You’re Safe (Platonic!Daryl Dixon x Platonic!Reader)

Anon Request: hi! If you’re not super busy, can you do a platonic twd imagine where the reader (15/16yo) is living alone in the woods and often sneaks into Alexandria to steal supplies, one day she gets caught and rick and the others take her in?

Anon Request: I’m not who requested reader sneaking into Alexandria but I'm excited for it! If you’re still taking requests I’m a sucker for anything father figure Daryl or the group taking in the reader, I just think that relationship is so cute and wholesome to read.

A/N: I am going to combine these two requests into one as they both follow the same narrative if that's alright.

Warnings: mention of rape

Walking. Walking is all that you do. Ever since your parents died a year ago, you kept on walking in hopes to find something or someone to rely on for a while and not yourself. So when you first came across Alexandria, you were skeptical. It looked too nice and too pristine for being in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. 

Walking around the outskirts of the town, you looked at the fences for any weak points in which you could exploit and possibly take some food or supplies. You had decided to wait for night to take over before nudging a small enough space to wiggle your small body into. You cautiously looked around the town, scoping out where most people would go for food and weapons. After noticing them going into a townhouse, you ran along the railing and hid below the staircase while the members of the community walked down the steps.

After waiting a couple of more minutes, you peered out from below the steps to look around. Once noticing it was clear, you crawled out and into the open air before tiptoeing up the steps and entering the building. Looking around, your eyes widened when you noticed all of the guns and ammo, and even more important all of the food. Searching through the rows of food, you started to shove cans of everything into your bag, making sure to take just enough to keep you going and hopefully enough that no one will notice anything missing.

You went every week like clockwork, always making sure that no one was around when you sneaked into the cabinets and out of the community, however, today you weren’t so lucky. You made your way to the small opening you had created a while ago and peered through the hole to make sure no one was around. Laying on your stomach, you began to crawl underneath the metal to the other side only to be stopped when you felt the barrel of a gun pressed against your forehead. 

“Get up,” a young masculine voice spoke as you looked up. Standing above you was a boy around your age wearing a hat and sporting an eye patch. He had his gun trained on your forehead as you raised your hands up. Putting away the gun back in its holster, the boy grabbed your arms and tied some rope around your wrists.

“I don’t mean no harm. Let me go,” you begged as he scoffed and glared at you before shoving you toward the street and leading you to a house. Guiding you up the steps, he opened the door before shoving you in, causing you to stumble across the door frame and into a room of many people, all eyeing you.

“Found the person who’s been sneaking in,” the boy spoke as a man with a beard and curly hair walked toward the two of you.

“Carl, I told you not to go out at night,” the man spoke as the boy behind you stood still but lowered his head.

“I know, I just wanted to know who was stealing the food,” he replied to whom you assumed was his father the way the two stood in front of each other. The man sighed before turning his attention to you.

“Who are you and why have you been stealing our supplies?”

“I’m nobody. I need food, which is not easy to come by out there,” you spoke in an aggressive tone, asserting the fact that you weren’t intimidated by the group.

“Who are you?”

“What? Are you guys with the Saviors? Do you want me to say ‘I’m Negan’? Not gonna happen,” you spat out as the man standing in front of you as well as the rest of the group looked at you in surprise.

“With the Saviors? We’re in a war with them.” Carl spoke as you whipped your head around to him and raised an eyebrow.

“You know Negan?” Another man with shaggy hair asked, eyeing you with slight pity, trying to imagine why a teen would know Negan and his group.

“Know Negan? That bastard? His men raped my mom in front of my dad and then killed the both of them in front of me. He just sat and watched,” you whispered, trying to suppress your emotions as the group looked at you sympathetically, “look, I’m sorry I stole from you guys. I really am. Can you guys just let me go, I won’t come back.” You spoke as the man with the beard looked at the guy with shaggy hair.

“What if you stayed here?” He asked gently while the other man untied the knot around your wrists, freeing you.

“That’s awfully generous, but I don’t know you guys. You could be with them,” you stated as the man with the beard looked at his son who shrugged his shoulders.

“We’re not with them. You’re welcome to stay with us,” the man stated as you looked around the room skeptically and made eye contact with the guy who had shaggy hair who simply nodded at you, giving you reassurance despite you still not knowing who he was.

“I don’t know you guys.”

“I’m Rick Grimes. You already met Carl, my son. This is Daryl,” he motioned to the man who had shaggy hair and who had nodded at you, “this is Aaron, Rosita, Tara, and Michonne,” he finished after pointing everyone out that was in the room, “what’s your name?” He asked softly as you looked down at your dirtied pants that were dotted with blood stains and mud.

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N),” you replied, looking up at Rick who gave a small smile and nodded.

“You’re more than welcome to stay here,” he offered as Daryl stepped forward. “She can stay with me, I have extra room,” Daryl stated, shocking the group.

“Why don’t we get you settled in. Get you a shower,” Michonne mentioned, causing your head to shoot up.

“You guys have showers here?” The group chuckled and smiled, nodding their heads as you looked to Rick.

“I might stay after all.”

