Demyx (my beloved)

PANTONE 2046 C

Genre: Fluff, #ZoeAppreciationWeek

Pairing: Zouxie

Summary: The Pink Hair Origin Story (alternatively also the Blue Hair Origin Story)

Word Count: 2788

Author's Note: First day of Zoe Appreciation Week! Wanted to participate so have this not so little one shot to showcase our lovely pink haired witch <3

"Wow, the dye came out really nicely," Zoe murmurs as Douxie exits the bathroom, his hair freshly blown dry -- from its tips to the full bangs dipped in a deep yet striking blue. He smiles widely at the quiet compliment and waves over to Archie.

"How does it look Arch?" they ask, though the answer is pretty clear, if Archie's fond gaze is anything to go by. The familiar flies in to nuzzle his face.

"Dashing as ever, Douxie."

Zoe leans back into the couch with content, taking in the beautiful sight that is her best friend. She did really good. The faint buzz of adrenaline lingers on the pads of her fingers. Right, she forgot. That was her first time.

"Are. You. Crazy? I've never even dyed hair before!" the natural brown haired girl hissed. She begrudgingly wiped the bubblegum that had exploded over her lips -- a result from the initial shock when Douxie first made his request. Granted, she felt honored that they would come to her before anyone else, but still! She can't risk ruining his hair, she doesn't have experience, plus the hair salon could totally do it better and-

"I'd rather it be you than anyone else," the wizard confirmed firmly. Zoe turned to the familiar. Surely the cat who lived with this stubborn kid could knock some sense into them. Archie could only provide a shrug in response.

"They're pretty sure about this."

She groaned.

"Fine, fine! But give me a few days unless you want me to pick out the wrong dye and end up with neon green."

[ 1 Week Later ]

Zoe couldn't keep track of just how many hair channels and blogs she'd gone through. She mimicked their hand movements, using cheap wigs and mannequin heads to simulate the experience. Through it all, one voice echoed the same message: "You can't mess this up."

She bought all the necessary tools. Gloves, hair clips, bleach, foil, just to name a few. Oh, and of course the dye -- though you'll be surprised how one can forget the simplest things while getting caught up in trying to memorize everything. Blue, Douxie had asked for. But what kind of blue? Sky blue? Cobalt? Midnight? Which one? She pinched the bridge of her nose before angrily texting the wizard. It went a little something like this:

DOUX: go with whatever you think will look good! i'm fine with anything tbh :]

ZOE: i Hate you so much

DOUX: ??? WHY

ZOE: IDK SHIT ABOUT HAIR DYE HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT LOOKS GOOD

DOUX: let's talk about this in person before you electrocute your phone again

ZOE: you won't let me live that down will you

DOUX: you know me so well ;)

She shoved the phone back in her pocket. There's no way she was actually doing this for him.

She was.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" she asked for what would be around the 73rd time. Douxie pulled his face down with both hands.

"Ugh, the answer is still yes, love. I'm not asking you to dye the whole thing, just the front part, bangs and sides."

She rolls her eyes at the nickname and smacks the clean brush against his head. She smiles at the little 'ow' that Douxie lets out with a pout. Hm, cute.

"Alright, but don't start moping around if it doesn't come out the way you wanted it!"

"Nothing that a little magic can't fix if it gets to that point. Which I hardly believe it will."

And now here they are.

Douxie crashes on the couch with Zoe, slinging an arm over her shoulders. She raises an eyebrow at the sudden physical touch, but it's never unwelcome. Not when it comes to him.

"You know of all human creations, I gotta say, this one really takes the cake," they start and Zoe snorts.

"You say that about nearly everything."

"Can you blame me?"

She looks at them and no, she really can't. In fact, she finds herself agreeing with him. He looks... really nice. A faint blush spreads over her face; not that it is noticeable by any means -- the two of them happen to have done this dying process starting from the evening to night, so the dim lights in her home do little to highlight her features. This is still her Douxie, lovable guitarist and wizard nerd who cares about everyone. Yet there was something about the hair dye that changed things up a bit. Something good, naturally.

The two of them fall into a comfortable silence, doing whatever is usually available. Sometimes it's texting, scrolling through social media, or listening to music. Other times it's zoning off and reminiscing about the past.

Zoe decides to go for her phone, unconscious of the way her hand finds its way into Douxie's hair, carding through the locks and untangling them with nimble fingers. It's peaceful. Maybe even a little too peaceful, considering the two of them are adrenaline junkies.

"Douxie, I can hear you thinking..." she begins. It's a common way to start the conversation between them, and oftentimes she's right.

He turns around, her hand still in his hair, but enough to meet her eyes. Their own eyes look serious and her heart sinks. Were they not happy with their hair?

The answer is quite the opposite.

"You ever considered dying your hair too? Maybe we can match."

The untangling stops.

And then the tugging starts.

"Ow ow ow-"

"Hisirdoux Casperan you are a menace to society."

She does though. She considers it for weeks. Of course, Douxie doesn't push; it's her hair at the end of the day, she can do whatever she likes. But after seeing how well she did with the wizard, she kinda felt excited. She definitely can't forget the exhilaration she felt when she saw people compliment Douxie at Benoit's or at the GDT book store. Her heart started beating faster when he looked back at her with a proud smile on his face-- damn that wizard, they told the others that she did it for them, didn't they?

After a few days, a young girl in a cap comes up to her at the record store. Probably from Arcadia High, if her backpack stacked with books is any indication.

"Hi! I'm Claire. Claire Nuñez," the girl starts. Zoe raises an eyebrow in interest.

"Hey Claire. What can I get you?" she asks, raising a flask to her lips. There's no water. Damn.

"Um, it's not really a standard request, but um, I was wondering if you could dye my hair?"

Zoe chokes on her water. Dye her what?

"Kid, are you new here? This is a records store. I can give you the direction to the hair salon it's really not that far."

"No, no, no! It's just, this guy got their hair dyed and I asked if he did it himself and they said you did it for them so I came to you. It's nothing too big! Just a strand really," Claire rambles. She gestures to the invisible front of her hair, currently tucked away behind the cap, outlining it with her fingers. The hedge witch groans.

"That would be Douxie. Now, here's the thing I don't do this for just anyone. Douxie happens to be a close friend so what I did was a little gift for him. I don't even know you, so what do I get out of this?"

Claire pales.

"Uh, $20? I know a full head of hair costs way more but like I said, just a strand..."

Zoe's stomach rumbles in response. She had $5 currently in her wallet which could buy a snack at most. She pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Ugh, you're lucky I'm hungry. Catch me after my shift is done okay? And I only got one color on me, which is blue, you good with that? Otherwise bring your own."

"Yes of course, of course! Thank you so much."

"Yeah, yeah, now scram if you're not here to buy anything."

"Oh actually, I was wondering if you had anything Papa Skull released recently!"

Curse this girl and her good taste in music.

[ 45 minutes later; 2:00 PM ]

"Thank you for doing this by the way," Claire starts. Zoe waves it off. She doesn't really know why she agreed to this. Well kind of. She wanted to eat. But besides that, she also was curious to see if she could satisfy another "customer". Hair dying was never a profession she had properly considered and right now? It doesn't hurt to entertain a thought.

"Alright so I have the bleach, you'll need to let that set in and keep that before dying the strand you want. We can even add toner to neutralize the color post bleaching if necessary," she lists off. Claire shakes her head.

"That won't be necessary!"

The girl pulls off her cap and surely enough, there's a light blonde lock, similar to Douxie's, just a little lighter. Zoe's impressed.

"Well that definitely makes my job easier. Especially since this is my second time."

"Wait, second time?"

"You didn't know?"

"No?"

"Of course Douxie leaves that part out. You want out? I'll pay you back the $20 in four days."

"No, I trust you."

Zoe always believed that she had tough and cold demeanor. Clearly she's doing something wrong if people are finding her trustworthy just by looking at one dye job.

"Alright then, here we go! Don't say I didn't warn you," the witch replies. She wraps the cloth around Claire softly, and pulls up the bowl with the dye in it. With a gloved hand she separates the pale strands from the brown ones. The blue will definitely be more prominent here than it would be with Douxie's. Something tells her that Claire wouldn't mind.

From the looks of Claire's surprise, wonder, and delight, she definitely didn't mind.

"It. Looks. So cool! You're really good at this. Maybe you should start a hair dying salon or something," the girl rattles off. Zoe raises a hand.

"I'm already working two part time jobs so... no. But I'm glad you liked it. The blue looks really good. Stands out well."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Claire repeats, putting back her cap on. A feeling of confusion overcomes Zoe.

"Wait, why are you putting your cap back on? Don't you want to show people?"

"Duh, but um, my mom doesn't know about, uh, all this. You know, councilwoman things."

Zoe's mouth drops, the $20 bill crumpled in her hand. So that's why she didn't go to the hair salon. Nuñez is the councilwoman, so she'd know pretty much everyone in the town. And word spreads pretty fast. In summary: Claire would have gotten caught.

"See ya!"

These kids are going to land her in some serious trouble one day.

With a burger and soda in her tray, Zoe takes a seat and pulls out her phone. That Claire girl though, she's sort of inspiring. Adventurous. Not hesitant in taking chances. And you know Zoe, she absolutely loves the thrills of life. Whether it be hunting magical creatures or refining her usually unpredictable magic. The humans tend to have mellow definition of risk taking, in her opinion, but their examples are fun enough in their own way: crossing the speed limit, riding rollercoasters, anything along those lines. The brunette clicks on a familiar contact and begins typing.

ZOE: which color looks good on me

ZOE: don't ask it's for a stupid job thing

DOUX: which job?

ZOE: WHAT PART OF DON'T ASK

ZOE: hex tech, something for employee uniforms

DOUX: i was going to say pink since it brings out your eyes but if it's for uniforms i dunno, light blue?

ZOE: hm interesting

DOUX: you should just work here at the book store it's chill

ZOE: but then i'd have to deal with you

DOUX: now is that really a bad thing?

DOUX: zoe.

Light blue is definitely a no go, Zoe decides. Too much blue dye going around. But pink, hm she could work with that. It's a pretty bold color and it would compliment her eyes as well as her face in general. A win-win for her.

And as for how far she's willing to go? She decides to go all in. No tips, no ombre, just complete bubblegum hair. Of course this takes a few days to gather the guts.

'You can do it Zoe, just go for the bleach,' she thinks to herself. Her hands shake with nervousness and excitement. Frankly, hunting niffins didn't compare to the rush she's feeling right now. She closes her eyes and brings the brush to her hair.

Well, here goes nothing.

She winces as she feels the tingling sensation, but loads of videos have assured that such symptoms were normal. She continues to work at it, using the foil to make sure she doesn't bleach a part of her hair to death. It's long and strenuous, but she knows the results in the few coming weeks would be worth it.

She doesn't have to worry about Douxie finding out thankfully. Turns out these weeks are essential for Merlin's "To-Do" List. Apparently it was to find Camelot?

"The castle he means. Not the actual kingdom. That's been gone for centuries. Anyways, I'll be back once I actually find it. Dunno how I'll do it and it probably will take me and Arch a month or so, haha. Oh! And if my hirers ask you anything, it's a family emergency."

Hm, whatever. A brief thought of Merlin dying his hair neon green amuses her, before she goes back to watching more hair dye videos. They've become a little addicting nowadays. She's amazed at how often people do it. How do they keep their hair so healthy?

It's been four weeks now and Zoe's eyes stare at the pink concoction in her hand. PANTONE 2046 C. This was the shade that stole her heart in the middle of the hair dye aisle. No other color could compare in the slightest. Even the cashier who packaged her order hummed in approval.

"Nice color! Not many go for it, but it'll suit you for sure."

This time her movements are calculated, not clumsy or fear driven like it used to be. One could even say she's getting the hang of this. Her hair over time changes from platinum blonde to a dark matted pink. She lets it sit for a bit, meanwhile focusing on getting the dye out of her hands. This turns out to be harder than she thought and she sighs. Well, maybe another day.

After washing and blow drying her hair, she stands in front of the mirror. The witch staring back at her is almost unrecognizable. As if she were a new person completely. And she liked it.

The blank stare shifts into a grin and she tugs at her own locks. Goddamn. She looks really good.

And well, Douxie's reaction is priceless to say the least.

DOUX: you said to meet up at the museum where are you

DOUX: i swear if you slept in i'll send archie to knock down everything in your apartment

DOUX: ok no i won't but still it's been a month since we last saw each other come on

DOUX: wait a second

DOUX: you're joking

DOUX: IS THAT??? YOU????

