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cloudybarnes · 8 months

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Busy Bee

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x slytherin!reader

Summary: you may have accidentally fallen asleep on draco, but in your defense, he was really comfortable to sleep on! now, though, you're forced to face your feelings for him and do something about them

Word Count: 2.6k+

Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰

“Blaise, move your big arse away from my comfy spot.”

You had a tiring day of classes, and wanted nothing more than to just relax for the rest of the night. You had gone back to the Slytherin common room to hopefully see some of your friends and just wind down for the night.

Everyone in Slytherin knew there was one special spot on the lounge couch that was reserved for you. You had spent countless hours and dozens of nights in that exact spot either studying or just hanging out with friends. That was your spot, and when you came into the common room, everyone knew to make way for it.

Blaise chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry, (Y/N), didn’t realize you’d be back so early.”

“Early?” You exclaimed as you jumped into your spot. “I’ve been busting my butt all morning for these stupid exams. I’m exhausted.”

Pansy groaned from her spot on the floor. “Why don’t you just cut yourself a break once in a while? It’s no fun when my best friend is too busy for, like, anything anymore.”

You frowned. “I’m not too busy for you! I’m here now, aren’t I?” You grabbed a blanket from the stockpile you kept in the common room, and wrapped yourself tight in it.

Pansy rolled her eyes with a smile. “Yeah, yeah. You’re just in time to hear about the latest shit with Emma.”

Pansy had a wild grudge against this poor Hufflepuff girl who didn’t even know that Pansy was beefing with her. It was quite funny, honestly, but you loved Pansy enough to let her moan on about what annoying thing Emma does everyday.

“Oh goody.” Draco came out from the stairwell into the common room with a roll of his eyes. “Another go round of how insufferable you think that Hufflepuff is.”

He glanced over to see you cocooned in your blanket and let out a soft laugh. Draco took his seat next to you and laid his arm over the back of the couch behind you.

Draco intrigued you. Over the last year, the two of you had grown quite close. You considered Draco a good friend, but you would be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t wish it were more. Draco was kind. He was flirtatious and charming, but he was sweet and gentle with you as well. Sometimes you thought Draco may have feelings for you in return, but you were far too scared to confront him about it.

“Well, for starters, we already know how much of a know it all she is, but for some reason she has to showboat just how smart she is. You’d think she was a Ravenclaw what with how obsessed she is with being correct.” Pansy said.

Blaise started to respond to her squawking when Draco shifted closer to you. Blaise’s voice drifted away as you focused your attention to Draco.

“You alright, Dray?” You asked.

He smiled slightly. “Yeah, just trying to get comfortable. Salazar knows Pansy will be talking about this nonsense for hours.”

Draco dropped his arm from the back of the couch to wrap around your shoulder and pull you into him. You could feel your heart beating out of your chest, silently hoping Draco couldn’t feel the intensity of it.

You tried to hide the grin threatening to break out on your lips as you snuggled closer to his chest. This was definitely a first for you guys. Though you and Draco had been quite flirty, he’d never been so open with his physical touch before.

“Then she had the nerve to choose me as her partner. Like I would ever consider her!” Pansy glanced over at you and did a double take when she saw you wrapped up in Draco. Her eyes grew slightly, but she averted them with a clear of her throat as to not make it obvious.

“And then, she had the audacity-“

“She really is quite obsessed with this hufflepuff, huh?” Draco whispered to you, quiet enough for Pansy not to hear.

You looked up at him. His face was so close to yours, your noses were practically touching. You bit your lip as a smile threatened your face.

“Yeah,” you whispered back as you stared into his eyes. “Leave her be though, it keeps her entertained.”

Draco chucked, his minty breath hitting your face due to your close proximity. Your own breath caught in your throat. You hadn’t realized just how close you were to him. You could feel your stomach doing cartwheels as you took in all of his glorious features up close. The glimmer in his eyes, the point of his nose, the curve of his lips.

“I didn’t see you earlier,” Draco shifted the conversation, pulling your gaze from his lips back to his eyes. “What were you doing all day, busy bee?”

You blushed at the nickname. “I was just in the library writing up essays and study guides for our finals.” You let out a yawn, the reminder of your morning making you realize just how exhausted you were.

“Sleepy?” Draco murmured in your ear.

You nodded your head with a mumbled ‘yes’, then rested your head on his shoulder. Draco wrapped his arm tight around your waist, pulling you as close to him as possible. With his other hand, he softly combed his fingers through your hair.

You hummed as you closed your eyes. “You’re comfy,” you sleepily mumbled.

Draco chuckled. His fingers brushed against your cheeks every once in a while as he gently continued combing through your hair.

As you felt yourself falling asleep, you could hear Draco shushing Pansy and Blaise to ensure they didn't wake you.

✰ ✰ ✰

The next morning you wake in your bed, unsure of how you got there. You must have gone up sometime in the night and just not remembered.

With a shrug, you stood up and stretched your arms over your head. Pansy was snoring in the bed next to you. You tiptoed over to her and gently shook her awake.

“Pansy,” you called as you shook her some more. “Come on, babe, time to wake up.”

She just grumbled and swatted your hand from her shoulder. You huffed. Pansy was terrible in the mornings, and for some reason unknown to you, she didn’t believe in alarm clocks so you got stuck waking her up every morning.

A mischievous idea came to mind, and with a smirk you jumped on top of her sleeping body.

“Ahh!” She shouted as you frantically shook her awake.

“It’s wake up time, Pans! We’ve got to get ready for our charms exam this fine, beautiful morning.” You said with a laugh.

Pansy sat up and pushed you off of her so you laid on the bed instead. “Geez,” she grinned as she rubbed at her sleepy eyes. “Who knew a night with Draco would make you so chipper this morning.”

You sat upright in crisscross as your smile fell. “Wait, what?”

You had spent the night with Draco? But that didn’t make sense, you woke up by yourself in your own bed. Plus, you would have remembered if something had happened between the two of you.

Pansy saw your confused expression and chuckled. She grabbed a pillow and gently swatted you in the face with it. “Not like that, you silly. Salazar knows if you slept with Draco you’d have probably died of happiness.”

“Hey!” You whined as a blush started creeping on your cheeks. “I’m not that crazy for him.”

“Oh, please,” Pansy scoffed with a slight smile. “I saw the way you cuddled up with him last night. I almost had a heart attack for you when I saw how close you were! Go (Y/N), go (Y/N)!” She cheered.

You laughed and pushed Pansy away from you. “Shut up!” Your giggles died down as you recalled how you laid with him last night. “Was it really that obvious?”

“Girl please! I thought Draco was gonna scoop you up and run away with you. You should have seen the look on his face when you fell asleep on him. He looked at you like you hung the damn stars in the sky.”

Your heart fluttered. You knew there was something going on with you and Draco, but by the way Pansy was talking, though she had a knack for exaggeration, it sounded like he really did have a thing for you.

“So, what do I do now?” You asked as you slightly rocked back and forth on her bed.

“Are you joking?” Pansy deadpanned at you. “(Y/N/N), you gotta go get your man! I’m tired of watching you two drool like little puppies over each other just for nothing to come out of it.”

Your cheeks flushed. It had been a long time of this back and forth with Draco, and you decided you were ready to see where it got you.

“Okay, I’m gonna tell him next time I see him.” You said.

Pansy cheered. “Yes, finally! Now hurry up, I’ll help you pick a cute outfit that has ‘date me’ written all over it.”

You chuckled as Pansy eagerly jumped up and ran to your closet. She grabbed your shortest skirt, a white button up top, and your Slytherin robes.

“Pans, how is this any different than my usual outfit?” You asked as you stood from the bed and joined her near the closet.

“Ah, my sweet (Y/N), it’s not about the clothes you wear, but how you wear them.” She grinned as she threw the clothes into your hands. “Put them on so I can work my magic.”

You chuckled and stripped out of your pajamas to put on your school outfit. Turning back to Pansy, you said, “Okay, now what?”

She devilishly grinned. Pansy pulled your skirt even higher up your legs to expose just a bit more of the skin there. She unbuttoned the top two buttons of your shirt and fixed your boobs so they popped out a little bit more. She wrapped the robe around your shoulders, but let the front open so you could see everything underneath.

“And no tie,” she added, “that way your shirt can stay that way.”

You chuckled. “You get me into all these crazy shenanigans, you know that right?”

“You know you love me.”

“Yeah,” you added wearily, “but what if it’s too much? I mean, we still have to go to class. It’s not like I'm only going to see Draco.”

“Who cares?” Pansy asked as she started to dress herself in a similar manner. “Let the other boys stare and show Draco that you’re a hottie who other boys can get at if he decides he’s gonna be a wuss today.”

You laughed. Pansy always knew just how to make you feel better. “Alright, let’s get out there, then. Don’t wanna keep all the boys waiting.” You winked at her.

Pansy smirked and wrapped her arm with yours. You walked out together and down to your first class that you shared.

Luckily for you, Draco did not share the same period for charms as you. You thought if Draco was in the class you would have surely failed your final.

You felt pretty confident in your answers, and soon enough class was dismissed.

Your heart beat out of your chest as you said your goodbyes to Pansy and walked to your next class: one you shared with Draco.

Nervously, you picked at your clothes as you walked to potions. On your way there, you couldn’t help but notice all of the random students staring at you. Boys, and girls, sneaked peaks at you as you walked past them.

It felt nice to be noticed, you just hoped Draco would react in a similar way.

Speak of the devil.

There Draco stood in all his glory. He leaned against the wall outside of the potions room looking you up and down. Draco’s lip was trapped between his teeth and he sized you up.

“Bloody hell, (Y/N).” Draco mumbled, just loud enough for you to hear over your rapidly-beating heart.

Draco pushed himself off the wall and started walking towards you, meeting you halfway. He didn’t say anything. All he could do was stare. Draco knew you were gorgeous; he’d be a bloody fool to not have noticed it before, but there was something about the way you looked that made his head spin.

While he shouldn’t say it, Draco had always imagined how you would look after he’d had his way with you. He didn’t ever want to seem like a creep, you were too sweet for that, but that just made him more curious.

In all honesty, he didn’t know you had this in you.

“Uh, Draco?” You asked. Draco had zoned out as he stared at you. You could feel your cheeks getting warm and you took in how awestruck he looked.

“Hm?” He glanced back up into your eyes. “Sorry, sweetheart, you just- you just look incredible. Well, you look gorgeous everyday, just you look gorgeous and sexy if that makes sense.”

You raised an eyebrow almost teasingly. “Oh, so you think I look sexy now, huh?” You don’t know where this newfound confidence came from, but you liked the way Draco’s eyes widened as you crossed your arms over your chest, pushing your boobs out ever so slightly.

Once he recovered, a smirk adorned his handsome face. “I always think you look sexy, now I'm just seeing it in person rather than my dreams. And speaking of dreams,” Draco grinned devilishly, “how did you sleep last night, darling?”

You had almost forgotten about the confusion of the night. “I slept well. I think.” You chuckled as you pushed a piece of hair behind your ear. “I don’t exactly remember getting to bed, though. Care to enlighten me?”

Draco chuckled, “You fell asleep, quite adorably I might add, and I as the gentleman I am had the privilege of carrying you up the stairs and tucking you in for the night.”

You smiled, “how come you didn’t just wake me?”

Draco’s cheeks tinged pink. “I, uh, I just knew how tired you were from your morning and I didn’t want to disturb you. Hope that was okay.” Draco rubbed the back of his neck a little awkwardly.

You grinned and reached up to squeeze his arm. “It was really sweet of you, Draco.”

The two of you stared at each other for a minute, the silence held some tension, it had some longing imbedded into it.

“Draco…”

“Do you want to go out sometime?” Draco cut you off.

You gaped at him. “Like a date?”

Draco smiled, “yeah, exactly a date. I knew I’ve liked you for a little while, (Y/N), but when you cuddled up against me last night, I had this thought that I wanted to do it again. And then again after that too. You held onto like you needed me, and, uh, I really liked that.”

Draco blushed a little at his confession and shuffled his feet around nervously.

You couldn’t help but grin and wrap your arms tight around his neck. Draco was a little taken aback by your quick movement, but surely sunk into your hug and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“I’d love to go out with you, Dray,” you whispered as you were pressed so close to him. “I’ve been hoping you would ask me out for a long time.”

Draco pulled away, but still held his hands on your waist. “Sorry for keeping you waiting so long, darling.”

You giggled and grabbed Draco’s hands to pull him towards the classroom. “Come on, Slughorn doesn’t wait for anyone and I need to do good on this exam.”

Draco chuckled and let you pull him along to class. He couldn’t wait to finally take you out on a date.

#draco malfoy oneshot #draco malfoy one shot #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy #harry potter #harry potter x reader #draco malfoy x slytherin!reader #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy x y/n #ron weasly x reader #ron weasley #cedric diggory #cedric diggory x reader #fred weasly x reader #george weasley

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woniverse-writes · 8 months

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“MOTH TO A FLAME (preview)”

Bada Lee x Fem!Reader

prologue ⟶ part one

summary: y/n l/n is the youngest team member of Jam Republic, competing in the second season of Street Woman Fighter. she’s got the sweetest smile and the most vibrant personality, but she also may or may not be the biggest hothead on the show when it comes to defending her teammates. apparently that’s attractive to Bada Lee.

word count: 1.7k

warnings: swearing, reader is described as cute and petite… sorry to my non-tiny friends.

Starting something young and continuing into your present adulthood can be pressuring, especially if that certain thing happens to end up being your career. For y/n l/n, she's still very young and just in the beginning stages of her career. Still in college, but turning her studies to be online right now due to her current situation, she's working towards a business degree, and doubling that major with dance.

So you can imagine she's a little high-strung since on top of being a college student, she's currently in South Korea, competing as a member of Jam Republic on the second season of Street Woman Fighter. Although y/n is always busy, she's always got a sweet smile on her face- which is why many people, including other dancers, have been drawn to her. It's also why she's currently facing a sea of dancers, waiting to be picked for the "no respect" battle, since she and her fellow teammate, Audrey, received the most votes as the worst dancers.

"She looks kind of scary now…" Yoonji whispers to her teammates looking at y/n. Redlic looks in the direction Yoonji is looking at and laughs a little.

"What're you talking about? y/n? She looks like a kitten trying to be a lion." Now the rest of ManneQueen is staring at Jam Republic, specifically y/n l/n. And sure enough, instead of her usual bright and smiling self, her eyes are fiery and to put it bluntly, she looks pissed the fuck off. Waackxxy was the one to turn to Redlic and go-

“No, she’s definitely got something fierce going on right now… I hope she has a lot of battle cuz I’m kind of interested in her now…” causing the rest of her team to laugh and agree. On the other side, Jam Republic is having their own discussion regarding y/n.

“I think you should just wait and see- maybe no one will even pick you as a “no respect” dancer!” Ling tried cheering up her younger teammate.

“No I want someone to battle me- I want everyone who voted for me and Audrey to come and try us” y/n fired back with her arms crossed as she leaned back into her chair. She really did look intimidating, especially with her makeup and hair done. Audrey on the other hand was not feeling the same fire-

“Uhm, maybe we don’t need everyone to want to battle us…maybe just a few.” Audrey started to reason,

”Cuz I don’t know if you remember, but there were a LOT of people that voted for us as the worst dancers…” which caused Kirsten and Ling to sigh, and y/n to roll her eyes and clench her jaw.

“Audrey, my love, I’m very well aware of how many people think we suck-“

“You don’t suck-”

“Thank you Emma, but please give me a second”

“Y/n take a deep breath and check your well-being”

She sighed at their team leader’s advice, knowing it was to help her out and so that she didn’t get too fired up with her teammates. It’s not that y/n doesn’t get along with them- it’s the furthest thing from that- but she gets very passionate about everything, and she’s a bit of a hothead. On top of all that, y/n is very protective of those she cares about, some of those people being her dear teammates.

“I’m sorry” she mumbles a bit, but ultimately huffs out the response. To which Kirsten replies with a motherly “thank you”, causing the others to chuckle.

“I just don’t understand how they can all collectively make the assumption that we’re not as good as them- for what? Why? Because we’re foreigners? Because we smile a lot? Because we’re pretty? To me THAT just sounds like jealousy” y/n continues to rant, frantically moving her hands and arms about, expressing her frustration- and her team just listens patiently for her to finish. Once she finally lets out her final huff and relaxes back into her chair with her arms crossed again, and a pout now sporting her face, her teammates can’t help but smile gently at their youngest member- some even trying to hide giggles and chuckles of endearment.

“Y/n, sweetheart, you’ve gotta remember- not everyone thinks like you- I wish they did, but they just don’t” Kirsten starts to comfort her, and places a hand on her head, trying her best to calm down the passionate young girl.

Kirsten always felt like asking y/n to join her team was one of the best choices she made in regards to being a leader. She knew the younger girl had experience in kpop dance styles, having performed at multiple k-con stages and doing countless covers from other groups. Kirsten also saw an unlimited amount of potential in y/n and saw how quickly and easily she absorbed everything around her. The only thing she was worried about was how young she was. it wasn’t a huge concern to her since their whole team was pretty young, but when it came down to it, Kirsten ended up adding Audrey in as well, and the two hit it off right away! To be completely honest- Kirsten felt as if the three youngest members were her babies. Audrey being the sweet angel of a golden child, Emma being the responsible oldest, and y/n being the chaotic troublemaker who’s always trying to pick a fight with someone for hurting her sisters.

“You just need to remember that we’re here to dance, have fun, and gain a new experience… alright?” Kirsten has successfully reduced her gremlin child to a less angry (but still very pouty) version of herself.

“…alright”

“Thank you. Now please stop pouting, you look like a kicked puppy and the other will probably start picking on you soon” Kirsten teased lightly, which caused Audrey to join in and start poking y/n’s cheek, leading to Emma tugging gently on her hair, and Ling poking her other cheek, all while Latrice coos at her and pats her head. This all of course causes her to start whining and complaining playfully at her members teasing.

But the endearment for each other doesn’t end outside of the members' little cluster. the love for Jam Republic, and specifically y/n, has now spread to the entire studio. as everyone originally took notice of the youngest member’s slight temper tantrum, most didn’t really know what she was ranting about, but they could tell she was not happy at all. The two teams sitting nearest to Jam Republic happened to be Bebe and 1Million, who originally both had members that intended to battle y/n, but after hearing her rant, some opinions changed.

“I like her style! She’s very passionate” Harimu laughed as she explained her newfound interest in Jam Republic’s youngest.

“That’s what I was thinking- I don’t even wanna battle her anymore, I just wanna watch her tear up the stage with all her energy” Redy chimed in.

“Do you think we should go up to her during break and try to become friends?” They begin to laugh and joke around about their shared interest in y/n. But their team’s older members aren’t quite on the same level of endearment.

“Ya- you two should be trying to take her down before befriending her, don’t you think?” Lia warns the two girls, who just look at each other and start giggling.

“I don’t know if I’d necessarily wanna go up against someone with her temper” Redy starts off jokingly, but Harimu is already coming back in a teasing mood-

“Yeah cuz you’d probably cry.” Which has Redy letting a gasp- her jaw dropped to the floor, eyes wide with shock and (false) betrayal.

The other team seated next to Jam Republic isn’t as chipper as 1 Million though, as their leader is trying to convince her team to stick with their guts.

“You wanted to battle her at first for a reason- why would that reason change if you still haven’t seen her dance?” Bada asks Cheche, Sowoen, and Minah. They all voted y/n as the worst dancer because her style was too “pretty” and they thought she relied on having cute expressions. Bada didn’t entirely agree with her teammates, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. She even originally stated how she thought y/n’s style was refreshing and youthful, but she was worried about how she’d be with darker concepts.

“Well- I mean- she seems kinda crazy…” Cheche halfheartedly joked, but in reality, she was being completely serious.

“Why? Because she’s angry? She should be angry. Being voted as the worst dancer isn’t something to be happy about…” Bada replies calmly. No one really says anything, as they all are just trying to process whether or not their leader is defending their opponent or just provoking them.

Bada sighs and stands up to stretch. She wants her team to not only be amazing dancers, but critical thinkers too. Of course Bada wants a win, but she also wants her team to be strong- and if going up against someone with untouchable morale will force her teammates to be stronger, then that’s what they need to do.

She also may or may not be personally interested in seeing what y/n is made of. After all, she caught her attention originally with her bright smile and explosive personality- Bada thought her bold expressions and reactions to things were an endearing contrast from her cute or refreshing facials used when dancing. So now having seen y/n in stark opposition, she’s even more interested.

Even in the short period of time she’s known her, Bada’s interested in who y/n is and what she can do- especially since she didn’t expect that much personality to fit into such a petite person. She wants to understand her better- even more so after hearing her passionate rant about wanting to prove everyone wrong. She almost feels delusional for being as interested in y/n as she is, but Bada really can’t help but feel drawn to her- like a moth to a flame.

notes: thank you to everyone who read!! this is my first fic so i was a little nervous to share it- especially since it's not really all that interesting yet. but i thought it would be better to write the not-so-interesting stuff as an intro/preview/prologue, so it didn't take up space in the actual fic. I'm hoping to have the first full part up by sometime in the middle of this upcoming week. i want it to encompass the whole three episodes that have aired so far, so there's a lot i wanna write lol

#bada lee x reader #bada lee #street woman fighter 2 #swf2 #swf2 x reader #street woman fighter x reader #bada x reader #moth to a flame

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highpri3stess · 1 month

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So while we wait for the next chapter of Monsters to see the light of day from my drafts, I’ve decided to come up with something. I wanted to do a character study on each of the main cast to help you guys understand and maybe predict the outcome of the story. This will contain a deep dive analysis on why I chose their colours and some headcanons.

I got the majority of my colour psychology from this site and partially what I observed from watching early 2000’s shows that I grew up with and their characters that match, so if I miss anything, please say so.

Tw. Dark content. The main story warnings stay true to the analysis

Colour Analysis and Characterization:

Emma Sano:

Introduction: Let’s start with the least seen Character but the catalyst of the story, Emma. Just shy of 4’9”, Emma is a powerhouse and to put it simply, a dominating character. When I started writing the story, I thought of how to accent her character without making her a malicious villain like a lot of fics so far or just a place holder best friend that has no chemistry with the reader. I had to rewatch the 2004 Mean Girls and then I watched Clueless, then I recalled really REALLY vague memories of Scream Queens and Gossip Girl which I watched in my childhood and observed each of the popular characters. Regina George, Cher Horowtiz, Chanel Oberlin and Blair Waldorf, they all had something in common. Popularity.

And Emma checks off a lot of the boxes some of these characters have. Seeming well-meaning but often pushy, charismatic, firm and assertive, intelligent AND STREET SMART. She is also to an extent, spoiled, entitled, selfish and short-sighted, often acting without thinking of the consequences, because she never had to face it directly. I leaned into Cher Horowtiz writing Emma because I felt like we needed more nice mean blonde, but also Regina George because well, Emma has done really … uh questionable things in canon-

Colour: Emma wears a lot of pink.

I chose pink because combined with Emma, it gives me that 2000’s nostalgia. It’s a natural look for her, pink lips, blonde hair and yellow eyes, it just compliments her skin you know.

So I read up more about pink from the site and decided to give you an insight on pink according to this site: “The color pink represents compassion, nurturing and love. It relates to unconditional love and understanding, and the giving and receiving of nurturing...

Pink is feminine and romantic, affectionate and intimate, thoughtful and caring. It tones down the physical passion of red replacing it with a gentle loving energy.

Pink is intuitive and insightful, showing tenderness and kindness with its empathy and sensitivity.”

Based on this analysis we can see some traits of Emma in pink. She is compassionate towards the reader, towards her brothers and friends. She’s very understanding; she's a patient person, noting by how she taught the reader how to dress, and how to appear in front of others. She’s the one that taught the reader how to study properly and the importance of having a time table. You can even say she’s like a second, attentive mother to the reader and even to her brothers.

