#which im sure is a pr thing but i do appreciate it
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honestly they were disrespectful to themselves. they let it get completely out of hand for a MONTH. the palace did this to themselves
yeah... look nobody will get me to agree with people being like 'conspiracy theorists have gone too far' 'you've all been disrespectful towards catherine' 'there was never a reason for any of this' 'you should be ashamed for what you said' etc etc etc. because like... first of all, again, i hold zero respect for these people. why the fuck should i. but even if i did... it's their own fucking fault???? the fuck?????? lmao?????????? literally only a handful of people gave a fuck until that doctored photo. and then they just kept making it worse. and i'm sorry but i actually don't think they're entitled to their privacy when their entire job is pr and they're blatantly lying in all their pr shit like ? what else are you good for lol. but then that also makes me angry because as much as i don't like kate for several reasons i'm still a bit genuinely offended at her behalf for how they've handled all this shit.. like making her take the blame for the photoshop (i hope for her sake it was her own idea, because otherwise........), having her appear alone in the video announcing her cancer (why tf isn't william there when she's talking about how he's by her side lmao), the general just lack of giving a fuck about anything whilst the world went wild theorising about her.... i can't tell whether she's taking the fall to cover for something else or if they're just all absolute assholes ?? again like. i don't like kate middleton. for many reasons. but i like william and charles a whole lot less and it's infuriating that they're making me feel like she's been wronged lmao
#im not even SUPER anti royalty#i mean i think its fucking stupid and serves no purpose#but a lot of countries have royals who really are Just figureheads#and if that was all the british royal family was then whatever#i mean theyre still a horrible symbol of colonialism and general racism#but like it doesn't really matter that they're there#EXCEPT it kinda does because they still have way too much social power#like idgaf about the norwegian royal family but at least they're like. normal. hell they even fly commercial#which im sure is a pr thing but i do appreciate it#like nobody cares about them in norway but i don't think anyone dislikes them either?#because they just do Nothing#theres a speech at christmas/new years and a wave at constitution day and thats literally it#they show up to events but its so casual#i feel like the british royal family could do this so easily but they insist on doing things like a coronation that costs millions of pound#like?????????#oh my god#again. dont give a fuck about royals in any country. but come on.#if youre gonna exist at least just be like. a figurehead. and stop being fucking weird.#answered
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catalyst clc16 x rockstar! reader
after the release of your new album, life has been hectic as you've been running around doing shows. only problem is you seem to have only one person on your mind. little do you know he's having the same issue
an part two! any feedback is appreciated and please like + rb!
if you want a visual guide for the band .
part one next part
tags @bloodyymaryyy @guiseppetsunoda @maxverstappendefender @charizznorizz
yourig
liked by king, charles_leclerc and 42,836,364 others
yourig thanks for coming out london! nyc see you soon x
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user ughh i wish i couldve come :((
yourig next time lovee💜
user sounded so good
user anyone else gonna talk about the album afterparty???
user who cares bro😭 theyre adults and tbh they would be a power couple
user right?! ive been thinking the same thing, shes not a good influence on him
user im sorry do yk y/n??? how would u know that lmfao
king looking good!
liked by yourig
user where is the fit from???
user i think vivienne westwood!
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you sighed, scrolling through your comments. it had been almost a month after your albums release, and some people still were bringing up the hug with charles. i mean, seriously it was just a hug. it wasn't like you guys had made out or anything.
both your label and ferrari were sponsored by celsius, and your management had met with one of ferraris pr heads. they had agreed to work together to promote the new album, and had picked charles because he was a fan of your music.
you clicked instantly on the first day of set, but it also helped that you spoke fluent french (you had an obsession with indila when you were younger and forced yourself to learn it) the lack of a language barrier, coupled with the fact that you guys had similar interests made it inevitable that you both would become friends.
after the album launch party, you were exhausted. you had woken up at 4am for promo shoots, and had been running around all day before singing your whole album (which was around an hour long) to the attendees. it was fun, and you wouldnt trade your career for the whole world, but man you were tired.
as you were heading out, you spotted charles and you both stopped to talk
"tu as bien fait là-dedans" he said, smiling as he pushed his hands into his pockets (you did good in there)
"merci! les heures de pratique m’ont aidé. je pense que je pourrais oublier les paroles si j’essayais" you smile as he laughed (thanks! the hours of practice helped. i dont think i could forget the lyrics if i tried)
"en pratiquant son art on devient artisan" (practice makes perfect)
you nod, turning as you hear your bandmate siobahn call for you
you look back to him, saying your goodbyes and quickly hugging him before running after her.
that was it. just a friendly hug. it's not like he liked you, and if he knew you liked him, you doubt he would still be friends with you.
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charles_leclerc
liked by yourig, pierregasly and 305,387 others
charles_leclerc i won. maybe next time @/pierregasly 😘
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user just realized pierre had a chance to fork the king and the rook in
user not y/n liking this...
user so cute😍
pierregasly i almost had it
charles_leclerc of course you did
user my fav french men
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after having checkmate charles sat back, smiling smugly as he looked at pierre try and fail to make a move. giving up, he raised his hands in defeat.
"quand vais-je jamais te battre?" he said sighing as he chuckled (when will i ever beat you)
"peut-être dans une autre vie" (maybe in another life)
scoffing, pierre changed the subject.
"so i heard you're with some rockstar these days"
"i most definitley am not"
"sure, sure. you might not be dating her but i can tell you like her"
charles paused, having a mini crisis. ok. so maybe he did like you. he couldn't help it, honestly. throughout filming ,and even after he had grown to really admire you. not only just as an artist, but as a person as well. he honestly hoped you'd be able to meet up afterwards, but he hasnt been able to see you since. between his preseason training and your concerts, you both are rarely free, let alone in the same country.
he told all of this to pierre, who listened quietly, nodding along before telling him his masterplan. he was gonna help him out, what kindve friend would he be if he didnt?
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hearing the notification sound go off on your phone, you picked it up. your eyebrows raised as you read it
part 3??
#charles leclerc#charles leclerc smut#charles leclerc prompt#charles leclerc blurb#charles leclerc imagine#charles leclerc x reader#charles leclerc x you#charles leclerc fanfic#scudia ferrari#charles leclerc x yn#f1 x reader#f1 smau#charles leclerc smau#f1 fanfic#f1 imagine#f1 fic
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Leah x OC
This is the start of something Im playing around with. Feedback is appreciated, or ideas/suggestions.
She took one last look in the mirror. It was just dinner with a friend, but being a public figure meant more eyes were usually on her than most. A pair of comfortable designer jeans she had gotten from a photo shoot and a maroon fitted jumper made it look like she wasn’t trying too hard without looking like she didn’t care at all.
She tousled her hair one more time before grabbing her phone and heading to the door to grab her black winter coat and purse. The restaurant was only a few blocks from her place so it wasn’t worth the bother to drive. She didn’t mind the walk either, some of the houses on her street always went all out with their light displays and holiday decorations. Tonight was the first chance she got to walk by and enjoy them.
She was around the corner from the restaurant when her phone went off with a text notification. Even before she pulled it out of her pocket she knew what it was going to be.
Lessi: So sorry Lee, can’t make it tonight. Can we reschedule for later this week?
“Really Russo.” Leah said under her breath as she continued walking. She should have known Alessia was going to cancel. United was in town, which meant Ella was in town, and Alessia always ditched plans with others to hang out with her best friend instead. At least the last time this happened she gave a few hours advance notice. Not 5 minutes before they were supposed to meet.
Lee: Yeah, that’s fine. Tell Tooney I said hello, and I would appreciate it if she could put a few in against Chelsea tomorrow.
Leah stepped into the restaurant and headed for the bar. If she was going to be dining solo, there was no need to get a table. At least at the bar top her back was to the other patrons and she could enjoy a meal in relative peace.
The restaurant wasn’t terribly busy, but there was only one open seat at the bar. Thankfully it was at the end so she would only be sitting next to one stranger instead of being sandwiched between two. Leah crossed her fingers that the guy she was about to sit next to didn’t try and hit on her all night.
“This seat taken?” She asked politely walking up behind the seat.
“Nope. You’re more than welcome to it. Let me scoot over and give you a bit more room.” The person replied in a very obvious American accent and a deep but distinctly feminine voice.
“Oh.” Leah was caught off guard by her incorrect assumption. “I appreciate that, thank you.” She told the person as she took off her coat and placed it on the back of the chair.
After she was settled, a waiter behind the bar walked up. “Ms. Williamson, pleasure to see you again.” They said as they handed her a menu. “Start you with a drink?”
“Thank you. Glass of chardonnay, please.”
“Sure thing.” They said and then headed back down the bar.
“Regular here, huh?” The person next to her asked as they took a sip of their drink without looking in her direction.
“Not really. Only been in a few times.” She replied quietly, not really wanting to drawn much attention to herself.
“Ah, then clearly they watch women's football. As they should.”
And clearly this person knew who she was too.
“Mmm, yeah, I guess.” Was all Leah said in response.
There was silence after that, the stranger going back to their drink. They had their phone propped up on the bar watching what Leah guessed was a replay of the U.S. game against China PR from the week prior.
Leah couldn’t help herself. “What do you think of the Emma Hayes move?”
The stranger turned and faced her for the first time and Leah was struck by piercing blue eyes. Their hair was light brown and cut in a more masculine style, buzzed on the sides with the top longer and brushed back and towards one side. They had a strong jawline, but the rest of their features were what Leah would describe as soft almost. The perfect balance of masculine and feminine. Definitely not Leah’s type, but she wasn’t blind, they were very attractive.
“I think we’ll finally start utilizing the talent we have properly and stop banging our head against a wall repeatedly doing the same thing when it obviously doesn’t work. And I’m not naive, things aren’t going to change overnight. We have a young group we’re still trying to get together on the same page, but maybe they’ll all start going in the same direction at least.” The stranger finished.
“So you weren’t a fan of Vlatko I’m guessing?”
“Absolutely not. He was boring, soft, his lineups and tactics were questionable at best. I didn’t like the hire from the get go and I think he was there too long.” The stranger took a sip of their drink. “I think the powers that be got a much needed reality check. We can’t accept mediocrity and still expect to win. The women’s game has changed. Other countries are finally starting to invest in their women’s programs and youth levels bit by bit, and they are coming for the US, Germany. Being a top 5 team in the world doesn’t mean your success is a guarantee like it might have in the past.”
The waiter walked over then with Leah’s wine. She gave him her order, not bothering to even open the menu, just ordering the same chicken dish had gotten the last time she was there.
“What do you think of the move? Has a bit of an impact on league and country. Her leaving one rival and going to another so to speak.” The stranger asked over her glass before taking another sip.
“Oh, umm. It is quite the shake up. I admit I’m curious who will fill her role at Chelsea. But I’m not sure I have much to say about her taking over the U.S. team. At least not at the moment.” Leah really wasn’t looking to get into any type of potential disagreement or the like with an American about their countries football team. Keeping neutral was best.
“Fair enough.” The stranger gave a slow head nod and turned back to the game on her phone.
Leah took a sip of her wine and watched the game over the strangers shoulder. They must of had a 6th sense because they moved their phone in between the two of them without a word.
“They’re definitely disjointed. Struggling to connect between the defense and the attackers. And they can’t seem to string more than 3 passes together before they lose it.” Leah let her thoughts roll out.
“Like I said, not on the same page. There are a lot of fresh faces, which I love. But they need more time together for sure. That would help with the fluidity issue. They still need to get used to Sonnett playing the 6. I think her energy in the middle still catches some of them off guard. The speed of Thompson is hard for some to keep up with and anticipate what she’s trying to do. There is just a lot of change.” The stranger replied without so much as a glance in Leah’s direction.
It was oddly comfortable talking to a stranger about football as if Leah wasn’t really a part of that world. This person wasn’t asking her about her injury recovery, wasn’t asking or saying anything that actually had to do with Leah in any way. It was a rather nice change from her usual encounters with strangers who knew who she was and what she did for a living.
They continued watching the game in relative silence, just throwing out random comments about a play or player sporadically until Leah’s order arrived.
The waiter placed the plate in front of Leah on the bar. “Anything else I can get ya?” He asked.
“No, I think I’m alright for the time being. Thank you.” Leah gave him a polite smile.
The waiter turned to the stranger. “Another round RJ?”
“Nah, I think I’m good Colin.” The stranger pulled out their wallet and laid a bill on the bar top. “You know the drill.”
Colin, the waiter, let out a hearty laugh. “Yeah, yeah. Keep the change. You keep tipping me like this I’m going to have to start buying your rounds.” He waved the bill at her. A £50 note.
“I might let you do that. Once. But we’ll see.” The stranger, or well, RJ as the waiter had called them, got up from their chair and began putting on a camel hair coat that had been laying over the chair.
As they buttoned up their coat, Leah could help but notice how tall they were. The waiter looked to be about 6 foot, and RJ didn’t seem too far off in comparison.
“Ms. Williamson,” RJ broke Leah out of her mental calculation on their height. “It was very nice to meet you. Maybe we’ll see each other around sometime.”
“Oh, yes. It was nice to meet you as well, umm RJ?” Leah questioned. Not sure if she was to call them that or not.
“Enjoy your meal.” RJ bowed their head slightly, turned and walked away.
“RJ’s an interesting one.” The waiter said as they picked up the empty glass and wiped down the surface where RJ had been seated.
“How’d ya mean?”
“They have a drink or two, and then always hand over a £50 note. Won’t accept change even though the tab is usually less than £20.” He shook his head.
“Are they a regular?” Leah asked.
“Not sure if I would call them a regular just yet. They only moved from America about a month and a half ago, they said. Some digital job of some sort.” He shrugged. “Just holler if you need anything else.” He turned and headed back down the bar.
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OOC | Lord & Lady Malconaire
so this post might be pointless, and not to have yet another malconaire family thread running, but i was responding to aoife's comment <3 and i realized there's a lot i don't know about the girls' parents and i'd love to hash that out w you guys, if lizzy doesn't already know? @thelongforgottenrealm
ok so first id love to establish first names for our love birds? [ this site ] might help w that ;D next, id like to discuss a lil their timeline as well as the broader timeline re: valentina and her kids coming onto the scene etc, bc, for example, the thing tht actually spurred this comment was me realizing i have no idea if rosie remembers her mom at all!
speaking of, rosie's bio says she doesn't remember much abt when they were wealthy, so we know that she was still pr small when valentina arrived on the scene, and from that im guessing their mama died pr early into in her life but im not sure how long lord m was a widower -- was it decades? years? months? esp since the remarriage we now know was politically motivated it really could've been any timeframe at all since it wasnt him moving on, etc
but anway! yeah basically just a few basics would be great <3
so yeah to get us started imma start w what we know (using the first event as year 1 since im not sure what the years supposed to be plus lbr roderick's probs did smth stupidly dramatic like re-starting the calendar w year 1, day 1 being his coronation day etc smdh so who even knows whats going on)
year 1 -- birth of valentina (as a result of this being the first known malconaire event, this whole calendar is a timetable of valentina's ages when everything went down which is pr interesting for me as her rper heehee)
year 18 -- birth of cassimir
year 22 -- births of sonya, cillian
year 23 -- birth of eithne/presumably lord and lady m were married by this time, if not before?
year 25 -- birth of brigit
year 26 -- birth of saoirse
year 27 -- birth of aoife
year 29 -- birth of roisin/last known year in which lady m was def alive
year 48 -- surrender of astaira to roderick/battle of m may or may not have already taken place but obv would've been before the formal capitulation -- im guessing it was the same year tho since the v next battle led to the surrender, but anyway likely this is the year in which lord m died, and certainly he was dead by this time
year 50 -- the present
so some notes!! i believe @forgottencassimir said...somewhere haha that cassimir was probs abt ~teenage when valentina married lord m, so that puts the marriage likely between years 31-37, and we know that rosie hardly remembers their wealth at its full height, as well as the fact that valentina was the direct cause of its loss, so she was probs 6-8 when that happened, so that puts their marriage between years 35-37ish, most likely (also never fully appreciated the age gap between rosie and cassimir till i started really thinkin abt this alksdjfaklsdfj), so we're safe to say, i think, that lady m was def dead by year 37 also, i don't want to assume anything, but i do think we're pr safe to say that the battle of m took place in the year 48 and, therefore, that lord m died in year 48
this means that the smallest amount of time lord m spent without the woman he loved was 11 years SOB, and it ALSO means that at the smallest range valentina and he were married that long, and that its been at LEAST 13 years since the marriage of lord m and valentina and thus their kids have been siblings all that time/she's been their stepmom that long etc, but possibly for even longer!
are there any major events whose timetable we know that im forgetting? i feel like there are hahah but im drawing a blank
anyway, this is all quite rambly, and quite possibly lizzy already has all this info for us and i just never thought to ask before now hahaha but yeah!! i was wondering <3
#ooc#about#valentina malconaire#cassimir malconaire#sonya malconaire#eithne malconaire#brigit malconaire#aoife malconaire
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New AU incoming: Scarian fake Dating AU
Okay, so, the premise of this is Scar is the mayor (classic, I know), and the press and his PR are like "You need to get a partner to keep up public image". Which, Scar is absolutely not interested in. But now the press keeps making speculations of him being with the last person he interacted with and now, people think he's some sort of womanizer.
But while all of this is happening, he decides to destress in the public library (bc I'm a nerd), and keeps finding the same dude in the same section every time he goes there. So, he initiates small talk and learns this man is Grian, an architect fanatic. They learn they share similar interest, like both being cat lovers, and Scar finds himself very comfortable around this Grian guy. So, after learning all the small things about Grian, he just brings him gifts (bc thats his love language i decided <3), like a new cat toy, or bakes scones, and more.
Bdubs, his PR, is like "dude, you really need to find someone asap, you're losing the election poll", and so, reluctantly, Scar asks Grian to fake date him so that he can keep his status as mayor, bc void be damn, he's a good mayor. He makes sure it's Grian's choice, bc he prioritizes the comfort of others before his own benefit, but since this is scarian, Grian accepts. But also, Grian thinks this is the prank of the century and will not back down a challenge.
Anyway, so, i'm not quite sure how it is going to go, because while i absolutely adore scarian, I also adore my alloaro Scar headcanon and I think a fake dating AU would be great to play with that concept. So, at first, I was thinking, they don't live with each other, but they love annoying Bdubs and just being the best of friends (while worshiping their cats, as they should). And so, while Scar does win the election, the press is being more nosy and they have to move on to the PDA stage of a relationship. It is a very unusual form of love language and while Scar likes touches and hugs and doing handshakes, it's a bit more uncomfortable for Grian.
And while they're trying to figure out this whole PDA thing, Grian kinda oopsie falls in love with Scar bc, damn, that man is so endearing and like, who wouldn't fall for this idiot? (Bdubs wouldn't, but you didn't heard that from him). And fluster scenes all over the place!!!
And then I'm a bit stuck, cuz while I think Scar would definitely smooch Grian, would he be in love? Sure, he appreciates him and his company and wouldn't mind if he lives with Grian or vice versa, but in his head, it's like they've reached friendship premium. You could add some angst and miscommunication, and then oop, the next election is coming up soon and the citizens aren't sure about the public image Scar is protraying, and this has gotten out of hand, lol, idk where i'm going with this, but do you see the vision?
Fake Dating AU my belothed <3
-- bloop anon
I ADORE IT SO MUCH
LOVE IT
Okay the alloaro (from my understanding of it-) Scar being that would me he doesn't necessarily romantically love Grian the same with Grian loves Scar right? But there can be some sexual attraction? (please correct me if im wrong akjdfgjh ive only recently heard of the alloaro term)
Which that could lead to the whole, miscommunications and Grian feeling like Scar was leading him on somewhat. But Scar really does enjoy and loves Grian, but in his own way. It might not be what Grian was expecting but.. Scar does love him. (would a QPR be viable in this situation?)
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hi long time mutual, I know it's probably pretty obvious from my posting, but I finished aa6 a few days ago and I wasn't expecting to come out of it a slightly incoherent mess that keeps trying to rotate all its flaws into something sensible, I would appreciate you sharing some thoughts or opinions on it or recommending good fanfic to read about it (you don't have to, though). Thank you for looking at this 💗
hooooooooooough boy okay SO i saw this ask in my notifs and immediately ran to grab my laptop so i can actually write a response you are in for a RIDE you've activated my unskippable cutscene i could go on and on and on forever about aa6 it is everything to me
first off: what flaws. its like, on par with every other aa game erhghdflhk theyve all got a couple; people just dont like aa5/6 and nitpick it way too much its exhausting ffjgh
second: *slaps roof of khura'in* [SCREECHES]
i have so many headcanons and worldbuilding ideas about khura'in that the game only barely covers/implies/isnt able to show in the limited "only there for half the game" timeframe, not only about the judicial system but also about culture and religion and food and language and climate and--
im gonna put a read more.
Nahyuta Sahdmadhi. bottom text. hi this guy is ourple! and very precious to me hes SO special i am holding him tightly but also what is 🆙 buddy whadda hell.
so the wiki says he's a "childhood friend" of apollo's and lists Dhurke as his "foster father" but also like. he was raised by that man for his formative years. thats his dad. yuty is his brother. very very VERY much so. ga'ran literally refers to them as brothers. yuty says "our father". idk what the wiki isn't seeing theyre brothers and i love their dynamic so much
that being said! their entire dynamic hinges on the fact that neither of them have seen each other since they were aged in the single digits, half a lifetime ago. theyre practically strangers. and that shit is so fascinating to me because you have to realise that theyve changed so much over the last thirteen or so years that theyre practically unrecognisable as the kid the other grew up with. its heartbreaking
see also: how bad do you have to fuck up for all three of your kids to call you by your first name
i am utterly enamoured by how much this game gives you in terms of this family dynamic. Apollo justice can't catch a break. first your sister (not that he knows but he certainly feels like she is) gets fuckin arrested on charges of murder and then you find out the prosecutor for it is your brother. and you're like. oh okay thats weird why's he a prosecutor isnt the DCA what we-- excuse me he what.
look. i think yuty in court is hilarious. he, a monk of a religion that wouldnt have an afterlife or hell simply due to the existence of spirits and channelling. and he spouts all that bullshit and nobody calls him out on it because what are you gonna do? tell the foreigner he's not allowed to talk about his beliefs? apollo, dont be rude he's a guest, athena says. apollo glares across the courtroom, knowing he doesn't believe a single word coming out of his own mouth.
yuty in court also has this subtle difference in demeanour between western and khura'inese courts. he's a little more lax in america i swear on every god out there nobody believes me when i say this but i swear it exists.
despite being highly ranked in the faith, or at least held in higher regard due to his status as both a prosecutor and someone close to the Khura'in royal family; nahyuta also has a lot of respect for the sciences? like. despite the fact that the séance is the only thing needed in khura'inese courts to convict someone, brings ema over to investigate? he's slowly and surely working against the ga'ran regime, but he can't do it openly because of the threat of rayfa's safety.
thing is, inga did in fact love her as his own daughter, so i think she would've been safe in some way, which makes everything else feel all the more meaningless. yuty practically gave up in those last few years, you can tell in the way dhurke spoke of him to apollo and how he wants to save him, dhurke blames himself entirely for how distant yuty ended up from him, and how he got stuck in ga'ran's web
the final case is meant to feel hopeless, it's such a moment, its the first time we see apollo break in the whole trilogy (bar the off-screen yell over the loss of Clay in 5-4) and he barely pulls himself back together.
but apollo has mr wright by his side during that. nahyuta, on the other side of the courtroom, slowly coming to the same realisation, the same breaking point, has nobody. theyre stuck on opposite sides of the courtroom, ga'ran is viewing it as a triumph, the Dragon is finally dead, and his sons cannot reach for each other, they cannot comfort each other in this time.
Nahyuta's line here? the first time he ever refers to his brother in-game by his first name? the broken, quiet, "a...pol....lo"? YEAH. girlies when i say i cracked
im just saying shit ekdxjghk this is getting LONG i have entire essays in my head if you want to hear more i am literally always down to do so i didn't say much abt the american side of things but GOD DAMN the magical turnabout lives rentfree in my braiiim im growing musheroomes thinking about ittttt
If you liked storyteller and want more 6-4 content may i direct you over to my friend @ashe-hallows
Now. fics.
if you want to read abt rayf pollo truce and yuty trying to navigate around being siblings together, and a prank war, please read my friend @echoing-sounds 's work "this means war (a lesson in bonding)"
my friend @amamillalatortilla 's works, notably "call back to reality", a short AU where during 6-5 yuty gets shot (he's fine, prommy)
she's also written plenty more aa6 fics for sicktember !
between us & then, by pinkstar14. i read this as it was being uploaded, like. i'd click a new chapter and see the number go up. this is everything to me its so much i adore it holy shit it makes me turn into the embodiment of the girlbypool.jpg its just. a bad situation getting worse and worse and you dont see the resolution until the games bc its a prequel lord help me
(also shameless plugs of my own aa6 fics below uwu)
give me two damn minutes (and I'll be fine) , my take on the sibling reveal. if you're going to read any of my fics please let it be this one waugh (this is here bc its set 5 years post aa6 btw lol, and references it a couple times)
or try some of my sicktembers!
unyeilding, unwavering, understanding, in which rayfa's sick, yuty's worried, and apollo is far to perceptive about the real reasons underlying it
who'll save you when you fall?, in which yuty faints, and his siblings try to get him to take better care of himself
awake, awake, you children bold, set after the river incident, just some dhurke and datz coparenting
I have some others too, set at various points both during and post game (and including ema!) but these are my personal faves
aaaaaaaaallrighty! im gonna stop here edfgjshgfjdgdfkgh but please i adore aa6 if you ever want to talk about it i'll be very happy to listen !
