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peaceoutofthepieces · 3 years

Text

Tracing Time

okay, so for this clip you need to know those details from sos I mentioned, in which Jens lives in the flatshare because his dad is homophobic (in sos he finds Lucas with Jens and reacts badly, and Jens eventually moves out). so this is discussed (mostly just alluded to), along with the hate crime in s3, so be aware of that. there are also vague allusions to Sander’s episode in s3. as a final content warning—this clip is also unnecessarily long 😅

Tuesday, 19:47

Songs: David Bowie - Rebel Rebel; The 1975 - Antichrist; EDEN - hertz

Robbe tugs Sander along at a somewhat rapid pace, and Sander complains as he drags his feet. “Robbe, what’s the rush?”

“Nothing,” Robbe says, too quickly, but he slows down and hugs Sander’s arm. “Nothing, sorry. Just, you know Milan, he’s pretty impatient.”

Sander narrows his eyes, but lets his boyfriend press closer and kiss his cheek. He smiles down at Robbe as the boy twines their fingers together, still guiding him down the street at a much more sedate pace.

Robbe had just taken them out for dinner, nothing overly fancy but slightly more expensive than making croques on the grill. They’d tucked themselves into a booth in a quiet cafe, which was fully decorated in shiny wood, cracked leather, and dimly glowing light. It even had an old-fashioned jukebox in the corner that Robbe convinced to play Bowie after a coin and a few prods and light kicks. The food was still cheap and greasy and Robbe’s smile was shy and Sander loved every second of it. They tangled their legs under the table and their hands atop it and it was the most perfect birthday date Sander could have imagined.

He expected to go back to one of their homes to continue the celebrations, but instead he finds himself on his way to the flatshare, apparently at Milan’s demand. It’s not entirely surprising, and fairly sweet, really, and Robbe seems mostly innocent and unfazed. Still, Sander is suspicious. He has a feeling.

Which is why he’s utterly amused and smug when they run into Lucas outside the apartment building.

Or, well, they don’t run into him. They hear him before they see him, and Robbe stiffens and curses under his breath. Then they see him standing outside his father’s car, holding a four-pack of alcohol in one hand and a clinking bag in the other. The closer they get, the easier it is to hear another familiar voice over Lucas’s.

“—just because you and that boyfriend of yours are old enough to drink that stuff, doesn’t mean everyone here is. I will not be responsible for supplying alcohol to minors, alright? I work at a youth center, for Christ’s sake.”

“Dad, literally not even half the people here will need that warning. The others have beer, and juice, it’ll be fine.”

“I don’t care, Luc, I’m trusting you to be trustworthy. That’s your stash, you watch who drinks it.”

Lucas looks towards the sky in exasperation and lets out a sigh. “It’s Jens’s place, Jens’s guests, so he can take responsibility. Why didn’t you give him this speech?”

“Because he’s not my son and he’s not the one using my money to buy alcohol for his friends. He’s your boyfriend, your responsibility.”

Lucas tosses his hands up as well as he can, considering they’re full, and casts a sideways glance this time. Which means he finally catches sight of Robbe and Sander standing a few feet away, both with bemused expressions, and instantly freezes on the spot. Sander gives him a small, pleased wave, and Lucas’s shoulders slump. “Fuck.”

“Language,” Hugo van der Heijden predictably reprimands, before poking his head out the window. Sander salutes him as Robbe gives him a pointed look, and he says, “Ah, shit. Sorry, kiddo.” He directs this at Robbe before turning his kind smile on Sander. “Happy birthday.”

Sander moves closer and tugs Robbe with him, because there’s no point in pretending now. “Thanks,” he says, burying a laugh as Lucas sits on the hood of the car and sets the bag down to cover his face. “This is a nice surprise.”

“Oh, shut up,” Lucas tells him, as Robbe pinches Sander’s arm and he winces away. He huffs and steps forward to meet Lucas as he stands, letting the younger boy envelop him in a one-armed hug. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” Sander repeats, before tilting his head at Lucas’s navy-grey button up. “Aw, who thought you’d even try to clean up nice for me.”

Lucas punches his shoulder to nudge him back a step. “You’re an asshole and I don’t know why I like you.” The comment is accompanied with such a fond smile that Sander doesn’t even feel the sting. Instead he just pulls his friend away as Hugo beeps the horn and Lucas almost jumps out of his skin trying to get away. Lucas glares at his father as Robbe giggles behind them.

“Everything I said still goes,” Hugo presses. “Best behavior.”

Sander grins at the man. “Don’t worry, I’ll look after them.”

“No, you have fun. It’s their job to look after themselves, they’re big boys. Now go and act surprised.”

Robbe groans as Sander simply laughs, accepting the orders with a nod. Lucas waves at his father with a lot of clanking and rustling as a result. “Okay, you can go now too, thanks for the lift and the drinks and so on.”

Hugo rolls his eyes. “You either sneak in as quietly as a mouse or be Jens’s problem for the night, understood?”

Lucas salutes him, but inevitably leans down to kiss his cheek before the man gives a final wave and drives off.

Robbe sighs while hugging Sander’s arm to his chest again. “Wanna swap dads?” he asks Lucas.

“Funny that a year ago I probably would’ve said yes,” Lucas shrugs. Then he grimaces. “Sorry, I kind of fucked up the surprise, huh?”

“Irreparably,” Robbe agrees. “Shall we go up anyway?”

“Yes, please, this will be too funny,” Sander says, delighted. The other two share a look and shake their heads and Sander just rocks on his heels and urges them forward. He feels overwhelmingly pleased now, his heart thumping and smile splitting his cheeks, which Robbe squishes together before granting him a soft kiss.

“Okay, at least be nice,” Robbe says. “I know that’s not your style, but, for me.”

Sander sighs heavily and Robbe bites down his grin. “Fine. For you. Even though it’s my birthday.”

Robbe’s grin widens and he kisses Sander’s nose before letting them into the apartment. Sander blinks at the key, and then has to quickly shrug it off as he’s steered through the short hallway and there’s a loud chorus of ‘Surprise!’

The room is fuller than Sander expects, and he actually does startle at the sight. His surprised face is fairly genuine, and there are about a dozen grins beaming back at him, and then Lucas joins in the cheer half a second too late and a dozen faces drop. There is a round of complaints and groans. Milan drops his head back in disappointment. Jens covers his face with a hand.

“Oh, fuck all of you,” Lucas says back, before raising his brows and the alcohol still weighing him down.

There’s a new round of cheers, to which Lucas responds by flipping off the room at large.

Sander is glad of how it worked out, because it’s a big enough break in the tension that everyone immediately moves into action instead of continuing to stare at him. The flat members move forward first, Jens to give Sander a clap on the back before taking the bag from Lucas and disappearing to the kitchen and Milan to engulf Sander in a hug.

“Okay,” the man says as he pulls back, holding Sander’s head in his hands. “Tell me you at least didn’t know about the surprise until Lucas messed it up.”

Sander snorts. “No, I just thought I was coming for my gifts.”

“Ha, cute.” Milan pinches his cheek, then winks. “They’re all over in the corner, but you’ll have to wait until later. Sorry if this isn’t what you expected after your date.” He raises his brows.

“It’s perfect,” Sander assures, serious this time. He glances over at Robbe. “Though maybe not for a Tuesday night?”

Robbe shrugs. “They all have their own free will. If they can’t survive their self-inflicted hangover for a few hours of school, that’s their problem.”

Sander huffs a laugh, and nods his acquiescence. “Still, though, how did you actually get everyone here?” Aside from Milan, the Broerrrs, and Senne and the girls, who Sander would expect Robbe to invite, his other friends are mingled in with the crowd. Adi chats quietly to Senne in the corner; Gilles and Luca are trapped in an animated conversation as Thomas watches on in clear amusement; Emilie is laughing at something Zoë says to her. Everyone, in one place, even the ones he thought Robbe would have no way of contacting.

“Well, I could contact Adi easily, and then I asked him about the others,” Robbe flushes. “Sorry, I hope I didn’t overstep.”

“No, no,” Sander immediately appeases, granting him a soft kiss. “Thank you.”

Robbe smiles brilliantly.

He doesn’t realise someone else has approached him until they clear their throat, and he drags his gaze from Robbe to find Zoë in front of them, her kind smile already in place. “Happy birthday,” she says sweetly, also giving him a quick hug. “Sorry we couldn’t make it more exciting.”

“No, it’s nice,” Sander assures. “I couldn’t have liked how it worked out more.”

Her smile widens and she shakes her head at him. “Of course. I won’t hold you up, I just need to tell you Yasmina isn’t here because Ramadan and she was worried she’d just have to leave right away.”

“Yeah, no, Iftar and everything, that’s fine,” Sander smiles. “She already messaged me to say happy birthday and that hopefully she would see me again soon. I’m sure I’ll see her before the end of the week.”

“Okay, good. And obviously Jana also can’t be here, but they all pitched in on your gifts, so I’m supposed to tell you that. Senne joined me in getting you something, too.”

Sander laughs, nodding. “Okay, thank you. You know none of you had to get me anything, or do all of this.”

Zoë rolls her eyes, but she’s still smiling softly. “Of course we do, Sander. This is what you have to deal with as one of us.”

It sends another flood of warmth to his heart, and he’s sure she knows it, that it’s likely the intended effect. It’s a feeling he’s been experiencing a lot today, and he suspects this won’t be the last time during the evening. For now, he gives Zoë the biggest, warmest smile he can muster and thanks her again.

“You’re welcome,” is all she says this time. She gives Robbe’s shoulder a fond squeeze as well before slipping away.

Robbe rests his chin on Sander’s shoulder and gazes up at him through his lashes. “Ready to make a round?”

Sander nods and lets his boyfriend lead the way.

Of course, Gilles latches on to them as soon as they move and raises their arms in a cheer. “Sander! Happy birthday, you beautiful bitch!”

Robbe’s laugh is louder than Sander’s, so of course that means he drags them over and plops down next to Sander’s friend as the others turn to join them. Gilles beams and ruffles Robbe’s hair in greeting, and Sander is finally gratified when Robbe makes an affronted sound and brushes them away. “Lucas helped me with this,” he complains, then flushes as he realises what he’s given away. Sander raises his brows when Robbe peeks a look up at him. Robbe huffs and catches Sander’s wrist, giving a tug so that Sander almost tumbles into his lap.

“Robbe,” he complains, laughing. “I’ll crush you.”

“No you won’t.” Robbe rolls his eyes. Then he softens his gaze, looking up at Sander with his small smile and damn doe eyes. “Come here,” he requests quietly.

Sander shakes his head, cursing internally, but gently lowers himself onto his boyfriend’s lap. He prays the chair won’t falter under their weight, and the creak is slightly worrying, but it holds steady. Robbe makes a pleased hum and winds his arms around him, immediately pressing a kiss to Sander’s shoulder and then resting his cheek there.

“Thank you,” he says, all genuine smiles and happy sighs, and Sander does not melt. He might, however, wind his arm around Robbe’s shoulder and lean into him just a little more.

Gilles makes a somewhat anguished sound, but when Sander turns to look at them they’re still beaming. They’re staring with their face resting in a hand, appearing to be in a state of utter awe. “Where can I find this? Someone give me this.”

From their other side, Luca slaps their arm. “I know, right? Guys, this isn’t fair, at least Jens and I used to have some solidarity but now he’s just as bad.”

“Sorry,” Robbe laughs, not looking even slightly apologetic as he cuddles closer to Sander. “But now you two have solidarity, right?”

Gilles lights up at the realisation, spinning to Luca again with obvious interest. Robbe giggles quietly against Sander’s collarbone, pleased with himself, and Sander ducks his head down to whisper in the boy’s ear. “Does this mean I’ve upheld the deal and actually do know cool gays for Luca?”

“Depends,” Robbe whispers back, amused. “Are you suggesting Gilles is cool?”

Sander makes a face, but doesn’t argue either way. Instead, he checks if his other friends are seeing what he’s seeing. He’s a little anxious, as he looks towards Emilie, but she’s watching Gilles and Luca with an odd consideration as Amber talks her ear off. Thomas is watching the whole thing through wide eyes from behind his glasses, but he gives Sander a subtle, enthusiastic little nod.

“How did you all manage to not mention this to me?” The thought occurs to Sander suddenly, and while he’s looking at Thomas, it’s mostly directed at Gilles.

Adi speaks up and surprises him. He hadn’t seen the older boy coming over. “I wondered that too, honestly.”

“And you’re a sneaky bastard,” Sander tells him.

Adi looks amused. “Why’s that?”

Sander scoffs. “‘Any special birthday plans for tomorrow?’,” he mocks.

“Ah, come on, you really had no idea? He didn’t give nothing away?” Adi gestures at Robbe.

“I thought we were just going to have an...interesting date,” Sander shrugs, making Robbe blush.

Adi laughs. “What, are we boring you?”

“Yes, get out of my sight,” Sander says, deadpan, and Robbe lets out a startled laugh as Adi gapes at him.

“Emilie tried to make sure you wouldn’t notice anything and I tried to keep Gilles as far away from you as possible.” The explanation Thomas gives makes sense, and Robbe extends his arm behind Sander to high-five him, and Gilles is thankfully too busy to notice.

They sit around talking for an indiscernible amount of time before Sander wiggles his way free of Robbe. The boy protests, of course, trying to cling on and pull Sander back towards him, so Sander leans down and grants him a kiss before moving away. No one else tries to stop him from leaving the room, and he’s hopeful he’ll have a straight path to the kitchen. He’s starting to feel antsy, and he needs to move around and take something in, and what’s better than a drink?

When he steps out into the hallway, however, he runs into Milan again, who has just opened the door for Noor.

He panics for a brief moment, eyes flicking around for blonde hair as he debates if he should go on without acknowledging them. But Noor has already caught sight of him and is giving her brilliant smile, and no one pops out of thin air behind her, so Sander roots himself to the spot. “Hey,” he greets, aiming for cheerful. His tone manages, but he’s doubtful of his smile, which he thinks wavers alongside his balance.

“Happy birthday,” she says. She wraps an arm around his shoulders and presses a kiss to his cheek, hopefully not leaving a bright lipstick stain. (She occasionally does it on purpose and waits for the target to notice, and with everyone else in on the game, the unlucky soul is rarely offered any help.) Sander raises a hand to his cheek cautiously and Noor simply laughs in response, shaking her head. “Not on your birthday.”

Sander narrows his eyes, because honestly, it seems like a perfectly innocent birthday prank. He weighs the possibility for a moment before nodding in acceptance and letting his smile widen again. “Thank you.”

She holds up the little bag in her hand and waves it at him. “Milan says there’s a time and place for these, otherwise I’d just pass it over now.” She lowers her arm and hesitates for a moment, smile shifting as she seems to debate if she should tell Sander what she’s thinking or not. “Britt couldn’t make it, but she helped me pick out the gift.”

Sander takes it for the crooked olive branch it is and nods. “Thank you, seriously,” he says. “And you can extend it to Britt?”

“Of course.” Noor smiles again and squeezes his shoulder before going to join the others. Sander looks after her for a moment before finally getting to the kitchen.

This seems to be the most party-like room in the house. The entire counter is littered with snacks and there are rainbow-coloured fairy lights strung along the cupboards. There’s a stack of party hats and a precarious pile of paper plates. The table has pretty much been turned into a mini-bar, with countless alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks spread out, as well as what must be at least five packs of red party cups. It even appears to have a bartender; Moyo stands behind it mixing a drink, flicking and flipping bottles around and bopping his head and hips to the tempo of the music. He doesn’t even look up as Sander makes his way over, just holds up a hand in a signal to wait.

Sander stares at the table. His pulse feels suddenly quicker. The bottles of beer are sitting closest to him, at the edge of the table, and he allows his fingers to brush over the neck of one. It’s not unfamiliar, of course. He doesn’t even know why he’s hesitating.

It’s just that he should be at home right now, working on the assignment he’d messed up. It’s just that he has class tomorrow, and doesn’t really want to suffer through it with a hangover. It’s just that things have been actually going well.

It’s just that, no matter how long it’s been, he remembers feeling suffocated. He remembers going from burning up to drowning in frigid air, from too much to nothing. He remembers feeling everything at top intensity only to drop into a debilitating state of numbness. Even when it blurs, he remembers.

“Hey, man.” Moyo breaks him out of his thoughts. His voice is uncharacteristically soft, and when Sander looks up, his expression is understanding. “Look, it’s your birthday. Robbe’s right there, and Lucas, and plenty of other friends. And if you want to take a drink, none of them are going to stop you. They never do. It’s always chill, you’re fine.”

Sander opens his mouth, then closes it again. He feels awkward and fidgety and he doesn’t actually want to respond to that. He doesn’t want to think about this.

Not now, he pleads silently.

“Or,” Moyo continues, before Sander would have been able to get two words out anyway. “You can let me make you a mocktail.”

He’s grinning, but Sander can only blink. “A mocktail?”

“Yeah. You know, a cocktail, but without the alcohol?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever tried a cocktail.”

Moyo’s grin widens, and he spreads his hands to show off his stash. “It’s your lucky night then. I honestly prefer mocktails, because the alcohol usually just makes them extra sharp and leaves a shitty aftertaste. But don’t tell anyone I said that.”

He points at Sander warningly, and Sander holds his hands up, smiling slightly now as he nods.

“I heard it.”

They both jump at the voice, but it’s just Senne in the doorway. He smirks a little before coming to join them, leaning his hip on the table so his body is twisted slightly towards Sander while he can still keep Moyo in his expectant gaze.

“Alright.” Moyo rubs his hands together, seeming to accept Senne’s presence and entrust him with their secrets. “I’m gonna make you my personal fave, and if you don’t like it or when you finish it, you come back to me for another. Got it? I am your server for the evening.”

“I’m flattered,” Sander admits, and Moyo winks at him before bursting into another flurry of movement. He’s a little apprehensive, unsure if he should really be taking anything Moyo concocts. They don’t actually know each other that well, despite how long it’s been and how frequently they hang out in the same group. Sander thinks this might be the first time they’ve actually interacted one-on-one. But Moyo has never given Sander any reason to distrust him, and the look he’d given him had been knowing. Moyo probably understands better than he thinks.

That thought still feels a little bitter, so he brushes it away and just watches the other work, trying to tune his thoughts out with the sound of the music and sheer determination.

He can enjoy himself. He’d even worked a lot on his assignment today already, knowing he’d be meeting up with Robbe in the evening. Robbe wouldn’t be keeping him away if he didn’t think Sander could manage it, and Sander trusts Robbe’s faith in him. It’s even enough to make him smile as he watches on with apprehension.

“Are you gonna make me one of these too?” Senne asks, head tilted curiously.

“Nope,” Moyo says, without a hint of hesitation. “Special birthday treat. Anyway, don’t pretend you didn’t come looking for alcohol.”

Senne lifts a beer and has the cap off in an instant. He tilts it at Moyo and takes a slug in confirmation, before turning to lean back against the table and giving Sander his full attention. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” Sander grins. “How’s blissful married life?”

Senne scoffs at him, but he’s still smirking slightly. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I’d say it’s going very well,” Sander hums.

Senne’s smirk softens into a smile, and he crosses his arms before casually taking a sip of his beer. “You’re still treating my boy right, then.”

Moyo snorts, barely halting his movements as he raises a brow at Senne. “Your boy?”

“Hey.” Senne presses a finger to his own chest as he looks over his shoulder at Moyo. “I was the hot older guy in his life first.”

Sander and Moyo just burst into laughter. “Yeah, but in like, a teen dad kinda way, right?” Sander muses, squinting as if he’s trying to recall where he got the description.

“A hot dad,” Senne keeps up his argument.

“A DILF,” Moyo offers.

Sander laughs again as Senne points at the boy in agreement. Moyo finally passes him a full cup with a triumphant expression. Sander takes the cup and then a small sip. He lets the liquid coat his tongue, savours it as it slips down his throat. His brows raise, and he holds the cup back out to Moyo in a toast. “You’re good.”

Moyo taps Sander’s cup with his own and cheers.

At some stage, he ends up alone on the couch. The others, by now, are spread out all over the house, but most of them are in here, chatting or dancing. While most are energised by whatever alcohol they’ve consumed, Sander is nursing his second mocktail and beginning to feel the weight of a long day. Still, he tips his head back against the cushions and watches his friends and he feels okay.

Jens joins him, eventually. Sander doesn’t even see him come in, and then he’s dropping wordlessly into the empty space next to him. The silence lingers on for a moment, both of them content in it. The exact reason Sander enjoys Jens’s company.

After a while, he holds his beer bottle out to Sander with a raised brow. It takes Sander a moment to figure out why, and then he bumps his cup against it. Jens nods in approval and takes a gulp, and Sander watches his eager swallows in silent contemplation.

“Enjoying your birthday?” Jens finally breaks the silence, glancing back and forth between Sander and the others dancing.

Sander shrugs, nodding. “It’s a more exciting day than I expected, honestly.”

Jens hums, then takes another sip. He doesn’t say anything else.

It’s strange. Jens isn’t the loudest one of the group, by far, but he’s being oddly quiet. His slouched posture could be his usual chill demeanor, but it seems too tense. Sullen. It’s weirding Sander out, a little, and he wants to understand it so it isn’t quite so freaky, but it still takes a moment to convince himself to ask.

“What’s wrong?”

Jens startles at the question. He looks over at Sander in surprise, eyes a little wide. Just as quickly, he’s looking away again and clearing his throat, sitting up a little straighter before he speaks. “What? Nothing.”

Sander narrows his eyes, but doesn’t prod. If Jens doesn’t want to tell him, that’s fine. They aren’t besties. Sander can just quietly inform Robbe, who will deal with it himself, and then Sander won’t even have to feel guilty. It’s not actually his place. Instead, he just waits.

“I think Luc is pissed at me,” Jens mutters, after all of about five seconds.

Sander huffs, but frowns slightly. He looks out at their friends. It doesn’t take him long to find Lucas—mostly because he’s right next to Robbe. Whereas Robbe is twirling Noor around in a fitting dance to the music, however, Lucas is focused on a more chaotic Milan who seems to be attempting to show him some rather sensual moves. Lucas, equally, does <i>not</i> seem to do his best to follow along, poorly mimicking the moves through hysterical laughter.

“He doesn’t seem pissed,” Sander muses, turning back to Jens with a brow raised pointedly. Jens shrugs and looks down at his beer, tracing his fingertip around the top, and Sander sighs and thinks fuck it. “What’s wrong, Jens?”

Jens glances up at him, and then down again, and then lets out a sigh of his own. “She finally kicked him out.”

Sander blinks, and has to think for a moment. When realisation hits, he decides he probably should not be the one handling this conversation. He has to tread lightly. Maybe he should just pretend he has to pee to escape and then fetch Robbe, instead. But...Jens has trusted him with it.