In terms of showing love, she is sensual. If you notice in the smut scene between her and Draken in chapter three, there’s a sense of softcore gentility with him. She’s more of a sensitive and gentle lover, despite her commanding presence. Outside sexual interactions, the people she forms close bonds with are treasured and cherished by her a whole lot. She isn’t afraid to hug people, or hold hands with people or even share a bed with someone. She’s not afraid of her own feelings, personally.

The thing that stands out to me in terms of pink is that blurb on “unconditional love” We can see this clearly in her relationship with both her brothers and especially the reader. With or without romantic feelings, Emma Sano loves everyone. She loves Mikey despite his tendency to be unstable and clueless and adores him, his protective and gentle nature, all the while letting her be her own person. She loves Shinichiro and sees him as the brother who sacrificed everything to be a parent to them. She loves Izana, despite his smothering and rude nature and sees the kind brother that would stay with her when she was scared of the dark, that bought her barbie CD’s as a kid and learned the guitar to play her favorite songs.

And she loves Reader for her gentle nature, being able to see the wonder of the world and teach her life lessons on spending and being intuitive to people’s emotions. She genuinely wants to spend the rest of her life with the reader if given a chance.

She’s bubbly! The life and heart of a party. You can’t stay mad at her if she mistakenly bumps into you or destroys your card deck like in chapter one because who can stay mad when she bats her eyes at you and tells you how the colour you’re wearing is so flattering?

But there’s a catch to pink: “Pink, from a negative color meaning, can represent a lack of willpower, a lack of self-reliance and a lack of self-worth. It can indicate an overly emotional and overly cautious nature.”

Although Emma doesn’t lack will power or self worth, she isn’t exactly self-reliant. From a young age, she had learned that people will be at her beck and call so far as she gives up her independence to them and now it is ingrained in her psyche. It is why she cannot face her critical thinking head on because she’s used to both Mikey and Izana - and now Draken thinking for her in important decisions. Shinichiro indulging her in her bad spending habits as well as spoiling her has made her dependent on them. She makes decisions based on how upset she is for both herself and on behalf of the person wronged, to the point it is detrimental to that person, reader.

Being assertive and open with your emotions is a good thing, but reading the room is another skill that requires patience. Most extroverted people tend to not be able to read people’s emotions or think ahead when they say something. Emma often speaks without thinking and considering what could happen. If she stayed silent for even a minute at the beginning of the story that first night and chose her words carefully or even recognized the weird energy between her brothers and reader for even a second, the events of the story would never have happened.

And lastly, I wouldn’t say she’s a manipulative person and it is not intentional, but she’s insistent on having her own way. Even when Reader expresses some form of discomfort, she still pressures Reader into situations she didn’t want to be in. Ultimately it has led to irreversible, traumatizing experiences for the reader [Being humiliated in Chapter 1 and Witnessing a murder in Chapter 4]. In fact, part of the reason the Sano brothers were initially upset by Reader’s presence was because Emma desperately wanted to get either Mikey or Izana together with her. Unknowingly sending a signal as if she was “Pimping her out or Showing off a gold digger friend.” Eventually, she stopped when she noticed the hostility her friend faced but never told the reader anything.

Izana Kurokawa:

Introduction: The second antagonist AND villain of the fic, Izana is the literal personification of Shaitan.

Izana is a complex character. When writing his pov, I usually write it in a way that you see things through his lens without agreeing with him. When I created his concept, I thought of someone like Elton from clueless at first, but then discarded that idea and decided to go ahead with his canon character and make him twice as bad.

His dressing and fashion sense comes from punk, alternative scenes: Faded Tees, ripped jeans, leather studded belts, biker jackets, red shirts etc Many people would like to tell you that punks are usually cool - and they are, but they can also be huge pieces of shit. He’s the bad boy they warned you about on wattpad but whatever they said he did, it’s the watered down version of whatever crime he commited.

Underneath it all, beyond the facade, Izana is a deeply insecure and sensitive person.

Colour and Character: Izana wears a lot red.

Red is blood. Red is passion and desire. Red is action. Izana is the kind of person to take the bull by the horn and do what he wants to do. It’s very useful in the world of the Yakuza and it is why he thrives more than Mikey. He combines charisma with intelligence and intuitive nature and makes them all work. He’s also someone that if you want something done, he’ll find a way to do it for you. It’s a colour that matches his skin, makes him look charming and intimidating. I chose red to warn and allure people when seeing Izana for the first time.

“The color red is a warm and positive color associated with our most physical needs and our will to survive. It exudes a strong and powerful masculine energy. Red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action. It signifies a pioneering spirit and leadership qualities, promoting ambition and determination.

It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power. Being the color of physical movement, the color red awakens our physical life force.

It is the color of sexuality and can stimulate deeper and more intimate passions in us, such as love and sex on the positive side or revenge and anger on the negative. You usually gain the respect of others quite easily with your practical and grounded attitude and ability to set boundaries.”

Not really sure about Izana’s positivity, but Izana has ability to protect and hold his own in a fight, as well as the tendency to be bold and upfront about his feelings and thoughts about other people.

In terms of masculinity, he’s a huge family guy, knowing how well he would do anything for them, no matter how far it could go. Majority of his problems with reader stem from the fact that her presence keeps tearing his family apart or causes a rift between him and the people he loves.

You can trust him to be honest with you when it is just the two of you alone. We can see that in Chapter three when he and Mikey are fighting and he confronts Mikey about his romantic feelings for the reader. He's also honest about how he feels about his older brother's connection to the reader in Chapter four.

He has passion for his family (Kakucho included) He loves them more than anything in the world, except himself. Sure, he has a strange sense of humor and he riles them up on occasion but he values them as people above everyone else. Even to the point that he shifts the blame to someone else when confronted with the reality of his sibling’s actions -see the bonus scene of chapter four. We know from little snippets of his past in Chapter 2, Izana is capable of emotion and gentility for people around him, but over time has chosen to surpress that part of him unless he is with his siblings, especially Emma.

He’s also the opposite of Emma with his lovers. Emma may be gentle but Izana is hot like blood. He’s all consuming, he takes and takes and takes and when he gives, he is still taking. He likes the thrill of being together with someone far more vulnerable than him and fighting for dominance, only to find out they’re out matched. Despite his arrogance, the reason why many girls flock to him is his allure. There's an excitement to Izana that keeps people aching for more, even if it would hurt them. It is why reader still aches to do nice things for him despite his constant abuse and is still flustered when he makes fun of her or puts her on the spot.

Although, negatively red reflects on Izana's character;

“You are impulsive - you should count to 10 before reacting to situations as it is in these situations that your anger and aggression often appears. You are always in a hurry, wanting to do everything right now. Patience is not one of your strong points. …. Red people can be aggressive and easy to anger, often exhibiting a violent temper - this is negative passion and energy. You flare up instantaneously but calm down quite quickly once you get it out of your system and then forget it ever happened.”

Izana has a terrible temper.

He’s dangerous when he is furious and is very easy to anger. You can see an example of how aggressive he can be in Chapter two, when he attacks the reader for the first time, chapter three when he threatens her and chapter 4 when he yells at her because she has feelings for his brother and then attacks his brother. And his temper often is expressed in physical violence, even to people who he loves.

Izana is physically, emotionally and later sexually abusive. It has a lot to do with his upbringing with him walking on his mother and other men having sex and his general hatred for women. He exhibits a very strange psychosexual behavior and gets some form of sexual gratification from seeing someone humiliated or in pain, especially if he is the cause of it.

He also has a domineering behavior. He loves being on top, trampling on people. He loves driving people up to the wall and breaking them until there’s nothing left. You can see that the split second he saw the fight in the reader’s eyes, there’s an energy that sparked up in him to squash it, to drain her dry.

And the funny thing is, his dominance is fueled by his insecurities and jealousy. In Chapter four, Takeomi makes an interesting comment that gets Izana confused. He is so full if himself that he refuses to sort out his fear of abandonment and inadequacy, and just decides to continue. Takeomi can see how jealous Izana is of Shinichiro, but refuses to admit it. He can see that there's a growing obssession and hidden lustful desire for the reader nestled inside Izana but Izana hates confronting emotions like that, so they build up until he explodes.

In simple terms, Izana is like a trynnical king with no one to stop him.

Manjiro "Mikey" Sano:

If Izana is Satan, then Mikey is Lucifer.

Izana may be the punisher, but Mikey is the tempter. He has a silver tongue, it’s so easy for lies to flow from his lips to anyone’s ears. Izana is straightforward with his intentions, but as for Mikey, he’s far more convoluted.

When writing for Mikey, I thought of his canon character for a bit. It's hard writing someone who is playful and cheeky, overall a nice guy and making them a bad person. Then I remembered that he also murdered all his friends in the manlia timeline and dark impulses and I was like... yknow it may not be that hard.

Colour: Mikey is green

I based Mikey's look off the usual boy next door persona. Like in canon, I gave him his comfy clothes, but with a little bit more style. I chose green because I felt it compliments his dark eyes.

Mikey is the epitome of youthfulness. He's handsome and flirtatous. He cares about his family a whole lot, even Izana. He can be gentle when he wants to and he is in tune with his emotions.

Here's what I saw about green:

"The color green relates to balance and harmony. From a color psychology perspective, it is the great balancer of the heart and the emotions, creating equilibrium between the head and the heart. ... From a meaning of colors perspective, green is also the color of growth, the color of spring, of renewal and rebirth.

Green is an emotionally positive color, giving us the ability to love and nurture ourselves and others unconditionally.

It loves to observe, and therefore relates to the counselor, the good listener, the social worker. It loves to contribute to society.

Being a combination of yellow and blue, green encompasses the mental clarity and optimism of yellow with the emotional calm and insight of blue, inspiring hope and a generosity of spirit not available from other colors.

Green promotes a love of nature, and a love of family, friends, pets and the home... It is generous and loves to share, but it also looks for recognition. It is friendly and can keep confidences.

This is a color that has a strong sense of right or wrong, inviting good judgment. It sees both sides of the equation, weighs them up, and then usually takes the moral stand in making appropriate decisions. On the negative side, it can be judgmental and over-cautious."

It's a strong parallel to Mikey's behaviour. He's a friendly person, noting by the reader's comment on how friendly he is to other girls and women. He can be sweet and considerate, even after doing something henious; he cleaned the reader up and got her food the both times he's been with her. He cares a lot about what Emma and Shinichiro think about him and tries to get on their good side, always, even when he feels he is right.

You can see his observant side in Chapter 1, he notices how the reader would rather be a peaceful person than try anything that could cause problems. He manages to see the solution to their issues with Emma, by being friendly with reader or pretending to be friendly.

He has a strict "moral" code. In chapter 1, he believed Izana's judgement on your choice of clothing and weighed on it because he felt reader was wrong for it, even if he was being hypocritical. In Chapter 3, he fought with Izana for putting his hands on reader because he hates it and believes it is wrong to be violent to a woman. He's angry at reader for choosing dishonest people to surround herself with instead of genuine people and thinks she's foolish for doing so.

He is also, no matter how you put it, a lover boy. The painful truth is, all those texts he sends reader is actually coming from a place of genuine concern. When he starts forming attachments with someone, he starts to worry over them. If reader never went to her dorm and had bumped into him instead in chapter four while she was crying, he would have done everything to change her grades, even getting rid of proffessor Hanabi permanently.

"On the negative, the color green can be possessive and materialistic, with a need to own people and things.

being possessive and materialistic, indifferent and over-cautious, envious, selfish, greedy and miserly, devious with money, inconsiderate, inexperienced, a hypochondriac and a do-gooder."

We can see how possessive Mikey is.

The thing is, he has an obssession with people he claims he loves and wants to own them. He needs to be the center piece of their life or he has no meaning and would feel replaced. It stems from his greed that was fed into as a child. Mikey is charming enough to get the adults to do to his bidding and his friends begrudingly fed into that behaviour. He has a close knit group and he hates having to share that with any outsider, which is why he pushes reader away so vehemently, until Emma began to revolve around her and not him.

Also, he is an envious and possessive person. In Canon, we can see a few examples when Inui mention Takemichi and Mikey got up into his face and was like "No, he's mine-" in the same way, he takes it a step further. Your ability to command attention the same way he did when he was younger has him boiling. He hates that you're the kind of nice he wants to be and his solution is owning you so that he can control who you get to be nice to.

He is also a selfish and self-centered person. It's only what he thinks and what he wants that matters. In Chapter 1, when he's arguing with Emma, he quickly ignores her concerns and tells her to 'come back' to the party because he and Izana are waiting. At the end of the day what matters to him is what he wants. He doesn't care about how his actions affect people, and when you promptly avoid him at the end of chapter 3 and 4, he frigns confusion as to why, despite knowing why.

The thing about greedy people is that they would turn on their own moral code just to get you. Mikey has used physical restaints to hold reader down just to assault her sexually. He has used threats and he would act on them no matter how sick and twisted they are. The end justifies the mean for Mikey and his dark impulses and if it means making you hate him to keep you in his tight knit circle to control you forever, so be it.

Reader

The star of the freak show, the reader is seemingly a clear cut character. She's calm, quiet and patient. She's responsible and ultimately a matyr because she endures a lot of hardships.

I wanted to give her a pink aesthetic at first, but then I rewatched diamond castle and princess and the frog and loved the blue and purple motive in opposite of their pink counterparts. It struck me! Blue is usually the colour of compainionship and innocence and I decided to experiment that with the reader.

Colour and charcter: When I was picking blue, I thought back to the Holy Mary statutes (I am NOT a catholic, it is painfully obvious with the way I mess things up. Thanks for leaving the catholic church btw dad before I was born 😒) and realised that Mary and reader have a lot in common. They are idolized by the same people who would have thrown stones at them had they known they were pregnant out of wedlockback in the days. They are both forced to be this epitome of innocence and virgnity - in some apocrphya Mary was serving as a virgin in a temple before being bethrothed to Joesph and then married off to men twice older than them.

Let's look at what this site says about blue:

"This color is one of trust, responsibility, honesty and loyalty. It is sincere, reserved and quiet, and doesn't like to make a fuss or draw attention. It hates confrontation, and likes to do things in its own way.

From a color psychology perspective, blue is reliable and responsible. This color exhibits an inner security and confidence. You can rely on it to take control and do the right thing in difficult times.

It has a need for order and direction in its life, including its living and work spaces. This is a color that seeks peace and tranquility above everything else, promoting both physical and mental relaxation."

"It reduces stress, creating a sense of calmness, relaxation and order - we certainly feel a sense of calm if we lie on our backs and look into a bright blue cloudless sky. It slows the metabolism. The paler the blue the more freedom we feel.

In the meaning of colors, blue relates to one-to-one communication, especially communication using the voice - speaking the truth through verbal self-expression - it is the teacher, the public speaker.

Blue is the color of the spirit, devotion and religious study. It enhances contemplation and prayer. On the other hand, blue's devotion can be to any cause or concept it believes in, including devotion to family or work

Blue is the helper, the rescuer, the friend in need. It's success is defined by the quality and quantity of its relationships. It is a giver, not a taker. It likes to build strong trusting relationships and becomes deeply hurt if that trust is betrayed.

Blue is conservative and predictable, a safe and non-threatening color, and the most universally liked color of all, probably because it is safe and non-threatening. At the same time blue is persistent and determined to succeed in whichever endeavors it pursues."

It's a no brainer that reader is a responsible and hardworking person. She's the epitome of feminimity. Her actions are honest and pure, she expresses concern for people who do not deserve it and she doesn't like to cause problems. Reader would much rather talk it out and apologize even if she isn't wrong.

She's raised to be a humble, sweet girl who must always be obedient to her husband. To not judge outwardly, but be naïve and a little bit dense. You can see that it is why she balances with Emma who is more dominant, helping her cool down and appreciate what she has, as well as teaching her how to be considerate. She teacher Emma the value of money and Emma admires how calm and non-violent reader is. She would not rage or cause up a storm to prove she is right, but rather, seek a middle ground.

She believes that there is good in everyone, even if they don't express it to her. She's okay with being in the back ground because her kindness is her strongest suit.

But there is something about reader that isn't right.

"Change is difficult for blue. It is inflexible and when faced with a new or different idea, it considers it, analyzes it, thinks it over slowly and then tries to make it fit its own acceptable version of reality.

Blue is nostalgic. It is a color that lives in the past, relating everything in the present and the future to experiences in the past."

When reader has a precognitive notion of someone it's hard for her to change it. Especially if it is about her.

She found it hard to eventually accept that what Mikey is doing to her, is a bad thing. She was trained in a way that ingrained in her that women provoke men to assault them, so she blames herself for it. She knows both of them are evil but she still aportions blame to herself.

Her being nonconfrontational does her wrong as well. Because she wants peace with others, she lets herself be trampled upon. There's a part of her that earns for the past, even if she was hurt. She's always in her head, never paying attention to her surroundings but constantly overthinking and over analysing everything that happens to her.

Her quiet, docile nature is what leads her to be an easy target for people like Izana and Mikey. Her kindness will be the death of her.

Headcanons for the main cast:

Reader's first love is Mikey Sano. Before him, she has never seen a guy she really liked until she caught his eye.

Izana is a sex addict - it's almost as bad as drugs, but within the last few weeks he had suddenly seen a reduction in his drive.

Emma was the one who suggested blue was reader's colour. Before university, reader wore a lot of brown or muted colours which is associated with obscurity or poverty.

Izana hates how wide eyed and innocent reader looks. He hated her even more when she asked "what does a blunt mean?" when he told her to roll one for him the first time they met.

Kisaki and Mikey think of reader as a dog -specifically a laperdoodle- because she's aleays following Emma around with no direction of her own.

Izana is passionate about music and it is why he went into sound engineering. When he is stressed and he doesn't want to smoke, he plays his guitar. He has written a song about how he feels about his childhood but no one has heard it apart from Kakucho.

Emma, Izana and Mikey spend a lot of time together. They like hanging out together because it's reminiscent of their childhood.

Majority of the girls Izana sleeps with are blonde haired girls. Take that as you will.

Reader is always in her head most of the time. She zones out a lot and spends her entire alone time thinking. She also has a hyper active imagination.

The most intelligent sibling is Mikey. He just hates school.

In their freshmen year Reader actually met Hanma at the freshman party. She tried talking to him but she was so nervous that she ran away.

If the events of chapter one never happened and they had just apologized, Reader and Mikey would have been good friends. Izana would still keep her at arms length but eventually warm up to her.

Emma was hoping one of her brother's would fall in love with reader, since Draken isn't polyamorous so that she'd keep reader in her life forever.

The person I see reader having a successful relationship with is Izana (if everything was good). Red and blue are opposites, and they would instantly catch on. Izana would compensate for Reader's shy and docile nature, even inspiring her to be more confident and take on anything. Reader would teach him patience and forgiveness and ultimately help him to be more relaxed.

I initially planned that reader and Izana would have some action in chapter 4 but scrapped that idea.

Mikey hardly dates. Girls flock around him and he may sleep with one or two, but that's it. He has a preference for experienced girls as I mentioned.

In terms of sexuality, Reader is pansexual, Emma is bisexual and polyamorous, Mikey is also bisexual and Izana is pansexual and polyamorous.

Reader loves Mitski a lot. Emma introduced her to "worldly" songs when they began their friendship and Mitski stuck. Before that, she was only allowed christian music in her household.

Izana's favourite group is Deftones and Mikey loves ABBA a lot. Emma is a Britney Spears person but loves Mitski.

Reader feels safer around Draken outside Emma. She actually loved learning about bikes from him and didn't laugh when he said his dream was to be a bike. Probably because her dream is to become a book.

Mikey hates being in fights with Izana. It makes him sad. He just wants to hang out without Izana feeling like he has to rile Mikey up so that Mikey would like him.

If reader was my oc, her name would be Evangelista and she would look like this:

Reader misses her family. She misses her mom a lot even though she knows they were bad to her.

Izana sleep talks about his mother, Karen and in his dreams he begs her not to leave him and Emma, that he'll never complain again.

Mikey's mom, Sakurako and reader are similar in personality. He forms attachments to reader because he wants to recreate his mother's love through her.

Emma also sees Sakurako in reader, but she can also see Karen too. Karen was always absent minded to the point she nearly hurt herself. Reader has also hurt herself while being absent minded too.

After the assault reader's absent mindedness became worse. She also feels extreme shame and has resorted to taking sleeping pills.

Mikey hates smoking and alcohol, but abuses Antidepressants a lot to numb his dark impulses. In chapter 3, reader thinks Mikey is sober, but in reality he's on antidepressants. It is why he's so emotionally detached. It doesn't work by the way.

Mikey is in love with reader and is desperate to get her on his side. If Izana offers him a deal that can get reader he'll take it.

Reader cannot find it in her heart to hate Mikey or Izana. She excuses their actions in her head majority of the time. It's because she was raised to know that if a man is violent towards her, it is her fault. It is why she's desperate to make amends.

Mikey reminds her of her father a lot. Izana reminds her of her eldest brother. Both of them abused her and she recreates those scenarios with Mikey and Izana. Reader at a point wanted Mikey to love her back but gave up after the party.

Reader's brothers are physically abusive towards her. When she was attacked in chapter 2 she instantly fights back because that was the only way she could escape with her life. It got so bad she has been hospitalized multiple times. She learned the best way to avoid abuse is to avoid them entirely, since her parents wouldn't do anything about it.

Emma regrets pushing reader towards her brothers.

Reader still wears her rosary she got from her mother until this day. She rarely goes to church.

The person who took those nude pictures wasn't Mikey. It was Hanma. Mikey paid him to do it and who was he to refuse free money.

Reader was in dance club at her school and was really good, but left after someone snitched to her father. She got punished badly.

Taggging: @fushiqruo @jellyfishworld @blueberry3muffin @nnniiiaa @707stic @kokoch4n3l @kodzukein @kazutorasrealsneakylink @short-cxke @bontensruby @merve-01 @hellkaiserinphoenix @urmomsksk @chaerytf @manjibunny @chrollohearttags

Thank you guys so much for reading this ♡ you can ask me any more questions if you have them.

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers fanfic #monsters ♡

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mulletmitsuya · 1 year

Text

Tokyo revengers groupchat (almost everyone, good timeline)

Warnings: swearing, suggestive, shenanigans

Desc: Takemitchy does his weekly check up (on his friends)

Takemitchy: hi everyone❗

Izana: shut up

Takemitchy: ahaha😆😅

Takemitchy: still as hostile as always Izana-kun😂😂😂

Takemitchy: how's everyone doing?

Izana: good if you would shut up

Mikey: leave babygirl alone and let him type his silly sentences Izana 😋

Izana: ...?

Draken: he's married

Mikey: Hina literally said i could call him that🙄

Hina: uhm, not really but it's fine i don't mind Ken-kun😅

Emma: Mikey😐

Emma: get out of Takemitchy and Hina's business

Mikey: stop trying to gatekeep them😒

Mikey: this is discrimination against single people

Rindou: and homosexuals

Rindou: Mitsuya, Hakkai, Ran, you etc

Rindou: praying for y'all

Ran: why is my name always in your mouth

Ran: and you're single 😒

Rindou: by choice🙌

Hakkai: no it's cause of the way you act

Rindou: how do i act?? cool, that's how, tf

Angry: dude, you act like someone who never received love from their parents

Angry: sorry

Smiley: don't apologize after insulting someone lil bro

Smiley: own that shit ❗💯😁

Inupi: can i leave

Mikey: you're very welcome to, actually

Inupi: i think i will stay, actually

Takemitchy: no one leaves guys😂

Baji: damn, can y'all shut the fuck up, i'm studying

Rindou: mute the chat, bozo

Angry: who calls people bozo man :/

Rindou: do you have an issue with me?

Rindou: let's settle this with our bodies

Smiley: 🤨

Angry: no thank you, i don't want to have sex with you

Rindou: you're pissing me off cause you know i meant a fight 😐

Mikey: you didn't word it that way at all

Rindou: no one was talking to you

Rindou: you will never find love and are doomed to watch the ones you love move on and be happy without you

Rindou: how bout them apples

Mikey: bro???