It had been two months since you had moved into Alexandria. You and Daryl had gotten close, him taking a more fatherly approach to you, knowing what it’s like loosing family. You walked by his side in silence as the two of you wondered around the forest, hunting for some food, a past time that you have taken up recently.

“You know, my first boyfriend hunted. Though it was more for sport,” you reminisced, frowning at the thought of killing all of those ducks for game and not meals.

“You’re what? 16? Ya had a boyfriend?” He asked in confusion as your lips curled into a small smile, keeping the bow in your hand taut.

“Yeah, the only one though, kinda hard to keep a relationship when he’s a walker,” you chuckled bitterly as Daryl quirked an eyebrow up at you.

“Ya happy ‘bout that or sum’?” He asked, sweeping over the trees and trying to find squirrels. 

“Yeah, just because he was a boyfriend, don’t mean he was a good one. Glad he got bit.”

“Damn girl, remind me not to get on ya bad side.”

“Dully noted,” you whispered, taking aim at the tree, releasing your arrow and stabbing a squirrel. 

“You’re getting better.”

“You taught me,” you replied as his lips turned up in a slight smile and shook it off.

“It ain’t nothin’,” he muttered as you rolled your eyes.

“Daryl, you’re the closest thing that I have to a father now, if you haven’t taken me under your wing, I don't know what I would have done.”

“Rick woulda taken ya in.” 

“Yeah, I know, but he already has Carl and Judith to take care of, it wouldn’t make sense to add another person to that mix,” you spoke, not noticing how he stood still and fell behind you.

“Would ya rather of had him take ya in?” Daryl asked through clenched teeth, trying to not let the hurt show.

“Of course not, I already told you. You’re the closest thing I have to a father and I owe my life to you for taking me in,” you responded, turning around and hugging him around his waist, waiting for him to hesitantly wrap his arms back around you.

“You’re welcome.”

A/N: This was so longgggggg. Hope you guys enjoy!

Star-Crossed

— pairing: Hyunjin x Reader

 — genre: Fantasy, romance

 —Synopsis: Romeo and Juliet but make it Stray Kids

— words: 3.7k

— rating: NSFW (practice safe sex)

— warnings:  SMUT BUT LIKE WHOLESOME SMUT BUT SMUT NONETHELESS

 MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH YIKES GUN VIOLENCE ANGST 

— notes: I love a tragic tale. Any feedback is welcome! Im so happy to finally be done with finals so I present to you, PART THREE OF STAR-CROSSED and only one more chapter left, I hope you guys are enjoying so far! 

 Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four 

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Despite your lack of sleep, you had never felt more refreshed. Descending down the stairs of your home, you made your way into the parlor for breakfast. Your parents sat at either ends of the table, eating quietly, while your cousin, Jisung, and his friends were there as well. 

“Good morning fair cousin.” He smiled, taking a sip of his drink. You gave a polite smile, sitting beside him. You grabbed for a pastry as you all engaged in small conversation before the doors to the parlor were thrown open in an aggressive manner. Chan stormed in, an enraged look on his face. Chan had been friends with your cousins for some time, that you knew, but you never had met him until the previous night. You hadn't even known that same son of the Governor was the rowdy Chan you had heard stories of. 

“They really are disgusting. I can’t wait until tonight.” He huffed, taking a seat across from you. You eyed Chan carefully raising a brow. Changbin cackled from beside you, “Can’t believe the Governor's son is participating in his first brawl tonight.” 

You glanced between the boys before your father spoke up, “Now boys don’t let him get too banged up okay? We need him looking nice for the wedding photos.” 

Your heart plummeted. 

“W-wedding photos?” You whispered, your eyes flitting from Chan's serious gaze to your father's unbothered one. 

“Yes Y/n wedding photos. Didn't your mother tell you?”

“I tried my dear, but I couldn’t find her during the party again.” Your mother responded, taking a sip of her coffee. 

You stood up, pushing your chair back with a loud screech. “Tell. Me. What?” You hissed through clenched teeth, your gaze permanently locked onto Chans unwavering gaze.

“We're getting married Y/n. It was decided last night. Your parents accepted my proposal.” Chan stated before turning his attention to his breakfast. 

“And you didn't think to let me know, Chan?” Your voice was laced with venom despite it’s polite tone. Chan shrugged, “You seemed pretty shook up after your encounter with that Montague scum, so I didn’t want to bother you. I thought it’d be a nice surprise.” His gaze challenged yours, “Are you not happy, Y/n?”

Ice shot through your veins. He knew. He had to know about you and Hyunjin. 

“I am happy. Just surprised. I did not expect to be engaged this morning.” 

Your mother gleefully clapped as she looked at you both, “Ah young love! Chan is even fighting tonight for your honor Y/n, why, after he told us a Montague had the gall to impose himself on you, Chan took it upon himself to challenge those ruffians. How romantic.” She mused. 

Your breathing grew shallow, he was going to fight the Montagues? That means, he would be fighting Hyunjin. To the death if need be.

Jisung nodded alongside you, “Don’t worry cousin, we have never lost a fight. We promise your lover won’t get too scratched up before your big day.” Their laughs grew into ringing in your ears as you stared down at your half eaten breakfast. 