Dammit.

“Your dad?” he asks quietly.

Jens nods.

“Isn’t that a good thing? What does it have to do with Lucas? I mean...aside from the obvious.”

“Well, because.” Jens pauses to run a hand through his hair, frustrated. “He’s not even gone yet, and Lucas wants me to move home.”

Sander purses his lips in understanding. “You don’t want to.”

“Why would I?” Jens huffs. Then he pulls a face that’s faintly apologetic before shaking his head. Sander realises he’s likely more than a little tipsy, if his rapid but sloppy speech is anything to go by, along with the seemingly senseless hand gestures he’s making. “I do miss my mom, I guess, and Lotte, but still. I go into my room and it’s just...it’s suffocating. And Lucas is pissed about it. Well, I guess he’s more pissed on my behalf. He says that what happened shouldn’t get to control me so much, especially when the asshole’s not even there. That I shouldn’t have to keep making the sacrifice because of it when I have the freedom to go back now.”

This is starting to sound very familiar, and that hits rather close to home.

There suddenly isn’t enough air, and his chest is suddenly tight, breaths just a little too shallow. He flicks his gaze around until it lands on Robbe again. He’s moved onto dancing with Zoë now, her confidently leading his more awkward frame. Some of the tension in Sander eases, and he swallows down the feeling in favour of trying to form a coherent response.

“But that doesn’t mean he’s pissed at you,” Sander says carefully. “It also doesn’t sound unreasonable, and it’s not like he doesn’t understand. He just wants the best and the most for you.” He wants you to have the world. The universe, if possible. He doesn’t want anything to be taken from you, and especially not because of him.

Jens seems to accept this, but still frowns slightly, still makes himself a little smaller. “But I’m happy here. I’m happy. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

Sander swallows. He lets his eyes shift from Robbe to Lucas, and finds his friend staring back at him. Lucas’s expression is mostly blank, but Sander can see the concern etched into his eyes and the pinch of his lips. Sander offers him a hesitant smile and after a moment, he looks away.

“Maybe it’s not enough for him,” he says.

Jens’s face falls.

Sander quickly shakes his head. “No, I mean—maybe it’s because of how it still affects him. He doesn’t want it to control how he feels. He wants to be bigger than it, move past it, but there’s nothing he really can do. Except for helping you. If he’s seeing you deal with it and recover from it, then it makes it easier for him, too.”

The feeling of too much is creeping in. He’s thinking too much, saying too much, feeling too much, giving too much away. It’s an overreaction, maybe. After so long, surely. That event shouldn’t still affect him like this, right? It shouldn’t still feel like a shock to his system. He can only hope it doesn’t appear like one outwardly.

But Jens is just silently contemplative as he takes in what Sander has said, eyes lingering on his boyfriend thoughtfully. When he turns back to Sander, he’s simply curious. “Has he spoken to you about it?”

Sander doesn’t even have to think back. “No. Aside from at the time, he’s never brought it up. I didn’t want to do it and just hurt him, so it wasn’t discussed.”

Jens purses his lips and nods. His smile is self-derogatory. “You just know my best friend and my boyfriend better than me.”

“No,” Sander says again, even though he’s not as sure. He’s fairly sure. The only people he knows who seem as close as Jens and Lucas are Robbe and himself. “I’m just speaking from experience,” he admits quietly.

Now Jens’s gaze sharpens, and he actually looks at Sander. It takes no time, then, for the realisation to set in, and he curses under his breath. “Fuck, man, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about this to you right now, anyway, it’s your birthday.” He rubs his hand over his face and huffs. “Sorry, I swear, sometimes I have no tact. I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, stop.” Sander waves him off. He hesitates only slightly before continuing. “I’m glad. That you’re comfortable enough that you could talk to me about it. I think the universe seriously wants us to be friends, at this point.”

Jens snorts. “I think you’re all seriously weird about your universe stuff.”

Sander grins at him. “The universe stuff will take over you eventually, too. I don’t know how it hasn’t already, how long have you known Robbe?”

This time Jens just rolls his eyes silently, but he’s smiling now too.

“Seriously,” Sander says. “Thank you. It doesn’t matter about the timing, I’m glad you can talk to me.”

Jens’s smile softens, and he gives a small nod. “Maybe we should all be able to talk about it more,” he says quietly.

“Yeah. Maybe.”

They return to a short lapse of silence, and Sander takes a sip of his forgotten drink. The fruity liquid soothes his throat, and the break in the conversation allows more of the pressure to release. His heartbeat feels normal again by the time Jens turns back to him.

“Thanks, though. Seriously. You’re probably right, about Luc. I’ll talk to him.”

Sander just feels pleased as he smiles now, like he accomplished something, said something right. The mood and balance is being restored, and he just needs to accept the segway and lighten things further. “If you want to thank me, I’m sure you can play a pretty piano version of ‘Happy Birthday’.”

“Fuck you,” Jens scoffs, eyes narrowing slightly.

“So you can’t? I thought that would’ve been fairly basic, but okay.” Sander shrugs, taking a casual sip of his drink to strengthen the taunting.

Jens glares hotly at him. “Fuck you. Of course I can play ‘Happy Birthday’.” Jens drags himself to his feet and jabs a finger at him. “Don’t move then.”

Balance immediately restored, Sander thinks amusedly.

Milan pauses Jens as he makes his way through the crowd, and Sander watches as Jens says something in response and Milan beams. He shoots a look at Sander before the two of them are flouncing off, and moments later, Sander is being subjected to a much louder, much further off-key rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’, and more candles.

The keyboard bit is fine, though, he grudgingly admits.

When Jens sets it aside, Lucas is there grabbing his hands and dragging him to his feet as Robbe does the same to Sander. They’re both smiling through their protests, and everyone can see it.

So now, they’re dancing.

It feels more lively, after that. Everyone is gathered on their makeshift dance-floor by now. Sander takes catalogue of them all, marveling at how Gilles has somehow managed to rope Thomas and even Adi into dancing. Emilie is now the one with Luca, both of them laughing as they sway around with their hands joined between them. Noor and Moyo have gravitated towards each other as usual and, instead of huddling close like the others, seem to have a teacher–student method of dancing going on that Noor keeps up with rather well. Milan, Zoë and Senne are dancing in a little circle, and Amber and Aaron have moved on to just standing amidst it all and kissing. Jens and Lucas aren’t dancing anymore, either, but they’re held close. Sander watches until Jens leans down to murmur something in Lucas’s ear and Lucas smiles, leaning into the taller boy as Jens kisses his temple.

Satisfied, Sander is finally able to focus on the boy in his own arms. Robbe is already watching him when Sander catches his gaze, brow slightly furrowed and lips slightly quirked in that adorable questioning expression. Sander draws him closer by the waist and interrupts their step-swaying to catch him in a kiss, and as the music gets louder, his mind quiets.

~^~

previous/next

#wtfock #sobbe #rosander #robbe x sander #van der stoffels #or as much as they’re in it #sander season #tracing time #i’m super insecure about all of these clips ✌🏻 hope it doesn’t totally suck #lucas is definitely that isak that cares about his hair #hugo is still my fave oc

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keanureevesisbae · 3 years

Text

Christmas with John Wick

Summary: John Wick is about to spend his first Christmas in years.

John Wick x clumsy!reader

Wordcount: 1.9k

Warnings: None

A/N: This is my one shot for the gift exchange! Thank you @overheardatthecontinental for this lovely idea. It has been quite some time since I wrote for John Wick and it sure was fun. @ladyreapermc I hope you like it 🥰 Merry Christmas everyone!!

John hadn’t celebrated Christmas since Helen died.

Actually, he hadn’t celebrated any holiday at all after the passing of his late wife four years ago and he figured he would never do that again. While the world around him would celebrate days like Valentines Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, he would sit on his couch, staring at the fireplace with his loyal canine sitting next to him to keep him company.

However this year, that is not the case, all because he met the love of his life: Y/N. He remembers it clearly, seeing her for the first time. March 21st, the first day of spring. He went to his favorite cafe, to order a simple cappuccino, a tradition he started since the beginning of this year. While everything was the same as usual, the presence of the world’s biggest scatterbrain he has ever seen, was out of the ordinary.

She walked in, her head practically buried in her purse. She wore a pink midi dress, paired with white sneakers and when she finally looked up, he saw her pink lips and her beautiful sparkly eyes.

John didn’t believe in love at first sight, but after locking eyes with her, the beautiful woman smiling at him, he was put in severe doubt.

Every day he would see her in the cafe. Sometimes she dropped her money, her entire bag or worse: her coffee. Seeing her muttering apologies made his heart flutter. When she dropped her lipstick and it rolled towards him, he picked it up, so he could hand it back to her. Yet again he was met with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, including the glimmer in her eyes and right there and then, he fell head over heels in love with her.

John thought of her quite a lot, in and outside the cafe. However, when this human form of adorable asked for his name and introduced herself, she was on his mind 24/7. He was looking forward on seeing her in the cafe again and again and again.

Y/N. He kept thinking about her name, how well it matched her personality and how it sounded like a beautiful symphony. For hours on end he kept wondering whether or not he should ask her out. Should he ruin what the two of them already had? A nice good morning exchange every day? Some small talk?

Besides, there was always the opportunity of being turned down. She was breathtakingly gorgeous and way out of his league. Why would she even agree to going out with him?

However, when she greeted him one morning, said his name with her beautiful voice and even touched his arm, he decided to go for it and ask her out.

On April Fools day.

After frantically trying to explain to her that he was definitely not kidding and he was for real, she said yes. He couldn’t believe that on the day of the jokes, he a) had a date and b) had his first kiss in years.

Y/N was and is the best thing that could ever happen to John. He loves waking up next to her and going to the cafe together instead of alone. Simply not being alone with his loyal dog, was all he ever wanted, but never in a million years he thought he would get that.

John watches the love of his life roam through the store, taking in every section of the Christmas department, as he walks behind her with the packed cart.

‘John, honey,’ she says as she spins around to look at him. ‘This is so adorable, look at it!’ She shows him a single Christmas ornament of a pitbull. ‘He looks like Tito, doesn’t he?’

While he never consciously named his dog and simply referred to him as “Boy”, Y/N couldn’t stand the fact the canine did not have a name. Besides, she couldn’t whistle, so calling him became a pain.

She tried tons of names. Bodie, Hunter, Jesse, Victor and even Rudolph, but the dog didn’t respond. Until she tried the name Tito as a joke. While John wasn’t necessarily a fan of the name Tito (he actually hated it, joke or not), he saw how Y/N’s eyes lit up when the dog responded to her, nearly wagging his tail off.

And then he realized the pitbull was indeed a Tito.

‘Put it in the cart, sweetheart,’ he says. ‘If, of course, you can find an empty place to put it.’

Y/N stares at the cart and while she scrunches up her nose, she lets out a sigh. ‘I’m going a little overboard, aren’t I?’

He can’t help but chuckle. ‘Maybe a little bit, but I don’t mind,’ he says, as he looks in the cart, filled with lights, garlands and edible and non-edible ornaments.

‘You are paying for all of this and this ornament alone is ten dollar, which is way too expensive for one single ornament.’

She already walks away, but John grabs her hand and pulls her back. ‘We’re buying this one, sweetheart. I don’t care this alone is ten dollars, I really don’t.’ He lets go of the cart, so he can gently pull the ornament out of her hand.

‘John,’ she says, ‘I think everything in that cart is worth over five hundred dollar. I honestly don’t know what I was even thinking. I guess it’s for the best if we put some stuff back.’

‘We are not putting anything back. Remember, this is our first Christmas together. I want it to be as memorable as we can make it and all of this,’—he nods towards their cart—‘is a necessity to make our Christmas perfect.’

‘Are you sure?’ she asks. ‘I mean, it’s quite a lot. Stuff wise and money wise and I don’t want you to regret it.’

‘More than sure.’ He presses a kiss on her forehead. She always worries about money, insists on paying for the coffees and other dates, but he never lets her. He adores spending money on her and this… All the Christmas stuff, is only the beginning of the many Christmases they are going to spend together.

The beginning of their future together, because he is positive they are never going to break up. Maybe it’s too optimistic… Maybe, but if it were up to him, he’d never let her go. ‘I’m gonna say this one more time: don’t you ever worry about money again. I’ve got you, darling.’

The two of them stroll through the store some more and Y/N puts some more necessary stuff in the cart. They end up buying Christmas stuff worth a little over seven hundred dollars. John senses an upcoming heart from both the cashier and his girlfriend. While he pays with his card and pretends not to notice, he places his hand on her lower back. ‘Remember to breath, darling,’ he whispers, as the two of them walk to the car. ‘It’s just money.’

After a quick drive back home, they are greeted by Tito. And with them, he means Y/N, because Tito simply ignores John. Sometimes it makes him jealous to see his dog is almost claiming his girlfriend, but he is also forever grateful they get along this amazingly.

‘We are going to decorate our house today!’ she tells the pitbull, who shakes his entire butt as he wags his tail in excitement. ‘I even bought you a stocking, do you like that?’ She kisses the top of his head, before walking towards the table. While John carries the boxes and bags inside, Y/N’s full attention is directed towards her beloved notebook, where she scribbled down what she has planned for his place.

Originally she wanted to decorate her own studio, like she usually did before they started dating, but he keeps telling her that his place is her place. It’s hard for her to believe that, however she barely is at her own studio anymore. She does, on the other hand, still refer to their place as solely his place.

Maybe decorating it will change her mind.

John walks up to her, stands behind her and buries his face in her nape, taking in her lovely perfume. ‘Okay, darling, what’s the plan?’ he asks against her skin, wrapping his arms around her.

‘First the tree,’ she tells him, ‘then the stairs. Everything we have left, we’ll find a spot for that, I can guarantee.’

🎅🏻 🎅🏻 🎅🏻

It took them six hours before they finally decorated the stairs, the tree and the rest of the place. Six hours! It’s safe to say his girlfriend might’ve gone a tad overboard. Everywhere John goes, there is something Christmas related, however he wouldn’t want it any other way.

‘Darling, you need help?’ he asks from the couch, while Y/N is preparing something in the kitchen.

‘No,’ she yells back. ‘Just adding some sprinkles and then it’s all done.’ Not long after she told him that, she walks into the living room with a tray in her hands. ‘Two hot chocolates,’ she says with a smile, placing the tray on the little table in front of the couch and she hands him a mug. ‘Not to brag, but my hot chocolates are the best in the entire world. In fact, they are that good, you might want them all year around.’ Y/N sits next to him with her own white mug she took from her own place. ‘Cheers,’ she says with a smile.

John takes a small sip of the drink and hums in content. ‘This is delicious, darling.’

‘And?’ she pushes with a smile.

‘And I might want this all year around.’

‘Very good,’ she laughs. ‘Oh, look at you.’ She wipes the whipped cream off his nose, before leaning over to him, pressing a soft kiss on his lips.

‘Oh, sweetheart,’ he says to her, ‘I love you so much.’

‘I love you too and once again: I’m sorry for totally overdoing it and having you working like a dog, because I had unrealistic ideas.’

John simply scoffs, before chuckling. ‘None of that. Besides, I managed to make your ideas reality, so how unrealistic were those ideas.’ He wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her closer to his body. ‘I like it a lot and there is a slight possibility I’m not going to take this down anytime soon.’

The entire night, they spend drinking hot chocolate, watching cheesy Netflix Christmas movies and after a while, his girlfriend fell asleep in his arms. Thankfully she was already wearing her pajamas, so he carries her upstairs, walking passed the Christmas lights woven into the bars of the stairs. John places her in their bed, pressing multiple kisses on her cheek, before he quickly goes downstairs, to lock the doors and turn off some lights.

John passes the lit up Christmas tree and his eye falls on a picture. He didn’t know this was in here. He bends towards the picture, so he can see it up close. It’s a picture of him and Helen. Y/N knows about Helen and she looks at their pictures quite a lot—she even told him to put some up.

And now she placed one in the tree. His Y/N sure is a special one and truly one of a kind.

He smiles at the picture, thinking about Helen telling him to make most out of his life after she passes. It took him awhile, but he is finally getting there. Finally getting to a place where he is happy again.

‘I’m going to have a Merry Christmas, Helen,’ he whispers. ‘I hope you do too from wherever you are.’

🎅🏻 🎅🏻 🎅🏻

#john wick #john wick fanfic #john wick x reader #john wick gift exchange #john wick x clumsy!reader #john wick one shot #john wick x y/n

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iplaymatchmaker · 3 years

Note

(2) my mbti is infp-t and the last time i did the pottermore test i got a ravenclaw, so there's that! oh and i'm also quite introverted so you won't find me in rowdy places like a party or concert. i don't do great with people who force me out of my comfort zone, people who aren't decisive and aren't the communicative type (i get anxious trying to guess what they mean and overthink). for the prompts i'd like bonding and fairytale au for cinderella! thank you so much! o(≧▽≦)o -juice

Hello, thanks again for requesting Juice! Once again, sorry for the delay. This is the ikerev part of your ask. I’m sorry in advance for the rushed ending of the second prompt, I didn’t want to take even longer writing an entire fic and thought this was a good place to leave it. I hope you like it!

I match you with

Sirius!

When you first arrive in Cradle you are wary of the army officers, but the warm environment makes it easy to relax and be yourself. You quickly grow close with the Queen, Sirius. Your friendship begins when you catch him watering the flowers in the courtyard. You are surprised at first, considering your first impression of him, but that is quickly forgotten as he rambles to you about the importance of maintaining the garden, even with a war in the horizon.

Despite his busy schedule, the two of you spend a lot of time together, and it quickly becomes apparent that you are compatible. The black army headquarters has always been a lively place, curtsey of Fenrir and Seth, but Sirius is glad to have another cheerful voice around, especially when it’s paired with your friendly chatter.

While you dislike showcasing your worries and insecurities, Sirius is always quick to read you and tries his best to lift your spirits without pressuring you to talk when you’re not ready.

You spend a lot of time exploring each other’s interests, as he introduces you to the ways of Cradle and you teach about him about the Land Reason. At first he tries to blame this on simple curiosity, but the reality of it is, he enjoys listening to you talk about the things you’re passionate about, sometimes wishing he could make your eyes light up the same way they do when you discuss your favorite books, although he won’t tell you that.

You finally confess your feelings, moments before the full moon rises and the portal back to your world appears. Until that moment, when Sirius’ hand wrapped around your wrist, stopping you in your tracks, you thought he didn’t return your feelings. It wasn’t until then that he expressed to you how much he wanted you to stay. “I know it’s selfish, but I want you to stay by my side!” All the pieces fell into place as he wrapped his arms around you, your bodies so close you could feel his pounding heart, realizing he must’ve run to catch up with you. “I will.”

Prompt: Bonding

It was hard to contain your excitement as you walked the narrow streets of Cradle, your hand not leaving Sirius’ as you looked at the shop windows.

“Look at that dress!” You pulled him along, hearing him chuckle behind you, not daring to complain as you dragged him inside the store.

You had agreed on this shopping trip a few days ago, on one of the rare days Sirius was staying in your room instead of the opposite. Your attention had been solely focused on your book for about an hour when he spoke up.

“We should go out on Saturday.” While he was always thoughtful, he didn’t often suggest outings, considering his packed schedule.

“Aren’t you on patrol with Fenrir on Saturday?” you couldn’t deny your excitement at the prospect of spending time with Sirius, but you didn’t want to burden him,

“I have already spoken with him. With Amon gone, there isn’t too much work for us during patrol. He can handle it on his own. So what do you say?”

“Okay!” You nodded, pulling him closer as you set your book aside.

While you enjoyed your time trying new clothes and browsing the bookshelves around the shops, you couldn’t help but feel guilty that Sirius was spending his day off following you doing things you enjoyed, despite his reassuring words.

“Don’t worry about me, I can keep up.”

You decided to take a break at one of the nearby cafes for much needed rest. You tried your best to read him but you had difficulty guessing what he was thinking.

“So, are you having fun?” you were taken aback by his question, considering he was letting you take him around town to all the places you wanted to visit.

“Of course I am! The weather is wonderful today too.” You took a bite of your desert, hoping to successfully bury your worries where he couldn’t see them.

“I can tell when something is bothering you, you know.” It didn’t seem to fool him. You sighed before reaching out to cover his hand with yours.

“I just want you to enjoy today too. This is your day off, we should be doing something you enjoy.” He squeezed your hand, his smile not faltering.

“Seeing you having fun is more than enough joy for me.” You could tell there was something he wasn’t telling you but you decided to leave it alone, not wanting to ruin the day.

“Thanks Sirius.”

By the time you returned to headquarters the sun had set and both of you were exhausted. After a quick shower you found Sirius outside, carefully inspecting a batch of purple and white flowers in the garden.

“What’s that one?” You stand next to him, wrapping your overcoat tighter around yourself.

“Night Phlox. They’ve almost bloomed. They have a very strong but pleasant smell when you plant many of them near each other.” He smiled, wrapping his arms around you, shielding you from the cold.

“What do they mean?”

“They can mean all sorts of things, but the most widely accepted meaning is partnership, harmony and unity. Pretty spot on for the black army, don’t you think?’ you smiled, enjoying listening to him talk about something with such care.

“Yeah.” The sound of the wind against the leaves was the only thing breaking the silence until you spoke up.

“Hey Sirius, why were you so intent on making today all about me?” there was no accusation in your voice, a simple question spoken under the night sky, a time where people can be honest, without hiding their troubles.

“We spend a lot of time at headquarters because of my job, doing things that I’m comfortable with. I just wanted to spend a day bonding over something you enjoy doing.” He tightened your arms around him, placing a quick kiss on his lips.

“You know I love spending time with you, no matter what we’re doing.”

“And I love seeing you happy.” Your eyes locked and an overwhelming feeling of joy spread through you.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Prompt: Cinderella AU

It was becoming increasingly difficult to mask your disdain as ambitious men reached out every few minutes, attempting to make conversation. You could offer them more than a smile and a kind word, knowing that everyone there had an ulterior motive.

“An organized ball where the goal is to woo me isn’t exactly a romantic story now isn’t it?” you didn’t want to deny your father’s wishes, knowing there was pressure as he grew older for you to find a husband, but it was still hard to accept that you would never have the chance to live a fairytale-love story, like those you read about in books.

“What you need is a secure future. This is for your own good.”

You knew that if you were to achieve that goal, you would need to interact with the men at the ball, but the context of the celebration made hard to relax, let alone do so in a room full of people.

“Daughter, this is a ball. Should you not be dancing?” your father’s voice was full of concern, despite his previous incitement.

“Yes, I will do that, father.” Not wanting to upset him, you smiled before setting off towards the middle of the room as the band started playing a quick valse. You looked around for a partner when you felt strong arms around, pulling you along with the other dancers.