Draken: oddly specific

Rindou: yk what's oddly specific is that big ass forehead you have on you

Rindou: maximum cranium capacity

Rindou: bro thinks he's megamind

Rindou: idk why someone who walks around with one third of their hair is speaking to me rn

Emma: don't be mean😕

Emma: i think his head is proportionate :((

Kazutora: you made it worse

Draken: i didn't even say anything, this was complete unprovoked and now i'm pissed off

Mochi: Rindou stfu

Ran: Rindou chill out

Rindou: maybe chill with your alcohol addiction

Ran: no

Izana: Rindou shut up

Rindou: ...😒

Takemitchy: ok change of topic😂 what r u studying Baji-kun?

Baji: Sawcon

Draken: what's Sawcon?

Baji: Sawcon deez nuts lmao

Draken: yeah i'm done

Kazutora: he's studying Vet

Mitsuya: what's Vet?

Kazutora: being a Vet, duh 🙄

Mitsuya: can you tell me genuinely how the fuck i was supposed to assume that

Baji: Mitsuya just admit you're stupid bro

Mitsuya: k

Mitsuya: i hope you fail the year

Baji: jokes on you, i did

Mitsuya: oh

Mitsuya: my bad

Mikey: 💀

Chifuyu: better luck next year Baji-san

Ran: haven't you said that for the past 6 years

Baji: i have dementia, it's really hard to understand things ok😐

Kazutora: *diabetes

Chifuyu: ...guys

Ran: i chuckled

Smiley: are y'all trolling

Smiley: no way you guys r this fucking stupid

Angry: what are you even trying to say?

Draken: i think he means he's dyslexic

Baji: dyslexic on deez nuts lmao

Draken: i'll fucking kill you

Angry: we should be nice to each other sometimes

Angry: just a thought

Rindou: now that i'm thinking about it

Rindou: you give me autistic vibes

Angry: i'm not that good at painting or drawing but thanks Rindou😠❤👍

Angry: wait ☹️

424 notes · View notes

kytrisz · 9 months

Text

Why not me? | Matt Smith

| pairing. matt smith x reader requested by. @shuichiakainx

You're currently in the pub with Matt's castmate, celebrating the success of the House of the Dragon premiere. You are there as his plus one, and also because he said he needed you there. He needed the support of his best friend.

Friend…

That’s what you are, a friend, and always be a friend.

Sitting at the bar station, you stir the beer bottle you are holding while watching everyone around you, more like you're watching him. You study the way he talks animatedly, his expressions, and everything else. And seeing him beam like there was no tomorrow for what he had accomplished today induces a tiny smile on your face.

As you continued to gaze longingly at him, you didn't notice a figure make its way beside you until it uttered something that caught you off guard.

"How long have you been in love with him?"

Like a deer caught in the headlights, you whirled around to see who the person was. And it's none other than Emma, Matt's co-star in the show. You tried to school your face as neutral as possible.

"...what do you mean?" you carefully ask, squinting your eyes at her.

"I know that look dear, you don't have to deny it," Emma giggled, waving her hand to the bartender to ask for a drink, who obediently do it. Grabbing the glass, she leans on the counter with her elbows before returning her gaze to you.

"You love him?" Emma asked rhetorically as she drank the shot glass.

You looked at her for a moment before turning away, muttering, "I don't know what you're talking about..."

Emma let out a short laugh, appearing amused at you, then her eyes softened as she noticed you staring at him wistfully again. "A piece of advice, my dear," she beckoned you, drawing your attention and fixing your gaze on her.

"Sometimes...knowing the answer, even if it hurts, is better than regret," Emma murmured, giving you a small smile, before turning and striding her way to other casts, leaving you with your thought to think about what she said.

You let out a weak smile before returning your attention to him. You know it's true, regarding what she said. You tried to confess so many times to him to the point you can't even recall how many now. But every time you tried to tell him, fear always held you back. You don't fear him not loving you back, you fear that everything will change. You know the moment you confess to him your relationship will never be the same again.

You will never be this close again...

You know he doesn't love you like that. And his past relationships are proof of that. Where you always watch his back while he's looking at her as if she's the most precious thing he ever got.

Thinking about it, you raise your bottle again to drink, forcing all the pain away with the bitter taste of the beer. While sipping, you noticed Matt staring at you. Locking your eyes at his chocolate ones, he gives you his famous charming smile that makes you swoon always. Then he raises his hand, signaling for you to come.

You smile at him as you place the empty beer on the countertop, then take out your wallet to get some cash and leave it there.

Even though you're practically intoxicated and already swaying and dizzy, you try your hardest to get to him without colliding with anyone else. After all, you do want to make a scene.

And when you're already feet away from him. There you saw him, smiling at another girl whose arms wrapped into his shoulder. Stopping you from your feet.

You keep staring at them as your heart begins to slowly break open on the inside. But what truly crush it is when you saw Matt look at her the way he always at look at his partners before,

with adoration…

You drew a deep breath and slowly backed away from them with your gaze still fixed on them... Then without a second, you spun away from them and hastily made your way to the exit.

As you pushed the door open, you swiftly exited the pub, your lungs heaving and tears welling up in your eyes. You don't even know why you're crying. You always see him with other girls so what changed, why it hurts? Is it due to alcohol? Many questions arise in your mind, yet none are answered.

With a ragged sob and pent-up tears flowing down your face, you let out a strangled howl. And it only worsened when a thunderstorm appeared and began to pour heavily, leaving you drenched from head to toe.

"Fuck!" you hoarsely exclaimed as you continued down the road, leaving no care whether you get wet or sick. You just need to get away. You just need to numb the pain, "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuc-"

"y/n!" you heard a voice call, stopping you in your tracks, and as you turned around, you saw him, the catalyst of your pain, Matt with an umbrella over his head, making his way inside you.

You immediately spun around and continue your way down the street, ignoring his call. You can't face right. You can't. You fucking can'-

"y/n, please, you'll get sick!" Matt pleaded.

You heard a frustrated groan from your back as a sequence of splashes of water became louder.

And before you can turn around to inspect it, a hand in your arm spun you around in a flash stopping you and startling you at the same time. Making you face Matt whose face is painted with frustration and scowl.

"What the fuck are you thinking, y/n? You'll get sick from what you're doing!" Matt growled, tightening his grip on your arm as you struggled to yank it off.

As you locked your gaze into his, you saw fury flash into his eyes, but it quickly softened as he saw your face drenched in tears, snot, and rain, and as he heard you groan from the grip, he immediately released it, as if afraid of hurting you further.

'The irony,' you thought to yourself.

Matt then raised the umbrella above you and took a deep breath before asking softly, "...what's wrong?"

You both looked at one other for a long time. With him looking at you for an answer, while you... You're thinking. thinking about whether you'll admit it now, what's causing this, why you're crying, your agony, your feelings...

But just always, you only mutter "nothing" leaving him in his umbrella without saying a word further and making your way to the station.

Dumbfounded, Matt look at your leaving figure. Hurt, confused, angry, he doesn't know anymore, but all he knows is that you're hurting… He does not want to see you in pain. So, without a second thought, he pushed all his feelings aside and pursued you relentlessly. All he wants is for you to no longer be in pain.

"y/n!" you heard him call you repeatedly, and as usual, you ignored them, focused on getting away from here, getting away from him because you felt your grip is already loosening...

But something stops you when you hear Matt angrily yell near you, "Why the fuck are you acting this way?!"

"Leave it be, Matt."

"What the fuck is the problem?!"

"I said to drop it—"

"Jesus Christ! Just give me a fucking answer-"

You felt something inside you snap, maybe because of the alcohol, as you turn around to him and look at his face "Do you really want an answer?!" cause Matt to stop in front of you.

"It's because I'm jealous! I'm fucking jealous, Matt!"

Glaring at him with all hatred, "I'm jealous 'cause I love you. I fucking love you! Are you happy now?!" slapping him in his chest, letting out an anguished cry.

"Matt... Matt, why is it so easy for you to notice everyone but me? I'm right in front of you but you never saw me even once." you hoarsely said, closing your eyes you let out another sound strangle wails of pain that came in sync with the sound of thunder and rain pouring harder "Why is it so easy for you to love anyone but me...? Why can't it just be me Matt? Why not me?!"

You fucking said it, you fucking said it... Then there was a long pause. A rough chuckle let out from you when you heard nothing coming from him, only the continuous thundering and rain hitting the ground. This is it, everything changes now, everything is over... All will become strangers and nothing more.

You spin around and rush away without even bothering to look at him. That's what you're always good at, running from everything, especially him.

As you keep on running further you didn't hear a thump of an umbrella thrown into the ground, and shoes splatting on the wet ground

And everything becomes too fast, as you felt a hand on your shoulder forcefully spinning you around, then two hands cupping your cheeks, and without even realizing lips landed on yours. The kiss was hard, ugly, and imperfect as filled with anger, pain, anguish, frustration... But even so, it's beautiful. The kiss is imperfectly beautiful.

As both of you felt having no breath left, you felt Matt reluctantly pull away from you, almost as if he didn't want to. And both your eyes lock, and you noticed a range of emotions lingering in his eyes. It spun with love, joy, fulfillment, and longing. You've never seen such emotion in his eyes before, and now it's staring right at you, causing you to feel overwhelmed.

And then he let out the three words that destroy all your expectations

"I love you," Matt whispered to you longingly, staring at your eyes, your nose, your face, studying you as if this is your last "I love you very very much y/n, and I'm sorry for everything,"

As he continues saying his sorry to you let out a heavy sob from his confession, you feel so happy, you never once thought he would even feel the same.

As you let out a chuckle you grab his right hand with both of your hands, making him pause from what he is saying and solely focus on you. Caressing it, you raise the back of his hand into your lips planting a longing kiss before returning his gaze to yours.

"Let's start a new," you muttered to him, smiling.

Looking at you dazed and stunned, all he did was nod and let out a happy grin.

A fresh start, a fresh start from everything else, and a new chapter in life. And this time, you'll be in the same chapter. Nobody but the two of you.

#matt smith #matt smith x reader #matt smith x you #matt smith fanfiction #matt smith fanfic #bit of angst #oneshot

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miracleonice87 · 9 months

Text

something in the way she moves

with Jack Hughes

for the summer fic exchange 2k23

a/n: I’ve been in my Taylor Swift and Jack Hughes era all summer, so what better way to write my exchange fic for @wyattjohnston than to combine those two subjects into one project for her? this one was originally inspired by “Question…?” and ended up tying together several Taylor songs all at once – check out the companion playlist for all of those and more songs that inspired the fic! also, shoutout to Brady and Emma’s wedding for providing the perfect backdrop for this story after I stalled out with ideas for the perfect present-day setting. lots of special guests appear in this one! finally, some people might hate the flashback format with all the jumping around, but I’ve been watching a lot of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” so you can thank the show for that! hope everyone enjoys… but especially @wyattjohnston. this one’s for you, my friend! endless thanks to you for putting on this wonderful exchange for us all, and for inviting me to be part of it. (and thanks to the lovely @laurenairay for the assist!)

tropes: whirlwind romance, exes to lovers, fluff, angst

warnings: swearing, alcohol, mention of breakup, arguing / conflict, sexual references but nothing graphic or detailed, quinn and luke and brady and matthew being pests, miles wood being a drunken hooligan lolol

word count: ~8,500+ (hey who knew I still knew how to write long fic)

_____

July 21, 2023 – present day – Brady and Emma Tkachuk’s wedding – Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey…

“Can I ask you a question?”

Jack tucked his chin to his chest, busying himself with studying the pattern of the brick patio beneath his smart white sneakers. Whatever question Francesca had in mind, he was absolutely sure he was unprepared for it. But he nodded anyway.

Fran stared at his profile as he shuffled his feet beneath him, but as he lifted his head to look at her, she looked away, unable to meet his eyes as she forged ahead. Her gaze settled across the horizon instead, the moonlight casting a glow across the rolling green hills of Natirar.

She sighed, then bit the bullet. “Does it feel like everything’s just like… second best now?” she inquired listlessly.

Jack chuckled sadly, fiddling nervously with the neck of his amber beer bottle. Anybody who knew Jack knew he was never nervous. Except for where Fran was involved. She was the only person who had ever been able to do anything remotely resembling rattling him.

“What, after that meteor strike?” he asked sarcastically.

That’s what it felt like, at least – that night two years ago, when his team was out celebrating the end of their abysmal season before separating for the summer, the very same night her roommates had dragged her kicking and screaming from Fordham’s campus, across the Hudson, to see some indie band for one last hurrah before they went their own respective ways until fall semester, and Jack and Fran found themselves in the same crowded Hoboken bar. It felt like a meteor had crashed directly in his path that May night and blown up his entire life as he had known it.

He nodded wearily before answering his now ex-girlfriend’s, as well as his own rhetorical, question.

“Yeah, Fran. Yeah… it definitely does.”

Because second best was all that anything could have ever been, following the sensational rise and the staggering fall of Jack Hughes and Francesca DeLuca.

He’d never forget the very moment he first laid eyes on her…

___

May 1, 2021 – two years earlier…

From Jack’s perch at the bar next to Nico, nursing a Moscow mule, the girl in the pale yellow halter dress was impossible to miss.

He’d never believed in love at first sight, but as he surveyed the way that dress hugged her curves as she danced with her girlfriends, belting out the lyrics to “Peaches” to Justin Bieber, he thought for the first time that he might be completely wrong about that notion. He watched her hips sway enticingly, her olive-toned skin glowing beneath the bright multicolored lights, dark curls bouncing along with her every step.

Before he knew it, his feet were taking steps of their own, ditching Nico mid-sentence as the young captain stood dumbfounded, arms flung out to his sides in annoyance as Jack sauntered away. As he watched Jack approach a circle of dancing young women, he zeroed in on the one in the yellow dress right away, knowing immediately that she was the reason for the abrupt end to his conversation with his teammate. As he saw Jack approach her, Nico could only smile and roll his eyes as he wandered off to find the rest of the Devils crew, assuming they’d lost #86 to the girl in the yellow dress for the rest of the evening.

Meanwhile, for once, Jack didn’t have a plan, no course of action – didn’t have a pick-up line prepared, didn’t have anything clever in mind to say when he reached the girl in the yellow dress. When he finally did, she had her back to him, and it was only thanks to her perceptive friend, who pressed her lips into a straight line and tapped the woman on the shoulder, pointing to where he stood, that she even turned around and noticed Jack over her shoulder.

And when she finally did lay eyes on him… well, she was as sunk as he was.

Nothing was said between the two for a few moments, only bashful smiles exchanged. The girl took a few steps toward him, and he eventually found the wherewithal to open his mouth, praying that whatever was about to tumble from his lips wouldn’t make him look like a complete idiot.

“Hi… I like your dress.”

Okay, could’ve been better, could’ve been worse.

The girl’s lips spread into a grin, one that made Jack’s stomach flip over itself.

“Thanks,” she said, glancing down to what she was wearing as if she herself had forgotten. Then her eyes scanned his outfit. “I, uh, I like yours, too.”

A giggle escaped Jack before he could stop it, and instead of making things awkward, it seemed to endear the girl to him further.

“Thanks,” he muttered. And then no other words came to mind.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, he berated himself. Say something else, you jackass.

Thankfully, the girl saved them both from complete and total disaster and rescued Jack from himself.

“I’m Francesca,” she said, raising her voice above the thumping music which seemed to get louder with every passing moment. “But everyone calls me Fran.”

Jack extended a hand for a gentlemanly shake, making Fran smile as she grasped it in hers.

“It’s nice to meet you, Fran,” he said, ducking his head close to her ear so that he, too, could be heard above the music… and maybe because it provided the perfect opportunity to be closer to her. “I’m Jack. And everyone calls me Jack.”

That earned a full-on chuckle from Fran which warmed Jack from the inside out. He watched her, grinning from ear to ear, amused by her amusement and encouraged by the fact that him introducing himself hadn’t seemed to spark any instances of the often inescapable “don’t I know you from somewhere?” or “you look so familiar” or, worse, “you play hockey, right?” He could be jinxing it, or she could just have a really impressive poker face, but it seemed that Fran truly had no earthly idea what he did for a living… and that delighted him to no end.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Jack,” she replied, still allowing her hand to be enveloped by his. “Are you from around here?”

Jackpot.

He fidgeted with the cocktail glass in his hand, making the melting ice cubes clink against the side. “Ah, kind of a long story,” he admitted truthfully with a smirk.

She glanced at her wrist as if checking her watch, though there was no timepiece to be seen.

“Well, I’ve got time,” she retorted playfully. “Can I buy you a drink?”

Jack shook his head emphatically. “Absolutely not, but I’ll buy you one and tell you all about it,” he said, nodding in the direction of the bar. “After you.”

Fran eagerly took the lead, heading straight for the bar as he followed close behind. Once they reached the counter, she rested her elbows on its edge and waited patiently for the bartender to take the orders of the other patrons who had been waiting far longer than the two of them.

But as Jack sidled up to her, resting one arm dangerously, though comfortably, close to hers against the cool aluminum bartop, his chest pressed just close enough to her back to be noteworthy but not overbearing, she noticed that the bartender’s eyes flickered toward him immediately, an immediate smile crossing the woman’s face. Francesca was even more confused, and admittedly disheartened, when the bartender ditched the entire far side of the bar in favor of beelining it toward Jack.

“What can I get you, sweet cheeks?” the bartender said in a syrupy cadence, leaning over the counter as if to make sure Jack noticed her sizable chest on display in her black sports bra.

Blegh, Fran thought. Maybe this guy isn’t such a good idea…

Unfazed, he asked, “Hey, can I please get another vodka cran and then…” Jack motioned to Fran.

“Uh, Bud Light, please?” she ordered, repeating the same go-to drink she’d already had half a dozen of.

Jack pursed his lips to attempt to avoid a full-blown grin. He couldn’t help but love a girl who loved her beer.

The bartender nodded, knocking on the counter and turning toward the taps.

Fran tried to put the awkward encounter with the bartender to the back of her mind for the moment and turned 90 degrees so that she could face Jack more easily.

“So, you are or you aren’t from around here?” she asked, returning to the question that had led the two of them here originally.

Jack smiled, weighing his options. This question was always a complicated one to answer… but something about explaining it to Fran put him oddly at ease.

“So we, uh, we moved around a bit because my dad was a hockey player before he had kids, and then a coach for years while I was growing up,” he began.

“Oh, nice! I don’t know much about hockey,” she told him, shaking her head. “Big on playing sports but never big on watching them.”

Oh, my god, he thought to himself as he nodded, trying to seem casual. It’s like this girl was built in a lab just for me.

However, he didn’t know whether this next part would seem better or worse to a girl who wasn’t a sports fan. But it was his reality, so he decided to lay it bare.

“Gotcha, um… so, I… also play hockey.”

Francesca’s eyebrows shot up.

“Wow… really?”

Jack nodded again, then cleared his throat.

“Yeah, uh, that’s actually why I’m here tonight,” he explained. “All my teammates are here. Our season just ended and everybody’s about to separate for the summer, so we came out for one last night together for a while.”

It was Fran’s turn to nod as the bartender approached, and Jack thanked her and pushed a large bill across the counter. Fran busied herself with running her finger along the rim of her glass, pretending like she didn’t notice the generous denomination. Jack leaned an elbow against the counter to face her, in hopes of continuing the conversation.

“So… wait, you play for, what, the Rangers? Islanders?” she asked, pulling the names of the teams she vaguely recalled from the cobwebbed recesses of her brain.

Jack smacked a hand to his chest dramatically as if he’d just been shot.

“God, Fran,” he hissed, “you really know how to wound me.”

“What?!” she asked, sputtering with laughter. “I dunno! Are those the wrong team names?!”

Jack shook his head, entertained. “No, no,” he assured. “You were right – those are NHL teams, but I play for the Devils. They play just over in Newark.”

“Oh… right,” Fran said softly, biting her lip and tucking her chin to her chest, praying she somehow didn’t look as stupid as she felt.

Jack lowered his head to try and meet her eyes, squeezing her elbow gently. The simple touch alone sent a bolt of electricity through her being.

“Hey, don’t be embarrassed,” he said with an easy chuckle. “Trust me, it’s way better having to explain all this to you than having you come up and recite it all to me like some creepy walking encyclopedia.”

Francesca forced a tight smile, but still stared at her shoes. In a gutsy move, he reached his thumb and forefinger to grasp her chin and gently tilt her head upward.

“C’mon, lemme see that pretty face,” he said in a gravelly tone, one that made her spine shiver.

Just as she found herself leaning into his touch, she saw a tall, dark-haired, broad-shouldered man approaching Jack from behind, unsteady on his feet. She assumed that this was one of his teammates, as the taller man went to sling a noodly arm around Jack’s shoulders.

“Uh, look out-” Fran warned… but it was too late.

The man’s hand flung Jack’s glass clean out of his grip, sending its red liquid contents splashing all over Fran’s chest and stomach before hitting the floor, thankfully hitting a sopping wet rug beneath the bar, which was the only thing that kept it from shattering into a million pieces.

They both gasped in the process, and Jack instinctively grabbed her by the forearm.

“Oh, my god! Omigod, fuck, Fran, I-I’m so sorry,” he lamented. “Woody! Fuck!” he yelled to the drunken man who apologized apathetically, then disappeared into the crowd.

Fran blinked quickly, her mouth in a tight “o” as she set aside her beer. As a wincing Jack stupidly patted her torso with the flimsy cocktail napkin that had been handed to him with his drink, he took in her expression and felt sick to his stomach.

Well, there you have it, he thought to himself. No way she’s ever gonna see me again after this…

What he hadn’t accounted for, though, was that after the initial shock of wearing the cold drink faded, Fran would throw her head back in uproarious laughter, eyes screwed up tight in hilarity.

Jack let one nervous snicker escape him, and then another, and then another… and by the time thirty seconds had passed, the two of them were breathless in fits of giggles, Jack keeping a firm hand on the crook of Fran’s arm.

“Are you okay?” he managed to utter as they finally began to settle down.

She nodded, wiping tears of hysteria away with her wrist.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she promised, splaying a hand on her chest as she glanced down at the maroon stain on her yellow dress. “I’m just dying because this is my roommate’s dress and she made me swear not to spill anything on it,” she admitted, erupting with laughter all over again. “So much for that.”

Jack’s eyes glittered as he watched her chuckle. “Well, the blame lies squarely on me, so I’ll apologize to her for that one,” he told her, beaming. He cleared his throat before venturing forward. “Hey, my place isn’t far and I think I’ve got some club soda in the fridge… whad’ya say we-”

Before he could finish his thought, Fran picked up where Jack had left off before the drink had been spilled, pressing a hand assertively to his cheek and leaning forward to plant a firm kiss to his lips. Neither of them knew how much time had passed before she eventually pulled away, biting her bottom lip coyly.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, smoothing the back of his finger across her cheekbone. He watched a Cheshire grin spread across her now-swollen lips, and she offered an enthusiastic nod.

He trailed his fingertips down her bare arm, sending chills across her skin despite the heat and humidity of the bar, before he reached for her hand.

“Then let’s go.”

After a short cab ride brimming with stolen glances and squeezes of hands, the two were practically sprinting through his front door, Jack not bothering to even turn on the lights in favor of keeping his hands securely on Fran’s lower back, holding her desperately close as his lips danced across hers with simultaneous ease and desire.

Eventually, he carefully backed her into his kitchen and hoisted her onto the counter, feeling her quiver when the cool marble hit the backs of her thighs.

He smiled against her lips and said roughly, “I gotta get you that club soda.”

She shook her head without breaking away from his kiss.

“It can wait,” she whispered insistently. “Just get me outta this dress.”

Jack smirked, his fingers immediately following orders as they searched for the zipper in the middle of her back.

“Whatever you want, baby,” he retorted, finally pulling the zipper down, allowing him to tug the dress over her head. He offered it to her, one last chance to take care of the task they came here under the guise of doing – removing the maroon stain from the gauzy garment. Instead, she tossed it aside, watching as it floated to the tile floor before grasping Jack’s shoulders purposefully, leaning in to speak against the delicate skin of his ear.

“I want you,” she admitted, nipping at his earlobe.

And after he carried her to his bedroom, she had him, had her fill of him – just the way they both wanted, their union the perfect balance between urgent and reverent, as if they both already knew that whatever this was between the two of them was something meant to be cherished.