#ask !#i dont have a consistent ask tag and i cannot for the life of me remember what i've used before#shouting and pointing: the game#echo's unhinged hours#im putting it in there bc i certainly took like. over an hour to answer this#aa6#pollo boy
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the proposal (m)
banner done by the ammmahhzzing @eerieedits
summary; Jeon’s the editor-in-chief for Big Hit Publishings, a closet romantic with a penchant for antagonizing his assistant on the reg. When his work visa is in the process of being renewed and he takes a trip to Norway, his eligibility to stay in America is on the line. However Jeon Jungkook doesn’t go without a fight, and in order to save his job he offers you a proposal you can't refuse.
pairing; editor!Jungkook x assistant!reader (f)
genre/warnings; the proposal!au, fake marriage au, enemies to friends(!!!), friends to lovers, bouts of flangst, dry humping, slight blood but not too bad, lang, alcohol, poor jjk discovers he has the ability to feel emotion, poor y/n is in the middle as always
w.c; 20.1k of endless banter and koo hiding his romantic side
a/n; yeah, it’s almost summer. But i think we need a lil holiday magic in our lives! I rewatched the proposal this weekend and whipped this up. Why is koo so gosh darn easy to write? This is my longest fic since i wrote maze runner back in 2014!! i rec this extension to get fully immersed in 2pov! Enjoy and pls tell me if there’s any errors im too poopied to proofread it again
drabbles; 01
“When I hired you, you basically signed a contract that said you’d do anything for me.”
“Yeah, Jeon. I did. That meant like, getting you coffee or working late hours—normal work stipulations,” you can feel the hair on your scalp growing thinner, “not commit fucking fraud!”
Your boss looks moreso frustrated than you are, but you cease to care. Jeon Jungkook has been nothing but a thorn in your side since your employment at Big Hit Publishing two years ago. Being a budding author who wanted to graduate from online sites and freelancing, you accepted the job as the editor-in-chief’s assistant in the hopes of getting your first book published.
However, your dreams of being an editor are quickly dissipating, especially when Jungkook corners you this afternoon and announces that he may have left America during the time his work visa was still processing. He may have to give over his editor-in-chief position because there’s no way he can get a work visa processed in time. As a result of this information, he may have told his supervisors that you seduced him on a late night one year ago, and you two fell in love and have been secretly engaged ever since.
Because y’know, your citizenship to this country is an asset to the company.
“We didn’t have to go to Norway to PR Emma Watson’s autobio,” you huff, fingers going pale from how hard you were gripping your iPad. Jungkook is an esteemed workaholic, and you have no idea where it stems from. You remember that trip to Oslo, Jungkook insisting that you and him both go to make sure everything goes smoothly.
“You weren’t complaining when we went to that restaurant with the open bar.” he runs a hand through his coiffed hair, making the pomade untack from its style. “You got so drunk that Emma held you while you cried about global warming.”
Wholly unamused, you frown. “Jungkook, can you please take this seriously?”
“I’m taking this seriously, you’re not the one who’s about to be deported in two weeks!” Jungkook hisses, face dangerously close to yours. Not that anyone would know what he’s saying, but you can tell from his defenses that he genuinely is nervous.
“You wouldn’t be deported if you had just set an earlier appointment to renew your Visa!”
“I wouldn’t be deported if you had just set an earlier appointment to renew my Visa!”
At least twenty pairs of eyes are watching your confrontation, probably making their own conclusions as to what you two were fighting about again. Curse this office for having full-walled windows, you often feel like an ant in a plastic farm. Your work relationship is an anomaly to the rest of the staff. Before you started working at Big Hit, Jungkook’s assistants did not last long. Within the first week of working, you understood why.
Jungkook whirls around his desk, glaring at the glass doors as he puts himself between the staff and you. “If you don’t marry me,” he says lowly, close enough for his hot breath to fan your face, coupled with his fresh-scented cologne. It annoys you how good he smells. “You’ll also be replaced because they want to give the my position to fuckin’ Karen of all people,” you fight the twitch of your lips. The only thing you two mutually agreed upon is the hatred of his co-editor, Karen. “All of the late nights we’ve worked together, the gallons of coffees you consumed, putting up with my shit, your dreams of becoming an author,” his eyes flicker to the way the grip in your iPad trembles, “will go down the drain and turn to shit. Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together.”
Pretending to be unfazed, you bat your lashes, “So are you saying, you need me?”
“For fuck’s sake—”
“Ah-ah, Jungkook. I’m not going to ask you to get on one knee, but you should at least tell me how much you need me.”
You assume with great confidence that the only reason you’re kept on Jungkook’s payroll is because you’re not afraid to stand up to Jungkook’s bullshit. He looks positively disgusted at the mere thought of paying you an iota of a compliment. You’d say on average, you get half a compliment a month from Jungkook. You say half because he’ll compliment you, then downplay it with whatever flaw he can fabricate to get under your skin.
He loosens his lavender paisley tie, annoyed. “Fine. I need you. I need you because you’re the only one who knows me well enough to be my wife. You’re the only woman I’ve had full conversations with in two years and knows all my dietary restrictions, favorite books, foods, and hobbies. By process of elimination, you are my best candidate.”
“Romantic,” you roll your eyes, “I guess I do,” you push him away with a finger to his chest, “but I want a raise. And after we finish Sorn and Mark’s project, I want you to read my novel.”
“Done and done.”
“Well Jeon, I guess you’ve wifed me up with your ways of seduction.” you muse sardonically, feeling more upset for yourself than anything.
“Fantastic,” he sighs, finally throwing his tie across the desk and plopping in his armchair. “Cancel the call with Janet, call PR about Irene Kim’s interview on Ellen, and order me a medium rare steak from J.J. Bittings with a side of brussels.”
“Right,” you mutter under your breath as you pull up your checklist, as if you didn’t just give away your life to the Devil incarnate.
Jungkook’s back is already facing you, focusing on his computer displaying two new manuscripts. “Oh, and on your way to J’s don’t forget to pick up your ring at Saks.”
“Bitch, you’re asking me to pick up my fake wedding ring?”
Unbothered, he shrugs. You see the planes of his shoulders stretch beneath the blazer, because he’s deemed this conversation long over and he has work to do. “Yeah, but it’s real diamonds.”
You’ve been seeing red for days.
While the rock on your ring finger is indeed beautiful because Jungkook has impeccable taste, it drags you down and arouses the elephant in the room everytime you show up for work.
You get enough stares on the daily, and you were just getting used to the looks of pity and sympathy for working under Jungkook, but now there are only snickers and playful winks as you trudge down the cubicles every morning. Everyday feels like the runway at a shitshow, and you are the headliner.
Taehyung clapped you none-too-hard on the back when you showed up to work the next morning, congratulating you on the engagement. “Can’t believe you’re fuckin’ the big boss!”
The rest of the staff poke their eyes out of their cubicles like Digletts, and you shush them, using your hand to make them sink down.
Coffee is spilling down your shirt thanks to him, and you reach for tissues in his cubicle. “Can you not say it like that, please?”
“Oh, come on. I heard from the supervisors Jungkook went on about how you seduced him late at night and took charge,” Taehyung wiggles his eyebrows approvingly, and you fight the urge to not throw up your coffee in his face. “How do you keep it so professional? Or do you save all that pent-up energy for after hours?”
“You disgust me,” you grimace, stepping out of his cubicle and immediately regret wasting your five-minute break conversing with the typist.
Striding back into Jungkook’s office, he doesn’t hesitate to rattle off the next items on today’s agenda. He barely looks at you when you stride in, too focused on whatever corrections he’s slashing in red ink.
“Did you get Taemin’s second draft?”
“No, and I told him that if he can’t get me the draft by tonight he won’t get a publishing deadline and the number of copies published will be decreased by a third.”
“And Taehyung’s author agreed to our stipulations?”
“Of course, she’d be dead not to.” you mutter, “she’s a nineteen year old Influencer, what would she know?”
“Exactly, that’s why we milk it out as long as we can.” Jungkook throws the first draft in a large, intimidating pile, mixing in with all the others like a needle in a haystack. “Which is why it’s important we snag dinner with her this weekend, we can really—”
“What, this weekend?” your sense of equilibrium cracks, and you walk forward to put his hands on his desk. “I took this coming week off for Christmas. I’ve planned this for months.”
“I know.”
“I can’t just cancel my flight! I saved up for that!”
“And?” Jungkook brushes off your fury like a piece of lint, “I’m Korean. Christmas is a fake holiday for me.”
“You can’t just tell me I can’t go home to my family, it’s the fucking holidays!”
“Why not, I’ve done it before. Remember on Valentine’s day when I told you the only date you have is a date with Kwon Boa’s publicist? Or on Secretaries Day when I argued that you don’t feel appreciated by society anyway and therefore why bother taking one extra day off? Or during Easter when your family screamed in my office on speakerphone that you should quit—”
“Okay,” no need to be reminded of how much you’ve wasted your life for this man, “but this is different. I’ve already bought plane tickets and this holiday is special. It’s a whole family reunion in the Poconos and we’ve reserved over five houses to fit all of us! I can’t just ditch!”
“But I need you!” he replied just as hotly, in a tone that reminded you so many times of how tethered you are by this man. Two years have gone by, and the only thing that kept those strings together is the constant ache in getting your first novel published. “With all the marriage stuff and stupid extentions we had to make on these writers there’s no way we can get everything done before winter ends!”
“You’ve done it before, why can’t you just ask Taehyung to assist—”
“Trouble in paradise?”
A chill travels up your spine, and you and Jungkook exchange panicked eye contact. A tiny, pretty blonde lady struts in the room like it's hers, plopping a fruit basket atop Jungkook’s manuscripts.
“If by paradise you mean our relationship, then no.” Jungkook’s the first to recover, meeting you at your side and stretching an arm around your waist. “I’d say work-wise things are getting a little rough, but nothing we can’t handle. We’re a team, after all.”
“I just wanted to stop by as I was in the neighborhood,” the woman says, making herself comfortable in a leather seat reserved for guests. “Congratulations again on your engagement.”
You tack on a smile, squeezing Jungkook’s arm a little too hard, but it’s enough to make the lady in front of you smile back. “What brings you here, Taeyeon?”
Kim Taeyeon is Jungkook’s immigration liaison, AKA the person responsible for making sure you’re not breaking the law. She’s a pretty thing, with eyes sharp but a smile that’s soft and deceiving.
“It’s just a shame you two have to rush a civil wedding,” Taeyeon sighs, looking at the window overlooking the city.
“Ah, it takes some of the planning stress off my back, really.” you force a laugh, tugging Jungkook to sit on the couch opposite her. “At least one thing is done. The thought of planning a whole wedding with over two-hundred people is so stressful.”
You weren’t really going to have a white wedding with Jungkook (however you may have entertained the thought, which is reflected in your Google search history) but you had to keep up the ruse that you were. A civil wedding in two weeks, then a quickie divorce a year later.
“I know! My wedding was a real mess let me tell you, straight out of a movie!” Taeyeon is certainly the type of person to make you feel at ease, so at ease that it’s simple for you to melt your front. “But besides the point, are you two doing anything special for the holidays?”
“Ah, well I bought a flight to meet my family in the Poconos,” you start, trying not to succumb to your nervous habit of wringing your fingers. You grab Jungkook’s hand as a reprieve.
“And you’re not going?” Taeyeon’s gaze snaps, yes snaps, to Jungkook.
You try to step in, realizing your flaw. “We’ve just been so swamped with work, all the immigration stuff and with these book delays Jungkook suggested he stay behind—”
“But we’ve decided to prioritize our personal life and enjoy Christmas with our family,” Jungkook swoops in, threading his fingers between yours. He flashes Taeyeon a smile, and from the way his face lights up and his nose crinkles, you could’ve mistaken it to be genuine. “I’ve never experienced a big family Christmas, y’know. I’ve missed snowboarding too, I used to do it a lot in highschool.”
“Oh, that’s just so sweet!” Taeyeon cooes, clasping her hands together. “Do send some pictures when you come back!”
“Of course,” Jungkook stands up and attempts to leave Taeyeon out. You follow in tow, She obliges easily, mentioning something about just wanting to check in and she also has work to do.
“Also,” Taeyeon’s head flickers to the people sitting outside Jungkook’s office. “You should manage those workers out there,” she looks at you, sympathetic. “Apparently, they didn’t peg you as the type of person to sleep their way to the top. And that’s just what I heard from walking down the hall once!” she laughs, tinkling brighter than a windchime, but you just tighten the grip on Jungkook’s palm. “Such a childish assumption. Things can be much more complicated.”
She tips a “happy holidays” off her shoulder, and you both are smiling like the loving couple you are. As soon as the elevator doors close and Taeyeon is really gone, Jungkook moves to let go of your hand, but you hold him in your grasp.
“She’s onto us,” you snap, tugging him closer to you so your co-workers wouldn’t read your lips.
“Don’t you think I know that?” he bites back. He looks offendingly at the fruit basket adorning his desk.
“What if we get caught, Jungkook?” you start to spiral, feeling your deepest fears crawl to the forefront of your brain. You’ve done extensive Google research on commiting fraud, and if you do get caught, Jungkook will never be able to come back to this country and you’ll have a fine of up to $250,000. Your boss doesn’t pay you nearly enough to get by with that kind of debt. “We’ll ruin this company, and our lives, and any hope of being published or credible.”
“Hey, relax,” Jungkook whispers in your ear, the tone oddly comforting. He pulls you into his arms, and you barely have a chance to recover when he squeezes you extra tight around your waist. Jungkook only ever hugs you when doing PR, and even then it’s an awkward half-hug. Hell, he never hugged you on your birthday. “This is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna book my flight to the Poconos, bring some manuscripts so we can work remotely, and no one will ever know.”
You sigh into his arms, nodding tiredly. It feels nice to be hugged like this. His arms are strong and warm, and you feel small and protected. It’s been a while since you’ve felt like that. Maybe Jungkook did have a heart under all that muscle.
“I’m putting up a good show, aren’t I?” he says, and you feel your heart drop just a little. Disappointed, but not surprised.
From your view facing the cubicles, you see at least half the employees comically bugged with heart eyes at you, enamored by your fake relationship.
“Do not stretch your long-ass legs on this plane, Jeon,” you nudge your smaller leg away from your section of leg room, “Jesus, we’re flying economy!”
It scares you how little you fought against Jungkook joining you for the winter holiday. It is the logical decision after all, Taeyeon is on your trail about your sudden engagement and you both needed to keep up the ruse. That includes going on family vacations. Also, the fact that Jungkook works through Christmas because he doesn’t celebrate it does make you feel a little bad. You can’t remember the last time the man took a vacation.
The man in question barely moves at your weak attempt, and stretches his leg even further across your seat. “Sorry, babe,” he says, fishing around his seat for the included blanket.
“It’s fine, Kookie.” You reply sweetly, and decide to kick off your shoes to drape a leg over Jungkook’s thighs, “you’re like a portable footrest!”
He looks absolutely insulted at your objectification, but smartly decides to choose his battles and lets you keep your position. Tucking himself in with a scratchy blanket he waves you off, “Whatever, just wake me up when we arrive.”
“What, no.” you pull up your iPad, shoving the note entry in his face. “I know everything about you, and yet you know nothing about me. I made this easy on you and just wrote everything down. You just have to read it.”
“Seriously? I’ve known you for over two years, I’m sure I know enough about you.”
“Really, then how do I like my coffee?”
“Uh… hot?”
You give him a look and he knows. With a sigh he grabs the iPad from your hands. Within seconds he’s giving you another dirty look, as if he’s skimming a conspiracy novel.
“You know all this random shit about me?” Jungkook asks, scrolling down as to what feels like your life story.
“Yes, because unlike you, I listen when you talk.”
“Fine. What’s my favorite type of weather?”
“A warm and sunny day, which correlates to your favorite kind of date which is walking along the beach at sunset. Cliché much?”
“Okay, rude. Who’s my favorite artist?”
“You like a little bit of everything, but since seventh grade you’ve been pining for IU. In the office, you like to sing along to Lauv and Hozier.”
“Favorite movie?”
“The Marvel Series. But you really like 5 Centimeters Per Second, you like the romance.”
“And how do you know my favorite anime movie is 5 Centimeters Per Second? I’m pretty sure I’ve never told you that.”
“Jeon, when we were promoting Momo Hirai’s self-help book at Anime Expo you were gone for two and a half hours at 1:50 sharp.” your boss’ Adam’s apple bobs and he swallows thickly at your admonition. “And low and behold, you gave yourself thirty minutes’ time to line up early because when I checked the schedule Makoto Shinkai had a panel on ‘The Otaku’s Perspective on Romantic—”
“Alright alright, I get it.” Jungkook slumps in his seat, as comfy as it can get with your legs draped around him and a seat at the far end of the plane. You know he’s trying to hide a blush, and you feel proud for making him a little flustered. “You’re lucky I’m a fast reader.”
The plane ride goes relatively fast, with Jungkook asking quick questions about your family and other random things. It’s like playing a game of 20 Questions, instead it’s the final boss battle with 200 questions and if he doesn’t get them all right, the penalty is deportation.
When you land, you’re both stiff and glazed over. Once you exit the terminal, Jungkook ditches you for the bathroom and says he’ll meet you at the luggage pickup. You give yourself a few moments, gearing yourself up for the long week ahead of you. At the luggage pickup, you see a tall man watch the revolving conveyor belt with interest. Either that, or he’s zoning out.
“Joonie!” you cry, nearly dropping your phone upon seeing your big brother. He’s dressed comfortably in a grey sweat ensemble, as if he rolled out of bed and came straight to the airport.
A bright grin takes over his face, and he doesn’t hesitate to smush your body against his. Under his tall frame you sway, your toes barely swiping the ground. “You’re alive!” he cheers, pulling back and holding your shoulders to get a real look at you. “I can see you’ve gained a little weight, eyes are a little dark, but I’m glad the Devil let you go. I still can’t forgive him for making you skip out on Jin’s wedding.”
You don’t appreciate the way that Namjoon picks and prods at your exhaustion, but you know he means well. While he does not know your boss by face and name, he had enough artilerary from the billions of phone calls to learn about the Devil and the havoc he’s wreaked upon your life.
When you don’t respond he gets the cue that you do not want to talk about work this week, and he smacks his lips together. “But nothing a little R&R can’t fix! The ski resort nearby has a really nice outdoor jacuzzi and we could set an appointment for facials if you’d like. Or we could do absolutely nothing and turn into baked potatoes and watch movies until our eyes burn up.”
“Both would be great,” you smile softly, catching two familiar suitcases make their rounds on your flight’s conveyor belt. You grab your pink luggage with one hand, and Jungkook’s black chrome one with your other.
“So, where’s the new beau?” Namjoon rocks back and forth on his heels, hoping to get a glimpse of the mystery boy you mentioned you’d be bringing as of two days ago.
“He really had to go to the bathroom,” you squint your eyes to make out the newcomers exiting the dropoff area. “Oh, there he is. Kook!”
Like a goddamn model, he struts in your field of vision like nobody’s business. Unlike you who stayed in your apartment all day before leaving, Jungkook decided to spend a few hours at Big Hit in the morning to tie up most of the loose ends before your trip. He’s talking to what you assume to be is a client, noting the way his brow furrows as he clutches his phone with a tight hold. He’s changed out of his tie and leather oxfords, but he’s dressed crisply in a dark button up and blazer ensemble, still wholly overdressed for a family reunion.
Namjoon starts behind you, “He looks...”
“Handsome?” you goad, elbowing him, “Charismatic? Undeniable presence?”
“Hard.”
You don’t know what to make of that adjective, and you subtly shrink further in your jacket as you mull over the implications of his word choice.
Jungkook steps up to the two of you, ending his call. His eyes float between you and your brother, and he manages to put two and two together. “Hey man,” Jungkook gives a practiced smile, extending a hand. “I’m Jungkook, I’ve heard lots of things about you.”
“Good things, I hope.” Namjoon chuckles, returning the handshake. “I’ve heard absolutely nothing about you, though. Can’t wait to get to know you this week.”
“Looking forward to it,” Jungkook takes his luggage and Namjoon grabs yours, leading you two out to his minivan. While Namjoon is preoccupied with getting the car started, Jungkook looks at you as if he’s already regretting making the trip down. “This girl has two braincells to her name. I just got off the phone with Sorn’s publicist.”
“What trouble can an influencer do?” you reply in disbelief.
“Exactly, influencing is the trouble,” he pinches the bridge of his nose, “she did some mukbang and now she’s in the hospital for food poisoning.”
“Ah, don’t get too worked up,” you help him lug your suitcases in the trunk. You spot Namjoon subtly eyeing you two from the rear mirror. Pressing a thumb between his brows, you make work to melt away the 11-shaped stress lines on his forehead. “Let’s just send her a Lush gift basket and she’ll be fine.”
You ignore the way Jungkook’s gaze lingers on you longer than needed, running over to your seat at shotgun.
The inside of his car smells like bergamot and lemon, and the sweet, vulnerable side of you wants to cry over how much you’ve missed your brother’s scent. It’s been way too long.
Once you’re all safely in the car and driving Namjoon says, “So, are you going to hide the engagement ring or give the family a collective heart attack?”
You tense, hands automatically floating to the teardrop diamond weighing heavily on your ring finger. The story that you two contrived about your relationship isn’t too complicated, but complex enough that it seems convincing. Instead of being your boss, Jungkook is your Literary Agent who gives you referrals to new and upcoming authors. You working closely together and bonding over the stresses of the publishing world, have kept a secret relationship under wraps for over a year to avoid any unprofessionalism or favoritism.
“I was thinking about that the whole ride, actually,” you twirl the metal back and forth, watching it gleam in the light. “Mom and dad know, but I don’t wanna lie to the rest of my family. They’ll freak out because it’s the first time they’re meeting Kook and we’re already engaged. It’s just a location thing, y’know. You guys don’t live in the city so we’ve never had a chance to really talk it out.”
Namjoon snorts, “Or, because your boss never gives you a break.”
If Jungkook finds any offense, he doesn’t show it. Putting what should be a comforting hand on your shoulder, he says from the back seat, “I already told you babe, do what makes you comfortable. But I don’t want to lie to your parents early on, you don’t wanna make the situation any more complicated.”
In other words, you better tell them about our engagement because Taeyeon could be hiding in the bushes waiting to catch us.
“Smart man,” Namjoon says shortly, but you can’t tell whether it’s a compliment or not.
“Yeah,” you exhale, turning to smile stiffly at Jungkook, “no use hiding the inevitable, right?”
The next couple hours are overwhelming. There’s a party right when you walk in your winter villa, your parents throwing you a reunion party (not for your family, but for you specifically because you’ve been MIA since Big Hit) with the house filled to the brim with family members. Within seconds your favorite cousin checks out the rock on your finger and screams that you’re engaged.
Everyone must be so high off the fact that you’ve made it to a family event that they’re elated you have a life outside of work. Jungkook is treated like a prince, charming the hell out of all your aunties and baby cousins.
“Oh, pumpkin!” your auntie squeals, linking arms with you while you’re trying to eat your dinner, “I just hugged your fiancé, and he has abs! Lucky you!”
“Auntie,” you hiss playfully, “you hugged him that tight?”
“He’s part of the family, isn’t he?”
“Right,” you force a smile, downing your glass of champagne. The bubbles burn your throat pleasantly.
“Babe, can you come here for a second?” Jungkook manages to swim his way through the throng in the living room, holding out a hand for you, “your mom said that our room is ready, care to lead the way?”
His smile, as pretty as you can care to admit, renders your aunt speechless, and she lets him whisk you away to a long hallway that leads to a set of bedrooms. Jungkook lets go of your hand as soon as you're alone, letting his palm run along the pictures that decorate your hallway.
He stops at a picture of you and Namjoon as kids, faces tanned and lips cherry red from your twin popsicles melting on your hands. “Wow,” Jungkook pretends to be alarmed, “I didn’t know you used to be cute, what happened?”
“Shut up,” you smack his hand away, walking ahead of him.
“I thought you guys reserved a bunch of houses, why does the furniture look worn and there’s pictures of you everywhere?”
“Our extended family has reserved houses, but this is actually my family’s vacation home. I used to go here every winter and summer break,” you reach a bedroom in the corner of the hall, smiling at your wooden name tag hanging on the front, “this is my old room.”
It certainly doesn’t have that youthful charm it once had, but there are still bits of your childhood scattering the room. There’s ticket stubs and photobooth strips tacked to a corkboard near your desk. Books that you would reread cover to cover are organized proudly on your shelf, worn for wear.
Jungkook groans in relief, plopping his body down on your freshly made bed. “Your family’s really clingy.” he sighs, throwing an arm over his eyes.
You turn to give him a snappy answer, but it dies in your throat when you see what he’s laying on. The familiar family quilt sinks under Jungkook’s weight, mocking you. You shriek, throwing your arms over to lug his body to the other side of the bed. Bundling up the quilt in your arms, you glare at a very appalled Jungkook.
“The hell is wrong with you, woman!” he cries, not loud enough to escape the room, but enough to have your body vibrate in annoyance.
“Jeon, they put the fucking baby blanket in my room,” you mutter more to yourself than him, folding it under your arms.
The blanket is comfy in your grasp and you’re sure it’s clean, but the fact that you weren’t actually married and in love made its appearance a whole lot worse.
“So?” his eyes are wide in confusion, “my mom still has my baby blanket too, I’m not gonna shoot anyone because of it.”
“It’s not my baby blanket,” you admonish, “it’s the baby maker blanket. A weird family tradition when someone gets engaged.”
“Which means?”
“They’re expecting us to fuck and have children.”
The thought of procreating and starting a family with you must’ve caused all the champagne to return to his throat, and he looks a little pale. “I think I’m gonna be sick.” he lies back down on your mattress, and you leave him be so you can chuck the blanket back in your parents’ room.
You’re barely out the door when a young man is waiting out in the hallway for you, poised to knock. “Hey, baby girl.” they throw you an easy lopsided grin, opening their arms to you.
In your haste, you slam your bedroom door a little too loudly. “Yoongi!” You let yourself sink into his waiting arms, reveling in the familiar embrace you missed so much. Yoongi is Namjoon’s best friend and work buddy, not to mention the man you’ve had a crush on since you were able to walk. While you can safely say at this moment there is nothing serious going on, a small part of you always wishes there could be.
His voice husks in your ear, “Why are we hugging in between the baby blanket?”