“I’m sorry if that was out of line, you looked a little lost.” When you looked up to see the face of your partner, your words died in your throat. He stood quite a bit taller than you and his eyes were a deep shade of purple, unlike anything you had seen before.

“U-um, yeah.” You tried not to forget the steps as the two of you moved along, not wanting to make a fool of yourself, tripping over your skirts.

“So, how come the princess herself finds a moment alone during a ball in her honor?” despite his teasing words, you could tell he felt out of place in the crowded room.

“I’m not sure I’d consider this an honor… “ concern imideately painted his features but you didn’t want to bother a guest with your own issue.

“So, where are you from? I don’t believe we have met before.” You run a mental list of acquaintances from the local noble houses but you didn’t remember seeing him before.

“I’m… “ his voice trailed off, leaving you with many burning questions.

“I’m Sirius, Sirius Oswald.” He smiled, the uncertainty from moments before replaced with a warm smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” You smiled at him, deciding not to pressure him for answers he didn’t want to give.

“You never answered my question” he spun you as the music sped up, taking you by surprise.

“You didn’t answer mine either.” A playful smile played on your lips.

“I suppose I can’t deny that.” Through the bur around you, you could see that the rest of the couple had left the dance floor, placing the two of at the center of the attention.

“Everyone is looking at us.” A faint blush appeared on your cheeks a you danced together.

“They are looking at you.” He smiled at you, his grip on your waist tightening.

“Are you ready?”

“For what?”

Before you could question him further, you were in the air, your dress spinning around you. Time seemed to slow down, a feeling of freedom flowing through you. From your position you could see the faces of the party-goers but in that moment it didn’t matter. It was just you and him, a scene right out of a fairytale.

When he set you down, your cheeks were flushed, heart pounding in your chest. You barely registered the music slowly fading away as they switched to a softer sound.

“Thank you for the dance.” His hand left yours, while his warmth sill lingered.

“My lady.’ He bowed before turning to leave.

“Wait! Could I see you again?” you resisted the urge to grab his hand, not wanting to make a scene.

“I’m not sure that would be the best idea.” You tried to speak up but your voice was drowned out by the surrounding noise, so you could only watch as he moved further and further away, before eventually disappearing in the crowd, leaving you alone, with only a brief memory to look back to.

Rumors of the charming man who danced with the princess could be heard all around town during the next few days. You tried to keep your head low as you walked around the stalls, looks for the right shop.

When you opened the door, a bell sounded, announcing your arrival.

“Hello. How could I help you?” A tall man stood at the back of the room, watering a patch of white flowers. You looked around the room to ensure you were alone before removing your hood, still unsure of whether this was a good idea.

“P-princess.” He fell into a quick bow, not daring to look at you.

“Hello Mr. Oswald.” He hesitantly raised his head, looking over the cloak covering your dress.

“Just call me Sirius. How did you find me?” an awkward smile appeared on his lips.

“I told you I wanted to see you again. Plus, after you told me your name, it wasn't very hard to find you.” You stepped closer, looking at the assortment of flowers around you.

“So this is where you’re from.” You were only teasing, but he seemed to have misunderstood.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you. I wanted to keep up the illusion but the you came here and..” you were taken aback by his genuine apology.

“N-no, I’m not disappointed!.”

“You aren’t?” You nodded, trying to express your feelings as best you could.

“No, I’m not. Why would I be?’ he run a hand through his hair, messing it up more than before.

“I’m just a commoner. And you’re a princess. There is no reason for you to be interested…” you shook your head firmly.

“I didn’t want to meet you again because I thought you were a noble. I just... I want to feel what I felt when we danced together again.” You were expecting him to laugh at you, but he only looked back in awe.

“W-was that odd? I apologize, I just-“ he didn’t allow you to finish.

“No! It’d not off, I’m just… surprised. I don’t have much to offer to a princess.” he fidgeted with the hem of his apron, eyes glued to the ground.

“Could you perhaps offer me some of your time? I would like to get to know you better.” A smile slowly formed on his face.

“Alright then. Who am I to say no to the princess after all?”

“Thank you.” You smiled at each other, excited to see where this would lead you.

You spent a lot of time together after that, slowly getting to know more about each other. When you introduced him to your father, he was admittedly hesitant at the idea of you not marrying a noble, but when he saw how happy the two of you were together, he couldn’t deny you your wishes.

“You have my blessing. You better take care of my daughter young man.”

“Always, sir. I love your daughter more than anything.” He placed a kiss on you hand, a promise of greater things to come.

“And I you.” Happiness overflowed you as your lips met in a light kiss, sealing the truth of your words.

#ikerev #ikerev matchup #ikemen revolution #ikerev sirius #sirius oswald #cybird ikemen #ikemen series

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skinks · 4 years

Note

The Toziers convince Sonia to let them take Eddie to disney world on his 14th birthday. Needless to say he LOVES every second of it and that’s when Richie realizes that he’s lowkey in love with him

ok anon stop reading my MIND I was actually thinking weeks ago about this literal very same thing. Well, a variant, but yours is adorable too omg. Also I think a lot about them going as adults post-movie and Eddie spends the whole day just going on the Hulk rollercoaster at Universal over and over

but god imagine Eddie having a huge bowl of Disney World ice cream plonked in front of him at the Rainforest Cafe with birthday sparklers, and they’re like “Eat up son, you’re not 14 every day!” and Eddie tries to blow out the sparklers and not cry simultaneously. Eddie at a theme park is actually so personal. He tries ONE rollercoaster (Thunder Mountain) and immediately becomes an adrenaline junkie, and Richie’s sitting next to him hearing him shriek and swear and their hands are clasped together overhead as they hurtle down a plunging loop, and he’s like oh no.

My thing was that I have this image of a 90s family photo of Maggie and Went squishing long haired teen metalhead Richie between them maybe at Magic Kingdom or in front of the big ball at Epcot, and he’s taller than both of them with a gruesome unintelligible black tshirt on but he’s got the biggest goofy smile, and he’s wearing Mickey ears cause it’s his BIRTHDAY. But 14 is probably better cause maybe like, Went and Maggie saw how upset Richie and his friends all were the year before and want to cheer him up?

Then I thought, his parents say he can bring another friend with him if he likes, and Bev’s already gone to Portland right? Mike and Bill are working, Ben and Stan are both at different nerdy summer camps (I know Richie’s birthday is in March but let’s pretend they take him as a joint bday/end of school year treat) and so he brings Eddie. Richie kinda wanted to bring Eddie the most in the first place, so it works out perfectly. Eddie’s only allowed to go because he’s still riding his gazebos wave of defiance and also they promise Sonia Eddie won’t go on a single dangerous ride (wink), and she’d hate to be seen to be ungrateful, people would talk.

Richie and Eddie get their own room in the motel and trampoline between the two beds because they’re little monsters. They always run out onto the balcony at night to watch the thunderstorms. The first time they walk through the gates at Magic Kingdom Eddie’s like :00000 Richie look! EVERYONE’S wearing fanny-packs!!!! and Richie’s like yeah >:( but you were a cute dork first, and Eddie’s like hey fuck you—wait...... cute? and Richie’s like uhhhh HEY LOOK IS THAT PLUTO

They freak the fuck OUT at the Star Wars bit in MGM, back when it was still called MGM. Maggie and Went let them see The Muppets 3D three times in a row and Richie gets a Kermit shirt, and whenever Eddie starts pestering him about sunblock Richie sings It Ain’t Easy Being Green to drown him out.

The see the Indiana Jones stunt show at MGM and Richie decides he’s gonna be a stuntman. Then they go to the driving stunt thing and Eddie says it would be super cool to be stunt driver, and Richie’s like we can be a stunt team!!!! together!!! And Went grins, “Like Siegfried and Roy,” and Maggie elbows him.

Eddie overcomes one of his many anxieties and pets some lizards at Animal Kingdom. They fill their hats with water from the spouting fountains at Epcot and then put them straight on their heads, dumping water over themselves to cool off. It’s actually closer to Maggie’s real birthday than anyone else’s so they have dinner at Epcot Mexico for Richie, Mags AND Eddie and the mariachi band comes over. Richie and Wentworth start singing a totally inaccurate Spanish Happy Birthday and Eddie almost sinks under the table in embarrassment. People are staring, and he’s so used to people staring in public when his own mom causes a scene, but this is a fun scene, Maggie’s rolling her eyes and clapping along so maybe it’s not so bad.

They make up games to play in the long lines for rides, Maggie and Went joining in on Eye Spy, or Richie’s “Guess Which State That Gross Family Are From” game, but don’t join in with Richie and Eddie’s complicated patty-cake-thumb-war hybrid. Eddie always has a ton of water in his backpack and a lil hand-held fan in his fanny pack, and sometimes in the hotter lines he feels very bold and squishes his and Richie’s faces cheek to cheek so they can share the fan, but it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference cause Richie’s face almost feels warmer when he does.

At Typhoon Lagoon they wrestle all the way around Lazy River (and get chastised by the lifeguards) and have major water cannon wars. Eddie watches all the fit young lifeguard dudes up in their chairs like 😳😳😳 that looks like a... cool job. Helping people. Hm.

They split a thing of churros. They get right up to the top of the tallest slide and Eddie gets scared, but Richie just clambers all the way back down the stair tower with him, mouthing off at the bigger kids giving them grief, and Eddie’s like “you should have just gone without me” and Richie’s like nah, be it’d no fun without you, and Eddie thinks about this entire vacation and for a wild moment he thinks my whole life would be no fun without you.

They return to see Maggie lying face down on her deck chair and towel, reading her book with her sunny yellow bikini top untied and Went is Very Attentively Applying Sunscreen to her bare back lmao. Richie’s like UGH GROSS and Went jumps a little like, “oh fu—uh, hey boys, you’re back quick.”

The concrete is so hot they have to run quick from pool to pool to stop their soles burning. Richie can’t wear his glasses in the water so he clings to Eddie the whole time, both of them slippery and giggling and Eddie feels like he’s getting a full body sunburn every time their wet bodies bump together, even though he’s wearing like six coats of factor 50.

Oh and you know they go to Universal. Oh BOY do they go to Universal. Eddie screams on the Jaws ride when the animatronic lunges right against where he’s sitting, and he jumps back in his seat and like, Richie must’ve been way closer than he thought because he falls all over his lap and Richie’s like “Hooper ya idiot, starboard! Ain’tcha watching it!” in his Quint From Jaws Voice, which is actually one of his better Voices since Quint sounds like every other curmudgeonly Maine old-timer back in Derry, but this time he’s pretty shaky about it for some reason.

They go to the new Horror Make-Up Show and Richie waves his arm so hard he gets picked as the volunteer, and winds up making the crowd laugh even more than the hosts, they’re all mock-outraged like “Who’s your agent! You’re here from Mouse Town to make us look bad, right?!”

Then when the Wolfman bursts out, Eddie can see there’s a moment where Richie’s whole body flinches bloodless, his arms come up to cover his face, and his head jerks to stare out for a moment into the crowd looking like he did when he saw his face on a missing poster, and Eddie overcomes his terror of being Perceived by the crowd to yell “GET HIM RICH” and everyone laughs, Richie grins, and it’s fine again.

On their last night they go back to Magic Kingdom to see the fireworks, and they’re exhausted. Sun-dazed and sugar-filled and adrenaline-drained and the fireworks make everything kinda dreamy. They’re shuffling along behind Maggie and Went to get a good spot when they see Maggie take Went’s hand. Richie pulls a face at Eddie and Eddie scrunches a face back and they snicker, and Richie makes a mock “oooh~ Eddie~” noise and grabs Eddie’s hand—they both keep laughing and watching the fireworks, but like... then it stops being funny and starts being something else. Richie’s just holding his hand, and the crowd is so thick and dark under ballooning Florida clouds and the fantasy sky, so anonymous that nobody notices but them. Eddie’s heart might be shooting into the sky and exploding into sparks as well, he’s ready to collapse and he can’t possibly LOOK at Richie but for a moment he’s like shit, they’re right. Happiest place on Earth.

#reddie #tozier family #long post #once more this got away from me but i fucking love disney world ok lmao #listen every time i come back from Orlando im like ok! im done! dont need to go again!#and then by a year or so later im like WHO WANTS TO COME ROLLERCOASTING WITH ME.........#anyway idk if any of this is chronologically accurate to the parks in 1990 but that IS the year the horror make up show started #ficlet

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lifesabe-ch · 4 years

Text

this means war - billy r. and frank c. (part 9)

summary: this is a spin off from a movie (can anyone find the title? ;) starring Billy Russo and Frank Castle. In this AU, Billy isn’t a psycho, Frank’s family is alive, and they both really like coffee. And, y’know, Y/N.

pairings: Frank Castle x Reader, Billy Russo x Reader (actually both of them, i promise)

warnings: nosey men spying on Y/N

a/n: this part is kinda long, but one of our favorite parts from the movie...! (written w/ @pitaparka)

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7, PART 8

Covering her eyes with your hands from behind, you grinned as you awaited a response.

“Guess who?” You teased, completely prepared for the shove of her hand to push you off of her.

“You’re awfully chipper this morning. Who put frosting in your Cheerios?”

You laughed, moving around her to grab a rag, your shoulders shrugging in response as you began wiping down the counter.

“It’s a beautiful day.”

She watched as you cleaned, noting the cheerful tune you were humming. The shop was practically empty, only a few regulars scattered around. You, Morgan, and Becky were the only three scheduled for today, and Becky was in the back doing inventory. Morgan was here working. You… were being disgustingly happy.

“Look,” your friend started, leaning herself against the counter you were wiping down. “I know you. You’re not this happy, ever. No one is ever, smile and hum while cleaning at work happy on a Tuesday! Unless…”

Her sharp gasp wasn't what pulled your gaze up to her, rather the hit to the head with the rag she had snatched from you.

“Hey!”

“You got laid, didn’t you? It was Frank! He must have some good ass dick to have you smiling like that this early.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you tried to take the rag back from her, ignoring the way she held it out of your reach in hopes for more information.

“I didn’t sleep with Frank!”

The rag came down again, this time against your arm.

“You slept with Billy?”

“No!”

She was silent for a moment, before hitting you once more, this time with much more force and excitement.

“You had a threesome?”

The few people inside glanced behind the counter to see you, mortified, loudly shushing your idiot friend as you finally took the rag away, hitting her back lightly.

“Stop being so loud!”

“Which one was it? It was the threesome wasn’t it?”

“No!” You cried out softly, swiping crumbs off of the counter. You’d have to sweep later.

“I didn’t have any sex,” you say.

“So you just came into work this happy? After not having sex with anyone? I don’t believe it.”

“Well, believe it baby, I got eight hours of sleep last night,” Your words were accompanied with a smile, the memory of the restful night resurfacing. You missed your bed.

She adjusts the pastries in the front of the display case. Her brows furrow, and she turns to look at you.

“Wait, why haven’t you had sex actually?”

“Uh, excuse you? That’s rude.”

“You have two of them,” she notes, and you roll your eyes.

“So? Can we not talk about this at work please?”

“Uh, work is the best place to talk about this.”

“But what if one of them walks in and I’m talking about how I want to get dicked down by him.”

“I have never seen them come in here after one o’clock. I think that’s the least of your worries… so about Frank—”

THE tables outside of the cafe aren’t typically used by clients, but there sits Frank and Billy, inconspicuous as ever in baseball caps and sunglasses.

“Bill, stop staring at her. She’s gonna notice you—”

“I’m trying to read her lips, man.”

“Holy shit, you can read? I mean it’s not a book but it’s close enough,”

Billy elbows Frank in the side and they both can’t help but refocus on what they were there to originally do.

“It’s my turn to ask her out,” Frank says, eyes trained on you through the glass window front.

“What is this, a game? There aren’t turns, Frank.”

“I need her to meet my kids, Bill. In the right way. You don’t have that problem. Let me have this one, man.”

“Why should I? Just go for it. Go in there and ask her,” Billy encourages, and Frank gets up to go inside, but swiftly sits back down when a worker comes out.

“Oh shit,” Billy says, turning away from the store to look at the street.

“What,” Frank says, copying him, “who’s this?”

“It’s fucking… Betty or whatever, she’s got a crush on me. When I was at Y/N’s place the other day she told me.”

Frank throws Billy an incredulous look through his shades.

“You were at Y/N’s?”

“It doesn’t matter, we’re gonna get kicked out for loitering if we don’t go in and—”

“No no, see, it does matter, because if you and Y/N—”

“Are you guys looking for Y/N?” Interrupts the woman outside.

Billy looks at Frank and Frank looks at Billy.

“Uh, is she working today?” Billy asks, and Frank leans back in his chair a little bit.

“Yeah. But I bet you already know that. The windows,” she says, gesturing to the glass.

“Right. Yeah.” Frank says. He takes off his hat to fix his hair then puts it back on.

“Can she… did she notice us?” Billy asks.

“No, she’s busy. She’s kind of in a crisis right now.”

“About what?”

“I don’t think I should tell you that.”

“Why?” Frank asks, and Becky gives him a dirty look.

“Because,” she starts, “I don’t even really know you guys. I haven’t even really been listening to her anyway,” she says, and she turns to go back in.

“Wait—” Billy says, taking off his hat and fixing his hair.

She turns to look at him, and she just barely lets the recognition shine through her features.

“Oh. It’s you.” She says, and she very clearly fixes her hair and touches her face. Billy’s got her in the palm of his hand. Frank knows, and watches with avid curiosity.

“Listen, sweetheart,” Billy says, and Frank knows he’s laying it on thick.

“I was wondering if maybe you could, just get us some information?”

She glares at him.

“We’re cops,” Billy says, and Frank’s eyes go wide.

“Oh,” she says, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah,” Frank says, glaring at Billy. It’s not much different from when he normally looks at Billy, so Becky pays no mind. She’s too busy looking at Billy too.

“What did she do?” Becky asks, and Billy leans forward on one arm, a charming smile plastered on his face.

“I can’t tell you, or else I’d have to kill you,” he says, and she smiles back at him.

“Now what I can do for you, is I can give you my number, and I can call you, and if you could just hang around her, get some information for us, that’d be great.”

“I think I can do that,” she says, feeling around for her phone. Billy takes only a minute to put in his name and number, and hands it back to her.

“Now it’s vital that you don’t tell her what’s going on. It could ruin the entire investigation for everyone involved, not to mention we would have to… start over, from scratch.” Billy says, and she looks like she’s buying it.

“Okay.” She says, and puts her phone away. Billy takes out his own device and she catches on, and it rings for just barely a second and she picks it up, placing it in her jeans pocket, microphone side up.

“Thank you so much, you don’t know how much you’re helping me out... helping us out.” Billy says.

“My break is over,” she whines, checking her watch. She gives one last longing look at Billy, completely ignoring Frank, and sends them off with a wave.

Now, they wait.

THEY hear cups clattering.

“I don’t even want to,” she says, and they both lean into the phone. If anyone walked by, they’d be able to hear too.

“I’m telling you right now, you will not regret it. Best decision of my life. It feels so good, dude,” says her friend, and Billy and Frank blink slowly at each other. What conversation have they gotten themselves into?

“I feel like I’m gonna regret it, because if I don’t like it, I can’t do anything about it. I’m just stuck with them.”

“Oooh, hear that Frank? She’s talking about you,” Billy whispers, and Frank motions for him to shut up.

“The girl can hear you,” Frank points out, and Billy hushes himself quickly, muting the call. They both continue listening.

“—buy it online. It’s a great way to do your shopping,” the friend convinces, but Y/N is not buying it. Literally or mentally.

“I don’t care. I’m old fashioned. I like buying my underwear in person, thank you.”

Billy is about to hang up, get the hell out of that conversation, when he hears it.

“Fine. You won’t have much time for underwear shopping when you’re packing your kids into the minivan for soccer practice.”

Frank stops him from hanging up.

“Wait wait, wait, listen,” Frank says, and moves closer.

“You’re a pervert, Frankie,” Billy says, but leans in anyway.

“Shhh, shut up, listen,” Frank moves the phone closer to his ear.

“Noooo,” she whines, “Morgan I can’t. I can’t do that. Stop it. I’m too young to be a mom.”

“You were too young to be a mom at fourteen. Are you fourteen?”

“Shut up, Morgan. How are your boyfriends?” She asks.

“No no, don’t change the subject. How are your boys doing?”

Clearly, Y/N is exasperated.

“They’re fine,” she says, and moves out of view with Morgan and now Becky in tow. Becky is not inconspicuous at all.

“Becky, is that a customer up front?” One of the girls asks, and the boys think this is it, this is where their fun little game ends because now they have to sit and listen to Becky take coffee orders. They should’ve had Morgan do it but she’s too close to Y/N.

“No, that’s Paulie,” Becky replies, and even the boys can hear Morgan roll her eyes. Thank GOD Becky is oblivious to any and all social cues.

“Okay so you’re good now?”

“Why would I not be good? I’m good. So happy. Beautiful. Amazing. Incredible—”

“Right, because you didn’t yell at me yesterday about not wanting a minivan,”

“Shut up about the minivans, okay? It’s… I don’t have anything against minivans, just what they stand for.”

“I’m gonna bring this up when you get a minivan for Frank’s kids. Take ‘em to school in the morning, come to work, make your husband his coffee—”

“He doesn’t drink coffee from here,” she interjects, and Frank feels a swell of pride in his chest.

“Doesn’t matter. What’s going on with the other one? The suit boy?”

“Billy? He came over and we made pancakes and… I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on with any of them… I just want a nice boy who’s pretty and… that’s it. They both meet the requirements.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“Frank has kids. That’s all of it. That’s the whole problem. What if I want kids, and he doesn’t want kids, because he already has kids? Billy doesn’t have kids.” Billy keeps his eyes on the phone. He doesn’t look up at Frank.

“I mean maybe somewhere,” Billy jokes softly. Frank isn’t laughing.

“You're making much ado about nothing.”

“Kids are a huge deal. Married couples think about having kids for years before actually having them.”

“Might I remind you, you were a mistake.” Morgan says.

“So were you!”

“Plus,” You continue, “I’ve only talked to him for like two hours tops.”

“Nu-uh! Doesn’t he come in every day? And you guys talk on the phone?”

“That’s not the point,” You whine, rolling your eyes as you hear Becky drop something nearby.

“‘Billy’s been in my house. MY HOUSE. The closest Frank has gotten to that is a grocery store! That’s sad.”

“Well then maybe you just have to invite him over to your house?” She proposes, like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

Frank nods, mumbling under his breath, “Thanks Morgan.”

“That’s a great idea, should I invite his kids, too?”

“I… You need more information. Is he just off the table because he’s fucked once or twice?”

“Twice. At least.”

“Oh. Well, at least he’s experienced,” she ponders. “No. That’s not how this is gonna work!”