More than an hour later, after making the mutual decision that it was time for a snack and a little something else to drink in order to replenish their strength, Jack left her alone with her thoughts in the quiet of his bedroom as he made his way back to the kitchen, donning only a pair of sweats, smiling when he picked up the now-rumpled yellow dress and placed it in his spacious farmhouse-style sink. He secured the drain stopper and retrieved the club soda from the refrigerator, still smirking to himself as he poured the stain-fighting liquid over the fabric to ensure it was completely immersed.

As he turned back to the fridge on the hunt for a satisfactory snack, Jack saw Fran emerge from his bedroom wearing nothing but one of his white dress shirts and a clean pair of his boxers.

She grimaced, and he sensed her unease even from a few yards away.

“I’m sorry, I just kinda put on the first things I found in your closet,” she said, one eye squeezed shut as if it pained her to make the admission. “I hope that’s okay. I swear I don’t make it a habit to put on a guy’s clothes like I own the place, but I, uh… didn’t exactly have a dress to put back on,” she pointed out.

Still distracted by the sight of her in his clothes, he shook his head rapidly.

“No, no, of course… I’m taking care of that as we speak,” he assured, nodding his head in the direction of the sink. “And you can wear whatever you want of mine – I should’ve laid something out for you, but… this is perfect.” He took a few slow steps toward her, his hands coming to rest on her hips. “You look amazing,” he said, his voice deep once again.

Francesca bloomed under his praise, preened beneath his touch as he reached out to stroke her cheek, his thumb coming to rest on her plush lips.

“Thank you,” she whispered, pursing her lips to kiss the pad of his thumb.

It took every ounce of gentlemanly will in Jack not to throw her over his shoulder and haul her back into the bedroom again. Instead, he forced himself to take a step back and motion toward the adjacent living room.

“Go on and make yourself comfortable,” he urged as she glanced toward the expansive space. “I’ll grab us a couple things and be right over.”

Fran nodded and obliged, entering the inviting area and finding herself immediately drawn to the vintage Victrola on a shelf on the far side of the room.

Meanwhile, after coming up empty in the liquor cabinet and noticing that the refrigerator was fresh out of beer, Jack opened a crummy bottle of wine he was certain Ty had bought once for a date but had never been touched. He poured two glasses and set them on a sturdy wooden tray, then scrounged through the cupboards to find some crackers that weren’t stale to go along with the Gouda and sopressata he’d found in the fridge. Pleased that he accomplished his mission, he arranged all of the items on the tray and carried it into the living room. As he set it on the coffee table, he found Fran admiring the shelves displaying his substantial collection of vinyls. Upon hearing him approach, a glass of wine for her in hand, Fran turned his way.

“You have quite the record collection there, Mr. Tough Guy Hockey Jock,” she teased, brows raised as she gratefully accepted the glass. “And not just the trendy new stuff, the good stuff – Sinatra, the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Bowie, Pink Floyd. I’m impressed.”

Jack smirked. “Thanks – to be fair, I inherited a bunch of them from my parents and grandparents. They’d move and they’d always threaten to sell these on eBay but I wouldn’t let ‘em,” he explained. “Go ahead, put one on – anything.”

His request was easier said than done, and as he turned away to close the blinds throughout the room, chomping on cheese and crackers, she faced the impossible task of choosing one, eventually settling on James Taylor’s “Something in the Way She Moves.”

He smiled when he heard the first strains, and her eyes met his when she turned away from the record player after setting the needle.

“Great choice,” he praised, the two of them crossing the room toward one another as if at the mercy of some magnetic force.

“One of my mom’s favorites,” she explained, fingers toying with the hem of the dress shirt as the folksy melody swirled throughout the room.

There's something in the way she moves Or looks my way, or calls my name That seems to leave this troubled world behind…

When they were no more than a foot apart, Jack opened his palm and held it out toward her.

“Dance with me,” he less invited, more demanded, not that Fran minded. She instantly slipped her fingers into his and took a step nearer so that their chests were pressed impossibly close.

She in his shirt and boxers, he in a pair of sweats, neither of them in shoes, they twirled around his living room as if attending a royal ball, until an unmistakable scratch signaled the end of the record… but by then, Jack and Fran were already locked in each others’ embrace again, the only sounds in the room the panting breaths escaping their lips between fiery kisses.

They never did make it back to the bedroom that night, didn’t even ever find sleep where they stayed curled up together in the living room, talking and laughing through the wee hours. Instead, when the sun rose, their only hint that morning had already come, they were sitting on the hardwood floor, laughing with her feet in his lap like he was her closest friend and not some random boy she’d met at a bar mere hours before.

“How’d we end up on the floor anyway?” Jack said, rubbing at a kink in his neck as one hand stayed fixed on her ankles.

Fran lifted the empty bottle of wine next to where she lay, and his eyes reluctantly traveled away from her face and toward her hands.

“Your roommate’s cheap-ass screw-top rose, that’s how,” she retorted, reminding him of the bottle they’d shared after all the drinks they’d already indulged in at the bar.

“Mmm…” he hummed with lifted brows, both of them chuckling at the culprit as she set it back down on the hardwood. “So… coffee?” he inquired, desperate for this night – or, well, now morning – not to end. Desperate for Fran to stay here, with him, and never leave.

To his delight, she cocked her head against the throw pillow and offered him the warmest smile he’d ever seen.

“I’d love some,” she answered simply, realizing she’d be content to never see the outside world, anything beyond the walls of this Hoboken house, again.

They saw each other every day for the next year and a half after that, and starting with that very first one, Jack had painted all Fran’s nights a color she had searched for since.

And still, to this day, she couldn’t remember who she was before him.

___

July 21, 2023 – present day…

“This day,” that is, being Brady and Emma Tkachuk’s wedding day. Which after the breakup, Fran had never anticipated being present for.

But then came the phone call in the dead of winter, just weeks after she’d ended it with Jack. She was still reeling, trying to push through the pain while focusing on excelling in her last semester of undergrad, but anyone who knew her could see that she was struggling, including mutual friends of hers and Jack’s. Which soon made its way back to Emma via Brady.

And when Fran saw Emma’s name on her screen that day as she studied for an exam, she smiled. She hadn’t talked to Emma since before the split, and despite knowing it was more than likely going to be a covert check-up call, Fran was happy to hear from the girl she’d become so close to in the last two years.

___

February 18, 2023 – five months ago…

Fran tapped the “answer” button and lifted the phone to her ear.

“Hi, Em,” she said warmly.

“Hi! I miss you! Brady’s here, too,” Emma explained.

“Franny D!” he called over the speakerphone.

“Hey, B! I miss you guys, too,” she said sadly. “How are you guys?”

“We’re good!” Emma answered. “Neck-deep in wedding planning. I know it’s gonna be fun but it’s honestly kinda brutal.”

“Brutal, Franny,” Brady echoed dramatically. “It’s torture.”

Fran chuckled. “What, B, not enjoying picking out linen colors? Did you go with eggshell or warm white?”

“Couldn’t tell ya, Franny,” he replied. “If I had it my way, none of the tables would be covered and everybody’d just be playing beer pong on ‘em.”

Fran swore she could hear Emma’s eye roll. “You’re such a dude,” Fran complained.

“He’s not kidding about making that suggestion, either,” Emma said, feigning (or maybe not) weariness. “But, um, that’s not why we’re calling. First of all, we, uh… we just wanted to see how you were.”

Fran swallowed, staring out the window of her apartment, watching the snow swirl among the towering skyscrapers and across bustling streets. She’d been having trouble answering that question at all, let alone honestly. She reached to rub her palm up and down the length of her shin, suddenly feeling cold.

“I’m, um… I mean, I’ve been better, that’s for sure,” she told them. “I just… I really never thought this would happen, to be totally honest.” Her voice was quieter now, the familiar lump in her throat quivering.

Emma made a sound of understanding.

“Us either, Franny,” Brady gently concurred. “And I know you don’t wanna hear this right now, but I know Jacky didn’t think so either.”

Fran sighed, dropping her chin to her chest as her eyes fell to the azure crewneck with the maize Michigan logo emblazoned on the front, which Jack had left behind once after a trip to visit Luke. She had never returned it, and he eventually noticed it in the background of a FaceTime call while he was on a road trip and told her to keep it because he was certain it looked better on her anyway. And now it hurt to look at it, and it hurt to wear it, and it hurt to not wear it, so she went with wearing it, because even though she’d been the only one to don it for a year, she swore it still smelled like him. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes and breathed deep.

“I know,” she said softly.

“We didn’t wanna make you sad, Fran, but the other reason we were calling is just to say that we’d really like to invite you to the wedding in July-”

Brady interrupted his fiancee. “No, we are inviting you to the wedding, no question,” he said firmly. “But we just want you to know that it’s completely up to you whether you wanna come.”

“Yes,” Emma jumped in again. “We would absolutely love to have you there, because you mean so much to both of us, but we totally get it if it’s too much. Quinn’s in the wedding and we’re inviting their whole family, so… obviously Jack will be there.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she cleared her throat. “Y-yeah, of course, as he should be,” Fran managed. “I really appreciate the invitation, you guys. Seriously, it means so much to me. I’ll check the dates on my calendar, but I’d really love to come-”

Before she could even finish her thought, she heard a loud clap and a “FUCK YEAH!” from Brady, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re the best, Franny D,” he said. “And I’ll promise Quinny’ll keep Jacky on his best behavior.”

“Plus Ellen’ll be there, so you know he’s not getting away with shit,” Emma offered.

“You guys are too much,” Fran said affectionately. “It’s your day – I don’t need you worrying about me and J.” She felt a stab in her heart at her own use of the retired pet name, one that was once used so frequently and so fondly but was now avoided like a plague. She swallowed that lump in her throat again. “We’ll be fine.”

“We know you will,” Brady said softly. “Well, listen, we’ll let you go but, uh… thanks, Franny. I really hope you can make it.”

“Yes, we really do!” Emma reiterated. “We love you, Fran. Talk soon.”

“I love you guys, too,” she told them. “Thanks for calling.”

And Brady must not have been able to keep the news to himself, because within a few hours of agreeing to attend the Tkachuk wedding, her phone had buzzed four more times with text messages from four members of the Hughes clan:

Lukey: yooo B just told me you’re coming to the wedding!!! hell yes, sista 👊 see you soon

Quinny: Franny D, super happy to hear you’re coming to B’s wedding. we love ya, no matter what. can’t wait to see ya

Ellen: Hi, my sweet girl 💖 Chantal just told me that you’re planning to come to Brady and Emma’s wedding. I’m so happy to hear it! I’m counting down the days until I see you. Love always 💋

Jim: Hey Franny! Can’t wait to see you at the Tkachuk wedding this summer. Really glad you’re planning to go. ❤️

The only member of the family that her phone didn’t sound with a message from that night?

Jack.

The one that it hurt the most not to hear from.

She set her phone aside that night and swallowed, hard, pulling her legs to her chest and resting her forehead on her knees. Preparing to see Jack in person for the first time in months was going to be impossible enough, but seeing his entire family… that just might be enough to break her.

Because she’d never fallen out of love with them, either.

___

July 21, 2023 – present day…

And today, after a heartbreakingly long hug with Ellen before the ceremony, and affectionate but melancholy greetings from Jim and Luke, here Fran stood in the midst of Brady’s reception, in front of the middle Hughes son who never did text her leading up to this moment. When he’d seen her approach his family’s seats a few minutes before today’s ceremony, he had only just stood up from his chair at the far end of their row to try and make his way toward her when the processional music started, leaving both of them frozen in place, staring helplessly at one another. She’d mouthed sorry, and he’d nodded and mouthed we’ll talk, as his family sat still between them, awkwardly trying to avoid making eye contact with the estranged couple lest they make the moment even more painful for them than it already was.

When Fran turned to find the nearest single seat, she could feel the tingling heat creeping up her neck, and it wasn’t from the summer sun. She’d spent months agonizing over what she would say to Jack when she finally saw him again, and she still couldn’t believe that the first thing she’d spoken aloud after they’d found each other on the deck for a quiet moment alone was “can I ask you a question?” But how else was she supposed to begin the conversation, anyway?

And at least he’d agreed – conceded that nothing had yet felt as good as the two of them had. For the past six months, she’d been terrified that nothing ever would, and she had to admit, it felt good to know that he seemed to share that same belief.

It felt good and it felt awful all at the same time.

Fran sighed, lifting her gaze to the shimmering stars far above their heads.

“Why are we doing this?” she whispered, half to herself and half to him.

Jack gave her a quizzical look; she was all over the place right now… not that he didn’t feel completely undone and frazzled himself.

“What? Talking? I dunno, Fran, I can go back inside, but I wasn’t just gonna sit in there all night and ignore y-”

Fran stopped him, shaking her head. “No, that’s not what I mean,” she said, a noticeable exhaustion in her tone, one that Jack recognized in his own voice often these days. “I just mean… this hurts so bad, J. And it doesn’t have to – didn’t have to. We were so good together… why did-”

“Because you said it was too much, Fran,” Jack accused, sharply though accurately, remembering how the pressure of being in a serious relationship with one of North America’s most heralded professional athletes at such a young age had often left her curled up in a ball in the corner, something that at 20 and then 21 years old, he had found himself completely unprepared to handle.

“And I made the wrong choice!” Fran admitted, her voice rising an octave by the end of the sentence as her emotions took over. “At least I can admit it. Can you? I mean, you’re the one who left my house in the middle of the night, without even trying to put up a fight. Can you admit that you were in the wrong, too?”

Yeah, I can, he immediately thought to himself, though he couldn’t quite bring himself to say it.

Instead his mind flashed to the very moment in time where he knew he had indeed made the wrong choice.

___

April 3, 2023 – three months earlier…

Jack was trying his hardest to pay attention to his date. He truly was.

In a well-meaning but doomed-from-the-start attempt to help him get over Fran, one of the team WAGs had set him up with her college roommate who had recently moved to the city. So here he was at dinner following a Broadway show he’d never even heard of before, which he had bought tickets to specifically because he knew he wouldn’t have to speak to the girl for at least a couple of hours but would still come away looking like the hero for dropping money on expensive tickets for date number one.

What he hadn’t accounted for, when she had unsurprisingly suggested that they grab a bite to eat after the show at Sugarfish on 56th and Broadway, was that he’d spot, through the front window, Francesca walking down the sidewalk hand-in-hand with some guy, laughing with him as he told what were no doubt painfully lame attempts at jokes to try and impress her.

Jack’s blood ran cold, his jaw muscles flexing as he clenched his teeth together, his date still rambling on about her so-called career as a “business owner.” (See also: owner of an Instagram account where she posted regular thirst traps and tagged the brands she wore, unprompted. See also: a quasi-influencer. See also: a Kardashian wanna-be.) Which provided him the perfect opportunity to get lost in his own spiraling thoughts.

Granted, this restaurant wasn't that far from Fran’s apartment on 52nd, a fact which Jack was painfully aware of throughout the entirety of the show and the meal. But goddamn it… this city was filled with eight million people besides her and that dickhead guy, but they just happened to be the two who caught his gaze.

Which maybe wouldn’t have bothered Jack so much if it didn’t look like Fran was actually enjoying the guy’s company.

He slouched in his chair and spoke as few words as possible for the rest of the meal, and when it had finally, mercifully, ended, he called her an Uber, waited until she had gotten picked up, sulked to his car, and deleted her number.

___

July 21, 2023 – present day…

“Well? Can you?” Fran repeated, losing patience as she wondered where his mind had just wandered off to.

“Yeah, I can,” Jack said simply, deciding to lay all his cards on the table at the recall of the recent memory.

Fran’s head snapped toward him. Being that he was by far the most stubborn person she had ever known, she hadn’t expected him to fess up to that. Her mouth opened as she thought of what to say next, then closed it when nothing came to mind quickly enough.

“I can tell you exactly when I realized it, too,” Jack said with a smile devoid of humor, licking his lips – the very same lips she used to call home. “I saw you with some guy walking down 56th a few months ago. And it felt… fuck, it just felt like I was out of time.”

Francesca blinked repeatedly, confusion etched on her features. Though she knew who she would have been with that night, she didn’t even remember the exact instance he was referring to, so it obviously hadn’t left all that much of an impression upon her. But that’s not the information she wanted to inquire about.

“W-what do you mean, ‘out of time’?” she asked, her volume much lower now.

Jack met her with sad eyes, pursing his lips. He shrugged a shoulder.

“I dunno, I guess… I guess I was holding out hope that somehow, we’d work it out,” he replied, his voice suddenly sounding hoarse. “I just always thought it would be us in the end. But seeing you with someone new, I… I just lost that hope.”

Tears pricked at the backs of Fran’s eyelids and she looked away, swiping at her eyes with the side of her hand.

“There’s never been anyone else… I mean, not… not really,” she was suddenly saying, caught off guard that she was opening up so much. “That was the closest I got, but it was only for a few weeks, and he ended it because he said I was being distant. And he was right. I just, I wasn’t in it. Not at all.”

Jack watched her the entire time she spoke, then nodded slowly. He understood that feeling all too well.

“I get it,” he said softly. “Trust me.”

As the two of them let their respective admissions hang between them in the thick summer air, falling into a contemplative silence, unbeknownst to them, a tipsy Luke had made his way back to the open bar at the edge of the dancefloor, which was situated just inside the tall French doors leading to the venue’s back patio where his brother and Fran stood alone as the party raged on. Luke’s eyes never left the acrimonious pair as he ordered himself not one, but two more gin and tonics, then darted, drinks in hand, across the room to where his parents and Quinn sat at a table chatting.

“Luke Warren Hughes, you’d better slow down on the double fisting,” Ellen warned in her best mom voice.

Luke waved her off. “Yeah, whatever – guys, listen to me, this is important,” he urged, out of breath. “Jacky and Franny are outside by themselves talking.”

“What?!” Quinn exclaimed, jumping up from his chair so quickly and so forcefully that it would have tipped over if not for Jim’s quick reflexes, as he shook his head in disapproval. As he watched his eldest son jog to the same door Luke had just been standing near to peer through the panels for himself, Jim scoffed.

“You guys need to give them their privacy – they’ve been through enough,” he stated firmly.

“Yes, and you wouldn’t like it if your brothers were spying on you and a girl,” Ellen pointed out.

Luke swallowed a gulp of his cocktail and beamed.

“Yeah, but… it’s not just some girl. It’s Jack and Fran,” he declared, shaking his head in excited disbelief before following after his brother.

Having lost both their sons to espionage, Ellen and Jim’s eyes met, and they shared a knowing, hopeful smirk.

“It is Jack and Fran,” Jim repeated in a voice near a whisper, tipping the rim of his beer bottle toward his wife, who clinked it with her champagne glass.

“Cheers to that… no matter what happens,” she said softly.

Back outside, ignorant to the fact that they were being carefully watched, Jack was surprised when Fran breathed a laugh through her nose, finally breaking the silence. Her cheeks warmed at the memory replaying in her mind.

“Remember that first night we spent together, at your place in Hoboken? What we did after Miles made you spill that drink on me?” she asked, unaware that he had played those sacred scenes over in his mind hundreds if not thousands of times in the past two years just as she had, particularly when they were each alone in their beds in the dead of night.

“Of course I do,” he replied quietly. “It’s kinda… all I ever do. Well, that night and… a-and lots of other nights after that.” He caught her stare and somberly confessed, “I feel you no matter what.”

Fran took a few daring steps closer, her hand brushing his. She leaned in so close that her lips nearly grazed the shell of his ear.

“Do you wish you could still touch me, Jack?” she whispered, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on its end.

He slowly exhaled through pursed lips, trying and failing to steady his now-racing pulse.

“Every fuckin’ day, Fran,” he said with little hesitation, turning his head so that their noses were mere centimeters from each other.

“Is it too late to do something about it?” she asked, her eyes locked with his.

“With us?” he let out a singular chuckle. “It’s never too late with us, Fran.”

She smiled so wide it made her cheeks ache, and she ran a hand down the lapel of his jacket.

“Good, because you look really fuckin’ handsome, and I’ve been wanting to tell you that all night,” she said, her voice low and sultry.

He hummed appreciatively and nuzzled his nose against her temple.

“Funny you say that, because I’ve been wanting to tell you all night that I, uh… I like your dress,” he whispered, recycling the very first compliment he ever bestowed upon her before pressing a kiss to the skin just in front of her ear as she giggled, but the laughter died on her lips as Jack kissed a line from her ear, across her cheekbone, to the tip of her nose, to the corner of her mouth, and finally, to her eager lips, which matched the fervor and neediness of his own. It was as though the pain of the past six months melted away as they each attempted to demonstrate how deeply and passionately they had missed the other, hands in hair, chests flush, soft moans being captured by the other’s mouth…

But it wouldn’t be an important moment in Jack and Fran’s story if there weren’t loved ones meddling nearby.

Now it wasn’t only Luke and Quinn at the doors watching the marvelous scene unfold, but it was Matthew, and Ellie, and Taryn, and Robbie, and all the Fitzgerald kids, and Brady, and Emma. Someone pushed open one of the doors, flooding the patio with a cacophony of cheers and jeers from those closest to them.

“Get a room!” “Finally!” “Jack, this is a family wedding!” “Hand check!” “Oww owwww!”

God… embarrassing.

Reluctantly pulling away from the kiss, Jack growled, resting his forehead against Fran’s as she giggled nervously, before whipping his head toward their audience.

“Don’t you all have a wedding to get back to?” His head swiveled to Brady and Emma. “Especially you two?”

Brady shrugged. “Hey, we already had our kiss, man. You go ‘head,” he encouraged.

Emma giggled, one hand wrapped around her groom’s bicep as she swatted nonchalantly toward Jack and Fran with the other.

“Yeah, carry on. Don’t mind us!” she sang.

Jack rolled his eyes, but all inhibition and worry faded away as Fran grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to meet her lips once more, feeling his frown literally turn upside down into a smirk as he sunk into her, hand finding a familiar home low on her back, dangerously close to the curve of her ass.

And at that, the crowd they’d drawn erupted into a fit of laughter and applause, Quinn and Luke in the middle of it all, pumping their fists simultaneously before clapping their palms together and leaning in for a hug.

They got their sister back.

“What are you kids doin’ over here?” came a booming voice from the back of the group. Jack and Fran watched as the seas parted and Keith Tkachuk made his way to the door, following his younger son’s pointed index finger to find the reunited couple embracing on the patio. His eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead.

“Well, can’t say I didn’t see this one coming!” he bellowed, a jolly twinkle in his eye. “Now, you boneheads have had your fun,” he addressed the group. “Leave these two to have their own.” With a wink, he turned away, and their crowd of clamoring cheerleaders dispersed, whispering animatedly among themselves.

Jack exhaled swiftly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Shoutout Big Walt,” he declared, clearing his throat.

Fran nodded, snickering, and pulled him in by the waist.

“Gotta love ‘em, though, hmm?” she mused, nuzzling her nose against his.

“Mmm, yeah, whatever,” Jack dismissed, a tenacious hand on her cheek as he leaned down to press his lips to hers once again. “Now, where were we?” he teased in a whisper as she smiled against his mouth, her hands traveling beneath his suit jacket, across the familiar expanse of his sculpted back. His hands found their original target and slipped down the small of her back, finally reaching the arc of her rear.

“Mmmm… hello, old friend,” Jack murmured in her ear, earning him a playful smack to the hip.

“Shut up,” she sassed him, but she didn’t mean it, and they both knew it. He fixed his lips to hers over and over again, and though the party roared on inside, mere yards away, it was as if Jack and Fran were the only two people on the face of the earth, their bodies fusing together as if they had always been intended to be one.

It was always like that for the two of them.

Nothing could have pulled them from that moment… except the first strains of “Something in the Way She Moves” by James Taylor echoing from the speakers inside.

The pair froze. She pulled away to hold him at arm’s length, in utter disbelief.

Jack ogled at Fran, the pure longing in his eyes mirrored in hers. His siblings and friends were meddlers, sure… but had they been so thoughtful as to remember that this was their song — had been since that very first night? Or was it simply fate?