“Oh!” you brush past him, opening the door to your parents’ room and flinging the offending item as far into their room as possible. “Sorry, Jungkook and I were a little freaked out when we saw it. We’re definitely not thinking about children right now.”
“Jungkook,” he hums, and your smile falters just a tad when you see the way Yoongi tips his head down in thought, “It was quite the news. Congrats though.”
You want to say what you’re supposed to say, that yes, you should be happy. But the selfish part of you does not want this exchange between you and Yoongi to be happening. When you get your quickie divorce in a year, the small, hopeful part of you hopes you and Yoongi could be something.
Before you have a chance to fabricate a response, strong hands encircle your waist, and you feel Jungkook’s chin digging into your shoulder.
“Thanks, man,” Jungkook’s voice rumbles, “we really appreciate it.”
Yoongi gives a nod, muttering something about catching up later before he walks back to the party.
It’s then that Jungkook’s weight feels impossibly heavy on your shoulders. “You know, you’ve been doing a really shitty job of being my wife-to-be ever since we landed,” Jungkook whispers, feather soft lips dusting across the shell of your ear. It’s an act so intimate you can imagine your family passing down the hallway could be mistaking you two for speaking unthinkable acts. A toddler cousin spots you two and giggles, babbling something to your uncle about how you’re hugging. “You did so well when we were with Taeyeon and Big Hit.”
“It’s not the same when I’m lying to my family,” you turn to face him, equally simmering. “These are people that actually love and care for me, unlike you.”
“At least I care about what’s most important,” he grits back, “our jobs, our futures. Is that not enough for you to keep it in your pants?”
“Excuse me? You don’t even know him!”
“I don’t have to know him because I’m holding you right now and you’re practically sweating through your cardigan.” he grimaces, digging his chin further into your collarbone, literally trying to get under your skin. “Your face looks like a cherry tomato.”
You turn your head to bite back, your noses touching. The staring contest seems to last for days. Unlike Jungkook who doesn't know how to register basic human emotion, you still have hopes for a life after this. Before you have a chance to answer, your favorite cousin enters the hallway, oblivious to your concerns. Jimin’s red all over, passing you two flutes of blush champagne. “Hurry up, we’re making speeches!”
Champagne is overflowing like Niagara, and you and Jungkook are the reason for it as you’re thrusted into the living room. Your weird uncle is in the middle of a long-winded speech about his fishing business and how dreams are made from ‘bait and a dream’. You make eye contact with him, and he gestures wildly to you and Jungkook.
The crowd proceeds to go wild, echoes of speech! Speech! Reverberating throughout your living room. You and Jungkook share uneasy smiles, unsure of where to go with this show.
Deciding it’s your family by blood, you start first. “Honestly, when I moved to New York I wasn’t expecting to feel so lonely,” you clutch your flute with both hands, swirling your drink absentmindedly. You then turn to Jungkook, giving him a tender smile which he returns back just as fondly. “Until I met Jungkook. I’m really happy that I get to share this week with the people I love the most, so let's drink to family!”
Jungkook lifts his glass, “Thank you for the warm welcome, I can’t wait to spend time with all of you. This is my first Christmas with a large, loving family. Cheers to that!”
The room erupts in cheers, allowing themselves to clink glasses and chase down their respective drinks. Even the little ones crowding the kiddie table in the back are enjoying their apple juice while making silly faces at the new couple.
Jungkook weaves his arm between yours, and you get the signal to do a couples’ drink. He eyes you with mischief, as if to say we did it. After you two take your drink, Jimin’s the first to drunkenly yell, “Ohmygod just kiss already!”
“Kiss kiss kiss!”
“This is going on my story so make it good!”
“Kiss him before I do!”
“Oh my god,” you groan, throwing your forehead on Jungkook’s chest. Your family really is something else.
As if the chants can’t get any louder, it’s hard to focus on anything but Jungkook’s presence. Jungkook lifts your chin up, murmuring, “Let’s give the people what they want.” and he presses his lips to yours.
It’s awkward at first. Why wouldn’t it be, you’re making out with your boss, in front of your family, pretending to be engaged. But Jungkook doesn’t let up, parting your lips slightly to deepen the kiss. As much as you want to make up how terrible and disgusting kissing Jungkook is, it really isn’t. His lips are soft and he tastes like the peach champagne, and his grip on your waist is strong and warm.
He leaves you breathless when you pull away, a smirk on his lips for a brief moment before he turns shyly to your family who are probably foaming at the mouth now.
Maybe it’s the champagne coursing through your veins, but why does it suddenly feel so hot in the middle of winter?
The first day back starts off wholly uneventful, with Jungkook working on some manuscripts and you preparing dinner with Jimin. Most of your family is on the resort hitting the slopes, so you’re quite thankful for the reprieve since the party was so overwhelming. The blonde is all smiles as he bumps the oven closed with his leg, letting your lasagna bake to perfection.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Jimin rests his head on your shoulder, “it’s definitely not the same when we’re adults. Frankly, it sucks balls.”
“Big balls,” you agree, gnawing on a leftover baguette from last night.
“Speaking of big balls,” Jimin wiggles his brows as you attempt to move farther from him.
“Please don’t say it.”
“C’mon! Just tell me if the sex is good!”
“No!” you cry, flicking your crumbs at him.
“I will open this oven,” his hands are already on the handle, “and your dish will undercook.”
“Don’t you dare!” he opens the oven a tad, and you slam your hand down. “Fine! The sex is fantastic, happy?”
“Ewh, no!” The storm door swings open, revealing Namjoon, Yoongi, and Lisa, Namjoon’s lady friend. “I didn’t need to hear that, thanks.”
Your face looks absolutely pained as you watch the two older men walk in. They were the last people you’d ever want to share about your sex life too, even if it is fake. You can only bear to look properly at Lisa as they kick off their boots and shake the snow off their heads. Lisa pokes her tongue in her cheek, looking at you with a wild look in her eyes. “I’ve heard so much about your current drama. Can’t wait to hear the 411 from you, though.”
Yoongi looks unfazed, then again you never really know what’s going on in his head. “You guys wanna go to a movie tonight?” Yoongi asks, grabbing a slice of the baguette and dipping it in a dish of olive oil. “I think the one that’s showing is based on a book your company published.”
“Is it ‘Rotten Love’?”
“That’s the one.”
Pushing yourself off the counter, you nod eagerly. “I’ll go tell Jungkook to get ready. We can eat dinner real quick and then go right after,” you grab a bottle of water from the fridge, “Joonie, set up the table please.”
Jungkook doesn’t notice you walk in, and you can hear the faint sound of Muse blasting from his Airpods. He’s on your floor, doing pushups while reading a transcript under him. This time he’s using your iPad, every few seconds taking a thumb to scroll down. Sweating through his shirt, you can see the beads running along his silver reading glasses. It’s completely contradictory, your muscle bunny of a boss getting in his reps while psychoanalyzing a potential novel, but somehow it works with him.
“Maniac,” you mutter, bending down to place the cool water bottle on his cheek. He stops abruptly, like you’ve pressed the pause button on his seemingly robotic arms. Seriously, you can’t fathom how he manages to do both. You swipe the iPad under his body in place of a white towel, which he accepts gratefully. This isn’t the first time you’ve had to snap him out of it, sometimes you’d catch him at the company gym nearing 10PM, reading on the treadmill.
“What time is it?” he asks, fluting the water bottle down his throat.
Ignoring the way his neck glistens in sweat, you say, “It’s almost seven. C’mon, we’re gonna eat dinner and watch a movie. You’ve cooped yourself up in this room all day, time to interact with the world.”
“What movie?”
“The book we published in 2018, ‘Rotten Love’? They made it into a movie,” and you can’t help the wry grin that takes over your face when you say your next words, “guess who directed it.”
He sighs, rubbing the towel over his damp hair. The normally styled strands fall limply at his forehead. “I don’t remember, I shifted over that project to PR. Any director’s fine, but please please please don’t let it be—”
“Jung Hoseok!”
“Son of a bitch, we gotta go.” And it’s the first time in a while you see a genuine smile graze his features, one not laced with you and your marriage. It’s an old pastime for you both to get picky over Jung’s work. “I swear, he better not put his scenes all over the place like last time, I got whiplash.”
After a quick dinner you all pile into Namjoon’s minivan, making your way to the theatre. The drive is fast, and before you know it you’re waiting in line to get inside. It seems that the PR between the film studio and Big Hit did a good job assisting, because there’s a sizable line despite being half an hour early.
“So honey,” Lisa leans into you, squishing you further into Jungkook’s shoulder. “Did you like, help out with the publishing of this novel? To be honest I don’t even know what your job is,” Lisa admits with a shrug, “you’re not a glorified coffee girl, are you?”
“No,” her mixed enthusiasm never fails to stump you, “Ah, but I really didn’t do much in the production of ‘Rotten Love’,” you reply easily, relaxing into Jungkook as he moves to drape an arm around your shoulder. “I just told my boss to sign some documents n’stuff. It’s really nothing—”
“Babe, are you kidding? You ran the whole freakin’ project!” and you’re in shock, because for the first time in the history of ever, Jeon Jungkook is paying you a real compliment. “It was her first assignment when she got hired as the big boss’ assistant. A lot of people in the office doubted her,” he squeezes your shoulder, “but not for one second did I doubt her, you could see how hard she worked to make it perfect. I heard the boss was really impressed, too.”
You remember that period of time. Jungkook made you dive headfirst into the publishing for ‘Rotten Love’, letting you sink or swim in his decision for keeping you employed. After a full month of meetings, negotiations, and debating whether you should have caffeine IV’ed in your body to save time on eating, you got Jungkook’s evaluation. You remember the stoicism in Jungkook’s frame as he surmised your work, throwing you a flippant “it’s decent” before sending you off to do more work.
Relief flooded your system after those two simple words, because that meant you had a chance and you could keep your job. But this? If what he’s saying is true, you’re on Cloud 9.
“Awh, thanks Kook.” you squeeze his arm, letting your fingers trail down to lace your fingers with his.
Lisa’s face is all scrunched, and she doesn’t hesitate to stretch over you to smush Jungkook’s cheek between her two fingers. Her blue nails dig into his soft skin. “I like him, honey. Keep him, he’s so cute.”
She leaves you alone after that, skipping over to bother Namjoon about buying an extra bucket of popcorn.
“At first I was nervous having you near my family for a week,” you say brightly, rubbing a thumb over his hand, “but I kinda like seeing you try so hard to not rip other people’s heads off.”
He puffs out his cheeks in an attempt to soothe the stinging. “Could be worse, I could be engaged to Karen.”
With that you laugh, loud enough to turn heads and have Jimin and Lisa send you adoring looks. Jungkook sends you a nervous smile, the one that he’d always send you during team meetings when he was unsure of how to respond to something. Instead of giving him a smart answer, you get on your tiptoes to pat his reddened cheek. “But she’s right, you are kinda cute when you wanna be.”
Instead of replying, he squeezes your hand tighter to lead you inside.
Everything is smooth sailing after that. You, Jimin and Yoongi are saving the seats while Jungkook, Lisa and Namjoon are getting the refreshments. Jimin is prattling on about a new job interview and you’re listening attentively, while Yoongi shoots off advice every time Jimin says he’s nervous.
Yoongi looks past Jimin to give you that gummy smile that always made your chest ache. “Chim, remember when she applied to work at Jamba Juice?”
“Oh my god,” Jimin giggles, clutching your arm. “When you had to do a trial run in front of the manager? You forgot to put the lid on the blender and you sprayed the staff with green juice?”
“The stains took forever to get out,” you pouted. “And I didn’t appreciate the snaps you saved of me. I got nervous because you were recording me!”
“Am I hearing some juicy details about your childhood?” Jungkook appears, passing a huge tub of buttery popcorn to Yoongi.
“Emphasis on juice,” Yoongi says tartly, popping a handful of kernels in his mouth.
“Yes, do you wanna see a picture of your fiancé covered in green juice? She wore a low-cut shirt that day so it got deep, man.” Jimin says, using his hands to gesture obscenely to his own chest.
You’re mortified, and you push down Jimin’s phone and cover whatever receipts he has on you. “Jimin, I’d like to stay engaged, if you don’t mind?”
Your not-so-favorite cousin cackles in response, telling Jungkook that they’ll talk later.
“Here,” Jungkook cooly hands you a King-Sized KitKat.
“Awh,” you marvel, immediately opening the wrapper, “you actually read my notes and found out what my favorite candy was?”
He scoffs, dark bangs blowing up. “Who doesn’t like KitKats?” but you’re giving him the look, and he sighs, “C’mon babe, just gimmie a break.”
“Ha-ha,” but you break off a piece anyway, lifting it to Jungkook’s lips. It’s then that the theatre starts to dim, and the telltale signs of the movie begin. “Ready to rip Jung Hoseok to shreds?”
“Always.”
Barely fifteen minutes pass and Jungkook is spreading his legs. You’re about to kick him before he leans in to whisper, “They made Renee too dull,” he sighs in disappointment, as if he sincerely had high hopes they’d bring the novel to justice. “I mean, I get it, in the novel she’s supposed to be a plain Jane. But she isn’t grey.”
“Right?” you lean into Jungkook, throwing your legs over his thighs like you’re back at the airport. This isn’t out of intimacy, you think to yourself, you just need to be close enough to Jungkook so you don’t disturb the other patrons with your talking. “She’s either a bad actress or they messed up her character. I really got upset when I read this part, but it’s kinda bland on the screen.”
As much as you love Jimin, you know he’s not going to get your over-criticality over the media. Yoongi and Namjoon are on the other end of the row, but they wouldn’t be too pleased having you gab over the movie because you’re too much of an aficionado. Jungkook is the only one who can tête-à-tête, or in this case, Kit-a-Kat with you.
You sigh into his shoulder, inhaling his clean scent. “Let’s pray Jung didn’t completely butcher the chapter where Kenzo reflects on his penniless journey.”
“I’ll leave the theatre right then and there if that happens, care to join me?”
“Already out the door, bossman.”
Jungkook looks away from the screen briefly, reaching forward to take an obnoxiously big bite of the KitKat in your hand. You stifle a giggle, and before you can soak up his cheeky grin he’s already looking back at the movie.
You wonder what Jungkook is like outside of work, if he has that side to him. A little part of you wishes that this playfulness he’s exuding is real. Not to your fake marriage, but a playfulness he can execute to a person that he really likes. Two days out of the office and you’re starting to see that Jungkook has the capabilities to enjoy life, however simple it may be.
The movie is finished in a blur, and you and Jungkook are still bickering over the intricacies of the film compared to the novel. The night air is cold and burns your cheeks, reminding you exactly how late you’ve been out.
“Well, I thought the romance was so boring!” Lisa blurted, wanting an in. Her lime green ski jacket glares in your vision, and you move away from her immediately. “No one cheated on each other, there was no drama, or evil best friend!”
“Whoa there,” and you see the little fire in Jungkook’s eyes, one you’ve learned early on to stay away from when you spent hours in his office debating over manuscripts and plotlines. He stares down at Lisa, really stares down. “You think every romance needs some sort of internalized conflict for it to be good? Why can’t they just grow and learn from the external conflict together? It’s literally useless for them to break up over and over just—”
And that’s your cue to walk ahead of them, because while you did agree with Jungkook, you’ve heard this debate one too many times. Ever the closet-romantic at heart. You hope Lisa doesn’t lose her patience and punch him out.
“Hey,” you feel a hand pat your hair, and you look up at Yoongi. He looks absolutely fluffy in his long puffy jacket, and he matches your steps with his. “Do I look ugly tonight, or something? I feel like we barely exchanged two sentences with each other.”
“What, never!” you chastise, “you always look good, Yoongi. And we have the whole week to catch up, remember?”
“Really, then why don’t we go out in two days to pick out a tree for your house? Joon and I are planning on going.”
“I would love to go pick a tree!” you exclaim, “the last time we got a tree together was when your brother had to lift.”
“Great,” and he pats your head again, but this time his hand lingers to finger the ringlets of your hair. “It’ll be just like old times, baby girl. I’ll pick you up at 9.”
Unbeknownst to the both of you, Jungkook’s argument ended minutes ago and he’s mulling over a new type of internal conflict.
“Owie, ow, ow—fuck you! Ow!”
“Well if you just hold still,” Jungkook grimaces, taking his turns with both hands to simultaneously wipe the injury with a cloth and then pressing the affected area with an ice bag.
“Buh ih hurths!” your voice is muffled by the cloth, stained red with freshly bloomed blood.
The ski lodge started off great. You enjoyed a fabulous beligan waffle breakfast courtesy of Jimin’s parents, and then made the trek to the slopes. You’ve been here dozens of times, so you didn’t feel an inclination to gravitate to any of the fancy schmancy sports. You were fine playing shuffleboard inside, but your inner youth complained that it’s the holidays and you should be getting out more.
Jimin and Jungkook (who claimed he hasn't snowboarded since he was 16 yet he’s doing tricks like a goddamn Olympian) were shredding on the slopes while Namjoon and Lisa were skiing on a smaller hill. You and Yoongi watched safely from the lift, riding it like a kiddie attraction. You must’ve taken the lift at least ten times, complaining about how you’re both too lazy to function and you could really use a hot chocolate and a fireplace.
After the fifteenth time on the lift, legs numb, you stumble over with heavy boots to where Lisa and Namjoon were waiting for Jimin and Jungkook. They wanted to walk around more and see if they could try a more difficult slope.
While you were waiting, you had to admit that Jungkook did kind of cool all decked out in his gear. A competitive, playful smile was easily reflected in his gaze despite his helmet and goggles.
That slight admiration is knocked right off your feet when Jungkook speeds by way too close for comfort and you’re in his path. Jimin had already slowed next to your friends and family, looking at you in anticipated horror.
It’s far too late, and despite the fact that Jungkook manages to pull your body to his while you wipe out, your face crashes into his helmet and you taste metal.
Mildly disoriented from the impact, Jungkook’s muffled string of curses nurse you back to a decent consciousness as he tries to carry you to the lodge.
“Holy shit, I got that on camera!” Jimin cries, gesturing to the Go-Pro nestled in his helmet.
So now you’re in pain and it’s all Jungkook’s fault. Your bottom lip is split, and the burn on your face won’t go away.
You watch as Jungkook dotes on you, his bangs pushed up everywhere due to his grey goggles haphazardly being propped upon his forehead. His pink tongue sticks out as he concentrates on not getting blood on your sweater. It’s just you and him that are stuck around in the lodge after you got pummeled, standing by the fire while everyone else continues on with the fun.
“Why were you over there anyway, in the middle of the slope?” he scolds.
“It was the slow down zone, Jeon. You were the only one not slowing down, you speed demon.”
“Sorry,” he says gruffly, pressing a little too hard with the ice and you wince. He lets up and presses the cloth to your lips to soak up the moisture.
“Did you say something?”
“I said, I’m sorry.”
You sigh dramatically, “I wish I had a camera to save that shitty excuse of an apology.”
“Speaking of cameras,” he shucks his phone out of his pocket, handing it to you. “Jimin uploaded the video.”
That man, you don’t know where he has the means to quickly upload and edit things, but if it’s for the ‘Gram, it’s worth it to Jimin. You open Instagram and immediately click on @chimmyboi’s story, immediately wincing as the first few seconds reveal the brunt of the impact. He should really put a disclaimer before uploading content.
The tumble between you and Jungkook doesn’t look so bad, but it’s when you get up does it look gnarly. Your chin is dribbling in red liquid, and Jungkook’s throwing off his helmet and goggles in a panic.
He makes a half-assed snowball where you’re lying on the ground, pressing it against your mouth. With his other hand he pulls you into a sitting position, not caring that you’re staining his clothes as he hauls you on his body.
“Ohmygod,” you splutter, trying not to move your lips, “I look like I got decked with a hockey puck.”
“It wasn’t that bad, don’t be a baby.” Jungkook sees the piecing glare you give him, and he sighs. “Okay, it looked pretty bad. I was a little worried back there, but now the bleeding pretty much stopped and holy shit—stop smiling! You’re making it open up further!”
“You were worried?”
“Shut up.”
The ice bag is watery and not doing much anymore, but Jungkook still insists to cool your face down. You lift a hand to his cold ones, attempting to take the bag and cloth from his grasp.
“You should go board with Jimin and the rest of them. I can take care of this.”
“It’s fine,” he reasons, reaching for the ice bag but you hold on tighter.
“C’mon, I know the only thing you were looking forward to this entire trip was going snowboarding. I’m a big girl, I can be alone for an hour or two.”
Jungkook locks his jaw, gnawing at his cheek as he mulls on his decision. “Wouldn’t I look like a bad partner if I leave you?”
“Nah, this has happened before. Almost always someone gets injured on the trip. Last time something like this happened I was eight and I got five stitches on my leg. This is nothing. You’re fine.”
“But still.”
“Fine, you wanna make it up to me?”
You scan the room for any ideas, and it settles on a trio of girls huddled by the register of the built-in café. They’re pretty snow bunnies, decked out in sweater dresses and fur lined boots. They remind you a little of The Powerpuff Girls, all in pastels and attached to the hip. Their gaze has taken hostage in Jungkook’s frame, blatantly ignoring the fact that majority of his attention is directed towards you. You wonder why you haven’t noticed them sooner, because now the staring is getting borderline discomforting.
Slipping off his goggles with your free hand, you gesture subtly to the girls. “They think you’re hot. Go flirt with them a little and get me a free drink, I’m sure they’ll pay for you.”
He doesn’t understand the correlation, “Why would I do that?”
You shrug, separating the strands of hair that stick to his forehead. “Lisa and Namjoon do it all the time when they go clubbing. They compete and pretend they’re single for like two hours, and then they keep a tally of how many people offer to buy them a drink.”
“That is completely different, but I’m open to trying it when we get back to the city.” he acknowledged briefly, getting up from his crouching position. “I got a better idea.”
Puzzled, you watch him saunter over to the register. Like bees to the honey, the girls follow Jungkook with their eyes, watching him exaggeratedly mull over the menu.
He spares the slightest of head inclinations to the drooling trio, “Hello ladies.” The smile is not flirtatious, but kind.
You suppress a giggle, burying your chin in your scarf as you watch the whole interaction. You don’t even know why you asked Jungkook if he would flirt with those girls, as he kept most of his dates private over the years. You picture a college-aged Jungkook getting his daily breakfast on his way to class, ignoring the way his presence attracts heads.
The barista hands Jungkook a tray filled with a plastic cup of ice, and a cup filled with something hot, and a chocolate croissant. He grabs a straw from a tray, stabbing it in the hot drink’s lid.
“Excuse me,” one of the girls coquettishly puts her hands behind her back, puffing her chest out as she leans over Jungkook’s order. “The regular croissants actually taste better in my opinion.”
“Well my wife’s had a hard day, so I think she deserves something sweet.”
He doesn’t even turn around as he makes a beeline to where you’re seated on a loveseat, carefully placing the tray on the coffee table.
“Your better idea was making them jealous?” you ask, unsure of his intentions.
He shrugs, “College-Jungkook always wanted to show off his girlfriend like that, so indulge me for a second, alright?”
Rolling your eyes you reply, “My life is about indulging you. Don’t forget the trips I’ve made to the grocery store when your personal fridge was out of banana—”
“I thought I said we don’t speak of those hard times,” he cuts you off, “ever.”
You stop him from filling up your ice bag with the ice he brought. “C’mon Jeon, you’re burning daylight out there. I got this. You’ve stalled enough, go have fun in the snow with Jimin, you adrenaline junkie.”
He scrunches his nose, but relents when you throw him his jacket and goggles. Before he pulls on his gloves, he cups your face with both hands to pull you in a kiss. His hands are cold from the ice, gluing you in place in fear of him kissing you too hard. But it’s barely that, a brushing of lips so tender as he takes extra care with your open lip.
“Is this also a self-indulgent request?” you pucker, “who knew there was a hormonal teenager under that editor-in-chief’s body.”
His eyes flicker to the audience in the back, and you don’t need to look behind you to note that they’re glaring daggers in your head. It’s like you’re straight out of a rom-com.
“You’re leaving me to the bunnies,” you say teasingly.
“Then hurry up and get better so you can join us,” he taunts, “or else you can’t help me bury Jimin in the snow.”
It’s a tempting offer that makes you down your drink so you can enjoy the rest of your day.
Light seeps through your windows, rays kissing your eyelashes and willing them to open. You groan, hand splaying out to wake up Jungkook. When you find his space empty and cool, you sit up and search for your fake-fiancé.
He’s on the floor, smack in the middle of his morning workout. Your iPad is under his body, and somehow he’s managed to find a setting where the document scrolls for him automatically. He’s not wearing his Airpods, so you rasp, “Jeon, you’re crazy. I get the morning workout, but you don’t have to look over any more transcripts. I think you’ve read enough for this week.”
“It helps me ignore the burn,” he says shortly, and you see the ripples of his back flex with every push-up. “And I wouldn’t have to do so much reading if my assistant would just do her job.”
“I already told you, I’m not working during my vacation.” you throw off the sheets, padding to your closet. “I’m going to pick the tree today. You should go to the mall with my mom and Jimin to pick out some new ornaments.”
“What?” he gets up, and you ignore the perfect view of tight muscles decorating his abs. Exactly how long was he awake for to have sweat clinging to his shirt? You’re going to short-circuit and it’s barely 8:30. “But I wanna go help pick out the tree.”
“You don’t have to do that, Joon and Yoongi got it.”
“Yoongi, really? You think he can carry a tree?”
“This isn’t a pissing contest, Jeon.” you settle on a burgundy Patagonia jacket and grey leggings. “Besides, Yoongi and I are just friends.”
“You sure about that, baby girl?”
You whip around to poke at his chest, and you ignore how smug he looks. “Do not test me, Jeon. Like you said, I’m with you every step of the way in this marriage. I’m not going to jeopardize that over some childhood crush.”
“Wow, your life is really turning into a Wattpad entry,” he admonishes, “fake-fiancé still pining over his older brother’s best friend, really high-qual stuff.”
“I’m serious.” you grit, “I took a week off so I can get away from you and that was ruined, so I would like a little bit of space today.”