Did Hyunjin know?

How could I tell him?

“Excuse me…” You mumbled, leaving the parlor. You could hear your mother conversing with Chan and the others and it took everything in your power not to vomit on the floor. Tonight he will fight Hyunjin. Chan may die. Hyunjin may die.

And there was nothing you could do to stop it. 

 Hyunjin nodded as he listened to Seungmin discuss the plan for tonight. As it turned out, Felix had a run-in with Jisung, Changbin, Lee Know, and Chan when he left the Capulet property. 

“They hassled me. But it was obvious I wasn’t the one they wanted.” Felix’s eyes flicked up to Hyunjins. The guilt started to gnaw at Hyunjin. His friends were in danger, because he was being foolish. “Chan wants you dead, Hyunjin. He wants you dead so Y/n can be his.” The guilt was slowly being consumed by raw anger. Chan knew Y/n would never love him as long as he was still around. 

“I want you guys to be smart. I want you to be safe. This fight is about Chan and I.” Hyunjin stated seriously. Of course, fights like this weren’t uncommon, him and his boys had participated in many. But this time, it was different. Hyunjin glanced between his friends. Felix had always been by his side, his best friend. Seungmin was a gentle person, dragged into this life due to his family, and I.N...I.N was so young it pained Hyunjin to think about what could happen. 

“I would never dream of fighting alongside another. You guys are my family.” Hyunjin added. 

“We leave at dusk.”

 Night arrived quickly, and in a vacant lot in an abandoned part of Verona, two rivals met apprehensively. The Capulets arrived on site first, their cars growling in the night air and the headbeams providing artificial light. Chan glanced around nervously, the gun on his hip seemed to weigh him down more than the earth itself. His ears perked at the sound of engines roaring closer to the lost and his pulse spiked as the motorcycles of Montague approached. They were evenly matched. The nervousness Chan felt washed away as he spotted him. Hyunjin stepped off his bike, a cocky smile on his face, and Chan remembered why they were here in the first place. 

“Montague.” Chan spat, taking a pace towards the center of the lot. Hyunjin smiled and ran a hand through his hair, “Was all this really necessary? Why, you're not even a Capulet Christopher, why are you here daddy’s boy?” Chan’s anger flared at the comments. 

“I am here to tell you I am marrying Y/n.”

Hyunjins grin dropped. His eyes narrowed in a fierce stare. “Your what?”

Chan felt a hint of joy as he added, “Once you are out of the picture, I will marry Y/n Capulet. She will take my last name and be mine.” He paused, “All mine.”

Hyunjin growled at the comments, his hand itching to reach for the gun on his hip. He knew it was a set up, Chan wanted him to react out of anger. Hyunjin was smarter than this. 

“She will never love you. Whether I am here or not.”

Chan’s eye twitched at the comments and Hyunjin grinned knowing he hit a nerve.

“Y/n loves me. Man, if only you had been quicker, I’m pretty sure her first kiss was in that elevator with me.” Hyunjin mused, enjoying the visible frustration on Chan’s face. “The way she looked as I kissed her neck, as she begged me for more. Does it make you angry, Channie, that she will never do that for you?” Chan’s nostrils flared, “Shut up Montague!” He spat but Hyunjins grin grew wider. “It makes you mad knowing I was there with her, that she only wants me. Because let’s be honest Chan, your nothing without your father-” Chan finally reached his breaking point. He reached for the gun on his hip clumsily as he aimed it towards Hyunjin and shot.

Hyunjin grinned. His aim was off. The bullet whizzed by Hyunjin, and he shook his head. 

“Now now Chan, you couldn’t have expected to actually hit me-”

“FELIX!”

Hyunjins blood turned cold. That was I.N’s voice. Slowly, Hyunjin turned around. Indeed the bullet missed Hyunjin by a long shot. But somehow, by a horrifying stroke of luck, the bullet found its way through the stomach of Hyunjins best friend who stood only a few feet behind him.

“‘LIX!” Hyunjin cried out as Felix crumpled to the floor. I.N quickly tried to support his head but Hyunjin pushed him away, cradling Felix in his arms. Felix’s eyes blinked rapidly as he struggled to form words, Hyunjin shushing him. 

“Felix shut up, save your energy, you're going to be okay!” Hyunjin sobbed, his hands applying harsh pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. Hyunjins fat tears fell onto Felix’s face as he watched his best friend slip through his fingers. 

“Hyun..jin..” Felix croaked out, wincing as more blood gushed from his wound.

“Felix please stop-Seungmin! We need an ambulance!” Hyunjin cried out but no one moved. Everyone knew, even Hyunjin, there was no help for them now. Felix raised a shaky hand to Hyunjin’s cheek, his palm cold with sweat. 

“I’m s-sorry…’Jin” Felix sobbed, “I-I’m scared..” Hyunjin’s sobbed as he shook his head, holding Felix closer, “You did e-everything just right, don’t be scared ‘Lix...you're my best friend.” Felix gave a small smile at this, his eyes starting to focus past Hyunjin. Felix grew quiet, and soon his eyes no longer moved. His chest stopped breathing, and under the starless sky, Hyunjins best friend lay lifeless in his arms.