“Now, come on, what’s wrong with the suit and tie?”

“Nothing, let’s drop it.”

“That man spends an hour gelling his hair in the morning, and he has no flaws?”

“You know what? He probably gets up an hour early to gel it, so he’s never late for work. And if he doesn’t wake me up, what’s the harm? Where’s the foul?”

Billy almost disguises his proud smirk. Almost.

“No. I’m not buying it. Remember when he didn’t show up on your date? And then didn’t even tell you why he didn’t show up?”

“Yes. I do actually.”

“That’s what life with him would be like. He’d say he’d get out of work at five, but really, he’d get out at like ten, after banging his secretary. And where would you be? Stuck at home with his kids and his hair gel.”

“Morgan, if he lasts five hours I’d let him.”

“Uh, no. Only with me. Not his secretary. Would Frank ever do that to you?”

“No. Frank would surprise me at work with flowers and then make me dinner, and fuck me for a reasonable amount of time.”

It’s Frank’s turn to smile, but he doesn’t bother hiding it.

“Hear that, Bill? I’d be a good husband.”

“Maria would disagree.”

Frank chuckles humorlessly.

“You’re just mad that she’s gonna keep me around.”

“Might I remind you of the two mistakes costing you this? They have names. They’re my god children.”

Frank ignored him, staring back at the screen.

“Billy would last five hours, and Frank would last five minutes, but they’d be a damn good five minutes,” Morgan muses.

“Morgan, do you just want to date him for me?”

Frank rests his head on the metal table.

Billy laughs loudly, but he doesn’t understand it’s an insult.

“They’d be five hours jam packed into five minutes,” Morgan says, and the girls laugh, before moving back to the front where the boys can see them again.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Frank mutters.

“You have to like one of them more. You need to make a decision.”

“Ugh, no. What I need is a drink.” You say sadly.

“No. I know what you need.”

“What?”

“A sex tiebreaker.”

All three of them gasp in unison.

“We can’t do that,” Frank shakes his head.

“I mean, if the lady wants it, who am I to say no?”

“No, Bill. Not happening. I care about you too much to let a girl come between us.” Billy stares at his phone. He sighs loudly. He puts a hand on Frank’s shoulder.

“Frankie, I’ve known you for how many years? We’ve fought together, man. You’re my best friend. I’d let you have her before I let it ruin our friendship.”

Frank deflates. They listen again, and hear silence. Did Becky hang up?

“I think I’m going to hell.” They hear her say.

Did she agree to the tiebreaker? The boys give each other a knowing look.

“You’re not going to hell. And if you go to hell, I’ll be there to pick you up.”

Oh yeah. She definitely did.

tag list (respond to post or send ask to be added!):

@full-of-sins-not-tragedies, @harrysthiccthighss, @constellation—me, @editboutique, @achesiresmile, @ghastlygray, @muddleofmarvel, @starxdame, @with1love1anu, @a-dorky-book-keeper, @batmanbatmanbatmanbatmans-bitch, @elfmama, @celyndavies, @thanossexual, @pensysto

#billy russo #frank castle x billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo x you #billy russo x frank castle #frank castle #frank castle x reader #frank castle x you #frank castiglione #billy russo x reader imagine #billy russo x you imagine #the punisher #the punisher s1 #the punisher series

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aratilightwood · 4 years

Text

You used to look at me that way.

This is a Thomastair au based on the 2012 romantic drama, ‘The Vow.’

There’s a lot of jealousy, angst and heartache, so you’ve been warned!

...

The Institute’s ballroom was alive with music. Every inch of the interior was decorated beautifully, while the theme gave off a glittery and romantic atmosphere. The musicians had set up near the entrance of the room to entice people with welcoming and joyous tunes. The place settings and cutlery were laid out on tables, by servants who spent hours walking to and from the kitchen to gather food.

Gold banners hung across the the wall on one side of the room, marked with runes that symbolised love. On the other side, lay a large rectangular table with a three tier cake. It was inscribed with the words, ‘Congratulations Barbara and Oliver,’ in icing. The courtyard outside was scattered with numerous carriages, each adorned with the insignia of various Shadowhunter families.

Majority of the party guests had arrived. The ballroom was packed with familiar faces. Anna and Christopher stood near the table where they kept lemon tarts, and they placed liberal amounts on their own plates. Lucie and Cordelia were having a private conversation with Matthew, who arrived earlier with his parents, although Charles’ whereabouts were unknown. The remainder of the guests formed a circle around Barbara and Oliver as they swayed rhythmically to soft music. It drifted across the room, and enticed people to join the couple on the dance floor with a chosen partner.

But Thomas Lightwood was standing at a large window, and looking out for one person in particular.

He wouldn’t miss this, Thomas hoped. Not tonight of all nights.

He momentarily glanced at the dance floor where more people began dancing. Oliver held Barbara close in his arms as he bent down to whisper something in her ear. Barbara threw her head back and laughed out loud.

Thomas’ heart softened at the sight. It had been a while since he saw his sister laugh like that. In fact, no one in the Enclave had a reason to be happy over the past few weeks since the demon attacks and plague. That was until he’d helped Christopher develop an antidote that saved them all.

“A memorable day,” Christopher had said. “Something that’ll go down in history. They’ll think of us as heroes.”

Thomas was interrupted from his reverie when he heard the sound of wheels approaching the Institute outside. He glanced back at the window and noticed it was a carriage he hadn’t seen before. Once it was stationary, the door opened to reveal a man with dark complexion and raven hair. Thomas’ heart skipped a beat and he stealthily walked towards the ballroom’s exit, earning a quizzical look from his mother.

He came, Thomas thought. He remembered.

His heart beat with anticipation like the thrumming of a drum, as he made his way to the Institute’s entryway. The distance felt like the length of the River Thames and it was agony. But when he reached there, he stopped dead in his track after hearing a murmur of voices vibrating through the great mahogany door.

It couldn’t be, Thomas contemplated. His family’s already here. He must be alone.

He took a deep breath, turned the handle and stepped outside. The sight before him caused a dull pain at the pit of his stomach. Below the steps of the Institute stood Alastair, looking dashing in a tailored blue suit. But he wasn’t alone. Beside him was Charles, though his beauty didn’t compare, even as he playfully winked at his companion. They walked up the steps, shoving at each other with cheerful banter from what Thomas could only guess was a private joke.

Alastair’s laughter quietened when he noticed Thomas standing at the Institute’s entrance, looking like a wounded puppy. Charles’ eyes narrowed as he looked between the two boys with cool interest. An awkward silence fell upon the three of them, so much so, Thomas could’ve heard crickets chirping.

“Thomas!” Charles exclaimed while holding out a hand. “Congratulations on your sister’s engagement.”

Thomas shook his hand firmly and smiled, “I’m glad you could make it.”

Charles nodded and gave him a friendly pat on the back, “I’ll see you two inside.”

As soon as he disappeared inside the Institute, Thomas turned to face Alastair with a questioning gaze.

“I know I’m late -“ Alastair said solemnly.

“What happened?”

“Charles and I thought it would be fun to have a couple of drinks at the tavern.”

Charles and I, Thomas repeated to himself. It’s always been Charles and Alastair.

“Well it’s not like there are any drinks here, right? With it being a party and all?” Thomas said sarcastically.

“We had things to discuss,” said Alastair in defence. “Private matters.”

“Of course.”

Alastair huffed with frustration before his attention was drawn to the Institute, where lively music drifted down the hallway from the ballroom.

“We’d better get inside,” he said as he brushed by Thomas.

Thomas frowned and followed after him with caution. Both of them felt on edge, with the altercation outside still playing on their minds. Their relationship had been delicate over the past few weeks, and it was like walking on eggshells whenever they were in each other’s presence.

How do I make him see? Thomas deliberated. How is it possible to make someone fall in love with you again?

One of the key aspects of love was having patience, and Thomas had heard as much from his friends and family. But they could only offer their sympathies. How much longer could he wait until both of them had to move on with their lives, with or without each other?

When they entered the ballroom, they awkwardly stood still for a moment. Alastair was absorbing the warm atmosphere, as it was a contrast to the bitter weather outside. Annoyingly, Charles’ deep voice sounded from across the room, where he was standing with a group of his Enclave friends. He beckoned Alastair to join him, so with a curt nod to Thomas, Alastair strode towards the other boy.

Thomas cursed under his breath and walked to Christopher and James. They were gathered around Matthew, who was recounting a mournful story. His puppy, Mr Oscar Wilde, had been acquainted with Magnus’ cat, Church. Disaster had struck when the puppy became over excited and chased the cat around the ballroom, before Church viciously bit his tail. Matthew had spent the past half hour trying to coax Oscar from underneath one of the tables, who had been afraid to face everyone while Church was still in the room.

There were other topics of discussion as well, such as: Cordelia and James’ impending marriage, Sona’s surprise pregnancy and Elias’ trial where nothing could be discerned from his clouded recollection of a terrible night. Thomas nodded and hummed throughout the conversation to give the impression that he was listening but, his attention was elsewhere.

His eyes were trained on where Alastair and Charles stood. It was evident that they were only intent on each other. His ears were open to the discussions they were having with the people around them. However, it wasn’t the storytelling of their time in France that bothered him. He didn’t cringe when Alastair spoke of their favourite cafe in Paris. Nor did he roll his eyes when Charles pondered over them getting lost in Marseille and having to ask for directions, because they’d left the map at home.

What bothered him the most was how relaxed they were. They were comfortable with each other because of the history they shared, while he and Alastair only had an ounce of that ease. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t divert his eyes from them. It was something in the way Alastair rested his hand above Charles’ elbow, or when Charles smiled down at him, that made Thomas’ heart drop. His hands formed into tight fists at his side, leaving nail marks across his palms. If anyone paid attention, they would’ve noticed the tension in his posture.

Suddenly, the atmosphere inside became stifling and for the second time that evening, Thomas hastily walked out of the ballroom.

The Institute’s entrance wasn’t close enough as Thomas took quick strides, before opening the door and stepping outside. The cool air was a relieving presence. He walked down the steps, became stationary and started some breathing exercises his father taught him. It was a useful tactic while dealing with stress. This was a habit of his whenever an environment became overwhelming, and he had to remove himself from the situation. But his meditation was cut short when he heard the door open and close behind him.

“Tom.”

He knew who it was and yet he couldn’t bring himself to answer.

“Thomas?” Alastair repeated.

There was a long pause, but with Thomas’ lack of communication, the silence was deafening. Alastair walked down the steps and gently tugged at his arm to turn him around.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you out here by yourself?”

“I’m surprised you noticed since you’ve been draped over Charles this entire evening,” Thomas replied as he roughly pulled his arm back.

“What?” Alastair looked puzzled. “I’ve known Charles for a long time. He’s been easy to talk to and confide in since the accident.”

The accident, Thomas thought as a shiver travelled up his spine.

A few months ago, Thomas was sitting in the passenger seat of one of Alastair’s motor cars while they were driving home from the theatre. The roads were slippery and the car toppled over, landing upside down in the middle of the street. Alastair had immediately fell unconscious. It took the Enclave half an hour to arrive at the scene. But while the Silent Brothers were able to heal their physical injuries, they had yet to cure Alastair of his amnesia.

“I understand that,” Thomas said after a beat. “But it’s been four months. I thought you would’ve remembered something, anything - about us.”

Alastair sighed and tentatively cupped Thomas’ cheek with his hand, “look -“

“It hasn’t been easy. I’ve tortured myself watching you move on with your life, while I’m the only one who remembers what we had.”

“Do you think it’s been easy for me?” Alastair asked incredulously as he removed his hand. “I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to recover my memories. I’ve been to the Silent City nearly everyday. I’ve lied to people about my health by saying I’m fine, when all I want to do is disappear!”

Alastair whipped around and prepared to walk back inside, before Thomas caught hold of his wrist.

“I’m sorry. It’s just, I’ve seen the way you look at him,” Thomas said as his voice cracked. “And it hurts. It hurts so much because you used to look at me the same way.”

“I know I loved you, Thomas.” Alastair said mournfully. “I just don’t remember it. I truly am sorry.”

With that, Thomas slowly let go of Alastair’s wrist. Only after the other boy retreated up the steps of the Institute, did he finally drop to his knees and placed his face in his hands.

After months of holding back, the tears finally came and he welcomed them.

...

Guys, I’ve been working on this fic for weeks so I hope you enjoyed it.

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wizardessheart-sideb · 4 years

Photo

[ Image ID: A chapter image done in the style of Wizardess Heart. A large, off-white imagine with a guy on it. He’s wearing a dark gray uniform. There’s a lavender bar over him that reads “Tsukasa Kuze.” The rest of the text reads “Main Story” and “Chapter 5: Party Time!” /End ID]

Chapter Summary: Tsukasa and I planned a casual study session, but Aika and Isabelle invite us to a night out on the town.

Saturday. It was my first weekend at the Academy and my first real break. I sat in my dorm room, organizing my clothes when a Magic Note fluttered in. I plucked it out of the air and gave it a quick look.

Tsukasa: I’m sorry about yesterday. Do you want to study today?

Again with the apologizing. I quickly grabbed my own Magic Notes and wrote a reply.

You don’t have to apologize for that. But yeah, I’m down to study! Do we want to study in your room again?

Tsukasa: We can if you want! Or we can go to the Night Cafe.

The Night Cafe… Well, I hadn’t had dinner yet and I wasn’t feeling leftovers. I wrote back that I’d meet him there, although in my mind I wondered how much studying we’d actually get done. I packed up my things and hurried over the cafe.

It wasn’t nearly as packed as I thought it’d be, but I managed to score us a table as I waited for Tsukasa. It didn’t take long for him to show up and take the seat across from me. He looked a little pale to me and the dark circles under his eyes were obvious.

“I hope you weren’t waiting too long,” he said, sliding into the seat across from me. I shook my head.

“Oh, no, not at all! I just got here.”

“That’s good,” he sighed in relief. He knocked on the table and plate of sandwiches and a milkshake appeared. I quickly got my own food.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, grabbing my bowl of soup.

“A lot better, thanks,” he told me. “So, what do you want to focus on tonight?”

“Why don’t you pick what we start with? I feel like we’re always doing what I want.”

“Well, you have to worry about getting accepted here and catching up with everyone.”

“Didn’t someone say this was a two-way street?” I asked with a teasing smile. Tsukasa groaned, leaning back in his seat, making me giggle. His face was flushed ever so slightly.

“Why would you use my own words against me?” he demanded. Even with traces of exasperation on his face, the tone in his voice was teasing.

“Because why not?” I said wit ha shrug. Tsukasa laughed.

“All right, uh, how about we go over some magic theory?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“What sounds good?” a familiar voice asked. At the end of our table stood Isabelle and Aika, both dressed up and makeup impeccably done.

“You guys are dressed up,” I commented.

“Indeed we are! What’re you guys up to? What’s with all the books?” Isabelle asked, picking up my spells textbook.

“We’re studying,” Tsukasa told her. Aika frowned, a sour look on her face.

“Studying? But it’s Saturday,” she said.

“I have to worry about my Judgment, remember?” I reminded her.

“Yeah, but you two have been having hours-long study sessions after school every day. Don’t you think you deserve a real break?” she asked. Well, she wasn’t completely wrong. Sure, I wanted a break. But with Judgment, my grades, and trying to be better for Tsukasa, when could I take a break?

“We were going to invite you two to come with us, but it’s okay if you feel like you need to keep studying hard,” Isabelle said, putting my textbook back down on the table.

“Where are you guys going?” I asked.

“To a club. We were going to go last night, but it didn’t work out,” Isabelle said.

“Why don’t you guys take a break tonight and you can pick up studying tomorrow night?” Aika suggested.

“I’ve never been to a club before, but I don’t think I’m old enough to go to them. It’s twenty and older, right?” Tsukasa asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about that!” Aika replied cheerfully. “The place we know doesn’t card! You’ll be fine!” Tsukasa and I glanced at each other. As fun as it sounded, could I really afford to go? And was Tsukasa really up for it?

“… I mean, it sounds like fun…” Tsukasa relented. Well, if he’s feeling up for it… And I make up for lost time tomorrow…

“Okay, we’ll come with,” I said. Isabelle clapped her hands together, bouncing just a little bit.

“Great!” she squealed. “How about we leave in half an hour? Is that enough time for you guys to finish eating and get changed?”

“Change?” I raised an eyebrow.

“You’re not going to a club in that. If you need to borrow clothes, you’re more than welcome to,” Isabelle said. Now it was Aika’s turn to excitedly bounce.

“Oooh, a make-over! This is going to be fun!” she said. Somehow, this didn’t excite me. … What did I just sign myself up for?

---

The night was pitch black, but the neon sign of the small hole-in-the-wall club provided some strong light against the few gas lamps. Isabelle, Aika, Fandamilia, and Hiro didn’t hesitate to go inside. Tsukasa and I trailed after them, but my steps slowed. It… To be as nice as possible, it didn’t look like it was entirely up to any safety code.

“Are you all right?” Tsukasa asked, leaning in towards me, voice hushed.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… A little weird. I don’t know.”

“Do you want to head back?” I thought about it. Even though we should be back studying, I’d already wasted time letting Aika and Isabelle treat me like their doll and we’d walked all this way. Time was already gone and deep down, I didn’t want to upset anyone by going home before we’d even done anything.

“No…” Tsukasa nodded and gave my shoulders a squeeze.

“Whenever you want to go back, let me know and we’ll leave,” he told me. My heart melted just a little.

“Thank you.”

We hurried after the others. The place was just as dingy on the inside as it was on the outside. Everything looked like it was on the verge of collapse; even in the low lighting, I could see everything looked rickety. Isabelle and Aika were already sitting at a booth, waving us over.

“I thought you guys got lost for a moment,” Isabelle said with a chuckle.

“Sorry, I had to stop and tie my shoes,” Tsukasa lied smoothly. He slid into the booth next to Aika. I slid in next Tsukasa. Isabelle gave us both a teasing smile.

“It’s cute the couple’s sitting together,” she teased us. My face was on fire, heat burning at my skin.

“Couple?!” I squeaked. Dang it! First Dorian, now Isabelle?!

“We, um, we’re not together,” Tsukasa said weakly, a nervous laugh following his words. Isabelle just leaned forward, hands cupping her face.

“But you could be,” she pointed out.

“I brought shots!” Fandamilia’s announcement made Isabelle straighten out, but she still had that teasing smile on her face. Fandamilia’s peppy attitude quickly shooed away the tension in the air. Hiro trailed behind her, another tray in his hands and looking absolutely exhausted. She hummed to herself as she passed out the shot glasses. She plopped down beside me as I cautiously picked up the glass.

“Hiro, hand me the tray!” Fandamilia commanded him. He did it, no questions or protests. “I wasn’t sure what to get everyone, so I made some educated guesses.” Whereas the green-tinted liquid in my shot glass looked disgusting, the chocolate milkshake-looking drink she placed in front of me looked amazing.

“Well, let’s get the party started! Cheers!” Aika said, holding her glass up.

“Cheers!”

One sip of the green liquid and I wanted to vomit it back up. It was a hard taste to describe and in the moment, the closest I could think of was acid, but if it had been dead and rotting for several months. I gagged and forced some of it down before grabbing my chocolate drink. The sweetness of that saved my taste buds. Fandamilia giggled.

“Do you hate tequila?” she grinned.

“Is that what’s in the shot glass?” I asked.

“Yeah. You’re not supposed to taste the shot though. You just throw it back,” she told me.

“It’s in my mouth, I can’t just not taste it,” I retorted. Isabelle reached over and grabbed my half-full shot glass and quickly downed it. Fandamilia just shrugged, grabbing her drink that looked like muddy water.

“You’ll get the hang of it eventually!” she said in what I assume was supposed to be an encouraging way. As if I’d ever drink this garbage again. “I got good at it pretty young, so it’s second nature to me.” I didn’t know if I had the mental capacity right then to unpack all of that.

“Do you like your… milkshake?” Tsukasa asked me, looking uncertain at what to call the actually decent drink Fandamilia got me.

“It’s called a mudslide but yeah, it’s basically an alcoholic milkshake,” she explained.

“You can’t really tell,” I commented as I took a sip.

“That’s good, because there’s a lot in it,” Fandamilia said. I choked at her words mudslide trickling down my chin. Surely she had to be joking? There was a slight alcohol taste to it, but I really couldn’t taste anything else but chocolate and cream in it. Tsukasa grabbed a napkin and wiped up my face for me.

“Are you all right?” he asked, a grin on his face.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.” The butterflies in my stomach decided this would be a great time to start acting up. I quickly looked away from him, taking another sip of my drink.

We all chatted as we drank. I was nursing my drink as slowly as possible, but everyone else seemed to be chugging theirs down. I was only halfway through my drink when everyone got their third drink. Hiro and Fandamilia were debating as I felt Tsukasa lean against my shoulder.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“Yeah, just a little dizzy,” he responded. I placed my head on his, enjoying the warmth from his body. This place was cranking the AC and here Tsukasa was, toasty warm. It’s like he knew exactly what I needed

“I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal. We have so many powerful wizards that it’s got to be people messing stuff up and being too scared to come forward,” Fandamilia was saying.

“Okay, I can see some things being that. But the stairs exploding? I don’t see how that could’ve been magic gone wrong. That had to be intentional,” Hiro argued.

“What are you two talking about?” I jumped into the conversation.

“The accidents on campus. It has to be someone purposefully doing it,” Hiro said.

“Aw, you two look awful cute all snuggled up like that!” Fandamilia changed the subject, smiling widely at Tsukasa and I. Hiro pouted.

“Hey, don’t change the subject. We were in the middle of something,” he said. Aika laughed.

“Give it up, Hiro. No one’s been hurt so why worry about it?” she pointed out.

“Yeah, if someone’s doing it, it’s probably just pranks,” Isabelle shrugged.

“I haven’t really heard much about them…” I mumbled. Man, I must be studying too much if I’m not aware of what’s happening on campus.

“Yeah, you look a little distracted,” Aika smirked as she took a sip of her drink. My cheeks were burning and I took a drink as the others giggled.

“Don’t be like that,” Tsukasa defended us. He sounded absolutely exhausted.

“You all right? You don’t look so good,” Isabelle asked with a frown.

“Ah, sorry. I’m not feeling great,” he admitted.

“Do you want to go back? I’ll go with you,” I offered.

“You don’t have to.”

“I don’t have to, but I want to.”

Tsukasa froze for a moment, but then slowly got out of the booth. We told everyone goodbye and then we started the long trek back to campus. The night air was crisp and I was thankful Tsukasa and I were walking shoulder to shoulder with each other; I could steal some warmth from him. He put his arm around my shoulder and I put mine around his waist. He leaned against me.