And that gets Jungkook to back away. His face deflates a little, and you feel a little guilty for making him upset, but you stab that thought down and convince yourself that he deserves it. It’s not like he cares about you, he just wants to show off to the boys.
“Fine,” he turns around to put on a fresh shirt, and you almost notice the pout marrying his face. “You could’ve just told me you wanted space. I’m getting kind of tired of you too, you know.”
He flops on the bed and you huff in reply, quickly throwing on your attire inside your closet while he watches a YouTube video. You check your phone, and at 8:59 a knock is at your door. Jungkook doesn’t bother to get up to answer, and you open the door to see a sleepy Yoongi with a paper cup in his hand.
“An English breakfast with two sugars and a dash of milk, baby girl.”
You mask your wince at the pet name. It hadn’t bothered you when you were young, but its starting to feel coddling now that Jungkook is making you hyper-aware of the attention. “Perfect,” you faux-beam, the hot beverage warm your fingers.
“I’ll just warm up the car and—”
“Babeeeeee,” the deepest, sexiest voice echoes from your bed and out in the hallway. He sounds absolutely tempting, and needy. You freeze at the way your boss can so easily pretend he’s exhausted and wanting you, “come back to bedddddd. I’m not done with you yet.”
Yoongi’s ears are red, “Aaand, I’ll let you finish whatever business you have.”
The older man bolts out of there, and you snap your head back to look at an innocent Jungkook. He tilts his head at your bout of anger.
“You know, I have half a mind to fling this tea down your shirt.”
“What?” he looks at you like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. “He can’t be the only one who can call you baby.”
Honestly, you didn’t mean to lash out on Jungkook like that. You did need to put up a face as you were each other's significant others, but it doesn’t mean you have to be together all the time. To top it all off you’ve been feeling weird as of late, and you can only attribute these terrible feelings to a certain brunet who’s been sleeping in your bed.
But you pin these feelings for another time, because you need to enjoy what little quality time you have with your brother.
“Hey, whaddya think of this one?” It's just you and Namjoon picking the tree, and Yoongi’s sitting in the cabin keeping warm. He said to call him once you’ve decided, since it is your house.
“Hm, it’s fine.” you shrug, inhaling the pine. “Maybe a little too tall.”
Namjoon nods, and you follow him to the next row of greenery. He’s been pensive this whole time, and you have a feeling he’s hiding something. Surrounded by pine and the fresh winter air he says, “Hey, I just wanna say sorry.”
“Why, did you like that tree over there? I don’t mind it, we can go back!”
“What, no? I’m sorry for being weird around Jungkook.”
“Huh?” sure, you noticed the weird language and terseness he gave Jungkook initially, but you chalked it out as big brother issues.
You two continue to walk around the forest aimlessly, not really tree hunting.
“I was just upset that the engagement was so sudden,” Namjoon starts, and you feel the guilt start to set camp in your stomach. “And I don’t know, at first he just didn’t seem like your type? I always thought you wanted to date someone gentle, someone you could hold and depend on. He looked so serious, and maybe a little immature.”
“He is a little immature,” you agree softly, digging your boots in the snow, “but I don’t love him any less because of it. We’re growing together.” Shit, why was that so easy for you to say?
“Figured,” and Namjoon stops to place a hand on your shoulder, “I see the way he looks at you, and you can’t fake love like that.”
Namjoon’s admonition is so convincing that you almost convince yourself that it is something.
Something is bothering Jungkook, and he doesn’t know why.
It’s not the billions of charges he made on his credit card for new ornaments, because it simultaneously inflated his ego and impressed your mom.
It’s not the way Jimin hangs onto his every word and doesn’t let up, because it is refreshing to have your cousin find a genuine interest in him.
Jungkook, Jimin and your mom have been taking laps around the mall for the past hour. They’ve floated around here and there, picking out whatever catches their eye for the tree.
Jimin’s in the middle of explaining the Jamba Juice story when a glimmering window display catches his eye.
“Hun, have you not bought her a present yet?” your mom says over his shoulder.
“No,” he exhales, embarrassed that he just admitted he didn’t think of getting you anything in front of your mom. “She doesn’t ask for anything, really.” Besides her book published, a raise, and a potential promotion as editor, but they didn’t need to know that much.
“Good thing you’re with the right people!” Jimin cheers, ushering him into the jewelry store.
Funny enough, he knows exactly what to get you. Once he points it out, Jimin and your mom “ooh” and “aah” respectively, agreeing that what he chose was perfect. If you had asked Jungkook a week ago what kind of jewlery you like, he’d give you a dumb look and say “something shiny.” But that’s what’s bothering him. He just walked right into the store, saw what was right, and everything just clicked.
Jungkook pins that thought for later, because once their shopping is done they’re back at your villa, arranging the ornaments and detangling the lights that have been holed up in the closet for eleven months.
Jimin and he are sitting on the living room floor, stabbing thread through popcorn. He really only saw this craft in the movies, and the small part of him is amazed that you and your family go through the hard work to make your holidays so warm.
Your mom appears from her bedroom, clutching something in her hand. She sits in front of Jungkook, a huge smile on her face.
“Before you say anything,” and it strikes him how similar you are to your mother. There’s that tone he always receives before he gets new news, or the way you’re eager to share something that will make him happy. “I don’t want you to think this is a luxurious gift or anything. But I realized that you don’t have a wedding band so I went through my old cases and found this.”
She opens her palm slowly, revealing a simple black band.
Jungkook’s lips part to form words, but his vocal cords betray him. At first glance, this ring could’ve been mistaken for one of Jimin’s plentiful rings adorning his fingers. Upon closer inspection however, Jungkook notes that this band is thinner and more worn. The metal looks strong and old, the slight scratches and faded color revealing that it was a well-loved piece of jewelry.
Your mom is offering Jungkook a wedding band.
“If you don’t like it, that’s okay!” your mom says quickly, nerves radiating because of Jungkook’s silence. “It was my grandfather’s. Don’t feel as if you have to accept it. It’s not a wedding band persay, but I think it matches and it looks about your size and we didn’t get you a Christmas gift so—”
“It’s perfect.” Jungkook tells her firmly, sending him a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you, I guess we kind of rushed the engagement so I didn’t think of getting a band of my own.”
Your mother is grateful, dropping the ring in Jungkook’s awaiting palm. “I think my daughter should be the one who puts it on you, don’t you think?”
“Right,” he echoes, and he just stares at the ring in his hand, feeling weird in his chest. He can’t remember the last time someone put this much thought in getting him something this significant. He can’t accept this ring, but he can’t refuse it either. “I could never find something with this much value from a little shop in New York, so thank you.”
“Oh, and while we’re on the topic of New York,” Jimin puts down his completed popcorn wreath, “y/n said she already put in her off days for Easter, so you should too. It’ll be at my place this year, and I live by an indoor skydiving zone. She mentioned you’re an adrenaline junkie.”
“She also mentioned that your birthday’s in September.” your mom pops in, “We were thinking we could take Friday off and stop by for the weekend. I’ve always wanted to see Hamilton!”
Jungkook knows they’re trying to cheer him up. They’re trying to make him feel part of the family, feel wanted. But he can’t remember the last time he’s felt wanted unless it’s for a book deal or a business exchange. It’s been so long since he’s felt this warm, and he didn’t realize how much he yearned for it until he proposed to you.
“Hey man,” Jimin puts an arm around his trembling shoulders, “are you alright?”
“Fine,” he’s crying, and doing a shit job at hiding the tears. “It’s alright, I just,” he can’t even find the strength to get up and walk away from this. Is it pathetic that he’s breaking down in the comfort of your cousin and mom, starved for affection? “I just, I miss my family. It’s just the four of us, but they’re all the way in Korea and it’s been awhile since I’ve really celebrated anything with them. They visit sometimes but it’s not the same, y’know? And work is so stressful but I’m not in a position to say that. And your family is just so, so nice and it makes me miss them even more. You’re all so lucky to support each other like this.”
Jimin and your mom sandwich him like an Oreo. It’s almost funny, how two smaller humans are comforting this big human and not the other way around. “Poor baby, it’s your family too.”
Pathetic. It’s pathetic how much he wishes to have a family like yours, but he can’t have that.
“Can we please not tell y/n about this?” Jungkook wishes, leaning his head on your mom’s. “She’s going through a lot right now with work and stuff, I’d rather just talk to her about this after the holidays, if that’s okay.”
“It’s quite alright, sweetheart,” your mom runs a hand through his hair, and his eyes automatically flutter closed, “just remember, your feelings matter too, okay?”
You and Jungkook slip into bed at the same time, murmuring half-hearted “how was your days” and brief descriptions of your outings. It’s a little awkward considering the morning’s events, but not unbearable.
“The tree smells really nice,” Jungkook tries, looking up from his phone.
“Yeah, makes the whole room smell like Christmas.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you have a good time shopping, find anything good?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s nice.”
[11:29] Jimin: hey, you know my room’s right next to yours right?
[11:29] Jimin: we share a goddamn wall and im NOT hearing shit
[11:29] Jimin: are you putting that baby blanket to good use ;)
[11:30] You: YOU”REE DISGUSTING are we even family!!!! Can i disown a first cousin??
[11:30] Jimin: i’m just sayin.. U said it was fantastic
You throw your phone away, letting it slide off to the mattress and onto the baby blanket. Yes, the baby blanket is unfortunately here to stay. Over the course of three days, the quilt is like a ball in a tennis match between you and your mother. You’ve given up and just kept it on the floor.
“I have a question,” you say aloud, motioning to your bed partner.
“Shoot.”
“Was it true when you said I was the only girl you knew well enough to be your wife?”
“Of course, that’s why we’re here.”
“I’m just wondering, because I really thought you could pick any girl in the office to be yours.” you stuff your hands under the covers, playing with your ring. “I mean, you’re kinda-sorta handsome. You could’ve picked someone just as pretty and they would have studied your whole life story for you.”
Jungkook's phone falls in his lap, and he looks at you like you’ve lost a couple brain cells. “Normally, I would eat up the fact that you admitted I was attractive. But do you realize you’re just as beautiful, if not more?”
What?
“I know it’s unprofessional, but how professional can we get when we’re married, but you’re the whole package, y/n.” and he says it with such fervor, you can’t formulate a response. “I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else. No one else can take my shit and throw it right back in my face, or debate with me for hours on end about a novel’s direction. Only you can do that.”
“I’m sorry,” you shake your head, “thanks, you’re right. I’m just clouded, and stressed. And Jimin’s being an ass and it’s really bothering me.”
His chocolate eyes flicker in the darkness of your bedroom, making note of your phone on the floor. “What’d he say?”
“It’s stupid, he said that he thinks it’s weird he hasn’t heard us bang all week,” you force a laugh, “it’s my fault though, he wouldn’t get off my back so I gave up and told him the sex was fantastic.”
“Are you worried he’s unconvinced?”
“A little, maybe? I don’t know.” you’re wrinkling your bedsheets now, turning the cotton into putty as your sweaty palms wring at the edge.
“I don’t mind giving him a show.” Jungkook blurts, and you instinctively pull the covers closer to your chest, even though you’re fully clothed.
“What, like fake moan into the wall?”
“There are things you can do over the clothes,” he says matter-of-factly, pulling the sheet of his bedside down slightly. “And you just said you’re stressed. I’d be a bad fiancé to not let you relieve some of that tension.”
Jungkook opens his arms and gestures for you to get on his lap. Your body is hot all over, and you can’t tell if it’s because you’re horrified or aroused. Maybe a little of both.
“Are you kidding—you’re my boss!”
“And we’re consenting adults!” he narrows his eyes at you, “don’t say you’ve never thought about it before.”
And the sick, twisted part of you has, a lot. There’s something about a man in a tailored suit and owning up to its power that’s really attractive. Not to mention all those times they’d be traveling for work, stumbling for a quick McDonald's bite at 12AM and he’d be dressed casually in tight black jeans and combat boots. The energy really kept you on your toes.
“Wow, I really hate late-night talks. All the secrets come out, don’t they?”
“If it makes you feel better, your ass looks great in pencil skirts,” you turn to him with flared eyes, “what? I’m just trying to let you know I mayhaps find you attractive.”
“Mayhaps you should stop talking before I regret this.”
His eyebrows lift and disappear from his bangs, the hair freshly dried and fluffy from his late night shower. He then pats his lap with a little blasé as if to say “hop on”, and you ignore the way how good the seat looks, his boxer briefs doing nothing to hide his unmentionables.
Trying to fight alongside your last drop of dignity, you take your time.
“C’mon y/n, don’t make it weird.”
“It’s been weird, Jeon! Jimin’s next door!” you hiss, backing away slightly, ��Give me some time, I can’t just hump my boss!”
“You’re not humping your boss.” Jungkook has the audacity to grin, the expression looking absolutely sinful in the moonlight. “Think of it as your lover wanting to make you feel good.”
The bridge between love and hatred is a fine, fine line stemmed by passion.
Careful, you lift your blankets up and slip out of them, moving to sit up. It’s ridiculous, tiptoeing around your bed to avoid any sudden creaks in the aged wood of your mahogany headboard.
“We’re out to prove to your family we fuck on the reg,” Jungkook snips, “you can make noise.”
Within seconds, he’s hauling you on his lap. You squeak in surprise, feeling the thin material of his boxers seep through your thin silk shorts. You wriggle around, monitoring Jungkook’s expression. He does not allude too much, but you take note of the way Jungkook secures you with his hands between the swells of your thighs.
“I’m not a rollercoaster, stop adjusting like you’re gonna buckle up.”
Jungkook’s dry humor lightens the mood considerably, and you can’t help but smile timidly at his attempt to make you feel at ease. He lets you take your time, and you never imagined someone so demanding in the office can be so… kind in bed.
You dip forward to kiss his lips once, twice. He looks needy, but lets you set the pace. You appreciate that. You’re salivating at his willingness to make you feel good, and you whimper as he nibbles on a sensitive spot on your neck.
You need more. Sensing your urgency when you jerk his chin up, he muffles your sounds with a harsh kiss, taking care to moan deeply into your mouth. The heat is luxurious on this winter night, burgundy kisses exchanged between the sheets like secrets. His tongue slips between your teeth, tasting every inch of you and exploring you like the deepest texts.
He pulls away slightly, and you’re drowning in his gaze. “Am I still just kinda-sorta handsome now?” he nips at your neck, sucking on a spot between your jaw.
“N-no,” and you pull him up by the chin, taking in his messy hair and glazed eyes, “you’re fucking sexy,” and you tug your mouth to his once more.
You don’t even realize that you’re rolling your hips until Jungkook breaks the kiss in favor of grabbing your hips, making sure your core is nestled perfectly between his hardening length. It doesn’t take long for the both of you to get wet, and the silk glides easily between your thighs like butter.
“That’s it, baby girl,” he encourages, one hand reaching up to cup your breast, “use me, make yourself feel good.”
“Please, don’t call me that,” you whine against his mouth, trying to keep the mood in, “Babe is fine, but baby girl makes me feel like a little kid and I’m not a little kid.”
“You damn right,” and he lifts his hips to meet yours in a sharp thrust, and you gasp hotly into his mouth. It’s too late to muffle your moans, not when you’re drenched with two pathetic pieces of fabric stopping the both of you. “You’re a gorgeous, intelligent, strong, amazing woman.”
With every compliment, he does all the work, thrusting with each adjective like he’s blessing poetry into your body.
“J-Jungkook,” the name is muffled against his shoulder, too fuzzed in ecstasy to be embarrassed by the drool coating his tank top. His hair tickles your shoulder as he nips at your clothed breasts, swirling around your nipple. “I-I, m’gonna come,”
“You’re almost there huh?” and he slips a hand between you two to find that sweet spot, swirling designs between your shorts. “Fuck, you’re so wet.”
And you’re shaking, collapsing into his embrace as he rides out your high. He cradles one hand in your hair as you rub furiously against his other, chasing your pleasure like a starved animal.
“K-Kook,” you murmur into his neck, finding the strength to roll your hips one more time to check. “You’re still hard, do you want me to help?”
“No.” he’s forthright, and as tired as you are, you force yourself to pick your head up. Sweat lines his brow and his face is flushed, but he’s already helping you off and handing you a tissue from the nightstand.
“What?” you’re hurt, and don’t want to admit why.
“Don’t feel like you need to,” he grunts into your forehead, dipping a chaste kiss right in the center. “Just let me do something nice to you for once.”
As much as you want to, you don’t complain as he tucks you in. You don’t complain when you see a wet stain on his Kirby boxer briefs. You don’t answer back when he checks his phone one more time and pulls you in to press a kiss to your cheek. It’s 12:31.
“Merry Christmas,” he murmurs into your skin, and turns over so his back faces you.
Christmas is a loud and eager affair. The entirety of your family piles into your house while still in pajamas, aunts and uncles from other villas running in with their children with their newly opened toys and gadgets. There’s a buffet style breakfast piled on the kitchen island, and you’re all eating in the living room while watching holiday movies.
Jungkook melds right in, unsurprisingly. He has your baby cousin Dante in his lap, teaching him how to use the controls of his new Nintendo Switch.
Despite only meeting Jungkook a few days ago, you notice that some of your family have taken the liberty of giving him small presents. You spot a simple silver chain around his wrist, courtesy of Jimin, and a fluffy grey scarf wrapped around his neck, courtesy of your aunt’s impeccable knitting club.
“He fits right in, doesn’t he?”
Yoongi hands you your usual cup of tea, and you accept it gratefully. You’re sitting right next to the tree, and you notice that some of the ornaments are miniature books. You absentmindedly run your fingers over the carved wood, especially on the ones that are your favorite titles.
“Yeah,” you hate to admit, so you whisper it into your mug. But Yoongi can hear, he always does. “I didn’t think it would be this easy.”
“Easy to love him, or easy to fit into this family?”
You splutter into your mug, and Yoongi does the right thing by patting your back. It feels a little bit like he’s burping a baby, but otherwise, it soothes your lungs.
“I am happy for you, you know.” he says, knocking knees with you. “It might not seem like it now, but I truly am.”
Deciding not to dwell on his subversive confession, you thank him for the tea and excuse yourself. Dante seems like he’s got the hang of MarioKart, so you tug Jungkook by the hand and lead him back into your bedroom.
“I got you a present, but I didn’t feel like making a scene about it,” you pull out a pink gift bag, tufts of white tissue paper sticking out. “Also, it’s kinda cheap and it was a last minute thing, so don’t have any high expectations.”
“Gee, you’re really making me feel deserving of this gift,” but he takes his time in unraveling the bag anyway.
He pulls out a shiny onyx black mug, rolling it between his hands. On one side it’s engraved in gold cursive “World’s Best Boss” but on the other side it’s engraved, “World’s Best Husband”.
“Subtle,” he grins, pulling you into a hug. He gets that it’s a gag gift, but because it’s from you, it's a lot more meaningful. You could’ve easily delved into his bank accounts and see what he buys for himself, but you decided to take the more personal route.
“Thanks,” he murmurs into your hair. And to really throw you off he says, “For my gift, I’ve decided to publish your novel.”
You shove him away as if you’ve been stung, and you barely have the voice to ask, “Are you serious, you’ve read my novel? I didn’t even send you the first draft!”
“We share the same Google Drive, it was easy to find. If you had noticed, it’s the only thing I’ve been reading this week,” he shrugs as if it’s nothing, but he’s in actuality giving you your lifelong dream. “You deserve it, really. I’m sorry if you felt like it wasn’t ready to be read. But it was wonderful, you’re a real wordsmith.”
“I’m not upset,” you can’t be, not when he smells so good and he’s trying to hug you all over again. “How many copies?”
“10,000.”
“20,000.”
“15,000, and I’ll even give you permission to dedicate your novel to me.” he raises his brows irreverently.
You scoff at his arrogance, but you don’t admit to confessing that along with professors and your family, you would be dedicating it to him. “Well my gift feels like absolute shit,” you deadpan, “can I have a do-over tomorrow? We can go to the mall or something.”
“You’ve done enough for me,” he disagrees, breaking away from you to place the mug on your desk. “Agreeing to my farfetched proposal, letting me into your home. I think that’s an amazing gift.”
“You’ve been way too nice,” you look at him wearily, noting the rosiness in his cheeks.
“You say that like it’s not possible!”
“Who knows? Maybe the Christmas spirit has performed a miracle, who am I to judge?” and you can’t get enough of the man, running into his heart one more time. Pressing your ear to his chest you sing, “Well, in the Poconos they say, that Jeon Jungkook’s heart grew three sizes that day.”
It may have not grown three sizes, but if the living room wasn’t so loud, maybe you could’ve heard his heart beating three times as fast.
The calm after the storm is your favorite part of Christmas. Most of your extended family has left to mull in their own homes, leaving your family to laze around until it’s just you and Jungkook that are awake.
Jim Carrey’s version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is playing on Netflix, arguably the only superior rendition of the children's book. The tree is still glowing by the fireplace, soft white lights trickling in the darkened room.
Earlier in the night, you and Jungkook had cuddled up in the middle of the couch under a blanket, and were too lazy to move even when the entirety of your family vacated. Either of you could’ve easily shoved each other off and went to bed, but here you are, making offhand comments over hot cocoa. Each second that passes by, you’re more aware of how well you two sink between the fabric like you’re meant to do this. The domesticity terrifies you, but you don’t dare to point it out.
“How does his face do that?” Jungkook turns to you, contorting his face into funny expressions. It’s a poor attempt at the green creature on the screen, but it makes your mouth twitch and you fight the urge to giggle. “It’s like he’s made of rubber.”
“He has a sense of humor, unlike some people.”
“Very funny,” he says, turning away to take a sip of his cooca.
Sinking further into the couch, you unconsciously latch onto him more, savoring his body heat. “Can I confess something?”
“What’s up?”
“A week ago, I loathed you. I used to have recurring dreams about you getting run over by a Wonderbread truck. And I was driving the truck.”
“Wow, that makes me feel so much better.”
“No really, if I had the opportunity to watch you get hit by a cab, I would’ve paid for it.”
“If it were possible for me to file for divorce at this very second, now would be time. You are a walking red flag.”
“Okay, but!” you shush him with a finger to your lips, and he goes cross-eyed at the touch. “After seeing your stellar performance this week and an impeccable display of human emotion. I think after all of this, we could be friends.”
“Fwends?” he says through your finger, mouth smushed. “Why whuh we?”
Instead of lifting your finger right away, you swipe at his cherry lips, getting rid of the marshmallow sticking to the corners.
“Because we get along.” you say simply.
“Because we’re supposed to be getting married.”
“No! We’ve always gotten along! We’ve just been too up our asses to notice!” you sit up, appalled. “Here’s my theory, a change of setting has suddenly spurred on your character development—”
“—y’know I really don’t appreciate your use of literary jargon, it’s really pretentious—”
“—because without your external conflict, you have a chance to let loose and enjoy your life for once!”
Jungkook frowns, adjusting his frame so he slightly hovers you. He’s pretty like this, dressed in fluffy black pajamas and his face soft. His eyes absorb the Christmas fairy lights, and you notice for the first time in two years that there are no longer purple bags under his eyes.
“I don’t know,” he murmurs, voice so small you wonder if he’s worried to crush the moment. “Friends are hard.”
You shake your head vehemently, “Friends are easy, keeping them is the hard part.”
He doesn’t know why he’s being so weird about this. You’ve worked for him for over two years, you know him as well as you know your skincare routine, down to the last detail.
“Jeon, don’t think too hard about this,” you try to get him to lighten up, the intense look in his eyes throwing you in for a loop. It makes the little hamster wheel in your head spin rapidly, and you wonder if you’re really crossing a line. “Jimin said you had a really good time yesterday, I was almost jealous I couldn’t come shopping with you.”
He cracks a smile at that, “Yeah, Jimin and I shared a moment,” and he leans down to the shell of your ear, “and he said he really enjoyed our moment last night.”
“Oh my god!” you grab a nearby throw pillow, chucking the rough fabric in his face.
He breaks into a laugh, but not the wine and dine chuckles that he’d have between terse negotiations for work. It’s a full out giggle, like he’s proud to have riled you up enough to break your resolve. Who knew your angry face could be so cute?
“I guess if we’ve crossed a line, might as well make it all the way to the end,” Jungkook says easily, running a hand through his chocolate tresses.
You and Jungkook are leaving the day after tomorrow. Most of your stuff is packed and ready to go, and you’re currently spending the rest of your night at a sit-down dinner with your immediate family plus Jimin.
It’s peaceful, you muse. Jungkook even offered to help cook. Back at Big Hit not once did he ever bring leftovers from home, always insisting you order something for him during work. Kimchi fried rice is a simple dish, but Jungkook had taken great care in making sure it was cooked properly and adjusted to your family’s tastes.
Your parents are glowing and enjoying their time with the whole family, a rarity that grows more valuable with age. The meal soothes you like a balm, reminding you of old conversations that had you spew milk out of your nose or Namjoon accidentally spilling beans on your lap.
“Oh, you should also clear your schedule for the first week of September,” Jimin says absentmindedly, shoving another mouthful of fried rice. “Besides Easter, Jungkook says we can celebrate his birthday and visit for the weekend.”
“Seriously,” Namjoon balks, sitting up straight as he regards you in disbelief. “You’re sure your Devil of a boss will enjoy you out of his chains for two vacations, god forbid you take the holidays off again.”
The grip on your fork tightens, but you steel yourself. Honestly, you were wondering why it took Namjoon this long to let it all out. He was always vehemently against your job, as he was the person who got the brunt of your vents when you were stressed. Probably for the sake of Christmas he let it go, but now that it’s over, the topic’s fair game.
“Oh, c’mon Joonie,” your mother frowns, “not at the table.”
“He isn’t that bad, Joon.” you reason, completely ignoring Jungkook as you stare straight at your brother. “He means well—”
“Means well?” Namjoon barks a laugh, as if it’s the most laudable thing. “Sis, you cried everyday for a straight month after you were hired.” he places his hands on the table, regarding you carefully, “I had to personally call your doctor in New York to get you sleeping pills, and not to mention that two weeks ago, you were crying again because you were worried he forgot your vacation and would make you work! Don’t tell me he ‘means well’ when I’ve been busy picking up the pieces!”