Hyunjins eyes were tinged with red, his voice raw from the cry’s he let out. Chan stood there shakily, his gun still aimed at the group. He looked nervously back at Jisung who stared with wide eyes at the scene. 

“Jisung what-what do I do? I killed him Jisung!” Chan cried nervously, dropping the gun to the ground. 

Hyunjin swung his head towards Chan, the anger in his eyes blazing. 

“You…” He snarled, grabbing his gun and stalking towards Chan. Chan quickly tried to move away but Hyunjin caught a fistfull of his shirt and in a fluid motion, Hyunjin swung the gun against his face. There was a sickening thud as Chan fell to the ground, blood pouring from his face. Jisung reacted quickly as well, racing to confront Hyunjin when he was intercepted by I.N who swung rapidly, his eyes cloudy with tears. Changbin and Minho were met by Seungmin who shot rapidly. The chaos had begun.

Hyunjin swung his fists harshly into Chan, he wanted him to suffer. He wanted him to feel his pain. 

“You killed him!” he spat, Chan so weak he couldn't even fight back. 

Dirt was swept up in the scuffle and Hyunjins ears recognized the distinct sound of cop cars. 

“They’re coming!” He roared, leaving a ragged Chan on the ground, giving him one last swift kick to the stomach. Hyunjin leaned in close to Chan, “I am not going to kill you. I want you to live with this guilt forever. You killed someone. Y/n will never want you now.” And with that, Hyunjin whistled for I.N and Seungmin to return to their bikes quickly. They all looked worse for wear. Starting up their bikes, they had no choice but to leave the scene behind, including Felix. It made Hyunjins heart break but there was no way Chan would admit to murder and they had no way of transporting him back. This was the life of rival houses. They all knew what life they would lead. With a prayer to whoever heard him, Hyunjin said his final farewell to his best friend, and disappeared into the night.

 You were too nervous to sleep. You paced your room back and forth with Irene watching you helplessly. 

“They will be fine Y/n…” Irene said in her soothing voice, but you shook your head, continually looking out past your balcony.

“Something bad is going to happen, I know it Irene.”

Granted, you did not want to marry Chan, but you did not want him murdered either. As for Hyunjin...you shook your head. You couldn't even fathom if anything would’ve happened to Hyunjin. The moon was high in the sky and it was well into the early hours of midnight yet still you waited. For anything. When the anxiety grew too great, you were startled by a loud groan from your balcony. You and Irene both rushed over, your eyes widening as a figure climbed up and over the balcony rail. The figure collapsed to the ground and took deep ragged breaths as you fell to your knees scooping the beaten Hyunjin into your arms. You couldn’t help the tears that poured out of your eyes. 

“H-hyunjin!” You cried, your hands roaming over his face and body checking for wounds. He was covered in blood, enough so even your hand was stained. His eyes were shut as he seemed to be breathing a little more stable, and soon his eyes opened enough so he could see your concerned face over his. 

“Y/n…” He whispered, his trembling hand reaching up to your face. He couldn't help the tears that poured from his eyes, both from sadness and relief. Your tears fell onto his own face as you held his hand against your cheek.

“He killed him Y/n...Chan killed Felix.”

Your breathing stopped as you registered his words. You couldn't believe it. 

“I’m so sorry Hyunjin.” You said softly, cradling his head gently to your chest. You felt his tears fall onto your skin as he began to cry, his arms wrapping around you in a tight hug. Irene still stood in the doorway, watching carefully. 

“Irene please help me move him to my bed.” You asked, helping Hyunjin stand to his feet. Irene moved beside Hyunjin as well, holding him up as you two slowly made your way to your large bed. Hyunjin clumsily sat on the bed as you instructed him to lie down.

“I’ll get your bed dirty..” He mumbled but you shook your head.

“Hyunjin I really don’t give a shit, lie down.” 

He did as he was told, relishing in the soft surface below him.

Irene brought you a medical kit as you began to examine his body but Hyunjin shook his head.

“S’not my blood…” He whispered as you nodded. You sat beside him in silence for a while, allowing him to get even a little bit of rest. Irene quietly left the room, keeping watch for anyone who may enter your room. 

You stroked Hyunjins hair gently as you hummed little songs in the air. Eventually his eyes fluttered open and rested on you beside him, a smile gracing his face.

“This is what it would be like if we were married.” He mused, causing a blush to spread across your face. 

“If we were married I wouldn't allow you to get hurt like this anymore.” You said sternly, weaseling your way into his arms. Hyunjin grinned looking up at you, “Anything for you my love.”  

You propped yourself up above him, gazing down at his face. He had a small cut on his cheek and lip, and his hair was tousled into a massive birds nest, but he had never looked so handsome. You couldn't help yourself as you leaned down gently, placing your lips against his lightly, to not hurt his cuts. Hyunjin sighed into the kiss, his hand cupping your cheeks and holding you close. You pulled away from him, need, igniting his gaze as he watched you. You sat back on the bed as he propped himself up on his forearms. You shyly reached for the hem of your sleeping dress before pulling it up and over your head, sitting before Hyunjin in your white undergarments. Hyunjins eyes widened as he scrambled to grab your hands.