“We’ll get back to campus before you know it, but if you need us to sit down and take a break, let me know,” I told him, trying to reassure and comfort him. I knew we shouldn’t have come out partying tonight. We should’ve just gone back to our dorms after eating at the Night Cafe.

“Thanks,” he said weakly.

The night was silent as we walked through the deserted town. It was too late for big crowds and too early for morning people to be out and out. It was nice, though. In this moment, this world belonged only to Tsukasa and I.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence.

“What? You don’t have anything to apologize for,” I told him.

“I cut tonight short -”

“No, you didn’t,” I interrupted him. Again, silence reigned. But only for a few short moments.

“I don’t want to drag you down.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“You… What? You’re not dragging me down at all. I left the club because I wanted to.”

“But if I wasn’t feeling bad, you could’ve stayed longer.”

“I was tired of partying and besides, I’d rather spend time with you.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized how that sounded. “I, uh, I-I mean -”

“That means a lot to me. I… I worry you’ll get fed up with me,” he said quietly.

“What? Why would you think that?” I knew he must’ve been hurting, but his words still stung.

“I know I’m not the best with magic and you’re already so stressed about your Judgment. And with my health… I know I’m not the best Buddy for you.”

“Don’t say that! You’re the perfect Buddy for me. How many times have you boosted me up? How many times have you stopped to help me with things I don’t get? You’re not dragging me down at all.”

“Do you really feel like that?” He glanced over to me, hope shining in his eyes.

“Of course I do! I’d never lie to you.” If we were being honest with each other, maybe it was time for me to let everything out… “If I’m being honest, I’m the one causing problems in this relationship.”

“You what?”

“I’m so bad at magic and I see every day how I’m dragging your grades down, and then we study for so long and I know that tires you out, and -”

“Sure, it can be tiring, but I do it because I want to. You’re my Buddy, but you’re also my friend and I like studying with you. And we’re both bad at magic. You aren’t affecting my grades that much. We’re in the same boat,” Tsukasa told me. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe him so badly.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I am,” he said with a sweet smile. As relieved as I felt that he didn’t see me as a burden, I still wasn’t sure how to feel about myself. I still felt like one, but the fact Tsukasa didn’t see me as one. “I’ll tell you what, how about we start being more open with each other?”

“More open?”

“Maybe if we lay everything bare, we can nip future problems like this in the bud. I don’t want you to feel like you’re a burden to me,” he told me.

“And I don’t want you to feel like you’re a burden to me,” I replied.

“Maybe if we talk things out, we can avoid stuff like this in the future. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’m willing to open myself up to you,” he said.

“I…” Why was my heart pounding in my chest? I nodded. “Let’s do it, then.” Somehow, I couldn’t get the right words out. I wanted to tell him that I wanted to open myself up to him, but the words wouldn’t come out. Maybe I had more work cut out for me than I anticipated…

The rest of the walk was peaceful, but tiring. I was ready to drop by the time we entered the dorm building. We were about to get into the elevator when a deep voice I didn’t recognize called out.

“Hey, hold on a minute, Tsukasa.”

We turned around to see a tall man with brown hair and bright blue eyes. His face looked so similar to Tsukasa’s that although we’d never met, it was easy to tell who he was.

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for an hour,” Tsukasa’s brother Azusa demanded, frowning.

“I’m sorry. I went out drinking with some friends,” Tsukasa informed him. His whole demeanor changed. He straightened his back and his arm over my shoulder felt more relaxed. Like he was trying to act like everything was fine.

“I see.” Azusa’s gaze turned to me and he gave me a stilted smile. “I’m Azusa, Tsukasa’s older brother.”

I quietly introduced myself.

“Tsukasa, I wasn’t aware you were out with someone,” he said, glancing back at Tsukasa. I was all too aware of how close Tsukasa was to me with his brother’s eyes burning into us.

“We were out with a group of friends. We just came home early,” Tsukasa replied nonchalantly. Azusa still had that creepy smile on his face, like he didn’t believe us. As much as I was unnerved, I did wonder if Azusa was just good at detecting lies or is Tsukasa lied to Azusa so much that he didn’t trust him.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back now. You really shouldn’t be going out and partying like that,” Azusa chided him.

“I know, I know.” I stood there, unsure of what to do. We took the elevator up to my floor and the air was so tense you could cut it with a knife. The elevator chimed and I opened the grate.

“I’ll walk you to your room,” Tsukasa told me.

“Thank you,” I replied, trying not to sound relieved to get away from this awkward situation. Maybe it was a little presumptuous, but it made me happy that Tsukasa offered. It was like he was putting me before his brother.

“I’ll only be a minute, Azusa,” Tsukasa said.

“Okay,” he replied curtly. Again, the smile on Azusa’s face seemed forced.

I hurried out of the elevator, Tsukasa right behind me. The hallways were still fairly loud, with people playing music and chatting, but we didn’t encounter anyone. In a way, it felt like we were arriving at another party rather than coming home. We got to my door.

“Thanks for coming back with me. I really appreciate it,” Tsukasa said.

“No problem. I had fun tonight.”

“I did too.” We smiled at each other and my heart fluttered. “I’m glad you’re my Buddy,” I added softly.

“I was thinking the same thing.” He was really something else, wasn’t he? I really was so lucky to have someone as kind as him in my life.

“Get some rest tonight, er, this morning, okay?” I corrected myself quickly. Tsukasa chuckled.

“Yeah, I will. You get some sleep too,” he told me.

“I will. Good night, Tsukasa,”

“Good night.”

Part of me wanted to invite him to stay a little longer and have some tea, or something, but Azusa was waiting for him. I went into my room and the exhaustion from the day hit me like a train. The sky was lightening, but it was still going to be a while until the sun rose. I closed my curtains and got into my pajamas.

After everything that happened today, I just needed a little rest.

#tsukasa kuze #wizardess heart fan route #shall we date wizardess #long post #tsukasa kuze: kind spirit

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somekindoftuber · 5 years

Text

vld youtuber AU part two (klance)

part one

Lance gets home from spring break with his raw footage and gets right to editing. He’s pretty pleased with how it came out, but he still waits a few days to post it, worried he’ll seem overeager. Shiro posts the video that Lance is in the next week, and he’s so thrilled, it came out great. Keith had been working the camera a bit and Lance sort of wants to thank him for capturing some flattering shots. He quickly posts the video of his song and links Shiro’s channel.

He contemplates sending a follow request to Keith’s locked twitter, but doesn’t. He just met the guy and he doesn’t seem to be the type that opens up easily, and Lance doesn’t want to push his luck.

Flashback to when Lance left Shiro’s garage after filming. Keith is cleaning up and getting ready to lock up the garage when Shiro gives him A Look.

“Lance was nice, don’t you think?”

Keith pauses where he’s sweeping the floor. “He’s alright, I guess.”

Shiro just grins at him.

Things go well after that. Shiro follows Lance back in twitter, and they chat about videos and cat memes. Lance has noticed that Shiro will sometimes disappear off the internet for a few days at a time, but doesn’t pry.

Lance keeps streaming, and starts to occasionally post videos of his streams. He uploads an Overwatch clip where he sang a stupid song over the mic that had his entire team rolling with laughter, and it gets a lot of hits. A few days later, he gets an email, and has to blink a few times. Because it’s from Keith.

Lance,

Thanks for posting that Overwatch video. Shiro was feeling down and it really cheered him up.

-K

And that’s it. And it puts the biggest smile on Lance’s face.

Months go by and things are normal. Lance keeps finding himself looking at Keith in Shiro’s videos, but who can blame him? The guy is hot, and there’s nothing wrong with admiring the view. He hasn’t really spoken to Keith beyond that one email exchange - Lance had sent him a reply that was probably a little too long-winded but whatever - but he doesn’t mind. Too much. That’s what he tells himself.

Pidge calls him out on his bullshit. “You are absolutely crushing on Shiro’s brother,” she says like it’s the most obvious thing ever.

“I am not.”

But then he mentions it to Hunk on Discord and his oldest friend just laughs at him. “You so are,” Hunk accuses. “Even I can tell.”

Lance just glares into his webcam. So maybe he is. So what? He’s allowed to have a crush. Crushes are harmless. Besides, the guy lives five hours away and Lance doesn’t even know his last name. He’ll eventually get over it and that’ll be that.

Lance gets another opportunity to film with Shiro and he absolutely jumps on it. Shiro invites Lance to stay with them since they have a furnished basement he can stay in for the weekend and he is so excited. It also means he’ll be getting out of Pidge’s hair, since she has some intense projects to finish before the semester is over and needs to focus. So he puts in a time off request at the cafe where he works part time.

Lance packs his bag, his guitar, and all of his filming gear and makes the five hour drive on Friday morning. He only makes one pitstop for snacks and a bathroom break in some tiny town with absolutely no cell signal, then is on his way again.

When he parks on the street in front of Shiro’s place, he checks his phone and panics. Tons of texts. Emails. Twitter DMs. Missed calls. He hadn’t seen them because he was driving, and the one time he stopped, there was no signal. The most recent text is an unknown number:

>Lance this is Keith I got your number from Pidge please call me asap

Shit. Shit shit shit. He calls the number and it picks up after one ring.

“Hello?”

Wow, his voice even sounds nice over the phone. “Uh, Keith? This is Lance.”

“Lance.” There’s a pause. “Um. Where are you?”

Lance looks up at the house. “In front of your house…?”

He thinks he hears Keith curse under his breath. “Okay, I’ll be out in a second.”

Keith sounds tense and Lance is out of his car immediately, shutting the door just as Keith comes out of the small house. He definitely looks tense, shoulder hunched as he marches towards Lance.

“Hey,” Lance greets. “Is everything okay?”

Keith glances around, looking incredibly uncomfortable. “Um. Shiro isn’t feeling well. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to film this weekend.”

“Oh.”

They stand there on the sidewalk awkwardly for several minutes. Lance looks down at the phone in his hands. “Sorry,” he tells Keith. “I was driving and didn’t have a signal, so I didn’t see any messages until I stopped just now.”

Keith rubs the back of his neck. “How far did you drive?”

“Harborville,” Lance shifts his weight. “It’s about five hours from here.”

Keith curses again and fiddles with his phone. Lance is starting to panic because he just drove across the state and the place he was supposed to stay is sounding like a no-go and he’s too tired to drive back he doesn’t really have money for a hotel right now —

“Grab your stuff,” Keith says, “and follow me.”

“Uh. You sure?”

Keith’s expression is blank. “Shiro said you could stay, so you can stay.”

Keith ends up helping Lance carry his stuff inside, down to the basement apartment. It’s small but nice, with a tiny bathroom and a back porch that opens up to a wide yard of weeds and grass. Keith gives him the wifi password, then shuffles awkwardly.

“Sorry. You came all this way for nothing.”

Lance looks up. “Oh! Uh, no, it’s okay, things happen.” He puts on a smile. “I’ll find something to occupy myself, and I can get out of here tomorrow.”

The atmosphere is so, so awkward.

“Um.” Keith motions at his phone. “I was gonna order a couple of pizzas. What kind if toppings do you want?”

Lance perks up a little. “Oh man, I’ll eat literally anything. Get whatever you want, I’m good.”

Keith just nods and goes upstairs. Lance uses the bathroom (holy hell that last energy drink was a mistake, he’d been holding it for so long), then answers all the texts he got from everyone that wasn’t Keith. He assures Pidge that he’s fine, explains what happened, and says he will be back tomorrow.

Keith comes back downstairs about a half hour later with two pizza boxes and a couple of bottles of beer. Lance helps him and they go out onto the back porch, where he finally get to meet Kosmo. His mood is instantly lifted, Kosmo is huge and unruly but sweet as can be, and Lance alternates eating pizza and throwing a drool-covered ball across the yard, watching Kosmo dart after it like a freight train. Keith laughs softly.

“Are the cats around?” Lance asks as Kosmo rests his giant head on Lance’s thigh.

“They’re upstairs,” Keith answers quietly. “With Shiro.”

Okay. Guess he’s not meeting the cats this weekend.

They finish off most of the pizzas, Keith saving several slices for Shiro. It gets awkward again. It’s barely sunset and Lance has no idea how he’s going to spend the next twelve hours. Sleep?

“Wanna play some Overwatch?”

Now there’s an idea. “Yeah! I brought my laptop.”

Keith gives him a little half smile, though it seems forced. “I’ll go get mine.”

They set up their laptops in on the coffee table of the little sitting area in the basement, sitting on the carpeted floor. Keith brings down another beer for each of them and they start playing, Lance using an external drive to record because why not. Keith adds him as a friend so they can play together and it’s stupid how much that pleases Lance, even if he gets the feeling that Keith is just humoring him out of guilt. Keith is also a Genji main and that’s not surprising in the least, though he sometimes plays a pretty effective Mei and a devastating Doomfist. Lance sticks to Widowmaker and Ana, and though it takes them a few rounds to find a groove, the end up working surprisingly well together, each getting Play of the Game a few times.

They take a break and Lance ends his first recording to start another while Keith goes upstairs for another round of beer and a box of cookies that they put between them, and then it’s time to really have fun. Lance invites Hunk into the game and they find some gag servers. Lance starts singing his joke songs, making everyone laugh. At one point he darts back to the room where his stuff is to grab his guitar and play it while he sings. He makes up little jingles about player’s screen names until Keith finally chokes on his beer a little, then throws back his head laughing.

And holy shit, Keith has an amazing laugh, his face lighting up and the corners of his eyes crinkling as he snorts a little. Lance keeps singing just to keep hearing him laugh, and finally Keith is hunched over his laptop covering his face because he’s in tears. It’s incredible and Lance thinks that this, right here? This made the five hour drive worth it.

His voice gets too tired to keep singing and Keith looks sleepy, so they agree to call it a night. Keith takes his laptop and says goodnight with a smile that looks genuine. Once he’s in his sleeping clothes and settling into the guest bed, he’s messaging Hunk to gush a little about Keith. Hunk just sends him several eyeroll emojis and tells him to go to bed.

Lance wakes up disoriented and takes a full five minutes to remember where he is, dehydrated and groggy with a headache forming. Right, he’s in Shiro’s basement. He gets up and brushes his teeth, then looks at the stairs. Can he go upstairs? He can smell coffee, and he would do just about anything for some caffeine right now.

He hears a chirp and looks up again. The basement door is open and there’s a fluffy red tabby at the top of the stairs, looking right at him. One of the cats! With a giant grin, Lance creeps up to the top. The tabby backs up, and Lance is out of the basement before he realizes it, crouching on the floor to hold his hand out to the gorgeous cat that sniffs at his fingers.

He’s been petting the cat for several minutes before he realizes he’s in a kitchen, and he’s not alone. Sitting at the little breakfast table in the corner is Shiro, and he looks like hell. Hair a mess, face scruffy, bags under his eyes and wearing rumpled sweats with a blanket draped over his shoulders. But what Lance notices the most is that his prosthetic arm is gone, his right bicep tapering in the middle before it just stops, covered in webs of scar tissue. His chest is dotted with more scars.

Lance stands up. “Shiro?”

Shiro doesn’t respond right away, his eyes sort of vacant as he stares at the wall. Then he turns to look in Lance’s direction and seems to snap to attention.

“Lance,” he says and his voice is rough and tired as he pulls the blanket around himself with his left hand. He looks over to where the coffee maker is on the counter, at the opposite side of the kitchen. “I was just getting some coffee--” Shiro goes to stand but he looks like he’s in pain, favoring one leg.

Lance jumps. “I’ll get it!” he rushes over to the coffee maker and is sort of relieved to see Shiro sit back down in his peripheral. There’s a bunch of mismatched mugs in the glass door cupboard just above the coffee maker, so he pulls out one and fills it.

“Uh.” This is super weird. “Do you want sugar?”

Shiro gives him this tiny little smile. “There’s some hazelnut creamer in the door of the fridge.” he fidgets a little. “You’re welcome to have some too, if you want.”

Lance thinks that might be the best thing he’s ever heard and pours himself a cup, then goes for the creamer in the fridge. He brings the two mugs to the table and sits down across from Shiro, passing him the mug that’s printed with instructions on how to moonwalk. Shiro mutters a thanks and takes a few sips.

Lance nervously drinks his coffee and tries not to freak out. This is definitely not how he expected this weekend to go. The Shiro in front of him was so far removed from the one he knew online - the cool, confident Shiro was a million miles away, replaced by a man that sat at the table and sipped his coffee like he was expecting the roof to collapse on his head any second. It was unnerving, and Lance feels horribly out of place, like he was intruding on something meant to be private.

Before he can say anything, Shiro speaks up. “I owe you an apology.” he looks like he’s struggling. “You came all this way, and I can’t even film with you. I’m sorry.”

Lance does his best to smile. “It’s okay, really, it’s not your fault you got sick.”

Shiro frowns, then slowly lifts a hand to rest on his right shoulder. “I’m not sick,” he says. “It just... Bothers me sometimes.”

His arm. Shiro is a veteran. The pieces click into place.

Shiro explains a little, that his time in active duty changed him. That sometimes he remembers things he doesn’t want to and it’s hard to get past it. He says he’s better now, with therapy and medication, but it’s still difficult sometimes. Sometimes he still shuts down, gets phantom pains.

Lance doesn’t really know how to respond to that, so he just reaches out and pats Shiro’s hand where it’s resting on the table.

The sound of tapping claws makes them both turn, Kosmo rounding the corner panting happily, followed by a half-asleep Keith. And Lance can’t help but grin, because it’s an adorable sight. His hair is wild and poofy and all over the place, shirt slipping off one shoulder and wearing sleep pants that are printed with cats playing jazz instruments. Keith rubs at one eye with the heel of his hand and doesn’t really seem to register either of them, going straight for the coffee maker.

Lance learns that Keith takes his coffee black.

He’s halfway to the table with a steaming mug in his hand before he even realizes Lance is there, then Keith pops awake with a squeak.

“Morning,” Shiro says. Lance shrinks a little in his chair before muttering a “good morning.”

“Uh.” Keith keeps glancing between them. “Good morning.”

Shiro looks unfazed and takes a drink of his coffee. “Lance and I were just having a chat.” He smiles. “What did you two do last night? I heard a lot of laughing.”

Thanking all that is holy that he finally has a conversation topic to break this intensely awkward silence, Lance tells Shiro about their Overwatch game and the songs he made up. Keith snorts a laugh or two over his coffee and Shiro is wearing a genuine smile.

The conversation lulls. “I should probably pack up and hit the road,” Lance says. He tries to hide his disappointment. But Shiro shakes his head.

“No, please, you’re welcome to stay. We can probably get a little filming in tomorrow.”

It’s the best thing Lance has ever heard.

An hour later they’re all showered and dressed and Shiro looks significantly better, his hair combed and face shaved. He’s wearing his prosthetic again, even if he still has dark circles under his eyes. They pile in Shiro’s truck and head to a local bookstore with a cafe attached, and Shiro introduces Lance to Allura, one of his oldest friends.

Lance is struck a little speechless at first because Allura is so beautiful she can’t possibly be real. But she shakes his hand and Lance can’t place her accent but she’s sweet and cordial, sipping on a coffee with a book next to her elbow that’s in another language.

They spend several hours in the cafe just talking about college, YouTube, cats, and their shared friends the Holts. Allura is in grad school studying sociology or something like that (the title was long and complicated and sounded super difficult). Shiro gets up to get another muffin and Keith goes to the restroom, and Allura puts a hand on Lance’s.

“Thank you for caring for Shiro,” she tells him.

Lance is confused. “I didn’t really do anything…?”

But Allura shakes her head. “He’s told me about you and your videos. You make him laugh and have been a friend to him. It means more than you know.”

Lance blushes hot and doesn’t know what to say.

They return to Shiro’s and have a small barbecue, just the three of them and a small charcoal grill, a pile of meat, and a cooler of beer and soda. Lance plays happy songs on his guitar while Keith plays with Kosmo in the yard. Shiro looks so much better than he did that morning, and they trade stories until sunset. Shiro goes to bed and leaves Lance and Keith alone.

They talk into the night as they pick at the last kebob. Keith is still stoic and secretive, but he’s loosened up after a couple of beers and speaks more candidly than Lance has ever heard. About how he and Shiro aren’t related by blood, how he had it rough before Shiro found him. About adopting his dog from a shelter. Little things, too - Keith hates spicy food, is ambidextrous, and is a crossfit trainer. Lance files away all these little bits of information like precious treasure and goes to sleep with them bouncing around his brain.

The next morning, they head to the garage to film. Shiro doesn’t do an intro, still looking sort of tired, but assures that he can do a voice-over later. Lance and Keith trade camera duty as they work on the old chopper. It’s in bad shape and Keith has to bust out the welding equipment at one point. Lance swallows hard and tries to keep the camera steady because that shouldn’t be hot. Keith in a welding mask with a torch shouldn’t be hot but wow. Lance is definitely in trouble here.

They film for hours until Shiro says he’s too tired to keep going, then they pack up and head back to the house. Lance helps cook dinner and Shiro looks relieved, saying that he and Keith can’t cook very well outside of barbecue. They sit around the table and Lance can’t believe he’s there, in Shiro’s kitchen, trading stories with him and his brother like they’re old friends. A few months ago they seemed so untouchable, like celebrities that he looked up to. Now Shiro is laughing so hard he snorts at a story that Lance is telling him. Lance catches Keith’s eye a few times, smiling when he does.

Lance has to head back on Monday morning, and Shiro pulls him into a hug. It has Lance sputtering a little before he hugs back. Shiro whispers a thank you and it’s so sincere and heartfelt that Lance feels his eyes water a little. Keith just clasps his hand, squeezing it tight. No hug, but the look he gives Lance says a million things that he’ll have to sort out later.

For the drive home, Lance puts on his Florence + The Machine playlist and sings until his throat is sore, so happy he feels like his heart could burst.

Continued in part 3!

#text #AUs #youtuber AU

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aki-chan2014 · 4 years

Photo

Decided to get a start on using some of @ofmymuses list of aesthetics to create/develop a set of OC concepts, with a picrew, drawing and a moodboard for them. Here is the first, for ‘The Scripturient’. I will also be making ‘the catalysmic’ moodboard and hopefully posting it today too (and if not then in the next few days), so won’t tag the OP of the list in that one (but if you do see this, check that one out too if you like).

Anyway, here is Teller Crow, SHSL Cheerleader. He is a Danganronpa OC (these days, most of my OCs are), and I got his name from a YA novel called Catching Teller Crow. In the book, that title is a list of three surnames, but in this case it is of course a first name and a surname-though his first name is actually his Dad’s surname, but more on that in a moment. As the novel also focuses on Aboriginal people, I’ve made Teller part Aboriginal-I am thinking of making a fully Aboriginal OC but that’s for another time and I’m digressing.