At this point, you’re livid. Jungkook’s right here, and while you can’t go ahead and out the fact that he is your boss, you can still have his back.
They don’t know that you’ve picked the pieces back up, reinforced yourself to create a better version of the person you once were.
“He does mean well,” you cry, matching your brother’s red tone to a T. “He’s just stressed and genuinely cares about the company. I choose to work long hours because he takes his time in making sure the work we publish is worthwhile, and I support that. He’s hard on me because he knows I have potential. He’s going to make sure I succeed.”
Namjoon looks at you like you’ve grown two heads. “You’re seriously defending your shitty boss?”
Jimin puts a hand over Namjoon’s in an attempt to placate him, but he shoves it away.
“Honestly,” Namjoon spits venom, “how can you possibly stand to be around someone who makes your life so miserable?”
Your meal has gone cold, and your fists clutch desperately at your jeans. The breath is robbed from your lungs, and you can’t look at anyone for fear of them regarding you with guilt. You know since the day you got hired that your family wasn’t exactly enthused at your boss’ level of expectation and work output. But they don’t know the industry, and they don’t even really know Jungkook past the surface level. .
But you know in their eyes, they’re right. Their daughter left their comfy home to pursue her lifelong dream, only for it to be broken in a matter of weeks. It’s natural to feel protective, and while you’re resilient and were able to get it together as of late, it wasn’t enough for them to understand. As someone who loves you, it’s obvious they’d want to blame your boss, blame Jungkook for your suffering.
You imagine your father would ask Namjoon to step outside, or your parents would make Jimin pull you and Jungkook out. Neither of those things happen.
A warm, large hand is placed on top of yours. You look towards Jungkook, face unreadable as he squeezes your thigh.
“Namjoon’s right.” Jungkook utters, pressing his lips together. “You deserve to be treated with respect. The boss has never appreciated the hard work you do, at least not out loud. You’re too good for him.”
“Jungkook,” you gape, putting your other hand over his.
He pulls away at your touch, glancing at the clock. “This dinner was wonderful,” he says gently, looking apologetic to your parents. “Excuse me, but I promised to call my parents at this time.”
The excuse is completely half-assed, but no one says anything as he leaves, walking out the door without a coat. The table is terse, with your parents attempting to coax out dessert while Jimin clears the dinner table. You refuse to look at Namjoon, who has no idea why you’re so upset. You wait five minutes before you mumble about getting Jungkook a jacket.
However, when you open the door he isn’t sitting on the porch. He’s all the way up the street, too far for you to be heard with a yell, and walking farther into town. The black hoodie falls to your side, disappointed.
Jungkook does in fact, call his parents. Your mother suggested it when she gave him the ring, thinking it would ease his homesickness if he made a better effort to communicate his feelings.
And so he spends over an hour huddled in a cafe, talking about nothing and everything with his mom and dad. He tells them about the little novelties he’s experienced this week, like making popcorn strings and picking out themed Christmas ornaments. He tells him how he promises to book a flight back to Korea as soon as his work visa goes through. While he doesn’t mention the proposal, he mentions you. He prattles on and on about how strong and beautiful you are, and how you’ve crept up on him and made him realize how awful of a person he was.
His mom prattles excitedly through the line, saying that women make you realize how much better you can be for them, but she doesn’t know the half of it.
Jungkook sat there in your dining room, Namjoon boldly telling you off about how miserable he’s made you.
And yet still, you defended him in ways he never imagined. Your relationship has always been mutual, and prickly at best. You balanced each other out, but he knows he doesn’t deserve you. When he first hired you, he rendered you indispensable like all the other assistants that couldn’t handle it. You’d break eventually.
And you did break. But you picked up the pieces and put yourself back together, and you didn’t resent him for it. He hated that. How can you trust someone who’s hurt you so much?
He can’t let you go through with this marriage. You’re wrong. You don’t need him to be successful.
[11:09] You: mom unlocked the door for you. Jimin and i went out for drinks so idk when ill be back
[11:09] You: please don’t be mad at me
Silly girl, why would he ever be mad at you?
His plan is simple, Sneak into your villa, grab his luggage, and try to book the earliest flight back to New York. Then, he can come clean to Taeyeon and spend the year in Korea while they work out his visa issues. He’ll quietly pack his things and clear out the office before Monday. Hopefully by the time he makes it to Busan, he can forgive himself. He’s going to regret missing your expression when you get to hold the first physical copy of your novel.
This plan proves difficult when he sees Namjoon waiting outside for him, sitting on his luggage and reading a book. His long legs are splayed across the porch, and he doesn’t spare Jungkook a glance.
“Knew something was off,” the older man doesn’t look up from his novel, “found the mug on her desk, bossman.”
Muttering a curse under his breath Jungkook opens his arms, “Are you gonna beat me up now?”
“What? No, I’m a lover, not a fighter.” Jungkook scoffs, and watches Namjoon roll his luggage to the back of the van. “And out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll save you the Lyft fare and drive you to the airport.”
Is he that predictable? He flinches at the sudden jet of the ignition, and he takes heavy, snow-laden steps to the passenger seat. Once buckled in, Namjoon tosses the book in his lap. “Some light reading for the drive.”
If Namjoon wasn’t the driver, he wouldn’t hesitate to chuck the book at his big, intelligent head. Instead, he glowers, clutching the book tightly. It’s only when they round the corner to a house brightly decorated with lights, does he see what novel Namjoon’s plucked.
A Mutually-Assured Attachment. Jungkook tosses the book back and forth between his palms, noting the soft cover is so worn it could melt apart in his lap. It feels tended and loved from years of use.
It’s Jungkook’s first novel, and you had a copy. One of the first editions, if he remembers the cover art correctly. Granted, he thought you had some of his books purely because of your job, but not one from your childhood. Frankly he thought this should have never been published, but he was nineteen and that in itself was a large feat.
He carefully peels the pages, and takes out his phone to shine the flashlight mode. At the very front, blood red ink is scratched next to the title: “this is THE most pretentious title i’ve read in my life! Don’t disappoint me jeon!!”
Your handwriting’s all over the place. He sees graphite, gel, and glitter pens mark the margins, as if you’ve come back each time to write something new. The annotations vary, from “this part sucks” to “shit, that’s good i should do that”. You draw little pictures of the objects he’s contrived, from the little brass locket one character cherishes to the facial expressions you imagine they hold.
And at the very end, your handwriting sits neat and bold on the inside cover: I can do better than him.
Jungkook chuckles to himself, turning off the light. You’re always right.
Namjoon senses the younger one is done, and he clears his throat. “I really really don’t understand what she sees in you.”
“I don’t understand either,” Jungkook agrees easily, his finger tracing your handwriting. He muses that you were always out to get him, even if you didn’t know it.
Namjoon masks his surprise by clearing his throat. “But I’d rather seek to understand than live the rest of my life having my sister resent me. I don’t really know what you two are going through, but if she trusts you with her life, I’ll try. Emphasis on try.”
“I don’t deserve your trust.”
“You damn right you don’t,” succumbing to his impulses Namjoon makes a sharp turn, and Jungkook holds his stomach together before it flies out the window.
You come home to find your room cold and barren. All of Jungkook’s things are gone, except your Christmas mug.
You at least thought Jungkook would spare you a goodbye before he ditched you. You hoped you’d at least consider each other friends who provide explanations after all of this.
Lifting the mug off the desk, you hear a little clink in the glass, the chime unfamiliar. Hurriedly, you pour out its contents. A heavy, tungsten black ring lands in your palm. You clench the metal between your fingers, hugging it to your chest.
Mind made up, you dash out to the hallway, nearly bumping into your cousin. At the same time you and Jimin blurt, “We need to go to the airport.”
Apparently Namjoon warned Jimin that something fishy’s going on. Namjoon didn’t know what, but he had the inkling that Jungkook was hiding something. Once Jimin received the text to meet them at the airport, he flung you in his sedan and floored it. Flushed with adrenaline, Jimin is speeding with a fervor you’ve never experienced.
“Can you please, take the edge off and tell me what the hell is going on?”
Just like how Jungkook didn’t want Big Hit to go down the drain, you didn’t want this week to be in vain. You can’t wait a year for Jungkook to come back, and you didn’t want to publish your first novel without him by your side.
“Long version or short version?”
“The in-the-middle version. I don’t think I have the brain capacity to absorb all your drama right now but I really need some answers.”
“O-kay. Basically, Jungkook isn’t a Literary Agent. He’s my god-awful boss. Or was awful, I don’t know. Jungkook left the country before his work visa was fully processed. That’s a breach, so he needs to live in Korea for a year to come back. But he can’t run Big Hit remotely, so he proposed to marry me to attain citizenship.”
Your head whips to the dashboard and you cry out, barely stopping the impact with your hands.
“Sorry, sorry!” Jimin’s eyes are focused on the red light, absolutely terrified. “Bitch, you’re committing fraud with your boss! You could go to jail, that’s like, the hottest love story ever!”
“But he’s going back to Korea because now he suddenly realized he can forge basic human connection.” you mutter, “so no, we’re not going to jail because he’s decided to do the right thing.”
“So what you’re saying is, Jungkook has achieved self-actualization and decided to peacefully move to Korea and sacrifice the company for you.” Jimin is carving his free hand in the air, gesturing wildly. “Don’t you see! He really likes you.”
“Yeah, so now we need to go to the airport and tell his dumbass this isn’t the time to be selfless.”
Once you find a spot you’re rushing out of the car, weaving between carts and people to find the correct terminal. This airport is much smaller than JFK, so it’s easy for you to navigate and get past the TSA. It also helps that Jin’s wife is an attendant.
“He chose the 1:45 flight in Terminal 31A,” Mijoo chirps from her tablet, leading you in the right direction. She’s dressed impeccably, the odds and ends of this airport glued together by her impeccable organization. She points to the clock, which glares a digital 1:18AM. “You have time.”
“Thank you Mijoo,” you exhale gratefully, “and I’m so so sorry I skipped your wedding!”
“This is the 300th time you’ve said it,” Mijoo rolls her eyes, pushing you and Jimin forward, “But I’ll make sure not to miss your wedding.”
You’re sweating from your down jacket, and you can’t believe it’s really all come down to this. The one person you’ve spent the last two years of your life doting on, and you didn’t want to stop. You wanted him not just for the publication of your novel, but because you needed him.
Jungkook’s sitting in the waiting area of Terminal 31A, looking wholly inconspicuous as he reads a book and has his hood propped up.
Fists balled, you stride forward only to have Jimin tug you back. “What?”
Jimin pulls off your thick coat, making haste to wipe the sweat off your brow with his sleeves and flatten your messy hair. “What?” he tilts his head to the side, “you need to look good before the big confrontation. I’m recording this for archival purposes. Do you have any lip balm by any chance? You look chapped.”
You slap his hands away, but those grubby fingers just come back with a vengeance. “My life is just a big show to you, isn’t it?”
“Living vicariously all day, every day.”
While Jimin parts your bangs, the intercom cuts through the air.
“The 1:45 flight to John F. Kennedy International airport will now commence boarding. Please line up according to the ticket class.”
Jimin smiles at you, squeezing your shoulders and gestures for you to go. To your horror, Jungkook is first in line. Panic bubbles to your throat.
“Jeon Jungkook!” you cry, voice echoing throughout the terminal. “If you so much breathe in the direction of that plane I will call Mark Lee right this second and tell him the book series is off!”
Like a deer in the headlights, Jungkook heeds to your voice immediately. In his stupor you jog forward to snatch his wrist and pull him out of line. You don’t let go until you’re away from the long line, and Jungkook tugs his wrist away.
“Don’t you dare call him,” Jungkook looks serious, as if you didn’t drive all the way to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life. “I will never forgive you if you terminate Mark Lee’s contract.”
“And I won’t forgive you if you get on that plane.”
Pain flashes in his eyes, and he shakes his head. “I need to. I can’t let us—let you go through with this. You and your family deserve better.”
“What? Jungkook, I agreed to this just as much as you did.”
“No, you didn’t.” he’s adamant, and steps back with every step you take forward. “As your boss I threatened you, held it over your head like an ultimatum. I’ve hurt you,” his voice cracks, looking at you desperately, “why would you want to be stuck with me when I’ve made your life miserable?”
“If I really wanted to leave, I would’ve done it a long time ago.” You reason, “Do you really want to leave the company behind? To fucking Karen?”
“Of course I don’t!” Jungkook exclaims, “but it isn’t worth hurting you, hurting your family and everyone that loves you.”
“And what about you? You’ll be hurt when you leave,” and you step forward, so close that your chests are touching. You take hold of his hands, clutching them between your small ones. “Don’t go, stay with me in New York. We’ll both work hard and try to not run each other to the ground. Let’s be better together.”
You’re practically begging, biting your lip raw and hoping Jungkook understands how good this change is for the both of you.
Jungkook is conflicted, looking back and forth between the airline boarding for JFK and your watery eyes. He hates seeing you like this. He can’t imagine you, the strongest woman he’s ever met, crying because of him. Namjoon’s voice echoes in his mind and he tries to smash it to the edge of his memory. But as always, you’re right.
He replaces your grip with his own, and gets down on one knee.
Jungkook says your name like it's the sweetest of songs. You’ve never seen him so terrified. “y/n, I didn’t do it right the first time, so let me try again. Please, marry me. Marry me because I want to date you. I want to take you out and give you what you deserve, what we deserve. I want to do better for myself, do better for you. I’ve realized you’re the only person that makes me feel like I’m simultaneously on fire and on thin ice,” he pulls out a velvet box from his pocket, revealing a thin band with interlocking black and clear diamond studs. It’s a pretty little thing, with a groove in the center so it stacks perfectly with your engagement ring. “This was supposed to be your Christmas present, but I chickened out at the last second,” he says sheepishly, tucking his head in. “But if you let me put this ring on your finger, I promise to be your home away from home.”
With a sob you fall to your knees, throwing yourself onto Jungkook. A small “oof” escapes his lips, and he struggles to hold your waist so you both don’t topple over. “Yes, yes, yes!” you cry, pulling away to cup his face with both hands, pulling him into a sweet kiss.
Jungkook’s smile takes up his entire face, and he eagerly pecks your lips one more time before ripping the ring from its holder and stacking it on top of your engagement ring. The teardrop diamond is nestled perfectly between the thinner band’s V. “Pretty,” he says, pressing his forehead to yours.
“Wait,” you pull out the black ring that you found in your room, holding it to his face. “I’m assuming this is yours?”
“Yeah,” he replies, “your mother said it was your great grandfather’s. It’s not an engagement ring, but it’s the thought that counts.”
“It matches,” you hum, placing his simpler band in his ring finger. Once it’s on, you take a deep breath. “Shit, we’re really doing this?”
Jungkook pulls you to stand, wiping the happy tears from your cheek. “We are, we’re a team, remember? We’ve crossed the line and we gotta finish it.”
And he picks you up, the workouts definitely paying off as he spins you around like you’re the leads in La-La Land, drunk off the happy chemicals firing in your brain. Jimin whoops and hollers, along with all the other patrons in the vicinity of the airport terminal.
Your real-fiancé puts you down, the both of you now hyperconscious of the stares people give you. Other people have filmed the proposal as well, completely smitten by your confessions.
“Jungkook,” you giggle into his shoulder, “you were right. Our story is straight out of a Wattpad entry.”
“Down to the super cheesy in-public airport proposal?” he chimes, pressing his forehead to yours. “Couldn’t have asked for a better love story.”
“I can’t wait to fall in love with you,” you whisper, quiet enough for his ears only, “for real, this time.”
“Not that it’s a challenge,” he teases softly, “but I’m already halfway there.”
some months later.
“Like the new office, boss lady?” your new assistant (yes, you have an assistant!) asks kindly, his bubbly presence uplifting you immediately. He leads you to the window box, filled with tiny plants. “I figured you like succulents, because you have no time to water them and they’re prickly like you.”
“Very funny, Seungkwan.” you chide good-naturedly, picking up a succulent with a yellow flower in the middle. “But thank you, your interior design skills are outmatched. I can’t wait to work with you.”
“Me too, your social commentary you published on the literary industry? And you managed to lace it all up in an inconspicuous fantasy novel?” Seungkwan boasts, “I applied for this position right then and there.”
“Thanks Seungkwan, why don’t you take your lunch and we’ll meet back at one to discuss our plans for next week.”
“Sounds good, do you want me to pick you up something?”
“I’m good, I’m meeting with the bossman.”
Seungkwan gives you that look, his lips jutting out in a suggestive manner that almost makes you burst into giggles. Your assistant decides not to bother you until after you’ve eaten, and bids you goodbye.
Just when you get a moment of peace, a handsome face pokes his way inside. “Hello editor,” Jungkook knocks on your door for the sake of attention, but you’re already dragging him into the office and shutting the door tight. “Like your new office?”
“Love it,” you moan, gesturing to Seungkwan’s light filtering curtains. They’re not dark, rather a tasteful sea green, but they’re opaque enough to stop wandering eyes from peeking into your space. Your personal space was a qualm that immediately needed to be mended after your experience in Jungkook’s office. “A lot more private than your office.”
“A little part of me hates how much you deserve this promotion,” he sits on your desk, and doesn’t hesitate to pull you between his legs, letting you lean into his chest, “but I do love the added privacy.”
You fiddle with the buttons of his navy collar, his strong thighs trap you between him, “Why, miss me already?”
He shrugs, “Taehyung doesn’t look as good as you do in a pencil skirt.”
You laugh, brushing the strands of hair that fall from his coiff. “No one looks as good as I do in a pencil skirt.” A firm grip confirms that, two strong hands cupping your backside. “Mr. Jeon!” you gasp playfully, pushing him away slightly to pinch his cheeky grin. “Can we save this for later? I’m hungry, but we can always continue this for dessert.”
He groans in your neck, “Love the sound of that, Mrs. Jeon.”
bonus.
“FUUUCCCKKKKKK YEEAAHHHHH!” Park Jimin’s voice bounces off the walls of Taeyeon’s office, his face taking up the entire screen of his desktop as the camera shifts harshly between him and you and Jungkook at the airport. “My cousin’s not going to jail! WOO!”
Taeyeon pauses the YouTube video at a particularly unflattering screencap: Jimin’s nostrils are flaring wildly and he looks fairly high mid-scream.
A low whistle escapes Jungkook’s lips, “Wow. That video’s viral,” he looks to you appreciatively, “if Jimin kicks off his YouTube career, you think we can milk a memoir outta him?”
“Potentially,” you reply nonchalantly, playing with your rings.
“So,” Taeyeon’s voice is icy, slashing between your casual conversation, “you’re getting married, for real this time?”
“Yep,” Jungkook pops.
“Alright,” and from her desk she pulls out an ungodly stack of documents, one that mirrors your own back at the office. “Jungkook, you’ll stay with me. y/n, you’ll go to Vernon’s office and he’ll give you the same spiel. We’ll interview you privately with the same questions. A hair out of place and you’re in trouble. You sure you want to go through with this?”
You and Jungkook exchange looks, betting your own company that you got this in the bag.
“Hit us with your best shot.”
#jungkook#jungkook fic#jungkook smut#jungkook fanfic#bts fanfic#jeongguk#jungkook fluff#kpop#kpop fic#jjk#bts x reader#how did i manage to write this
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You wanted to sleep wiht a goddess but instead had to settle for a priestess Pt.2
Chapter 2 - The calm before the storm.
A/N = Okey, so… this story is demanding to be a little longer than intended but im happy with it. I’m having so much fun writing for Yelena, so I’m hoping I’m making her justice.
Tags: fluff.
Translation: Pridurok = jerk // Detka = baby // Moya lyubov = my love
Chapter 1
Monday morning saw you at your office contemplating the ring. It was a beautiful black titanium band with a 0.5 carat diamond. When questioned by Natasha and Tony, you simple told them that Yelena was a girl with simple likes and she wasn’t really that extravagant with jewelry and all that.
After you talked with Natasha and went to pick up the ring, you arranged a quick brunch with Melina and Alexei today, so as to avoid any kind of question by your very perceptive Russian girlfriend. You knew Tasha would keep an eye on her and with how chaotic Yelena’s job was being lately, you were sure this was the best option to tell them about your plan.
Alexei, much like Tony, almost squealed with happiness, starting to plan the wedding himself. You shook your head and tried to calm him, telling him you weren’t even sure she would say yes, to which he promptly asked you if you wanted to bet on it.
Melina was much harder to crack. She asked you all kinds of questions about future plans, financial security, jobs, family and that and after you managed to answer each and all of her questions to your best abilities, she finally said she was happy for you and made you promise you’ll call her first after proposing. You agreed thou, Natasha never specified in which form you should tell her, so basically you weren’t breaking any promises.
// //
Coming back to the office after your brunch, you immerse yourself in the bast amount of emails you have waiting for you. Being in PR was sometimes chaotic but you enjoyed it nonetheless. You’re so engrossed replying that your phone ringing startles you a little, noticing it’s almost 5 pm. Yelena’s ringtone puts a smile on your face.
“I’m about to kill the next person asking me for an update on the case”
You chuckle before answering hearing Yelena muttering some words in Russian.
“I’m guessing you guys haven’t heard anything back yet from your contacts”
“No, but do my boss listens to me? No, the bastard wants answers pronto”
You save your work and close all tabs. Picking the ring from your desk (you showed it to the in-laws) you put it back in your jacket and start grabbing your things.
“I’m sorry love. Can I do something to cheer you up?”
“Cuddles would be appreciated”
“Done!”
“Are you done working now detka?”
That small word has you grinning like an idiot and your heart doing somersaults proud of an Olympian. Yelena is not that open with terms of endearment, much less with her feelings, so any time one falls from her lips directed at you, well, it lefts you as a blushing mess.
“I’m leaving now Lena, you need me to pick you up?”
“No. I’m at home already, but I want cuddles now”
“I’ll be there soon then. How about if I pick up some Chinese from that place you like?”
“Pridurok, what part of I want cuddles now you haven’t really understood? Get your sweet ass home so I can cuddle with you”
“Fine, but then order it on line, I’m kinda starving”
“Didn’t you had lunch?”
In theory you hadn’t since it was more a like a brunch with Melina and Alexei, and then you get so engrossed in work that you forgot about it.
“I… uhm, I kinda forgot it, got caught at work” you prayed that Yelena wouldn’t pick up the hesitation in your voice.
“Uh… fine” she wasn’t that convinced but she let it go for now.
“Be there in 15. Love you babes”
“…. Love you too”
Not waiting for your reply she hung up the phone. It was small actions like these that made you loving her more.
// //
17 minutes later, if you count the 2 it took you to get in the car and then leave the car, you were opening the front door. Leaving your messenger bag and keys on the little table, you took you jacket and hang it on the rack, taking of your shoes at last.
“Honey I’m home!” You sing-song
Not soon your words leave your mouth, you saw a sandy blonde blur past and felt a body collapse with you. Yelena became a koala when she was upset and you were more than happy to hold your girlfriend, sometimes even teasing her about it. Her arms hold you tightly and her head hides between your neck and shoulder, your arms automatically going to her bringing her closer if that’s even possible.
Yelena hums contentedly as she feels your lips placing a kiss in her head, one of your hands rubbing small circles on her back. Her scent invading your nostrils. It might surprise some people to learn that Yelena often smells flowery, but to you, it fitted her. She’s wearing pajamas already, topped with your her favorite hoodie. Her hair is slightly wet, indicating she probably left the shower a few minutes before calling you.
“Let’s go to bed bae”
She just nods and after a few minutes grabs your hand and tugs you towards the bedroom, pushing you towards the in suite. You take a quick shower, not wanting to let your upset koala waiting too long, change into your pj’s and go back to bed.
Yelena is sitting crosslegged, blanket around her with the TV on but you can tell she’s not really paying attention. You make your way towards her and sit opening your arms so she can cuddle with you. She immediately does it but brings you down with her, so now you’re both lying.
“Snuggles”
“Mkay” you mumble.
Yelena plays with the hem of your shirt for a little before her fingers star caressing your stomach, nothing sexual, she just does this when she needs to ground herself to the present. You caught up after you noticed she always did it when she was really upset about something. After a while of you both just enjoying each other’s company, you have to ask, even if you have learn to give her time if she wants to talk about it.
“Want to talk about it love?”
She only sighs at your question, so you don’t pressure further, so you continue giving her small kisses on her forehead, you play with her hair and your other hand just holds her waist, skin to skin.
“Not really, I think I just got overwhelmed by it. I’m better now that you’re here thou”
Your idiot smile appears again… and before you try to attempt to confort her, at the same time your stomach growls. You try to hide the blush and the growl escaping your lips tells Yelena all she needs to know. She laughs at you, both hands leaving your body and going to your face bringing your lips together in a slow and tender kiss.
“You always know how to cheer me up detka. Even in the must unusual forms” she then gets up the bed, leaving the room. You’re left there a little confused but then you see her entering the room with takeout bags.
“Here, let’s eat before it gets cold so we can go back to snuggling”
“An upgrade from cuddles to snuggles before being feed? Way to make a girl feel loved”
She knows she’s not the most expressive person in the world, but she does loves you a lot, so she tries to show it in different ways. There was a time yo both talked about your love language and while she didn’t exactly know which one was her main one, you told her that you spoke in all of them, you liked being touched, receive gifts (they didn’t have to be bough thou), you wanted to hear words of encouragement, spent time with them and them making things for you. Although you communicated with her mainly by doing things and touching her, always respecting and learning things, Yelena tried hard to meet you in the middle.
Yelena laughed at you and placed everything on the plates she brought, the smell of food soon captivating your nose. She gave you a plate before she started to eat, it wasn’t Chinese, she opted for crepes and milkshakes, your to go comfort food. Seeing the display and knowing she chose what you liked instead of what she wanted made you realize that there was no reason to look and create the perfect set up.
You watched her eat, the tomato sauce dripping on her chin, she cursed before grabbing the napkin and cleaning it, all while chewing. She never looked more beautiful to you,
“Marry me”
The words slip from your mouth before your brain can stop them, but it didn’t matter. You didn’t have the ring with you, you weren’t on one knee speaking the speech you would have practiced for hours. Nothing mattered but the woman in front of you.