DOUX: IN THE PINK

DOUX: oh fuzzbuckets you look stunning

DOUX: Hello this is Archie. You broke Douxie so could you please finish your conversation with whoever it is you're with and come pick him up? Your hair is absolutely lovely by the way.

ZOE: omfg

ZOE: can't take you guys anywhere

The witch smiles at the girls and nods over to a gaping Douxie and his cat before gracefully exiting the conversation. She approaches her friend and pushes his jaw up with her index finger.

"So I'm assuming you're digging the new look hm?" she teases.

"You have no idea," Douxie responds. A pink tint lighter than the shade of her hair blooms across Zoe's face at the expression of adoration in her best friend's eyes. The two of them have been through a lot together, seeing each other grow and change. And this time, it was a really fun and welcome one.

"I might try this again with a different color some time. You wanna join then?"

"Don't have to ask me twice."

It's crazy how all of this came from a chaotic, impulsive research project to help a friend. But honestly Zoe wouldn't have it any other way.

Maybe Douxie was right. Of all human creations, this one beats pretty much everything else.

Trading candies, not kisses

🎃 Halloween special

Pairing: Ray x Reader Word count: ~ 3 000 Genre: Fluff / Comfort Summary: (Y/n) has a strong crush on their co-worker Ray and decides to call him to go trick or treating with them.

“Y’know, I saw something new open at the mall and I was thinking we could– Fuck,” I interrupt myself with a scream once I turn around and place a hand over my chest. “Ray, you idiot!” He only continues chuckling, carrying the zombie mannequin away while I glare at him.

“It’s Halloween, (y/n),” he says calmly, “everyone’s entitled to one good scare.”

“It’d be okay if it was just one instead of one every two seconds,” I sigh, though I do find it funny most of the time, and return to placing the makeup on their right places.

Ray’s really nice and I really like spending time with him, even more after noticing how he’s more open around me than around other people – at least the ones I’m aware of since we share not many friends in common.

We got a temporary job at a Halloween store this season, something we could manage to balance with the shitty job we have at a records store which is actually not too far from here. Hopefully, we are going to find better jobs soon – Frank said the guy from the ‘company’ where we get our music recorded is looking for people, so it doesn’t hurt to try, even more since I have a few references.

“You should be aware of what being close with me means!” he says, a few isles away.

“But I didn’t sign up for this, specifically!” I smile to myself, lining all of the black lipstick tubes then moving to do the same with the purple ones.

“My bad.” He sounds closer this time and walks past the aisle. “But there’s absolutely no going back now because I won’t let you and I know you can’t leave me. You love me too much, obviously.”

I snort. “It’s true, just don’t say it like this.”

“At least I also love you, okay?” he teases and I helplessly chuckle, shaking my head to myself.

“Shut up!” I take the boxes where the lipsticks once were and head to place them in the back. Ray is sitting behind the counter and messing with the computer when I walk past him. A new song starts playing through the speakers around the store once I’m back to the front of the store and it’s Thriller, obviously. Ray’s been quite obsessed with it and Dig Up Her Bones. “Are you doing anything for Halloween?” I leave the new boxes on the counter to open them and count the tubes, and I could do this at the makeup aisle… if I didn’t want to talk with Ray.

“No, not really.” He shrugs, sighing. “Not this year, I think. What about you?”

The place is quite peaceful. We can barely hear the sound of people and vehicles going past the store outside, all muffled under the music and the heater’s low humming. Only the occasional clicking of the mouse and our voices cut through the thick atmosphere.

“I think I’m going out with a few friends. Do you want to come? I promise they’re nice people,” I offer, pausing on counting the mascara tubes to look at him.

Ray pauses, looking at the computer’s screen with his lips pressed together for a moment. “No, I’m sorry. We can still hang out this week, though, you and I. What do you think? Maybe binge watch some movies at my place or even go somewhere if that’s okay with you, like going to a gig or something.”

“Like if I’d give up on that.” I smile despite feeling a little sad since he’s not coming with me for Halloween, but hanging out alone with him sounds a lot better.

“I know you wouldn’t,” he chuckles.

The last of the lipstick tubes is counted and I’m done with my work, but I don’t feel like organizing all of them right now. “Hey, do you think I could do your makeup?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “It’ll be fun. I already have something in mind. Pretty please?”

Ray hums, eyes narrowed at me. “You’re not exactly the most trustworthy person.”

“Aw, Ray, c’mon!” I pout, leaning against the counter. “If you can’t trust me, who the hell will you trust, huh?”

He blinks slowly, expression unchanging. “Do you want me to be honest or spare your feelings?”

I burst out laughing immediately, which compels Ray to crack a smile. “I’m gonna grab the makeup, don’t get your ass off here!” A few chuckles still escape my lips as I move to the makeup aisle again, though thankfully not for working this time but to grab a few things I’ll need for doing Ray’s makeup.

“You’ll need to pay for this later, won’t you?” Ray raises an eyebrow at me at the moment he sees me walking around the counter.

“Nah, we need some for display anyways, y’know?” I set the items down to remove the wrappers from each of them. “For people to try and whatever, so it’s okay. We’re trying these, it’s quality control, so we’re fine,” I tease, earning myself a roll of eyes from him.

“You’re doing something nice, right?”

“Of course!” I nod, taking the eyeliner pen in hand. “You’ll look so beautiful, Ray, don’t worry.”

Ray does trust me, despite the whole show he puts on. He closes his eyes to let me work on his makeup, calmly relaxing against the chair. His eyes twitch lightly with the eyeliner running against his eye, but eventually stops when I’m spreading the dark red eyeshadow all over. With the lipstick, the makeup is done.

“Open your eyes,” I say with a smile already tugging at my lips because, honestly, Ray does look amazing. How awesome can that guy be?

Ray’s eyes open slowly and I can feel my cheeks heating up at the same instant. Holding myself back from pressing my lips to his right now seems to be the most difficult thing in the universe and, fuck, my heart legit skips a beat.

“I suppose it’s good!” Ray grins, almost giving me a heart attack.

“It’s awesome!” I hand him the makeup palette so he can take a look at himself through the mirror and he hums, nodding to himself, turning his face a little for different angles.

“I really like it, wow!” He chuckles with a grin and looks at me from under his eyelashes, blinking a few times as he places the palette away. “Let me do your makeup, (y/n)!” And I’m about to complain when he’s standing up, pulling me to sit down on the chair. “It’s fair, c’mon! You’ll look so beautiful, don’t worry,” he mocks, but he’s also got the sweetest smile on, so I melt a little, trying to relax.

The attempt to relax goes out the window, actually. Feeling Ray’s breath fanning over my face makes me even believe I’m looking like a mess right now, but he’s quickly telling me he’s done.

“Let me see,” I mumble, taking the palette in hand and… fuck. Ray probably pays attention to the makeup I wear or comment about because he knows exactly what to do. “Fuck off, I’m afraid you’re better at this than me! No way!” I furrow my eyebrows lightly, impressed by how good it looks.

“Thank you!” He chuckles, placing his hands on his hips. “Told you that you’d look beautiful. I mean, you’re beautiful on default, but…” He shrugs. My cheeks heat up again and I look at Ray searching for anything that tells me he’s joking. He isn’t.

“Hello?” a voice suddenly says from a few aisles away, absolutely ruining my moment with Ray. “Anyone here?”

“Yeah,” Ray says, “just a minute!”

.

“You’re a baby, they won’t even notice you’re a whole ass adult in his early twenties going around asking for treats,” Jepha teases Bert, who looks at him as if Jepha had just committed the worst betrayal against him or something.

“That’s why (y/n) is the only one I love out of all of you!” Bert sniffles, pretending to wipe away a fake tear – his finger a safe distance away from his face so he won’t ruin the skeleton makeup – and hugs my arm.

“As you should!” I grin, leaning my head against his for a brief moment.

“Aw, fuck off!” Quinn rolls his eyes with a sigh. “Quit arguing, I want the candies already! Walking, walking!” He shoos us away and we inevitably start walking down the street, still groaning and complaining.

“You’re just jealous.” Bert glares at Quinn and throws his nose in the air, which immediately triggers a small slapping fight between the two, making him let go of me.

Jepha and I just sigh. This is not much different from usual.

First house: some laughter and a few sweets. Second house: mostly chocolate. Third house: a very bitter ‘fuck off’.

Fourth house… I feel like I know this one, but I’m not sure, so I don’t say anything as we head to the front door, but I’m the only one not to practically shout ‘trick or treat’ at the moment Ray opens the door. Ray raises his eyebrows in obvious amusement at the same time his eyes meet mine, remaining silent while he moves to grab the bowl of sweets and hand some of it to each one of us.

“So,” Ray says after the three walk away a bit. “Trick or treating, huh? Did you get many candies, sweetheart? Make sure you don’t leave the neighborhood, okay? Be home before it gets too late and don’t forget we’re checking all of your candies when you get home to make sure they’re safe, so no eating any of them before you’re back!” he says in a theatrical motherly tone that at the same time it has me embarrassed, it’s also goddamn funny. I don’t know whether to hide my face or laugh my ass off.

“Stop, you idiot!” I push him lightly. “I told you I was going out with my friends and it’s actually fun, okay? Why don’t you join us?” I grin – he raises an eyebrow, humming. “Think about it! Free candy, lots of fun!”

“You’re sounding a bit like Frank, y’know?” He places his hands on his hips. “And his plans never turn out well when they sound like this. But,” he says before I can complain, “I’m tagging along because I got nothing better to do.”

“You said you weren’t going to do anything this year!” I gasp.

“Because I wanted a lazy day, but now that you’re here…” Ray’s voice grows quieter according to how he walks further in the house and I roll my eyes, deciding complaining will do nothing, so I just tell the guys to wait for a bit. Ray is surprisingly quick, actually, soon showing up in some dark clothes with a few studs and chains while wearing a mask he pulls to the side of his face – more convenient than a last minute makeup. “Let’s go!” He grins, having a bag of his own now.

And there we go. The guys actually hit it off with Ray, thankfully, so we’re talking and laughing the whole time during the walks between one house and another. We soon have gone through all of the houses we were able to, being denied candies from another Karen or two who started lecturing us on how we were taking opportunities from little kids or something.

“Anyways, I need to go home now,” Bert sighs. “I still have things to do, unfortunately.” He rolls his eyes and Jepha only presses his lips together while nodding in the background. “So this is a goodbye for now! See you tomorrow, (y/n), and see you, Ray!” He grins, pulling me for a hug and raising his hand for a high five with Ray.

“I can relate,” I chuckle. “Good night, guys!”

“Good night for you, too! Be safe! See you!” Jeph grins and pulls me for a hug, too, rubbing my back, and just nods at Ray. Quinn, on the other hand, limits himself to a few words, eyes barely open already, pitiful and funny at the same time.

“They’re fun,” Ray says once we start walking, slowly, not really having any destination in mind right now. “Bert told me they got a band.”

“And they’re also really talented!” I grin, nodding. “Maybe you could invite them for a band practice or something, at least to watch, I don’t know. Make sure it’s when Frank and I are free because I’m taking him along to watch you all.”

Ray smiles, humming. “Of course, it’ll be nice.”

I’m about to continue walking down the sidewalk when Ray is taking my hand in his, looking down the street before we’re jogging across it. He doesn’t let go of my hand until we’re sitting down on a bench at the park and I… fuck, I just can’t let go of his hand, not like this, not at all. We cuddle, we hug, we can be really touchy sometimes, but hand holding is something so rare and I love how his hand is always firm around mine and gives me such a safe feeling.

“What are you thinking about?” Ray snaps me out of daze and I’ve most likely – well, obviously – been staring at our hands and for a bit too long.

“Nothing, I’m just a little tired.” I shrug lightly and he nods. “Um, what kind of candy did you get? I’m sure I saw you getting about three of the ones I didn’t get.” I twist my mouth lightly.

“Oh, that’s not a problem!” He gently lets go of my hand and pulls his bag to his lap. “We can trade candies, what do you think? I’m sure you also got a few ones different from mine, even more because you started trick or treating before me.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t get many.” I take my bag too, digging through it, and we start to place the repeated candies aside on the space on the bench, between us. I only leave my favorites and at least one of each kind inside the bag and give them a last check before I turn to see if Ray’s done.

“Okay, then, let’s see.” Ray leans over, looking through the candies. He switches a Twix for a Snicker, caramels for pineapple candies, a lollipop for sour worms, marshmallows for a bar of chocolate…

“Hey! No marshmallows for a bar of chocolate!” I take the bar in my hands and glare at him. “That’s not enough, c’mon, Ray! I know you can do better!”

“No, but they’re really good marshmallows, I promise!” He looks at me with an expression that shouldn’t be so adorable.

