; really all it does is just instantly sets the two of them at each other's throats, and they begin to fight over Stronger.
They get exceptionally petty about it. Titan shows up, with a rose again, leading Stronger into a minefield, also strewn with roses, just to really rub in the whole “haha, your blood revived me” thing. Shadow at a couple points ends up straight up giving information to Shigeru so that he can get the upper hand on Titan. Shadow (who has a playing card theme, by the way, that’s his whole deal) shows Titan one of the cards that he just did a fortune reading with, and who else appears but Jo Shigeru, dripping wet, in the outline of the spade (cropped with the tail not showing) like he’s being framed in a heart.
^ the way he looks at that card just takes me the fuck out every time
I feel like I’m losing my mind every time I think about the two of them. Titan staggers up a dune into the good ol’ Toku Desert, dragging himself to Shadow before Shadow kills Stronger so that he can have the pleasure of at least torturing him a little bit before he goes. Shadow pokes fun at Titan for being like “I’ll be the one to kill Stronger!” with a “are you sure you actually can?” and Titan, hand to my heart, blushes.
Titan staggers up a dune into the good ol’ Toku Desert, dragging himself to Shadow before Shadow kills Stronger so that he can have the pleasure of at least torturing him a little bit before he goes. What the fuck?!
^ DIVORCED BITCHES REALLLLLL
Titan has his own hell! Titan has made his own hell and takes Shadow there to show off his accomplishments in a scene that I can only call “two socialites who desperately need a divorce” in which Titan plays the tired husband who’s got eyes for his secretary (Shigeru) but has to bring his bitch of a wife Shadow with him to work to show off just how much he does for this family while his bitch wife Shadow looks on, unimpressed, and thinks about also fucking his husband’s secretary (still Shigeru) or maybe killing his husband and taking the life insurance money, because there’s no way this plan of his will do anything but collapse down around him, which it does, and Titan once again dies as Stronger throws him back down the crevasse to this pit he’s quite literally dug himself.
Watching the two of them interact is absolutely fascinating. Titan’s passion for Shigeru seems renewed and completely focused now that he has a rival, Shadow’s ignited something in him, and Shadow seems like he’s having fun playing around messing with Titan while enacting his own plans. Shadow turns out to be superstitious, and bases most of his decisions off readings that he does with his deck of cards, which adds an even more fun element to his character. This is the part of the show where he seems the most… I don’t want to say happy, but how about “in his element.” These are all some really good episodes of television and they’re a blast to watch.
Black Satan leader susses out that Shadow’s up to some shit (don’t know how that could have happened, it’s not like he’s been telling everyone he meets or anything) and decides to try and bring in another General instead of letting Shadow lead. Shigeru gets captured, defeats the leader, and Shigeru and Yuriko are the FIRST RIDERS IN HISTORY TO CRACK OPEN A COLD ONE WITH TACHIBANA!!
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL! THE END!
LET’S GO TO DEMON WORLD! [SHOW END SPOILERS START HERE]
No, things aren’t actually over. This is where you can tell that things got rushed in production as (from what I’ve heard) ratings kind of tanked. Shadow brings in his friends from Demon World (where he lived before?) and decides to start a new army with them called the Delza Army, which he kind of leads. This is what he’s spent his time fighting with Titan and Shigeru and Black Satan secretly working towards - taking over the facilities that Black Satan already had and using them for his own new purpose. And sure, to do this, they need to kill Stronger, yeah.
In much the same way that Titan and Shadow fought with each other, giving Stronger an edge, the Delza Army part of the show is mostly about these characters showing off their weaknesses through their bickering with each other, but there’s a whole fucking throng of them this time around. They each brought their own themed goons with them, and on multiple occasions the goons even begin fighting with each other while Stronger just kind of looks on in confusion and gets a clean path to the monster he’s actually looking to fight. This being backed by scenes of Shadow (somehow) drinking wine listening to one of his compatriots drone on and on makes it seem like he really misses being on the front lines?
^ look all i'm saying is that it looks like it's 2:55 and he's got another meeting with the guy this dude is bitching about at 3 to hear the other side of this story and he hasn't had lunch yet
The thing about the Delza Army is that it’s absolutely a “too many cooks in the kitchen” situation. Shadow’s brought in a bunch of people with conflicting views and outrageous personalities and different fighting styles who spend half the time using him as HR to work out their interpersonal issues and he just seems… tired. He doesn’t seem like a guy who was cut out for management! This is not a new character type by any means, I could name so many characters who get into a position in their job and realize like “nah, actually, I was way happier where I was,” fucking Jim from The Office does it, but it’s a completely new role for any General and like also, this was what he was working for from the beginning. To finally get here and realize that actually, he doesn’t want this, is kind of weirdly fucked and not at all what I was expecting from this show. All of the characters around him have so much personality and character that they’re completely forgettable because of the oversaturation . They went an oddly adult angle with his character and I can’t tell if it’s at all intentional or if it just happened to turn out this way. I don’t personally think that this part of the show is as good as the part with Titan and Shadow fighting, but I feel like that decrease even more helps support the change in Shadow’s character, so it ends up wrapping around to working.
This is also the part where Yuriko dies.
There’s not really much that I can say about that one other than the fact that I’ve heard she was supposed to be brought back later as a full rider this time but, because the show had to be cut, isn’t. I have a story in my mind where the rest of the guys – because they all come back at the end, they have to put on one last big show, and they’ve got a lot of science guys there – manage to jump her back to life in much the same way Shigeru did himself and transform her into a full cyborg, like I said earlier, and that she’d fully join the ranks. I know that there was talk of possibly making Taki V3 or even Riderman, which is another reason I compared the two up top. They could have done that without all of the additional angst that it would have caused the '71 cast to borg Taki since Yuriko's already been modified. It would have been so good... I’ll mention this again I’m sure come Skyrider post, but I really liked his little spotted scarf, mostly because it reminds me of Tackle’s suit. It’s like she did get to be with us in a way!
From there on you get your usual show beats: as mentioned previously, all the previous riders show up which is very fun, they defeat Shadow (who kind of seems relieved to be going out, to be honest) and the rest of the Delza army, and then it’s time to fight the Leader.
^ Tachibana's really silly in this one and but it's the sweetest thing seeing his boys come back to him
The leader this time around is like, I think the quarry come to life? No, but for real: some kind of rock monster that has been pulling the strings of all the different groups that all the different riders have fought. It’s all the same guy behind the scenes. I’ll say it, I kind of appreciated that one as a “no matter what name you put to it, facism is facism” type thing? I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to interpret it that way. It feels kind of appropriate. The specifics of what they’re fighting change but the root cause and their aim is always the same; though there might be infighting between the groups, Kamen Rider is a show about punching Nazis at its core.
^ and they all love Tachibana so much!
This is the last time (besides the little special) that we get to have Tachibana on the show. There’s a break between this one and Skyrider and you can absolutely feel it looming in the horizon as everyone rides off again. Despite that, Stronger’s a blast of a show! I think this is one where there are absolutely different ways you could watch it and I just managed to take the path where I ended up probably the most satisfied I could have been during the Delza part since I was just watching the degradation of a man in bureaucracy. Which is always, always fun.
TO RECAP:
YES fuck yes I recommend Stronger, with the caveat I gave at the beginning that you should probably watch whichever shows chronologically come before this one that you’re interested in watching before you Tackle Stronger.
Bu dum tss…
#rider roundup#kamen rider stronger#PLEASE DON'T REPLY TO THIS POST AS ALWAYS and i do not edit. this is stream of consciousness writing baby
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