Yelena looked at you, eyes wide open, half eaten crepe on her hands. Yeah, she was beautiful.
“What?”
“Marry me” you said it with more force. Leaving your plate on the bedside table, you grabbed hers and took it out of the way as well. You hold her hand interlacing her fingers with yours, your thumb rubbing small circles on her hand.
“You’re food deprived pridurok”
Yelena jokes, a mechanism you know she goes to when she doesn’t know how to respond when things are serious.
“I might, but I’m serious Yelena”
She looks at you, her face unreadable, not even her eyes give away something. This it is. You have to give her the best speech ever. Throwing all plans to the window you proceed.
“Yelena, I have never in my life thought about marriage or settling with someone. I thought I was happy with the life I had before being with you. I lived for my work, had no commitments to anyone, everything I did it for me, I kinda had my life planned, but then you happened in the must unexpected way and throw my precautionary life out and changed it for the best. I love you with all my heart, body and soul. I was going to wait until Saturday but there’s not better time than the present right? So, Yelena Belova… would you marry me?” Your eyes get a little bit teary and you had to hold it so your voice didn’t break mid speech.
She stays silent for a moment, her eyes getting watery and a tiny small appears.
“You don’t even have a ring” you chuckle, mumbling a quick wait and run down the stairs, to your jacket, grab the velvet box and go back in less than 1 minute. All of this while Yelena stays dumbfounded on your bed. You properly kneel in front of her this time, opening the little box and showing her the ring inside, the tiny gasp she lets out tells you the chosen ring was the right decision.
Yelena looks at the ring and then at you, arching one eyebrow before looking at the ring again.
“Now, I ask you again, would you marry me moya lyubov?
“Yes, a thousand times yes” and this time she’s letting her tears run don her face. You place the ring in her finger and she plants small kisses on your face, wiping down your own tears with her thumbs before kissing your lips. Tender at first but you can feel Yelena getting impatient as she soon flips you on the bed, taking control, her kisses more urgent and passionate.
Once the air becomes an issue, she slows down, small kisses to help you both calm your breathings. She lets her forehead against yours, eyes closed, sighing happily.
“I love you y/l/m”
“Ditto”
She opens her eyes immediately, smacking your shoulder but laughs all the same.
“Way to ruin the moment detka”
“You love me all the same”
“Unfortunately that I do”
Yelena contemplates her finger and the band adorning it, you see her smile reaching her eyes. Grabbing your phone and opening the camera you turn her face towards you and kiss her. She knows you so well, lifting her hand and showing the ring. The picture sees the ring in the front, your slightly blurry kissing faces in the back. Smiling into the kiss, Yelena is the first one to break it, laying down admiring her finger and laughing happily.
You attach the picture to your friends group chat, Nat’s chat, Tony’s chat and the in-law’s chat, writing the caption “couldn’t wait, she said yes!” and pressed send. Once you saw the delivered confirmation, you turn it on silence. You are sure Natasha, Tony and Melina would immediately call, probably even try to kill you for doing it before hand, but your beautiful fiancée was in your bed, her fingers tracking up and down your thigh, and you were sure as hell going to give her all your attention… the rest of the world could wait, there’s a celebration you need to have.
The day turned to be great and it was just Monday, you felt on cloud nine (with Yelena working on taking you to 10th), the rest of the week could only improve after this right?
Turns out, you couldn’t be more wrong.
#yelena belova#yelena belova x y/n#yelena belova x female reader#marvel#yelena belova x reader#ao3 fanfic#cross posted on ao3
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PR Stunt Gone Wrong - Chapter 30 (end)
Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader
Summary: You are a fellow actress in the MCU, Bucky’s love interest. You met Seb during the CA: WS and you guys hit it off. Chemistry on and off the set, but never dated until after Infinity War. During filming of FATWS, the pandemic caused everything to shut down. Seb offered you to spend quarantine with him, but somewhere along the lines, things go wrong and Seb makes a PR decision.
A/N: I was going to to this in a Bucky story, but then I decided to keep it Seb. With everything going on with Seb over the last several months, I came up with this story in my head. Obviously a lot of this is made up, but it is using what we know Seb has been doing over the last several months.
One Year Later
You walk onto the set of the new Avengers movie, ready to get back to work in the MCU. It’s been a busy year for you. You filmed a few movies, and were nominated for an Oscar for one of your previous rolls, but didn’t win. Now you get to work with your Marvel family and you were excited.
You walk into your trailer to see your assistant, “Morning Jen!” you say as you throw your bag on the couch. “Morning Y/N! Here is your shooting schedule, your coffee, and you are due in hair and make up in 15,” she says with a warm smile. You smile in return feeling like everything has returned to somewhat normalcy. Just then you hear a knock on your trailer door. You open it to see Seb there smiling, “May I walk you to hair and make up?” he asks. You give him a warm smile, “Sure,” you say before waving goodbye to Jen and walking out the door.
After that day you said goodbye to Seb, you both took a long break from each other. You both got busy with projects and shoots, but after about 6 months apart, you ran into each other in New York. You were walking Tucker, who grew so much and was more dragging you through the streets. You saw Sebastian walking out of the coffee shop and you both saw each other and stopped dead in your tracks. You gave him a small wave, which he returned and walked toward you.
After talking for a few minutes, Seb offered to walk you back to your apartment, taking the leash from you. You both caught up during the walk and agreed to keep in touch. Over the last 6 months, you both texted regularly and called each other 2-3 times a week. You decided that friendship was the best way to move forward with Seb, though you know your feelings for him never truly went away. Baby steps, you told yourself.
You can’t even keep count of the amount of times you both talked until you fell asleep on the phone. He always gave you sound advice, and you tried to do the same. You both dated somewhat, but nothing serious. Seeing him now, back on set, you are happy you mended things with him.
You walk to the hair and make up trailer was quiet, but comfortable. You wanted to ask if he read the review on Ale’s latest movie. She finally got a roll in an American movie, just like she wanted. The movie bombed in the box office, and she got a terrible review. You also heard she threw a fit when pap pictures of you and Seb walking around New York popped up. You couldn’t help but smirk when you read it. You decided to not bring it up to him, since you were both starting over.
As you are about to get into the trailer, your phone rings for a Facetime with Chase. You show Seb, who smirks and you answer, having the camera on both of you. Chase’s face pops up, “Hey! There are my 2 favorite people!” he says. You laugh, “Hey Chase! How’s everything going with you?” you ask. He smiles, “Good! I uh... I got a girl,” he says. “What!?” you and Seb say together.
Chase laughs, “Yea, she is pretty cool. I can’t wait for you both to meet her,” he says. “Well I’m happy for you! I’m sorry to cut this short, but we are running into hair and make up. I’ll call you later to learn more about this girl,” you say. “Sounds good, bye guys,” he says before hanging up.
You and Chase stayed friends after your talk with him in LA. He understood where you came from, and supported your decision to not choose him or Seb. He had taken himself out of the equation anyway, but wanted you to be happy. He talked to you about what to say to Seb and how he thought he would react. He helped you prepare for what you knew was a hard conversation.
A lot has changed over the last year. Seb got a new better team at CAA, and he made it very clear that he is never doing a PR relationship again. You fired your manager, though she apologized profusely and cried, you sent her packing. You decided not to go with CAA, but was signed by another reputable agency. You have quite a few big projects that could be big things for you in the next year and are so excited.
You and Seb walk into the trailer and sit in your seats, getting ready for the long day of shooting. Once you are done, you go to head back to your trailer, when Seb grabs your hand. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something,” he says, looking into your eyes. “Sure, what’s up?” you ask.
He takes a deep breath, “I... I wanted to know if you...” he falters, suddenly nervous. Your heart rate goes through the roof, “Seb? You can ask me,” you say trying to stay calm. He takes another deep breath, “Will you go out to dinner with me? Like... a date?” he asks. You knew that was the question, but it still hit you like a mac truck.
Were you ready to give Seb another chance? It has been over a year since you were together, and only 6 months since you started talking again as friends. Even though you have been taking baby steps with him, you know you still love him. But can you trust him? “Um... yeah, sure,” you say with a shy smile. Seb gives you a wide smile.
“But, that doesn’t mean I am ready to be in a relationship with you,” you say pointing your finger at him. “I know, but I am willing to take this slow. Let you see that I am ready, and that you are the one for me,” he says before kissing your cheek. “I’ll see you on set,” he says before heading toward his trailer.
You turn and walk slowly, like in a daze, toward your trailer, you hand touching your cheek where he kissed you. You walk in and see Jen has your costume laid out and ready for you. She looks at your face and smiles, “What’s with you? You ok?” she asks with a smirk.
You look at her and give her a smile. “Yea. I think everything is going to be just fine,” you say with a laugh.
--
Chapter 29
Well that’s it. I know there wasn’t much talk about Ale, but I added in her not so happy ending. Also if you are pissed that there is potential for the reader and Seb to end up together, I left it open ended so you can decide yourself if they will if they will continue to date or one and done. Thank you for being on this crazy fiction/nonfiction journey! Feedback is appreciated!
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Sunday Stumped Day 35
It’s another Sunday Stumped Day!
Sometimes we straight out get stumped. So every few months we will pick a Sunday when we’ll post of a list of asks that we need your help on.
In this round, we are focusing on asks for specific stories. If your ask for a more general “type of” story is not included, it does not mean we are ignoring it, it just means we need more time to research and answer these asks.
If you know the answer to any of these asks please shoot us a message/ ask/ with the Post number and the fic details and we’ll add it and give you a shout out with our thanks. Any links you can provide will also be super helpful.
Thanks!
Post 1 , Post 2 , Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7, Post 8, Post 9, Post 10, Post 11, Post 12, Post 13, Post 14, Post 15, Post 16, Post 17, Post 18, Post 19, Post 20, Post 21, Post 22 , Post 23, Post 24, Post 25, Post 26, Post 27, Post 28, Post 29 , Post 30, Post 31, Post 32, Post 33 and Post 34 can be found here - and there are still fics we need your help with.
576. Anonymous said to everlarkficquestions: Hi, I am searching everlarkfic that I read couple years ago in ff.net. Post mockingjay, Katniss and Peeta are getting married then when they’ll rebuild Peeta's family bakery, peeta got collapse and they find out that he was dying. In the end peeta died. Annie and Katniss's mother had to move Katniss to district 4 to taking care of her. In district 4, Katniss met with gale and they were slowly building relationships from there?
577. its-hopeless-romantic said to everlarkficquestions: Hey,I am looking for fic in which Peeta is Katniss's college professor (he is 10 years older than her) and they fall in love. He is teaching history of art and I remember he invited her to the opening of his galery. I remembre that he goes to Italy to teach for a few months and before that he introduces her to his family. I think it has 2 long chapters in second one there is his proposal. (It's called Lessons in Love or something like, but I can't find it)thanks 💕💕💕
578. alwayseverlark said to everlarkficquestions:Hi! Looking for a in Panem fic (I think no games) , where Peeta is working in the mines and an accident happens and Katniss is looking for him thinking he’s dead , but Gale thinks she wa s looking for him instead and when he realizes , he’s mad at Katniss.I am not sure if this is one fic... or if I’m mixing two different fics...Thansk!
579. stonyspideypool said to everlarkficquestions:I'm looking for a fanfic were I think katniss wants peeta to take control/be more dominant so she calls johanna and johanna tells her that peeta would never force himself on her and he has dealt with so much blue balls over the years that he's used to it or something (lmao) sorry that's all I remember 😅😅Love the page btw💙❤ literally its the only reason I'm on tumblr, thank you💕
580. amesielee said to everlarkficquestions:Hi I'm looking for a fanfic. It's either a one shot 2 shot or 3 shot and it's about Peeta and Katniss having sex. It's their first time and once it's over Peeta grabs a wash cloth for Katniss to help her out. She then gets mad and assumes he has done it before with Delly. I think Peeta didn't know it was her first time. And Peeta says maybe we are just good together. He then asks if she loves him. It's on Tumblr. I hope you can help xx
581. booksandeverlark said to everlarkficquestions:Hi there! Another story I remember reading but can’t think of the title. I know Leeta is older then Katniss. Peeta knew Katniss’ Parents and is their age. Katniss likes Peeta and Peeta keeps telling her he’s too old for her but she doesn’t care. They start to date and Katniss dad finds out before they can tell and eggs mad. I think Peeta also gets hurt protecting Katniss and how she reacts makes her dad see they are serious. Thanks so much for the help
582. everlark-always said to everlarkficquestions:Trying to find a fic...modern au where katniss is with her friends (Annie Johanna Finnick Gale madge....) at a party and they find her the next morning in bed with Peeta?
(582) This could be I Dare You (To Stay) by Thewritershae - thank you @allie-rose
583. justanotherrandomaccount9999 said to everlarkficquestions:Hi! Do you know of a fic where it the story is about each time peeta ruins a cake? I read it before but forgot the title. The last time was when he made Katniss a cake for her birthday but dropped it when she said she was pregnant. Thanks for everything you've done for this fandom btw :)
584. pleasantturtletheorist-blog said to everlarkficquestions:Hi! So this might be a tricky one (bc I don’t remember much of the plot lol) but basically in this fic Peeta was like “don’t deny me post-sex cuddles” or something along those lines hahah. And I remember the scene being really cute but I can’t remember much else about it. I know this is very vague but if you could help I’d really appreciate it!! 🥺🥺
(584) This is possibly Blowout by Annieoakley1. - Thanks to @sunsetsrmydreams
585. yeeyeejones73 said to everlarkficquestions:Hello:) I was wondering if y’all know the name of a fic where it’s canon post mockingjay and everlark is growing back together slowly. I remember peeta gets a boner while Katniss and him are sleeping. I also think Peeta accidentally sees Katniss in only her towel after a shower and it’s super cute and awkward. I hope y’all can help and also thanks for all y’all do!
586. superpineappleenthusiast said to everlarkficquestions:Hey, I'm looking for a fic where the tributes of 74th games escape the arena. Thanks!
587. anonymous-loner95 said to everlarkficquestions:What the fic where Peeta thinks he's about to sleep with some random girl, which I think is actually is Jo, but is tricked into a room with Katniss?
588. thatgirl56834 said to everlarkficquestions:Hi! First of all, I love this blog! You guys rock! I’ve been looking for a one shot I used to read all the time. It was where Katniss and Peeta were friends in middle school and kissed after their dance but then Katniss moved away. Years later they ended up being neighbors and getting together. Peeta lied about who he was at first but then Katniss figured it out. If you know what this fic is, I’d love to read it again! 💗
588 FOUND! Wishes Old and New by Peetasbunmyoven. Thank you, @sunsetsrmydreams and @allie-rose
589. neonsnail said to everlarkficquestions:Hey I'm looking for a fic where peeta meets katniss and she has some kind of vision that if she gets pregnant prim dies and tries to stay away from peeta but she fails and then she sleeps with peeta to try to get pregnant and fails then disappears and they meet again a few years later and become a couple
589 FOUND! The story ha been identified as The Fool by Myusernamehere but unfortunately it has been deleted by the author. Thank you @katnissdoesnotfollowback
590. everlark-always said to everlarkficquestions: what’s the fic where Peeta cheats (post mockingjay) on Katniss and because of this she ends up with someone else?
591. everlark-always said to everlarkficquestions: Peeta and Katniss are in highschool and Peeta goes to prom with Madge and Katniss goes with Gale. She wears a burgundy dress and at the pre prom thing she meets an old friend from home named Josh.
592. tributeintraining said to everlarkficquestions:I'm looking for a specific fanfic I read years ago. It's a modern AU where Katniss and Gale are in a band together. Katniss is the guitarist and doesn't sing. Gale is married to Madge but was having an affair with Katniss. The public finds out and she leaves the band. She goes solo and starts a PR relationship with Peeta. Her first solo performance is singing "Shake it out". That's all I remember. Thank!
593. supreme-doritos said to everlarkficquestions:Hi! im looking for a fic where the rebellion happens early and the capitol gets overthrown before the 74th hunger games by a tribute (then victor) from district 7. At one point katniss and peeta (who lost his leg in the bombing) look after haymitch but he ends up killing himself so they don't starve during a really harsh winter. Before he dies he asks katniss to give chaff a naked lady mug/glass (i cant remember the name lol sorry) Thank you! I really appreciate you guys <3
593 FOUND! The Avalanche And Little Pebbles by Dyce - thanks to @eggplant8
594. entwodreiquatrocinq-blog said to everlarkficquestions: So i'm looking for this fanfic I read once on FF.net. Peeta and Katniss are intimate in the catching fire arena, and later in district 13, she finds out that she pregnant. Peeta is either in a coma or captured and one of his brothers survived. I believe there is a fight between Katniss and the brother, and he says something like "just because you f'ed my brother in front of the entire country doesn't mean....." That's all I remember, I hope it's specific enough. :)
(594) Possibly The Sharp Edge of Memory by Titania522 - thanks @eggplant8
595. lettrsto said to everlarkficquestions:hi guys!! i can't remember for shit the name of this one shot, i guess it was written for promptsinpanem, where katniss dates gale, but haymitch hates his guts so k&g make a deal w peeta so katniss fake dates peeta while she's actually dating gale behind haymitch's back. can you guys give some help, pretty please? does it ring any light? thank you!!!!
(595) FOUND by the asker! Yours And Mine by Andthisisthewonder
596. jonerys-everlark said to everlarkficquestions:I remember a fanfic where Katniss and Peeta were in the 74th games when Katniss learns that Peeta is with the Careers, she remembers him telling her something (I think) but I know that she then waits until they are gone, and says to the audience something to the effect of , “I have something to say... he has not betrayed me, he is protecting me, as to his confession in the interview, I’m still trying to decide how I feel about it” or something like that, basically, she knows he is on her side an
Do any of these fics ring a bell? Please let us know!
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Happier (5) | T.H.
Summary: Harry and Harrison made it to New York without witnesses. One secret is revealed and a relationship could be broken up for good. What will the future hold for Y/N and Tom?
A/N: Everybody buckle up and grab your tissues, we’re in for a bumpy ride. Lemme know how you feel after this! Was it what you expected??
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Guilt
It’s one thing to keep a secrets, but it’s another thing when you’re hiding it from the people you love. For Kate, she was becoming consumed in her own guilt as each day passed. Everyday her breaths would shorten, her heartbeat quicken, and her conscience relentlessy invading her inner thoughts. Kate tried to find all the possibilities to avoid the truth, and make everyone happy...but it didnt matter. One way or another, someone was going to get hurt.
Kate stood in front of Harrison and Harry at her doorstep. While she was relieved and excited to see them, a slight tinge of fear was present. “How are you going to find out the truth?” She asks calmly as Harrison and Harry made their way into the apartment. Kate picked up her phone, checking for an message. None showed up.
“Well, we might have found something. A clue maybe, but we’re not sure.” Harry explained as he picked up his macbook, turning it on.
“Is Y/N here?” Harrison asked, and as if on cue she appeared, heavy bags under her eyes.
The moment Y/N laid eyes on the two, she couldn’t believe it. Her hands quickly rubbing the sleep from her eyes, almost convinced it was a dream. “What? Harry? Harrison? What are you guys doing here?” Y/N excitedly asks. She made her way towards the boys giving them a long awaited hug. “I missed you guys.” She whispers.
“We want to help you.” Harrison says as he pulled away. “The unknown number? We might have an idea.”
Y/N looked at them suspiciously, checking her phone for cryptic messages. “Does anyone know you’re here?”
They both shook their head. “We didn’t tell anyone back home. As far as anyone knows, Harrison and I are going on a 3 day hike with little reception.” Harry reassured her with his boyish smile. Y/N look at him with admiration. He may not look like his brother, but his tone had Tom written all over it.
“Great. Just make sure your location is off on your phones..they could be watching us.” Kate warned as she checked her phone again.
Harrison looked at Kate with sympathy. In the years he’s known her because of Y/N and Tom’s relationship, she always seemed to be the sweetest most loyal friend out there. He was happy that Y/N had someone like Kate in her life. Not to mention it was also a plus that she was fairly pretty, even with the worry written all over face, she was still beautiful to Harrison.
“Hey.” Harrison spoke out for Kate’s attention. “We’re gonna figure this out. I promise.” While Kate nodded, she silently knew that this was not going to end well.”
“Wait...so Tom? Is he—?” Y/N asks the boys with anticipation.
Harrison knowing, exactly what Y/N was asking before she could even finished answered swiftly. “No! Of course not!” He laughs as if it was the silliest thing to answer. “Y/N, Tom loves you. He still does.”
“But the pictures..”
“Was a PR stunt set by Natalie’s publicists.” Harrison finished. “He’s doing a project that Natalie somehow got involved in, and they wanted a PR relationship to sell it. He didn’t want to at first, but then they showed him pictures of you and some div.”
“Hey he’s not some div! Matt’s a good guy.” Y/N defends. “Sweet actually, but I turned him down at the end of it. We’re just friends.”
Then it clicked. “Wait. You said that Tom saw the pictures?” Y/N asked trying to piece it together. “How did he get pictures?”
Harry and Harrison took a moment to think it through. “Well...Natalie’s publicist showed it to Tom.” Harry answered.
“But we don’t know where she got the pictures from.” Harrison added. “My money was on Natalie...still is.”
“Cmon mate. There’s no way she could have gotten pictures in New York and suddenly fly back to London.”
Kate slowly made her way to her own room, no longer wanting to be part of the conversation. They were getting too suspicious, and the more they questioned, the more nervous she got.
“Well maybe the unknown number sent it.” Harry said as he continued to be deep in his thoughts. “Or they found out on that fan account you found Harrison.”
“Wait? Fan account? They know?!” Y/N freaked out. Three years into making sure she was kept in the shadows, and it went all down the drain. If it there were fan accounts then it would only make it harder to finding out who really did sabotage her relationship. Let alone everyone’s lives.
“We don’t know yet, but Harrison found a fan account that was posting about Tom and you. Not together at least, but seperately. The weird part is...barely few people follow it, so we’re not sure what it means.” Harry explained, as he tried to pull up the account. “Oh no.”
“What? What do you mean ‘Oh no’?” Harrison panicked.
“I cant find the account.” Harrison said as he tried to pull it up, but the page disappeared.
In the nick of time, a message was sent to all three of them.
Unknown
Looks like you’re back to square 1 ❤️
“Shit! How did they know?” Harrison questioned in anger. “We were this close!”
“It’s okay Harrison. I appreciate that you guys tried, but it’s a lost cause.” Y/N consoled him, rubbing his shoulder.
“It won’t be. We’ll find another way.” Harry encouraged as he hugged them both. “By the way, where’s Kate gone?”
All three looked up to notice she was missing. Y/N waved it off, assuming it was just one of those days. “She probably went to bed early. Kate gets tired easily, nowadays. It might be because of her new job on top of watching out for me. Its a lot to take on for a person.”
The reasoning seemed valid enough Harrison and Harry. Plus it was Kate they were talking about, she always had Y/N’s back from day one, she wouldnt blackmail any of them or ruin Y/N and Tom’s relationship..right?
Late in the night, Harrison had trouble sleeping because of the jetlag. Since it only was a medicore 2 bedroom apartment, Harrison and Harry slept in the living room on the sofa bed. Luckily it was big enough for the both them and they didnt have to resort to cuddling. Harrison lied on his back as he looked out to the NYC view, thinking about everything and nothing at all. He smiled, thinking about it all. For a very serious couple, a lot of shit has gone down and yet here he was with trying to save it. He cared about the two so deeply, they were his family and family never turns their back on the other.
Then he heard something, whispers coming from the hall. Harrison didn’t dare to make a move but he trained his ears to listen carefully at the voice.
“Im telling you they are getting suspicious.” The voice whispered into the phone. It sounded like Kate’s and Harrison continued to listen in.
“No.No. I sent the damn pictures to you for a reason. No one told me that they would come here. I wasn’t prepared for that.” Kate continues as she paces in the corner.
Pictures? Harrison was awake more than ever, as he quickly shook Harry, and told him to stay quiet. They continued to listen.
“Look I did everything I was told to do. She got what she wanted, now —” Kate stopped in her tracks as she saw Harry and Harrison in front of her. Immediately she dropped the call, her lips moving, unable to find the words.
“How could you?” Harry said his brown eyes glaring at at the girl who just betrayed her best friend. “She was your best friend! How could you?!” He spoke louder.
Kate tried her best to quiet them down, but there was the point. She knew this day would come. “You don’t understand.” Kate whispers, looking at the ground. “I was only doing this to protect Y/N.”
“Protect Y/N? Blackmailing her? Sending pictures of her and a guy to Tom, so he would turn against her? That’s protecting her?” Harrison questioned, hurt by her actions. If he was hurt, then surely It would hurt Y/N far worse.
Y/N comes out of her room as she sees the three gather together, glaring at each other. “Hey..w-what’s going in?” She asks nervously.
“Why don’t you tell her Kate?” Harry spits out as he gestures to Y/N. Kate looks into her best friend’s eyes tears welling up. Y/N had fear struck into her face, afraid of what she had to say.
“I’m so sorry.” She cries. “I didn’t have a choice. She would have ruined our friendship if I did.”
“Kate. What.Did.You.Do?” Y/N asks, emphasizing each word to the question.
Kate shook her head as she let out a deep sigh. “Im the reason your pictured with Matt got out Tom.”
Y/N shook her head, tears streaming. She didn’t want to believe it. “Please tell me you’re lying.”
“Im sorry Y/N. I swear I didnt mean for this to get out of hand. I was threatened that if I didn share them, then they would say something that could ruin our friendship..and...I didnt want that to happen.” Kate frantically explains, sobbing at her no good explanation.
Y/N shook her head, her face switching from sadness to anger. “Looks like you didn’t need them to ruin it at all for you. Now you’re gonna tell me what you know and then Im packing my stuff and Im moving out.”
Kate sobbed as she try to plead to her ex-bestfriend to stay. “Look I’ll tell you everything okay, but it’s not much.” She takes a deep breath before she continues. “I was the one that started the rumors and created the fan account Harry and Harrison saw.”