“If they’re so good, why don’t you keep them, hm?” I narrow my eyes and purse my lips because Ray can be as clever and sly as he seems to be innocent and that’s something I learned the hard way.

“You got me,” he sighs, shaking his head. “But pretty please? You know I love that chocolate!”

“But give me more for it, at least! Not some lame ass marshmallows from Karen around the corner!” And I really try to keep up my angry posture, but it’s simply impossible with how Ray snorts a laugh at the same moment, leaning back lightly.

“Okay, sorry, but…” He leans over at the candies again, scratching the side of his neck. “Okay, what if I give you something else, hm?” Even in the dark, the way he looks at me from under his eyelashes and a smirk tugs on his lips has my heart fluttering. How can someone be so charming?

“And what would that be?” I hum, wondering what he’ll come up with this time. I’m not accepting movie tickets again like he gives me whenever losing a bet and not being able to fix what I wanted.

“I promise you’ll like it,” he taunts and chuckles lightly, looking away.

Oh, my fucking hell, what does he have in mind this time?

Ray moves closer, hand pressed to the side of my neck, fingers pressed to the back of it – I don’t know whether he actually did it all fast or my brain stopped working for a few seconds and really, it’s difficult to tell. His eyes go from mine to my lips and the lack of any sign of refusal coming from me has Ray leaning in at the same time he pulls me for a kiss and fuck, I wanted it for so long it fucking hurts.

Ray’s lips are warm and soft, and his kiss has the same feeling he transmits in general – just this whole comfort and safety as if I could just let go of every single worry. This is so pathetic, how can someone have such a power over me? But it doesn’t feel bad, not at all.

“Y’know, I don’t want to sound like a creep,” Ray says quietly, face still close to mine, “but I’ve liked you for a time now. And, um, a lot. So, maybe we could, like, go out?”

“Man, I thought you’d already noticed I liked you and you were pretending to ignore it because you didn’t want to make things awkward,” I blurt out, making Ray start laughing at the same fucking moment. “No, stop laughing! I’m being serious!” I chuckle a bit, helplessly, burying my face in my hands.

“I’m sorry, but…” He shakes his head, grinning. “But that’s a yes to going out, right?”

“Of course!” I roll my eyes, feeling my cheeks warm. “But that’s not a yes for the chocolate trade! Kisses don’t count, Mr. Toro!”

________________

Tagging list: @lubbockshusband

Deity: The Keeper of Masquerades

(Art by @celenewashere​!)

Lawful Evil Archfey of Clocks, Fear, and Surveillance

Domains: Darkness, Evil, Knowledge, Law Subdomains: Shadow, Fear, Espionage, Tyranny

A mire of mystery surrounds the entity known as the Keeper of Masquerades, a fog so thick that anyone attempting to learn about him can expect to be turned around and lost before they even finish following the first thread. Hundreds have sunk permanently into that mire, never to be seen again. Perhaps they found answers, but more likely than not they found nothing but their own ends. The Keeper seems very keen on keeping any and all information about himself hidden from everyone and everything. His name, if he has one, is unknown. His true form, if he has one, is unknown, the most anyone ever sees of him being the shadow-shrouded mannequin bodies he inhabits now and again. His past? He certainly has one, and it is the first verifiable fact of his existence; he was once member of Count Ranalc’s inner circle, a dutiful butler and notekeeper for the shadowy Eldest. Ever since the Count’s disappearance, the Keeper has apparently begun attending to the affairs of the land Ranalc left behind.

Despite his status as an Archfey, he has at times sat in on meetings among the Eldest--an honor that must normally be granted by one of the demigod Fey themselves, yet the Keeper does not seem to require permission--though he has no true say in their matters and holds very little sway over their actions. He is merely there to record and offer polite advice when asked, ostensibly assuring that the distant Count is kept up-to-date on all matters the Eldest still discuss and all goings-ons in the First World. He is subservient and obedient, and willingly offers his services to the Eldest, despite their role in removing Ranalc from power.

For those below the Eldest of the First World, however, the Keeper is an entity to be avoided at any cost. An enforcer of a terribly rigid and inflexible order; the second verifiable fact of his existence is that there is little he despises more than needless chaos.

The Keeper holds the unique position of bringing law to the lawless the First World, though the laws he upholds seem arbitrary to the whimsical inhabitants. He believes in ideas such as how time should always move forwards, never backwards and certainly never side-to-side, that gravity should always be aimed downwards, that point A should always lead to point B. Yes, he believes in a First World that more closely mirrors the rigidity of the Material Plane, seeing the Material as the perfect culmination of the God’s work and thus something to be imitated, rather than ignored for the sake of--eugh--freedom. 

Few things are more of an anathema for the Keeper than the concept of true freedom. The messiness and the wasted time that come from countless individuals merely lazing about in their own little worlds infuriates the shadowy being, to the point that the third verifiable fact of his existence is that there’s absolutely nothing he despises more than people wasting his time. The Keeper carries on his person a pocketwatch, a simple thing with no apparent magical power. When it is closed, he is speaking. When it is open, that is when you are allowed to speak, with him carefully measuring how much time you’re allotted. If it shuts in the middle of your sentence, you’d best end it right there, for continuing to speak after your allotted time will see the wrath of the Keeper visiting you. There is a morbid joke among fey that most are born with a reflex that quiets them upon hearing the soft, metallic click of the watch shutting, while mortal-folk have to learn the hard way.

The “Masquerades” that the Keeper keeps fourfold. The first and most publicly-known is the literal masquerade balls he holds at the borders of Ranalc’s realm, Nighthold, during which the invited disguise themselves entirely as they feast, frolic, and dance about for the amusement of the hidden host which, rumor says, dances among them. While most will make their own objectives upon being invited, the true purpose of these events is as much a mystery as the Keeper himself, with many believing them to be little more than a means for the Archfey to bring himself some levity. However, if it were simply a case of harmless fun, the invitations would not be so insistent.

“It’s a bad idea to go, but a worse one to decline” is the common saying when regarding the Keeper’s parties. Ignoring or, even worse, tossing out the invitations will see more of them appearing in more worrying and private locations, such as within the bathroom, within secret getaway rooms, within clothing, or even tucked inside the recipient‘s hand upon waking. It’s not known what happens to those who decline one too many times, though such beings are never seen again.

The second masquerade for which he is Keeper is the masquerade of safety (or privacy, as some would say) in the First World. In the stead of Count Ranalc, the Keeper oversees an army of Ankou and shadowy fey that is unrivaled in its size and spread, with rumors sometimes hyperbolizing that the Keeper has eyes all over the entirety of the infinite First World. This is not nearly the truth, but it is a lie he enjoys playing into. Whatever its true size, it gives the Keeper a significant enough reach to hold a knife to the throat of any fey that gets a bit too big for their britches, or one who starts antagonizing the rulers of the First World a bit too much.

Agents of one great Fey or another, even those of the Eldest or Archfey, may find themselves visited in the darkened hours by the servants of the Keeper to deliver polite cease and desist warnings. “Failure to heed these warnings can be costly to one’s estate,” quoth the Keeper, “And I will neither condemn nor curtail the actions of my associates in their pursuit of justice against those who threaten the balance of power.” While trickery, throne theft, and backstabbing are common pastimes of the ever-whimsical Fey hoping to stir the pot, most have learned that such acts are best done in the daylight, where the claws of the Keeper struggle to reach. At least then they get a head start.

------

Obedience and Boons

------

Not a single being has ever seen what the Keeper truly looks like (though if rumors are to be believed, many or all of the Eldest know; the Lantern King is the usual suspect). Even his most trusted Feysworn are spoken to entirely via his mannequin proxies if he deigns to meet them ‘in person’ at all, and those who’ve served him without failure or falter for their entire lives are still not allowed to set a single toe inside his shadowy lair, the Nevermoor. Barely a handful can truthfully claim to have done so much as step on the threshold of the Nevermoor, and just what secrets and treasures it may or may not contain is the third masquerade none but his chosen know the truths behind.

“Secret Police” is a polite way to describe the Feysworn who bow to the sinister mannequin. His fey minions are more comfortable in the dark, so it is his mortal minions within the First World walking among the general population during the daylight hours, enforcing his will and keeping the peace. Inquisitors are the most common breeds of adventurer to flock to the Keeper, though the investigative and attentive types of any class are welcome. Those with a knack for assuring the pecking order is disturbed as little as possible, and maniacal chaos and disruptive disorder are kept to a relative minimum. The Keeper prefers mortals who can deal with such messes both quickly and quietly. In return for their service, they earn certain freedoms both in and out of the First World, the sigil of the Keeper serving as something of both a badge of authority and a permit to excuse certain actions... though reckless abuse of this authority can earn one’s own disappearance.

The Keeper’s grip rarely expands into the Material Plane, as that is the realm of the Gods, not the Fey. Agents in the Material are typically delegated to settling matters of fey origin and little else, slapping at the hands of upstarts seeking to dig their wretched little nails into what does not belong to them. However, in a strange way it can be said that the Keeper cares for the Material, seeing it as the ultimate creation of the Gods and thus something to be preserved and protected. His grip falters, but his eyes still gaze with a curious mixture of fondness and envy. Threats to lands he has grown especially fond of are responded to with his aid, though rarely ever directly; as he is not ‘authorized’ to meddle in the Material, he does so entirely in secret, his Feysworn masquerading as members of other faiths if they display Divine magic at all.

Using the Fey Obedience feat, a worshiper of the Keeper gain s certain Boons upon reaching a certain amount of Hit Dice. These Boons are granted at 12HD, 16HD, and 20HD, though the Feysworn Prestige Class allows someone to achieve the Boons much, much sooner. The Keeper’s status as an Archfey means he grants very simple Boons; spell-like abilities that may each be cast 1/day.

Obedience: Pretend to meditate for an hour to a sound that is soft but repetitive and unrelenting, such as the ticking of a clock, dripping water, construction work, or a distant waterfall. During this time, keep one of your eyes open just a crack and listen closely, watching and listening to what everyone around you is doing. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus to Sense Motive checks and saving throws against Fear effects.

Boon 1: Clairvoyance/Clairaudience

Boon 2: Symbol of Fear

Boon 3: Weird

The Keeper does not seek the power of the Eldest. He is happy with his own station and does not overreach. Overreaching is a result of greed, after all, and greed is what began the First War. His station is set, and he shall remain in it. So too shall he assure others remain in theirs.

“What do you say?”

Okay, folks! This is for my gorgeous Mars @iwillgiveyoumyhappiness. I know we said: “slowly walking towards death,” but I just had inspiration, and this popped out of my mind. I hope you’ll like it as much I loved writing it! I love you! I know it isn’t that long, but this is just a little part xD Pairing: Yuchan x Reader  Genre: FLUFF, FLUFF, FLUFF. Did I say Fluff????  Words count: 1,8k+

Have you ever met someone who even with a smile can fill your heart with infinite joy? You had an answer to this question if ever someone had asked you one day. Kang Yuchan. You and Yuchan - you still laugh every time you think about it - met in the most uncommonly way, but from that moment on, your friendship was the most precious "thing" for you. Obviously after the music, dance and Studio Ghibli. Exchanging a mobile phone - thinking about it now - was really stupid on his part but knowing him it didn't surprise you at all. He could even forget to go to bed if someone didn't remind him. Swap two almost identical phones? Nonsense for him. Honestly, you wouldn't have changed for any reason in the world the hangout in the middle of the night, the walks through deserted streets, the memes that you even exchanged at four in the morning. There was something about your friendship that made you complete, and you hoped it would be the same for him. Perhaps because of that reason, that exact day, you hadn't said a word yet and kept brooding over your thoughts. Lying on a matter in the rehearsal room, staring at the ceiling. Sappherios' Beyond repeatedly rotating thanks to your iPod and everything else outside your world. Everyone noticed your weirdness. Especially the absence of your reaction. All five of them had learned to understand that when something was bothering you, you would talk. Or you danced. Or you sang. Emotions came out of you somehow, but you looked like an abandoned mannequin. Look off and absent. "We'll leave you five minutes alone, okay? Try to understand what's going on... she scares me like that," muttered Byeongkwan, giving a slight pat on the shoulder to the maknae. Maknae that was extremely worried, but he had been quietly waiting. He was very good at waiting. Waiting for your answers, your smiles, your hand that started to slip under his shirt just to tickle him. When it came to you, he would have waited a lifetime. Yet he didn't understand why. You were his best friend, but... There was something in his heart that bothered him. It took away his sleep sometimes, it prevented him from concentrating on the words of the songs, it built problems of concentration. Yuchan simply nodded, and when his hyungs were out of the room, he approached the mattress and dropped dead weight next to you. As he took off an earbud, he slipped it into his ear and closed his eyes, absorbing that melody that caressed the strings of his soul. Instinctively he slipped his arm under your head, turning a little with his torso toward you. "What's going on?" he mimicked with his soft lips since your face was facing him. "Nothing," your lips just moved, but he understood the meaning, arching an eyebrow to throw his gaze "don't bullshit me" at you. "Okay, okay." You turned off the music and set your body entirely towards him, resting your hand on his side as his own slipped on your forearm. His fingers began to run on your bare skin, as they always did when you needed security. A small gesture that contained a thousand words. "I was thinking about our friendship. You know, sometimes looking at you guys I see an incredible relationship. Yet what I feel between you and me is more. So... is our friendship as good for you as it is for me?" 