“Y/n you don’t need to do this if you don’t want to!” He said breathlessly, his thumb stroking your hands. You shook your head, your hair cascading down your shoulders. 

“I want to be with you, Hyunjin. Like this. Tonight.” you admitted breathlessly. Your gaze traveled up his shirt to his face and met his eyes. 

“I love you.” 

You watched his eyes widened and gloss over, a smile breaking his serious face. He leaned into you gently, his lips meeting yours in a soft kiss. His hand shakily met your bare waist as you shivered at his cold touch.

“Sorry…” he mumbled against your lips and you smiled. His other hand held your face as he travelled down to your neck, leaving hot kisses along your collarbone. You moaned out breathlessly as he sucked harshly against your skin, nipping at the blossoming bruises. His tongue soothed the pain away with gentle licks. 

“Hyunjin..” you whispered needily as he chuckled against your skin.

“I want to make this as perfect as it can be.” He admitted softly, pulling back to gaze at you. 

Mustering up your courage, you pushed him back onto the pillows, swinging your leg over his hips. You suppressed a moan at the friction against him but you pushed the thought away. 

“I want to show you how much I love you.” You smiled softly, watching his eyes widen at your words. 

Leaning down, you began to leave soft kisses along his jaw, your hands perched on his chest. He tilted his head to give you more access as he closed his eyes in content. Your kisses traveled down to his chest and the exposed skin there. With shaky fingers, you began to unbutton his shirt, but grew frustrated as you grew more nervous. Hyunjin let out a small laugh as his hands grabbed yours. 

“Let me help.” he whispered, his hands controlling your own as he began to unbutton his shirt. Shrugging off the fabric, he tossed it across the room and laid back down, smirking as your eyes traveled down his body. 

“You’re…” you muttered breathlessly.

“Handsome? Sexy? Charmingly devilish?-”

“Beautiful.”

Hyunjin shut his lips tightly, turning his head to hide the blush dusting his cheeks. 

“You're so beautiful Hyunjin.” You cooed, your fingers tracing gently down his chest. You leaned down, your lips travelling down his body. His breathing grew heavier and heavier as you made your way closer to his hips. Your hand quickly undid his button as you tugged, signaling for him to raise his hips. He obliged quickly, allowing you to tug off his pants and leave him in his tented boxers. 

The pit in your stomach grew larger with want as you looked at him, utterly lost in his lust for you. Knowing that this man who lay beneath you, wanted you like this, well, it did a number on your confidence. With a smirk you crawled back up his chest, allowing yourself some slight friction against him ,causing him to groan. His hand held your hips tightly as he held you against him, causing you to gasp as he jerked up against you. 

“Y/n…” he moaned breathlessly, his eyes watching yours. The contact was intense, and embarrassing to be honest. You quickly tried to turn your head away, but his hand directed your chin back to his face.

“This is what you do to me, Y/n. This is how you make me feel.” He muttered huskily. His hand gripped your ass tightly as he ground you harder against him, causing you to cry out. His hand left your face and skillfully traveled to you back, unlatching your bra. The sensation caused you to quickly try and cover yourself, but his hand grasped yours softly.

“Princess…” he said softly.

You glanced away, before allowing yourself to shrug the material off, your bare chest exposed to the cold air pouring in from your balcony. Hyunjin gave you a smile as his hand traveled to your chest, rubbing you softly.

“So beautiful…” He mused with a grin. You laughed a bit, biting your lip. Gently, Hyunjin sat up, wrapping you in his arms and holding you close. The heat between you two warmed you up quickly as he pulled back, his forehead resting against yours. 

“If you don’t want this you should tell me now...I don’t think I can control myself much longer.” He whispered as you nodded, looking up through your lashes. 

“I want you.” 

Quickly, he flipped you both over, his leg in between yours as his hands held you down. You gasped as his leg nudged you to open wider, and he took the opportunity to kiss you more passionately. Your body arched into his, craving his touches as you two tumbled between the sheets. He quickly grabbed your thin bed sheet and brought it over you both, laughing like a young boy. Seeing him so happy, made your heart ache and caused your eyes to well up. Hyunjin leaned down, kissing away your tears.

“I love you, Y/n.” He whispered, the sheet trapping all the noise with you two. You sniffled and smiled, “I love you too.”

He was gentle, patient when you winced as he entered you. He placed loving kisses on your face to distract you, whispering words of endearment. Soon you gave him a nod to let him know you were okay. You didn’t want to think about if Hyunjin had done this before, because all that mattered, was that he would be your last first time. You moaned alongside him as his thrusts sped up, the sensation of euphoria creeping up on you.

He panted your name. Over and over again like a prayer. You called his name too, his forehead resting against yours. It was almost all too much, his thrusts became more sporadic as you reached your high as well, causing you to become breathless. Hyunjin groaned as he reached his as well, falling onto your chest breathlessly.

You smiled, your hands rubbing his back as he watched you. 

“How are you my soul?” He whispered.