Either way, Jack could do nothing but extend his upturned palm toward her.

“Dance with me?” he asked softly.

Suddenly self-conscious, she smoothed a hand through her curls, then swiped at the damp corners of her eyes.

“God, Jack, I’m a mess,” she said with a halfhearted chuckle. “I don’t think I can go back in there right now.”

Jack shrugged. “So what?” he asked, taking hold of her hand and pulling her in, his other arm winding around her. “We’ll dance right here.”

She rested her free hand on his chest, melting at the sweet sentiment. Then, she relaxed into him, tucking her head into his neck where it fit perfectly — always had.

He pressed a kiss to her temple, then rested his cheek atop her head as the song carried on...

There's something in the way she moves Or looks my way, or calls my name That seems to leave this troubled world behind If I'm feeling down and blue Or troubled by some foolish game She always seems to make me change my mind And I feel fine anytime she's around me now She's around me now Almost all the time And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now She's been with me now quite a long, long time And I feel fine…

Jack’s heart soared, his joy permanently etched on his face, as he swayed side to side with Francesca in his arms. In his wildest dreams, he could have never hoped to have her here with him again like this.

He glanced down at the girl he’d loved since the first time he’d laid eyes on her, saw her eyes fluttered closed in blissful contentment, and brushed his lips across her brow as he whispered, “Fran, you know for me, it’s always you, right?”

He watched the corners of her mouth pull upward even further, and she tipped her face up to meet his.

“I hoped so,” she admitted roguishly. “Because for me, it’s always you, too.”

#the summer fic exchange 2k23 #my writing #jack hughes #jack hughes fic #jack hughes fanfic #jack hughes fanfiction

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abilouwrites · 7 months

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HOW YOU GET THE GIRL

Mat Barzal x fem!oc

Series Masterlist

ONE

I only like the bookstore during the night, when it’s slow and nobody’s around. The lights are flickering and the town suddenly goes quiet in contrast with the bustle of the busy mornings and heavy traffic of the day.

I only work here on the weekends for the closing shifts or the opening ones. Something to make a little more money to fall back on besides my adult corporate job. My parents are proud, more my father than my mother that I’ve begun my climb up the corporate ladder.

I don’t hate my job, far from it. Simply the long hours and bossy bosses that make me pull at my fingers and tug at my hair. Especially with my youth and admitted naivety, those at my job can be wary about me either in the break room or being hesitant to invite me out for drinks.

I’ve been told by my therapist that I rushed my childhood, skipping grades and taking collage classes while also taking highschool classes at the same time. I want to fight her on it, claim that I did have a childhood and had dreams but I know that I’m defending something I never had.

Two parents who were always fighting; hated eachother but swore to stay together because of their vows, “Hey Bella” I smile at the older lady standing at the counter as I tuck behind into the back room and set my purse onto the table and wrapping my apron around my body, “slow day?” I ask as I switch from heels to converse.

“Yeah, it’s the middle of the school season so all the kidlets are probably studying” she sighs out rubbing her tired eyes, “ok, I’m off. Be safe. Please” she reminds me as she pats my shoulder, “I’ll need you to come in a bit earlier tomorrow for the opening shift, we’re getting a new shipment of books for the month”

“Uhh, yeah yeah I can do that, so 5:30 instead of six?” I clarify, as I clock myself in on the timetable next to the register.

“Yes, thank you Emma. You’re a doll” She smiles and blows me a kiss exiting the building as the cold wind brushes against her; gently pulling at the greying blonde hair that’s always been tucked into a a little bun.

I turn on some music to keep my mind from straying as I walk around the store. Gently brushing my fingers against the creased spines and occasional leather covered book. Those nice collectors editions are always Romeo and Juliet, or Hamlet.

Personally I’ve thought Romeo and Juliet a bit childish and immature, but I’ve always been told I’m looking at it from a modern perspective. I believe that Romeo and Juliet is the way to not fall in love.

But then again, that’s coming from the girl who watched her parents try and fix an already broken marriage by having an abundance of kids and forcing themselves to stay together even though, everyone’s known they’d be better apart. Even their own kids.

I tidy up the reading corner, setting the old book. Princess and the pea back onto the shelf and searching for the one tomorrow.

My my fingers pull and push against the covers of the kids books, looking for something different. I don’t pay attention when the bell jingles and jangles while I hear a heavy step quickly become softer. I hear them physically relax as they walk the isles.

I eventually decide on a book with a unicorn and a blonde girl. Something I fondly remember of my own childhood.

I stretch up a little and let my hair down from its clip, it falls unevenly against my shoulders but I don’t mind or even care that much. This bookstore is my happy place; where I am safe and content within my own body. Here I will never care what I look like.

I view the man searching in the fiction section, something specific I can tell by his body language. If he needs help I’ll allow him to ask; yet I’m wary of going up to a man and guiding him to the book.

When he finally notices me watching him he turns around and asks, “do you know where I can find ‘The road’ it’s uh. Geez by I think by Cormac McCarthy?” He stumbles out; slowly dragging a hand across his face and brushing his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes.

His face is soft but sharp; his eyes evoke a warm bubbly feeling inside me. Eyes that make me feel comfortable being alone with him, “yes, I believe we only have a few left” I tell him, walking off to a different section of the store, “I know, our shop is set up weird” I explain.

“And why’s that?” He inquires, his pace isnt rushed or faster than mine. But relaxed and nonchalant. As if he has all the time in the world.

“The original owners, she has a special section called ‘Meine Leibe’ which I think translates to ‘My loves’ or ‘my life’ once she passed her daughter kept it the same so this little section would always be here for her. I find it endearing” I know I ramble on a bit but I’ve suddenly grown afraid of having a silence against the two of us

“It is, it’s just a little place with all her favorite books?” He keeps asking, as I turn into the cozy little corner. I thumb through the alphabetical order.

“Yeah, her favorite chair, pillows. Shannon was such a kind lady” I reminisce, “here is The Road, is there anything else I can help you with? Or will that be all for today?”

“Uhh, ha unless you have ‘The deal’ by Elle Kennedy then I’ll take that too” I think he’s being sarcastic but I can’t really tell.

“I think we do, are you a hockey fan?” I ask walking to the romance section.

“I guess you could say that, do you watch?” He asks, “do you need a hand?”

“I watch a bit, just the New Jersey Devils with my dad. Yeah it’s just above there” I point, even on my tip toes the store has ceiling high bookshelves. And because it’s night the ladders been locked up. I move to the side as he grabs the book.

“Are you from Jersey?”

“Yeah, I lived there before I came to New York for a work deal”

“I’m going to assume it’s not this job.. right?” As he makes his way to the register and I slink behind the counter

“Yeah, my uh big girl job as my mom likes to address it as” I hear the roll in my eyes as I scan the bar codes and ring him up, “will that be with cash or card?”

“Card” He pulls his wallet out of the front pocket of his jacket, “thank you”, he checks for my name eyes staring just above but also at my chest.

I poke my eyebrows up at him praying to god this man isn’t looking at my tits directly; not even with the slightest bit of discretion.

“I’m uh looking for your name to thank you— I swear I’m not looking at your uh. You know boobs” he almost whispers out the last bit before continuing, “not that they aren’t nice or anything but uh” the tips of his ears turn pink and his cheeks suddenly become flushed, “I will just pay now” he groans out softly; handing me his card and rubbing his eyes with his hands.

I ring him up and he puts his pin in, “thank you again, you never told me your name” he questions for that piece of information

“Emma”

“Thank you Emma, have a good evening” he purses his lips and grabs his books. Hands shaking as he smiles and starts to leave.

“You too, wait” I lean over the bar slightly, “you never told me your name?”

“Mat”

“Alright then, have a good evening Mat. Come back soon”

The door jingles as he leaves and I watch him through the window, I see him sigh and smack his books against his head. Though I don’t exactly hear what he says; noises muffled through the glass and the music.

“Huh. What a strange guy”

#hockey #nhl #mat barzal my beloved #mat barzal #mat barzal x reader #mathew barzal #mat barzal smut #mat barzal x oc #new york #new york islanders #New York hockey #New York islanders hockey #islander hockey #mb13 #mathew barzal imagine #mat barzal fic #louiseabilenewrites

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nevermeyers · 1 year

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Epilogue - CB4

Mikey

At 27, I'm a racer and my buddy is Kenchin! I dreamed of riding a motorcycle all the time. But my biggest dream was for Emma to have a good husband. Emma and Kenchin will soon have a child. And I asked them to put “万(man)” in the name, but they objected saying it’s lame. Does that mean they have thought my name was lame?

Hakkai

Taka-chan and my brother often go out together. They seem to get along very well. I don't like that they don't let me join. I like both of brothers but it pisses me off that neither of them are interested in me.

On the day of my birthday I came home and there was a strange smell like things had rotted and there were my brother, Yuzuha and Taka-chan. Apparently my brother and Yuzuha, who have never cooked before, asked him how to make a birthday cake and they made it for me. It tasted so bad but I was so happy and I cried because I could feel everyone's love.

Baji

Mansaku asks me to train children at the dojo sometimes. Mikey is not good at teaching others because he is a genius, so he prefers me to teach them. Teaching karate to kids is a nice change of pace from all the studying I usually do. Becoming a veterinarian is a difficult dream for me because I'm not very smart.

Sometimes when I feel like falling apart, sweating here helps me get my mind in order and I feel like I can try again. It’s my second home.

Takemichi

Now, at the age of 26, I'm an assistant director, working towards my dream of becoming a film director. Every day I do chores. Hina makes me box lunch every day. Every morning she sends me off with a "good luck" message. When I come home depressed, she joins me for evening drink and listens to me complain. I'm a lucky man.

Chifuyu

Baji and kazutora who don’t have much money always come to my house for dinner after work. It's almost like a freeloader behavior. But I can't ignore them because one of the reasons is that I don't give them much pay.

When I cooked for the first time, I was so frustrated they said it didn’t have much taste and it burnt, so I bought a lot of recipe books. Now my cooking skills are at a professional level. These days I look forward to when they come to my house.

Mitsuya

As a fashion designer, I launched the brand 'Mitsuya Takashi.' Among my assistants is Yasuda, who was vice president of the handicraft club in junior high school. Surprisingly Yasuda married Peh-yan, with whom she had been dogging him, last year. I often listen to her complaints after work. He still clings to Pah-chin even though they are married.

Draken

Mr. and Mrs. Hanagaki live downstairs from where Emma and I live. Takemichi cries to me, "Emma is at our house every day, and even though we are newlyweds, we can't be alone with Hina." Today, the four of us ate nabe together again.

source

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers spoilers #tokyo revengers character book #@meyers #hanagaki takemichi #ryuguji ken #sano manjiro #chifuyu matsuno #keisuke baji #mitsuya takashi #hakkai shiba #yuzuha shiba #taiju shiba #emma sano #hinata tachibana

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dear-mrs-otome · 1 year

Text

Silvio Ricci - Engagement Event - Another Terrible Summary

(Silvio: "W-what the?")

Standard Disclaimer: I do this for fun. I don’t, and never would, claim to be proficient at JP. There will be mistakes herein. There will be dialogue I choose to smooth out or change, because it feels choppy just straight translating. There will be the occasional snarky aside and irreverence and just plain summarizing. If you’re looking for 100% pure accuracy, without commentary or localizing, this is not for you. If you don’t mind that…then proceed, and I hope you enjoy! And please, support your local localizer (they make this stuff look easy) and Cybird by playing the games and routes when they come to English.

Things to know before this (THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SILVIO’S MAIN STORY):

It follows the romantic (or ‘canon’) ending to Silvio’s route, which means that he and Emma are already engaged seeing as how they were at the end of his route. It also references the circumstances surrounding that - how Emma posed as a disgraced noblewoman and rescued Silvio from his father and prison by demanding Silvio take responsibility for ‘debauching’ and rescue her honor via marriage. Silvio has also been officially named the king’s successor, and will be the next king of Benitoite when his fathers steps down. It also references the epilogue where Emma works herself ill, and how horrible of a person Silvio's mother was.

~~~~~~~~

The Jewel of the Ocean has been passed to Silvio - recently the news of this has begun to make the rounds through Benitoite, and the topic seems to be on everyone’s lips. The merchants especially are thrilled with this…but that’s not the only tea everyone’s spilling.

We open on a couple of merchants chattering away down by the docks about the approaching engagement ceremony for Prince Silvio where everything is made Official, and the two men are talking about the lucky lady in question. They say how rumors have it she’s a beautiful woman, on par with any national treasure - gifted too, and having had studied at Rhodolite’s court. She’s kind and dang near a saint.

One of them mentions too how he heard how crazy in love with her Silvio was, and how anytime the prince opens his mouth it’s to say something about her, and the other seems impressed and says how much he’s looking forward to the ceremony.

As they pass by and on their way, a figure darts into a nearby alley as if to make an escape…and we find Emma crouching down there, groaning about a stomachache and freaking out in her thoughts over why the heck everyone seems to think she’s some sort of PARAGON.

Silvio’s there, hand on her back and asking if she’s alright, and she confesses she might not be alright. Didn’t he hear all that?? Whose girlfriend are they talking about, this PARAGON OF BEAUTY AND GRACE AND TALENTS, this SAINTLY WOMAN.

Silvio says they’re talking about her, obviously, and Emma says is that really how I seem?!

She’s freaking out, clearly. She’d been super excited to come out on the town with Silvio when he’d asked, their first actual date in awhile, but she’d been totally unprepared for the rumors that are apparently going around about them.

“Doesn’t seem off to me,” Silvio says, matter of factly, and Emma’s over there like PRESS X TO DOUBT. Asking him how that’s so.

He kind of hems and haws a bit, awkward silence and he can’t look her in the eyes as he says she’s beautiful, and plenty capable, and other than being the whole being a bit sassy thing she’s got a pretty decent personality.

Emma’ stunned at actual legit compliments from Silvio, still processing as he points out that it’s better than them gossiping about things that aren’t true or are nasty isn’t it?

“But what about when I’m presented at the engagement ceremony and everyone’s got this sky-high expectations…” she frets. “Everyone will be disappointed when I don’t measure up, and they might say ‘She’s not good enough for Prince Silvio.’”

Of course she’s been giving it her all, ever since they decided to formally announce the engagement alongside the formal declaration of Silvio as the king’s successor. She’s been working her ass off from morning to night studying etiquette and everything else she might need to know as a princess, alongside getting her wardrobe ready and planning the details of the ceremony and the reception party…she’s exhausted, mentally and physically. But even so she wants to be woman worthy of Silvio, the next king.

She tackles him practically with a hug, setting Silvio spluttering and redfaced and reminding her for the umpteenth time she’s supposed to warn him before she does something like that - to which Emma rebuts that if she warns him he still sometimes tries to escape, so it’s best to surprise him.

Burying her face in those hella nice-smelling man tiddies, Emma takes a deep breath of Silvio-scent and is reenergized.

“Where’s your usual sass?” he asks. “Don’t let something like this intimidate you.” He tells her that if everyone’s saying good things about her, all she’s gotta do is be confident and stand tall. But he also chastizes her for being too stubborn and reminds her she doesn’t have to go so dang hard on all this.

“No, no,” Emma argues, saying that if she doesn’t work hard now when will she work hard?

“Not your whole life long,” Silvio counters. “I didn’t bring you here from Rhodolite to make you work yourself like a madwoman. I already told you what the gist of your most important job was, didn’t I?”

His words are a reminder of that day on the beach (at the end of his Romantic route) where he had told her what her most important duty was, as the woman of the next king: to dedicate all that she was to him, and in return he’d love her till she couldn’t stand it.

She's fluent enough in Silvio-ese to see those imperious words for what they really meant - he wants the kind of relationship where he can love and be loved in equal measure. And she realizes she must seem pretty exhausted if Silvio is worrying about her this much. He's bossy as all getup…but he's hella overprotective.

She lifts her head and there's those sea-blue eyes right in front of her - along with a suspicious Silvio. Who has right to be because she surprise kisses him. He's left wide eyed and surprised as she tells him she was thinking how she loves him.

He points out that came from left field and she’s just shrug - and then Silvio has his revenge by taking her chin in hand and laying a passionate kiss on her that has her scandalized. They’re still in public technically and all! He laughs at her hnnng face and she’s silently fuming over how only a few seconds ago it was him all embarrassed and now he’s Mr. Cocky, pouting as she looks away and he tousles her hair.

“Anyway, you get what I’m sayin’?” he asks.

She asks if he’s referring to her trying too hard, and he confirms - only to get angry again when she says she’ll accept his sentiment at least but she’s gotta be able to stand proudly beside him if he’s going to love her, and although he might worry about her she asks him to please let her do her best for now.

He’s glowering silently, and she tells him he’s got his scary face on.

He says it’s probably because she’s totally missing the point of what he’s trying to say, and she fires back that he’s too overprotective.

“Shaddup,” he scowls.

“But I love that about you too!” she declares, and he turns red and tells her not to get carried away. Clearly not disliking her claim - he’s just obviously embarrassed by it.

The whole situation might be literally making her feel ill, but she’s not about to back down from this challenge. If she’s gonna share a life with Silvio, she’s got to be able to handle something like this.

~~~~~~~~

The next day, Rio stops her in the hallway and asks if she’s doing alright. He’s gotten his memory back now and works as Silvio’s aide, but still never hesitates to show concern for her as well just as he always has.

He asks if she has a fever, and she’s dklsjfds HOW DID HE KNOW?? She had woken up that morning lethargic and unwell, but it’s nothing major - more like the bit of fever she’d come down with when she’d overworked herself when first coming to Benitoite.

She assures Rio she’s fine it’s nbd, but he’s not happy with that answer,worried it might get worse and urging her to take a day off or so - before he cuts himself off and realizes she can’t.

A fact she confirms, because she’s supposed to be hosting a party today to meet and greet many of the young noblewomen of the country before the engagement ceremony. It’s hella important for her to lay the groundwork of future relationships here, and to help her make friends and ease into Benitoite society better. So even if she has to push herself, she’s gotta make it through today at least.

“Rio, pleeeeaaase. Don’t say a word to Silvio,” she begs him.

“...If he finds out, he’ll lock you up for sure,” Rio agrees with chagrin. He’s clearly not thrilled with her request, but she knows he can’t deny her, and reluctantly he agrees to keep mum on this - but he tells her he’ll have medicine ready, and reminds her if she gets any worse to cancel things, consequences be damned. He and Silvio can more than handle the fallout, and it won’t reflect badly on her.

She thank him, glad that it was Rio who noticed she was sick. If it had been Silvio, she’s positive things wouldn’t have gone this smoothly…and she vows to herself to be sure to avoid him at all costs today.

~~~~~~~~

…Only for us to open the next scene aboard a ship, with a silently staring Silvio, and an oh shit Emma.

Given that she’s to be royalty, and given the traditions of Benitoite amongst the elite to throw parties not at mansions but on board ships, she’d asked Silvio to arrange one to host her party on. This particular vessel is one of Silvio’s own, and it wouldn’t be strange to see the owner aboard - if it had been a day without business meetings or other things on his agenda.

Why is he here?!?!

She’d been making the rounds, greeting all the ladies aboard before the ship was set to depart, when the tyrant himself had appeared all of a sudden and grabbed her by the hand. “Let’s go.”

She vehemently protests this idea, and he scowls over the fact that she can put up such an argument when she’s feverish - which has her now wondering how the eff does he know about her being sick?! No wait, more importantly, she KNOWS he’s got a packed schedule today!

She’s digging in her heels just as hard as he’s trying to drag her off, insisting all the while that he’s just imagining things.

“If you think I’m gonna buy that, you must have a flower garden for a brain,” he fires back. (Hello Motonari?)

“Flower garden or whatever, read the room!” she scolds him, At first, most people didn’t seem to know what to make of her as the next king’s fiancée…and now they’re all just looking on this scene in shock. The whole party is ruined!

He scoffs at the need to do anything of the sort, and as she keeps trying to resist he finally just picks her up and goes to make off with her.

“Knock it off,” Rio sighs. “Can’t you see she’s not having any of this?”

Now Emma’s stunned, realizing Rio is there too and blocking Silvio’s path, shaking his head. Silvio says he doesn’t give a shit if she doesn’t like it, and Rio reminds him he should and urges him to put Emma down.

“If I put her down, she’ll run away,” Silvio counters.

“If you know she’s gonna run away, then you clearly know you shouldn’t be forcing her,” Rio frowns.

“Shut up. I don’t need you telling me what to do,” Silvio argues.

Emma realizes it’s no use when Silvio’s gotten himself worked up like this, and if she throws a fit and ends up getting herself hurt it’ll just make him all depressed. She tries to shoot Rio a wink to say it’s alright, and seeing this Rio immediately goes into crisis-containment mode - apologizing to all the guests for the fuss his ‘idiot brother’ has made with his usual charm and charisma.

In moments he has all the ladies gathered there eating out of his hand, showing off his now-practiced socialite face, the one he’s been honing more now that he’s in the public eye as Silvio’s aide.

While a grateful Emma watches him charm them all, she suggests to Silvio they take this somewhere else to talk and he seems to agree. Still pissy though as he kicks in the door to a nearby room on the ship and carries her inside the space as luxurious as any fine room on land.

The silence though is so absolute you could hear a pin drop, only the sound of the wind and the waves, before Silvio finally speaks.

“Did you take any medicine?” he asks, taking a seat on a chair. Still holding Emma in his arms.

She tells him she did, before she came aboard, but realizes that if he doesn’t know whether she did or not he clearly must not have talked to Rio. Not to mention she highly doubts Rio would break his promise to her. “How did you know I was sick?”

He says she just doesn’t seem to have her usual vim and vigor, and that has her taken aback slightly to realize that Silvio’s been paying close enough attention to her to take note of such a minor change.

“When would you have noticed that?” she asks, baffled. There shouldn’t have been any occasion for him to see her that morning.

“When you were talking with everyone back at the port,” he explains.

“You’ve been watching me for awhile then, I take it?” she asks, but he refuses to answer that. “What about your work?”

“...It’s all finished,” he finally replies.

She’s still in disbelief at that, because the day is hardly even close to over, but Silvio waves it off as merely being damn good at his job. Emma’s not buying this though, and she points out that even if he IS hella capable it seems impossible he’d have the time to come by the port after his work was done.

Scowling he tells her to knock the line of questioning off - he’s clearly not interested in spending any more time on the topic, and he tells her once again they should leave.

There’s still a million things she wants to say, but she settles on this. “Do you really not trust me?” He wants to know why that’s even a question, and she goes on to elaborate. “Even if I say I’m fine, you seem to refuse to believe me at all.”

He lapses into a shocked silence at that.

It’s the same thing as yesterday, Emma thinks. Silvio worries about her more than anyone else in the world, and he’s trying to shelter and protect her as his fiancée…but that’s not what she wants. If she back down here, if she lets him have his way, he’ll spoil her for the rest of her life.

Meeting his displeased gaze, she cradles his cheeks in her hands. “Is your fiancée such a frail woman? Did I not once rescue a prince locked in prison?” His expression sobers as she goes on. “I love ‘Overprotective Silvio’ too, but…trust me now. And when it’s all over, you can tell me ‘good job’ all you want. I’m not marrying you to be cosseted - I want to be your betrothed so that we can stay by each other’s side and be there for each other in the hard times and the good.”

Silvio remains silent, and she can’t read his expression well enough to tell if he’s convinced or not. So, feeling as if she has no other choice…she takes him off guard with a swift kiss to the deep frown carved in his forehead and slips off his lap as he’s still stunned, racing out the door and back to freedom outside.

“Ah, damn it, she ran away.” Silvio curses aloud in the empty room…before he quietly states that she hasn’t said anything he doesn’t already know.

~~~~~~~~

PREMIUM END: HIS POV

Ever since I fell in love with that woman, I’ve been saying strange things. Even though I know it’s all just a burden on her…

From the shadows of the back alley, Silvio sneaks a peek at Emma chatting with the women at the port. The dress she’s wearing today is supposed to be a simple, refined design - but when Emma wears it she’s stunning, like a rose in bloom that charms everyone with its beauty. It’s a sight he could stare at forever….but he sighs when he feels the presence of someone else in the empty alley.