He listened to you in silence, observing your face and the slight redness on your cheeks. Or that little wrinkle between your eyebrows, it only became visible when you squeezed your eyes tight to hold back your emotions. He observed how even your body, stretched and almost bent on itself, was screaming to him your concern. "Are you stupid? Are these the questions you ask yourself when you go to sleep?" "No, usually not. I do believe, however, that sometimes small assurances are to be given away." "Our friendship is everything. I wouldn't trade it for anything, not even a better version of you." "Yuchan!" Raising his arm, he covered his face and waited for the blows that you had begun to give to his response. But the laughter in the air, your laughter, reassured his mind. If you laughed, the clouds had abandoned your thoughts, and the sun had returned to shine again. The problem - you can never live in peace, you both knew it well - was that Yuchan had lied. Yes, your friendship was everything to him then why did he felt to have told the biggest lie of his life?                                                           ꧁꧂ 

   "Why do you have to come to my house at 3:00 a.m. and drag me there?"

Yuchan's laughter was suffocated by the black mask he was wearing - for what reason you didn't know since there was no living soul in the streets - but you could still feel the warmth that emanated. It was such a beautiful sound that you had secretly recorded it and listened to it from time to time, realizing that negativity wouldn't win against you. "I don't think you've ever complained about our nightly escapades!" "You usually tell me before," you crossed your arms to your chest, puffing and pointing your feet to block you, "Come on, you have a comeback to prepare, and I've got practice tomorrow." "Has this ever stopped us?" He asked, lowering his mask and bowing to your height, his face extremely close to yours, so much so that you could admire the small golden straws that shone in his eyes. That was true. The time had never been a problem, but the worry that he would get too tired was a lot. "No... but..." "Then nothing, though. Where is my best friend? The reckless one who always says yes to everything I say?" "The stupid one then? The one that indulges even the most idiotic bullshits?" You looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, both feeling your mouths open slowly and drawing a smile on your faces. Raising your eyes to the sky, you pushed him and started running, without a goal or a plan. It was just the two of you in the night. What more could you have wanted?

                                                         ꧁꧂

Your destination turned out to be the sea. You didn't even know how you ended up there, but after an eternity sitting in the comfortable seat of a taxi, the smell of salt had awakened your tired mind. Checking the clock on your phone - fortunately, no one was worried about your disappearance -  you would soon be able to admire incredible dawn. A dream of all time, to be able to enjoy the colors of the sky change. What's more, by the sea. Yuchan had been quiet, strangely more than usual, in the last hour of the trip but you hadn't noticed much. You just wanted him to rest and recharge his batteries for the heavy days ahead. His hand took yours in its delicate grip, beginning to drag you to the beach to reach that exact spot where the waves tried to capture the world, inch by inch. "Wait!" you stopped it and bowed, unhooking your favorite converse and savoring the soft feeling of the sand under your bare feet. "There, now it's better!" nodding, you started walking again, dancing with your eyes on every point you could reach. You had left his hand, and Yuchan stood by and watched you. Were you always so damn beautiful as to take the breath away? Or did he just never notice? Had his heart ever beaten so fast, or had it been that small, innocent and kind smile that you had "given him" just before the cause of that irregular heartbeat? "Fuck." The awareness suddenly fell on him. The nightly calls. His eternal desire to be with you. The little but unforgettable moments when he can hug you without you complaining that he was sweaty. He was madly in love with you, and that's what he wanted. It was sharing his life with you, not as a friend but as something more. That's why he would change your friendship. To be able to hold you and scream at the world the fortune he had in having his best friend at his side that allowed him to love her. "Fuck, fuck, fuck... HEY, YOU, STOP!" He screamed, chasing you at the moment the first rays of the sun began to turn the blue of the night into the pale blue of the morning. "WAIT!" he finally reached you, squeezed your wrist, and set you towards him. 

He slipped his arm behind your back, supporting your body because he had caused both of you to lose the balance. But it wasn't enough, after a few seconds you were both lying on the sand. A few layers of clothes to divide you and strange electricity in the air. Immediately Yuchan laid his hands on the ground, holding himself up so that he wouldn't hurt you while you tried to catch your breath looking at him with curiosity. "What did you have to scream about?" "Marry me." Your heart stopped for a few moments, astounded by the only word that had left that mouth from which honey came out every time he sang. Did you hear well or was your imagination - because of your tiredness - playing tricks on you? His eyes were veiled with intense emotion, you read it correctly, but you knew he was a good actor after his various experiences with the group's MVs. "Yuch--" "Marry me." "Are you serious? What the hell is wrong with you?" You struggled to set free the arm from under his weight - albeit light - resting the palm of your hand against his forehead, avoiding to start stroking his soft red hair. A color you found divine on him. "Yuchan.. you shouldn’t joke about things like that." "Does it seem like I'm joking?" he asked, and the silence fell on you two. Yuchan could have been many things, but what he said was never accompanied by veiled lies or half-meanings. "Yuchan... Before we get married, we should date, you know?" "So let's date. Even every day, spend it with me," he began to whisper, getting closer and closer with his face to yours. His breath tickled your lips, and you were sure he could feel how his approach was making your heart beat faster.  "Spend every moment with me, share every fear and joy. Anything you want, but promise me that one day you will marry me. That I can look at you with the eyes of a madly in love man, who wants nothing more than to spend the rest of his days with you."

"God... you're serious." "Before... before I understood." he murmured against your fingers, now still and wavering against his slightly cracked lips, "that there can be no one else in my life. It's you. It's always been you. So... What do you say?" "To what?" "Will you marry me one day?" "That I'd be a fool to say no, Kang Yuchan."

Scenario #4 - Meeting your ex in public

Warning: Some mention of abuse. 

Hiiiiiii~

I hope you like it, my lil’ anon ^.^

_____________

Jin

“Those clothes are cute.” You said, pointing to the window mannequin. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and Jin finally took some time off from work to spend some quality time with you. You already planned to go to the outlet mall today and he decided to tag along.

“Do you want it?” He asked, squeezing your hand and smiling.

You shook your head. “I’ll spend my own money, thank you.”

As you guys walked, you passed a slushie store and Jin stopped, reaching his pocket for his wallet.

“You want something to drink.”

“I’m fine.” He nodded and let go of your hand, jogging into the store. You sat down at one of the tables by the store and pulled out your phone, deciding to respond back to your text for Park Jimin.

How’s the date with Jin?

Would you really call this a date? Buy, anyway, it’s fine. 

So, yeah, quick question. You wanna... pass the number of your best friend? You know, for scientific reasons. 

What part of “she has a boyfriend” didn’t you understand?

“Stupid.” You said under your breath, laughing a bit.

“Who is?” You froze after hearing that deep voice. You felt your heart rate accelerate and your hands become sweaty. Right now, you really wished Jin would come out of the store. 

You took a small breath and looked up into the eyes of your ex. The ex that constantly beat you down, night after night. The ex that found a way to bring you down to the point where you started to believe his words. The ex that found a way, every day, to break your mentality until death seemed like the perfect option. Hearing his voice again made you want to scream. Looking into his eyes made you want to cry. Just him being in your presence, in general, made you want to puke.

“Nothing,” You said, quickly standing up. “I should go.” You turned to walk away but he grabbed your wrist, locking it in a tight grip. 

“Where you heading off to? Stay awhile, we haven’t seen each other in forever.”

“Let go.” You commanded, trying to pull your hand out of his grip, but, the more you did that, the more his grip tightened.

“I don’t appreciate that tone, Y/N.”

“Well, if a lady says’s let her go,” You heard Jin’s voice say. You turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when you saw him standing there.

“Now let her the fuck go before it gets physical.”

Yoongi

“Come on, this song is way better.” You stated, referring to the disk in your hand.

“Seriously? This one is way better.” He said, referring to the disk in his hand.

You both decided to spend the day at a record store doing the two things you both are good at. Listening to music and bickering. You guys have been going back and forth between two songs for the longest while that you're surprised that you both haven’t been kicked out yet.

“Just listen to it.” You said, holding up the headphones towards him. 

He shook his head, “I’m going to pay for my disk.” You rolled your eyes as he walked away, plugging the headphones in your ears. Soon, you were lost in the music. You closed your eyes and felt yourself starting to snap to the beat of the song as you slipped farther and farther away from reality. 

You wished you had stayed in reality though. 

You didn’t notice someone come up next to you until the song ended and you took out the headphones, smiling.

“Still listening to the same music, Y/N?” You froze as the voice echoed in your ears. Your heartbeat sped up and you felt a drop of sweat roll down the side of your face.

“So?” You asked, your voice cracking a bit.

That caused him to laugh. “Was that a voice crack?” You looked down, feeling embarrassed, and started to walk away. That’s when he grabbed your arm, keeping you in place.

“Let go” You tried pulling your arm out of his grip but he wouldn’t let go.

“Let go, asshole.” You looked over and saw Yoongi, with the disk in hand. Out of nowhere, he threw the disk and it hit you ex right on the forehead, causing him to let you go.

“Touch her again and that won’t be the only thing I throw.” 

Hoseok

“You’re cheating!”

“I am not!”

“Yes, you are!” You exclaimed, throwing the cards down in a fit of anger.

“You can’t play poker correctly!” Hoseok mimicked you.

Laughter ensued around you two. You sat at a table with Hoseok and the rest of Bangtan, having a mini party. You all were currently in a heated game of poker where you noticed Hoseok slip a card into his sleeve.

“Show me what’s up your sleeve.” You commanded, grabbing his arm, but he pulled away.

“Show me a warrant.” More laughter followed and, even though Hoseok was cheating, you were having fun.

The door rang a couple seconds later and everyone looked at each other with confusion. Then Jungkook spoke up, “I invited someone else to play.” Everyone mumbled an okay and Jungkook got up, running to get the door. A couple seconds, Jungkook walked back in with his friend in tow. You looked up and heart instantly dropped when you made eye contact with your ex. Hoseok noticed you stiffen right next to him and he rested his hand on your shoulder, giving you a small smile.

“I need some air.” You declared, standing up and pushing past your ex and Jungkook.

You closed the front door behind you when you reached outside and took a deep breath. You closed your eyes and leaned against the door, trying to calm down your heart.

What was he doing here? You thought.

Out of nowhere, you pushed off the front door when it opened. You turned around to see your ex standing there with a cruel smile. 

“Long time no see.” He said, taking a step forward and, out of instinct, you took a step back. “What are you, scared?” You kept taking steps back as he took steps forward. He, then, grabbed your shirt, pulling you forward which caused you to scream.

“Ah. Ah. Ah,” he said, putting his hand over your mouth. “We wouldn’t your boy toy to here, now would we?” You shut your eyes, praying for help.

When you opened back your eyes, you noticed Hoseok standing behind your ex with a beer bottle.

“Now give me a good reason why I shouldn’t knock you over the head with this and knock you out, or potentially kill you.”

Namjoon

You were at an after party with Namjoon after GOT7 won an award at MAMA. Jackson and Namjoon were really close friends so when Jackson invited Namjoon to the after party, he couldn’t say no. He invited you to be his plus one and, seeing how happy he was, you, also, couldn’t say no.

So here you two were, laughing at some lame joke that BamBam made when you realized you wanted more alcohol. You tapped Namjoon on the shoulder and told him you were going to refill your drink which he nodded in response. You excused yourself from the group of people and went into the kitchen, going straight for the bourbon that you brought with you.

“Wow, I’m shocked. Little Miss Y/N isn’t a light drinker anymore.” An all to familiar voice said. You rolled your eyes and turned around to face your ex who had a smug look on his face.

“Wow, I’m shocked. Little Miss Adrian is going against the restraining order I placed on him.” You mocked him.

“Hey, that’s not my fault. I didn’t even know you would be here.” He said, putting his hands up in defense. You rolled your eyes again and turned back around.