(This has turned out to be longer than expected so I’m sticking the rest under a cut)

Teller was the result of a fling between his American father out on a summer break during his university years (he was only 19 at the time) and his Aboriginal mother (specifically of the Wurundjeri people) who was a few years older and working in a cafe. Unfortunately, Taki Teller’s (he’s half Japanese) break was cut short by family emergencies and thus what was ordinarily meant to be a summer fling was cut even shorter, and so he never learnt that Anna Crow was pregnant. He also never learnt that she died when Teller was one year old, and that he was put into foster care since no relatives were willing or able to take him in. At least, he didn’t learn it until a few years later when, after things at home had stabilised, he decided to go back to ‘finish’ his holiday and thought of looking up the pretty girl he’d met the last time, only to find out the truth.

It was a shocker, and remember at the time of learning this, Taki himself would still have been very young. But for what it was worth, as soon as he learnt about his sons’s existence, he looked into adopting him and bringing him back home with him. Admittedly, part of this was motivated by the fact that the family emergencies back then had eventually resulted in bereavements, and he thought he had no family left. But still, he stepped up, and finally when Teller was five they went home together for the first time.

It’s not easy, being a single parent of any type, but Taki did a splendid job. Being mixed, he’s aware of the importance of heritage, and so while for the first few years after the adoption they couldn’t go back to Australia due to finances he’s made sure Teller knows all about his mother’s heritage and once the finances were fine, they visited regularly. But in addition to that, they bonded over hiking and nature-related activities, and baked, went on walks, watched sports matches, all sorts of things. Teller has always had a thing for story-writing, and Taki’s bought countless notebooks, journals and how-to-write manuals and things to help him develop his skills.

He was also fully supportive (if initially baffled) when Teller, after watching one match, decided that what the cheerleaders were doing was far more fun than the actual sport. You’d expect that Teller would get a lot of flack for wanting to do something stereotypically associated with girls, but while he has received scepticisim, confusion, and inappropriate questions about his sexuality (for what it’s worth, Teller is cis and straight...he just continues to find the cheerleading more fun than the sports the cheerleaders are cheering for), for the most part he’s been well received. He’s made the news a few times, since male cheerleaders are still enough of an oddity/curiosity to make the news, but he is well loved in both his school’s squad and his local squad, and has cheered in a lot of matches, and has a good group of friends. Teller is likeable and breezy, approachable and kind and enthusiastic about life. Quirky and unconventional what with the cheering, exponentially growing collection of feather pens and over-enthusiasm for cupcakes, but he is well-liked.

Teller’s days have always been packed, since he spends a lot of time in cheer practise, then stays up late writing (stories, diary entries, all sorts), and this on top of his schoolwork, helping around the house, part-time job at the local bookshop, quality time with his father and socialising with friends etc. But he’s always managed it. He has endless energy and spirit, but since two years ago, that spirit has been dampened. It’s hard to see unless you’re looking closely, and even then you may not find it, because he’s been trying to hide it. Because the thing that caused it...people have a hard enough time believing even the most ‘typical’ victim of such an incident. How would they react to him? So he’s kept it locked away from everyone-almost literally, the diary he wrote about the incident in is the only one that has a padlock on it-and he is trying to carry on. But it gets harder, and he finds that now, throwing himself into activities and avoiding sleep are the only way to avoid the demons. And the activity that really helps above all, is writing. (The ‘it’s torture always remembering’ picture is from the lyric video of ‘My Little Secret’ by Citizen Soldier if anyone is curious. The entire song would fit Teller’s moodboard if one could actually put a song into moodboards)

#character aesthetics #Teller Crow #danganronpa OC #moodboard #picrew #my OC #hand-drawn

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jimlingss · 5 years

Text

Jungle Park [8]

Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 8.5 OR Chapter 9

➜ Words: 7.4k

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

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

To be fair — this wasn’t your idea. You’re actually not that big on exercise, even if you do enjoy nature from time to time. Plus, the last time you actually worked out was probably back in high school. After you got hit in the face with a flying soccer ball, that was when you decided that sports, working out, and exercise in general weren’t for you. You swear you can still see the indent of the soccer ball in your cheek if you squint enough in the mirror. So the employees of the firm shouldn’t be so upset with you. If anything, they should sympathize since you’re hiding your true feelings and plastering a giant smile on your face to bring up the group morale. If they want someone to blame….they should blame Jimin. But no one would blame sweet, kind Jimin. Not you. Not even Hoseok. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Seulgi mutters while staring out the windows as the sceneries pass. She watches the bus’ shadow on the road and feels every bump of the wheels, the long vehicle shaking. “Oh c’mon, guys!” Jimin stands up in front and turns around, leaning forward on the seat to look at everyone. It’s a pleasant sight to see all his employees in their casual clothes and not the suffocating professional dress code. “It’s the firm’s tradition — the annual team-building-slash-workplace-retreat! It’s going to be so much fun!” There’s silence. No one seems impressed with the advertisement and you glance across the aisle to where Hoseok is sitting by himself, tapping on his phone, texting while glancing at his watch every so often. He doesn’t contribute to the conversation, preoccupied with work that he somehow prepared in advance during the bus ride. You’re sitting next to Jimin, having discussed the plans for the day. “I should’ve just skipped or called in sick,” Sunyi murmurs and there’s a hum of agreement that ripples through the group. “And I would’ve found out.” Jimin smiles happily and it’s creepy when it never quite reaches his crinkled eyes. Then, he sighs. “It’s just a hike! It’s a simple foot trail! And we have lunch for everyone!” “There’s no trail,” Namjoon suddenly pipes up and everyone, except Hoseok, turns around in their seats to gawk at the legal assistant. Jungkook’s eyes are wide. “What?” “I did research. We’re going up a mountain. It’s really intense. They say it’s for experienced hikers.” Namjoon says these things while his expression remains impassive, irises dead, looking out the window like he’s accepted his fate and there’s no way he can fight it. He is utterly hopeless. “It’ll take four hours to go up and four hours to go down. Eight hours of hiking.” “Dear lord.” Naul is wearing completely black sunglasses, so you aren’t able to read her expression. She leans her head back in the comfortable seat of the bus, maybe to take a nap and conserve her energy. Jimin bores his eyes at you for help. Part of you doesn’t want anything to do with this, but it’s also your job to boost office morale. So, you stand up, turning around to them. “It’s not that bad! Jimin and I looked into it and we don’t need to go up to the peak of the mountain. The view is already beautiful half-way up and there’s a sightseeing place with picnic tables where we can eat! It’s going to be great! Imagine going to bed tonight and being able to say you climbed a mountain!” Yoongi’s mouth twitches. “I want to go to bed tonight alive.” “Can’t exercise, Min?” Sunyi pesters him from across her aisle. He shifts to her. “Oh trust me, I burn enough calories every night, Lee.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” The female lawyer lifts her brow. And he merely smirks, the corner of his lips tugging. “You know exactly what I mean.” Without waiting or letting another word be spoken, you step in before it spirals into another set of complaints. That and Yoongi is on the borderline of sexual harassment and the last thing you need is to host a private seminar for him...again. Hence, you clear your throat loudly and catch their attention. “We’ll take plenty of breaks and play plenty of team-building games! You won’t even realize time is passing.” “I kind of need to pee,” Jungkook says. Everyone ignores him. “Good thing I decided to wear my hiking boots today.” Seokjin lifts his food much to Namjoon’s dismay who is sitting beside him and now has his friend’s dirty shoe in his lap. “It’s new.” “I doubt that,” Namjoon bites back even when Seokjin dramatically gasps. “How intense is this?!” Lisa whirls herself around in hysterics, asking Namjoon instead of you and Jimin, like she trusts the prepared paralegal more than the people who organized this event. She’s right. “I’m wearing sandals!” Inyoung is full of concern. “I only brought a thin jacket with me.” “I just got my hair done,” Seulgi adds to the mob of complaints. “My face is too handsome to be mauled by a bear or pack of wolves,” Jin says for no reason, somehow twisting people’s legitimate worries into a compliment for himself. Namjoon gives him an indignant look. “Everyone is fine in what they’re wearing!” Jimin attempts to placate his fellow employees, using his cheerful and kind aura to his advantage. “And no bears or wolves are going to maul anyone here.” For a moment, you wonder what the quiet bus driver thinks of all of this. “Wait,” Dahyun suddenly sits straight, head popping up from the seat in front of her that was blocking her face. “What if we get lost?” Namjoon turns and pushes up his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “Don’t worry, I read a survival guide once in high school.” “And that’s why you had no friends,” Seokjin adds on and Yoongi snickers. The rest ignore him, including Namjoon himself. “We would need to start a fire for help and secure a water supply.” At least it’s good to know who the leader would be if this little adventure turned to shit. You don’t think Hoseok and Jimin are very good in the wilderness, even if they’re spectacular in court and the judicial system. “And then a food supply,” Yoongi interjects. “We’ll have to start choosing who to eat. I vote Sunyi.” “Thanks, fucker.” The girl in question scoffs. “I vote Yoongi.” “Okay, realistically, we need to look at body fat contents so the rest of us can get the most calories out of it. The most bang for your buck. It would probably take three nights before we make our first sacrifice and roast them over the fire,” Namjoon announces like he’s thought about this for a long time and has an entire list of who to eat in a very specific order. “I believe Jungkook would be the best choice.” Jungkook’s doe eyes nearly fall out his sockets. “W-What?” “Do we just roast him or do we make them into a stew?” Seokjin genuinely asks. “This is disgusting!” Lisa screams before Namjoon can reply. Seulgi is equally appalled. “What’s wrong with you?!” “Okay!” Jimin tries to get control of the group. “Okay, okay!” “No one is going to eat anyone!” you shout loudly, throwing it out there for good measure like it wasn’t obvious in the first place. “Cannibalism is definitely against company policy! Right?” “Yes!” Jimin exclaims after exchanging a look with you since there really isn’t anything about cannibalism in the firm’s policy. Though it doesn’t take much effort to be on the same page. “You will get fired if you eat each other.” “I don’t think it would matter at that point if we keep our jobs or not,” Naul murmurs from the corner of her red lips and you still don’t know if her eyes are closed or not with her dark sunglasses. Frankly, you’re surprised she was listening to all this nonsense. Yoongi agrees. “It’s about survival.” “Hey, can someone pass the sunscreen?” Dahyun hands it over to Inyoung, interrupting the conversation with something more important. Yoongi nabs every opportunity he has and once again, leans over to bother the living daylights out of Sunyi. “Need me to apply some to your back?” “I will bite your fingers off,” she spits at him. “That’s hot.” “Y/N!” The lawyer raises her hand in the air, childishly tattling to you and in front of everyone else. Yoongi laughs heartily and you’ve never seen him more joyful. It’s kind of funny how he finds such bliss in simple things….which is bothering Sunyi to death. “I’d like to file an official harassment complaint immediately.” “Yoongi.” You use your authoritative voice. “Stop it.” “Got it,” he responds. Problem solved. “Cut it out, you two,” Jimin sighs and collects his composure again. He scans the premise and everyone’s faces. “Look everyone, whether you like it or not, we’re going on this hike. So, you can go grumbling with a frown or you can go with a smile. It’s up to you.” It’s finally quiet for a moment as if everyone is accepting the circumstances and how they got here. Except, Taehyung breaks the peaceful silence with a thought. “Is it bad I didn’t bring any water with me?” // It’s surprisingly quite nice outside. The weather is not too hot or cold, rather mild with a warm breeze that kisses against your cheeks every so often. There’s not many people at the base of the mountain and there’s somewhat of a dirt path to take. At least it’s not in the middle of nowhere where you’d actually have to eat Jungkook if things become dire enough. Even if something happened, there would be a rescue search. Probably. There’s a sign at the entrance, a cafe and gift shop off to the side, and two volunteers that give you a brochure on the history and landscape of the area. Everyone’s enjoying themselves for the first ten minutes before setting out, taking bathroom breaks (which Jungkook runs to) and bringing up their blood sugar by having snacks. In the meanwhile… “I’ll take that.” Jimin steals Hoseok’s phone right out of his grasps. “Wait. I’m almost done. I’m finishing a draft that I need to submit on Monday. I’m serious. Jimin!” It’s a bit odd to see the usually intimidating lawyer at a loss and trying to convince his partner, but you’re also aware of the rumours that Jimin can be much more frightening than Hoseok. “I’m going to lose my shit,” he warns in a low tone, out of earshot distance from everyone else. “What’s the name of our firm?” “Are you serious?” “Answer me.” “Jung and Park.” “Exactly.” Jimin looks proud and smiles. “It’s you and I. So we gotta both be part of this, alright? You are a partner of this firm, just as much as I am. Let me remind you of one very important quote...we’re all in this together.” “Please don’t break out into song,” Hoseok pleads. Jimin simply pockets his best friend’s mobile device in his own pocket. “It’s not like you’ll even have reception up there. Plus, you can always do this work later. And let’s be honest, you’ll never be done. There’s always work to do.” “Fine, fine.” He lifts his hands, palm facing forward for mercy. “I’ll be part of this.” “Good.” Jung Hoseok is left kicking pebbles underneath his feet, bored and quietly sulking. From a distance, you watch in amusement, finding it hilarious that the workaholic was ripped away from his work like a child was taken of their toy. His lips are downturned, slightly pouted, and you’re about to approach when suddenly the heavy cooler of sub sandwiches is taken from your hands. “Is this our lunch?” Jungkook asks with a curious look, holding the heavy object with one arm easily and swings it like it doesn’t weigh at least twenty five pounds. “Yeah.” You reach out to take it back. “No one’s allowed to eat them yet.” “Oh, I know.” The student lawyer stares at you blankly. “But it’s heavy, right?” And that’s when you realize that he’s carrying it to help you. He’s the only one who offered and he didn’t even need to be asked. You’re caught off guard by his thoughtfulness, but the boy doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal. Instead, he glimpses at the other tote you’re carrying. “Is that our games?” “It is. Jimin was pretty adamant about bringing twister.” You decide to let him in on a little secret with a smile and shrug. “I have no idea why or how’d we even play.” “If we played twister on the mountain, Jin would probably fall off the cliff and die,” he jokes with a laugh. “I don’t think he has insurance coverage on that.” “Hey!” Seokjin turns around, having been bantering with Namjoon if the hat in front of the gift shop is ugly or not. It’s ugly. “Are you talking trash about me, son?!” “No!” He speaks up. You and Jungkook glance at each other, exchanging laughs and cheesy smiles. All in the while, none of you realize that Hoseok is glaring holes on the side of your head. // The workplace hiking retreat is Jimin’s special event. He takes the honours of leading the way and holding the map, making sure everyone is going in the right direction while hyping up the line of employees that are trailing after him. You’re left at the very back, making sure that no one (Yoongi) tries to book it in the opposite direction and run away — apparently he tried that one year. But Sunyi assures you she’s got tight reins on him and he’ll be walking all the way up, to which he scowled at and looked like he was about to bite the girl’s head off. Jungkook waits and walks with you. He decreases his usual large strides for you, slowing down to synchronize your shuffling steps together. You didn’t think you’d be talking to him this much since he always seemed shy with little to say. But here you are, chatting away like old friends and the two of you are unable to stop taking, hitting it off relatively well. “Taehyung might seem that way, but he’s a great mentor.” “That’s good.” Now that you think about it, Jungkook never gossips or complains about anyone. He always has something nice to say about each person and you can tell he means it with the sparkling of his big eyes. He gawks at Taehyung who’s ahead with admiration...though you’re not sure if he’s objectively a good role model. “I’m glad you’re not having a hard time.” “Sometimes it’s difficult. I think I’m still adjusting to the job and there’s a lot I don’t know.” His smooth voice drops down into a whisper. “But I do know that he’s saved me from getting fired by Hoseok a few times.” You giggle and within ten minutes, somehow the conversation that centered around the job and his current health state morphs to things that have nothing to do about the office. “I can’t believe you pour milk before your cereal. Who even are you?” “Well, I want a certain amount of milk in my bowl,” the younger male explains with wild gestures of his one hand, attempting to defend himself. “If I put cereal in it first, I’m not sure how much milk there actually is.” “You just eyeball it. It isn’t that difficult.” “No, trust me, it’s easier when you pour milk in the bowl first and then the cereal.” “I don’t even eat cereal.” Jeon Jungkook gasps out loud like you just offended twenty generations of his family. “What?!” “Okay.” You hold back several laughs. “Don’t sue me.” “I think I might have to.” He giggles as well, laughing at how ridiculous this debate is. But the student-at-law is persistent in nature and doesn’t back down. “How can you not like cereal? It’s the best breakfast food ever!” “It’s bland,” you counter. “What kind of cereal have you been eating?!” Jin’s dramatics must’ve infected him and you enjoy the theatrics of his arguments. The cool breeze whisks through your hair, the sunshine illuminating the surroundings of pine trees and the dirt path up the incline. But the pair of you don’t admire the sceneries or the premise when you’re busy looking at each other. “Have you ever tried the ones with dried fruit? Like there are cereals with dried strawberries in them.” “Oh yeah, I love that, but I always end up picking out the strawberries to eat them and then I’m just left with the frosted cereal left.” He shakes his head. “I should take you to this place I know. It’s a cereal restaurant. They have all kinds of cereal and all kinds of milk and it’s glorious.” “A cereal restaurant?” Your brows shoot up in skepticism. “Yeah!” he grins in enthusiasm. “Have you ever heard of it?” “No, I haven’t.” “It’s so good! I could take—” “Is there a water bottle in there, Kook?” There’s an interruption that doesn’t come from you nor Jungkook. You turn and Hoseok’s in front of you both, having stopped without the rest of the group realizing and going on ahead. Jungkook doesn’t waste any time, putting down the cooler and opening it. “Didn’t you bring your own?” you ask in surprise since it came out of nowhere. “I finished it.” “Already?!” An entire water bottle this earlier on? You wonder how thirsty he might’ve been or if he was dehydrated. The lawyer merely cocks his head to one side. “Is that a problem?” “Only if you have to pee later.” Jungkook hands him the new bottle and he uncaps it, taking another sip before sticking it in his black tracksuit jacket, somehow fitting the entire thing in the pocket. “Thanks.” Part of you expects him to be on his way, but for some reason Hoseok sticks around, on your other side and joins your walk. It’s not like you mind, but it seems like Jungkook is uncomfortable that his boss is right there and conversations of cereal-first-or-milk-first, pineapple-pizza-or-not, or if-it’s-okay-to-pee-in-the-shower, they all cease to exist. You clear your throat, glaring at Hoseok from the corner of your eye. It’s not everyday that you get to chat with Jungkook or get to know him better or get to the deeper concerns, and Hoseok was really ruining this for you. Yet, he remains undeterred. Maybe he’s oblivious to your signals or he’s straight out ignoring them. You’re not too sure. But for the next ten minutes, the three of you walk in complete silence. You use the opportunity to finally take in the nature. There are trees that stretch beyond the horizon, greenery and gaps of fields seen in your vision. The fresh scent of earth and grass heals your lungs from the metropolis’ pollution. It’s quite pleasant to be away from gas exhaust and the smog. When you’re away from the city, highways of cars and trucks, it’s quiet and peaceful. You can hear chickadee birds, rabbits hopping, buzzing of wildlife. Eventually, Jimin stops everyone at the first checkpoint. “Okay, gather up, everyone!” He secures his round, taupe hat that reminds you of an explorer. You suppose this is the most adventure Jimin ever gets when he’s away from the concrete jungle. “I hope the half-hour trip hasn’t been too brutal but it’s time for our first set of team building games!” “What is it?” Yoongi asks right off the bat to not waste any more time. “Trust falls!” Jimin announces with a half-moon smile. “On the edge of this cliff.” “.....” “I’m joking!” The lawyer is the only one who laughs. “We’re playing charades.” Dahyun raises her hand and he calls on her. “How is this supposed to contribute to team building?” “Fantastic question! It’s team building because you have to work together to answer correctly and you’re also reading body language which helps with everything. Y/N, sketchbook, please.” You immediately dig for the prepared sketchbook with words written inside of them and you hand it to the lawyer who nods in appreciation. He continues much to the chagrin of the others. “And now I will divide the entire group into two. Right...there. Yes, now pretend there’s an imaginary line. You guys are team one.” He turns towards your direction. “And you are team two. Team one goes first. One at a time, someone will face me and act it out and the rest of you face away from me and guess. No cheating. No speaking for the person acting. Ready?” You sit on the sidelines, Jimin having enough mercy to let you take a break. Jungkook was divided on team one and you watch the game go on as Hoseok stands beside you. “You know,” he speaks up, “Jungkook is like eight years younger than you.” “So?” You shift to him with a lifted eyebrow, suddenly annoyed with what he might or might not be implying. “What does that have to do with anything, Jung Hoseok? What are you trying to say?” “N-nothing. Never mind.” He looks away from you, sighing. “...I’m sorry.” In the background, Sunyi is flapping her arms wildly and Yoongi is throwing out guesses without letting anyone else guess, saying absurd things like ‘synchronized swimming’, ‘an idiot’, ‘someone sad with no love life’. She gets frustrated and screams at him, “I’M A BIRD!” Jimin docks a point for cheating. “What's the matter?” “Nothing.” “Well, there’s obviously something,” you persist while staring at Hoseok’s profile. He’s still sulking and you don’t understand what he’s trying to say. “Is it because Jimin took away your phone? I can get him to give it back to you. It isn’t that big of an issue.” “No.” A staggering exhale spills from the seams of his lips. “That’s not it. It’s nothing, okay?” You decide to back off his case. “Alright.” Seokjin is up for acting now and he makes a rectangle shape with his hands. Yoongi guesses ‘circle’ to add to his frustration and Sunyi physically shoves Yoongi to get him to stop. Jin pretends to put the rectangle shape on an imaginary wall and then he points to his eyebrows and then makes an ‘x’ shape with his arms. Everyone is stumped. He does it again. No answers. Seokjin stops his foot and cries out, “I want a new team!” The word is ‘Mona Lisa’. The game is probably the reverse of team building. It’s ripping friendships apart. But you can’t focus on watching when there’s a thick, smothering silence between you and the man standing beside you. No one lets a syllable slip or makes a sound. Your lips are sealed tight and you force yourself not to gawk at him. It’s terribly awkward, but you refuse to address it. “I’m not upset or mad or anything.” Hoseok is the first to step forward and you finally turn to him. “I never said anything.” “You get quiet when you think I’m angry.” “Psh.” The corner of your mouth pulls. “Who said?” “No one. I just noticed.” He gazes into your eyes and softens his own. The other employees are preoccupied in either participating or observing and laughing. Behind them, it’s just you and him, a bubble of privacy that is uninterrupted. “I’m sorry for being an asshole. Maybe it’s the outdoors affecting me…” “I doubt that.” You give a tiny laugh. “You love nature.” “Who said?” Now he’s the one asking and his expression remains blank, frowning slightly. “Uh...Jimin.” You nod. “He told me about it.” “Yeah, I’ve always wanted a house with a massive backyard. I would’ve set up the office in the woods if it were possible.” “Except, there are too many mosquitoes.” “Yup.” He gives one of the brightest smiles, rival to the sun itself. The atmosphere has returned back to normal, one where you feel like you’re able to joke around just a little bit with him. “That’s the only issue. The mosquitoes.” When team one is done, it’s time for your own team to go. Since you were the one who wrote all the words in the sketchbook, you don’t get to participate. You’re left holding the sketchbook, but you don’t mind too much when Namjoon is pointing straight up and doing jazz hands and stomping around and people are guessing sun and clouds, but never outer space. It’s especially hilarious to watch Hoseok reluctantly participate. He holds both his hands in tiny circle shapes and begins to thrust them back and forth towards his open mouth, interchanging his hands. Everyone pales and becomes horrified at the suggestive movements. On the other hand, Jimin bursts out laughing, so hard that his body folds in half and he’s clutching his stomach, unable to be a referee and you’re worried he might not watch where he’s going and fall off the cliff. The word is ‘flossing’. In the end, Hoseok is the one who gets most into the game. He’s screaming and pointing and howling when someone gets close, causing the team to be pressured to get it right. He also makes wild guesses, enthusiastically and eagerly like he’s a youthful twenty-year old again. “Alright guys! That was great. Team one has six points and team two is in the lead with ten! Next set of games, we’ll be mixing up the teams, so don’t get too comfortable.” Dahyun raises her hand and he calls on her. “But then how will you keep track of points?” “Fantastic question. I’ll wing it.” Before anyone can question him, he spins on his toes and begins pointing off into the distance, explaining where they’re heading and telling his employees to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Jungkook ends up getting wrangled in by Taehyung, joining the banter with him, Namjoon, and Inyoung. He’s still holding onto the cooler and instead, you’re accompanied by Hoseok who stays by your side. “What is that?” He peeks inside the tote you’re carrying. “Puzzles.” And at the expression he gives you, you give one in return that conveys ‘Jimin organized this, not me’. He ends up taking the bag, not to examine further, but to— Actually....you’re not sure why he takes it, but you don’t even think twice about it. All you know is that the muscles in your shoulder aren’t so tense anymore. As groups and clusters of employees are chatting and hiking, Naul who was talking to Jimin finally tugs down her black sunglasses and her jaw drops. “Oh my god.” They stop and the others skid to a halt before they bump into each other. You exchange expressions with Hoseok, not sure what’s going on before Lisa gasps, “It’s BTS.” “What?” “What?!” You look past the crowd to see another group heading straight down the mountain, parallel to you, marching in an orderly line with long sticks in their hands. They look like professional hikers with full on backpacks and hats and they’re all smiling at each other like there’s no other place they’d rather be. There’s a ripple of quiet that passes through the people that make Jung and Park. “Who’s BTS?” You lean over to Hoseok, whispering lowly. “Big. Top. Solicitors,” he tells you in a spiteful manner. “They’re one of the biggest firms in the city and they have multiple departments in all sorts of things. So, they deal with tax law, criminal, personal injury and...of course….family law. They’re our biggest competitors.” “Oh. I applied to work there. They even gave me an interview.” You remember and you quickly retract when Hoseok stares. “But they never called me back. A loss for them, right?” You can recall it well. Their office building was magnificent and seemed straight of what you would expect in a high-budget television show. If you were nervous for the interview at Jung and Park, you were swimming in your sweat for the interview at BTS. In that way, you’re glad you never got a call back. You’re sure you would have never felt comfortable at that job. By the time Hoseok is finished explaining and your little anecdote is given, they’ve closed the gap and realized who it was that faced them. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Jung and Park.” “What are you doing here, Jackson?” Jimin has a standoff with the partner of the opposing firm. It reminds you of a gun showdown from back in the day when two big names were on the same turf and fought to become dominant. “We’re having an extended weekend for our employees,” he says with a smirk. The man is handsome and you wonder how he can climb an entire mountain and look like that. Even his jacket is crisp. If he was wearing a fitted, black suit, you’re sure Lisa who’s purposely looking away at the moment would piss herself, you included. “You’re only starting now? Guess you were trying to avoid that afternoon sun, huh?” The condescending tone has Jimin’s eyes narrowing. “Why does it matter to you?” “It doesn’t.” The male rolls his shoulders and the employees behind him seem to be staring daggers into your soul. “It’s just that we started at six in the morning and we made it all the way up to the peak. We even walked through lunch and now I’m treating everyone to an Italian restaurant. It’s nothing. But it’s pretty cute that you’re doing this too.” “That’s actually really nice that you’re treating your employees.” Jimin smiles and it never quite reaches his eyes. “You must be pretty comfortable even after losing the Yoo case.” A muscle in Jackson’s cheek twitches and had you not been staring, you might’ve missed it. “Don’t worry, we’re still comfortable. Unlike you, losing one case won’t hurt us. We have plenty more cases to work on.” Satisfied, he brushes past him and walks down. It reminds you of petty high school movies where the crowd of popular kids would make fun of the underdogs. It’s a bit funny to see grown adults acting in such childish manners, but you don’t say anything. Instead, Jackson stops and turns to Hoseok once before going on his way. “You might have to pick up the pace, Jung. If you want to make it there before the sun goes down.” “See you in court on Tuesday, Wang.” When they’ve followed the curve of the mountain and disappear from sight, everyone is on their way again. But the steps seem slower, shuffling more against the gravel. Inyoung is the first to begin speaking again. “Did they really make it up and down in seven hours?” “Only regular hikers make that amount of time.” Namjoon makes an objective statement, disregarding his own bias. “It’s pretty impressive.” “Nothing’s impressive about them,” Sunyi mutters and it’s loud and clear. “I’d rather work for a smaller firm that actually cares about me than a larger firm who thinks I’m just one of their chess pieces.” Taehyung lifts his head, having watched the dirt. “Did we never hear what happened to Wang Kwangsoo? Did he even go to court?” “No, the lawsuit got buried and then he retired. He’s probably at some vacation villa right now living it up.” Yoongi remains impassive, but you can see the irritation in his expression, and a few others scoff when they’re reminded. “No one knows what happened to the victims, if they were paid or if something happened to them.” Inyoung shakes her head. “That’s…” “Disgusting,” Naul finishes. “It’s not like we can prosecute him,” Hoseok says bleakley, but you know it’s from good intention. There's no point of being furious or having your blood pressure spike for someone who doesn’t deserve it in the least bit. “Take your anger and use it on cases where we can actually win. That’s the least we can do.” “Yeah.” Sunyi nods in agreement and there’s a moment of silence before her voice continues in a hesitant murmur. “You know…..he might be a piece of shit…..but his son is really something else.” “Right?!” Lisa whirls her head over. “That boy is one fine feast.” “Oh my god.” Seokjin rolls his eyes. “Are you guys serious? Look at me! I’m much more handsome than Jackson.” “I heard he’s running the firm a lot differently than his dad,” Seulgi pipes up and everyone else ignores Seokjin’s woes. “Like they recently had a huge purge and a bunch of people that were working under his dad got fired. He’s remodeling the entire hierarchy.” “Don’t let appearances deceive you,” Naul warns. “We never know what’s really going on. But….I agree. He seems a lot better than his disgusting father. Again, we’re comparing him at a very low bar here.” Even with Naul pointing out that the standard is low, Lisa sighs wistfully. “Kind, rich, handsome. A dream, right?” “And they hiked like professionals.” Namjoon’s still hung up on it much to the dismay and surprise of others. Jin lifts an eyebrow. “Who cares?” “They beat the estimated time!” He stresses with wild gestures. “It’s really impressive, you just don’t understand. They made it all the way up and down. Only real hikers that go on the regular can do that.” Throughout the entire conversation, Jimin remains unusually quiet. You’re about to pick up the pace to meet him and check to see if he’s okay. But then he turns around and stops. Dahyun asks if this was the second checkpoint and you find it odd that he would stop to do an activity in the middle of the dirt road like this. “Good question like always, Dahyun. Yes, this is our next activity.” You’re about the pull out the puzzles— “Everyone take a look at who you’re standing closest to. That’s going to be your buddy.” You glance beside you and Hoseok’s staring right at you. Everyone quickly links up. Dahyun with Lisa, Sunyi and Yoongi glaring holes into each other’s skulls, Jin and Namjoon naturally beside one another, Taehyung that throws his arm around Jungkook’s, and Naul that joins up with Inyoung. Jimin grins. “From now on, this is a race. First pair up the mountain wins.” “Wait.” Lisa freezes. “What?!” You’re as shocked as the receptionist is and you step up with a frown. “Jimin, this isn’t a part of—” “It is now!” There’s a competitive fire that ignites behind his brown irises. Ideas of cooperation and team building have been thrown out the window. Jackson must’ve gotten to him. “Don’t you want to beat the record? I know we can do it!” There’s an automatic sea of complaints, people threatening to just turn around and go home while others consider just sitting on the side of the road until someone comes to their rescue. “That’s too far!” Sunyi points out one of the handful of problems. “Fine! We’ll race to the halfway point and stop for lunch!” Jimin quickly spits it out before there are more protests, and then he scrambles for additional incentives. “First one up to the halfway point gets two more vacation days and a thousand dollar bonus.” “What?” Jin’s jaw goes slack. Taehyung’s already grinning. “What?!” Hoseok throws it out there— “I didn’t agree to this!” “Don’t worry,” Jimin reassures his partner. “I’m going to win and no one will get it. Ready, set, go!” It’s completely spontaneous and chaos breaks loose. Jimin grabs Seulgi, the closest person to him and who’s automatically his buddy, and she screams when he begins sprinting up the steep incline of the mountain. “Let’s go, Jeon!” Taehyung also begins running after a few beats and Jungkook’s doe eyes are large in surprise, but when his legs begin to run, he beats his mentor in sheer speed while he’s miraculously still holding onto the cooler. You wonder if he did track and field back in the day or was a competitor for some kind of Olympic game. “I need that bonus!” Naul dashes off as well and Inyoung struggles. Lisa abandons her friends to book it in her thin sandals while hollering something about those vacation days. “Namjoon!” Seokjin yells behind his shoulder. “Move your slow ass!” Yoongi and Sunyi put away their rivalry for a moment, the most serious and cooperative you’ve ever seen from both of them. They whip their bodies through the air without saying more than a word to each other and after a while, Yoongi snatches Sunyi’s hand, helping her run faster or launching her forward, you’re not too sure. All you know is that you’re soon left in the dust. This is the most enthusiastic you’ve seen everyone all day. You can’t help but smile, even if it’s all a bit ridiculous and the plans have been spoiled. It’s kind of nice to see everyone so involved and eager to make it. Maybe you and Jimin should’ve thought about incentives, aside from lunch, from the beginning. “Are we going to run?” You turn to Hoseok who is stuck in his spot like a statue with his mouth wide open, wholly stunned at Jimin’s antics. “....no one’s supposed to get a thousand dollars, right?” “You’re right.” And that’s how the both of you begin jogging. It’s a steady speed, but it’s your strategy to win. Running out of energy is the last thing you want, so you try your best to maintain a stable speed. Once in a while, you can hear Hoseok swearing underneath his breath and you have to repress some laughter. Higher, higher, higher. On your way up, you run into Seokjin and Namjoon who are slugging along, dragging their heavy legs. They bicker about why the other person can’t keep running, yet each is out of breath and out of shape. You also find Inyoung and Dahyun who have been abandoned by their partners and are walking together. Eventually, after twenty minutes of jogging and passing by Lisa and Naul as well, Hoseok and you decide to take a break. Well...more like your lungs were dying and you were gasping for breath and something internally in your intestines wasn’t feeling well and Hoseok took one glimpse at you and stopped. “I can’t believe he did this,” Hoseok sits on the ground, leaning back and tipping back his head to let the uncapped water bottle bring a cool stream to his lips. His jawline is sharp, sweat dripping off his black hair and you wonder how the hell it’s so unfair he looks this good drinking water. But you quickly shake the thought away, trying to chug your own water bottle and replenish your system. “We still have three more pairs to beat.” You wipe your mouth with the back of your hand. “Jimin and Seulgi, Sunyi and Yoongi, and Taehyung and Jungkook.” And it astonishes you that Jungkook is still carrying the entire cooler with him while sprinting like Usain Bolt. What kind of monster was he? Hoseok grins, letting out an exasperated ‘yeah’ while nodding tiredly. He runs a hand through his hair, slicking it back and out of his eyes. “If he doesn’t win, I’m going to have some serious problems.” After another moment, finally rehydrated and rested, you tear your eyes away from the vivid azure shade of the sky towards him. “Ready to go again?” “Ready if you are.” He smiles and you help him to his feet, letting go of his hand just as quickly. “We can walk for a bit to build that energy up again before we start jogging.” “Sounds good.” You’re thankful since you don’t know if you can keep up with him. “It’s been a long time since I exercised like this,” he muses while your steps naturally sync together. “Same here.” You peek at the lawyer. “Are you okay though?” “I’m fine.” He meets your eyes. “Why?” “You’re afraid of heights, right?” From the distance, the once large pine trees appear more like broccoli and you’re getting closer and closer to the clouds. Luckily, the breeze is cool and the sun isn’t beating down on you like earlier. But as pretty as the scenery and how pleasant the weather is, it’s still a far way down. Off the dirt and stones you’re walking on is a steep drop. You’re certain the sharp rocks would puncture your body like a sword if you fell. “Yeah,” he murmurs thoughtfully, “I am.” You can’t help but tease him further. “You’re also afraid of spiders, ants, ladybugs, moths, any kind of bug really, and roller coasters and snakes—” “Okay, that’s enough.” He playfully glares at you, lips pouty and cute. “It’s okay.” You comfort him and fail to hide your wide smile. “No one has to know you’re a scaredy cat. Your secret is safe with me.” “I am not a scaredy cat.” Hoseok grins, lips sort of mimicking a heart shape, his presence radiant like the sunshine itself. “I’m the bravest.” Suddenly, a sickening wave overcomes your body. “OH MY GOD!” A blood-curdling shriek rips from your throat and you point in the distance, at a loss for words. “WHAT?” And you laugh like crazy when he actually physically jumps and turns around. Jung Hoseok shifts back around to you, absolutely unimpressed with your little prank. “Don’t do that! I’m serious!” “I didn’t know you would fall for it!” “I will sue you for causing me mental trauma and distress.” “Go ahead,” you egg him on. “It’s not like I have money to give you monetary compensation.” You’re still giggling, tears accumulating in your eyes and choking out the remaining giggles. Your face aches from smiling so much and you most certainly don’t pay attention when the terrain becomes rockier, less dirt and more of tiny pebbles. All at once, your left foot loses traction. You feel your body slipping forward without permission, knees buckling, as if you’re on ice, ready to tumble and roll off the edge. But at the speed of light, Hoseok grabs your arm, stabilizing you and saving you from death. You look up at him, laughter dying off your lips. He’s held you tight, but still gentle like he’s afraid of squeezing too hard. And the man gazes into your eyes. “Watch where you’re going, stupid,” he murmurs after a moment of complete silence. “Stupid?” You’re baffled, unable to help the pout that takes over your face. Hoseok lets go of you and you both resume walking. He ganders off at the scenery and the breeze cards through his locks, stands of dark hair moving past his brows. You can’t resist tearing your eyes away to anything else but him. The way he persists, the way he helped you without a moment’s breath, like it was a reflex, like it’s so entirely casual for him to react that way. Why— Your thoughts are interrupted when Hoseok suddenly lurches forward. His shoe is caught on a stick and he nearly eats a mouthful of dirt. But his arms flail like a tightrope walker and he stumbles forward four steps, miraculously catching balance. You laugh loudly. So much for being a hero. Hoseok immediately turns to you, embarrassed and cheeks burning red when he was trying so hard to look cool. You grin, reaching down and taking his hand. Your fingertips brushing lightly on his until he uncurls them and lets you slip your hand into his. There’s no reason, only because… “It’s safer. Wouldn’t want you to take a fall and be injured. I don’t think Jung and Park can run without you.” He grumbles, but the man walks closer to you. “You’d become a murder suspect.” You scoff. “No, I’d be a witness.” “Not with the evidence stacked up against you like this. They’d think you pushed me.” “Keep it up and I’ll actually push you,” you threaten him and he laughs with another one of those massive grins. Both your palms are clasped together, his down-facing and yours up. The heat of his palm presses on yours, arms moving together as you continue the upward trek. You hope he can’t feel how nervous you are or how you’ve become hyper-conscious of his presence. But it’s odd. Behind innocent anxiousness, there’s a fuzzy feeling that you haven’t experienced for years now. It makes you feel at peace and panicked at the same time. But the way you hold his hand seeks and gives comfort. “Then I’ll take you down with me.” Hoseok holds your hand tightly and even gives it a squeeze. You wonder if it’s a mistake to want this to last forever.