“Hey, don’t follow me, damn dog,” he grumbles at Rio.

Rio scoffs at that. “It’s my job to bring back the idiot prince who left his job.”

Silvio’s annoyed by that, as Rio comes to stand beside him and look over at him incredulously. Silvio defends his leaving by saying he’s done the essentials at least, but Rio points out there’s still a bunch of paperwork left to tackle.

“It’s fine if it waits until tomorrow. I’ve got more important things to do,” Silvio argues.

“You’re too overprotective, no two ways about it,” Rio sighs.

“Shut up,” Silvio retorts. “ She doesn’t exactly take very good care of herself, so better overprotective than not.”

Rio doesn’t say anything in reply to that, and Silvio lapses into musing to himself how Emma just casually does reckless things - she’d already worked herself into collapsing from fever once before. And when he’d taken her out on the town the other day, it was obvious the pressure and exhaustion were getting to her. Trying to reassure her about the rumors the merchants were spreading due to his own infatuation had only seemed to make things worse, and made him worry more. Hence his clandestine party watching.

He was right to come, though, he reasons as he clicks his tongue with irritation at the distant Emma and observes she’s def not feeling well.

“You noticed?” Rio asks, and Silvio points out to him how Emma’s lacking her usual spark. Rio seems surprised that Silvio can tell that from even this far away…but to himself, Silvio thinks how it’s not any wonder he could see that, given how much time he spends watching Emma.

But…can he really let her go to that party in such a state??

He takes a step forward as if to follow her onto the boat, only for Rio to stop him. “Hey! Don’t interrupt! You know Emma doesn’t want your help.”

That just pisses Silvio off, that Rio thinks he knows what Emma’s thinking. But most of all, he hates this - he can’t stand seeing Emma in pain or suffering.

~~~~~~~~

After the party, in the carriage he’s stuffed Emma into the moment it was over, the world’s longest and most awkward silence reigns until Emma’s finally fed up.

“Ahhhhrgh! What’s with the silence?!” she cries.

Silvio can’t think of what to say though, wracked with guilt as Emma’s words keep coming back to him.

“Do you really not trust me?”

It’s not that he doesn’t have faith in her, things just sort of ended up this way, and he’s frustrated trying to think of what else he should have done. Is she really trying to tell him that leaving her to her fever was the right thing to do?? He’s got things he wants to say to her, but he can’t seem to get his thoughts together well enough to articulate it no matter how desperately he wants to…and he only grows more frustrated with himself for not being able to put his feelings into words.

“If you have something to say, just say it!” she tells him.

“Sick people shouldn’t be shouting,” he scowls.

“I am not sick,” Emma argues.

He tells her not to lie, even as he concedes that her complexion’s improved at least. Putting a hand to her forehead to test her temperature, which seems normal now.

She suggests it might be due to her stress finally having ended, but to himself Silvio still vows to have a doctor take a look at her when they get home.

“You had a stomach ache the other day, and a fever today,” Silvio frowns.

“It’s fine to be a bit under the weather, as long as you get through it,” Emma counters. To himself he thinks that he’d do something about it long before it got to that point, but his train of thought is cut off when she prompts him again. “So, back to the subject -”

He’s still silent, unable to find the words, and feigns ignorance as he pointedly stares out the window to avoid her. The sea outside the carriage is calm, but his heart is in turmoil, as if struck by some great storm.

“The ocean is beautiful today, isn’t it?” Emma asks, seemingly having given up on the conversation as she looks out at the scenery as well.

“You wanna stop and see?” he offers, and she asks if that’s okay.

He tells her he’s got nothing else going on today…but he’s thinking how much he knows going to the beach makes her happy. And he’ll get this all straightened out, he’s determined.

With the sunset for a backdrop, he and Emma stroll along the beach - but he can’t stop the frown from creeping back onto his face, and Emma is too sharp to miss the expressions he makes.

“Are you angry?” she asks finally.

“Not with you,” he replies.

“Then, who are you angry with?” she presses.

“Myself of course, I guess,” he admits, and falls into his own thoughts again.

He knows the sort of woman Emma is, and yet he dared try and stomp all over her will. And worst of all, even though he was aware of it, all he could seem to do was annoy her.

Truth be told he, he’s really pissed at himself.

Emma comes to a stop, and he does as well a few steps later. The sound of the crashing waves seeming to chide the silence.

“I know it’s a selfish worry,” Silvio begins. He says that he knows being exhausted or anxious isn’t any sort of reason to shirk your role, and that he knows she wants to fulfill her duty as the king’s consort perfectly. Even though it’s not easy, he shouldn’t have thought trying to escape it was the right thing.

“You realize all that, and yet you still tried to take me away today?” Emma presses.

He admits that he does, he gets all of this and he knows all of it, but he still can’t help what he thinks. “I don’t want you to have to suffer because of me…” Silvio says, resigned. “I honestly don’t know how to make the woman I love happy.”

In the past, he was always surrounded by nothing but money. Never truly wishing to make someone else happy, so he’s clueless in this regard. But…Emma’s happiness is the only thing he ever wants. If money could buy it for her, he’d gladly spend every last penny he had…but that would never work.

He’s at a complete loss, fumbling like some kind of child. And that feeling has only grown stronger as the preparations for their engagement ceremony began and the burden fell harder on Emma. Working herself half to death like this, is she really happy?? True happiness should be her having the freedom to laugh, foolishly carefree, all the time.

He’s well aware that he’s hopelessly lost here, because he doesn’t understand the happiness of others.

“Sometimes, it occurs to me…” Emma begins, and he looks at her quizzically. “That you’re pretty adorable, aren’t you, Silvio!”

Scowling and redfaced, he asks if she’s trying to pick a fight - here he is, tying himself up into knots over this and she’s over there grinning?!

He grabs her head and musses it a bit, and she laughs out apologies.

“Quit grinning,” he grouses.

“People tend to do that when they’re happy,” she tells him, and he wonders aloud what exactly about what he just said made her feel happy. “All of it.”

He’s baffled, but Emma goes on to tell him she’s happy every day, actually.

“That’s coming from the woman who was on the ground with a stomachache yesterday?” he argues.

Emma says she was mostly joking around, and he was egging it on kind of too even, wasn't he? He’s still confused how that would make her happy, and she tells him it DOES, because it’s obvious how Silvio loves her with every bit of himself…a revelation that only leaves him stunned.

“I can do my very best every day because of you, and I want to work through it,” she explains. “You are my happiness.”

He’s unable to process this, reeling as he tries to puzzle it out. Emma is adored by so many people, unlike him - he never considered that something as simple as being loved would bring her happiness.

Aloud, he wonders if his worries seem stupid, and if something that simple is really enough to make her happy.

“It’s not that simple,” she assures him. “You’re the first person who makes me happy just by being there.”

He’d thought…that it was just him that felt like that. That surely Emma, who is used to being loved by everyone, would feel differently.

Or so he’d thought.

Without even realizing it, a smile comes to his face.

“Silvio…are you happy?” Emma asks.

He gives her crap about her eyes being blind, before admitting that he wouldn’t be smiling if he wasn’t happy right? She joyfully agrees, and offers him a smile brighter and more dazzling than the setting sun. The look of someone truly happy.

He does have something he wants to say to her - it’s finally hit him. Even with his worry for her, the overprotectiveness and being a burden on her, there’s just one feeling he wants to be sure she’s aware of.

“I’ll say this just one time,” he tells her, schooling his expression to seriousness. The midsummer sun shining on him, so hot he’s practically sweltering…but he wants to be sure he shares this with her before the ceremony. He takes a deep bracing breath of the sea breeze, and blows it out. “You’re the only one I’d ever be such a fool in love for.”

I can’t remember who I was before I met you, he thinks. That’s how crazy he is about her.

“I’m only going to say that once in my life,” he prompts her again, as she remains utterly silent. Vaguely affronted as her face remains turned down at the words he’d thrown away all his shame and pride to utter. “How can you not say anything?”

Now it’s just getting embarrassing, and he’s silently pleading with her to say something, anything at all. Grasping her chin and tilting her head up - only to find Emma’s face bright red, the deep blush covering even her ears and neck. Not a trace of her usual sass to be found.

“D-don’t look at me!” she sputters.

He’s blown away by her face, before he grins and tells her she’s 100% adorable, which only has her gasping that it’s a low blow to say something like that now.

He’ll take the cheater accusation though, gladly, he says…and to himself he’s thinking how gd frigging much he loves her as he steals those warm lips. Kissing her to keep her from realizing how head over heels he is too.

This moment, mesmerized and lost in her, with the sound of the waves crashing distantly - this is the most priceless of treasures. Something he could never ever buy, not with all the riches in the world.

~~~~~~~~

A few days later, the ceremony takes place to name Silvio heir and Emma his fiancee properly. Thanks to her efforts, the party goes off splendidly…

For some reason, the soon-to-abdicate king stops Silvio in an out of the way corner. He’s frustrated at being kept from Emma, but he bites back the urge to lash out over the waste of time.

“Hey, old geezer. If you don’t have shit to say, I’m gonna leave,” Silvio warns.

“Still talking like that? If you’re going to be king, you should at least clean up that filthy mouth,” the king warns.

Silvio says he only talks like that to the king, and he dismisses him, ready to leave, when the king stops him. He tells Silvio they’re not finished talking yet, and he offers the prince a drink. Practically shoving it into Silvio’s hand and filling it to the brim - a tradition for greeting and for blessing happy occasions in Benitoite.

Unhappy but unable to refuse, Silvio drains the glass in one go…and the old man does the same.

“You…” the old king begins. “Aren’t really like ‘her’ after all, I guess.”

The ‘her’ in question is his mother, Silvio knows. And just thinking of the woman who laughed as she tried to murder the current queen countless times makes him feel sick to his stomach. “Who’d wanna be like that bitch? I have no interest in being some kind of beast. Course, I’ve got no interest in being a nasty old codger like you either.”

The old king angrily says Silvio’s got a real gift for distracting him. “I thought I’d congratulate you even if it’s just a formality, but I guess that’s not necessary.”

“Ha, just now figuring that out?” Silvio scoffs.

The only one the king’s ever given a shit about was that fucking dog - it seems too late to try and be putting on an air of fatherly concern now, Silvio thinks. He slams the glass down on a nearby table and turns away.

“Do a good job, Silvio,” the king says to his back. “...It’s hard work making a woman happy in this position.”

He doesn’t need to be told something like that, he thinks. He already knows. The current queen has had her life threatened many times because of her position, and the king can’t keep her safe from everything. “Don’t worry, old man,” he tells the king as a parting shot. “Unlike you, I’m plenty capable.”

I’ll never make you unhappy, is his silent vow to Emma.

~~~~~~~~

Back in Silvio’s room, he’s got a new trial to deal with - the fact that by the time he escaped the old man and made it back to Emma, it was clearly too late. His fiancee is utterly obliterated after being toasted by so many well-wishers, and is uncharacteristically rather tipsy. Giggling at him and generally acting drunk now that they’re safely in private, although she’d managed to keep it together at the party and present a sober front.

She pleads with Silvio to acknowledge how well she did after drinking so much, and he grudgingly does - scowling though as he says how everyone in Benitoite is used to this sort of thing as a celebration but she’s from Rhodolite and not yet, so she shouldn’t overdo it.

“Okaaaaay,” she draws out.

“Can you drink some water?” he asks, and she proudly agrees she can manage that, downing a glass…but she’s getting as much of it on herself as she is in her mouth, spilling out around the edges.

“No, clearly you can’t. Are you doing that on purpose?” he asks suspiciously - it wouldn’t be the first time Emma has pretended to be drunk around him. (She does this in his route and forces him to carry her back to the carriage) But he’s pretty sure she’s not faking it this time…and he’s trying real hard not to be a perv and ogle the way she’s gotten the whole front of her dress wet.

He pushes the naughty thoughts aside and takes a nearby cloth to dry her off, which leads to her smiling up at him all dazedly and hugging him tightly.

“W-what the?” he asks, flustered.

“Silvio…tonight…is the first night since we got engaged,” she points out.

He’s still redfaced and silent as he notices the Benitoite gem winking on her ring finger, the one he’d given her as an engagement ring. An unmistakable reminder of the way their relationship had officially changed that leaves him reeling.

“I—I want to tell you that I love you a lot,” Emma goes on. “I love you so much Silvio!!”

And he’s left at an utter loss as to what he should do now…

TBC in epilogue!

~~~~~~~~

taglist: @violettduchess @just-simping-over-genshin @sakura-samsara

Want to be added to the taglist for summaries? Comment on this post!

#ikemen prince #ikepri #ikepri silvio #spoiler #spoilers #ikemen prince spoilers #ikepri spoilers #mrs o's translations of dubious quality #have i mentioned lately how much i love them as a couple #and i love his MC

257 notes · View notes

yourlegacysnotyourstosee · 7 months

Text

I took notes on my thoughts while watching Nerdy Prudes Must Die because I did the same for Black Friday

DAMN Jon said “I am a TENOR”

I literally can’t get over how good he sounds

AHHHHHH LAUREN!!!!!

Bro these songs SLAP

Damn Mariahs hair is so long

Pete is such a mood

I’m literally terrified of being pantsed so bad

BRUH NOT MICRO-PETER

Omg hey Kim

When Cory enthusiastically agrees I’m dying

Omg Max likes Grace???????

Wait that’s so cute

Wait why’s he kinda fine

“His name is Jesus Christ” HELP 💀💀💀💀💀

It’s giving Apex Predator (from Mean Girls)

Damn these HARMONIES THO

My jaw is on the floor the way Cory is talking to her

“How am I supposed to study without listening to Spotify?” ME LMFAO

I KNOW HE DID NOT JUST MAKE AN ISSAC NEWTON JOKE

The way hes like “this is about thermodynamics” me me me. I hate when people make jokes about the things we’re not even talking about.

“NANI” NO WAY HE SAID THAT HELP💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀I LITERALLY CANNOT BREATHE 💀💀💀💀💀💀

Study date????????

Joey Richter my beloved ❤️❤️❤️

When Max enters and the crowd cheers

“Rondevuch”

Max literally has a God complex

Why is Kim everyones mom?

“Walen place”?????

“Mom will you pass the butt stuff????” HELP SHES BEEN CORRUPTED

NO WAY SHES FANTASIZING ABOUT MAX JAGERMAN

LITERALLY WHAT

Awwww Grace is experiencing Catholic Guilt™ ❤️❤️❤️

Girl wdym “he’s gotta go”???

Laurens character is bisexual???????

“WAIFU MATERIAL”?????? I literally can’t get over Jons character

Wait Grace is a little fucked up actually

Wait since the Waylons built hatchetfield high and the starlight theater, could they have cursed the town somehow? Like I know about the evil brothers or whatever, but I’m not super familiar with the lore

Wait I kind of love Grace now

Mariah slays

“Am I reading as Ghost, or Lin Manuel Miranda?” AWWWWWW❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“Your fucking useless Pete.” Tgwdlm???? In MY npmd???? It’s more likely than you think

I’m very suspicious about how fast they seemed to put the plan together…

I know the plan wont work and Im so nervous I’m getting secondhand embarrassment so bad rn

“Skele-ens”

I need Max Jagerman actually

Awwww Max is a Theater Kid ❤️❤️❤️

AW FUCK HE DIED

HOLY FUCK HE DIED

GIRL WTF IS WRONG WITH GRACE

I love how upbeat this song is

WHYD SHE CUT HIS NIPPLES OFF WTF

Omg Dan and Donna!

Slay Mayor Lauter

His reaction to being asked to the game is giving- “she asked me for the time” “no way” “way :D”

THE NIGHTHAWKS MASCOT 💀💀💀💀

FUCK CLIVESDALE

DAMN THEYRE IN THE SPLITS GOOD FOR THEM

I like that the football team has only 2 players

I love when actors walk through the audience, but ESPECIALLY here when hes stalking Richie bro looks so good

Listen I know he’s about to kill Richie but HES SO FINE HELP

Im literally so Gay bro

THE SMOKE CLUB!!!!!!

THE NIGHTMARE TIME THEME

When she says hes not hot anymore girl speak for yoursef

Please let Grace swear

Oh fuck they’re giving themselves away

Grace Chastity said “acab”

Cory needs more songs

MAN IN A HURRY RETURNS!!!!!

Damn who is this girl in a trenchcoat 😍😍😍

GERALD OH MY GOD

Random side note but what happened to Robert? I was just thinking about how I wish we could see Hidgens again but is Robert still a part of Starkid anymore? Is he on to Bigger and Better things? Does anyone know what those are? I’d love to continue to support him.

Edit: NVM NVM I TAKE IT BACK I DO NOT WANT TO SUPPORT ROBERT MANION NO NO NO SIR

The invisible bird. Literally high school theater

“Heahs the thang about ah bahbecue”

“Ah wawna remember who ah ayum”

Ruth is so real for not know when to do the lights bc the cue lines were wrong

Ugh Laurens voice is so good and I know ive said that about pretty much everyone but it’s true

I know shes about to die rn

The red lighting gave it away

THE WAY HE LOOKS INTO CAMERA AFTER HE KILLS HER I NEED HIM SO BAD

Why did Kim scream like that

Awww Grace has religious trauma now ❤️❤️❤️

THE COPS THEME

OH MY GOD PAUL AND EMMA!!!!!!!!!

He gave her his number❤️❤️❤️

Hot chocolate boy!!!!!!!! I knew Peter was the hot chocolate boy but still

This duet is EVERYTHING

Obsessed with the fact he called MARIAH ROSE FAITH a MEAN GIRL

“Axe wielding maniacs?”

The Waylons did not dig that shit very deep…

OH FUCK THEY HAVE TO SUMMIN THE LORDS IN BLACK

I KNEW THE WAYLONS BUILT LAKESIDE MALL

im so sorry Zombie Max is So Fine

WIGGLY

THEY HAVE HUMAN FORMS??????

“Let me check my Christmas list”

“What do you want steph?” MORE tgwdlm? In MY npmd?

I feel bad for not knowing all their names

Max says bitch a lot

Damn this show is long

Omg this is so sad im tearing up a lil

Max is so fucking funny

Damn Grace is seducing Max this is hilarious

Fuck Grace Chastity or kill some nerds? One of the many difficult decisions in life

He decides to fuck Grace Chastity

OH MY GOD THATS SO SMART

Thats some fuckin Macbeth level shit

Kims teacher character is so cute awwwww

Paul and Bill dance Chaperones??????

Oh nvm that’s Jason

I don’t think I ever mentioned it but the dancing is really good

It’s very clean and crisp

In the last 2 hours I very quickly developed a massive crush on Will Branner

OH FUCK

WHATS GOING ON

WHAT

#also idk how to spell most of their names #so forgive me #nerdy prudes must die #peter spankoffski #starkid #max jagerman #npmd spoilers #nerdy prudes spoilers

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borathae · 11 months

Text

↳ Index [Chapter 32 - Home]

Warnings: so many healing & fluffy moments, this is a feel good chapter, yoongi & oc once again deserve the world

Wordcount: 10.9k

a/n: i want nothing but happiness from now on

An entire day and night passed until you are finally somewhat ready to face the world again. Somewhat, because you barely caught any sleep as Yoongi was too busy showing you why he was the Creator of many Gluttons and because of it, you are both hungover and tired. It is a very dangerous combination. The others had no problem with you missing for an entire day. They were busy sleeping off their hangovers either way. Everyone except Hoseok, who had quite the heated day with Dragana and Lea. There were ropes involved and the witches were not the ones feeling them on their bodies.

He leaves the room in beige shorts and a white button up, where he left the first four buttons open. A pair of glasses was perched on his perfectly shaped nose and his long hair was tied back into a bun. He walks with a confident bounce in his steps.

“Hey there everyone, Doctor Love’s finally awake”, he greets the others.

“What is he saying?” Jimin murmurs, addressing Taehyung with it.

“I have not the slightest clue”, Tae whispers, studying Hoseok from head to toe.

They were in the middle of arranging flowers in a book to press later. Well, Taehyung was in the middle of doing so and Jimin sat down next to him and began helping him whilst ruffling his hair every so often.

Seokjin, Jungkook and Emma were busy playing Mario Kart on their Switches. Jungkook is winning.

“Hello to you too”, Seokjin mumbles.

“Who did you fuck?” Jungkook asks without lifting his eyes.

“Dragana and Lea. Bro, I think my ass and cock are gonna be sore for weeks. Also I’m pretty sure that I have sore muscles in my tongue”, he says and sticks out his tongue.

Jungkook cocks up his brow but furrows it seconds later as he has to take a very sharp turn in the game and needs to concentrate.

“Congrats bro.”

“Did you guys know that witches can literally control our bodies so that we can’t cum unless they tell us to? Cause I didn’t.”

“No, I didn’t”, Jungkook says and presses his legs together inconspicuously.

“I did”, Taehyung throws in.

Hoseok looks at him and sees the eye contact as invitation to continue the conversation, “what’s up with that? Like, why did nobody tell me how witches fuck?”

“I wasn’t in the belief that you were interested in such knowledge.”

“Well, now I am. Like damn, I’m done”, he says and drops down on the sun lounge. He hisses in pain and jumps back up, “nevermind. No sitting for me. Damn bro, what’s up with witches? Aren’t we supposed to heal? My ass still hurts.”

Taehyung and Jimin send him a knowing look and chuckle. They look back at the lavender they are attempting to arrange.

“It’ll pass soon, trust me”, Jimin assures him and runs his fingers through Taehyung’s hair again.

“I hope, because ouch”, Hoseok touches his butt. He looks around the garden, “where is everyone either way? They were gone when I woke.”

“The market. They’re selling their pesti and wine.”

“I see, ah what a bummer I’d have loved to talk to them some more before we leave. Do you guys know if we’ll leave today?”

“I don’t know, probably once Yoongi and ___ leave their room”, Jimin says.

“What’s up with those two either way? Were they fighting yesterday? I heard them slam doors.”

“I heard them talk about cowgirl style, so I doubt they fought”, Seokjin says and earns himself a loud gasp from Hoseok. He looks up from his game, meeting Hoseok’s flabbergasted look, “what?”

“You were listening in? You? What’s happening? Are you dying?”

Seokjin rolls his eyes, “it was an accident. The door slamming woke me then I heard them kiss and stopped listening in, only to catch glimpses again when they were in the middle of it. It was an accident, okay?”

“Sure, that’s what they all say”, Hoseok sits down next to Seokjin on the sun lounge and nudges his tummy, “you liked it, admit it.”

“Don’t be weird.”

“Is Hobi being a perv again?”

They all turn their heads upon hearing your voice, but their eyes don’t stay on you for long. They are all gawking at Yoongi and the wildly colourful shirt he is matching with beige pants. He lifts his head, studying their faces.

“Why are you staring?” he asks nonchalantly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Sexy shirt”, Jimin says, clearly being sarcastic.

“What’s wrong with my shirt?”

“Did you mix up your suitcases with my paint colours, hyung?” Taehyung teases.

“What’s wrong with my shirt?”

“Nothing, you’re just not wearing black today.”

“Yeah well, whatever”, Yoongi fixes the collar on his shirt, “I felt like it.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you fucked”, Hoseok says and gets to his feet to hurry to you and Yoongi. He nudges Yoongi’s tummy, “I figured you out, hyung. You always wear colour when you had a good fuck.”

Yoongi swats his hand away, “you’re a pervert, Hoba.”

“Oh proudly”, he grins and points down at his own outfit, “guess what my outfit means.”

“I guess you fucked too.”

“Bingo!” Hoseok poses, “guess who.”

“Dragana.”

“And?”

“Seriously? You fucked more than one?”

“Yup, Lea.”

“Mhm”, Yoongi cocks his brow up and looks at the others instead, “I’m sure you want me to congratulate you now”, he says nonchalantly. He studies Jimin and Taehyung for a moment to see if they were getting along. He looks away once he sees how peaceful they both seem, glancing back at Hoseok who is still staring at Yoongi.

“Did you know that witches can use spells to control our orgasms?” he asks him.