“Yeah, yeah. Can I go back to my drink in peace.” You asked, pouring out some of the whiskey and taking a sip. You heard silence behind you so you assumed that he was gone.

Soon, you felt an arm wrap around your waist and another cover your mouth.

“You know, I’ve missed you like crazy. Ever since I’ve gotten got, all I ever thought about was how I could bring my little slut back to me whether it was willing or by force. But look at you standing right here.” He laughed a bit. You struggled against his hold but nothing worked.

“No, no,” he breathed on your neck. “We wouldn’t want the others being concerned, right? Especially Namjoon, wouldn’t you agree?” You closed your eyes and prayed that someone, anyone, would come and save you.

Soon, all the weight from your ex-was lifted off you. You turned around to see Namjoon holding him by his neck.

“Y/N, tsk tsk, you have terrible taste in men, besides me of course.”

Jimin

“Lettuce.” You said first.

“Onion,” Jimin said after.

“Tomato.”

“Ham. A bunch of ham.”

“Cheese.”

“Teriyaki chicken.” You turned around and gave Jimin but he shrugged. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

You guys decided to spend your day off together by going to a sandwich place that opened downtown. You both were currently trying to create the best sandwich that you and Jimin will ever have, adding on necessary and unnecessary foods.

“Shit.” Jimin cursed under his breath, letting go of you and patting his pockets.

“What’s wrong?”

“I forgot my wallet in the car. Grab us a seat while I go.” You nodded and he ran out the fast food place. You found a secluded seat close to the corner of the sandwich place and decided to sit there. You rested your bag on the table and took out your phone, playing games until Jimin returns.

The seat across from you made a screeching sound as someone pulled on it. You looked up and tried to swallow the lump that started to form in your throat when you came face to face with him. All the words he’s said to you etched into your brain permanently. All the things he’s done to you, shown upon your body, a constant reminder of the past. And here he was, sitting in front of you like nothing’s ever happened between you two.

“Did you miss me?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. You stayed quiet and only stared at him in shock.

“Cat got your tongue? You seemed pretty talkative witch your little boyfriend over there,” he nodded towards the counter. “You really lowered your standards, Y/N.

You clenched your fist, hating how he said that about Jimin. You were about to say something until you felt a hand on your shoulder and your ex’s face go blank.

“If I’m low standards then what are you? Because I know damn well you sure as hell aren’t above me.”

Taehyung

You and Taehyung decided to take a late-night walk when he came home tired and stressed out. You both walked hand in hand down the street, enjoying the cool air and the silence.

“See? I told you this would be nice.” He nodded in response, smiling.

“It is.” He said, squeezing your hand.

As you both continued walking, a churro truck came up into view and your stomach grumbled. Taehyung looked at you, smiling, and let go of your hand.

“I’ll go get you one.” You smiled and nodded.

As he walked away, a car turned the corner. It came to a stop immediately once the headlights landed on you. You saw the car door open and you shielded your eyes to see who was it.

“Y/N, what a sight for sore eyes.” You frowned immediately when your ex came into view. You ignored him and looked over in Taehyung’s direction, smiling when you noticed he got the food.

“This was a nice talk but I have to go.” You said, walking past him but he grabbed your arm.

“Oh, come on. Stay a little.” He purred, tightening the grip on your arm.

The sound of glass breaking caused you both to look up and you saw Taehyung standing with a churro in one hand and a rock in the other. Around him were shards of glass from the windshield.

“Oh? I’m sorry. Was this your car?”

Jungkook

“Can we leave soon?” You asked, clutching onto Jungkook’s arm as you both made your way through the sea of people.

“In a minute, I promise.” You sighed as you continued to follow Jungkook, bumping into people in the process.

He dragged you to one of his friend's childish parties again, and, this time, you showed your disinterest. You’d told him about thirty minutes after you guys got there, that you didn’t want to be here. He had respected your wish to go home, but not until he met with one of his friends for something.

“I’ll wait down here.” You told him as he started to go upstairs. He nodded and hurried off, leaving you to look at the people playing beer bong or taking shots.

You rubbed your arms, feeling cold. You hated this. This wasn’t your scene, but ever since you started dating Jungkook, you felt it becoming a part of your lifestyle.

“Would you look what we got here.” A voice said, snapping you out of your thoughts. You looked to your left and saw your ex-making his way over to you. You choose to ignore his words, hoping Jungkook would come down the stairs any minute now.

“Y/N, you know you can’t ignore me.” He chuckled, leaning right next to you.

“Fuck off.” Was all you said to him as you turned to go upstairs. All you wanted right now was to be 25 miles away from him. But he didn’t want that. He grabbed your upper arm quickly, pulling you back before you could even go up the first step.

“What’s the rush? We just started talking.” He whispered in your ear which sent chills down your spine. You pulled on your arm but that caused him to tighten his grip.

“Let go, asshole.” You heard Jungkook say from the top of the stairs. He rushed downstairs and separated you from your ex.

“Now, I’m going to give you a chance to walk away before I decide to take matters into my own hands.”

___________

Hellooooo~

Thank you for reading. I wrote half of this last night and the rest of it this morning so I’m tired and hungry, but it was worth it.

Anyway...

Thank you for reading!!!

when i get you you'll know

fandom: glee pairing: blaine/sebastian words: 1737 summary: Blaine finds Sebastian after the Gap Attack. A season 2 au set during 2x12. Seblaintine’s Day 2018

AO3 link

Blaine finds Sebastian sitting in one of the Dalton common rooms, frowning over a textbook. He’s alone, thank god, but Blaine still hovers at the doorway, watching him absentmindedly tapping his pen against the edge of the table. He has a sudden, visceral flashback to hovering behind a clothes rack at the Gap just a few hours earlier and cringes.

Taking a deep breath, he squares his shoulders and enters the room. This is already the most embarrassing day of his life, might as well keep the humiliation train rolling.

Sebastian doesn’t look up until he’s standing right over him and when he does it’s with the bored ‘Can I help you?’ look Blaine has only ever seen him use on other people. His heart sinks.

“Brought you some coffee,” he says, trying and failing to reach his usual level of cheer.

“Already got some,” Sebastian says, picking up the cup he has with him on the table and giving it an obnoxious little shake.

“It’s more of a peace offering.”

Sebastian raises his eyebrows and in a rush Blaine says, “I shouldn’t have gotten angry with you in the Warbler meeting. You were right.”

“Serenading someone at their place of work didn’t end well? I’m shocked.”

“Yes, you told me so. I’m sorry.” He works a plaintive note into his voice and gives Sebastian the best puppy eyes he can muster. It’s been a long day and he’s not above fighting dirty.

Sebastian sighs and takes proffered cup, gesturing for Blaine to sit. He takes a tentative sip and seems to find it satisfactory. He should; Blaine knows his coffee order. According to Kurt that’s significant, but Blaine’s not so sure.

He takes a sip of his own coffee, letting his victory go unremarked. He’s rewarded when Sebastian, with a shrug that’s a touch too deliberate, says, “I probably could have been less obnoxious about it.”

“Wow, that’s the closest I’ve ever heard you come to apologizing,” Blaine says with a grin that’s probably wider than the situation warrants.

“Don’t be so dramatic. I just think you’ve been punished enough.”

Blaine grimaces. “I take it you’ve heard all about it.” It’s funny to think he was so mad at Sebastian for refusing to take part in the Gap attack this morning when now the fact he wasn’t there to witness the tragedy first hand is the day’s one saving grace.

“In detail. This is going down in Warbler legend my friend.”

“And here I thought I’d be helping the Warbler’s track record for informal public performances. Which do you think will be remembered as worse, this or the literal plane crash?”

“Well, those Warblers got to die with dignity so...”

Blaine refuses to laugh. Sebastian already looks much too pleased with himself.

“Hey, at least you sounded good.”

“How would you know?” Blaine grumbles.

“You always sound good.”

Blaine smiles down into his coffee cup. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what people will remember.” He sighs, slumping down in his chair. “I can’t believe I thought he liked me.”

“You’re better off. Trust me, he’s not worth it.”

It’s not an inherently suspicious statement; Kurt said much the same thing and Blaine had thought nothing of it. But Sebastian doesn’t do platitudes and he’s turned his attention rather pointedly back to his textbook. “Oh my god,” he says, straightening back up with a start. “You - he said he didn’t do high school!”

“Mmh, yeah, he did seem kinda freaked when he found out how old I was.”

“You could have warned me.”

“I very much did,” Sebastian points out.

Blaine groans and buries his head in his arms. “This day is the worst.”

“Relax. Odds are good you’ll never see that guy again. I haven’t.”

“It’s not even just that.” Blaine lifts his head off the table so he can deliver the news properly. “Kurt told me he thought he was the one I wanted to ask out.”

“Yikes. That’s embarrassing even for Hummel.”

“For him?” Blaine asks, furrowing his brow. “No, for me. I was completely blindsided.”

“You didn’t know Hummel was into you?” Sebastian looks genuinely surprised, a rarity for him.

“It was really that obvious?”

“Blaine, he literally transferred schools for you.”

“He did not,” Blaine says, exasperated. “He didn’t feel safe at his old school.”

Sebastian rolls his eyes. “Right, well whatever his reasons he’s been following you around like a horny puppy ever since he got here. Even Trent’s managed to maintain more dignity than that.”

Blaine’s all set to deliver the latest admonishment in his months long campaign to get Sebastian to be nicer to Kurt, but that throws him off. “Wait, what’s Trent got to do with this?”

“Nothing, just that he’s also pathetically in love with you.”

Blaine frowns. “No he’s not.”

Sebastian gives him a quizzical look, like he really wasn’t expecting pushback on this. “You’re joking right?”

“No?”

It’s almost funny watching Sebastian’s amused smile fade into disbelief. He leans forward, as if this conversation is only just now demanding his full attention. “Okay, but you know Adam from Trig has a crush on you, right?”

“Does he?” Blaine can’t help but get a little worried. He’s never seen Sebastian look so concerned before.

“What about that one you were lab partners with, Jeremy?”

Blaine shakes his head and keeps shaking it as Sebastian keeps listing names, watching his eyebrows rise steadily higher in disbelief at each one.

“The barista who keeps giving you free cookies? That blonde kid who’s always front row at our performances? Thad?”

“Thad’s straight,” Blaine says weakly.

“Oh my god.”

Evidently that was the last straw for Sebastian, who falls back against his chair. Blaine’s still half convinced he’s just teasing him, even though he knows what Sebastian’s teasing looks like and this isn’t it. It’s ridiculous, the thought of all those people liking him. But then, he’d completely failed to notice Kurt; who’s to say he hadn’t failed with others?

Still, “You definitely made a few of those up.”

“Blaine, you’re a pretty popular topic of conversation at this school; trust that I know what I’m talking about.”

“But, why?” It comes out as a bit of a whine. It’s hard to be flattered by all these supposed crushes when none of the guys he actually likes seem to care.

“Because you’re nice to them,” Sebastian says as though the concept is something he’s familiar with but doesn’t quite understand.

“Lots of people are nice!”

“Well, the whole bashful school boy thing doesn’t hurt either,” Sebastian teases and Blaine scoffs, ducking his head to hide his grin. This was more familiar territory. “You’re the teen dream heartthrob,” Sebastian continues, getting into it, “Then wind beneath our collective wings. Not to mention your truly terrific ass.” There’s a deliberate pause before he grins and says, “That was me hitting on you by the way. In case it was too subtle.”

Blaine rolls his eyes. “Okay, I’m not that oblivious. I know you like me.”

“And I know you like me,” he responds with an easiness that makes Blaine’s stomach twist. “So what’s the hold up here?”

It would be nice, Blaine thinks wistfully, if he actually meant it. “Who says I like you?”

“Don’t you? What does floppy haired Jeremiah have that I don’t?”

It’s standard Sebastian dismissiveness, but there’s something in his tone that gives Blaine pause, like he’s caught sight of a real person standing in a row of mannequins. His eyes widen. “Wait, were you jealous?”

Sebastian scoffs. “Yes Blaine, I’ve always wanted to be serenaded in a mall in Lima, Ohio.”

“That’s why you were such an asshole in the Warbler meeting!” Blaine says, ignoring his sarcasm.

“I’m always an asshole in the Warbler meetings.”

“Yeah, but not to me.” He can’t help the smile growing wide across his face. Sebastian looks so grumpy and Blaine is suddenly so sure. “You like me.”

“You literally just said you already knew that!”

“I knew you wanted to hook up with me, but that’s different. You hook up with lots of people. You don’t date.”

“I’d date you,” Sebastian says. He sounds so annoyed that Blaine bursts out laughing.