#bts fanfic #hoseok fanfic #jhope fanfic #j-hope fanfic #bts scenario #BTS JUNG HOSEOK who is told to go take a hike - literally #and OC who is exasperated with Jimin's antics

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namjoon-koya · 5 years

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Spring confessions

A/N: I didn’t get a request to do this, but since I’m on spring break I felt like doing something a bit related to that.

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Fianlly! It’s spring break and you can’t wait to spend time with Peter, Ned suggests you guys go on a get away vacation which you agree to. Peter,Ned,MJ and you will spend an entire week together as Peter and Ned share a room together you and MJ are paried up you both talk about the future after high school you tell her you see a future with Peter but does he see one with you?

Warnings: none at all boi enjoy

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The bell finally ran everyone was getting excited especially since it was spring break which also meant summer was approaching quick you gathered your things putting them inside your backpack. You walked out the classroom and waited for Peter and Ned like you always did.

“Y/N!” You saw Peter and Ned walking towards you-you smiled giving a quick kiss to Peter “well boys it’s finally spring break!” You cheered out happily Peter smiled at your cheerful mood “Y’know I was thinking maybe we should go on vacation.”

Ned suggested at first you were hesitate about the idea but maybe he was right you guys had been working hard especially when you and Peter were at the avengers compound they never really let up on the heavy training.

“I think that’s a great idea Ned we need a vacation... let’s invite MJ.” You held Peter’s hand as you three walked out the school, later on when you arrived home you called MJ to ask her if she wanted to come along with you guys which she agreed to.

You start packing your things, you neatly fold them as you put them inside your bag, Peter sat on your bed as he watched you “this is going to be pretty exciting Y/N.. we get to spend more time together.” You felt your face heat up after he said that you always loved spending time with Peter you both always connected together.

“Y-yea.. so are we going to met up with Ned tomorrow or?...”

“Na he said he was going to met up with MJ so I guess we’ll just head to the airport.”

You nodded finally you finished packing Peter had stayed over for dinner since you asked him to finally after a while he gave you a kiss and told you he’d see you tomorrow.

What you hadn’t realized was the ENTIRE avengers were at the airport to bid you and Peter goodbye, a lot of people stopped and stared at them they’d even ask for pictures at times, “you guys didn’t have to come y’know me and Y/N will be back after a week..” Peter mumbled out.

“Aw c’mon kid we just wanted to say goodbye to our favorite kids.” Tony said ruffling up Peter’s hair “right.. well we better get going the plane is going to leave in a few minutes.” You said as you hugged Natasha and Steve.

“Alright have fun! Don’t forget to use condo-“

“SAM!!” You yelled out not letting him finish his sentence he only laughed holding onto Steve’s shoulder for support,

“I’m joking kid, but seriously protection use it.” Peter only shook his head ignoring his comment.

You both boarded the plane, it was a long 4 hours so you slept on Peter’s shoulder he kissed your forehead as he laid his head on yours.

-4 hours later-

The plane was finally landing and you were damn happy about it your legs were already numb and you needed to stretch them out, when you and Peter walked off the plane and gathered your things Peter called Ned asking him where he was.

Finally you guys saw Ned with MJ, you four walked off to the hotel you guys would stay at, Peter and Ned got a room together while you and MJ stayed together.

Since it was still daylight outside you guys decided to go out and explore a bit, you wore and tank top with shorts and some sneakers so you’d be comfortable. While you guys walked around Peter held onto your hand at times he’d glance over at you looking at you with loving eyes you couldn’t help but giggle at him.

After a while you guys headed back to the hotel room you were pretty sure Ned and Peter knocked out as soon as they laid their heads on their pillows. You and MJ stayed awake talking about things you’d ask her what she was going to do after high school and she told you what she wanted to do you could see the passion in her eyes as she did.

“But what about you Y/N? Especially since your with Peter do you see a future with him?” You stayed quiet for a bit thinking about it, you did love Peter since the first day you met him you knew you loved him but.. did he see a future with you? Did he want to stay with you after high school? Would all of that change after you guys graduate?

“Y/N?” Your mind was snapped back into reality as MJ looked at you “w-well.. I see my future with him.. but I don’t know if he does..” MJ just laughed a bit at your response “Y/N! Of course he does! I mean do you see the way he looks at you! I’m pretty sure he’s already thinking of making you his wife!”

You laughed when she said that “wife? I think we’re too young for that MJ.” You felt reassured after she said that you both talked for a while before finally deciding to sleep.

The next morning Peter,Ned,MJ, and you decided to go to a cafe for breakfast after having a full breakfast Ned suggested him and MJ go sight seeing which she agreed to leaving you and Peter alone.

“Me and Ned seriously fell asleep after we came back yesterday.” You laughed “me and MJ stayed up a bit..” you remembered the discussion from last night you’ve been wanting to ask Peter about his future, but you were too nervous to what if it wasn’t the response you were looking for or that you wanted?

“No wonder I heard a bit of mumbling at night.”

“U-um Peter?..”

“Yea Y/N?”

You took a deep breath in trying to relax your nerves.

“W-What do you see in your future?”

He hummed for a bit as he thought about it.

“Well I definitely see myself working for Mr.Stark.” Well that wasn’t a surprise he had grown attached to Tony since Tony did treat him like his own son.

“What else?”

“.... a-a future with you..” he mumbled out you couldn’t exactly hear what he just said,

“Can you repeat that again? I didn’t hear you?”

“F-future with you..”

“One more time?”

“Oh for the love of God! A future with you Y/N!” You blushed instantly at his words MJ was right he really did see a future with you.

“P-Peter.. I’m happy you said that.. i-i see a future with you too.” He beamed out a smile as he held onto your hand from across the table “well.. I’m thankful..”

MJ and Ned hid behind something hearing the conversation you and Peter had “ohhhh so now I see why you wanted to leave them alone together.” Ned said looking at MJ “those two needed a bit of a push to tell their feelings.”