“Why?” Y/N asks, her disappointed face unchanging.
“I was jealous of you at the time. Y/N you had everything I could have ever wanted in my life. A job, a boyfriend that doesn’t leave you, a family that loves you, and the fame which you didn’t even want to accept with open arms. You were always a step ahead of me at something and I was tired of it. So when you told me you felt uneasy about Natalie when she first moved in, I sold that info online and twisted the story so that it looked like Tom liked Natalie and they were a potential couple.”
“Oh my god.” Harrison said as he let his head down. “You made Natalie think that Tom was in love with her secretly thats why she had become so persistant.”
Kate slowly nodded as she took another breath. “As for the fan accounts I can’t tell you much because I was just asked to create them by the Unknown number.”
“Wait so you’re not the unknown number?” Harry asked confused.
Kate shook her head. “I don’t who it is. Im just a vicitim as much as you guys are.”
“No cut that bullshit. It’s because of you that all of our lives are a mess. It’s because of you that I had to lose the most important thing in my life. So don’t say you’re a fucking victim when all you really did was try to save your own ass.” Y/N yelled.
“You didn’t have to if you were so confident in your relationship with Tom.” She spat back.
“I love Tom with all my heart, but I was referring my best friend. I never want to see you again.” Y/N states, emotionless. No one had ever seen Y/N like this. In fact no one had ever seen her mad as she was on this very day. The day she lost her best friend.
Y/N went to her room to quickly gather her belongings, stuffing them back in the bag. Her phone was ringing and she didnt hesitate to pick it up.
“Tom...” she answers, holding back her sobs.
Taglist:
@hollanddolanfangirl @ifilosemyselfagain @hevjadams @averyfosterthoughts @fangirl-with-a-mission @drishtisikarwar @eridanuswave @ifntelyinspirit @trumpettay @astridcommings @parkershoco @racewife2004 @sleepybesson
#tom holland#tom holland imagine#tom holland x reader#peter parker#peter parker imagine#peter parker x reader
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I've been thinking about this for a few weeks, hope it's fluffy enough even though it's not class A!!
So, I have this HC that since they've gone pro Dynamight and Deku have hogged the number one position.
Deku has had it most years, but Dynamight has snatched it quite a few times. Every year has the entire population of Japan betting on who'll be in the top spot this time.
Eijirou isn't jealous, never has been, on contrary he's very proud of his explosive boyfriend and, honestly, has been doing quite well for himself!!
Red Riot gradually-but-costantly climbing up the ranks and he's proud of it because it means more and more people are seeing and appreciating his hard work, but ultimately he never wanted to be a hero for the fame or glory of it. So, while he's pretty happy about seeing that the people he protects like him, he never put more effort into getting/keeping the public's favor than what's asked from his PR team. He just wants to genuinely help people and he's happy just doing that.
He helps save and rescue people in danger, he protects them and his fellow heroes, he reassures them. And while most heroes leaves it at that (plus public appearances), Red Riot goes way beyond that.
He's the hero that makes sure you make it home safely (or accompanies you there himself), that talks you down of a panic attack, that helps old ladies and gentlemen cross the road and carry groceries, that stops to help parents with fussy children or lost kids and takes photos and gives out autographs to everyone who asks it. He's also the hero that keeps contact with the people he saved (and ask him to stay in touch), he's the one that always answer the phone when one of them needs to talk to someone, that accompanies them to therapy and holds their hand in support groups, that visits hospitals and orphanages alike, that shows up for protests and campaigns to grant people their rights. He's the hero that cares about the villains too. He goes visiting them in prison, helps them to reform and find jobs, that eases them into re-inserting themselves into society (given that it's possible and that said villains wants to reform).
Everyone loves him and slowly but surely he's gaining popularity. People starts to notice his efforts and how they're not publicity stunts, but just how the red-headed hero is. Forums and fan pages about him start to get more and more popular, his merchandise sells increase more and more, he gets requests for interviews and tv/radio appearences.
And the Sturdy Hero gets a new, softer nickname in the streets and the web.
And the thing is, Eijirou is still completely oblivious to it.
Like, he genuinely doesn't notices because he never cared about ranks, or popularity. He has alerts on his phone for news/citations (hope is the right word) for basically every other hero besides himself and every year he's completely blindsided by his jumps up the statistics.
He's in the top 100, then the top 50, then the top 20, then the 10, then he's the number 8 hero, then he's number 5. Last year he finally gets in the top 3 behind Deku (#1) and Dynamight (#2) and he can't believe it, he's completely flabberstagged, it takes him three months (and a good deal of Katsuki's delighted screeching -sue him, he's fucking proud of hi bf- ) to start responding to the call for the #3 hero.
This year though, he's sure it's Katsuki's year, he's ready to celebrate his boyfriend in a very special way, a little velvet box sitting heavily in his pocket, a ring and question closed tight in it.
The announcer finally calls for the Top 3.
Deku's third, which is expected as he had to cut a bit on hero work to take care of his newly-born, rambunctious, triplets baby girls.
What is not expected in Dynamight being NUMBER FUCKING 2.
And finally Number 1 is announced: RED RIOT IS THE NEW NUMBER ONE HERO.
Kiri almost dies on the spot. He?? Number one?? When the fuck did it happen?? But all his friends are cheering and whooping like crazy and lots of them are crying (Deku fucking stop, you're gonna drown us!!) and Katsuki is shaking him and hugging him and has tears in his eyes ("hypocrite!" "shut thE FUCK UP NERD") and Eijirou starts to cry too because what the fuck? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?? How did he get to number one when there are so many amazing heroes out there??
Then Kami and Mina and Uraraka and others are showing him their phones, all opened on different sites and social networks, showing posts upon posts about all the things Red Riot has done for the people, from small personal favors to big heroics deeds that made the titles, all throughout his career, from when he was just a first year student to that same day.
And, of course the top trend on each of it: #The Caring Hero, Red Riot.
(The surprises of the day haven't finished yet because at the party that night he found out he wasn't the only one to have bought a ring)
I just freaking hopped all over the bed reading this, making inhuman noises, and repeating "oh my god shut up. Oh my GOD shut the fUCK UP"
Kiri being the hero who talks you down from a panic attack?????
Kiri being the hero who visits hospitals and helps crying kids ???????
Kiri being so fucking humble he keeps up with everyone except himself ????????
Keeping up with the people he saved AND trying to help villains reform?????????? HE IS SUCH A GOOD-
THE RED RIOT LOVE????? THE FORUMS???? BEING NUMBER FUCKING ONE AND LITERALLY EVERYONE BEINGNSUPER FUCKING PROUD OF HIM?????
hE WAS GONNA PROPOSE BUT SO WAS KATSUKI YO IM IN MY FEELINGS THIS IS BEAUTIFUL I LOVE THIS HE IS THE CARING HERO OH MY FUCKING GOD ,
#fave#remember#fucking favorite#oh ky god#OH MY GOD#kirishima#eijirou kirishima#kirishima eijirou#red riot#bnha#pro hero red riot#SHUTNUPPPPPPPPP OH MY GOD#mha
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5 Simple Rules for a Successful Fake Relationship: The Proposal
Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader
Summery: Your's and Ben's agents approach you about pretending to date in order to boost interest in your new movie.
Warnings: Nothing for this chapter other than some swearing maybe? Things may get a little spicy in later chapters though.
Words: 5843
AN: This fic was written for El @laedymoon for her 1K celebration! I took the trope 'fake dating' and this was the result! Honestly fake dating is one my my fave tropes and I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a while so this was so much fun to write! Originally it was meant to be a one shot but when have I ever been good at sticking to plans lmao? Instead it'll probably end up as a three or four part series, maybe with an epilogue as well, who knows.
I’d also like to point out I started writing this months before we got those photos of Ben and Olivia so this was in no way inspired by anyone’s theories about whether or not their relationship is a PR stunt and I’m not particularly interested in that kind of talk.
Taglist: @laedymoon @dtfrogertaylor @ezmina98 @vee-ndetta @atomic-watermelon @kellypenac @labessieisallama @deakyclicks @jennyggggrrr @drowseoftaylor @hannafuckingsucks @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming @queenmylovely @supersonicfreddie
You’d known fake celebrity relationships were a thing that happened, you just never expected to be approached about one. But, here you were, sat next to Ben in an office usually reserved for producers meetings, a slight frown on his face as he listened to your agents explain how beneficial it would be if the public believed you were a couple.
“It’ll be good for the movie,” your agent, Mary, said matter-of-factly, “Studies show that if people – particularly women ages 15 – 45, the exact demographic we’re targeting – believe a real romance sprouted during the course of filming a movie, they are 78% more likely to see the movie. Plus, your names in the tabloids mean more exposure for both of you which means more offers in future, no matter how well this movie does in the box office. It’s all about being seen, people knowing your names.”
“Are you serious?” Ben asked slowly, glancing to you, as if trying to determine your reaction.
“Look, Ben, obviously we can’t force you or Y/N to do this,” his agent, Peter, introduced to you moments before, said, “the movie has already started filming and everyone appreciates your opinions, so saying no isn’t going to affect your jobs. But,” he paused, making sure the words were getting through to you both, “we strongly recommend you consider it. There are enough pros to make it worthwhile and it would only have to last until a week or two after the premiere. We can give you the rest of the day to think it over and make your decisions, but we will require an answer by tomorrow morning. If you agree, we can discuss terms and get everything in order to run the first story early next week.”
You and Ben left, tempted to laugh at the strangeness of your morning.
“Think I need a coffee after that. You wanna come over to my trailer for a cup?”
“Yeah, okay, sounds good,” you followed him quietly for a moment, thinking over the conversation you’d just been part of, “What do you think?”
“About what? Coffee? You know I love it,”
“Not coffee, the whole pretending to date thing,”
“Oh that,” you could almost hear his eyes roll.
“You don’t think it’s worth it?”
He paused.
“Saying no won’t hurt my feelings,” you nudged his shoulder, hoping to ease his obvious discomfort, “it is a weird situation.”
“Weird is an understatement. And weren’t you with that Luke guy, what would he say about it?”
“He’ll say nothing since we’re not seeing each other anymore,”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah that lasted like three dates and went nowhere, I haven’t seen him in weeks.”
“Oh, sorry.”
You shrugged, “What’s there to be sorry for, he was boring. Anyway, we were talking about you and me.”
“Right, that.” Ben opened the door to his trailer and waved you inside, following you over the threshold, “What do you think about it?”
“I’m not opposed to it. We already spend a lot of our time pretending to date anyway.”
Ben chuckled as he flicked the small kettle on, grabbing your two mugs and the instant coffee.
“Plus it would be good to get our names out there a bit more. And we're friends, right?” After the weeks of pre-production costume fittings and script read-throughs you certainly thought you were friends and hoped Ben did too.
“Of course we’re friends doofus,”
“Thanks dweeb. But that means it'll be fun getting to hang out and stuff.”
“So, wait, you think it’s a good idea?”
“Well it can’t hurt, can it?”
Ben frowned, forehead creased, “Don’t you think it’s all a bit, well, daft? As if us dating, real or not, would really have an impact on the movie, I think that’s bullshit. Plus, y’know, the work we’d have to put in to making it seem real or whatever. That’s just inviting extra stress into our lives and extra work which it doesn’t sound like we’d be getting paid for. Acting’s fun but I don’t want to spend every waking moment doing it.”
“Well it wouldn’t be every waking moment would it? Just the ones when they had photographers around. They’ll get a few photos of us leaving set holding hands or out having dinner together and spin it into a big romantic story and all we’d have to do is hold hands and have dinner. And you can’t call bullshit when they had actual statistics to back them up.”
“It sounds like you’re trying to convince me.”
“No, if you don’t want to I don’t mind, but I also don’t see anything wrong with it. And I think you should actually think about it instead of writing it off instantly.”
“So if I said I was into it, you’d want to?”
You shrugged, “Yeah. I want this movie to do well, I want this job to go somewhere. And if I have to date you to make that happen I will. That sounded better in my head. I just mean that I’m happy to pretend to date you, even if I wouldn’t in real life, no offence.”
“I’m a little offended,” he chuckled, “but really can’t argue with that can I?”
“If you’re not comfortable with it, say so and we’ll tell them no,”
Ben paused, staring at you as he considered what you’d said, quiet for so long you were sure he was going to say he wasn’t interested. You were about to put him out of his misery and tell him you didn’t want to anymore when he spoke up.
“They did say it would be good for the movie and out careers,”
“Someone’s coming around,” you sing-songed, taking the mug he offered you.
“Alright, I admit, maybe not as awful an idea as I first thought. There are…some pros anyway. And I guess we can hear the terms and then make up our minds properly.”
“Aww, looks like I got myself a boyfriend,”
The next morning you found out what you were in for if you did agree to it. Once again both of your agents were waiting in the office but this time a third person was with them when you arrived.
“Y/N, Ben, take a seat. This is Barry, he’s a representative from Paramount Pictures.”
Barry, with his salt and pepper hair and well cut suit, leaned forward in his seat to shake Ben’s hand and then yours with a pleasant greeting.
“Well,” Mary spoke up, “have you made a decision?”
Ben looked to you before he spoke, “It’s a tentative yes from both of us. We’d like to hear a bit more about it before we fully agree but, so far, it sounds okay.”
“Glad to have you on board,” Barry said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a manila folder full of paper.
“In that case, the terms,” Peter said, glancing around to make sure everyone was ready, “If you do agree, we’ll need you to sign some paperwork stating you understand your obligations and all that, so take a copy of these,” he took two small stapled documents from Barry, handing you each one, before passing another to Mary, “just so everyone has all the info at hand.”
“Are these the terms?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, we’ll explain, but it’s all laid out in there if you need clarification.”
“There’s more pages than I was expecting,” Ben said, already sounding like it was becoming too much work to worry about.
“You don’t have to worry about the last few pages, it’s mostly just legalese. Essentially, you’ll be required to act like a couple in public. That’s really all there is to it, though contractually it’s a little more complex.”
“What does that mean?”
“We just need you both to agree to perform specific relationship type moments that we can sell. For instance, Y/N, we will need you to be spotted by paparazzi leaving Ben’s apartment a couple of times. Or vice versa. It is the 21st century afterall.”
“You mean like a walk of shame?” you asked, glancing at the paper in your hand.
“That’s not the official term on the contract but it’s more or less correct. You’ll need to change clothes, make it look like you stayed the night even if you didn’t really.”
“Wouldn’t it be more traditional to wear the previous day’s gear?”
“Perhaps but if you’re in the same clothes as the day before the paparazzi can’t sell the photos as easily because they can’t prove they were taken on different days. We want to make these photos easy to sell and easy to circulate. To that end, some paparazzi and gossip blogs will be tipped off by the studio and hopefully word will spread as the buzz around you gets stronger.”
“There will also be required dates, of course. At least one of them needs to take place at the French restaurant Boucher because they have a partnership with the studio. There is also a clause about an argument, provided people become interested in your relationship and we keep it going all the way to the premiere.”
“Wait, an argument?” Ben flipped through his papers, trying to find the right section.
“You just have to be caught arguing, or at least looking like you’re angry and about to fight, just so we can sell the whole trouble in paradise storyline.”
“People like conflict,” Mary shrugged, “Otherwise all we need is the two of you to act like a couple in public, maybe a few social media posts, from now until a week after the theatre release. After that you’re free to ‘break up’, though you will also need to sign a non-disclosure agreement which will stop you from talking about it for a few years. We’ll organise a few magazines and gossip sites to run stories about the split and, depending on how the public react to your story, may later run some Ben and Y/N, back together question mark type pieces, entirely fabricated of course.”
“You will attend the premiere together and, obviously, do press together. We will tell reporters not to ask about your personal lives, so no one suspects the relationship to be fake, though a few questions may slip through. Though we don’t expect this movie to earn any award nominations since it’s not being marketing for any there may be some later down the track. In that case we may ask you to extend your relationship long enough to attend the ceremonies together, provided you aren’t working on other projects at the time.”
“The only other requirements are that, a few times a week you allow yourselves to be seen in public. Hand holding, kissing, really sell the whole fallen in love thing. That’s it really.”
“And we can’t even tell our families?”
“One leak is all it would take to have this revealed. You tell your mum who accidentally lets slip to the neighbour who sells it to a magazine. And if it’s revealed it could be harmful when it comes to box office numbers, which is the exact opposite of what we want. But enough of these have been done so that we know how to manage them, and all you have to do is keep quiet about it and act like you’re in love. Easy. Are you both on board?”
Barry, who’d been quiet throughout the meeting, leaned forward expectantly.
You already knew what to say, "I’m in if Ben is,”
Ben chewed his lip as he skimmed over the paper in his hands again. He sighed and raised his eyes to where Barry sat, waiting.
“I don’t know I-”
You’d seen it coming, his answer. Really it wasn’t much of a surprise. Ben didn’t strike you as the sort of person to go in for schemes like this and he’d been hesitant from the second it was suggested. You heard him sigh again as his gaze landed on you and you wondered if he thought less of you for wanting to be part of it.
“Okay. I’m in.”
You were a little stunned by his change of heart but you were the only one. Everyone else in the room seemed relieved and a little frantic, Barry reaching back into his bag, Mary and Peter talking over each other to assure you both that you’d made the right choice.
“Glad to hear that, Ben,” Barry was saying as he pulled out another folder of documents, “Now, we’ll need you to both to sign here.”
After shooting was done for the day you accompanied Ben to a small pub for a drink. Mary and Peter had left the meeting on their phones making hurried calls to get photos of the two of you leaving the set together. You’d jumped a little as Ben grabbed your hand before realising why his fingers were linked through your own. It was warm and he didn’t let you go until you reached the pub, the snap of cameras audible as you walked down the street. You found a booth while Ben headed to the bar, returning a little later with a drink in each hand.
“One G and T for my girlfriend,” he laughed as he put the drink in front of you and slid into the seat opposite.
“Y’know if you told me last week that I’d have had a boyfriend before we finished filming and that it was you, I would have laughed.”
“God me too. Our jobs are so bizarre. Literally what other profession would encourage you to pretend to date?”
You laughed and pulled out the papers you’d been given that morning, “And who’d have thought there’d be so many contractual requirements.”
“We should add our own set of rules. Like just so we’re clear about what we’d be uncomfortable doing or whatever.”
“Safewords?”
“Get your mind out of the gutter. Christ, you fake ask a girl out and suddenly all she can think about is sex.”
“My mind was in the gutter long before we were set up.”
He let out a huff of laughter and shook his head, reaching for his glass.
“I know what you mean though. We should definitely define some things,” you grabbed your bag and began digging through it for a pen. When you found it, you turned the papers over giving you a blank canvas to work on, “Firstly sex.”
“Should have known,”
“May as well start with the big one. Rule 1: No Sex. Completely off the table.” you took a sip of your drink as you began jotting it down.
“Your wank game strong?”
The conversation was interrupted as you choked on your drink, finally recovering enough to splutter, “excuse me?”
“Well it sounds like we might be together for a while. Can’t go on any tinder dates or anything since that would look like cheating. You sure you can last that long?
“100 per cent.”
“Alright, if you’re sure. Rule one, no sex.”
You finished writing it down, rolling your eyes, “What about PDAs? We have to do some but is there anything you’d be uncomfortable with?”
“I’m not really one for like public make out sessions,”
“Thank god, me neither.”
“Okay, good. What about cuddling and that kind of thing. Man this is weird to talk about,”
“Yeah, is a bit. I can do some cuddling in public but y'know, nothing too much. Hugs are fine, an arm around my shoulders is fine. Holding hands is obviously okay.”
“What about an arm around the waist?”
“Hmmm….maybe. Yeah, I think I’d be okay with that. But your hand never goes below my lower back. I will have no arse grabs or pinches or hands in my back pocket.”
“Wasn’t planning on that but good to know. Does cuddling include lap sitting?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Okay, strong boundaries, I respect that. You going to write all that down?”
“Rule 2: PDAs kept respectable and to a minimum. And rule 3: hands above the belt at all times. What about our families and friends?” you asked as you made notes on acceptable PDAs, “chances are we’re going to have to deal with them at some point since they’re going to think it’s real.”
“Okay, um, how about…no meeting anyone unless there’s a reason like a family gathering you’d be expected to bring a partner to. And if that does come up we can work out a game plan then.”
“Make sense. Rule 4: No families unless no escape.”
By the time you left the pub, your list of rules tucked into your bag, it was quite late.
“Hey, you wanna crash at mine tonight?” Ben asked, “we can text Peter and Mary, let them know so they can organise paparazzi for the morning.”
“Tonight? I don’t have a toothbrush or a change of clothes or anything.”
“We’ll pop into a shop and buy you a new toothbrush, should probably get you one for my place anyway since apparently you’ll be staying over more than once. And I’m sure I’ve got something you can sleep in.”
“And tomorrow? Can’t wear this again in case we get photographed.”
“I’ll give you something and then I’ll drop you home in the morning,” he shrugged.
“I guess that would work,”
“C’mon, it’ll be like a sleepover. Stay up late and talk about boys, have things devolve into a sexy pillow fight, sleepover stuff.”
“And you say my mind lives in the gutter.”
“That’s not a no,”
“Alright, I’ll crash at yours. Closer to here than mine is anyway.”
“Awesome,” he grinned at you, “c’mon, this way….babe?”
“Didn’t sound so convincing there, Ben,” you snorted.
“You should have used a pet name then, instead of my actual one. And I was just testing the waters, what’d you think?”
“Babe’s okay. As long as we don’t get into weirdly cutesie things like turtle dove or snookums.”
“You don’t want me to call you snookums? How about cuddle bunny? Pumpkin pie?”
“Oh fuck off,”
“Think you mean fuck off honey bear.”
“Rule 5: Standard pet names only!”
As much as he clearly enjoyed teasing you, Ben made sure you had a good time with him. He took your hand again but it was only so he could pull you into the warmth of a small Chinese restaurant. It was one he seemed to regularly visit judging by the way the man at the counter knew Ben’s order straight away. He seemed a little surprised when Ben asked to add extra dishes, eyes darting to your entwined hands, and then back to Ben’s face, but he said nothing, just cheerily gave Ben the new price.
“What was that about?” you asked as you walked the last block to Ben’s door, each of you carrying a bag, his full of food and yours supplies from the grocery store, “the look he gave you when he saw me?”
“Oh, that’s nothing. I used to go to that place a lot with my ex and then we broke up and I kept going on my own cause it’s close and it’s fucking good food. But, um, they know me pretty well and I guess it’s been a while since I took a girl there.”
“Well I’m flattered that you chose me to be part of this touching moment,” you laughed and followed Ben to his front door, taking the second bag from him so he could pull his keys from his pocket and let you in. You’d never been inside Ben’s place before so you let him lead you down the hallway towards the kitchen, taking charge of pulling everything from the bags as Ben got out plates and cutlery.
“Oh shit, hang on gotta text Mary and Peter,”
You took over dividing up the food as Ben dug his phone out of his pocket. A few seconds after he’d sent the message and put his phone down a ding made him snatch it back up again.
“Peter says there’ll be someone here to snap us while we leave. They want us to kiss if possible. Guess it’s really started then,”
“Guess so. Can I ask one thing?”
“Sure,” he said it slowly, almost nervously.
“Why’d you change your mind about this? I thought for sure you’d say no.”
“Oh, that. I don’t know, I guess I figured it wouldn’t hurt, especially if it was going to benefit the movie. C’mon, don’t want this to go cold,”
You weren't sure you believed him but you let him shrug off the question as you picked up your plate and followed him into the living room. The next couple of hours were spent eating and watching trashy reality tv shows, making jokes at their expense. You and Ben kept talking long after the show ended, until he realised how late it was getting.
“Better turn in otherwise I won’t get up in the morning,” he laughed.
“Yeah, probably a good plan,” you stretched out on the couch, placing a cushion under your head.
“C’mon, I’ll show you to your room.”
“You mean I’m not sleeping on the couch?”
“Oh my god you’re a dork,” he threw another cushion at you, “I have a spare room you can use.”
“Well I didn’t know that,” you laughed as you pushed yourself to your feet, following him back down the hallway towards a closed door you hadn’t noticed before.
“Nah, you’re all good. It’s honestly mostly used by my friend Joe when he’s travelling over this way. There’re clean sheets in the linen press in the bathroom which is the next door on the right, and extra blankets in the cupboard just there. Also watch the blinds if you try to close them, they can be a little stiff. If there’s anything else you need let me know, my bedroom is at the end of the hall, near the living room.”
“Some PJs would be good, if it’s no trouble.”
“Oh right, yeah of course, give me a second.”
You dropped your bag in a corner of the room and then popped into the bathroom to grab some sheets. Ben came back with an old t-shirt and some flannel pants.
“These are mine so they’ll probably be a bit big but they’ll be fine for the night. And they’ll look good for the camera in the morning.”
“Thanks,”
“That everything?”
“Think so, night Ben,”
“Night, snookums.”
“Rule five mister,”
Ben just laughed, pulling your door shut behind him.
Waking up in Ben’s spare room was mildly confusing. The bed faced a different direction than yours did, the blinds blocked out too much of the morning light, and the sheets felt different. But the previous night came back to you and then the reason you were staying at Ben’s did too. It made you too nervous to go back to sleep, too restless to stay there, so you got up and stumbled to the door, opening it just in time to see Ben leaving the bathroom.
“Morning,” he groaned with half shut eyes and sleep mussed hair, “you want a coffee?”
“Please. Thanks.”
He yawned, acknowledging your answer with a nod and left the bathroom to you. When you were done you found him in the kitchen with a steaming mug of coffee in his hands and a second on the bench in front of him. You took it gratefully, letting the warm caffeine wake you up.”
“Breakfast? I can offer you toast or cereal unless you wanna wait for pancakes to cook.”
You shook your head, “Don’t normally eat breakfast,”
Ben looked aghast, “You know breakfast’s important, right?”
“Shhh, lemme wake up before you start lecturing me,”
Ben smiled into his own mug, falling silent until you’d downed half your drink, “You good now? Alert?”