“You would?”

“Blaine, I’ve been hitting on you practically nonstop from the moment I got here. This should not be a surprise.”

“I didn’t think you were serious! I mean you’re so out of my league.”

It’s actually sweet how affronted Sebastian looks. “You actually know what you’re doing,” Blaine elaborates. “I just pretend to.”

It’s easier to admit to Sebastian than it was to Kurt. Kurt bought into the image of perfection he’d striven to create at Dalton, made it feel real, whereas Sebastian always seemed to think it was funny more than anything. Still, it’s hard enough that Blaine can’t quite manage to meet his eye.

He hears Sebastian push his chair back and tracks him as he gets up and walks around the table until he’s standing over Blaine. He rests his hand on the back of his chair and leans down until their faces are just inches apart and Blaine can’t help but look at him.

“Blaine,” he says, his gaze steady. “I like you and I want you to be my boyfriend. Clear?”

“That’s all you ever had to say.” He trying for flippant but his throat’s gone dry. Sebastian is so close.

His eyes flick down to Sebastian’s lips and just like that his mouth is on his. He tastes like coffee and courvoisier and Blaine automatically digs his fingers in the lapels of his blazer, holding him close as Sebastian deepens the kiss. He’s imagined this hundreds of times since Sebastian transferred at the start of the school year, how could he not with Sebastian constantly dangling the possibility in front of him, but now it’s real and so much better than he thought it’d be.

The break apart when Blaine grin becomes too wide for them to continue. Sebastian is smiling too, a real smile, the kind he only gets when he’s singing.

“Finally,” he says.

Blaine laughs. “I can’t believe you asked me out on Valentine’s Day.”

Sebastian wrinkles his nose. “Ugh. Neither can I.”

“No takes backs,” Blaine says, running his fingers down Sebastian’s lapels. “You know it’s my favorite holiday.”

“Really? Still?”

“Yeah,” Blaine says, running his fingers down Sebastian’s lapels. “All things considered I’ve had a pretty great day.”

Milo’s Training

Another thing that I wrote for one of the campers at Camp BAMF! Really, it’s a dramatisation of one of the events that actually happened, but I still felt like writing it.

Milo is a wonderful individual, and part of the Ursidae Cabin! He’s also an excellent artist, and you should totally check him out!

Remember to check out the official Camp BAMF tumblr for cool things other people have done and maybe join up yourself!

STATS: Words: 2854 Gore Rating: Pretty much non-existent Abstractness: Kinda Swearing: A bit POV: Second Person

Kayak stands in the middle of the Arena, her void sword held between her two hands. She seems to be hyper-focused on something in front of her, unmoving. Then, with a yell, she hefts the sword up and swings it back down. The sound of tearing fills the air as a scarecrow falls apart before her, clothes ripped. You take a moment to appreciate the raw power of that sword wielded by the boat-named girl. What you know about her is that she's pretty friendly, memey, and one of the Damage campers of Ursidae. You weren't around for the last raid, but she's apparently pretty unpredictable when it comes to that sort of thing. A heavy hitter maybe? You aren't sure, but she offered to teach you the basics of combat. All you need to know to become a good little soldier in these weird war things that are waged against the camp. A bat hangs from her hip, and some kind of otherworldly rifle hangs from the other one. This girl seems loaded when it comes to the weapon department. "Hey, Kayak? I am here and ready to learn." At the sound of your voice, Kayak turns to look around at you, the sword sliding into it's sheathe across her back. She beams widely, walking over to you with a bounce in her step. She seems excited about the fact that the Arena was open, and perhaps even more excited about the fact that someone had actually come to look. Before she could actually say anything, you blurt out with a, "I should probably pick a weapon first though." "Okay!" She replies cheerily, leading you to the armoury. There were a lot of weapons here, some of which seemed to a tad... questionable. Syringe guns, reality augmented daggers, whips... It suddenly occurred to you that you knew absolutely nothing about any of them. "Uh... how do I know which one is good for me?" You ask her. It's almost possible to see the cogs turning in the girl's head as she ponders this herself. A brainwave seems to hit her with a spark. "Hold on," She says. With that, she goes over to the armoury radio, flicking it on. "I might be able to give you my Braton seeing as I have one of the Void Weapons." The explanation was given briefly, before she turned her attention back to the radio. After a few more flicks of the radio, it crackled to life, static filling the air. Your fellow Ursidae camper flashed you a smile before lifting the microphone to her mouth. "Mem? Is it possible that I can give my Braton to Milo?" She asked the radio, saying the name of your counsellor. However, there was no reply. Just when she was about to speak again, another counsellor appeared. Eir long, lustrous hair was flipped over eir shoulder as ey walked into the armoury, looking at Kayak and yourself. After a few moments, ey walked towards Kayak, taking the Braton off of her and handing it to you. Kayak looked a little surprised from the action. "I got you." Ey said, calmly. "Thanks, 'Thias." "Here to help. Just be sure to mention to Mem that I did that so they can update their records." "Yeah, I will. Don't worry about it." With that, you and Kayak left the armoury as 'Thias did a peace sign with eir fingers. Once back at the Arena, you grin at Kayak, holding your shiny second-hand Braton up. "I now have a gun... thing!" A laugh came from Kayak as she stretched out, before looking you in the eye. "Okay, so Milo? We're gonna take this nice and easy, okay?" It's obvious that she's trying to be reassuring, but she mostly just looks excited. It's a little bit scary, but it's somehow working. "That sounds good." You nod. "You're a Support camper right?" Another nod from you. "Right. You're gonna be the one mostly throwing attacks at the thing I'm gonna give you, but I'll step in when it's time to use your Support powers. Got it?" "Got it," You swallow, feeling a little anxious about it all again. She gives you a reassuring smile. "Another thing. Here, we don't have to worry about waiting for it to be safe for us to attack again after throwing what we got at it. However, in a real raid up against the big boys, it takes about an hour for us to be able to find an opening to attack safely. Unless you do really badly. Then whoever we're attacking is more likely to notice us." Kayak sucked a breath in through her teeth. "Makes sense," You nod along in agreement, before a question hits you, "Can you... explain buffs to me?" "Yeah. So, excluding the signature buffs of the Den Mother and the counsellors for now, as a Support camper, it's unlikely that you'll be buffed. Instead, you'll be the one doing the buffing! If you end up missing whatever we're trying to hit, it's more than likely that you'll be able to buff a cabin-mate. You know, whatever feels most strongly to you. There are three kinds of Buffs that you support guys can use. Kinda really uncreatively named too. "Support one provides you with the ability to create a safe opening for another cabin-mate, letting them attack again as soon as you buff them. Support two means that you can help another camper focus more for their next hit, whether it be focused on how easy it is for them to hit or how hard they hit the mother fucker. Support three is your most powerful buff by far, and probably your best friend. It lets you focus power into two of your cabin-mates, making them more focused and stronger as WELL as providing them with a safe passage to strike again. Pretty nifty huh?" Kayak counts off the support buffs on her fingers as she goes through them, before looking at you inquisitively. "Got it." You confirm. "Okay, so..." "Yes?" "I'm... trying to figure out how to word my question." The boat nods, telling you to take your time. The phrasing finally comes to you properly, "So, since I'm a support do I buff people instead of attacking? Or both? Do I do that with my Braton?" Kayak opened her mouth to answer you again, before a voice cut her off. "Depends on what happens." It was 'Thias again, stealing Kayak's thunder. "If you hit it, then you deal damage. If you miss, you'll probably able to power up with a support buff." "Unless you're like me and constantly somehow hit yourself all the time because of debuffs." Kayak interjects, grinning. "Well, let's not talk about debuffs just yet." Ey say, side-eyeing Kayak. "Yeah, that's for in a few minutes." She agrees. "Alright," You say, just to get everything straight in your head. "So hitting it usually means I won't power up with a buff, but if I don't it usually means that I can buff someone?" "Well. Most of the time." "Usually." "Yeah, basically. Most of the Raid Bosses can be pretty hard to hit. Hold up, let me grab the Training Dummy." With that, Kayak rushes off somewhere in order to find the training dummy. It isn't long before she returns with something that looks suspiciously like a shop mannequin, but repurposed for having the shit beaten out of it. Kayak grins, looking at it proudly. You decide to not question as to where she got it from. "Now, the training dummy is pretty easy to hit. Since it has the Immobile trait, it grants you a +3 buff to your hit, but it's also pretty tough so it has a -1 debuff to the damage you'll cause it." Something clicks in your head as she says this. "Ohhh, the hit bonuses and stuff come specific to the thing we're fighting?" Kayak nods. "Yeah, and to your weapon." "Gotcha, gotcha." "Raid bosses are obviously harder to hit because of the fact that they move, and the fact that they're tougher. Statistically, if you don't end up powering up and being able to give a support buff, you'll end up hitting it." "Cool." Kayak shifts a little, before unsheathing her Dead-Star Sword. The metal seems infinite, heavy, and unrelenting. Looking at it is starting to give you a headache. You instead turn your attention to Kayak, who's lining her sword up. "I'm gonna go ahead and hit it first to show you what's the business with all this, okay?" "Okay!" With that, Kayak swings the sword, the rush of the metal through the air making a quiet hissing sound as it burns the gases surrounding it. She misses completely with an irritated grunt. "Oh, my god." She mutters. "As a Support, a miss like that would more than likely have you able to be able to apply..." A moment of thought passes, "A buff three to someone? But since I'm a damage, it just makes me cry." She jokes, running a finger down her cheek in imitation of a tear. "Rip." Such good commentary from you. She continues, "The dummy, because it can't move, has a buff to my hit and my weapon has no withdraws in regards to how I hit it." Kayak explains, before swinging the sword again. Another terrible miss. "Oh my GOD." With that, she lifts the sword, placing it on the dummy's shoulder and forcing it down into it. "There we go, for the sake of actually fucking hitting it." She sounds frustrated. You're mildly amused by this. 'Thias appears again, shaking eir head at Kayak. "You gotta actually swing at the dummy, you butthead." "I know, 'Thias, I'm just not going to keep swinging until I hit it because that could be in six thousand years!" She whines, loudly. "Anyway, since I very clearly hit the dummy-" Kayak's cut off by 'Thias lunging eir flagpole down at the dummy, impaling it through the opposite shoulder. "I swear to god-" She mutters, before being cut off by 'Thias. "Normal bosses won't just stand around and let you do what she just did." "Yeah." "Side note: I find it hilarious that I struck it in the identical place on the other side." "Side note: I'm crying about that." "I'll let you go back to walking Milo through, you seem to have a handle on things." 'Thias says, flipping eir magnificent hair over eir shoulder before disappearing again. "Thanks, 'Thias." Kayak smiles and waves at 'Thias as ey leave, before continuing with what she had been telling you. "Anyway, I'm going to show you how much damage that my sword did in that 'strike.'" She pulls out the weapon from the dummy, slicing through more of the plastic with a slight sizzle. "I did quite a bit of damage there. P cool, right?" "Yeah!!" You answer enthusiastically, eager to try it out yourself. Maybe it's the sadist in you, but you want to beat this dummy up a little. "Should I go now?" "Yep!" With that, you heft your rifle up, aiming at the dummy. Kayak back-steps a little bit, making sure that she's out of firing range. She wouldn't want to get hit by a firing mishap. She puts her thumbs up, and you take a breath. A few moments later, your finger pulls the trigger, and the gun recoils at the blast. You look up, and realise that you missed completely. A small feeling gnaws in the back of your stomach. "That'd be... a buff one, right?" "Probably. But here, buff one doesn't really matter. I'll just attack again for now." With that, she hefts her sword up, swinging it hard at the dummy. The attack slices through the torso, the plastic sizzling in it's wake. She grins. "Sometimes, you can attack perfectly. This is considered a critical attack, and it means that you do way more damage. It also stuns whatever you're attacking, giving you an opening to attack again safely." "And that's specific to your weapon, right?" "Yeah. Well, the critical rating is at least." She pulled her sword back, walking away and gesturing to the dummy. "Okay, now you go again." "Ah, okay." You level your rifle at the dummy again before firing at it. For some reason, you closed your eyes, but the whoop from Kayak tells you that you did gud. "Hey, you hit that fucker!" She looks ecstatic. For a moment, you thought that you had a Support buff, but nothing within is telling you so. You both walk up to the dummy, and Kayak leans against it. "You didn't do as much damage as you thought you did." She comments, "The dummy's pretty tough, but it's okay seeing as most people forget about boss debuffs." She's talking in the abstract again. Another swing with that sword is thrown at the dummy, opening up another huge gash against its torso. Her face lights up as she looks at her sword. "As a Damage camper, I tend to do a lot of damage as the name implies. Especially with this weapon holy shIT!" Voice cracking towards the end, Kayak looks at you excitedly. "Gotcha." You say, before shooting at the target yourself. The bullet explodes against the outside of the dummy, doing a little bit of damage. Quickly, Kayak attacks, slicing through the dummy again and doing considerably more damage than your bullet did. "Cool! So, about tracking damage and such." You start, making Kayak look at you inquisitively. She gives a shrug. "Usually, the counsellors and Max track the vitals through some kind of special device. We all have a smaller, simpler one so we can see what's going on and how close we are to beating it. That was implemented after Ursidae cabin continued to beat up Nega-Mem, even two days after it'd died. They also track how much damage we do." "We can reasonably die, right? How do I know how hurt I am and the such?" That is obviously not what Kayak was expecting, but she shrugs it off with a smile. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. We only attack the bosses when we're safe to. The staff wouldn't let us put ourselves in direct danger. The only things we really suffer from them are the debuffs, which are usually some form of physical restriction." "Cool, cool." For a moment, you sound confident, like you know exactly what she's talking about. In reality, you have no idea. "What are debuffs again?" "Basically things that effect your ability to deal damage or accurately hit the enemy." "Oh, so the opposite of buffs. Got it." "You want to attack again?" "Yeah!" You exclaim, before aiming again. Kayak dashes out of the way as you let loose with another bullet. It strikes square, before bouncing off of the dummy. "I am Tough now." You say, proudly. Kayak is also beaming with pride. "You are tough. I am proud of you." Almost lazily, Kayak takes another swing at the dummy, slicing it's head off. The head hits the ground with a dull thunk, before Kayak looks at you with a serious glint in her eye. "A thing you gotta remember is that in a usual raid, we wouldn't be able to just hammer away at a boss's health like this. We'd have to wait for another safe opening." You chuckle for a moment, almost nervously. "Do you think you have your head around it all, or do you wanna hammer away at the dummy some more?" There isn't time for you to reply to her, someone knocking on the entryway of the Arena. "Miss Kayak? A quick word." She turns around sharply at the voice, eyes widening. There's something familiar about this guy, but Kayak looks anxious about him. It clicks in your head as you realise that he's the Camp Director, Max, and he wants her attention for something. She walks over to him briskly, that nervousness still on her face. Words are exchanged, before you decide to actually walk over there. Now, Kayak seems to be welling with pride a little, a grin impossible to get off of her face. Something is said about her becoming the camp quartermaster, and a Lupus camper came in. "Congrats Kayak!" He said, and you vaguely remembered that his name was Square or something similar. "Congrats Kayak!" You parrot the words, but you're every bit as sincere as the other guy. More words are exchanged between Kayak and the Director, before she says something about patching the dummy up. "Unless Milo wants to keep hitting it." You grin, before shaking your head at the new Camp BAMF Quartermaster. "Nope, I think I've got it. Thanks Kayak!" "No problem dude! Have fun hitting the next boss!" "Thank you!" The exclamation is the last to come from your mouth as you leave the Arena. You feel more confident now, knowing that you weren't going to be completely lost next time an enemy appears and decides to try and wreck the camp's shit. You are ready.