“Yeah, obviously. I was their teacher.”

“Hot?” you say.

“Yeah? Hot?” Hoseok agrees, “what the hell, hyung? Why did you never tell me?”

“Why should I tell you that? How would that have even gone down? Hey Hoba, I taught witches sex spells?”

“Exactly”, Hoseok says and lets out a loud sigh, “wah, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Mhm, do that on the road. We gotta leave now. Are you guys ready to go?”

“Yes, give us five more minutes we need to lay down the petals”, Taehyung says and lies down on his tummy to get closer to his book. He even goes so far as to stick his tongue out of his mouth for concentration.

“That’s okay. I’ll start loading the cars. Do you wanna help me, love?”

“Yeah, I’ll help”, you say and take his hand, “let’s go, Boongie let’s load the car”, you coo in a funny voice and do a little jump.

Yoongi follows you with a grin, repeating “let’s load the car”, in an equally as funny voice, which results in you answering him with the same sentence in an even funnier voice and Yoongi serving as your echo in an – you guessed it – even funnier voice. You both end up cackling like little children and the last thing the others see is Yoongi cracking up in a squeaky laugh at something you must be doing in the kitchen.

He stumbles inside and all that reaches their ears are loud giggles and squeaks.

They exchange a look with each other.

“Anyone know if ___ is a witch too? Because what the hell did she do to Yoongi?” Hoseok asks, pointing at the kitchen.

“I have goosebumps look”, Jimin says, showing off his arm.

“Truly”, Taehyung agrees.

“Wah, you guys are so mean”, Jungkook whines, “he’s just in love and happy. Don’t be weird about it.”

“We’re not. We’re just used to Yoongi frowning day in and out”, Jimin says, “that’s how I met him and that’s how he has always been for literal centuries.”

“Truly”, Taehyung says, “I have known this man for five hundred years and this is the first time I see him wear colour from head to toe or hear his honest laugh. I didn’t even know that he squeaks when he laughs.”

“Legit. We knew him as a cold grumps.”

“Yeah well, he doesn’t want to be that way anymore and I think it’s really cute”, Jungkook says, “he feels safe in being himself these days, it’s nice.”

Hoseok nods his head in agreement, as do Seokjin and Emma.

“I’m not saying anything against it”, Jimin defends himself, “let him be happy. The fucking idiot deserves it”, he says and turns back to Taehyung.

“He truly does”, Taehyung says and then whines loudly, “Jimin, stop breathing on the flowers! You are moving them!”

“Excuse me? Am I not allowed to breathe? Wah Taetae, you’re cruel”, Jimin throws back in a pouty whine and ruffles Taehyung’s hair.

You leave the witches’ house half an hour later. Meredith and Jelena see you off and promise Hoseok to tell Dragana and Lea to call him (they will). You take the car with Yoongi, Taehyung and Jimin while the rest takes the other. Meredith gives you a spell book as a parting gift, telling you that you might enjoy it as the magic was all about plants. You thanked her and then she hugged you. It felt nice to be hugged by her. Like a big sister giving you a parting hug. Jelena gave you a big box of food, for when you grow hungry on the long journey and then snuck one last glance at Yoongi. You bid your goodbyes moments later and as the house grew small and smaller on the horizon, you knew that life will be a little easier to bear again.

Seokjin just pulled into the road in front of you. Yoongi follows after taking a look over his shoulder. The road looks endless in front of you eyes.

“So where to next?” Jimin asks, having his head stuck between the seats to see you and Yoongi better.

Yoongi places his hand on your thigh.

“Home.”

The lunch box Jelena prepared has been emptied by now and for most of the ride, you slept off your hangover while Yoongi held your hand. You woke around an hour ago and began snacking on Jelena’s lunch box whilst looking at the scenery. It looks so familiar now that you are almost home. Your back hurts from sitting for so long, but you didn’t mind because you were so close to home. Just one more hour and then you would finally pull up into the estate’s big grounds.

“So what are you planning on doing once we’re back home?” Jimin asks you.

“I want to open all of my windows and let in the fresh air and then I want to clean up my atelier”, Taehyung says.

“Mhm cleaning. That sounds fun. I’m surprised that you allowed your atelier to get dirty.”

“I”, Taehyung lets out an embarrassed chuckle, “I had a mild mental breakdown and destroyed a few of my paintings.”

“Why?”

“Because I thought that you died. Please don’t probe any further, I was very heartbroken”, Taehyung says with embarrassment in his voice.

Jimin gives him a soft smile and pats his knee, “I’ll help you clean. It’s the least I can do for making you go through all of this.”

“Thank you. I feel happy to know that you will help me”, Taehyung says and smiles.

Jimin looks to the front, “and you guys?” he asks you and Yoongi.

“I don’t know. Probably take a long shower”, Yoongi says.

“That sounds good”, Jimin nods his head, “___?”

“Check up on my plants first and then drink tea.”

“Your plants, huh?”

“Yeah, about that. I kinda moved into your wing.”

Jimin blinks in disbelief.

“Seriously?” he gasps, “I’m dead for a year and get erased just like this?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. It was Yoongi’s idea. And then Tae offered it too, so…yeah.”

Jimin rolls his eyes to the point you fear they might get stuck.

“Goddamn it, you apartment stealing bitch.”

“Language”, Yoongi warns, sending Jimin a look through the rear view mirror.

“Yeah, exactly. Language”, you agree, reaching behind you to slap Jimin’s knee gently, “besides, there are still many empty wings in the estate. It’s not like we threw you out completely. We just thought that your wing was fitting because of the greenhouse.”

“I guess for a plant nerd like you”, he eyes you up from head to toe with his nose just slightly scrunched up, “urgh, I still can’t believe you took my wing just like this.”

“I didn’t-”, you point an accusing finger at him, “okay listen mister, it took a lot of boggling my poor mind to come to the decision. I didn’t even want to take it at first in order to honour you and shit, but then Tae told me that he would rather see me fill it with life than watch it get covered in dust. Only then I thought about potentially moving in.”

“Aww, you wanted to honour me?” he teases, making big puppy eyes at you.

“Well now? Not anymore, dickwad.”

“Rude?”

“And true.”

“Double rude?”

“Hey, I’m not the one who pretended to be dead for a year.”

“I didn’t pretend-”, it is his turn to point an accusing finger at you, “you know what? No. We had this discussion already. You know exactly that I was basically useless for months after I had to literally regenerate from ash like a phoenix.”

You snort, chuckling. “A phoenix? Really?”

“Yeah, duh? Have you seen me? I’m hot.”

He makes you laugh.

“I can’t argue with you on that.”

“I know.”

You and Jimin snicker, turning away from each other to watch the scenery pass by.

“That was hella uncalled for”, Yoongi whispers, sending you a jealous look. One you erase instantly with a soft pinch to his cheek, followed by a big smooch. Yoongi leans in for one more kiss, one you give him gladly. He grins happily afterwards, wiggling his shoulders to the music.

“Maybe you could take the guest wing?” Taehyung suggests, looking at Jimin.

“The guest wing?”

“Yes. We could be neighbours that way”, Taehyung says, painting slight fondness onto Jimin’s features.

“I guess if you say it like that, the guest wing sounds better”, Jimin says and nods his head, touching his chin to think.

“Yes, it does. You could renovate the mirror room and make it your dance studio. You always wanted to have a dance studio, didn’t you?” Taehyung says with sparkling eyes, “oh Jimin, I want to help if you decide to do it. We, we haven’t done home renovations in ages”, he says, taking Jimin’s hand to shake it excitedly.

Jimin gives him a warm smile, “it would be nice if we did some renovating together.”

Taehyung giggles and lets himself fall against Jimin, resting his head on his shoulder and pulling their intertwined hand between his legs to keep them warm.

You exchange a look with Yoongi. He seems to be thinking the same thing than you. So Jimin is actually keeping his promise to do better.

“Did you guys do lots of home renovations in the past?” you ask them.

“Yes, we did. You should have seen Jimin’s castle when I first met him. It was completely outdated. I helped him redo everything”, Taehyung says.

“In my defence, I was like super depressed back then. Taetae really spiced up my place. He always had an eye for colour.”

“Now that’s a lie, you have great eye for it too”, Taehyung says, nudging Jimin’s shoulder with his cheek, “the colours you picked for our sitting room were wonderful.”

“That was actually more Ava’s doing than mine, but thank you.”

“Ava? Is she the woman you told me of once, Tae?”

“Yes it is her. We did a lot of renovating with her, didn’t we Jimin?”

“Yes, we did”, Jimin says, “can we not talk about her though? I guess, it’s still a little hard for me.”

“Oh? Of course. I apologize”, Taehyung says and squeezes his hand, “you have to tell ___ about your apple trees however. Please.”

“Apple trees?”

“I uh.. it’s not even that great. I just planted a few apple trees in our garden and they always bared fruit in the autumn.”

“Oh, that sounds awesome. Were you the one who planted all those fruit trees in the estate gardens?”

“Yes”, Jimin nods his head.

“That’s so cool. So you can help me with my gardening from now on?”

“I’ll help too”, Yoongi throws in instantly, sneaking a shy glance at you.

“I’d love that, my prince”, you say with a fond smile, “the grounds are so huge, I’d appreciate every help. How did you do it either way?”

“Me?” Jimin asks.

“Yeah.”

“Oh because of the greenhouse?”

You nod your head.

“Yeah, I didn’t take care of that. I had gardeners for it. I just wanted to have it for the vibes.”

You chuckle, “I see. So I don’t have to feel bad that it’s mine these days?”

“No sure go ahead, it’s all yours. It wasn’t mine in the first place either way. It just came with the wing.”

“How should I understand that?”

“It was mine”, Yoongi says nonchalantly.

“As are the grounds and the entire castle”, Taehyung throws in, reaching to the front to massage Yoongi’s right shoulder, “don’t sell yourself under your worth, hyung. You are old money.”

“Don’t say that, I told you before that the wings are all yours. Just because I own it, doesn’t mean it’s mine. I don’t care about them, they’re yours”, Yoongi whines.

“Yes, but you were the one who gave them to us. They are still yours.”

“No they’re not. I gave them to you guys, seriously you’re making no sense”, Yoongi murmurs shyly.

Taehyung snickers, giving Yoongi a gentle shoulder pat before he falls back against his seat, relaxing with his eyes wandering outside.

You sneak a little glance at Yoongi. You think that it is beyond heart warming that Yoongi, even back when he pretended not to care for anyone, wanted to share his home with his friends. The castle may be his’ but he would see no worth in it if he couldn’t share it with his family.

“You’re so sweet”, you whisper, turning your knees to him as your eyes drift outside as well.

Yoongi acts as if he didn’t hear it, but proceeds to fumble with his own ear giddily for the next twenty minutes of the drive.

Jungkook joins you once you are in town. Seokjin wanted to show his house to Emma and Hoseok agreed to come with them because he really missed his room. You said your goodbyes with promises of meeting up for dinner in the estate later.

Jungkook wiggles himself on the backseat next to Taehyung, giggling shyly when the latter greets him with a kiss to his cheek.

“I can’t believe that we’re only ten minutes from home”, Jungkook says, “how did you guys spend your drive?”

“We just talked about old times and about what we’re gonna do once home. I also slept my hangover off, I feel reborn”, you tell him.

“Ooh that’s nice. What do you want to do when we’re home?” he asks and so you tell him of your plans to which he says that they were all good plans.

“What do you want to do?” Jimin asks him.

“I think the first thing I want to do is take a shower and then nap. I’m so tired from the drive, it’s insane”, Jungkook says and then yawns loudly.

It makes you yawn as well and seconds later, Taehyung joins in too.

“You’re making me sleepy too, Kook”, you say.

“Sorry, you guys are free to join me”, he offers.

“Maybe I will take you up on that offer later”, Taehyung says.

You arrive with bright smiles on your faces. You go your separate ways, each hurrying to your wings with excitement in your tummies. Everything is how you left it, looking even more beautiful than you remember it to look. Coming home is so nice when it is with the right people.

You abandon your suitcases in the hallways, having to hurry through your wing to check up on all of your plants. They are all thriving, some have grown impressively. The gardener, Taehyung hired, did an incredible job and you remember to tell Taehyung later to give him a huge bonus for his amazing work.

You leave the wing again after throwing your laundry in the washer and emptying the rest of the suitcase. You plan on checking up on the greenhouse later. First you need to do something very important. There is something which makes you want to check up on Yoongi. An unexplainable yet addictive pull.

“Yoongi?”

His bedroom is empty, but the lights to his dressing room are on. You follow them.

Your love is kneeling on the floor, sorting through his shoe collection. Judging by the duster by his knee, he also uses the opportunity to clean the cupboards. His suitcases are open on the floor. All of the laundry is gone and only his shoes and other essentials like his toiletries and music stuff are inside. He must have sidetracked while emptying his luggage.

“Yoongi?”

He doesn’t hear you, which means he’s got ear buds in.

You tiptoe to him and kneel down beside him. You startle him, you know that you do because he tenses up for a moment, but he covers it up perfectly. His head turns to you.

“Oh. You.”

He takes out his headphones and stops his music.

“Did I just scare you?”

“No.”

“I think I did”, you reach out and nudge his arm, “I saw you flinch.”

His eyes light up and he scoffs, “you saw wrong”, he says and lowers his head shyly.

You snicker, then sit down on the ground, “can you remember all the times you scared me?”

“Yeah, they were funny.”

“No they weren’t. They were traumatic”, you joke, making him chuckle.

“Sorry. I was just joking when I did it.”

“I know, I was joking right now too. Although, I gotta say it annoyed me at first.”

He looks into your eyes.

“Or maybe I secretly liked it and I hated that I did.”

He looks at your lips.

“I liked it”, he confesses, “it made your heart race and I liked that sound. I didn’t know why, but I did. I know these days.”

“Damn, you’re gonna make it race right now.”

“I know. I hear it”, he says and scoots closer with his eyes still glued to your lips, “it’s weird to be home. The last time I was in this room, I cried while I was packing my shit. I thought I’d never see you again.”

“You cried?”

“Yeah, like a fucking baby.”

“Oh Yoongs”, you inch closer, “why did you leave back then either way?”

“Because what we started to have scared me. I didn’t wanna fall in love and yet I did. It was scary”, he says and touches your hand gently “and because I fed you my blood. I felt like a monster. I…I still do”, he whispers, playing with your fingers mindlessly while his eyes follow the movements.

“Gosh, no don’t say that”, you say, intertwining your fingers with him, “you’re not a monster, my love. I bet you’re just being sappy because you’re home again.”

“Yeah, probably. I keep thinking about us back then.”

“Me too, I caught myself glancing at the piano and reliving our first kiss. I can’t believe that I pushed you away back then.”

He is holding his breath.

“I was so scared of what I felt for you that I pretended not to care, but I did. I really did.”

“I was hurt”, he confesses, “back then, I was hurt. The switch flipped and when you pushed me away, I was hurt. And then I panicked. Because I felt again. I panicked. A lot. Why am I telling you this?”

“Keep going, love.”

“I had a panic attack. It hurt so much. It felt like I was dying. So I flipped it again, but then you kissed me in the sitting room and it flipped again. Yeah.”

“Thank you for telling me this, my love”, you say and kiss his cheek, “also, I’m so sorry for bringing you so much grief back then. I was such a bitch.”

“I already forgave you.”

“If I could turn back in time, I would stay and hold you through the attack.”

“It’s okay. I think it’s good the way we got together. I wouldn’t change anything. Maybe we wouldn’t have clicked if we changed something.”

“I think we still would have clicked”, you say and give him a smile.

He looks away shyly, pulling his hand away so he could rub the side of his neck.

“Now, what are you doing? Are you cleaning out your shoes?”

“Yes. Some got moldy. I’m throwing them out”, he says.

“Gosh, what a bother. Can’t you clean them?”

“Yes, but I have so many shoes. I won’t wear them. I need space. I don’t know. I already emptied my suitcases. The clothes are in the washer”, he says, rubbing his neck.

He seems nervous. It’s cute.

You wrap your arms around him and wiggle him from side to side.

“Why are you so nervous, my love? Am I flustering you, mhm?”

“I’m not nervous”, he lies, “I feel weird. It’s weird to be home.”

“You’re not trying to act like grumpy Yoongi from back then, are you?” you joke to which Yoongi turns his head to send you a pout. You snicker, regretting it a second later when Yoongi attacks you with a big smooch to your neck and his strong arms pushing you down. He makes sure to cushion your head by cradling the back of it in his palm. And then he is already on top of you, attacking your cheeks with toothless bites while he lets out soft purrs mixed with little sounds of agreement. Almost like a cat enjoying the food it eats.

Squeaking and giggling, you try to fight him off. This makes you so happy. One won’t ever be able to describe just how utterly happy this man makes you.

Yoongi ends his love attack by huffing out air and nudging you with his button nose. Then he lifts his head, looking deep into your eyes while his big hands caress the crown of your head.

“I’m not a grumps”, he says.

“No you’re not, you’re my Yoongi Boongie.”

“Yeah. Right”, he nods his head, “I am.”

“And you’re a cutie patootie.”

His cheeks heat up, he lowers his eyes.

“Yeah”, he whispers, nodding his head.

You giggle, “oh Yoongs, you’re so cute”, you say, caressing his cheeks.

He leans into the touch, stubs you with his nose and sits up. He takes out a pair of leather boots. They are black in colour. He shows them to you.

“What do you think of them?” he asks.

You sit up as well, shimmying closer until your legs are touching. You place your hands on his thigh, rubbing it gently.

“They’re pretty. Are you going to keep them?”

“Yeah. They’re good shoes”, he says and puts them on the right pile.

“Is the left pile for shoes you’ll throw away?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to donate them to a charity shop?”

“Yeah, uhm. I’ll ask Hoba and Kook first. Maybe they’ll like something.”

“Oh that’s a good idea. I think Jimin could like them too. I’ve seen him wear boots.”

“Yeah. I’ll ask everyone. Is that weird?”

“No, of course not. I like exchanging clothes between friends. I think it’s a really cute activity”, you say, “oh”, you gasp.

Yoongi looks at you with big eyes.

You hit his thigh gently.

“Yoongi, let’s turn it into a friendship flea market where we all sort through our stuff and then we put up market stands in, in the ballroom and then we can go to each other’s stands and get the stuff we want.”

Yoongi smiles, placing his hand over yours.

“Sure. Let’s do that. You tell the others.”

“I will, I will”, you say and giggle, “oh Yoongi, you’re the best”, you say and smooch his cheek, “I’ll get started right away”, you say and get up.

Yoongi watches you take two steps and then stop and turn.

“Actually, I’ll go to the greenhouse first. I haven’t even seen it yet. I wanted to see you first”, you say and hurry to him so you can take his head between your hands and tilt it up for a kiss.

Yoongi reaches up for you, lifting himself to kiss you better. He feels like puddy in his knees, hoping for you to never break the kiss.

But you do because you are too excited about the greenhouse.

“I’ll see you at dinner, my love”, you tell him and break contact.

And while you hurry out of his room with happiness in your steps, Yoongi is left with unbearable yearning for more of your kisses.

He turns back to his shoes, sighing sadly and tracing his lips with his fingers.

Oh how he wants to kiss you.

The air in the greenhouse is warm and smells fresh. The fountain is gurgling and the plants are blindingly green.

“Wow”, you gasp, “hello, my friends! I’m back. Wow, look at you guys, you’ve all grown so much”, you greet them, hurrying through the grounds. You are so happy to be back. You have so many plans for what you want to do now that you finally have the time.

“Hey, there.”

You turn upon hearing the familiar voice. Yoongi is standing behind you, eyes sparkling in fondness.

“Hello there handsome stranger”, you say, closing the three steps separating the two of you to hook your arms behind his head. You kiss his lips, pulling back with a loud “mwuah”.

His lips are curled into a shy smile.

“You weren’t lying when you said that the wing’s like a jungle”, he says.

“Right? Did you see what I did to the hallway? The hanging plants look so good against the windows, don’t they?”

“They look very good”, Yoongi nods his head, “you have such an eye for plants.”

You giggle, pecking his lips as a thank you.

“Do you want to see what I plan on doing with the meadow?”

“Of course, show me”, Yoongi says, letting you pull him with you.

It is way too chilly to go outside and so you look at the meadow from the comfort of your window. The glass is fogged up at its edges from the difference in temperatures, but you don’t mind, explaining every single detail of your plan to Yoongi while the latter listens with great interest, humming in approval and nodding his head whenever you say something especially nice. He also throws in the occasional “that’s such a good idea” and “of course I’ll help you with that, my love”. It was truly so amazing to tell him everything.

Afterwards you led him around the greenhouse, showing him all the plants. Yoongi looked at every single one with undivided attention, commenting about how much they have grown and that “he can clearly remember how small they once were, but now they look very good”. It made you so happy to hear and you kissed his cheeks way too many times. Yoongi still thinks that it wasn’t enough times, presenting his cheek to you at every given chance just to snatch another little smooch from you.

You end your round by the little pond, staring into the water and holding hands.

“Can you remember the last time we stood here together?”

“I do.”

“You still pretended as if you didn’t care. If I remember correctly you called me a slow walker.”

“You are.”

You nudge his arm, “rude.”

He smirks lazily, sneaking a glance at you.

“Either way, I’m glad we aren’t these people anymore”, you say.

“Me too”, Yoongi says and drapes his arm over your shoulder.

You snuggle into him, rubbing his tummy and resting your head against him. So much changed since that day. So many good things happened. So much pain and grief. And yet you are still here. With him as your partner.

“This feels like the end of something big”, you say.

“The end of something big? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I feel like if we were in a story this would be the part where the author makes us talk about all the stuff we went through and then end it with an emotional dialogue where we talk about our bright future because the worst is behind us.”

Yoongi chuckles.

“But we aren’t in a story.”

“Yeah I know, tzt spoilsport I wanted to be edgy.”

Yoongi snorts in amusement.

“Sorry to step on your parade”, he mumbles, making you roll your eyes and chuckle fondly.

“Whatever.”

Yoongi glances at you. You look content and at peace. Yoongi pulls you closer, kissing your temple. Your eyes fall closed in reaction, relaxation washes over you.

“You’re so cute”, he whispers, resting his head against you. He closes his eyes and sighs contently.

He can sense it as well. This is the end of something big. He can feel it. The worst is behind you now. Namjoon may still be somewhere out in this world, but it will be an easy task to find him. Yoongi knows it. He can feel it. His future is bright. Shining the brightest because he can spend it with you.

You retreat to the kitchen after you showed him everything, meeting Taehyung and Jungkook there. They were making out against the kitchen island before you came in, but stop when you do. Jungkook looks flustered, while Taehyung looks cocky.

“I thought that you wanted to take a nap, Kookie”, you say.

“I did, but then I thought that I didn’t wanna miss out on dinner”, Jungkook explains, jumping off the counter to escape Taehyung’s everlasting grabby hands.

“Well, that’s nice. Yoongi and I plan on cooking.”

“We will help”, Taehyung says.

“Of course, but you will not touch a pan. You’ll just burn everything”, Yoongi teases to which Taehyung gasps dramatically. Yoongi snickers, ruffling Taehyung’s hair at the back as he passes him on his way to the refrigerator.

Taehyung looks at him with sparkly eyes because of it, rocking back and forth on his toes and heels.

“Tae my darling, we have to give the gardeners a huge tip when they come over on Thursday. My plants look so amazing because of them”, you say.

“Indeed?” Taehyung says, hurrying to you in happy steps, “I am very happy to hear this, my darling. You have to give me a tour later.”

“Yes, definitely. I can’t wait to see your reaction.”

“And I can’t wait to get a tour”, Taehyung steps closer and kisses your cheek. You smile, returning the kiss to the tip of his nose. He blushes slightly because of it.

“You’re cute”, you tell him, caressing his soft cheek, “can you be a darling and peel some potatoes?”

“Of course. What are we making tonight?”

“Gnocchi. Yoongi knows a yummy recipe.”

“Oh, this sounds delicious”, Taehyung says and busies himself beside you with peeling the potatoes while you cut them into stripes for easier handling later.