“Close enough. Please don’t tell me about breakfast though.”
“I wasn’t going to. There was another text from Peter this morning.”
“What’d it say?”
“Well, a photographer will be here around nine-ish ready for us, but they said he’ll stay for as long as we take.”
“Okay.”
“And, um, he was very careful in how he worded it, but they want us to look like we fucked. Also I told them I’d take you home so there may be someone waiting for us there too, he never got back to me on it.”
“Shit, okay. Umm, guess I’ll just wear this then?” you indicated the pyjamas you’d borrowed, “might lose the pants though, help sell it a bit more.”
“Yeah, guess so,” Ben cleared his throat and took a sip of coffee, his eyes firmly fixed over your shoulder.
“What time is is?”
“Uhhhh,” he glanced at the oven, “Twenty past eight.”
“God I haven’t been up this early on a weekend in months.”
“Not one for farmers markets or anything then?”
“Not really. Much prefer lying in bed doing nothing.”
“Me too,”
“We’re meant for each other,” you laughed, “did you want to have a shower or anything?”
“Nah, you can if you want though,”
“Might as well wait until I get home. But I am gonna clean my teeth, especially if we have to kiss.”
“Maybe mess up your hair too, make it look like you didn’t sleep much.”
“Well how could I when you’re such a good lover,”
“I know you’re joking but if anyone asks, I’m incredible. You came like three times.”
“Did I now?”
“Of course.”
“Good thing no one’s gonna ask then, don’t think I’m great at lying.”
“You’re an actress, Y/N. Besides, it’s not really a lie, I am that good. You just haven’t experienced it personally.”
You poked your tongue out at Ben as you stood and headed towards the bathroom again but you did as he’d suggested and messed your hair up as much as you could.
“How do I look?” you ask Ben when you were done.
“Gorgeous,” he said, eyes raking over every inch of your appearance from the ruffled hair to the hint of panda eyes you’d manufactured with your eyeshadow to the slightly unbuttoned flannel shirt and missing pants.
“But do I look like I’ve been thoroughly fucked?”
“Oh, right, umm, yes I think so,”
“You do? I feel like theres something missing.” You darted back into the bathroom to look in the mirror again, “Oh! I know. Might be taking it a bit far though.”
“What is it?” Ben asked, following you and watching you in the mirror.
“What if you gave me a hickey?”
“Y/N, I-”
“Yeah, I know, that’s a weird thing to ask. Don’t worry, I think we’ll be fine without it.”
Ben’s cheeks puffed up with air that he slowly let escape his lips, “no, you’re right, if I’d really slept with you last night I would have marked you up a bit. A hickey will definitely make it look more authentic.”
“It’s not totally inappropriate for me to ask?”
“No, no, we have to make it look legit, it’s a good suggestion. Here, I’ll uhh,” he stepped in close, one hand tentatively winding around your waist to pull you back against him, the other moving to push your hair aside. His breath was hot as he leaned into your neck. You saw him glance at your reflection, eyebrows slightly furrowed, but then his lips were on your skin, sucking at you until a bruise formed. Your own breath quickened with the contact but you knew it was just because he’d found a particularly sensitive spot and it had been a while since anyone had handled you like that. It was still just Ben and it was still part of your jobs. But all the same you let your eyes slip shut and hummed at how nice it felt. You were almost disappointed when it was over. Ben stood there for a moment, head bent over your neck, long enough to take a deep breath, but then he seemed to collect himself, taking a quick step back.
“Will that do?”
“It’s great Ben, really ties the whole look together.”
Ben returned your smile but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, “Good. Good. Okay then, I’ll umm, what time is it?”
“Just after nine,” you said, glancing at your phone, “wonder if the photographer is here yet.”
“I think I will jump in for that shower actually, by the time I’m done he definitely will be.”
“Okay,”
“Make yourself comfortable though, watch some TV or something.”
“Alright. Thanks for being so cool about all this. I know you’re a little sceptical about the benefits and everything.”
“It’s fine, Y/N, no need for any of that.” He smiled again as you left the bathroom and the door shut behind you, but it still seemed off.
You settled onto the couch to flick TV channels, pausing at a breakfast news show and then at some kids cartoon you didn’t recognise, only stopping when Ben entered the room, clean and dressed.
“Hey, I was wondering,” you said, turning towards him, “should I give you a hickey as well?”
“No,”
You were a little taken aback by how quickly he’d answered.
“I mean, I think that’d be overkill. Keep it up our sleeves for next time, yeah?”
“Okay, yeah, sure,”
“Is he there?”
“I think so.”
Ben walked towards the window and twitched the curtain aside just enough to peek out, “Yeah, looks like him. Big camera pointing at my front door.”
“Okay,” your heart began to beat a little faster, “show time then,”
“Show time.” Ben nodded as he turned back to you.
“Do we have a plan? I kinda wish I had a script right about now,”
Ben laughed a little and you thought he seemed more himself, “I think you should go out first so they can get a good clean shot and then I come out after, maybe with my hand on your back?”
“Sounds good,”
“Okay, umm, I’ll lock the door and when I turn around you kiss me and then I’ll open the passenger door for you and we’ll drive to your place.”
“Don’t bother opening my door. I’m not big into that kind of gesture, plus I think if we were actually being caught by the paparazzi, we’d be getting into the car as quick as possible. Maybe throw a look his way like you aren’t happy about being photographed just so it doesn’t seem too staged.”
“Okay, no opening doors, noted.”
You shrugged, “I just think it’s a bit old fashioned and unnecessary,”
“I’ll keep that in mind for our dates. You ready to do this?”
You nodded and stood up, leading the way to the front door. Ben collected his keys and wallet and placed a hand on the lower part of your back, your signal to open the door and step outside.
“Kinda wish I had pants on,” you said softly, “It’s a bit brisk,”
Ben chuckled as he followed you out, “We’ll put the heating on in the car for you,” he turned to lock the door. You watched him, fingers gripping the key a little tighter than he perhaps normally would, and as soon as he began to turn back around you were moving towards him, one hand thrown around his neck, the other in his hair as your pressed your lips to his. His hand found your back again, pulling you in close as he kissed you back fiercely, as if he were unwilling to let you go after such a good night together, the kiss of a man falling in love. For half a second you forgot it was an act. And then he was gone, his nose brushing yours briefly before there was space between you. You felt a little dazed with Ben looking at you so softly but you took a deep breath and reality came back to you. With another breath your turned and headed towards the car, able to hear the rapid click click click of the camera. You shot a look towards the noise and then got into the car, Ben hopping into the driver’s seat about a second later.
“You’re a good actor,” you said before silence could settle between you, “I already knew that, of course, but the kiss was really good. Almost completely believable.”
“As long as it’s believable enough in the photos,”
“I’m sure it will be. I think we pulled it off.”
Ben nodded, “Yeah. You still chilly?”
“Little bit,”
He reached over and twisted one of the dials blindly, warm air suddenly washing over your goosebump covered legs, “better?”
“So much, thanks.”
“I think he might be following us,”
“You did tell them we were going to mine, s’pose he’ll be trying to grab a couple of shots of us there.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Should we come up with another game plan? Maybe you walk me to my door, we stand there talking for a bit, saying goodbye. I stay and watch you leave before I go inside.”
“Perfect. Is another kiss part of the goodbye?”
“Careful Ben, you sound almost like you want to kiss me,” you laughed, “but yes, think it needs to be.”
It went completely according to plan. By the time you were getting out of the car the photographer had pulled up outside your house, his camera sticking out the window of his car so he didn’t miss his shot. The camera clicked as Ben took your hand and you led him to your door.
“Well, guess that’s it for today. I did have fun with you last night, even if it wasn’t the kind of fun everyone else will think it was.”
“Yeah, me too. Happy to have you stay anytime you want to be photographed again. Maybe we’ll get you some PJs that can live at mine though.”
“Probably for the best. If this goes well I can see them wanting us to do it again soon.”
“Oh definitely. They’ll probably have notes for us so we can get an even better performance next time. You ready to wow them with another kiss?”
“Lay it on me, babe,”
“Anything you want, snookums,”
You groaned but before you could protest too much Ben was kissing you again, softer than before, no longer trying to convince you to stay, just trying to prolong the moment before the goodbye. It left you a little breathless as he cupped your cheek, leaving his hand there when he pulled away. As you opened your eyes you saw him bite his lip and then he leaned in to leave you with a final chaste peck before his fingers slipped from your skin and he was walking away. You let out a long exhale as you watched him go, waving as the car took off. Once you were alone inside, the door firmly shut behind you, you laughed at how ridiculous the whole arrangement was. But at least Ben was a good kisser. Not too firm, not too wet, just the right amount of tongue. Believable enough to give you butterflies.
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What hasn’t already been said: The Spanish Princess 2
Episode 1: CamelNOT
[Lively Music Plays]
I shit you not... that’s what it said in the CCs.
Tower of London (?)
*Catherine looks at the array of crowns like a museum curator and the proceeds to strut down the halls*
Wolsey: *gives her this strange look which is a mixture between damn girl and the eagle is my spirit animal.
Then Catherine gets fake detained and taken to Henry in what must be a strange variation of the whole Robin Hood/Maid Marian roleplay they historically engaged in.
... did she just call his erhm manhood his kingship? Well that’s original, I’ll give them that. Also funny how Bessie Blount initially looks on in fright... don’t worry girl that will be you soon.
———————————————————————
*the four ladies have a brunch friendship moment together*
I see Blount is among them... I see they are setting her up as Catherine’s friend in order to play up the whole betrayal.
Alright. Jokes aside, I realised how much I’ve played myself. I was inspired by @melusineloriginale ‘s sporks (which if all this TSP episode posts got you in the mood for PG show mockery I urge you to check out here - you’ll thank me later). In truth, Henry VIII’s early reign is a bit too late from my main area of focus for me to make intelligent jokes.
I’ll content myself with just bullet-pointing random thoughts that came into my head, and if some intelligent thought gets through, well that would be the pinnacle. In any case I’ll aim to not parrot some of the stuff that’s already been said, repetition can get annoying.
This image embodies this post, but maybe not the show. I’ve noticed those Starz productions get better by the end.
First Scenes:
- The recap just reminded me how much I will miss Margaret Beaufort in the coming episodes. I know her portrayal was innacurate but Harriet Walter just made everything better.
- They are making such a big deal out of this whole ‘we were crowned together, we rule together’ thing in this episode - it makes no sense. Catherine was an influential Queen but she was definitely no more than a consort and never saw herself as more.
- Ruairi’s new haircut is pleasing to my eyes.
- When she says ‘Abuelo’ it’s super adorable awww
The Ferdinand and Charles V scene:
- Bessie Blount looks so much like Ursula Pole lmao. Also they totally got the Pole children’s birth order wrong and UGH WHERE IS GEOFFREY POLE???
- I like Mary Tudor’s actress and her facial expressions. However, this whole polyglot image they are representing is innacurate. I am fairly certain she knew no spanish and I recall reading a contemporary account which said that she was not very learned.
- I’m pretty sure it would be considered bad luck to prematurely crown your son ‘Henry IX’ while you’re still alive.
- I actually like the whole Grape motif in this episode. It’s probably the smartest thing they’ve come up with so far for this episode. I know a lot of you will be all like ‘there’s no record of Ferdinand being abusive’ but this choice sort of makes sense when you recall Joanna’s treatment. Also I appreciate them for not being tacky and showing flashbacks of more overt abuse eg physical. The sugared grape is also fairly symbolic (the sugar is like a gilding, the grape easily crushable)
- OMG the guy from Garrow’s law is playing Thomas More!
- AND PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME IM NOT SEEING THINGS? Margaret Pole x Thomas More is happening?? Please god that is a historical crackship I am getting behind. Yes. This is what I’m most invested about.
Margaret Tudor and Scotland Scene:
- The whole ironic cutaway to Margaret being all depressed after Charles Brandon’s statement about her charming Scottish king is such a cliché movie technique.
- If this were a more artsy film I would think the whole setup resembling a stereotypical middle-class family breakfast was done on purpose for humorous effects or to create a link with the past. But here I don’t have as much trust in the producers. I think they just failed to capture the time period accurately.
- The modernisms continue: ‘Negassi please stop playing’ idk, there just something so modern about this for some reason ahaha
- Also again, I’m getting tired of all this ‘Catherine is basically queen herself’, ‘Catherine is a political genius’, ‘Catherine Catherine Catherine’ ugh. I don’t think the producers understand that Henry VIII was a very autocratic and traditional ruler. He didn’t make any show of joint-rulership (correct me if I’m wrong).
- The teeth thing is funny, smart and I liked it.
Back to Westminster:
- I like Ferdinand’s actor!
- Also Catherine’s response to ‘who are you loyal to?’ was not that smart. I feel like the producers wanted us to be impressed. What if Spain and England’s interests conflict, ey??
The Joust:
- I care too much for the whole Margaret Pole plotline. I’m so invested.
- I could watch a series of More and Pole just exchanging lines. I love the actors too and this is my hope for this series. The whole frustrated parents is SO CUTE.
- I didn’t know More tutored Reggie, I would be curious to know more.
- The way compton says groom to queen’s stool is freaking hilarious. He looks like a pervert.
- Henry Pole is a darling and must be protected at all costs.
- Oh Christ oh Christ that eyeball shot was just... good job on the special effects guys. Don’t know what the point of that choice was.
- I found the whole armour mentions after interesting, it looked so set up as a PR campaign because Stafford speaking about the armour just sounded like a statement agreed on beforehand ‘should have worn the same’ and the Catherine with ‘steel in the bones’ and Ferdinand’s impressed face (it was him playing them?)
- Am I giving this show too much credit?
- Also whats up with “God save the Queen?”
War Counsel:
- Henry VIII’s actor is quite charismatic in this scene. It’s almost as if Catherine is the hothead and Henry the wise one that speaks less but more significantly. It almost feels like they gender-swapped them.
The Bedchamber:
- Did Catherine breastfeed the baby? I thought it was Anne Boleyn. Doubtful... I’m tired of the trope of ‘you’re a good woman if you insist on breastfeeding the child yourself despite social conventions’. For a feminist show, the writers seem very attached to some 1950s perceptions of motherhood.
- I feel like the age difference between Catherine and Henry is well conveyed.
Scotland Again:
- ‘All the sheep were pregnant’ 👀 oh touché Margaret. oh my. Did she just?
- I know they are playing out this disenfranchised Margaret arc to reinforce how great Catherine and Henry are (cheap technique) and to build up to her involvement in Flodden (innacurate historically but I know what the show will do). But I will say this: the humour is pretty good in the Scottish scenes! But I know it’s unintentionally so... (I highly doubt they wanted us to laugh at Margaret hitting James or calling Alexander a pig).
Westminster and the baby chamber:
- What’s are those red splotches on the babies face??
- Oh that shot of Margaret and silent Reginald :((( it makes me sad.
- And now the Poles are at church! I just love the look of them.
- That scene of Maggie and Catherine was needed, as we didn’t get the best friends vibe much in this episode. The whole thing looked a bit pagan though, but it was nice :)
The whole Ferdinand’s betrayal segment:
- The grape motif again was fitting, him snapping the fruit right before she gets to it even despite her knowing what he’s like and what he’ll do, was a good parrallel.
- I’m tired of hearing of this ‘Camelot’. Even in the novel, Camelot was Catherine and Arthur’s dream and... can we just live it up with Arthur?
- Ursula Pole’s, Bessie Blount’s and Mary Boleyn’s actresses look way too similar.
- I fail to see why Catherine thinks she’s turning into her father... she doesn’t strike me as much of a game-player or subtle two-facer.
- I’m intrigued what will happen with Oviedo and Lina... I feel like they won’t stay in England long.
- He was made knight bannaret... nice... but why does he thank Catherine publicly for this? It was in Henry’s gift that he was made a commoner Knight.. if this transpired irl Henry would have been gravely insulter.
Catherine’s Dead Baby and thereafter:
- Guys. In all seriousness, I don’t think the TV series is trying to imply that Catherine killed the baby with her negligence. I mean, they are so bent on us liking her they wouldn’t do that. It would be a bit too ballsy anyway. Remember the red splotches I mentioned earlier? Could those have been a sign that he was already ill but no one noticed/was in denial?
- The pebbles in hands would have had more emotional payoff if it had been established earlier if you know what I mean. Basically, this episode is too fast and entire arcs begin and end within it which extinguished any build-up.
- Oh man Henry is so sweet in this, how will they build him up as the tyrant he was historically if they keep this up?
Scotland Again:
- I must admit, I don’t like all those nicknames they keep using. But somehow James calling Margaret ‘Meg’ is nice and seems fitting.
- What’s a hermana sister?
England Last Mourning Scenes:
- YOU DID NOT BUILD CAMELOT ughhh
- Why is Catherine giving the speech and not Henry?? It turns out Catherine was more emotional historically then the whole perception of ‘perfect queen of stone’ to which some people hold her. However, I doubt it would have been proper of her to give a speech in such a emotional manner.
Conclusion:
6.5/10
Some of the dialogue was stilted, the costumes are confused as to which era they’re supposed to be (aesthetically distracting) and many other characterisation issues.
I don’t have high hopes for this series in terms of cinematography or art but I sure as hell expect it will be entertaining. So far, everything is just getting set up and I find some aspects promising. As you can tell I am truly excited over how the Margaret Pole plotline. I am also interested in how Henry will be portrayed, with Catherine being so OTT and pushy this episode Im starting to Stan him more. In this show he appears sensitive and serene and kinda... adorable. Kind of like a little brother hanging onto his sister’s skirts.
But in a way that is a disservice to the real historical figure which would not tolerate such a representation. I am very irritated by this whole ‘joint-rulers’ thing which is just sooo innacurate. These STARZ shows have an obsession with showing women turn into men for the purposes of feminism - I see.
Catherine overpowers Henry too often and it sometimes feels like he’s HER consort. Of course, the feminism in this show is schizophrenic as we get the overemphasis of Catherine as a 1950s motherly ideal with the whole breastfeeding angle (“you’re better than other noble woman who would find this beneath them”, “they’re not as motherly as you”).
So the relationship dynamic between Henry and Catherine is a bit off at the moment, but oh well.
Mary Tudor is a bit distracting with her dark hair but I find the actress extremely endearing and promising. I know there will be emphasis on her storyline too and I hope they’ll not be clichéd with it.
#the spanish princess#the spanish princess 2#lady plantagenet's series reviews#not my best#but I've been ill for most of the week and wanted to get this out before episode 2 comes tommorow#feel free to send me an ask if you you have anything to say#I'd love to see if anyone else thought some of the same things
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Regarding Sebastian Stan:
There's a lot of vemon in his fanbase right now. People are angry, hurt, disappointed, and upset.
Overall, I wouldn't call myself a stan or a fangirl. I'm a fan of his work. As somebody who recently got back into the MCU fandom, his performances have always stood out and he just seems like an overall chill, dude. As somebody who lives in the NYC metropolitan area and commutes to Manhattan, I was really impressed with his initial response to the terrifying early days of COVID, using his elevated platform to promote safety. It was much appreciated, especially during a time when NYC was quickly becoming epicentre and cases were rampant. It made me see him as a normal dude, not an out-of-touch celebrity. It made me feel like he had our backs. Maybe the problem lies in my assumptions.
The thing is, despite what Twitter and Insta stans may believe, none of us know Sebastian Stan. Like every public figure, we only know Sebastian Stan's brand. How he (and his PR team) chooses present himself in public and on social media. That being said, the Ibiza trip felt entirely off-brand, given what a lot of fans are used to.
When my Insta feed starts flooding with pictures of Sebastian on a yacht laying the PDA on thick with this woman, not wearing a mask while the being waited on by masked employees, being seen in a club, it rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not someone who typically follows celebrity gossip and under normal circumstances, none of this would bother me. The dude is a grown man and what he does is his business. However, we're not living in normal times. Him traveling overseas during a pandemic made him look like an idiot and a hypocrite. Like all of the goodwill he had built up was for nothing. Some people argue that Ibiza was "safe" at the time. The reality is that while cases in NY and Ibiza have gone down, the virus never went away and international travel is still extremely risky, hence why the EU rightfully banned travel from the U.S. (which raises some questions as to how he got there. Some people theorize his Romanian passport, but im not sure how that would factor in given he's a NY resident).
We can't get into his head and understand the rationale behind the complete 180 in his behavior. Some folks are speculating that it may be a PR stunt, and while I try not to be that cynical, I wouldn't be surprised to find if that were the case, given the nature of the photos and how they contradict his previous posts. If it is, I'm not sure what his agency is trying to accomplish. There is nothing cool, sexy, or glamorous about going about partying in exclusive places and pretending that the pandemic doesn't exist while the majority of the world is suffering. It was tone-deaf and made him look like a tool. Bad optics.
The "geisha pics" from the supposed girlfriend (we really dont know the true nature of their relationship and may never) were the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of people. I don't think it's fair to put blame on Sebastian - I don't expect the dude to thoroughly vet everyone he meets (leave that to his PR team...) and I do think that it was a bit invasive to dig up that kind of dirt on somebody's supposed so (once again, we still don't know). However, the pictures are now out in the open and yes, they're bad.
As I'm white person it's not my job to tell people what they should or shouldn't be offended by. I do know that as a white person, even in 2018, I would never even consider reducing another person's culture to a cheap party outfit. Its totally unacceptable. And I can see how fans were hurt by being blocked by him for calling her out on it.
That being said, I couldn't help but be taken aback by how zealous the Twitter stans were in dragging him. What I saw were some legitimate points, heartfealt concern, but also insults and threats to leak his personal information. And a lot of women tearing each other down. Even going after Paul Walter Houser for standing up for his friend, which in this case, I honestly couldn't blame the guy. One of my friends in the Cobra Kai fandom had him on his podcast and he seems like an overall solid dude so I think it's only fair to consider his position.
All in all, do I believe the Sebastian Stan is a garbage human who needs to be canceled? No. As mentioned earlier, while we may not know him, his image has been pretty consistent over the years. Most people who have encountered him, including cast and crew have said positive things about him. I'd like to believe he is decent guy who is just making some really bad career moves right now. People go through periods in their lives where they poor choices. If all of this is his doing, I hope he really takes some time to reflect on all this and learn from it and ask himself if this is the image he wants to present. If this is all his agency, I'm hoping they're seeing the negative press and taking notes. If not, I hope he can find a way to get the hell out of there. This is the same agency that supposedly covered for Harvey Weinstein so forcing their clients into doing sleazy PR stunts wouldn't suprise me. Either way, this whole thing has been a shitshow. The mob mentality of the Twitter stans and the threats and harassment need to stop, but it doesn't change the fact his actions hurt alot of people. I don't want him to be "over," I just want him to be better.
#sebastian stan#cancel culture#stan culture#i did not expect to write a dissertation on this#this stuff usually doesn't bother me wtf
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Hey beautiful! I got a question. Regarding Zabdiel and him saying something he wasn't suppose to say in that interview. I'm slightly confused. See, I'm black, and I thought that black people brought Puerto Ricans into our culture a long time ago, kinda giving them rights. Growing up, in New York, I've heard Puerto Ricans say it all the time around us and nobody be offended. Artists like Fat Joe says it all the time in his songs, and I remember J Lo saying it on some of her RnB records. Maybe it's because they were engrossed in our culture? I mean, he definitely should not of said it in an interview, but can he not say it period? Please understand I am not condoning his actions, just asking to be educated, because apparently my upbringing has told me otherwise. Anyways, stay awesome!
Ok jokes, THIS is the last ask im answering tonight. Sorry it took me so long, I wanted to make sure I was wording everything right.
I've spoken to @jane-ray about this a lot, and since she's puerto rican I'm going to defer to her regarding her country's history. From my understanding of our conversations, PRs history and culture is very strongly influenced by blackness and black culture. Therefore, many Puerto Ricans have grown up surrounded by and immersed in aspects of black culture, which I think is what youre referring to here. I think this is a really good point. Puerto Ricans celebrate black holidays, take part in black traditions, and the lines of 'ours' vs 'theirs' is much more blurred than it is with, say, nonblack Americans.
A similar example of this is adele, who grew up in a very ethnic part of London and wore bantu buns to carnaval. While, from an outside perspective, it looked like cultural appropriation, afro-caribbean Brits quickly stood up for her. Given the context of the event and the place she grew up in, she was appreciating the culture and taking part of it respectfully. In my view, the same applies to puerto ricans.
HOWEVER. this does not equal us "giving them rights." The culture was shared on the basis of mutual experience. PR culture has a lot of black influence, yes; the country has become a melting pot of different traditions and has formed its own culture out of it. That doesn't mean that all puerto ricans are now black. Non black puerto ricans cannot participate in closed practices from other black communities, for example. They dont have 'rights' to pur heritage. They've become a part of it in some aspects, sure, but thats it. They don't have a black pass. And the n word? The n word is not a product of black culture. It is a product of white culture that we have reclaimed. It is a slur that was used to traumatise and oppress the black community for decades, and regardless of how much cultural sharing happens nonblack people CANNOT say it, because it is simply not part of the culture being shared. At the end of the day, its use by nonblack people is oppressive, regardless of their heritage. Being from PR doesn't excuse anyone from saying the word
Also, jlo has gone under fire for her usage, as have other latine artists. Just because some people think its ok to use a slur doesn't mean it is. And even if you, as a black person, dont have a problem with it, the reality is this word has a history of oppression for our community, and it is inherently racist for any nonblack person to utter it. Considering antiblackness in the latine community is INCREDIBLY prominent, someone being puerto rican is not an excuse to use it.
So, for me, it doesn't matter if someone is engrossed in the culture, or grew up in a black community or is from PR. that can give you a pass for other things, and is part of the reason I wasn't AS mad at zabdiel wearing the durag. It very well could have been a normal part of his upbringing. The n word is not something that black people have opened to others. If it is not a slur that was used against you and your people, no matter how immersed in the culture you are, you simply cannot reclaim the slur. All you are doing is claiming it and in doing so harming the people it was used against. If youre a nonblack poc and you can't cut it out of your vocabulary for the sake of black people's comfort, then you're just as malicious as our oppressors
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