The Search (8/16)

Disclaimer: Red vs Blue and related characters are the property of Rooster Teeth. Warnings: Language, Canon-typical violence, Psychological manipulation and trauma Rating: T Synopsis: [Canon Divergence - Alternate S15] The Reds and Blues saved Chorus, but it has been a year and they are still missing. A motley crew has been gathered with the common goal of finding the war heroes, though the road is more troubled than anyone seems to realize.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but some things in the current running season had me rethink some things I needed to address in my own AU, and I’m hoping that the break and reevaluation makes the story all the better for it, especially on an emotional level. But thank you all so much for waiting, I really appreciate it. 

Special thanks to @secretlystephaniebrown, @analiarvb, @theshadowlord, Mayhem21, JP, @notatroll7,  Yin, and @cobaltqueen for the comments and feedback!

Corruptible

They all stood together, shoulder to shoulder, watching in utter amazement as the scene on screen unfolded before them. Though, of course, Emily highly doubted that the others dealt with the clips of memory, each like a perfect picture preserved in her mind between each and every blink.

The wide stance between every boot of the Reds and Blues, the way they seemed in perfect alignment, the fact that it was Tucker and Simmons rather than Tucker and Sarge who stepped up to the microphones when Hargrove moved out of the way. The pristine look to their armors — unworn in battle, no damage, no chipped paint, the way none of them made any move out of line or revealed any faces beneath their helmets.

Every inconsistency, every screaming irregularity, was captured by Emily’s ever watchful eyes and burned into her memories alongside every second of memory she already had on file, so to speak, of the Reds and Blues before then. And every time something didn’t match up — and none of it matched up — her brain was screaming at her to somehow make things right, to somehow fix what was so clearly broken.

“Oh my god, Dex!” Kaikaina was the first to break the silence, ripping off her helmet and leaping up to be first in front of the screen. Her body nearly bounced with her excitement as she pressed her pointer finger against the screen to line up with her brother’s image. She then looked back at them all with excitement. “I know that shade of gray anywhere! Look at him! He’s alive he’s okay! He’s…” she turned back around and squinted at the screen. “He’s lost some weight, huh? That’s weird.”

It was one of the twenty-three things that did not line up with Grif on the screen and the Grif that Emily Grey knew from Chorus. It was true, he had lost weight, but his height and still fairly stocky stature lent credit to the fact that it was most likely still him than an imposter entirely.

“Little Grif, get away from the screen,” Carolina ordered darkly, she was upset and doing a poor job of masking it from her irritation toward Kai’s excitement.

“Tucker,” Wash muttered beside Emily, looking at the screen in disbelief. “Caboose… they’re…”

“This isn’t right,” Carolina shot him down as well. “What the hell is going on? What the hell are they doing with Hargrove?”

“A press conference,” Dylan Andrews enlightened them.

That was enough to get Carolina’s head to almost swivel toward the reporter. “No fucking shit it’s a press conference! I have eyes!”

“What you need is patience then because what I’m trying to say is that if we listen to the press conference we could have a better grasp of what they’re even there for to begin with. Outside of stroke some penis-looking bastard’s ego,” Andrews defended rather snappishly herself.

“Bow chicka honk honk?” Junior offered unhelpfully.

“Dude, why’d you have to point out he looks like a penis? I’m swearing off men, sorry, Officer Washington,” Kai announced out loud.

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Wash asked to the point his voice cracked.

“What gives you the right to speak to me like that, Andrews?” Carolina demanded viciously. “My family is up there on this screen like goddamn mannequins and you’re telling me I need patience?”

“Freedom of the press and freedom of speech give me the right, Agent Carolina,” Andrews argued haughtily. “And I’m invoking both of them because apparently I need to remind everyone in this crew that I volunteered out of my own good will to help you on this search and rescue mission after you and your fellow former Freelancer committed a felony by breaking into my apartment and ever since then everyone here has been guilty of treating me like absolute and total shit. So I’m going to speak out and I’m going to get some respect either through work or through force at this point because every single one of you are driving me up a wall at the moment!”

“What kind of wall?” Kai asked unhelpfully.

Eye twitching with her own irritation and having heard more than enough from the squabbling, Emily brought her foot down in a loud stomp and at the top of her lungs screamed, “Everyone shut up! That is an order!”

At once, everyone turned about face and stared at Emily in utter surprise.

Clearing her throat, satisfied with the moment, Emily looked up toward the screen. “Now then… FILSS? Would you please be a dear and turn this broadcast up to full volume so that we can actually hear what’s being said right now? Thank you, dear.”

“Of course, Doctor Grey,” FILSS remarked, the volume bar on the screen beginning to move right across the screen. “May I also make a request that it be deemed no longer acceptable by the group that any of my screens — touch screen or not — be touched without permission. For I am sensitive to smudging.”

“Pfft, don’t be a whiny bitch,” Kaikaina snorted in retort only to have Carolina clasp a hand on her shoulder.

“Not now, Little Grif,” Carolina warned quietly.

With the volume fully up and the ship falling silent, they were finally capable of hearing what was being said by Tucker and Simmons. And while it was their voices, the speech was mannerless, without hand gestures or really any emoting. And especially without euphemisms. None of which felt normal in seeing them talk.

“So after we were coming back to Earth as heroes and all for taking down Project Freelancer, our entire ship got taken over by one of the rogue AI’s that had been used to plant into Carolina and Washington’s brains and stuff,” Tucker lied boldly on screen.

“Without control of the ship, we crashed on Chorus, where the army of the planet was preparing for a full UNSC withdrawal and took our crash as an opportunity to take hostage important figures of the UNSC’s alliance,” Simmons continued.

“Especially me. Since, y’know. I’m special to the truce between humans and aliens,” Tucker added.

“When we wouldn’t agree to work along with them, they made a deal with the Freelancers to turn their backs on us. And they recorded that message that they sent out about Mister Hargrove with their AI.”

“Oh god,” Wash uttered, looking to Carolina. “They’re… they’re framing us?”

“Not only you,” Grey corrected thoughtful, quiet. “They are setting up the entire planet of Chorus. They’re breaking any leverage for independence we had — they’re breaking our chance at peace.”

“Why are they saying this?” Carolina asked.

“Uh, only Tucker and Simmons are saying anything!” Kaikaina pointed out angrily. “Better question’s why the fuck’s everyone else quiet, that’s not normal! Especially when someone’s saying some real bullshit! When’s the last time someone was saying bullshit and my Big Bro wasn’t calling their ass out? Especially if it’s his mostly-boyfriend. Dex lives to call him out on stuff. It’s like. The best thing ever to him. It’s like his orgasm but without him crying.”

Dylan put a hand to her chin. “Because… Because it’s making a good story this way,” she said slowly. “This is… This press conference is every reporter who has been following your careers’ dream. More twists. More betrayals. More—“

“Blargh,” Junior added.

The reporter looked at him in confusion.

“More war,” Washington clarified for Junior.

“The answer to all of our questions is obvious now that we’re looking straight at it, I’m afraid,” Emily announced, pulling the group’s attention back to her. “The experiments performed here on the prison inmates, the stringing us along from location to location, gathering video footage of us breaking and entering, causing damage, fighting UNSC forces. The Reds and Blues are saying what Hargrove and bloodthirsty reporters are wanting them to say because that is what is being fed directly to their heads by these operations. We are the enemies of the state. And they will take us and all of Chorus down with us to spare Hargrove’s ego.”

The others looked at her in horror. Dylan in slight annoyance.

“Hm,” Grey reflected on her words. “No offense to present bloodthirsty reporters, of course,” she offered.

“I don’t think that’s how insulting people is supposed to work but… alright,” she huffed in response.

Carolina was shaking with anger. “This… this is utter bullshit,” she spat out savagely.

“Carolina?” Wash began to reach out but she fiercely turned away from him.

“FILSS, plot us a course to Earth. Everyone… just. Just find something to do while I think,” Carolina ordered angrily before storming off toward the bunk room.”

Everyone stood, more than a little lost.

“FILSS,” Grey spoke up, “Would you be a dear and turn off the news for now?”

“Of course,” FILSS answered before doing so.

“Thank you,” Wash muttered to Grey before following after Carolina.

Grey held her breath, watching as everyone else slowly, still very much in shock, began to fall into their own corners of the ship. No one knew what to do, save for Grey herself. And what she had to do she only hesitated on because she hated what she had to do.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he would be walking in on when he followed after Carolina, but Washington had to admit to himself that narrowly dodging a thrown chair was one of the less surprising outcomes of following their leader into the bunk room. There was a ferocious roar as she threw a different chair into the opposite wall, shattering it and breaking some pipes that Wash distantly could only hope were not overtly important to maintaining life on the ship.

“God damn it!” Carolina screamed, pounding her fist into the nearest table, cracking it.

“Okay, Carolina, I think that’s enough,” Wash said, walking over and grabbing the fist she had just used. He was either a brave man or a stupid one given the look she threw his way after the action. Still, he didn’t let go. “We’re going to run out of chairs if you keep it up.”

“Then I can start on your teeth,” she hissed at him, jerking her hand away.

“I hear those have a limited number, too,” Wash replied evenly.

There was a frustrated, choked off noise that came from Carolina as she backed away from Washington and gave him a full look over. “Are you fucking serious, Wash? Are you fucking really making stupid jokes right now after all this shit just happened? What the actual fuck?”

“Standing around making jokes is the only coping mechanism I’ve seen work for either of us, so yeah. I guess I am serious about taking a breath and not being serious right now,” he answered, not breaking his gaze from Carolina.