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crimsonblackrose · 5 years

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Can we...like not???? Like I don’t get people sometimes.

So tomorrow is a holiday. I have the day off. Huzzah! I decided maybe chilling at home sounds good but I might as well get myself out there and meet up with a friend who I haven’t seen in a while and get some errands done.

Original plan: meet with the first non-college friend I met here. Take my computer and we’d sit there and work on our various projects at a cool cafe that I’ve already been to. Maybe before hand I’d go get a hair cut. Chill day. Then I saw there’s this really cool flower festival happening and was like great! I’ll start there and then make my way to my friend. Get an early morning, literally stop to smell the flowers.

Other friend on Saturday: So like this friend from this other country is going to be here and I want to show him around and he’s really cool and I want to get a group together and what are you doing on Wednesday. We should like all go out.

Me:....yeah I’m busy on Wednesday.

(Friend continues to talk about it with everyone else were with. I succumb to a maybe but I’m still busy. )

Today

Friend: Hey so the market?

Me: (Trying to strategically figure out my schedule and if I can actually fit this in. I guess I might be able to swing by depending on the time) What time?

Friend: several hours of silence

Me: So I’ve got a couple other things I want to get done on Wednesday I can tell you if I can go if you tell me what time. I need to get my hair cut.

Friend: Where are you getting your hair cut?

Me: I don’t know. Lol, the last place I went to was kinda...pushy so I want to try somewhere new.

(I have to make an appointment and if you tell me what time your thing is at and my other friend tells me when I’m meeting her at the cafe then I can see whose open and available to take an appointment. )

Friend: I’m thinking this market.

OTL

(original plan to meet friend I haven’t seen in awhile falls through because she got a cool opportunity ~happily cheers her on~ Bummer but woo!)

Me: Okay well it’s about an hour away from the big thing I want to do. (and 2 hours away from where I live)

Friend: OMG WHATS YOUR BIG THING?

Me: (send link to flower event.)

Friend: I WANT TO GO!

Me: (kinda wanted to go by myself so I can have a quiet morning)......I want to go in the morning, it’s two hours from where I live....when can you go?

Friend: I can go at noon, but I also invited that one friend whose visiting (and maybe all his friends) and so like I’ll let you know. But I can definitely be there at noon.

Me:

Like okay. Here’s the thing. You kinda invited yourself to my plans, didn’t listen to me when I said I was busy and then invited other people to my plans and totally ignored the time I said I was going. I’m kinda miffed.

But I’m also trying not to get to be too upset and instead trying to like look on the bright side. It takes 2 hours to get there. If we’re not meeting till noon then I can like...not set an alarm? And sleeping in is good. I’m sure going with her will be a lot of fun and heck, if her friends come that could be fun to.

(maybe I’m still kinda socially fried from yesterday’s ridiculously long “ladies night dinner” where I sat and listened to new people talk about their lives for 3 hours which is fine but it was too long, I got trapped so I could get up and like move and then at the end of it the friend who invited me to the dinner was like “haha yeah so I’m not going to remember the new girls name because her birth name is easier to remember” and I’m like....she literally spent the entire night talking about how she reluctantly kept her birth name, changed her name and the only people who call her by her birth name are her family who she’s essentially run away from because she hates them so you should call her by her chosen name, the one she introduced herself as and my friend just said “whatever” uh no not whatever excuse you, you call people by what they tell you to call them, do you want me to start calling you something you don’t want to be called?)

She’s also just not a very quick moving friend. Like she’ll say she’s got to do something and she needs to do it now. I.e. get up to get some water because she wants water and then after that we’ll leave, or before we leave she needs to do the dishes...and she just will keep talking and not move. (And in each of these cases I 1.) reminded her to go get water 2.) got fed up and just got up and did all her dishes so that I could go home) So like the fact we’re starting late means I know this is going to go slow and I want to be home in time to eat dinner at home. So I can get some work done. I.e. packing, prepping for work on Thursday, ect. So I just...am trying to figure out a good way to...dip. There’s a good chance I’m not going to get that hair cut I want to get tomorrow. But I could still have a fun day. I just...really wanted to have a productive day and not a big social day. And my local extrovert has decided I’m having a social day and not a productive one. OTL

#mumblings #why do people not only invite themselves to your plans and then change the time and invite other people without asking you #and then are just like cool see you there with all these other people I invited #maybe they won't come #but like I said morning #not noon #ugggghhhhhhhh

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oopsitsmyfandoms · 6 years

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The Squip Squad goes to Disney World

This is a random list of head canons i compiled. i could literally go on for sooooo long about them and disney cause i practically live there but i thought that might be excessive

so lets start off with them flying to disney from new jersey and how much of a train wreck that would be

the only one of them who has ever flown before is chloe. she went to visit one of her relatives in CA before in like 6th grade so obviously she's an expert on flying because of that one experience

christine is the mom of the group, texting all of them beforehand giving them lists of what to pack

��she goes through everyone's suitcase before they leave for the airport

this is why they're behind now as they scramble through the airport trying to find the security check

"Chloe i thought you knew where the hell we were going"

"I do!"

she doesn't. she has no clue

they end up getting stuck at the metal detectors because OF COURSE brooke brought her opened starbucks and they wouldn't let her through the checkpoint with it and she REFUSED to go without it

so she's standing there and they all wait on her before going through the like (rookie mistake)

once she's done with her venti-whatever-frappachino, they go through the line

and just their luck the metal detector is like freaking out when rich goes through the line halfway through their entire group

and he starts freaking out cause what if its the squip and what if they're not going to let him on the plane and this is going to ruin his magical fun time with his friends that he rightfully deserves

but its not the squip. he didn't take his belt off and they're all gucci.

his tiny mistake cost them an extra 30 minutes wasted though

so yet again they're scrambling through the airport trying to find terminal 13B

they finally find it and just their luck the flight was delayed 40 minutes

"it's all good guys!" the ever so optimistic christine says, "now we can hit up the food court!"

cue the entire squad cheering for food

jake flips his shit when there's a sabarro in the food court. he drags rich with him but all rich wants is a cinnabon

"jake its 9am why the fuck do you want sabarro instead of breakfast? c'mon man"

the girls wander around looking for a healthy snack place

they end up finding a really cute one with a little coffee shop and they stock up on snacks and drinks for the plane ride

brooke finds the pinkberry and literally cries because holy shit she's going to disney and the airport has a pinkberry this is the best day ever

michael and jeremy get burgers and find themselves wandering around the gift shops and little boutiques

jeremy realizes he left his earbuds at home and then they go on an adventure to find him a pair that aren’t ridiculously expensive (which is nearly impossible but chloe finds them in a store and finesses her way into getting him a deal)

they all end up getting back to the terminal just before their flight lands

brooke has a mental breakdown cause they're supposed to board the plane in 5 minutes and her venti-whatever-frapp just hit her and she REALLY HAS TO PEE but airplane bathrooms terrify her

so her and jenna SCOOT to the bathroom cause no girl ever goes alone and the rest of the squad gets everyone's carryons ready

as soon as brooke and jenna get back they get to board

jenna is decked out with her travel pillow, eye mask, and earbuds

she puts on a netflix series and legit shuts herself off from the rest of them the entire flight because they're loud and rambunctious as hell

christine gets a window seat while jeremy sits between her and michael. they're the most sane of the group.

jenna also has a window seat a row up from them with chloe between her and brooke.

chloe had the isle seat but brooke gave her the puppy dog eyes cause she wanted to be able to talk to rich and jake across the isle

THANK GOD the seat between rich and jake was empty because those two literally sprawled out across it the entire time (brooke would occasionally hop over there to chit-chat when chloe would doze off)

CUE A LIZZIE MAGUIRE PLANE MOMENT BETWEN ALL THE PRECIOUS COUPLES AT ONE POINT IN TIME

the almost 3 hour plane ride actually isn't so bad. jeremy's anxious self almost had a panic attack at take off, but michael and christine were able to calm him down.

when they land the entire squad is very cranky from being cooped up side by side for such an amount of time, but as soon as they get off the plane and into the airport their attitudes get better

they're at the airport ready to get on the magical express transportation when michael sees the disney store and forces everyone to go inside

they easily blow some money between the NASA, disney, & universal stores in the airport and then they go get in line to get on the magical express

it takes them to their hotel (they stay in art of animation resort and i know thats hella expensive but let my kids live this is a hc so anything can happen)

they end up staying in the cars themed suites because rich and jake DEMANDED it

they won't stop making 'KACHOW' noises the entire fucking trip

so they all unpack their stuff and get ready to go eat dinner in the parks. they decided to go to magic kingdom the first night because it has the most food options

they end up going to cosmic ray's starlight cafe and the entire time the whole group is rich's impulse control so he will refrain from jumping up on the stage with the animatronic alien and dancing cause it is his first day and they do not want him getting kicked out of the park

so they finish eating and go get in line for rides with smaller lines since they're all tired and want to make the most of their time since its like 8pm by the time they're done eating

they ride pirates of the carribean and thank god they were the only ones on their boat because it erupted in a splashing war and they almost got kicked out but somehow they miraculously didn't

cue christine becoming a total mom saying 'if you don't keep your hands in the ride at all times we are going home immediately"

they then go over to the haunted mansion

michael and jeremy are fascinated the entire time about all of the eye tricks the ride plays on people

when they're walking through the interactive graveyard brooke and christine act like little kids, touching all of the interactive stuff they can and squealing when water or air puffs out and sprays them

when they get into the ride chloe is the one that screams just to scream and fuck with people

she thinks its funny but when jake gives her a death glare to knock it off cause he's seriously scared she stops

jenna is the person who tries to take pictures with the flash on and the entire group of people around them (including the rest of the squad) tells her to knock it off

they end the night with some shopping in the main street USA giftshops

brooke and chloe find matching minnie ears and vow to wear them the rest of the trip

this vow ends 15 minutes after they put the ears on cause damn those really hurt your head

the entire squad established that each day they would all disneybound a certain movie and they surprisingly pull it off and it looks AWESOME

like its so good people come up and ask for pictures with them

jenna is the self proclaimed artsy photographer of the group and gets roped into taking all of their pictures

she doesn't mind though cause they're her friends and she enjoys taking the pictures just as much as they enjoy getting them taken

christine has a backpack with extra money, sunscreen, water, portable phone chargers, and snacks just in case anyone needs anything

jeremy and michael do in fact blow all their money at the star wars launch bay

jake and rich blow all theirs on food. like all of the mickey mouse themed snacks? yeah they've each had at least 12 of every kind

brooke and chloe spend their money in epcot going around the pavilions buying trinkets and snacks

christine gets all the plush toys she can get her hands on. jeremy has to cut her off at some point

jenna spends her money at downtown disney at all the stores they don't have back at home

rich and jake definitely buy two of the big turkey legs and try to sword fight with them just cause they're dorks

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wannawrite · 7 years

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If Voices Could Kill...

Wanna One's Kim Jaehwan

The 'Our Two Lips' flower boys LDH PJH PWJ wanna one masterlist produce 101 masterlist

fluff word count: 2342 • Jaehwan is really excited about his new job • especially when he finds out you're the niece of the branch manager • but his efforts may be washed by his new flower boy persona jfosjskdjs i'm sorry i had to do you so dirty Jaehwan you know I love you 😘 I love Jaewhan and he kinda is a mess bUt THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO HIM THAN THAT I LOVE HIM SO MUCH thank you for requesting anon, youngmin's flower boy will be up soon!! - Admin L PS: this is such a mess i am so sorry, experimenting with my writing a bit, I want to improve but ofusodjsis idk

"Kim Jaehwan?" You mused in puzzlement, an amused smirk dancing on your lips. "Uncle, are you serious?" You had to stifle your laughs from pouring out of your mouth. Your hands smoothed the paper out, eyes scanning the paper and taking a good look at the man's application. Your uncle furrowed his brow, he neatened another stack of applications. "Why not? He seems like a hard worker and a good kid. Not to mention he's young and... goes to the same college as you. Have you seen him before?"

You groaned in frustration and buried your head in your hands, allowing the paper to float away. "That's the thing," you muttered. "You probably should never see him." The air conditioner was set to one of the coldest settings but that was not the cause shivers than ran down your spine. Just the mere thought of Kim Jaehwan working as a waiter or barista - let alone a flower boy - made you shudder in the worst way possible. You held nothing against Jaehwan and in fact, you shared a class with him. He was a good-hearted person, always offering to help and a smart student. The thing is, he did more damage than help..... "Why? Is something wrong?" Your uncle asked again, chuckling. "Do you like him?" You threw your hands up, eyes widening significantly. "What? No! Uncle, why-why would you ever think that?" You protested, shooting him a disbelieving look. I came here today to help you sort out the papers of applications, not to be attacked. You spun a few rounds in the cushy office chair, sighing and considered slamming your head - or your uncle's head - onto the wooden conference table to knock some sense into it. "If you don't explain the situation to me, I have no reason not to hire Jaewhan. He is very handsome, what a bonus. Aren't you glad Aunt is making you help out a bit?" He teased, eyes twinkling. "You could really use a boyfriend, Y/N." I regret agreeing to help out with this stupid thing. Who is their boss? I just want to talk. If Uncle is one of the upper-class board members- "Ahhh, I get it. You like Kim Jaehwan and you don't want him to act nice to anyone else." Your fist hit the table the second you heard that, the slam was hard enough for the piles of documents to fly but your uncle only laughed. You blushed furiously and opened your mouth to retaliate but no words could be formed. Yanking the cap off the pen, you scribbled a rough tick mark next on Jaehwan's application. "Happy?" You growled out, face still hot. "Very. All I did was ask you to explain but you got so angry Jaewhan now has a job." Realisation set in and you let out a gasp. You had ruined the damn company running these stupid cafes and your aunt and uncle had pretty much lost their jobs. "No no no no no no no." In one swift movement, your uncle bundled the documents and packed them away into a cupboard. He grabbed his coat and gestured for you to follow. "C'mon. Your aunt is waiting for us. Cheer up, you didn't do anything wrong. I'll let you sob with ice cream later," he said, a smile on his face. I suppose seeing Kim Jaehwan almost every day this Summer wouldn't be terrible. The thought floated in your mind. He is really good looking. Let's hope he doesn't screw up.

Jaewhan was bursting with joy when he received the email about his new job. Well, partially because his best friends, Daehwi, Woojin, Jihoon, Sungwoon, Ong and Baejin, pretty much his entire clique had also been hired to work at Our Two Lips. Unfortunately, Minhyun, Youngmin and Justin ( wink wonk hint hint ) were posted to another branch further away but within walking distance. He raced to call his friends about the good news. Jihoon was the first to answer this call. "Jihoon!" He yelled, unable to hide his enthusiasm. "Uh, yes, hyung? Are you okay?" Jihoon asked worriedly. If he pressed his phone really close to his ear, he could hear the footsteps of Jaewhan running. "What's happening?" Jaewhan puffed and panted, clearly out of breath. Damn, I really need to work out more. Another day. "I'm fine!" He yelled as he pushed himself to run faster. "I will be outside your house in a few!" Jihoon jumped in shock, he clutched the phone tighter. "Wha-" "See you!" Jihoon glanced at the tall, Taiwanese boy who lounged on the bean bag of his room. "Uh, Jaewhan hyung coming over. What do you think he wants to tell us?" Jihoon wracked his brains but could not think of anything. Perhaps he wrote the lyrics to a new song? No, he would go to Daehwi for that. Guanlin shrugged in response, not taking his eyes off his phone. "Not sure, but we both need to tell him about....." He was abruptly cut off by the hammering on the front door which Jihoon answered reluctantly. "Hello, hyun-" " "I've been hired as a flower boy!" The older man blurted out loudly, hopping up and down. Guanlin nearly fainted in surprise, he tried to cover up his shock by half-heartedly letting out a cheer of congratulations. "Wow! Isn't that great? We're both going to be working at the same place!" Other than MNet, Jaehwan was sure he had not encountered a faker person - in that moment - than Lai Guanlin. He smacked his chest lightly, protesting. "Yah, hyung will make a better flower boy than you." Guanlin raised an eyebrow, threaded to perfection and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, really?" Jihoon genuinely did not need that drama, he rubbed his temples and pushed his friends further away from each other with a huff of frustration. "Guys, let's not fight," he pleaded before turning to Jaehwan. "But... how did you even get hired? Sorry, just curious." With his ego on the line, Jaehwan bragged about how his good looks and talent made the cut with ease. "The boss was probably impressed with me," he purred. "No offence hyung but you are literally the clumsiest, messiest hyung I have ever befriended," Guanlin retorted but not in a mean manner, just a... you-know-it-too kind of way. A part of him was genuinely worried for his hyung. How was he going to survive this? Hmph! Why is everyone doubting my abilities? Am I not the perfect flower boy material? Ahh, my dongsaengs are so cute, worrying about me for nothing. Jaehwan pulled the two younger boys into a hug which they happily returned. "Ahh, don't worry about me. I'll be the best flower boy there, the fan favourite. Hyung will teach you two." The boys exchanged glances which each other, faces screaming 'eek!' but they said nothing and simply hoped for the best.

You observed the current state of the cafe closely, picking at every little detail that others might have brushed off. Technically, this was your uncle's job to boss the workers and take care of the place but he was not the most articulate person and many things slipped past him. In fact, he was not even at the front counter but inside the kitchen, idling. You stationed your Summer work, laptop and a free cup of coffee in the cosiest corner of the cafe, bathing in the lukewarm sunlight. So far, all seemed to be brilliant. Daehwi and Jihoon seemed to be crowd favourites. That, you definitely took note of. They were cute but not your type. Perhaps, you did not even have a specific 'type'. It was confusing and it was not like you were interested anyway. It was a busy late morning at the cafe. Heck, there was even a queue for the place and you really wondered why. What was so great about this place? It's literally a regular cafe, just with cute, aegyo filled servers. You wrinkled your nose at that but supposed you would not boycott it since it was a business your extended family was involved in. The whole concept was intriguing and fun, you would admit. A different kind of fun... for some people.... A groan slipped past your lips and you squeezed your eyes shut, head starting to throb at the mere thought of him. Kim Jaehwan is going to be the death of me. Someday, hopefully, before finals come. The Jaehwan you knew in school and the Jaehwan that worked here were the same person yet he behaved differently. Yes, he was a mess in school sometimes but only with his friends. Other than that, he was a model university student who studied hard but played harder. The Jaehwan you knew was a considerate and helpful classmate even if his help was somewhat half-hearted. He was a joy to be around. Bonus! He was pretty cute too, chubby cheeks and all. Jaewhan was adoringly nicknamed 'boiled dumpling' by a couple of his fangirls. However, the flower boy persona of Kim Jaehwan took a 360 spin on who he was in school. Unbeknownst to the 'boss' - your uncle -, you had already received a total of two complaints from customers. They complained that flower boy JaeK ( wink wonk ) - you nearly punched someone because of that name - had uttered explicit and appalling words directed towards them. When you confronted the flower boy, he only smiled sheepishly. "What? I was learning from Ong," he had defended, keen on winning the debate. You had run a hand through your knotted hair, sighing. "What exactly did you tell them?" "Well, Ong had used 'If I were a gardener, I'd put our two lips [ tulips ] together'. So I did my own spin on it and said, 'If I were a gardener, you'd be my hoe." ( if someone actually uses that I might fight them wh00ps ) He had replied, mildly proud of himself. "Jaehwan, did you actually read the rules of working here?" "Yes. More than the pile of notes that professor dropped on us." "Can...you like....be more polite next time okay? It was rude. That was inappropriate," you had scolded. "There are other things you could say you know. Cute things? Actual pick-up lines?" I still don't understand this concept. It's so cringeworthy and creepy. It's okay. Only a few more weeks of being in this damned place. You would never forget that suave smirk Jaehwan shot you as he casually leaned against the counter, nearly messing up the decorations Woojin had painstakingly set up that morning. It made your eyes waver until they locked with his own. His compelling gaze bore into you, inevitably charming you. "You know, darling," he had begun. "I'm only saving those for you." Just remembering that incident made your face burn. JaeK was one charming asshole that you felt like you were falling for.

The more you saw Jaehwan at the cafe, the more he stuck to your side like a leech at school. "Y/N!" You could hear him from a mile away, those vocals weren't trained for nothing. The boy had an angelic voice, you had to admit that. Also, you were starting to think that his clique despised you because of a number of times he had ditched them in favour of you but he was a nice person to talk to. A good listener, only interjecting when he felt it was needed. You enjoyed his company. Often, he would walk you back after a night shift when your uncle and aunt had left in a haste. They were in on it too. It was nice to see Jaehwan in two different lights. Stripped of his makeup and flower crowns, he walked you home after school or work - even if you did not live far from both. Sometimes, he would put his talent to good use and sing a catchy pop song or one of his self-written ones. That relaxed you and made you feel at ease. Other times, a serious student yet a playful friend at university. And of course, being a messy ass flower boy. You were not even sure why he picked that job. When you asked, he simply shrugged and replied with, "I'm not even sure myself. Perhaps I wanted to try something new." The whole situation brought you two a whole lot closer. To the point where you were comfortable with falling asleep on his shoulder on one late night bus ride home. The next morning, you awoke to find a pink flower crown on your bedside table. Your hands clasped around it, brushing over the faux petals. It had to be Jaehwan's. You wore it to 'work' later on, planning to return it but as you approached the counter, you realised he had already worn a spare one. Ong chuckled and ruffled your hair. "Ahh you guys are so cute," he said. "Almost like a couple," Jinyoung snickered as he carried out another tray. "I would support it," Daehwi added, grinning smugly from his spot next to the coffee machine. Your cheeks reddened but the thought of you and Jaewhan as a couple made your heart flutter madly. "Yah, don't go around and make people uncomfortable," Jaehwan chided at his friends, shaking his head which caused his flower crown to loosen. "Oh!" You echoed, leaning forward to fix it. "It's loose. Let me help." Simpers flittered around the two of you but you paid them no mind. Just as you were lowering your hands, beaming proudly at your 'handiwork', ( me, at my C5 graded art welp ) Jaehwan's hands wrapped around your wrists. He smiled and looked you straight in the eye. "Y/N," he murmured softly, his sweet voice seemed to lull you into a dream. It felt as if his voice or presence alone had entranced you into this bubble where a universe with only the two of you existed. Disregarding the pairs of eyes trained on you, you stared back into his beautiful orbs.

“Yes?”

"Let's be a couple for real."

#wanna one #wanna one scenarios #produce 101 #produce 101 scenarios #ong seongwoo #kang daniel #yoon jisung #ha sungwoon #park woojin #park jihoon #lee daehwi #lai guanlin #bae jinyoung #hwang minhyun #kim jaehwan

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