“What can I do?” Jungkook asks.

“You can cut the onions”, Yoongi says, “we’ll need them for the sauce.”

“On it”, Jungkook says and places himself next to Yoongi. And while he is busy peeling and cutting the onions, Yoongi busies himself with cutting his self cured meat into thin stripes. You went grocery shopping on the road, knowing that you wanted to eat dinner later.

“You have to give me a tour too, baby”, Jungkook says.

“Yes, please”, you say and bounce on the spot, “oh guys, I’m so happy that you want to see my plants. It means a lot to me.”

The vampires exchange a fond look with each other and while Taehyung leans over to kiss your cheek and Jungkook sends you a lovedrunk grin, Yoongi sets the knife down.

“Let’s turn the radio on”, he says and struts to it calmly.

The music turns on and fills the kitchen with relaxing melodies. Every now and then the radio host interrupts the program, talking about how autumn is only a few days away and that the apples are almost ready to be picked. An elderly woman proceeded to talk about her family’s apple crumble recipe for quite a while.

“I think I can make it better”, Yoongi says. He and Jungkook are caramelising the onions in a pan while you and Tae prepare the dry ingredients for the gnocchi dough.

“You think so?” you ask him.

“Yeah”, Yoongi nods his head.

“I’m sure you could, sugarbutt”, you say, giving his butt a soft spank.

“Hey”, he complains, which makes you and the others snicker.

Yoongi merely huffs out air and then proceeds to stir the onions with red cheeks.

“It feels strange to be home”, Jungkook says, “it’s almost as if we are dreaming.”

“I can’t believe it either. I thought our journey would never end”, you agree.

“We went through a lot, but I sense that it brought us closer together”, Taehyung says, placing his hand on Yoongi’s shoulder, “wouldn’t you agree, hyung?”

“Yes, I do. I still think you’re a brat”, he says to which Taehyung grins boyishly.

“Oh my god you guys”, you gasp, making the vampires turn in worry.

“What’s wrong?”

“What happened?

“Are you okay?”

“I just realised something. This is it.”

“This is what?”

“This is the emotional conversation I talked about. Yoongi, it happened”, you say, slapping his arm excitedly.

Yoongi shakes his head in disbelief but smiles.

“Of course, if you say so.”

“Emotional conversation?” Jungkook asks and you so explain it to him while Taehyung and Yoongi busy themselves with getting dinner finally started. Jungkook shared in your excitement once he knew the entire story, bouncing on the spot with a cute giggle.

Jimin joins once dinner is almost done, wearing comfortable clothes for the first time ever since you got to know him. Grey sweats and a white oversized hoodie. He looks cozy like that, offering his help by setting the table in the dining room.

By the time you have dinner on the table the others come over, bringing wine and dessert in the form of cake from the bakery in town. The one where you and Taehyung got cake from all those months ago when their secret was still unknown to you.

Dinner is nice. Good even. Perhaps even great. The rivalry of once has been left behind and conversation is great now that everyone sees eye to eye. Bear in mind, Yoongi and Jimin still find themselves bickering at countless moments, but the underlying friendliness was clear in their voices. Taehyung starts a few attempts at getting Yoongi to flirt back and by the time the main course had been served, Yoongi became so fed up with the attempts that he decided to flirt back. Just once. But it was enough to send Taehyung blushing and stumbling over his words. Yoongi smirked triumphantly in reaction and for the rest of dinner Taehyung didn’t try any new attempts at flirting with Yoongi. It was truly hilarious to watch.

You decide to play a board game in the sitting room after dinner. The fireplace keeps you warm and cozy and several blankets add the finishing touches. You teamed up in pairs of two. Seokjin and Emma paired up, as did Jungkook and Hoseok. Jimin wanted to play with Taehyung and that left you and Yoongi to team up. Which was the perfect outcome because Yoongi turned out to be incredibly good in coming up with strategies on how to escape the traps the other groups laid.

The game has advanced into deep background lore and brutal fighting on the board when Hoseok lets out a sigh of contentment, speaking what everyone was thinking.

“This is exactly what I needed”, he says, “we should have had nights like these more often.”

“We will”, Yoongi says, watching Jimin do his group’s move with piercing eyes. You are resting against his side, sipping on some tea. Emma prepared each of you a mug when it wasn’t her group’s turn. It tasted very good. Like cinnamon and orange peels.

“Yes, I believe so too”, Taehyung says, “oh that was clever, Jimin. Attempt to escape this, losers”, he exclaims nudging Jungkook’s knee teasingly.

“Wah, so mean. We supported your clerics last round”, Jungkook mumbles, disappearing into his cards with a big pout on his lips. For the next few minutes you can hear him and Hoseok mumble their plan, both faces hidden behind their cards and heads glued together.

Yoongi uses the time to kiss your temple and get a whiff of your happy scent by nuzzling his nose into you. It makes you smell even happier than you did before and makes his tummy flutter even more. You turn your head to steal one kiss from him before relaxing against him.

“Are you guys planning on staying?” Taehyung asks Seokjin and Emma. They talked about Jimin’s plan of renovating his wing before their turn and now have time to continue their conversation.

“Just until Sunday. We plan on going to Gordes to check up on Emma’s shop.”

“Well, that sounds lovely. Who was watching your shop?”

“My best friend Genevieve. She is a Normal just like you”, Emma answers him.

“Oh? How wonderful. Do send her my regards.”

“Thank you. I will”, Emma gives Taehyung a sweet smile then looks at the rest of you, “and you guys? Any plans now that we are finally home?”

“I won’t be staying for too long”, Yoongi says.

Jungkook and Hoseok stop talking, the rest of the room grows quiet as well.

“What do you mean?” you gasp, shimmying out of your snuggle position to look at him, “that’s news to me. What do you mean by that?”

“I need to leave again. Namjoon’s still out there somewhere. Why are you looking at me like that? You know that I can’t stop looking for him.”

“Yes, but I thought that at least we could spend the colder months together.”

“And then once it’s warmer you’ll ask me to stay because it’s getting warmer. I can’t stay for too long. You know that.”

You lower your eyes sadly.

“Don’t say it like that”, Jungkook says, “we are all surprised that you want to leave again. Don’t be so mean to ___.”

“I was mean?” Yoongi blinks his eyes in disbelief.

“Yes, it was a little harsh”, Hoseok agrees.

Yoongi furrows his brows, “mhm”, he lets out.

He turns to you, placing his arm around you.

“I’m sorry, my princess”, he says softly, kissing your cheek, “I didn’t mean to sound so harsh.”

You lean into him, “yeah I know”, you whisper, “it’s okay guys, I’m really fine”, you say with a smile, “you guys, when are you making your move? I finally wanna do our attack”, you ask in hopes of changing the conversation.

“Oh? Uhm”, Jungkook clears his throat, “wait a minute”, he says and turns to Hoseok, “Hobi, should we do it? I think we can defeat them that way.”

“Yes sure, let’s do it”, Hoseok says and throws the dice.

The topic of Yoongi’s departure won’t come up again for the rest of the night, but will linger in the back of your head the entire time.

Taehyung and Jimin end up winning the game by casting fire on their enemies. It earned them a round of complaints and accusations of being cheater, but they merely cackled in victory and acted so cute about it that in the end you could merely chuckle at them. And while it was a nice moment and you genuinely enjoyed laughing with them, your smiles left a bitter taste in your mouth. Yoongi plans on leaving soon and that makes the peace feel not as peaceful anymore.

You wanted to be in your wing once game night ended, asking for a little privacy which everyone accepted without questions. Except for Yoongi who asked you if you were okay to which you dismissed him with a “I just need some time alone”. He gave up asking more questions afterwards, leaving you to your solitude with sagging shoulders.

You did a lot of thinking in the greenhouse and later under the shower. All the thinking you did made you come to the conclusion that you are really sad about Yoongi’s impending departure and that you wanted to be sad and alone in bed. You were ready to fall asleep just like that, but then your bed felt too big for one person. Too big. Way too big. And then the wish of wanting to be alone felt too painful and turned into punishment. You didn’t want to be alone on your first night home, you wanted to be with someone you loved. Taehyung was with Jimin tonight and Jungkook went back to his old place to celebrate with the others. Which left only Yoongi as your potential sleeping buddy. He was a good option. An option which scared you just a little because it meant actively breaking your old pattern of not talking shit out and instead to seek out conversation. And that was a scary thing to do, but you knew that you had to do it in order to be a better partner for him. Yoongi is probably blaming himself already and you don’t want him to have to do that.

So equipped with your fluffiest socks and thickest pyjamas you hurry to his wing. But not before making some sleepy tea for the both of you. The aspect of knowing that he will be in his wing feels exciting even if you have to talk shit out. It is just so very nice to know that he is home again, even if it is just for a few more days.

The office and the music room are empty. As is his sitting room. Which leaves only his bedroom and its ensuite rooms.

You knock on his door twice with your elbow, but get no answer. So you open the door slowly. Once again using your elbow for it with the hope of not spilling the tea.

“Yoongi? It’s me. I’m coming in.”

Shuffling of feet then the click of a door closing.

“Yoongi?”

He is sitting up in bed, looking tinier than he actually is now that dozens of pillows surround him and the fluffiest duvet covers his lower body. He was clearly listening to music before you came in, judging by his phone and ear buds in his hand.

“What are you doing here? I thought you wanted to be alone.”

“I changed my mind. Can I sleep here?” you ask him, “I brought tea.”

“Yes, of course. Come here”, he says, discarding his phone and opening the covers.

You hurry to his bed in big steps, placing the mugs of tea on his nightstand. They will be forgotten within seconds and will only be rediscovered by him tomorrow morning.

You step out of your slippers and climb on top of the big bed. You lie down next to him, studying his face as he makes it his task to tug you in thoroughly.

“Thanks”, you tell him once he finished.

“Mhm”, he retreats back, looking at you nervously.

So now you are facing each other. Yoongi propped up on his elbow and you looking up at him with the blanket pulled up all the way up to your ear.

“Are you still mad at me?” Yoongi breaks the silence.

“I’m not mad at you.”

“But?”

“I’m really sad because you want to leave again.”

“I won’t leave instantly, so you still have me for a few days.”

“Can’t we enjoy it a little longer? We just came home and I really wanna be with you.”

“A week then?”

He is compromising. You really appreciate his offer. You shimmy until you are closer to him. Yoongi’s eyes race between yours instantly, his hand rests itself on your waist warm and safely.

“Do you have to leave at all?” you ask him.

“You know that I do”, Yoongi says and pouts, “I don’t want to leave either, you know that.”

“I know.”

“So can’t you make it a little easier for me? Please?”

You study his features. He has his hair down and his cheeks look dewy from whatever cream he used tonight. You reach up, brushing your fingertips over his soft cheek before tugging a strand of hair behind his ear.

“I’m so clingy, aren’t I?” you ask in whisper.

“Maybe a little”, he says, blinking slowly because your innocent touch feels good.

You sigh deeply, “I know. I really have to learn how to live without you, don’t I?”

Yoongi furrows his brows, “now wait. That sounds like a bad plan. Don’t learn that.”

You snort, having to chuckle.

“I just meant that I’m being a lot right now, aren’t I? I shouldn’t make it so hard for you.”

“If it really hurts you a lot, I can stay for the rest of the year. But I can’t stay longer than that.”

You massage his ear gently.

“I’m not hurt. Just sad”, you assure him, “I think I was so into the idea that we’re finally at peace that I forgot that the only reason we’re home is because we’re taking a break.”

“I really want peace, my love”, he confesses, “I’m already exhausted thinking about having to start the stupid chase again.”

“I know, I’m tired too”, you say, cupping his cheek. You run your thumb right under his eye where his skin is so incredibly tender, “you look a little tired tonight, my love.”

He nods his head, “I was really scared that you’d be angry. I guess it shows”, he confesses and lets out a breathy laugh.

You give him a smile, tracing the little wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes now that he laughs. Yoongi relaxes his features, releasing a sigh of awe as his lips part softly and his eyes race over your face.

“You won’t take me with you again when you leave, will you?” you ask him, already knowing the answer.

Yoongi still hesitates however, even if he is aware that you already know. Speaking it aloud makes it reality and that is hard to accept.

“It’s so dangerous”, he whispers, “someone almost stole you from me. You are so much safer here where vampires and witches can’t reach you. The barrier spell Meredith cast on the grounds will keep you and the others safe.”

“I knew that you would say that”, you say, lowering your eyes sadly.

“You know why I think that way, don’t you?” he asks, cupping your cheek because he wants to prevent you from turning your head away just in case.

“Yeah, I do”, you say, “will you take Kookie with you again?”

“He’ll stay here and train with Tae. We already talked about it and they both agreed.”

“What? But then-”

“Princess, hey. Don’t cry please”, Yoongi gasps, eyes focusing on the tears forming in your eyes.

“But then you’ll be all alone. Yoongi no, I don’t want you to be alone”, you press out, sobbing just a little.

“I won’t be alone. I’ll have you right here”, he says, placing your hand on his chest.

“Noo you are so sweet, please”, you say, sobbing again.

“Hey, don’t cry please”, Yoongi begs, leaning down to litter your face with kisses.

“I’m so emotional tonight, everything makes me cry”, you explain in mixture of an embarrassed chuckle and a sad sob, “I’m so sad that you’ll be alone. My poor Yoongi Boongie”, you whine, sniffling loudly.

Yoongi chuckles, pecking your lips repeatedly until they stop trembling. He lifts his head, stubbing you with his nose.

“Crybaby”, he teases.

“Hey”, you complain, “don’t say that, you’ll make me cry again. I’m really sensitive tonight.”

“Sorry, I won’t say it again”, he says, kissing your cheek with a fond smile on his lips.

“Hmpf”, you huff out air and turn your head so you could stub him with your nose.

Yoongi opens his eyes, meeting your adoring gaze.

“I can stay with you tonight, right?”

“Yes, please stay”, Yoongi says, drawing closer until he can nuzzle into you for cuddles. He purrs, tickling you with soft nibs on your neck.

“Tickles”, you giggle, fighting him off by wiggling your shoulders.

Yoongi chuckles softly, lifting his head to gaze at you. He looks happy. You reach up and brush the back of your fingers over his cheek.

“I had so much fun tonight”, you tell him, “I think we make an amazing team.”

“Me too. Your poison plan was really clever.”

“Right? Seokjin’s face was so funny when he realised what we did.”

Yoongi snickers, nodding his head in agreement. He draws closer to you until your noses are almost touching so he can share in the bond with you better.

“I had so much fun too”, he whispers.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. This was the first time I played board games with other people.”

“It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s nice.”

You smile, tracing his pretty lips.

“I’m so happy you feel that way, my beloved”, you say softly, “I hope you know that this means that you have to partake in every board game evening from now on. No more excluding yourself from stuff, you’re part of our group now.”

Yoongi chuckles, nodding his head, “I can live with that.”

“Good”, you say, sealing the deal with a feather light kiss on the tip of his nose.

Yoongi flutters his lashes at you, looking flabbergasted.

“You look really handsome”, you whisper, tracing his eyebrows.

Yoongi lowers his eyes bashfully.

“I didn’t even do anything”, he mumbles.

“So?”

He flusters even more, cheeks gaining the faintest hint of colour. You touch them, giving them a soft squish.

“You’ve got such nice skin tonight. So glowy and plump”, you say.

He snorts, “plump? Really?”

“Yeah”, you say, pinching his cheek to really smush it, “squishy cheekies.”

He swats your hand away gently, “why are you so weird?” he whines in embarrassment.

“Why? Why are you so weird?” you whine and touch his cheek again.

Yoongi leans in, enjoying the touch with flutters of his lashes.

“Seriously though, what did you use tonight? Your skin’s amazing.”

“Kookie gave me one of his creams. I don’t know. He said that I should try it ‘cause it’s good for the skin”, he explains.

“Mhhm I see. He’s right, you look really pretty”, you say.

Yoongi drops his face into the pillow with a huff of air. He turns it to the side, peeking at you through his bangs.

You shimmy closer, reaching out to tug his hair out of his eyes. You continue playing with it mindlessly afterwards and mere seconds later the soft purring of Yoongi fills the room. Like this you are both bundled up under the fluffy covers, facing each other with barely any distance between your faces. It feels so cozy and intimate.

“Your hair’s so long already”, you say.

“I like it”, he says, “I think it suits me.”

You smile. This is the first time Yoongi gave himself a compliment. Your plan to make him love himself is working!

“Oh Yoongs”, you say, snuggling your nose into his cheek as you squeeze him tightly.

“What? I’m just saying”, he mumbles shyly.

“I know, I’m just”, you kiss his cheek, “agreeing with you. You look so handsome with it. But then. I think you look handsome in any hairstyle.”

“No I really don’t. Trust me.”

“Oh you”, you nudge him softly, “don’t say that.”

“No it’s true. I was in Europe when those ugly powdered wigs were popular. Singlehandedly the worst hairstyle I ever had”, he scoffs, “stupid ass Louis just ‘cause he was embarrassed about his premature balding he made the rest of us look like idiots too.”

“No way. Oh my god, this is hilarious”, you snicker, “please tell me that you have a portrait of yourself from that time.”

“Hell no I don’t. I burned every single proof of that time.”

You laugh. Yoongi smiles fondly, wiggling his feet under the covers happily.

“This is so funny. I can’t stop imagining you in that wig”, you snicker, “so you had many hairstyles in your life? Did you have a perm in the eighties?”

“A mullet perm even.”

“No way, oh my god Yoongi”, you squeak out a giggle.

“Mh-hm I was one of the cool guys”, he says cockily with a little smirk on his lips.

“Of course you were. I bet you looked so handsome in it.”

He shrugs his shoulders, “it was alright, I guess. It wasn’t the worst I had. It fit the time.”

“Yeah true, it did. Gosh, I always loved eighties perms. I think they look really funky like Hobi always says.”

Yoongi smiles fondly, agreeing with a nod of his head.

“So what were your favourites?” you ask him.

“I don’t know. I guess this one’s pretty far up there. The one I had before was good too. I also had longer hair than now.”

“How long?”

“Almost to my tailbone.”

“No, you did not. Really?”

“I did.”

“No, you’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Yoongi.”

“Why’s it so unbelievable that I had long hair at one point?” he asks in a chuckle.

“It’s not, I just didn’t expect that at all. You must have looked like an actual fairytale prince back then.”

“I was more of a prince of nightmares still.”

You sense the sad regret in his voice, soothing him by massaging the lobe of his ear slowly.

“Namjoon had long hair too. You know?” he says.

“Yeah? Well uhm…I bet you looked cuter with it.”

“Yeah uh”, he clears his throat loudly, “sorry I don’t know why I brought him up. I guess, you don’t wanna know that.”

“It’s alright. I wanted to know.”

“Sorry. I know I shouldn’t change the mood so much. I just don’t have many good memories about my life. I guess all my stories are depressing.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself”, you assure him, “do you want to tell me a good memory?”

“When you kissed me for the first time.”

You smile, “yeah? That’s a good one for you?”

“Yes. It’s one of the best”, he whispers with sparkling eyes.

You kiss his cheek, “it’s one of the best for me too.”

“And then when you kissed me again and again and again and every single time you kissed me”, he says, making you laugh.

“Yeah? Well that sounds like you have many good memories then.”

He snickers, nodding his head. You have to kiss his cheek again. It can’t be helped. He is such a sweetheart.

“And the times when I was still human.”

You lift your gaze, looking at him with great interest. His lips move so prettily when he talks, you could look at them for hours.

“Not all of them, but some. Namjoon and I made music together. And we both wrote poetry. He always read his’ to me and made me tell him what I hated about it and what I loved”, Yoongi says, “sometimes we sat under some trees when we made music and we sat there for hours and hours until the setting sun reminded us of passing time.”

“That sounds really nice. I bet it was so relaxing to do.”

He smiles and agrees with a nod.

“Back then spending hours doing the things we loved still felt precious to me. My hours were counted and knowing that I spent four, five, ten hours making music with Namjoon made me feel really happy. I spent my hours right. That’s how I felt.”

“I understand that feeling. I get this when I take care of my plants or when I spent time with you or the others.”

Yoongi smiles. You retort it. You both wiggle your toes under the covers.

“So why did you decide to become a sorcerer? Did you not want to pursue the arts?”

“I did, but magic was the most popular thing to study. Life wasn’t that much different back then. While parents force their children to pursue careers in medicine or law these days, back then it was magic. So we went because our parents wanted it.”

“I see. So parents never really changed, did they?”

He chuckles, “in a sense, yeah.”

“And your music? Did you have to give it up?”

“No. We still continued working on it. We snuck out a lot just so we could work on new songs together and sometimes we hid in the library and read each other poetry while the other students were in class.”

Yoongi smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“I fucking hate my brain sometimes. Most of my life is a fucking blur, but the days as a human are still so clear to me”, he says, “it hurts to think about them”, he confesses in whisper.

“Oh, my love”, you say, draping your arm over his back in comfort.

“And yet I don’t want to forget about them.”

“I understand this feeling. There are memories which are inherently good memories until you think about them for too long and realise that you can never return to them again. That’s when they start hurting.”

“Yes”, Yoongi whispers, looking at you sadly, “I really miss Namjoon.” Yoongi closes his eyes. “The real Namjoon. I miss him so much. I really do.”

“I can imagine. You have a different image of him than I have, haven’t you?”

“Yes. I know that it’s wrong and just a figment of my memories. The real Namjoon’s long been dead, I know. But he is…he…” Yoongi squeezes his eyes closed, “he was my dearest friend. No amount of time will ever be enough to heal what he left behind when he changed.”

You kiss his cheek, hoping that this will soothe him.

“I sometimes wish that I can do something to bring him back. I want him to be himself again. I really do”, he confesses, opening his eyes. They carry embarrassment in them. He must feel ashamed to admit that despite all of Namjoon’s crimes, Yoongi wants his redemption.

“You do.”

“I know that it’s wrong and I won’t ever forgive him for what he did to you and Kook a-and Tae and Jimin too. I hate him so fucking much for hurting all of you guys and I want to hurt him because of it. But then….but then sometimes I want to help Namjoon become himself again.”

“I understand you to a degree. I guess, it’s a little hard for me to understand you completely because I never really saw Namjoon’s nice side. He scares me a lot.”

“I know. I don’t want you to understand me, I know that it’s impossible to do. I don’t even know why I tell you all of this shit in the first place.”

“Maybe you just wanted to get rid of a few things before you have to leave again?”

“I guess. It’s so hard to think about the fact that I have to kill him. Maybe it’s my own fault that we haven’t found him yet. Maybe I’m procrastinating on the day we do because that means I’ll have to kill him and I don’t know if I can.”

“Really? So you’re struggling with that thought?”

Yoongi looks into your eyes, nodding his head.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? We should start looking for alternatives then. Ways where we can eliminate the danger he brings without killing him. It’s impossible to kill him without cursed wood either way, so we should concentrate on the alternatives.”

Yoongi sits up straight within a second.

“What?” he gasps.

“What did I say? Did I say something wrong?”

“You, you, you”, he blinks in disbelief, “why are you saying that?”

“What do you mean? Should I not have said it?”

“Why are you not angry at me?”

“Why should I be angry at you?”

“Because I just told you that I can’t kill Namjoon. Why are you not angry?”

“Why should I be angry? It’s your decision to make in the end. We should start looking for alternatives as soon as possible so you know what to do instead. Or do you not want that?”

“I, I do. I do. I just, just”, he closes the distance between you and him, cupping your face as tenderly as possible, “thank you so much. I can’t believe you said that.”

You giggle, “what do you mean? I’m just saying.”

“Yeah, you’re just saying”, he whispers, “oh my beloved, treasured, beautiful princess”, he says pulling you into a kiss. It spills over in adoration, leaving you just the slightest bit dizzy once it breaks.

“You’re such a dramatic baby”, you mumble, nudging him lovingly.

“Whatever, be quiet”, he whispers, pecking the tip of your nose.

“I am”, you sigh, chasing his lips for a kiss.

One Yoongi gives you gladly, falling into the soft covers with you as you lose yourself in each other.

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