It was strange and unprecedented for them. Back in Freelancer, hell, even back when Carolina first returned, a defiant stare down would not have been anywhere close to Washington’s arsenal against his leader’s temper. But it was, and it was because they weren’t just cogs in a machine anymore. Because neither of them were acting on behalf of some failed fiefdom.

Just on behalf of the family that was actively setting the whole galaxy against them on every news station.

“This just… This can’t be happening,” Carolina said lowly, her head ducking down as the bitterness added to the tremble of her voice. “I can’t be backstabbed by another family, Wash. I can’t be acceptable losses again for someone else’s stab at freedom.”

“That is not what’s happening,” Washington reassured her. “This isn’t the Mother of Invention, and the Reds and Blues are not Freelancer. And whatever… Whatever it was that was on that screen was wrong. It wasn’t them. Somehow. And I think you know that already. You heard Doctor Grey.”

“Yeah, I did,” Carolina sniffed before turning away from Wash, running both her hands through her red hair. “Goddammit. I heard her but I also heard them and that’s not something to take lightly, Wash. They set us up as criminals — somehow they became the mouthpieces of the people who have done us the most harm.”

“Yes,” Wash agreed reluctantly. “But… that doesn’t mean it was them. It doesn’t mean we’re betrayed. It means… It means something else. Because the Reds and Blues wouldn’t do that. Well. They wouldn’t do it to us. And I think you know that more than anyone deep down.”

He neared her, wondering if it was going to be comforting to reach out to her or not, when Carolina surprised him by turning around. Her eyes were red and filled with tears that she seemed to be stubbornly holding back. “If we’re not outright betrayed, if this is something to do with AI implantation and mind control and whatever else… Then we are also dealing with the one thing that no one else on this ship cares about besides me.”

Confused, Wash furrowed his brows at Carolina. “What are you talking about?”

“Everyone on this ship is here for the Reds and Blues, and god knows that I am, too. I would die for them,” she affirmed. “But I am the only one on this ship who is looking for Epsilon, too. And if… if the sort of experiments they were doing in the prison were what I think they were, and if Hargrove is the kind of sick bastard that we know he is, and if all of that was successful, just to get that stupid fucking slander out on the news… then there’s one Blue that isn’t coming home no matter what we do. And no one on this ship will feel that loss the way I am already feeling it now.”

“That’s not true,” Wash attempted to argue.

“It’s not like I don’t understand, it’s not like I couldn’t see how you could barely stand in the operation room back there,” Carolina spat out. “That’s not wrong. That’s not beyond reason. But… But I’m… I’m the only one who feels this, Wash. I’m the only one who just lost her hope watching that bullshit. And I’m supposed to inspire and lead everyone to save the rest of the Reds and Blues knowing that none of you can feel the chunk of yourself, of one of the people you love, being ripped out of you and then ripped apart by fucking animals? How am I supposed to do that?”

At a loss for words, Wash stared at Carolina for a long moment before finally reacting, finally knowing what to do.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against his chest into a tight hug, hugging her so securely she didn’t even bother pushing him away, just sinking into the embrace.

“You’re never alone with us, you got that?” he told her. “You’re the closest to Epsilon, but if you’re right and he’s gone then we’re all going to miss him in our own ways. And when we save the Reds and Blues from whatever it is that Hargrove’s done to them, you won’t be alone in missing him either.”

Carolina sagged limply against him, as if giving into his perspective, into the truth of his words.

“As for how you’re going to lead us while going through all this shit?” Wash continued. “You’ll do it the way you always do it, Carolina. Like a complete badass.”

To that, she snorted against Wash’s chest, followed by a more natural laugh. She hugged him back and Wash squeezed her.

“It’s time to get serious. Get our boys back,” Wash muttered to her.

“It’s time to be badass,” she agreed.

Birthday memoir (Jaehee)

Okay, I know it’s really late -- but was there a time I was timely with a timed prompt? Here’s a belated birthday story for Jaehee! (28 December)

~ Ion

“Happy birthday Jaehee!”

The champagne bottle popped as screams and laughter erupted in the room. Everybody in the RFA was here -- even Jumin, who was sulking in a corner as he sorted out with Yoosung about the work they had to do. Seven was running around the room in joy as foam was forming out of the bottle; you cringed at the action, only thinking about how much work you and Jaehee had to clean the cafe later. Zen meanwhile crossed his arms and shrugged, before asking, “So, what are we doing later?”

“Oh, we are playing DVDs of your musicals later,” you eagerly replied to Zen. Jaehee’s eyes sparkled in joy, obviously excited to watch the musicals.

Zen could only smile at her enthusiasm. It had been so long she managed to be this happy. After a while though, he had a thought. “Hey, Jaehee? What got you into musicals?”

“Oh, that’s a long story…” Jaehee blushed slightly as the both of you stared at her, curious about the story.

“Tell us,” you urged as Zen nodded in agreement.

Jaehee’s face only got redder when you two kept waiting, wanting an answer for her. “Okay, I’ll tell you, just don’t laugh, okay?”

(Three years ago)

Jaehee blinked her eyes, flustered. Did she fall asleep again? Finals were coming soon and she had to have fallen asleep right now, of all times? If she failed the finals, her scholarship would be revoked. What would happen then?  How behind was she on her schedule? How long to her next paper? When was the next class?

That was actually a good question, when is the next class? Jaehee rushed to check her timetable on her calendar app -- It was in two hours’ time, in the late afternoon. She gave out a sigh of relief before preparing herself for class.

She flinched slightly as her aunt shouted at her to “not come back”, but it was a norm by then. She walked out to the nearest bus stop, travelling to school.

Everything was going fine, in all honesty. Travelling from the bus stop to school was okay. Walking through the corridors were also peaceful. When she entered the lecture hall, there was only a huge commotion about somebody.

Jaehee could only sigh -- the good seats at the front row were already gone by then. She just took a seat nearby, before noticing two classmates who were in the same major as she was in approaching her. They comfortably took their seats beside her as Jaehee went to greet the twins.

“Hello, Da Eun and Eun Byeol.”

“Hi, Jaehee!” The sisters replied in unison, before sitting beside her. Jaehee nodded, unpacking her bag and getting ready for the lecture when Da Eun struck a conversation with her.

“Do you know that Song Joon Hyun will be acting in a musical after finals? I’m so excited! Are you going to the musical?” Da Eun laughed in joy, her eyes sparkling.

“... Who’s that?” Jaehee raised her eyebrow.

Eun Byeol bit her lip, shaking her head in disappointment as Da Eun slammed onto the table, causing a loud crack. “Kang Jaehee! How could you not know who Song Joon Hyun is?”

Jaehee could feel everyone’s eyes staring onto her. She could only give a stiff laugh, before answering, “...because I have been studying?”

Da Eun shook her head. “Oh no, studies can wait. You’re coming with us for the musical. You have to. You must. I will even get a ticket for you to watch the musical.”

Eun Byeol only gave a sympathetic look as the other students soon went back to their own conversation, now commenting about how Jaehee could not know about the actor. She tried to pull Da Eun away by involving her in another conversation, which Jaehee was very thankful of. “By the way lil’ sis, you broke the table. It’s not attached to the chair anymore.”

“Oh. Nevermind, it’s not like the others will notice. We must get Jaehee to watch the musical, okay?”

Well, it was not like he was incredibly famous or anything, right?

Wrong.

Jaehee could not even believe the queue she was standing with the twins. Not only she had seen many of the University students she knew in the queue, there was a wide range of people who were interested in the musical too; from teenagers to middle age adults. One thing for sure was that how there were a lot of females in the line, waiting to enter the theatre.

When they finally entered, the lights dimmed. The show was about to start, as the curtains pulled apart slowly before the whole theatre screamed “Song Joon Hyun” as he stood centre stage. In fact, Da Eun was crying tears of happiness when she saw him.

Jaehee only glanced at Eun Byeol worriedly. “Is Da Eun okay?”

The older sister just shrugged, “it’s normal. She’s just fangirling. Not everyone has the chance to see him in real life, after all.”

The theatre was silent moments after the audience calmed themselves down, but it soon was loud again as the opening song for the musical started. The star of the musical was dancing as many of the audience started swooning over him. It was a sight to behold, but Jaehee was not really interested. She was being analytical instead, silently criticising the dancers. The backup dancer at the left was slow by a few beats. The star was also slightly too fast. Are you telling me this musical cost 70,000 won to watch? This is just--

Eun Byeol shook Jaehee’s arm slightly. “Just enjoy the show. You’re not studying or taking a test now, so just relax. Look at Da Eun.”

By now, Da Eun was actually hopping on the theatre chair, jumping to the beat as she sang along with the star. Jaehee seriously questioned her for a few moments, fearing that she might break another property within a month but seeing how the chair was withstanding the abuse, she decided to ignore it. “Well, she looks like she’s having fun.”

“She is. It’s a musical Da Eun has repeatedly watched and while she knows it’s not the best musical out there, but she’s still enjoying it. That star is famous for acting anyways, not musicals.”

Oh. That’s why there were so many people in the first place.

Jaehee sighed, lying against the chair. “If you say so, Eun Byeol. But if I don’t enjoy it--”

“Yes, I am willing to pay for the ticket. But I believe that there will be some parts you’ll enjoy, at the very least.”

As the show went on, she was entertained by it -- it was okay, but there was no spark which made it “great”. As the musical reached its climax, the star was singing about how depressing life could be when she noticed a few people standing behind him, as if they were mannequins.

Jaehee’s focus went away from the star and instead landed on one of the mannequins. Although he was wearing all black, it caused his white hair to stand out from the other mannequins. The others shifted slightly, moving a bit all the time while he stood still, silent.

It was like he was a real one. That was professional of him.

Jaehee continued to watch before the “mannequins” came to life. What she did not expect was the “mannequins” to strip their tops off, now revealing their bodies. She gave out a loud scream as he threw off this shirt to the side, actually taking in pleasure from his looks.

She felt that he was really charming. He confidently strode up alongside the star with the other calefare. His actions were definitely stronger and louder than the star’s. Although he did not have any lines, she was just attracted to him, more than the main character of the musical for sure.

She just could also not break away from his eyes -- it was filled brim of sadness, suitable for that scene. Was it because it was just acting? Or was it his real emotions? He was not only a good actor but also an amazing dancer. To have such great looks too, he was just so lovely.

Soon after, the song ended. The star was left alone as Jaehee whined slightly, before realising that the twins were looking at her, shocked. “What?”

“You just screamed,” Da Eun gasped, “I can’t believe you actually can fangirl.”

“See?” Eun Byeol smiled at her, “the musical is amazing.”

And the musical was amazing because of him.

Before they left the theatre, Jaehee took a booklet containing the synopsis and people involved in the musical. After the twins said goodbye to her, Jaehee flipped open the booklet, making a beeline for the character list.

“... Act 8. Starring Song Joon Hyun, Lee Dabeen, Yoo Ji Hye and ZEN.” She raised an eyebrow. ZEN? That had to be a stage name, right? Does that mean he was a professional after all? She pulled out her phone, researching about him.

She immediately was welcomed with a picture of him topless. Jaehee’s face flushed red, looking at his abs immediately. Okay, she could not really see well because how they were in the back row, but from the picture, he really had good abs. “Promiscuous Jalapeno Topping…” She told herself to watch it when she got back home.

“... And soon, after watching that musical, I started liking Zen more and more. His acting was amazing, his actions, looks, oh and his--” Jaehee turned around to see that Seven was recording Jaehee fangirling the whole time. “Luciel, stop that recording, now.” She walked up to him threateningly as he stifled a laugh, before running away. “Luciel, come back!”

You only smiled at her, before Zen started talking to you. “She has changed a lot,” he commented.

“I would say you played a big part in it, Zen.”

“Oh no, I didn’t. I just got her into musicals, that’s it. You are the one who set her free.” Zen smiled as the two of you watched Jaehee and Seven fighting for a bit.

Jaehee jumped slightly, trying to reach out for his phone while Seven being taller than her, just raised his hand. All she could do was to give him a death glare, before she slowly sighed, throwing her hair back, frustrated with how Seven now had “blackmail” material against her.

The two of you just laughed at the sight of it. Jaehee returned to the two of you, calmer now, but her fingers were wringing onto her long locks of hair slightly. “That was rather childish of Seven.”

You could only chuckle, which caused Jaehee to crack up a smile. She was just so beautiful, and you were so happy that she was your partner. You gave her a hug as she returned it to you wholeheartedly.

“I am so thankful to have you. Thank you for being with me.”

“Welcome. Happy birthday, babe.”