“Perfectly happy.” You admitted truthfully, earning a laugh from him. He leaned up to kiss you once more, settling beside you to wrap his arms around you. You buried your head in his chest, relishing in his presence. You knew, this happiness would not last, but you took every second the rest of the night to simply be in the presence of Hyunjin. Soon you both fell asleep soundly, wrapped in one another's embrace.

Only the moon knew of your secret as it descended from the night sky, basking in the few kisses it receives from its own lover, as the sun returns to it’s place in the sky, bringing about another day of tragic reality. 

Homophobia, caring for your friends and a wholesome evening. Short storytime.

So I'm not the newest but I'm kinda new to a group of friends at school, and they're all really cool and fun to hang with. They're the group of friends I never had in this school for the first two years, when I used to hang out (at school, I mean) with a few girls that I had nothing in common with and from last year on I'm finally happy to go to school (if you count out tests and stuff of course).

Now, I've realised that I'm bisexual at the start of last year (school year, it was the end of 2017) and I wasn't really that friends with them but I managed to get close to them enough at that point that I came out to them when I discovered about it.

They are in a bigger group of friends, a couple of them are at our school but in other classes. In Italy it's not like American schools - where lots of people here on tumblr go to - where you change classmates 'cause you change classrooms, here you have the same classmates for all 5 years of high school, with the exception of those kids who don't pass the year and stuff. You also may change from half to every one of your classmates at the start of the third year if you go to a school that specialises you in a certain field, 'cause you get put in a class where everyone aims to the same specialisation- it's weird. So yeah, in my class there's three girls - out of four of them that are in my school - and there's one guy (in another class this year, since he didn't pass last year, but last year he also was in the same as me).

Alright. Let's get to the TEA. This guy whom I'll call Alex since his name is kind of the Italian version, is really fun and nice. He's a good person, a good friend, he's nice overall. But, he's quite homophobic. Literally, he's so fucking scared. He's not scared or actually that prejudicial of lesbians of course, being the stereotypical straight dude he is, but he really often cracks up terrible outdated gay jokes, the ones that kinda go like 'better back away with my front to that guy...'. Which. Is fucking terrible and so superficial.

Italy is weird. Baby boomers that never got a full (up to uni, many are high school dropouts) education, mostly (and I mean, almost everyone of them) think the same way about homosexuality. Usually women are more accepting, I know some, but men are another thing. So many are scared to death that they'd be considered gay in any way, or that they'd be molested by men. It's a terrible situation. My dad was like that too. He knew many gay men, he's worked for them, he was friends with a couple and stuff. But sometimes he went all like 'Sara you're not gay, right? I mean you like boys..?'. He'd see a guy walk or talk a certain way and go 'oh he's a real man' and just laugh like he'd told the best joke ever.

This, is what stereotyped 'representation' in media does to you. This, is what your own parents - brought up in a fascist era when beign homosexual could cause you certain death - telling you that beign gay doesn't make you a 'real man' does to you. This is an entire life of being told that God doesn't want homosexuality and being afraid of having your gender and masculinity degraded to something that society doesn't accept does to you. Oh and what even are lesbians fo these people? They're probably ugly women that dress like men or absolutely girly women that can be converted back.

To get to the actual point, this guy I know is starting to get on my nerves. Enough is enough, I've already scolded him times and times before but I've always been condescending at the end of it because 'I knew he was joking and didn't really mean it' and yadda yadda yadda. So tomorrow he's coming back to school after being sick for a couple of days and I'm going to talk to him, and I know I'll do it since I already talked kinda the same way to a girl I know the other day. So my other friends at school have listened to what I said to the girl and listened to me rant about what I'm going to tell Alex and they were like 'he does it cuz he doesn't know any better' no he's smart enough to know better by himself, 'but it's the result of being brought up a certain way that goes back centuries' yes but yet again he's smart and also it's not an excuse, it's 2019 and if he doesn't change after I've talked to him I'm gonna punch him.

But the good part about this whole thing is that a friend of these was arguing with me today with things like 'you're right but-' and 'I understand, I know a few gay people' and 'I have relatives who are gay so I know what you're saying is right, but-'. Tonight she texted me with "I'm telling you the same speech you want to tell Alex", but she has dyslexia, sometimes she mixes up words or makes weird typos so the autocorrect corrects them with other words. And I'm like "What, why, what did I do??" and she's like "What, no-" and we go on like this for a bit, and then she goes on to tell me one of the two best things someone could've said to me:

"I'm telling you that I have nothing against you telling him off.

And that I'm on your side and with you, completely."

And there I am, ready for the worst and I go, "Is there a 'but' now?"

And she's like "No. Just this."

And I'm literally about to fucking cry, then she continues,

"Because you're always there for me" and

And you never judge me."

Which is the second best thing you can say to someone. Or at least to someone like me, and when it's coming from a person (I mean this girl) who has struggled with a lot of judging (because of her weight I guess, and her intelligence which she doesn't actually lack, I don't even believe that intelligence as a concept can lack in any way, but people think she does, and problems she has, in general) and people saying things behind her back. These few short things she said melted my heart. I could feel how much was behind them.

This, my dudes, was a wholesome night. Thank you for reading this. I'll add a small update on how the talk with Alex goes.

Eklavya's loyalty

This is the story of a long-gone era. In the country of India, nearly five thousand years back, lived a boy named Eklavya, the son of a tribal chief in the forests of the kingdom- Hastinapura. Eklavya was a brave, handsome boy. He was loved by all. But he was not happy. His father saw that something troubled Eklavya. More than once he found his son lost deep in thought when other boys enjoyed the pleasures of hunting and playing. One day the father asked his son, Why are you so unhappy, Eklavya? Why don t you join your friends? Why are you not interested in hunting? Father, I want to be an archer replied Eklavya, I want to become a disciple of the great Dronacharya, the great tutor of Archery in Hastinapura. His Gurukul is a magical place where ordinary boys are turned into mighty warriors. Eklavya saw his father was silent. He continued, Father, I know that we belong to the hunting tribe, but I want to be a warrior, father, not a mere hunter. So please allow me to leave home and become the disciple of Dronacharya. Eklavya’s father was troubled, for he knew that his son’s ambition was not an easy one. But the chief was a loving father and he did not want to refuse his only son’s wish. So the kind man gave his blessings and sent his son on his way to Drona s Gurukul. Eklavya set on his way. Soon he reached the part of the forest where Drona taught the princes of Hastinapur. In those days, there was no such system as a school, college, university or hostel. The only place where one could get some education was a Gurukul . A Gurukul (Guru refers to “teacher” or “master”, Kul refers to his domain, from the Sanskrit word kula, meaning extended family.) is a type of ancient Hindu school in India that is residential in nature with the shishyas or students and the guru or teacher living in proximity, many a time within the same house. The Gurukul is the place where the students resided together as equals, irrespective of their social standing. The students learned from the guru and also helped the guru in his day-to-day life, including the carrying out of mundane chores such as washing clothes, cooking, etc. The education imparted thus, was a wholesome one. Having said this much, let us now return to Eklavya. When the boy reached Dronacharya s Gurukul, he saw that it consisted of a group of huts, surrounded by trees and an archery yard. The disciples were practicing to shoot arrows with their bows and arrows in the yard. It was an engaging sight. But Eklavya s eyes searched Drona. Where was he? Will he be able to see the man? Without Drona, all his purpose of coming here would be meaningless. But all his worries soon subsided. He did not have to wait for long. There was the man standing near a tree busy instructing a boy, who was none else than the third Pandava prince Arjuna, as Eklavya came to know later. Though Eklavya had never seen Drona before, he put his guess at work. He went near Drona and bowed. The sage was surprised to see a strange boy addressing him. Who are you? he asked. “Dronacharya, I am Eklavya, son of the Tribal Chief in the western part of the forests of Hastinapura.” Eklavya replied. “Please accept me as your disciple and teach me the wonderful art of Archery.” Drona sighed. “Eklavya… if you are a tribal hunter, you must be a Shudra, the lowest social community according to the Vedic Caste System. I am a Brahmin, the highest caste in the kingdom. I cannot teach a Shudra boy” he said. “And he’s also a Royal teacher,” interrupted Prince Arjuna. “Our Guru has been appointed by the King to train us, the princes and the highborn. How dare you come inside the Gurukul and seek him? Leave! NOW!” he spat out, looking enraged that Eklavya had disturbed his practice. Eklavya was stunned at Arjuna’s behavior. He himself was the son of the chief of his clan, but he never insulted anyone below him in such a way. He looked at Drona for some kind of support, but the sage remained silent. The message was loud and clear. Dronacharya also wanted him to leave. He refused to teach him. The innocent tribal boy was deeply hurt by Drona’s refusal to teach him. “It’s not fair!” he thought miserably. “God has given knowledge to all, but man alone differentiates his kind.” He left the place with a broken heart and a bitter taste in his mouth. But it could not shatter his ambition to learn Archery. He was still as determined to learn Archery. “I may be a Shudra but does it make any difference?” thought he. ” I am as strong and zealous as Drona’s princes and disciples. If I practice the art every day, I can surely become an archer.” Eklavya reached his own forests and took some mud from a nearby river. He made a statue of Dronacharya and selected a secluded clearing in the forests to place it. Eklavya did this because he faithfully believed that if he practiced before his Guru, he would become an able archer. Thus, though his Guru shunned him, he still held him in high esteem and thought of him as his Guru. Day after day, he took his bow and arrow, worshiped the statue of Drona and started practice. In time faith, courage and perseverance transformed Eklavya the mere tribal hunter into Eklavya the extraordinary archer. Eklavya became an archer of exceptional prowess, superior even to Drona’s best pupil, Arjuna. One day while Eklavya is practicing, he hears a dog barking. At first, the boy ignored the dog, but the continuous disturbance in his practice angered him. He stopped his practice and went towards the place where the dog was barking. Before the dog could shut up or get out of the way, Eklavya fired seven arrows in rapid succession to fill the dog’s mouth without injuring it. As a result, it roamed the forests with its mouth opened. But Eklavya was not alone in his practice. He was unaware of the fact that just some distance away, the Pandava princes were also present in that area of the forest. As fate would have it, that day, they had come with their teacher, Drona, who was instructing them about some finer points of archery by making them learn in the real-life condition of the open jungle. As they were busy practicing, they suddenly chanced upon the “stuffed” dog, and wonder who could have pulled off such a feat of archery. Drona was amazed too.” Such an excellent aim can only come from a mighty archer.” he exclaimed. He told the Pandavas that if somebody was such a good archer then he surely needed to be met. The practice was stopped and together they began searching the forest for the one behind such amazing feat. They found a dark-skinned man dressed all in black, his body besmeared with filth and his hair in matted locks. It was Eklavya. Dronacharya went up to him. “Your aim is truly remarkable!” Drona praised Eklavya, and asked, “From whom did you learn Archery?” Eklavya was thrilled to hear Drona’s praises. How surprised he will be if he told Drona that he, in fact, was his Guru! “From you my Master. You are my Guru,” Eklavya replied humbly. “Your Guru? How can I be your Guru? I have never seen you before!” Drona exclaimed in surprise. But all of a sudden he remembered something. He remembered about an eager boy who had visited his Gurukul several months ago.” Now I remember,” said he. “Are you not the same hunter boy whom I refused admission in my Gurukul some months back?” “Yes, Dronacharya”, replied the boy. “After I left your Gurukul, I came home and made a statue like you and worshiped it every day. I practiced before your image. You refused to teach me, but your statue did not. Thanks to it, I have become a good archer.” Hearing this, Arjuna became angry. “But you promised me that you’d make me the best archer in the world!” he accused Drona. “Now how can that be? Now a common hunter has become better than me!” The other princes remembered their master frequently praising Arjuna that he had immense talent and will be the greatest archer in the kingdom. They waited with bated breath. What will their teacher do now? Unable to answer Arjuna’s question, Drona remained silent. The sage too was upset that his promise to Prince Arjuna was not going to be fulfilled. He was also angry with Eklavya for disobeying him. So the sage planned to punish Eklavya. “Where is your guru dakhsina? You have to give me a gift for your training,” the sage demanded. He had finally found a way to make Eklavya suffer for his disobedience. Eklavya was overjoyed. A guru dakshina was the voluntary fee or gift offered by a disciple to his guru at the end of his training. The guru-shishya parampara, i.e. the teacher-student tradition, was a hallowed tradition in Hinduism. At the end of a shishya’s study, the guru asks for a “guru dakshina,” since a guru does not take fees. A guru dakshina is the final offering from a student to the guru before leaving the ashram. The teacher may ask for something or nothing at all. “Dronacharya, I’ll be the happiest person on earth to serve you. Ask me anything and I will offer it to you as my guru dhakshina “he said. “I might ask something you don’t like to give me. What if you refuse the dhakshina I want?” Drona asked cunningly. Eklavya was shocked. It was considered a grave insult and a great sin if a guru’s dakshina was refused. “No! How can I, teacher? I am not that ungrateful. I’ll never refuse anything you ask, Dronacharya,” promised the unsuspecting boy. Drona did not wait anymore. “Eklavya, I seek to have your right-hand thumb as my guru dhakshina” he declared. Silence befell on everyone. Everyone was shocked, even Arjuna. He looked at his teacher in horror and disbelief. How could their teacher make such a cruel demand? That too, from a mere boy? For a moment Eklavya stood silent. Without his thumb, he could never shoot arrows again. But the teacher must be satisfied. “Ok Gurudev as you wish”, said he. Then, without the slightest hesitation, Eklavya drew out his knife and cut his thumb! The prince gasped at Eklavya’s act of bravery. But the tribal boy betrayed no signs of pain and held out his severed thumb to Dronacharya. “Here is my guru Dakshina, Drona”, Ekalavya said. “I am happy that you have made me your disciple, even if I’m a mere Shudra hunter.” The sage was humbled. He blessed the young archer for his courage. “Eklavya, even without your thumb, you’ll be known as a great archer. I bless you that you will be remembered forever for your loyalty to your guru,” Drona declared and left the forests. He was moved and grieved at his own action. But he was content that his promise to Arjuna was not broken. The Gods blessed Eklavya from above. But despite his handicap, Eklavya continued to practice archery. How could he do so? When one is dedicated, one can make even mountains bow. With practice, Eklavya could shoot arrows with his index and middle finger and he became a greater archer than he was ever before. His renown spread far and wide. When Drona came to know this, he blessed the boy silently and begged for divine forgiveness. And true to Drona’s blessing, Eklavya is still praised as the most loyal and brave student in the epic of Mahabharata. Moral: Any knowledge Teacher gives to Student has value in life of a Student as he goes on with life. Think from Kindergarten till highest level of study you have completed, see what you will be left with if there were no teachers in your life. Parents give us life, love and help in going right direction, But Teachers show us how to live life, shows us path and makes us self dependable so that we can pick the right path. Always respect your teachers, do not value them any lesser than your parents. When student succeeds in studies and life, its student who always gets praised by People, not the one who gave student a knowledge to success. Teacher’s Happiness is in student’s success, and student should not forget to at least thank politely to the one who made you capable of following journey of life. And if you had learned what your teacher taught you with dedication and respect to towards teacher, journey of life always gets comfortable.